Fences by Willow

Fences by Willow

This Drama takes place in the backyard of Troy Maxsons’ home. The characters include Troy Maxson, His wife Rose, Their son Cory, Troys’ son Lyons , Troys disabled brother Gabriel, Troys’ friend Bono, and the woman that Troy has an affair with and Raynell who is Troys daughter to the woman .Troy is not someone who gets along well with his children always thinking the worst of them so much so that he prevents his son Cory from going to college with a football scholarship. Cory is Picked in a football draft by a North Carolina scout. But Troy will have no part of it says Cory cannot make a living playing ball because he is black. The reason he believes this is because he holds a grudge from not being allowed to play major league baseball. The way it is prevented is by Troy is he goes and tells the football coach that Cory is no longer allowed to play and there is no need to send the scout. At first I thought that Troy and Rose loved each other but come to find out that they had an abusive relationship and there was also cheating involved. Troy found himself a fling on the side who he ended up having a daughter with. The woman died and Rose was made to raise their daughter Raynell as her own child. I also seen the meanness in Troy when he threw his son Cory out of the house and made him grow up early due to him protecting his mom from Troy. This forces Cory to join the Marines which we find out later in this Drama. This family is a blended family with a lot of problems including money, Raceisim, abuse, Infidality and alcoholism. All these issues are surely a recipie for disaster. Troys’ friend Bono finds out about his affair and confronts him. Troy does not take kindly to this confrontation and pretty much tells Bono to mind his own business. Troy finds out his woman is pregnant and confronts Rose with the news. Troy has no consideration for Roses’ feelings, dreams or desires. Troy portrays a selfish man. He reminds me of a spoiled child who gets everything he wants. The facts and reasoning he gave to his wife as to why he was cheating and why he was going to continue to cheat just made me sick. Rose gave up all her dreams and desires for 18 years to be the best wife and mother she could possibly be to Troy and his kids. When she receives the news of Troys’ cheating it is a slap in the face because he pretty much saying she cannot fulfill his needs and desires and that she is smothering him with bills and house payments.  

Drama blog A Raisin In The Sun

A Raisin In The Sun
In this drama a blended family resides in a small apartment. The family is a struggling black family.The family consists of the mother, Son, His Wife and their son and the husbands sister.The Husband works as a chaufer for a white man , His wife and mother clean homes for rich white people. The sister is attending college to become a doctor.The husband has a dream of owning a liquor store with two of his buddies from the bar. His dream seems like it may happen when his mother is expecting a ten thousand dollar check frfom the death of her husband.This buisness venture turns out to be a scam . When the one man recieved the other two mens monewy he skipped town .This causes the son to loose his mind because he lost all of what was left of their money including what he was supposed to sit aside for his sisters tuition. The Mother goes and buys a house in a predominantly all white neighborhood. She surprises the family with this news. They all have a differnt reaction to it. The wife is extremely happy when she hears this because she has found out that she is pregnant again .. There is allready not enough room in the house they are in her son is forced to sleep on the couch.But with the excitement of the new house comes problems as well. The so called welcoming committie shows up at their house to make them an offer on their new house because they are not welcome there. The reason for this is they are black.

Triffles By Susan Glaspell week 13

Trifles

 By

Susan Glaspell

This play takes place in the home of John Wright and his wife. It is soon to be found that John is dead. He was found hanging by a rope in his bedroom. The setting is very cold and suspicious of his wife. The atmosphere of the opening scene is that of a woman who seems shocked and scared. She does not answer the Sheriff when he comes into her home about her husband. The sheriff asks to see her husband John. She tells him that he cannot see him. He wanders why. And the widow of John answers that John is dead. The atmosphere changes throughout the play from suspicion to concern for Mrs. Wright, some might even say that the women felt sorry for her or even responsible for what happened. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are standing close together by the door while Mr. Hale explains what happened to the county attorney. Where the women are standing indicates that they may not get along to well with the men. Minnie Foster who was the wife of John Well’s used to be involved in the choir and loved to sing. Minnie also used to take pride in the way she looked and was happy and social. Minnie’s marriage became a suffocating life for her . She no longer got to sing or cared how she looked. Minnie was very busy with the farm she lived on and took no time for herself. John Wright was crushing the life out of his wife and was causing her to really have no life at all. He stripped her of all she loved and caused her a lot of pain. I think that Minnie killed him because she could not take any more of his abuse. I believe that when he broke the canaries neck that was the final straw, she had reached her breaking point. The men fail to see the clues that the women find because they think that everything that the women do is stupid. I believe that what was meant by the line we call it it knot it was reffering to the rope around John’s neck it probably had been tied with the same sort of knot that was used in Minnies stitching.

The Naked Lunch Michael Hollinger week 13

Naked lunch

By

Michael Hollinger

I tend to agree with Vernon. Lucy seems more sympathetic. The reason I agree with Vernon is because he brings up a good point about listening to everything that is said about eating . For example where he said about eating more bran and how it was good for you one day and could kill you the next. I think that Lucy is more sympathetic because she tries to let it go and Vernon made a big issue out of the fact that Lucy would not eat meat. Lucy has become a vegetarian due to learning of the health risk that are involved in eating meat. Vernon becomes very offended by the fact that Lucy will not eat the meat so much to the point he makes fun of her and practically forces her to eat the steak. Vernon feels that he worked hard on making this dinner and if Lucy does not eat the steak it is a reflection upon him. I think that Vernon is the Antagonist of this drama because he seems to be the lesser of the two characters. The centeral conflict of the story is the fact that Lucy will not eat the steak. The final tone of the story is that of anger and humiliation. Vernon changes his whole attitude towards Lucy when he cuts her steak and makes her eat  it. When Lucy first got there Vernon had the hopes of a reconciliation but by the time that Vernon cut Lucy’s Steak any hopes of getting back together were gone and all that was left for him was anger. I do not understand why this was called the naked lunch. The only thing I could see was that he was hoping to get naked in the begining but this never happened.

week 12 poetryblog

This is my week twelve poetry blog. There were some poems that I could not find no matter how hard I tried. Here is the list of poems and poets we had to read. To my dear and loving husband by Bradstreet , Memorandum, by Bolton, Before the Birth of One of her children, by, Bradstreet, To An Athlete Dying Young, By Housmann, Battle Hymn Of The Republic, By, Howe, Thinking About Bill, Dead Of Aids, By, Williams, This Is Just To Say by Williams. The first poem I selected was Memorandum By Bolton. The reason that I chose this poem was the nature of the poem. The speaker seems really hate her ex- boyfriend. The speaker mentions how he used to admire famous people and what they looked like. He also only seemed to want to talk about himself and his problems not so much the speaker’s problems or concerns. Her boyfriend did not seem to even take into consideration her feelings , or how he made her feel when he looked at other women and talked about them. The next poem that I chose was To My Dear And Loving husband, By, Anne Bradstreet. This poem is speaking very tenderly about how a wife loves her husband. She seems to love him so much that she idolizes him, you could even go as far as to say she puts him high up on a peda-stool as if he can do no wrong. I would expect this type of writing from a seventeenth century puritan because they were god fearing people and lived to obey God. I think her devotions are expectant on the rewards she will receive in Heaven for following Gods commandments here on earth. That she believes in eternal life, and that they will live forever in the presence of God. The next poem selection I made was Before the Birth of One Of Her Children. In the beginning of this poem the speaker seems to not care much about her life she has no children, friends or anyone who really cares about her. She seems to wish death upon herself as if she has no reason to live. She felt worthless here on earth and longed to be in the arms of god the father where she would feel loved. The fourth poem I picked to write about was To an athlete dying Young , By A. E. Housman. I think this poem is written in a fathers view about his young son who won a race at a young age. The poem keeps mentioning the runner being shoulder high. The father seems to be proud of his son even in death and continues to speak his name and accomplishments so that his son will not be forgotten. The fifth poem I choose  to write about was the Battle Hymn Of The Republic , By Julia Ward Howe. This has always been one of my favorite hymns growing up . It speaks such truths and glorifys our lord  God and Jesus. This poem tells of the battles we as Christians must fight. But we are never alone. Our father is always with us fighting right beside us. This poem has always been comforting to me because it reminds me that God is always with me and that he will never leave me nor forsake me.

October 29 Poetry Blog

For this weeks poetry blog we had the following poems to read.  We were to read all the poems by Hughes on The following pages 1129-1157. All the poems by Alvarez on Pages 1185-1212. The poem by Marlowe , Called The Passionate Shepard To His Love On page 1239 which I could not find in my book or on line and also Raleigh " The Nymphs Reply To The Shepherd" Pg 134. The poems by hughes seemed to be talking about being colored and growing upas as a slave longing to be free. The Poems by Alvarez talked of immigrants and racial tendencies of an earlier time.
 The first poem that i chose to write on was Sometimes the Words Are So Close by Julia Alvarez. In this poem we are reading this from the point of view of handwritten words.It seems to be talking about the fact that no one hand writes things anymore. Everyone uses a computerto type papers and the art form of handwriting has disapeared.The second poem i chose was Queens by Julia Alvarez. This poem seems to be talking about a young immigrant girl who wants to know why people are judged on their color or country or even their religion.It tells of a woman who has lived on their street whos main concern was her property value going down due to the variety of people living on it.The third poem i chose to write about was highto Low by Hughes. In this poem he seems ashamed of the person the poem is about. He mentions how she lives and sends her kids to school she has no class or respect for anyone.He seems to think that this person is ruining the respect of people for their entire race. The fourth poem that i chose to write about was 50-50 by Hughes. This poem is about a woman who is complaing about not having someone to callher own she is all alone. There is a man in the story who seems to like her if she would just use her head..I think she loves  Big Boy but does not know how to tell him.I think big boy is a big jerk he not only wants her to provide him a place to lay his head but he wants her to provide for him to he sounds like a lazy person.I think that the title 50-50 means that she is taking a gamble . If she lets him in sure she will have aman but what kind of man will that be.The Fifth poem that i chose to write about was Negro. This poem tells what it was like to be a negro.From being a slave to a worker to a singer to a victim and finally to a Negro again.He seems to identify being a Negro with lots of hard work .The speaker describes a life of hard work and slavery no freedom for the negro.

poetry blog dickinson and frost

Week 10, Poetry Blog.

In this week’s reading we had to read the following poems by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, The Pasture, Mowing, My November Guest, Storm Fear, Mending Wall, Home Burial, The Wood Pile, After Apple- Picking, Birches, An Old Man’s Winter Night, Out! Out! , The Oven Bird, Fire and Ice, Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Un harvested , Neither out Far Nor in Deep , Design, “In White”: An Early Version Of Design, On The Living Part Of A Poem. We also had to read the following poems by Emily Dickinson. If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking, If I Shouldn’t Be Alive, The Thought  Beneath So Light A  Film, To Make A Practice It Takes A Clover And One Bee, Success is counted Sweetest, Some things that fly there be, Water is taught by thirst, Safe in their Alabaster Chambers (1859), Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers (1861), Portraits Are To Daily Faces, Some Keep The Sabbath Going to church, “ Heaven – Is What I Cannot Reach.,  “Hope” Is The Thing With Feathers , The Robins’ My Criterion For Tune, I like A Look Of Agony, Wild Nights – Wild Nights!, What Soft Cherubic Creatures , The soul Selects Her Own Society, Much Madness is Divinest Sense, I dwell in Possibility, They Dropped Like Flakes, After Wo, I Heard A Fly Buzz – When I Died, One Need Not Be A Chamber – To Be Haunted, Because I Could Not Stop For Death,  I felt a Cleaving In My Mind, A light Exists In Spring, Oh Sumptuous Moment , The Bustle In A house,  Tell All The Truth  But Tell It In A Slant, There IS No Frigate Like A Book , Fame Is The One That Does Not Stay.   The first poem I chose to write about was If I can stop one heart from breaking by Emily Dickinson. From reading the words in this poem it sounds as if her heart had been broken by someone she really cared about. She had experienced pain that cut so deep into her soul that she did not wish this kind of misery on anyone else. The next poem I chose to write about was success is counted Sweetest by Emily Dickinson.  This poem talks about success as being the thing that the less fortunate strive to achieve and when they do it means so much more to them than those that reach success easily. It is kind of like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I agree with this definition of success. I believe that to comprehend means to obtain and understand what one is striving for. Nectar is referring to the level of success one is trying to achieve. The defeated understand what victory better than the victorious because they have gone through a lot more hurdles than someone who is victorious easier. The last line of the poem I believe is meant to mean that when the success was finally attained it was through a lot of hard work and sacrifice. The third poem I chose to write about was “Heaven” is   what I cannot reach! By Emily Dickinson .  She treats  Heaven as an unobtainable goal. To me Heaven is obtainable If you know how to get there which is through Jesus Christ. I believe the person who is telling this longs to reach Heaven but does not know how. The next poem that I chose to write about was Home Burial by Robert Frost. This poem speaks of a father and mother who have lost a child. The father has to dig a grave to bury their child in. I think that this is was very hard on him. He so wants for his wife to stay and talk to him instead of leaving and turning to someone else. The mother however feels that he does not care that their child is dead since he was able to dig the grave and go on about his day as if nothing happened. This is a good example of the different ways men and women handle their feelings and emotions. The last poem I chose was Fire and Ice by Robert Frost. Fire is like the desires burning hot in people, maybe even their lies burning inside them. Ice is like the cold hearted people who hate everything and everyone.  

Poetry blogs week 9

Poetry Blogs Week 9

We had to read the following poems Death Be Not Proud by Donne, Lonely Hearts by Wendy Cope, Do Not GO Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas, My Mistresess’ Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun By William Shakespeare, My Papa’s Waltz By Theodore Waltz, The Chimney Sweeper By William Blake, and My Last Duchess By Robert Browning. This selection of poems seemed to be talking about unrequited love. Some talked of wishes and the hearts desires. The first poem that I chose to write about was My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. The reason I chose this poem was the way that Robert spoke of her was a little confusing to me. At first he seemed to really admire and miss her by talking of her picture that hung on the wall. I believe the duchess was killed .I believe the duke is addressing the people .The irony of this poem is that he still wishes her alive but I think he had her killed. I think he may have loved her but maybe did not show it well. The second poem that I chose was the chimney sweeper by William  Blake.. I did not understand why his father chose to sale him when his mother died . Maybe seeing him was to hard on his father or he could not afford to keep him. I am not really sure. This poem talks of a dream that he had of seeing the chimney sweeps locked in black coffins being set free by angels and that they were dancing naked in heaven. This dream sounds as if he was really wanting things to be better than having to clean chimneys forever. The next poem I chose was My Papas Waltz By Theodore Roethke. The details that charachterize the father are The whisky on his breadth which tells me he may have been an alcoholic. He loved his child with whom he danced to bed. I did not understand though what was meant by his saying a beat was played on his head. The next poem I chose to write about was My Mistress’ Eyes are nothing like the sun by William Shakespeare.To me it sounds as if he loves a woman who may not be beautiful. He seems to compare her beauty to other items such as roses and perfume saying she does not compare. He even goes as far as to say he longs to hear her speak although music has far more a pleasing sound. The last  poem I chose to write about was Do Not Go Gentile Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas. This poem seems to tell of a fear of growing old and being closer to death.

Poetry Blog Week of 10-08-10

Poetry blog # 2

The poems in this week’s reading seemed to have the same tone. It seemed as if all the poets were talking of death and dying. I do not know if this was just my interpretation or if anyone else had noticed this as well. The first poem that I chose to write about is We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks. This poem seemed to be talking about teenagers who do not like to follow the rules. The teenagers think they are cool for skipping school among other crazy things they do. They seem to be doing something bad enough that they think they are going to die. The second poem I chose was We Old Dummies by Joan Murray. This poem talks about people who may be in their golden years. They have been friends for a long time and enjoy doing things together. But again they talk of being dead soon. The third poem I chose was The Root Cellar By Theodore  Roethke. In this Poem  he seems to be talking of death as well . He mentions how shoots are dangled and drooped and how nothing would give up life. This poems seems to be talking about someone struggling to stay alive. The fourth poem I chose to write about was  Dulce Decorum Est By Wilfred Owen.  The poet again is talking about death and despair. I believe that the poem is about soldiers fighting in a war. It talks of the soldiers dodging bombs and gas while they were half asleep. The poem mentions throwing a wounded soldier in the back of a wagon  which could place this poem during the civil war. The Fifth poem that I chose to write about was Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare seems to again be talking about death and how delicate life is. He mentions that life can be snuffed out as quickly as a candle. He compares life to a walking shadow that disappears with the day. I chose to ask some questions about another poem in this series. Does anyone understand the meaning of the poem You Fit Into Me. This poem just does not register with me. I do not understand what the author is trying to say.

poetry blog week seven

This blog is from our poetry section of this class. Some of the poems I found a little confusing. I am not sure if I even understood them at all. The poems I choose to write about are the ones I found interest in .The first one is The Secretary Chant.  I was unsure at first what or who this poem was about. I had all kinds of images running through my head such as was it a typewriter, a computer, a copy machine, a telephone, a switchboard or a person. I find it sad that this secretary was made to feel like a piece of office equipment rather than a person. The second poem I chose was Dogs Death by John Updike. This was a very sad tale of a puppy that was hit by a car and had internal injuries that eventually killed him. Through all his agony though he still tried to learn tricks and use the paper which his owners came to find he did this all the way to his dying moment. Good Dog. Those words do not seem to hold the same meaning in the end. The third story I chose to write about was The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner By, Randall Jarrell. This story had me a little confused as to what a Ball Turret Gunner was. This sounds like what happens to a baby bird when it is born. What I do not get though is why it has fur. A baby bird is pushed from its home in a nest and taught to fly or die. The next story or Poem that I chose to talk about is he Convergence of the Twain. I do not quite understand the title or what it has to do with the Titanic, but I have a great interest in the Titanic. This poem is told from the point of view of the fish. We see mentioned the fish wandering why such a great masterpiece was under the ocean with them. We hear of the algae and other fungus that now lives upon the once great rails of the masterful, indestructible ship. The Titanic’s beauty is lost under the ocean and decaying in the ocean bottom. The poem also talks of those whose lives were cut short by the sinking of the ship. The last poem I chose was also about the Titanic. The name of this poem is The Titanic By, David R. Slavitt. This poem shows how much the author of this poem loves the Titanic with all its beauty, Mystery and romance. The author also asks the question who could not love the Titanic. I have to agree with that statement. He talks about the people who went down with the Titanic and how they went down to their death with full stomach’s, good music and friends and family surrounding them. He makes note of the cries and screams of people dying in the frigid waters around them as  being a comfort. To me this would not have been a comfort this would have been the worst sound I could imagine knowing that I was going to die.

The Help By Kathryn Stockett

The Help

By Kathryn Stockett

This story is all about the battle that black people had to fight to just be treated as human beings. In this story we see life as a black woman would live it. We also see the lives of the rich white women who are the black women’s boss. This story is set back when John F Kennedy was President of the United States of America. We learn of the trials and struggles of the black women who are referred to as the help hence the title of the book. We are introduced to a black lady named Aibeleen who is the maid for Miss. Elisabeth. Aibeleen is also the caretaker for Elisabeth’s daughter Mae Mobley who is two years old. Aibeleen loves Mae Mobley as if she were hers. Aibeleen lost her son to a horrible accident where he worked. This accident caused Aibeleen a lot of heartache the way her sons company just threw him out of the back of a pick- up truck like a bag of garbage. But when the job of taking care of Mae Mobley came up this helped to ease Aibeleen’s heartache and keep her busy. Elisabeth was cruel to Mae Mobley and this hurt Aibeleen and she tried to encourage Mae Mobley every day. We also met Aibeleen’s friend Minny who also worked as a maid. Minny worked for Elisabeth’s friend Hilly’s mother whose name was Mrs. Walters. That is until Hilly decided to have Mrs. Walters put in an old age home and accused Milly of stealing. Hilly made it very hard for Milly to find another job spreading lies about her stealing things and starving Mrs. Walters. Aibileen helped Milly find another job with Miss. Ceilia and Mr. Johnny. We also met a white lady who was friends with Hilly and Elisabeth named Misss. Skeeter. There was something different about Miss. Skeeter from the start. Skeeter decided to write a book of interviews that portray what life was like for the black maids having to work for the white families. I believe this was Skeeter’s way of trying to get the blacks side of things heard.

"The Short Happy Life of Francis Maromber" Hemingway

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Maramber” By Hemingway


This story was about a man named Francis Maramber and his wife Margot Maramber. The Marriage that was shared by the couple was not a happy one. The couple had many problems, but Francis knew that Margot, his wife, would not leave him, due to him being a very wealthy man and the fact that her beauty was not enough anymore to make her a fortune. The couple decided to go on a hunting safari with a man named Robert Wilson who was a red faced man and a great white hunter. Francis hears a lion roaring all night long and becomes very afraid and agitated with the lions roaring. In the morning at breakfast he begins to ask Wilson a lot of questions concerning how close the lion was to them and what force would be needed to kill the lion. What Maramber does not want anyone to know is that he is terribly afraid of the lion ,he is nothing but a coward. The hunters set out to find the lion and when they find him Maramber shoots him and wounds him . Maramber soon becomes very afraid at the thought of having to go into the thick tall grass to find the lion and finish him off. Francis finds himself so afraid that he runs away toward the pond and Robert Wilson has to finish the lion himself. The only problem is that Francis’s wife Margot sees this and becomes very cold to him even going as far as kissing Robert Wilson on the mouth in front of her husband and later on she sneeks out their tent to share the bed of the great white hunter. The next day they go hunting buffalo Francis does not get scared this time he actually becomes fearless. The change in Francis is very noticeable to everyone including Margot. They soon come to find that the bull is not dead and they have to go in after him to finish him. Just as they drop the bull Francis drops down beside the bull being shot through the back of the head by his wife Margot.

"The Cask of Amontillado "by Poe

“The Cask of Amontillado” By Edgar Allen Poe


I feel the first person point of view made this story affective due to we got to feel and hear with our imaginations what was going on. Poe does not tell us about the details of the narrator’s injuries to keep us guessing on what was going on. Montresor uses reverse psychology on Fourtunato by making him believe that he is his friend and that nothing is wrong. Montresor ends up leading Fortunato to his doom in the catacombs. Fortunato does not have any clue as to what is happening to him, not even when he is trapped in the catacombs does he realize anything is wrong. Montresor is a man of intelligence and mystery. Montresor is a sneaky, liar who pretends to care about his “friend” Fortunato. This story to me was very hard to understand. I am still not sure what amontillado was or why it was mentioned so many times in the story. I tried reading the story and watching the video on you tube I still have no idea what the point of this story was or why Fortunato was killed by his good friend Montressor. Another question I am unable to answer is how do we know the tomb was undisturbed for fifty years? These kinds of stories really are hard to understand ,They are very unclear in the writing and descriptions. The language ran circles in my mind that no matter how many times I tried to read it I still had no clue what was going on.

"The Horse Dealers Daughter" / Lawrence

The Horse Dealer’s Daughter / Lawrence


This story was that of romance between the doctor and the horse dealer’s daughter. The characters included Mabel, Joe, three brothers, the doctor, and Malcolm. The young doctor falls in love with the girl after he watches her at the graveyard and follows her to the pond. The young doctor watches the girl slowly disappear into the dark pond. He goes into the pond still not knowing he loves her but to save her life as a doctor would do. The doctor helps to bring the water out of her body and return the breath to her lips. The doctor then takes her home and strips her down and wraps her in blankets to return warmth to her body still not thinking of him-self. The young doctor soon finds him-self unable to leave her side. There is a power greater than his own holding him mesmerized to stay with her. They soon realize that they want to be together always and are very much in love. This story was very interesting to me. There were a lot of twists and turns involved that led to the characters falling in love. I never seen this coming it was quite a surprise to me. The young girl went from someone who seemed suicidal to someone who fell in love and was able to receive love from a young man. I believe that the doctor saved her life in more ways than just pulling her out of the pond. The Doctor brought her a reason to live by loving her he showed her that there was more to life than the negative. She had lost her mother and she seemed to have lost herself with her. This story was worth reading and held my attention , where a lot of the other stories I found hard to follow and un interesting.

Girl /kincaid

Girl / Kincaid


This story seems to be what an authoritative person might be saying to a young girl. This person could be her mother, grandmother, aunt or so on .I found the fact that she kept calling the girl a slut was a little harsh and offensive. There were a lot of instructions being thrown at the girl all at one time such as the correct way to smile, make the bed, do the dishes, wash the clothes, what to wear and what to say. This story makes me wonder if the story is about the author’s childhood and what she was told growing up. I feel this story may reflect on verbal abuse that the girl received growing up. This story could be the author’s cry for help maybe showing how deep the mental abuse cut into her mind. I find it a little odd that no one in this story had a name used in the story. This seemed more of a list on what not do and what to do rather than a story of fiction. The instructions could be a survival guide to women on etiquette or how to attract a decent man. I am not really sure what to think about this story. I do not understand why the main speaker of the story keeps on telling the girl to avoid acting like or being the slut she knows that the girl is. Is the speaker trying to help the girl or ridicule her? I am not really sure why she treats her so badly. If anyone has a better understanding of what is going on in this story can you please clue me in?

Barn Burning / William Faulkner

Barn Burning/ William Faulkner


I found this story very hard to read. The language was very hard to understand and read. I think the book is about the boy, Colonel Sartoris Snopes. The reason that I think that it is about him is because I believe it is being told in his point of view. I believe Sarty is the central character in this story. I feel that Sarty is the central character due to the problem that he faces with his father. Should Sarty do what is right and turn his father in or continue to help him in burning barns. Sarty’s feelings in the opening paragraphs reveal how he is struggling with what to do. Sarty loves his father and says that any enemy of his father is also his enemy, but at the same time he is struggling with his emotions and doing what is right. Should Sarty turn his Father in or just do as he is told. The purpose of the italicized passages, I believe are to show that the boy is young and to let us know how hard he is struggling on what to do.

Abner’s character is revealed through his actions through an act of vengeance on the one he believed wronged him. Abner was so set in not paying for the damages he caused that he ended up being shot and killed. Abner ended up paying the ultimate price.

The description of Major De Spains house feels the reader in on the fact that he was a rich man that had more than enough and did not care who he hurt if they got in his way he would cause damage to them. He stole the Hog from Sartys Because it broke out. Major De Spain charged him money to get the hog back even though he did not need

O'Connor / Revelation

O’Connor / Revelation


I found Mrs. Turpin was a little too concerned about the different so called classes of people. She calls herself a good Christian woman who works hard and helps anyone she sees no matter what class they were. What Mrs. Turpin failed to realize was that in the eyes of Jesus we are all the same. Jesus does not see color, or clothing styles, or for that matter what we look like or how much money we have. Mrs. Turpin was very condemning upon other people who may not have had the means and up bringing that she had. This attitude makes Mrs. Turpin somewhat of a hypocrite.

At first I respected Mrs. Turpin for the way she treated others. I soon came to realize just how ugly of a person Mrs. Turpin was. She acted as though she could do no wrong but in essence she was judging others and condemning them because of their color or financial status. When I was able to see this side of Mrs. Turpin I did not like her as much as I did in the beginning of the story.

Mary Grace the so called ugly daughter of the so called white trash woman gave Mrs. Turpin a wake- up call. I am not quite sure why it happened the way it did but everything happens for a reason. Mary Grace referred to Mrs. Turpin as an old ugly warthog from Hell I believe she did this to show Mrs. Turpin just how ugly she really was in her thinking. Mrs. Turpin could not get the words out of her mind. She later went to clean the pig parlor and called God out. Mrs. Turpin demanded to know why she was sent this message. God then went forward with a vision of coloreds and white trash going before people of her class. I believe that this finally brought to light why this happened to her.

O'Connor /Good Country People

O’Connor/ Good Country People


I first have to say this story was very hard to follow for me. I am not sure if it was the way it was written or what but I had a really hard time understanding it. I think that Hulga’s conviction that intelligence and education are incompatible with religious faith is just her way of dealing with the way her life turned out. Hulga’s loss of her leg makes her loose touch with reality in my opinion. Hulga even changes her name from a happy name of Joy to something that sounds ugly as Hulga. Hulga feels ugly so therefore wants everything about her to be ugly.

I think that it is important to know that Joy or Hulga as otherwise known has two names to show her struggle and how comfortable she is with her own appearance. With her name being Joy ,one would expect a happy ,comfortable person. With a name like Hulga one does not expect too much .

The term good country folks were used quite often in this story. We are made to believe that the Bible salesman is a good country boy. The Bible Salesman even mentions to Mrs. Hopewelll that he is. He makes up a story about his family and how is father died when he was very young. He said that he was one of twelve children and that his mother worked very hard to provide for them and made sure that they went to bible school every Sunday. We later find out that he is nothing more than a common thief not even a Christian. I am not even sure if he actually sales Bibles. He persuades Hulga into going with him on a Picnic and tells her he loves her. He insists on her showing him how she removes her leg. When she did this he steals her leg and leaves. This to me is a story about deception. This proves to be a classic good versus evil story.

O'Connor A Good Man is Hard to Find

O’Connor portrays the family as an extended family. The family consists of a grandmother, her son, Bailey, His wife and their three children, whose names were John Wesley, June Star and the baby. The thing that I found comical about the family was the children and the way they spoke about their Grandmother. They would tease her about not wanting to miss anything. We are supposed to take the qualities of the grandmother seriously. The Grandmother was always looking for the good in people. I am very shocked by what happens to them in the end of the story. I had thought that the three men were going to help the family fix their car at first. The reason I believed this was the response of the guy who looked at the car and said how long it would take to be fixed. What really struck me was when he had them take Bailey and John Wesley into the woods and shot them. Then he took the Mother, June Star and the baby into the woods and shot them. The Misfit saved the Grandmother for last shooting her three times in the chest. My attitude towards the family remained the same throughout the story. My heart broke as each member of the family was shot, having to hear the gunshot and bear the loss of their loved ones, just knowing they were next.


The Grandmothers concerns about the trip to Florida foreshadow the events in this story because that was her reasoning to not go to Florida. She pretty much begged the family not to go to Florida due to the Misfit being on the loose. Even when they stopped to eat she mentioned the Misfit to the owner of the restaurant. I believe the more you speak about something the more likely it is to happen.

The Grandmother is an older lady who wants to be known as a lady. She has to be dressed proper right down to her hat. She loves her family and wants to spend as much time with them as she can. The Grandmother tends to worry a little too much though and the family gets annoyed with her and even tends to ignore her. O’Connor makes her the central character by her always looking out for the Misfit and just her talking way too much. She ends up being the reason why they meet their demise. She tells a story to the children about a house with a secret passage way and the kids want to see it. Her cat jumps out of the basket and onto Bailey’s shoulder causing him to roll the car.

Hawthorne/ The Birthmark

Hawthorne/ The Birthmark


This story is very true in the way people even today hold beauty in respect. When people can not get past a flaw on a person’s body it is hurtful to the beholder of the imperfection. We can not change the way we are put together. Aylmer took his wife’s imperfection into his own hands, when he probably should have left it alone.

Aylmer is a scientist who thinks he can change his wife’s imperfection. He hates this birthmark so much that it makes him shudder in disgust. Aylmer soon has his wife believing that her birthmark is so hideous that she too begins to hate it. Georgiana soon decides to let Aylmer take a shot at removing her crimson hand birthmark. Georgiana is so in love with Aylmer that she worships the very ground he walks on.

Some may say that Aylmer was an evil scientist with his potions of immortality. Aylmer also had the sidekick of an evil scientist. Together Aylmer and Amnidab his assistant tried to concoct a potion to remove the crimson hand birthmark on Georgina’s cheek . Georgina trusted her husband so much that she was willing to do what ever it would take to remove the hideous crimson hand birthmark from her cheek. Georgina even went as far as to say she did not care if she were to die.

When Aylmer took Georgina to his laboratory he tried to make the apartment, in which Georgina was to be as comfortable as possible for her. I do believe that Aylmer loved Georgina but that the birthmark was too much for him to handle. Aylmer was disgusted so much by the crimson hand birthmark that he could not look at Georgina’s face. What they did not know was that Georgina would die when the birthmark was removed.

Crane/ The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky

Crane / The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky


It seems that in all westerns there is a sheriff, a gunslinger, and a saloon. Usually the sheriff has to fight the gunslinger in a gunfight. I have never seen it though where the Gunslinger went looking for the Sheriff and calling him out to a gunfight was almost as if it was just a game to him.

Marshal Potter feels that he has betrayed his hometown of Yellow Sky By marrying in San Anton and not including the town’s people in his marriage. I believe that he feels a little bit afraid of the towns peoples reaction to the news of his marriage. He feels that his marriage was done in secrecy without any kind of warning to the town’s people. Marshal Potter even compares his marriage to the burning down of the new hotel.

The drummer was a stranger in the town of Yellow Sky who was unaware of what was going on and who liked to talk way too much. The Drummer was asking too many questions and not listening to what he was being told by the bartender about getting behind the bar with him. When the Drummer finally took heed and warning and got behind the bar he realized that it was the safest place to be.

Mrs. Potter ruins Scratchy’s plans by being there in the arms of Marshall Potter and being his wife. Now that Marshall Potter was married, Scratchy could no longer play his game with him out of respect for his new wife. Scratchy however put a damper on Mrs. Potters wedding night with Sheriff Potter and seeing their new home.

I feel that this game between Scratchy and Sheriff Potter went on for years. This was their way of being friends possibly. Maybe a gun fight was just their way to find something to do.

Dubus/ Killings

Dubus/ Killings


I feel that Matt should not have killed Strout. This act of revenge makes Matt no better than Strout. Strout felt that he was justified in killing Frank due to him finding Frank with his wife. Matt felt justified in killing Strout because Frank was his son. The murder of Frank was tearing his family apart. Matt’s wife Ruth could not go out and see her sons murderer and be okay with it, she was torn up inside every time she saw him living his life while her son was buried in the ground.

I had many mixed emotions on what was happening in this story. The first emotion that I can honestly say that I felt was sadness for the family of Frank. I am a parent of two children and I can honestly say that if anyone was to hurt my children I would probably want to see them suffer as well. I understand the pain and confusion that Matt was feeling when they were driving to Strout’s house. Matt wandered if he should just send him away and if that would be enough. I feel that he really did not want to have to kill Strout and that if there was any other way out he would have taken it.

The title of Killings is more appropriate than Killers because neither of the people who committed the murders were actually killers. I feel that the two men who did perform these acts were just ordinary people protecting their families. I do not think they would kill anyone else they had committed crimes of passion on a one time basis.

I was kind of surprised to find out that Matt’s wife Ruth was in on the killing of Strout from the beginning. Ruth wanted to know all the details of how the killing happened. I found that very shocking.

A Rose for Emily

This story was somewhat offensive and hard to understand. I found it very hard to follow. My take on this story is that Emily was a lonely but wealthy woman , who came from money. Her father prevented her from marrying at an early age which led to a long life of lonliness.
Emily was a woman that was sheltered by an over protective father. They did not get along with their family.
They lived alone in a mansion with servants.Emily was respected and cared for by the people. I think they felt sorry for her. Emily was always alone except for when she was to marry a man bamed Homer Barows, whom was a yankee.
Emily did not accept the way the times were changing. An example of this would be the way she would not let the post office attatch a mailbox to her house or she would not pay taxes, the axes were always returned unopened.
I found Emily as someone starved for love and in need of a companion or husband. When I got to the end of the book I was somewhat shocked and horrified to read what was found in a room of her house. The decaying body of Homer Barow.How lonely does this make her seem. She needed love so badly that she kept the body of her husband in a room for the rest of her life.The only people around her was her servants and the Negro man.
Emilys looks were that of pale and dark eyes. Emily had iron gray hair that was still the samewhen she died.The only person around was the negro man when she died. The negro man left never to be seen or heard from again after he left the two women in to tend to the body of Emily.
I am still confused on why this story is called a Rose for Emily. There was never any mention of any roses given to her while she was alive.How can it be called a Rose for Emily when she never recieved one. It seemed as if nothing good ever happened to her either so this just leaves me confused.

Sandra Sebastian english 113

Kate Chopin


The Story of An Hour

I have found this story very confusing. The character of Mrs. Mallard was very confusing in her reactions to her husbands death. Mrs. Mallard seemed to be very hurt and upset by Mr. Mallards passing at first. Then after a few moments she almost seemed as if she was relieved and excited about his death. Mrs. Mallards family was very concerned about how she was going to take the news about Mr. Mallards passing away. They were all concerned about Mrs. Mallards heart problem. They had feared that she would suffer from a heart attack , when she heard the news. When Mr. Mallard walked through the door alive and well they tried to shield Mrs. Mallard from seeing him but it was to late and she died from a heart attack.

Josephine was Mrs. Mallards sister who broke the ad news to her of her husbands passing away. Josephine told Mrs. Mallard In the most gentle comforting way she could so as to not upset her or shock her.

I find Mrs. Mallards character to be someone that may have been abused by her husband but still loved him. The reactions that she showed about his death show all the symptoms of an abused wife. T first she is saddened but then an overwhelming sense of peace and excitement rush over her so much that she lets the words I’m free escape her lips over and over again. I can see how some might interpret Mrs. mallard as a cold uncaring shrew as well. Here we see a woman whos husband just died and she is happy about it. Depending on how you would interpret the story everyone could have a different take on her personality. I myself find her to be an abused woman who is not allowed to live her life freely due to her husbands controlling personality. When she hears of his death this gives her a reason to liveJosephine was Mrs. Mallards sister who broke the ad news to her of her husbands passing away. Josephine told Mrs. Mallard In the most gentle comforting way she could so as to not upset her or shock her.

I find Mrs. Mallards character to be someone that may have been abused by her husband but still loved him. The reactions that she showed about his death show all the symptoms of an abused wife. T first she is saddened but then an overwhelming sense of peace and excitement rush over her so much that she lets the words I’m free escape her lips over and over again. I can see how some might interpret Mrs. mallard as a cold uncaring shrew as well. Here we see a woman whos husband just died and she is happy about it. Depending on how you would interpret the story everyone could have a different take on her personality. I myself find her to be an abused woman who is not allowed to live her life freely due to her husbands controlling personality. When she hears of his death this gives her a reason to live

My first Blog

Hi my name is Sandra Sebastian. I am a wife of 16 years and a mother to two boys. I am enrolled in the speech language pathology program at Caldwell community college. I enjoy reading books about god. The last book that I read was the Bait Of Satan. I think that the reading assignment is to long.