Edna finds Mademoiselle Reisz, probably because she feels that Reisz is also distant in a way from society. When she finds her, she persuades her to give her a letter from Robert. Mademoiselle Reisz plays an Impromptu. The combination of the music and the letter makes Edna cry because she feels Robert's absence very strongly.
I find it interesting that although the Doctor suspects that Edna has a lover or feels that she wants one, he still advises Mr. Pontellier to let her do what she wants and that 'it' will pass. Perhaps he doesn't understand the strength of Edna's feelings (which I doubt) or he feels sympathetic to her.
Edna's father visits too. And then everyone leaves and Edna is happy to be alone.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Awakening 15-19
(I didn't know the word bedlam came from an insane asylum by that name. Footnotes are interesting. I didn't know what the word befurbelowed meant either.)
During the scene where Edna finds out Robert is leaving, the tension at the table is so obvious that it really makes one appreciate the difference between society now and then. Reading this book today, it's obvious what's going on between Robert and Edna (or what will go on) but back then that scene would just be a bit strange, and the one where Robert says goodbye.
Edna also begins to break social conventions in a more noticeable manner, like skipping her reception days. She also displays feelings of resentment against the way she has to live and shows it by stamping on her wedding ring and smashing a vase. Her dislike of being married is made clearer when she visits Madame Ratignolle.
During the scene where Edna finds out Robert is leaving, the tension at the table is so obvious that it really makes one appreciate the difference between society now and then. Reading this book today, it's obvious what's going on between Robert and Edna (or what will go on) but back then that scene would just be a bit strange, and the one where Robert says goodbye.
Edna also begins to break social conventions in a more noticeable manner, like skipping her reception days. She also displays feelings of resentment against the way she has to live and shows it by stamping on her wedding ring and smashing a vase. Her dislike of being married is made clearer when she visits Madame Ratignolle.
Awakening 10-14
Ch 10-14, Ch 15-19, and Ch 20-24
Having now read the entire book, that scene where Edna is really swimming in the water for the first time is much more interesting. It sort of foreshadows the end in a way.
The scene where she refuses to go inside the house when her husband tells her to is interesting because at the end, he does not go in when she asks him if he is going to when she goes in. It makes the whole scene slightly pointless in achievement, but it is the first time Edna really does what she wants to purposefully.
Edna's journey to the island or wherever is one of the weirder parts of the book. It's told in a sort of vague way, as if Edna is dreaming it.
Also: I just realized this about ch 9. The song that Mademoiselle Reisz plays at the end is by Frederc Chopin. Did Kate Chopin choose a composer with the same last name as her for a reason? Maybe to relate Mademoiselle Reisz with her? It's interesting to think about.
Having now read the entire book, that scene where Edna is really swimming in the water for the first time is much more interesting. It sort of foreshadows the end in a way.
The scene where she refuses to go inside the house when her husband tells her to is interesting because at the end, he does not go in when she asks him if he is going to when she goes in. It makes the whole scene slightly pointless in achievement, but it is the first time Edna really does what she wants to purposefully.
Edna's journey to the island or wherever is one of the weirder parts of the book. It's told in a sort of vague way, as if Edna is dreaming it.
Also: I just realized this about ch 9. The song that Mademoiselle Reisz plays at the end is by Frederc Chopin. Did Kate Chopin choose a composer with the same last name as her for a reason? Maybe to relate Mademoiselle Reisz with her? It's interesting to think about.
Friday, 31 October 2008
Awakening 2
A lot of stuff happened and characters were introduced. I like this book, actually. I'm not sure why; it's not my normal type of book. I just think it's interesting.
I thought that the conversation between Madame Ratignolle and Robert was interesting. In class, we learned that how it would be unthinkable for a Creole woman to have an affair. Madame Ratignolle's assumption that Edna could still do this is fairly shocking, then. It shows that Ratignolle, despite being Edna's friend, considers her just an American who wouldn't know any better. While true, it is still not something you'd think your friend would say about you.
I thought that the conversation between Madame Ratignolle and Robert was interesting. In class, we learned that how it would be unthinkable for a Creole woman to have an affair. Madame Ratignolle's assumption that Edna could still do this is fairly shocking, then. It shows that Ratignolle, despite being Edna's friend, considers her just an American who wouldn't know any better. While true, it is still not something you'd think your friend would say about you.
Awakening 1
I could not find any bird imagery, or if there was, I didn't see it.
The only reference to water was that they were on an island at the beach.
Madame Ratignolle is Edna's friend. She is described as a 'mother-woman' and the perfect Creole woman. She has three children and is married. She presumably has a high place in society, being a Creole, but lower than the male Creoles, since that was their society. There is also the 'quadroon' nurse to Edna's children. She has a low place in society. She does not play much of a role.
Of male characters, there are Robert, Mr. Pontellier, Edna's children and X. Robert is Edna's friend. He is 'young'. He talks to her a lot. She spends most of her time with him. He has a high place in society, being a Creole man. Edna is attracted to him. Mr. Pontellier is Edna's husband, with a high place in society. He views Edna as a piece of his property, though he feels that he loves her. Edna does not love him. Occasionally, she feels trapped and constrained by him. Edna's children are her children. Since they are Creoles, they are 'upper class', but being children, aren't exactly part of 'society'. Edna does not obsessively love them. She is fond of them and occasionally both ignores and dotes on them, but does not display the typical Creole overly obsessive love for them.
The only reference to water was that they were on an island at the beach.
Madame Ratignolle is Edna's friend. She is described as a 'mother-woman' and the perfect Creole woman. She has three children and is married. She presumably has a high place in society, being a Creole, but lower than the male Creoles, since that was their society. There is also the 'quadroon' nurse to Edna's children. She has a low place in society. She does not play much of a role.
Of male characters, there are Robert, Mr. Pontellier, Edna's children and X. Robert is Edna's friend. He is 'young'. He talks to her a lot. She spends most of her time with him. He has a high place in society, being a Creole man. Edna is attracted to him. Mr. Pontellier is Edna's husband, with a high place in society. He views Edna as a piece of his property, though he feels that he loves her. Edna does not love him. Occasionally, she feels trapped and constrained by him. Edna's children are her children. Since they are Creoles, they are 'upper class', but being children, aren't exactly part of 'society'. Edna does not obsessively love them. She is fond of them and occasionally both ignores and dotes on them, but does not display the typical Creole overly obsessive love for them.
Lost Brother
Lost Brother
I knew that tree was my lost brother
when I heard he was cut down
at four thousand eight hundred sixty-two years;
I know we had the same mother.
His death pained me. I made up a story.
I realized, when I saw his photograph,
he was an evergreen, a bristlecone like me,
who had lived from an early age
with a certain amount of dieback,
at impossible locations, at elevations
over ten thousand feet in extreme weather.
His company: other conifers,
the rosy finch, the rock wren, the raven and clouds,
blue and silver insects that fed mostly off each other.
Some years bighorn sheep visited in summer—
he was entertained by red bats, black-tailed jackrabbits,
horned lizards, the creatures old and young he sheltered.
Beside him in the shade, pink mountain pennyroyal—
to his south, white angelica.
I am prepared to live as long as he did
(it would please our mother),
live with clouds and those I love
suffering with God.
Sooner or later, some bag of wind will cut me down.
—Stanley Moss
This is a poem about a man (the poet) who heard that a really old tree was cut down. He relates himself to the tree, calling it his lost brother because they had the same mother. The mother that the poet speaks of is 'Mother Earth'. The poet tries to envision the tree's life in order to come to terms with its death. The poet's reference to living as long as the tree is not literal. Presumably, he means that he will live in heaven. 'Suffering with God' is an odd sentence. Perhaps it is because the poet thinks that life is a better place than death in heaven. I like the last line the most because of the phrase 'bag of wind'. It could be a deliberately vague reference to anything that could kill him (this relates to trees because a strong wind will blow a tree down) Additionally, a 'windbag' is a derogatory term for someone who talks a lot about nothing meaningful. It sort of means 'pompous idiot'. Since the poet is presumably a literary, intelligent person, it's sort of funny that he thinks such people will kill him. It could be sort of a veiled insult.
(FYI: I really really really hate poetry. It's just a bunch of words thrown together in an ungrammatical order that can be construed to mean whatever you want it to. A kindgergartner could throw together a string of random words and call it poetry, and if you didn't know who had written it, you would believe that it was real. Poetry is a way of saying what you mean in the weirdest, vaguest, most incomprehensible way possible. It does not appeal to me. I hate being forced to 'understand' something that has been willfully encoded in unsentences and unparagraphs and ungrammar. It's more like decrypting a secret spy-message than reading and appreciating great thoughts and ideas. Therefore, I have an incredibly difficult time writing about poems because I hate them, I don't care about them and the ones on our list are either extra-super-random (or so deep that it is brain-defyingly beyond my ability to comprehend) or too obvious to write much about or just plain weird.)
(Sorry about the rant. I just do not like poetry at all. There is occasionally a phrase or a poem I will enjoy, but 99.9% of the time, I hate poetry.)
I knew that tree was my lost brother
when I heard he was cut down
at four thousand eight hundred sixty-two years;
I know we had the same mother.
His death pained me. I made up a story.
I realized, when I saw his photograph,
he was an evergreen, a bristlecone like me,
who had lived from an early age
with a certain amount of dieback,
at impossible locations, at elevations
over ten thousand feet in extreme weather.
His company: other conifers,
the rosy finch, the rock wren, the raven and clouds,
blue and silver insects that fed mostly off each other.
Some years bighorn sheep visited in summer—
he was entertained by red bats, black-tailed jackrabbits,
horned lizards, the creatures old and young he sheltered.
Beside him in the shade, pink mountain pennyroyal—
to his south, white angelica.
I am prepared to live as long as he did
(it would please our mother),
live with clouds and those I love
suffering with God.
Sooner or later, some bag of wind will cut me down.
—Stanley Moss
This is a poem about a man (the poet) who heard that a really old tree was cut down. He relates himself to the tree, calling it his lost brother because they had the same mother. The mother that the poet speaks of is 'Mother Earth'. The poet tries to envision the tree's life in order to come to terms with its death. The poet's reference to living as long as the tree is not literal. Presumably, he means that he will live in heaven. 'Suffering with God' is an odd sentence. Perhaps it is because the poet thinks that life is a better place than death in heaven. I like the last line the most because of the phrase 'bag of wind'. It could be a deliberately vague reference to anything that could kill him (this relates to trees because a strong wind will blow a tree down) Additionally, a 'windbag' is a derogatory term for someone who talks a lot about nothing meaningful. It sort of means 'pompous idiot'. Since the poet is presumably a literary, intelligent person, it's sort of funny that he thinks such people will kill him. It could be sort of a veiled insult.
(FYI: I really really really hate poetry. It's just a bunch of words thrown together in an ungrammatical order that can be construed to mean whatever you want it to. A kindgergartner could throw together a string of random words and call it poetry, and if you didn't know who had written it, you would believe that it was real. Poetry is a way of saying what you mean in the weirdest, vaguest, most incomprehensible way possible. It does not appeal to me. I hate being forced to 'understand' something that has been willfully encoded in unsentences and unparagraphs and ungrammar. It's more like decrypting a secret spy-message than reading and appreciating great thoughts and ideas. Therefore, I have an incredibly difficult time writing about poems because I hate them, I don't care about them and the ones on our list are either extra-super-random (or so deep that it is brain-defyingly beyond my ability to comprehend) or too obvious to write much about or just plain weird.)
(Sorry about the rant. I just do not like poetry at all. There is occasionally a phrase or a poem I will enjoy, but 99.9% of the time, I hate poetry.)
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
1943
1943
They toughened us for war. In the high-school auditorium
Ed Monahan knocked out Dominick Esposito in the first round
of the heavyweight finals, and ten months later Dom died
in the third wave at Tarawa. Every morning of the war
our Brock-Hall Dairy delivered milk from horse-drawn wagons
to wooden back porches in southern Connecticut. In winter,
frozen cream lifted the cardboard lids of glass bottles,
Grade A or Grade B, while marines bled to death in the surf,
or the right engine faltered into Channel silt, or troops marched
—what could we do?—with frostbitten feet as white as milk.
—Donald Hall
This is a poem about WWII. It is saying that the people prepared for going to war, and died, and for the people back in America, life went on as normal while people died, and they couldn't do anything back home to help stop people dying. This is sort of like today's war, where nobody in America can do much to support the troops besides just saying we support them. In WWII, people collected scrap metal and made clothing and grew vegetables and things for the people fighting. Today, we do not. Also, life continues as normal for us, too, even more than the war in which the poem is about (no rationing or anything). I think it is like this for most wars fought away from the mother country, because the citizens themselves are not in danger. When a war is fought within or very near the borders of the mother country, though, people are more concerned and do more and their lives change.
They toughened us for war. In the high-school auditorium
Ed Monahan knocked out Dominick Esposito in the first round
of the heavyweight finals, and ten months later Dom died
in the third wave at Tarawa. Every morning of the war
our Brock-Hall Dairy delivered milk from horse-drawn wagons
to wooden back porches in southern Connecticut. In winter,
frozen cream lifted the cardboard lids of glass bottles,
Grade A or Grade B, while marines bled to death in the surf,
or the right engine faltered into Channel silt, or troops marched
—what could we do?—with frostbitten feet as white as milk.
—Donald Hall
This is a poem about WWII. It is saying that the people prepared for going to war, and died, and for the people back in America, life went on as normal while people died, and they couldn't do anything back home to help stop people dying. This is sort of like today's war, where nobody in America can do much to support the troops besides just saying we support them. In WWII, people collected scrap metal and made clothing and grew vegetables and things for the people fighting. Today, we do not. Also, life continues as normal for us, too, even more than the war in which the poem is about (no rationing or anything). I think it is like this for most wars fought away from the mother country, because the citizens themselves are not in danger. When a war is fought within or very near the borders of the mother country, though, people are more concerned and do more and their lives change.
Friday, 10 October 2008
Heart of Darkness (Last one)
Basically, Kurtz dies, Marlow goes a little nuts and then talks to the Intended. Kurtz's last words were 'the horror, the horror'. Whatever he actually meant by those words is very unclear. It could be Kurtz's realization of the horror and existence of the darkness and what it has made him do. I don't think he is remorseful or feels guilty at the end. He simply understands what he has done and is maybe afraid of it and what might happen to him now, but I think if given the choice, he would do it again. Marlow is really affected by Kurtz's words and death. He doesn't feel like he fits with normal civilization again because he feels that all the people don't understand the moral danger they are in and don't know, care and understand about the darkness. When Marlow talks to the Intended, this feeling gets worse because the Intended really has absolutely no conception of what the darkness is or means. She thinks she knows Kurtz better than anyone, yet she doesn't know about what he did in the jungle and she probably wouldn't believe it if Marlow told her. That's partly why Marlow lies at the end: he doesn't want to explain what Kurtz became because she wouldn't understand. He also lies because he feels awkward and telling Kurtz's grieving fiancée that he said 'the horror, the horror' about his experiences in the jungle would require explanation and Marlow just wants to leave by that point. In the end of the book, the sailor crew does not care or understand about Marlow's story either, but the darkness is shown to be there and ready to affect them even though they don't know it.
Monday, 6 October 2008
Heart of Darkness (4?)
Marlow talks to the Russian about Mr. Kurtz. Kurtz appears to be a person who has the ability to dominate people with the force of his personality. When Marlow sees Kurtz, he (Kurtz) is dying and frail, but his voice is still powerful. The Russian is surprised that Marlow has not become a worshipper of Kurtz. Marlow does defend Kurtz from the Manager, who says Kurtz (and thus Marlow) is unsound. Kurtz apparently ordered the attack on the boat. He is portrayed as having been consumed with the darkness of the land. The themes of sickness and physical decomposition are shown. The Russian leaves and makes Marlow promise to look after Kurtz.
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Heart of Darkness pgs 42-54
This part continued Marlow's journey in the steamboat down the river. A bunch of natives attacks and some people get killed. They arrive and the harlequin greets them. He's Russian and ran away from home to be on a ship, like Conrad did. Marlow breaks narrative for a bit to say that none of the sailors now can understand the darkness and what he went through because their lives are too regulated and 'civilized'. Kurtz is mentioned a lot. He is portrayed as a 'voice' that speaks and to which others only listen. He is also mentioned as having gotten loads and loads of ivory (fairly and by finding what the native people bury). Despite the fact (or maybe because of) that Marlow knows the rumours of how Kurtz might have done 'unspeakable rituals', Marlow is still interested in meeting Kurtz. The darkness in people and in the land is mentioned a lot. There is a lot of imagery connected to all of this: violent death, isolation, madness. Especially because of the battle scene.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
