Getting Back to the Frame Story

The frame story in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is forgotten for most of the story, but revisited at the end.  It appears that Victor is in dire condition, and shows no sign of wanting to recover.  Walton says, "Behold, on these desert seas I have found such a [friend]; but , I fear, I have gained him only to know his value, and lose him.  I would reconcile him to life, but he repulses the idea," (Shelley, 157).  Walton has longed for companionship for a long time, and he has it taken away nearly right after he found it.  After the crew threatens to mutiny, it becomes clear that Walton with not achieve his dream after all.  But Victor's tale has shown that there could possibly be some value in not pursuing dreams that will inevitably hurt the dreamer and anyone around them.  The ends with Victor's death, and the monster's reaction.  The creation reveals that he was a slave to his impulses, and he too no longer wishes to live.  He promises Walton that we will go into the arctic desert, and allow himself to die.  It is assumed that Walton will return home, to his sister and family, valuing there company and lives much more than he did when he left.

Victor Finally Snaps

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the title character takes on a dramatically different personality throughout the book.  He initially seemed to be a innocent kid with real enthusiasm to experiment and achieve something new.  But this creation would prove to completely kill that Victor.  As more and more of Victor's loved ones die at the hands of his creation, guilt weighs on him heavier and heavier.  After the creation kills his wife on their wedding night, Victor is nearly without any relation in the world.  With this, he attempts to kill the monster at any cost.  Risking his life in a variety of ways, Victor chases the monster throughout the wilderness and to the North Pole.  Once on the boat and recovering, he hears that they my me turning around to avoid a mutiny.  He says to this, "I had determined, if you were going southward, still to trust myself to the mercy of the seas rather than abandon my purpose," (Shelley, 154).  Victor's loneliness has driven him to the point of true insanity, and he no longer cares about anything else in the world outside of the monster's death.

A Near Opposite Scene

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the title character finds himself in a familiar scene with peculiar differences.  It appears that the scene in which Victor is creating a companion for the monster is actually the near exact opposite of the original creation scene.  When originally Victor found that he was excited to endeavor on such a task, and now finds himself distracting himself and delaying.  Victor says, "Sometimes I sat with my eyes fixed on the ground, fearing to raise them, lest they should encounter the object which I so much feared to behold," (Shelley, 120).  This shows fear where there was once confidence and excitement.  Another notable difference between the two scenes is the role of the monster.  Originally Victor was the master over the elements, putting them together in order to grant the monster life.  But in the later scene, the monster had become the master, forcing Victor to give life to another creature.  Obviously another large difference is the fact that he destroyed the second creature, and took pride in this act.  The scenes differ greatly, yet they show an obvious connection.

The Creature Continues to Transform

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the creature continues to evolve to an interesting state.  Throughout his beginnings, the monster deemed docile and peaceful, and simply looking for companionship of anybody that would care for him.  But shortly after exposing himself to and being rejected by the family he thought were so noble, his heart becomes dark.  His immediate thoughts after putting himself out there was, "Cursed, cursed creator!  Why did I live?  Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed?" (Shelley, 97).  The family he had spied on had been put on a pedestal in his mind, they being the family that might be able to accept him.  But with their rejection and fear, he began to question the purpose of his life.  He soon realized that he needed some form of companionship, but would be unable to find it through a human.  His darkness continues as he kills Victor's little brother in order to attract him to his home town.  The monster that threatens that the brother will only be the first of his victims if he was not granted a partner.  When he was not, he indeed does follow through and kills Victor's best friend and his wife.  This rejection has twisted the monster's mind into the school of thought that violence is the superior way to achieve one's goals.

An Ironic Reaction

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the family the creature stalks has a rather ironic reaction when he reveals himself to them.  Through the observation of the family and their treatment of Safie, the creature believes he has a small chance of being accepted.  It is revealed that the family has experienced the pain and hurt of rejection by all society.  The De Laceys used to be a well esteemed family, but after an event things changed.  "They remained confined for five months before the trial took place; the result of which deprived them of their fortune and condemned them to a perpetual exile from their native country," (Shelley, 89).  This family has had exile thrust upon them, and it would be thought they would understand a similar creature.  Upon talking only to the blind father of the family, the creature finds encouraging words that make him feel a little bit better.  The father says if the family is good, they will take him in regardless of looks.  But upon the seeing children's return, the creature was beaten and feared until he left.  The family then proceeded to leave the area altogether.  This is counter to what most people, including the monster, would believe they would do, as the family had been through similar circumstances.

Quite a Transformation

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, an extremely unexpected twist occurs.  After the death of William and execution of Justine, Victor feels overwhelmed with guilt.  He believes that his monster was the one who caused the deaths, and thus he took full responsibility mentally.  In order to try and find peace, he set out for the mountains, where we was relatively relaxed until he saw a figure sprinting towards him.  It was his creation, who appeared to have developed an incredible amount since being released two years ago.  The monster now has a full understanding and ability to use the English language, and was able to appeal to Victor's reason when Victor tried to attack.  The monster said, "You accuse me of murder, and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature," (Shelley, 69).  Through some circumstance, he has become a highly intelligent and well-read individual, referencing many stories and the Bible as he told his story.  The creature reveals that in his time, he discovered certain concepts, such as heat, night, and rejection from villagers.  He begins to spy on a family once he has found a hovel for himself, and begins to understand language and reading.  The beast considers these people his friends, yet they have never known he existed.  He feels a strong desire to reveal himself to the family, and possibly through the use of language convince them that he is not a monster.

A Very Dangerous Road to Go Down

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the title character begins down a mental path that is very dangerous.  After his creation receives life, it leaves Frankenstein's house.  The mentally put Victor out of any responsibility of the monster.  He went to school to learn for the sake of learning and was leading a relatively care free life with his friend Clerval.  But after two years he receives a letter, informing him that his brother has been murdered.  He immediately rushes home, only to spot the monster and immediately know that it is the killer.  However, the families adopted child, Justine, is tried and killed as the murderer.  Victor internally blames himself for all these deaths, along with the sadness he thinks he has brought upon the family.  He thought, "From the tortures of my own heart, I turned to contemplate the deep and voiceless grief of my Elizabeth.  This also was my doing!  And my father's woe, and the desolation of that late so smiling home..." (Shelley, 60).  Victor has mentally started down a dark road, claiming responsibility for the monster he created and abandoned.  This will likely lead him to pursue interaction with the beast, which could be dangerous.  His guilt could lead him to do something very destructive, such as chase the monster to the North Pole.

A Very Good Friend

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the title character reveals that after his creation gets away, he falls into a mild state of depression.  He is disinterested in the science that he had devoted his life and health to for the last two years.  But immediately upon success, he became scared of his creation.  As he fled his home and waited for the monster to leave, he ran into Henry Clerval.  Henry was a childhood friend who was always a very nice person, and very outgoing.  Throughout Victor's sickness, Henry provided him with the best heath care possible.  Clerval sacrificed much of his free time and ability to experience his new college campus in order to take care of his friend.  Clerval provided a person that kept Victor company and allowed him to heal emotionally and physically from the stress of creating the creature.  Although Clerval seems to be his best friend, Victor claims he, "could never persuade [himself] to confide to [Clerval] that event which was so often present to [his] recollection," (Shelley, 43).  This lack of ability to open up about an extremely traumatic event will likely lead to ongoing mental problems.  This unhealthy state could be one of the many reasons he seems to be in such bad shape when he is found by Robert, and why he always looks back onto the events that have transpired with a sense of doom.

A Story Seemed Doomed From the Start

In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the story is told through an interesting point of view.  The title character takes over narration beginning in chapter one, and he constantly eludes to the fact that his destiny was a bad one.  When the reader is introduced to a new character, it is almost always met with the same explanation at some point.  He claims that if the meeting had been avoided, he could have avoided the awful fate that he eventually met.  As the narrator, he seems to be looking back on the story and wishing he could change just one part of it, so the ordeal would never happen.  Another common theme he discusses is his destiny.  As he tells the story, he says he was doomed from the start, and his fate was set to be painful.  He says things such as, "Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction," (Shelley, 23).  Victor as the narrator is a very remorseful and regretful person.  He wishes nothing more than to prevent the events that have ruined his life, but his only power now is to recount the woeful story.

Not Quite What Was Expected

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, there are many events that go against the stereotypical story line of Frankenstein.  The most notable of misnomers about the story is who is Frankenstein.  While many people think the monster is Frankenstein, the creator is actually the title character.  Shelley's work focuses much more on Victor Frankenstein's life, and his path toward eventually bringing life to a sum of dead body parts.  He appears at first to be a likable man who is unable to find friends or support for his beliefs.  He desires to do something that nobody in the world has ever done before.  In American folklore, Victor is extremely proud of his creation, and laughs as it is struck by lighting, bringing it to life.  In the American classic however, he eludes to the fact that this was a bad idea, and immediately after he subtly slips "a spark of being" into the monster, he released he regretted it.  Victor said, "...but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart," (Shelley, 35).  The creator ran away from his creation twice, and showed that he wanted nothing to do with it after it became apparent he had succeeded in bringing it to life.  With these and other differences present  it is necessary for the reader to go into the story with a fresh mind.  Folklore has made portions of this novel much more spectacular than they really are, and a biased reader could lose some of the meaning of the story if they only focus on the widely known and rather inaccurate events.

The Poor Son

In Larry Rottmann's APO 96225, a son is writing home to his mother.  His mother begs him to tell her every detail, yet he continues to write shallow letters that don't really mean much.  Upon continual urging of his mother, he finally gives in.  He tells about how he killed a man and helped kill women and children.  This prompted his father to write "Please don't write such depressing letters.  You're upsetting your mother," (Rottmann, 846).  This situational irony is humorous, but in a sad way.  At the end, the son reverts back to his shallow letters that don't quite tell the whole story.  This exemplifies the attitude of the Vietnam War in America at that time.  Many people wanted to know about the goings-on, but when they heard the truth it was so disturbing they preferred ignorant bliss.  The speaker seems a little resentful of the war as well.  He writes this as though the son is frustrated with the situation, but trying to make the people he cares about happy.

Craziness Is Good

In Emily Dickinson's Much Madness is divinest Sense, the speaker discussed the theme of craziness.  This is not necessarily insanity, but more the craziness a mad scientist possesses.  "Much Madness is divinest Sense- To a discerning Eye," (Dickinson, 830).  In this passage, she explains that it takes a wise person to realize that craziness is a good thing.  She goes onto say that the majority of people think it is dangerous.  They see it as a threat to themselves, and feel as if they need to take action.  The powerful majority will condemn any person who has a viewpoint different from their own.  Dickinson says they will be shunned and put in chains.  This shows that sometimes, the majority is not correct.  Usually, any person who is crazy enough to break the mold is ridiculed, yet sometimes they are later held as some of the greatest geniuses of all time.

What a Strange Funeral

In Emily Dickinson's I felt a Funeral, in my Brain the narrator tells of a very strange event.  The speaker describes a scene that is similar to a funeral.  There is one sense that is extremely central to the poem.  Hearing is referenced several times throughout the work.  The speaker would things like, "Kept beating-beating-till I thought my mind was going numb-" (Dickinson,776).  This likely is the pounding sensation one gets when they have a throbbing head ache.  She describes the events of the funeral, but she appears to be inside the coffin.  As they bury her, the noice gets louder until it is as if all of heaven is yelling at her.  Finally it all goes quite, and she says she is finished knowing.  This likely means the woman has gone crazy.  The head ache that caused the ringing sound drove her to an insane state that she was not able to return from.

The Strangest Man Ever

Herman Melville's Bartelby, the Scrivener followed the strange encounter between a lawyer and his employee.  The speaker seems to be a relatively normal lawyer of the time.  He prefers to tend things that did not involve a lot of human interaction, and his employees seem to indicate that he is alright with mediocrity.  But a new person is hired in the office, his name being Bartleby.  This new employee seem to have nearly no social skills, and is unable to function in a normal work environment.  Yet this employee is able to manipulate the speaker into letting him live at the office and do literally no work.  Bartelby simply would use the same phrase that enabled him to do or not do whatever he wanted, "I would prefer not to," (Melville, 650).  After going to extremes to get rid of Bartelby, like move his offices, he realized that he misses Bartelby for whatever reason.  Bartelby seems to mirror the speaker, as there was never a family mentioned or any activity other than work.  Through Bartelby similarity to the speaker, the speaker feels sympathy for Bartelby, and tries to protect him from the outside world.  Bartelby eventually dies in prison, which could symbolize that the speakers will die alone too.

The Sad Case of Miss Brill

In Katherine Mansfield's Miss Brill, the title character seems to be in a rather pathetic and sad state.  She goes to the park every Sunday, as a tradition, and simply watches the people.  She observes random interactions throughout the park, and even has a band to animate the actions with music.  But as the story goes on, it is apparent that this woman is in a lonely state of mind the forces her to look for some kind of companionship.  She mentally tried to convince herself that she belonged to the community when she compared them to an acting company.  She even thought to herself, "No doubt somebody would have noticed if [I] hadn't been there; [I] [am] part of the performance after all," (Mansfield, 185).  She is desperate to create the illusion for herself that people want her around.  She always takes a fur coat that still has the eyes of the animal, and talks to it as if it is a member of the audience.   Towards the end, she overhears two teenagers talking about how sad and weird she looks.  This prompts her to leave, pass her favorite bakery, and cry in her home.  Miss Brill wanted desperately to belong to the imaginary acting company, but she was stuck being part of the audience.

Completely Opposite of the Last Post

In John Donne's Death, be not proud, the narrator takes a superior position over death.  He begins his verbal attack of death by saying "Death, be not proud, though some have callèd thee mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; for those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me," (Donne, 971).  The narrator says the death is a weak a pathetic being that has no real power.  He claims that death is not able to touch him, let alone take him.  He goes on to explain that through actions of their own, humans bring destruction upon themselves before death is able to.  Devices like poison, war, and sickness are some of the examples that humans invented that do death's job.  The author shows brashness when he says these devices can bring death upon mankind better than death himself can.  The author clearly has no fear of thoughts about death, and readily challenges it.  The poem concludes with the author claiming that after death comes eternal life, and that is where death shall die.  The author takes comfort in the idea that  the afterlife will grant him eternal life, and in so becomes overly confident in his ability to beat dearth.

Just like Survivor

In Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas, the narrator seems to be actively fighting death.  Similar to the torches in the tv show Survivor, light in this poem represents their life.  The author states death as the fading of light, which most men should struggle with all their might to avoid.  He goes through individual categories of men that would likely be alright with death, or at least not terrified of it.  Yet he finds a reason that all these men should fight death.  He constantly claims that their work is not done on earth yet, and they would be best suited to stay a while longer.  This could be from a sense of himself not being satisfied with his own deeds in life.  His regrets lead him to urge other men to stay and make sure they are leaving nothing behind.  He ends nearly all the stanzas with "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," (Thomas, 968).  The narrator is truly scared of his light going out, and attempts to find security in other people wanting the same thing.

A Sad Way to Look at Autumn

In the one and only William Shakespeare's That Time of Year, the topic of death is emphasized in the changing of the seasons.  He only focuses on the death of the season, stating that the leaves are ugly and dying.  He is not at all romanced by the beauty of the colors or the changing of seasons.  He then goes into how the nights are much more bitter in the fall and winter.  He says death consumes all after sunset, and that is where the ashes of his youth lie.  Yet he states one redeeming quality about the bitterness of autumn.  He eludes to a strengthening of emotions when he says "This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong, to love that well which thou must leave ere long," (Shakespeare, 967).  This statement communicates that love that is able to weather the changing of the seasons, and the idea of death, is able to be strengthened.  It seems that the author likely was very disenchanted with the idea of death, and saw it in very unfortunate places, like autumn.  But the final passage eludes to his idea that there could be good that comes from death.

Rumor Has It by Faulkner

In William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily, the story has a very unique point of view.  It is told through basically the rumors of the other people in the town.  It is divided into five random yet important stories that have likely been pasted around the town by gossipers.  The stories paint the picture of Emily has a shut-in who may possibly be crazy.  As the gossip continues, Emily seems more and more crazy.  After her father's death, she was unwilling to give up the body until force was about to be used.  The author eludes to this being the first of many crazy events involving her, as he writes, "We did not say she was crazy then," (Faulkner, 285).  The gossip also seems to include the strange way she would interact with other people.  She repeatedly said she didn't have to pay taxes until she didn't, and she was able to get rat poison by simply starring at the druggist.  This woman seemed unable or unwilling to develop any human relationship, and the one time she did she killed the man and regularly slept next to his dead body.  Emily was unable to move past anything in her life, and she ultimately died having lived a life without very much development.

Happy Hunger Games

In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, the drawing is actually a very undesirable thing to win.  It ultimately concludes with the stoning of one of the members of the village.  It seems to originally have been a human sacrifice ritual that would bring a healthy harvest that year, but this is no longer the connotation of the ritual.  The lottery is done simply because nobody questions the tradition.  The atmosphere of the lottery seemed very similar to the drawing from The Hunger Games.  The villagers were bound by tradition to act as if they are totally comfortable with this practice, and nobody feels fit to speak out against it.  It is simply something that must be done, like going into work.  The narrator eludes to the fact that they are all hesitant to be there but still feel obligated when she says, "Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes.  They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed," (Jackson, 264).  All the villagers seem to be on edge, but they all only want a distraction, not a protest against the practice.  In the end, one person is selected to pay the ultimate price, and though everyone may feel some sorrow, nobody will attempt to change anything.  As in The Hunger Games, the population is simply subject to a tradition they may not be comfortable with, but are very unwilling to change.

The Family as the Glass Menagerie

Tennessee Williams uses symbolism a large amount in The Glass Menagerie.  While the glass symbolizes Laura's paralyzing social standing, it also symbolizes the family's structure.  The family originally seemed to be an average family with normal problems, but upon further examination, it is quite the opposite.  Amanda is constantly nagging her child in an attempt to prevent them from making the same mistakes she did, but this only drives them away from her.  The atmosphere of the house is always full of tension, as Amanda and Tom seem to be ready to fight at any moment.  Laura's inability to function as an adult on a social level simply frustrates the other two, which only adds more tension.  Tom's father also proved to be a large contributor to the delicate nature of the family.  Tom tortured Amanda by going out and drinking every night  and constantly threatening to leave, like his father did.  Tom ultimately decides to leave the family, but discovered he cared for them more then he thought, "Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!" (Williams, 1289).  This family took a situation that was unfortunate, and instead of making it better, seemed to look for ways to make it worse.  They tore each other apart emotionally  and retrospectively could not possibly hope to exist as a functional family.

Laura is a Piece of Glass

One of the characters in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie seems to be incredibly strange.  She plays a unique role, as kind of a break for fighting but also a cause of intense frustration for both Tom and Amanda.  Through the obnoxious care given to her by her family, mainly her mother, she is unable to improve the little social skills she has.  She has become more similar to the pieces of glass that she plays with than an adult.  She is unable to have adult relationships with other people, and she often tries to find her way out of social situations.  She also shows she absolutely needs order and peace in her world in order to function.  At one point during an argument between Amanda and Tom, Tom inadvertently breaks several of her figures.  Instead of being angry, she reacts with objective sorrow, and the next more tells Tom to "Make up with her, apologize, speak to her!" (Williams, 1249).  Laura's level of function, although very low already, is greatly hindered when there is some kind of disturbance.  Her family has truly emotionally crippled her beyond repair, and it seems she will never be able to pull herself to a normal level of social acceptance.

Nearly as Dysfunctional as the Lohans... Nearly

Tennessee Williams introduces us to among the most dysfunctional families imaginable in The Glass Menagerie.  It begins with Amanda, the mother of the other two children.  She seems unable to live in the present, always eluding to her past and worrying about if her children will make the same mistakes she did, she as marrying the man she did.  She has obviously kept his picture above the fireplace either as a painful reminder of her mistakes or as a desperate hope that one day it will seem she did the right thing.  Her daughter, Laura, is completely unable to be in any kind of social situation due to the smothering care of her brother and mother.  This has left her unable to get a job, and thus car for herself.  Her family is aware of her condition, but unwilling to help her, as noted when Tom said, "Laura seems all those things to you and me because she's ours and we love her.  We don't even notice she's crippled anymore," (Williams, 1260).  Tom is simply another story.  Tom has grown bitter toward his entire situation, and feels he is entitled to a life of freedom and adventure.  This desire, coupled with the frustration his mother causes him, forces him to walk out on his family.  This action shows Tom has eroded into a cold man whose family is dead to him.

Tom's Unique Role as the Narrator

Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie is told from an extremely unique and unusual perspective.  He is an omniscient narrator, but in a mildly different respect.  Because this is a memory play, he is telling you a past event as it had happened too him, but has since past.  Because he is telling us the story, his memory has been altered and warped by certain thoughts and emotions.  He directly alludes to the fact that he is completely controlling the reader's view of the story when he said, "Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve.  But I am the opposite of a stage magician.  He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth.  I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion." (Williams, 1236).  Oftentimes memory can be screwed, and not recalled exactly as it happened.  A situation sometimes seems more intense looking back, and as Tom says, many memories are accompanied with music.  This is likely because, and this principle is certainly applied in this story, memories are made to fit our context of them.  They may only include details that are favorable to the speaker's point, while never including the entire situation.  Some of the arguments that take place are likely exaggerated, and his sister's shyness may also be an object of strong embellishment.  Many other aspects of the story are likely also left out, in an attempt to justify this tale in Tom's mind.

What an Awful Analogy

In Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, the main character and narrator, Tom, seems to resent his situation.  He constantly is at odds with his mother, Amanda, and doesn't seem to have anyone to help him deal with his feelings and emotions.  His sister, Laura, has the emotional capacity of a small child, and his best friend is a coworker he barely knows from high school.  His father, whose portrait hangs above the fireplace, left the family to explore the world.  Instead of resentment for his father, Tom actually seems to admire that course of action, and commonly contemplates and romanticizes excepting the house.  This is shown in the line, "You know it don't take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, Laura.  But who in the hell ever got himself out of one with removing one nail? (As if in answer, the father's grinning photograph lights up.)" (Williams, 1249).  His sentence makes the coffin a symbol for his situation, as the one his father had once been in to a decree.  It is rather easy to get into a situation of unhappiness and resentment, but only an intelligent man can recognize they need to get out.  As if to show that Tom idealized his father's choice to leave, the light flips on after the comment was made.  This could also act as foreshadowing, as Tom may be inclined to follow his father's path.

A Strained Relationship

In Robert Hayden's Those Winter Sundays, the author describes a scene that is mildly familiar.  From his initial description, it appears he lives alone with his father.  His father seems to be a hard-working provider, but not the most approachable of guys.  He seems like a good man, heating the house early on Sunday and even cleaning the good shoes of his son, but there does not seem to be a lot of communication or actual interaction between the two.  The author basically states they don't speak often, saying, "No one ever thanked him," (Hayden).  This lack of an actual relationship between the two likely resulted in loneliness from both of them.  The final line suggests that they both love each other and are lonely, but don't quite know how to properly express it.  This is a familiar circumstance, as many sons have trouble communicating and sharing their thoughts and feelings with their dads.  Though usually a relationship can exist, it would usually be a shallow one that involves little deep thought.  The circumstance of this story is an extreme, but still a common example of father-son relationships.

What a Meal

In Elaine Magarrell's The Joy of Cooking, the author seems to be a very disturbed individual.  The story is a simple manual on how to properly prepare the author's sister's tongue and her brother's heart for consumption.  Her tone throughout the entire piece is surprisingly calm and indifferent.  She acts as if she is simply preparing a meal like any other, instead of on involving her siblings' body parts.  These weird images could be symbols for the personalities of the siblings however.  The brother's heart could represent a caring and kind personality, which is used by the author.  On the same token, the sister's tongue could mean her social activities and gossip, which the author could also manipulate.  It is suggested that the sister has possibly gotten hurt before, in the line "Best with horseradish and economical- it probably will grow back," (Magarrell).  This could mean the sister is willing to come back and get used again.  Following this symbolism, another aspect of the author's personality is revealed.  The author seems to be a cold and mechanical person who is willing to use her siblings for her own personal gain.  In a very disgusting way, she has revealed herself to be a bad person.

An Interesting Family

In Frank O'Connor's The Drunkard, the plot focuses on the actions of a dysfunctional father toward his family.  The father seems to have struggled with alcoholism for a very long time, and after the death of a friend, spirals down the path again.  His face is quickly associated around down with being drunk and poor.  As the narrator's mother tried to prevent her husband from drinking by using her son as a brake, the narrator was forced to eventually wind up in a bar with his father.  In an act of boredom and curiosity, before his father was able to take his first drink, the narrator swipes it from the father and drinks it to the point of drunkenness.   After the child becomes apparently sick from the drink, throwing up all over the place, his father obviously is extremely embarrassed and is forced to take the child home.  Upon their arrival, the immaturity of the father is shown by his complaining about how he should be pitied because his night was ruined.  The irony of the story is delivered the next morning.  The narrator is awakened by his mother, who then says, "'My brave little man!...  It was God did it you were there.  You were his guardian angel.'" (O'Conner).  This is counter intuitive, as many parents would scold their children for such an act.  Yet this child's drinking has forced his father to evaluate the hazards of drinking.

What a Creepy Fairy Tale

Nadine Gordimer uses many elements in Once upon a Time to make it seem as though it is a fairy tale.  The initial set up is very much like a fairy tale, with the characters introduced seem to be living a stereotypical perfect life.  The phrasing of the first line seems to obviously reference fairy tales, beginning, "In a house, in a suburb, in a city, there were a man and his wife who loved each other very much and were living happily ever after," (Gordimer).  They have a secure gated community, a big house with a security system, and trusted people as their cleaning crew.  But under the urging of the husband's mother, who is always referred to as the wise old witch,  and the pressure of the rest of the neighborhood, the family began to fear the horror of the rioters on the outskirts of town and the homeless people that lived around the area.  As the family eventually buys the best security system they have observed in their neighborhood, the comparison of the story to a fairy tale becomes immense.  Many fairy tales have involved witches convincing good people to lock themselves in a tower and separate themselves from the world.  The security system was even named "Dragons Teeth", which is also usually part of the witch's tower story line.  The story ultimately ends in a sad and shocking irony.  Though they built their walls high and installed the best system to keep the rioters out and protect their family, these things actually brought about the death of their son.  This represents the cruelest of dark irony, as the family's fear of their son getting hurt bring their son to death.

A Very Curious Path

In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path, the plot follows the interesting journey of a quirky old woman.  It starts out almost humorously, presenting the image a woman with a cane wandering through a mysterious forest.  This woman frequently speaks to herself as she progresses, making jokes about various things and recounting events that had happened in a certain spot.  The mental stability of this woman is called into question various times, the first of which is when she first stops to take a rest.  She observes a "little boy [bringing] her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it... "That would be acceptable," she said.  But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air," (Welty).  She goes onto to have another interaction like this, where she falls and sticks her hand in the air, expecting somebody to help her to her feet.  As she arrives into town and moves toward her destination, a new question is introduced.  She goes to a hospital or doctor's office to get medicine for her grandson, whose throat is not well.  Some of her comments, along with the disturbing fact that he swallowed lye as a child, lead the reader to think the grandson may have died, and the grandma is not over it yet.  But the focus of the story is not if the grandson is deceased, it is the amount of hardship Phoenix is willing to take in order to take care of him.  She never once hesitates or thinks about no completing her task, because to her its just something that comes with loving her grandson.

Point of No Return (not by Kansas)

In Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, there is an ominous moment where everyone seems to have reached a point of no return. It becomes obvious that Beneatha and George are not compatible. Beneatha is frustrated with George's riches, and feels more drawn to Asagai's exoticness. The entire family feels they are forced into a potentially bad situation in their new house. The neighborhood offered to buy them out of the house, and they were warned by a man that things may get violent if they decide to stay. The most notable point of no return that was passed was the one by Walter. He gives the large amount of insurance money to a shady man in order to start a liquor store. Walter realizes that all his money is gone when another associate tells him, saying "Gone,what you mean Willy is gone? Gone where? You mean he went by himself. You mean he went off to Springfield by himself- to take care of getting the license..." (Hansberry, 126). He is in disbelief, but he realizes deep down that he his made a dire mistake. Eventually, all the problems work themselves out, and the characters find pride in their being themselves. They find there was never a point of no return, and they were always able to change things and save themselves.

The Sunny Slums of South Chicago

The setting in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is one of the most influential aspects of the story.  Many parts of the setting affect the plot in different ways.  The time period plays a large impact in the later developments of the story.  African Americans were still being treated harshly, even in the northern part of America, which likely led to their low social status.  They do menial jobs for rich white people who oppress them from social advance meant.  Another large factor in the setting in the location of the entire play.  The characters often are at odds with each other, and this can partially be attributed to the small space they all live in.  The room is a beaten up old living room, described as, "Weariness has, in factm won in this room. Everything has been polished, washed, sat on, used, scrubbed toooften.  All pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of this room," (Hansberry, 23-24).  This opening description shows that the room is tired, which could suggest everyone in it is also tired.  They are ready for the glamorous world of riches that they believe will come with their money.  The frustration of the characters at their current residence is exemplified by their excitement to abandon it and move to a place they believe will bring them happiness.  In the end, they ultimately find that their happiness comes from their pride, not their residence or social status.

Under Pressure

In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, many characters are easily influenced into conforming to the desires of the outside world.  Some things are small things, like when Beneatha cuts her hair in order to satisfy her boyfriend.  She initially believed this was a good idea, but upon ridicule from her family and her other boyfriend, she conformed again to their ways.  Another example is Walter's sheer willingness to conform to the romantic image of being rich.   He was willing to risk all the money they had, including the money designated for Beneatha's medical schooling, in a business deal with people that seemed like they were shady.  Under the pressure of society, he gave in and decided to chase the dream of improving his life in a quick and exorbitant manner.  The most notable case of pressure is not when someone conforms, but when someone must make a move to try to save her family.  Mama believes that by buying this new, nicer house,  she will unite the family, and ultimately save them from breaking up.  She reveals her motives when she says, "I-I just seen my family falling apart today... just falling to pieces in front of my eyes... we couldn't of gone on like we was today.  We was going backwards 'stead of forwards- talking 'bout killing babies and wishing each other was dead... When it gets like that in life- you just got to do something different, push on out and do something bigger... (She waits) I wish you say something, son... I wish you'd say how deep inside you you think I don't the right thing-" (Hansberry, 94).  Mama would likely used the money for something else, but due to the fighting she believes will tear the family apart, she is forced to buy the new house.  Mama likely believes that by lifting the family out of the house that is practically falling apart around them, she will raise their state of minds above what they were then.

The Great Generational Gap

In Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, the views of Mama on many issues vary greatly from the views of her children, the new generation.  Mama seems to be content with where she is, never asking for too much of anything.  She would definitely take advantage of an opportunity when it presented itself, like buying the nicer house, but not willing to go out and try to make her own luck.  Her children are an entirely different case, especially Walter.  Walter, and to a certain degree Beneatha too,see happiness as lots of money and a high social status.  Walter eventually becomes consumed with a deal that seemed too good to be true, and as it turns out, he lost all the money in the investment.  But in the interim when he feels he has found his fortune, he becomes a new man, filled with happiness and friskiness.  Beneatha dreams of being a doctor, which pays considerably well and is an extremely prestigious job, especially for an African American woman.  Mama speaks out against these delusions about happiness multiple times throughout the story, saying, "So now it's life.  Money is life.  Once upon a time freedom used to be life- now it's money.  I guess the world really do change..." (Hansberry, 74).  This statement reveals that Mama's view of the problems and worries of her children is that they are nominal.  At the age Mama was fighting for freedom and decent social standing, her children fight for money that will not ultimately bring them happiness.

Walter vs. Beneatha

In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, two of the main characters seem to clearly contrast each other.  These siblings, Walter and Beneatha, having conflicting views on many issues and chose to view situations in a very different manner.  Beneatha is extremely motivated by the new roles she believes African Americans and women are going to play in society.  She is also rather social status conscience, yet down-to-earth in a respectable manner.  Beneatha openly admits she will not marry a man that does not make her happy, even if he is rich, which was a very odd idea for the time.  Her brother, Walter, views the world differently.  He sees it foolish to waste such an opportunity for money, which in his mind would lead to happiness.  Walter is also rather resistant to change in society overall, as he asks Beneatha, "Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor?  If you so crazy 'bout messing 'round with sick people- then go be a nurse like other women- or just get married and be quiet..." (Hansberry, 38).  Walter seems bitter about not being anything important at the beginning of the story, and thus finds comfort in making other people stay in their designated stereotype.  It is a wonder how Beneatha can be such a activist and into new ideas while Walter is stubborn and set in the ways of the world, and they be siblings raised in the same home.  This contrast continues throughout the story, and seems to ebb and flow as the plot progresses.

A Very Familiar Scene

Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies begins with a scene many of us have been in.  This story seems to almost poke fun at the frantic American scene of a family forces to be with each other.  The two parents or notably immature, as Mr. Kaspi first noticed "that they were very young, perhaps not even thirty" (Lahiri).  The family bickers over silly things, such as taking a small child to the bathroom.  They constantly seem to be at odds with one another, fighting and frantically barking orders to each other.  The father of the family seems overly intrigued with the romance of Mr. Kaspi's other job, being a translator.  The father indulges in the stories of his clients, but Kaspi feels his career is a failure.  This could symbolize that sometimes the romance of an idea to somebody isn't so romantic to everybody.  The end was an interesting one, as a child wanders of and is attacked by monkeys, forcing the parents to try to help until Mr. Kaspi steps in.  In all this commotion, the paper with his address flies away in the breeze, further complicating the matter.

An Interesting Split

In Alice Walker's Everyday Use, the narrator is the mother of two very different girls.  The mother seems to be a humble, hard-working individual who can appreciate the little things in life.  One of her daughters, Maggie, has stayed with her and taken after her.  Maggie is a quiet simple girl, who likes things to remain the way they are.  The two are the type of people that are able to "[sit] there just enjoying, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed," (Walker).  Her sister is extremely different from this personality.  Dee is very self-involved, and into high fashion and personality.  The story portrays her and this whole way of life as sad and too fast to be enjoyable.  This is exemplified when Dee is denied the quilt her grandmother made because she wanted to hang it up.  The mother believed Maggie would better appreciate the quilt, as it was made for everyday use.

The Poor Mr. Z

In M. Carl Holman's Mr. Z, the main focus of the poem is in an unfortunate situation.  He has been told throughout his life he is inferior simply because of his mother's skin color.  He struggled to find his place, as both the black and white culture didn't want him.  He worked hard to break the racial rules and move up in the world, but it seemed like he was always unable to do so.  Changing his diet and behavior to conform with the practices of white culture allowed him to gain some respect, but not enough to be considered an equal.  He further isolated himself when he married a Jewish girl.  This girl also seems to be of mixed descent, being both Jewish but Episcopalian.  It seems as if every aspect of this man's life has been a fight to be accepted as normal, but he cannot achieve this with black blood in him.  The saddest part was the end, when it was said he was "One of the most distinguished members of his race" (Holman).  This shows that no matter what he did, he was always going to simply be identified by the color of his skin.

Rhetorical Question

In Langston Hughes' Dream Deferred, he uses a lot of rhetorical questions to make the reader think.  Many of the initial choices presented seem to be disgusting ends to the life of a dream.  But when he says, "or crust and sugar over- like a syrupy sweet?" (Hughes) he adds a new idea.  Could the dreams die and there be something positive or good that comes from it?  If an idea was a good initial idea, and possibly led to good actions, then it should be considered good even though it was not completely followed through with.  Some dreams, though, could lead to bitterness and regret.  If a dream is not properly gone after, the dreamer could think about their mistake for the rest of their lives, as the regret slowly dies with them.  Another thought is that it could possibly be literally a dream while one sleeps.  The dream could be one that is very bad, and after the sleeper is awake he continues to think about the dream until it slowly dies.  Yet some dreams could be pleasant, and as the sleeper awakes he may be glad or peaceful about the dream.

Colloquialism

In Katharyn Machan's Hazel Tells LaVerne, the slang of the narrator plays a large role in the story.  Her slang makes her out to be a uneducated working woman, likely black.  Phrases such as, "an i hitsm with my mop an has ta flush..." (LaVerne) really communicate the personality of the narrator.  She also seems to not have had the opportunity to become educated because she doesn't recognize the story from The Princess and the Frog.  This also adds humor to the story, as the reader may think this working woman will find riches, and instead she flushes in down the toilet.  Her phrase at the end is a little depressing and telling of the times.  When she joked about becoming a princess, as if she could ever become one.  Another interesting thing about this poem is the fact that there is no punctuation.  This creates a nice rhythm to her story, and makes the reader feel as if they are being talked to.  It made the story much more personable.

Interpreting Poetry

Poetry has always personally been a difficult subject to properly comprehend for me.  The various ways a poem can be interpreted have often confused me.  But I have generally believed that poetry was meant to be understood by the reader, meaning their thoughts are the correct ones for them.  Perrine suggests that only a limited amount of meanings are correct, and even fewer are actually "correct".  It intrigued me how scientific he made poetry.  His explanation of what is the correct meaning put the process in very easy and simple terms.  I can understand his idea and even agree a little with some of his thoughts, but overall I don't agree with his system of sorting out the correct interpretations.  Ideally his process would work for every poem, but I believe this does not necessarily work.  Some poems are meant to be open to interpretation, bringing comfort to the reader in the form of whatever understanding they have.

One area of his article that I agreed with and found interest in was his thoughts on symbols.  I believe that while their could be multiple thoughts on a symbol, some are too rigid to be disputed.  The "White Whale", for example, is certainly the symbol of something that has eluded someone for a very long time.  The symbol can be applied to experiences from everyday life, as they go beyond the context of the poem.  This is how poetry finds its appeal, as the symbols apply to the reader experiences in life.  I reader can often identify with something within the context of the poem.  The metaphor is something often mistaken for the symbol.  A metaphor transcends its literal meaning.  It is meant to pull something else not related to the poem into the understanding, and thus expands the poem.

My opinion of this work, good or bad, Part II

I actually rather enjoyed F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  It was able to hold my attention the entire time, while dealing with some issues that can be related to today's issues.  One of the issues that always stuck out to me about Gatsby was that he seemed alone in the world.  Although he was constantly surrounded by people, he was never close enough to any of them to form a friendship.  "I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby's house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited.  People were not invited- they went there," (Fitzgerald, 41).  This quote shows Gatsby's life was more in the control of other people, and finally he had to find a way out, in the form of Nick.  This book also deals with love that doesn't quite work timing-wise.  Gatsby's attempt to win Daisy's heart during her marriage is mildly related to any frustration over anything that is not ideal timing-wise.  Overall the book was enjoyable and able to be related to, which is ultimately why anybody reads anything.

Thinking about the Plot

Fitzgerald set up the plot of The Great Gatsby in an usual and unique manner.  A very large part of the book is setting up for the climax, or what must be considered the climax.  The beginning starts interestingly, but the middle settles into developing relationships.  The part that became most entertaining was when suddenly the action began to rise extremely quickly.  With Tom finding out about Daisy and Gatsby, a fight nearly ensues between the two men, which leads to them both having hot heads.  The climax hits when who is assumed to be Gatsby hits and kills Mrs. Wilson, but later it is revealed Daisy was behind the wheel.  After  the scene settles down, the husband of the woman, Wilson, begins to go crazy a little bit.  He spends time tracking down the owner of the car, Gatsby, and shows up at his house to shoot him, which he does.  The resolution was rather unsatisfying.  It ends with a stale funeral that nobody attended with the exception of a very small crowd.  The scene can best be summed up by the quote "He took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in.  'The poor son-of-a-bitch,'" (Fitzgerald, 175).  The ending was a calm and peaceful ending in which Nick decided to find his own path in life while reminiscing over the life of Jay Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby vs. The House of Mirth

Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby features many similarities to Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth.  Both stories feature a love story that never seems to be able to happen.  The timing in both stories never seemed to be quite right.  "[Gatsby] came back from France when Tom and Daisy were still on their wedding trip, and made a miserable but irresistible journey to Louisville on the last of his army pay," (Fitzgerald, 152).  The quote shows Gatsby just missed his opportunity to capitalize on the relationship he and Daisy shared.  This occurred many times in Wharton's tale as well, as Selden and Lily nearly got together several times, but never actually got it right.  In Fitzgerald's work, an angry husband and an eventual car crash prevent Gatsby and Daisy from being together.  Wharton tells a story where Lily Bart is prevented from happiness due to her selfishness and social consciousness.  The stories seems to mirror each other in the social structure of the times, yet the characters must deal with different types of problems.  Though these stories have some strong differences, the themes of these stories are closely related, and many similarities can be found.

Oh Sweet Irony

Personally I have never seen a more obvious example of irony than in the later parts of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  There are several accounts of irony that occur at the same time at the end.  The most notable of the ironies is the killing of Mrs. Wilson.  Being the mistress of Tom, Mrs. Wilson gets killed by Tom's wife, Daisy.  Another intersecting irony in the story was the meeting between Tom and Wilson.  "[Wilson] had discovered Myrtle had some sort of life apart from him in another world, and the shock had made him physically sick.  I stared at him and then at Tom, who had made a parallel discovery less than an hour before," (Fitzgerald, 124).  Is is ironic in the respect that Wilson is meeting the man his wife is cheating on him with as well as the fact that Tom is becoming extremely angry over a sin that he has committed against his wife rather frequently.  The penultimate irony comes in the form of Daisy providing Gatsby with a soul reason to keep going in life, shaping several major decisions.  Daisy would fittingly become the eventual reason Gatsby loses his life.  Fitzgerald uses irony to draw the reader in as the actions of the characters seem to be poetic justice to one another.

The Overall Analysis of the Mysterious Gatsby

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the title character takes on many different roles and personalities throughout the story.  He is introduced as this fascinating man of mystery, but upon getting to know him he seems lonely.  After getting to know his neighbor, Nick, he gives the reader the impression that he is actually a very socially able person.  His interaction with Daisy was an interesting one.  His romantic and unrealistic image of her led to an uncomfortable first meeting, but as Gatsby got more comfortable he became fun.  This was the only moment in the story in which I personally believed Gatsby might be a normal person, as opposed to a man surrounded by people but on an island.  After the car crash, many people decided to disassociate themselves from his name and reputation.  For either the sake of their own reputation or for the sake of just not burdening themselves, very few people responded to Nick's pleas to attend the funeral.  Upon hearing that nobody wanted to go to the funeral, one of the few people who apparently cared about Gatsby at all said "'Why, my God!  they [the people] used to go [to Gatsby's house] by the hundreds,'" (Fitzgerald, 175).  My initial instincts were correct about Gatsby being lonely at the top.  Even the woman he loved and ultimately sacrifices everything for was unwilling to stand by him.  Gatsby truly was a man alone at the top.

An Unlikely Friendship

In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is a very wealthy man who never seemed to show any interest in his neighbor.  This neighbor, Nick, would turn out to be his only true friend by the end of the story.  Nick initially saw Gatsby as this mysterious man who got what he wanted immediately through the means of wealth, and who wasn't interested in interacting with a lesser class.  Yet the reader sees Nick eventually break down on these preconceived assumptions throughout the story.  He gains respect enough to want to meet Gatsby after being invited to one of his parties personally.  He then becomes extremely involved in Gatsby's love life, as he tries to set up Gatsby with a married woman.  Nick coaches Gatsby through awkward moments and convinced Gatsby he needs to be cool around Daisy.  Nick stuck by Gatsby throughout the car crash incident, and at the funeral proved to be one of only a couple true friends Gatsby ever had.  Nick showed his devotion to Gatsby by posthumously telling him "'I'll get somebody for you, Gatsby.  Don't worry.  Just trust me and I'll get somebody for you-'" (Fitzgerald, 164).  Nick was genuinely distraught by the loss of his friend, and was the only person to go out of his way to make the funeral happen. For somebody that was constantly surrounded by people, Gatsby's life boiled down to one singular friend.

Well That Escalated Quickly

The seventh chapter of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was far and away the most entertaining and the most shocking.  Through rather predictable circumstances Tom Buchanan comes to the realization that Daisy and Gatsby have fallen in love with each other.  This emotion was shocking considering Tom frequently and publicly cheats on Daisy.  Tom's several threatening actions, such as demanding they go into town and making them drive each other's cars, make everyone anxious.  In order to beat the heat, they rent a suite, which of course forces all of them to be very close to one another.  After an altercation nearly becomes physical, they decide to end the afternoon with Gatsby taking Daisy home in his car.  This seems to be the end of the night, until on their way back home, Jordan, Nick, and Tom stumble upon a hit and run scene.  Upon further investigation, the victim was Tom's mistress, who was killed instantly upon being hit.  Tom hears the car described is Gatsby's further destroying any respect he had.  This is shown when Tom calms down and mumbles "The God damned coward!  He didn't even stop the car," (Fitzgerald, 141).  Gatsby's reputation, which has always been a bit in question, will likely be destroyed after Tom comes forward with this information.

Tom vs. Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the plot has become, at the moment anyway, centered around Gatsby's chase for Daisy.  The one notable problem in his attempts is the SHE IS MARRIED.  The only saving grace is that she is married to Tom Buchanan, who so far seems to be a slim bag jerk.  The scene the reader met him we was proudly cheating on his wife, and it was discussed that he would leave his wife if the circumstances were right.  He is neglectful and overall doesn't seem like the ideal man for her.  The other man trying to win her heart is Gatsby.  He has loved Daisy for an extended amount of time now, and though he begins his relationship with her awkwardly, he is able to find footing and become a fun person to her.  Gatsby is very proud of his small relationship with her, as opposed to Tom's almost being ashamed of this marriage to her.  Gatsby was happy and excited to party with her, and he was "surprised by [Gatsby's] graceful, conservative fox-trot- [Nick] had never seen him dance before," (Fitzgerald, 105).  This action likely made Gatsby rather uncomfortable, yet he loved Daisy enough to have fun with her in spite of himself.  The obvious good guy in this love triangle is Gatsby, and hopefully he can get the girl in the end.

Like Christmas Morning

In Fitzgerlad's The Great Gatsby, the title character has undergone several big changes in the last couple of chapters.  He has gone from what seemed to be a lonely man at the top of the social ladder to a man simply looking for companionship.  The reader finally sees him even be nervous when he spends time with Daisy, the girl he has been in love with for awhile.  Yet this large lapse in time between his initial feelings and his actual interaction has caused a slight amount of awkwardness.  Something extremely common is the "Christmas Morning Feeling", or getting so excited for something that it can't possibly live up to the unrealistic expectations.  Gatsby suffers from this when he first meets Daisy again.  The conversations are awkward and contain very long pauses.  The conversation is exemplified when Nick "had them both on their feet with the desperate suggestion that they help [him] make tea in the kitchen..." (Fitzgerald, 87).  All parties were aware of this disappointment and were unable to fight it.  Until suddenly Gatsby found his comfort, and immediately took control of the scene.  With Nick stepping out and leaving the two alone, Gatsby was able to kill the awkwardness and deeply engage Daisy in conversation.  Though this ended well, nearly every person can claim to have been disappointed at some point or another due to their unrealistic expectations, which wound up making the scene worse.

Finally an Explanation

Through three chapters of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, I was very confused.  The origin of Gatsby seemed to be a weird mystery that everyone kept blowing up, and random events went largely unexplained.  The nature of Tom Buchanan was a curious one, as it seemed he didn't love his wife, so why marry her?  Finally through a conversation with Jordan Baker, Nick and the reader are able to begin to put the plot together.  She reveals the strange and random nature behind Gatsby's actions, and like all other great actions, they were in an attempt to catch a girl's attention.  Gatsby, who appears to be a decorated military hero from the Great War, strategically set up a friendship with Nick knowing that he is good friends with Tom and Daisy.  The mysterious meeting between Gatsby and Jordan was actually a meeting to figure out a way for Gatsby to meet Daisy, which they found through Nick.  Another aspect of Gatsby that was revealed finally was why he throws these parties which seem to have nobody he knows closely with an open-door policy. Jordan tells "'he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night ... but she never did,'" (Fitzgerald, 79).  His loneliness could be attributed to the fact that he only wishes to see Daisy walk through his door, and he has yet to find that thrill.  This insight into Gatsby's intentions have turned him into a much more human character in my mind.  It is nice to now be getting more answers about the plot and characters than questions.

New York, New York

Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby unfolds in the city of New York and the surrounding area.  This place is nearly the ideal for a story of this nature.  New York is home to every end of the social spectrum.  It is the home to the richest men and women in the world, and at the same time home to humble working class citizens.  This makes for interaction between such classes, like a highly regarded statesman like Gatsby interacting with a working man like Nick Carraway.  For Nick, the city also provides a large opportunity to spend time with people form both ends of the spectrum.  While spending nights with the upper class of Gatsby and his crowd, he also knows "the other clerks and young bond-salesmen by their first names, and [lunches] with them in dark, crowded restaurants on little pig sausages and mashed potatoes and coffee," (Fitzgerald, 56).  There is also a mere romance about the city of New York in the twenties.  High society thrived in the city at this time, and many believed it was the only setting appropriate for rich people.  It was also the sight where many people believed they needed to go in order to become successful.  This setting is truly the ideal place for a story in this time period, and it adds many dimensions that wouldn't be present in another place.

One Extremely Confusing Scene

At the end of the third chapter of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, a party is winding down and everybody has likely had too much to drink.  As Nick Carraway leaves Gatsby's house, he stumbles upon a scene outside that was rather confusing.  Someone had driven a car off the side of the road, and the wheel had come completely off.  At first a man Nick had already had an encounter with seemed to be the man who did it, as he was standing there talking nonsense about it.  As this man was questioned about the crash, he appeared to not know anything about it.  Another man climbs out of the wrecked car and acts as if he has no idea whats going on.  Once he was shown the independent wheel, "he stared at it for a moment, and then looked upward as though he suspected that it had dropped from the sky," (Fitzgerald, 55).  The man reacts calmly, almost as if he doesn't fully comprehend what has just happened.  There seems to be massive confusion among all those involved, and nobody acts extremely concerned about the car.  The significance of this scene to the reader at this point is unknown.  Nick Carraway showed nearly no desire to get to the bottom of the incident.  Personally I am very eager to gather any further details over this random scene.

The Mysterious Gatsby

Thus far in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the title character has remained quite a mystery.  He seems like a man who is very hard to get to know, as he doesn't extend himself often.  Nick Carraway has yet to actually ever meet Gatsby when he is invited to one of his party's.  At the party, the crowd is a curious group, made up largely of people that weren't invited, but accompanied somebody else.  This fact is rather peculiar, as it seems Gatsby did not personally invite many people, which means he does not know very many people.  He seems lonely at his own party when everyone else was playing games and "no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and no French bob touched Gatsby's shoulder, and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsby's head for one link," (Fitzgerald, 50).  Gatsby seems to simply be viewed by his guests at the host of the parties, not an actual participant.  He is a social elite, so nobody feels worthy to extend themselves to be his friend.  After Nick's encounter with Gatsby, it seems that something he wants is companionship.  Gatsby's actual standing in the social ladder has not been revealed, but it seems he may be one the very few worthiest people in the society.  His extending a personal invitation to someone who is by no means prestigious on the social pyramid is quite intriguing.

Mrs. Wilson

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, there is a character who seems to mirror one from another work.  Mrs. Wilson seems to have many similarities to Bertha Dorset from Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth.  Mrs. Wilson has a very loud personality, and her presence is something that cannot be ignored.  She often dwarfs the personalities of other characters, such as her husband.  The reader can observe this when she "[walked] through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye," (Fitzgerald, 26).  She is also like Bertha in that she seems to have total disregard for anyone else's happiness except her own.  In the short time that the reader has known her, she has shown that she doesn't even care about her marriage as she cheats on her husband regularly.  She also openly discusses with her friends that she thinks her marriage was a mistake.  The reader also hears she would likely leave her husband without hesitation if Tom, who is also married, were to become available.  This woman seems to have little regard for anyone but herself, which could lead to a potential conflict with someone in the future.  Many characters would be well advised to stay away and not associate with Mrs. Wilson.

How Fred views me, the narrator

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the view differs greatly from The House of Mirth.  Instead of an all knowing narrator who could tell the reader about the hidden motives and emotions of the characters, the narrator is a character in the story, watching the plot unravel as the reader does.  This creates several limitations the omniscient narrator didn't have.  The narrator is a character, so he interacts with other characters and changes the course of the plot.  This narrator is also emotionally involved in the story, so his point of view could be based on his feelings towards something.  When the narrator, Nick Carraway, tells the reader, "'Never heard of them,' he remarked decisively.  This annoyed me.  'You will,' I answered shortly.  'You will if you stay in the East,'" (Fitzgerald, 10).  The fact that he was annoyed shows he is emotional, and his side of the story could be different due to this.  He could also not know something about a character that would be important to know.  Gatsby at this point has remained a very mysterious character.  An all knowing narrator could have given the reader an insight into the life of Gatsby.  In this story however, Gatsby will likely be revealed as Nick Carraway gets to know him.

Me Being Awesome

My opinion of the work, good or bad

Personally I did not enjoy Wharton's The House of Mirth for a variety of reasons.  Wharton occasionally made the conversations and scenes difficult to follow as she would transition so quickly from one to another. It was also at times hard to keep track of all the characters, as some would be introduced for a chapter and not mentioned for another several chapters.  The character development was good, but at times it was frustrating to see Lily Bart continuing to go back to her same ways time and again.  The Selden and Lily romance was a fun portion of the story, but the reader often never knew where the two actually stood, and the highlight of their romance being a kiss in a garden and Lily's death.  "It had always seemed to Selden that experience offered a great deal besides the sentimental adventure, yet he could vividly conceive of a love which should broaden and deepen till it became the central fact of life," (Wharton, 124).  The romance was also frustrating as Lily constantly was looking for men with wealth when she should clearly be with Selden.  The reader also must watch as Selden idealizes a woman who will never live up to his expectations and never love him in the way he wants her to.  Many of the minor characters seemed opportunistic from beginning to end, never changing or growing with the main cast.  Certain characters like Gerty Farish brightened the mood by never trying to use Lily or someone else for money or status.

Interesting Ending

The closing chapters of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth find Lily Bart finally achieving happiness and satisfaction in her life.  She found by meeting someone she had helped a long time ago, that person opened Lily's eyes to the good things in the world.  Lily even regrets that "during her transient phase of luxury at the Emporium she had slipped back into habits of extravagance which still impaired her slender balance," (Wharton, 259).  At this point in the story Lily has moved away from wanting to be happy and toward realizing that her old way of life wasn't giving her any happiness and she regretted in.  Soon her only desire was to have a good night's sleep.  She unfortunately overdoses and dies in her sleep, and on the morning Selden was going to profess his love for her.  Before she dies she is finally able to repay the debts she owes after she receives her portion of Peniston's legacy.  This scene is extremely defeating, as these two have had several close encounters throughout the book.  However, some closure is gained when Selden says the word that made the couple work.  Although the ending was rather anticlimactic, it provided a good conclusion to a woman's journey through the social classes of the early twentieth century.

Lily Bart is Growing Up

Throughout Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, Lily Bart has acted as a spoiled woman who never has and doesn't intend to work a day in her life.  Through her fall from social grace and her inheritance not being as large as expected, she finds herself relegated to the working class.  Her privileged life has not at all prepared her for such a task, and she struggles greatly with it.  Her work with hats wears on her nerves greatly, and her superior is constantly trying to get more productivity out of her.  She found herself immersed in "that mounting tide of dinginess against which her mother had so passionately warned her," (Wharton, 240).  She had trouble affording a respectable home, and she was again relegated to sharing a group home with many other working women.  Her worries eventually become too much, and she was forced to consume sleeping drugs to get a peaceful nights sleep.  This represents the first time in Lily's life that she actually been tired.  She spends most of her time in a trace like state that does not allow her to pick up on certain idiosyncrasies she use to be able to.  She even considered again committing herself to Rosedale just to escape the horrible life.  This current way of life is taking all the life out of Lily, and surely she will attempt to find some way out.

The Curious Case of Gerty Farish

Throughout The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, nearly every character has shown themselves to be opportunistic, selfish people who mainly concern themselves with keeping a elite social status.  The main character, Lily Bart, is definitely one of the worst offenders of this, as she commonly contemplates sacrificing her own happiness for money and recognition.  There has, however, been one minor character who as of yet has maintained a very selfless persona, Gerty Farish.  She is a member of the higher social class, but she does not write of anybody who is not.  She swallowed her feelings for Selden in order to allow Lily to have a chance, and she comforted Lily when she felt hatred for her.  After Bertha Dorset effectively destroyed her social standing, Gerty remained a strong friend with Lily.  She would even at times listen to Lily's selfish rants and plans about how she will regain her original standing.  "Left to herself, Gerty mused distressfully upon her friend's plight, and her own inability to relieve it," (Wharton, 217).  Gerty, though she often disagreed with the means of happiness, would fight to find a way to help her friend Lily achieve it.  From helping Lily look for a source of income to talking to Selden about Lily, whom she hadn't talked to for a very long time and she was still nervous about gaining closure, Gerty sacrificed a great deal of comfort and time to help Lily.  Gerty has proved to be easily the most likable and selfless person throughout the entire book, and the reader can't help but hope good things come to her.

Edith Wharton's Interesting Approach

In her work, The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton has an interesting approach of telling the story.  Keeping in mind this book was written in an entirely different time period, it is at times hard to understand.  The sentence structures are very often set up the same way, meriting a further explanation to an original thought.  This overflow of information is sometimes difficult to understand.  Wharton also occasionally uses pronouns to much, not allowing the reader to know which woman "she" is.  She also sometimes makes the implied meaning of a characters words or actions difficult to understand, as she may simply just suggest what they are doing.  This could possibly be attributed to the time gap, and the phrases better understood in the early twentieth century than today.  But the most confusing and frustrating thing about Wharton's writing style is the tendency to transfer between scenes without any explanation.  Whaton writes "... but Gerty's tenderness, disciplined by long years of contact with obscure and inarticulate suffering, could wait on its object with a silent forbearance which took no account of time.  She could not, however, deny herself the solace of taking anxious counsel with Lawrence Selden..." (Wharton, 218).  Wharton starts this passage with a scene in which Lily is venting and being emotional with Gerty.  After a sentence of thought by Gerty, the scene has now transferred to Gerty talking alone with Selden about helping Lily.  This can, and has, led to many misunderstandings of scenes in which the reader can be confused as to who is and isn't taking part in a conversation.

Everything Can Be Related to The Titanic

The main character in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth has been taught and shown that all her life luxury is the way to live and anything else is disgusting.  This is a similar upbringing of one of the main characters of James Cameron's Titanic, Rose Bukater.  She too is extremely conscious of social class, and everyone around her tells her to pursue the life of luxury, even if it means sacrificing happiness at times.  Rose, through interaction with a young man, finds that social class isn't the most important thing, and the people she had previously condemned and mocked were really the ones with whom she wanted to be associated.  She learns to let loose at a party with "trashy" people, where she finally has fun.  Lily comes to a similar realization when she loses her social footing and is forces to be with the Gormers, who have parties that feature loud people her other set of friends thought were horrible.  She comes to find these people enjoyable, and likes how they don't judge and condemn any action she may commit.  She finds they are also much more forgiving as "instead of shrinking from her as her own friends had done, they received her without question into the easy promiscuity of their lives," (Whaton, 189).  These new people are willing to accept someone as one of their own on a whim, as opposed to the social elite that carefully measure any and every person they may become close with.  Both women also struggle with still wanting to be socially elite, as Rose at one point declares she is done with the poor crowd, and Lily contemplates again marrying Rosedale for his money despite her hatred of him.  This similarity has been strong throughout the book, and hopefully Lily has an easier end than Rose did.

The Social Fall of Lily Bart

Edith Wharton's Lily Bart in The House of Mirth spends most of the story improving, securing, and worrying about her social status among her peers.  She has had to fight for her own standing as she didn't have a mother to do so.  Because of this great effort Lily has always had to use, she takes a tremendous amount of pride in being considered one of the social elite.  However, when she decides to come with the Dorsets to Southern Europe, she had little idea this would ultimately undo everything she has worked for her entire life.  After Mr. Dorset develops a small crush on Lily, who was instructed to distract him from his wife, Mrs. Dorset separated herself from Lily, excluded her from their yacht, and immediately told everyone her own version of the story upon arrival back in America.  This story, along with the true rumors of Lily's debts were heard by Lily's guardian, Mrs. Peniston, who was simply mortified by the talks.  As a result, Lily was excluded from the majority of her will, which left Lily embarrassed, socially destroyed, and unable to pay off her debt to Mr. Trenor.  Lily, now reduced to one real friend, shows that in her mind gaining social status is the only way out of anything when she thinks "she must set out to regain, little by little, the position she had lost," (Wharton, 184).  Lily will likely struggle to gain even a small amount of social recognition without friends with some, yet this is the only thing she can take any pride in.  Her actions throughout the book suggest she will either gain social status or kill herself trying.

The Mediterranean in the Early 1900's

In the opening of the second of book of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, we find nearly every major character has relocated to Southern Europe, specifically around the Mediterranean.  It is unclear if the entire group went together of if they happened to go to the same area of the world, but somehow they all came to be located in among the most romantic places in history.  This scene, coupled with this time period, makes perfect sense for the story to move toward.  Southern Europe at the turn of the century was immersed with the attraction of high society, as are the vast majority of characters in the story.  The local royalty fascinates the main cast, as Lily and a select few others spend time with the highest members on the social pyramid.  As they do in America, yet to a greater extend, everyone tries to separate themselves from the average tourist, avoiding certain activities at certain times and claiming that "the Americans who don't know anyone always rush for the best food," (Wharton, 148).  The romance associated with this area of the world at this time adds to the growing and confusing relationship between Lily and Selden, which could blossom or fail in the new setting.  This context does allow for a farther spread between the characters, which could lead toward an awkward separation between the two.  The ambiance of the scene will certainly play an important part in the development of the plot, and will likely force a confrontation of feelings by the characters.  This story seemed destined to go to the early twentieth century romantic Southern Europe, and has finally arrived.

How Complicated Love Can Be

At the conclusion of Book I of Wharton's The House of Mirth we find the characters intertwined in what seems to be a love pentagon.  Rosedale seems to be in love with Lily, who is kind of obligated to spend time with him through her debt to Trenor.  Lily loves Selden, and Gerty, who also loves Selden, knows that and knows that Selden love Lily.  But at the very conclusion, as Lily is eager to share her life with Selden, we learn he was left for Havana.  This series of events is the most developed Gerty was been throughout the entire work, and she assumed an amount of importance when she encouraged Lily about getting through the night.  Gerty betrays her initial reaction of hating the sight of Lily because she is a good person and was unable to allow another woman to suffer so much, especially her friend.  Lily also develops into a woman who, after being shaken up by the remarks and actions of Trenor, found "the thought of confiding in [Selden] became as seductive as the river's flow to the suicide," (Wharton, 141).  Rosedale also seems to be after Lily with a new found resolve, and it was almost too convenient for him to appear at her doorstep the hour she most wanted Selden.  He proves to be the same shallow man when he offers Lily nothing but an endless supply of wealth.  Frustration is mounted when, in the closing paragraphs, Lily appears to give into her desire for such wealth, yet she is unable to write a letter to the disgusting Rosedale.  Could this mean Lily is finally moving into a phase of her life that would include chasing a mate she genuinely loves, instead of continuing to pursue her goal of marrying rich?

Finally, but then what?

Since the beginning scene in Wharton's The House of Mirth, Lily Bart seems to have an attraction to Lawrence Selden that is simply an uncalculated feeling.  She first suppressed these feelings when she was interested with attaining a husband with a large amount of wealth, specifically Mr. Gryce.  He seemed to not have anything in common with Lily, and furthermore was disgusted by some activities she enjoyed, such as smoking and gambling.  But following Gryce's engagement and a chance meeting between them at the Bry's party, Selden found himself refreshed on her beauty and pertaining to their initial meeting "he felt an overmastering longing to be with her again," (Wharton, 110).  Seeing him take her silently to a private place and finally kiss her was extremely satisfying after such a build up.  Yet immediately after a confusing event occurs when Lily tells Selden to not tell her he loves her and rushes away.  This could possibly mean Lily doesn't share his affection, she's again interested in  satisfying her needs financially, or she doesn't want anything to happen at the party.  Lily, who has just achieved a rebirth into popularity in high society, may want to protect her new reputation, but Selden is generally viewed as a respectable man.  Presently it stands a mystery as to why Lily was so easy to give into her impulse, but so quick to rush away from him.  This is bound to develop into something much bigger than a simple brief romantic encounter.

Trenor and Rosedale: Two Creeps

About two thirds of the way through Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, Lily Bart becomes closely entangled with two men who seem to be disgusting.  These men, Mr. Trenor and Mr. Rosedale, seem to be the kind of men that would lead to the eventual fall from social grace of a person like Lily Bart.  Nearly her entire relationship with them throughout the story has been an unpleasant and sometimes unwanted one, and it seems the two men are looking to gain something from Miss Bart.  In order to make a little bit of money, Lily asks Mr. Trenor to help her invest, which he does and they find success in this venture.  But he soon finds he holds a slight amount of leverage over Miss Bart.  He abuses this leverage by attacking her verbally in their box at the opera about how she never sees him anymore.  He also forces an association with Mr. Rosedale, who seems to be a disgusting and bad guy.  Rosedale has a romantic interest in Lily, which proves to simply repulse her and drive her away.  His character really shows when he realizes while attempting to ask Lily out that he is "not above taking advantage of her nervousness," (Wharton, 93).  The immediate and ongoing impression the reader receives about Rosedale is that he is an opportunistic creep with whom Lily would like to have no association.

When Lily showed her human side

Thus far in The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton has portrayed Lily as a woman who is constantly scheming and calculating.  She seems to only care what people think of her because it could help her use them at some point in the future.  The glaring exception to this trend throughout the book has been Selden.  Lily took such pleasure in giving into an impulse and spending time in Selden's apartment, then lied about it immediately.  This exception was strongly noted at the end of chapter eight in the first book.  The narrator reveals Lily believes she will always look her worst when Selden is with her.  She also shows embarrassment for the first time when she had to talk to Rosedale in front of Selden.  As she walked away with Rosedale, "every nerve in her throbbed with the consciousness of what Selden must have thought of the scene," (Wharton, 78).  This scene, in which Lily showed the first real traces of strong human emotion, made me personally like Lily more.  She finally seemed like a normal woman who was simply trying to gain the approval of a man.  The brief emotional side quickly vanished when Lily tries to locate Gryce and make sure her investment is still available.  It was interesting to see Lily in such a way that she acted desperate and unknowing of what a person she was interacting with was thinking.  It will be much easier to view Lily in a favorable light in the future if she continues to act emotionally and follow what she feels is good, not what she thinks is good.

Then Fred posted about the narrator

The narrator in The House of Mirth takes the form of an objective third party observer.  This point of view is interesting because it allows the reader to hear and understand the thoughts and actions of many characters, as opposed to just the main character.  This leads to the reader sometimes knowing something before another character does, or knowing the true motives behind multiple people's actions.  Edith Wharton exemplifies this when she writes, "She looked so plaintively lovely as she proffered the request, so trustfully sure of his sympathy and understanding, that Trenor felt himself wishing that his wife could see how other women treated him- not battered wire-pullers like Mrs. Fisher, but a girl that most men would have given their boots to get such a look from," (Wharton, 66).  This passage shows the emotions and desires of Mr. Trenor, while the book commonly explains Lily's emotions.  The neutrality of the speaker in a situation gives the reader a better point of view.  If it were exclusively through the eyes of Lily Bart, the reader may become annoyed with her constant analyzing and planning to gain wealth and social status.  As her ventures in the beginning seemed to be shallow and mean, this may have discouraged the reader from liking Lily.  The fact that the narrator is omniscient also adds to the story.  It enables the reader to learn the motives and reasons behind an action or event in the story.  This well rounded narrator makes the book much easier to understand than any other point of view would, and it includes certain information that would be missed with another kind of narrator.

Gryce vs. Selden

Edith Wharton's House of Mirth features a woman named Lily Bart searching for a husband.  Thus far she has stumbled across two men that seem suitable, yet she seems to be only interested in one.  Percy Gryce is a painfully shy man who has trouble holding conversations with anyone unless they are about a few select topics, like Americana.  Miss Bart was able to completely control their conversation on a train ride and seems confident she could lure the wealthy man into marriage at any moment.  The other man of the story is Mr. Selden.  His relationship with Miss Bart seems a bit clouded at this point.  During his initial meeting with her on a train, she acted confident while the narrator hinted at a crush that Selden had on Miss Bart when he says "As a spectator, he had always enjoyed Lily Bart..." (Wharton, 2).  The reader is then made to believe through their conversation, which carries into his house, that they are simply friends, yet she lies to Mr. Rosedale about her whereabouts while she was in his apartment.  She goes onto fight against extending an invitation to him to a party and blushing every time his name is mentioned.  This leads the reader to believe Lily may have a crush on Selden too.  Both men she has interacted with are wealthy enough to take care of her, which she claims is her ultimate endgame.  Selden was the only one able to hold her interest, even luring her into his apartment, making her late.  Mr. Gryce had trouble speaking about almost everything, and Lily at one point that he was going to be boring her for life.  Personally, Selden seems like the obvious choice of with whom she should be involved, yet she's very against that and for a relationship with Mr. Gryce.  Possibly a currently unrevealed history between Selden and Lily is to blame for this strange detraction from him.

The Woman, The Womyth, The Wolegend: Lily Bart

Edith Wharton's House of Mirth is, at least in the first few chapters, centered around a young woman named Lily Bart.  This woman seems to be nice enough, although even at the beginning she meets a man known as Selden, whose worth she is constantly assessing.  It seems as if he is one of many gentlemen who have had a crush on Miss Lily Bart but have remained primarily spectators in her life.  She later meets with a man whom she clearing is trying to attach, Mr. Gryce.  Lily knows this man is painfully shy and likely has never spent a great amount of time with  woman, and she takes advantage of this.  It is revealed that she is chiefly concerned with his financial means without regard for his personality, hoping he "might ultimately decide to do her the honour of boring her for life," (Wharton,19).  This extreme need to have financial and social superiority came from a mother who put great pressure on her daughter's beauty to win a rich man's heart, or at least his estate as a spouse.  Mrs. Bart, Lily's mother, felt no romantic feeling toward her husband or likely the thought of live itself, which led to a belief in Lily that marriage is about escaping poverty, which was in fact the last sentiment of her dying mother, not an "I love you."  Though Lily originally didn't agree with her mother's stance, she eventually wore down into an opportunistic woman who sees her current goal in life as finding a husband that will provide her with a great amount of wealth.  Seeing as her reluctant guardian, Mrs. Peniston, is unwilling to find a man, Lily relies on her beauty and her social skills to eventually lure a man into an empty marriage.  She will likely (and hopefully) find this pursuit unsatisfying and possibly decide to develop a healthy personal relationship with no ulterior motives.  She seems to be heading down a dark and unfulfilled path.