Mauricio (“The Eye”) Silva Analysis

Vocabulary Words:

1. paradigmatic: model that forms basis of something; relationship of ideas to one another

2. phantasmal: supposed ghost of spirit; delusion or illusion

3. unequivocal: unambiguous

4. denigration: defame, disparage, belittle

5. vitreous: similar to glass

6. antiquated: ancient or old-fashioned

7. legion: multitude or large body of soldiers

8. labyrinth: maze or confusing network

Overall, this story turned out to be a happy one; one of the major themes was redemption. Beginning in the opening line, I assumed that it would be a story of tragic loss, since it discussed unavoidable violence…“Mauricio Silva, also known as “The Eye,” always tried to avoid violence, even at the risk of being considered a coward, but violence, real violence, is unavoidable, at least for those of us who were born in Latin America during the fifties and were about twenty years old at the time of Salvador Allende’s death. That’s just the way it goes.” The narrator continues admiring Silva’s character, “He wasn’t like most of the Chileans living in Mexico City at the time: he didn’t brag about his role in the largely phantasmal resistance; he didn’t frequent the various groups of Chileans in exile.” It then goes on to describe how The Eye was rumored to be a homosexual, and how those Chileans around him would chastise him. The story read, “At the time, The Eye was reputed to be a homosexual. By which I mean that a rumor to that effect was circulating in the various groups of Chileans in exile, who made it their business partly for the sheer pleasure of denigration and partly to add a little spice to their rather boring lives.” It was his homosexuality and his feeling that he did not belong as well as his desire to be involved with photography that ultimately drove him to Paris. Although the narrator once considered him a friend, after some time had passed, he found it hard to remember The Eye’s physical appearance…“As time went by I began to forget what he looked like, although I still had a vague sense of his bearing and his manner. There was a certain way of expressing opinions, as if from a distance, sadly but gently, that I went on associating with The Eye, and even when his face had disappeared or receded into the shadows, that essence lingered in my memory: a way of moving, an almost abstract entity in which there was no place for calm.” The narrator goes on to contrast The Eye with the Chilean stereotype, “He was the ideal Chilean, stoic and amiable, a type that has never been numerous in Chile but cannot be found anywhere else.” Even though The Eye is considered an outcast, the narrator has a great deal of respect for him. The story then proceeds, and The Eye begins to describe his experiences at the brothels in India. When he begins describing the brothel with the young boys, the reader becomes worried that The Eye may have done something he regrets. It says, “The Eye described the brothel for me and it was as if he were describing a church.” However, the reader then comes to learn that The Eye instead saved two of the young boys who had been castrated for the sake of the festival. We also learn how the boys died, and how The Eye is heartbroken. Even though he was an outcast and a homosexual, he turned things around and went on to do great things with his life; he saved those two boys and gave them a better life then they would have ever had without him. This is where the theme of redemption comes into play. At the very end, the narrator describes the brothel that The Eye saved the boys from…“The corridors he remembered as lonely and funeral were now swarming with life, from toddling children to old men and women who could barely drag themselves along. To him it was the image of paradise.” Even though The Eye was heartbroken about the death of his boys, he is happy to see the cycle is not being perpetuated.

The Lazarus Project Analysis

Vocabulary Words:

· Esoteric: restricted to initiates; secret

· Carmine: deep red color

· Bequeathed: left something to somebody in a will; handed down to posterity

· Pogrom: organized killing of minority

· Exudation: release through pores or cut

One thing that stuck out to me during the beginning of this passage was the reference to eggs. First, it discussed how Lazarus used to work in an egg-packing plant. Secondly, the narrator said, “Rora and I had breakfast at the hotel restaurant-boiled eggs, butter, pieces of dry rye bread.” Also, it says, “There were various Virgin icons, craftily carved crosses, and ornately painted Easter eggs.” This repetition of egg references was interesting because eggs hold a lot of representation. They can be an important part in a diet, and they represent new life. The qualities that eggs symbolize contrast with the other themes in the book. While eggs represent sustenance and development, the novel overall has an undertone of breaking down. For example, anarchism is being against, or wanting to break down the government.

Another thing that I found to be interesting was the repetition of the line “has a brother or sister,” or a variation of this line. For example, in describing the prostitute, it says, “she had a family somewhere, a mother or a brother. Everybody comes from somewhere.” Also, “The men’s clothes enfold the winter dampness; they pull their hats down to their eyes, for it has been a long time since they’ve seen the sun. The women take off their gloves to touch the rags; their cheeks are still red from frostbite; they bargain tenaciously. Every one of them is somebody’s brother or sister or child; all of them are alive; they know the good ways of not dying.” One thing really present in both of these quotes is the loss of innocence. In both cases, the quotes are referencing the fact that if their families knew what was happening to these people, that they would be disappointed. Likewise, this theme is present in the line describing Lazarus’ mother; “She cried as she went through pair after pair of threadbare socks: Lazarus died with his feet cold; the politsey exhibited him, and everybody saw him with his socks torn. Mother would never forgive her that, if she ever found out.”

Lastly, some of the major themes in this book are themes of Jewish religion and different cultures and countries. Chaim Gruzenberg says, “When I was growing up, there were all kinds of people here. No more. Now everybody is independent, or gone.” I thought that this quote was interesting because it shows the change in dynamic between how Gruzenberg viewed the different cultures and their degree of independence during his childhood and how he views them now during his adult life.

The Lazarus Project

Vocabulary Words:

Vociferates: shouts out

Vestibule: entrance hall; enclosed area at rail car entrance

Dubious: possibly dishonest or immoral

Nascent: just beginning to develop

Resin: substance from plants

Claret: deep red; red wine

Rucksacks: bags carried on back

Sheitan: satan; the devil (in Islam)

In reading the first part of this novel, there were two contrasts that really stuck out to me. The first was the contrast between the American culture and the Bosnian culture. It was my impression that the Bosnians had a harder time adjusting to American culture, and often found themselves in adverse circumstances. For example, Hemon says, “Americans, we are bound to agree, go out after they wash their hair, with their hair still wet-even in the winter! We concede that no sane Bosnian mother would ever allow her child to do that, as everybody knows that going out with your hair wet can result in a lethal brain inflammation.” This is just one example of how Bosnians are portrayed as having greater worry; Americans go outside with their hair wet, but Bosnians are too worried that they will contract a brain inflammation. Hemon also describes the trouble that Bosnian children have to maintain their Bosnian culture, “A choir of kids of uneven height and width (which always reminds me of the Chicago skyline) struggles with a traditional Bosnian song, their hearing and accent forever altered by American teenagehood.” These children have been exposed to American culture for so long that it makes it difficult for them to remember their traditional Bosnian songs.

The other key contrast I found while reading this book was the contrast between genders. Not only were Bosnians portrayed as “having it harder” than Americans, as minorities and immigrants often do, but men in the story were portrayed as having more worries and stress than women. For example, Hemon describes the mother, “Mother used to soak her varicose legs in a tub of hot water, but she would always forget the towel. He would be the one to fetch it, wash her feet, and wipe them dry. Her soles were ticklish; she would squeal like a little schoolgirl.” Pedicures, and soakings are a luxury; a luxury that is more common for women. The fact that the mother forgets the towel, and the male would be the one to fetch it, wash her feet, and wipe them dry portrays the man as having a greater responsibility. Also, the Mother is described as having ticklish feet, and “squealing like a schoolgirl.” Hemon compares the mother to a schoolgirl because schoolgirls are carefree, and do not have anything to worry about; they are young and their parents care for them. Similarly, the mother is shown through her soaking her feet and always forgetting the towel to be carefree. Also, relating back a bit to the contrast between Bosnians and Americans, Hemon says, “Whereupon I could show Mary that I was not a wastrel or a slacker or a lazy East-European, but a person of talent and potential.” This not only shows the contrast between gender, because he feels like he has to prove himself to Mary, but it also relates to the Bosnia-America contrast. He feels as if since he is from Bosnia, he might be automatically viewed by Mary as a “wastrel or a slacker.” He is a male from Bosnia, and therefore feels as if he has to work extra hard to compensate. Lastly, in describing the young man at the beginning of the novel, it reads, “Never trust a hungry man, his eyes tell her.” Again, this shows a contrast between Bosnia and America because the reason the man is hungry is that he is a poor immigrant. In addition, there is a great contrast between the male and female pronouns “he” and “she” that helps add to the theme of passing judgments, and accentuates the distinction between men and women and their roles.

Writer's Harvest

Overall, I really enjoyed attending the Writer’s Harvest and getting to listen to all of the different readers. I had never been to a formal reading before tonight, and I thought that it was a good experience. Of course I have heard students read their poetry and prose out loud in class, but listening to established writers in an auditorium was new to me. One of the things that I found to be interesting was the individual personalities and how it came across through their readings. Their reading styles captivated me in unique and different ways. Some used humor, while others were more serious. This contributed to the newness of the experience because often in class, we read the works of other writers, so we often do not comprehend the tones of the words until after they have left our tongues. Also, when we do read our own work, since it is not something we are used to, we can read it in a shy manner and not be very emphatic, or show our true emotion. With that being said, I will go ahead and delve into some of the thoughts I had about the individual readers. I came for the first half, so I was able to listen to John Pursley III, Lindsay Jones, Steve Katz, and Keith Lee Morris.

John Pursley III

Being an Animal Science major, I found his references to horses, cattle, and the German Shepherd interesting. I also noticed his contrast in gender, in using the female character Sally and the boy. He also made use of textures and relatable images with the line, “Beak or teeth, nail or bittered bone.”

Lindsay Jones

I really loved the introduction to her story “Fall in Love with Lutney.” She made me want to read the rest of the book, and her love for the girl was so evident in her writing. Starting out, she describes how she was a foster parent for a 3-year-old girl from Haiti last year. The girl calls her “momma,” even though that isn’t really her role. She uses the themes of motherhood and Creole language, which are both new entities to her. She also references pumpkins, and how Lutney does not understand what they symbolize; that they are here for Halloween and will be gone by Thanksgiving. She uses this to show transience, and Lutney’s childhood innocence. After discussing the pumpkin, she begins describing Lutney’s physical appearance. She describes her as beautiful; as having perfect skin, big brown eyes, long eyelashes that sit at an attractive angle like black curtains, and full lips. She then talks about Lutney’s personality, and establishes a bridge of shared features through their humor and similarities. She says Lutney is “just like me,” because Lindsay has an editor’s mind, always looking for mistakes, and likewise Lutney examines her bowl of cheerios and says “this one is broken.” After this, Lindsay goes back to the pumpkin reference, and then surprises the audience by telling them of Lutney’s operation. She waits until this point to describe Lutney’s physical impairment because she loves Lutney and does not see her as less because of her defect. Her placement of this in the story, after her descriptions of Lutney as being physically beautiful really help convey Lindsay’s love for the child. Like a mother, Lindsay loves Lutney without condition.

Steve Katz

One thing that stuck out to me about Katz’s poems was his use of repetition. In his first poem, he makes reference to physical descriptions of the mind and eye. In his second poem, he repeated the line “never out of touch,” and he used the theme of communication. In his third poem, “Cab Driver Dreams,” he uses repetition with reference to the clock, and time. He uses the themes of sleep and time in relation to the life of a cab driver. He uses repetition to portray the monotony of their jobs; how they perform the same duties, day after day, rain or shine. In his fourth poem, “Virtual Gloves,” he uses sexual sensory images, and the contrast in pronouns “you” and “me.” In his sonnet “Alien Love,” he uses rhyme, and the major themes of technology, love, and touch. Lastly, in his last poem that he read, he again uses the theme of time, and repetition of the line “I’ve always been a wanderer of time.”

Keith Lee Morris

I found this man’s story, “My Roommate Kevin is Awesome,” to be absolutely hilarious. This is one story where the author’s personality especially resonated in his reading. The story had a casual, conversational tone, and really captured typical college life and language use. He also included alcohol and marijuana references, which can be an element of college life, and may even be considered “typical.” He had vivid descriptions and dialogue, and he brought in a fascinating element of mystery. The reference to Kevin as a trapeze artist, and the “grizzly old black guy on the futon” kept the audience guessing what would happen next. I really enjoyed this story, it held my attention and was great to listen to aloud.

The Bridegroom Analysis

Vocabulary Words:

· Capons: castrated chickens

· Brazen: bold and unashamed

· Manifesto: declaration of principles

· Bourgeois: conventional; capitalist

· Boluses: intravenous injection of drug

· Spittoon: receptacle for spittle

One thing that I noticed while reading this story was Ha Jin’s use of color imagery. He uses colors to portray emotion, setting, and ultimately the process of dealing with Baowen’s homosexuality. Below I have listed different color categories and different quotes that pertained to these colors. There were more color references, but these were the ones that I thought related most to the plot and major themes.

Blue

1. “She must have gained at least a dozen pounds since the wedding. Her blue dungarees had become so tight that they seemed about to burst. Viewed from behind, she looked like a giant turnip.”

2. “As I was wondering about the nature of Baowen’s crime, a middle-aged man came in. He had a solemn face and his eyes were half-closed. He took off his dark-blue tunic, hung it on the back of the chair, and sat down at the end of the table.”

Both of these quotes show uneasy anticipation. These quotes came from the time after when the uncle found out that Baowen did not come home for the night, and before Baowen’s sexual orientation was known. I thought that these references to blue were ironic, since blue is often associated with calmer, more soothing emotions.

Green

1. “”I don’t know. I looked for him everywhere.” She licked her cracked lips and took off her green work cap, her hair in a huge bun.”

2. “A policewoman conducted us into a conference room upstairs where green silk curtains hung in the windows.”

3. “He smiled at us and said rather secretively, “I want to ask you a favor.” He rolled his eyes as the dark-green van rounded the corner, coming towards us.”

4. “After taking off our shoes and putting on plastic slippers, we entered a small room that had pea-green walls and a parquet floor.”

Green was the most common color referenced in the story. The first quote and third quote show the uniformity of the color; it is the color of her work cap and the van, as it is an official color often used for uniforms, such as the army, and is a very common color found in nature. Quotes 2 and 3 refer to the setting, and the references cause the reader to guess at what the significance of the color will be; looking back, it can be considered a form of foreshadowing.

Black

1. “Affixed along the interior wall of the tub were rectangles of black, perforated metal.”

2. “Baowen was noiseless in the electrified water, with his eyes shut and his head resting on a black rubber pad at the end of the tub. He looked fine, rather relaxed.”

These quotes conflict with each other in a way; the first quote with “black, perforated metal” has an intimidation factor, causing the reader to have anticipation of what the electric bath will be like. The 2^nd quote shows a more calming side of the color, with his head resting on the black rubber pad.

White

1. “With a white towel Nurse Long wiped the sweat off Baowen’s face and whispered, “I’ll turn it down in a few minutes.”

2. “The sun was high and the sun blazingly white”

The first quote ties along with the general associations that come with the color white; purity. The nurse is using the white towel to clear away the sweat. The second quote was ironic because you usually think of colors such as red or orange as describing the sun, and “blazing,” but here he uses white.

Mixed Colors

1. “In one corner of the living room was a coat tree on which hung the red down parka Baowen had bought her before their wedding, and in another corner sat a floor lamp…Near the inner wall was a large sofa upholstered in orange imitation leather, and next to it, a yellow enamel spittoon. A black-and-white TV perched on an oak chest against the outer wall. I was impressed, especially by the floor, inlaid with bricks and covered with bright red paint.”

2. “Startled, he closed his brown notebook and looked up.”

3. “Outside, in the distance, firecrackers, one after another, scattered clusters of sparks in the indigo dusk.”

These quotes simply represent some other color references in the story. The first quote stood out to me because it showed all of the colors represented in the couple’s house. It showed the “black-and-white,” that could be related to their differences as people. It referred to the bright red paint, which could be taken as a symbol of their love despite their strong differences, since red is the color of love. There are many ways that these colors can be analyzed, and I think that his color reference is definitely a unique addition to the story and it adds a deeper layer of meaning to his descriptions.

Glengarry Glen Ross Analysis

Vocabulary Words:

* Dreck: worthless trash; junk

* Polacks: a highly offensive term for a Polish person or somebody of Polish descent

* Supercilious: displaying arrogant pride, scorn, or indifference

* Thrall: domination; somebody whose life is controlled

* Amassing: gathering together

* Inured: hardened to somebody or something

* Wogs: a highly offensive term for a member of any people who have dark skin

Overall, I found this first half of the play to be very interesting. Neither of my parents have jobs in sales nor I have not taken any business classes so far at Clemson so this world is fairly foreign to me. One of the things that stood out most to me while reading was the repetition of the “f” word. It even had a numbing effect from being used so frequently. Mamet uses this repetition in order to convey to the reader the stress of the lives of the characters and show just how much the leads mean to them.

In the first scene, Levene is trying to persuade Williamson to give him a good lead. He says, “Do I want charity? Do I want pity? I want sits. I want leads don’t come right out of a phone book. Give me a lead hotter than that, I’ll go in and close it. Give me a chance. That’s all I want.” Part of me felt like Levene was being manipulative in trying to convince Williamson to break the rules and give him a good lead but another part of me was really able to empathize with Levene. The “board” of good sellers just sets the stage for a difficult cycle. If you don’t sell, you don’t get on the board, and if you don’t get on the board, you don’t get the good leads, which means it is even less likely that you will be able to make good sales. This system reminded me in a way of something we are talking about in my sociology class called stratification. There are different types of stratification but in particular we studied the Caste system in India, where people find themselves stuck in the class that they are born into; class mobility is extremely limited. Like someone in the Caste system, Levene finds himself stuck, and he feels as if his only option is to break the rules.

In the second scene, Moss is trying to manipulate Aaronow into robbing the office and stealing the good leads. Manipulation proves to be an important theme in the play, although Moss’ manipulation is portrayed to the reader as being more immoral that Levene’s. Moss expresses his frustration with the system, “you find yourself in thrall to someone else. And we enslave ourselves. To please.” He is unhappy with being the “lower man on the totem pole,” so to speak, and he desires upward mobility. Really, his desires are essentially the same as Levene’s, but instead of trying to reason with another employee like Levene did, he threatened Aaronow into robbing the office to fulfill his own selfish wishes.

Mamet presents a contrast in the third scene with Roma when George asks him what he should tell the police. Roma replies, “The truth, George. Always tell the truth. It’s the easiest thing to remember.” After two scenes of manipulation, Mamet finally introduces truth. This definitely stuck out to me about Roma and I am interested to see how his character develops in the remainder of the play.

At the intersection of the past and future: The Same River Twice Analysis Part 2

Building on my first blog, where I discussed Offutt’s use of the theme “nothing lasts forever,” in this part of the novel, Offutt continues to show the reader that his youth is coming to an end. Fatherhood is often associated with maturity, and responsibility. It is also associated with selflessness; a father works to provide for his family, and takes little for himself. Offutt expresses his reluctance to see his “free” days end, “I envy its reckless lifestyle-the solitary animal seeking fun like the romanticized single man, perpetual bachelor, the lone-wolf cowboy of books and film. The beauty of the coyote is its inability to ponder the past. It is happy in a pack or on its own, honoring the moon, the cycle of women. Very soon my freedom will end. No one is perfect but fathers are expected to be.” During his single days, he was free to explore the world, to be with whomever he wanted.

Rita’s pregnancy has not only made him realize that these days are over, but it has also taken the attention off of him. He says, “Rita is the focus of our lives, her belly the pinpoint. I feel the futility of a laid-off worker, the fading sense of being useful.” Offutt uses the switching between the scenes with Shadrack and the scenes with Rita to contrast his “old life” with his new life, and the life that awaits him after his child is born. His days with Shadrack were carefree, and his new life requires him to assume responsibility and leadership. Although Offutt wishes for a son, he says, “a daughter makes more sense because I’m liable to do more damage to a son.” His sense of not feeling needed during Rita’s pregnancy, and his belief that all of the attention is focused on her has left his feeling inadequate. He says, “The seminal stage of family is already pushing me aside.”

When he thinks about the chance that something could go wrong with the birth, he says, “I don’t know which would be worse-losing my mate or raising a child alone. The obvious answer pummels me with shame. My concerns for Rita’s mortality have little to do with her. I want her alive to make life easier for me.” These are the lines that stuck out most to me while reading this part of the novel because they are simply so shocking. Offutt is not a bad person, but rather he is reflecting on his circumstances and he feels as if he is trapped. All of his thinking about his younger days and the fact that he knows that the baby is coming, whether he wants it or not has gotten him worried, and wondering if he has done everything he wanted to do during his “free” days before they are over.

Vocabulary Words:

Incessant: unceasing

Proffering: hold something out; propose something

Renegade: traitor; rebel

Surreptitiously: trying to avoid being noticed

Incredulity: disbelief

"The Same River Twice" Analysis Part 1

One thing that I noticed while reading the first part of this novel is that Chris Offutt uses an underlying fleeting theme to convey to the reader his belief that nothing lasts forever. The first time he introduces this theme is early on, when he describes life on the Iowa River. He says, “people owned their homes but not the land.” While they did partake in ownership, because the land was prone to floods, there was a sense that Mother Nature could destroy the homes unexpectedly. He also describes how Iowa is one of the top agricultural states in the nation. He goes on to say, “Farmers have used the land so long that the richest soil in the nation is just old dirt.” Even though the soil is the best in the nation, even it is not able to sustain crops forever.

While he first describes nature as fleeting with the flood plains and the tired soil, he transitions to discuss how time itself, and the events and relationships one experiences in their life, are also fleeting. He describes his job, “what began as an adherence to freedom became an inability to hold a job.” Jobs can be difficult to keep, due to different demands, both mental and physical, and the degree to which we are able to continue meeting these demands. In this case, while he moved, which can be associated with freedom, he was not able to hold his job. While reflecting back on his past, he says, “My youth was behind me, not misspent exactly, but squandered to a certain extent.” Although he is not unhappy with the way his youth way spent, there is no question that it is over. Youth, like other things, may be described as being “fleeting.” Lastly, Offutt uses contrast though Jahi’s dialogue…“Write down everything I say,” she said. “Make me live forever.” Jahi knows that nothing lasts forever, but she, like many tries to fight it. We often try to fight signs of aging, make the most of our time, and to preserve earth we live on. Jahi hopes that if she is written about in the journal, then it will allow her to be remembered.

Vocabulary Words:

1. Squandered: use something wastefully

2. Intangible: something unquantifiable

3. Impediment: impairment; obstacle

4. Saboteur: somebody who sabotages

5. Guttural: gruff-sounding

6. Labyrinth: confusing network; something very complicated

7. Matriculate: somebody enrolled; student

8. Recalcitrant: resisting authority

Emergency by Denis Johnson Analysis

Vocab Words:

Orderly: assistant in the hospital

Gurney: wheeled hospital stretcher

Austere: plain and without luxury

Saplings: small trees

Johnson uses irony in “Emergency” through his portrayal of the health care professionals. A doctor is the highest rank achievable in the medical field. However, in this story, the doctor acts very unprofessional. Instead of tending to the patient, he calls on Georgie, (who he knows is on drugs) to tend to the patient, and says, “I dialed the hospital operator and told her to get me the eye man and the brain man and the gas man.” He does not use correct terminology and he puts his work off on other people. There is a contrast in that Georgie, the one who lack professional training and who is high on drugs, is the one who removes the knife from the man’s head. Johnson confirms this role reversal in the last line of the story, when Hardee asked Georgie, “What do you do for a job?” and Georgie said, “I save lives.”

Johnson also uses drugs as a major theme in the story. He uses this theme to portray drugs in both positive and negative lights. Drugs cause Georgie to think about deep and moral matters, such as church and worship. The story reads, “”I want to go to church,” Georgie said. “Let’s go to the country fair.” “I’d like to worship. I would.” “They have these injured hawks and eagles there. From the Humane Society,” I said. “I need a quiet chapel about now.” The drugs bring out a deeper and more pensive side of Georgie. On the other hand, they also cause him to be more primal, as with the rabbit example…“A jackrabbit scurried in front of us, and we hit it….He threw the truck in reverse and zigzagged back toward the rabbit. “Where’s my hunting knife?” He almost ran over the poor animal a second time….In a minute he was standing at the edge of the fields, cutting the scrawny little thing up, tossing away its organs.” Through this example, Johnson reveals the negative side of drugs; that they can cause you to do things that you would regret and find repulsive while sober.

Lastly, there is a transition that exists in the last page of the story involving the narrator. The majority of the story, the narrator is not participating; he is observing the doctor and nurse in the hospital, he is observing Georgie clean the floors, and then he agrees to go on the adventure with Georgie, but he lets Georgie take the lead. He is present, but he is not really involved in life. In the last page, however, he picks up Hardee and the reader catches a brief glimpse into their relationship. In the final line, Hardee asks Georgie what he does for a job and Georgie says, “I save lives.” interpreted this line to mean that Georgie was also going to “save” the narrator’s life in that he would help him to stop simply observing life and start really living it.

The Crying of Lot 49 Chapter 5 Analysis

There was a significant transition with respect to Oedipa in chapter 5; Pynchon really showed the tables turning on her. Prior to her being named executrix, Oedipa was portrayed as carefree and easygoing. Although it was only a small part of the first page that describes her prior actions, it says, “One summer afternoon Mrs. Oedipa Maas came home from a Tupper-ware party whose hostess had put perhaps too much kirsch in the fondue…” Even in this one sentence, the fact that it is summertime, she is at a tupper-ware party, and there was alcohol in the fondue gives the reader the perception that Oedipa is likely is a housewife that does not have a lot to worry about.

In the progression of the novel, through a series of actions such as having an affair with Metzger, leaving her home, and just in general being irresponsible, Oedipa is portrayed as acting without giving thought to consequence. It is in Chapter 5, however, that Oedipa begins to see a more serious side of life. It is in this chapter that she is really presented with the issue of decrypting the muted post horn and the play, her husband has gotten into heavy drug use, and her doctor has also gone crazy. She has never really been confronted with these types of problems before and Pynchon uses these series of events to develop her into a more dynamic character.

I also thought it was interesting how the references to drugs and altered mental states continued. When you are on drugs, things are not as they appear and Pynchon uses drugs in this novel to introduce the contrast of appearance vs. reality. For Oedipa, life is not always as it seems, as the reader learns from the progression of the novel. One of the questions that the reader continues to have at the end of the fifth chapter is what was Pierce’s true motive in leaving Oedipa as the executrix of his estate? I find their dynamic to be very interesting because most men in her life don’t seem to have a lot of respect for her… “As with Mucho when she’s left Kinneret, Metzger did not seem desperate at her going.” However, even if Pierce had left the estate for her to sort because he thought she needed to grow up and he knew it would be a difficult job, it still shows that he saw a deeper side of her and believed that she had greater capabilities that she often demonstrated.

The Crying of Lot 49 Chapter 1 Commentary

Right off the bat, this chapter had some very interesting actions and descriptions. When Oedipa first learns that she has been named the "executrix" of Pierce Inverarity's estate, Pynchon launches into a description of her response..."Oedipa stood in the living room, stared at by the greenish dead eye of the TV tube, spoke the name of God, tried to feel as drunk as possible. But this did not work." I think Pynchon is creating a bridge of shared features with the reader through this description because it is very relatable. Although the reader does not yet know what kind of relationship the pair shared, they are able to imagine themselves in a similar situation, and the responses they have when something shocks them. It took me a few times of reading the first page to really understand the background, but once I was able to I found it to be interesting. The imagery of the "greenish dead eye of the TV tube" alludes to a darker, mysterious side of their relationship and leaves the reader wondering how Pierce died and why he left his estate to the trust of Oedipa. As the chapter continues on, some of these questions are answered, but additional questions are also formed. I began to question the dynamic of Oedipa and Mucho, and how the estate might affect their relationship. There is an interesting contrast brought up between Pierce and Mucho in relation to their social status. While Pierce had a good deal of money, he died early and he lost Oedipa. Mucho, on the other hand, does not have a great job but he is still alive and is married (although his wife does seem to have connections with other men). In addition, there is a large focus on altered mental states, through references to drugs and alcohol which I am interested to see if it will continue throughout the rest of the plot.

The Glass Menagerie Analysis Part 2

It was during the second half of the play that the symbolism of Laura’s glass menagerie began to really come together. I think that Williams intended the glass menagerie to symbolize life. Glass is very breakable, and like life, you can try to keep it safe and perfect but sometimes things happen that are out of your control. Laura keeps her collection pristine, as she does her own life. She plays it safe, is very shy, reserved, and remains to herself and within the confines of the apartment. Jim, however, has a different relationship with life. He was the one that by dancing broke a piece of the glass menagerie. He also is the one to break the mold socially; he is outgoing, and seeks to take advantage of all that he can in life. Even though he is still stuck on the “glory days” of high school, he is working on making progress. He pursues a better career through taking public speaking classes. He also pursues the girl he loves. It is an interesting contrast between the two males in the story, and for that matter, there is also a contrast between the two females. As I said, Jim knows what he wants out of life, and he goes after what he wants. Tom, on the other hand, does not know what he wants out of his life and instead, he simply tries to escape his own reality by going on adventures and to the “movies.” As for the women of the play, Amanda knows what she wants out of life. Like Jim, she is the social butterfly, and knows the ways of the world. She knows how to put on a show and how to entertain. Laura, on the other hand, is more closely related to Tom. She does not know what she wants from her life other than her glass collection and her infatuation with Jim. Even though all of the characters in the play have hard lives due to the aftermath of the Great Depression, Laura is the most sympathetic character. Not only was she born slightly crippled and very shy, but during the play, she is teased by getting a glimpse of how happy she would be with Jim and then having it taken away from her in an instant. The characters in the play have an interesting dynamic and the ending leaves the reader to think about how the lives of each of the characters continue.

The Glass Menagerie Comparison

In reading The Glass Menagerie, for some reason I kept drawing parallels to Pride and Prejudice. The mother in Pride and Prejudice and Amanda are similar in that they both want what is best for their children, but they do it in a pushy way that does not make the children happy. I remember the mother in Pride and Prejudice had five daughters and she had made it her mission to see them married in a timely manner. Likewise, Amanda also set her heart on seeing Laura married. In both stories, the mothers trample on their daughters’ feelings a little bit by being so obsessive. Tom reminds me of Lizzie in Pride and Prejudice because they are the more rational characters that get frustrated and see through the motives of their mothers. Laura reminds me of Mary in Pride and Prejudice because they are both a little socially awkward and their mothers worry that they will not get married. It is easy to, as a reader in 2011, to look at these mothers and think about how ridiculous they are acting. However, when you stop and consider the time period and the social and economic pressures, it is easier to understand their behavior. While I do think the two mothers are frustrating characters, during that time period, women were not as immersed in the workforce and without marriage, it was hard for them to make it on their own. Especially in The Glass Menagerie, the family was very poor and Tom even payed the rent so I could see why the mother was so obstinate about seeing Laura married.

"The Flowers" Analysis

“The Flowers,” by Alice Walker, is set during Reconstruction in the south, after the emancipation of slaves. Although during the first paragraph, the reader may question whether or not Myop is a slave because of her tending to the animals and harvesting crops, it is not until the second paragraph that Walker shows the reader the setting of the story and Myop’s background. Walker describes, “the stick clutched in her dark brown hand,” and “the rusty boards of her family’s sharecropper cabin.” Even though Myop is working hard and is still very poor, I would describe the tone of this story as jovial. Myop seems content with her chores; Walker says, “The harvesting of the corn and cotton, peanuts and squash, made each day a golden surprise that caused excited little tremors to run up her jaws.”

There is a transition in tone in the fifth paragraph. While earlier on in the story, there had been imagery of sun and familiarity; there is a sudden shift in tone, as Walker describes the woods, “It seemed gloomy in the little cove in which she found herself. The air was damp, the silence close and deep.” During the first half of the story, Myop had been content with her life of chores and living with her family in a rusty sharecroppers cabin. She was thankful to not be a slave and had an optimistic outlook. However, after she discovers the body of the dead man in the woods, her optimistic outlook is challenged.

Through this transition, Walker shows the reader that even though Myop and her family are not slaves, they still have hard times to face. Walker ends the story with describing the noose hanging from the tree above and saying “Myop laid down her flowers. And the summer was over.” Walker uses this final line as foreshadowing of the challenges that Myop and thousands of children raised during this time would face, and how it would be hard for their optimism to last.

"In a Station of the Metro" Analysis

In a Station of the Metro (Ezra Pound)

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

1) What is a "Metro"? Where is the Metro that Pound describes?

A "Metro" is an underground train. Metro trains are often in large cities, such as New York City and Washington D.C. They have a lot of stops and are an inexpensive way to navigate these cities.

2) What feelings does the poem communicate? Which words and/or phrases contribute to these feelings?

The poem communicates feelings of loneliness and fatigue. I say loneliness because when Pound refers to the crowd in the Metro station, he does not include himself. He says, "these faces." He puts himself in the position of an outsider looking in, even though he is also a part of the crowd. I think that the poem also communicates feelings of fatigue because of the second line, "petals on a wet, black bough." I am not sure exactly what he means by this line, but I am guessing that the "wet, black bough" is the city and the "petals" are the people.