Question: November 2003 (b)
Unpacked: How do the jobs and demands of the work place form or define the characters in 2 or 3 works?
Lit. Tech's: Characterization
Works: Metamorphasis, Darkness at Noon, Rappacinni's Daughter (?)
Question: May 2008 (a)
Unpacked: Explain how at least 2 novels or short stories show the development of a sense of self and how sometimes this development is through a purposeful process in which we realize what is happening and strive for change and sometimes it is through an unconscious process in which we don't realize it has happened until after the process is finished.
Lit. Tech's: Characterization, lit movements (like existentialism)
Works: Metamorphasis, The Bluest Eye
Monday, May 4, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Commentary Outline (aka paper 1)
"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!!!!!!!!" How many times have each of us thought that this week? The girl in this poem may have thought the same thing at some point within the piece too. In her poem, Adolesence- II, Rita Dove uses diction, simile, imagery and metaphor to discribe the story of a girl who cuts as a way out of the life she's experiencing.
I) The idea of the story of a teen who is cutting begins to be conveyed through the use of diction.
i) "slice" "sharpened tines" "strips"
a) idea of blades conveyed
ii) "licorice"
a) idea of blood (red stream compared to a red vine)
iii) "bathroom"
a) cutting generally takes place in the bathroom behind closed doors where it can easily be
cleaned up
iv) "'Can you feel it yet?'"
a) can you feel the weight and reality of life
b) does the pain help you know life is real
c) both common reasons cutters say the do it
II) The feeling and imagery of blood and scars are conveyed through metaphor.
i) "pools of ink under moonlight"
a) blood on the bathroom floor
ii) "the ragged holes"
a) hoels ripped in the skin by the blades or what ever object she used to cut
iii) "at the edge of darkness"
a) at the edge of the unfeeling, but unlifted pain of life
iv) "venetian blinds slice up the moon"
a) the pale skin of the girl being slit by the element used to cut
III) The interpretation of the similes within the poem are the last leg of the story of the
girl cutting.
i) "eyes as round as dinner plates"
a) the shocking feeling felt by the cutter
ii) "eyelashes like sharpened tines"
a) the blades of a razor
b) the number three also helps with this image because of the common use of three
bladded razors
IV) conclusion
I) The idea of the story of a teen who is cutting begins to be conveyed through the use of diction.
i) "slice" "sharpened tines" "strips"
a) idea of blades conveyed
ii) "licorice"
a) idea of blood (red stream compared to a red vine)
iii) "bathroom"
a) cutting generally takes place in the bathroom behind closed doors where it can easily be
cleaned up
iv) "'Can you feel it yet?'"
a) can you feel the weight and reality of life
b) does the pain help you know life is real
c) both common reasons cutters say the do it
II) The feeling and imagery of blood and scars are conveyed through metaphor.
i) "pools of ink under moonlight"
a) blood on the bathroom floor
ii) "the ragged holes"
a) hoels ripped in the skin by the blades or what ever object she used to cut
iii) "at the edge of darkness"
a) at the edge of the unfeeling, but unlifted pain of life
iv) "venetian blinds slice up the moon"
a) the pale skin of the girl being slit by the element used to cut
III) The interpretation of the similes within the poem are the last leg of the story of the
girl cutting.
i) "eyes as round as dinner plates"
a) the shocking feeling felt by the cutter
ii) "eyelashes like sharpened tines"
a) the blades of a razor
b) the number three also helps with this image because of the common use of three
bladded razors
IV) conclusion
Friday, March 27, 2009
Jewel
the 1st ? i had while reading this book regarded Jewel and it was a pressing question that really engulfed me as i was reading causing me 2 b really excited when i was able to write on Jewel fer my character analysis. way back at his section on page 14-15 i asked if he was an atheist because he asks. “if there is a God, what the hell is HHHHe for?” now as i sit here i realize that the same question is staring me in the face. from what i’ve read i come up w/the answer, maybe he is. he doesn’t show the same reverence that the other characters seem to show and tends to use the phrase, “Goddamn” a lot. like in the scene where he’s taming his horse. Darl ‘splains that he constantly yells and hits the horse, using the phrase, “Pick up, goddamn your thicknosed soul!” (97) causing us to realize that not only does he not have a very x-tian mouth, but his actions aren’t very x-tian either.
Jewel is further chrarcterized by the fact that he’s not one of Anse’s sons and generally doesn’t act like he’s actually part of the Bundren family. 4 ex in the beginning one of the 1st thins Dewey Dell says is, “And Jewel dont care about anything he is not kin to us in caring, not carin-kin” (26). this st8ment in the beginning gives us the idea that he is very different from the rest of the Bundren family. Tull also explains how Jewel is always off by himself and rather than helping the family, worked to get $ to buy his horse. it’s further ex through the passage that Samson has when Quick says, “’There’s one of them Snopes horses Jewel’s riding.’…. ‘He bought it from pappy’” (112-113). this shows that Jewel is more concerned with his horse than with the rest of his family. the outsiders characterize him through ex how he got his horse not how he acts or where he belongs in the family. this idea is furthered through Darl’s st8ment to Vardaman that Jewel’s mother is a horse. that seems to b the culmination of it all, the person that seems 2 b the leader of the family st8ing that his mother is a horse.
Jewel does have a couple surprises in him for us though. within the passages about the river x-ing, we find that Jewel does indeed care bout his family even if he hadn’t showed it earlier. In the beginning of Darl’s excerpts, Jewel is the same old, not caring, off on his own person that we saw through the beginnin of the book, but then he changes. he becomes the only one in the family really working 2 get the wagon across and then to get Cash’s tools out of the river. he goes into the water many times; even going under to retrieve the saw, which is apparently dangerous since Dewey Dell whimpers his name as he dives to get the saw. this shows that even though he doesn’t constantly show affection for his fam, he does indeed care bout them.
through this ex of Jewel we see that he is a distant, possibly atheist soul who ex the phrase “still waters run deep”. he may not constantly show that he cares, but deep down there is some strong emotion there.
Jewel is further chrarcterized by the fact that he’s not one of Anse’s sons and generally doesn’t act like he’s actually part of the Bundren family. 4 ex in the beginning one of the 1st thins Dewey Dell says is, “And Jewel dont care about anything he is not kin to us in caring, not carin-kin” (26). this st8ment in the beginning gives us the idea that he is very different from the rest of the Bundren family. Tull also explains how Jewel is always off by himself and rather than helping the family, worked to get $ to buy his horse. it’s further ex through the passage that Samson has when Quick says, “’There’s one of them Snopes horses Jewel’s riding.’…. ‘He bought it from pappy’” (112-113). this shows that Jewel is more concerned with his horse than with the rest of his family. the outsiders characterize him through ex how he got his horse not how he acts or where he belongs in the family. this idea is furthered through Darl’s st8ment to Vardaman that Jewel’s mother is a horse. that seems to b the culmination of it all, the person that seems 2 b the leader of the family st8ing that his mother is a horse.
Jewel does have a couple surprises in him for us though. within the passages about the river x-ing, we find that Jewel does indeed care bout his family even if he hadn’t showed it earlier. In the beginning of Darl’s excerpts, Jewel is the same old, not caring, off on his own person that we saw through the beginnin of the book, but then he changes. he becomes the only one in the family really working 2 get the wagon across and then to get Cash’s tools out of the river. he goes into the water many times; even going under to retrieve the saw, which is apparently dangerous since Dewey Dell whimpers his name as he dives to get the saw. this shows that even though he doesn’t constantly show affection for his fam, he does indeed care bout them.
through this ex of Jewel we see that he is a distant, possibly atheist soul who ex the phrase “still waters run deep”. he may not constantly show that he cares, but deep down there is some strong emotion there.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
r-rite, here it is, just for Shoji- my interp of the Red Fox
k, so i'm sure ur all xpectin it by now, but i have an odd interpretation of the Red Fox.
in "A Modest Proposal" Johnathan Swift creates a very despirate view of the people during the Industrial Revolution. i was reminded of this while reading Margret Atwood's "The Red Fox" in which Atwood communicates the idea of a woman becoming a prostitute to try to feed her children. this idea is communicated through symbolism/metaphor, imagery, and diction.
so you're probably wondering where the prostitute came from. so, we'll start out with diction. first, the phrase "pawning their bodies" screams prostitute. next, "elegant scoundrel" signifies that the idea that the animal (or person) is not necessarily one that everyone approves of, but that they look nice and can be "foxy" (ok, i had to use the pun, deal with it). "eyes filled with longing" tends to have a sexual connotation and when paired with "despiration" we can gain the idea that the woman was trying to lure men to sleep with her so that she can get some kind of income.
symbolism/metaphor is the next major way of gaining this interpretation. (i grouped them cuz they really work as one entity.) the description of the body in the 3rd stanza gives the idea in multiple ways. first is that it gives a physical description that has allusions to the cunning mind and alternative motives of a prostitute. the idea that her skinny feet are adept at lies is like they are good at trickery and can be interpreted as though this woman is really good at making a man think that he wants her. i don't remember whose idea it was, but someone said that the feet were a means to an end, a means to getting where you're going, and that fits here too, the idea that the "street walker" uses her feet as a means to a dishonest end works out very well. the line where the speaker says that the fox could tell if they had "a gun or dog" can be interpreted as the prostitute being able to tell if the person was a cop cuz police carry guns and some have dogs too. the "raw heart" can be interpreted as being able to tell if the client is a virgin cuz a professional can tell when someone has no experience what so ever just like a raw heart is untouched and fresh, like raw meat. the phrase "it's only an excuse for zero charity" communicates the idea that the pracice shouldn't be allowed 2 continue n that it's a way not to help these womyn get themselves out of that life.
finally, the imagery in this poem not only helps gain this interpretation, but also helps can be seen when we look at the idea that the 5th stanza is filled with IR imagery, "hunger corrpupts" "mothers squeezing their breasts" and others give the feeling is the IR.
Through this i get the interpretation that the poem'sa about a prostitute
in "A Modest Proposal" Johnathan Swift creates a very despirate view of the people during the Industrial Revolution. i was reminded of this while reading Margret Atwood's "The Red Fox" in which Atwood communicates the idea of a woman becoming a prostitute to try to feed her children. this idea is communicated through symbolism/metaphor, imagery, and diction.
so you're probably wondering where the prostitute came from. so, we'll start out with diction. first, the phrase "pawning their bodies" screams prostitute. next, "elegant scoundrel" signifies that the idea that the animal (or person) is not necessarily one that everyone approves of, but that they look nice and can be "foxy" (ok, i had to use the pun, deal with it). "eyes filled with longing" tends to have a sexual connotation and when paired with "despiration" we can gain the idea that the woman was trying to lure men to sleep with her so that she can get some kind of income.
symbolism/metaphor is the next major way of gaining this interpretation. (i grouped them cuz they really work as one entity.) the description of the body in the 3rd stanza gives the idea in multiple ways. first is that it gives a physical description that has allusions to the cunning mind and alternative motives of a prostitute. the idea that her skinny feet are adept at lies is like they are good at trickery and can be interpreted as though this woman is really good at making a man think that he wants her. i don't remember whose idea it was, but someone said that the feet were a means to an end, a means to getting where you're going, and that fits here too, the idea that the "street walker" uses her feet as a means to a dishonest end works out very well. the line where the speaker says that the fox could tell if they had "a gun or dog" can be interpreted as the prostitute being able to tell if the person was a cop cuz police carry guns and some have dogs too. the "raw heart" can be interpreted as being able to tell if the client is a virgin cuz a professional can tell when someone has no experience what so ever just like a raw heart is untouched and fresh, like raw meat. the phrase "it's only an excuse for zero charity" communicates the idea that the pracice shouldn't be allowed 2 continue n that it's a way not to help these womyn get themselves out of that life.
finally, the imagery in this poem not only helps gain this interpretation, but also helps can be seen when we look at the idea that the 5th stanza is filled with IR imagery, "hunger corrpupts" "mothers squeezing their breasts" and others give the feeling is the IR.
Through this i get the interpretation that the poem'sa about a prostitute
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Lovers on Aran by Seamus Heaney
The timeless waves, bright, sifting, broken glass,
Came dazzling around, into the rocks,
Came glinting, sifting from the Americas
To posess Aran. Or did Aran rush
to throw wide arms of rock around a tide
That yielded with an ebb, with a soft crash?
Did sea define the land or land the sea?
Each drew new meaning from the waves' collision.
Sea broke on land to full identity.
so this his 2 b the shortest poem i've eva read by Heaney, but i really like it
though this is one of Heaney's shortest poems, it is one of his most meaningful and erotic. Heaney cr8s a "hidden message" of sex in his poem, Lovers on Aran though his use of diction, symbolism, and imagery.
the first, and most noticable is the diction. he uses a lot of naudical imagery like waves, rocks, and sea, these have a very calming effect and communicate a very serine feeling about the setting. the idea of the sea also gives us the idea that it is never ending and thus that love is never ending. the words timless, broken glass, dazzing, and sifting have a more corse, feeling to them and they communicate the idea of a harshness. this harshness is extended through the use of the crashing wave words. words like ebb, soft crash, waves' collision, throw, and broke all give us the idea of waves crashing onto the shore which help create the feeling of the deeper meaning offered within this poem.
next is the symbolism and imagery. the symbolism is found within the imagery of this poem. the images of the breaking waves, and the lovers on the beach of Aran cr8 the symbolism of this poem. the continuous image of waves breaking on the beach paired with the talk of possessing the island create the idea that the poem is about sex. dazzling around cr8s the idea of wooing or foreplay. throw wide arms cr8s the image of the lovers falling on2 the beach. the phrases soft crash, waves' collision, and sea broke all give the idea that the lovers are actually having sex. the line saying "did sea define the land or land the sea?" takes this idea further and we get the idea that he's asking the question did the sex begin in the love or did the love begin because of the sex.
these images are unprecedented in the poetry that we've read by Heaney. in his other poems he didn't talk about sex except for the idea that the girls shouldn't have engaged in sex with the british soldier or that there was a bad conntation to adultary. here he speaks about sex as a very passionate act.through these devices, we see that Heaney creates a ver erotic and sexual message about the island of Aran .
The timeless waves, bright, sifting, broken glass,
Came dazzling around, into the rocks,
Came glinting, sifting from the Americas
To posess Aran. Or did Aran rush
to throw wide arms of rock around a tide
That yielded with an ebb, with a soft crash?
Did sea define the land or land the sea?
Each drew new meaning from the waves' collision.
Sea broke on land to full identity.
so this his 2 b the shortest poem i've eva read by Heaney, but i really like it
though this is one of Heaney's shortest poems, it is one of his most meaningful and erotic. Heaney cr8s a "hidden message" of sex in his poem, Lovers on Aran though his use of diction, symbolism, and imagery.
the first, and most noticable is the diction. he uses a lot of naudical imagery like waves, rocks, and sea, these have a very calming effect and communicate a very serine feeling about the setting. the idea of the sea also gives us the idea that it is never ending and thus that love is never ending. the words timless, broken glass, dazzing, and sifting have a more corse, feeling to them and they communicate the idea of a harshness. this harshness is extended through the use of the crashing wave words. words like ebb, soft crash, waves' collision, throw, and broke all give us the idea of waves crashing onto the shore which help create the feeling of the deeper meaning offered within this poem.
next is the symbolism and imagery. the symbolism is found within the imagery of this poem. the images of the breaking waves, and the lovers on the beach of Aran cr8 the symbolism of this poem. the continuous image of waves breaking on the beach paired with the talk of possessing the island create the idea that the poem is about sex. dazzling around cr8s the idea of wooing or foreplay. throw wide arms cr8s the image of the lovers falling on2 the beach. the phrases soft crash, waves' collision, and sea broke all give the idea that the lovers are actually having sex. the line saying "did sea define the land or land the sea?" takes this idea further and we get the idea that he's asking the question did the sex begin in the love or did the love begin because of the sex.
these images are unprecedented in the poetry that we've read by Heaney. in his other poems he didn't talk about sex except for the idea that the girls shouldn't have engaged in sex with the british soldier or that there was a bad conntation to adultary. here he speaks about sex as a very passionate act.through these devices, we see that Heaney creates a ver erotic and sexual message about the island of Aran .
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Plog Numero 3- BREAK!!!!!! o, i wish it were mine...
ok, so we're all feelin the need for a break, but i highly doubt it's the kinda break Seamous Heaney talks bout in his poem, "Mid-Term Break". in this poem, Heaney creates a somber tone and a "hidden message" (yeah, that's what i wanna call the one u gotta look fer, u got a prob, 2 bad, deal) of the feeling of loss caused by war. He creates this feeling though his use of diction and imagery.
the diction in this piece just kinda smacks u in the face. Heaney uses a lot of emotion words to give the reader the fell of being over run w/emotion like they would b if they were experiencing death in war. the strange mixture of words like laughed and cooed with words like angry and crying. these help 2 give the feel of bein stuck in a war. life goes on while a war is goin n this mix of happy n sad words gives us that feel. additionally, he uses words with a connotation of sickness n/or death like college sick bay or bells. in a college sick bay you are surrounded with sickness all the time and bells are commonly used at church survices and funeral serives in particular.
the other thing that really screams @ u in this poem is the imagery that Heaney uses, specifically the war imagery. the use of things like the ambulemce arrived and the corpse (he uses the corpse rather than my brother or something- all i can pic is Hawkeye talkin bout meatball surgery and none of u actually understood that ref. so w/e but i like it so there it is) and gaudy scars and poppy brusies and stanched and bandaged. these are thins u'd spect 2 hear while talkin 2 a war correspondant and the detached feeling that u get is a feeling u'd get from a bad news anchor. these aren't thins u'd spect 2 hear bout a guy whose little brother just died cuz he was hit by a car. idk, seems odd. it's almost like the little kid was a soldier in the fight that the speaker was talkin bout.
i guess the important thin is that we understand that life isn't somethin that u can sluff through n have it always b ok. that's what Heaney is getting at here, life doesn't always work out the way we spect it 2. sometimes little kids die, sometimes bad stuff happens, sometimes soldiers get killed. the important thin seems to b that they were fightin fer somethin they believed in or that they were playin a game that they liked. (yeah, if ur hearin the sound track in my mind, you're totally hearin John Mayer's Believe rt now...) this is the effect that Heaney achieves in "med-term break" a somber tone and the feeling of loss due 2 war.
the diction in this piece just kinda smacks u in the face. Heaney uses a lot of emotion words to give the reader the fell of being over run w/emotion like they would b if they were experiencing death in war. the strange mixture of words like laughed and cooed with words like angry and crying. these help 2 give the feel of bein stuck in a war. life goes on while a war is goin n this mix of happy n sad words gives us that feel. additionally, he uses words with a connotation of sickness n/or death like college sick bay or bells. in a college sick bay you are surrounded with sickness all the time and bells are commonly used at church survices and funeral serives in particular.
the other thing that really screams @ u in this poem is the imagery that Heaney uses, specifically the war imagery. the use of things like the ambulemce arrived and the corpse (he uses the corpse rather than my brother or something- all i can pic is Hawkeye talkin bout meatball surgery and none of u actually understood that ref. so w/e but i like it so there it is) and gaudy scars and poppy brusies and stanched and bandaged. these are thins u'd spect 2 hear while talkin 2 a war correspondant and the detached feeling that u get is a feeling u'd get from a bad news anchor. these aren't thins u'd spect 2 hear bout a guy whose little brother just died cuz he was hit by a car. idk, seems odd. it's almost like the little kid was a soldier in the fight that the speaker was talkin bout.
i guess the important thin is that we understand that life isn't somethin that u can sluff through n have it always b ok. that's what Heaney is getting at here, life doesn't always work out the way we spect it 2. sometimes little kids die, sometimes bad stuff happens, sometimes soldiers get killed. the important thin seems to b that they were fightin fer somethin they believed in or that they were playin a game that they liked. (yeah, if ur hearin the sound track in my mind, you're totally hearin John Mayer's Believe rt now...) this is the effect that Heaney achieves in "med-term break" a somber tone and the feeling of loss due 2 war.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Donne # 2
the 1st thin u think of when u hear the wrd "song" is generally something rather happy, maybe Jack's Mannequin in sound. this is not the case fer John Donne apparently, judging by his poem, "Song". in "Song," Donne uses diction, use of imperatives, enjambment, and tone to show the speaker's frustration w/himself about his treatment and views of womyn.
the 1st thin that strikes u when lookin @ this poem is his use of imperatives. the 1st stanza has a lot of these. he uses wrds like "go," "get," "tell," "teach," and "find." these r all wrds that imply that he is lookin fer somethin 2 actually happen from the speaker's convo with the listener. this use of imperatives soon disappears as he seems 2 lose site of what he wants. in the 2nd stanza, he begins 2 use statements like "if thou" and "wilt." these are wrds that imply that he doesn't necessarily want the answers 2 the ?'s that he asked in the beginning. this shows not only confusion as 2 what he wants, but also a kinda frustration as 2 the way he views n interacts w/womyn.
we can find a further indication of his frustration in his sudden flip in tone in the 3rd stanza. in the 1st n 2nd stanzas, the speaker has a very bitter n cynical tone. he basically says that a tru, honest woman doesn't exist. he continues to say that he wants the person he's addressing to return n tell him bout this tru woman if he/she finds such a creature. in the 3rd stanza, he says, "stanza 3 he says, "if thou findst one, let me know… yet do not, I would not go…" he continues to say that even if he found such a woman, he wouldn't deal w/her cuz she would b "false, ere I come, to two, or three." Essentially he says that the woman would b goin against her nature if she were tru, so he'd rather just have 2 or 3 womyn @ a time. this cr8s a rather cynical, bitter tone and the frustration w/this way of life is clear.
the final indication of his frustration comes from the use of enjambment. The 2 commas in the first stanza (1 aftr go in the 1st line n one aftr tell me in the 3rd line) cause the reader to pause and the thought is broken up in an odd way as though the speaker is havin a hard time communicatin what he wants 2 happen. In all 3 stanzas, the 7th n 8th lines are composed of 2 wrds n indented. this cr8s a feel of confusion and frustration cuz not only is the thought broken up, but the reader is caused to make long pauses while jumping to the beginning of the nxt line.
thus we come 2 find that the speaker in Donne's poem, "Song," is highly confused and frustrated. that effect was achieved through Donne's use of imperatives, enjambment, use of diction, and cr8ion of tone. idk, it seems unfortunate that Donne didn't actually have a song in mind when writin this, cuz the tones of Jack's Mannequin's MFEO or Holiday from Real would be far more pleasant to listen 2 than the cynical frustration xtpressed in this poem.
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