Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Blog #10 Assignment: Oedipus
Sight was the only way that Oedipus believed to "know" the truth. He fooled himself into thinking that what he saw on the surface was the true meaning of his situation. This caused him to be ignorant to many things, especially to the "fate" he was given. Teiresias even makes fun of Oedipus in the story. Oedipus is so full of himself that he cannot understand the hints that Teiresias is giving him throughout their conversation. Teiresias, a blind man, says that Oedipus with both of his eyes is more blind than he is. This is true because up to this point there have been many hints for Oedipus to realize that his oracle has come true, however he stays in the darkness of ignorance up until the very end. This is probably why in the end Oedipus blinds himself. His sight was not enough for him to see the truth and he was left ignorant, so he threw himself into darkness literally after being there figuratively for most of his life. I think that the play is saying that relying too heavily on just sight (understanding the surface of a situation) to find the truth will leave you stuck in the darkness of ignorance, making it impossible to actually discover the truth.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Blog #9 assignment: Free choice
I feel that in the play Oedipus the King, many of the events could have been avoided if his parents had just not gone to the Oracle. They would have never gotten rid of Oedipus, and would have raised him like they should have. It is highly doubtful that if Oedipus had known his real parents, that the same events would have taken place. Or maybe everything happened to test Laios' and Oedipus' personalities. If they were less brash and cruel, their "fates" may have been much less tragic. However, they never took the time to evaluate their situations, and just hastily rushed to conclusions. The play is supposed to be a tragedy, but if you look at what kind of person Oedipus was, his fate was well deserved.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Blog #8 assignment: Poems
Reader response criticism is a good way to analyze the poem "Tell all the Truth but tell it slant" by Emily Dickinson. The poem can be seen in different lights, depending on who is reading it. Some people may agree with Dickinson's opinion that people should use tact whenever telling the truth, or they could disagree and think that it is better to be blunt. I feel that there is a middle ground. Depending on the situation it could be best to use some tact, while in others it may be fine to be upfront. It seems like in the poem, Emily Dickinson is saying that all truths are bad and should not be told in full detail, because the full truth is too much to handle. However, not all truths suffer consequences when told. What if the truth was something good that someone wanted to hear in full, it is doubtful that there would be any consequences to not telling this truth "slant." Since the author is speaking through her opinion on this situation, it is good for the reader to also express their opinion on the topic when reading the poem. This is why reader response criticism is a good way to analyze this poem.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Blog #7 assignment
Caleb Phillips
ENG102.0826
Professor: Dr. Luke Vasileiou
5/4/10
Women in Literature
The stories, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, and “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck share a similar theme. Both stories have a female main character that illustrates what it was like for a woman to live in the past. They had fewer rights and were not respected the same way that the modern woman is. The main characters share the experience of living with these inequalities. However, how they deal with their experiences, as well as the outcome differ for both women. Even though both stories share a similar theme, there are differences within the story that can be attributed to the differing sexes of the authors, as well as the differing times in which they are written.
Louise Mallard is the main character of “The Story of an Hour.” She is a married woman that is living during a time when women had little say in who they were married to, and were fully dependent on their spouse. Mrs. Mallard experiences an epiphany when she is misinformed that her husband has passed, “She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’… [t]here would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself” (Kate Chopin, 317). Mrs. Mallard realizes that she is now free from the oppression of marriage, where men dominated the relationship. However, she soon finds out that her husband is actually still alive. Yet, since she became so emotionally invested in her newfound future, she suffers a heart attack and dies the moment it is taken away.
Kate Chopin is the author of “The Story of an Hour.” The story was written in 1894, a time when women were expected to be submissive towards their husbands. The males were the focal point of marriage back then, and therefore women lived to serve them. Since Kate Chopin was a woman who lived during the late 1800s to the early 1900s, she experienced the woes of marriage for women back then. She was probably speaking through this story on her own true feelings about the topics of women and marriage. This is perhaps why Mrs. Mallard dies in the end of her endeavor; Kate Chopin is saying she would rather die than to go back to living under the oppression of a man.
Elisa Allen, the main character of “The Chrysanthemums,” is also a married woman who is kept down by her husband as well as society’s view on the roles of women. Elisa tries to portray herself as a strong woman that should be regarded as an equal to men. This is evident when she responds to the man from the caravan when he tells her his life is no life for a woman, “Her upper lip raised a little, showing her teeth. ‘How do you know? How can you tell?” (John Steinbeck, 197). Elisa is angered when told something is not for her because of her sex. However, in the end Elisa gives in to her role as a wife and nothing more. She gives up her aspirations to be seen on an equal level with men not only in her marriage, but in society. Elisa ended up realizing that her fight against the unfair treatment towards women was futile, and in the end describes herself as a weakly old woman; a stereotype furthered by sexism.
The story, “The Chrysanthemums,” was written by author John Steinbeck in 1938. Women were definitely more outspoken during this time than the late 1800s. However, they were still discriminated against by the “superior” sex—men. This is some-what portrayed in this story. For example, John Steinbeck writes his views on women that are trying to rival mans place in society and become more independent. As a man, in his story he decides to bring them back down and put them “in their place.” Steinbeck makes Elisa go from a woman striving to be seen as an equal of men into a weak old woman. In a way he is telling women that they should just accept their roles in society because it is where they belong.
Both of these stories deal with women that are living in the past with rights that were less than ideal. They were seen as inferior to a group of people whom belonged to the same race. However, even though these stories share that same theme of women that are living with these inequalities, their dynamics differed. For example, “The Story of an Hour” was about a woman who realizes, after her husband’s “death,” that she actually has a life she can live now. This newfound independence is so meaningful to her, that she dies instead of going back to living under her husband. “The Chrysanthemums” deals with a woman who aspires for equal treatment, and tries to show how strong women can actually be. However, she loses sight of her goals and resorts back to living how her society run by men wants her to live. Both stories differences can be attributed to the opposing views of gender and time that the authors of each story had.
References:
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” LITERATURE: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and writing. 6th ed. Comp. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Pearson: Longman. 316-318. Print.
Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” LITERATURE: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and writing. 6th ed. Comp. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Pearson: Longman. 192-199. Print.
ENG102.0826
Professor: Dr. Luke Vasileiou
5/4/10
Women in Literature
The stories, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, and “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck share a similar theme. Both stories have a female main character that illustrates what it was like for a woman to live in the past. They had fewer rights and were not respected the same way that the modern woman is. The main characters share the experience of living with these inequalities. However, how they deal with their experiences, as well as the outcome differ for both women. Even though both stories share a similar theme, there are differences within the story that can be attributed to the differing sexes of the authors, as well as the differing times in which they are written.
Louise Mallard is the main character of “The Story of an Hour.” She is a married woman that is living during a time when women had little say in who they were married to, and were fully dependent on their spouse. Mrs. Mallard experiences an epiphany when she is misinformed that her husband has passed, “She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’… [t]here would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself” (Kate Chopin, 317). Mrs. Mallard realizes that she is now free from the oppression of marriage, where men dominated the relationship. However, she soon finds out that her husband is actually still alive. Yet, since she became so emotionally invested in her newfound future, she suffers a heart attack and dies the moment it is taken away.
Kate Chopin is the author of “The Story of an Hour.” The story was written in 1894, a time when women were expected to be submissive towards their husbands. The males were the focal point of marriage back then, and therefore women lived to serve them. Since Kate Chopin was a woman who lived during the late 1800s to the early 1900s, she experienced the woes of marriage for women back then. She was probably speaking through this story on her own true feelings about the topics of women and marriage. This is perhaps why Mrs. Mallard dies in the end of her endeavor; Kate Chopin is saying she would rather die than to go back to living under the oppression of a man.
Elisa Allen, the main character of “The Chrysanthemums,” is also a married woman who is kept down by her husband as well as society’s view on the roles of women. Elisa tries to portray herself as a strong woman that should be regarded as an equal to men. This is evident when she responds to the man from the caravan when he tells her his life is no life for a woman, “Her upper lip raised a little, showing her teeth. ‘How do you know? How can you tell?” (John Steinbeck, 197). Elisa is angered when told something is not for her because of her sex. However, in the end Elisa gives in to her role as a wife and nothing more. She gives up her aspirations to be seen on an equal level with men not only in her marriage, but in society. Elisa ended up realizing that her fight against the unfair treatment towards women was futile, and in the end describes herself as a weakly old woman; a stereotype furthered by sexism.
The story, “The Chrysanthemums,” was written by author John Steinbeck in 1938. Women were definitely more outspoken during this time than the late 1800s. However, they were still discriminated against by the “superior” sex—men. This is some-what portrayed in this story. For example, John Steinbeck writes his views on women that are trying to rival mans place in society and become more independent. As a man, in his story he decides to bring them back down and put them “in their place.” Steinbeck makes Elisa go from a woman striving to be seen as an equal of men into a weak old woman. In a way he is telling women that they should just accept their roles in society because it is where they belong.
Both of these stories deal with women that are living in the past with rights that were less than ideal. They were seen as inferior to a group of people whom belonged to the same race. However, even though these stories share that same theme of women that are living with these inequalities, their dynamics differed. For example, “The Story of an Hour” was about a woman who realizes, after her husband’s “death,” that she actually has a life she can live now. This newfound independence is so meaningful to her, that she dies instead of going back to living under her husband. “The Chrysanthemums” deals with a woman who aspires for equal treatment, and tries to show how strong women can actually be. However, she loses sight of her goals and resorts back to living how her society run by men wants her to live. Both stories differences can be attributed to the opposing views of gender and time that the authors of each story had.
References:
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” LITERATURE: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and writing. 6th ed. Comp. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Pearson: Longman. 316-318. Print.
Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” LITERATURE: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and writing. 6th ed. Comp. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Pearson: Longman. 192-199. Print.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Blog #6 assignment
So far I like this class because it is better than I expected since I do not like to write that much. At first I disliked the idea of having to write blogs, but since it reduces the amount of essays required in the class I think it is a good replacement. I actually like the format of the blogs and how we are able to free-write instead of having to write structured essays. I try to keep in mind that other class mates will be reading my blog, so I try to keep my points clear. Reading other students blogs also helps me see how others think about certain things, as well as open me up to new ways of thinking. I don't really know what exactly I was expecting of the class at first, probably just a lot of writing like most English classes. However, since most of the writing in this class is just jotting down my thoughts, it is much more tolerable. My expectations of this class have definitely changed for the better.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Blog #5 Assignment OPTION 2
"If there is something to desire" by Vera Pavlova (Translated by Steven Seymour)
If there is something to desire,
there will be something to regret.
If there is something to regret,
there will be something to recall.
If there is something to recall,
there was nothing to regret.
If there was nothing to regret,
there was nothing to desire.
I remember reading this poem on the train various times during my commute to high school. It made me think about my desires and what I wanted to do with my life. But being a young person, those desires change often. I read this poem as saying that if you have those regrets and memories that may come with aspirations, it was no longer a desire but something real. That it is better to try and fulfill those desires and either obtain them or not, than to not have something to strive for.
Here is a link to the MTA page that has this poem along with others that have been in the subway's Poetry in Motion exhibits(?).
http://www.mta.info/mta/pim/poems.htm
If there is something to desire,
there will be something to regret.
If there is something to regret,
there will be something to recall.
If there is something to recall,
there was nothing to regret.
If there was nothing to regret,
there was nothing to desire.
I remember reading this poem on the train various times during my commute to high school. It made me think about my desires and what I wanted to do with my life. But being a young person, those desires change often. I read this poem as saying that if you have those regrets and memories that may come with aspirations, it was no longer a desire but something real. That it is better to try and fulfill those desires and either obtain them or not, than to not have something to strive for.
Here is a link to the MTA page that has this poem along with others that have been in the subway's Poetry in Motion exhibits(?).
http://www.mta.info/mta/pim/poems.htm
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Blog #4 assignment
I feel that the story “The Chrysanthemums,” by John Steinbeck is a good example of gender criticism. Gender criticism is defined as “the examination of the ways in which sexual identity influences the creation, interpretation, and evaluation of literary works” (Kennedy, X.J. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing). In the end of “The Chrysanthemums,” John Steinbeck has Elisa associate her crying to that of a weakly old woman. Even though Steinbeck has Elisa wanting to break through the gender barriers of her day all throughout the story, she settles by sticking to the gender roles of her society. The approach of gender criticism would help the reader to interpret this story more efficiently because it will make the expectations of women during those times clearer, and makes it easier to understand the hardships that Elisa was going through as well. For example, she had added stress to her already stressful life, just because women were looked down upon for no good reason. Probably like many women during her time, Elisa wanted to be treated as an equal to men and have some say in her life. However, Steinbeck showed how women dealt with these aspirations; they kept them to themselves. The use of gender criticism would help the reader fully understand why Steinbeck's story followed a woman as opposed to a man, as well as explain the events that unfolded around her.
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