the lady and the dog

I'm glad that we had to do the questions associated with this story because they gave me a new insight to its fundamentals. In question 2 we were supposed to pick the story apart by section and determine how the setting related to the action. In section three the weather is cold and everything is dead because it is winter in Moscow. I thought this was a great reflection of the Anna and Dimitri's relationship because by this time she has gone back home to her husband and their relationship is pretty much cold and dead as well.

the way of life

This poem has officially taken the spot as most confusing to date! After our class discussion, I can see how it is about a man watching television. I had an idea that it might be about him flipping through a magazine from the line that were he "waited for teh next ad." I had a feeling the "ad" was somehow significant, but couldn't quite put it all together. As I read through the poem, I wasn't sure if the lines were meant to be taken literally or figuratively. For example, i wasn't sure if the first stanza was talking about a criminal flooring another after their escape, or if the stanza referred to people in general being backstabbers to one another.

the night wind

I really enjoyed this poem I think because of how abstract it is and therefore it can be interpreted in so many different ways. I got an image of death as I read it. The wind seemed to be telling the girl to live her life while she is able to and to come out and play while she is still alive and able. I think it had an underlying message about taking chances and being able to take risks.

on the late massacre in piedmont

Martyred-One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle

i didn't like this poem for the simple fact that it was so depressing. the tone of the poem expressed sadness over the lives that were lost on the battlefied, but also anger and a promise of vengence. i think the speaker is determinee. the way the poem is written, in sonnet form, helps to give this feeling becuase it is a steady flow. if it had been written freehand it would sound all over the place. this way the words have a rhythem, like the march of soldier's feet going to war.

the flea

maidenhead-virginity

this poem is humerous because the man is trying to convince the woman to have sex with him, but she won't. to make it even funnier, he refers to a flea as already mixing their blood for them. this poem is interesting because it could take place anywhere at anytime. there is no real setting that is described at all. the only thing that is described in detail is the flea which the woman ends up squishing. the man takes this beyond just killing a flea and becomes all dramatic, saying that the woman had no right to kill the bug. the poem makes we wonder how the woman and the man wound up in the awkward situation they are in. i think that would have made a facinating poem in itself.

situation and setting

cheerylog road

Chassis-Automotive. the frame, wheels, and machinery of a motor vehicle, on which the body is supported

Envoy-a diplomatic agent

convoy-The act of accompanying or escorting, especially for protective purposes

i liked this poem becuase i thought it was a very different take on a love scene. the poem is so different because the speaker doesn't go into any kind of detail about how the love scene unfolds. instead, he focuses on the cars in the junkyard which make up the setting around them. i think he beings to feel something as soon as he walks in just because he anticipates what always comes when he goes there. i think he feels excited by the prospect that he's doing something he shouldn't be doing, like a teenager consuming alcohol.

the cask of amontillado

The main aspect of this twisted story that confused me was why Montressor would want to kill his "friend" in the first place. In my opinion, he shouldn't be refering to Fortunato as a "friend" at all. People don't kill thier friends. Montressor says that he comitted his sick act because Fortunato "ventured upon insult", but what the actual insult was is never never revealed. The story is still very successful without it becuase the harmful act is not what is important. The fact that Montressor committed this fearful dead is what is important and what makes the story.

The story seemed to be to be a confession. I believed Monstressor was speaking to God and trying to justify his innocence. I believe he still feels guilty after all these years that he committed this horrible crime.

I think this is a fantastic piece to use to show point of view. The speaker is untrustworthy becuase we only see his side of the story. Never do we get to hear Fortunat's side. We can't believe everything that this speaker tells us.

this is what it's supposed to look like...

As you read, keep a journal in which you jot down (and look up) words you do not know, your questions about the piece and its context (both within the course and within the literary canon) and your ideas inspired by the piece. PLEASE WRITE LEGIBLY or TYPE. Your journal can also be kept online in the form of a blog.

i just put this in here because i have to keep looking it up anywayz....

A Good Man is Hard to Find

My initial reaction to this story was one of complete disguest. I detest murder, and this story was all about killing and dying. Ok, enough being spiteful. I think the piece was a good one in the sense of our learning about characterization, because there were all different types of characters in the plot. The characters interacting with one another were from different walks of life and of all different age groups so the way they communicated with one another was interesting to observe. Not much detail was given about the character's personal lives, so it was up to us to glean what we could from their actions and speech.

One aspect that struck me right away was the hints of the time this story was written/occured in. What caught my attention was that of the language and the car ride. The author refers to the comics the children are reading as "funny papers". I've heard my grandmother use this term to refer to comics in the newspaper. Later, the Grandmother refers to an African American boy as a "Nigger" which is a thowback to her age and the age of the piece. Another incident is when the author describes the seating arrangements in the car. The baby sits in the middle seat in the front of the car. This is certainaly illegal today.

weeks 1 and 2

Barbie Doll

Dexterity- skills in physical movements

Consummation- the act of consuming; fulfilling

I think this piece speaks about all girls who have ever felt they weren’t pretty enough. The title is significant because it relates to children growing up believing they should look like Barbie who is the perfect human. Unfortunately most people don’t have perfect bodies. The girl as related in lines 7-9 is portrayed as being smart and in good health, but in todays world these qualities don’t count for much. The poem has a sad tone even though it doesn’t convey remorse outright. The events themselves show us how unhappy the girl was.

Leaving the Motel

I don’t think this poem is about love as most of us view love to be. I believe it is about a sexual act between two people that is supposed to be forbidden. I see a young couple who are engaged to different people having a one night stand. I draw this conclusion from the last line where the author talks about “other names”. It’s as if the two people are getting married later and their last names will change later. This piece is written like a list poem and like most lists, it is not detailed, but generalized. As such it is very open to interpretation.

The Ruined Maid

This poem is difficult to interpret because of the language it is written in. It was written in the mid 1800s and we just don’t talk this way anymore. The whole poem seems to be ironic because Melina, the “ruined woman” is proclaiming that to have all these good things her friend points out like a new dress and new gloves one must be ruined. She says the reason her nameless friend is still a poverty stricken farm girl is because she is not “ruined.”

Death of a Young Son by Drowning

Bathysphere- A spherical deep-diving chamber in which persons are lowered by a cable to study the oceans and deep-sea life.

Cairn- A mound of stones erected as a memorial or marker

The tone of this piece is defiantly sad, but I think it’s passively sad because the father’s grief is never actually spoken of. I believe this poem to be about a son who travels to see his father in “this country” which I interpreted to be America because of line 6. In the line the speaker refers to how he doesn’t have a claim to the land he resides on. He can’t claim the land of his own because he is a foreigner, an immigrant. Te son fell into the water and the mission set out to rescue him failed. The son’s life was the father’s future. The father was to live on through his son, but now that dream is over. It’s spring, and life goes on, and the father travels to get his son and to bury him in America like a flag, which I took to mean he buried him free.

Soliloquy of the Spanish cloister
Abhorrence- One that is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent.
Refection- a portion of food or drink; repast.

This has been the most confusing piece yet! This poem is another good example of how people used to talk differently. It’s so hard to understand this piece because no one talks like that anymore. This manner of speaking reminds me of Shakespeare: Difficult yet beautiful. The poem seems to convey anger. Poems like this make me think about poems in omniscient form because the reader can’t completely trust them because we’re only given one point of view. Maybe Brother Lawrence is the good guy after all, we’ll never know.