Wow, the power of words

Before I continue this specific post, I just want to give a heads up that the rest of my blog posts are probably going to comprise of talk about the readings we did in the last few weeks of class. I feel like I may not have discussed much of the literature we read earlier in the semester, but I just really connected with the last few weeks worth of studying.

Now back to the discussion of the literature. I'm dedicating this post to the poem by Gwendolyn Brooks called "the mother." This isn't a poem that we were technically assigned to read, but we discussed it in class and it really stuck with me.
I could probably sum up everything but these few words: wow, that's powerful. That's a simple statement but it's so true.This is a subject barely anyone will talk about, mainly for the fact that it's controversial and people are extremely passionate about whatever side he/she chooses to take. Most people aren't willing to change his/her opinion, no matter what that side is. This subject is abortion and Brooks takes the viewpoint of a woman who has had multiple abortions. This is such a extreme topic, especially for the fact that barely anyone talks about it. Abortion is one of those things that every person has an opinion, but most people choose not to share it. There's also the fact that is a more unfavorable opinion that some people don't kindly do. That opinion would be what we call "pro-choice."
While this poem doesn't necessarily take a pro-choice standpoint, it takes the view of someone who has had an abortion. A person doesn't understand how hard an abortion is to have until it happens to that person. It's easy for to give a woman crap for her choice to have an abortion when a person has never been in a situation where abortion was a possibility. When a person discovers the fact that a woman had an abortion, he/she can't get over the fact that the woman ended a baby's life. Yes, that's true, but that decision is not easy for any woman and a woman has her reasons for the abortion. No one ever thinks of the fact that the woman who had an abortion actually cared for the baby she was carrying inside her. That never seems to matter to anyone. But this poem takes a look at the case of a woman who has to get an abortion and her feelings towards it. Like I mentioned earlier, it is so powerful. This poem takes a step back from what actually happens in an abortion and takes a look at the emotion behind it. This woman in the poem loved all the children very much, but whatever reason was not able to have the children.
I find it kind of hard to accurately describe this poem or even come up with a response for it with words. All I can say over and over is how powerful it is. I guess it leaves me speechless a bit. This poem gives us a perspective that we didn't have before. It gives us a look into an experience most of us have never had before and feelings hopefully most of us will not have to experience.

There's More to a Pretty Face

Unlike most of my class it seemed, I enjoyed Blanche's character in A Streercar Named Desire. Maybe it was because I studied in character more in depth than most people in the class did. You had to look into her character and individually look at her actions and match those up with her stories that she tells. You have to follow the connections to really understand her and that's what makes it beautiful.
Blanche is extremely misunderstood. On the outside, most people did not like her character because she was ditzy and quite the drama queen. If you look further, you will find a really hurt woman who has no place in the world. Blanche has literally lost everything in her life. Her parents died, she lost the property she grew up on, her finance died very young after she found out he was gay, her sister moved away, and she lost her job. That is a lot for any person to handle, so can you really blame her for being a bit crazy? That woman has been through hell and back. Not to mention, she is homeless with no person in the world to care for her. We choose to fill our voids in different ways, and no one has any right to judge her for the way she chose to fill hers.
People just take her character face value and the way she acts. One doesn't ever stop to think about why she acts the way that she does.

It seems that I've abandoned this blog quite a lot through the semester, and I can honestly say I regret it a bit. Now it is the end of semester and we will no longer be meeting in class and I feel like I have so much more to say. 

As I was going to sleep the other night, I couldn't help but to think about how much I will miss this class. It was amazing to be able to share thoughts and opinions with other classmates, regardless if everyone shared the same thoughts, and have it respected and given consideration. That is not something you find easily in the adult world. 

I also thought about how much of an impact that class had on me. This is my first year from college, and it was also my first year away from home. I just moved to Dayton in August, and all my family lives closer to Cleveland. Needless to say, this year was a little rough for me as I transitioned into the adult world. There were often times this semester that I would lose my way and I would lose sight for what I was trying to achieve. My education often fell behind, while what I thought were more important things took more of my focus and energy. It took me quite a while to pull myself back in and remind myself that education means everything to me. Most my passion comes from learning and intelligent conversations. In our world now, that isn't something that always happens frequently. It wasn't until this class was over, that I realized just how much I was getting from the class. My other classes didn't have that stimulating conversation and thought provoking material. It was mostly just classes for the grade and that was all my peers cared about in those classes. But as I reflect back on this class, I cherish it so much. And it made me realize that English is the perfect degree for me to seek because I surround myself with the same essence that I received from this class.

So now I am here, realizing that I have so much to say. Of course, throughout the day there will be multiple blog posts from me. There is also a good chance that I will continue this blog, because like Christina said in her presentation, we all have a voice and I often feel like I have something to say.

I realize now that I'm rambling, so in short I just want to thank all my classmates so much for a great semester. I gained so much from this class and I hope all of you did. And honestly, I hope a lot of you continue with your blogs because you all have wonderful things to say as well. I really enjoy reading your posts, especially when you connect to your own life. It's amazing how literature connects us all. 

I vs. We

I have a lot of problems sometimes with poems. I absolutely love them. I love the way the words stream together to become beautiful music. I love the combinations of words that just seems to flow effortlessly together. That doesn't mean I always understand what the poet is trying to say. That was definitely the case with the short poem "The Death of the Ball Turrent Gunner" by Randall Jarrell.
On the first few readings, all I thought of it was that it was the death of the ball turrent gunner. I didn't think anything more of it than the title basically. It wasn't until almost the end of the class and everyone had been discussing it that I had a huge realization of the meaning. It was an I vs. We thing. This poem was making an individual out of something that was never really thought of in that way. The military is usually talked about as a whole. We someone dies, you don't really care unless you know that person specifically. This poem was talking about an individual death, which I thought was really powerful. It illustrates this one man last moments of life and his death. So many people in the military die, you don't really take the time to consider how scary it is for each individual person right as he/she knows he/she is about to die. As the reader, you see the instance this person is about to die and how as soon as he dies, his remains are washed out like it's nothing. Your individuality means nothing in the military. As soon as the remains were washed out, the next person probably went in.I thought it was kind of sad. Sure, you become part of bigger force in the military, but your life becomes so meaningless and unimportant. You don't matter as person anymore. The only thing that matters is the greater good which is decided by some other person.

Guilt and Blame

Compared to the last story, I really enjoyed Ernest Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." Which is really weird the more I think about it because it does the same thing that I didn't like in "To Build a Fire." This story also points out a flaw in humans. But in this one focuses on one, rather than multiple. This story brings into light the fact that, as humans, we are always blaming the people around us for our flaws.
The man in this story is very bitter over the fact that he is dying and doesn't have time to write all the things he has been putting off. I can definitely relate to that, because it's actually a big fear of mine. The man in this story blames his wife for the fact that he is dying. He blames her for the fact that he stopped writing. He also blames her for the fact that his talent was dwindling away. He basically blames his wife for everything bad in his life.
I thought it was terrible that he was treating his wife like that. He said so many nasty things to her as he was dying. He called her names and he told her he never loved her. Of course I was appalled that he could treat his wife like that. Why, if he never loved her, why did he ever marry her? I was filled with disgust for how he treated her. The sad thing though, it's so true. We blame the people around us for our flaws. We don't always realize we are doing it though. We can never blame ourselves. We can never come outright and say that we are the reason that things aren't going the way we want in life. It always has to be someone else's fault. Of course, his case was more extreme. We don't always go to the extremes that Harry did. He became really nasty and was outright about it. Sometimes we don't even realize that we are doing it. But we do do it. And I think that's why I liked this story so much. It made me realize this one human flaw.

To Build a Fire

I honestly can not stand stories like Jack London's "To Build a Fire." It has nothing to do with who the author is. It's just the fact that the story line is the same. Some hot shot thinks he is going to be original and go out into the wilderness. He thinks he's going to be different and somehow have the ability to control the wilderness despite what everyone else tells him. He's arrogant and some weird God complex. He ignores what everyone tells him and that ends up being the death of him. It doesn't matter who the character is, or how well written the piece is, I still can't stand these stories. Because they all end the same and happen the same.
I'm not going to deny that Jack London hasn't done a beautiful job of writing this piece. There were quite a few things that I thought were brilliant in this story. But that doesn't stop the fact that I really don't like the story line, and I think that's the point.
I don't even know the main character's name and I hate him. I hate his arrogance. I hate how stupid he is. I hate how he thinks he can conquer pure wilderness despite all the warnings. I hate how he treats the dog. I think the thing I hate the most is the terrible name he gives to humans.
There is a huge comparison between the dog and this unknown man in this story. The dog through the whole thing is loyal to the man, but knows that in order to survive they need to keep warm. The dog knows the importance of fire. "The dog had learned fire, and it wanted fire, or else to brrow under the snow and cuddle its warmth away from the air" (652). The man, on the other hand, just continually thinks about how cold it is. The man doesn't have any other thoughts other than getting to his guy friends as quickly as possible and the mere fact that it is cold. "Once in a while the thought reiterated itself that it was very cold and that he had never experienced such cold" (652). He doesn't think about fire until it's too late.
He doesn't show any compassion to the dog at all. I'm not even sure why he brought it along in the first place. "[T]here was no keen intimacy between the dog and the man. The one was the toil-slave of the other, and the only caresses it had ever received were the caresses of the whip-lash and of harsh and menacing throat-sounds that threatened the whip-lash" (654). The only time he thinks about the dog is when he knows he's going to die and is going to kill the dog in order to try to save himself. That part made me really mad. It was the human's dumb fault for getting himself in this situation. He doesn't listen to any of the warning signs, or even the dog. If he would have took the time and the precautions, he probably would have lived. Or, if he would have even been a bit nicer to the dog, the dog would have put in an effort to try to save the man.
The man in this piece gives such a bad light to humans. It shows all our bad qualities, especially compared to the dog. It shows our selfishness, our arrogance, our ideal that we are better than everything.

Poor Alice

When I first read "The Other Two" by Edith Wharton, I had a different response than any of the ones we discussed in class. I was initially a bit mad after reading it. I'll explain why, but first I just want to state that I didn't think of any of the social aspects. I didn't think of any of the characters social rank or how that plays in society. My reaction came purely from the interaction between the characters themselves, and needless to say, I wasn't fond of it. 

What made angered me was how Mr. Waythorn treated his wife, Alice. He talks about her in a really creepy way, and it only gets worse after everything that is going on with her ex-husbands. He's very possessive over her. He acts as if she is his object to show off rather than his partner in marriage. “Waythorn felt himself yielding again to the joy of possessorship. They were his, those white hands with their flitting motions. His the light haze of hair, the lips and eyes. . . .”(526). No woman should be treated as an object. Mr. Waythorn becomes nastier after Alice’s two ex-husbands become a part of their life. When Mr. Waythorn married Alice he knew that she had two previous marriages. In the beginning, he seems to be relatively okay with that. He realizes that she’s made mistakes in her past, but the past is done and over with. All that matters is that they are married now. But that’s not the truth. Mr. Waythorn just wants Alice to be that perfect, obedient trophy wife. He can’t stand to think that she was previously another man’s wife. His overall language and demeanor towards her changes when he is constantly being reminded of her previous husbands. He acts if she’s some dirty creature who is so below him, when she really should be his equal. I understand that it was a different time period and woman were treated differently, but it still made me mad.