No Name Woman

What I took most from Kingston's, "No Name Woman" was the mother's theatrical wisdom that she passed to her daughter. It was almost like code, "don't embarrass the family" made me chuckle. This story in a sense is a search for personal identity. In real life we do the same thing. 

I can definitely relate in a way because my grandmother use to do the same thing. She would use story's with a bad ending in order to "smarten me up" or keep me from doing something. And, am also very familiar with the ever so popular, "do not embarrass me" or "us" katie. So although, this story had a very serious connotation that surrounded it, I have to chuckle thinking back to this story using a different light.

Hopefully, this was not to inappropriate of a comparison. I wouldn't want to EMBARRASS MYSELF.

Suburbia

What thoughts did Ginsberg have that night? How about the, "neon fruit supermarket" and the "families shopping at night"! "A supermarket in California" may not be my favorite Ginsberg piece now that I have partaken in a presentation of the Supermarket and Suburbia. Fortunately for everyone reading this, you get to hear my real, personal opinion.

Personally, I think this all awful. We are completely destroying everything around us, one tree at a time. For example, there are 3 coffee shops, two of them both being Starbucks in the same 3 block radius. Is this really necessary. Do we really need 40 hairsalons, 15 banks and a million restraunts all on Mayfield road? NO. Wake up people, we are all conformists, when is someone going to do something about it?

Party

Ellison's, "A Party Down at the Square" is a gut-retching short story about a young man's experience watching an African American man get tortured and killed. The story was written in the modernist era, but sadly this narrow-minded mentality still exists today. 

For some reason, many of us are infatuated and intrigued by watching other people suffer. Often, when we feel we just can't "watch" or "look" anymore, or turn way, we don't. Because something inside of us likes to see other people suffer. The biggest examples I can use is our infatuation with the media's portrayal of the war, and even bigger, our infatuation with reality television. We don't watch reality television to watch every one get along, we watch it to see everyone degrade and tear each other apart. That is really what it is all about. Gotta love America folks!

Waiting .....

Clifford Odets, "Waiting For Lefty" is a dialogue of a group of people gathering to strike, and in this case they are cabdrivers in New York. They all seem to be "waiting" for Lefty, who is the strike leader. Unfortunately, Lefty ends up being a victim of the upheaval and is killed. More importantly, the underlying theme is their promotion of the communist revolution, during the depression.

Now, does it not seem like every-time we are having a major problem socially or economically, the government becomes ridiculously paranoid. Look at today, we are so paranoid that we identify every middle-eastern person as a terrorist. We have all of these new found "rules" and "regulations" for our "protection". Now, the government is using these issues to  violate our own rights and privatization, i.e. the 'Patriot Act". Yea, real patriotic. 

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

I find it amusing that I read Porter's short story the very next week after my last blog response. Granny Weatherall reminds me of many of the other older people that I know. Disgruntled and seemingly waiting to die. Everything seems to be happening more in her head than in real life. Hope seems to be her biggest let down for she has been left at the alter by her husband. It seems that she fears similarly that she has been "left at the altar" by God. Perhaps, maybe she has come to the conclusion that there is no god. Ah.. "there's nothing more cruel than this".        

Thank YOU, Langston

In response to Langston Hughes' poem, "Goodbye Christ", all I can say is thank you someone said it. Let me see, let me watch my words here. I believe in faith, and faith is amazing and spiritual and gives us all "morals". But, do not give me a book upon my ability to read words and force me to worship and open my heart to something that has been so commercialized, over written, and "swelled up" as Hughes put it. What have I seen and witnessed but the "story of Christ" and its inflammation of many sorts. This is my testimony. Let me believe what I want, let me ask the questions I please and do not silence me. Give me "free will". Count me in on Hughes' final words, "And nobody's gonna sell Me, to a king, a general, or a millionaire". I'll continue to make my mother cry and believe what I want.

 

Cleveland Frost

So, I was sitting in my drafty apartment in downtown Cleveland, and it was dumping snow Wednesday night. I picked up my book and started reading until I came to Frost's poem "Desert Places". The very first line I read included, "Snow falling and night falling fast, oh fast", and I could not help to think what similarities Mr. Frost and I both saw. He also talked about feeling absent-minded, lonely and empty. He made it clear that the snow symbolized not only whiteness, but blankness and nothing to express, which makes comparisons to people, and I felt it myself. He ended with, "To scare myself with my own desert places". Here he has make symbolic comparisons between nature (snow) and people, or even himself. And- I could not help but to make comparisons with the miserable falling snow, the miserable city of Cleveland and how truly miserable it makes me. Thank you Robert Frost and thank you Cleveland.

Woolson Response

My favorite of all of the writers was Constance Fenimore Woolson. "Miss Grief" has truly been my favorite short story I have read this year, not only because it is well written and received, but because I believe it shares a bigger picture. Perhaps, that can be summed up by an expression used near the end of the story, "she, with the greater power, failed-I, with less, succeed." Woolson has the main character mispronounce Miss Crief's name as "Miss Grief", which seems to be somewhat of a reality, because she looks so miserable all of the time and seems so dim, much like an old maid. Throughout the story he seems to take somewhat of a liking and interest in Miss Crief, and attempts get her story published, but runs into many hardships with that. In the end he sees her to her death bed and comes to many realizations. "Miss Grief" gave him light and helped him figure out much about life, himself and others "unaccepted". I think the author is suggesting that we could all learn something from Miss Crief!

Standing Bear Response

The reading that most affected me was Standing Bear's response, "What I Am Going to Tell You Here Will Take Me Until Dark". First off, it takes an immense amount of courage to stand up to the people who by force are taking over your land and controlling your people, and later taking them to court. When the issue was addressed and ruled in favor of in a court of law, it became the catalyst for more equal treatment, acknowledgment and respect for the Native Americans and their people. This declared that the Native Americans were "people" within the meaning of the laws in the United States. Not to mention the fact that this occurred after he lost one-third of his people on the "trail of tears". 

In his address he reminded us that we are all under the kingdom of God, and that he is our creator and our guide. He then goes on by reminding the audience what the white people have "taken" from him and his people. The land was taken, not sold, not traded, not given. He then went further to say that if the good lord himself wanted this land, there would be no price in trade, even for God. And finally he reminds the audience that they would not appreciate anything taken from them, and that what is theirs is truly their own. I think this speaks huge volumes and for him to stand up for his people in-front of all of those who took from him by force makes it that much more courageous. 

Chopin Response

The first work titled, "Desiree's Baby" was a great piece to start out with before reading "The Awakening". This piece demonstrated racism and sexism at its finest. The most interesting aspect I believe however is how Chopin chooses to unwind the extent to which this society is dominated by a patriarchal basis. It is interested to look at how the problem was quickly dismissed as being fault to the woman, because it just could not be the man! At the end we find out otherwise which contradicts this whole set up. I see this style as being consistent throughout both of her pieces. There always seems to be a struggle of will and wit. In this case the ignorance lies in the corner of Armand!