LAST BLOG POST

For this last post, I decided to write about the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes.  I really liked this poem because of its imagery and its ability to make you picture a dream or an object and imagine everything in the poem happening to it.  Sometimes with certain dreams or inspirations I have that don't go my way, I begin to feel like the author did when he wrote this poem.  I become discouraged and question every aspect of that wish, but then I decide whether to keep that goal or drop it.  Something about this short poem stood out to me, but I can't put my finger on it.  I really liked this.

fully good people do not exist

 "A Good Man is Hard to Find", by Flannery O'Conner is a short story about a family who goes on a trip and gets in some trouble along the way.  The author describes each character, the goods and bads about them, and how they pertain to the story.  All in all the annoying grandmother gets the family lost on the trip and puts them into a situation that wound up getting them all killed.  They come into contact with a man and his "crew" who were on the run, and he killed everyone that was in the car on the trip.  Before he kills them, the author gives each character a "moment of grace" where they become a "good person" before they die...making it seem like that was the moment where they saved themselves before they went...hopefully...to heaven.  I do not think that anyone is a "fully good" person. No one is perfect, and people make mistakes every day.  A lot of people probably have that "moment of grace" right before they die to use that as an apology for all the wrong-doing they've done, but an all around good person, does not exist.

How to become a writer

"How to become a writer" by Lorrie Moore, was probably the most confusing short story I have ever tried to read.  She goes from talking about what classes to take in high school and college, to deciding what major to partake in, and then who to date.  All throughout the story I had no idea what she was trying to get across.  But, I then realized she was focusing on the fact that her life has no plot to it; it has no core. The character went from day to day trying new things and learning, and wanting to find out how to become a good writer and never could.  But she then realized that you don't "learn" to become a  good writer. It just comes naturally.

which road shall i take?

I'm not very big on poems, but this one really stood out to me.  "The Road Not Taken", by Robert Frost, is a poem of a man who is stuck between two "roads" in his life and is not quite sure which one to take.  Each path has its ups and downs and he is alone on this choice.  In the end,  he takes the riskier one, or  "the one less traveled" and mentions that it has made all the difference.  It does not say whether that difference is good or bad but thats life.  No matter which road you take...it will somehow effect you but that it how you learn.  This poem put many things into perspective in my life at the moment, and with that I will never forget it.

The Road Not Taken

I'm not very big on poems, but this one really stood out to me.  "The Road Not Taken", by Robert Frost, is a poem of a man who is stuck between two "roads" in his life and is not quite sure which one to take.  Each path has its ups and downs and he is alone on this choice.  In the end,  he takes the riskier one, or  "the one less traveled" and mentions that it has made all the difference.  It does not say whether that difference is good or bad but thats life.  No matter which road you take...it will somehow effect you but that it how you learn.  This poem put many things into perspective in my life at the moment, and with that I will never forget it.

Cask of Amontillado

I LOVED THIS STORY! This was one of the few stories that I felt myself not getting bored with.  Throughout the entire writing, I felt like I was in the book, like a character.  From the fair, to the underground tunnels, to the room that Fortunato was locked into...I just felt like I was there.  It was sick, twisted, and mysterious...but that it what kept me so "into" the story.  I did not want to take my eyes off of it.  I think that E.A.P. did a good job with this story because it was so dark and screwed up, but it interested me and made me want to help Fortunato and put Montressor in his place.  It just comes to show that people take things way too seriously and how messed up society and the human race really is.

poems

I can not stand poetry :( HAHA! My favorite poem was the "hard rock" just because it was so deep and visual to the point where I felt like I was watching the entire poem happen before my eyes.  I wrote my last two papers for class on it, so I really read into how other people viewed and understood the poem and found myself agreeing with them.  I found it to be really sad because it was so descriptive to the way that the "hard rock" was treated, but also very interesting.

Hills Like White Elephants

This story struck me.  I really like the symbolism of the train station, with one side being deep valleys and darkness, and the other side being green grassy hills.  It showed that if she took one way, he life would be doomed and if the took the other..then there was light at the end of the tunnel.  It was about a man and a woman who were talking at a train station about whether or not she should get an abortion.  I also was confused with this ending, because I do not know whether she ended up getting one.  I do not believe in abortion at all, so this was not my favorite.

The yellow wallpaper

In this short story, I felt so connected to this character.  She was trapped by her inner self and was always wanting out. Her husband, whom was also her doctor, kept her locked up in a room because she is "legally insane" and never lets her see their child.  Meanwhile, he treats her terribly and degrades her while he is supposedly getting with other women.  The yellow wallpaper is the title because of the wallpaper in the room.  It was yellow, with stripes that acted as bars, and a woman standing behind it.  This is a symbol because she woman is "trapped behind bars" but its really the insane wife trapped behind her own bars in life.  I like how the author left you wondering how she got out and how the husband died...if he even did. Definately a must read!

the glass menagerie

I really connected to this story. I did not like it too much but the characters in the family closely relate to mine. The mother reminds me exactly of my grandma. She constantly nags, and no one can ever do anything right in her eyes. She constantly feels the need to try and correct and make suggestions to all of your decisions and is absolutely obnoxious. The mother and my grandmother mean well, but they both have a difficult way of showing it. Laura reminds me exactly of my aunt...whom is my grandma's daughter.  My aunt feels like she can never do anything right or impress my grandma and is not very open because she doesn't want to deal with my grandmas criticism or complaining about EVERYTHING! My grandma does this with everyone, but especially her daughter.