English Comp II: John Steinbeck: The Chrysanthemums

"The Chrysanthemums" is a story that takes place on the ranch of Henry Allen. The story opens with Elisa, Henry's wife, working in her garden. While she does this, Henry is talking to some business men about some cattle he sold. When they leave, he speaks to his wife, and tells her he wants to take her out on the town to celebrate the sell of the cattle. Henry returns to work, and Elisa returns to tending to her Chrysanthemums. After some time, a wagon drives up. The gentleman driving is in the business of tinkering, fixing things in order to earn his living. He and Elisa have a special connection for a few moments, and as he leaves he says he will take some flowers to a woman down the road who wanted some chrysanthemums. After he leaves, he dumps the flowers on the side of the road. Elisa and her husband go to town.

English Comp II: William Faulkner: Barn Burning

"Barn Burning" is a story about a poor rural family. As the story opens, a trial is taking place. Abner Snopes, a sharecropper, has been accused of burning down someone's barn because they made him pay for some corn his hog damaged. Abner is found not guilty due to lack of evidence, but is told by the judge to leave town. Abner does, and takes his family with him. They finally arrive at the home of Major de' Spain. Upon arrival, Abner steps in horse droppings and intentionally rubs his foot into the family's rug, ruining the rug. He is ordered by the town justice of the peace to pay in ten extra bushels of corn to pay for the rug. Instead of doing this, he decides to burn down de' Spain's barn, and ends up getting shot.

English Comp II: Ernest Hemingway: A Clean Well Lighted Place

Henimgway's "A Clean Well Lighted Place" takes place in a cafe. A lonely old man is sitting in the cafe drinking, as he does most every night. In the cafe are also two waiters, one is old and the other is young. The man, as mentioned before, has made a habit of staying up late drinking in the cafe, probably because he does not want to be alone and in the dark. The young waiter does not like the old man, seeing him as a vagrant because he believes he is only a drunk that holds him (the young waiter) from going home and seeing his wife. The older waiter is more sympathetic towards the old man because he is similar to him, even saying that he is 'reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the cafe.' Unlike the young waiter, who sees the cafe as just a cafe, the older waiter sees it for something else, a place of refuge, and of safety, for all those who late at night need a place to relax and think.

American Lit. II: E.E. Cummings poetry

Edward Estlin Cummings was an innovator of poetry during his time. In his work it was common for Cummings to tinker with the form, spelling, syntax, and punctuation. This led to his abandoning of the traditional styles of creating poetry and caused his unique style to be the way it was. In the later parts of his career, Cummings received much criticism for not continuing to tweak his unique style of writing, but Cummings easily maintained a large audience, mainly among young readers of the day due to his simple language and willingness to talk about subject matter such as war and sex.

American Lit II: Zora Neale Hudson: The Gilded Six Bits

The Gilded Six Bits is a great story; it tells the story of a young couple who have been married for less than a year. The story opens with Missie May, the wife, rushing to prepare for the arrival of her husband. Her husband Joe arrives, and begins to throw coins in the door, inspiring mock anger in his wife, beginning their weekly ritual. Later as they eat supper, Joe tells Missie May that he is going to take her to a new ice cream shop that has been opened by a man from Chicago, Otis D. Slemmons. Later in the story, Joe walks in on Missie May and Otis having sex. Missie tells Joe she had sex to try and get a gold coin from him, something that Joe had mentioned he admired about Otis earlier in the story. It turns out that Otis isn't rich. Joe and Missie May go through a tough time in their relationship, but eventually make up, causing Missie to become pregnant and have Joe's child. This is definetely a good story with a great ending.

American Lit II: Susan Glaspell:Trifles

Trifles is a play set in the fictional home of John Wright. The story opens with Hale, one of the characters in the story, is retelling the events of what happened the day before the story takes place.(the sheriff is at the Wright's home because John Wright has been found dead by Hale) Hale tells the sheriff that he asked Mrs. Wright how John died, and Mrs. Wright replied from "a rope around his neck" and then continues on about her business. They go upstairs and confirm the body is dead, and again ask Mrs. Wright how he died, to which she says she does not know, even though he died while she was sleeping in bed next to him. The story goes on and the men make remarks about how women are only worried about trifles, things that don't matter or are unimportant in the world, a common belief in society at this time.

American Lit II: William Carlos Williams' Poetry

In American Literature, we went over the poetry of William Carlos Williams; we specifically focused on two poems, "The Red Wheebarrow" and "This is Just to Say." Williams was an innovator in the field of poetry during his time due to the way he wrote many of his poems; much of it just being very short poems about the length of a sentence. One would not think that his poetry would be very complex, but the shorter his poems are, the more complex they are due to the imagery he uses in his poems.

Engl Comp II: Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis

You might want to get comfortable before starting to read this one, cause it's pretty darn long. The Metamorphosis is about Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one morning to discover that he has been turned into a giant insect.... That's a heck of a way to start the day if you ask me. The story then proceeds to mention that has slept late, and will be late for work. Strangely, even after realizing that he is a giant insect, Gregor still has the same trivial worries and concerns he had before when he was human, such as catching the train so that he can make it to work on time. We find out that Gregor is the main source of income for his struggling family, and now since he cannot work his family has to all get jobs to make ends meet. Eventually, Gregor's physical form becomes too much for his parents to take, waning the health of his mother and causing his father to erupt into violent outbursts, one of which injures Gregor, slowly bringing about his demise. This is a great read, but like I said earlier, clear your schedules and get confortable before sitting down in front of this one.

Amercan Lit II: Robert Frost

Today, we went over some peotry by Robert Frost. Frost was one of many of a movement in literature history known as transcendentalists. Transcendentalists believe that humans could be one with nature by transcending (looking past) the physical realities of our world and tapping into the spiritual forces around us. One of Frost's peoms showing us this is "The Mending Wall." In this poem, two neighbors meet to make repairs to a fence dividing their property. The narrator believes that since neither own any property that has the ablility to cross over property lines that no fence is needed. The neighbor believes that "good fences make good neighbors," which is a long outdated belief. The narrator continues to try to draw information from his neighbor on why he believes this, but is unsuccessful. Although his poetry may need to be re-read to gather full clarity, Frost's work is a mind-opening experience.

English Comp. II: Amy Tan, A Pair of Tickets

Amy Tan's "A Pair of Tickets" is a great story about the personal struggles of a young woman to find out who she truly is and fully embrace her heritage. Jing-Mei, the narrator and main character of the story, is a Chinese-American who is born in America. At the beginning of the story during part of a conversation between Jing-Mei and her mother, we see Jing-Mei fervently deny that she has any Chinese in her at all. At the end of this conversation, we see a bit of foreshadowing when Jing-Mei's mother tells her that her Chinese ancestry is "in her blood, waiting to be let go." After Jing-Mei's mother dies, her family receives a letter from her half-sisters in China asking about their mother. After responding to the letter, Jing-Mei's family decides to travel to China to visit family. To make a long story short, Jing-Mei eventually meeets her sisters for the first time and realizes and embraces the fact the she is Chinese.

American Lit II: Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar is a very different type of poet. Dunbar wrote most of his poems, short stories, essays and novels about the struggles of the African American race at the time he was alive (1872-1906). While Dunbar write many of his poems and stories in standard English dialect, he also wrote many of these in the African dialect spoken at this time. Dunbar's work is very interesting. It may take a little time and effort to fully understand some of his works, but they are literary pieces of gold. Sadly, Dunbar died at the age of 34, leaving us to wonder what he would truly be capable of if he had lived to continue to write and perfect his craft.

English Comp II: James Baldwin: Sonny's Blues

Sonny's Blues is a very well written story about the relationship of two brothers. The story opens with the narrator reading in the newspaper of his brother Sonny's arrest for the crime of possessing heroin. The narrator has an encounter with a friend of Sonny's who also is an addict. Later in the story, the narrator flashbacks to a conversation that takes place between him and his mother. After telling the narrator about his uncle, the mother then asks the narrator to watch over Sonny and be there for him. Sonny moves in with his brother's wife's family, but eventually runs away and joins the navy. After this, he comes home, which is when he gets busted for possession. When Sonny is released from rehab/prison, he continues to work at developing his skill as a piano player. He succeeds, and at the end of the story manages to get a gig playing blues at a club. It seems that Sonny's Blues transformed from drug addiction to the actual blues music itself by the end of the story. This is a good read which I would recommend to anyone.

American Lit II: W.E.B. Dubois, From The Souls of Black Folk

The Souls of Black Folk is an eary twentieth century take on what Dubois calls the problem of the color line. Dubois' views on how one views themselves through the eyes of others, particularly through someone of another race, is called double consciousness. Since The Souls of Black Folk has been published, double consciousness has become an important tool to judge the progress of race relations in America. In Souls, Dubois offers his thoughts on potential obstacles to progress for the African-American race, and also speaks of the possible progress the race can make as the nation entered the 20th century. Throughout this story, Dubois speaks about the years after the civil war, relates some life experiences as a teacher, and speaks of the opinions of Booker T. Washinton and others like Washington. This was a very informative read.

American Lit II: Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery

Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery is a very interesting read and an almost non-conventional take on the issue of slavery. In Up, Washington tells about his life, beginning as an enslaved child. Washington tells about his mother, how she worked and took care of her children. He relates to us some of his day to day tasks as a slave, and tells us of the jubilation felt when the slaves find out that they are free at last. Washington also tells of the relationship between master and slave, how, if not treated completely like or worse than animals, many slaves felt a close personal connection to some of their owners, and even felt sad when one of their owners fell ill or even died. Washington then goes on to tell more about his life, including events such as his speech to the Atlanta Exposition and meeting President Grover Cleveland. This story just goes to show that no matter what hand you are dealt in life, with hard work and determination, you can achieve almost anything.

English Comp II: Edgar Allen Poe: The Tell Tale Heart

Edgar Allen Poe: literary genius; The Tell Tale Heart is a great example of this. In The Tell Tale Heart, we see one man's (the narrator's) struggle with his sanity. The story begins with the narrator telling the reader that he is dreadfully nervous, and because of that, he could hear all sounds in heaven, earth, and hell. This is a continuing example throughout the story of the narrator's attempts to twist obvious signs of insanity into signs of sanity. After this, the narrator develops a plan to kill the old man because of the old man's eye, something by which the narrator is troubled. After a week of spying on the old man during the night, the narrator acts on his plan to kill the old man, which he does, and proceeds to bury the dismembered corpse under the boards of the house in which the old man lived. The old man yelled once, which attracted cops to the scene. The cops questioned the narrator and appear deceived by the narrator's actions. At the end of the story, the completely slips into madness, and admits to killing the old man after "hearing" the beating of the old man's heart. This is a definite must read for everybody.

American Lit II: Ida B. Wells-Barnett Mob Rule In New Orleans

"Wow, what is story!!!" That was my thoughts upon reading "Mob Rule in New Orleans" by Ida Wells-Barnett. In it, Wells tells of the rioting and lynchings in turbulent 1900 New Orleans. Anyone who knows about Wells and who she was knows she is well qualified to write this story about the racially charged violence of this time. Wells was born to slave parents in 1862. From early on in her life she had to be a fighter. At the age of 16, her parents died, and she had to fight to support and keep her siblings together, which she did by taking a job as a teacher. She attended college at Shaw University and after this Wells moved to Memphis to help her aunt raise her youngest sisters. After she arrived in Memphis she was forcibly removed from her seat when a white man wanted to sit where she was at. After this, Wells was well on the path to be an activist for suffrage and the cause against lynching. Eight years later, three of Wells' black friends, who owned a grocery store, were lynched by white competitors who were looking to protect their own business interests. After this, she intensified her fight against lynching. After reading this brief review about Ida Wells, I hope you choose to read this captivating story about the turbulent times of this era.

English Comp II: William Faulkner A Rose for Emily

A Rose for Emily is a very interesting story. The story, which is divided into five parts, begins with the funeral of Emily Grierson. The whole town attends her funeral, but not because she was a socialite of the town, but because the men went out of obligation and the women, many of whom had not been in her house in years, or for that matter at all, were curious as to what her house looked like. We also see some of Emily's background in the first section when we are told that she has to pay no taxes because the former mayor of the town feels sorry for her because when Emily's father died he left her penniless. Later on in the story we see that she causes quite the scandal by having an affair with a man named Homer Barron. The women of the town become upset by this affair, and try numerous times to convince Emily to marry Homer or break off the affair; she does neither, and eventually her cousins are sent for to try to convince her to marry Homer. Homer leaves for a few days, but returns after Emily's cousins leave. After returning to Emily's home, Homer is never seen again. The story ends with the narrator returning to Emily's funeral. After the funeral is over, some of the town's men force her upstairs open, for it seems that she had closed the top floor of her house off. Upon doing this, they find the remains of the long deceased Homer. I would recommend this story for anyone as it is a very intriguing read.

American Lit II: Sarah Winnemucca Life Among The Piutes

Continuing with the Native American theme, our next read in Comp II is Life Among the Piutes by Sarah Winnemucca. In contrast to "Charlot," which was a speech about the creuly and greed of the white man, "Life Among the Piutes" is more of an inside look at the lives of the Piute people. We see how they live, how their boys are introduced into manhood, and even are told about a ceremony in which young men and women have a chance to inter-mingle with one another. In it, we also see that the Piutes are not afraid of the wihte man at first, believing in a legend that the white man and dark man will come together one day after years of separation to finally settle their differences. Throughout the story, examples of generosity of the Piute people toward the white man are shown, but byy the end of the story, as most Native American stories of this time end, the Piute people are forced from their homeland onto the Yakima reservation. I can only hope that the atrocity that took place some long years ago toward the native population never takes place again.

English Comp II: John Updike A&P

John Updike's A&P was an interesting read, especially for me because I work at a grocery store, just as the narrator of the story does, and am only one year older than the narrator. Because of this, I can closely relate to some of the things he talks about in this story, especially the thing he talks about most, becoming distracted (and very easily I might add) by the beautiful women who choose to shop in his store. In Updike's story, three women come to shop at A&P. He describes them, including how they are dressed in bathing suits, but mainly chooses to focus on one in particular, whom he calls Queen or Queenie. He gives a very detailed description of her, mentioning things like the color of her bathing suit, her hair, her face, the way her bathing suit is being worn, he even mentions how she walks. It is my opinion that in this story Updike is paying tribute to the power some women possess just by their looks. Even though Updike does this, he ends the story by showing that looks aren't enough to capture the attention of every man when Lengel, the narrator's boss, sternly reminds the girls that they are not at the beach and the next time they choose to shop at A&P they need to dress in a more decent manner.

English Comp. II: Flannery O' Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find"

For my first assignment is English 1102, I had to read "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O' Connor. This is a very deep story which illustrates the increasing difficulties in finding genuinely good men, or people in general for that matter. The amazing thing is, O'Connor wrote this story back in 1955, a time condidered by many people today to be a time in our history filled with good people. If O'Connor were alive today, she would be appalled by the current state in which we live. Everyday, there are reports of people stealing from and harming one another. So one wonders, if Ms. O'Connor were to write her story today, would it be appropriate for her to title the story "A Good Is Impossible to to find? You be the judge. Well, that's all from me for now, goodnight.

American Lit. II: Charlot

Our latest read in our literature class is a speech written by the Native American Charlot. This speech was given during a time of great oppression for his as well as other Native American tribes. The year was 1876 and his tribe, the Kalispel band of the Flathead Indians, was slowly being forced off their native homelands in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana. To add to this, newly arrived settlers proposed that the Indians should have to pay a tax to the government in order to remain living upon their assigned reservation lands. After seeing this, and realizing that the white man was being consumed by a ceaseless amount of greed, Charlot decides to give his speech to his fellow tribesmen. In it, Charlot gives examples of how his people have helped the white man, and how the white man have harmed the Native Americns. Charlot's wording of his speech is amazing, and to make a long story short, must have had a profound effect upon his people because they remained in the Bitterroot region for another fourteen years until they were forced out by U.S. troops in the year 1890. The blow dealt to the Native Americans by the white man was no doubt a major one, and one that still has a profound effect today, as the majority of the Native American population still resides on the northern great plains. I can only hope that we as a nation never commit such a trvesty again.

American Lit II: Emily Dickinson

In my American Literature class, we are currently reading some of Emily Dickinson's poetry. As anyone who has ever ready a stanza or two of her poetry can attest, the was she writes can at times be confusing. One has to read and re-read her numerous scraps of literary gold in order to fully understand them. My favorite Dickinson poem thus far is "My Life had stood a Loaded Gun." In it, she compares life before meeting her husband/boyfriend to that of a loaded gun sitting in a corner, having the potential to do wondrous things, but not having the ability to without the help of the right person. After this person finds her, the poem indicates that she experiences happiness and would kill for him. Alas, i have gone over my 100 word limit, so I must cut my blog short for now. I strongly recommend to anyone who is not familiar with her work to take the time to read her poetry and see just what this literary genius has to offer to you.