Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Doe Season

In Kaplan’s story there is a theme of initiation, or right of passage. Blood is mentioned on and off throughout the text. The blood suggests a loss of innocence, a transition that takes place in children’s lives when they understand the difference between life and death. Through this commencement children become closer to adults and comprehend more about life and what it means to be alive.
Andy was with the doe in the clearing and the bright moon shown it clearly. “…she had found the doe’s heart, warm and beating. She cupped it gently in her hand.”(Kaplan 521) Her dream was about the balance of life. When you hunt you have the decision: what lives, what dies? The conclusion was hers to choose back when she had the rifle raised to the doe. Her decision was a hard one as she did not want to disappoint or feel belittled by the men around her. She had a connection with the deer in her dream that can really only be felt by those that hunt and ultimately kill. It leaves a mark on you, not so much on you skin, but in your soul. “…her hand pulled free, followed by a steaming rush of blood, more blood than she ever could have imagined—it covered her hand and arm, and she saw to her horror that her hand was steaming.”(521) This passage was talking about the mark taking life leaves on a person. In the dream blood was on her hands, she had harvested a living thing, and she was terrified of this thought. There is however something else it could symbolize.
The changes in a woman from child to adulthood could be symbolized by the previous passage as well. This may not be such an abstract thought. Perhaps this is why the story was written about a doe and not a buck. The connection of one female life to another regardless of the species had strong symbolism. In the dream the mature doe was allowing the young girl a union between them. It was almost like the doe was teaching or showing the girl about life and death.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

"Doe Season"

The transition from young Andy's childhood to her adulthood, would lie within one single trigger pull. The moment when she pulled the trigger and killed the doe, was when she entered her adulthood. Andy always mentioned how the woods stayed the same but the ocean never stopped moving; that day she killed the doe she changed the woods forever and was from there on a women. I really enjoyed "Doe Season" by David Kaplan.

"The Storm"

While I read "The Storm" by Kate Choppin, I thought there can never be an excuse to commit adultery no matter what the case may be. In this book it almost makes it seem alright in certain moments. Though I do not think it is ever right to do such a crime; the setting certainly does try to render the audience into believing it's o.k. when the mood is right. There is no excuse for the characters in this story to do the act they so chose. If I were to ever find out my wife had an affair while I went to the market to buy some shrimp, I would be outraged and would consider divorce! Calixta was lucky in this situation.

Doe Season (question 3)

Andy finds comfort in the woods always staying the same. It is growing up and maturing much like she is. The way the woods always seem the same and that comforts Andy in her quest to achieve adulthood. Because the woods are slow changing it is less intimidating to her, it feels safe, especially in comparison to the ocean. "It was huge and empty, yet always moving. Everything lay hidden" (Kaplan, 459). Growing up is unexpected and uncertain just like the ocean. It is a different world and it is full of surprise.

Doe Season

In the story "Doe Season" Andy feels comforted by the woods. "They were the same woods that lay behind her house, and they stretched all the way to her, she thought, for miles and miles.... The thought made her feel good..." (David Kaplan) She was able to feel comfort from the woods because they stretched all the way from her house: a comfortable place. Not only is her house a comfortable place but a familiar place as well. I think this is important because she is only nine years old, and at that age, comfort and familiarity are high on the list of priorities. However, when she talks about the ocean, she is unsure of herself because the ocean is unfamiliar. "She and her parents had gone last summer to stay for a week at a motel on the New Jersey shore. That was the first time she'd seen the ocean." (Kaplan) Since she had only seen the ocean once in her lifetime, it was unfamiliar to her, and she felt uncomfortable being around the ocean. I think she feels the same way about growing up. It's unfamiliar to her, so she doesn't know what to expect. "It was huge and empty, yet always moving. Everything lay hidden. If you walked in it, you couldn't see how deep it was or what might be below ..." (Kaplan) The same goes for growing up. No one knows whats going to happen. This really frightens her because she is not used to not knowing what to expect.

The Storm (question 9)

In The Storm, the weather played a key role in the act of committing adultry. The storm was responsible for stranding Calixta's husband and son in town while she was home alone. Also, Alcee was caught in the midst of the storm and he takes refuge with Calixta. The storm also plays a role in the setting, "...obscuring the view of far-off cabins and enveloping the distant wood in a gray mist" (Chopin 257) as if to demonstrate to the reader that they are all alone. Once the rain stopped and the sun came out, Bobinot and Bibi come home, Calixta acts as if nothing had happened. It seems as if Calixta and Alcee both feel regret of their adultery and they both do something nice for their spouse. Calixta makes a great meal and Alcee writes to his wife and grants her the choice of staying in Biloxi or returning to him.
The sunshine after the storm brought a great feeling of happiness for all of the characters in the story. Calixta and Alcee got to relive their past romance and it stayed a secret from their families. Bobinot got a feast and Clarisse got a taste of her maiden freedom. "So the storm passed and everyone was happy (Chopin 259)." Although the storm in no way excuses their actions, it was an excellent way of symbolizing the events of the story.

Doe Season

Andy makes a reference of the woods never change and they “stretch all the way to here, for miles and miles, longer than I could walk in a day, or a week even, but they are still the same trees.”(pg. 511, paragraph 1) This to me is here way of saying in a way she will always be a kid and will never change. She will always be able to be a carefree kid when she is with her father and be able to do the things she enjoys to do with him. I think this is a good way of putting it of how she feels, that her childhood will go on forever even though she has to grow up eventually and this may be considered the first step.
Later she goes back to a story about her summer at the Jersey shore where she went on vacation with her mom and dad. She refers to the ocean as “huge and empty”(pg. 514, paragraph 45) and that “you couldn’t see how deep it was or what might be below; if you swam, something could pull you under and you’d never be seen again.”(pg. 514, paragraph 45) She uses this analogy to explain growing up. There are many situations while you are growing up that you might not be able to see what’s next or what may be lurking up behind you. It may also be used to say don’t take to many chances because you never know what might be coming for you.

The Storm

I think using the fact that there is a large storm coming through is not a good reason to commit adultery. Yes there is a really bad storm and maybe it could have been a potentially deadly storm it is still no reason. I don’t understand how they could both be married and both be fine with it. It does set it up by saying the dad and son are going to stay at the store and wait the storm out and then this other man comes riding up on his horse almost as if it was planned for him to be there.
To me it seems like it may have been planned. He shows up when her husband is gone to the store and his wife is away. Then they commit adultery and neither feels remorseful about it. They both go on as if they are happy. She cooks supper and says, “J’vous reponds, we’ll have a feas’ tonight! Umph-umph.”(pg. 266, paragraph 35) He immediately goes home and sends his wife a letter “full of tender solicitude.”(pg.267, paragraph 37) With this as evidence, I think they planned it and it just so happened that there was a storm that they used as an excuse.

The Lottery

The Lottery
In this story there is symbolism in nearly every element of the setting. The black box that runs the lottery is both a symbol for heavy tradition and impending harm. The box itself is one of the only physical remnants of the traditional lottery and even the box itself had predecessor. This is due to the fact that it is the central vessel of picking the “winner.” It is worn with age and is well older than the eldest of the participant villagers. “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the old man in town, was born…The black box grew shabbier each year; by now it was no longer completely black, but splintered badly along one side to show the original color, and in some places faded or stained.”(Jackson 444) This weathered box is mentioned to have been made from the last box. While it never says how long the tradition has been occurring we know that it is many ages. The appearance also sets off a tone. It is black and weathered almost like a foreboding omen that something awful was going to happen when the papers are drawn. The color black is also very ominous and stands for harm, pain, isolation, and even death. The symbolism is even found in their clothing and conversation.
The clothes are symbolic of a church gathering, almost a religious ritual. Also, the clothes symbolize simplicity and ignorance. The townspeople are together and have seemingly nice, but weathered, clothes on and carry on talking. “The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters…greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands.”(443) These clothes represent the age and even circumstances that these people live in. In an important, once a year ritual, these people aren’t wearing exorbitant clothing. It is simple common people garb. They are farmers and expect a promising harvest from the traditional stoning of the person drawn. Their conversations are like a nervous gathering of chickens - clucking back and forth in apprehension of foreshadowed slaughter to come.

I Stand Here Ironing

The narrator in this story is overwhelmed by guilt because of the way she had raised her daughter compared to her other children. She feels that her eldest daughter Emily was neglected various times throughout her childhood. She had to send her away when she was an infant because she could not take care of Emily because the times were hard and that Emily's father had left them. The narrator expresses guilt in the fact that she would not tend to her daughter when she had a nightmare and would simply tell her that she was fine and to go back to bed. The narrator also explains that Emily missed quite a bit of school. " She had to be a mother, and housekeeper, and shopper" (294). In my opinion I think that the narrator tried being a good mother to Emily the best she knew how. Taking into consideration that the narrator was young when she had Emily and it did not help that the father walked out on them. I think that there are things that she could have done differently such as comforting her daughter when she needed it. In the end of this story Emily turned out to have a terrific talent of making people laugh. She brought laughter into the lives of others and I think that Emily turned out just fine.

Doe Season # 3

Andy finds comfort in the woods being always the same because it fulfills a child's need for stability. If the woods that she kills the doe in are the same woods as behind her house it decreases the feeling of being in an unfamiliar place, which is always comforting. To Andy, the ocean is unfamiliar "...huge and empty, yet always moving. Everything lay hidden" (Kaplan 514). Any transition from childhood to adulthood requires a shift from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Becoming and adult is often also a process of discovering things that were previously hidden. When Andy left for the hunting trip she seems excited to be hunting, until she discovers her feelings toward killing the doe.

Doe Season-#3

The woods in the story, "Doe Season" by David Kaplan symbolize the youth of Andy as a child. She begins the story on her first deer hunting trip with her father and two other males. Although at first Andy seems like a young boys name, Andy in this story represents a nine year old girl. The woods are a safe place to her, somewhere that is familiar and good. Andy doesn't have much to worry about when she is in the wood; no standards to live up to, no responsibilities to attend to.
During the hunting trip she begins to see the woods as a different place, a new place with uncharted territory. In the story Andy talks about the time she first saw the ocean: "That was the first time she had ever seen the ocean, and it frightened her. It was huge and empty, yet always moving. Everything lay hidden" (Kaplan, 459). This symbolizes her conflict with growing older, becoming an adult. When you're young, everything is simple, almost worry free. However, this transition from young to old often happens within the blink of an eye and before you know it, you are no longer a child.
"There just has to be one moment when it all changes from light to dark" (461), is another example of how Andy is trying to savor her youth. She wants to realize when she is going through the transition from childhood to adulthood. However this transition, as stated earlier, just happens. The woods are Andy's childhood, seemingly unchanging, and the ocean is her uncertain adulthood that is just around the corner.

The Storm - #9

In "The Storm," by Kate Chopin, the setting sets forth a series of events that eventually lead to an act of adultery. Calixta, a mother and wife, opens her house to a man that she has had a romance with in the past. While her husband and young son are confined to a store away from their home because of the storm, Calixta gives into temptation with Alcee.
As the storm grows stronger, so does the tension between them. However, is this a reason to cheat on your husband? Certainly not. The storm is no where near a justifiable reason to have sexual relations with a man other than your husband. Yes, Calixta was scared and probably felt alone, but why not play a game or tell a story if you need a distraction.
Temptation is, unfortunately, all to easy to give into most times but just because your body can't always control itself, the mind holds the key in the final choice. Calixta should have thought about her family, about her son, instead of thinking of herself and indulging in such a selfish act. In the end of the story, the storm passes and Alcee leaves. Calixta is reunited with her family and acts as if nothing has happened. She even seems worried and loving, as if what she had just done never happened at all. She should have taken responsibility for her actions, confessed what she had done and prepared for the consequences. Instead, she went on with her life; feeling almost shameless about what she had done. The astonishing part of the story seems to be the last words of Chopin, "So the storm passed and everyone was happy" (259).

A Worn Path

A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, is a symbolic and descriptive story of Phoenix Jackson's journey through the woods to town. Phoenix is symbolic in that a bird phoenix rises from its own ashes and goes through another cycle of life. I believe the author is trying to convey that the old women, thought very old and fragile, still is very full of life. She also is dress in very vivid colors like reds, which can also convey a full of life presence. She is on this trip for her grandson, which shows us that she is a selfless person and cares for her family. The main theme is her journey to town. But the theme of racism is also present. The hunter she encounters is rude to her and pokes fun at her. The nurse also refers to her as Aunt Phoenix instead of Ms. Jackson which can be looked at as racist. A Worn Path is a well written story and I believe it has a lot of underlying symbols that it can be evaluated time and time again.

Monday, February 1, 2010

The Chrysanthemums

I think that the main theme of The Chrysanthemums is limitations as a wife. Elisa has to stay behind when the man around her leave and go about their day to day activities. She talks about how she doesn't go outside of the ranch in which she lives often and says it doesn't bother her. “It must be very nice. I wish women could do such things” (Steinbeck). She clearly wishes that she could go and do the kinds of things that men can do.

The Storm

The Storm may have caused some temptation between Calixta and Alcee, but I do not believe that it excuses what they did. "Calixta put her hands to her eyes, and with a cry, stagered backward. Alcee's arm encircled her, and for an instant he drew her close and spasmodically to him" (Chopin 264). The two simply could have then just forget what happened and caught up with each other rather than cheat on their significant other just because they are going through problems.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Storm

Honestly, I do not believe that the storm excuses Calixta and Alcee from their actions, but I think they believe it does. I think that Calixta could have prevented the situation even though, Alcee was tempting her. Many situations happened throughout the storm that Calixta could have walked away from. A situation like, "Alcee clasped her shoulders and looked into her afce. The conatct of her warm, palpitating body when he had unthinkingly drawn her into his arms, had aroused all the old-tim infatuation and desire for her flesh." (Kate Chopin) Calixta could have easily walked away or told Alcee he needed to behave. However, Alcee saw no resistance from Calixta, so he continued to comfort her. "Calixta," he said, "don't be frightened. Nothing can happen." (Chopin) She engaged in his comfort and enjoyed it. Then when her husband comes home, she acts like she was so worried. "Oh, Bobinot! You back! My! but I was uneasy!" (Chopin) I can't believe how normal she acts, as if she had done nothing wrong. She isn't the only one who acts like they didn't do anything wrong because Alcee goes home that night and writes his wife a loving letter. They both act like the storm gave them an excuse to commit adultery. Now that the storm is over, they go on living their lives like nothing ever happened.

"I stand here ironing" question #3

In Tillie Olson's "I stand here ironing" the narrator is overcome with guilt for past actions and omitions. The narrator believes that in a certain sense she has neglected to be a vital part of her child Emily's upbringing by not being there when Emily pleaded for her to be {"Can't you go some other time, Mommy, like tomorrow?" she would ask. "Will it be just a little while you'll be gone? Do you promise?"(20)}
To me, the narrator is haunted by a past over which she had little or no control. After all, who is to say which is more important, to feed your child or to kiss them goodnight? While some of the choices made may not always turn out right, the narrator did not appear to want to neglect her child. When the ball is thrown we do not always connect when we swing at it.
All in all, I think the narrator did what she could and thought was right for her baby girl. One must remember that this story is set during the Great Depression when choices for one's children where limited at best and jobs and food were not available in the abundance of this generation.

Yellow Wallpaper

In Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is shown a typical courtly yet condemning generation in which the treatment for the narrator's depression is to simply pretend that it does not exsist. As the narrator sinks deeper and deeper into depressed state, and becomes quieter and quieter, her 'loving' husband becomes convinced that she is becoming better in her drab and twisting environment. Oh! One might exclaim, but she is eating more and getting plenty of rest! But what are these to a mind that lies trapped within its self? To a mind that sees only one means of escape?
This was a sad story in which much of the author shines through into the narrator.

A&P

The story of A&P is of a feminist protest. It takes place back in 1961, and back then there was alot of different things going on one of them being womens rights. I think these girls were part of this so called generation. Updike states that [L]engel says to the girls,"this isn't the beach"(Updike 227). Queenie starts to blush at what Lengel had said to her and says"My mother asked me to pick up a jar of herring snacks"(Updike 227). Lengel was fine with that, he just wasn't fine with how they were dressed in two piece swimsuits. The girls weren't doing anything wrong, they just had to get one thing. It didn't matter to Lengel either,"we want you decently dressed when you come in here"(Updike 227). This is the main reason that Sammy quit his job at the A&P. He wanted to impress those girls, to be there hero. This is where Sammy had is epiphany and it was very short lived. As he walked outside and turned to look at the A&P he realized just how hard the world was going to be from then on.

"Doe Season"

As a person transitions from childhood to adulthood there are many changes. Andy finds comfort in the woods that are “always the same.” There is no sign of change and she likes it like that. When Andy refers to the ocean, “huge and empty, yet always moving,” she means that a person is always changing or moving and there is nothing in their power they can do to stop it. It is too mighty and great, like an ocean, and will always happen. Although most people don’t like change, changes will occur; it is a fact of life. An ocean will always be moving. The “huge and empty” part may go along with the feelings as you mature. Some people feel unfilled and unknown to what this part of their life will bring as they change. Finding your truth self is an epiphany and Andy finally found her true self at the end of the story, she found Andrea.

The Storm #9

While the storm gave Calixta and Alcee the opportunity to commit adultery, it does not excuse their actions. Calixta and Alcee could have just as well sat down and talked about their families over a cup of coffee than cheated on their spouses. They both knew that this situation could lead to trouble. The narrator gave an indication of this when they said "She had not seen him very often since her marriage, and never alone" (Chopin 264). On page 265 there is a series of events that leads them into each others arms. In the first of these events Calixta and Alcee are standing at the window and a lightening bold hits a nearby tree. This startles Calixta and she "staggered backward" into Alcee's arms. This time, she frees herself. If she were uncomfortable with what was happening she could have made an excuse to go into another room, but she chooses to stay with Alcee. Both characters made a conscious choice to commit adultery and to excuse their actions because of a weather occurrence is outrageous.

"The Storm"

No. There is absolutely no excuse in the world to commit adultery. Once a person vows to their husband/wife for a life-long marriage (through death do us part), they should not be having any outside communication with other men/women besides being friends. Just because a storm passes does not give Calixta a reason to have a sexual relationship with a man that was in her life years ago. She had already given her heart to another man and was supposed to stay true to her word. Although Alcee did coax her into committing adultery and Calixta tried to stop him a couple of times, she still gave in eventually and that was wrongful on her part. Like I said at the beginning and I stand for what I said, there is not an excuse that can justify committing adultery.