by Alice Walker
Quotes to think about:
"It was almost spring, but the winter cold still clung to her bones and she had to almost sit in the fireplace to be warm" (Walker 477).
"Black people as black as Rannie Mae always made him uneasy, especially when they didn't smell good" (Walker 478).
"Cold wind was shooting all around her from the cracks in the window framing, faded circulars blew inward from the walls. The old woman's gloomy prediction made her tremble" (Walker 480).
"Rannie Toomer began to tremble way down deep in her stomach" (Walker 481).
"The rain fell against her face with the force of small hailstones" (Walker 482).
"Lightning struck something not far off and caused a crackling and groaning in the woods that frightened the animals away from their shelter. Rannie Toomer slipped down in the mud trying to take off one of her plastic shoes to catch the tea. An the gray mare, trickling some, broke for a clump of cedars yards away" (Walker 482).
"In spurts and splashes mixed with rainwater she gathered her tea. In parting, the old mare snorted and threw up a big leg, knocking her back into the mud" (Walker 483).
"Quickly she stuck her mouth there, over the crack, and ankle deep in the slippery mud of the pasture and freezing her shabby wet coat, she ran home to give the still warm horse tea to her baby Snooks" (Walker 483).
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri
Words to think about while reading quotes:
Beauty:
"She wore a red-and-white-checkered skirt that stopped above her knees, slip-on shoes with a square wooden heel, and a close-fitting blouse styled like a man's undershirt" (Lahiri 46).
Typical Tourist:
"He had a sapphire blue visor, and was dressed in shorts, sneakers, and a T-shirt. The camera slung around his neck, with an impressive telephoto lens and numerous buttons and markings" (Lahiri 44).
Civilian:
"Mr. Kapasi pulled over to the side of the road as Mr. Das took a picture of a barefoot man, his head wrapped in a dirty turban, seated on top of a cart of grain sacks pulled by a pair of bullocks" (Lahiri 49).
Princess:
"'But so romantic,' Mrs. Das said dreamily, breaking her extended silence. She lifted her pinkish brown sunglasses and arranged them on top of her head like a tiara" (Lahiri 50).
Grateful:
"He began to check his reflection in the rearview mirror as he drove, feeling grateful that he had chosen the gray suit that morning and not the brown one, which tended to sag a little in the knees" (Lahiri 53).
Physical Attraction
"From time to time he glanced through the mirror at Mrs. Das. In addition to glancing at her face he glanced at the strawberry between her breasts, and the golden brown hollow in her throat" (Lahiri 53-54).
Words to think about while reading quotes:
Beauty:
"She wore a red-and-white-checkered skirt that stopped above her knees, slip-on shoes with a square wooden heel, and a close-fitting blouse styled like a man's undershirt" (Lahiri 46).
Typical Tourist:
"He had a sapphire blue visor, and was dressed in shorts, sneakers, and a T-shirt. The camera slung around his neck, with an impressive telephoto lens and numerous buttons and markings" (Lahiri 44).
Civilian:
"Mr. Kapasi pulled over to the side of the road as Mr. Das took a picture of a barefoot man, his head wrapped in a dirty turban, seated on top of a cart of grain sacks pulled by a pair of bullocks" (Lahiri 49).
Princess:
"'But so romantic,' Mrs. Das said dreamily, breaking her extended silence. She lifted her pinkish brown sunglasses and arranged them on top of her head like a tiara" (Lahiri 50).
Grateful:
"He began to check his reflection in the rearview mirror as he drove, feeling grateful that he had chosen the gray suit that morning and not the brown one, which tended to sag a little in the knees" (Lahiri 53).
Physical Attraction
"From time to time he glanced through the mirror at Mrs. Das. In addition to glancing at her face he glanced at the strawberry between her breasts, and the golden brown hollow in her throat" (Lahiri 53-54).
Birds of America
by Lorrie Moore
Quotes to think about:
"A beginning, an end: there seems to be neither. The whole thing is like a cloud that just lands and everywhere inside it is full of rain" (Moore 212).
"What words can be uttered? You turn just slightly and thee it is: the death of your child" (Moore 220).
"It's a fast but wimpy tumor" (Moore 227).
"He feels like a heart attack, a failure of will and courage: power failure of everything" (Moore 219).
"The Baby smiles, even toddles around a little, the sun bursting through the clouds, an angel chorus crescendoing" (Moore 248).
"'Let's make our own way,' says the mother, 'and not in this boat" (Moore 249).
"A child's illness is a strain on the mind. They know how to laugh in fluty, desperate way--unlike the people who are more her husband's friends and who seem just to deepen their sorrowful gazes, nodding their heads with Sympathy" (Moore 243).
Quotes to think about:
"A beginning, an end: there seems to be neither. The whole thing is like a cloud that just lands and everywhere inside it is full of rain" (Moore 212)."What words can be uttered? You turn just slightly and thee it is: the death of your child" (Moore 220).
"It's a fast but wimpy tumor" (Moore 227).
"He feels like a heart attack, a failure of will and courage: power failure of everything" (Moore 219).
"The Baby smiles, even toddles around a little, the sun bursting through the clouds, an angel chorus crescendoing" (Moore 248).
"'Let's make our own way,' says the mother, 'and not in this boat" (Moore 249).
"A child's illness is a strain on the mind. They know how to laugh in fluty, desperate way--unlike the people who are more her husband's friends and who seem just to deepen their sorrowful gazes, nodding their heads with Sympathy" (Moore 243).
Charlotte Perkines Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper (1899)
"A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house, and reach the height of romantic felicity--but that would be asking to much of fate!
Still I will proudly declare that there is something queer about it".
This gives an image that the husband is romantic because he provides her with a stylish estate. However, this estate may be seen as a haunted house. She questions how they could afford the mansion and why it has been empty for so long. However, there is something queer about it. This brings to our attention the discussion of illness. She is a bit nervous about her marriage and is becoming depressed about it. Depression is commonly found, but her depression has caused her to lose her mind. Her husband neglected her and all she could think about was "The Yellow Wallpaper".
I feel like I can somewhat relate to this story. Being a colligate athlete and student, I rarely find time for myself or time to hang out with my friends. At times I feel like my life only resolves around school and soccer. So depression kicks in because lack of free time, or any type of feeling wanted. Ultimately everyone wants to feel wanted in the world and during all this time cramming, it is difficult to please everyone. So at times I feel like all I have is my books. At times I try to plug myself into stories and situations to see how I fit. In this specific case, I do feel times of depression because lack of free time, but in the end, I know everything will work out for the best.
"That spoils my ghostliness, I am afraid, but I don't care--there is something strange about the house--I can feel it".
"And it is like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern. I don't like it a bit. I wonder--I begin to think--I wish John would take me away from here!"
"Life is much more exciting now than it used to be. You see I have something more to expect, to look forward to, to watch. I really do eat better, and am more quiet than I was."
"But there is something else about the paper--the smell! I noticed it the moment we came into the room, but with so much air and sun it was not bad. Now we have had a week of fog and rain, and whether the windows are open or not, the smell is here."
"Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!"
Still I will proudly declare that there is something queer about it".
This gives an image that the husband is romantic because he provides her with a stylish estate. However, this estate may be seen as a haunted house. She questions how they could afford the mansion and why it has been empty for so long. However, there is something queer about it. This brings to our attention the discussion of illness. She is a bit nervous about her marriage and is becoming depressed about it. Depression is commonly found, but her depression has caused her to lose her mind. Her husband neglected her and all she could think about was "The Yellow Wallpaper".I feel like I can somewhat relate to this story. Being a colligate athlete and student, I rarely find time for myself or time to hang out with my friends. At times I feel like my life only resolves around school and soccer. So depression kicks in because lack of free time, or any type of feeling wanted. Ultimately everyone wants to feel wanted in the world and during all this time cramming, it is difficult to please everyone. So at times I feel like all I have is my books. At times I try to plug myself into stories and situations to see how I fit. In this specific case, I do feel times of depression because lack of free time, but in the end, I know everything will work out for the best.
"That spoils my ghostliness, I am afraid, but I don't care--there is something strange about the house--I can feel it".
"And it is like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern. I don't like it a bit. I wonder--I begin to think--I wish John would take me away from here!"
"Life is much more exciting now than it used to be. You see I have something more to expect, to look forward to, to watch. I really do eat better, and am more quiet than I was."
"But there is something else about the paper--the smell! I noticed it the moment we came into the room, but with so much air and sun it was not bad. Now we have had a week of fog and rain, and whether the windows are open or not, the smell is here."
"Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!"
Monday, October 28, 2013
A Small, Good Thing
“I want to talk to the doctor. I don’t think he
should keep sleeping like this. I don’t think that’s a good sign” (Carver 381).
-This statement shows that Dr. Francis provided Ann with bland answers that.
“Scotty was fine, but instead of sleeping at home in his own bed, he was in a hospital bed with bandages around his head and a tube in his arm. But this help was what he needed right now” (Carver 382).
-This was a thought just stay on the positive sides of things.
“We’ll know some more in a couple of hours, after the results of a few more test are in. But he’s all right, believe me, expect for the hairline fracture of the skull. He does have that” (Carver 382).
“I’ve been praying, I almost thought I’d forgotten how, but it came back to me. All I had to do was close my eyes and say, ‘Please God, help us—help Scotty,’ and then the rest was easy. The words were right there. Maybe if you prayed, too” (Carver 384).
Something else that the couple was aware of throughout
the story and that was also shown to us in the closing scene of the story was:
it was still important for the couple to take care of themselves and each
other. They sought to do the little things that they could to make themselves
feel better; for example, the couple continually told each other to get some
rest, get some food, and relax. Also, they gave small embraces and checked to
see if each other were okay. It was valued by the couple to tend to each other
and themselves in a time of need. At the
very end, the baker assured the couple that eating something when you’re in a
poor state is “a small, good thing.”
This is often seen in many other situations where someone is ill. For instance, I could directly relate to this story. My grandma one day became extremely ill. We instantly ran to the hospital, but the doctors were not giving us the answers we needed. They only provided bland answers that did not justify what I searched for.
Doctors played the waiting game with us too and my family took a similar approach to cope with the pain of waiting. We constantly asked each other how we were doing and told each other to get rest. We looked at the small things to help the larger picture. My family too believed that praying was the solution. We leaned to God for help because we had felt he was the only one who can ultimately help us.
"There were no pleasantries between them, just the minimum exchange of words, the necessary information" (Carver 376).
-This quote resembles alienation and isolation. Ann's overall minimal knowledge of the baker and/or her neighborhood. The baker resembles God itself. An image often seen with a bakery is bread. Being Catholic at a Catholic institution, I recognize bread as the body of Christ. The baker resembles God and how religion is always there even if you didn't recognize it. The baker also resembles how Ann and Howard were being contacted by God throughout the story but did not realize it. Both Ann and Howard were praying for Scotty, and the baker, the image of God, was responding through phone call. The bakery is unforeseen image of Christ. This shows that although there was a minimal exchange of words, there ultimately was a resolution. In the end of the story they realize the baker is the one consistently making the phone calls to them. Ann and Howard, disappointed about there son, attend the bakery to pay for the cake they never picked up. The baker befriends them and offers the smallest thing in order for pleasure. Ultimately that's all religion has to be for you. Religion can being the largest factor in an individuals life or the smallest thing, in the end, it plays a reflecting role on peoples lives as the baker did in "A Small, Good Thing".
-This statement shows that Dr. Francis provided Ann with bland answers that.
“Scotty was fine, but instead of sleeping at home in his own bed, he was in a hospital bed with bandages around his head and a tube in his arm. But this help was what he needed right now” (Carver 382).
-This was a thought just stay on the positive sides of things.
“We’ll know some more in a couple of hours, after the results of a few more test are in. But he’s all right, believe me, expect for the hairline fracture of the skull. He does have that” (Carver 382).
“I’ve been praying, I almost thought I’d forgotten how, but it came back to me. All I had to do was close my eyes and say, ‘Please God, help us—help Scotty,’ and then the rest was easy. The words were right there. Maybe if you prayed, too” (Carver 384).
Something else that the couple was aware of throughout
the story and that was also shown to us in the closing scene of the story was:
it was still important for the couple to take care of themselves and each
other. They sought to do the little things that they could to make themselves
feel better; for example, the couple continually told each other to get some
rest, get some food, and relax. Also, they gave small embraces and checked to
see if each other were okay. It was valued by the couple to tend to each other
and themselves in a time of need. At the
very end, the baker assured the couple that eating something when you’re in a
poor state is “a small, good thing.” This is often seen in many other situations where someone is ill. For instance, I could directly relate to this story. My grandma one day became extremely ill. We instantly ran to the hospital, but the doctors were not giving us the answers we needed. They only provided bland answers that did not justify what I searched for.
Doctors played the waiting game with us too and my family took a similar approach to cope with the pain of waiting. We constantly asked each other how we were doing and told each other to get rest. We looked at the small things to help the larger picture. My family too believed that praying was the solution. We leaned to God for help because we had felt he was the only one who can ultimately help us.
"There were no pleasantries between them, just the minimum exchange of words, the necessary information" (Carver 376).
-This quote resembles alienation and isolation. Ann's overall minimal knowledge of the baker and/or her neighborhood. The baker resembles God itself. An image often seen with a bakery is bread. Being Catholic at a Catholic institution, I recognize bread as the body of Christ. The baker resembles God and how religion is always there even if you didn't recognize it. The baker also resembles how Ann and Howard were being contacted by God throughout the story but did not realize it. Both Ann and Howard were praying for Scotty, and the baker, the image of God, was responding through phone call. The bakery is unforeseen image of Christ. This shows that although there was a minimal exchange of words, there ultimately was a resolution. In the end of the story they realize the baker is the one consistently making the phone calls to them. Ann and Howard, disappointed about there son, attend the bakery to pay for the cake they never picked up. The baker befriends them and offers the smallest thing in order for pleasure. Ultimately that's all religion has to be for you. Religion can being the largest factor in an individuals life or the smallest thing, in the end, it plays a reflecting role on peoples lives as the baker did in "A Small, Good Thing".
Thursday, October 3, 2013
The Masquee of the Red Death
by Edgar Allan Poe
While reading quotes by Edgar Allan Poe, keep in mind how dark everything is...
"The 'Red Death' had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous" (3).
"There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and the profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution" (3).
"But the prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand half and light-heated friends from among and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys" (3).
"The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue" (4).
"But in the western or black chamber the effect of the firelight that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes, was ghastly in the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all" (5).
"But to the chamber which lies most westwardly of the seven, there are now none of the maskers who venture; for the night is waning away; and there flows a ruddier light through the blood-colored panes; and the blackness of the sable drapery appalls; and to him whose foot falls upon the sale carpet, there comes from the near clock of ebony a muffled peal more solemnly emphatic than any which reaches their ears who indulge in the more remote gaieties of the other apartments" (7).
"There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made" (8).
"Then, summoning the wild courage of despair, a throng of revelers at once threw themselves into the black apartment, and, seizing the mummer, whose tall figure stood erect and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped in unutterable horror at finding the grave cerements and corpse-like mask, which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible form" (10).
"And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all" (10).
Her Final Show
by Rafael Campo
She said it was a better way to die
Than most; she seemed relieved, almost at peace,
The stench of her infected Kaposi's
Made bearable by the Opium applied
So daintily behind her ear: "I know
It costs a lot, but dear, I'm nearly gone."
Her shade of eye shadow was emerald green;
She clutched her favorite stones. Her final show
She'd worn them all, sixteen necklaces of pearls,
Ten strings of beads. She said they gave her hope.
Together, heavy as a gallow's rope,
The gifts of drag queens dead of AIDS. "Those girls,
They gave me so much strength," she whispered as
I turned the morphine up. She hid her leg
Beneath smoothed sheets. I straightened her red wig
Before pronouncing her to no applause.
The bolded statement "She said it was a better way to die" proves that she was accepting of her death. Death causes pain and she overcame the pain because of hope. Rafael Campo never states the victims name because he is doing it out of trust. He pursues truth by being compassionate to a friends illness. This poem relates to Dominican University's mission statement: As a Sinsinawa Dominican- sponsored institution, Dominican University prepares students to pursue truth, to give compassionate service and to participate in the creation of a more just and humane world.
In this poem Campo's friend is suffering from AIDS and receives hope from other drag queens. The poem mentions things of value, such as "costs a lot," "emerald green," and "sixteen necklaces of pearls." This shows the monetary value of money and beauty for drag queens. Drag queens view beauty as a value and it gives them hope. The gifts by people who have passed away, such as pearls, surrounds her with death and love by others. She also is being compassionate to those who have passed away as well by wearing the pearls passed down to her. Campo would like to live in a more just and humane world. Ultimately Campo was doing a compassionate service by being there for a friend who is suffering.
She said it was a better way to die
Than most; she seemed relieved, almost at peace,
The stench of her infected Kaposi's
Made bearable by the Opium applied
So daintily behind her ear: "I know
It costs a lot, but dear, I'm nearly gone."
Her shade of eye shadow was emerald green;
She clutched her favorite stones. Her final show
She'd worn them all, sixteen necklaces of pearls,
Ten strings of beads. She said they gave her hope.
Together, heavy as a gallow's rope,
The gifts of drag queens dead of AIDS. "Those girls,
They gave me so much strength," she whispered as
I turned the morphine up. She hid her leg
Beneath smoothed sheets. I straightened her red wig
Before pronouncing her to no applause.
The bolded statement "She said it was a better way to die" proves that she was accepting of her death. Death causes pain and she overcame the pain because of hope. Rafael Campo never states the victims name because he is doing it out of trust. He pursues truth by being compassionate to a friends illness. This poem relates to Dominican University's mission statement: As a Sinsinawa Dominican- sponsored institution, Dominican University prepares students to pursue truth, to give compassionate service and to participate in the creation of a more just and humane world.
In this poem Campo's friend is suffering from AIDS and receives hope from other drag queens. The poem mentions things of value, such as "costs a lot," "emerald green," and "sixteen necklaces of pearls." This shows the monetary value of money and beauty for drag queens. Drag queens view beauty as a value and it gives them hope. The gifts by people who have passed away, such as pearls, surrounds her with death and love by others. She also is being compassionate to those who have passed away as well by wearing the pearls passed down to her. Campo would like to live in a more just and humane world. Ultimately Campo was doing a compassionate service by being there for a friend who is suffering.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Lament By Thom Gunn
"Your dying was a difficult enterprise."
The poem starts off with a nameless victim stating how the death of something was a difficult challenge that they encountered. This line proves that there is a challenge ahead of them.
"In hope still, courteous still, but tired and thin,
You tried to stay the man that
you had been"
This quote proves that although this "man" encountered a challenge, he still would still like to be the same man that he has always been. Although he may have encountered a challenge, he would like to be treated the same and act the same as if "nothing" has happened.
"No respite followed: though
the nightmare ceased,
Your cough grew thick and
rich, its strength increased."
This was seen as a nightmare because of the sickness. The sickness is developing and his cough is growing thicker, more in strength.
"We talked between our sleeping
bags, below
A molten field of stars five
years ago:
I was so tickled by your
mind’s light touch
I couldn’t sleep, you made me
laugh too much"
"You never thought your body
was attractive,
Though others did, and yet you
trusted it
And must have loved its
fickleness a bit"
He always viewed himself as unattractive; even though other did, he became untrustworthy. The attention was nice, but if they were accepting of the complement, then they would not longer receive it.
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