Journal 21

Journal 21 - Some Like It Hot and The Great Gatsby Comparison/Contrast

Although Some Like It Hot is a comedy and The Great Gatsby is a tragedy, both works use popular culture to portray life in 1920s America.  Focusing on the following elements (characterization, conflict, and theme), discuss how the two works are similar and different and what each is saying about American life.

While Some Like it Hot and The Great Gatsby who different genres, they can be related by the way that they portray life in the 1920’s. Characters in both novels drink alcohol illegally, and parties are a bid aspect of each novel. Both of the novels have to do with people being in love. In Gatsby, he is in love with Daisy and in Some Like It Hot, Joe and Jerry both are interested in Sugar. Both novels have women who are flappers and are only interested in money. The women in the novels seem to portray women as shallow in the 1920’s. Daisy loved Tom because of his wealthy and Sugar fell in love with the personality created of a rich person. It showed that people during that time were more interested in having fun then good solid morals. 

Journal 20

Journal 20 – The Great Gatsby Conclusion

Read the novel’s last passage (beginning with, “Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left”) and discuss the use of imagery and symbolism that is being employed by Fitzgerald.  In your response, specifically address what Nick is saying about the green light and the connection that he is making between Gatsby and the Dutch sailors who “discovered” Long Island. 

Nick uses the imagery of the parties thrown by Gatsby and discusses how they will never take place again. He is making a connection between the green light and the sailors who discovered long island. He is saying that the green light represented hope for Gatsby as did the green land for the sailors. Both showed the person that was looking at it that there was more out there. He uses the green light as a symbol for our goals in life. It can be seen as the grass that is greener on the other side, but as Gatsby finds out, that is not always the fact of the matter. 

Journal 19

                                                                       

Journal 19 - Characterization in Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby

Write a description for each of the following characters based on his/her first appearance in Chapter 1.  Your description should include:

-the character’s physical appearance;

-the character’s actions/words;

-an adjective that best describes the character based on his/her initial    

 appearance

Nick Carraway        Adjective: reserved

He is not very intimidating, he is small and thin. He listened to other people more than he spoke. He was the person that everyone trusted with their secrets.

Tom Buchanan        Adjective: cocky

He is big and much more intimidating then Nick. He was not very nice to others and thought he was better than people because he has money and was a star in college.

Daisy Buchanan     Adjective: fair-weather

She is small and blonde and petite. She just keeps changing her mind between Tom and Gatsby and cannot make up her mind in anything. She is very outgoing and talkative.

Jordan Baker           Adjective: observative

She is a brunette and is much less talkative then Daisy. She observes those around her so she always knows what is going on. She is attractive and mysterious.

Jay Gatsby               Adjective: intelligent

He just thinks about happiness and will do anything to get it. He is a dreamer and a schemer. He is kind hearted and attractive but cannot be as happy without lying about his life. 

Journal 15

Journal 15 – William Dean Howell’s “Editha”

1.  Write a sentence that summarizes the story’s overall message, and provide  three direct quotes from the story that best illustrate this message.

The message of the story is that listening to others and compromising your beliefs can lead to bad things.

“It isn’t this war alone; though this seems peculiarly wanton and needless; but it’s every war –so stupid; it makes me sick. Why shouldn’t this thing have been settled reasonably?”

“He told me he had asked you to come if he got killed. You didn’t expect that, I suppose, when you sent him.”

2.  What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?

She tries to tell him that he has to join the war because most of the other men do it. She thinks thatfighting and winning is what life is about and makes you successful. She said that if he didn’t go to the war, she woud no longer marry him.

3.   Is there ever a time in which Editha truly understands what she has done?  Does she ever experience an epiphany?

There is a time where she understands what she has done when she gets the word that George died. She is sad because of his loss and visits his mom. She gets yelled at by his mother and is blamed for his death. She doesn’t fully understand that it was her fault, but at least she gets a slight understanding of what she did. She has an epiphany when the women who was listening to her story took her side.

Journal 16

Journal 16 – Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” and London’s “To Build A Fire” 

Read the following quote and discuss how it applies to the main characters in both stories.  In the course of this discussion, address how each of the characters is both similar and different:

“Determinisim governs everything … The writer must study the inherited traits of individual character and the social condition of the time.  Together, these elements determine the course of any action, the outcome of any life.  Free will or self-determination is mostly an illusion, although chance is granteed a role in human affairs.  Still, even the effects of chance are obliterated in the inevitable course determined by the interaction of inherited character traits and the social environment.“  

            The quote above applies to the main character in “The Blue Hotel” who is the Swede. The swede had a feeling that he was going to be killed, and over the course of time that is what happened. It was determined from the start that he was not safe, and although he was not killed by who he thought he would be, but he was still killed. The social environment around him was that he did not fit in. His traits were thought of as weird, and he was paranoid when sober, and aggressive when drunk. He was placed in the position of the hotel for a reason, it was not free will that put him there.

Journal 18

Journal 18 -“In Another Country”

1. What is the significance of the story’s title?  

It is significant because the story takes place in another country, Italy.

2. Which character do you think best represents the “Hemingway hero”? Why?

I think that Signore Maggiore represents the “Hemingway hero” the best. Even when he suffers, he does it with dignity and grace. He lost his spouse, and still does his best to not let it get him down. He cannot fence because of his hand, which is what he was great at. He still fights through daily life to keep a positive attitude and try and help others.

3. What can you infer about the photographs the doctor hangs up?  What is the significance of the major’s reaction? 

I think that the photos that he puts up are to keep the patients thinking positively that they can be healed. While some of the photos may not be real results of therapy, the doctor wants the patients to think that they will be okay and not get depressed. 

Journal 17

Journal 17 - “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” – T.S. Eliot (p.775)

1. What is the significance of the poem’s epigraph?  How does it relate to Prufrock?

The epigraph is about a person who is self conscious when it comes to talking about himself. He talks about himself only because he thinks that nobody will read or hear what he is saying.

2. Make a list of questions that Prufrock asks.  Do you see a pattern/theme to these questions or are they random?  

Shall I?

Do I dare?

How should I begin?

How should I presume?

All of his questions have to do with decisions he should make in his life. He is not sure which things are good for him to do and which are bad. He waffles back and forth and is never set on making one choice, he has to debate all of the options.

3. What do you think is Prufrock’s main flaw/problem?

He main flaw or problem is that he has anxiety and cannot make up his mind. He needs to have more confidence in his actions and choices.

4. Why do you think this is called a love song?  In what way is it a love song? .

It is called a love song because it is ironic. It is not actually a love song, it s more about pity for not having love. It is ironic because he is alone. He has nobody to love. It is about living a loveless life, not a love song full of happy feelings.

Journal 14

Journal #14 - E. A. Robinson Poems 

Realism – The theory or practice in art and literature of fidelity to nature or to real life and to accurate representation without idealization of the most typical views, details, and surroundings of the subject.

Read the following poems and write a detailed description for each of the title characters and explain how each is an example of the “real” instead of the “ideal.”  

“Richard Cory“ (497)

This poem is about a man who everyone looks at and thinks he has it all. Everyone saw him as a example of someone who has a perfect life. He ironically was not happy with himself, as everyone thought he would be. He ends up killing himself, which is why the poem is real not ideal. This poem shows that whats on the outside may not be what it seems.

“Miniver Cheevy” (497)

This person in this poem wishes that he lived in a different time period. He wanted to be born in medieval times. He likes the idea of chivalry, knights, and the Medici clan. He only drank and dreamed about being in that time period, and did not make anything of himself. His name sounds like minimal achiever, which is what he is. His life is real not ideal because some people are just not happy with their lives.

         

“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)

Mr. Flood is an alcoholic who is by himself in the poem. He is old and he has no friends anymore from them either dying or leaving his life. He talks to himself in the poem when he drinks, and is having a party by himself. He is flooding himself with alcohol. His life is real not ideal because there are a lot of people who try to drink away their problems.

Journal 13

Journal #13 – Edgar Lee Masters Epitaphs (p. 502) 

Read “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” and answer the following questions.  

1. What object symbolizes George Gray’s life?  How is this object representative of him?

          A boat is the object that symbolizes his life. It is relative to him because the boat is just at rest in a harbor. He regrets his life because he feels like he has not gone anywhere in his life. It is not his destination it was his life prior to dying. The sail is furled so it looks like it can not even sail or leave where it is.

2. How was Lucinda Matlock’s life different than George Gray’s?  How do you interepret the last line of the poem?     

          Her life is different because she went out and did things while Gray did not. He was full of regret while she enjoyed her life. The last line of the poem to me means that if you are alive you should love life. It takes like to love life, so therefore if that is all it takes, then people should do their best to enjoy life to the fullest while they have to opportunity.

         

3. How are “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” examples of realism? 

          They are examples of realism because they live the lives of ordinary people. Some people look back on their life with regret, others are happy with the way it worked out. Neither of the two people have anything different about them than a normal person would. They live realistic life styles and think realistic thoughts. 

Journal 12

Journal #12 - “Young Goodman Brown”

1. “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory (symbolic narrative). What do the following represent?

Young Goodman Brown –Represents a young good man who was influenced and changed for the worse. The last name Brown can be thought of as a stain on the type of person that he was.

Faith – Represents faith that Brown had in society until he saw what he saw. He lost his faith, implying he lost her and his faith in the good of mankind.

The Elderly Traveller/Fellow-Traveller – the devil and temptation that men have to deal with in their lives.

Goody Cloyse –Showing something on the outside but not being the same on the inside, she is shallow and fake as Brown sees who she truly is.

The Ceremony – accepting the flaws and sins of the human race.

The Pink Ribbon – represents the good leaving the world, the ribbon falls and Brown realized that everything he once thought may have just been an allusion.

Young Goodman Brown’s Journey – The journey that everyone must go through at some point. Everyone will be tempted and question their beliefs, but it is important to stay strong, not lose faith like Brown did.

2. Identify the following for “Young Goodman Brown”:

Theme Message of Theme Element Used to Establish

The theme is losing faith and the message of the theme is that the world may not be as it seems. You can never really tell what is true and what is not, you have to use your judgment to try and decide.

In addition, provide three direct quotes from the story that address your theme.

“But, irreverently consorting with these grave, reputable, and pious people, these elders of the church, these chaste dames and dewy virgins, there were men of dissolute lives and women of spotted fame, wretches given over to all mean and filthy vice, and suspected even of horrid crimes. It was strange to see that the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were the sinners abashed by the saints. “

“By the sympathy of your human hearts for sin ye shall scent out all the places—whether in church, bedchamber, street, field, or forest—where crime has been committed, and shall exult to behold the whole earth one stain of guilt, one mighty blood spot.”

“Come, devil: for to thee is this world given.”

Journal 9

Journal #9 - Free Will vs. Determinism

Free Will - The power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will.

Iago: “'tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our 

           gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners” (1.3 361-3).

Determinism - The philosophical doctrine that every event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedents, such as genetic and environmental influences, that are independent of the human will.

Othello: “Yet ‘tis the plague of great ones … ‘tis destiny unshunnable, like 

               death” (3.3 313-16).

  

Using the above definitions, write a paragraph that argues in support of each of the terms.  In your paragraphs, use specific examples from Othello to support your ideas.

Othello had free will to choose who he wanted to believe, Iago or Desdemona. He chose to believe Iago, even though it was the wrong choice. He let Iago get to him, but in the end, Iago could not force him to do anything, it was his own choice. It was not fate that led him to do what he did; it was free will that had him do what he did. He was influenced by others, but it was not them making the decision for him.

Determinism was present in Othello’s life. His fate was inevitable because of the influences are him. He was unable to have free will because jealousy was able to go and over take him easily. It is obvious that determinism was present because everything worked out in a way that went against Othello. If this was not fate, these acts would not have happened. They were predetermined and Othello had no control over what happen in the story.

Journal 11

Journal 11 - Selections from Walden   

Write a summary of the following selections and identify a direct quote that you feel best expresses its main idea.

“Where I Lived and What I Lived For” (232)

He talks about him spending time in the forest and his experiences. The technology has lead to a disconnect of people having face to face conversations. People think they are becoming more connected, but have 500 facebook friends doesn’t mean you have that many in real life. Techonology leads to not all good things because some people use it in more than moderation.

Quote: “We do not ride on the railroad, the railroad rides on us”

“Sounds” (234)

This talks about the sounds of nature. The narrator is watching nature from morning  to night time. He does not think that it is a waste of time because he is admiring the changes of the world around him. He is living in the present time, not thinking about the past or the future. He realizes how beautiful nature is and how important it is to the entire world as a whole. Nature’s sounds can be soothing and relaxing to those who actually take the time to listen.

Quote: “I had this advantage, at least, in my mode of life, over those who were obliged to look abroad for amusement, to society and the theatre, that my life itself was become my amusement and ceased to be a novel.”

“Brute Neighbors” (235)

This passage uses the symbolism of ants to show how people interact. People fight over stupid, miniscule things that lead to the death of people. The brutality of war is immense, and the author thinks that it is humerous to watch the red and black ants fight over a pile of wood. He realizes how similar it is to humans fighting over land, and uses the passage to relate human war to their war.

            Quote: “And the results of this battle will be as important and memorable to those whom it comcerns as those of the battle of Bunker Hill”

“The Pond in Winter” (237)

A pond in winter freezes over, with the beautiful life underneath it. Nature has beauty, and it is always going to be there. The pond looks like it is calm and at rest, but there is life teeming underneath of it. There is new beauty added to it because it is newly frozen.

Quote: “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our head”

“Spring” (238)

Every thing flourishes during the spring time. The sounds and smells begin to overwhelm all the senses. Spring gives people more energy and makes them feel renewed because of all of its beauty. Spring is the best time of year because of all the great life that it brings about.

Quote: “The coming in of sring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.”

Journal 10

Journal #10

Othello’s Insight

Write a one paragraph response to the following question:

Often at the end of a play, Shakespeare’s tragic heroes often have a moment of insight.  What is Othello’s insight?  Look closely at Othello’s last speech before answering this question.

Othello realizes that he believed the wrong person and made the wrong decision. He could not live with himself anymore after what he had done to the person he loved the most. He loved his wife, but believed another man over her. He realized that he should have trusted her and known that she would not have been unfaithful with his right hand man. He let Iago get the best of him, and was remorseful for letting that happen at the expense of not only himself, but those around him. He should have been more trusting of Cassio and of Desdemona, and he realizes this. He decided to stab himself and get away from the world that caused him so much pain.