Bartelby the Scrivener

     I found the story Bartelby the Scrivener by Herman Melville to be extremely long boring, and frankly, pointless. The author used an excessive amount of details and seemed to ramble on. He also used quite a bit of characterization. The speaker spends multiple pages talking about his four workers, Turkey, Nippers, Ginger Nut, and most of all, Bartelby. I found the character of Bartelby to be rude and annoying. I realize the point was to make him seem lonely, but I found his behavior ridiculous. The fact that he repeated "I would prefer not to" many times a page made me want to quit reading every time, because I knew what was going to happen each time he was questioned. The only line that kept me interested for more than a few seconds says Bartelby was "as useless as a necklace" (661). I found this statement to be far from the truth. Necklaces add so much to an outfit, they even complete outfits. Some people have necklaces they wear every day because they are a part of their person or simply statement necklaces they break out non occasion. Bartelby is not a necklace. He is the one that is useless. He does not complete anything. He is not a part of anyone's person or a "special occasion" kind of guy. It is obvious the speaker is a man because this is just wrong.

APO 96225

     The poem APO 96225 by Larry Rottmann is very eye-opening. This poem is about a young man in war who writes letters to his family. His first letter reads, "Dear Mom, sure rains a lot here" (846). His family claims to want to know what is really happening in the war, so the boy writes back "Today I killed a man..." (846). After, the family is upset and would like happier letters, like the first. I think this relates to the attitudes of the American public during any war. We claim to want to hear what exactly is going on, but as soon as it becomes to gruesome, we back away and act like it really isn't happening. There seems to be situational irony in this poem. The mother, when asking the boy to write what is really happening, does not expect the boy to say he is killing men, woman, and children. The reader, too, does not expect the man to keep writing such light-hearted messages. This poem makes us realize we need to be aware of what is really happening overseas in wars, not just the sugar-coated things we hear.

Much Madness is divinest Sense

     The poem Much Madness is divinest Sense by Emily Dickinson proved to be somewhat confusing to me. However, I did understand the overall meaning and greatly enjoyed it. The poem reads, "Much Madness is divinest Sense... Much Sense- the starkest Madness" (830). This is saying that insanity is good sense and that good sense is insane. This paradox is actually very true. We must be both insane and have good sense. We must know when to have each of these qualities separately and when they are better paired. Through life, if we are constantly acting insane we will look foolish. However, if we always have good sense we will never do anything spontaneous or daring. We will never live up to the phrase "Carpe Diem." At times it is proper to have good sense, but at other times it is exhilarating to be insane.

I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain

     The poem I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain by Emily Dickinson is extremely sad. the entire poem is an extended metaphor. It compares what the speaker is feeling in her mind to that of a funeral. The poem begins with the people entering the funeral. In her mind, she seems to be feeling overwhelmed with lots of things going through her brain. Then, it goes to the people of the funeral being seated and music starting. At this point, her mind is still- almost numb- except for a pulse-like beating. The casket is then opened. she feels her soul is opened and empty- only filled with pace. Silence then followed in both the funeral and her mind. and lastly, the casket was lowered in the ground. "And I dropped down and down- and I hit a World, at every plunge, And finished knowing- then-" (776). The poem is unfinished. From this, I can gather that the speaker, too, is lowered into the ground- having died.

Miss Brill

     The story Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield is both uplifting and sad at the same time. The story began very happily. Miss Brill began getting dressed for her wonderful Sunday tradition of listening to the band. She detailed her clothing, where she sat, the band itself, and what she would do afterwards. When talking about her clothing, Miss Brill Personified her fur shall. "'What has been happening to me?' said the sad little eyes" (182). To be honest, I don't really understand the significance of the fur. I think this quote does impact the meaning because of the sadness in the fur and in the ending. However, I don't really know what quite yet.
     The end of the story was very depressing. A young couple came and sat near Miss Brill. They talked rudely about her saying "why does she come here at all- who wants her? Why doesn't she keep her silly mug at home" (186). Miss Brill overheard this and is obviously deeply hurt by it. So much that she does not treat herself to a treat afterwards. When she takes off the fur and puts it away, she thinks she hears crying. Again, I am sure this has to do with the fur, but I don't completely understand its overall meaning. Nonetheless, the ending of the story is extremely sad.

Death, be not proud

     John Donne's poem "Death, be not proud" is extremely moving. Donne seems to be a man that respects death. He seems to look forward to it, since it is inevitable. However, he sees death as being helpful. He sees death as being a minor hiatus from living. He then says "One short sleep passed, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die" (972). This last sentence of the poem is beautifully written. Donne says that after we have taken a minor break from living, we return. Death, then, dies. This poem evokes a lot of thought from the reader. How can death die? I really like the perspective he takes on death, saying it is just needed sleep. I don't think Donne is being crazy by saying we wake eternally and that death dies. Perhaps death is merely purgatory, and when we waken eternally we have reached heaven. Whatever, the case, I really like Donne's positive viewpoint on death.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

     Dylan Thomas' poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" uses a variety of literary techniques. One that stood out to me is his use of a refrain. The refrain in this poem reads, "Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (968). The speaker seems to be talking to people, offering them advice. I think this refrain is saying we can not let death overpower us. We need to continue to fight for our lives. The speaker addresses specific groups of men directly. He speaks to wise men. good men, wild men and grave men. He gives them each their own piece of advice. At the end of each of these group's specific stanzas, he alternates between one line of the refrain. This speaker seems to fear death and want all those near to him, specifically his father, to live on forever.

Crossing the Bar

     The poem "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson seems to be a metaphor for death. Throughout the whole poem, I expected the poem to be about death. However, the last stanza is what made me sure that is the poem's theme. It says, "I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar" (886).  The bar he speaks of seems to be the passing between earth and heaven. The fact that Tennyson capitalized Pilot shows that the Pilot in his life is God. Being Catholic, I really like that he says God is his "Pilot." Just yesterday in my pre-calculus class with Mrs. Toner, she told us about an old popular bumper sticker that said "God is my co-pilot." She then told us "If God is your co-pilot, switch seats." She told us this because we need to let God control and lead all of our life, not just let him help sometimes. Obviously, the speaker of this poem feels the same way as Mrs. Toner. He lets his Pilot, God, lead him to his after life.

A Rose for Emily

     I really did not enjoy the story "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner because of the way the story was organized. It did not go in any sort of logical order. Also, much of the story was not explained. The reader has no idea if Emily and Homer Barron were really married. We also don't know if Emily killed Homer. In this story, there seemed to be situational irony. This is when what is expected is different than what actually happens. When Emily purchased the arsenic, I assumed she was going to kill herself. The whole story up to that point seemed gloomy and like she was always sad."'I want some poison, she said to the druggist. She was over thirty then, a slight woman, though thinner than usual, with cold, haughty black eyes in a face the flesh of which was strained across the temples and about the eyesockets as you imagine a lighthouse-keeper's face out to look" (286). This dark, depressing description of Emily made me think the author was using foreshadowing. I thought he was describing her in such an awful way to show why she would want to kill herself. Maybe she did kill herself, because yet again the author does not really tell the reader. However it seems as though she really did die from old age and I was wrong in both instances.

The Lottery

     In "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, I felt there was quite a bit of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony takes place when there is a discrepancy between the reader's understanding of a scene and a character's understanding. Throughout almost the entire story I had a completely different understanding of what a lottery is than the characters did. I assumed it was the lottery involving money. I thought the town made such a fuss over it because it is exciting in a small town to see who the "big winner" is. However, I soon realized I was completely wrong. I am never one to see events coming in a story, so I really did not realize it was not a modern-day lottery until they came out and said that a Hutchinson would be stoned. The characters in the play knew the entire time what was going to happen; they were never confused, like myself. They weren't so much excited as they were nervous or anxious to find out who the "winner" was. I even interpreted minor events in the story differently than what the characters were actually doing. When discussing the children, the author writes, "Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones" (264). I thought this was some sort of children's game, like they were going to play marbles or something. I had no idea they were collecting the stones that would soon kill a citizen. This entire story had me very confused.

The Glass Menagerie

     The ending of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is extremely sad and Williams uses quite a bit of Pathos. The gentleman caller, Jim, and Laura seem to hit it off great- they even share a small kiss. However, we soon find out Jim is not the sweet, caring man he pretends to be. He is really a cheater- he is engaged and cheating on his fiance, Betty. The way Jim breaks the news to Laura that he will never be calling her is absolutely heart-wrenching. Laura, the shy, innocent girl she is, is absolutely shocked and heart-broken. Jim, a player and a cheater, seems to feel not guilt. Even though he acts sorry, it is evident he doesn't care about Laura's feelings at all. He even tells Amanda he is engaged in a manner that shows he sees nothing wrong with what he has done. Amanda is obviously appalled at his behavior. Williams does a spectacular job in his writing by making the reader feel so much sympathy for Laura. 
     While the ending of the play clearly angered me, I did really like Tom's soliloquy at the very end. His speech seems like the perfect way to end the play, rapping up many loose ends about his future. Tom finishes the play by saying "For nowadays the world is lit by lightning!  Blow out your candles, Laura- and so goodbye" (1289). This last sentence is beautifully written, however I am not exactly sure of its meaning. I am not sure if it symbolizes that Laura never found love, or that maybe she even died alone. Whatever it means, it leaves the reader wondering. I really enjoy Williams' writing style in this regard.

The Glass Menagerie

     After finishing scene six of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, I have realized I am either very confused or simply wrong. For some reason, I thought I read that the families father had passed away, I'm not sure where I came up with that, but scene six has told me otherwise. Amanda tells Jim O'Connor, the gentleman caller, "I married a man who worked for the telephone company!- That gallantly smiling gentleman over there! A telephone man who- fell in love with long-distance!- Now he travels and I don't even know where!- (1270). This statement from Amanda shows that her husband hasn't died, he has just left the family. Maybe this is why she seems so bitter towards him, insisting Tom not be like his father. I am still very curious as to whether I made up the idea of the father being dead or if it actually said it somewhere.
     Something I have noticed to occur throughout the play is that the stage directions tell the reader when music will play and what song is playing. And often times the music seems to change the mood of the scene a great deal. Tom tells Jim of his idea to move, and when Jim asks Tom to where, the stage directions read, "(The music seems to answer the question, while Tom thinks it over)" (1268). I enjoy that the author included these stage directions and I find it interesting that at different points in the play the music seems to speak when no words are said.

The Glass Menagerie

     Throughout scenes four and five of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, there is a lot of discussion about the families deceased father. While telling Laura about a magic show Tom went to, he says, "But who ever got himself out of one [a coffin] without removing one nail? (As if in answer, the father's grinning photograph lights up. Scene dims out) (1249). This almost seems like a bit of eerie foreshadowing.  While it does not seem likely for their father to have actually gotten out of his own coffin, presumably after already being dead, it does make me think that maybe the father is not dead after all. The mother seems to talk poorly of his drinking problem quite often, which maybe shows she did not like him. Because of this, however unlikely it may be, I have begun wondering whether or not he actually died or he simply abandoned the family. Amanda later says to Tom while forcing him to let her comb his hair, "There is only one respect in which I would like you to emulate your father... The care he always took of his appearance (1255). Amanda says here she did not like his father and wants her son to be almost nothing like him. This makes me think she is holding a grudge against him for something other than his horrible drinking problem. While I may be looking way too far into this, it seems to me that the deceased father will be of more importance than we think.

The Glass Menagerie

     "Even when he wasn't mentioned, his [a gentleman caller] presence hung... like a sentence passed upon the Wingfields" (1244). At the beginning of scene three in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Tom, the narrator and son of Amanda, is telling the audience through first person point of view what an impact Amanda's want for a gentlemen caller has made in the Wingfield household. The above simile  shows that her "obsession" is taking a toll on their family, comparing it to a court or prison sentence. Amanda is doing everything she can to "help" Laura. But, in reality, this doesn't seem to be what Laura wants at all. Her mother is taking so much control of their lives that it seems to drive them all apart. Not only is she trying to control Laura's life, but Tom's as well. During an argument between Amanda and Tom, Amanda yells at Tom for talking back, to which he replies "No, no, I mustn't say things" (1246). Tom is being sarcastic here, because we know he will continue to talk back to his mother. The incessant fighting in the house seems to be rapidly increasing from what seemed like a happy, little family at the beginning of the play.

The Glass Menagerie

     After finishing scenes one and two of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, I have learned a lot about two of the characters, Laura and Amanda Wingfield. Amanda is Laura's mother, and it is obvious she cares about Laura very much. Through Amanda's talk to and about Laura, there is quite a bit of indirect characterization.  Amanda is trying to make a good life for Laura. She has been paying for her to go to college and tries to help her meet potential husbands. However, Amanda is disgusted with Laura when she finds out Laura has not been attending her classes. She is also unhappy with Laura's lack of interest in men. Amanda says, "Fifty dollars' tuition, all of our plans- my hopes and ambitions for you- just gone up the spout" (1242).This quote tells the reader a lot about Amanda. It shows they are her dreams, not Laura's. This also makes it seem as though Amanda didn't accomplish or never had the chance to fulfill her own ambitions, so she is trying again with her daughter. It is clear they are not Laura's dreams, since she shows no interest in pursuing them. It will be interesting to see which of the women gets their own dreams fulfilled.