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.“
It is very possible to compare this quote to “The Blue Hotel.” In the quote, it talks about how one individual character is able to effect their whole surrounding, which is exactly what happens in this story. When the three men came off the train and into the hotel, there was one who started to become very paranoid. Thinking it was the wild west, he feared that there had been murders in the hotel and that he might be next. By thinking such things and reacting in such a ridiculous ways, he began to effect the few people around him. Such as, when the hotel owner made him become drunk, the son partaking in a fight with the man, the cowboy saying to kill him during the fight, the journalist never saying that the man was right about the cheating, and finally, the man in the end who stabbed the drunken paranoid. Whether the effect is positive or negative, there is always an outcome.
Taking from the quote, you are able to compare free will to “To Build A Fire”. When the man was out looking for gold in Alaska, there were other native to the area who had told him many things, including not to go alone, in order to survive. Although he may have been told this, it was his freewill when he had chosen not to listen. All the negative things that had occurred had happened because of his negligence to listen. Such examples of this would be when he was told how cold the temperatures would reach to, but even so, he did not come prepared for it. Also, the only other “person” that he had brought with him was the dog, which at one point he was willing to kill, but was not able to even reach his knife in the end. All of these happenings started with the point on whether he was willing to listen and take the advice that given or not.
Although both of these stories may have different types of characters, or barely any characters to begin with, both of them have a negative social environment. In the end, both had a undesirable ending where they had died. Though one died from nature, and the other from, in a way, influencing his negative and disruptive behavior upon others which had him receive the undesirable outcome. When looking back at both of them, the characters could have avoided all of this. If they had just listened to the other people, they would have foreseen their outcome.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
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.
Overall, the story’s message was that romance can be played as a hurtful and dangerous game. Some quotes to support this are “But the man I marry must love his country first of all”. Another would be, “Before it seemed as if she could have written, there came news of the first skirmish, and in the list of the killed, which was telegraphed as a trifling loss on our side, was Gearson’s name.” A final quote could be, ‘”I would rather of died myself than done it!” Editha said, with more truth in her voice than she ordinarily found in it.’
2. What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?
Editha tells George that she isn’t able to marry someone who doesn’t love their country before everything else. Also, she had said that she believed God meant it to be war. She had used this tactic because her fiancée and his family was religious as well.
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 Editha truly understands what she has done. Near the end of the story, when she goes to visit her deceased fiancee’s mother, the mother had basically told her that this was her fault since Editha was the one to convince George to go to war in the first place. This was the point where she had her epiphany. Although, at the end of story when Editha is talking to sketch artist and the woman calls the mother vulgar, Editha continues back to her old ways.
Overall, the story’s message was that romance can be played as a hurtful and dangerous game. Some quotes to support this are “But the man I marry must love his country first of all”. Another would be, “Before it seemed as if she could have written, there came news of the first skirmish, and in the list of the killed, which was telegraphed as a trifling loss on our side, was Gearson’s name.” A final quote could be, ‘”I would rather of died myself than done it!” Editha said, with more truth in her voice than she ordinarily found in it.’
2. What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?
Editha tells George that she isn’t able to marry someone who doesn’t love their country before everything else. Also, she had said that she believed God meant it to be war. She had used this tactic because her fiancée and his family was religious as well.
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 Editha truly understands what she has done. Near the end of the story, when she goes to visit her deceased fiancee’s mother, the mother had basically told her that this was her fault since Editha was the one to convince George to go to war in the first place. This was the point where she had her epiphany. Although, at the end of story when Editha is talking to sketch artist and the woman calls the mother vulgar, Editha continues back to her old ways.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Journal 14 - Robinson
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)
The meaning of the name is that he was rich, but to the core, he was depressed. In reality, he thought he had nothing, but everyone in the town thought he had everything. People tend to idealize others based on the appearences, but the realism is that what’s really going on underneath the surface.
“Miniver Cheevy” (497)
The characters name Minimer Cheevy, suggests that it means minimum achiever. He wished that he was born into the Midevil times. You learn this from when he talks about loathing a khaki suit and missed the suits of armor. Also, he liked the idea of knights and chivalry and the romance of the Renaissance. What makes this real instead of ideal is that he wasn’t an important figure, he was more of an average joe. Cheevy just daydreams of being a knight, just like all other regular people daydream as well. That’s what seperates him from being ideal.
“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)
The name is connected that he’s lonely and drowing from drinking so much. He’s receding into the past. Also, Flood has outlived all of his friends, which means he is probably not going to live much longer. He’s in an era of change, but is too old to keep up with that change. What Flood’s life is focused on is in the past, which leaves him to be sad, lonely, and drunk.
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)
The meaning of the name is that he was rich, but to the core, he was depressed. In reality, he thought he had nothing, but everyone in the town thought he had everything. People tend to idealize others based on the appearences, but the realism is that what’s really going on underneath the surface.
“Miniver Cheevy” (497)
The characters name Minimer Cheevy, suggests that it means minimum achiever. He wished that he was born into the Midevil times. You learn this from when he talks about loathing a khaki suit and missed the suits of armor. Also, he liked the idea of knights and chivalry and the romance of the Renaissance. What makes this real instead of ideal is that he wasn’t an important figure, he was more of an average joe. Cheevy just daydreams of being a knight, just like all other regular people daydream as well. That’s what seperates him from being ideal.
“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)
The name is connected that he’s lonely and drowing from drinking so much. He’s receding into the past. Also, Flood has outlived all of his friends, which means he is probably not going to live much longer. He’s in an era of change, but is too old to keep up with that change. What Flood’s life is focused on is in the past, which leaves him to be sad, lonely, and drunk.
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