Critical Thinking Blog #12

I tend to youtube search everything and this was one of the results I got for "Good Country People," which seemed kind of interesting:




The first time I read this story I felt some sort of weird affinity toward Hulga and consequently the ending was maddening for me. After reading it again, I do not feel nearly as connected to any of the characters. Considering Flannery O'Connor's own health, her depiction of sickness or malady is interesting and appears to be the opposite of her own due to her perseverance and faith. Through "Good Country People," O'Connor provides an allegorical personification of backwards Southerns through the deception of Hulga by Pointer and her mother's inability to look past this notion that "good country people are the salt of the earth." Consequently, O'Connor showcases her Roman Catholic beliefs by having both Hulga and Pointer disgraced due to their nihilistic beliefs. Hulga is disgraced by Pointer, however, Pointer's downfall derives from the reader's response to his actions, which are portrayed as cruel.

Critical Thinking Blog #11

Hmm, I'm not entirely sure if there is prompt for this week or not, so I suppose I will just ramble a bit about Kerouac. I have always struggled with Kerouac's writing and subject manner. At times, I think he is sheer brilliance and others I am just bored and his loose, stream of conscious style becomes unappealing. Kerouac's hedonistic lifestyle easily lends itself toward a compelling, albeit plot less, narrative. In rereading this section Big Sur, the nonchanlantness of Kerouac's depictions jumped out at me. When he describes the setting around him at Big Sur there is an effortless and natural quality to it and the depiction of his dinner of spaghetti with tomato sauce, apple relishe, and oil and vinegar salad seems necessary, despite its tendency toward minutia. With Ginsberg, on the hand, I relish in his structure. While he also exhibits this effortlessness and free flowing writing, it is through his structure that this accomplished. There is ease in his poetry through the syntax and flow that makes it honest and compelling. Ginsberg was obviously influenced by Walt Whitman, and was able to break down Whitman's structure and openness into his own subject matter to create powerful and thought-provoking works, such as Howl.

Critical Thinking Blog #10

Throughout “Going to Meet the Man,” Jesse’s grappling with morality holds the most prominence to me. He shifts from being absolutely ruthless and cutthroat in regard to his views and actions toward blacks, but he exhibits momentary flashes of opposition to the socially accepted racist behavior, which he and others act on, despite never outright expressing this dissonance. While reminiscing about his childhood, Jesse’s naiveté allows him to disregard color, which allows him to be so close to Otis. However, once provided the example of the man who is lynched, Jesse instantaneously distinguishes himself from Otis. Even though he is able to force his innocent and unaware viewpoints of his childhood away, they reappear in this moment of weakness and exhaustion. As he becomes older and ultimately more close-minded, his racism increases fervently. Even as a young man he still had a rapport with the children and the people whose bills he collected. However, through his time with in the force and his hatred stewing, he becomes a brutal, heartless animal. This uncertainty and internal struggle for the quest for justice is a commonality that is not as readily expressed as extreme, fundamentalist racism. To not even consider the humanity in slaves and colored people is animalistic, which Jesse showcases as well, and I highly doubt that even the most intense racist has never had a moment of doubt. As a result, it is more difficult to discern one’s emotions toward a character instead of wholeheartedly loving or hating them.

Critical Thinking Blog #9

While Cheever’s “The Swimmer” does include a plethora of references about alcohol, its message is not about alcoholism and addiction. The usage of alcohol is merely a nod to the mundane commonality it is within the social scene of the bourgeoisie, suburban lifestyle that Neddy exists in. It is far too simplistic to blame Neddy’s drinking for the occurrences that happen. Neddy’s problems are rooted deep with in his psyche and his denial is displaced within the journey he believes he is taking across his neighbors’ pools. Instead, it symbolizes the passage of time and Neddy’s inability to cope with the misfortunes of his life. He takes on this pilgrimage in an effort to delay his realization that he no longer lives a lavish lifestyle due to his financial follies. Neddy’s journey is metaphorically illustrated through the methods of swimming and, slowly, Neddy begins to drown throughout his life and the culmination of his struggle derives from the ending in which he finds his house empty and abandoned. While Neddy starts out strong and swims vigorously, eventually he swims too far out and becomes winded and downtrodden. Similar to Edna in The Awakening, Neddy is searching for something. While their reasoning and outcomes differ, they both swim out of reach for detachment. Neddy detaches himself from the reality of his decreasing financial and societal standpoint.

Critical Thinking Blog #8

I totally forgot that we are supposed to write about "A Streetcar Named Desire." How could I forget Brando and his shirtlessness? Never again shall I make such a folly. The first time I read "Streetcar" it was difficult for me to really picture Stanley beyond his fictionalized characterization. But, oh my, Brando and his dreaminess just epitomized Stanley. The first time I saw the movie at USF I hated the scene where he is just stuffing his face with food for a multitude of reasons. Everyone else in my class laughed, like our class did, and I just sat there so annoyed. One reason is I hate when someone is stuffing their face and talking, especially if they are talking to me. However, the main reason was that if I was Stella I would have felt really disrespected and, at the time, this scene disturbed me more than the scene in which Stanley hits Stella even though the play evoked more emotion from me in the latter scene. It's probably because I was just naturally even more of bitch, having to deal with a ridiculous roommate, and just took that scene and dwelled upon it. When we watched it on Tuesday I actually laughed. This time, I felt more disdain for Blanche than before. I have never cared for Blanche Dubois, but Vivien Leigh just amplifies my disdain. She hones in on Blanche's victimization of herself and, even though I have always thought that Blanche has a flair for the dramatics, Leigh's portrayal made her seem like a joke. I've always associated her to the mother, Amanda, in "The Glass Menagerie" ("My glass!--menagerie. . .") with her traditional Southern values and lack of connection with reality. Similar to Williams' mother, but that is another blog. . .

Critical Thinking Blog #7

Let me just preface my blog with the fact that I am honestly not a fan at all of John Steinbeck. He is wordy and most of the time extremely dull. Also, what is his deal with mice? Anyways, I did slightly enjoy The Leader of the People, mainly because of the Grandfather character, which made this story redeemable to me because it is easy to relate to and the characterizations are interesting. My Grandpa is the same way--telling the same stories and with the same rhythm and tone. In fact, the last time I saw him a couple weeks ago he told some story about NYU because my sister just got in and my Dad's side of the family hails from the Bronx, which led into some other story about where they used to live there and something about the area around NYU being turned into a haven for liberals (which, of course, we should avoid at all costs. God forbid he ever discovers our political viewpoints). I enjoyed his optimistic depiction of Jody and the willingness he has to help those around him. When Jody replies to his Grandfather that, "Maybe I could lead the people some day" (Steinbeck 2059), his naivete and positive outlook are revealed. While this is status quo for most children, I liked that Steinbeck depicts it fairly accurately and doesn't look down upon this childish view, but rather values it and is the factor that cheers the Grandfather u[. In the end, Jody tries to cheer up his Grandfather with lemonade showing his desire to help. He is cognisant of his Grandfather's disappointment because of what his father has said, which shows his maturity and the ability to recognize the feelings of others.

Critical Thinking Blog #6

Throughout The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Hemingway portrays Helen as emasculating Harry because of her independence and strength. Since he has to depend on her financially in outright neglect of societal norm, he is not the provider and therefore loses his sense of masculinity in the relationship. As a result, their relationship crumbles despite her fervent love for him. When Helen asks them what they have done in their lives to deserve their fate he responds,

I suppose what I did was forget to put iodine on it when I first scratched it. Then
I didn’t pay any attention to it because I never infect. Then, later, when it got bad, it was probably using that weak carbolic solution when the other antiseptics ran out
that paralyzed the minute blood vessels and started the gangrene (Hemingway 1985).

Even though he thinks he is not answering her question, Harry describes metaphorically the corruption of their relationship due to his inability to accept her as the supporter of their family financially. Overtime, the emasculating nature of their relationship cripples Harry leaving him devoid of any love toward her. Since his career as a writer has ultimately not been as successful as he had hoped, he not only feels like a failure, but also has to rely on his wife to remain afloat. Also, Helen is able to sustain an intelligent repartee with Harry and does “masculine” actives better than he does and therefore unintentionally reduces his masculinity even more so. She is able to quickly become adept at hunting, an action overly deemed manly by society, which makes him feel inferior.

Critical Thinking Blog #5

After careful revision of the end of “Winter Dreams,” it was difficult for me to find any sort of pleasure lurking in his nostalgia. While there was a tinge of optimism in his reminiscing, the overwhelming sense of loss overpowered said tinge. His longing to be the one to have married Judy and seen her become not-so pretty is apparent. To discover that she is no longer beautiful and leads a fairly unhappy life makes his desirous of what his life could have been with her. However, in the end, there is a sense of closure and that he is finally to get over her. Since he is extremely inquisitive as to her whereabouts and situation, he is somewhat comforted, even though he longs to be the one she ended up with, due to her current state of affairs. He is finally able to take a more individualistic stance rather than just immersing himself in his work to busy himself and instead of morning his loss of Judy is relishes in himself and stops crying about the life he could have had. Therefore, in the end, there is a sense of closure, which does garner a fairly optimism and pleasurable element. He is finally free from the trance Judy put him in and is able to move on instead of letting her dictate his life. Since he would usually drop everything after one mention of Judy, his dismissal of his urge to reconnect with her shows his growth and that he is poised to live for himself, which makes the ending more optimistic, but not necessarily pleasurable per se.

Critical Thinking Blog #4

The simplicity and yet utter complexity in William Carlos Williams’ poems are what make them intrinsically beautiful. Through a quick glance at any of his poems, one can take them for their strictly literal meaning, however, after careful reading and thoughtful interpretation their deep meaning can be discovered. However, the meaning is ultimately left up to interpretation, which provides various and interesting perspectives and takes. An example of this in Williams’ work is “This Is Just to Say.” The imagery and depiction of this poem allow the readers to place themselves within this situation and evaluate their reactions to such an occurrence. While we spoke in class about the numerous meanings of the text, the one that is the most interesting to me and seems to be the most logical is the concept of forbidden fruit. While it is not necessarily about adultery, there is certainly the aspect of knowingly committing an act that is sinful in nature and one’s inability to deny temptation and give in to what they inherently know is wrong.. There is obviously no remorse by the speaker since they never apologize, but also they show no emotion in committing this act. Since it is described as “cold,” there lacks any sort of connection and is merely for the pleasure of enjoying the “sweet” and “delicious” fruit. Thus, the sex aspect comes into play because adulterous sex can oftentimes be just for the physical intimacy devoid of an emotional connection, which makes it cold.

Critical Thinking Blog #3

While Frost does not necessarily utilize modern occurrences, such as war and technology, he emphasizes the concept of individuality and exalts the everyman. Therefore, Frost uses imagery to depict common everyday life. Frost illustrates various aspects of human nature in his work, similar to other Modernist writers, but he utilizes a more classic format. Through his rejection of the more free verse and innovative formats of other Modern poets, Frost showcases the variances in Modernism and the more opened ended aspect in which the author uses the style of their choosing. In “Mending Wall,” Frost portrays the labor in building a wall and the difficulty in getting along with others, more specifically, one’s neighbor:

We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is pine and I am apple orchard (1390).

In comparison to the likes of Whitman and Eliot, Frost uses less open verse and sticks with a more conventional format. More so than other Modern writers, Frost highlights the individual, which is evident in his depiction of the speaker in “Mending Wall” and their troublesome relationship with their neighbor. He glorifies simplistic and fairly mundane situations in which many people encounter and therefore reveals characteristics of human nature through imagery.

Critical Thinking Blog #2

The culmination of “Maggie: Girl of the Streets” in which the mother “fergives” Maggie is implicitly immoral because it lacks any sort of self-awareness of the fate that she and Jimmie dubbed Maggie. Instead, she finally forgives her supposed demon spawn for being so horrible after her fateful death. Since she and Jimmie do not stand up for Maggie or even try to question her endeavors, they are partly to blame for her fall from grace, but fully responsible for her inability to recuperate from it. Once Peter rejects Maggie for Nell, she attempts to return home, but is kicked out without given any chance to explain herself ( Crane 991-992). When Maggie actually is alive and attempts to return to what she has considered her home since infancy, she is fervently turned away devoid of any chance to accept or receive forgiveness. However, since her passing, it is incredibly easy for her Mother to blame Maggie for the tumultuous deals of her life.

Crane’s authorial perspective depicts the stifling nature of being born into various classes and the influence of a parent’s treatment of their children and there in by how that effects them as an adult. Jimmie and Maggie are born into an impoverished, tough family and, no matter Maggie’s longing or efforts to overcome her predestined life, she is unable to overcome it. Maggie is not taught or given an appropriate example of how to act around men and therefore her ability to handle a relationship with Peter is lackluster. Since Jimmie and Maggie lack any sort of viable parental figures in an extremely rough area, they do not possess the skills to overcome the class in which they were born.

Critical Thinking Blog #1

The first time I read The Awakening I enjoyed it far more than I expected to, mainly because of the many dimensions of the story and its characters. What I found absolutely fascinating about Edna is the individuality she has and her ability to respond to her urges and passions, which I do not think we necessarily even possess today. Self-indulgence is a topic I’m absolutely fascinated with and the various consequences and winnings one has due to their self-indulgence. One passage that depicts her journey into independence states, “Every step which she took toward relieving herself from obligations added to her strength and expansion as an individual.” After reading The Awakening, I decided to try out such a lifestyle during my short time at USF, since I knew relatively no one and was not surrounded by family members, but sans marriage/children and still found it incredibly difficult. With a possible significant other and/or children, it seems highly implausible. Living with very little concern for others or not expressing that concern is extremely taxing. Edna does deal with a bit of guilt, but her friendship with Mademoiselle Reisz influences her to maintain her lifestyle.

The feminist undertones are blatantly obvious and certainly fitting due to the time period, but the situations within the text really apply to any gender. Men and women alike crave to indulge their intimate desires and passions, but cannot always do so due to societal, personal, and other limitations. I think we all are constantly being limited due to our various attributes and other ones that have been imposed on us. I'm not entirely sure how we are able to breakout fo this limitation in any other way than through our actions, but that makes one an outcast and, just as Mademoiselle Reisz warns Edna, it takes an extremely strong and brave person to due so without remorse. Therefore, I tend to think of Edna’s fate as extremely freeing—not just for herself to rid her of gender and societal limitations, but to also free everyone else of her (i.e. her husband from shame from other members of society, her children from her seclusion, Robert from the implausibility of their love) without having to cause more pain. We touched briefly upon this in class, but that is why I mainly think of her death as a fairly happy one and not as selfish as one might perceive. Something that I’ve always pondered, hypothetically, about The Awakening is if the “world” or “society” was better with or without Edna in it. I’m not entirely sure the answer to that, though.

Oh, word.

Allo, fellow American Literature classmates and other readers! Well, if you fall into the "other reader" category I caution that you turn back now before it's too late. Anyways, so since this is the second blog that I've done as apart of one of Jason's classes, I am going to spare you (and me) the list of my favorite things as apart of my introductory post. However, if you simply must know, feel free to journey over to my other blog, not so aptly named "Jenny Jennings," to view a somewhat comprehensive list of such things.


I don't know what else to say. . .hopefully you are enjoying the playlist thing on here. . .and if you aren't listening to it: bump it because it took me seriously 15 minutes to figure out how to put my own playlist on it and then I realized that it was mind numbingly simplistic. The least you could do it try one song on for size. You can also basically extrapolate a general sense of my musical stylings if you don't want to look at my other blog and I can't say I blame you.


I'm kind of falling short on the long winded portion of my title, but I don't have much to talk about other than myself, and I prefer not to divulge too heavily into my narcissistic tendencies. However, I suppose this will suffice for my first post.