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.