Book Festival!

Philadelphia Free Library Book Festival
May 17 - 18 (Sat and Sun)
http://libwww.freelibrary.org/bookfestival/program.cfm

I looked through them and I really wanted to see Tamala Edwards and many of the other authors :) Anyone else interested?

Elegy for Jane

Just some information that I found on this poem and the poet. This elegy was written 40 years after Jane's death (I'm pretty sure-need to double check). It's said that her death wasn't the only thing that influenced Roethke. Many critics say that Roethke loved her (as in lover) and they base that on the fact that he had married another former student. However, there are others who say that this wasn't the case with Jane. There's a very interesting debate about the question of boundaries, especially in an educator's career.

Personally, I don't agree with the critics and the pedophile talk. The last line of the peom makes it clear enough for me. Roethke is saying that he neither loved her as a father nor as a lover. He also talks about having the right to mourn her before that line. I think he's saying that in society's eyes, he doesn't have the right to mourn her death like he does because only fathers and lovers can do that for a girl. This is a special relationship of a teacher and a student. I think that it's natural for teachers to have respect and admiration for certain students. It doesn't have to be perverted like society thinks in most cases. I think that the guy just cared and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's beautiful that a sort of stranger shows respect for another person and feels the hurt when something aweful happens.

Ode on a Grecian Urn

Okay so I really like this one! It sounds really pretty. Anyways, I was looking around and found some really interesting information. Basically, what you could probably get just by reading is that Keats is talking about art (an urn's design!). He does mention what's on it: musicians and lovers and a really beautiful setting. However, as we read it, we don't really get a sense of what these people are doing exactly. Keats uses what is called Negative Capability (readers don't know who, what or where exactly). All we know is that the figures on the urn are literally frozen in time. Even though they are loving each other, they can never advance that love. They can never consummate or move on. Same with the musicians. They are playing music but nobody can hear it. That's when the picture doesn't seem so perfect and beautiful anymore. Keats goes on to make his point. He says that even though the urn seems beautiful and perfect, it's not real. Here, he makes a contrast between art and life. In a way, he criticizes the urn after supposedly praising it. To me, the point was (Anisha!) that Keats is trying to confuse the reader, but at the same time forcing him or her to think. By saying the last two lines, Keats makes the reader think that beauty is the ultimate reality, but in fact, he's saying the opposite.

Lucille Clifton at the FLP

As Laz mentioned today, Lucille Clifton is coming to the Free Library of Philadelphia. She'll be there this Thursday, May 1st at 8 pm. Tickets can be bought online at http://libwww.freelibrary.org/calendar/calbydate.cfm?ID=18107&type=2. I know Laz had said it was free for students, but it appears to be $7 for students (discounted from the general admission price of $14). There is still auditorium seating left, so that's good. A little blurb about Lucille Clifton, courtesy of the FLP website (since I had never heard of her before I assume others hadn't either):

"Lucille Clifton is the author of 12 poetry collections, including the National Book Award-winning Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988–2000, as well as several children’s books and a memoir. The 2007 recipient of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize—one of the most prestigious literary awards for American poets—Clifton is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets."

I'm free on Thursday night...anyone else able to go?

The Shawl

For anyone who read "The Shawl" already, you may be interested to know that Cythia Ozick wrote a second part to that story, which takes place some thirty years later. The second story is called "Rosa" , and basically talks about the mental-state of a Holocaust victim and how she mourns for her deceased baby daughter. I didn't read it, but I saw a couple of summaries on it. In that story, apparently Rosa isn't a very sympathetic charactor. Her surviving niece, Stella, seems to be more sympathetic.

Everyday Use

I really, really liked this story. I thought it brought out some interesting points about the "Back to Africa" movement, and what it really means to respect your heritage.The story talks about how two girls represent two different ways of trying to honor African heritage. Dee seems to be doing it in more a display, museum-esque respect of her culture. Maggie is respecting her family by carrying on family traditions.

I was reading an article which talked about how Walker beleived that denying the slave and American parts of African-American culture were unreasonable and disrespectful. I think this can be seen with Dee's change of names. Dee wants an African name. She picks one which has no specific meaning to her, but culturally agrees with the "Back to Africa" movement. Her original name, she argues, was given to her by white people (generations back). However, the narrorator explains that Dee's name comes from her family, which carries more personal heritage for her.

Gimpel the Fool

I wasn't sure if I understood this story or not, so I'm just going to blog a couple of points which I found interesting.
I loved the way this story began. It was such a direct beginning, and really jumped right into the problem of the story "I am Gimpel the fool. I don't think myself a fool." This is kind of the overall theme of the story... the fact that Gimpel beleives everything.
I was really confused as to what the "point" of the story was. Part of me wants to say the story is a hit at religion. Gimpel beleives everything, but in particular, he believes things which have religious references. In the third paragraph, it mentions "In the first place, everything is possible, as written in the Wisdom of the Fathers". He also beleives that the Messaih has come, and later on, beleives the schoolmaster later when he says that Adam and Eve had a premature baby. Later, the rabbi's daughter tricks him as well. Although the entire town makes a fool out of him, many of the specific examples trace back to religion. Is this just because the town is very religion-focused? Or is this a smack at religion itself, and how religious beleifs make people into fools.
Another question I had was about his wife. She's obviously the model for a bad wife , but there seems to be more too it. When Gimsel asks her to marry, and to give him a dowry, she answers back tells him not to bargain - either say yes or no. Is this saying that women should never talk back?
When I began this story, I felt bad for Gimsel. By the end, though, I think I came to beleive that this was really his fault. As Liz pointed out in class today, he knew that people were fooling around with him, and he still let it happen. He knew that his wife was cheating on him, etc, but let other people convince him otherwise. This happens multiple times, so I'd say this was his fault.

Good Country People

I found the charactors in this story really interesting. I did a little research, and found out that the charactors are supposed to symbolize personality traits in people.

For example, the Bible-selling boy in the story is supposed to symbolize deception. He pretends to be a "good country boy", but tricks and steals from Hulga/Joy. Even at the end of the story, he comes out looking like the good guy. Mrs. Freeman and Hopewell beleive he's coming back from selling Bibles to the Negros, not fooling around and stealing from one of their daughters.

There was one line I didn't understand well. At the end fo the story, the boy says something like "I hope you don't think I beleive in that crap! I may sell Bibles but I know which end is up and I wasn't born yesterday and I know where I'm going". I feel like this is important and symbolic, but I don't really understand whta it means. Anyone care to explain?

I like Mrs. Freeman. She seems like the empitomy of an annoying charactor. She thinks she knows everything, but she really knows nothing. I think the wordplay between Mrs. Freeman and Hopewell is very simple and generic. It kind of reflects their cookie-cutter personalities. They both see the world very simply, and stick to their lines. They try to fit the world into their mold, and explain things by their philosophies.

Welty's "A Worn Path"

At first I didn't really get what this story was about; it was an interesting enough story, but there didn't really seem to be much going on with it. But then I read it again and did some research and it began to take on a deeper meaning. I thought it was really cool that Welty's style seemed so simple and uncomplicated at first, but then upon further reading, you realize that it is actually quite complex.

Anyway... so some stuff I found...

Phoenix's journey to the city was basically an allegory for the journey of life, especially life for blacks after the Civil War. The landscape is described as both harsh and beautiful, representing both the rough spots and the happy portions of life. Phoenix must battle through the countryside and its obstacles on her journey to care for her grandson. She spends much of the time alone, battling nature all by herself. But when she does encounter other humans (all of them being white), the experiences have some similarities. All the people she meets are patronizing and call her "Granny" or "Grandma." The hunter jokes saying that colored people "wouldn't miss going to town to see Santa Claus," which implies that he thinks they are all child-like. The attendant and the nurse also treat Phoenix like she is dumb, yelling at her when she does not immediately respond and calling her case a "charity case" (which I suppose it is, but nevertheless this is kind of demeaning to say it to her face).

Another thing that is important is the meaning behind the main character's name, Phoenix. Phoenixes are mythical birds that are reborn from their own ashes after they go up in flames. Phoenix herself is a symbol of stamina, strength, and perseverance, as evidenced by the journey that she makes. Her name shows her ability to rise up over her own adversity in order to provide for her grandson, the only person she has left.

So I found a website with a pretty good analysis of certain aspects of the story:
http://www.enotes.com/short-story-criticism/worn-path-welty-eudora

One question that I had...
I didn't get the importance/significance of having Phoenix forget why she made the journey once she got to the town. Any ideas as to why Welty would include this?

Barn Burning

This story really REALLY confused me. I had issues with all the "he's" at first - I had no idea who was talking about what. THEN I got confused every time the author said "he would have thought this... if he was older". Once again, I think I missed the deeper meaning to this story. Obvioulsy the father has issues (post-stress disorder?), but I'm trying to understand what the boy comes out with in this story. His battle of family versus justice ultimately leads him to warn the guy that his burn is going to burn down. Does this mean that in the end, to serve justice you have to lose whats important?

Something else I noticed about this story was the lack of an innocent party. Obviously the father wasn't amazing for burning down a barn, but the rich man is not portrayed as a nice person either.

Ernest Hemingway: "In Another Country"

"In the fall the war was always there, but we did not go to it."

Summary

This short story deals with Nick Adams, a reoccurring character in Hemingway's stories, and his time in an Italian hospital, where he tried to rehabilitate his leg. During this time, he meets others injured in war. Most brag about the medals they received; Nick, however, feels that he cannot really associate with them in that way because he got his metal more so because he was an American (as he was injured in an accident). On the other hand, there is the Major, who has three medals but does not brag about them, as the Hunting Hawks do. He displays a kind of "code hero" that contrasts with Nick's newbiness. He stresses discipline, coming to the clinic every day and attempting to teach Nick the proper Italian grammar. At the end of the story, we find out that the Major's lashing out at Nick's thoughts of marriage stemmed from the fact that his fiance had recently died: This left a sort of depressing effect of Nick.

Analysis

I guess the relationship between the Major and Nick could parallel that of the mythic heroic archetype in that the Major appears to be guiding Nick; this, however, is not fully clear in this portion of the progression of Nick Adams' life. The great attention to detail and his feelings of the medal he received seems to create this depressed mood. He sees the medal as more of a handout than something he earned. This could be from the fact that the title is "In Another Country" as Nick was American fighting in Italy.

Questions to Consider

• Who's story is it: Nick's or the Major's?
• Who do the character's represent?
• Is society bounded by the use of machines, as they are necessary for war and medicine/rehabilitation?

Reoccurring Ideas

• Bravery
• "Code Hero"
• Wound
• Death
• Medals/Honor