Allister Lo
English 1B
Journal 35 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote: “I am getting angry enough to do something desperate. To jump out of the window would be admirable exercise, but the bars are too strong even to try. Besides, I wouldn’t do it. Of course not. I know well enough that a step like that is improper and might be misconstrued.”
Summary: As the narrator attempts to rip the yellow wallpaper off the wall, she begins to get angry and desperate. She thinks about jumping out of the window, but she realizes that the bars were too strong and then tells the audience that she wouldn’t even do it.
Response: In this passage, the audience sees the extremely unstable state that the narrator is now in. Although she never states it outright, it looks like she is almost on the verge of suicide trying to get the woman out of the wallpaper. A little before this passage, she gets a rope to tie the woman up in so she cannot get away, but her thoughts and actions reflect that she might have attempted to hang herself if she had found something to hang on. Now the thought of jumping out of the window crosses her mind, but it is quickly shot down because she will not be able to remove the bars from the window. She then quickly reassesses her situation and says that she would not even do it if she had the opportunity.
Gilman probably put this chilling thought process of the narrator to show what goes through the mind of someone that has gone mad because she had done so herself. She shows the audience that her whole point of view of the world becomes distorted in that her life now revolves around trying to get that woman out of the wallpaper rather than having her own life as her focus. Essentially, her mind has become so confused that the woman in the wallpaper consumes her and affects her thoughts and actions. Gilman shows that the thought process of the narrator is never suicide, but rather it is her desperation and determination to get the woman out of the wallpaper that puts her life at risk. Clearly, the narrator is not well, and it is increasingly difficult for the reader to comprehend what she is thinking or trying to do, especially since she has now become an unreliable narrator.
Furthermore, Gilman probably put this account in to show what keeping a woman isolated and in bed all day can do to her. Since she has had no relationships and very little contact with the outside world, she has developed an imaginary world that threatens her health in the real world.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Journal 34 Charlotte Perkins Gilman - I Know Better
Allister Lo
English 1b
Journal 34 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote: “Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?”
Summary: The narrator believes that instead of being treated for her neurosis by being kept to bed all day that doing work that is exciting and a change for her normal routine would help in curing her ailment. Yet she cannot change the mind of her husband.
Response: The narrator in the Yellow Wallpaper is confined to bed and ordered to rest all day in order to cure her neurological disease. However, it seems that she is not that unwell and she opens the short story by speaking to the audience as if she was quite normal. However, after the rest treatment, she becomes much more sick and seems to experience many hallucinations.
Gilman may have wrote this story on her own behalf because she, too, underwent a depressed stage. This short story seems to reflect what her sentiments were as she was being treated for it. Although many physicians at the time wanted to put women to rest and let them sleep the depression away, this in fact may have been more harmful than having no treatment. Gilman believed that the best cure was not to be confined to a room, but rather she wanted to keep herself busy, with enjoyable and light work that broke up the monotony of her own life. Looking back on it, Gilman believes if she was treated in this fashion, then her ailment would not have gotten to be as bad as it became.
In this passage, she also makes the statement that sometimes all one has to do is listen to the sick person because in some cases, they may know how best to treat themselves. Furthermore, Gilman may have also been wanting to show the helplessness of women in this situation. In addition to being sick, their subordination to men sometimes made their conditions even worse because physicians, who were mostly male at the time, were so sure that rest was the best way to treat this depression that they would not even consider the opinions of those who were actually sick and probably knew how to treat themselves better than anyone else.
English 1b
Journal 34 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote: “Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?”
Summary: The narrator believes that instead of being treated for her neurosis by being kept to bed all day that doing work that is exciting and a change for her normal routine would help in curing her ailment. Yet she cannot change the mind of her husband.
Response: The narrator in the Yellow Wallpaper is confined to bed and ordered to rest all day in order to cure her neurological disease. However, it seems that she is not that unwell and she opens the short story by speaking to the audience as if she was quite normal. However, after the rest treatment, she becomes much more sick and seems to experience many hallucinations.
Gilman may have wrote this story on her own behalf because she, too, underwent a depressed stage. This short story seems to reflect what her sentiments were as she was being treated for it. Although many physicians at the time wanted to put women to rest and let them sleep the depression away, this in fact may have been more harmful than having no treatment. Gilman believed that the best cure was not to be confined to a room, but rather she wanted to keep herself busy, with enjoyable and light work that broke up the monotony of her own life. Looking back on it, Gilman believes if she was treated in this fashion, then her ailment would not have gotten to be as bad as it became.
In this passage, she also makes the statement that sometimes all one has to do is listen to the sick person because in some cases, they may know how best to treat themselves. Furthermore, Gilman may have also been wanting to show the helplessness of women in this situation. In addition to being sick, their subordination to men sometimes made their conditions even worse because physicians, who were mostly male at the time, were so sure that rest was the best way to treat this depression that they would not even consider the opinions of those who were actually sick and probably knew how to treat themselves better than anyone else.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Journal 33 Kate Chopin - I Over You
Allister Lo
English48B
Journal 33 Kate Chopin
Quote: “She thought of Leonce and the children. They were a part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul”
Summary: As Edna makes a final swim out, she thinks of her husband and children. Even though she thinks about them, it does not sway her decision.
Response: In the time that the Awakening was written, it was common practice for a woman to be relegated to be a home maker. Her role would generally be to tend to the house, make sure it was in order, and above all, tend to the kids, and make sure that they were duly being taken care of. In fact, this idea of having a woman in the home, sheltered away from the rest of the world, is an idea that has stuck in America since its birth. Even today, women still struggle to obtain equal opportunity as men.
The fact that Chopin included this line, indicating that Edna knew full aware that doing what she was about to do would leave her husband and kids to fend for themselves, shows that Chopin truly believed that a woman is not an object that has to be relegated to such a domesticated role. She specifically writes that she thinks about them, but her feelings and longings of freedom overcome these thoughts and she presses on, knowing full well of what she is leaving behind. We are always presented with pictures of women doing everything for their husband and kids, even sacrificing their own dreams and aspiriations to keep them safe, so it is especially shocking and different to see this woman totally disregard the “status quo” and do something for herself. In this passage, Chopin boldly declares that a woman is not confined to merely the role of a housewife, but rather she has her own dreams, her own body, and her own soul. Unfortunately, the only way in Chopin’s mind to achieve this liberation is to free herself from the pressures of society, which in her mind is achieved through Edna’s suicide.
English48B
Journal 33 Kate Chopin
Quote: “She thought of Leonce and the children. They were a part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul”
Summary: As Edna makes a final swim out, she thinks of her husband and children. Even though she thinks about them, it does not sway her decision.
Response: In the time that the Awakening was written, it was common practice for a woman to be relegated to be a home maker. Her role would generally be to tend to the house, make sure it was in order, and above all, tend to the kids, and make sure that they were duly being taken care of. In fact, this idea of having a woman in the home, sheltered away from the rest of the world, is an idea that has stuck in America since its birth. Even today, women still struggle to obtain equal opportunity as men.
The fact that Chopin included this line, indicating that Edna knew full aware that doing what she was about to do would leave her husband and kids to fend for themselves, shows that Chopin truly believed that a woman is not an object that has to be relegated to such a domesticated role. She specifically writes that she thinks about them, but her feelings and longings of freedom overcome these thoughts and she presses on, knowing full well of what she is leaving behind. We are always presented with pictures of women doing everything for their husband and kids, even sacrificing their own dreams and aspiriations to keep them safe, so it is especially shocking and different to see this woman totally disregard the “status quo” and do something for herself. In this passage, Chopin boldly declares that a woman is not confined to merely the role of a housewife, but rather she has her own dreams, her own body, and her own soul. Unfortunately, the only way in Chopin’s mind to achieve this liberation is to free herself from the pressures of society, which in her mind is achieved through Edna’s suicide.
Journal 32 Kate Chopin - Sea of Opportunity
Allister Lo
english48b
Journal 32 Kate Chopin
Quote: “A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before”
Summary: Edna swims on her own for the first time and she feels a feeling of exhilaration and empowerment.
Response: In this passage, Edna finally does something she had been wanting to do for so long, which is to swim. She feels like a child first learning how to walk or ride a bike. What is of note is that she had the ability all along to swim, yet for whatever reason, whether she had been scared or tentative, she had failed to tap into that ability. However, it is at this point where she finally puts it all altogether and overcomes her tentativeness and is truly on her own. This feeling not only shows that she can swim on her own, but it empowers her to even more. She feels the power of her own body, and with this power, she feels like she can take on anything on her own. She does not need anyone else, much less a man, to explore and make sense of the world around her.
In a way, this represents her departuring away from the society which has up to this point told her what she can or could not do. It is a sign that she does have the ability to stand up for her self and thus does not need to be subjected to the standards of society that have been holding her down. Through this scene, Chopin speaks powerfully of a woman’s role in society and the immense power and ability that women have, if they would only look inside themselves and not be afraid to trust their abilites and venture into the world themselves. She encourages women to forge out into the great sea of the world which is immense and mysterious, yet she believes that women are fully equipped and capable of venturing into the unknown.
english48b
Journal 32 Kate Chopin
Quote: “A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before”
Summary: Edna swims on her own for the first time and she feels a feeling of exhilaration and empowerment.
Response: In this passage, Edna finally does something she had been wanting to do for so long, which is to swim. She feels like a child first learning how to walk or ride a bike. What is of note is that she had the ability all along to swim, yet for whatever reason, whether she had been scared or tentative, she had failed to tap into that ability. However, it is at this point where she finally puts it all altogether and overcomes her tentativeness and is truly on her own. This feeling not only shows that she can swim on her own, but it empowers her to even more. She feels the power of her own body, and with this power, she feels like she can take on anything on her own. She does not need anyone else, much less a man, to explore and make sense of the world around her.
In a way, this represents her departuring away from the society which has up to this point told her what she can or could not do. It is a sign that she does have the ability to stand up for her self and thus does not need to be subjected to the standards of society that have been holding her down. Through this scene, Chopin speaks powerfully of a woman’s role in society and the immense power and ability that women have, if they would only look inside themselves and not be afraid to trust their abilites and venture into the world themselves. She encourages women to forge out into the great sea of the world which is immense and mysterious, yet she believes that women are fully equipped and capable of venturing into the unknown.
Journal 31 Kate Chopin - Overshadowed
Allister Lo
English48b
Journal 31 Kate Chopin
Quote: “An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her soul’s summer day. It was strange and unfamiliar; it was a mood.”
Summary: Edna feels a feeling of oppression, which fills her with anguish, and puts her in an unfamiliar mood.
Response: This passage comes at the beginning of Kate Chopin’s “Awakening” where Edna is overcome by a feeling of a sort of indescribable feeling of oppression. The feeling casts some kind of shadow over her, to the point where it masks her happiness and it causes her sadness. Chopin uses the metaphor of the sunny days of summer being overshadowed by this indescribable feeling.
In this passage, Chopin is making a scene about the unhappiness of women in society. Although many women try to take it in stride and reason to themselves that this is just the role they have to play in society, Chopin argues that though they may think this, there is always the feeling that there has to be something more. This feeling overshadows their existence and prevents them from achiving and pursuing the goals and dreams that they long to do. However, society deems that they stay to the home and act like a lady should, and this constant reminder of society telling them what their role is begins to perpetuate in their souls and minds to the point where every day is another day where they live in the “dark”. This thought becomes a part of them, and Chopin wished for women to see that there was more to life than just this.
Edna starts the story out as just another women caught up in the demands of society, yet she undergoes a transformation where she is given a glimmer of that happiness, and that happiness comes from herself and her liberation from the patriarchal society. She finds out that she can stand on her own, and this empowers her to do bold things and to lead her life the way she wants it to be led. Chopin wished for Edna to be an archetype of the vast potential of women, that any of them could strive to be something more that the role that society had carved out for them.
English48b
Journal 31 Kate Chopin
Quote: “An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her soul’s summer day. It was strange and unfamiliar; it was a mood.”
Summary: Edna feels a feeling of oppression, which fills her with anguish, and puts her in an unfamiliar mood.
Response: This passage comes at the beginning of Kate Chopin’s “Awakening” where Edna is overcome by a feeling of a sort of indescribable feeling of oppression. The feeling casts some kind of shadow over her, to the point where it masks her happiness and it causes her sadness. Chopin uses the metaphor of the sunny days of summer being overshadowed by this indescribable feeling.
In this passage, Chopin is making a scene about the unhappiness of women in society. Although many women try to take it in stride and reason to themselves that this is just the role they have to play in society, Chopin argues that though they may think this, there is always the feeling that there has to be something more. This feeling overshadows their existence and prevents them from achiving and pursuing the goals and dreams that they long to do. However, society deems that they stay to the home and act like a lady should, and this constant reminder of society telling them what their role is begins to perpetuate in their souls and minds to the point where every day is another day where they live in the “dark”. This thought becomes a part of them, and Chopin wished for women to see that there was more to life than just this.
Edna starts the story out as just another women caught up in the demands of society, yet she undergoes a transformation where she is given a glimmer of that happiness, and that happiness comes from herself and her liberation from the patriarchal society. She finds out that she can stand on her own, and this empowers her to do bold things and to lead her life the way she wants it to be led. Chopin wished for Edna to be an archetype of the vast potential of women, that any of them could strive to be something more that the role that society had carved out for them.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Journal 30 Sarah Orne Jewett - Nature over the City
Allister Lo
English48B
Journal 30 Sarah Orne Jewett
Quote: “No, she must keep silence! What is it that suddenly forbids her and makes her dumb? Has she been nine years growning and now, when the great world for the first time puts out a hand to her, must she thrust it aside for a bird’s sake?”
Summary: Sylvia is conflicted on whether or not to reveal to the hunter the location of the heron’s nest.
Response: In this passage, Sylvia struggles between keeping silent and protecting the heron and telling the hunter about where its nest is. However, this passage seems to have a lot more implications that merely its literal meaning. In deciding to protect the heron, Sylvia, in essence, is choosing nature over the opportunity to lead a better life with 10 dollars and possibly even accompanying the hunter out of the wilderness. Although Sylvia has had feelings of affection toward the hunter, her encounter with nature encompasses her to the point where she just cannot give the heron. The situation of Sylvia can be extended to the larger picture of Sarah Orne Jewett’s own life.
It was as if Sarah Orne Jewett herself struggled with the decision on whether to lead a simple life in the wilderness or take the opportunity the man had given to her, but at the same time “sell out” what has already become a part of her. Since Jewett was already far past Sylvia’s age when she wrote this, she could have been reminiscing about the past and had she been that age again, made the decision to stay with nature. It was common for many regionalists to write about old ways of life in order to remember and preserve it, so this decision may have been one that Jewett wishes she could have made again. However, Jewett was not really given the opportunity to make this decision as a youth, as her small town started to become more industrial rather than based on agriculture as it had been in the past. In writing this story, Jewett could have been reminiscing on how different her life might have been had she been able to live a life in the wilderness as a child like it seemed she hoped for.
English48B
Journal 30 Sarah Orne Jewett
Quote: “No, she must keep silence! What is it that suddenly forbids her and makes her dumb? Has she been nine years growning and now, when the great world for the first time puts out a hand to her, must she thrust it aside for a bird’s sake?”
Summary: Sylvia is conflicted on whether or not to reveal to the hunter the location of the heron’s nest.
Response: In this passage, Sylvia struggles between keeping silent and protecting the heron and telling the hunter about where its nest is. However, this passage seems to have a lot more implications that merely its literal meaning. In deciding to protect the heron, Sylvia, in essence, is choosing nature over the opportunity to lead a better life with 10 dollars and possibly even accompanying the hunter out of the wilderness. Although Sylvia has had feelings of affection toward the hunter, her encounter with nature encompasses her to the point where she just cannot give the heron. The situation of Sylvia can be extended to the larger picture of Sarah Orne Jewett’s own life.
It was as if Sarah Orne Jewett herself struggled with the decision on whether to lead a simple life in the wilderness or take the opportunity the man had given to her, but at the same time “sell out” what has already become a part of her. Since Jewett was already far past Sylvia’s age when she wrote this, she could have been reminiscing about the past and had she been that age again, made the decision to stay with nature. It was common for many regionalists to write about old ways of life in order to remember and preserve it, so this decision may have been one that Jewett wishes she could have made again. However, Jewett was not really given the opportunity to make this decision as a youth, as her small town started to become more industrial rather than based on agriculture as it had been in the past. In writing this story, Jewett could have been reminiscing on how different her life might have been had she been able to live a life in the wilderness as a child like it seemed she hoped for.
Journal 29 - Sarah Orne Jewett - The Metaphor of the Hunter
Allister Lo
English48B
Journal 29 Sarah Orne Jewett
Quote: “Sylvia would have liked him vastly better without his gun; she could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much”
Summary: Sylvia reiterates that she would like the hunter better if he did not have his gun, and she questions why he attempts to kill the things he loves.
Response: In A White Heron, the hunter seems to represent the city, or a urban dweller. He comes to the wilderness for selfish reasons, in that he looks to shoot birds so he can preserve them. Jewett tries to communicate the total disregard of nature that she might have thought typical of those that lived in the city. The hunter claims that he loves the birds, but his love leads him to kill the very thing he loves. Although Jewett casts the hunter as a very kind man, there are instances where she portrays him to be rude, such as his coming into the wilderness and expecting hospitality. Furthermore, he also seems intent on getting what he desires at whatever cost. Jewett could be using the hunter to describe those that live in the city who abuse nature, yet do not even see the harm they are doing do it.
On a different note, the hunter also represents man and love to Sylvia. At first, she was completely distrusting and scared of the hunter, but over time she recognizes that he is not that scary, and she even feels a slight twinge of love in her heart for the hunter. However, the passage reiterates that although she is not as scared as she was initially of man, she is scared of his gun, which could be a symbol for male dominance, as it has the ultimate power to kill and keep both people and nature in check. Furthermore, her questioning of why he kills the birds can be extended to the thought that there are some things that Jewett simply does not understand about men. For these reasons, it is possible that Jewett chose not to love man, but rather she instead became attracted to someone who was more like her in her actions and feelings, and in this case, was another woman.
English48B
Journal 29 Sarah Orne Jewett
Quote: “Sylvia would have liked him vastly better without his gun; she could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much”
Summary: Sylvia reiterates that she would like the hunter better if he did not have his gun, and she questions why he attempts to kill the things he loves.
Response: In A White Heron, the hunter seems to represent the city, or a urban dweller. He comes to the wilderness for selfish reasons, in that he looks to shoot birds so he can preserve them. Jewett tries to communicate the total disregard of nature that she might have thought typical of those that lived in the city. The hunter claims that he loves the birds, but his love leads him to kill the very thing he loves. Although Jewett casts the hunter as a very kind man, there are instances where she portrays him to be rude, such as his coming into the wilderness and expecting hospitality. Furthermore, he also seems intent on getting what he desires at whatever cost. Jewett could be using the hunter to describe those that live in the city who abuse nature, yet do not even see the harm they are doing do it.
On a different note, the hunter also represents man and love to Sylvia. At first, she was completely distrusting and scared of the hunter, but over time she recognizes that he is not that scary, and she even feels a slight twinge of love in her heart for the hunter. However, the passage reiterates that although she is not as scared as she was initially of man, she is scared of his gun, which could be a symbol for male dominance, as it has the ultimate power to kill and keep both people and nature in check. Furthermore, her questioning of why he kills the birds can be extended to the thought that there are some things that Jewett simply does not understand about men. For these reasons, it is possible that Jewett chose not to love man, but rather she instead became attracted to someone who was more like her in her actions and feelings, and in this case, was another woman.
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