Special post #2 :Interpretation

“Special Post” Interpretation

1.      ARNOLD: Jack, you shouldn’t be quitting us.

JACK: I have to, Arnold.

ARNOLD: If you quit, Jack, I’ll hate you.

JACK: I hope not.

ARNOLD: I will.

JACK: I really hope not.

ARNOLD: I will. Are you still quitting us?

JACK: Yes.

ARNOLD: Then fine. I hate you. Curtain up. End of subject. Can we eat something? I’m very undernourished tonight.

JACK: We’ll stop somewhere.

ARNOLD: Thanks, Jack. But I don’t want to go anyplace where you have to eat a la carte. I don’t like a la carte.

JACK: No a la carte.

ARNOLD: You’re gonna be a travel agent now, huh Jack?

JACK: Yeah.

ARNOLD: That’s nice.

JACK: Yeah.

ARNOLD: Jack, and I emphasize this, you’ve got better behavior patterns than a lot of, I repeat, people.

JACK: Thanks, Arnold.You too.

2.      I feel that this section of the play, The Boys Next Door, is very simplistic on the outside when you first read it. But as I read it over a second time I noticed some things that seemed to be disguised. It was almost as if the author was beating around the bush to tell us how both characters were really feeling at that moment. As I was reading I could feel the tension and the unsettling feeling they were giving by their awkward silences and one word responses by Jack. This last couple of lines at the end of the play seemed so significant especially the way it ended. I felt like the ending of this was a rather sad change than a happy change for the characters.

3.      These last couple of lines at the end of the play The Boys Next Door, deals with Jack and Arnold heading to the train station right before Jack permanently leaves the “boys.” As they sit in the car talking I get the sense that Arnold is letting Jack know how he feels about Jack leaving them. And to me it seems like Arnold notices that Jack isn’t being very sympathetic and seems annoyed by all his questions and comments like he usually is, because Jack is giving him one word answers. So Arnold backs off and brings up a new topic by stating he’s hungry.  But as I read these lines a second and a third time, I noticed Jack doesn’t seem really annoyed, but rather sad to leave the boys as well. I mean Jack has been with them for eight months and to just up and leave them was not an easy thing for him to do even though he seemed like if he showed any sense of sadness to Arnold he would change his mind and stay even though he knows that staying would not be the best choice for him or the boys, because he doesn’t have the patience anymore and he probably wants to leave on a good note by being neutral and dry to make it easier for himself and even Arnold especially if he’s dry to him. I took Jacks silence as him just pondering on everything that has happened with the boys and where he was going.

4.      There are a couple of things that brought me to this interpretation on these last couple of lines in the play: firstly, at the beginning of the story as Jack is introducing himself to the audience, he goes on about how he supervises five group apartments of the mentally handicapped. He then talks about how he laughs at their escapades, and how he’s getting burnt out, but he states, “…despite this, they remain my closest associates.” He states it right here that although he’s exhausted he can’t help but love this relationship he has with the “boys,” therefore his short answers and dryness was only a wall he built to keep him from doing the wrong thing by staying, he knew he needed to go for a while now according to the play he was talking about it in so many words in the beginning. Secondly, another example of his respect and love for the “boys” but know they need better was when he was chaperoning the dance for the mentally handicapped, and he became so frustrated and blew up on Arnold. He goes on talking to the audience saying, “Every time I lose my temper with these guys, I hate myself for about a week. I need a new job. They deserve better. Or I deserve better. Or somebody deserves something.

5.      This interpretation matters, because it gives us as the readers a better understanding of how true and deep Jack and the boy’s relationship was. By how silent and how dry and distant Jack was because he didn’t want to become sad in front of Arnold showed how much he really feels close to the boys and how he didn’t want to go but knew they deserve better. He in a way kept arms distance from them in an emotional way. This section showed how much they all cared for one another and how they wanted the best for each other. As I read the passage again, I still feel like there is something more to it.  I am still unsure of the depth of that conversation, but I know that it is very significant to their relationship, because it is at the very end, it is the closing credits to the play. I don’t believe it’s a type of cliff hanger or anything, but the ending that gave a lot of emotion with silence and not words.

   

A Temple of the Holy Ghost

This story was a very interesting story for me to read. I felt like it had a lot of deeper meaning to it than just the obvious surface; for instance, the hermaphrodite seems to represent an acceptance of God's will. Susan and Joanne witness the hermaphrodite at the fair, and then later tells the “child” about it while in bed. As I read Flannery O'Connor’s story in Pearson, she herself suffered from lupus that resulted in the loss of the use of her legs which lead to her death. For me this story demonstrates a sympathy for "freaks," as this hermaphrodite is called in the story. I think that O'Connor has some type of connection to this story with her own life. She seems to be almost talking about herself in a way. It seems to be that the hermaphrodite's body is a temple of the holy ghost in the mind of the “child:” as she watches the priest raise the host, which I have learned in the Catholic faith is believed to “literally” become the body of Christ, she remembers the hermaphrodite's words.

Also the fact that the child remains nameless is significant to me also, since it could imply that the child could represent children everywhere around the world or it could just mean nothing. The child can also be interpreted as a representation of O'Connor herself like I said before how I felt that O’Connor has some personal connection to her story, since the author; from what I have read and looked up was very socially awkward and not very graceful. The child makes judgments about the intelligence of those who surround her, and thinking that she is much more intelligent and faithful than the others. She finally lets go of her pride and allows herself to be “into” the experience of the Catholic mass, then she finally achieves Grace.

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

In the story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin, the narrator of the story (whom which was never identified) explains his or her belief that "we" (presumably enlightened, contemporary westerners) have a ''bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid." I sat and thought about this statement, and thought about how this generation can contribute to this quote. “We” at times may seem like we have the “I don’t care” or “whatever” attitude, but whether we are out there buying material things, looking to boyfriends or girlfriends to put a smile on our faces, or going on a missions trip to help others, I believe this generation doesn’t think of  happiness as “stupid.” Fathers think if I could just get this great job I would be so happy, mothers think if I could be a stay at home mom I would be so happy, teenagers think if I could just lose this weight or if I could just get the courage to ask this girl on a date it would make my night. We are always looking for happiness whether it’s on purpose or if it wasn’t intentional, happiness is something I believe all generations strive to get. It’s the “Pursuit of Happiness.” Maybe the author is right, maybe we do think it is “stupid,” but our actions say otherwise. I know that the author was probably talking about contemporary westerners, but I could only think of how this generation thinks and acts about happiness. This story made see how the people in Omelas were happy people, well at least described to me that was how it seemed. I thought about if we as people could genuinely be happy for one another and to strive for true happiness in Christ instead of the material things, the question would be, would happiness be forgotten, invisible or even stupid when you put Christ in it?

A very old man with enormous wings

 “A very Old man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel García Márquez was a very interesting story. Although the Priest and the crowds of people didn’t believe or was unsure of the old man being an angel I do believe that the man was an angel that came down from heaven. He presented semi-miracles, and had a mysterious way about him. It even says in the Bible that angels may walk among men hidden in the crowds resembling us humans. I feel like this book had a few even a lot of biblical sides to it. The people could not understand his strange language and the Priest thought that if he spoke Catholic Church Latin he would be an angel, but to the priest’s surprise it was not. So while reading this I assumed that he, the angel, may well be speaking the language of God, but to human ears it sounds crude. I even thought about if the priest and the crowds of people believed who he was and where he came from they would be revealed to the language of God due to their beliefs, so the outcome of the story may have been a little bit different. They could have experienced greater miracles and a heavenly touch from the Lord if they had believed. I believe that in the beginning of the story with the the swarms of crabs that must be killed, and the darkness at noon, these strange events seem to foreshadow the eerie arrival of the otherworldly visitor, the Angel. I believe they had meaning and was very significant. Although I have some thoughts or ideas of what the reason may be, I’m still a little clueless myself. It seemed like the beginning of something. Although the story ended with the old man flying away, I still believe that was not the end of the story, it almost seemed like a cliff hanger and that the crowds of people and the priest will be seeing more of him again.

Lake Bonny~

"I went to Lake Bonny Park for this field trip, and I stayed there for at least 45 minutes." Although I didn’t know what to expect at Lake Bonny Park, I did enjoy my time there. It was peaceful and actually a great stress reliever from classes and homework. I tried my best to follow the instructions for this field trip, and following the instructions, I believe, made me time at Lake Bonny well spent. Observing and being quiet for the fifteen minutes, made me not just think about nature, but about what God’s intentions were for making nature. I thought of the verse where it talks about how God is in his creation so everyone is without an excuse for saying there is no God. I believe God made creation so beautifully and detailed to reveal himself to those that will listen and are quiet. He says “be still and know that I am God.” Creation is a clue to God’s existence! It was an “ah- ha” moment for me.

In the short essay, “Poetry as a Spiritual Practice for Mary oliver,” a line stood out to me, it says, “At other times it is not a conversation with any words but a simple presence with both God and the earth.” And this is exactly how I experienced my time at Lake Bonny Park, I experienced an intimate moment with the Lord. Sometimes it is not about what we are praying and shouting out to the Lord is when we hear from him, but it’s when we are able to be quiet and listen to what he has to say, because he has the answer for you even before you pray. As Oliver states in her poem about her own feeling of seeing God’s creation, “Which is mostly standing still and being astonished.” I became astonished when I realized God’s clue that shows his existence came to me when I was quiet and listened. If I haven’t learned anything else from this trip it was I need to be still and know that he is God!

My Nature Poem:

Intimate meeting of minds
These definitely bind
Dark rich soil consume my feet and starts to wrap
The grass grows deep within this tender trap
The seed which now resides is the heart of this flower
Blossom and bloom and don’t lack power
Let the wind take over like a Holy Ghost shower


Be like Christ the lamb and the Lion
Full of life like the dandelion
Oh creation radiates like a symphony
But the “one” whispers remember me! Creator of all things
Not responsible for the worldly blings!
But the unfailing morning sting of the birds never ending praise sings


So stoic and poised
The tree stands
But underneath it is the roots that go down deep and brand
Going with life so simple with peace like the birds and the bee’s
All creation waits for Thee

By: Ashley Coleman

Circle B Reserve

I truly enjoyed going to Circle B Reserve, I am from southern California and that is not a scenery I would typically see every day. Although it was a little gloomy, Circle B was very much “alive,” the animals were so elegant and the color of the plants were radiant, and to see that massive eagles nest was breath taking. It may seem to most people something they see every day by living in Florida, but for me coming from the city it is not, so excuse myself for being amazed by all that I saw. Although when I was on the trip to the Reserve I didn’t think about the poem from Hass and relate to it by what I was seeing at that moment, I was able to take the poem after the trip and ponder on it, I was able to look back at the pictures taken and correlate the poem with the memory of the trip, which I felt was more beneficial for me, due to the fact I didn’t have to think about the poem, I could just take in the scenery at that moment.

            I have already put into practice the notes on “Poetry,” I took a blanket outside and sat and read a book and enjoyed the sunshine and the sound of nature. It was more comfortable for me to sit out in nature than inside the house. The book I am reading is called “Captivating,” and there is a part in the beginning where she talks about how women love to be adventurous, and the author goes on about a story where she was camping and she describes every little detail that she saw, felt, smelled, heard, and even tasted. I was able to read that chapter outside and the book became alive to me like I was living what the author had lived and was describing. I want to incorporate nature into my daily life now, and to learn to go outside more and enjoy God’s creations!

State of the planet

The poem “State of the Planet” by Robert Hass was a very refreshing piece to read for myself. Although I did find it to be a little bit difficult to understand Hass’s choice of wording. There was one quote that stood out to me on the first page that I wanted to examine a little bit more. “Poetry should be able to comprehend the earth. To set aside from time to time it’s natural idioms of ardor and revulsion, and say, in a style as sober As the Latin of Lucretius, who reported to Venus On the state of things two thousand years ago- “It’s your doing that under the wheeling constellations of the sky,” he wrote, “all nature teems with life-“ Something of the earth beyond our human dramas.”

            I understood the beginning of this poem; what I took from it was, poetry should be able to show and express who the world is and in order to do that, we as the writer needs to understand the earth and its whole. All of nature is connected with who we are and life itself. I believe it seems to be a circle of life with nature and expressing it through poetry or whatever other means. I did have a difficult time understanding the rest of the quote when it talked about “It’s your doing that under the wheeling constellations of the sky, all nature teems with life.” So I became unclear of what Hass was trying to get at in this line. Was he trying to say that nature is connected with “life” like how I explained earlier in my blog, or was he trying to say that nature is “life.” I can agree with either meaning, I believe that nature is connected with life and also I believe nature is life!

AFI field trip

On Act II of The Boys Next Door, Lucien has a long quite of just himself rambling, thinking he’s saying something important, well maybe to him it is rather important. “He be fat with doughnuts. Arnold’s got the rugs. He’s like nuts or something. He’s my friend too. And Barry. He golfs. He be gone now. I miss Barry. I do. I miss Barry. ABCDEF… I stand before you, a middle-aged man in an uncomfortable suit, a man whose capacity for rational thought is somewhere between a five year-old and an oyster. I am retarded . I am damaged.” Reading this quote from Lucien made me remember some of the clients from AFI, and I could connect the similar talking pattern that Lucien had with the clients. Going to visit AFI brought The Boys next Door to life for me, I felt in a weird way I could see the book in action. Also before going to visit AFI; our assigned reading, Abstract, also made me think and realize that it’s not always mental retardation, but something just may be off in their head, for example Autism.

            I truly enjoyed going to AFI, I see people with these disabilities in a different way. I was hesitant like most people to go, but when I actually got there and started conversing with them I saw that they were people just like us with the same wants and dreams, but just with a little bit more of a challenge to reach it than us. They answered my questions and would reciprocate with the same questions for the most part. They were funny and very welcoming. I think it was a very good field trip for students to go on. From personal feelings I probably would have never gone to do something like that just from the fear of the unknown. But I had a good time!

Abstract

In the Article “Abstract” by Steven M. Fettke, was actually rather sad, but the part that stuck out to me the most was this statement he said that I would have never thought a parent would have said, but it made so much sense to me after I thought about it for a few minutes. “In our own experience of our son and his condition, my wife and I have often remarked about his potential healing as something we might actually regret. We don’t mean by that to wish him ill (or be accused by some as not having enough faith!). We mean by that for him to be “healed” would mean that who he is right now is of little value. Also, for him to be “healed” would also mean that he would not be who we have come to know him to be in his 23 years of existence. Thus, he would not be the one whom God created as a person who happens to be autistic.”

            At first reading the initial statement of his parents saying they would regret his healing actually made me angry and confused on why wouldn’t they want him to be healed from a life that gives him struggles that most other people don’t have to go through. The turning point for me was when he said that his life now has “little value,” and that’s definetly not the way I looked at a situation like this one. If it was my child I would pray constantly for the Lord to heal him. But that is not the way God made him, that is not what God had in mind for his life, the Lord orders our steps, and I believe he is special in the Lords eyes and also his parents, and to see him healed would be a different person they would not recognize because they have never known any other child but this one. I also saw it as a selfish thing for the parents to say that if he was healed that would not be the child they have always known, but what about his feelings, don’t they think that he would want to be able to have a normal life. I think they would be able to readjust their life for a miracle. But overall, I felt torn in this quote I agreed with them for the most par but I also was iffy in other sense. This part really made me think though!

The boys next door Act II

In Act II of the boys next door, Barry’s dad comes to visit him but while he is visiting him, Barry’s dad is rude to him and seems to be very impatient with him. I find that to be sad that his own father can’t have patience for his son, and Jack has more patience for these men and he is not even their father. Also Norman finally let’s someone see his keys, that person is Shelia. He seems to be fine with her seeing his keys until Shelia doesn’t want to give them back, she continues to hold them. This causes Norman to freak out, and he becomes desperate to get his keys back. Shelia brings flowers to Norman and he becomes delighted. Lucien then goes to court and wears his spider-man tie like he said he was going to. While he’s in court he doesn’t present himself very well to the judge and doesn’t answer his questions correctly and continues to talk about his tie. During the rest of Act II, Jack decides to leave the boys and relocate to a different place in life. The boys find out and decide to throw Jack a surprise going away party, he asks them very confused why they threw him a party, they then explain to him that he’s going away.  At the end of Act II Jack sits down with Arnold and has a serious conversation about his leaving them for good. He explains how he’s going to be a travel agent. Arnold states to Jack that he is going to be very angry if Jack leaves, he says he will hate him. But at the end of the play they end on a good note of understanding. I enjoyed this play it was rather humorous and entertaining. I usually don’t like plays and find them a little boring to read but I was rather shocked when I started reading “The Boys Next Door.”

The boys next door Act I

Act One of the boys next door by Tom Griffin was rather hilarious. I was unsure of what to expect with this play. Although each character was very different in their own ways, I loved them all. I like Arnold’s personality that tries to be mature and take matters into his own hands like when they were attempting to capture the “Rat.” Norman’s personality is very independent; he has his own job and wants to keep his keys so he can supposedly have access to everything. Barry is on cloud ten and is very into himself, not in a coincided way, but in a confident way, he believes in himself that he’s an excellent golf player, when in fact he really isn’t. Lucien was my personal favorite; he was definitely in his own world. He just did and said whatever the first thing was at the top of his head at that moment. Jack I liked, because I had a lot of respect for him. He watches over these men that clearly need his help. He seems to stay patient for the most part and treats them with respect and as adults. Overall I like these characters, they were unintentionally hilarious, and kept me guessing on what they were going to say next.

                I like the way Act I was written, Griffin used the beginning to introduce us to not just the characters themselves but to their personalities and their likes and dislikes. In Act I there wasn’t so much a set in stone story line, just kind of a description of a few day-to-day things they deal with throughout their weeks, which I tend to like. Most plays, books, or stories, don’t show you the day to day like this author did. Most books usually introduce the characters and then get on with the main part of the story, and this play seems to be in no rush for the main topic of discussion which I respect and like.

Sonny days

In the story “Sonny’s Blues,” by James Baldwin, the narrator of the story discovers from a newspaper that his younger brother, Sonny, has been arrested for selling and using heroin. His students, he realizes, could someday end up like Sonny, given the obstacles and tough times they face growing up in Harlem. At the end of the day the narrator heads home, but he notices that one of Sonny’s old friends, who is always high and dirty, is waiting for him by the school. The two men walk together, talking about Sonny. Time passes, but the narrator never writes to Sonny in prison until the narrator’s young daughter, Grace, dies. Sonny writes a long letter back to his brother in which he tries to explain how he ended up where he is. The two brothers then stay in communication. When Sonny gets out of jail, the narrator, his brother, is there for him. He takes Sonny back to his own family’s apartment. The the narrator takes us back to an extended flashback, Sonny told his brother about his dream of becoming a jazz pianist, which the narrator dismissed. Although Sonny loved the music, the rest of family had a hard time bearing his constant practicing. After having Sonny live with him for a few weeks, the narrator debates whether he should search Sonny’s room. As he paces back and forth, he sees a street-corner revival occurring outside. Eventually Sonny comes home and invites his brother to watch him perform later that evening. The two brothers go to a small jazz club where everyone knows and respects Sonny. He watches all his brother’s struggles come pouring out as he plays, and only then does he finally realize who Sonny is and what he’s made of.  

In this story I noticed that back then a lot of musicians got into heavy drugs, and Heroine was a popular one at the time. So I wonder if Sonny being a musician caused him to get into the drugs or was it the life he lived growing up in Harlem?

"A Grief Observed" 3-4

The last two chapters of “A Grief Observed”, begins with Lewis wondering to the page whether the feeling of something being wrong and nauseating about life will be the new state of things in his perception. He notes that old familiar things either hold new senses of wrongness or are missing their old sense of goodness and expresses fear that his grief will merely settle into bored acceptance of this new "dead flatness". Lewis then becomes Frustrated at the failure of thinking in that way, he shifts his focus back to rationality. He wonders what promise has been broken that was once made him, or what new question has it introduced to his contemplation of the universe.
Then in the final chapter, it opens with Lewis thinking that once he fills his last empty MS book, he will write no more on the subject of his mourning. He observes about the process that while he had set out to describe a state of sorrow he discovered instead that it is a process with no distinct end. Rather than having some moment at which he could emerge and stop his writing, he discovers new things to write every day. Instead of being on a linear journey, he finds himself tucking back in on his old route at random points out of order. This book was very sad, and became personal to me as my mom is going through cancer. I would have preferred not to have read it, but I managed. I went to the Lakeview, Roselawn and Tiger Flowers cemetery complex for this fieldtrip, and I stayed there for at least 40 minutes. Going to the cemetery after class on Tuesday was interestingly weird. I would have never pictured myself going to a cemetery to maybe read, think, ponder and observe. I am the type of person that gets easily “creeped” out when even looking at a cemetery when driving by, so to walk onto one and observe head stones and read them, I began to see real people that were once alive and not just a thought of corpses. Although I probably wouldn’t do that again, I found a new respect in the place that I didn’t before.

"A Grief Observed" 1-2

Chapter one and two of the Book “A Grief Observed” talks about C.S. Lewis, the author, In the process of grieving for his wife, who died of cancer after three years of marriage. He keeps a journal throughout the months immediately following. He describes his anger and confusion at God, his world without her, and his process of moving in and out of stages of grieving and remembering her. He then gets the ability to live gratefully for the gift of a true love as long as he was enrolled in that particular education.In the second chapter, Lewis scolds himself for, having reread his journals to date, having focused so much more time on the effect his wife's death on him than on her suffering. As quickly as he determines to think more about her and less about himself, he realizes that it is not going to be the easiest task. Some of the pains, hurt, and confusion Lewis is going through reminds me of the story Happy Ending, because I’m sure Lewis would have probably wanted to have had a bell that could change the ending to his tragic love story. As much as he enjoyed his time and days with her, he would have probably wanted to change the whole story due to the ending. Because loosing someone you love must be the worst pain a person can ever feel in their life. We as people seem to always try and think of a better ending to our situations in life, but never look at the beginning or the middle, where those moments could have been the best in our lives, but we are too focused on the tragic ending. I really enjoyed the first two chapters. I felt like the writing in “A Grief Observed” was very poetic, not so much like a novel or a book.

The book of Joel

Rereading the book of Joel made me see things a little bit differently than I did before. I started to have mental pictures in my head that I hadn’t gotten while reading the first time. I could see each line being played in my head. Going outside during class on Tuesday, really made the experience a whole lot better by seeing God’s creation outside and to read his scripture was surprisingly peaceful and calming to say the least. I have never really thought that having that type of scenery would make the reading come alive. I always heard about people saying that it’s great to read outdoors, or just sit outside, but I never felt lead to try it. So standing outside on Tuesday and looking out into the lake and the sunshine with the cool breeze made this whole reading experience personally better. If that wasn’t assigned to me I probably would have never done it. For myself, I absolutely love to read, indoors that is, but to read outside was nice.

            As I read the section on the first page where it talks about the splinters on the fig tree really stood out to me as I read on Tuesday and even again today, I became more connected on the lines that talked about nature because right in front of me was God’s very own creation. I began to look at the details of the trees and flowers, which I would have normally would have just walked right passed instead of looking at detail. Although I didn’t look at a fig tree, I looked at a palm tree but still saw the similarity in it and began to correlate the writing from Joel and the Palm tree that stood before me. Furthermore the experience of reading the Bible more than once in front of God’s very own nature was a great experience and I saw many different flavors in this text that I hadn’t before.

Joel

Although the couple of sentences I thought was beautiful read aloud were very intense and not very peaceful. I found it to be intriguing and beautiful in an artistic way. The couple of sentences I picked was on page one that says: “For a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness. It has made my vine a waste and my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; Their branches have become white. Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the bridegroom of her youth. The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off…” The beginning of this section talks about how this nation has invaded a land, but the detail describing how the land was invaded was poetic. I could not have described something like that in such an intense elegant way. The way he describes the invasion as teeth like a lion’s, I just imagined the pressure and force and edge this nation had coming into this situation. As Joel continues to describe the invasion, the usage of texture through his words were put together nicely by describing the fig tree as full of splinters; unpleasant and not really wanting to touch.  They have been stripped away and cast off as a group. And to me, reading the last few lines about the virgin and the bridegroom and the beautiful color of white so pure and clean was the decline of the climax, it seemed to  ease up and be relaxed not so much intense anymore, but calm and peaceful. It shows the beauty of the “bridegroom” giving of herself, being selfs to join another. This piece I picked was filled with detail and intriguing to me. It may be the fact that this “beauty” I picked wasn’t a stereotyped beauty, but an edgier beauty that most don’t look at as beauty.  

A story about the body

“A story about the body,” was personally a very touchy story for me. Although though this story was written very nicely, I have had experience with her situation with someone in my immediate family. So her pain and anger she felt at the end of the story was very understanding in my own opinion. I had a lot of sympathy for her. I loved the detail and the text Robert Hass gave to his audience. I loved how he connected the story into a fluid motion. He describes her work as an artist; as her body movement and the way she moves and uses her hands in an intricate way. At the beginning of the climax towards the end of the story, I became very confused when the two characters finally connect together at the same moment and feel for one another equally. But the very moment they feel this connection it is interrupted quickly by a statement the woman makes about herself. All the feelings the man had for this woman was quickly dispersed. It’s as if she had a contagious disease. He didn’t even give her a chance, she had a problem in her past that was taken care of and he walks away. I do admit her does it politely, what it seems like to his ability. At the end of this story I feel for the woman. I can feel her rejection and her pain and even humiliation that whole conversation may have had on her.  I personally think that the both of them could have handled the situation a little bit better than they did. She should have known that not all men would have been okay with her situation, and probably shouldn’t have disclosed that with him at such an early date. As for him he could have been more sympathetic and not have let his shocked face show so much. He could have tried to be understanding and maybe have taken her on a date the following instead of what he was originally planning on doing.

Short Story

Wanting something to eat, Ava searches earnestly through her kitchen cupboards trying to find something semi edible to fill her uncontrollable growling stomach.  As she kneels down to grab bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, her long brown hair with soft curls falls perfectly over her shoulder.  She opens the bag and smells inside, and her stomach instantly turns inside her giving her that nauseated feeling right before one throws up. She quickly puts it down and decides to settle for a piece of fruit. She walks over to her fruit basket on the counter and realizes that the only fruit she had was a bunch of bananas that had turned all brown. Disappointed in herself for not grocery shopping, she thinks to herself, “Well I guess I won’t feed my stomach until my blind date tonight.”

Ava a single woman with soft brown curly hair, blue eyes so clear they could be ice. She had the perfect skin; clear and evenly tanned. She was a goddess to say the least. She had a look that intimidated most but yet had a spirit that attracted everyone that got a taste of it. Ava, being 25 hadn’t been on a date in 5 years, probably due to her career in fashion where her job is her life. She worked at Vogue in the Public relations department. She had the vogue look, the shoes, the outfits, the hairstyles, the makeup, and all the accessories to go with it. Her life was going great, she had nothing to complain about. She lived in Manhattan by herself working at her dream job, no one could tell her she was missing anything in her life.

Ava walks away from her kitchen to head up to the second floor of her apartment, which is right smack in the middle of Manhattan. She slowly walks into her room and sees lee-roy. In a baby soft high-pitched voice she asks, “What are you doing on my bed Mr.?” He calmly opens his eyes and looks up at her as if he didn’t care what she said or thought. He quickly closes his eyes again and drifts away into a deep sleep. Ava chuckles to herself and thinks, “This dog thinks he owns this place.” Lee-roy was her best friend he was the one she came home to everyday. Without fail Lee-roy would wait for her at the front door until she came home from work. Ava opens her large walk in closet and tries to decides on what to wear for her blind date tonight. She decides on a black cashmere turtle neck, a black lacey skirt, red stiletto heels, her plaid trench coat, and her accessories to be the finishing touches. She’s pleased with her selection and takes a look at the clock and gasps when she realizes she only has an hour to get dressed and grab a cab to the restaurant that’s downtown. She rapidly goes to take a quick shower, combs her hair, and styles it into a low messy bun, throws some makeup on her face and runs out the door not even realizing she has butterflies in her stomach.

Eric a 28 year old hunk sits patiently at the bar in the restaurant waiting for Ava to arrive. Eric is a calm young man. He comes from good ol southern money and is a fairly new lawyer in New York city. He’s tall and handsome, with dirty blonde hair, warm brown eyes, with an irresistable smile that gives him perfectly rounded dimples. His voice is very smooth, with a velvety ring to it. He’s quite a patient man and longs for someone to share the rest of his life with. Every few seconds he looks behind him at the front door of the restaurant to see if the description she gave him of herself comes walking through the door. As he waits with a drink in his hand sitting on a stool, he realizes he has not one ounce of nervousness in his body and is quite ready to see this mystery girl. He found this to be odd due to the fact that he’s usually a nervous wreck when it comes to first dates.

The cab pulls right in front of the main entrance of the restaurant. Ava, very unlady like tosses the the cab drivers money to him and darts out of the cab. Right before she enters the restaurant she composes herself and fixes her twisted skirt. She looks down at her cell phone and realizes she’s 20 minutes late. Feeling completely awful she walks in and immediately makes eye contact with Eric. In her mind it was unmistakably him. Instantly Ava’s Butterflies are made known to her but are instantly taken away in the same moment as she sees his smile. They both smile at one another and Eric walks over quickly and gives Ava a soft kiss on her cheek and says, “It’s so nice to meet you.” She sheepishly responds and says, “Same to you, I’m just so sorry I made you wait so long, I was running late.” Eric replies with a smile on his face by saying, “It was worth the wait.” Still smiling at Ava, Eric walks over to the front desk and states they are ready to be seated. They sit down for a nice evening filled with laughter and deep conversations and even a hint of flirting here and there. Ava’s butterflies continue to be bipolar and she feels as if she’s on cloud nine. As Eric sits and talks about his journey of becoming a lawyer, Ava stares into his eyes and wonders where has this kind of guy been all her life. She feels as if she’s known him for years and feels totally comfortable in his presence. 

The evening comes to an end and Eric calls for a cab to take Ava home. She thanks him for the wonderful evening and gives him a soft kiss on the cheek. She turns to leave and enter the cab, but Eric grabs her left hand and turns her around and asks her if she would go out with him the following Friday again. Although she had already made plans with her girlfriends she couldn’t resist his charming smile that he gave to her. With a smile and a wink she says yes, hops into the cab and drives off. Looking back at him through the back window of the cab she sees that he continues to stare at her cab until it is no longer in sight. She turns around in her seat and smiles to herself, she looks down at her cell phone as she gets a new text message from Eric, it says, “Thank you for reminding me that there are still beautiful sweet women out there like you, I couldn’t have asked for a better evening.” As she enters her apartment that smells of sweet cinnamon apples, she sees lee-roy at her front door, she picks him up and whispers in his ear, “There was something definitely missing in my life, and I think I just found it.”

This Blessed House: Character description

I decided to write about the character Sanjeev from the short story “This Blessed house” by Jhumpa Lahiri. Sanjeev is the one with the personality that craves strict order! Jhumpa Lahiri spends a great amount of time showing us the reader just how much attention Sanjeev pays to organization and neatness. The me, reader is introduced to Sanjeev as he kneels “on the floor, marking, with ripped bits of Post-it, patches on the baseboard that needed to be retouched with paint” (Lahiri 53). Any reader could take this seemingly simple science of marking parts of the floor that need a touch-up as a normal activity for a new owner of a home. In the story, Lahiri writes that Sanjeev organizes “his engineering texts from MIT in alphabetical order on a bookshelf” (Lahiri 54) and works his way “carefully through the major composers that the catalogue recommended…” (Lahiri 60). The Post-its and the precise way in which Sanjeev places them over the rough spots in the floor seem like an attempt to fix every small imperfection. Sanjeev keeps his life as orderly and precise as possible. He tries to control his life by controlling the things around him, such as arranging his books or following a list of composers, instead of choosing names at random. Sanjeev now lives in manhattan, but is from Calcutta

Sanjeev has only been married once unlike his wife Twinkle who has been married twice including this marriage.  Sanjeev seems to be on the more traditional side, because he married an Indian woman the first time. Sanjeev does not understand why these items are of such interest to Twinkle, because they are both Hindu and he finds no meaning in them himself Sanjeev, stuck in his need for everything to be neat and have a purpose, is at odds with Twinkle and her unpredictability. Sanjeev himself says that “Twinkle, was like that, excited and delighted by little things.  It was a quality he did not understand. It made him feel stupid, as if the world contained hidden wonders he could not anticipate…” (Lahiri 57). Sanjeev does not understand why Twinkle finds delight in little things that have no meaning, and Sanjeev used to understanding everything. Understanding is the key in any marriage, and neither of the pair understands why the other one thinks and acts as he or she does. This leads to a push-and-pull conflict of interests and also resentment. Twinkle and her desire does not fit into Sanjeev’s orderly life, he is not able to understand why Twinkle does the things she does.

This Blessed House

In the short story “This Blessed House” by Jhumpa Lahiri was a very interesting story to me. I was expecting the story to have a climax or to have some type of surprising ending. But to my surprise there wasn’t. It seemed to mainly show each character’s personalities and traits, which they had complete opposite personalities, (talk about opposites attract). The two characters, Sanjeev and Tanima (also known as twinkle) are a newlywed couple from India living in America. They are from a Hindu religious background. In their new house Twinkle stumbles upon various Christian relics that were left in the house by the previous owners. Sanjeev is very unhappy with the Christian relics being left up in their house by his wife and is trying to remind her that they are not Christian but in fact Hindu. It seems that the main root of the conflict is the clashing of their two very different personalities in an awkward situation that forces them together.  Which seems like a good thing to me because, they have only known each other for four months and have been finding it difficult to adjust to the married life.

I really seemed to like the story. I must say it was very disappointing to find out that this story that kept on building and building, didn’t build up to a climax or an exciting ending. It was a peaceful story unlike the previous story we read for class about the two couples that had very different points of views of what true love is. Even with their baggage and chaos. Also in this short story “this Blessed House,” because they were Hindu they didn’t seem to realize the sacredness of the Christian relics. So it made me think if the roles were to be  reversed, would I have been respectful of Hindu relics or would I have made fun of them or just threw them away or perhaps made them into just simple house decorations?

Reading for transformation

 Reading “Reading for transformation,” I enjoyed the section that talked about McAloon’s lectio divina. I like all 5 different points. I really feel like these will help me in my reading for this class this semester. Especially knowing myself not all literature interests me, so trying to engage myself more in the assigned reading by using these 5 points will definitely help me. The first point silencio, talks about being with silence to clear the mind. I find that useful in my own reading and even in my daily things I do in my day. I tend to get easily distracted by my own thoughts and tend to wander off in different directions. The second lectio, point informs us to read slowly and carefully. By doing this in my own reading for pleasure or in class will help me to understand what is even going on in the book I usually tend to read books or articles once and very quickly just to get through it and be done with it. I usually walk away from my reading having no idea what I just read, and to be frank not really caring either, especially I it doesn’t apply to me or my life.

At the beginning of this essay, I completely agreed and could relate to what McAloon was saying about how some authors tend to be such excellent writers that what they say, which can be very deep, goes right over your head. I thought, “either I’m not applying myself to the piece of literature or it’s just really too deep for me to grasp the true meaning. I learned that while reading you sometimes have to work. You cannot expect to read everything and feel that it’s all clear and you understand every word and phrase. That is not how it works. Analyzing and looking for clues within other words or phrases will bring the deep meaning that was unclear to life.

What we talk about when we talk about Love

“What we talk about when we talk about Love” by Richard Carver, was a very interesting story about love. I liked how they showed many different views on how people can express their love for one another whether everyone agreed with that being true love or not. They explained how Terrie saw that her ex-husband’s violent aggressive actions were out of an act of love; which was the only way he knew how to express his love for her, which was definitely her opinion, to say the least. Mel then begins to tell the story of the drunk teenage driver that hits a couple in their seventies and puts them in automatic critical conditions. As they are in recovery, the love that the husband has for his wife shows so much more in this serious situation. He becomes sad and depressed that he is unable to look over at his wife to see if she is okay in the hospital due to his and her body casts.

I believe everyone has different ways of expressing love and  in many different types of love like: sentimental love or impulse love. Love can be an act of generosity, or a simple word. I do not believe that an act of physical abuse or verbal abuse can be in any way love. Like in the bible it says, “Love is patient, love is kind, love doesn’t keep record of wrong doing…” We all need love no matter what way it is expressed. God is love and therefore we are all in need of his love. His love is never ending and is expressed in many ways as we all tend to show love. He has a platonic love for the earth that no one could ever come close to loving like him. The type of love we should try to attain for one another is a love a mother has for her child.

Ashley Coleman

In Reading the first section of “Introduction to Literature” it was very useful and informative to me.  I liked how it explains in depth different ways and approaches to reading, such as: Active reading and passive read. Active reading had two different stages to become engaged in your reading. The first being preliminary reading and the second Annotating the text. Annotating the text is very familiar to me and I really enjoy doing it. We annotated a lot in English composition II, and I grew very fond of it. I wasn’t very sure why we did annotate all the reading we did last semester but now reading this section on annotating, I completely understand why. I’m actually excited to be able to read the books and articles assigned for this semester and be able to annotate them. I believe that this will help me to become more connected and engaged in my active reading. I also like the approach that was given in this section, preliminary reading. This will help me to not literally judge a book by its cover and to take my previous knowledge and to give it a perspective to consider the story and not just to discard the book right away, which I have already did this semester to the text books assigned. The quote, “What you get out of what you read is determined by how you read, “  I believe that this quote is true. For example I grab a magazine and never give it the attention  that I should, meaning, I skim through it and never fully actively read it. Therefore, I only got the main topic of the breaking story, the gist of it. I did not receive extra details or get both sides of the story. I can definitely relate to this quote. As I read the Bible I’m looking for growth, answers, clarity etc. I journal while reading and highlight and bookmark, I annotate the bible so much and even annotate things more than once if I feel the need, and in return I’m receiving growth, answers, and clarity. If I were just to read a passage once and never come back to it I may not have gotten the clarity that I was looking for if I jus skimmed or read briefly. Taking time to read literature actively will in return be very beneficial to me in school, relationships, and with my daily Bible readings.  

Ashley Coleman

At a very young age most of us would dread having to take a bath and of course going to bed. But there was one thing I looked forward to was the extra quality time I got to spend with my mom. Little did I know bedtime stories were exposing me to Literature at such a young age. Bedtimes stories form the ones my mom would make up from the top of her head, bath time, getting to sing "Wheels on the bus" to the classic story books like "Peter Rabbit" or even Bible stories. I soon found myself reading stories on my own. Stories such as " The Hungry Caterpillar", or Books assigned in school like " The chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.”

   Having recently read "When God Writes you love story" by Eric and Leslie Ludy was truly an amazing novel. Not only entertaining but was biblically based. As I read it I understood the kind of Love that God has for me and how he longs to be my romancer. I began to understand God's will and promises for my life are in act. Nothing will hinder His plans for my life. He shows His true grace for us when we come to Him in obedience, even when it comes to love. In my life the Bible is the most significant Literature. It’s what I start and end my days reading. It brings me peace and clarity about daily issues. I know the days I don't read, my days don't run as smooth. The Bible is my sword and I gain more knowledge from it about my life and the God I serve.
     Literature is about experience, reflection, creativeness, interpreting, and it comes in all forms. Literature is so important to have apart of our lives, it shapes us, helps us to trace cultures, history, and traditions. I even love poetic literature, I personally love to write it on my own leisure as a hobby and to relieve stress. Poetry for helps me to express and captivate feelings about things going on in my life or the mood I am in.
    Literature, like all things has deep meaning and shallow meaning. I would never say literature never matters, but I would say that it does matter when you are trying to find a deeper meaning unless you are reading for pleasure, enjoyment or even as a time filler. However, most of the time even for those same reasons, no matter what you read or write you are and will always get something out of Literature.