Kelsey's English Education Blog

In Hitchcock’s film known as Rear Windowwe are introduced to a injured man who goes by the name of Jeff.  Ever since his injury, Jeff finds himself watching his neighbors through their windows. He keeps up with their lives almost in a personal manner.  The romantic interest within this story is known as the lovely Lisa.  Lisa is deemed absolutely always perfect in every sense of the word according to Jeff.  She cooks fantastic meals and is in love with Jeff without a doubt. This, of course, gives Jeff the ability to deem himself unworthy for her.  This is how the banter amongst the two commences. 

            In my opinion, based on the setting containing multiple furnished apartments with open windows relates back to the arguments and disagreements Jeff and Lisa have between each other.  Every window, with every featured neighbor reflects on Jeff’s hesitancy to marry in general.  Every window of neighbors observed by our main character commonly refer to something to do with love and how complicated it is, or how uncomplicated it might seem to some.  A prime example is Miss Lonelyhearts. Her name being a clean giveaway of what she lacks, at some point she sets a table for two when there will only be one in attendance.  That one, of course, being herself. 

            Another, not as obvious example, of a neighbor’s actions relating back to Jeff and Lisa’s strained relationship is Miss Torso.  Miss Torso is a younger woman with a ballet dancer background. She acquires the attention of numerous men, but none of them seem to peak her interest whatsoever.  This example specifically relates to Lisa’s side of the relationship.  She refers to Miss Torso as “juggling wolves” when she is talking to the men she has over in her apartment.  She says Miss Torso is doing a woman’s hardest job by doing this. Lisa tells Jeff she knows Miss Torso does not love any of the men that are interested in her.  She relates this neighbor to her.  She correlates how both her and Miss Torso’s apartments are similar and how their intentions are similar as well.  

            This whole theme continues as the story of every neighbor progresses.  Near the end, for example, when Lisa goes over to the murderer’s apartment, she finds the wife’s wedding ring.  This could be viewed in two different ways when she tries the ring on for herself.  One way could be to show Jeff that she found it, and the other way could be to stop coming up with excuses not to marry her.  

The Sundays of Satin-Legs Smith by Gwendolyn Brooks is considered a highly influential poem during the twentieth century in American poetry. In the beginning, the poem is thought to be simply about a man strolling on a Sunday.  Brooks was trying to incorporate the knowledge of how someone should be spending a Sunday; at least that was what I originally thought when starting reading through this poem. The poem was written to be much more complex than it seems. This poem is obviously about a man and how he treats women throughout his life.  The man in this poem could even be considered to be emasculate because he cares about his appearance and scent more than a woman would.  This concept was unheard of back when this poem was written. Later on, into the poem, I realize that the poem is about, specifically, an African-American man.  Brooks uses several methods within this poem to identify the ways society tries to emasculate the man. In reality, African Americans were still receiving mistreatment during the time this poem was published. 

I believe this poem by Brooks could have been written to anyone really. The piece of writing could most likely be a cry for a wake-up call in regard to how everyone should be treated with respect.  Respect should not be given due to the color of someone’s skin, but rather how much respect is actually deserved.  This is, again, not due to someone’s race whatsoever.  Brooks’ attitude in this poem is descriptive and wise. The way she wrote it makes it easy to understand and an overall hit.  My conclusion regarding the poem is that it is in fact about an emasculate African-American reflected upon by various different voices. This is of course due to the language described and used in the poem’s entirety.

ThroughoutGlengarry Glen Ross, women are only discreetly mentioned and are never fully involved in an act.  I perceived this as a way to further strengthen the theme of manhood and masculinity. Although the absence of women could just be the lack of respect for women in the time period the play was released in, but my initial first thought was that without women the play is directly correlated to men.  This is not the only way the play justifies a man’s world, in fact throughout there are many instances in which manhood and masculinity is a crucial part of success.  I found that when we discovered the prizes linked to the contest, I also discovered they could in fact have hidden meanings regarding manhood.  The first-place prize being a car is obvious.  Men love cars, so the stereotype tells us. Second-place is steak-knives. These knives could portray a sense of violence that society says all men contain.  The contest’s last prize is the loss of something that should have morphed them into the men they have become presently: their jobs.  This contest shows off the true definition of manhood according to this play, which is of course making sure you come out on top to be the best man you can be. 

The play, in my opinion, represents a common theme in which in order to be successful one must “Suck it up and be a man.” However, is this the true definition of what it means to be a man? In this play, I think that the point they are trying to portray the messed-up way it means to be a man in our society.  During the duration of Glengarry Glen Ross we, as readers and viewers, are introduced to numerous men working at a Chicago real estate business competing to keep their jobs.  Every character within the play has a different personality and is depicted in a certain stereotypical way.  

We are eventually introduced to Roma, Levene, and Williamson, which I found to fit the definition of manhood the most out of all of the characters. Roma is known as the “good man”. The classic man that never does anything wrong and succeeds at everything he does.  This is especially true with his sales where he can easily close sales, and although this may be because he gets the best leads he is still looked at as the best salesman and man of the office.  Levene shows off how much he needs to fill society’s needs as a man. This is of course meaning that he will do literally anything to succeed, regardless of the consequences.  This eventually leads to his demise. Williamson is the classic big boss of a business.  He makes almost all of the decisions and does them in an uncaring manner. 

A character a believe is not fitting the standard of being a man is Roma’s costumer Lingk. Lingk has no control over his relationship with his wife and is instead controlled by her.  He has to take back his offer from Roma in order for his relationship to remain in the clear and ok.  This almost makes it seem like he is afraid of his own wife which is very possible, but does not accurately display society’s norms when discussing what it means to be a man.  

The Harlem Renaissance was an interesting period of time due to the fact that black artists were able to represent themselves and their community in different versions of art. The most influential art being Jazz, as it represented something unfamiliar to the public eye.  Throughout most of recorded history black people lived within America, but still struggled with their identity, which is why the Harlem Renaissance was so crucial.  There are many artists we still refer back to today, one of those being Langston Hughes. Hughes, along with many other black artists during this period of history believed they had to set themselves apart in the entertainment.  Other black artists had differing opinions regarding this topic.  They believed that they should be seen as an artist separate from the community. 

            In my opinion, I believe that one should write about what they personally enjoy, rather than something bigger than they are.  In other words, artists should stay true to themselves regardless of the need to make a stand.  If an artist’s personal interests happened to be the need for change so be it.  I believe that the Harlem Renaissance changed the way America looked at African Americans in a different light than before, a better and brighter light.  

            African-American artists started living through their art and continued to show America what they had not seen before.  Artists such as Countee Cullen thought that black artists needed to achieve a stance in society.  I believe the Harlem Renaissance helped black artists find a voice in a community where they had not had one before.   During this time period artists’ achievements increased.  Black artists were given the opportunity to be recognized and commended. 

            Yet Do I Marvel is another piece that deal with the concept at hand. Hughes and Cullen were similar artists, but also differ in concepts and variation.  They both have similar creative intentions and use their art to make a change in the community.  

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot, to me, reflects upon a love that was either lost or a love that never began.  In the first few lines Eliot states, “Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherized upon a table…”These lines describe leaving something painful or even toxic.  I think this due to the fact that Eliot is saying time is still in this time.  This is obviously hard for him because of how much this other person meant to him.  

I chose these first few lines specifically because I just recently went through a similar situation.  I decided to take action and remove a few toxic people from my life.  I decided my time was too precious to spend it worrying about what other people thought of me.  I may have been sad that I got rid of the comfortable version of my life that I thought I loved so much.  As of now I realize that even though this short period of grief lasted a lifetime because of how difficult initially it was to let go of a life I was used to. However, I had to leave for my own sanity and to improve my own mental health.  I tend to try to help everyone around me, not knowing when someone is taking advantage of my kindness.  This loops back to Eliot’s line when he says that they should part ways.  The line following that is saying that the evening is spread out to a time that seems like forever.  When Eliot says “Let us go then” I feel like he is beyond done with the situation despite loving this person for an unrealistic amount of time. I can also relate to this because in a sense I loved someone who did not love me, but loved what I did for them.  

Claudia Rankine’s book known as The Citizen has changed the way I have viewed stories and books.  Rankine brings a new level of emotion within her words, and she strategically uses images to help viewers create a visual of what she is trying to get across. Overall the book takes a stand against microaggressions and the other horrible mistreat that has been spread across the nation as common and unimportant.  She is focusing on the mistreat of African Americans within the United States.  As a whole, the book puts together all the words I cannot find when I am too frustrated at our country to express them.  She uses multiple instances in media to shine a light on the darkest times our nation has created for itself.  

As an example, I have decided to use the section Rankine wrote about in memory of Trayvon Martin.  I know we went over it in class just recently, however, my ideas were not as pieced as they are currently.  This particular segment within the book has pieced together everything I believe poetry and writing in general represents.  As someone who enjoys poetry more than anything, I have to say that out of all of the books and all of the poems I have read I have never felt as much as I did when reading this piece.  

The way Rankine pieces together both her genuine feelings and complete fact makes the reading powerful.  She goes back to segregation, to the Jim Crow Laws, and even the years of passage.  She uses terms black people are often called, she expresses the fact that in a country where everyone is considered free, the color of a person’s skin traps them forever in a stereotype.  As I read on I continued to feel her pain, but also her strength.  It required so much strength to be able to put this into words and have little fear of being ridiculed over it for being overdramatic, as she discussed in Serena William’s section.  She creates imagery in her words to express the need for change in our country.  How many innocent young men and women need to die in order for America to see that we have an outrageous problem in our hands? 

Another example, this time as a visual image is, the image found on page nineteen, which we have also discussed in class.  In class, however, it seemed as though people were confused by this piece. I know that art, as well as poetry, can be taken in very different directions, but this piece gives a clear meaning to me.  The reading before this expresses the hate and micro-aggression African American individuals experience time to time.  Little Girl by Kate Clark, expresses a lack of hope in a young person’s eyes at the future this country holds for diversity acceptance.  The visual gives off a fearful feeling as well.  I say this because the body of the animal with the human face seems to be trying to hide, but the face also seems scared.  Scared of what the future holds and scared of what is currently happening within our country. 

These two examples within the book have made me realize how much our country is in shambles.  The entire book pulled at my heartstrings the entire time because of what goes on in our day to day life that is just considered normal in the eyes of the public. How unfortunate is it that America is so clueless to change that anyone who writes about is overdramatizing?  Or how unfortunate is it that whenever someone writes about this topic they can find numerous factual examples? Or how much passion does someone have to write with to get the point across that micro-aggression and just plain racism is extremely wrong in every way?

In Bishop’s poem The Moose she clearly is in no rush to introduce the Moose discussed in the title. Not only this, but Bishop is in no hurry to get anywhere despite the poem’s theme of travel, as many of her poems are.  Originally the awaiting time to see a reference of the Moose left a distressing sense within the first parts of the poem, and more so as the poem continues on. As I am asked why Bishop waits such a long period of time to introduce the Moose, I originally imagined that it is because of this intense lead up effect.  Now that I have read the poem back to myself dozens of times, I have come to the conclusion that the stanzas before the Moose’s introduction are for attention to detail.  Based on the poems by Bishop we only just recently went over in class, I should have figured out that attention to detail is almost a requirement when reviewing one of these poems.  She starts off the poem stating the location and setting in general.  Bishop continues stanza after stanza explaining detail after detail, and we figure out that this poem is regarding “a bus journeys west.” We do not, however, figure this major detail out until the fifth stanza of the poem, which relates back to my reasoning of Bishop’s attention to detail. We, as readers are only introduced to the Moose when it wanders onto the road in the view of the bus passengers.  

When the appearance of the Moose finally occurs, I found that it interrupts the built-up tone that has been growing from the second the poem began.  This tone happens to be a peaceful one, and as I mentioned is such a sudden entrance that it is almost startling in turn destroying any peaceful tone that existed beforehand.  The arrival of the Moose affects my understanding of the rest of the poem because to me it represents the waking up of the poem.  Throughout the stanzas I found that everything was slow and calm; when the moose makes its arrival, Bishop states that the bus comes to a jolted stop and the passengers wake up to observe the large animal.  They begin to describe the moose and her characteristics, the passengers mention that the moose is a female and is awfully big, as every moose is.  In my opinion, I believe that the Moose brings the poem together, in regard to not only waking up the passengers from their own self-absorption, but also waking then up with the beauties of nature.  Curiosity is majorly represented at the end of the poem, and in turn creates a wholesome view of the moose after the original startle of it all.  

Throughout Fredrick Douglas’ novel, he expresses readily and whole-heartedly his opinion specifically on Christian slaveholders.  On page 1043 is when he starts promoting his criticisms about these slaveholders in a harsher manner.  In this chapter, Fredrick Douglas moves from Mr. Covey’s to live with Mr. William Freeland. This is where Douglas’ hatred for Christian slaveholders increases.  He states that out of all the slaveholders he has ever met the Religious slaveholder was the worst by far.  He makes it known within the novel that the Religious slaveholders are of the harshest and meanest of them all.  

            He says that living as a slave to a Christian slaveholder was brutal but living with a Religious slaveholder within a very Religious community is worse.  They would give each other suggestions on how to make sure that their slaves were behaving at their best.  They would make comments at how one another could be better disciplining their slaves. Mr. Freeland, however, was not hypocritically a very religious man.  Instead of using his religion as an excuse to pass on constant cruelty to his slaves, he makes them work hard and treats them fairly.  Although, this does not make him a better person, he still was a slaveholder. Douglas offers a counter-narrative to the details he records of the typical behavior of Christian slaveholders by further expressing how not every religious slaveholder is the worst.  His example being Mr. Freeland.  He only owned two slaves and hired the rest of his staff.  

            In order to not lose hope, in my opinion, I believe that Douglas’ counter-narrative helps in that aspect.  Another reason this chapter gives us hope is the fact that Douglas began holding Sabbath school in the home of a freed slave.  Although this is a dangerous situation, the idea that young slaves are gaining knowledge and expanding their education gives me hope within this chapter.  

Nina Baym seems to be agreeable with her stance regarding Hawthorne and his work.  There is evidence in The Scarlet Letter, as well as The Birth-Mark both by Hawthorne.  Her stance mentions that she believes that Hawthorne represents himself as a feminist within the novels and stories he has written. 

Throughout the Birth-Mark readers are constantly shown a conflict between nature and science, or as the text says the love of science rivaling the love of women.  The main character goes by them name Aylmer, who is a successful scientist who abandoned his work to marry Georgiana, his wife.  Georgiana has a birth mark on her cheek, and when Aylmer questions whether she would ever want to get it removed she takes it very seriously. As for other outside opinions, men think it is admirable and some women believe it ruins her beauty.  Hawthorne disagrees with the women calling out their nonsense.  Aylmer tries to remove the birth mark off of his wife’s cheek by giving her a potion. This potion seemed to be erasing the birth mark but ends up killing Georgiana in the process.  

This story represents how Hawthorne incorporates feminism into his work.  One of the biggest themes I got from this is how society and other people’s opinions often times sway a woman’s confidence, making her want to change to fit society’s standards.  Georgiana is the perfect example of this due to the talk about her birth mark.  She literally was perfect besides the birth mark on her cheek but was still affected by both her husband’s opinion and other women’s opinions regarding her own face.  This in turn leads to her fate.  The feminist within Hawthorne shows because of the entire theme of this story.  It also goes back to Nina Baym’s original statement saying that Hawthorne uses male fantasies about women and “real” women struggling to fit into the normal category.  This fits in directly to the plot and theme of this story.  

Throughout every novel there are five key elements when discussing the plot.  These elements are known as: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.  Specifically, for this entry I will be discussing both the climax, as well as the falling action and resolution, mainly regarding Brett and Jake’s relationship.  

I believe, as many others do as well, that the climax regarding this novel is during the fiesta in Pamplona, Spain.  This occurs in chapters fifteen as well as sixteen.  During these chapters the fiesta is described in much detail.  Hemingway writes about the towns preparation for the big fiesta, and how when the fiesta finally commences there are many people partying and dancing in the streets drunkenly.  During this time the group of five characters that attend are friendly amongst each other and they party all night together.  While still in Spain the bull fights begin, which Brett enjoys especially.  The climax, however, I believe is when Cohn fights Mike and Jake.  Cohn feels guilty about this afterwards and announces to the group that he would be leaving the next morning.  Before he can leave, however, Cohn finds Romero in bed with Brett which infuriates him, and he beats Romero up as well.  He is shameful of himself because of this as well and leaves. 

Overall, I believe that Jake and Brett’s relationship stays mainly the same, which is in its slightly unhappy state.  Jake does, in fact discover that Brett and Cohn had an affair and this in turn frustrates him more than he already was due to his inability to do what Brett wants and needs.  Their relationship has been on a slow decline since the very beginning of the novel, with only a few instances of affection.  Brett still would continue to satisfy her needs from other men.  I do not believe that the fighting that took place in Spain affected Brett and Jake’s relationship, however, the friendship between Jake and Cohn is completely shattered.  He realizes that Brett will never marry him, and Brett seems to finally acknowledge this as well.  This is what changes their relationship.  

The resolution of the novel was an interesting one to say the least.  It is interesting in regard to the fact that there is barely an ending or resolution.  It is very simple and minimalistic.  There is no life-changing occurrence that happens here, and the ending is not in the slightest a happy one.  The characters have continued to go in complete circles throughout the plot.  Many believe that the ending is to be used as a reference to understand the novel in its entirety, but I believe that in many ways the ending is what makes people misinterpret the novel as a whole.  The only change I seem to check is that Jake has somewhat changed by finally realizing that the fact he can’t deliver what Brett needs in their relationship, so it will never work out or progress in the slightest.