Short Story Adaptation

PLOT

First of all, the short story I would like to change into a movie would be The Lottery. Even though this story horrified me, the message of blind acceptance scared me- a lot; I think that this story is a perfect example which would quickly cause an audience to understand this horror. In the story, the plot is just a snippet of what occurs on the day of the lottery. The exposition explains the lottery, the rising action is the choosing of the names, the climax is Mrs. Hutchinson being chosen for the stoning, and the falling action is the stoning. In the movie, I personally think that the story would have to be amplified a bit. I think it would aid the storyline and allow the audience a better view into the village if there were more to the story. For instance, I think the movie version would have to have the after effects of Mrs. Hutchinson's stoning. However, the continuation of the story would change the meaning; the original short story gives no insight to the future of Mrs. Hutchinson or the ritual, so obviously this would effect the meaning of the work because of newly created endings and details.

Point Of View

In the short story, the point of view is third person. Not only is this point of view third person, but the voice is reflected as detached, objective, and uncaring. There is no emotion, (except in dialogue) and the narrator simply states it as it is. In the movie version, I would create more dialogue between the characters. Obviously, much of the narration would have to be cut out because I am under the impression that the majority of people prefer to watch movies without the overriding, annoying, monotonous voice of some random man. I think that there would have to be a little of this in the movie, but the majority would be through dialogue. Using more dialogue would then cause the movie to have more emotion, because actors add emotion and actions to, well, act. This might cause the  meaning to become somewhat less horrifying, but I believe the basic meaning would remain strong.

Characterization

There are two types of characterization : direct and indirect. The original short story uses indirect characterization. The characters are described through dialogue, actions, interactions with other people, and appearances. I believe that this would remain the same throughout the movie version as well. I don't find is particularly appealing to listen to a narrator directly say things about each character. It is important the the audience learn for themselves the differing characteristics about each individual and their complexities. Since the characterization of the individuals would not be changing from the short story to the movie, I don't see the meaning changing much. The only thing I could maybe for-see would be the dialogue between characters becoming more important, their actions, and their appearances because their would be less involving the narrator's description.

Setting

In the short story, there is much said about the setting as a way to introduce the story. We know the action occurs between 10 a.m. and noon on June 27, a sunny day, in a New England village; however, the setting never leaves this location. Additionally, the time of this story happens very quickly. Because of the lack of scenery changes and time, this might be a difficult obstacle to overcome to make this story into a film. I think though, that if the plot expands upon the day's events, then there wouldn't be as much of a problem of setting and timing. The scenes could change from Mr. Summers' coal mine and his morning activities to prepare, include the lottery, and then continue onto after the stoning. This would allow the movie to change scenery and time, keeping the audience involved. Of course, changing the scenery does change the story's meaning because of the introduction of new material, especially since my movie would adapt the plot somewhat too. However, the core meaning of the story- the horror in blindly accepting and following traditions- would remain.

Theme

I believe that the themes found in the short story are too important. The themes I picked up on were: the reluctance of people to reject outdated traditions and following the crowd can have disastrous consequences. I am sure that there are several more, but these are the two I find to be the most important. In creating a movie from "The Lottery," I would attempt to keep these important messages as close to the original meaning as possible. As I have talked about altering different things (i.e. point of view, plot, setting), I do not think that I have remarked upon any changes that would diminish these themes. I think that the changes I suggested are pertinent to hold the attention span of an audience long enough to receive the message. I know that my version of the movie would keep the main storyline the same, thus causing the themes to remain the same as well. I think that this story is an excellent illustration of these essential life lessons, and I would not want to be the one responsible for making unnecessary, drastic changes.

Stand By Me

take a second to listen.
and trust me, you're going to want to watch it :

PLOT

To me, the plot of Stand By Me was pretty consistent with the going-ons in the short story, The Body. Of course there were a few added scenes (i.e. mailbox baseball with Ace's gang) and a few scenes deleted (i.e. the omission of Gordie's story Stud City), but I think overall they didn't change the story. However, I noticed one difference; one difference I believed to be a pretty big change to King's original work. The relationship between Denny and Gordie was very different. In the book, Gordie reflects upon Denny saying, "In a family situation like that, you're supposed to either hate the older brother or idolize him hopelessly-at least that's what they teach you in college psychology. Bull, right? But so far as I can tell, I didn't feel either way about Dennis" (pg 311). The book-Gordie felt like he didn't have a relationship with Denny-he cried at the funeral more for his parents than for his dead brother. The movie-Gordie was portrayed as having a really close, special bond with Denny.  There were flashback scenes and moments in the movie where Gordie thought about Denny & became very saddened; this never occurred in the book. Overall, I believe that the movie sticks to the plot pretty well, besides the Denny/Gordie relationship and the ending details (such as Vern and Teddy living, the lack of the boys getting beat up by Ace, and Ace's character).

POINT OF VIEW

In the movie and the story, there is definitely a difference of point of view. In the story, the point of view is purely Gordie's; it is entirely in first person, and we hear the story through his eyes. We know it is through his eyes by the first word on page 293 "we." Of course, this had to be altered for the movie. It would be highly boring to simply hear grown-up Gordie narrating the action and the events throughout the entire movie with a few snippets of dialogue scattered throughout. I think the movie's screenwriter and director did a great job compromising with the original story by using bits of the grown-up Gordie narrating with the actual dialogue. There are several moments throughout the movie where Gordie does narrate and fill the audience in on a few things that we are unaware of with the third-person limited point of view. I also thought the flashbacks of Denny and Gordie were a smart way to fill the audience in on Denny's personality, and the relationship between the two. In my opinion, changing the point of view was completely necessary to create an interesting movie. I believe that it made the movie stronger to show the action as older Gordie's memory of the time in his childhood by allowing him a few narrations throughout the story.

CHARACTERIZATION:

Once again, I thought the movie stayed pretty close to the original story. This was especially true regarding characterization; I still got the same sense of character and personality from the movie as I did from the story. I thought the train scene in the movie best showed the four boys' character. It showed me that Teddy was still "the dumbest guy [the boys] hung around with...and he was crazy" (pg 296); Vern was still the type of scared boy who always "ran first" (pg 418); Chris was still "the best out of [them] at making peace" (pg 435); Gordie was still "the writer" (pg 496), the storyteller of the group. I also thought that most the other characters, like Ace and his gang, the parents, the teacher who stole Chris' lunch money, stayed the same character wise. The only person whose character really differed was the grocer, George. In the story, he was a grump and a man who tried to "jap little kids" (pg 344). In the movie, he simply reflects on the type of individual Denny was, as he does in the movie, but there is no argument or swindling. I am uncertain as to why the movie would need to alter this character. Overall, I think the movie did a good job of staying true to character.

**warning: expletives**

SETTING

The setting in the movie was just how I had imagined it in my mind. The treehouse, the town, and the journey into the woods were exactly how I thought they would be. I thought the movie did a perfect job of capturing the world in the 1959 and reflecting that onto the screen. However, there was one big difference I caught. It was simply something the grown-up Gordie said, rather then something portrayed on the screen. In the movie, Castle Rock was supposed to be in the state of Oregon. In the story, Castle Rock is in "southwestern Maine" (pg 300). I really wanted to understand why the movie would be switched to this location because I didn't understand why there would be a need for the change. I looked it up online, and this website says that "Stephen King explained it in a rare interview...the screenwriter mistook the city of Portland as being in Oregon, but King meant it to be Portland, Maine. Hence the mistakes withe the states." I don't know about the reliability of this, since I could not find the interview with King. However, I found this to be a plausible reasoning. In searching for the reasoning I found another really cool website that reveals a lot about the setting of the movie, and compares it to the real Oregon town Brownsville (the town where the movie was set) today. Check It Out! Overall, I thought the movie setting added to the story. 

THEME

To me, the movie carried on the same theme about friendship as the story did. However, in the movie, Gordie didn't seem to be so torn up about friendship. In my last blog, I thought that book-Gordie contradicted himself regarding friendship. I thought this because at one point he states, "I never had any friends like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, did you?" (pg 341), and then he later says, "Friends come in and out of our life like busboys in a restaurant, did you ever notice that?" (pg 432). Yet, I got a different vibe from the movie. The grown-up Gordie reflects upon his friends and his relationships with them as special gifts and special moments in his life. His portrayal of his friendships is much more poignant than anything. I think moments, such as the boys singing songs on the journey, show the closeness of the friendships reflected in the movie. In the movie, the boys were all very, very close; this was easy to tell because of their easygoing attitudes, their joking interactions, and their unguarded behavior. For me, the moment I realized the importance of these friendships to grown-up Gordie was when his son and son's friend interrupted his writing at the end. Gordie's reaction to this showed me that he realizes how special young friendships are; through the window at the end, the focus on his son and son's friend clarify Gordie's beliefs about friendship. Although I thought that the movie slightly altered King's original theme of friendship to make it more emotionally touching, I believe that the movie's theme was pretty on track with the story's as well. 

Popular Mechanics

Question 4

In the short story "Popular Mechanics," the plot is depicts a fighting couple that turns to fight about 'the' baby. (As a side note, I thought it showed a lot about the characterization of the couple by the fact that the baby was nameless; additionally, it was called "the" baby, not their, ours, etc.) We don't know why this couple is splitting up; there are no clues as to the man's decision "push clothes into a suitcase when she came to the door." It doesn't matter that we do not know the reason for the split because it is irrelevant to the story. Whether this was the result of a fight about money, cheating, or work, the point of the story remains. The two have gotten into a pretty intense fight regardless of the reason. The point of the story is that their fighting has began to negatively impact the child who they believe they are trying to save. Emotions are high; the woman is crying and yelling and throwing names at the man. The theme of the story would not differ if we were to be made aware of the reasons behind the argument.

You're Ugly, Too

Personal Thoughts Blog

The short story "You're Ugly, Too" is difficult for me to understand. Honestly, I am horrible at fully comprehending stories dealing with sarcasm and irony. For some reason, I can't differentiate between the two, nor do I find them easy to read. I find ironic stories difficult for me to get through, which really bothers me. Zoe's character bothered me to; she was abrasive and crass in her statements and jokes. I know that this is the entire point of the story, but it really bothered me that she acted "like her opinion was more important than everybody else's."  I didn't find any of her jokes to be very funny either. I guess I just felt like the themes in this short story were negative; about life, love, happiness, academics, etc. I am hoping that class discussion will allow me to understand this story a little better.

The Drunkard

Question 2

In "The Drunkard," I believe the story is not purely humorous. Even when reading it the first time, I sensed moments of pathos where the speaker is tying to connect emotionally with the reader. One of the very first moments of pathos I spotted was "mother and I knew the phases and dreaded all the dangers." To me, that sentence-along with those surrounding it- do not evoke humor; they evoke sympathy because the reader pities the mother and the son, since they must often deal with an alcoholic if they know the phases and dread the dangers. The pathos is continued when the father tells his son to "run out in the road and play." The son's emotion is revealed when he begins to think in the next lines about the effects of his father's decision and attempts to stop them because of his emotion toward his mother. A final example of pathos is the mother's reaction at the story's end when the son recalls, "Mother threw herself on me in the bed an kissed me." Obviously, this is much efficacious emotion being performed; everyone can connect with the happiness, pride, and joy that the Mother is feeling because of her son's actions.

The Stone Lottery

Question One


A lottery is defined as "a contest in which tokens are distributed or sold, the winning token or tokens being secretly predetermined or ultimately selected in a random drawing" by this dictionary website. When I personally think of a lottery I think of the scratch-off cards that people (who are over 18--so not me) are always buying in front of me at gas stations, taking forever, when I'm in a huge hurry and all I really honestly need is to hand over my ten to fill up my tank. Anyway, a lottery is most often a word with a good connotation because it means that an individual has won major money, or something along those lines. Naturally, by looking at the title of this short story, I assumed the story will be about an individual winning money and the effects of this. The society in which I have matured has never used the word 'lottery' to regard anything negative, such as stoning an individual. I was really taken aback by the events that occurred in the last page; I could pretty soon into the story that something was a little off about this lottery, and my original presumption was wrong. However, I was stunned to read "but they still remembered how to use the stones," and then, a few sentences later read "a stone hit her on the side of the head." The story's title is definitely a misnomer in the sense of today's world. 

The Body Analysis

PLOT

"'You guys want to go see a dead body?'" (pg.299). The simple question asked by  Vern Tessio, one of the main characters, to his group of friends, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and the narrator, Gordie Lachance, summarizes the plot of The Body into a single sentence. On a hot summer day in 1960, a group of four best friends decide to go on a journey to find the body of a boy who is their age. In the exposition, the narrator introduces out his story by describing each of the four main characters and their very different childhoods. The exposition continues as the boys begin their journey into the woods. Rising action begins the night that the boys must spend camping in the woods. The climax, of course, happens when the boys find the body of Ray; even though the reader knows it's coming, it's still surprising to read, " Vern began to screech triumphantly: 'THERE! THERE HE IS! RIGHT THERE! I SEE HIM!" (pg 406). The falling action occurs almost instantly when Vern and Chris' older brothers and their gang arrive; after threats, the boys never speak of the incident again. The resolution happens very quickly too; Gordie quickly tells of how Vern and Teddy separated from himself and Gordie after that year, and then in a few pages, Gordie tells how all three boys died in young adulthood.

POINT OF VIEW

The Body is told from first person point of view; the narrator is Gordie Lachance, one of the boys, who was on the adventure. Gordie is now around thirty years old and retelling his childhood adventure. As with any story told from first person, the audience does not get to read what is going on in the minds of the other characters, as well as the perception of the story's events being different than they would be from say, Chris' point of view because the situation he is growing up in greatly varies from Gordie's. Additionally, it becomes slightly confusing at times because Gordie slips in and out of the past and the present. For instance, Gordie is recalling his story: "For a moment, I was puzzled-why was he here and his tennies there? Then I realized, and the realization was like a dirty punch below the belt. My wife, my kids, my friends-they all think that having an imagination like mine must be quite nice; aside from making all this dough, I can have a little mind-movie whenever things get dull...He had been knocked spang out of his Keds" (page 408). There are a multitude of moments such as this throughout the short story; as the reader, it definitely slowed me down because I would get confused and have to reread paragraphs or pages.

Listen to Gordie's Point of View! 

CHARACTERIZATION

Teddy Duchamp is one of the four main characters in The Body. Gordie uses indirect characterization to reveal the kind of person Teddy was. Teddy is the first character in the book to be described by Gordie; he "was close to being thirteen like the rest of us, but the thick glasses and the hearing aid he wore sometimes made him look like an old man" (pg 295). Gordie describes Teddy's physical appearance which we later find out happened because his father was angered at Teddy, causing him to shove Teddy's head onto to a stove making his ears look like "two lumps of warm wax" (page 296). This depicts Teddy's home life as one that no one would envy, in addition to giving the reader insight into his childhood. Gordie also reveals Teddy's values by his loyalty to his father throughout the entire story. For example, after an argument with the dump owner who calls his father a loony, Teddy becomes enraged. Gordie cannot comprehend this and "wonder[s] how Teddy could care so much for his dad when his dad had practically killed him" (pg 353). Gordie's characterization of Teddy is indirect because he uses appearance, actions, interactions, and dialogue throughout the story.

SETTING

There are many settings involved in The Body because it is the story of a journey. However, the one that best encapsulates the story is the "treehouse in a big elm which overhung a vacant lot in Castle Rock" (pg 293). The treehouse symbolizes the boys' childhood; it was the place for them to go to be young boys. The boys thought of it as a "kind of social club, although it had no name" (pg 293). The description of the club: "the sides of the treehouse were planks scavenged...the roof was a corrugated tin sheet...the screen door was rusty" (pg 294) reminded me a lot of other stories and movies about a group of boys. The setting caused me immediately to think of movies like The Little Rascals and The Sandlot, which are also about groups of very different young boys and a very distinct memory from childhood. The setting in The Body added to the story because it shows that these are outdoors boys; they are adventurous and think that they don't need anyone else besides each other. The boys clubhouse adds to the message of the story because it is physical evidence of their loyalty for one another. 

    

THEME

One of the major themes I picked up from The Body is friendship. I personally saw Gordie (or maybe King, since this story is supposed to be pretty autobiographical) as being deeply conflicted about friendship. There are moments in the story in which he places a great amount of weight and value and importance on friendship. There are two lines regarding friendship in this novel that contradict each other. At first, Gordie reflects on his friendship: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, did you?" (pg 341). At the end of the story, Gordie says, "It happens. Friends come in and out of your life like busboys in a restaurant, did you ever notice that?" (pg 432). Since both of these aphorisms end in a question, Gordie clearly wants his readers to reflect on the paradox of friendship; he wants us to understand that childhood friendships are exactly that- friendships that may not be able to withstand the changes and different paths everyone takes, which lead to his second question. Friends can easily disappear and reappear in one's life depending on a variety of things; life moves on, just like people do. The theme of friendship in The Body definitely causes the reader to pause momentarily and reflect upon the points brought up by Gordie Lachance.

Miss Brill's Fur

Question 7: Miss Brill


In this short story, the fur piece used by Miss Brill first serves as a cherished possession of hers. She treats in a manner as one would a child or pet saying "dear little thing." Miss Brill then allows the fur to personify itself, most likely because she is a lonely, elderly woman without a child to truly care for. As the story continues, the fur piece has morphed into symbolizing Miss Brill; it too has a few things wrong with it because of its age and the wear and tear of objects. By the end of the story, the reality of this fur is called out by two teenagers. They claim her "fur is so funny...it's exactly like a fried whiting" and wonder loudly, "why doesn't she keep her silly old mug at home?" This moment causes Miss Brill great distress; we know this is a result of the stole becoming such as important piece of her. The crying in the final sentence of this story is the ruining of Miss Brill's fantasy world; she is seen in the story as a kind, elderly lady who does not have a mean bone in her body. The crying sound she heard is actually Miss Brill's disheartened self.

A Bedtime Story

Question 1: Once Upon A Time


The author believes there are two possible causes for the sound he/she hears. The first is the idea that a person is in his/her home is "moving from room to room coming up the passage--to my door." The second was that the "creaking was a buckling, an epicenter of stress." The cause for her fear proves to be the first option. The author provides details such as "my heart was fleeing" and "staring at the door, making it out in my mind rather than proving it" and of course, "I have the same fears as people who take precautions." These ideas create an emotional background for the children's story because it is an explanation of the reasoning behind fears; the author tells the story because everyone in the world is petrified that something awful could happen to their family. However, his/her story proves that over-protection can be the end (death) of individuals. The prelude to the bedtime story ties the emotions of worry, fear, regret, anxiety, distress, and uneasiness much as the second part of the story does. The second part of the story is the author proving to himself/herself that over-the-top precautions destroy people, so he/she is perfectly fine in his/her home.

It Still Makes Me Think of Arizona...

Question 6: A Worn Path

Okay, I have to admit, when I read the ending of this short story, I thought Phoenix's grandson had died too, just as the student who wrote to Welty did. The first thing that lead me to this belief was Phoenix's complete separation from the world; such as when she imagines "a little boy bringing her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it" or when she states "I'm an old woman without an education. It was my memory fail me," I began to think that she possibly has Alzheimer's and does not remember her grandson's death. Then I began to think about how she would leave him alone for the long stretches of time to go to the hospital; this to me does not seem like normal grandmotherly behavior. She acts as if she has left him all alone, while normally, sick kids are left with someone watching them. The final piece for me was "I not going to forget him again, no, the whole enduring time...he going to last." This statement made me think that Phoenix wasn't going to allow herself to forget the memory of her grandson, as compared to forgetting his actual living, breathing existence. The author's response makes me think this is in the cone of reason (or is it meaning?) because she doesn't really say anything about the student being wrong. I believe her response means that Phoenix's perseverance and determination make the little boy seem alive, which makes her alive.

Decisions, Decisions

Question 7:

From the beginning of this short story, my heart went out to Eveline. The first paragraph caused sympathy for this girl for obviously "she was tired" and lonely. As her story began to unfold, I felt awful for this girl. She was just over nineteen and had already been through many horrific situations: she detested her work, her mother and brother had both died, and she had an abusive father. These circumstances were in no way under her control, which added to the theme. They caused her inner turmoil regarding her choices between staying in her home with "those whom she had known all her life" or "explor[ing] a new life with Frank." Neither of these choices were great, but rather they show a lack of choices for Eveline. Just as abuse victims always allow for excuses, Eveline does the same. She begins to recall her fonder childhood memories, therefore becoming torn between what she wants and what is the best decision. I cannot imagine having to make a life-altering decision such as this; although I can say my choice would be Frank and Argentina, I understand the battle waging inside of Eveline. The entire story caused Eveline to be sympathetic because so much of it was caused by the unfortunate family and world she was born into. As a side note, this story was extremely similar to a book I read when I was much younger called So Far From Home; the story is basically the same, only the Irish girl in the novel chose to leave her family. It was interesting for me to compare the two stories after I read Eveline.

Not So Normal Employee

The beginning of the story "Bartleby the Scrivener" was confusing at first because Bartleby was not introduced in the story. Instead, Melville chose to introduce and explain his characters Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut. He spends quite a few pages explaining "each of their respective persons or characters." However, when I felt that these nicknames were not very reflective of their character, even though a nickname most often is a reflection of an individual's persona. I also noticed that Turkey and Nippers are opposites in a way (i.e. one is angry, while one is happy, and vice versa). So why introduce with these characters? I think that the narrator is trying to give us some inclination of typical scriveners and their typical actions. Although employees may have odd quirks (as these characters do), they are not like Bartleby. Additionally, the employer relies upon these men; he also asked them for their opinions on Bartleby. In using the three employees to begin the story, the narrator brings the reader into the realization of what an anomaly Bartleby truly is.

A Look at Tub

The character Tub really bothered me in "Hunters in the Snow." In my first read of the story, I couldn't really place why he bothered me so much. It was on my second read that I could understand why he really annoyed me. For a character who is so sensitive about his weight, he is very insensitive to others. Now, granted no one's ever called me a "fat moron," but I think everyone has received an insult or two in his or her life. Furthermore, Tub doesn't do much about his weight problem since he gorges himself on candies and sweets whenever he can. But, anyway, I digress. The main problem with Tub is the major focus he places on himself; even when Kenny tells him his story about the babysitter, he quickly glosses over the topic and brings it back to himself. Tub's lack of caring is even furthered when he forgets the directions to the hospital and then pretty much ignores his friend who has been shot (by Tub himself.) Together, these factors made me greatly dislike Tub as a character.

Ignorance is Bliss

In "Hunters in the Snow," the two final sentences add a final twist to the conclusion that is unexpected; however, once the reader rereads the story, the ending is perhaps not so unexpected after all. The characterizations of Frank and Tub make this conclusion, in fact, plausible. Because the men are very unaware of the other's problems and needs in general, they make this ending very appropriate. For instance, when Kenny was shot (by Tub), the two unscathed men attempt to take him to the hospital. As insults, such as "you fat moron" begin to be tossed around, Tub turns the situation to himself and his anger about being mocked. After "a while" the men begin to start on their journey to the hospital. Tub and Frank show very little caring in regards to Kenny (i.e. telling Kenny to "hold onto" the blankets, forgetting the directions, stopping for food and drink, stopping to warm up) because they are too busy talking about their own issues. Wolff uses the conclusion to prove to his readers that his characters do not value their friendships; they want sympathy, but they cannot give it, they only want to talk about their problems, not worry about those of others', and the men truly are oblivious to the pain of their so-called 'closest friends.'

The Quilt That Broke the Mother's Back

In "Everyday Use," Dee's mother's refusal to allow her to keep the quilts indicates a permanent change in her (the mother). The reader can clearly see the moment of this permanent change: "when I looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet." This is a pivotal moment; the audience sees that the mother has realized the true characters of her two very different daughters. The beginning of the story indicates how the mother feels about her daughter Dee when she tells us how Maggie "[thought] her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that 'no' is a word the world never learned to say to her." Even thought she voices this as Maggie's opinion, the other details she gives throughout the narration prove that the mother thinks Dee is "the child who has 'made it.'" It was the culmination of these feelings toward Dee that lead to the mother's "snatching the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands and dumping them onto Maggie's lap." The mother realizes that while Dee believes the world revolves around her and she knows all, her daughter Maggie is the one who truly cares about her, the quilts, and the family history. The quilts are the final piece that lead to the mother's decision.

A Southern Lady

"A Rose for Emily" was the short story I could best identify with. Not creepily of course, but because of my childhood in the South. Most of my friends lived in huge Southern mansions because of their deep family roots. It is easy for me to see the "big, squarish frame house that had once been white decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies." These homes all carry secrets from the past, much like Miss Emily's home did. The townspeople narrated the home's story as much as Miss Emily's story. It was easy for me to put myself in the story (even though Perrine frowns upon that!). The story was very creepy and grotesque, yes, but it was easy for me to imagine and read because of the Southern factor. Personally, I also believe that placing this story in the South had a major effect on the story as a whole.

A Haunting

I anticipated the ending of "A Rose for Miss Emily" in a way. From the moment that I read that "she bought the rat poison, the arsenic" I knew she was crazy. I mean, a woman living in a huge Southern home with "no one save an old manservant" was bound to have a few things wrong with her. Then, when her idiosyncrasies really began to shine through my mind started to think even more. When I read that "...within three days Homer Barron was back in town. A neighbor saw the Negro man admit him at the kitchen door one evening. And that was the last we saw of Homer Barron." It was details such as these in addition to ones about her father, her manservant, and the town's general opinions that foreshadowed the ending for me. Additionally, the use of grotesque words and phrases caused my mind to be darkened and thinking eerily too. These aspects all culminated in the horrendous ending.

"Gotta Secret, Can You Keep It?"

In "Interpreter of Maladies," the secret Mrs. Das reveals pretty much came out of no where I thought. I was very taken aback when Mrs. Das told Mr. Kapasi that she her son Bobby was the result of an affair. As the back-story began to unfold, I did feel a bit of sympathy for Mrs. Das. She is in a marriage with children that she does not want to be in. However, the majority of me feels no sympathy for Mrs. Das. I believe that an individual always has choices; Mrs. Das had/has choices in her situation. She had the opportunity for a divorce, among other options. I know that these are difficult, but these are better than unhappiness. Her unhappiness led to participating in intimacy behind her husband's back. It is very difficult for me to be truly sympathetic to a woman who would do this. I also find it hard to be sympathetic to an individual who shares her burdens with others in order to "make [her] feel better."

Sympathy & Understanding

I believe Edie to be a sympathetic character in the short story "How I Met My Husband." The story is told from Edie's young, innocent point of view; she tells us she "was fifteen and away from home for the first time." She then continues on to say that she had dropped out of school and came in last in the class. Her work as a hired hand automatically caused me to feel for this young girl. As the story continued, she revealed more of her unworldly personality. For instance, the drama with Alice Kelling, Mrs. Peebles and Edie divulges quite a bit of information about Edie's maturity and intelligence. Edie's maturity is exposed in the scene in which she "lost control, just like a six-year-old, [she] started howling." Her intelligence is expressed in this same scene with her misunderstanding of "intimate." It is in this part of the story that I can pinpoint areas of my heart going out to Edie. However, the premise of the entire novel creates sympathy; Edie is infatuated with the "wrong" type of man. We also feel for her because she "like[s] for people to think what pleases them and makes them happy." We can see through the story that this rings true in all she does.

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."

One of the forms used in "Delight In Disorder" is inversion. In different lines, the author applies the use of sentence inversion. Examples of these inverted lines are "a lawn about the shoulders thrown" and "A cuff neglectful." This technique adds to the meaning of the poem since it is about disorder; it literally causes disorder for the reader. The poem's focus is on imperfection which is the point of the poem- imperfection and disorder is more attractive than perfection. The poem format reflects its content; Herrick wrote the poem with the careful intention of  deliberately crafting his words to reflect the point he was intending to make in his poem.  Other ways Herrick added to the disorder were with an end rhyme pattern that was inconsistent and the syllables in each line changes mid-way through the poem, which throws the rhythm off.

Mourning Before Death?

I found the poem "Elegy for my Father, Who is Not Dead" to be touching and slightly grotesque. I think everyone can understand the pain the narrator is going through because of the fear he has in regards to finding out his father is dead. This subject is very identifiable because I think that all people do have the fear of picking up the phone and hearing that a loved one has died. I also could understand that his father was ready for death, but the narrator is not. Older people are ready to pass on to the next world because of their deeply rooted faith and peace with themselves. Their successors, however, cannot accept the passing of someone they love so much and greatly look up to. I know I can personally identify with this poem because of my granddad's passing this summer; my entire family knew he was more than ready, but we still had a very difficult time accepting it. The speaker is simply looking into the future and openly discussing his or her fears.

A Plea From A Son to His Father

The central theme in the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night" written by Daniel Thomas, is addressing dying men not to not give into death easily; they must fight death. The poem gives examples of four different types of men acting in "rage against the dying light." The men are "grave," "wild," "wise," and "good," and all of them refuse to give into death for different reasons. These stanzas are the speaker's attempts at convincing his father to not "go gentle into that good night." The speaker believes that even when men are old and weak, they should act as if they are energetic and excited about life. He feels very intensely about his father's impending death; his prayer is surrounded by the paradox of curses and blessings. This poem is a plea from a son whose only wish is that his father fight death.

A Member of the "Lonely Hearts" Club

Cope's poem "Lonely Hearts" was one that I really liked; the subject is depressing, but to me the poem was written in a cutesy way. I really thought it was unique how the poem reflected the style of the classifieds. The speaker reveals a lot about herself in this short poem. She lives in North London (shown by the three repititions of the phrase), she is "successful, straight, solvent," and she thinks she has a "simple wish." I felt like I was peeking into a lonely woman's life; a woman who has the unfortunate  problem of not finding love; all she wants is a man to understand her. I think the poem cleverly makes the point of bad luck in love and how sometimes desperation causes people to do crazy things to find it. Personally, I also enjoyed how this poem was in modern language that was easy to read. Also, I liked the rhetorical questions posed at the end of the stanzas because they caused me to think.

The Many Emotions Involved in "Getting Out"

The poem "Getting Out"speaks of the trials and tribulations of a failed marriage. A constantly quarreling and physically fighting couple is depicted throughout the use of many language devices. The poem inspires a feeling of sadness in its audience. The animosity I could feel in the first two paragraphs made me feel for this couple who had had such an awful time. The sadness in the last paragraph made me feel horrible for this couple that is still so clearly in love. The line about the "lawye'r's bewilderment" really stood out to me; divorce lawyers aren't used to seeing couples still care about each other once divorced. It was lines such as these that allowed me to imagine so clearly the poem's happenings. The poem actually reminded me of the song "Pieces." In the song, there is a line that states "it's good when you're here, but it's better when you're gone." I think that this line perfectly sums the poem up; the couple has matured into realzing it's best that they don't stay together.

"Crossing the Bar"

I found the poem "Crossing the Bar" to be kind of dull and boring. I understand the poem's attitude of acceptance toward death. I think the point is a very good one; eventually, we must all accept our inevitable death. I can see the extended metaphor, as well as the different metaphors throughout the poem. I know that the poet is hopeful toward his fate of death. But I cannot understand why I found this poem to be so dry! I don't think that it's because of the language or even the time period; I like other poet's work from this time period. There is beautiful imagery I will admit"; "the Twilight and evening bell," the Sunset and evening star," and the "when that which drew from out the boundless deep"are lines that I can easily picture in my mind. Since these are not the things that bother me about the poem, I am at a loss for what else it could be. I suppose it might be something I need to consider more thoughtfully. 

Central Theme of "My Mistress' Eyes"

In " My Mistress' Eyes," the poet's central theme is satirizing poets who use untrue and exaggerated metaphors. Specifically, he is mocking the poets who do this to compare nature women.The poem could actually be seen at first glance as a man being negative about his girlfriend's appearance. However, the last two lines prove that he doesn't want to give her false compliements. He spends the first twelve lines satirizing poets who do make false comparisions. He wants to make a clear point in the poem that doing this is actually a disappointment to one's lover. It is clear that he loves this woman very much. He believes that one's love deserves the honet truth: she "is as rare as any of those women who have been compared falsely."

Tone of "The Apparition"

"The Apparition" is an intensely vengeful poem. The tone throughout the poem is most definitely full of bitter revenge. The speaker's words and language easily prove this to be the case. The speaker wants this woman who betrayed him to feel his horrendous pain. He wants this woman to think of him when she's with her new love. He even takes it so far as to say that he will come back as a ghost to haunt her. He blames his unhappiness and her rejection on the current situation of his life. He plays the part of a jilted lover incredibly well; it is with his clear tone that the audience understands his feelings. The audience easily identifies and sympathizes with the speaker in his pain.

Amuricans

I remember the first time I ever saw an e.e. cummings poem I was very confused; I didn't understand why a person wouldn't capitalize their own name. I honestly still don't understand, but I do know that I like his poems. "next of course to god america i" was a poem that took me several readings to begin to comprehend. There was SO much information in the first few lines that it was difficult for me to process them; however, once I began to break it up into the quotes, songs, cliches, and colloquialisms, I understood it much better. Once I understood it, I decided I liked how it was satirical; I liked how it was calling politicians out. I am a pretty opinionated person, so this poem was something I could definitely appreciate. e.e. cummings manages to somehow make a very good point/argument in a 14 line poem, which is something to be admired for, especially since he doesn't really make the point until about the last half. I think this is a perfect example of a quietly intense argument. 

Whites, Darks, Reds, and Colors

I really enjoyed the poem "Sorting Laundry." I think this is because I'm a sentimental person; I love memories, especially remembering moments based on a photo or a trinket or a postcard. I loved this poem because I found the metaphors for life and laundry to be relatable and easy to understand. I was intrigued by how seamlessly the author seemed to transition between actual acts of sorting laundry and how they related to real life events. Certain stanzas really stood out to me. For instance, "And what's shrunk is tough to discard even for Goodwill" reminded me a lot of my mom. She has a really difficult time getting rid of our old clothes. She says it's because we never know who might need them, but I know it's because she hates that my sisters and I are growing up. Of course, there were emotionally touching lines such as "pillowcases, despite so many washings, seams still holding our dreams" or "I  think of folding you into my life." It was the great many lines like these that allowed me to really appreciate this poem; it is a very accurate metaphor for two people's futures becoming one in my personal opinion.

"Life in Plastic, It's Fantastic"

Allusions are contained throughout the entire poem "Barbie Doll," starting with the title itself. The title sets the tone for the poem-the idea that little girls (or women) are supposed to conform to society and the expectations it places on individuals. One of the best examples of this is in fact a barbie dolls. Little girls see these dolls as what they are supposed to look like & dress like. As they mature, this idea is stressed even more. Girls are supposed to look a certain type of pretty, act a certain type of pretty, and well, just be pretty. The speaker is clearly stating that society can ruin a child's (or an adult's) self-confidence, self-satisfaction, and self-esteem by "wear[ing] [their] good nature out." Giving us the image of a well-known, famous toy before the poem even begins allows us the mindset of such a society. Immediately, we have an image of what society believes women should turn into, and this image sticks with us throughout the entire poem.

Figurative Language in Letters

The poem "APO 96225" was one that I found pretty easy to read and understand. I feel like I also picked up on the understatements and situational irony of the poem rather quickly too. Clearly, the soldier makes understatement's when he writes his mother saying, "Dear Mom, sure rains a lot here," and "Wow! You ought to see the funny monkeys," and finally, "The sunsets here are spectacular!" The audience knows these are understatements because this man is fighting in a war; our thoughts are confirmed when the soldier gives into his mother writing, "Today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children." It is in this sentence that we can be certain that the soldier is not experiencing wonderful things like as butterflies and sunsets, but terrible things like bombing.
We see situational irony in the writing between the soldier and his mother. The mother nags her son to tell her what he is truly going through in the war. However, when she receives the truth, the soldier's father tells him that he (soldier) cannot say these things; he must hold back. The effect is a clear example of situational irony, intending to show to the audience that we cannot handle what soldiers do, even though we act as if we wish to know.

Whimsical Intoxication

I'm beginning to actually enjoy Emily Dickinson's writing style and poems. The last poem we read in class was dark, but the imagery and meaning were intense. When I went on a college visit to Vanderbilt, one of the buildings had a line from another one of her poems written above the door, and the entire poem carved into the wall right inside the foyer. I thought it was really cool of a college to do something like that to remind its students that "The Brain- is wider than the Sky-" (that's the line, which is also the poem's title, inscribed into the building). Honestly, at first, I thought Dickinson was just a sad, dark, gloomy woman who lived alone. Now, I'm beginning to realize that she was lighthearted too, as "I taste a liquor never brewed" exemplifies. I believe that this poem is about nature and its liveliness. She uses the liquor/drinking metaphor to give the idea of intoxication; the rest of the poem is about nature intoxicating her. Her joyful phrases such as "endless summer days," "butterflies renounce their dreams," and "leaning against the sun" all are references to different parts of nature. Lines such as these made me smile as I read the poem and considerably less stressed about life. I hope that if we read more of Dickinson's poems, they will continue to be powerful poems.

Pink Dogs?

The poem "Pink Dog" was confusing to me the first time I read it. After I read it again and we discussed it in our small group, I grasped it somewhat better, but not to its entirety. The main thing I understood about the poem is that Bishop speaks of Carnival, the Brazilian celebration much like Mardi Gras. I caught onto this because of 1)the mention of Rio de Janeiro and 2) the mentions of "Ash Wednesday will come" as well as "dress up! dress up and dance at Carnival!" When my group established this, we dug a little further and figured that the poem is criticizing society. We believed it was speaking of the different aspects within a society (changing appearances, staying true to oneself, etc.) that Bishop saw. I thought too, that she was chastising society's need to have beautiful appearances. Hopefully, I come to have a better understanding of this poem. Right now, I think there it is too busy for me to truly comprehend.

Wistful Wonderings

The poem "Bright Star" by John Keats has a decidedly wistful tone to it. The speaker is wistful because he yearns to be like the star: see everything, be "steadfast," and be "unchanging." Most of all, though, he wishes to be able to watch/be with his love for all time.  The speaker is longing to be like the star, which we see in the first line when he uses an apostrophe. He speaks of each wonderful thing that the star has and how jealous he is of it; he then informs us he would give up all of these to be with his lover. He does mention briefly how he would not like to feel alone like a star. But, this too proves wistfulness because he would not be able to handle life without his love. The entire poem is written in pensively, using words such "gazing" and "unchangeable." The term wistful clicked with me because the poem focuses on one-sided love, which is full of yearning when expressed.  It also helped that the title of my blog came from a song ("Seeing Stars" by Jack Ingram) that was written in the same deep, yearning thought process. It allowed me to better identify the tone.

Analysis of a Revoltingly Descriptive Cat Poem

"February" by Margaret Atwood is supposedly a poem that we (as teenagers...) are supposed to identify with. I personally do not connect with it much; however, I was able to realize the central purpose of the poem more fully once we talked it over in class. Atwood is telling her readers (and/or herself) to stop whining and move on with life. At the poem's start, Atwood wants to simply be lazy: "eat fat" and "watch hockey." As the audience reads on, we find that Atwood believes February to be "the month of despair." Yet, Atwood does a quick 180 degrees a few lines later when she writes "so get going on a little optimism around here." It is clear she has had a moment of recognition-probably an epiphany for some reason- and now has changed her mind. I think the purpose of beginning in such a negative tone was to connect with her readers who are feeling slothlike because of the winter. She wants to show to them all the negativities in order to encourage us to combat those feelings and celebrate life.

"Keep your dreams alive..."

In Langston Hughes' poem "A Dream Deferred," the speaker uses one main figurative language type. Lines two through nine are written as five different similes. He compares "a dream deferred" to a raisin, a sore, meat, a sweet, and a load. Each of these provide a clear visual to the reader, allowing them to imagine an unreached dream being equal to these five things. Hughes furthers this visualization when he adds unfavorable words like "dry," "fester," "stink," "rotten," "crust," "sags," and "heavy." Each simile is therefore a negative one; this verifies in the reader's mind that a dream pushed aside can only cause horrible things. After using similes for the entire poem, Hughes sets aside the very last line and applies a metaphor. He asks, "or does it explode?" He draws special attention to this point by using these two techniques. It is with this metaphor that the most important comparison (in Hughes mind) is made. By using similes all the way up to the metaphor, Hughes allows the reader to become comfortable in their comparison and visualization abilities that are vital for this last line.

Spring is to Bliss as God is to Heaven

I am really glad we are allowed to write two opinionated blogs over the eight poems because I don't think my reaction to just one poem is enough. The final poem of this set that I am going to blog about is "Spring" by Hopkins. As the first poem we read, I had high expectations for it, and I am happy to say I liked this poem. I really enjoyed a light, airy poem contrasted with the many poems we read after this one on depressing subject matters. The first line "nothing is so beautiful as spring" sets the tone for the rest of the work. Reading this poem made me feel better; it also caused me to focus on God. Almost immediately I realized that the poem was praising God for all his wondrous works and asking him to return to the innocence of the Garden of Eden. I would say I am an upbeat, outgoing individual; the poem reflects the tone of such a personality too. On a smaller scale, I also enjoyed reading this poem because it rhymes. Personally, I enjoy poetry more when it rhymes because it seems more poem-ish to me.

Imagine, Visualize, See

One of the poems I found really interesting was "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden. I became intrigued by the poet's poignancy over his childhood, specifically his relationship with his father. I was enchanted by this novel because of the powerful imagery Hayden creates in each line of his entire poem. At first, the harsh lines lead me to assume Hayden was writing his experiences of abuse using metaphors. Phrases such as "chronic angers" definitely grayed the subject matter for me. Yet, as we talked it over in class and attempted to clear everything up, I decided that the poem was one of a regretful son. Hayden allows his audience to SEE everything his father did by using great control of language. For instance, "blueblack cold" allowed me to imagine a color associated with the extreme cold; "cracked hands that ached" granted me the ability to visualize hands that were chapped and ruined; "banked fires blaze" made me think of fires warming every inch of an individual.  This entire poem actually reminded me of The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In one of her novel titled The Long Winter, there is a scene depicted much as this one was by Hayden, where Wilder describes the extreme chill of her home on winter mornings. Remembering the book's scene definitely lent to my visualization of the poem's scene too. Because of the great attention to detail Hayden uses in lines, I was able to put myself into this scene, just as I had in Wilder's book. I could easily imagine and identify the senses Hayden went through as a boy.

Trust Me, I'm Feeling a Funeral in MY Brain Too!

Time for a blog on my personal opinions! Okay, so a poem I really, really did not enjoy in the slightest was the poem "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" by Emily Dickinson. There are a myriad of reasons why I do not enjoy this poem, but unfortunately, I don't have the space or patience to list and describe them all. The first thing I noticed right off the bat was that the poem was written in a childlike manner; for some reason, I cannot get past this. Dickinson may be a respected writer, but I just cannot understand why she writes as if she were eight. I counted; she uses the word "and" to start TEN lines. In addition to her childish writing technique, it bothered me how she ended the poem...but stuck the word "-then-" on after. Another annoyance was her clipped phrasing. She used hardly any description, but an incredibly intense extended metaphor of the body throughout the poem.  Honestly, I think this poem just did not click with me. It bothered me that it took me a way too many tries to get the gist of the poem because it was well, too simple. 

The 'Ship of Dreams'

In the poem "Convergence of the Twain" by Thomas Hardy, the entire poem is clearly an allusion to the Titanic and its horrible fate. Even without the phrase in parentheses stating "lines on the loss' of the Titanic," the poem is obviously about a shipwreck. The supporting details that perfectly line up with the facts of the Titanic wreck only aid in clearing up the little confusion the reader may have.  The reader's first thought in reading this poem is the disaster that was the Titanic, for it is undoubtedly the most famous ship to hit an iceberg. Each stanza is a clear allusion to a certain aspect of the actual ship or the iceberg. For instance, stanza nine combines both the Titanic and the iceberg. By this point of the poem, the reader is positive that the author is alluding to the Titanic, and by the last line of the poem, he or she can no longer have any doubt. The details and imagery that Hardy lends to his work only add to the fact that this poem is a well-developed allusion.

London's Misery & Despair

In the poem "London" by William Blake, the tone can be described as bleak, dismal, gloomy, and sinister. He achieves a ominous ambiance with the usage of words and phrases that exemplify this adjective. He uses words such as "cry of fear," "hapless," "appalls," "blood down Palace walls," "plagues," "Hearse," "curse," and "tear." Each word or phrase that is mentioned has a negative definition or connotation to go with it. Furthering this negativity throughout the poem, Blake intensifies the despair felt by Londoners. For example, in line four, Blake writes, "marks of weakness, marks of woe." In lines such as this throughout the poem, Blake makes clear to the reader the horrors of the political unrest currently occurring in London. An additional detail that adds to the tone is the mention of the time. The line "but most through the midnight streets I hear" allows him to accentuate the darkness of the poem. The tone of "London" is made crystal clear by Blake in a variety of ways.

Time for Ryhme Comprehension

Making sense of poetry has forever been difficult for me; I have always found it easier to be on the other side of poetry, penning my thoughts onto paper. It was tough for me to decipher what the poems meant when we were handed them in class. And then, when I read Perrine's musings on the matter, it did not add to my confidence in interpreting poetry. I was totally wrong on several lines, not to mention entire poems! But then I began to think about Perrine's essay. In the first few reads, I found that he seemed to be quite contradictory, almost as if he can't make up his mind. He says, "there are no correct or incorrect meanings; there are only readings which differ more or less widely from a statistical norm." It took me until my third reading of the essay to understand this line, but I still think it to be a bit hypocritical in my mind. There are a variety of spots in the article in which I believe Perrine to not be able to decide for himself what the rules are in regards to interpreting poetry.
In addition to Perrine's varied statements, I did learn a few things about interpreting poetry. In his second paragraph, I was forced to consider that a poet might believe "'the meaning may be different for everyone.'" I found this concept to be rather intriguing; I like that poets want their work to be versatile. Also, before reading this article, I had not ever thought about the fact that the entire poem (as in every word) must stand for something. I had always believed that poems were symbolizing the gist of an idea. I now feel pretty unintelligent to not have recognized this at a previous time in my life, but I suppose 'you learn something new every day.' A final thought about Perrine's essay is that I did like reading the universal accepted interpretations of each poem we read in class. I found it to be interesting to see what I had and had not understood. I am hoping that I will improve my skills of interpreting poetry by using techniques from this paper as this year continues.

Contemplations

For my last blog, I want to reflect on The Sun Also Rises, just as I did on The Things They Carried. So overall, the novel was very boring to me; there are a variety of reasons for this. The biggest obstacle for me was trying to pay attention when it seemed as if Jake was documenting every step he took. At times, I honestly felt as if he was trying to make me skip entire pages; believe me, I was already fighting the urge to skip paragraphs. Another issue I had was the fact that the action didn't really come around until the last few chapters. To me, the entire first, oh, I'd say, fifty to seventy percent of the novel was just the gang running around Paris and Pamplona drinking. A final problem I had was the unrequited love situation; yes, I realize that this and the insecurities of the individuals are pretty much the entire reason for the story. However, futile love for someone has always bothered me. It annoyed me that Jake let Brett play him and use him ten times more than she does to other men. I think at some point an individual has to remove themselves from that situation, no matter how difficult it is. Furthermore, Brett needs to learn she can't use men as she does; she needs to learn her lesson in my humble opinion.
Continuing on to what I actually enjoyed about the novel...I'll be truthful: there wasn't much. One thing I did like were Hemingway's/jake's observations and thoughts about life. There are a variety of comments he makes from the beginning of the novel such as, "You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another" pg.19, to the middle, "'How'd you go bankrupt?' "Friends. I had a lot of friends. False friends'" pg.141, and to the end, "If you want people to like you you only have to spend a little money" pg.237. I found many of these quotes to be partially true. I liked reading the thoughts of Hemingway/Jake on people and life; it interested me. That pretty much covers what I enjoyed about the novel, which does make me wonder if all of Hemingway's novels are written in the same style as this one. If so, I am truly curious as to why he became a well-known, famous literary figure.

Resolution

I wanted to write two blogs over Chapter XIX because not only is it the last chapter in The Sun Also Rises, but it also the only book in Book III. Therefore, when I was looking ahead to the end of the novel (I admit, I cheated a little bit because I wondered if it would ever end), I decided to save room for two blogs over it. After reading the chapter, I realized that even though I had enough literary terms already, resolution is a perfect term for it. Jake ends the chapter cleanly by leaving Mike "at the hotel...[where he] was going to stay in San Juan" (pg 234) and watching Bill go "through the gate to the train" (pg 235) back to Paris. Of course, what would the novel be without the return of Brett? He manages to bring Brett back to the story, but finish everything with her too. However, I do believe bringing Brett back into the story was an interesting choice. It would have been much easier to pretend she was still with Romero, but I suppose Hemingway/Jake realized that Brett had to return. It would have been completely unlike her character to stay with one man. Naturally, she had to run back to Jake, the man who loved her no matter what. Even though Jake resolved all the issues by this point, I do believe there is still a little bit of a conflict between Jake and Brett, yet we know that he is much more realistic about everything when he responds to Brett's musings with "yes, isn't it pretty to think so?" (pg 251) It is with this last poignant moment that Jake ties up everything neatly.

People Truly Never Change

Chapter XIX is a very interestingly written chapter. I was pretty surprised at how easily and quickly Mike and Bill left Jake; the friendships in this story proved to be weak bonds. Once Jake was on his own, who should he hear from but Lady Brett Ashley of course. She sends Jake a telegram saying, "Could you come Hotel Montana Madrid am in rather trouble Brett" (pg 242). It really bothers me that Brett uses Jake; he loves her so much, and she takes complete advantage of him. Jake has to help Brett because he is completely in love with her, which annoys me too. Unrequited love gets on my last nerve; Jake needs to move on. But, he runs off to Madrid to find that Romero is gone because Brett "made him go" (pg 246). Romero wanted to make an honest woman out of Brett, and she obviously would have none of that. Jake lends his shoulder to Brett, and he helps her through her suffering, which is even more bothersome. How can a person put themselves through pain such as that? At the end of the novel, however, I know that Jake knows he and Brett could never be, even through all the hope she gives him. Brett says, "Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together." Jake replies, "Yes, isn't it pretty to think so?" (pg 251) This is sobering; Jake knows he loves a woman who will never change her ways and will never be with him. She has not changed throughout the novel, but he now sees their 'affair' more realistically. He, and the reader, know that that Brett would have used him just like each man she has already used.

Motif

As I am nearing the end of the book, I think it is safe to say that a major motif of the book is alcohol and intoxication. There is a huge emphasis placed on alcohol and drinking throughout the entire novel. Jake mentions some aspect of drinking in the following parts of the story: "I saw she was quite drunk" pg. 40, "Have a drink" pg.50, "You're pie-eyed" pg.78, "I went back to the hotel to get a couple bottles of wine" pg. 109, "they bought a drink, then we bought a drink" pg.112, "you're cock-eyed" pg.128, "I was just a little tight" pg.141, "hurray for wine" pg.158, "oh, you'll get drink" pg.173, "I'm drunk now" pg.197, "He took a long drink of beer" pg.205, "I began to feel drunk" pg.226, "let's have another drink" pg.233, "let's have another bottle" pg.250. I began to think the entire novel was written about drinking, the different expressions about drinking, and the different types of alcohol. My aunt (who made her students read the novel once) says it almost drives one to drinking themselves, to get through the novel. It honestly seemed to me as if the characters had to drink to have a good time; they would probably be considered alcoholics. Even though it was customary in this time period to be drinking, the amount that Jake & his friends do is completely excessive. It showed to me that alcohol can bring out the worst in people (such as Mike). I believe Hemingway focused so much on alcohol because of his problems with it. I mean, doesn't it make complete sense that Hemingway, who was a crazy alcoholic, would write a novel that involves some aspect of drinking on every page?

Irreplaceable Friends

Chapter XVIII is the last chapter in Book II. It is in this chapter that the action begins to wind down; the fiesta finishes, the bullfights are over, and members of the crew have left. The last sentence of this chapter caught my attention quickly. Jake reflects, "The three of us sat at the table, and it seemed as though about six people were missing." When I read this line on page 228, it immediately clicked with me because I find it very easy to apply to real life. A group of friends is not complete without each member. When even one person is absent, their place is hard to fill. It truly does seem as if multiple people not present. With more then one person missing as it is in The Sun Also Rises group, it is even harder to fill that space because it seems so cavernous. Jake, BIll, and Mike truly did care for Cohn and Brett even though they were the 'troublemakers' of the group. Cohn is the obnoxious friend everyone knows and Brett is the full-of-herself friend who is used to getting what she wants. The relationship of this group actually reminds me of the show Friends; each character on the show is extremely unique and different. They each add a certain flair to the show, and if a character is missing in an episode, something just seems not quite right. In The Sun Also Rises, the missing two create a fragmented group, which creates a feeling of incompletion in the novel.