"Toads" - Philip Larken

The "toads" of the poem were rather confusing for me. One of the questions at the end asks: The first "toad is explicitly identified as "work". The literal term for the second "toad" is not named. Why not? What do you take it to be? Well for starters, I did not even think the first toad was work; I thought it was a beggar, so I am already off to a great start. I feel like this question helped me come to some understanding of the poem though because I think it sent me on the proper line of thinking. To answer the first part of the question, I believe the second toad was not named because the toad is specific for every person. It is a unique problem that everyone has to deal with such as the narrator's inability to interact with others easily: "And will never allow me to blarney My way to getting The fame and the girl and the money All at one sitting" (Larkin). The first toad is named because everybody has to deal with work, even beggars who have to work to achieve a high enough level of sympathy for money. I believe this second toad is an imperfection in everybody. It is something that is a frequently looming problem in our lives. I can not seem to make any sense of the last two lines that read, "But I do say it's hard to lose either, When you have both" (Larkin).

"Hazel Tells LaVerne" - Katharyn Howd Machan

"Hazel Tells LaVerne" was definitely my favorite poem, so I am a little excited to blog about this. Machan develops this narrator of her story that comes off as a very uneducated, blue collar worker. For some reason, I could not hold back this image in my mind that the narrator is a black woman. Machan uses a dialect that I just instantly associated with a black maid. However, I am going to be a little slow to assume this after seeing the movie The Campaign. In the movie, there is a maid whose voice sounds identical to the stereotypical southern black maid, but a comedic shock comes over the audience when she opens the door and we see that she is asian. This scene stands out in my mind because I think I laughed for a solid minute at that scene, but let's get back the poem. Similar to The Campaign, I thought this poem was hilarious. For me, the dialect contributes to the comedic value of the poem, mostly because I think of the asian maid. The dialect characterizes the narrator too with the way she speaks: "but sohelpmegod he starts talkin" (Machan). In addition to the dialect, the poem has no punctuation and the woman works as a maid, so the reader can assume that she did not have a very good education. I also could not help but laugh when she calls the frog a "little green pervert." This also shows that she was probably not educated because she is unaware of the fairy tale of the Princess and the Frog. Overall, I saw this poem as an entertaining, comedic poem.

"Mr. Z" - M. Carl Holman

The story of this "Mr. Z" has a sense of sad irony to it. Society convinced him that the skin of his mother was inferior. I found it very interesting that Holman chose to say his mother's skin. I am not sure if this implies that his father was a different race or maybe even that he was raised by his mother or some certain circumstance. The reader can deduce from the characterization that Mr. Z is black from details such as: "Disclaimed kinship with jazz and spirituals" and "His palate shrank from cornbread, yams and collards" (Holman). The poems begins with saying that he is an error, but he seemed like he could not do anything wrong.This is ironic because Mr. Z seemed to have everything going for him. He had a great education, a "perfect" wife, and most likely a successful career. Everything about him was the perfect the white man, except for his skin color. Consequently, he was called, "One of the most distinguished members of his race" (Holman). They did not say one of the most distinguished humans. This is a rather sad irony to think of that he spends his whole life trying to escape the labels of his skin color, yet he is still regarded for his skin color in his death. No matter how hard he tried, he could not change his skin color.

"Interpreter of Maladies" - Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" is in my opinion a story of two worlds colliding. The Das family (the Americans) and Mr. Kapasi (the Indian)  spend the day together conversing in English, but there is still a sort of communication barrier. One of the questions following the story asks: How does Mr. Kapasi's job as an "interpreter of maladies" relate to the action in this story? Mr. Kapasi's job title is a good example of a misunderstanding between the two worlds. Maladies could cover a whole range of things from a serious physical ailment to a sort of sickness of the spirit like a social problem such as that of Mrs. Das. Mr. Kapasi sees his job as simply using his linguistic skills to communicate the symptoms of his patients to the doctor. Mr. Kapasi never analyzed the meaning behind his job; a sore throat was a sore throat, nothing more. However, Mrs. Das sees this as maladies such as her own with her son being conceived by a different man than her husband. The word interpreter is also confused. Mr. Kapasi thinks of interpreter of languages; whereas, Mrs. Das thinks of an interpreter as one who can find a meaning behind her situation. The confusion of the words "interpreter" and "maladies" show the communication barrier between Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das. Mr. Kapasi, a man who once regarded himself as a talented linguist, has difficulty properly communicating with Mrs. Das who sees a different meaning in his words. Mrs. Das's interpretation of the word malady also shows the difference between the two cultures. In America, people have so few essential things to care about such as proper medical care that this leads the American Mrs. Das to instantly think of a malady as her social predicament. This almost makes it appear that the entire situation was a disappointment to both sides. Mrs. Das expected a social prescription while Mr. Kapasi expected an intimate relationship. This tone of an entire disappointing misunderstanding is shown with the closing of the story: " When she whipped out the hairbrush, the slip of paper with Mr. Kapasi's address on it fluttered away in the wind" (Lahiri).

"Everyday Use" - Alice Walker

The narrator of  "Everyday Use" reveals many things about herself throughout the short story. Sometimes  direct characterization is used, and other times indirect characterization is used. The narrator came right out and said, "I never had an education myself" (Walker). This is a form of direct characterization which the author uses to clearly display a detail about the narrator. Related to the detail about being uneducated, I was really confused about a narrator being uneducated. I understand that the speaker and author are not the same person, but it is difficult to think that someone writing a story with flawless grammar never had an education. This detail just made it a little difficult to understand the character in my opinion because I would not expect an uneducated farm woman to be writing or telling such a well constructed story. In addition to the direct characterization, some indirect characterization is present.  The race of the narrator is revealed through details scattered throughout the story. An example of such indirect characterization is when Dee (Wangero) says that she does not want to have a name that was given to her ancestors from the slave masters. From this detail, it is pretty easy to tell that the narrator and her children are African Americans. Given this detail, it gives the reader a perspective from which to view the story as one of a black family probably living in the south.

Perrine Poetry

I believe that Perrine has a very valid point in determining the "correct" interpretations of poetry. Although I am a believer that there should be many equally correct interpretations of poetry, Perrine's argument is much more sound than mine. I definitely agree with Perrine's first point that an interpretation should account for every detail of the poem; however, I do not agree with the point that the best interpretation has the fewest assumptions. I disagree with this point for two reasons: I do not believe there is a best interpretation and I believe that these assumptions are what helps the reader personalize the poetry to himself by allowing him to identify with it. Perrine presents an excellent interpretation of Emily Dickinson's untitled poem, but the whole time I read his point I was thinking, "why can't it still be a garden?" Of course, there are those the details such as the daffodil being singular and being unable to explain the wharf. The explanations, though not as reasonable as Perrine's sunset, I believe are still valid. The garden could look like the color daffodil and the the butterflies and bees could very much so have stopped "mingling" when the wind stopped. I would not be so quick to call the garden explanation "incorrect", but I do agree that Perrine's sunset explanation is a very good interpretation.

Perrine surprised me with the interpretation that the Melville poem was about the stars. His interpretation is excellent, and this interpretation definitely helped make sense of the poem for me. He clearly showed that the  interpretation of it being about an army is wrong and I agree with this. However, I believe he went a little too far with disproving the interpretation about the army when he said, "...no legions ever 'stream' in perfect order." This is a detail made it seem to me that he is being a little too hostile towards this interpretation and that he is so determined to bury this interpretation. I think that the perfect order is an innocent detail. We call many things perfect without them actually being perfect because nothing is perfect, so why would stars be the  exception? I also agree with Perrine's point that everything should be taken in context. I believe this article presents a valuable point towards the interpretation of poems. In the future, I will definitely consider whether my interpretation fits every detail, rely on few assumptions, and that the meanings of words are taken in context. However, I still believe that these stipulations can not limit poetry to one perfect answer because nothing is perfect.

Gatsby: the Ending

I am definitely glad I read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald closed the novel in such a fascinating series of events. I like crazy endings. The deaths of Myrtle, Gatsby, and Wilson were nothing short of a great way to end the novel. However, it did not end there. The final chapter goes through Gatsby funeral. The real tragedy of the ordeal was that Nick was the only person who stood by Gatsby after his death. People enjoyed Gatsby's hospitality but could never actually call him a true friend. Wolfsheim, the closest thing Gatsby had to a friend before he met Nick, did not even want to attend the funeral because of some danger involved in attending it.

Some insight is given into what was being planned between Gatsby and Wolfsheim when a man named Slagle mistakenly calls Nick. Gatsby must have been running some sort of a bond scam, so Gatsby's money did come from a somewhat criminal past. As expected, Tom sold out Gatsby which is how Wilson found him so fast. Fitzgerald concludes with: "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that'st no matter--to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther....And one fine morning---(180)." To Gatsby, the green light symbolized the hope of attaining his goal of being with Daisy again. Fitzgerald juxtaposes this with the Dutch settlers of America who saw the shores  of America as a promise of new hope. Now I can finally get back to watching the Olympics.

Gatsby ch. 8 (Part II)

Totally saw that coming. Gatsby dies. F. Scott Fitzgerald starts wrapping up The Great Gatsby with some excitement. As Tom had said earlier, Wilson was so dumb that he did not even know he was alive. Wilson thought he was so smart tracking the car back to Gatsby. Wilson kills the wrong man then kills himself. I guess that is one way to resolve a situation. This certainly does make things convenient for Tom. Tom does not have to worry about Wilson discovering his affair with Myrtle. Also, Tom does not have to worry about Daisy running off with Gatsby anymore.

The constant references to the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg sort of got to the point where they annoyed me, but now I can appreciate it. After Wilson said what he told Myrtle one time, "'You may fool me, but you can't fool God!' Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg...(159)," I can sort of understand this symbol. The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg have seen the whole disaster unfold around this group. The way Wilson puts it is someone is always watching including God. In my opinion, these fading eyes represent the fading presence of God in the lives of people. The people surrounding Nick Carraway lack some moral direction, just look at Tom Buchanan. Tom had an affair with a woman then cold-heartedly disacknowledged her at her death.   This is some deep stuff.

Gatsby ch. 8 (Part I)

As The Great Gatsby draws to a close, some events still need to play out. Most importantly, what will become of Gatsby and Daisy? Gatsby reminisces his past with Daisy. He explains that his time at Oxford is what led Daisy to marry Tom. This does verify somethings that Gatsby had said, so now I do believe his stories about Dan Cody. His plan involving Detroit still needs to be explained though. Also, the source of his money needs to be revealed.

I believe Fitzgerald had just hinted at a future tragic even in saying, "I've always been glad I said that. it was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end (154)." Honestly, I think this means Gatsby is about to die. The only question is how or who kills him. Maybe Tom kills him in order to eliminate his competition at winning Daisy back. The sad part is that Nick is the only person that comes to comfort Gatsby in his tragic situation, yet Nick admits to disapproving of Gatsby. I get the feeling another big event is about to happen.

Gatsby ch. 7 (Part II)

I believe this is the climax of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Gatsby seemed to be fairly effective at smooth talking his way past most of Tom's accusations about his past, but at this point I do not believe a thing Gatsby says. He is a part of some acts that are not exactly legal. He probably does have something planned with Wolfsheim.That would explain his phone calls. A part of Tom's rant was amusing because of its irony: "'Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white (130).'" Of course, this statement is beside the matter at hand. Gatsby puts himself, Tom, and Daisy all in a difficult situation when he tries to make Daisy say that she never loved Tom. Now Daisy is confused, but she still claims that she is leaving Tom.

There is some clear foreshadowing here: "So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight (136)." Gatsby's car hit and killed Myrtle. Tom is clearly upset but he can not show that. Gatsby is in a world of trouble now because of Daisy's driving. Daisy is in trouble because now marrying Gatsby is not very ideal since he will be suspected of killing Myrtle. All the while, Nick and Jordan have been bystanders throughout this whole quarrel. Nick's relationship with Jordan seems to be strained just because of the fighting between Tom and Gatsby. I feel like and their relationship will not work out. I think this book can only end in disaster now.

Gatsby ch. 7 (Part I)

Oh boy! Tom knows what's up as Fitzgerald wrote, "She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded. His mouth opened a little, and he looked at Gatsby, and then back at Daisy as if he had just recognized her as some one he knew a long time ago (119)." This makes things interesting in The Great Gatsby. Tom was already a little suspicious of Gatsby, but now that he is aware that he and his wife got a little thing going on he is bound to let his temper loose. This was bound to happen though. How else would this story get interesting? Something crazy had to happen.

One thing that irked me was why Tom let Gatsby and Daisy ride together. He clearly is not happy with what is going on between them, yet he lets them ride alone in Tom's car. That whole situation just confused me. To add to the high drama going on, Wilson just discovered Myrtle's affair and he talked obviously to Tom about it. Wilson fell into a bad illness because of this, so now he is in a bad situation. Wilson wants to move west with Myrtle to forget the affair which apparently is how people solved affairs back then. It seems like this seems to be the trend. Nick moved because of a failed engagement and Daisy and Tom moved from Chicago most likely because of an affair.

Gatsby ch. 6 (Part II)

For some reason, I found the awkward encounter between Gatsby and Tom to be a little amusing in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby insistence on randomly bringing up Daisy made me laugh as Fitzgerald wrote, "'I know your wife,' continued Gatsby, almost aggressively (102)." Tom just nonchalantly ignores this and moves on to talk to Nick. Tom obviously does not see Gatsby as threatening towards his relationship with his wife. Little does he know, Gatsby seems to be the kind of guy that gets what he wants.

Things got a little more weird when Daisy and Tom attended one of Gatsby's parties. I seriously got confused when Daisy said she would kiss Nick. This better not be more cousinly attraction. Tom only liked the part of the party where he went and flirted with another girl although he said Daisy should not be allowed to run around town. Tom seems to have some weird morals if he feels he has the right to have a mistress and still have the right to be married to a faithful wife. Gatsby yet again gets called to the phone. Something is going on, and I hope to find out what.

Gatsby ch. 6 (Part I)

In the beginning of this chapter, we get a good look at what it is that makes Gatsby great in The Great Gatsby. With the change of his name, Gatsby brought a change to his character, "The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God...(98)." Gatsby went from hardly scraping by to being successful from his work with Dan Cody. Upon Cody's death, he inherited some money which he never got. I guess that makes sense, but how did Gatsby get rich then?

Actually, I do not believe this story. I thought he inherited his money from his wealthy parents prior to this story. Apparently they lived in San Francisco, but he just said they were unsuccessful farmers from North Dakota. The story of his name is believable because Jay Gatsby from James Gatz makes some sense. I just feel like Gatsby is disguising the source of his wealth possibly due to a suspicious past.

Pic!

Just reading in the canyon. No biggie.

Gatsby Ch. 5

Reaching the midpoint of The Great Gatsby, it is clear what the plot of the story will be. Gatsby and Daisy  are going to have a nice little affair which will meet problems with her marriage to Tom. Before their meeting, the human side of Gatsby comes out. Thus far, Gatsby has been portrayed as a man of excellence with no flaws. Gatsby was a wreck until Nick's little pep talk for him, "Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes (86)." Gatsby and Daisy finally get talking and then they can't stop.

Two things bugged me throughout this chapter. Why did Gatsby want Nick to be with him the whole time? Is it that Gatsby finds that he can relate well with Nick? Or is it more for the sake of the storytelling that Nick needed to be there so that the first person narration could be maintained? Additionally, I still can not figure out why Gatsby always has to take these phone calls. Maybe he is just a busy man, but I doubt that. I feel like this most recent conversation about Detroit will be an important detail. I think there is something shady about Gatsby. What if he is a mobster? Now that would be interesting.
             I see the resemblance.

Gatsby ch. 4 (Part II)

So Gatsby does have a shady side. He can just flashes a white card and everything is okay with the police? Oh, plus he has frequent meetings with the man who fixed the 1919 World Series and wears human teeth as cuff buttons! Gatsby is a very influential man, but there is nothing to hint that this is in a bad way, so far. Also, who is Gatsby always leaving to call on the telephone? Something is going on here.

Now we can finally learn what Gatsby and Jordan talked about. Gatsby just wants to impress Daisy. Gatsby just wants to show off all his current wealth to Daisy as Fitzgerald wrote, "'Gatsby bought that house so that daisy would be just across the bay (78).'" I see how this is going to get to be an interesting story. This is going to get messy. It also appears that Nick and Jordan are becoming more romantically involved. Good for them, but they are bound to get caught up in the drama that will unfold.

Gatsby ch. 4 (Part I)

Chapter Four of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby begins with a listing of the people who attended Gatsby's parties during the Summer. Honestly, I did not care for any of these details because I already understood that his parties were a big deal, but I thought some details were interesting like the man who killed himself by jumping in front of a subway train. Gatsby's trip into New York with Nick started off fairly interesting. Despite Gatsby's appearance as a socialite, Nick reveals, "I had talked to him perhaps six times in the past month and found, to my disappointment, that he had little to say (64)."  So this guy can rest easy knowing that his title of the most interesting man in the world is safe.

We finally figure out the truth about Gatsby, depending on whether Gatsby was telling the truth which I think he was. I found it a little ironic that Gatsby said he was from the Middle West which apparently includes San Francisco. I noticed a slight part of Nick's character was revealed in this scene because he had to hold back laughter when Gatsby said his family's death was a sad event. Clearly, Nick only saw this situation as a way that Gatsby came across a great deal of money and not that he lost his family. Now,  we're left in suspense about what Jordan will tell Nick at lunch that day. I hope it is some dirty secret about Gatsby. This guy seems too blessed with his medals and all that.

Gatsby ch. 3 (Part II)

In the closing of the party, I noticed some insight given into the character of The Great Gatsby. Gatsby appears the be detached from everyone at his parties. For example, Fitzgerald wrote, "...but no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and no French bob touched Gatsby's shoulder, and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsby's head for one link (50)." I think Fitzgerald creates Gatsby as a character detached from every other character because Gatsby does not enjoy parties like everyone else that attends his parties. It is almost like he throws them to study his guests behavior.

I am intrigued to find out what Gatsby and Jordan discussed. At least, the night ended with success for Nick when Jordan asked him to visit her. Clearly, there is a fling of some sort going on between Nick and Jordan right now. I do not think this will last because Nick already pointed out Jordan's flaw or being dishonest. Nick chooses to ignore this problem, but I do not blame him if he enjoys her company. I get the feeling things will work out between them.

Gatsby ch. 3 (Part I)

Finally, we get a look at the title character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. With the description of Gatsby's estate, it is pretty obvious that Gatsby has no worries of money due to the extravagance and frequency of his parties. One thing I found strange was Nick's invitation: "He had seen me several times, and had intended to callon me long before, but a peculiar combination of circumstances had prevented it--signed Jay Gatsby, in a majestic hand (41)." What were these circumstances? Give me answers Fitzgerald!

For some reason, I thought the party was amusing to read about. I chuckled a little when I read, "I was on my way to getting roaring drunk from sheer embarassment...(42)." Then the drunk man in a library amused me as well. These little details of Gatsby build up his extremely affluent appearance, not to mention all the rumors of his being a German spy and such. I found it shocking that a man as enigmatic as Gatsby could come out and have such a personal introduction with Nick where they could talk like old friends.

Gatsby Ch.2 (Part II)

Now things start to get interesting in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The end of Nick's time with Tom and company ends poorly as everybody's flaws are exposed. More specifically, Tom is really shown as a man of poor character. This is first shown during Nick's discussion with Catherine who says the reason that  Tom and Daisy are not divorced is because Daisy is Catholic. Nick reveals, "Daisy was not a Catholic, and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie (33)." I believe the true reason Tom and Daisy are not divorced is because Tom still loves Daisy but he feels like Myrtle is more fun.

Tom even defends Daisy in a sort of strange manner when he tells Myrtle that she should not bring up Daisy. Of course, this ends with Tom breaking Myrtle's nose. This violent turn of events shows that Tom is very susceptible to giving into his emotions which would explain why he keeps a mistress as well. Nick makes the smart choice and follows the only sane person out of the room who is Mr. McKee. Mckee appears to ignore the whole situation with his suggestion of Nick joining them for lunch some time. I think this suggests that events like this are a common occurrence between Tom and Myrtle.

Gatsby Ch. 2 (Part I)

Apparently, Tom and Nick have become sort of acquaintances or friends now because they have gone into New York together in The Great Gatsby. What surprised me most so far in this story was Tom's eagerness to show Nick his mistress. It appears like Tom is not ashamed of showing her off to his wife's cousin but that he is almost proud. While reading Tom's conversation with Wilson, I am pretty sure that the whole situation of Tom's selling a car to Wilson is just a farce. Supporting my notion is Wilson's response: "'Works pretty slow, don't he (25)?'" I think Tom is just saying this so that he has an excuse to come into Wilson's shop and speak to Myrtle.

The progression of the day leads them to what I assume to be Tom and Myrtle's love nest. When the party arrives, another mention of Gatsby is made. The suggestion that he is a relative of Kaiser Wilhelm seems a little far-fetched, but I believe this adds to the legend of Gatsby. I get the feeling that as the story progresses the grandeur of Gatsby will eventually come down and the simple form of Gatsby will be revealed.

The Great Gatsby: Let's Begin! Ch. 1

The hardest part is the beginning. That's what I always tell myself when I start reading a book, but I found the beginning of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby to be a little more intriguing than expected. I liked what Nick Carraway's father told him as a child: "'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had (1).'" I found it a little ironic that this is in the opening sentences of the novel because Nick shortly after talks about how Gatsby stood for everything he had an unaffected scorn.

The conflicts that will develop throughout the novel become pretty evident in the first chapter. Tom and Daisy will have marriage problems due to Tom's affair with some female in New York, Nick and Jordan will become romantically involved (most likely), Nick will unravel the mystery that is Gatsby, and Nick will have trouble living down rumors of his failed engagement. However, I am sure this story is far less predictable than that. I am fairly interested in continuing the story to discover what happens next.