Frankenstein - ch. 24

Well this is a depressing end. Victor spends the last month or so of his life seeking revenge. Victor chases the  creature all over the place. The whole intent of Victor's pursuit was to defeat the creature. Victor even goes to the length of asking Walton to kill the creature if he is unable to. I am not sure if Victor's speech to Walton's men was to convince them to advance for his own sake or whether he just wanted to give them deep advice before he passes. The points he makes are valid and Walton even agrees that all he was thinking was continuing forward. A parallel is created between Walton and Victor when Walton feels guilty for the death of men in his crew because of his scientific desire to reach the pole. This is similar to how Victor felt guilty for the deaths of people from the creature he created during his scientific pursuit.

The creature's appearance at the end creates more sympathy for the creature. All the creature has seen in sadness and upon seeing his creator die, he has nothing left to live for although his intentions towards his creator were evil. The creature is similar to Victor as well. The creature agrees that he should be destroyed and his remains destroyed so that no one can know that he existed. The creature does not want another creature to be created to suffer just as he has.

Frankenstein - ch. 22-23

In my opinion, these two chapters are the most emotional chapters of the book. This is most of the reason why I am in favor of Victor throughout the story. When Elizabeth sent Victor the letter saying that she suspects he loves another woman, I admittedly almost cried. I have been this whole novel for this freaking wedding to happen, and now I am learning that it may not happen. One can only imagine my temporary displeasure. Then of course the honeymoon has an abrupt ending. This is one of the many times throughout the story where I thought that Victor seems to lack common sense. Did it never occur to him that he should at least have someone keeping an eye on Elizabeth or maybe he should have protected her? Why would he think that the creature was coming for him? Victor is an intelligent man, but he lacks the common sense that makes the readers think he is an idiot. There is another parallel between Victor and the creature later in this section. Victor also feels detached from humanity even though he is not met with violence like the creature is. However, he seeks aid from the magistrate to find the creature. Of course, the magistrate politely refuses, and Victor responds with the not so polite response, "'how ignorant art thou with thy pride of wisdom (149)!'" I mean who wouldn't respond by calling the magistrate an idiot?

Frankenstein - ch. 18-21

Now the readers finally get to hear what they have been wanting to hear the entire novel; Victor and Elizabeth are getting married. However, there is no joyous tone when reading this portion of the novel. Let's remember that Victor is telling the story and he has a melancholy tone because he knows of the tragedies ahead. Victor also knows that he has a terrible act to perform before he can rest. The construction of the creature's partner seems to be going well until the creature appears during the creation process. A whole number of thoughts run through Victor's head such as the creature's procreating. Just as any sane person would react upon thinking of the hideous creature reproducing, Victor destroys the creature's partner. This may be one of the last sane acts that Victor performs. The creature scares the pants off of Victor when he says, "'I will be with you on your wedding night (123).'"

Upon Victor's arrival to Ireland, he is met with rudeness. Initially, I thought that Shelley was just trying to the say that the Irish are a rude people, and I was slightly offended until I kept reading. This time, Victor is the one on trial following the second creation process. Even though he is exonerated, Victor is  still sickly and he is paranoid. I think there are parallels between Victor's mental and physical health. Whenever Victor goes through an immensely stressful situation, he becomes deathly ill.

Frankenstein - ch. 16-17

Following the creature's failed encounter with the DeLacey's the question is posed: is humanity the true monster? Humanity continually judges the creature based on his appearance. According to the creature, he claims that he was originally a creature of love and kindness. If the creature speaks the truth, then humanity is the real monster. Humanity even sees the creature's kindness, but immediately responds with disgust. For example, the creature saved the girl from drowning and the man's response is, "...he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired (101)." This man saw the creature's benevolent act and responded by shooting him. This scene evokes sympathy for the creature who has continually been rejected by humans. Another interesting part of the story is that the creature cannot seek medical treatment because humans are too scared of him. The creature is completely detached. These events cause readers to believe that the creature became evil because humanity only show him evil. However, there is the other side to the argument  Victor claims that the creature is inherently evil. If this is true, then the creature is most likely just using his power of persuasion to fabricate these stories to cause Victor to sympathize for him.

Frankenstein - ch.13-15

The creature continues his story in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. As Felix's lover arrives, the creature is given a fortunate circumstance to his situation. This is pretty much the only lucky thing that happens to the creature during his whole miserable life. The creature shows his intelligence through his superior advances in learning the french language faster than Safie. The creature's learning process is an important account of how the creature was able to become so articulate by the time he encountered Victor on the glacier. We also get an insight into the history of the DeLacey family. Although this seems insignificant it does help to detail that the family he is observing is a pure and caring family. This family is the creature's best hope to make friendly contact with humanity. Despite the creature's good hopes and the slightly successful initial encounter with the blind father, the creature is still rejected in a similar manner to how he had always been accepted. This shows that all of humanity has the same reaction to the creature because of his outwardly appearance. I still find it hard to believe that Felix is able to inflict damage on the creature. Shelley writes, "Felix darted forth with supernatural force and tore me from his father..." I mean come on I know the creature is not fighting back and all, but seriously the creature has got like super powers. I feel it should have been more like Felix ran into a brick wall and then the creature walked out casually.

Frankenstein - ch. 11-12

Now the creature begins telling his story. I find it interesting that the story begins with Walton telling this whole story to his story about Frankenstein telling his story to Walton now about the creature telling his story to Frankenstein. That is a frame story if I have ever seen one. The creature tells his story about his travels and how he scared everyone he ran into. The story that amused me the most was the one about the shepherd who upon seeing the creature, "ran across the fields with a speed of which his debilitated form hardly appeared capable." Then the story gets plain creepy. The creature observed every action of the family consisting of the blind father, Agatha, and Felix. As a sort of thanks for his observing them, the creature helps the family by bringing them fire wood or clearing a path of snow. The creature wants to learn to speak in order to communicate with the family. The creature is surprisingly intelligent and finds a way to vocalize some words. Obviously, the creature found some sort of way of learning to speak intelligently as shown in his conversation with Victor. The creature claims that he has a gentle demeanor and he planned to use this to win over the family. If the creature has a gentle demeanor, then why did he kill William?

Frankenstein - ch. 9-10

The death of Justine causes Victor to become remorseful because of his creation and all it has done. Upon seeing Victor depressed, Alphonse gives Victor advice, "...but is it not a duty to the survivors that we should refrain from augmenting their unhappiness by an appearance of immoderate grief?" Victor believes this advice was no good to him, but I believe it was. Alphonse tells Victor not to let this prevent him from experiencing joy. I believe the events have calloused Victor and made him incapable of experiencing joy. This is advice that is applicable to Victor, but he seems to have disregarded this, blinded by his hatred for his creation. Victor hardly sleeps, like he did during the creation process. He goes on a journey across the mountains and across a glacier. While on the glacier, Victor sees the creature in the distance. The only thing going through Victor's head is that he wants to kill the creature. Then the creature and Victor converse until the creature convinces Victor to follow him to his hut so that he can tell Victor his story. The creature can talk!? I did not really think about that at first.

Frankenstein - ch. 6-8

After the creation of the creature, Victor Frankenstein falls very ill from his physical exhaustion and emaciation. Victor finds his old friend Henry Clerval, who is now studying at Ingolstadt as well. Victor shows Henry his room and is relieved upon discovering the creature has left, which shows that Victor seriously disgusted the creature. Victor is ill and is confined to bed. Henry gives Victor a letter from Elizabeth, who's letter shows her concern for his well being. I found it interesting that his family becomes concerned for Victor  without their knowing of his illness right when Victor falls ill. Most likely due to Victor shock from the creation, he wants to return to Geneva to see his family. Before going back to Geneva, Victor learns that his youngest brother William has been murdered. I question how well Victor knew William because Victor has been gone for six years and William is not much older than that age. Regardless, anybody would be distraught upon receiving news of their brother's death. Victor travels to the site of William's murder and observes the creature in the distance. Victor says, "Nothing in human shape could have killed that fair child. He was the murderer!" I think this is an interesting scene because the word "he" is italicized to emphasize that the creature was the murderer; however, Victor later feels that he himself is the murderer because the creature was his creation. Victor also takes blame for Justine's hanging.

Frankenstein - ch. 1-5

Following the opening letters of Frankenstein, Victor begins to tell his unfortunate tale at great length. Victor starts with the story of his parents. His father was much older than his mother, who was the daughter of Victor's father's best friend. Caroline's father was a failed merchant who found himself struggling to survive. Caroline was occupied with caring for her dying father. Upon her father's death, Alphonse chooses to take Caroline as his wife. Victor continues about his childhood in Geneva saying, "No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself (19)." Caroline adopted a beautiful young girl named Elizabeth, whom Caroline seems to intend to become Victor's wife. Victor is protective of Elizabeth referring to her as "my Elizabeth." Victor's best friend was a boy named Henry Clerval, who was the son of a merchant. This point is interesting because Victor's father's best friend was a merchant.

Victor became absorbed in studying the hokus pokus studies made by Agrippa, Paraclesus, and Magnus. When Victor goes on to attend the university at Ingolstadt, two professors, M. Krempe and M. Waldman, explain how those author's have little merit. However, these studies give Victor a background in the supernatural. Victor goes on to succeed in college, and he eventually learns the secret to animating life. He gathers body parts from graves and butcher's to construct the gigantic, eight-foot frame. Upon bringing life to the creature, Victor is terrified. In his sleep, the creature comes to his bedroom where he seems to reach out to Victor like a baby would. Though the creature gets the hint that he is not wanted by his creator.

Frankenstein - opening letters

These letters that open the Mary Shelley's Frankenstein are written from a man named Robert Walton. The letters are written to Walton's sister named Margaret. Walton ends every letter telling Margaret how much he loves her, which shows the good relations he has with his sister. However, it appears Walton has trouble relating to others. He writes to his sister saying, "You may deem me a romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly feel the want of a friend (4)." The goal of Walton's journey is to reach the north pole and "discover the secret of the magnet." This lengthy journey seems to necessitate a friend through the perilous journey. Lucky for Walton (or possibly unlucky), the crew finds a man in the water, who's name is later revealed to be Victor Frankenstein. Victor and Walton immediately form a bond. They relate well to each other. The letters end with Victor agreeing to tell Walton the story of his misfortunes and how he was found in the arctic waters. Victor says he chose to tell Walton the story because he notices that they are both men who desire wisdom, and Victor does not want Walton to end up like he did. This is an example of the theme of duty during this story because Victor feels the duty to tell his story to Walton in order to prevent similar horrors from occurring.

APO 96225

The evident irony of APO 96225 develops the point of the horrors of war. I think Larry Rottman wrote this poem to tell readers that war is hell, and we should never have been in Vietnam or even any war for that matter. The title of this poem makes it sound like an alien abduction (since we're on the topic of alienation, i guess that came to mind), but this definitely is a poem of alienation. The son at war is alienated from the rest of society back home because he has seen and done far horrible things than people want to imagine. The son just writes to his mom some irrelevant topic which concerns his curious mother. After her pleadings, the son does tell his mother what is happening only to see his father write him back saying "don't say such things that upset your mother." At this point, the son knows his is completely separated from his family knowing that he cannot talk to them about what actually happens so he decides to go back to his original tactic of hiding his real actions. It is ironic that his mother would ask for the truth then complain about hearing it. Also, I found it interesting that the father was the one who wrote the son back not the mother because she was so distressed.

Much Madness is divinest Sense

Much Madness is divinest Sense, well honestly that title had me a little lost at first. However, Dickinson gets an important point across. Dickinson says that Madness is good sense and good sense is madness. Pretty much, Dickinson is saying being a hipster and be different. Dickinson writes,  "To a discerning Eye- Much Sense- the starkest Madness." Dickinson says that madness is appealing to the people that desire to learn. and understand.

In essence, Dickinson says that those who society deems as mad are the ones who are truly living. Madness is just a different way of thinking that provides effective modes to one's goal. However, society does not think so. People are dubbed as mad because they are different, and society just cannot deal with different people. In addition, Dickinson wants to make the point that good sense, or going with the flow, is madness because one who has "good sense" is a robot of life. These people with "good sense" do not question why things are done the  way they are and they just do it. Those who think differently are alienated and dubbed "mad."

I felt a funeral, in my Brain

The first line of the poem itself gives a clue to the poem being figurative. The line "I felt a funeral, in my brain" indicates that this funeral is not one of a person on earth. The reader can infer that the funeral has to do with the speaker when the speaker says, "and I dropped down, and down." This funeral of the speaker's brain most likely indicates some sort of developing madness in the speaker. The speaker is losing his or her mind. Throughout the poem, the speaker never sees anything. Most of the details come from other senses, mostly sound. This is another indicator that this is not a literal funeral because the speaker cannot hear anything if he is dead. I think I have developed a crazy theory myself: I believe that the speaker is creating this funeral because he is dead to his friends. The speaker may have lost his mind to the point where he does not appear to be the same person anymore. Because of this, his friends have chosen to ignore this mad person and preserve their memory of the speaker before he went mad.

Miss Brill

In Miss Brill, readers get to know the account of a delusional elderly woman who makes a routine of people watching every Sunday. It becomes clear that Miss Brill has been doing her Sunday routine when she notices that this is no ordinary Sunday since the band is playing more enthusiastically for the bigger than usual crowd. The music from the band seems to always match what is happening. At some points, the music softens for an emotional situation like the ermine toque's rejection, or the music disappears altogether when Miss Brill watches in suspense. Miss Brill is most likely delusional because she talks to her fur accessory  A defining example of Miss Brill's delusion is the last sentence that reads, "...and she swore she heard someone cry." Miss Brill does not even acknowledge her own crying since it had to have been Miss Brill who cried considering she was the only one in the room. Also, Miss Brill fails to recognize how she relates to the ermine toque. The ermine toque and Miss Brill are already related considering they wear the same sort of fur clothing. The ermine toque was rejected by a man similar to how Miss Brill was rejected by society when the young couple feels uncomfortable around her. Miss Brill is an English teacher in what appears to be a town in France. This detail further contributes to Miss Brill's alienation from society.

Bartleby the Scrivener

The story  of Bartleby the Scrivener is of a clash between the stubborn Bartleby and the passive Lawyer. This is not exactly a conflict though because the lawyer feels bad for Bartleby and the only problem is that Bartleby stops working and just lives in the office. At first, I thought Bartleby would be a symbol for the robotic worker who just does whatever his employer says, but then Bartleby said "I would prefer not." for the first of many times. The lawyer puts up with this for a surprisingly long time. The lawyer had some sort of a respect or showed concern for Bartleby. The lawyer makes many attempts to reach out to the alienated Bartleby; the lawyer even tries to help him financially. Eventually, Bartleby goes to prison. The lawyer still shows his care for Bartleby by suggesting that he gets the best food in prison, but Bartleby refuses to eat. When Bartleby finally dies, Melville creates sympathy for Bartleby. The lawyer reveals in the end that he discovered that Bartleby used to destroy letters that were intended for dead people. I can see how this would cause some psychological damage to a person leading to Bartleby's refusal to relate to any living person. I think the moral of the story is not to judge anyone until one knows that person's story.

Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night

The title itself of Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night shows a chief paradox of this poem. Thomas uses "good night" as a symbol for death. What is so good about dying? Other paradoxes appear such as "dark is right," "blinding sight," and"Curse, bless, me now." These paradoxes show the mixed message of the poem that still shows a truth to the poem. Although death is considered to be a bad thing, Thomas makes readers think that it may not be so bad by his calling it that good night. When an old man dies, it puts his soul to rest which is itself a good thing. However, it seems like the author wants one to die with a fight and some honor. The author is speaking to his dying father since Thomas writes, "And you, my father, there on the sad height.". He is saying although  death will bring comfort, his father should not give into the temptation of comfort and fight his own death with dignity. Thomas also compares the different kinds of men and their views on death. Wise men still fight their death because they have no proof of the benefits of death. Good men die with comfort knowing that they have affected others. Wild men are regretful at death of their reckless behavior.Grave men have expected it and are indifferent to death.

That Time of Year

The title, That Time of Year, feeds into the first metaphor of the poem of autumn. It is fairly certain that Shakespeare is talking about autumn when he writes, "When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang." However, the poem is not very light-hearted like some poems about fall. Shakespeare says "Bare ruined choirs" which implies some sort of a negative connotation to fall. The theme of death is not explicitly stated until the middle of the poem when Shakespeare directly says death. Shakespeare also compares death to twilight. The poem talks of the dark night taking over the dying autumn day. Additionally, Shakespeare compares death to a fire. The fire is killed by its own ashes that it produces. Shakespeare describes the ashes as the fire's youth. The fire is like a person's life. It burns bright in its youth with great energy. The fire is not capable of maintaining this energy forever, and is eventually put out by all the ashes it produced. This like how a person's life loses its energy and brightness slowly until they die (yeah that's kind of dark, I know). However, the poem ends  on a sort of good note when Shakespeare says that someone's love will live on much stronger than that person's life.

Crossing the Bar

Throughout Crossing the Bar, Alfred, Lord Tennyson uses many sea metaphors to talk about death. I assume the bar discussed in the poem is a sandbar. This sandbar symbolizes a division between two sides: the area of the bay and the expanse of the ocean. Crossing the sandbar is crossing over to another side like how the saying crossing to the other side is way of saying someone died. The unknown, uncharted expanse of the ocean symbolizes heaven which is unknown to living people. Alfred, Lord Tennyson writes, "And may there be no moaning of the bar." Alfred, Lord Tennyson is saying that he wants a peaceful death with no complaints. Later, Tennyson goes on to say that there should be no sadness when he leaves. This is a little more obvious since Tennyson does not want people to be upset when he dies. Tennyson even continues the sea metaphors when he talks about God by calling him "Pilot." The word Pilot is capitalized to show that he means God because we capitalize God.

The Lottery - foreshadowing

I think it is safe to say that The Lottery had a surprising ending. I got the feeling that the lottery was not a good thing when it says that the men smiled rather than laughed, but I did not know what was bad about it. I thought about the theme of this unit being death, but I thought  that surely they would not kill someone simply because they had an unlucky drawing. I was wrong. However, foreshadowing of the stoning is present in the story. At the beginning, the boys are collecting stones and protecting them from others, and these piles of stones are mentioned again saying that the men stood away from the piles. Old man Warner is adamant about keeping the lottery because he believe it will take them back to prehistoric times if they get rid of it. This is a little ironic because it is barbaric to kill someone like this. Old man Warner says, "Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.'" The true meaning of this saying is unknown to me. I believe there is a symbolic meaning to this saying. Maybe it means that the lottery was used as a pre-harvest ceremony. In any instance, the lottery was a big event that just became a tradition with little meaning to the current citizens.

A Rose for Emily - Point of View

The events of A Rose for Emily are a little hard to piece together because everything happens out of chronological order. This is probably due to the fact that the story is told in first person plural point of view. This point of view creates the effect that the story is told by the entire town. The events of the story happens in the order of the sporadic thoughts of the townspeople as the think of Miss Emily. From what I understand, Miss Emily has a family history of some sort of mental illness (old lady Wyatt). Miss Emily probably has some sort of mental illness as well because she denied her father even died, and she withdrew to her house when Homer disappeared. Additionally, Miss Emily most likely killed Homer with the arsenic then kept his dead body in her house in a locked room with the embroidered silverware and suit she bought for him. The room is described as: "A thin, acrid pall as of the tomb seemed to lie everywhere upon this room decked and furnished as for a bridal..." The word tomb gives away that there is a dead body in the room. One of the questions at the end says that Faulkner said that A Rose for Emily was a kind of "ghost story." This substantiated a thought I already had going. In the last sentence it says that they found an iron-gray hair on the pillow. The story says that her hair did not start turning that iron-gray color until sometime after Homer disappeared, and it says that the room where they found the body had not been opened in forty years. This makes me wonder: how could Miss Emily's iron-gray hair have gotten there if the room had not been opened in forty years and her hair was not the iron-gray color at the time she killed him?

The Glass Menagerie the end

I have rather mixed emotions about the ending of The Glass Menagerie. 

In the first half of scene seven, Laura and Jim converse pretty easily, just like how it was pretty easy to read this part of the scene. I am surprised Laura is able to step out of her own little world. Then Jim says the perfect thing that disrupts the secluded world of the apartment: "And everybody has problems, not just you, but practically everybody has got some problems. You think of yourself as having the only problems..." Jim spends a majority of his time giving Laura a little pep talk. Amazingly, he seems to be making rapid progress with her. He even gets her to dance. One quick thought I had was whether or not this story is actually Tom's memory. How would Tom have any memory of Laura and Jim's conversation when he was not present? This makes me wonder whether this play may actually be Laura's memory since Laura is present in every scene although she is not a part of every dialogue. This is also a sense of mystery behind what Tom does throughout the story. Maybe, Laura's memory is just being narrated by Tom because he left for the realistic world.

I would have been happy if the play just ended with Laura and Jim kissing. But no, I guess that is too happy of an ending. Williams just had to make everything sad happen all at once. Jim is engaged and Tom abandons his  family to have his adventure. I am glad Tom is at least haunted by his memories of Laura. That's what he deserves. To add to my idea of the play being Laura's memory, the last thing we see of the play is Laura's blowing out the candles.

The Glass Menagerie scene 6 - dramatic irony

Scene six of The Glass Menagerie begins the second part of the play when the gentleman caller arrives. Oh the illusions continue! Amanda makes Laura wear "gay deceivers" because her chest is flat. Amanda just wants to create this illusion of Laura. Dramatic irony is created when Laura learns the gentleman caller's name. Tom had said before the scene started that he went to high school with Jim, and Laura asks Amanda whether Tom went to school with Jim. This is dramatic irony because the reader knows that this is the same Jim, but Amanda and Laura are unsure. Being the reclusive girl that Laura is, she refuses to go to dinner in fear of her world of illusion clashing with the realistic world. Jim immediately brings a realistic feel to the play. Jim dreams of becoming an executive and studying radio engineering. Jim wants to be successful like most everybody else. However, Tom dreams of leaving his family like their father did saying, "I'm like my father. The bastard son of a bastard!" Pardon my french, well actually Williams' french. I'm pretty sure no one dreams of becoming the bastard son of a bastard, so I think its fair to say Tom's dream is unrealistic.

The Glass Menagerie scene 5

During scene five of The Glass Menagerie,  the illusion of the play is made evident. Amanda's illusion of Laura is reinforced when Amanda yells at Tom, "Don't say crippled! You know that I never allow that word to be used!" Amanda clearly does not know her daughter's actual situation. I feel like if Laura had to wear a brace that Amanda may need to accept that Laura is at least a little crippled. Amanda even has illusions of Tom. She continues to say that she doesn't believe that Tom goes to the movies every night. Aside from getting drunk, Tom probably goes to the movies too since there is a part where Tom stumbles to get his key out and a bunch of movie ticket stubs fall out. Aside from illusions, when Tom loses his key, Tom loses his connection to the his mother and sister. As the story progresses from that moment, Tom becomes increasingly restless. Surprisingly, Amanda has no illusions of Tom's planning to leave them behind. To my disappointment, Tom follows through on that plan, but let's get back to illusions. Laura lives in her own world of illusion with her glass ornaments. Laura just withdraws to her glass menagerie when she fails to fit into the real world.

The Glass Menagerie scenes 3 and 4 - soliloquy

The middle portion of part 1 of The Glass Menagerie contains a soliloquy in which Tom speaks from the fire-escape landing. Tom's speaking from the fire escape creates this feel that Tom is, in a sense, detached from the what is occurring in the play. This soliloquy verifies that the play is of Tom's memory. However, the character of Tom as the narrator is different from the character of Tom in the play. The narrator Tom seems  more calm and slightly removed from what is occurring. For example, Tom says during the soliloquy: "Mother was a woman of action as well as words. She began to take logical steps in the planned direction." In contrast, the character Tom cannot stand his mother, and anytime Amanda scathingly criticizes him Tom heads for the fire escape which acts as his escape in more than one sense throughout the story. At some times, the fire escape is where Tom goes for a smoke in order to relieve himself of Amanda's worrying. It seems that most nights the fire escape also acts as his escape to the outside world where he can go to the movies. Strangely, he escapes from this illusionary world of the apartment to the fantasy of movies which are a part of the external realistic world of the story (just a weird thought I had).

The Glass Menagerie scenes 1 and 2 - Foreshadowing

In the introduction to Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, the author gives an insight into each of the characters. Williams reveals that Amanda's live is paranoia...boy is that true(!) but more on that later. I found it interesting that Williams described the other characters in relation to Amanda even though Tom narrates the story. Perhaps, this suggests that the story is truly about Amanda and not Tom. In the opening of the play, it is fairly evident that Amanda puts plenty of pressure on her children. For example, Tom feels the need to escape for a smoke frequently. Also, Laura was pressured to go to business college which obviously did not work out very well. I am going to be completely honest: before I read the play, I thought Laura's crippled leg was rather severe, so when a stage direction said, "She flounces girlishly toward the kitchenette" I was fairly confused. Once I overcame my initial impression of her handicap, the rest of the play had much less confusion. Although I have read further into the play, I did make an initial note of potential foreshadowing in scene two. When Amanda asked if Laura ever liked a boy, I thought that Laura's response of the boy that called her Blue Roses could be a potential gentleman caller. To my enjoyment, I was correct, well sorta, that this man was a caller for Laura.

The Joy of Cooking

Elaine Magarrel is another author who does not have much of an affinity towards her family in her poem The Joy of Cooking. Magarrel must find some pleasure in thinking of cooking her siblings least desirable features. Her sister must be quite a loquacious person if she would want to cook her tongue. Magarrel must have had it with her sister's talking; otherwise, she would not be thinking of cooking her tongue. Magarrel writes, "and economical-it probably will grow back." I believe this statement is saying any time she can get her sister to stop talking, she finds a way to say something. Even more strange than cooking a tongue, Magarrel wants to cook her brother's heart. This is most likely because her brother is not a very loving person. She describes her brother's heart as dry and small because it can barely feed anyone. She also says that his heart should be served with sour sauce, suggesting he is a rather ill-humored person. Nonetheless, I get the sense that she and her siblings do not get along. If one think of cooking parts of his siblings, that might be a dysfunctional family.

Edward

I am sure glad that the author of Edward is listed as anonymous because this guy sure is troubled. My main point to this would be: "The curse of hell from me shall ye bear (978)." I would like to know what led this man to hate his family. Edward killed his father, leaves nothing for his wife and children, and curses his mother to hell. Edward must have had a troubled childhood. I found it interesting that Edward says he killed his hawk and then his steed before admitting to killing his father. The hawk and steed could be symbolic for his father because his father must have provided for him like a hunting hawk, and his father must have worked hard like a horse for his son. Apparently, Edward still did not appreciate his father, and he had some reason to kill his father. Edward must be from a very high class because he owns "towers and halls." He must not enjoy his lifestyle very much because he has no remorse after killing his father. However, the author gives the feeling that Edward gives his mother the worse punishment of cursing her to hell because he wants her to suffer longer. I would guess that Edward hated his mother more than his father.

The Drunkard - antihero

Oh how I am excited about O'Connor's The Drunkard.  I feel almost as if I have a twisted sense of humor for thinking a drunk nine year-old boy is funny. I am sure that the whole opening of Mr. Dooley is significant, but the only significance I can think of is that Mr. Dooley made an impression on Larry, just as Dooley's funeral made an impression on Larry. The quite sneaky Larry steals a drink of beer from Mick creating a ruckus in the bar and inebriating Larry. Although not so significant to the story, my favorite line was: "The intention was good but the performance was exaggerated, because I lurched right into the wall, hurting it badly, as it seemed to me. Being always very polite, I said 'Pardon' before the second bout came on me (348)." It was rather difficult to contain my laughter in the quiet classroom when I read this with my favorite part being how he apologizes to the wall. More importantly, this leads to Mick taking Larry home which prevents Mick from becoming inebriated. I also enjoyed Larry's cursing the women on the street. I believe Larry is in fact an antihero. Larry's mother practically thanks Larry for stealing his father's drink because it prevented him from getting drunk. This shows that the nine year-old boy, who should have just been a bystander to his father's drunkenness, accidentally becomes a hero to his mother for helping out his father. I enjoyed this story because it was humorous all the while it had an interesting ending.

A Worn Path - vernacular

Welty tells tells the story of a venturing woman named Phoenix Jackson in A Worn Path. Phoenix makes the journey to get medicine for her sick, dying, or dead grandson. Phoenix's love for her grandson becomes noticeable as the length of the journey is revealed by the position of the sun throughout her journey. Phoenix set out at sunrise, was halfway at noon, and arrived near sunset. Welty creates an effect by characterizing Phoenix as a less educated woman with Phoenix's vernacular. Phoenix speaks phrases such as "he not get his breath." Phoenix's dialect, or vernacular, helps the reader learn of Phoenix's isolated background. However, I believe Phoenix may be senile. The first sign of this can be found  in Welty's writing, "...a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it...But when she went to take it there was just her hand in the air (224)." Additionally, when Phoenix arrives in town, she stares off into space because she cannot remember why she even came there in the first place. Phoenix's questionable memory brings to question whether her grandson is even still alive. Honestly, my original theory was a little crazy compared to most people's. I thought what if Phoenix is dying and in her evanescent moments she begins to dream of her dead grandson who she had trekked days to get medicine for since this was most likely one of her moments that she was proud to think about. As expected, this theory does not hold much water, and one of the questions at the end says that Welty answered a student saying that Phoenix is alive. After reading this, I believe Phoenix just makes this trip as a show of love her grandson regardless of whether he is alive or not.

Once Upon a Time - irony

The narrator of  Nadine Gordimer's Once Upon a Time begins with: "...I don't accept that I 'ought' to write anything (231)." The narrator sure does prove this point with her twisted children's story that she tells to herself. The narrator tells the story of the ideal family: successful, relaxed, normal, and one innocent child. However, the parents are paranoid from what the husband's mother, a wise witch, warned them not to take anyone off the street. Driven by this paranoia, the couple takes every measure to prevent the outside world from getting onto their property. They never felt satisfied with their measures. They installed a security system, built a higher wall, and installed a sort of barbed wire on top of their wall. The couple took all of these precautions to protect their child, but their is a sense of irony in the end. The boy climbs the wall, motivated by one of the witch's stories, and gets stuck in the wire. The parents took all of these measures to protect their son, but ironically these precautions end up causing harm  to their son. This story is in fact not supposed to be meant for children. Readers can tell this from the elevated diction such as implored or importuned. Also, the story does not relate to children. Children would be unable to find much a message to them besides not to climb into barbed wire. However, the message is more directed towards adults who feel unsafe. The message could be not to take excessive precautions for a nonexistent threat as the narrator thought of doing.

A Raisin in the Sun - pressure

In the thick of the play A Raisin in the Sun, Mama buys the house with the insurance money. No one expected this to come so abruptly which made it a surprise to every character. Mama explains her decision by saying, "Son--you---you understand what I done, don't you? I--I just seen my family falling apart today...We couldn't of gone on like we was today...When it gets like that in life--you just got to do something different, push on out and do something bigger...(94)." The events that unfolded that day pushed Mama to do this drastic action. Mama felt that she needed something to bring her family back together, what better than a house? Although at the time this did not immediately bring the family together, the Youngers feel like a united family by the final scene. Mama made the right the decision buying the house. This became a driving force of the plot later when the white people of Clybourne Park are upset. This situation finally gets Walter to honor his father's death now that he no longer possesses the money from his father's death. This lead Walter to realize that there was much more to his father's legacy than the money. Mama gets Walter to finally realize this once the money is gone.

A Raisin in the Sun - dynamic character

Throughout the course of A Raisin in the Sun, Walter's character changes dramatically, making him a dynamic character. In the beginning of the play, Walter fights to have his vision of a successful liquor business appreciated. When Walter first discovers Ruth's pregnancy, Walter is a cowardly man. Mama wants to see her son be an honorable man in her urging: " I you a soon of mine, tell her! (Walter picks up his keys and his coat and walks out. She continues, bitterly) You...you are a disgrace to your father's memory. Somebody get me my hat (75)!" Walter has a cowardly response in his turning to alcohol. Walter is at his lowest when he loses all the money to Willy Harris. Walter is disgraced that he lost the insurance money from his father's death. However, this situation forces Walter finally to do something honorable. In the closing scene, everyone expects Walter to stick to his foolish personality and accept the offer from Linder for the house. Surprisingly, Walter finally decides to be a man, and Walter tells Linder that they have every intention of moving into that house no matter their response. This becomes the first time during the entire play that Mama is proud of Walter's actions. Even Ruth, who Walter had pushed away for the majority of the play, giddily celebrates Walter's new-found manhood which completed the dramatic change of the dynamic character of Walter.

A Raisin in the Sun - generation gap

A generation gap definitely exists between the Youngers of A Raisin in the Sun. Mama does not understand what is important to her children, but she loves them all the same. However, this does frustrate Mama as is shown through Hansberry's characterization of Mama. When Walter tries to convince Mama of his plan again and says everything is about money, Mama responds in her stoic way, "(Quietly) Oh--(Very quietly) So now it's life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life--now it's money. I guess the world really do change...(74)." Mama's response such as these throughout the story are what made me love Mama's character. This quote characterizes Mama because it shows that her values are based in her childhood which was much different from Walter's and Beneatha's. Mama's childhood involved escaping the lynchings of the south. Her children takes this for granted because they have always had it which is why Walter believes money is life since he believes that is what he needs in his life now. Additionally, Mama does not understand Beneatha either. Beneatha searches for what expresses her such as guitar or horse back riding. Mama does not understand Beneatha's intellectual way of thinking, so this does not make sense to Mama. At the end of the novel, Mama accepts her children's thinking when she mocks Beneatha by saying her plant expresses her. This is just another example of one of Mama's responses that just made me love her.

A Raisin in the Sun - trapped character

For most of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter feels like he is trapped. Hansberry makes this clear even in the first scene when Walter says, "Nobody in this house is ever going to understand me (38)." The impression is made that Walter struggles with alcoholism. Anytime Walter feels trapped, he escapes to the Green Hat to become inebriated. When Walter discovers that Ruth is pregnant, Walter feels especially trapped. At this point in the novel, Mama upsets Walter by not considering his "business". To add on to this, he just discovered his wife wants to get an abortion, something he never would have though she would do. Walter just feels trapped in a difficult situation, so he turns to the easy solution of alcohol. Now enjoy this scene from the movie with P. Diddy just because!

This is one of the most emotional scene's of the play. The family is ten thousand dollars richer and they are all less happy. This check is a symbol to Walter. It is a symbol of a way out of his situation. Walter is so desperate to escape his trapped feeling that he eventually loses the money to Willy Harris.

A Raisin in the Sun - two contrasting characters

In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Mama's two children, Walter and Beneatha, constantly argue with one another because they are siblings but also because they are two contrasting characters. One could also call Walter and Beneatha foil characters. Walter is an idealist; Walter dreams into a fantastical future full of money and his idea of happiness. On the other hand, Beneatha is a realist. At one point, Beneatha says to Mama, "I mean it! I'm just tired of hearing about God all the time. What has He got to do with anything? Does he pay tuition (50)?" Beneatha sees things based on what she can observe like a scientist or doctor. Beneatha also has a great intellect. The exact opposite of this would be Walter's character. Walter lacks Beneatha's intellect. This becomes quite apparent at the end of the play when Walter gives the money to Willy Harris who ends up making a run for it. Beneatha said it the best when she said that not even Travis would have trusted Willy Harris with the money. Walter was simply blinded by his idealistic future which made the promise of Willy Harris's business seem like a perfect situation for him. Walter's inability to see through the scheme seemed not to come as a surprise to Beneatha because of her realistic point of view. Beneatha was realistic enough to expect this out of Walter although this did not stop her from becoming upset about the situation.

"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.

Mirth Book 2 Parts XI and XII

So, as the Real Housewives of the 1890's draws to a close (oh, sorry I mean The House of  Mirth), Lily Bart is falling apart all the while maintaining her composure until her visit with Selden. Rosedale is appalled to see Lily live like she is in his saying, "'The idea of your having to work - it's preposterous (242).'" For a girl who always had a plan, Lily seems like she has no idea what she is going to do. Lily's life is the exact opposite of what she planned it to be. However, it appears that her character and morals have changed. As opposed to the beginning of the novel when Lily wrecklessly played bridge and borrowed money, she now denies a loan from Rosedale because she has learned she is incapable of managing her debts. Also, her priority has become repaying her debt to Trenor.

I still hold to my theory that the story will end with Lily's death, especially now after her visit with Selden. Lily has essentially settled her situation with Selden. By burning the letters, Lily let go of everything she held against Selden. This supports my thinking that she will die because now she can die at the end of the novel and the readers will not feel completely terrible because she never apologized to Selden. I find it interesting that the first book was about Lily's rise to popularity; now, the second book is about her fall from popularity and to what I believe will ultimately be her death.

The House of Mirth: The End!

Well, I am glad I finally finished Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth. With the closing chapters of the story, I realized that Lily Bart is a tragic character. Haunted every night by her desire for a wealthy life and all her problems produced by her pursuits, Lily's death came from this tragic flaw of not being satisfied because it led to her excessive use of chloral (I totally called it). Additionally, her death is all the more tragic because on the night of her death she had finally accepted that all that she needed to be happy was love. To make it all the more sad, both Lily and Selden wanted to see the other in the morning.

In the final paragraphs, I believe that Selden is at peace with Lily's death. He has a profound thought, "He saw that all the conditions of life had conspired to keep them apart...(267)." He looks at the positive in that he had loved her, and at least that was good. I do not think he regrets much, except for his fleeing from her after that night at Bellomont. At least Selden had been bold in professing his love to a woman who he knew had never thought of marrying him beforehand. It is interesting to think of how Lily never got what she wanted until she died.

Mirth Book 2 Parts IX and X

Lily Bart from The House of Mirth is becoming much more troubled now that she has stooped to the working class. The relationship between herself and Selden is oddly hostile, and for some reason Selden acts like he never left her alone when he took off for Europe. Plus, Lily acts affectionately with Rosedale. This has become a complete flip from the beginning of the story where Lily would've much rather been with Selden than Rosedale. Lily's character has definitely changed. Physically, she appears to be the same because even at this point in the story Rosedale admires her beauty: " ...Rosedale was seized afresh by the poignant surprise of her beauty (235)." However, Lily is emotionally distressed with her situation of going from a life of luxury to the life of a peasant. 

I think I know how this novel will end. Lily's conversation with the chemist I think is hinting at how the novel will end with Lily overdosing on the sleep medication and dying. I am still unsure whether it will be because she is so troubled about her situation, or it happens as an accident due to her sleeping difficulties. Nonetheless, I would rather just get to the end of this book.

Mirth Book 2 Parts VII and VIII

I guess nothing every goes according to plan for Lily. When she thinks the only solution to her situation is to marry Rosedale, it turns out Rosedale does not want to marry her anymore because of her reputation. Despite the essential cruelty of his response, I am actually starting to like Rosedale. He has a very interesting talent for using his knowledge, and I thought it was a very interesting for him to suggest using the letters against Bertha. However, I do know that Rosedale will not help Lily with something unless he knew there was some sort of profit in it for him. Even though Lily dismissed Rosedale's idea, I think these letters will come into play before this story ends.

Now, there's the other problem, Selden. Gerty encourages him to pursue Lily again which of course intrigues me because I am guessing Gerty is no longer jealous of Lily. Gerty said to Selden, "'...it seems to me that if someone could reach out a hand and show her the other side-show her how much is left in life and in herself-(219).'" I thought there might still be some hope for Lily and Selden, but I guess not after Selden stormed home after discovering Lily moved. I do not know what that was all about. I honestly have no clue as to how this story will end, but I do believe that Lily is starting to let go of her ideals of a wealthy husband.

Mirth Book 2 Parts V and VI

With Grace's cold response at the end of part IV in The House of Mirth, we realize that it was her intention all along to earn Mrs. Peniston's favor over Lily. With her social life in trouble and her financial situation just as dire after being snubbed by Grace, Lily is in as much of a difficult situation as ever. Mrs. Fisher's kindness to Lily in helping her get her social life back shows that not all of her friends were influenced by Bertha Dorset's cold "sacrifice" of Lily. Mrs. Fisher intends to help rebuild Lily's social life as Wharton writes, "'To keep you out of their sight till they realise how much they miss you (191).'"

Fisher's interest in Lily leads to planting of the seed in Lily's mind about marrying Dorset or Rosedale. For some reason, Lily favors Rosedale. I do not understand this at all. I thought she liked Dorset's personality and he has money too, doesn't he? Plus, Dorset is crazy about Lily (well from what what I've read, it appears every man is crazy about Lily). Besides, Rosedale just comes off as repulsive. It appears Lily is adamant on marrying Rosedale despite every reason not to. I just hope I am not reading a 268 page book to find out that this woman chose money over love because that's just sad.

Mirth Book 2 Parts III and IV

Since the start of Book 2 in The House of Mirth, Selden has shown a much more indifferent feeling toward Lily. For example, Selden worries for her as a friend and not a possible lover such as when Wharton writes: "There was nothing specific in this apprehension; he merely wished to spare her the embarrassment of being ever so remotely connected with the public washing of the Dorset linen (169)." I do not understand Selden's reasons for this change in attitude toward  Lily. However, this seems to have repaired Gerty's friendship with Lily.

Can I say that I definitely called Mrs. Peniston dying? I was wrong about Lily's inheritance though. It seems that yet another quarrel has arisen between Lily and Grace Stepney. I think that Grace will become the new antagonist until Lily finds herself in another problem while resolving her current ones. Lily's obsession with money seems to lead her to an endless amount of problems. Yet, Lily can only attribute her obsession to her upbringing. Hopefully, this novel ends with her realization that her life is not about becoming wealthy so that she can finally marry for love which will hopefully be the often mistreated Selden.

The House of Mirth Book 2 Parts I and II

To France we go! Edith Wharton takes book 2 of The House of Mirth to the French Riviera. I seriously feel like Lily just can't find a way to stay out of trouble. This vacation to the Mediterranean seemed like a good way to take a step back from her problems, but now she's got another problem. It seems that Bertha Dorset will be the antagonist in the second half of this story. Bertha is crafty; I'll give her that. She diverts the attention away from her affair with Silverton to a bogus affair between Lily and George Dorset. I think Bertha is torn between keeping Lily on the boat and kicking her off because Lily serves her a great use by distracting George, who I think is actually falling in love with Lily, but Lily also is getting along better with the nobility such as Lord Hubert and the Duchess which makes Bertha jealous.

George desires a divorce, and he wants to bring Selden in to help him legalize it, "'Why not Selden? He's a lawyer, isn't he? One will do as well as anoother in a case like this (164).'" At this point, I am glad Selden will come back into the story because his character is more relatable than the others. Hopefully, Selden's reappearance will help solve some of Lily's problems and they will all live happily ever after...maybe.

Mirth Book 1 Part XV

As book 1 draws to a close in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, Lily is in a world of problems. She believes the only solution is to repay her debt to Trenor. At least so far in this story, this is a good sign that Lily still has some dignity, but she still did not have the foresight to think that this was inevitable. Mrs. Peniston refuses to help out Lily, Gerty despises Lily although she still helped her, and Selden took off to Havana. Lily is pretty much on her own to resolve this problem. Mrs. Peniston seems like she is not in the best state of health. She complains of her nerves, and she went to bed early one night because she was not feeling well, "Lily remained at home, lunching and dining alone with her aunt, who complained of flutterings of the heart...(145)." I am thinking something is seriously going on with her health. In a sad circumstance, Mrs. Peniston may pass away later in the novel and Lily's financial problems are resolved so that she can live happily with Selden, or there is a twist of irony in the end where Lily marries someone wealthy like Mr. Rosedale, but she becomes wealthy anyways with Peniston's death. Mr. Rosedale is a sneaky man who has played his cards right with coming to Lily at the apex of her vulnerability. Rosedale said all the right things to get in her head and make her seriously consider marrying him, but let's hope not.

Mirth Book 1 Parts XIII and XIV

Now, things are getting interesting in The House of Mirth. I am going to be completely honest, this is the only part of the book so far that I have legitimately wanted to know what would happen next. Lily's problem with Gus Trenor is getting more extreme. I hope it does not get much more extreme though because....well that could lead to rape, and no one wants to read about that.

Selden's feelings for Lily are finally starting to be shown to others. When Gerty discovers this, she becomes very jealous of Lily for some reason. Wharton writes, "But on her bed sleep would not come, and she lay face to face with the fact that she hated Lily Bart (132)." Is Gerty seriously in love with Selden?

I sure hope not since their cousins. I am hoping this is some sort of jealousy because Gerty feels like she will not see Selden as often. I am sure something complicated happens once Lily and Selden have their meeting the next day.

Mirth Book 1 Parts XI and XII

As the stock market gets complicated, so does the story of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth. People are critical of Lily's relationship with Gus Trenor which makes sense because everybody knows of Lily's search for a wealthy husband which makes this look like a scandal waiting to happen. Mrs. Peniston did not take it very well that her niece would be flirting with a married man. Also, Grace Stepney got her chance to make Lily look bad: "...hatred over Lily prevailed over more personal considerations (101)." Mrs. Peniston seems like a nervous wreck right now, so I am not sure if something bad will happen to her or not because she just seems like a character that something bad will happen to.

For some reason, Lily can't seem to stay out of trouble. I do not know what she was expecting to accomplish with her visit to Bellomont. Gus Trenor is grumpy with her, and of course there is her situation with Selden. Their meeting in the garden reveals that Selden is still in love with her which of course complicates things. In the words of the great Jay-Z, she's got 99 problems.

Mirth Book 1 Parts IX and X

Here, we find ourselves nearly a hundred pages into Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, and Lily Bart's "problems" are just beginning. I find it odd that Lily looks down upon maids when Lily does not have much more than they do. The only difference between Lily and the maids is that Lily has rich friends and they do not. I am going to be honest, I have no clue as to why Lily even got those letters from Mrs. Haffen only not to read them.  I seriously want to know what those letters say because it might help me understand whatever is going on with Selden and Evie van Osburgh. Oh, and if getting black mailed by a poor woman wasn't enough, how about getting black mailed by a fat, rich man who is your best friend's husband? Yes, I think that would be pretty bad.

Now, Trenor is upset with Lily because he knows she pretty much took advantage of him. Trenor would love the company of a beautiful woman (who wouldn't?), so he pressures Lily into visiting him: "I'll be there sharp, remember, you won't go back on me, Lily---(96)?" My guess is something bad happens at this visit probably because Lily will not show up. Lily better get her act together, that's all I have to say.

Mirth Book 1 Parts VII and VIII

I'm not finding much mirth as I continue reading The House of Mirth. I am honestly confused by the character of Percy Gryce that Edith Wharton is developing. He pretty much ran away from Bellomont afraid of Lily's personality, yet at the end of Part VIII we find out that he is getting married to Evie Van Osburgh. This seems like a very bold move for a man who is supposed to be shy and reclusive. I feel like I should probably read more before I say much more because there is most likely some good explanation that I am lacking the insight to see.

However, Lily seems like she's digging herself into another hole. With her new friendship with Mr. Trenor, Lily has acquired a new method of income with Trenor's experience in the stock market. Of course, Trenor wants some sort of repayment; now, Lily finds herself trying to please Trenor's personal interest of gaining favor with Mr. Rosedale. Yet again, Lily and Selden are torn apart. Clearly, there is some cosmic force at work here trying not to let them be together, or not. Well at least it is clear that Lily likes Selden except for his lack of money, and Selden is crazy about Lily. That's at least something to smile about.

Mirth Book 1 Parts V and VI

Continuing on in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, we see Lily is attempting to make her strategic move on Percy Gryce. Lily is really going out of her way to impress Gryce. She does things out of her nature such as giving up smoking or waking up early to prepare for Sunday Church service. In an event possibly due to fate, Lily misses the omnibus to Church and she begins to walk. She rests under a tree and Selden catches up with her. This meeting is more of like a prologue to their meeting later that day in which Selden expresses his reason for being at Bellomont. Additionally, Lily even admits she has an interest in Selden, but Selden lacks the wealth she desires of her husband, yet Lily even admits to the possibility, "'I shall look hideous in dowdy clothes; but i can trim my own hats'" (59).

Now that we know for certain that Lily likes Selden, the problem becomes who she will choose. In part V, the word mirth appears which of course I naturally decided to look up the definition. Meaning jollity accompanied by laughter, the title The House of Mirth may help us figure out what happens. Considering Gryce does not seem like he is full of much mirth, I think Lily spends most of her time with Selden and seriously considers marrying Selden.

Mirth Book 1 Parts III and IV

As the story of The House of Mirth and the party at Bellomont progressed, I started to get an insight into Lily's background and motives. Lily is well aware of how a dull a person Percy Gryce can be, yet she still has a serious interest in him because of his wealth. Such interest is shown when Wharton writes, "...but she could not ignore him on the morrow, she must follow up her success, must submit to more boredom (19)." Similar to how Lily's mother only saw her husband as someone to provide money for her and Lily, Lily is only interested in Gryce because he could easily supply money for Lily to live her ideal lifestyle.

At the party, Lily became absorbed in a game of bridge in which she lost a sizable amount of money. This simply happened because of Lily's obsession with wealth and money which led to her fascinating at the idea of gaining more by winning a game. Speaking of games, the word "calculations" has appeared several times already in the story. The use of this word makes it seem to me like Lily sees her situation as a sort of like a game. She thinks all she needs to do is to properly calculate the correct solution to her predicament. However, I feel like her method may change with the reappearance of Selden in the story. I think truly that Lily could fall in love with Selden. Eventually, Lily will have to choose between Selden and love or Gryce and money.

The House of Mirth Book 1 Parts I and II

In the opening scenes of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, I noticed the character of Ms. Lily Bart is quickly revealed and the problem is made evident. Lily Bart seems to have created her own problem in her head about how she needs a wealthy husband despite her lack of wealth. Although I understand that in this early twentieth century society a woman is expected to marry and be supported by her husband, Selden discusses his cousin who is a woman that lives independently in a flat, albeit in non-ideal conditions. Lily is in fact an intelligent woman though, and she is very observant. For example, her observation of Mr. Percy Gryce: "Something in his attitude of conscious absorption told her that he was aware of her presence: no one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper! She guessed that he was too shy to come up to her..."   (Wharton 13). Lily utilizes her skill of observation to put herself in a situation with Mr. Gryce to begin an encounter. Lily even uses her intelligence in using the knowledge of Americana that she had recently learned from Selden. Lily's desire for a wealthy husband becomes even more evident with her encounter with Gryce. Mr. Percy Gryce is a shy, dull man with nothing interesting about him except for his book collection and his money. Lily even admits that Gryce lacks imagination. In the closing sentences of part II, Lily tells a woman that she does not smoke. This is probably done in an attempt to please Mr. Gryce whom she had observed did not smoke.