IUPENGL121-HolidayCassandra

Ellison (again)

2005-04-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Issues of identity, group membership and ethnic ties are obviously still current in American society, and it seems to be more distinct nowadays. Taking a glance at simple college life at Indiana University of Pennsylvania you can notice issues of all of these elements. Sororities/ fraternities, (some actually distinguished by race), groups for gays, transgender/bisexual students and Latino, Asian and other ethnic groups are predominate on campus. There are countless of organizations that distinguish certain people from one another. In the “Invisible Man,” author Ralph Ellison writes a novel that takes place during a racist period. Blacks and whites are separated by a means of status. Ellison represents the differences between the North and South by illustrating the main characters struggles in life. Although these are two different time periods, the uses of identity are almost the same, but on a lesser scale. Obviously today blacks aren’t treated the same way they were before the segregation laws. Change has taken place and things have become different; however that doesn’t mean that Blacks do not face the same struggles.

In my opinion, homosexuals are the biggest issue in American society today. A lot of politics and religious issues are centered on this issue. Gays are not allowed to marry and must keep their sexuality closed, if in the military. Hate crimes are taking place just as hate crimes did to Blacks. I see many similarities. Gays of today are treated like the Invisible Man in Ellison’s novel.

So, if Ellison were to re-write his novel in 2004, I think it would resemble something like this: Replace the IM with a homosexual man. And instead of the college setting, the story will take place in the military. He will be told to keep his sexuality and ideas behind closed doors, but in the end result he’ll be punished for his sexuality, no matter what he does. He’ll be kicked out of the military with a sense of no belonging and will have to fend to keep his dignity and preference. Everyday someone will make fun. Everyday someone will make jokes, snicker and laugh. He’ll be judged because his sexuality. Some people will accept him; those certain figures who have a heart, figures like himself. He will then begin to hate himself for who he is, something he can’t help. He’ll think everyone is turning against him and will then believe that no one really wants to know him. He will hide out, because he has been shun away, and he will then call himself the invisible man that nobody can see; the man that nobody wants to know.

Allende Ideology

2005-03-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

“Do you know what would happen here without a patron?” “No.” “The place would go to hell! There would be no one to take care of people, either. If anyone got sick or died or left a widow with a lot of kids, they’d all starve to death…They need someone to do their thinking for them, someone around to make decisions…” (283)

“The Toolbox” states “Anything that’s ideological in this sense seems like it just is. “Progress,” “freedom,” and “citizenship” are “ideological” notions—strong beliefs to be sure, but ones that are, strangely enough, held more or less unconsciously.” (87)

Before reading “The Toolbox” I lacked the knowledge to decipher what Ideology is and how to apply it. However, after discussion in class and the brief description in the book, I can now identify just what the ideology is in the quote mentioned above.

Esteban Trueba is talking with his granddaughter Alba about Tres Marias, the land in which he is a patron. Basically he is a man that has complete domination over this land and the people. As a reader I didn’t question the people’s freedom or citizenship. I felt that Esteban was the patron and nothing more and that he did his job. I didn’t think about inequality of the people etc., until I looked beyond the facts. Allende shows ideology in this sense because I looked at the situation as it was. However, after thinking and digging into the quote, I realized it’s more complex.

Ideology is what you think before you think or act. It’s the inability to see real conditions because they are masked by false ideas. Esteban sounds like a noble man who is looking out for the better of his land and people. He represents this dignified persona to his granddaughter, but the reader knows that Esteban controls the people. He allows for no new ideas or any new knowledge toward the outside world.

The reader sees the good that Esteban is trying to portray, but it’s just a “smokescreen covering up the material facts.” His words are common sense toward Alba—they are false to her advantage. They make Alba see her grandfather without reality. That in a sense renders our own common sense and indeed throws it into question. Looking beyond the facts given and seeing Esteban for the cruel man that he is, shows ideology, but at the same time questions our common sense.

Allende Blog 1 Ch. 3

2005-03-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

“It’s for your own good my little angel!” Nana would sob, wrapped in a bloody sheet, her face blackened with burnt cork. (74)

Within in this passage I can clearly identify the special upbringing of Clara. In this quote, Nana is attempting to scare Clara in hopes that terror will make her speak again; however, Clara gives up her voice for nine years, but for what reason? In this attempt to scare Clara, Clara becomes upset and annoyed by Nana’s intentions, and Clara was beginning to lose her patience with Nana. However, none of Clara’s family ever lost patience with her. They accepted the fact that she wanted to be mute. She was spoiled and preferred over all the children in the household. The mother told Clara stories about the family in hope that she may become curious and ask spontaneous questions. The family never questioned her mental state. They never considered her psychotic or deranged. She just had her own personality and attitude, and the family adjusted to that. She never spoke; she interpreted dreams, predicted the future and moved objects without touching them. And her family never suspected insanity. Clara was happy and didn’t regret her childhood for a second. If her child hood was filled with happiness, and her parents happily met the needs to her complicated situations, then that declares the title of a special upbringing.

“…Clara grew up happily and in later years would recall her childhood as a luminous part of her existence, despite her solitude and muteness...For nine years she was so happy that she felt no need to speak.” (79-82)

Question for Duplessis

2005-03-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

The main question I propose toward Duplessis is why does she use the format in which she does? Is there symbolism to her format? Also I am very curious as to who her idol is as a writer. Who does Duplessis mirror when it comes to writing or does her writing strictly come from within her own self-taught methods?

Antigone

2005-03-01T17:07:00.000-08:00

In “Antigone” it is stated “I hate you. How shamelessly you show me the tattered apron of your sentimentality. Right now on the naked stones the flesh of your flesh is laid out under the wide sky for the vultures. But you think that was yesterday.” [90]

This quote basically summarizes the entire work. Antigone is a dedicated sister who is willing to sacrifice her own blood for a proper “funeral” for her own brother. In this passage she is speaking to her sister Ismene. Ismene is against Antigone and what she is about to act upon. She knows that if Antigone is to spread dust over their brother, who went against the country, she will be put to death by King Kreon. Antigone acts anyway. And she is indeed put to death. Her death causes much drama with the Kings son Hamon, who is also Antigone’s fiancé.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It represents the truest bonds of a family and really makes the reader ask the question of who is really good and who is bad. However, I was a little unclear on certain elements of the story. How old was Antigone? Why did Antigone hang herself? Why didn’t she just wait? Does Kreon kill himself or is he just utterly depressed? There are a lot is issues that I as the reader feel are unresolved, but again I guess that’s the major point of the work. It is necessary to keep the reader guessing so that they can use their imagination and develop their own meaning.

Cortez

2005-02-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

In “The Legend” it is stated, “He went in and got his thirty-thirty, and he looked around for the best horse he had. It is a long way from El Carmen to the Border, all of five hundred miles. The first thing he saw in the corral was the little sorrel mare. Gregorio Cortez took a good look at her, and he knew she was no ordinary mare. ‘You’re worth a dozen horses,’ said Gregorio Cortez, and he saddled the little mare.
(Page 42)

This passage shows the importance that the horse played in the story. The horse was the very reason Roman was shot. Because Roman was shot, Gregorio shot the sheriff. Because he shot the sheriff, Gregorio had to get away, and what did he use? The horse of course. The horse served as the beginning and the end. The horse was the reason why Gregorio was in jail. The horse led Gregorio to his death. It served as the basis for this entire story to take place, and the sorrel mare in a sense helped Gregorio receive his great reputation.

“And he would take a piece of dirt in his hands and rub it back and forth between his fingers—to see if the land had reached its point—and you would say he was looking into it. And perhaps he was, for Gregorio Cortez was the seventh son of a seventh son.”
(Page 35)

The fact that the author of this story represents Cortez from a religious perspective is quite unique. He is seen as someone who sacrificed himself for others. It is also sated in the text that his name might as well be Judah. I feel that maybe Cortez was someone special to the people, but I don’t understand the correlation between him and a religious figure. Cortez was a great man of his time. He represented his people fearless, kind-hearted and eager, but the characterizationof a religious figure is not evident to me. Yes, Cortez was a man of a great time. His story was told by generations and generations. However, after a while, a story begins to lose its original meaning. It begins to take on different meanings, basically ones that the author is trying to convey. So, I feel that because the story has so many versions it has only become a story within a story. No one of today’s era probably knows the true story, and does anyone really know the real Cortez either?

Lorca

2005-02-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

In Blood Wedding, Lorca states “To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves. What good was pride to me-and not seeing you, and letting you lie awake night after night? No good! It only served to bring the fire down on me! You think that time heals and walls hide things, but it isn’t true, it isn’t true! When things get that deep inside you there isn’t anybody can change them.”
Page 60

In this passage, Leonardo is informing the bride of his deep feelings. He is crossing the boundary of society’s norm in order to state his love. Leonardo states to the bride that there is absolutely nothing he can do or change about the way he feels. This passage is showing me a society that is dictated by traditions and demanding laws. I can also take on a feminist perspective and say that this passage shows the criticism of commitment on a woman’s role in society. A woman in this day was presumably supposed to be a virgin, only saving herself for that one man; an expectation that society sets- expectations that may make some women feel like their inner-will and freedom are being taken away. The bride is surrounded by a male dominated society in which her voice is drowned. Leonardo was in love with her since childhood, and the bride has a deep connection with him; a connection that only leads to death. Divorce was unknown in this society. Once you married someone than you were with them for life. Maybe the bride was afraid of this idea. Maybe she always wanted to be with Leonardo. But he moved on with his life. He got married. Therefore, she saw no chance with him. However, he came back and presented her with a new situation and she doesn’t know how to react towards it. The bride leaves with her true love, and ends up with nothing, but guilt and misery for the rest of her life. Her voice was forever lost, but then again did it ever truly exist?

Chopin

2005-01-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

In "The Awakening", Chopin states, "'Good-by - because, I love you.' He did not know; he did not understand. He would never understand. Perhaps Doctor Mandelet would have understood if she had seen him - but it was too late; the shore was far behind her, and her strength was gone. She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again. Edna heard her father's voice and her sister Margaret's. She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree. The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air." (Chapter XXXIX Page 303)

This entire book was very profound; however I felt that this passage summed up Edna's character the best. Edna was a deep character, and one of the only characters who tried to make herself happy. She put herself first in almost every situation she encountered. This certain passage illustrates to the reader how deep her love for Robert was. She was longer willing to sacrifice her unhappiness on this earth. I feel that she was upset that her and Robert's love was only petty, or at least that's how Robert viewed it. She was very self-involved and she wasn’t happy with the life she was living. Being part of a high class society in a sense made her feel smaller. She only wanted one thing in this world and she couldn't have it, therefore she sacrificed her own life. I feel that way she ended things in the sea represents a metaphor. He feelings were endless as the sea. When you look at the sea you only see the surface, and that's exactly how Edna was viewed. Her thoughts nor emotions were ever taken into consideration. The sea is terrifying place if your thoughts provoke wonder of the unknown. Edna was afraid of the unknown and to place her in the sea at the time of her death was such a symbolic, inspiring metaphor to me as the reader.

Overall, I was able to relate to Chopin's work. The precise detail that the author uses paints a vivid scene for the reader, and at times I felt like I was in the story. I will admit that at times I was utterly confused with meanings behind the story, but I was able to correlate other students' insight from class to help me draw conclusions on my own opinion.

Gilman

2005-01-22T21:28:00.000-08:00

In The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman writes, “What is the matter?” he cried. “For God’s sake, what are you doing!” I kept on creeping just the same, but I looked at him over my shoulder. “I’ve got out at last,” said I, “in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time.” (10)

After reading this entire story, I felt angry. I was angry because I was confused and I felt psychotic, just as the woman felt. However, after giving it much thought and concentration, I realized something. This woman wasn’t psychotic and neither was I. Realizing that this woman was illustrating the dominance of her husband, my mind became more symbolic of the all that this woman went through. Her husband forbade her to write in her journal, possibly because he felt that her intelligence was contributing to her nervous depression. She was restricted to an odorous, yellow room. Her bed was nailed to the floor and her windows barred. She becomes so lonely and she begins to see a woman in the wallpaper. She notices a woman trying to emerge, a woman that is too imprisoned by symbolic bars. So, in the passage quoted above this woman “bars” her husband out of the room, so she can allow this woman who is trapped to be set free. In a symbolic sense this woman is her. She was sick of being confined and ordered by her dominate, able husband. She ripped this paper to set herself free. The woman then goes onto to say that her husband fainted. Well, he fainted because she stood up for herself. When he collapsed over her path, she crept over him to do just what she set out to do.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It was unique to view the story in a different light after noticing the variant meanings. The story depicts a woman who lost touch with her self because of the dominance of her husband. She was so controlled and so confined that she didn’t know who she was anymore. For the average reader like me, she was successful in completing a vision of female imprisonment. The wallpaper gave her encouragement to stand up for herself and to contribute awareness of elements in society that are often unseen.

Douglass II

2005-01-20T20:07:00.000-08:00

Douglass, Narrative of the Life

In Narrative of the Life, by Frederick Douglass, Douglass states “I was now getting, as I have said, one dollar and fifty cents per day. I contracted for it; I earned it; it was paid to me; it was rightfully my own; yet, upon each returning Saturday night, I was compelled to deliver every cent of that money to Master Hugh. And Why? Not because he earned it,--not because he had any hand in earning it,--not because I owed it to him,--nor because he possessed the slightest shadow of a right to it; but solely because he had the power to compel me to give it up. The right of the grim-visaged pirate upon the seas is exactly the same.” (Ch. X, Page 16) After reading the 16 pages of this second part, this passage seemed to catch my eye. I feel that everything that Douglass said in his narrative, this passage seemed to sum it up the best. No matter what he put up with- beatings, torment, mental abuse, everything was taken away from him. He was stripped of his self dignity and pride. He was left with the idea of being nothing more than a slave. But Douglass was smarter than this. He knew that the white man was out to make a “contented slave” and in order to make a happy slave; they had to make a “thoughtless one.” Frederick knew that what was happening was unjust, and this is what kept him striving for liberty. In the passage above Douglass illustrates the power of the white man. No matter what he said or did, Douglass was ordered to give up his hard earned money. This passage is a metaphor for all the other things he was ordered to give up. He uses an interesting analogy to depict his point. A pirate upon the open seas has the power over others, and this example I think Douglass is referring to the pirate as the white man.
The most important lesson that I learned from Douglass’ writing is the lesson of accomplishment. He uses his writing to display that no matter what happens, never give up. He accomplished his original dream to be free. I feel that because of his situation as a black slave he is showing people that no matter what color, heritage, or sex anyone can do anything they dream of. Just never give up. Always work for what is right and in the end you will be filled with the utmost feeling of self-satisfaction.