English 121

Invisible Man

2005-04-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

So far in the book I feel really bad for the main character. Throughout his life things just keep getting worse and worse. At first it seems that he might be successful by going through college. He was only a year away from graduating when he got kicked out of school for a ridiculous reason. After going up to New York he finally discovers that he will not be returning to the school that he loved. I thought it was horrible how Dr. Bledsoe wrote that letter and never told the main character what was in it. He will now have to find work somehow and find a decent place to live. His first job was an absolute disaster and he was only on the job for one day. He ended up getting severely injured and I don’t understand how the hospital let him out when he couldn’t even think of his own name. He does run into one nice woman who wants to help him out but most of the other people he encounters are rude, use him, or ignore him completely. I can see why he is beginning to view himself as invisible. All this man is trying to do is make a difference and become successful. But it seems that this will never happen at the rate he is going. His life is spiraling downward. Now after completing the book I feel that the main character set himself up for all this disapointment. I really didn't like this book at all, especially the ending. I feel that he really caused most of these things to happen to himself and now I don't feel sorry for him whatsoever. I felt that if he was more assertive and didn't just go with the flow of things he wouldn't have gotten himself into so much trouble. I found it interesting that they never actually named him and no one really used his name whatsoever. In that sense I feel he loses his identity and this might be another reason we get a sense that he is invisible.

The House of the Spirits

2005-04-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

This was my favorite book that we have read so far. It was really good, but it did drag on in the end. I really liked how it went through three generations of the family. There were so many instances in which there was foreshadowing in this book. I think that’s what made it so good. Allende would just say state something very subtly and then later on it’s like, so that’s what she was talking about earlier. Another thing that was different about this book was that usually the main character is someone in which you like. In this situation I really disliked Esteban, not at first but throughout most of the book. This book made me think a lot. I though it was interesting how in the end the oldest and youngest members of family were left.

Ideology and The House of the Spirits

2005-04-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

There are many examples of ideology in the book The House of the Spirits. Tres Marias specifically comes to mind when talking about ideology. When Esteban arrived there, he made himself patron. Everyone had to go along with his thoughts and ideas. If you didn’t follow his rules you were out. Two specific examples come to mind in Tres Marias. When Esteban decides to give the workers pink slips instead of money. Also when he rigs the voting so that his party wins each time. Esteban states, “Justice! Is it just for everyone to have the same amount? The lazy the same as those who work? The foolish the same as the intelligent? Even animals don’t live like that! It’s not a matter of rich and poor, it’s a matter of strong and weak.”

Antigone

2005-03-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

Antigone is a story about a strong woman. She fights against the law that won’t allow her brother to be buried. I was surprised that the elders agreed with Kreon that this was a good decision. But, Antigone didn’t care what anyone else thought. For her, burying her brother was something that just had to be done. Antigone was willing to have her life taken in order to give her brother a proper burial. I didn’t really like this story. At first it was hard for me to understand, but I did like the message that I found in it which is to stand up for what you believe no matter what.

Gregorio Cortez

2005-02-27T12:12:00.000-08:00

When I first saw that we were going to be reading this story I wasn't too excited. After reading it though, I really enjoyed the story of Gregorio Cortez. I found it interesting that this story has been passed down for many years. This story was verbally told for generations. I also though it was kind of strange how many different versions this story actually has. In the version we read I got the impression that Gregorio Cortez was only trying to defend himself after the sheriff shot his brother and killed him. I felt bad for him and didn't understand why everybody was after him even though the sheriff was the one who shot first. I thought it was interesting the scene we saw in the movie. First we saw the sheriff and the interpreters point of view and thought Gregorio was being unreasonable. But then we saw from Gregorio's point of view and realized that he was cooperating with them as best as he could. It was the interpreters fault for interpreting the wrong words. One particular passage that I read was in part IV it says, "The horse trade causes the deaths of the Major Sheriff and Roman. It provides the mare with which Cortez reaches the Border, and the mare is the cause of Cortez's going to prison." Basically the mare is to blame for everything that happens in this story.

Blood Wedding

2005-02-15T16:57:00.000-08:00

This was a very strange story and I didn’t really like it. It was kind of hard to follow. I don’t think I would have gotten all of the details if we hadn’t talked about it in class. There were many foreshadowing events that occurred in this play. First of all, the title Blood Wedding told me there was going to be a major tragedy. At the beginning of the play the mother and bridegroom were arguing about the knife. The mother said that a knife had killed her husband and other son; I knew that the bridegroom was going to die at that point. That kind of ruined the story for me. Also in the next scene at Leonardo’s house, I felt that something was going to happen between he and the bride. You could tell by the way the mother-in-law and Leonardo’s wife spoke. It was interesting to me though that Leonardo was the only character with an actual name. Overall this was not the best play I have ever read.

The Awakening

2005-02-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

The Awakening by Kate Chopin, was a very different book for me. It wasn’t my favorite book, but it made me think a lot. I think from the beginning Edna didn’t know what she wanted. When it finally looked like she knew what she wanted, which was Robert (I thought), she didn’t want him either. Speaking to Robert, Edna said, “It was you who awoke me last summer out of a life-long, stupid dream.” I think that Robert made her see that she didn’t have to be stuck with her husband. There were other men out there that she could be happy with. Not only that but that she could speak up for herself and not have to do everything as she was expected. An example of that is when she decides not to attend her Tuesday gatherings with her friends. Another example is when she decided to move into her own house and leave her husband. She wasn’t happy with him and she couldn’t find happiness with anyone else so I think that’s why she ended up killing herself.

The Yellow Wallpaper

2005-01-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

I thought this was a very strange story. The woman was very secluded and pretty much imprisoned in the house they were living in. She wasn’t allowed to do anything. She was stuck in the attic room all day and night. There was nothing else to do but stare around the room. This was besides writing because she wasn’t supposed to be doing that but she did anyways. Being in that kind of seclusion could drive any normal person to become insane. She was mesmerized by the wallpaper and soon saw a woman’s shadow creeping along the walls. As we talked about in class most people thought this was mostly a husband and wife issue that was going on in the story. But the author wrote that it was really an issue between the doctor and patient. What kind of doctor would think that seclusion could cure depression? It obviously made it so much worse.

Frederick Douglas

2005-01-27T10:19:00.000-08:00

The narrative that Frederick Douglas wrote really surprised me. I have read stories and have seen movies about slavery, but this was different. This was about his real life experiences, so it had more of an impact on me. It really amazed me was how determined this man was to read and write. This man was driven to succeed. He did whatever he could to learn.
I really can’t believe this man lived through what he did. He was almost beaten to death on several occasions. He saw others get beaten and even killed. How he witnessed and felt these things and came out okay in the end, I will never understand. I think everybody should read this to have a better understanding of what slavery was like, especially because it’s the author’s true story.