Grendel

In the story of Grendel, Grendel begins as a young immature child, who wishes only to explore and ponder how and why things are the way they are. As he continues to discover the reality of the harsh cruel world that is the human world Grendel begins to feel lonely, unaccepted, and shameful. Instead of simply watching the humans as they evolve like he has for so many years, he begins to question himself and why he is the way he is. He watched the people develop into a happy and stable society and now he wishes to do the same fore he is neither happy nor stable. In the fifth chapter Grendel comes across the all-knowing dragon that is willing to answer his questions about why things are the way they are. The dragon represents the greed and darkness that is with in Grendel. It could be seen as Grendel’s id because it has been influencing to stop searching for answers to the questions of life and simply embrace the destruction he could cause to the humans. The dragon tells him to attack the humans and instead of asking why to ask why not. This vision of “why not” that is put into Grendel’s head makes him no longer have reason behind trying to be good and join the humans who were so unkind to him in the past. When Grendel leaves the dragon’s lair it marks a major tone shift in Grendel’s behaviors. The shaper that Grendel previously listened to with much interest, about why the people embraced the manipulation of history to create organization, no longer appealed to Grendel. This marks Grendel’s coming of age for he is passed the curiosity and exploration part of his life and is now making decisions based off knowledge. Grendel says “it is one thing to listen to poets’ versions of time past and visions to come, it’s another to know, as coldly and simply as my mother knows her pile of bones, what is” (75). He knows that what the shaper says is completely false and “it no longer filled [him] with doubt and distress, loneliness, shame. It enraged [me]” (75). His desire for harmony with the human race is now a distant memory and now the cruel reality that he and the humans are enemies fills him with anger. As a young adult Grendel is fighting to find his self-identity and his evil unconscious mind, the dragon, has made him into a human hating monster. When he is first attacked the part of him that is still a kid is frightened of the humans despite his invulnerable flesh, but when he finally has victory and bites off the head of the guard, he fulfills the desires of his subconscious. From this he develops an unknown joy from satisfaction that he is doing what he is “meant” to do. Finally feeling complete and having purpose Grendel is forced into a lifelong war with Hrothgar to continuously fulfill the needs of the dragon dictated to him.

Is Grendel Bad?

            The story of Grendel begins in the 11^th year of his unstoppable rampage of Hrothgar’s kingdom. From the story of Beowulf it seemed that Grendel was upset with the people of his kingdom because of the loud music they played and their celebrations that seemed to go late in to the night; however, Gardner uses a mindless ram as a symbol of what truly bothers Grendel. Grendel seems to be frustrated that the ram solely acts off instinct as apposed to using his brain. Grendel says “do not think my brains are squeezed shut, like the ram’s, by the roots of horns” (6), which opens the book giving the impression that he has not simply been mindlessly killing the human race off the instinct of being a monster. It even points out that he also enjoys eating other animals such as cows and pigs. While Grendel is watching the ram he emphasizes that he “cannot bear to look” at it because it has a “mindless ache to mount what ever happens near” (6). Although it is natural for a ram to want to have sex during it’s mating season, the fact that it does not put thought into what it is doing annoys Grendel. This shows that Grendel’s mind is more complex and logical than the book Beowulf had suggested. He even asks himself “why can’t these creatures discover a little dignity?” (6), which further points out his desire for reason and answers to questions about the world. His intellectual thought process is more developed than even an average human which causes the actions of humans to look worse than those that Grendel performs himself. Although Grendel spends a lot of time criticizing the ram he is also aware that he too cannot help but act off instinct and acknowledges that some things are uncontrollable. Before Grendel plans to go back to the natural world to eat he thinks, “I feel my anger coming back, building up like invisible fire, and at last, when my soul can no longer resist, I go up—as mechanical as anything else—fists clenched against my lack of will my belly growling, mindless as wind, for blood” (9). Grendel knows that when his need for food arises that he is unable to control his lack of will, he describes himself as “mechanical” and “mindless as wind”, which are similar descriptions he used to describe the ram. This suggests that Grendel too is simply acting off instinct rather then simple anger against the humans. Gardner uses the contrast between the ram and Grendel to show that since many do not view a ram as sinful or bad for “mounting everything” because it’s natural, then it would be wrong to accuse Grendel of being wrong and sinful for feasting on humans. They may simply be viewed as lower on the food chain. Just as a bear eats a fish, Grendel eats people because his “belly [is] growling […] for blood”, not with intentions to harm the people.

Ibsen Criticizes Society

            In “The Doll’s House” Ibsen tries to criticize many of the problems he sees in his society through the relationships of many of the characters in his play. He often uses his characters to reveal the problems with in his society’s moral conflict. Through Nora’s relationship with Helmer we see how many relationships of this time were fake and dominated by financial concerns instead of a relationship based on love and trust. Nora finds that she has been married for many years now to a person she does not know at all. At first she seems very dependent of Torvald and is constantly doing as he says and undermining her self. They are both with each other simply for appearance. Torvald is with her so he can show her off to others, which is why he makes her dance in front of every one. On the other hand Nora is with him simply because it is the best thing for her. By being with him she is offered security, money, and a family that she can raise. This seemed to be very characteristic of marriages of this time period. There were many arranged marriages and this was wrong and Ibsen points it out. Ibsen also points out the flaws with society’s moral views many times. He depicts through Nora that many laws are unjust and should not have the consequences they do. Through the comparison of Nora and Krogstad we see the consequences of simply forging someone’s name even though they only did this to save their family’s but in the end it results in the destruction of both of their families. Krogstad commits the same crime that Nora did and has suffered greatly for it. It has been very hard for him to find a job and his reputation has been destroyed. Nora is not punished for her crime but it does result in the destruction of her family, even though it was intended to save her family. Torvald refuses to see the good in what she has done because it was against the law even though it was for his sake. Nora refuses to see the good in Krogstad even though they committed the same crime for the same reason, and Krogstad even states that “the law doesn’t ask motives”. The relationship between these three characters goes to show us society’s inability to see from another’s point of view. They all think of each other as selfish and immoral when in reality all they have done is good for each other. By stating that the law does not ask motives, Ibsen criticizes the moral views of his society. It is obvious that he thinks it is wrong that one can lose everything when their intentions were only to help. It shows how everyone turns on each other because they only wish to benefit themselves. In the end Nora realizes that Torvald doesn’t care about her only about his career and that’s why she decides to leave. No matter how much good is intended b Nora and Krogstad it is ignored because society views it as bad.

The Doll House

In “The Doll House” it is evident that Ibsen displays the expected gender roles of both genders. Throughout the first two acts Nora exemplifies the ideal house hold wife of the generation in which this play was written. We see her as immature and dependent on her husband Torvald. This is seen by all the pet names that he gives her. He continuously calls her his little “song bird” and “little skylark” and other names that depict her as small and helpless. She is also very obedient and does whatever Torvald wants or expects from her. We see that she alone is responsible for taking care of the children completely by herself which is known to be a womanly job. She is submissive to all of Torvald’s request including chores and also sex. These are some of the indirect ways that Ibsen displays how woman are viewed but he also does not hesitate to explain the gender roles directly through the dialogue of the characters. The way that Torvald talks, even directly to Nora’s face shows that society views women as helpless, dependent on men, and not equivalent to men. In his speeches Torvald often says the way Nora acts is typical of a woman indicating that all women are exactly the same, which is essentially why Nora leaves him in the end. He does not recognize her as an individual as she wishes and does not appreciate things that make her different. He simply uses her for appearance, raising the kids, and sex, all of which any woman could do. He never has a serious talk with her because he does not wish to know specific things about her only that she obeys him. Towards the end while Nora is getting ready to leave we see many of the common things that women expect of men. For example Nora is appalled when Torvald is not willing to take full blame for the incident in order to save Nora. He is not the brave hero that women look for in men. I also find it quite ironic that Nora is leaving Torvald because she wishes to become independent and to understand herself, when in reality her reasoning for leaving him is actually that he did not swoop in and save the day and make everything all better by taking responsibility for her actions. If Torvald had done this it would have shown that she is dependent on him and she would have been happy with having him being her superior. “The Wonderful” that Nora so often speaks of is a symbol of what women truly want. It is a vague image which shows that it is different for all women. “The Wonderful” that Nora wants is a strong, fearless, and dependable man. Although the life they live is fake and doesn’t show any flaws, if he still helps and loves her after he finds out her flaws they can live a life more true to themselves. Overall we see that many of the stereo types and gender roles that society has put in place are actually very false. He shows that men aren’t always the brave ones and that women can be independent and make decisions on their own and don’t need men to function. This is why it was such a controversial play.

Short Story Analysis Reflection

            For my short story analysis paper I wrote on “The Effect Coming of Age Has on a Parent-Child Relationship”. I decided to analyze “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” and how Connie and her parents have a dynamic relationship as Connie begins to age and matures as she develops into an adult. I am satisfied with my intro because I believe I gave a good background for the story and introduced the theme I wished to convey in my paper, and finally in the end connecting it together with my well thought out thesis. Based on the comments I received I believe that I also developed the first body paragraph very well. The topic of this paragraph was how Connie’s parents under appreciate her and it makes her feel a need to separate herself from her family. The topic sentence was related to the thesis and there was strong support to support the claim I made. The only problems that I ran into in this paragraph were minor grammatical errors. Although I had a strong introduction and first body paragraph, my second body paragraph veered off topic a little bit. One of the problems I had in this paragraph was that I jumped ahead in the story quite a bit because I found better textual support towards the end. The paragraph moved a bit away from the thesis; it lacked the component of her family relationship and focused primarily on her developing characteristics of independence. The text support was good but the analysis failed to completely defend the point I was trying to make. Even the conclusion only states how she ignores her mother but does not mention the other side of the relationship of give specific details to how the relationship changed at all. In the third paragraph I discussed how Connie’s realization that she is not ready to be independent has caused her to want the comfort of her parents and dependency on them once again. The topic of this paragraph is connected to my thesis but I did not provide context to the story as to when this was occurring. The text support and analysis were strong and descriptive however I began to make much more grammatical mistakes such as using passive voice, to be verbs, and second person. In my conclusion I restated the thesis and how this paper supported the thesis. I also went in depth on what the meaning of the story was as a whole based on the text I analyzed. Over all the paper was relatively on track with the thesis and the topic sentences aside from a few points. The paper was organized well proceeding in chronological order of events and how these events developed the SO WHAT that Oates was trying to convey. The support consisted of important passages and quotes and the analysis was long and in depth. The biggest problem through out the paper was mechanics and grammar issues, but overall the paper was well written and received an appropriate grade.

ATKM Great Sleep vs Life is Motion Discussion

In chapter two of All the Kings Men, Jack describes the period of time that he has gone through multiple times called the great sleep. During the great sleep Jack spends most of his time lying in bed. He says he could “go to bed early” “sleep late and then wake up and not move” (151), which emphasize Jack’s lack of motion and desire for lack of motion. The static form of life that Jack chooses comes as a result of crisis in his life which in this case was the loss of a job. The thought of Jack staying in bed all day and night shows that he has somehow given up on life. In Jack’s conversation in chapter 3 discussing how life equals motion further exemplifies the fact that Jack is giving up on life during his “Great Sleep”. In Jack’s analysis of God’s being the “Fullness of Being” he states that “life is motion toward knowledge. If God is complete Knowledge then he is complete non motion, which is non life, which is death” (226). Since Jack believes that the importance of life is motion towards knowledge, it is ironic to see him with no desire for motion at times in his life. His lack of desire for motion is actually his lack of desire for knowledge, and for someone who understands that ending his quest of knowledge is equal to giving up on life, this could mean he no longer wishes to continue his life. This indicates the great depression that Jack received after losing his job and emphasizes the how important Jacks job with The Chronicle was to him. Jack also goes on to discuss the dangers of too much knowledge when he uses the metaphor comparing knowledge and ignorance to a string on fire moving towards a powder keg. He says that when “man’s Knowledge is equal to God’s knowledge there wont be any fire, which is life. Or if the string leads to a powder keg then there will be a terrific blast of fire” (226). Jack explains how with too much knowledge or having complete knowledge will end a reason to live. Seeking knowledge keeps life going how ever if you reach complete knowledge to quickly there will be nothing left for you to live for. Ignorance then keeps a space between the quest for knowledge and complete knowledge. With out ignorance the power of knowledge would be as dangerous as a “terrific blast”. Perhaps Jack chooses a period of non motion and lack of knowledge to lengthen his life or quest for knowledge. Before his great sleep he chooses to be ignorant of why he is loosing his job and walks out of the office with out a complete answer. This shows that sometimes it is better not to know some information, and knowledge shouldn’t be continuously seaked. The comparison of the motion of life discussion vs. the non motion of the Great Sleep further develops the theme of Knowledge vs. Ignorance be showing the benefits of each side.

All The Kings Men, Knowledge Vs. Ignorance

In All of the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren I explored the theme of Knowledge vs. Ignorance through out the first couple of chapters. During many parts of the reading this theme of Knowledge vs. Ignorance is expressed through what Jack Burden says, thinks, and does. Consistently we see him either avoiding knowledge or chasing after knowledge. His actions and thoughts also present the pros and cons of knowledge which creates a debate in the text whether knowledge is good or bad. From the beginning of the novel Jack’s confusion about whether knowledge is good or bad is made quite obvious. This is made evident when Warren writes “the end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can’t know. He can’t know whether knowledge will save him or kill him. He will be killed all right, but he can’t know whether he is killed because of the knowledge which he has got or because of the knowledge he hasn’t got and which if he had it, would save him” (Warren 14). By presenting this question that is impossible to answer about whether it is better to know or not know information, Warren initiates the major theme of Knowledge vs. Ignorance. He proposes that in some cases knowledge “would save him”, but in others “he is killed because of the knowledge”. Now that the question is presented there becomes evidence supporting each side that makes it impossible to determine whether knowledge is better than ignorance or vice versa. Support that ignorance is better is shown when Jack is in the yard and he states “I heard somebody open and shut the gate to the barn lot, but I didn’t look around. If I didn’t look around it would not be true that somebody had opened the gate with the creaky hinges, and that is a wonderful principle for a man to get hold of” (Warren 45). From this we can see that Jack’s ignorance is beneficial to him, by being ignorant of his surroundings he is able to enjoy the moment a lot more. He becomes uninfluenced by things around him and thinks more clearly and makes his own decisions rationally. He even goes on to say “I owed my success in life to that principle” (Warren 45), which shows that ignorance is seemingly better for Jack. After supporting the ignorance side in chapter one Warren exemplifies the need for knowledge in chapter two. In chapter two Stark is made a fool of because he is ignorant of the truth and listens to what people tell him because he wants to be elected to office so bad that he believes what anyone told him. Stark then learns from his mistake and realizes that it is better to have knowledge and states “when they come to you sweet talking you better not listen to anything they say” (Warren 146). Stark has learned from his mistake and realizes that what people tell him is false and he should be more knowledgeable about situations before he jumps into them. This shows that in the second chapter ignorance did more harm to him than knowledge could have.

Gender Roles

            Today in AP lit we learned about the use of gender roles in literature, and how to read a novel through the “gender lens”. Gender roles are a set of social and behavioral norms that are considered appropriate by society or a culture. For my blog today I would like to get a deeper understanding of the gender roles and common gender roles that can be found in literature as well as go back and find some examples of gender roles in the previous books we have read.

            One example of gender role that is found in literature is that men are almost always described as having physical advantages such as body size, strength, and coordination that provide them with better abilities to do social activities such as hunting and farming, or modern versions of physical work. In literature men are often depicted doing harder more labor requiring activities and having for labor intensive jobs. This usually reserves easy jobs for women or in some cases women are even jobless. Also women are almost always depicted as having an obsession with beauty. They are scene and described mainly by what they are wearing and their physical attributes. One example of this that I noticed is in Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson in the story “Mother” when George’s mother randomly decides that she wishes to look pretty and then spends a lot of time dressing up just to make her self feel better and more confidant. This idea of the need for women to be beautiful is also introduced to us as kids through many of the Disney princess movies in which the women are loved simply for their beauty and riches. Also often in men are depicted as the dominant figure while women are usually known to be submissive almost. This can be shown when women are often victimized by men. We can see in literature that men often make the important decisions, are more assertive, and usually control what the women do. Women are also often characterized with temptation. In many novels we see that the aim of men to be with women often distracts them from their main goal and purpose in the story. The view of women being temptations relates that women are bad for men and actually cause harm to them. This comes from the view that to give in to the temptation of women is a sin. This relates to the allusion of Adam and Eve and the temptation to eat the apple even though it has been forbidden. When men give in to the temptation of women it often results in their down fall. This can be seen in Dorian Gray when Dorian falls for Sybel Vane and because he loses her he goes down the wrong path leading him to self destruction.

             Women are often viewed as weak, temptations, victims, and beautiful while men are viewed as strong, controlling, determined, and hard working, and this is just a few of many gender roles. The opposite idea of genders that literature has imposed on us creates a feeling of inequality in many aspects of life. Although the rights and opportunities of men and women are very much equal the views of many aspects of genders that derive from evolution still separate the genders from equality. These are the aspects that literature points out.

Coming of Age "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

In the story short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?" Oates shows the unexpected quickness of coming to age through Connie's odd experience with Arnold who I believe to be a metaphoric symbol of the harsh realities of adult hood. Connie Continuously pushes towards her independence from her family in a desire to be isolated as soon as possible. Although she seems to be content with being alone and avoiding confrontations with her family she does not realize the obstacles and responsibilities of being truly independent. Oates creates a false hood of safety that Connie feels when being alone by making Connie view everything a perfect when she is isolated. This perfection is seen through her love of music as well as descriptions of the environment around her. All these relations to perfect and joyful moods come right after Connie wakes up and feels like she is in a new place. This new place is symbolic of her new found independence. Examples of the perfection she associates with her independence include how the " sky was perfectly blue and still". It also describes her as being "bathed in a glow of slow pulsed joy". While these seemingly descriptions Connie's new life of paradise don't only show how happy he is but they also fresh adore her imminent downfall. For example j noticed the the sky is perfectly still which could be representing the calm before a storm that is often used in literature the slow pulsed joy also created an image of a slow heartbeat, one that would be played in a scary movie right before something terrible and dreadful happens. These two sided ironic descriptions that I discovered also did not end up being coincidence for right after these to elements of foreshadow occurred the psychopath and symbol of harsh reality Arnold Friend is introduced to Connie.    At this moment Connie is faced with the true reality of becoming independent. Arnold who is introduced as a teenage boy is suddenly changed into an old man symbolizing the uncontrollable speed at which one grows up. We see that Connie is scared of Arnold which shows that she is actually scared of becoming an adult. Here happiness due to independence was very short lives because now she is forced to handle the responsibilities of adulthood. As Arnold Friend gets closer and closer to the door Connie's fear and panic set in showing that's he is not mentally or physically ready to become an adult like she thought she was. She "cried out, she cried for her mother" this is an action if a mere child that Connie is reverting back to. The significance of her crying for her mother is that she wishes for the love, care, and protection that she so often took for granted and wanted to get rid of. Although Connie is now fully aware that she is not ready to be in the adult world it is to late for her. She has already made her choice of independence and like Arnold says no one can help her now. She has no choice but to join Arnold into the vast unknown world that has taken her completely by surprise.

Paper Pills

In Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson, “Paper Pills” is a story about a lonely old doctor, who writes his thoughts or truths on to little scraps of papers that fade away when he puts them into his pocket. His name is Dr. Reefy. Dr Reefy is isolated from the city by remaining alone in his empty office “building up something that he himself destroyed”. Dr. Reefy seems to go through a repeating process of writing down the truths that he discovers, but destroying them by letting them fade into little tiny paper balls. These truths are destroyed because he is unable to express them or share them with other people. To describe this Anderson uses the metaphor of “little pyramids of truth he erected and after erecting knocked them down again”. A pyramid is a very time consuming and intricate process that usually stays “erected” for an extremely long time unless intentionally destroyed. Dr. Reefy “knocked them down” which shows that maybe he doesn’t want the world to see his magnificent creations. It is also significant to think about the fact that he has “worn one suit of clothes for ten years” and also in ten years has only made one friend. It is weird to me that he has never changed his clothes. They have holes at the knees and elbows, but also huge pockets stuffed with his scraps of paper. I find it ironic that a doctor who is usually paid relatively well is wearing old worn out clothes and works in a musty office. A doctor to me is a very clean and well organized person but Dr. Reefy seems to resemble the complete opposite. Dr. Reefy’s story is also compared to twisted little apples which makes me think of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. The apple eaten in the Garden of Eden is said to give you unlimited knowledge, which relates to Dr. Reefy and his never ending discovery of truths. Dr. Reefy rights down all of his thoughts from beginning to end, and “out of many of them he formed a truth that arose gigantic in his mind. The truth clouded the world”. It seems that Dr. Reefy can not escape all the truths that he is consistently thinking about; they “clouded the world” from him making him isolated because he can not go see the world he must think about the truths all the time. The truths grow in his mind until he writes them down and puts them in his pocket where they fade away and turn into little paper balls. Perhaps one of the most significant parts of this story is the tall dark girl that comes to his office due to pregnancy. Two boys from her past stuck out to her, one that speaks of continual virginity (the jewelers son)and the other who is quiet but described as dark and tries to kiss her. She believes that she will marry the jeweler’s son but she has a kind of vampiristic dream of him biting into her shoulder, so she instead is impregnated by the quiet one who ends up actually biting her shoulder. This odd image gives me a lot of confusion but it leads her to Dr. Reefy who marries her and reads her all his truths. However he did not have long to read them to her because she dies 1 year after she marries the doctor… quite ironic. After they are read he turns them back into little hard balls in his pockets. This is an odd yet simplistic way to end the story but I found it quite interesting and it was one of my favorites from the book.

Winesburg, Ohio

I found Winesburg, Ohio to be one of the most interesting and one of my most favorite books I have read this year. I enjoyed the structure of the book and how it was divided into a collection of short stories that individually described the unique group of characters that lived in the small city of Winesburg. Each chapter had a new interesting character with a unique background or set of ideals and shows how the one character, George Willard, reacts with each one. Andersons creative style in character development gave me a connection to the reading. I found myself studying the characters habits and trying to find the significance of each of their stories. Each short story that I read left me wondering how these characters were significant to the entirety of the story. While each character had very distinguishing characteristics and backgrounds Anderson used the same symbols and motifs in each of their stories. Many of the characters were described as afraid and silent which paints an image that the city of Winesburg is a community based off a group of people who feel isolated and afraid. Winesbug, Ohio had many interesting characters and stories that I liked but I found my favorite one to be “Hands”. “Hands” was the story of Wing Biddlebaum, who was known as the town mystery. He lived in Winesburg for 20 years and never made a relationship with anyone but George Willard. Anderson emphasizes the silence and quietness of Biddlebaum and then notes that he did not always used to be that way. The story tells of how Biddlebaum used to go by a different name of Adolph Myers, and lived in Pennsylvania where he was a school teacher. He used to give long passionate lectures to his students and always caressed them with his hands while he talked until he was accused of molestation and chased out of town. Now that he is in Winesburg, Anderson does not fail to mention or describe his hands every chance he gets. In Winesburg he is famous for his hands for he is known across town for being the fastest berry picker. His hands have great dexterity and should be recognized but whenever they are mentioned or described they are trembling or being hidden. This shows a kind of ironic relationship between Biddlebaum and his remarkable hands. Although they are great at what they do and make him successful at picking berries they were also the reason for all of his troubles. Because of his hands he is no longer a teacher, is afraid to talk or have a relationship with the community, and even made him change his name and identity. Its ironic how the things that define him also ruined him. Because of  Biddlebaum’s hands we start to characterize him as being lonely and isolated. This idea of isolation becomes a main theme throughout many of the other short stories in the book.

Fiesta, 1980

         The story Fiesta, 1980 takes place in Northern New Jersey and the Bronx, New York in 1980. This was during a time of massive growth of immigration. The story demonstrates the major differences between the the american culture and the latin american culture that has moved in. The american culture usually consists of individualistic views, in which all members of society tend to make the majority of their decisions on their own. This is a very different style of living than the Dominican Republic family that moves in during the story. This family shows the genuine structure of most latin american families which consists of a patriarch, who is the central power, that runs the entire family. This comparison of the two cultures grows into the central of the immigrants family being destroyed by the American Dream that they were not prepared for. This theme is shown through the motif of the Lime Green Volkswagen. The Volkswagen is the most direct reference to Yunior's distorted american dream. The car, being something that most immigrants or south americans can't afford, should be a sign of the wealth and prosperity that they received from starting a new life in America; however, it is mainly used with bad connotations throughout the story. Instead of being the prized possession of the family every one resents going in it because it makes Yunior throw up all the time. His father gets furious when ever this occurs and even forbids him from eating before car rides. This destruction of relationship between Yunior and his father is directly caused by the car. Yunior and his father are also not the only people who the car affects negatively, it also makes the mother very nervous, and causes her to fight with the father when ever she accidently gives him food before trips. Throughout the story, Yunior’s father attempts to deny him food, but other members of his family continue to sneak it to him, representing a rift in the family’s relations.  Whereas a typical Dominican family would never think of going against the patriarch, Mami and Tia are both frustrated enough with how their family is turning out to commit minor acts of defiance. Mami and Tia have an interesting relationship throughout the story. One can see that although they are very similar, due to their different families and how Mami has been in America longer, their futures have panned out differently. Mami tends to try to cover up the truth, to make everything better even if it wont last long. In an effort to cure Yunior’s car sickness, Mami gives him a handful of mints.  While not an actual medical treatment, they do serve as a more traditional cure, helping to calm his stomach, if only for a short time.  Additionally, after Yunior does lose control of his stomach, Mami gives him toothpaste to use in an effort to clean himself.  Both of these serve to demonstrate Mami’s efforts to help Yunior, even if they are ultimately ineffective and do not treat the root of the problem. I found it interesting that all of the short stories relate to a general theme of this distorted image of the "American Dream". Although the stories are all very different, they all center on the relationships between different family members. Each of the stories are from different viewpoints, have contrasting plots, and each family has different roots, yet they all come together as one under the stereotypical view American society is today. 

Where are you going, where have you been?

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?” a short story based on a psychopath killer who charms his victims before murdering them. The background makes me wonder what literary significance this story could possibly have; however, through further reading it was easy to find hidden meanings in the story, and even possible themes could be spotted quite quickly. The first thing that struck me when reading this story was the motif of music that never seemed to go away. We see music being brought up in Connie’s car rides, when she’s at home, at the strip mall, when she’s talking to Arnold, and music is even compared to the rhythm in people’s sentences. To Connie it was “music that made everything so good” (pg469), but this wasn’t the case for most of society in the time period that the story is set. It was set and written in a time period when parents didn’t want their children listening to music because it was a bad influence and was considered “satanic”. This is very significant to the story and could be the reason why Connie and her mother always seem to be fighting with each other. This could show a relationship between her love for music and her almost rebellious personality. How she stays home instead of going out with her family and goes on dates with boys when she’s supposed to be at the mall or movies with her sister and her sister’s friends. The author seems to want to give music a bad reputation as being bad to listen to and even harmful. We see music as being harmful when Arnolds friend Ellie is called deaf and we can see that he is because he has the radio on full blast right next to his ears. This makes me think of music as an addiction. Even though Ellie knows that the music is hurting his ears he can’t seem to stop listening to it. Ellie seems to be controlled by music as well as being controlled by Arnold, which points to Arnold, who is a psychopath killer, being a symbol of the negative influence of music, the harm it causes, and its addictiveness. Arnold is using music to tempt Connie to come with him and be like Ellie, powerless. Ellie and Connie are listening to the exact same music, which foreshadows that if she continues to listen to music like she does she will go down a bad path. Arnold is showing metaphorically that the evilness caused by music is waiting at her doorstep. And can get her at anytime. She is even metaphorically stabbed by Arnold and then is seems to walk through her door into another world, almost like an afterlife world. She watches her self pass through it so it’s as if she is no longer in control of her body and mind. Arnold is in control or music is in control of her life. I believe this is metaphorically saying that music has killed her or destroyed her life, which is a very surprising meaning from such an odd story.

No Country For Old Men Critique

            For my summer reading book I read No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, which was a very action filled novel with a lot of suspense that made it a very easy read. The novel seemed to be commercial instead of literary because of its intricate plot, but I think it also contained some literary aspects in it as well. The book starts off by characterizing the three main characters with individual’s scenes of each. It uses imagery to show how each character lived there everyday life. Chigurh makes his first impression by killing an officer with absolutely no remorse at all, while moss is depicted as simple hunter. The third main character is the sheriff bell who narrates the beginning by telling his background and how being a sheriff now is a very dangerous job and opens the book talking about sacrificing his life. We already learned this year that you can learn a lot about the book by the opening paragraph and this one tells the whole story foreshadowing the fight for life that occurs throughout the book. I really enjoyed how the book jumped straight into the action unlike most books I’ve read in my life time that’s why I would strongly recommend it. The novel also had very interesting themes about principles, which make you question justifying Chigurh massive killing massacre. The story seems to be all action based but you can definitely feel the depth the author put into the story line. Often in the novel fate is brought up and it makes you think whether or not you can control it or if everything is completely set and happens for a reason. There is a motif of tossing a coin that really conveys this theme of fate vs. no fate. Chigurh tosses a coin and lets them call it to decide whether they die or not, which is very interesting because when they get it right he keeps his word and it makes you like and respect his character more even though he is a psychopathic killer. I also liked how the story was based on a relatively serious topic of Moss finding money and then having to run from a killer that always seems to find him, but at the same time he throws in a lot of comedy. This dark twisted comedy kind of lightens the mood and makes the story more enjoyable to read. An example of this dark comedy would be when moss is talking to his wife he says “if I don’t come back tell mother I love her”, she replies “your mothers dead, Llewellyn”, and then he says back “well then I’ll tell her myself”. This dark humor that is added to the book really shows the carelessness of moss and makes you like and feel attached to his character. This affect gives the audience a very strong connection to the story line and a need to find out the suspenseful and dark fate of each of the 3 characters.