I have been having trouble thinking of something about these stories that I could really dig into and investigate. I think I have settled upon my topic though. I plan on giving reasons why "The Lottery" is justifiable, showing it isnt just a mindless killing.
Some points will come from historical records. Like that this is Salem, where a lot of supernatural things were practiced in these days.
Another idea is that this is done as a sacrifice. They might not have stated it, but these quakers might have been doing this for religious purposes.
One more possibility is that this is done as a way of venting for the town. When the whole village participates in this murder, it probably substitutes for other killings, possibly dropping the crime rate all around.
I still dont think we will ever understand this act, but I would love to try.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Blog 6- "Young Goodman Brown"
This story immediately got me into the plot. I wanted to know where he was going? Why his wife couldnt come? Who was he meeting? Why was she so concerned about herself falling into temptation?
I am still wondering why he was meeting the devil in the forest. I loved the originality of this piece. Assuming the whole thing is a dream, why did he have it? Most dreams are related to something in that persons personal life, was he questioning his religion?
The man in the forest was quite intriguing as a devil figure. His serpant staff and just eerie being allowed me to almost picture him. If I was in Brown's situation, I would have hid from the lady passing by too.
It would be ridiculously shocking to find out that everyone you know and respect is demonic. I wouldnt know how to handel the situation either, but would hope my faith would stay strong.
I dont know why the pink ribbons float down? Was Faith traveling by plane to the ceremony or what?
When Goodman eventually turns on everyone in his community, he seems crazy. Jeopardizing his relationship with Faith and never looking at the town the same again seems a bit extreme!
Personally, I loved this story. There was nothing cookie cutter about it and I enjoyed the not so happy ending.
I am still wondering why he was meeting the devil in the forest. I loved the originality of this piece. Assuming the whole thing is a dream, why did he have it? Most dreams are related to something in that persons personal life, was he questioning his religion?
The man in the forest was quite intriguing as a devil figure. His serpant staff and just eerie being allowed me to almost picture him. If I was in Brown's situation, I would have hid from the lady passing by too.
It would be ridiculously shocking to find out that everyone you know and respect is demonic. I wouldnt know how to handel the situation either, but would hope my faith would stay strong.
I dont know why the pink ribbons float down? Was Faith traveling by plane to the ceremony or what?
When Goodman eventually turns on everyone in his community, he seems crazy. Jeopardizing his relationship with Faith and never looking at the town the same again seems a bit extreme!
Personally, I loved this story. There was nothing cookie cutter about it and I enjoyed the not so happy ending.
Blog 5- "The Lottery"
This was the most surprising short story that we have read yet. Filled with suspense and a lot of curiousity, the ending was awesome. I was really expecting something beneficial to happen to "the chosen one", not death.
I still wonder why this is done? The old man says it keeps them from turning into barbarians again, but how is this not barbaric itself? This is just crazy! There is no logical reason to stone an innocent housewife because a piece of paper says to.
When the family drew the black dot, I thought something terrible was going to happen to the father because he was being defended.
The victim was begging to not carry out with the lottery, but she seemed excited to start drawing cards when she arrived there late. It seems like it would be hard to not argue against the lottery if you were about to be killed.
I did not like the forshadowing by the author. When the lady arrived late, you knew she was going to have a major role in the drawing. I would have prefered the old man to fall by the hand of the lottery, or even Mr. Summers. That suspense was ruined when the lady entered the story.
Overall, I loved the originality of this story. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall then all of this was going on.
I still wonder why this is done? The old man says it keeps them from turning into barbarians again, but how is this not barbaric itself? This is just crazy! There is no logical reason to stone an innocent housewife because a piece of paper says to.
When the family drew the black dot, I thought something terrible was going to happen to the father because he was being defended.
The victim was begging to not carry out with the lottery, but she seemed excited to start drawing cards when she arrived there late. It seems like it would be hard to not argue against the lottery if you were about to be killed.
I did not like the forshadowing by the author. When the lady arrived late, you knew she was going to have a major role in the drawing. I would have prefered the old man to fall by the hand of the lottery, or even Mr. Summers. That suspense was ruined when the lady entered the story.
Overall, I loved the originality of this story. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall then all of this was going on.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Blog 4- "The Yellow Wallpaper"
I still dont know why this story was signifigant. I think there was supposed to be some womens rights symoblism? That they were looked down upon?
Obviously she was the lady in the wallpaper, but it still wasnt very entertaining. I liked that they kind of kept her locked down, but I think thats what made her crazy.
I dont know exactly what the wallpaper was supposed to represent? I mean I know it kind of turned into a mirror sort of illusion but why yellow?
The husband seemed kind of insensitive, but he was just following the doctors orders for not letting her write. He could have helped prevent the craziness by letting her out of the room once in a while. Anybody cooped up like that would start to see things, let alone somone who is already sick.
All in all this story wasnt great for me. Ive read a lot of good short stories for classes like this, but "The Yellow Wallpaper" just wasnt one of them.
Obviously she was the lady in the wallpaper, but it still wasnt very entertaining. I liked that they kind of kept her locked down, but I think thats what made her crazy.
I dont know exactly what the wallpaper was supposed to represent? I mean I know it kind of turned into a mirror sort of illusion but why yellow?
The husband seemed kind of insensitive, but he was just following the doctors orders for not letting her write. He could have helped prevent the craziness by letting her out of the room once in a while. Anybody cooped up like that would start to see things, let alone somone who is already sick.
All in all this story wasnt great for me. Ive read a lot of good short stories for classes like this, but "The Yellow Wallpaper" just wasnt one of them.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Blog 3- "The Tell-Tale Heart"
Since I have read this story for other classes, I knew what was going to happen. Still, I find myself picking up on things that I didnt notice a few years back. Now I ask questions like where is he writing this story from? What happens next? Why does this man live with him? How long did he have this anger bottled up? How old is he? What was his job?
Some of the descriptions are so good I feel like I can actually hear the heart beating or picture how dark the room really was.
I wish the killing would have been more violent. With all his anger built up I was expecting a gruesome knifing or a brawl. Instead he used a bed? Seems like for how ambitious he was it would have been more bloody. I guess since he isnt "mad" though, it makes since he didnt want evidence around.
The heart beating was obviously all in his head. It was clearly all he could think about, which is why he could hear it so vividly.
As for the cops, they seem like they should have been picking up on why the man seemed so alive and awake at 4 am. They didnt seem to get suspicious either when he started pacing and talking in a higher voice.
The story in general was a great read. It shows how some people that arent all there funtion, crazy. It is one of those deals where you would love to be a fly on the wall while all of this is going on!
Some of the descriptions are so good I feel like I can actually hear the heart beating or picture how dark the room really was.
I wish the killing would have been more violent. With all his anger built up I was expecting a gruesome knifing or a brawl. Instead he used a bed? Seems like for how ambitious he was it would have been more bloody. I guess since he isnt "mad" though, it makes since he didnt want evidence around.
The heart beating was obviously all in his head. It was clearly all he could think about, which is why he could hear it so vividly.
As for the cops, they seem like they should have been picking up on why the man seemed so alive and awake at 4 am. They didnt seem to get suspicious either when he started pacing and talking in a higher voice.
The story in general was a great read. It shows how some people that arent all there funtion, crazy. It is one of those deals where you would love to be a fly on the wall while all of this is going on!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Blog 2- "A Rose for Emily"
This story was, well, average. It gave the reader a lot of questions all throughout the story, which was intruiging. But in the end when all the lose ends were tied, it just seemed boring. Yes, she left her love rotting in her home, yes she was a very mysterious person, but I was so excited for what could have been!
When they spoke of the fowl odor, I immediately thought body. When they said that the negro and her were very shelted and mysterious, I thought secret. When she seemed to be going crazy, I thought murderer! I was really hoping for a cellar full of bodys and that she was a mad killer, instead she was just mad.
One thing that bothered me was when the text used words for numbers larger than nine. Im no grammar expert, but I was always taught that 1-9 should be written with numbers unless begining a sentence. In this story they wrote things like "seventy-four" and "eighty". Maybe Im a purist, but it just makes sentences more fluent.
Overall this was an enjoyable read. It kept the readers on their feet and was easy to follow. I would have done things differently, but maybe thats why Im a Biology major.
When they spoke of the fowl odor, I immediately thought body. When they said that the negro and her were very shelted and mysterious, I thought secret. When she seemed to be going crazy, I thought murderer! I was really hoping for a cellar full of bodys and that she was a mad killer, instead she was just mad.
One thing that bothered me was when the text used words for numbers larger than nine. Im no grammar expert, but I was always taught that 1-9 should be written with numbers unless begining a sentence. In this story they wrote things like "seventy-four" and "eighty". Maybe Im a purist, but it just makes sentences more fluent.
Overall this was an enjoyable read. It kept the readers on their feet and was easy to follow. I would have done things differently, but maybe thats why Im a Biology major.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Blog 1- About Me
Since I Clepped out of the first semester of freshman English, I am not really sure what to expect for this class. If it is anything like my high school courses, then I guess I'll survive.
Again, Im a freshman here and my name is Spencer. My nickname in high school was "Boof" but I havent been called that in a few months since not a lot of my classmates go here. I got the nickname from a coach who compared me to a MLB pitcher, not that I was as talented as him, but that we looked a like. I absolutely love the outdoors, which is why I am a Biology, Ecology and Evolution major. I really want a career working in nature, whether it is with the Game, Fish and Parks or the Army Corps of Engineers, anything that helps wildlife is fine by me. In high school I played football, basketball, baseball and track. I miss those days and wouldnt trade them for anything.
I am originally from Menno, SD, a small town you have probably never heard of about 30 miles north of Yankton, we have a population of 756. Small town life is ideal to me, I loved everything about it and is want I want for my kids.
As for writing, I love to read blogs, newspapers and magazines about my interests. Politics and global warming? No way! Minnesota Twins news and fishing tips? For sure! My first couple years of high school I was so into writing that I wanted to major in Journalism Mass Communication. As the years progressed, I realized that I dont want a cubicle job. Still, I would love to be a contributor to a magazine like ESPN or Field and Stream someday!
Again, Im a freshman here and my name is Spencer. My nickname in high school was "Boof" but I havent been called that in a few months since not a lot of my classmates go here. I got the nickname from a coach who compared me to a MLB pitcher, not that I was as talented as him, but that we looked a like. I absolutely love the outdoors, which is why I am a Biology, Ecology and Evolution major. I really want a career working in nature, whether it is with the Game, Fish and Parks or the Army Corps of Engineers, anything that helps wildlife is fine by me. In high school I played football, basketball, baseball and track. I miss those days and wouldnt trade them for anything.
I am originally from Menno, SD, a small town you have probably never heard of about 30 miles north of Yankton, we have a population of 756. Small town life is ideal to me, I loved everything about it and is want I want for my kids.
As for writing, I love to read blogs, newspapers and magazines about my interests. Politics and global warming? No way! Minnesota Twins news and fishing tips? For sure! My first couple years of high school I was so into writing that I wanted to major in Journalism Mass Communication. As the years progressed, I realized that I dont want a cubicle job. Still, I would love to be a contributor to a magazine like ESPN or Field and Stream someday!
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