“The Sisters” by James Joyce

“The Sisters” is quite a bizarre tale and seems to be left somewhat open ended. The story remains ambiguous. Father Flynn supposedly died a peaceful death but from the sounds of it, his whole downward turn towards death does not sound peaceful. His laughing fit in the confession-box makes him sound mentally unstable and insane, and may allude to an insane crime or sin he had committed. The narrator’s uncomfortable feelings around him paired with a sense of admiration make me believe that the priest may have sexually harassed him. A theme I noticed is a want to escape. The narrator wants to escape the comfortableness of the wake and the priest’s presence. Paralysis also comes up quite often. The narrator repeats it several times and also seems to experience it when at the priest’s wake. The priest is also paralyzed both before and after his death.  The connection between the two paralysis’ possibly relates back to the presumed sexual abuse the priest bestowed on the narrator. I find it interesting that the only really disturbing attribute of the priest is that his tongue rests on his front teeth. This is a small detail but when you think about what one looks like when they do this, they appear strange and creepy. This is especially true in this context. So little detail is given yet so much can be presumed.

            I project that a common occurrence amongst Dubliners’ short stories will be ambiguity and a lack of full detail which ultimately forces the reader to fill in the holes of the story. The style of writing is simple, yet holds much meaning. It’s lack of detail, although somewhat frustrating at times, makes analyzing especially interesting. It leaves a lot of facts to be assumed, turning them from facts to assumptions.

I Never Saw A Moor and “Faith” is a Fine Invention

I Never Saw A Moor is basically Emily Dickinson’s way of saying you do not have to see to believe. Although she’s never seen a Moor (Muslim) or the Sea, or God or Heaven, the narrator knows they exist. Personifying all these things she has never seen makes it as if they are people she has never met; they exist, she just does not know them personally. She has faith that God and Heaven exist and faith alone is enough for her to be certain of their existence.

            “Faith” is a Fine Invention can be read in a satirical tone. Reading it in this way, Dickinson is criticizing our general emphasis on having faith in ourselves and in one another. It is only useful when one can “see”, as in they know what will happen in their future. But on the other hand, it is Dickinson’s way of finding a balance between science and religion. She puts “faith” in quotes to suggest that there is something wrong and misunderstood about the general meaning of the word. Referring to it as an invention makes it seem created by science which is exactly what faith should not be.  In times of need, one can turn to “inventions” and “microscopes” or to “faith”. Dickinson believes tools of science are for emergencies, which I interpret to be medical and physical.

            The two poems’ main meanings center around faith.  The first one applauds faith while the second one can be interpreted as criticizing it. Dickinson’s two stances are not explicitly stated in the poem. It is through the meaning of the symbols and personification in which we can uncover her somewhat hidden meaning of faith. Who knew the concept of faith could have so many dimensions? Apparently Emily Dickinson did.

Apocalypse Now V. Heart Of Darkness

Apocalypse Now has many similarities with Heart of Darkness, yet on the other hand varies significantly. One significant difference is that the movie takes place during the Vietnam war where as the book takes place in the Free Congo State. The major events in the movie correspond to the book, such as each station, the arrow attack, and the death and portrayal of Kurtz. Apocalypse Now, however, was much more violent and graphic than the book. Both, however, captured the heartless nature of warfare. A major difference between the two is that in the movie, the captain is sent to kill Kurtz but in the book, he dies of illness. His last words remain the same in both works.

            I found it interesting that in the movie, the soldiers are portrayed almost as savages, where usually soldiers and warfare are glorified. The large emphasis on battle highlighted the savagery. The book hints towards this but does not go into as much emphasis on it. It goes into great detail about the soldier and the harsh, inhumane conditions they endure. Heart of Darkness is arguably more dark and bleak than the movie, however I found the ending of Apocalypse Now to be much less hopeful than the ending of the book. The movie’s gruesome atmosphere did not mirror the atmosphere of the book, for Heart of Darkness is told in a story format where Apocalypse Now is in the perspective of a first hand experience. The movie does not include the trip Marlow is on as he relays his story. Regardless of perspective, Marlow’s story and experiences are still depicted in the movie. The photo journalist is also depicted consistently between the two works. My mental image of Marlow does not match that of the protagonist of the movie. I pictured him to be much more rugged and weathered.

Explication of "In Just-"

           After reading In Just- for the first time, I initially thought it was childish. It’s awkward breaks and simplistic language emphasizes this aspect. However, amongst this childish set up, a “goat-footed” balloonman wanders through. This mythological allusion makes him seem like an old, well traveled man, unlike the balloons and presumable children referenced throughout the poem.

            I find her spacing especially interesting. She pairs together “eddieandbill” and “bettyanddisbel” along with “balloonman” as if each pair is a singe unit. The fact that these groupings of people are not capitalized nouns further emphasized their dehumanization. Without individual names, they lack importance. They are turned from pronouns into nouns. It could also symbolize how close these pairs are to each other. Meanwhile the spacing between “whistles far and wee” physically shows the distance that the sound of the whistle travels. Cummings places “whistles” and “far” more spaced out from each other than “and” and “wee”.

            The use of the words “mud-luscious” and “puddle-wonderful” depict the rain fall in the spring. This time of great change is occurring nature and amongst the children. For, the children seem to be growing up, or living as children do, playing “hop-scotch and jump-rope”. However, the old, “lame balloonman” contrasts to this depiction of spring. Despite his goat-footedness, he whistles on. This could mirror the songs of birds in the springtime. The children leave their “hop-scotch and jump-rope” to go to this whistling balloonman which cotuld mirror them leaving behind their childhood and growing towards adulthood.

            In the poems last stanza lies one of two capital letters used throughout the poem. It is found as the “m” in “balloonMan”. This emphasizes the word man. Since the poem ends with this, it suggests that all childhoods end, and everyone’s ultimate fate is adulthood. So like the children, the poem ends in adulthood.

Facts About the Congo Free State

The Congo Free State was led by Leopold. It was an extremely corrupt leadership, for he said his aim was to benefit the local people when in reality, he achieved the opposite. He extracted ivory, minerals, and rubber, exploiting the region for monetary purposes as opposed to benefiting the people and developing the land. In doing so, up to ten million people were killed. At first, I failed to realize why so many people were put to death. This is probably because the reason is so absurd, for if one failed to meet the rubber collection quotas, they could be punished by death. I can imagine other harsh orders were put in place in an effort to achieve economic success. This "success" is questionable, for it was at the cost of millions of lives. To kill someone for not fulfilling a quota is absurd. This insane practice was put in place because of the poor economic conditions of the time. Regardless of economic conditions, killing people for not meeting standards is repulsive. It almost seems like a type of genocide, except it is not ethnically or religiously based. Instead, it is against those who are physically inept or unable to meet the standards set by Leopold.

            Leopold’s operation peaked in 1903, after which, competition with foreign nations out did Leopold, for their prices for rubber were far lower than his. It was the act of a “rebellious” journalist which ousted Leopold to the world.  He was forced to set up an independent commission of inquiry. Despite Leopold’s claims that he would change the way he ran his regime, Belgium annexed the republic in 1908. His rubber production was unprofitable and after the state took over for Leopard, they had to bail out the company.  This failure is well deserved for Leopold but I pity the poor people of the state which had to endure his dictatorship and cruelty. 

Explication of the last paragraph of The Metamorphosis

        Despite the loss of a loved one, the Samsa family feels a sense of relief when Gregor dies. As readers, we view Gregor’s death as sorrowful and pathetic, yet the family grieves with a mix of relief, hope, and sadness. The last paragraph in particular draws my attention. in a way, they celebrate their new freedom, for the three of them leave the house and head to the country side.  The choice to go to “the country on the edge of town” reflects their need for fresh air, further symbolizing their renewed sense of freedom. in a sense, they were prisoners of their own home while Gregor inhabited his mi room. Fear kept them there and at the same time pushed them away.  Now that their hinderance is gone, they can start life anew. By Gregor turning into a bug the family’s reliance on him disintegrated, for for the first time, the family discusses the success of their jobs with one another. The light which shines into the car symbolizes hope. its warmth rrors the family’s feelings toward one another. 

           The decision to change apartments is not unexpected. it is interesting, though, that they decide to move into a “smaller and cheaper, but better located and in general [a] more practical” one. Throughout the story, the family as not been very practical with their expenses. It is now that they decide to be practical. However, this new approach is not mirrored in all aspects of their life. The parents come to the realization that their daughter has quite matured and decides they want to marry her off. Ending the story like this adds to the idea that life goes on. The last words end with “their daughter stood up first and stretched her young body”. This is seemingly redundant, however it implies that she has awoken as a changed person. she is the one who has metamorphosed. 

POL Poem: The Road Not Taken Explication

      I chose The Road Not Taken as my poem for the Poetry Out Loud competition. I like this poem for a number of reasons. One being, that it is so misunderstood. Before reading it in English class, I had heard about it and made my assumption that Frost encourages his reads to take the road less traveled. I find this especially interesting. I think it mirrors American optimism, for we tend to create inspirational meanings rather than depressing ones. By choosing to see the inspirational rather than plainly truthful meaning, it exemplifies our desire to accomplish the American dream in our own, unique ways. This misinterpretation is funny, for it is exactly the opposite of Frost’s intended point. In fact, Frost makes fun of those who claim in hindsight that they have taken the road less traveled. I find this to be very ironic. The poem is best known as its opposite meaning rather than its intended one. However, I think it mirrors the very message frost is trying to depict. If you believe you’ve taken the road less traveled, or strive to do so, it is a waste of time, for everyone ends up in the same place.

            Another factor in choosing this poem is the sound of it. it is read in a rhythmic, rhyming way which not only sounds nice, but will hopefully make it easier to memorize. I also like the imagery involved throughout it. it’s intended message is also interesting. I like that Frost is saying to take the easy road because I feel like throughout life, people are always saying to take the hard road now so that your life will be easier later. Frost contradicts the norm. Above all else though, I love how misunderstood it is. The irony in its misunderstood meaning is what sticks out to me the most.