The Rest of week 11

The Man who was Almost a Man is the story of a young man named Dave who had a messed up idea of what it is to be a man. He was a poor black boy that worked in the fields every day. His pay was not given to him but to his mother. Dave begins the story talking about how he deserves to buy something with his money. Afterall, Dave had been working very hard. Unfortunately, the item Dave wanted to buy was a gun. He bought the gun from a man named Joe at the store after persuading his mom that he was buying the gun for his father. The way Joe thought did not seem rational. It was as if he had the body of a man but the mind of a child. Dave was very emotionally unstable which was the main conflict of the story. Noone saw Dave as a man because of this. Dave’s undying desire to be called “a man” led him to make poor decisions. Dave’s entire perception of what a man is supposed to be is wrong. Dave thought that being feared is what makes a man. Perhaps this is because his father beats him which is mentioned in the story. Either way, the longing to be feared caused Dave to go on a shooting rampage late one night. He often thought bizarre thoughts about shooting at Mr. Hawkins house. Mr. Hawkins is the man Dave worked for and also the owner of the mule that Dave accidently shot. In the end, Dave runs away on a train in hopes to find a place where he can be a man. Becoming a man is a natural thing that is emphasized in many cultures throughout the world. If only Dave would have had the right idea of what a man truly is he would not have gotten himself in such a sticky situation. Dave acted completely childish by lying, playing with a gun, and running away from home. All of his characteristics were making him not be a “man”.


Powerhouse by Eudora Welty is a short story that takes the reader into a wondrous new place. That place is the audience of an eccentric colored musician named Powerhouse. It is in this short story that readers alike go into the amazing world of early African American music as well as glance at the harsh realities of racism. This short story uses lots of vivid imagery as well as interesting comparisons to show one what “Powerhouse” and his band were really like. Welty says, “There’s no one in the world like him”, talking about Powerhouse. She also describes him based on racist things that people have characterized various categories of people. For example, she says that Powerhouse “ looks more like a Asiatic,monkey,Jewish,Babylonian,Peruvian,fanatic,devil”. Powerhouse really get’s into the music he is playing as if in a trance. The music that Powerhouse plays is Jazz. Jazz was an important part of African American’s lives. If once looks deeper into the story there is a darker side to such a light-hearted story. There is afterall, the constant talk of the telegram that said “ You’re wife is dead”. It makes me wonder whether or not his wife is really dead. The way the various band members talk it seems as if she might be alive and has just wondered away some other place. This story was hard for me to understand. Out of everything I have read this semester, Powerhouse is definitely the most complicated thing for me. I understand that Powerhouse is a laid back guy that continues to play his music despite everything that is going on in his life.

Flight

Flight written by John Steinbeck is a story surrounding a young man named Pepe. Pepe grew up on a beautiful peaceful farm with his mother and two siblings. Pepe’s father is absent in the story. He is said to have died years before. The death of Pepe’s father seems to play an important role in Pepe’s actions. For example, Pepe always carries his father’s knife with him and is always playing with it in some manner like throwing it into a post. Pepe is constantly saying “ I am a man” to Mama. However, Mama is very condescending toward Pepe and calls him a “peanut” or a “chicken”. The fact that Pepe is constantly struggling with his mother to prove that he is a man may have influence on Pepe’s decisions. Pepe made a horrible decision on the night his mother asked him to go into town and get medicine and salt. While he was in town, Pepe drank wine and got into a quarrel with another drunken man. The fight did not end well because Pepe stabbed the other man. This led to the main plot of the story where Pepe goes on a journey to try to stay alive despite people coming after him for his childish actions. The journey itself brings about much paranoia and obstacles.Flight has a lot of foreshadowing. At the beginning of the story, the knife seems to play an important role. A knife is used to cutting things open, tearing things apart, and even killing. The knife seems to symbolize Pepe being torn apart from his family and his innocence. When Pepe left to town I was very much aware that something bad was going to happen. Throughout Pepe’s adventure in the forest I had a feeling that the story would end in death. I actually noticed that most literature that is required to read in school whether it be high school or college ends in some type of tragedy. The entire short story has many vivid details about the setting which includes not only the farm but the nearby beach and the forested mountains. The details are the only thing to brighten such a melancholy story.

week 10

Langston Hughes wrote poetry and stories about African Americans that were slaves or were in some sort of trouble. His short story “ On the Road” tells the story of an unemployed large African American visiting a minister. Sargeant is the African American’s name. He is living a very poor life because he has no money and no one to help him. He is cold and hungry and has no home. It is snowing. The minister who is supposed to be a man of God shuts the door in his face after telling Sargeant to go to the homeless shelter. The problem is all the homeless shelters are full. This short story reveals the cruel reality that many innocent people had to face then and still have to face today. The only difference between then and now is that people aren’t discriminated against because of the color of their skin. Sargeant goes to another church and hits the door frantically trying to get help. Several members of the town try to get Sargeant away from the church but Sargeant refuses to move until he finally pulls the church down. In a dreamstate Sargeant dreams that he met Jesus and had a conversation with him as well as visits a train yard. He eventually wakes up to find himself in jail. This short story, like Langston’s poetry really helps readers of today learn about the cruel treatment that African American people underwent during early American history. Hughes, like many other African Americans and civil rights activists believed that all people were created equal. In his amazing poem “Question” Hughes makes an amazing statement that everyone is equal in death. Race does not matter when life is over on this Earth. Money means nothing in the eyes of death. Rich or cotton picker it doesn’t matter Hughes says we all go to the same place when we die.

The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber is a short story by Ernest Hemingway that leaves the reader wondering what exactly was Hemingway trying to show the audience? At first, it seems as if Hemingway is portraying women as problems to men. The main characters of the story are Macomber, his wife Margot, and their tour guide Wilson. Macomber obviously has many problems with his wife Margot. Margot demoralizes her husband by making fun of his fear of a lion as well as leaving the bed while he is sleeping to join the tour guide in a display of intimacy. The betrayal goes even further at the end of the story when Macomber comes face to face with death and his wife shoots him in the back of the head. It is not clear whether or not Margot shot Macomber on purpose. However, given the state of their relationship it seems as if it was a cold blooded murder which leads me to believe that Hemingway wrote this story to reveal the hardships of a intimate relationship and the insanity that very well could take over a person in a rocky relationship. There is also the fact that Margot was hysterical at the end of the story as she pleaded with Wilson to stop with his sarcastic insensitive remarks. Margot was not entirely a villain. She had to deal with the slightly arrogant Macomber who up until their visit to the safari thought of himself as a top of the world man. Margot may have been trying to save Macomber when she shot him. He was afterall, about to be charged by one of Africa’s powerful beasts. When Macomber came face to face with the wild untamed forces of nature his arrogance faded and he became a sad man trying to survive the hardships of nature and a relationship that was falling apart. He was a character trying to once again be on top of things after he was embarrassed by the lion incident. Wilson is a cold apathetic character. It seems as if he is always trying to add more trouble to the already dying relationship between the Macombers. For example, after he sleeps with Macomber’s wife he tells Macomber that he should control his wife and make her stay in camp. He always seems to be contributing to the problems. At the end of the story he seems to find the death of Macomber funny.

Barn Burning is a short story by William Falkner in which one of the main characters, Sartoris, is forced to make decisions about what’s right and wrong all on his own. His father , Abner Snopes, has a non-traditional way of seeing justice. Perhaps Snopes suffers from some type of personality disorder. The constant conflict between Sartoris and his father leads to the burning of more than just a barn. It leads to the burning of a family. I think the burning barn symbolizes the relationship between one boy and his family. It is Sartoris’s own morals and understandings that allow him to make the right decision to go against his father’s rebellious unethical ways; and stand up for what is right. Sartoris knew that his father did burn the barn and was about to burn another. He felt obligated to keep his secrets to himself because it was his family he was going up against. Snopes is a abusive and selfish man. In my eyes, he is not even a father to Sartoris. Snopes tries to turn Sartoris into a spitting image of himself but it does not work. Sartoris ran away from his horrible so – called father and warns de Spain of his father’s evil plan. Sartoris loves his father. However, Sartoris’s instincts led him to make the decision that led to his father being shot. Sartoris is left alone at the end of the story listening to the only thing that is real to him- nature. Sartoris did not want to hurt his family but he wanted an end to all the drama he had to endure everyday living with his deranged father. A lot of people have to come to terms with what is right. Too often what is taught to children is not what is morally right.

Their Eyes were Watching God

The title Their Eyes were Watching God refers to the uncontrollable forces that are present in everyone’s life. Hurston depicts nature as a godly force, but not in the religious meaning. Although Janie is on a journey to find her voice, there are no religious references throughout the novel. For example, Granny’s sorrow and pain pushes Janie into a marriage based on status, not love. Janie is constantly struggling to make her grandmother happy, but her voice is much too strong to be unheard. Her heart guides her away from her first husband, Logan, because she felt no love for him. Logan used his power and material objects to bribe Janie to become an obedient. Janie breaks away from the force of Logan and moves on to her second husband, Jody. When Janie first met Jody he promised her all the things she has ever coveted, such as love, power, and expensive clothes. Janie sees hope for her future and decides that she needs to take control of her life, but she is appalled by control. Janie must have independence. Jody gained all the power he wanted. He built a whole African American town and became major. Janie assumed that she would find fulfillment in being the mayor’s wife, but instead she found more oppression. Even on Jody’s death bed, Janie persistently expressed her negative emotions toward him. The next force or “god” in the novel is her love for Tea Cake. Love is the most powerful force this is shown through her devotion to Tea Cake even after he leaves her one night and takes her money. Their relationship endures the hard times and they live happily in the Everglades socializing and farming. The last of the force is Mother Nature’s wrath, the hurricane that changed the lives of Janie and Tea Cake forever. Tea Cake has too much arrogance to admit that he can’t defeat the power of nature. Of course, he doesn’t learn this until after the devastation. A rabid dog bites Tea Cake, and he becomes insane. The power of rabies overcame his senses. Tea Cake becomes delirious and believes that Janie is cheating on him. He beats her to death and attempts to shoot her, but she takes the last stand and ends his life with a bullet.

These are the God’s that the characters are watching. They are not god, but forces of nature whether it be natural disasters or flaws in human nature. Throughout the book Janie is on a spiritual journey, not only to find peace, but to find her voice and use it properly. She aims to be strong willed, but she also longs to achieve the perfect balance. Language is an art that must be perfected. By the end of the novel, Janie has learned to communicate with others, speak her mind, and find inner peace within her.

There is a sense of community that stays with Janir throughout her life, she never forgets her past, but builds upon it to open doors to enlightenment. Each marriage represents a different time in Janie’s life. Her first marriage was based around her idealized concept of instantly falling in love. Her second marriage represents the fulfillment of her dreams and sense of adventure. Her last marriage with Tea Cake represents true happiness, love, and completion of self.

The social construct of racism are evident throughout the very beginning of the book. For instance, her fellow black peers teased Janie when she was young because she lived in the white folks back yard and had nicer clothes than the other African American children. Logan, her first husband, also comments that she is too high strung and acts as if she is white. The idea that black people restrain their own capabilities of progress is also apparent. Whenever Janie first moves to town one man comments that it’s the black folks who hold their selves back because they are always jealous of what others have. At the same time, whenever Janie is on trial for murder an all white male jury finds her innocent. Her own black friends shun her, while the white women sympathize with her. The ideals of race are very complex throughout the book, but it is obvious that Hurston intended to get the message across that everyone is equal. For example, whenever Janie is describing her child she recalls the first time she ever noticed she was black. She had no idea where she was in the photograph until the other children pointed it out. The idea of race is not as important as the idea that human beings create our own social constructs, not just based on race, but status and gender as well. The men in Janie’s life try to control her, but her strong willed spirit prevails and she returns home to her community with peace in her heart and experience behind her belt.

Week 8 Blog part 1

John Redding Goes to Sea

John Redding Goes to Sea is a tragic short story in which the main character, John Redding, faces a battle between his longings and what his loved ones want for him. Throughout the entire short story there was something about John that was different than everyone else. He wanted to travel and see the world. His mother, a static character, with a typical personality thinks that her son has been bewitched and that is why he wants to travel. She cannot open her eyes to the fact that her son is an individual. John’s father is a dynamic character who supports his son. He wants his son’s dreams to come true. John Redding’s uniqueness is a surprise to the traditional homebody community. John Redding is very intelligent and as he grows older it shows. His dialect changes from the standard southern African American dialect to that of a well educated individual. John Redding eventually marries a young woman after a very short amount of time. However, his desire to see the world never ends. This desire causes conflict amongst John and the women characters of the story. His father still supports him. One night, John decidesthat he is going to see the world regardless of what his wife or mother says. His mother reacts in a cruel way that sends pain deep into John’s heart. The irony of the story is that the very night the fight happened John left to help work on a bridge. A terrible storm came and it caused the death of John Redding. John Redding’s dream did come true, but only in death. A desperate mother and wife beg the other workers to collect John’s lifeless body. The only supporter of John’s dreams, his father, says for them to leave him alone.

A Wagner Martinee
A Wagner Martinee is a short story with various themes and a darker yet love filled atmosphere. The narrator of the story is a man named Clark. Clark begins the story with news of his aunt Georgiana’s visit. This short story is based around the visit of Georgiana and the lesson’s she teaches Clark. Georgiana is a poor woman with little in her life. She was not always that way. Her words she says to Clark and her basic appearance reveal her depression. Clark takes Georgiana to the opera to try to cheer her up. It does more than that. It sends her into tears because she does not want to leave. Georgiana faced a lot of changes when she decided to leave. Her life went from having money to do anything to living in poverty- where every dime counts. This dramatic change gave her nephew, Clark, new insight to the affects decisions can make on one’s life. Clark sees how his aunt Georgiana had so many things in her life she once loved such as music. However, by eloping she lost it all and had to adjust to some major life changing events like poverty. She went from living an easy life in Boston to a hard life in Nebraska. Her new life on the farm is less than gorgeous. She has a down right pitiful home. The weather in her new home is described with quiet detail. The weather itself could be comparing the way the decision Georgiana made and how it has changed her. She was once young and beautiful and now she is old with dramatic changes in her appearance such as false teeth. Although the story seems short it has a lot of deeper meaning. The deeper meaning is especially shown in the age old saying that decisions should not come lightly.