"No one but Mr. Kapasi noticed. He watched as it rose, carried higher and higher by the breeze, into the trees where the monkeys now sat, solemnly observing the scene below."
I didn't really understand where this story was going at first. However, over time I began to understand the conflict in the story. Mr. Kapasi was very lonely. He had become used to his wife's coldness towards him. Because of his loneliness in his job and in his relationship he begins to wonder about a life with Mrs. Das. He planned out the relationship they would have and obsesses over little details about what could be and when her letter would come. At the end, his fairy tale of being with Mrs. Das disappears, just like the address. Also, the suspense and curiosity of what would happen with Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi the entire time kept the story interesting. The misunderstanding in Mrs. Das' understanding of what kind of interpreter Mr. Kapasi is lead to Mrs. Das assuming that Mr. Kapasi has everything figured out. Mrs. Das looks for Mr. Kapasi to have the answers to her problems, but this is not the case at all. In the end, nothing works out and Mr. Kapasi is still just as lonely as he began.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
How I Met My Husband
1. Describe the plot structure in the story. How is the arrangement of the plot elements effective? At Which points were your expectations as a reader overturned?
"So I said yes, and I went out with him for two years and he asked me to marry him, and we were engaged a year more while I got my things together, and then we did marry."
The plot structure of "How I Met My Husband" is very consistent until the end. The story plot consists of Edie continually telling of her life as a hired girl, telling details of important events that lead up to her meeting her husband. The chronological order of the events makes it easy to follow and imagine vividly what occurred. However, towards the end, and especially the last paragraph, we find out that the reader does not marry Chris, but the mailman instead. It was at this point at the end when my expectations as a reader were overturned. I feel like the author purposely made the entire plot seem as if Edie would marry Chris, seeing as he was the only main male in the story. Yet, if she did not care for or like Chris, she would have never come across the mailman. The author purposely sets up the story to make the reader assume that Edie will marry Chris, but as we all find out, this does not happen.
"So I said yes, and I went out with him for two years and he asked me to marry him, and we were engaged a year more while I got my things together, and then we did marry."
The plot structure of "How I Met My Husband" is very consistent until the end. The story plot consists of Edie continually telling of her life as a hired girl, telling details of important events that lead up to her meeting her husband. The chronological order of the events makes it easy to follow and imagine vividly what occurred. However, towards the end, and especially the last paragraph, we find out that the reader does not marry Chris, but the mailman instead. It was at this point at the end when my expectations as a reader were overturned. I feel like the author purposely made the entire plot seem as if Edie would marry Chris, seeing as he was the only main male in the story. Yet, if she did not care for or like Chris, she would have never come across the mailman. The author purposely sets up the story to make the reader assume that Edie will marry Chris, but as we all find out, this does not happen.
A Rose for Emily
1. How is the issue of chronology related to the larger thematic design of the story?
"When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old manservant--a combined gardener and cook--had seen in at least ten years."
In order to create suspense for the reader, Faulkner changed the normal chronological order of the story. The reader is continually questioning and curious as to what will happen next based on the chronological order of the story. The already eerie mood of the story is further added to by this suspenseful order. The climax is at the very end of the story. A story written in the regular order would not have created so much suspense and curiosity in the last part and most specifically the last paragraph of the story. The reader is able to put themselves in the same situation as the people in Jefferson and find out the surprise at the same time as everyone else. This simple fact also adds to the thematic design of suspense and curiosity in the story. Without a reverse chronological order in the story, the mood would be completely different.
"When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old manservant--a combined gardener and cook--had seen in at least ten years."
In order to create suspense for the reader, Faulkner changed the normal chronological order of the story. The reader is continually questioning and curious as to what will happen next based on the chronological order of the story. The already eerie mood of the story is further added to by this suspenseful order. The climax is at the very end of the story. A story written in the regular order would not have created so much suspense and curiosity in the last part and most specifically the last paragraph of the story. The reader is able to put themselves in the same situation as the people in Jefferson and find out the surprise at the same time as everyone else. This simple fact also adds to the thematic design of suspense and curiosity in the story. Without a reverse chronological order in the story, the mood would be completely different.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Death, be not proud
"Death, be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;"
Question 2
Why should death not be proud? List the speaker's major reasons.
The speaker is talking to death and telling death that it is not powerful. Death cannot control his life or be a constant fear in his life. Death does not last because there is more to life after death. There is a Heaven or some sort of afterlife that conquers death. Death is not mighty and powerful but weak. Fate is in control, not death. The speaker tells death to stop "flexing" because it cannot determine death when fate is in the picture. There is no need to be afraid of death when death is like sleep. Sleep is pleasurable. When there is a life after death, death cannot be the end of everything. The speaker is not afraid.
Question 2
Why should death not be proud? List the speaker's major reasons.
The speaker is talking to death and telling death that it is not powerful. Death cannot control his life or be a constant fear in his life. Death does not last because there is more to life after death. There is a Heaven or some sort of afterlife that conquers death. Death is not mighty and powerful but weak. Fate is in control, not death. The speaker tells death to stop "flexing" because it cannot determine death when fate is in the picture. There is no need to be afraid of death when death is like sleep. Sleep is pleasurable. When there is a life after death, death cannot be the end of everything. The speaker is not afraid.
Delight in Disorder
"A sweet disorder in the dress, kindles in clothes a wantonness."
Question 3
Consider the relationship of form to structure in this poem. How does this contribute to the meaning?
Instead of a neat world, the speaker prefers things to be in chaos and imperfect. In this way, the world in which the speaker is a part of is unique. The speaker strives to be different in a world that looks upon disorder in a negative way. Imperfections make life more interesting. In this way, the author has created an non-rhyming, different length sonnet which further adds to the disorder and imperfections that are purposely being stressed. In the larger sense, I think the speaker wants the reader to understand that one should embrace the disorder in life. Not everything has to be perfect and precise. The structure of the poem exemplifies this point very well.
Question 3
Consider the relationship of form to structure in this poem. How does this contribute to the meaning?
Instead of a neat world, the speaker prefers things to be in chaos and imperfect. In this way, the world in which the speaker is a part of is unique. The speaker strives to be different in a world that looks upon disorder in a negative way. Imperfections make life more interesting. In this way, the author has created an non-rhyming, different length sonnet which further adds to the disorder and imperfections that are purposely being stressed. In the larger sense, I think the speaker wants the reader to understand that one should embrace the disorder in life. Not everything has to be perfect and precise. The structure of the poem exemplifies this point very well.
Edward
"O I have killed my father dear, Mother, Mother."
Question 4
Does the repetition of each question and answer simply waste words or does it add to the suspense and emotional intensity?
Question 4 asks about the repitition and how the poem would be affected if the lines were not repeated. If you were to take out these lines, the poem would lose some of the creepy tone that comes from the repetition. Not only that, but the questioning on both sides would be lost. By repeating the questions, Edward's mother forces her son to admit the truth of his actions and make him feel guilt. In the end, it is the guilt that Edward feels that makes him curse his mother and tell her she is condemned to hell. Did his mother know all along? Did she tell Edward to kill his father? Regardless, he is troubled when it comes to admitting his wrongdoings and he seems to be upset.
Question 4
Does the repetition of each question and answer simply waste words or does it add to the suspense and emotional intensity?
Question 4 asks about the repitition and how the poem would be affected if the lines were not repeated. If you were to take out these lines, the poem would lose some of the creepy tone that comes from the repetition. Not only that, but the questioning on both sides would be lost. By repeating the questions, Edward's mother forces her son to admit the truth of his actions and make him feel guilt. In the end, it is the guilt that Edward feels that makes him curse his mother and tell her she is condemned to hell. Did his mother know all along? Did she tell Edward to kill his father? Regardless, he is troubled when it comes to admitting his wrongdoings and he seems to be upset.
That Time of Year
"As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away,"
Question #1
What are the three major images introduced by the three quatrains? What do they have in common?
The three major images introduced by the quatrains are those of death. The first image deals with fall turning into winter. Next, twilight is turning into night. Lastly, the fire turns to ashes. All of these images deal with something ending or dying. Fall fades to winter, twilight turns into darkness of the night and when the fire is put out it becomes ashes. Comparatively, these quatrains are all personifying death. The diction of the poem makes it seems as if the speaker is getting old and is nearing death. Due to the age of the speaker, his lover is spending all of her time with him because she knows that he will be gone soon. The poem signifies loss. Loss of seasons, nature, and love.
Question #1
What are the three major images introduced by the three quatrains? What do they have in common?
The three major images introduced by the quatrains are those of death. The first image deals with fall turning into winter. Next, twilight is turning into night. Lastly, the fire turns to ashes. All of these images deal with something ending or dying. Fall fades to winter, twilight turns into darkness of the night and when the fire is put out it becomes ashes. Comparatively, these quatrains are all personifying death. The diction of the poem makes it seems as if the speaker is getting old and is nearing death. Due to the age of the speaker, his lover is spending all of her time with him because she knows that he will be gone soon. The poem signifies loss. Loss of seasons, nature, and love.
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