southern lit

Bastard Out of Carolina (last post)

2006-05-03T15:29:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking a lot about "Bastard Out of Carolina" by Dorothy Allison today and what I want to write for my last post...My favorite genres are autobiographical stories and true stories and I think that is why I enjoyed reading this book so much. Its hard to say that I enjoyed reading it, thinking about all the abuse and horrible things that Bone had to endure. So I suppose a better way to describe my feelings would be drawn in. I felt drawn in to the situation, almost like I would have given anything to reach in and grab Bone out of the text and keep her safe.
The end of this story really made me think about how everyone has different ways of dealing with their problems. Throughout the story everytime that Bone was abused, Anney knew what was going on but it was if she was blinded by reality and her love for Glen was so strong that she was willing to put up with anything, even seeing the pain and anger of what it was doing to her own child. I also have been wondering about Anney and Daddy Glen. Do you think she really loved him? I mean, honestly...how could she really and truly love him after he raped her daughter..her own flesh and blood? I wonder if it was more about love or more about having a man to protect her? Although he never seemed to beable to hold a job to support his family..he was still there for Anney.
I also have been thinking about why this happened to Bone. Why did Daddy Glen chose to abuse and rape her? Was she different then Reese? I wish that Allison had made it clear wheither or not Daddy Glen had been abusing Reese as well..because if he hadnt been hurting Reese, then why was it only Bone that he took his frustration out on and hurt? Throughout this whole story, I have felt such anger and hatred for Daddy Glen! I know it happens all the time in real life as well and I just do not understand how a person can hurt an innocent child..
I think reading this story really interested and drew the whole class in, because it isnt like it is fictional story, I mean this really happened! The end of the story was what really disturbed me the most. The end was distrubing, but in a way it was also like you could finally breathe a sigh of relief that at least Bone would be safe from Daddy Glen. The saddest part is that her mother couldnt look past her relationship with Daddy Glen, and that was what shocked me the most. On page 306, Anney says to Bone, "I never wanted you to be hurt. I wanted you to be safe....and I just loved him. You know that. I just loved him so I couldnt see him that way. I couldnt imagine..." Anney was pregnant with Bone for 9months, gave birth to her and watched her grow up. She was supposed to be the protector of Bone, she was supposed to love her unconditional and always support her and take care of her. In my opinion Anney failed her job as a mother, and as long as Bone is as far away from Daddy Glen as possible, she is better off without her mother as well. Her mother was never truly there for her, and the saddest part of the whole story is, without a father and now without a mother...Bone is alone in the world. I know that she has aunts and uncles that will love her and take care of her..especially her aunt Raylene..but she has no parents now.
On page 309, Bone thinks to herself, "I would be thirteen in a few weeks. I was already who I was going to be." I think this is a turning point in the book. She may be by herself without parents in the world, scarred and torn apart from what she has been through, but she knows that she will never let it happen again. She knows that it is in the past now and now she knows much more than a girl her age should..but she knows that she will be stronger because of what she has been through.

James Dickey

2006-04-26T14:25:00.000-04:00

"The Heaven of Animals"
I think this is an interesting poem. I think it really could mean something different to each person that reads it because the term "Heaven" means something different to everyone. In the first three stanzas, Dickey is describing the way the animals lived on earth vs. the way they are living in heaven..its describes the two as being the same, but only heaven is better, richer..
For example, "If they have lived in a wood it is a wood. If they have lived on plains it is grass rolling under their feet forever." and then a few stanzas down he continues on and writes, "Outdoing what is required: The richest wood, The deepest field." I think this is an important part in the poem. It is saying that the heaven of animals is just like how it was while they were living on earth, only it is better! It is the same, but it is as if the animals are treated better and given nicer things than they had before they died.
Another contrast that is made between mortal life and the afterlife in heaven is the line that says, "These hunt, as they have done, but with claws and teeth grown perfect, more deadly than they can believe. They stalk more silently." This is a great contrast between the two because it seems to be saying that while these animals were living they were hunting and stalking just like they are now, but the difference is that for them now they are better..they have claws and teeth that have grown perfect and they will succeed in the hunt for their prey, which may not have been something that always happened in their moral life.
I like how Dickey choses write about the animals in the heaven that are also being hunted. It is showing that the heaven of animals is so similar to the moral lives of these animals. Before they died ..the animals were either the hunter or the prey, and in the heaven they stay in the same classification and are still either the hunter or the prey, but not both. "And those that are hunted know this as their life..and to feel no dear but acceptance, complicance, fullfilling themselves without pain, they fall they are torn, they rise , they walk again." I think this is a great example of how things can never really change. Comparing the animals who are prey to the image of Bone in "Bastard out of Carolina", I really can see the similarities. Bone can not change who she really is, she was born that way and she will always be that way, just like the animals who are hunted. They were born to be hunted, and they will die and continue to be hunted. In the heaven of animals, the animals who are hunted have a better life than they did while they were living. They are still hunted and killed, but instead of just dying, they are reincarinated and rise up again.
I think this poem shows a lot of religious ideas..heaven and the afterlife, and also reincarination. I liked the poem because you really could either agree or disagree with the idea of the heaven for animals, because not eveyone believes the same thing. I really liked reading all the Dickey poems, I thought they were strange, but so interesting! They left me reaching to turn the page in the packet to see what the next poem would bring to my imagination!!!

Revelation...

2006-04-19T15:16:00.000-04:00

This story was quite different! I think O'Connor does a wonderful job really giving life to the characters..I have a clear picture in my head of what that Dr.'s waiting room might have looked like! Mrs. Turpin is the obviously the main character in the story and she is defiently the most in depth as well. For my blog this week, I want to talk more about the question me and lyndsey answered in class this morning..
Mrs. Turpins behaviors play a large role in determining who she is as a person. She is supposed to be this Church going Christian woman, but it seems as though instead of her being thankful (for the right things!) and humble, she is self absorbed and self rightous. Even more so than being self absorbed, I would say she is obsessed with classifying other people that either she comes across or interacts with.
She has this feeling that each and every person needs to be put into a different class, and on page 820, O'Connor writes, "Without appearing to, Mrs. Turpin always noticed peoples feet....excatly what you would have expected to have on." I thought that paragraph was interesting because not only does she think she has the ability to judge others and put them into her so called class system, but she can do it by simply looking at their feet and seeing what type of shoes the person has on!
Mrs. Turpin is so judgemental, and it is probably because she has low self esteem..maybe becasue she is a large woman..but she does put on a good show. Even though deep inside i believe she is a very weak person, she makes herself feel better and boasts that self esteem up by making judgements of others simply by what they look like. on page 820 again, O'Connor writes, "She had on a yellow sweat shirt and wine colored slacks both gritty looking.." I think it is interesting to note that instead of thinking about what this woman's life may have been like ..maybe she didnt have money to buy new clothes or even to wash them often..Mrs Turpin simply without really any thought just classifies her as the white trash woman and from there forth that is what she is refered to as.
I found another passage that I think is interesting to note...on page825, when they are speaking of dispositions, O'Connor writes, "The day has never dawned that I couldnt find something to laugh at." and they go on to make jokes that it is Claude she laughs at but I have a feeling that it could be more than that. Did anyone else think so too? What about how she feels about herself deep down? Maybe if she wasnt able to nit pick another person apart each day, she would be stuck thinking about herself and how mean and "ugly" a person she really was inside.
http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webauthors/o.connor115-au-.html
http://www.gawomen.org/honorees/oconnorf.htm

presentations

2006-04-12T15:40:00.000-04:00

First of all I want to say to everyone, great job on all our presentations!!!! Everyones topics were so interesting and I enjoyed them all:-) I had no idea that there was so much meaning behind BBQ!!!! When I think of a BBQ, I think of cooking chicken and hamburgers on the grill with my family and friends and just having a good time. It was interesting to find out the real meaning behind it and what kind of effort goes into a real "BBQ". I also never knew that there was a difference behind "Creole" and "Cajun" cooking! I learned alot of new facts from both groups, and now I feel like trying out some new recipe's the next time I cook:-)
To both groups that did their research on the media portrayal of the south..I am going to rent both movies this weekend if I get a chance..I have never heard of the movie the color purple until today and it really sparked my interest in watching the whole movie! I love driving miss daisy, it is such a great movie, but I do have to say that before today a lot of the things that happened in the movie really just flew over my head and now I am seeing the real meaning of the movie and I am interesting in learning more about the differences between the movie and the play...
When I think of interracial relationships, the first thing that comes to my mind doesn't have to do with Native Americans, but after listening to your presentation I feel like it really opened my eyes to something that I really didn't know all that much about. I never knew that the Native Americans played such a large role in the south. The music that you played at the end of your presentation was great and I bet the presentation that they gave to the school was wonderful and most interesting! :-)
I also never thought as country being the typical American music...Personally I am not a big country fan although I do enjoy a few select songs. I think a lot of people have become more interested after watching walk the line about Johnny cash. I liked learning about all the different types of country music that I never knew about! I thought it was all the same..Great job guys
southern stereotypes...This was an interesting presentation because so many people really do have these biased and negative opinions of some southerners. My best friend lives in NC and when I go down to visit her, I feel like it really is true. You can tell who has been there their whole life and who hasn't....Even the people that live there have stereotypes toward each other.
I think having these presentations at the end of the semester was great because everyone felt comfortable with each other and really got into their presentations, everyone worked hard and it was obvious the amount of research and thought was put into the presentations! Great job everyone:-)

Flannery O'Connor

2006-04-04T22:08:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of mixed feelings on Flannery O'Connor's story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find". At first when I was reading it, I kept wondering why someone would want to write these stories that have such violent endings. Then...I was thinking that maybe it all has a meaning, maybe O'Connor was really trying to say something about herself and her thoughts of others while writing these stories. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this idea?? (because im still not sure what i think of it!)
We talked about how O'Connor used foreshadowing in her writings in class and I have a few more thoughts on it. At the beginning of the story before the family begins their trip, the grandmother is described as wearing, "a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with small white dots in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." This is the most obvious passage that uses foreshadowing..because at the end of the story..the grandmother ends up being killed on the side of the road.
After our class disscussion I went back and re read the story over more carefully once again and i noticed a few more hints at foreshadowing. There is another passage on the next page that describes the family driving past a large cotton field that had 5 or 6 graves fenced in the middle of it ..and when John Wesley asks about the plantation, the grandmother says, "gone with the wind, ha ha". I think this is an important link the ending of the story. It is interesting how the small graveyard they pass has 5 or 6 graves and that the plantation is just "gone with the wind" ...It is the same amount of people that have been buried there, that are riding in the car on the family trip, and i think it is also important to point out that at the end of the story, the grandmother and her family are also going to be "gone with the wind" just like the plantation and family that are buried in the graveyard they pass.
I also have been trying to figure out why the grandmother didnt want to tell her her family that she had mistaken the house they were looking for to be in a different state. I wonder if in a way the grandmother knew that this was going to happen? I mean, she dressed in her best outfit so if something were to happen..everyone would know that she was a lady, she led the family on this "quest" to find this house because of an old memory and reminising..once they had taken the wrong turn, she realizes they arent heading the right way and she made a mistake but she choses not to tell her family?!! I think the grandmother knew something was going to happen and at least they would all be together..i dont know maybe i am stretching the idea alittle too far...this story really just left me guessing and wondering the real meanings behind things and I wish we had a chance to discuss it more in class.

"Some people have the notion that you read the story and then climb out of it into the meaning, but for the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning…”Quote by Flannery O’Connor

**Here are some great links that I found that can give us more info on O'Connor
http://www.literarytraveler.com/literary_articles/flannery_oconnor.aspx
http://www.gawomen.org/honorees/long/oconnorf_long.htm
http://library.gcsu.edu/~sc/foc.html

Street car named desire

2006-03-22T23:04:00.000-05:00

After reading Hurston and really enjoying her writings, I found it hard to get into this play. It has a lot of drama and personality to it...but I feel like it did not catch my attention the way Hurston did.
We talked a little about this scene in class today, but I would like to mention it again and see what others thought of it...
At the beginning when Stanley comes home and throws the package of meat at Stella..well I have been thinking about it and trying to figure out why Williams began with a scene like that. It is clear that Stanley is trying to prove that he is the man. He wants to be known as the provider, and that he worked all day and is bringing Stella home this package of meat. I think it is funny how he just throws it at her and yells, "meat!" It is like he is an animal bringing his kill back to its den/cave or whatever..
I think it may have something to do with the fact that he is leaving right after he gets home to go bowling with friends. He has probably been gone all day, and Stella anticipates his arrival home and instead this package of meat takes his place instead. I feel like it has more meaning then what we talked about in class..but I just can't seem to figure out what it might be.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/williams_t.html

http://www.gatewayno.com/culture/TWilliams.html

Their eyes were watching God

2006-03-15T22:44:00.000-05:00

So far I have really enjoyed reading this story. Hurston is a wonderful author and her way of writing seems to really draw you into the story line and what is really happening. I have been thinking alot about the different themes of this story and to me, the one that really stands out is dreams..in particular, Janie's dreams for her life and even possibily the dreams of a woman in general.
Most people, especially women i think have this idea "dream" in their head that they have created to define to themselves what they expect from love and marriage. Janie is no different..she wants to find true love. I think it is interesting to note how she compares herself to the bees and pear tree.."Oh to be a pear tree-any tree in bloom! With kissing bees for her? She was sixteen. She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her. Where were the singing bees for her?" I think this passage is so interesting. It makes me think that she is yearning to find her love and although she isnt quite sure what she wants or needs specificially, she knows that she wants to feel the way that pear tree must have felt when the bee pollinated it.
When nanny makes her marry Logan Killicks, Janie is so upset. She is so young and she doesnt want to marry without love. She even trys to figure out excatly how to love him, and how to want him. The thought of being forced into a realtionship with another person so different from yourself, and not even being attracted or wanting the other person is terrible i cant even imagine it.
Janie has dreams, she wants a man who will take care of her and love her..and she wants someone she can love and spend the rest of her life with and be truely happy. Although, I think what she wants most is for her "dreams" to be fullfilled. What the problem is i think...Janie doesnt quite know what her dreams are, she just knows that she wants more than what she has now.
She knows that she isnt going to have her dreams fullfilled with logan killicks...she leaves him and marries Joe and thinks it is going to be so much better this way, only to find out..its not and she doesnt want to live her life like this...she wants so much more than this
I am excited to find out what happens next! I really like this story and have read ahead alittle because I find myself not being able to put it down. I wonder if Janie will ever find someone to fulfill her dreams that have yet to be discovered???

Katherine Anne Porter

2006-03-01T22:51:00.000-05:00

I will say that reading Porter was so much easier and a lot more enjoyable then Faulkner. I made a comment on Cassy's blog in response to her post on how she noticed the difference in how Faulkner played up the strong roles of the men in his story, while on the other hand Porter really made her female characters very strong and central to the story. Sophia Jane, Nannie, and Miranda were all very strong willed women and they played important roles in the story. My thoughts on this...I think it had a lot to do with the changing times in the south. The ways of the "old south" were vanishing and the new, fresh ideas and ideals of the "new south" were coming into societies way of thinking. I think it would be only natural that the roles that woman played would undergo a change as well. I believe it was crucial for society and men for that matter, at this important time of change, to realize that women were important too and deserved to be involved in and important to society.
Out of the assigned readings, I really like reading " The Last Leaf" the best out of all of Porters stories. I was so happy for Nannie when she finally got to live in her own house! Even if she was old now and nearing the end of her years, she at last got to experience what it was like to be free and on her own. It was more than just being on her own, it was the fact that she would having to call "her own" and say, "this is mine". I found it amazing that the white family she lived with were, "astonished to discover that Nannie had always liked and hoped to own certain things" when she was picking things from the house to take with her. Did they think that just because she took care of them, and was a black servant that she had no wants in the world?? The way they all cared for Nannie and respected her, it made me think that it wasn't the fact that she was black and she was their servant, it was more that the family just really thought she was completely satisfied and content with living with them and taking care of them....they didn't realize this until she left, and even then I don't think they got it. They just missed having someone to do everything for them...
After all her years of serving that family and taking care of them, she finally was able to do what she wanted to do! She dressed how she wanted to dress, and even was able to get up when she wanted to get up in the morning. I think the title that this story has really fits what it is about. Like the saying, "turning over a new leaf"...Nannie is going through her "last leaf" of life..she had a hard life and this last leaf is finally a good one for her..she will get to enjoy her time left and be happy and content at last.
**A link I found interesting..its nice to know alittle about the author, I think it helps at times to understand where they are coming from in their writings..
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/porter_k.html
** This is a quote I found from her..if you think about it..it is quite true:)
"I don't belive in intuition. When you get sudden flashes of perception, it is just your brain working faster than usual. But you've been getting ready to know it for a long time, and when it comes you feel you've known it always." Katherine Anne Porter

something interesting to know..

2006-02-23T21:49:00.000-05:00

http://www.famoustexans.com/katherineanneporter.htm
**if you open up this link, and go down to the 5th paragraph..it says that she lived in Saratoga Springs, NY for awhile..I just thought it was an interesting fact to know about her!**

Delta Autumn

2006-02-22T20:59:00.000-05:00

I cant say that I will be sorry to say goodbye to William Faulkner...but as Dr.Wells said in class today, a southern literature class would be missing out if they didnt learn and read Faulkner's work. His writing style was so different than what I am used to, and also very difficult. Out of the whole book, I actually really enjoyed reading the last two stories, "Delta Autumn" and "Go Down, Moses". I found that in "Delta Autumn" I couldn't seem to put the book down, I was so into the story and for once it seemed to actually make sense and I understood what was happening! I felt a lot of emotions while reading it. Although Issac is always depicted as the one who doesnt own any slaves, and almost like he is the only one that is not prejudice, in reality he really is. When Edmonds lover shows up, and she is met by Issac..and when he realizes that this woman who had Edmonds child is black, and then realizes that this baby boy is the next real heir after Edmonds. The cruelty of the whole situation in my opinion is the fact that this child will never know who his real father is, or utimately his own true identity as he grows up..because of the unfairness of society at that time. Issac wants for her to be happy, and I think that if he hadnt found out who she really was ..he still would have felt the same way. On page346, "Go back North, marry a man in your own race. Thats the only salvation for you-for awhile yet, maybe a long while yet. We will have to wait. Marry a black man. You are young, handsome, almost white, you could find a black man who would see in you what it was you saw in him, who would ask nothing of you and expect less and get even still less than that, if its revenge that you want. Then you will forget all this, forget it ever happened, that he ever exsisted." Issac is telling Edmonds lover...to just pretend that it never happened, to forget ..because society at this time in the south was not open to interracial relationships and they wouldnt beable to have a life together..Someday it would be different, Issac knew.but not now, not for a long time. after she leaves...when Legate comes back to Issac to get the knife because the doe has been killed..I thought this symbolized the end of their realtionship. It symbolized the end to something..that could never be anything more than nothing. **If anyone is interested, I found a few links about William Faulkner and his work that were interesting to read about**

http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-bio.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/moses/ ( this could have been really helpful to understanding some of the more difficult parts to the reading)

Frederick Douglass

2006-02-02T23:22:00.000-05:00

After reading, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" I was filled with so many different emotions..anger, sadness, and just a feeling a hatred for all those slave owners who treated another human being with such cruelty.
There were two main parts of the story that stuck out in my mind as I was reading. The first was how none of the slaves knew their real age or even their birthdate. Can you imagine how it would feel to not even know how old you were? It was just another way that the slave owners used cruelty on the slaves. (although this one particular action wasn't causing them physical harm...it still to me, is considered cruel.)

The second part of the story that really opened my eyes to what was happening, was when Douglass wrote about how the master was known to have sexual relationships with some of his female slaves. If the female slave was to become pregnant, the child would also become a slave..although most of time the children of master/slave relations were sold to another plantation or master. I can't believe that this really happened. How could a person sell and then watch his own flesh and blood then be bought into a life of slavery? I wonder what the wives of these masters that engaged in these acts thought and felt? They must have had a lot of negative feelings towards these female slaves, and also towards their own husband. Douglass writes in his story that these children that were born of a slave woman, were sold to respect the masters wife. First of all, she is already aware of the situation that has occurred when she sees these mixed babies being born. Second of all, the fact that these women (the masters wife) put up with this nonsense, is showing that above all they have no respect for themselves to begin with.

first post....

2006-01-19T20:08:00.000-05:00

Well this is a first for me and i am still trying to figure it all out and see if i set it up correctly