Saturday, October 4, 2008
"Doe Season"
With my bias about not harming animals I could relate to Andy’s horror when they cut the doe open. “Andy was running from them, back to the field and across….” (467) Andy’s upset was shown by her, “crying” (467) and her decision to no longer use the male form of her name (467). However, I don’t believe that sensitivity to protecting animals is solely a female quality. Both genders can be very caring.
Finally, I am not convinced that the sequence where Andy encounters the doe after it was shot is real, but it serves to show how much the animal trusted Andy. Ordinarily, if an animal is hurt, it will run away from humans. In this case, the injured doe stands while Andy examines her, “until her whole hand and more was inside the wound and she had found the doe’s heart, warm and beating.” (466) Animals have an extraordinary sense of which humans to trust. In the end Andy proved she had learned and could be trusted.
Friday, October 3, 2008
"The Chrysanthemums"
The Chrysanthemums
I would also tell her that is worth more than just her flowers and that if she put as much time, thought, and passion into every aspect of her life instead of just her flowers she could be a very happy woman.
"Doe Season"
Thursday, October 2, 2008
" The Chrysanthemums"
Chrysanthemums
"The Lottery"
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
chrysanthemums
Doe Season
The Chrysanthemums - Blog 5
The next thing I noticed about Elisa was her curiosity. She is out in her flower gardens working, and noticed her husband talking to two fellows. She keeps looking over there, and her curiosity was apparent. I understand that feeling because I'm really curious about things too!
I could also relate very well with Elisa's love and happiness in her flowers, because I like growing flowers very much too. As she's working on her flowers one day, along comes the traveling man and while explaining to the man about "planting hands" (636) she gives us a glimpse that maybe her life is more satisfying that we realized at first; "She broke in on him, "I've never lived as you do, but I know what you mean. When the night is dark - why the stars are sharp-pointed, and there's quiet. Why you rise up and up! Every pointed star gets driven into your body. Its like that. Hot and sharp and - lovely." (636) Or at least we see here that she enjoys the small pleasures in life. Soon, the tinker, who gives Elisa a glimpse into his 'adventurous' life, leaves, and Elisa appears to long for adventure from her confined life.
In the end, Elisa "turned up her coat collar so he [her husband] could not see that she was crying weakly - like an old woman" (639) just after she asks her husband if they could have some wine. This concerned me because it seemed like she was depressed, and drinking wine when your depressed could not be good (at least I've heard that). The main part of that that bothered me though was that she didn't want Henry to see her crying, which would have shown him she was vulnerable [i.e. weak] at that time. It made me feel sad that for some reason or reasons she felt that she couldn't be herself with her husband and let him see her crying. I also understand that very well at times with my own husband, and feel like I have to hide my crying from him (sometimes I don't feel safe enough with him to be vulnerable to him because of the negative ways he's reacted in the past to my hurt feelings). Maybe Elisa felt that way too.
Overall I enjoyed this story. I didn't think it was a story about feminism, per say, but it had the undertones of trying to show unfairly women were treated and biased against in 1938 (and other years of course).
Doe Season
Doe Season
Monday, September 29, 2008
Doe Season
"The Lottery"
"I Stand Here Ironing"
"The Lottery"
"The Lottery"
Sunday, September 28, 2008
A Worn Path
"The Lottery"
This story was not what I expected. When I think of lottery, I think of winning something of value that is pleasant. Getting stones thrown at myself and the possibility of death is not something that is pleasant. While reading the story at first I didn’t think it would be that bad of a thing to get rid of when the towns’ people were talking about Tradition. I thought it was a splendid idea for a way to get the community together. When Old Man Warner said “that over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery” and “Pack of crazy Fools” (408); I actually agreed with him at the time. Once I found out what the lottery was it sickens me and I think very differently of Old Man Warner. I was curious to find out who would get the lottery and what it would be. I was confused when Tessie Hutchison demanded them to redo it. I thought well they won the lottery, didn’t they? I thought it was ironic that she ended up drawing the slip of paper with the black mark. I was also confused as to why Bill was forcing the paper out of her hand, I thought she would be happy if she won. Once the villagers started picking up the stones I was lost as to what they were going to do with them but I knew there had to me some twist. I thought to myself, what kind of lottery uses stones? I was mortified when Tessie was struck with the stones. This is definitely a tradition that should no longer continue.
Image of a loving Grandmother
Phoenix talks to the animals, “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!” (449), and I can almost hear my Mama saying something like that to the animals that eat her flowers and plants. They are both small with Phoenix being described as “very old and small” (449) and my Mama weighs less than 110 pounds. However, they both are fearless with Phoenix being described as “a hundred years old, and scared of nothing” (452) and my Mama shooing away a mountain lion from her back patio.
I believe Phoenix Jackson’s grandson and I are very fortunate to have such special grandmothers in our lives. They both treat their grandsons with love. For example, Phoenix says, “I could tell him from all the others in creation.”(454) These traits are passed on to other generations making the family stronger and leaving essential values.
Alex Schoener