Music in WAYGWHYB

As I worked on the Bob Dylan reference for the WAYGWHYB discussion, I began to realize how many comments there are in the story about music. I love music and believe that it can touch the soul. The story shows how music influences a person’s thinking. For example, “her face gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place; it might have been the music.” (511) The quote suggests that Connie is very susceptible to music, in this case making her feel good. In the next paragraph that describes being taken home by June’s friend’s father, “She couldn’t hear the music at this distance.” (511) The reader is given the impression that Connie is “back to reality” instead of responding to the music.

Connie has become sexually active and associates music with sexual feelings, “But all the boys fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face, but an idea, a feeling, mixed up with the urgent insistent pounding of the music.” (511) This theme of sexuality being equated with or invoked by music is referenced in the scene right before Arnold arrives, Connie is “bathed in the glow of slow-pulsed joy that seemed to rise mysteriously out of the music” (512). Once Arnold arrives “now Connie began to hear the music,” (513) suggesting she is excited by Arnold’s attention. Right before she pulls back from Arnold, the sexual association of music is described, “that sleepy dreamy smile that all boys used to get across ideas they didn’t want to put into words…and she recognized the way he tapped one fist against the other in homage to the perpetual music behind him.” Arnold expects Connie to agree to sex with him—even if he has to use threats and violence to get it. Arnold says, “…what else is there for a girl like you but to be sweet and pretty and give in?” (520) The last reference to music comes a few pages before the end of the story as Connie’s interest in sex is gone and as her fate is decided.

Story of an Hour

As she stood facing out the window there were other thoughts and sounds of the air, the singing of the birds, and other people outside her house that caused her mind to wander away from the death of her husband. "Suspension of intelligent thoughts" may mean that although there were patches of blue sky, there would be other blue skies to come. "Free body and soul free" meant that there was more outside of the life she led with her husband. "She was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window." This means that the outside life seemed to be more fulfilling than her life in the past with her husband.

The character seems to be looking out a window rather distracted by the sounds of the outdoors. Although there were other sounds around her, she seemed to have lost memories of her husband. "One was singing reached her faintly" may have been a way that her husband was trying to reach her, through the song of a bird.
"Suspension of intelligent thought" could mean that even though there are patches of blue sky, even though it isn't a reflection it could mean that there are more blue skies in the future, she just can't see them yet.
"Free, body and soul free" means that now she can see more blue skies ahead.
"She was drinking in a very elixir of life through the open window." Because she is starting to look outside her house towards freedom and a new beginning.

The Storm

In Kate Chopin's The Storm, a "sullen, threatening roar" (p. 255) sort of starts out the story as depressing. The storm is rolling in, and everyone is seeking shelter. When Calixta invites an old flame into her house by saying "Come 'long in, M'sieur Alcee" (p.256) she is only asking for trouble in the near-future. I found myself wondering why a woman married with a 4-year old son would invite another man into her house, unsupervised. I kind of felt that her husband was being treated very unfairly. He was nice enough to bring home shrimp for the family to eat for supper that night, and shrimp was probably very expensive back then too. Then here she is having an affair. It seems the more the storm progressed the more they clung to each other, longing for protection, and to rekindle other feelings they had long since buried. Wondering whether her son was safe or not, Calixta "would not compose herself" (p. 257). She feared where they were in the storm. For a moment I think Calixta forgot she even had a family, for she was caught up in the heat of the moment with Alcee.

"The Chrysanthemums"

John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” was one of my favorite stories that we have read so far. I liked the way that the story was very descriptive like, “The thick willow scrub along the river flamed with sharp and positive yellow leaves (Steinbeck p. 632).” Also in that passage how he used color so you could practically picture what he is talking about. Even though in the end I am kind of confused because why didn’t she look at the caravan, “She swung full around toward her husband so she could not see the little covered wagon and the mismatched team as the car passed them (Steinbeck p. 639).” What did the driver of the wagon throw out? “Far ahead on the road Elisa saw a dark speck. She knew (Steinbeck p. 639).” Why didn’t she want to look at the wagon, was she scared or did she just not want to look?

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

I liked this story by Joyce Carol Oates. At first it reminded me of the days when I was in high school and I would hang out with my friends. This story wasn't what I expected, when the boy came by in the car at first I thought it would be someone her age until he was described as seemingly old.  The description of his appearance and the search for the new hip words kids use today drew me to the conclusion that he was much older and older than he told her. I thought it was just going to be a simple boy which smooth talks her and they drive off and live happily ever after. I wasn't thinking that in reality you shouldn't go with strangers. He was too persistent with her and made it seem as if he was stalking her. He knew everything about her. I didn't expect this, especially when he said "Soon as you touch the phone I don't need to keep my promise and can come inside. You won't want that" (518). That line Arnold Friend used gave me shivers. It was very suspenseful. What seemed innocent at first took a dangerous turn and you really can't trust anyone. I also thought this was kind of ironic because in the beginning Connie was proud of how pretty she was and she would complain that the rest of the family was plain. Connie's mother would tell her "Stop gawking at yourself, who are you?  You think you're so pretty? “(509); in the end it was Connie's looks that got her in trouble. Arnold Friend sought Connie out because she was pretty and he didn't like plain women. Her vainness seemed to get the best of her. 

"Doe Season"

"Doe Season" by David Michael Kaplan was very intiguing. I have never been hunting or ever killed anything so this was quite interesting for me to read and learn about. In my family hunting is also considered a "mans thing" just like in this story Charlie says "I don't know why she is coming."(513) "She'll just add to the noise and get tired besides."(513) but Andy's father didn't agree and in a way he was almost trying to make her into the son he never had. She saw the first deer but Mac didn't believe her "I bet you really didn't see no deer, did you?"(516) but she know she had. When she saw the deer again she was able to take the shot even though Charlie figured she'd miss the deer. She shot the deer but it took off into the woods and she started to cry, knowing she had shot the deer but it didn't die and was suffering. She had a dream that night that the deer had finally died and in the morning they found the deer. After this experience she realized she is not a boy and hunting was not for her. So she decided to go back to acting more like a girl and now wanted to be called by her real name Andrea.

"The Chrysanthamums"

"The Chrysanthamums" by John Steinbeck is a story about a not-so-typical woman wanting more out of life. Elisa was not typical because she seemed to wish to do things a man could do instead of cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children like women of her time did. She loved to garden and was very good at it, she could grow chrysanthamums "10 inches across."(784) When the man in the wagon stopped by she seem quite annoyed with his presence and told him "I tell you I have nothing like that for you to do."(786) and insisted many times that she did not need his services. But once he showed interest in her flowers "the irritation and resistance melted from Elisa's face."(787) She seemed so proud that some else noticed how well she could garden, so she gave the man some pots to mend. She asked if he slept in the wagon and the man said yes and Elisa said "It must be nice, I wish women could do such things."(788) and the man replied "It ain't the right kind of a life for a woman."(788) This just goes to show that Elisa was not able to do things that interested her because it was not things women do. In the end she finds out that the man had thrown her chrysanthamums out on the side of the road and she no longer felt pride and knew the man had just made up the story to get her to give him some pots to mend. She also know that she would never be able to do things men were able to do.

The Chrysanthemums

I found this story interesting because it's not like the typical farm life/western story where the woman is completely content being the perfect housewife raising ten children, cooking 5 pounds of potatoes a day to feed everyone!(A little exaggeration here, but you see my point!) I get the impression that Elisa is bored with her life. There is no mention of children, just the two dogs. She loves her flowers, this is obvious. When the man riding the wagon comes and asks about the chrysanthemums, her faces brightens and she is more than willing to give details about them and even share them. It seems to be hinting throughout the whole story that she has interests in "men" things, which makes me wonder if in some ways she wishes she'd been born a man. An example could be when she is looking at her body in the mirror after she bathed(638), wondering if it's worth it being a woman...what are the pluses and negatives? She was very proud to tell the man that she could mend pots and sharpen scissors, she also all the sudden shows interest to her husband about the fights, what they are about and if women ever attend. I see two possible ways of interpreting the last line: "She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly-like an old woman." Because she loves her chrysanthemums so much, seeing the black pile of dirt on the side of road so carelessly dumped out could have saddened her deeply, making her cry. It could have been that the man used the flowers as a reason to warm up to Elisa so he could get some work out from her, it is very possible that he made up the story about the lady wanting chrysanthemums and Elisa is now realising that she "took the bait" so to speak. The other possibility to why she was crying is she was thinking about all it means to be a woman, and maybe considering the fun men might have. Or at least she is wishing that women might be allowed to do men things.

The Lottery

I must say this is probably the most horrid story I have yet to read!! In the introduction to the story, it said that Shurley Jackson liked in a small town with her husband, but was never excepted by the townspeople. I wonder why!!! The idea behind this story reminds me that this still can happen today and we don't even realise it. I don't mean that people still get stoned, but I do mean that people do things over and over again that don't make sense. People still do things that may be wrong, but they continue to do it because there is something in them that makes them do it. I know there is a lot of times when people don't want to stand up and say something that's against the status quo because they are scared. We don't always know what they are scared of, it could be their boss; fear of loosing their job. Or they could be scared of a family member or a close friend for fear that there will be a split/break up. I think a big question we should ask is what is the status quo? and why is it so important to keep the status quo? And then ask what would happen if I break the status quo? and is it worth it to break it? "'It isn't fair, it isn't right,' Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her."(411) Think about that.

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Oates was probably one of my favorites. I have a 12 year old daughter that I could imagine leaving the house looking one way and changing when she gets with her friends. “She wore a pull-over jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home.” (510) My daughter thinks I have been alive for over a million years and could not have any idea what it is like to be 12. Connie does not seem to understand the importance of friends staying together when she runs off with Eddie. Her friends seem to foreshadow that something may go wrong in the story. “I just hate to leave her like that.” (510) I had friends that would tell their parents they were with “the group” but go somewhere else. Luckily nothing bad ever happened to any of them. This story’s ending was pretty creepy to me. I thought I could just imagine what Connie was going through and how scared she must have been listening to him tell her where her family was and knowing they would not be home soon. “No, your daddy is not coming and yes, you had to wash your hair and you washed it for me, I thank you, sweetheart.” (518) I was afraid for her and could not imagine the thoughts that might be going through my daughters mind if anything like this were to happen. “She thought, I’m not going to see my mother again.” (520) I would want her to run or scream or kill him. Instead, she leaves with him. What???? “She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she were safe back somewhere in the other doorway, watching the body and this head of long hair moving out into the sunlight where Aronld Friend waited.” (521) I hated this ending. This comes back to the foreshadowing at the beginning. If she had not left her friends in the first place, this may not have happened.

The Chrysanthemums

I thought that John Steinbeck wrote a very interesting story when he made “The Chrysanthemums.” My first impression of the story was that it took place during the very early 1900’s when only very wealthy farmers had good technology. “The three of them stood by the tractor shed, each man with one foot on the side of the little Fordson.” (632). Elisa Allen’s passion for gardening was another thing that I noticed early in the story. “Elisa watched them for a moment and then went back to her work. She was thirty-five. Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water. Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume,” (632). In a way Mrs. Allen reminded me of my mother and her love for gardening. My mom works in her garden as if she was getting paid. As I read on in this story I got the impression that Mrs. Allen was quick to judge people. When the man in the wagon came, Elisa was laughing. However, “The laughter had disappeared from his face and eyes the moment his laughing voice ceased. His eyes were dark and they were full of the brooding that gets in the eyes of teamsters and of sailors.” (634). It seemed in a way that the meeting between the two was a bit awkward. Mrs. Allen was a high class woman where the man in the wagon lived on the road. Despite this, it seemed that the chrysanthemums were a sort of bridge between the two. As soon as the man in the wagon mentioned the chrysanthemums, Mrs. Allen changed her tune. “Elisa’s eyes grew alert and eager.” (635). She was suddenly very willing to talk to the man in the wagon and even gave him some to take along on his journey. I was a little confused, however, at the end how Mrs. Allen was, “crying weakly – like an old woman.” (639). It seems as though Mrs. Allen wasn’t satisfied with her lifestyle and wished that she could live a bit more like the man in the wagon.

"Doe Season"

The passage when Charlie Spoon says “She’ll just add to the noise and get tired besides (Kaplan p. 457), then Andy’s father says “No, she won’t. She can walk me to death. And she’ll bring could luck, you’ll see (Kaplan p.457).” I think that was the passage that I like the best because Andy’s father is not ashamed to have her with, and he stands up for her when he could’ve have just agreed with Charlie Spoon. The passage that I didn’t like was the one about Andy’s father joking with Charlie Spoon and Mac about Andy being a boy or a girl, “Hell, you might as well just had a boy and be done with it!” Charlie exclaimed. “That’s funny,” her father said, and chuckled. “That’s just what her momma tells me.” They were looking at her, and she wanted to get away from them all, even from her father, who chose to joke with them (Kaplan p.463).” I didn’t really like that passage because in the beginning her father stood up for her now he is just joking with the other guys.

Doe Season

I really liked reading about Andy's hunting experience in "Doe Season". Since she was the only girl on the trip, the guys complained, "She'll just add noise and get tired besides" (457). Her dad stood up for her, but Andy did not seem to care that they were talking about her. Everyone said her father should have had a son, so Andy would try to act like a boy. I can relate to Andy's behavior. I have acted like a tomboy, even though it was not really who I was. It took shooting the deer and feeling the deer still alive for Andy to realize that she was not acting like herself. She decided that she was no longer the son her father wanted, "she would no longer be called that (Andy)" (467). I think that the hunting trip was very good for her to realize who she was.

Doe Season

In the story “Doe Season” I could see myself as Andy many times throughout the story. Although I missed the deer that I was aiming for I knew after that experience I would never enjoy hunting. I went for one more season after that and I made noise in my stand and wished that no deer would come my way. I had fought it hard, to not take on the traditional role of staying home and making food for the hunters and waiting for them to return. But, like Andy, I realized that I was not a hunter.

Andy wasn’t ready to let go of her childhood and special moments with her father. She feels that if she participates in doe season with her father her life will remain as it is. Her father sees her as Andy and Charlie and Mac see her as “half a boy”. You can use her family trip to the ocean as the theme for her outlook on growing up. The ocean scares her, “It was huge and empty, yet always moving. Everything lay hidden” (459). She correlates the ocean with her mother and her mother loved the ocean. She is embarrassed when her mother’s swimsuit top falls off revealing her breasts.

When she realizes she wants nothing to do with the gutting of the deer she runs away and decides that Andy is no longer her name. Her father is calling for her and she can also hear her mother calling for her from the ocean, “Come in, come in, while all around her roared the mocking of the terrible, now inevitable, sea” (467).

The Chrysanthemums

I found the short story "The Chrysanthemums" interesting because the main character did not feel like she was suppose to be happy. Elisa was great at gardening but she felt like she should be able to do more. Since she was a women, she knew that she could not, or at least was not suppose too. Her husband did not seem to appreciate her flowers as much as she did because they were not as profitable as other crops. He replied, "I wish you'd work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big" (633). When the repair man came, she was very proud when he asked about her plants. I could sense the boastfulness in her voice as she instructed him on how to care for the flowers. After, she seemed ashamed because women were not suppose to tell a man what to do, so she let him fix a pot for her. As she watched him work, she admired his way of life and commented, "I wish women could do such things" (637). While driving to town with her husband, she questioned him when he complemented her. She was use to being told she was just a women and could not do the same things men could. Along she believed she was strong and looked nice, she felt odd when she was told she was. I think she thought about her flowers on the side of the road to humble herself more. She cried because she felt she was not suppose to be happy about her life. She could not be happy because she was just a women, an old women.

"The Chrysanthemums"

I enjoyed reading John Steinbeck's 'The Chrysanthemums". At first I had a hard time getting into it until the man in the wagon showed up. Once he showed up it became interesting because you didn't know what was going to happen next, it was out of the ordinary. At first it seemed Elisa was annoyed with the stranger trying to beg for work however she did remain friendly. An example of this is when Elisa says "I'm sorry, I haven't anything for you to do" (635). She had to say this more than once to him. Once he became interested in her flowers it made her feel proud. She worked really hard to make her flowers grow so well. It gave her a sence of happiness I think. She was in a better mood knowing that she could teach and help someone else. After the man had left, she looked in the mirror, dressed in her nicest clothes. I think this was because of the sense of pride she had for her garden and helping others, something a woman could do that was appreciated. She often asked about different things and was told each time that it is not something for a woman or that she wouldn't like it. Once her and her husband left, she noticed what she thought were her flowers on the side of the road. "She tried not to look as they passed it" (639). I think at this point she felt crushed, she lost her pride in the good things she was doing. Her mood changed again and she felt back to not feeling as if she was worthy enough. Henry said "Now you've changed again" (639). I think that is why she cried at the end of the story. She had to face reality again that men had the upperhand in life. I'm not sure what time frame this story takes place but I think this might take a place in an era where men and women didn't have as many rights and gender roles and sterotypes were more prominent.

"Doe Season"

This was a story of a little girl "a doe" trying to fit in with the men "the bucks." They didn't think she would fit in and didn't think her practice shooting would equal her shot at a deer "Target shooting ain't deer shooting." (457) They also bragged about how they got deer last year and wouldn't think Andy would get one "I went hunting with my daddy and Versh last season, and we got ourselves one." (461) Andy was picked of for being too masculine, however for some reason they thought of her as a little girl and didn't think she would fit in. In the story she trys to learn and trys to fit in. She is the only one in the story to get a deer and she feels bad about this, she doesn't want to inflict any pain on any animals. I feel she is learning that this isn't for her and Andy isn't who she is, as stated in this quote "Andy, Andy (but that wasn't her name, she would no longer be called that)" Overall I feel the auther did a great job of painting a good picture and showing the growth of Andrea. I could really relate to this story because I remember going hunting with family when I was little and being treated simular to Andrea.

"Doe Season"

Even though this story centers around a young girl who goes hunting with her father, the title is symbolic of even more that is going on. Doe season is very important because after all, Andy is hunting for deer with her father. However, it was also a very important season for Andy who could be seen as the female doe. Her father is heckled by others and taunted about how he should have had a son instead of a daughter because of the way Andy behaves and how she prefers to be called Andy rather than her name Andrea. Throughout the story is a struggle for Andy and whether or not she should join in on the hunting. It is almost as though her struggle is black and white, just like the days go from day to night. She often thinks to herself, " There has to be just one moment when it all changes from dark to light,"(461) which could mean more than just daylight. It certainly suggests the struggle that she was having within herself to find the right and wrong in the hunting. Even when she is near the doe and about to take a shot her feelings alter. Just before the shot the deer to her began to look like, " a picture on a calendar, not real, and she felt calm,"(464). Moments later she is upset because of any pain that the deer may be suffering. She was waiting for that moment to turn from dark to light. I think at the end of the story Andy realized that this was something that she did not want to be a part of. It was something that she could not let herself be and that is why at the end she decides that, " that wasn't her name, she could no longer go by that," ( 467). The name Andy was masculine, and this was not a lifestyle that she could adapt to. It wasn't something that she could accept and that name didn't meant to her what it used to.