The Human stain First Thoughts

My first thoughts that came to me were, who is the narrator? There is not much information on this guy, and its hard to tell who the narrator is until he starts talking to Coleman. I liked how the book opened up about what was going on during this time period like the Clinton affair. This shows how Coleman and Clinton are extremely similar. I am confused on how the wife died, and weather his affair had anything to do with her death.

Gatsby Characters

I feel as though most of the characters in the great Gatsby are rich snobs. "I like your dress,.. Mrs. Wilson rejected the compliment by raising her eye brow in disdain."(31). Mrs. Wilson can not take a simple complement about her dress and instantly says "It's just a crazy old thing, I just slip it on sometimes when I don't care what I look like." (31). This shows how overly confident she is, and her feeling of power that she craves. None of the characters in this book remind me of anybody. The female characters have been portrayed as not equal to the men. They are subdued by there male counter parts. Tom states his dominance over Myrtle by physically breaking her nose.

Hours Spent Swimming

The sun beat down on my pale white skin. I could feel the early rays of summer melt into my skin slowly making me burn. I slipped into the cooling, and refreshing water of my back yard pool. Jumping off my diving board, spinning like a tornado the world seemed to rotate at unbelievable speeds. Then I splashed into the void I went. Deeper and deeper I would sink as little white bubbles slowly floated up toward the surface. I would hold my breath for as long as I could. The world then seemed to stop, and all around me seemed still. Only I was in this pool, but I did not feel lonely. The water seemed to wash over my senses, clearing my mind. Time was an irrelevant thing, and minutes seemed to pass like seconds. I was not thinking of anything in particular, if thinking at all. Then my mom's voice quietly at first, but quickly gaining volume shattered me from my trans. I then could smell the sweet aroma of chicken coming from the kitchen inside, and realized I have not eaten lunch. My stomach growled, worldly matters almost instantly hit me again. My day was over already.

It's Just Insomnia

At the end of "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" the old waiter, unlike the young waiter, does not want to lock the cafe because he is lonely and would rather stay at the cafe instead of going home. The old waiter then goes to the bar, but leaves quickly explaining to the bar tender that it is not a clean place. He thought that a bar would not work compared to the cafe because the cafe is a clean, well lighted place. The old waiter does have an epiphany at the end of the story. He dismisses religion, only taking comfort in well lighted and clean places. He sees his lonely future in the old man. The old waiter takes the side of the old man because he understands what it means to be in despair and hopes that someone will leave the cafe open longer for him when he becomes that old man.

Desires!!

In the three short stories, "Paul's  Case", "The Chrysanthemums", and "Barn Burning", they all have a theme of desire. All the main characters want something out of their lives. In "Paul's Case" Paul feels like an outcast. He wishes he has the money to be with the upper class. He desires to fit in with the rest of society, but is doomed from the beginning. In "The Chrysanthemums" Elsa wants more out of her life, and feels that she can do more than what she is doing now. She is more capable than some of the men at their work, but she is kept doing women's work. She desires to go out on the road like the stranger she met, but she is stuck doing gardening and house work. In "Barn Burning" the dad is poor, and has a deep desire for money. He walks in to the house of Major De Spain and purposefully rubs manure all over his fancy rug. He did this because he is jealous of the Spain's money so he tries to ruin it. His desire for money eventually leads to his death. In all three of these short stories their is a desire to be something other than they are. I chose the quotes and pictures that I did because I thought that they all represented a desire which they all had.


https://steller.co/stories/362419488177522038


Resources:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5RLKfJzOWSc/UGOdgZ4h7zI/AAAAAAAAACw/eE2sUX3Gxs8/s1600/Schenley+Hotel+2.jpg

http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/IMAGES/Texas/chcukwagon2.jpg

http://st.houzz.com/simgs/d3f185e20097169f_4-7068/traditional-exterior.jpg

Running From Society!!

In the short story "Paul's Case" Paul feels trapped by society saying what he can and can not do. Paul is trying to run away from the life that his father and other peers want him to live. After he fails at romance with another guy he decides to run away from society and his family to New York. He is successful at first in running away. His escape is extremely well planned and all seems good for a while, until he realizes the only true escape is to kill himself. He has one last fun day by himself before he jumps in front of a train.


In the short story "The Chrysanthemums" Elisa feels trapped by what society thinks women should act like. Even though she may be smarter than her husband he is still the one making all the important decisions. When the guy comes asking to fix pots for her he clearly states that the life he has is for no girl. She feels a little offended by this because she shows she may be better at fixing pans than he is. Elisa wants to runaway from the life that she knows to  live a life of adventure on the road. She does not do this though. She feels trapped no matter what she does because she is a girl.

Internal Rebellions

The main character in the story "The Yellow Wall-Paper" conducts a minor rebellion. She is told by many people not to write because of her illness, but she does anyways. "There comes John, and I must put this away- he hates to have me write a word." (188). John hates her writing, but despite his suggestions she does anyways. By not letting John know she is writing she undergoes a small internal rebellion because only she knows what she is doing. By doing this small rebellion it gives her power and strength to eat despite the fact that it also gives a great tole on her mentally.