The Motorcycle Diaries

Throughout high school, I had the privilege of watching "The Motorcycle Diaries" twice in two different Spanish classes. When I saw on the course calendar that we would be watching this movie in class I was very excited! I genuinely enjoyed this movie in high school, and still enjoyed it today in college. I think what I enjoy most about this movie is that it is a true story. What I find even more interesting is the fact that the main character, "Ernesto" (or Che), became a radical and the right hand man of Fidel Castro. The movie shows his earlier days as a gentle and kind young man with a bright future. However, he grows to become a violent man who is dangerous to the public. Not everyone would agree with that statement because many people look to him as a hero. In my eyes, I think that he became a very different and bad person from what he was. With this mindset, whenever I watch "The Motorcycle Diaries", my mind is boggled as to how he changed so much. It is hard for me to comprehend how he was (or how he was portrayed in the movie) to what he became. Although the story of his life is tragic, it is one that is worth knowing about.

"The Namesake" but Jhumpa Lahiri

"The Namesake" tells the story of a boy's life and his struggle with his name and Bengali culture. "The Namesake" is also the story of a mother and her struggle with adapting to American culture. Although in class there was some disagreement over whether the story was about just Gogol or Ashima or both, I believe that the story is about both. Gogol and Ashima are very different characters going through very similar things. "The Namesake" contrasts between both characters' struggle with their culture. Gogol, who is American born, struggles to accept and be proud of his Bengali heritage. He is ashamed and embarrassed by it. He is most of all ashamed of his name. Ashima, however, is Indian born and has a very hard time adapting to American culture. I do not think that she every fully accepts American culture for what it is. She is constantly ashamed of how her children act (even though she loves them very much). Ashima does not like that Americans are less family oriented. Gogol does not like the fact that Bengali's are so extremely family oriented. However, we see both characters go through significant changes, especially when Ashoke passes away. This is the point when Gogol realizes that he must embrace his Bengali roots, even if it is just in memory of his father. For Ashima, this is when she truly accepts her children for who they are and realizes that she can be okay on her own. I think that "The Namesake" sends a powerful message that you should always be accepting, no matter how hard it might be.

"Yellow Woman" by Leslie Marmon Silko

"Yellow Woman" is the story of a woman who has run off with a tribesman. We come into the story seeing a woman who is having a love affair with a man. Throughout the story, the woman talks and thinks as if she has been kidnapped; however, it seems as though she wants to be there. We learn that the woman has a husband, mother, and kids at home, and that's when it clicks: she is using the "kidnapping" story as her way of not feeling guilty for running off with another man. We then here the story of the mythical "Yellow Woman". She believes that she is this mythical character in order to further justify what she is doing. I do not believe that she is the yellow woman because she does not show the characteristics of her. I think that she is being cowardly and using the whole "yellow woman" story has her excuse and way to get out of feeling guilty. In the end, when she basically has no other choice but to go back home, he family is going along as if she was never there. I think that this signifies that she was never a great mother to begin with, and that this affair with the Navajo was her chance to get away.

"A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

In this story, we are immediately introduced to a seaside land with a dying child and the man with enormous wings. As the story goes on, Pelayo and Elisenda (husband and wife) keep the "angel" and use him as a way of making money. Once he is no longer good for that, they become tired of him and see him as a bother. When the "angel" finally flies away, Elisenda is overcome with joy and relief. I believe that this story is trying to show how being selfish can only get you so far. It shows the audience how people can be so overcome by greed that they lose who they truly are to begin with. The couple grows so annoyed with the man that made them rich that they describe it as "living in a hell full of angels." When the angel begins to fly away, Elisenda "kept on watching until it was no longer possible for her to see him, because then he was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea." That ending quote shows that people can truly be very selfish and ungrateful. I think the moral of the story is to appreciate what you have and to never overcome yourself with greed.

"The Guest" by Albert Camus

Throughout reading this story, I never knew what was going to happen. I kept thinking that the Arab would either kill Daru or run away. I think Camus wrote the story intending to keep the reader a little on edge. When Camus describes the Arab, we think of a horrific man who murdered someone else very senselessly; immediately we think that this prisoner is going to be a violent man. However, as the story progresses we see that this man is anything but violent, and even likable. When Daru thinks that the Arab is escaping, he is filled with joy; but, the Arab comes back showing his true character. "He didn't know what it was until the Araba again stood framed in the doorway, closed the door carefully, and come back to bed without a sound," (2580). The fact that this man was about to be killed or held in prison for his crime and didn't even try to run away says a lot about the person he is. This was the turning point for me where I shifted my opinion of the Arab. I went from thinking he was a horrendous person to a somewhat gentle man. At the end of the story when we see the Arab take the path to prison, that is when we truly know that he is an honest and good man, despite having committed a murder.

Notes

4 stages in a plot:  
1. exposition: sets story in motion
2. complications (rising action)
3. climax
4. resolution (usually ties up loose ends, if not then it is to show complexity of life)

Modernism: the literary study that has a radical break with literary forms of the past in the experimental style of writing prevalent between WWI and WWII. Traditional forms of art were rejected and the idea of "make it new" resounded with artists and playing with form, language, and self-centrism. (i.e.: lost generation)

Post-Modernism: the literary study that turned away from modernism, emphasizing the lack of profundity - nothing can be recognized as inherently significant. Replacement of high culture for popular culture. Art is a recycling of culture authenticity by audience.

Modernization: industrial process often associated with "westernization"

Scientific Rationalism: end of 19th century belief that scientific knowledge makes the universe more rational and predictable (modernism refutes this).

Dadaism: cultural movement raised during WWI, primarily in visual arts, anti-war, anti art. example: Hannah Hoch-random images in her art, supposed to be confusing (different heads on different bodies, absence of logic and reason).

Realism: literary movement that depicts subjects as they appear in everyday life

Surrealism: feature juxtaposition of elements (element of surprise), developed out of the Dada movement (i.e.: Salvador Dali).

Round Character: well developed, closely involved and responsive to the action in the story
Flat Character: barely developed, stereotypical

Dynamic Character: grow/change throughout the story, developing as they react to events/other characters
Static Character: face same challenges as dynamic characters but remain unchanged

Round=Dynamic, Flat=Static

Foil: supporting character whose role in story is to highlight major character by presenting contrast with him/her

Universal or Archetypal Symbols: such as a circle, storm, heart, means the same to most people
Conventional Symbols: also likely to mean the same thing to people within a common culture (a cross)
Literary Symbols: be universal and conventional however they represent an important point the author is trying to make

Omniscient Narrator: all knowing tellers of story
Objective Narrator: outside of characters minds, do not reveal characters thoughts and attitudes

The Shawl

In Ozick's "The Shawl,"  the shawl is considered "a magic shawl."  How is it magical?  In what ways does it nourish?

The shawl is magical because it is what keeps Magda alive. Since Rosa has no more breast milk to give to Magda, Magda begins to suck on the shawl. “Magda took the corner of the shawl and milked it instead. She sucked and sucked, flooding threads of wetness. The shawl’s good flavor, milk of linen,” (1). This shows that although the shawl does not literally provide Magda with milk, it provides her with a sense of comfort. The comfort of the shawl is nourishment enough for Magda. The shawl protects and keeps Magda safe from many things, such as the cold, other people trying to take her, and the Nazis. “She looked into Magda’s face through a gap in the shawl: a squirrel in a nest, safe, no one could reach her inside the little house of the shawl’s windings,” (1). The shawl is magical because it is what has kept Magda alive. “It was a magic shawl. It could nourish an infant for three days and three nights. Magda did not die, she stayed alive,” (1). Throughout the story we keep seeing how the shawl is what has protected Magda. In the end when Stella takes the shawl, Magda starts to cry out because she no longer has her armor and protection. Because of the loss of her magical shawl, Magda ends up being killed.

Are there ways to celebrate the human spirit and the strength of humans based on Ozick's text?

I think that there are ways to celebrate the human spirit and the strength of humans based on the text because we see how strong Rosa was throughout the story. Rosa never gave up, even though she was struggling to survive. She had a perseverance inside of her that kept her going to help her daughter live as long as she could. Although Rosa is also starving and slowly starting to die, she continues to fight for her young child’s life. This shows how strong  and selfless we as humans can be in dire times. 

The Fly

Although the story “The Fly” never overtly mentions World War I, make a list of details which indicate that the story is related to WW I and takes place shortly thereafter.

The first detail we read that indicates the story is related to WWI is when old Woodfield is sitting with the boss in his office, and the boss is talking about all of his new things, “But he did not draw old Woodfield’s attention to the photograph over the table of a grave looking boy in uniform standing in one of those spectral photographers’ parks with photographers’ storm clouds behind him,” (1). When we read that there is a boy in uniform, we can immediately guess that this boy was part of some formal and important organization. The story goes on to mention the gravesite of the boss’s son and the description of the graveyard, “There’s miles of it, and it’s all neat as a garden. Flowers growing on all the graves. Nice broad paths,” (2). This description highlights that this must be a graveyard for fallen veterans because of the way it is arranged (in uniform rows). After old Woodfield mentions the grave of the boss’s son, the boss begins to think very hard. He mentions that he still thinks of the boy lying unchanged in his uniform. This also indicates that this was during wartime because he was buried in his uniform. A final detail that indicates that this was WWI is how he received the news of his son’s death, “The day had come when Macey had handed him the telegram that brought the whole place crashing about his head. ‘Deeply regret to inform you…’” (3). Because this was a telegram, it shows the reader that this was before phones were widely used, indicating that this was in the early 1900’s, thus WWI. 

The Dead

Consider all the references to death, the dead, and dying throughout the text, what is their significance?  How does they influence/inform Joyce's title selection?

There are many references to death throughout “The Dead” that make you question what their significance is. Within the first couple of paragraphs we are already introduced to death, “For years and years it had gone off in a splendid style as long as anyone could remember; ever since Kate and Julia, after the death of their brother Pat,” (1946 NA). Already the story begins to speak of death. We also read the description of Gabriel’s Aunt Julia, “Her hair, drawn low over the tops of her ears, was grey; and grey also, with darker shadows, was her large flaccid face,” (1948 NA). The description hints to the reader that Julia will soon die. Throughout the rest of the story many of the characters reference dead relatives and friends and speak about them casually. I think that this is significant to the story because it symbolizes while you may be alive, death will always linger and be apart of your life. The title of the story, “The Dead”, is significant because it is plural. The story is not just about the death of Gretta’s first love Michael, but about all of the dead people in each of the characters’ lives.

Consider the names of the characters, specifically Gabriel and Michael--what is their origin/meaning generally and then consider their use in the text.

Gabriel and Michael are both biblical names. Gabriel is the angel that God sent to tell Mary that she was pregnant with Jesus. Gabriel is known as the angel of Christmas which is significant because “The Dead” is during Christmastime. While Gabriel is an outstanding figure in biblical text, Michael is considered the closest to God. Michael is the archangel and the commander in the Army of God. He is God’s “right hand man”, and is looked upon as the best angel there is. This is significant to the story because Michael was Gretta’s first and only true love. While Gretta may love Gabriel, he will never compare to her love for Michael.

The Metamorphosis

According to Dictionary.com - a metamorphosis is, "a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism--a complete change of form, structure, or substance--a form resulting from any such change."  In considering this definition, what was Gregor's life like before and after his metamorphosis--do you believe his change was literal or metaphoric and why?

According to the definition, I believe that Gregor’s change was literal. He went from being your average male human, to being a literal bug. If you look at Gregor’s form, structure, and substance, you can see that all three of these things changed. He describes waking up and finding himself “transformed into a monstrous vermin. He lay on his hard armor like back, and when lifting his head slightly, he could view his brown, vaulted belly partitioned by arching ridges,” (1999 NA). His whole entire body and shape has been completely transformed into that of a bug. Even his speech has been changed. When he is speaking to his parents and the office manager from the other side of the door, they can no longer understand what he is saying, “Did you understand a single word of that? He’s not trying to make fools of us, is he?!” (2005 NA). Throughout the rest of the story you can see how Gregor’s metamorphic change is literal.

Kafka includes many references to hunger and food--what is the significance of these references?

The significance of hunger and food in the story represents Gregor’s hunger for his family’s love and acceptance. In the beginning of the story, Gregor’s sister leaves him food at his door neatly laid out with a variety of options. As the story progresses, Gregor’s relationship to food mirrors his relationship to his family. I think that the turning point of Gregor’s relationship to food is when his father throws the apple at him. This is the first true act of hostility that we see from Gregor’s family. After this incident, his family no longer gives him his food in a humane matter, but instead, they just kick it in his room and expect him to eat it. Also, Gregor becomes less and less hungry, and starts to starve to death. I think that this correlates to his relationship with his family, because at the beginning they still fed him some sort of love and acceptance, but in the end he was starved of all humanity from his family.

Identify and discuss some of the themes of "The Metamorphosis" - be sure to refer to your notes about what a theme is and in your discussion identify key passages of the text that support the themes you've identified.

I think that a major theme of metamorphosis is trying to attain freedom. In the beginning of the story Gregor talks about his job and stress it brings him saying things like, “Getting up so early all the time, makes you totally stupid. A man has to have his sleep,” and he goes on to say, “IF I weren’t holding back because of my parents, I would have given notice long ago, I would have marched straight up to the boss and told him off from the bottom of my heart. He would have toppled from his desk!” (2000 NA). I believe that this, and the rest of the passage show how Gregor is imprisoned not only at his job, but at home as well. Although he changes into a bug and no long has to work, he is still prisoner in his own life. He is not able to leave the house or even his bedroom. Throughout the story, it is a constant struggle for Gregor to attain freedom. In the end, he is only free through death.