Zora Neale Hurston: John Redding Goes to Sea

In "John Redding Goes to Sea" Thurston writes of a young man from Florida who feels destined to travel the world, but is being held back by his family (namely his mother and, later in the story, his wife). From a very early age he plans on joining the navy so he can go to sea and experience all that the world has to offer. His mother, though, is not so keen on the idea. She wants to keep her boy close so she can keep an eye on him. She also doesn't want to face the worry of having John so far away.
John Redding's father, on the other hand, is more understanding and supportive of his son's dreams. Throughout the story he tries to convince his wife that John should be allowed to fulfill his destiny with his mother's blessing, but she stubbornly refuses to give in to what she sees as whimsy. Even when John gets a chance to join the navy she states that the only way he will ever leave is over her dead body.

In the end John fially gets what he wants although not in the way he was hoping for. He goes to help secure a new bridge when a horrible storm rolls in. His mother, father, and wife wait up all night for the storm to end and for John to return. In the morning John's father goes down to the bridge site only to see his son floating downstream to the sea.

Even though this story was fraught with tension and angst I must say I enjoyed reading it. Hurston's character development was excellent, and the story flowed along without effort. I also liked the fact that Hurston addressed issues such as the fact that, while good intentioned, sometimes the family can be a hinderance and that mothers don't always know best.

Willa Cather: A Wagner Matinee; Paul's Case

I don't usually like it when an author writes from the point of view of the opposite sex, but I think Willa Cather's stories are fairly believable. While reading "A Wagner Matinee" I thought the main character was female until towards the end when the aunt actually calls him by name. But, perhaps, gender isn't really important. I just found it interesting that the two stories we read by Cather were both written from the male perspective.

In "Paul's Case" we see a young man who is disillusioned with his mundane life. Paul feels he is destined for greater things; that he is meant to experience the finer things in life. Once he has tasted of these things he is content to let go rather than face the punishment that surely awaits him. His being has been satiated, so he simply lies down and waits for the release that is bearing down on him (the train and death).

I thought "A Wagner Matinee" was a very sad story. In order to survive a difficult life on the prairie, Aunt Georgiana had to give up the beauty and passion of the music she so dearly loved as a young woman. By taking her to the matinee, Clark rekindles those old feelings and, in the end, she doesn't want to leave the theatre only to return to her harsh prairie life. She would much rather remain with the magic and beauty of the music, but she realizes she must return to the prairie where there is not any time allotted for such things.

I enjoyed these readings by Cather this week. She was a very interesting woman whose writing reflected her propensity to challenge gender roles. I believe that by writing from the male perspective she was able to make the point that men and women are not so different from one another. Maybe she was trying to make the point that we are all just people with similar emotions and trials in life.

Susan Glaspell: Trifles

I thought the play "Trifles" was a good example of how Susan Glaspell's writing reflected the oppression and frustration felt by the women of her time. We are led to believe that Mrs. Wright killed her husband because she felt she had no other way to escape his dark, negative presence. He made the house a depressing, unpleasant home, where not even a canary had a chance to sing. It appears that his killing the small bird was the last straw for Mrs. Wright. She could shpoulder no more of Mr. Wright's oppression and negativity.
Mrs. Hale speaks of visiting the Wright home and how she came to avoid visiting there because "it never seemed a very cheerful place." She also alludes to the fact that Mrs. Wright used to sing just like the bird, but doesn't anymore. It is as though the life has been sucked from her marrow. This is further evidence of the oppression placed on the household by Mr. Wright.

The play also addressed the importance of the little things in life. I think Glaspell was trying to show that it is these small "trifles" that keep a person sane, and provide a focus when things go awry. And it is through these trifles that the real story is told. I felt as though Glaspell was trying to show the women as real people with real feelings and problems. It is through the little things that I got a sense of not only the plight of Mrs. Wright, but also Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. All three women in the play are trying to exert their independence in a world ruled by the men in their lives.

Glaspell was an authentic writer who used her worldly experiences to color her pieces. She left behind the quaint writings of girls looking for happiness in marriage for the stark realities of the negative influences society placed on the "modern woman." Once she found her true voice she took on the role of a major voice for the women of her time.

Robert Frost...Poetry

I enjoyed reading Robert Frost's poems this week. What I really like is the way he parallels man and nature. An example of this is in the poem "Birches." The trees could have been bent by the ice storm, or perhaps they were curved by a young boy at play. I believe in Frost's mind the later was the more enchanting choice. This poem was one of my favorites this week. The imagery of a boy climbing higher and higher and then, SWOOSH, bending down to earth on the feathery bough was magical. And the picture Frost painted, with his words, about the ice storm was just as compelling. His descriptions of the branches clicking together, bending under the weight of the ice, and finally shattering was very appropriate and realistic.

The second poem that caught my attention, for completely different reasons was "Home Burial." This poem was full of anger, sadness, and despair. The anguish felt by the woman was evident through the whole poem. She couldn't understand how the man could go on as though nothing had happened, and she was angered by his seeming lack of emotion. On the other hand, the man didn't understand why the woman was so upset or why she was taking it so hard. They just couldn't relate to each others different ways of dealing with the loss. I think this happens often when a couple losses a child. One wears his/her grief on the outside while the other internalizes his/her feelings. I have heard of this breaking up many relationships because the people involved just cannot empathize with one another.

A third poem I really liked was "For Once, Then Something." I guess the reason I enjoyed this poem was because of the meaning I picked up, and not so much the imagery that drew me to the other two poems. To me it had to do with taking the time to look deeper in order to find out what is truly below the surface in any given situation. Sometimes you will be suprised by what you find. I also think Frost was making a statement about patience. If you do not slow down and appreciate the moment, you may miss the beauty of those fleeting flashes of clarity which will be gone before you know it.

Edith Wharton... The Other Two

I like "The Other Two" by Edith Wharton less than I like the readings by Crane this week. I guess I just have trouble relating to Wharton's story. It was set in a world governed by money and high-society, neither of which I have much experience with. I don't think Waythorn would have kept up a relationship with Varick had money not been a key constituent between the two of them. And I don't really understand how Waythorn was able to stomach the thought of Haskett visiting every week, especially after his wife lied to him about speaking with Haskett during the first visit. It just didn't seem believable to me that Waythorn didn't show more animosity towards "the other two." I also thought it rather unlikely that he would so readily move from pessimism to acceptance of the troubling, but necessary, relationships between himself and Varick and Haskett. I think I would have trouble being involved with my husband's previous romantic partners, and I certainly wouldn't be happy if he were to be involved with them either. I guess one of the messages in Wharton's story would be to accept those things you cannot change. For various reasons, both personal and business, Waythorn is caught in relationships with his wife's ex-husbands, and he figures the best way to deal with the situation is to accept it and move on with his life. Another message may be that if you truly love and trust another then the involvement of past interests should not be such a problem. Perhaps Wharton was writing of the virtues of a loving and strong relationship and how two people who have this can withstand much if they stick together.
I think this story epitomizes the the writing style of Edith Wharton. She focuses on the upper class within which she grew up and  is thus a very believable writer because she is writing about that which is familiar to her. I just couldn't relate because I lack her perspective on life. So, while this wasn't one of my favorites because of the subject matter, I still think it was a very well-written story.

Stephen Crane...Poetry

I didn't care for the poetry of Stephen Crane, but there were a few poems that stood out to me. I enjoyed "I Saw a Man Pursuing the Horizon." To me this poem represents the fact that people will blindly follow a path without question, regardless of logic and/or truth. Their lives are an exercise in futility. Another meaning I gleaned from this poem is that it could possibly be a portrayal of someone who is stubbornly set in his ways and refuses to change no matter how silly s/he is being.
The second poem I enjoyed was "In the Desert." I say enjoy, but it is such a bleak poem that perhaps I should let it suffice to say that I was moved by the imagery of the poem. While I couldn't formulate a concise meaning as to what Crane was trying to say, I think this poem might have something to do with bad habits. I believe Crane was saying something along the lines that some people will continue with the same, familiar habits even if those habits are detrimental. This poem may be a metaphor for the way people harm themselves with their own lifestyles.
The third poem I that I liked was "A Man Said to the Universe." I see this poem as an affront to Christianity, or, maybe, religion in general. Crane may be saying that there is probably no god who cares for humanity, but if there does happen to be one, he is unconcerned with people in general.
Crane's poetry spoke of his utter disdain towards people. His work as a journalist seems to have opened his eyes to the squalor and hypocrisy of society. His poems also reflect his (anti-) passion for was and all the atrocities it creates. As I said before, I didn't really care for these poems as a whole, but I do think Crane was a talented poet whose use of imagery is astounding.

Stephen Crane...The Open Boat

I enjoyed reading "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane. He filled his story with much detail, and I was able to lose myself in it. Whether from these details, or the fact that I have spent a lot of time on boats (I grew up on Lake Michigan),  I could feel the hardship the men in the dinghy were going through as they tried to stay afloat. I know how hard it is to row against the current and waves. As the story progressed I could imagine the frustration the men felt while waiting for someone to rescue them. They were stuck out beyond the breaking point of the waves and needed a larger boat to come and transport them safely to shore. When they see the man on the shore their excitement grows in anticipation of rescue, but the men in the boat soon realize that the man on the beach, along with several others who have now joined him, are simply tourists and not rescuers. This throws the four men into laments of frustration. They cannot believe that they have made it so far only to perish within site of land and safety.

The ending of the story is bittersweet. While most of the men made it through the surf, the oiler did not. In the second to the last paragraph Crane casts a somber light on what should have been joyous proceedings by having the body of the deceased carried close by the survivors. This was a powerful way to end the story as it made me realize that life is precious and the power of nature is great.

Stephen Crane accomplished much in the little time he was alive. His writing was powerful and detail oriented. I read "Maggie, A Girl of the Streets" when I was in high school and enjoyed it as much as the readings we had this week by Crane. While his writing is rather dark, I like the stark reality Crane portrays in his writings.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a very interesting woman who lived ahead of her time. She held to strong feminist ideals in an era of male dominance. Her biography calls her one of the "ancestral mothers of the modern feminist movement." She had much to say about women's rights as well as many other political issues. It seems she was a very intelligent woman with much passion for her causes. This may have been one reason she suffered from periods of mental anguish throughout her life. For, while she had the support of many, I imagine she met with much opposition which could have led to her unrest and depression.

In her story "The Yellow Wallpaper" Gilman portrays a woman caught in the malaise of depression with nowhere to turn except further into her self. While her husband, John, thinks he is doing the right thing by isolating her and keeping her quiet, he is actually  exacerbating her condition. All she really wants to do is be free to express herself with her writing, but John has forbidden this, so she feels all the more trapped. With nothing else to do she turns her attentions to the ugly, yellow wallpaper. At first she simply sees it as a horrible decorating mistake, but after awhile she begins to see it as having a life of its own. Slowly she becomes more and more obsessed with the images she sees in the wallpaper. Instead of sleeping at night she starts examining the paper more and more thoroughly. Eventually she finds the figure of a woman trapped behind the swirling "bars" in the foreground. I believe this woman is a parallel not only to the main character in the story, but to Gilman herself. The woman in the wallpaper tries desperately to escape her confines just as the woman in the story wishes to escape her own bindings. In the end, the main character actually starts ripping the paper off the walls in an attempt to free the woman trapped inside and save her own sanity.

I agree with the description of this story as a horror story. This poor woman is trapped in the outer confines set up by her husband as well as the inner confines of her own psyche. The horror, in my opinion, comes not from a traditional antagonist, but from within the mind of the main character.

Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin's biography was rather sparse. About the only thing I gleaned from it was that she was rather pampered for most of her life. This fact seemed to be what led her to write as she did. Her characters dealt with issues of inner turmoil rather than external circumstances. All their base needs (food, shelter, water) have been met so they can afford to dwell on the wants and desires rather than the necessities of life. Their lives are of the mind rather than the body.

Chopin's story "The Awakening" was a very interesting reading. Ms. Chopin paints a portrait of a well-to-do woman who strips herself of all conventions of society. Edna Pontellier "wakes up" one day and finally feels alive in the truest sense of the word. Her senses are heightened and she is overflowing with emotion. What brings her to this point? What finally wakes her up after all these years? Love. And not the love for her husband and children, but the love for a man named Robert Lebrun whom she encounters while on vacation on the island of Grand Isle in the Gulf of Mexico. This man brings to life something in her that had until their meeting had lain dormant inside her. After Mrs. Pontellier experiences this "awakening", she becomes caught up in a whirlwind of self-satisfaction without regard to how she is affecting those around her. She literally as well as metaphorically distances herself from those who love and care for her. All with the hopes of one day being reunited with her beloved Robert.

When Robert does return from Mexico, where he had escaped to earlier in the story, he is cold and distant towards Edna. He says he doesn't want to be responsible for ruining her life or the lives of those connected to her. Finally, he leaves for good, leaving only a note stating that he has left because he does love her. This sends Edna into a state of despondency that ultimately leads to her demise. She has lost her sense of wakefulness and is thrust back into her former "deadened" self. In the throes of her depression, seeing no other way out, she revisits the resort where the story began. She goes down to the water, strips herself naked, and swims until she can swim no more, thus ending her life and the story. What had initially "awakened" her became her ultimate departure from life.