Class reflection #3- Dramatic irony vs. Verbal irony

    In "The Cask of Amontillado", I learned that there are two different types of irony and we distinguished between the two.  The examples provided for each helped me better understand the difference between the two.  Dramatic irony is when the reader perceives something that a character does not.  An example of this would be when Fortunado is descending down the catacombs, he's ironcially descending towards his death too.  We also said that anytime there is a costume or a dark staircase or when Montressor says 'long live your life" and "R.I.P".  Verbal irony means that the character says one thing but means something different.  One example of this is when Fortunado says "The cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough." (Poe 4).  Another example is when Montressor says how he drinks to Fortunado's long life.  The characters says one thing but we all know that he actually means the exact opposite.  I was never able to decipher between these two types of irony before this class.  Infact, I never even knew there were two kinds of irony to begin with!

Class reflection # 2- The class overall

      I will be completely honest, when I signed up for English 102 I had never even imagined that there would be this much work in a 100 level communications course.  This is probably because of the way my English 101 class was lectured.  In that class, we never had any homework assignment besides the four essays that we were to complete over the course of the semester.  My professor was very laid back and lenient and never really assigned firm due dates for any of those essays either.  Our class was mostly discussions on various topics and we would get side tracked a lot.  Everyone in the class was familular with each other since we also did group work at times.  I actually went into 101 as a first semester freshmen with the attitude I should have had going into this class. Guess I should have switched those two perceptions! I wouldn't say that my original attitude effected my performance in any way since English has always been one of my strong points and I naturally always try to excel at any task handed on to me.  I would say that out of all 5 of my classes, this was probably one of the classes I had to dedicate the most time to throughout the semester.  I thought we would read a few novels and that would be it.  But i'm glad that I was wrong about that part.  Throughout my education, teachers would always just throw such dull, uninteresting books at students and expect them to enjoy it.  I was never a fan and i'm glad that that wasn't the case this time.  The works of literature on the syllabus were usually pretty interesting for the most part and caught my attention right away.  I loved the stories with bizarre twists and exciting endings such as "The Cask of Amontillado", "Oedipus the King", and "The Lottery".  I also felt that the selection of poetry was enjoyable and actually helped me begin to like poetry.  The number of plays we were assigned to read was reasonable and i'm very glad that u removed the third essay from your syllabus because with everything else we had going on, I feel that it would have been a bit excessive to also have that on our plates as well.  I never took a class in which critical notes were only emphasized orally, but i'm glad that I was able to experience that since I know that will be extremely useful to me in the coming years in my college experience.  I did enjoy putting together my final blog portfolio but not so much the weekly posts.  Overall, I am happy I took this class because I learned many new things that I never knew before and was also able to develop new skills and techniques and improve on ones I already had.  This class has helped me prepare for the rest of the journey ahead and I will never underestimate a class again.

Class Reflection #1- Langston Hughes

         I remember looking through my syllabus the first day we received it and seeing that we were going to be assigned  poetry by Langston Hughes, I was actually really excited! I have always enjoyed his work ever since junior high school.  Throughout junior high and high school, I was required to recite a poem out loud every year infront my english class by memory for 'poetry out loud', from 6-12th grade.  And out of any poem that I ever picked to recite, "A Dream Deffered" was definitely my favorite one.  It was quite easy to grasp and I admired its simplicity and rhyme.  It was also fun to recite.  Poetry was never my strong point, I would dread every NY regents or final that required me to analyze a poem and answer questions on it.  But Hughes's work aloud me to see a whole other side of poetry that I never really was able to appreciate before.  And when we learned in class about how he was a social activist for equality, it only made me appreciate his work even more.  Many writers write their poetry about their lives and daily experiences but none stand out to me like Langstons'.  He was not only a writer, but a presenter of history trying to fight for justice for his people and eliminate the corruption and hate towards the black community.  What he discussed in his poetry was the time period of extreme racism and discrimination that he faced in his everyday life.  I find the time period he lived through to be extremely fascinating.  When we learned about how Hughes's dad had a strong dislike for his own people, I found that to be very shocking and shameful.  It was also sort of ironic since his son (Langston) had so much pride for who he was and was the total opposite.  Hughes consistently stood up for blacks and celebrated the legacy of his people throughout many of the pieces of literature we read by him this semester.  These works include but are not limited to"I,too", "Theme for English B", and "The Negro Speaks of Rivers".  Reading these helped me better understand Langston Hughes and what he stood for and made me even more interested in his work.  I love how every poem we read by him conveys a message and teaches you about this critical time period in history which is why they catch my attention. To me, Langston Hughes is not just a novelist, but also a hero.  He helped fight for a better America and I think if he were still alive, he would be very pleased with how far this country has gone since then considering our President is ufcourse black.  I believe that without his help we wouldn't be where we are today,  he contributed to making these reformations possible and I truly admire him.

Fast Facts on the life of Langston Hughes

         Two of the best timelines on Hughes's life to provide you with a great  background on him

                               http://www.kansasheritage.org/crossingboundaries/pagex6e3.html 

                                       http://www.shmoop.com/langston-hughes/timeline.html

                                         

•    A brief biography on Langston:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83

                                               

                     

An excerpt from Hughes's Poem "Cultural Exchange"

                                                        "Dreams and nightmares!
                                                          Nightmares, dreams, oh!
                                                         Dreaming that the Negroes
                                                        Of the South have taken over--
                                                        Voted all the Dixiecrats
                                                        Right out of power--

                                                     Comes the COLORED HOUR:
                                                     Martin Luther King is Governor of Georgia,
                                                     Dr. Rufus Clement his Chief Adviser,
                                                     A. Philip Randolph the High Grand Worthy.
                                                    In white pillared mansions
                                                    Sitting on their wide verandas,
                                                   Wealthy Negroes have white servants,
                                               White sharecroppers work the black plantations,
                                            And colored children have white mammies:" (36-50)

 Hughes is just once again demonstrating the pride he has for his people.  Throughout many of his poems (like this one), he constantly addressed racism and stressed social equality.  He also honored the legacy of black heritage.  In this poem,  Martin Luther King and Dr. Clement are perfect examples of this. 

Hughes- A Social Activist/ Poet

 
"I swear to the Lord, I still can't see, why Democracy means, everybody but me."

-Langston Hughes

Quotes by Langston Hughes

                                                           

"Beauty for some provides escape, who gain a happiness in eyeing the gorgeous buttocks of the ape or Autumn sunsets exquisitely dying."
-Langston Hughes (Brainyquote.com 1)

"Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly."
-Langston Hughes  (Brainyquote.com 1) 

"Humor is laughing at what you haven't got when you ought to have it."
-Langston Hughes  (Brainyquote.com 1) 

"I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go."
-Langston Hughes  (Brainyquote.com 1) 

"I will not take "but" for an answer."

-Langston Hughes  (Brainyquote.com 1) 

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby."

-Langston Hughes  (Brainyquote.com 1) 

"Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you."
-Langston Hughes  (Brainyquote.com 1)

"Negroes - Sweet and docile, Meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day - They change their mind."
-Langston Hughes  (Brainyquote.com 1)



"When peoples care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul."
-Langston Hughes  (Brainyquote.com 1) 

"An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose."
-Langston Hughes  (Brainyquote.com 1) 

Langston Hughe's Theme for English B

Poetry Essay- "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" & "Theme For English B"

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cLJQCaMQD-X2egOf3wCiVUmpshz5jqwLk6NPhw8MuvA/edit

Blog Assignment #10- A Doll's House Option #1

      In “A Doll’s House” by Ibsen, the Helmers constantly make a conscious effort to portray their life as perfect and worry free.  They consistently tried very hard to disguise their suffering and harsh reality.  Torvald especially was ashamed, and felt that disclosing the truth would tarnish his manhood and his pride.  He only discusses his struggles and faces reality behind closed doors.  The Helmers show various instances of hiding in the play,  one example of this, was Nora’s over spending.   Nora becomes very caught up with the holiday season since every Christmas they had to economize. She dreams of a lavish lifestyle so much so that she’s almost living in her own fantasy land spending money that her family doesn’t actually have and buying things she can’t afford, all to create the illusion of wealth and financial stability.   When her friend Mrs. Linde visits and asks how shes been all these years, she begins by telling her about her husbands promotion and disgusises all their struggles. Her husband warns her of her foolish spending habits and reminds her that he still has yet to be promoted.   He also ironically warns her about borrowing money when he says “There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt” (Ibsen 3).  But we later discover that Nora had done just that to pay for their trip to Italy which is another example of hiding.  Torvald had always thought that the money for the trip had come from Nora’s father but in reality it came from one of his fellow co-workers.  Nora revealed the details of the loan to Mrs. Linde, but didn’t tell her who the source of the money was.  She kept the name secret and asked Mrs. Linde to keep the whole situation secret from Torvald.  When Krogstad threatned to blackmail Nora, she was caught in her web of lies and deceit.  Krogstad who gave Nora the loan was also keeping the secret until Trovald fired him.  Which then revealed that Krogstad and  Mrs. Linde were old time lovers and Trovald finds out about his wife’s loan.  The play’s storyline revolves around lies, secrets, denial, and revelations.

Blog Assignment #9-Oedipus the King (Option #1)

                  Through his suffering, Oedipus learns a lot of things about himself.  One thing in particular is that he makes irrationally harsh decisions, and acts upon impulse when he dramatically gauged his own eyes out shortly after learning that he had killed his own father (King Laius) and married his own biological mother (Jocasta).  His pride and stubborn determination lead to his suffering. Ironically enough, he had basically damned himself along the way while in search for King Laius's murderer.   The one thing he proved to himself not to be is a hypocrite.  He said whoever committed this crime would be held responsible, and little did he know that he was leading himself to his tragic fate but regardless of the circumstances, he stood for his word.  And like a brave King, he punished his own self and begged Creon to be banished from the city.  Oedipus's actions proved that he stood firmly for what he believed in.  He wanted to see that justice is done, no matter what.  Even if that meant punishing himself.  He didn't give himself special treatment or exceptions above the law which proves that he was a very honest man who wasn't at all corrupt.  And even though this fate seems so tragic, Oedipus got the chance to learn more about himself and about some of these these admirable heroic qualities.  I believe that in life, all your experiences will have some sort of positive outcome on who you are,  even the negative ones.  Every painful experience and every tear a person sheds and every suffering will make them stronger, wiser and help shape their personality.  People become who they were meant to be through their life suffering.  One of my favorite quotes that supports this idea is "Life doesn't give you the people that you want, it gives you the people that you need.  To help you to hurt you.. to make you to break you, to shape you into the person that you were meant to be".  (tripod.com 1).  Everything happens for a reason,  you just have to be patient and let fate take its course.

Blog Assignment#8- Reading or Watching a Play

                                     
                                           Final Destination 2 viewed March 19, 2012:
 

              On her way to Daytona Beach with her friends, Kim has a premonition of a pile-up on Route 23 that would kill everyone who would be a part of it so she stops her car.  When officer Burke asks her whats wrong, she tells him about the vision she had in which a truck would be the cause of a huge accident.  Moments later, her vision became reality when a truck crashes into her SUV killing all her friends but saving the other potential victims' lives.  The issue in the movie is that everyone that should have been involved in that pile-up must now try and escape death for the second time. Since they realize that they had escaped death once before due to events that took place that were caused by the flight 180 survivors who also died shortly after that flight. All the characters will die in a sequence, which connects them all together. The death of each person depends on the the prior life that was next in line. No matter how hard they all try, they can not escape death and there fate to die.

Blog Assignment#7- Langston Hughes

Sara's story for English 102



My professor told me,

   To go home and blog
   a poem tonight.
   And let it express who I am, make it personal, positive, and possible
   Then it will become a reality.

I don't think it's that simple. But here I go..
I'm eighteen and I was born in Brooklyn
It's where I attended school for the first few years of my life.
I've been to school hear and there, everywhere
From the 5 burrows to different parts of Long Island


I am reminiscing about my childhood as I sit in my living room and blog this poem.
Playing in parks and sitting on swings
blog-Brooklyn birth became basic beginning of my life and now here I am, in college
Wow childhood just flew by so fast
I like succeeding at anything I take on, sometimes striving for success
I like helping people and hanging out with friends
And on a day like this, I like being at the beach soaking in the sun and feeling the fresh breeze
I still don't know where I'm going, but I know where I came from
So my story is yet to be continued..

This is my Story for English 102

Blog Assignment #6- Emily Dickinson

            Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" actually mirrors her own life.  Emily never had her happy ending nor was she ever able to share her life with someone.  I believe that she gave up on love at some point during her life time after she allowed herself to open up and got her heart broken by Charles Wadsworth.  It seemed like she truly admired him despite the fact that he was married.  I think that this poem is a great example that proves this point.  Dickinson sounds very resentful and bitter, she also seems to have a guard up.  From this poem, it sounds like Dickinson just wants to be alone and that no one is good enough for her.  The poem has a very bitter tone.  Dickinson met Wadsworth (who was a married reverend)  in Philadelphia. (sparknotes.com 1). "He was an arresting figure and Dickinson deeply admired him. Most scholars agree that Wadsworth was the man Dickinson fell in love with, and the man who inspired much of her love poetry." (sparknotes.com 1).  When Wadsworth notified Dickinson that he was moving to San Francisco, she immediately suffered a nervous breakdown for a week which almost made her lose her eyesight. She also had a portrait of him hanging in her room (sparknotes.com 1).  To me, this is obvious proof that she suffered from a broken heart after feeling abandoned by Wadsworth, which lead her to writing poems such as this.  In "Because I Could Not Stop for Death", death is being personified as a man. An example that reflects on her own life in the poem is when she says "Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves And immortality." (1-4).  I think that Emily is saying that she can't wait for a soul mate any longer, she finally wants someone to care for her the way she cared for Wadsworth.  Also, when she says "For only gossamer my gown.." (15). It almost seems as though she feels pity for herself.  I think she is talking about being buried in the kind of wedding dress that she never got a chance to where during her life time.  This poem really mirrors the lonely and sad life Dickinson lived.

Blog Assignment #5- Symbolism in Poetry

           There is great use of symbolism in the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes.  In this poem, Hughes explains how he's known the rivers since the beginning of history.  He uses different time periods to symbolize this wisdom of the rivers he claims to have.  But is he actually talking about himself? It is obviously impossible that Hughes lived through more then a thousand years of history, so I think that when he says "I",  he actually means his people (African-Americans) as a whole.  Hughes is basically honoring black heritage and history through this poem.  Langston Hughes is really trying to emphasize his peoples widom when he says "I've known rivers anceint as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins." (Hughes 1).  This clear exaggeration means that before humans even exsisted, the black man had knowledge of the rivers.  This line is one example that is used to symbolize blacks wisdom of the rivers.  A second example, would be when he says "I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. (Hughes 1).  The pyramids were built around 5,000 years ago a little more recent, but still going pretty far back in time which again helps get his point across.  Another line to symbolize African-American wisdom is when he says "I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans." (Hughes 1). Lincoln's time period was the 1800's.  And again, Langston uses another verse to honor the legacy of his wise people.  The poem is like a timeline, with each line, we are a little closer to present day.  Time may not stay constant in the poem, but the point sure does! http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15722

                                               

Blog Assignment #4- Romanticism

       When I think of the Romantic Era, the first thing that pops up into my head is traditonal romance.  But this era was actually not about romance, but more about imagination and creativity.  Things like nature and the super natural were discussed in poetry.  The Romantic era was a period of big change and emancipation. Unlike the classical era, the Romantic era began to allow artistic freedom and emancipation.  (Thinkquest.org 1).  "Romanticism was arguably the largest artistic movement of the late 1700s" (Poets.org 1).  "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth is a great poem that reflects the meaning of this time period.  "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales and hills, when all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils." (Wordsworth 1).  This similie describing loneliness to a cloud has alot to do with the era.  "The waves beside them danced" (Wordsworth 1) this use of personification is also a great example. Wordsworth incorporates alot of creativity and nature into his literary devices in the text. The poem has alot to do with nature, he talks about clouds, daffodils, waves, and hills.  Wordsworth uses alot of imagination and creativity in this poem, and ufcourse nature (all elements of the Romantic Era).

Blog Assignment #3- Bartleby

    Melville tells this story through the eyes of the employer rather than from Bartleby's perspective, he does this on purpose so that we can actually learn more about the manager and gather our own thoughts in our head about the person that the story is being told about (Bartleby).  The more conversations I saw unfold between Bartleby and the employer, the more I wondered about Bartleby's peculiar attitude.  It allows the reader to think further into the story, and read between the lines.  It makes you wonder what was going on in Bartleby's head.  This is very similar to what William Faulkner does in "A Rose for Emily" when the story isn't actually told by Emily herself, but by the town.
  The manager handled the situation with his employee in very strange ways, he had an unusual amount of patience with Bartleby and tolerated much more then a manager normally would, as seen in the text.  "Every copyist is bound to help examine his copy.  Is it not so? Will you not speak? Answer!" (Melville 11) "I prefer not to" (Melville 11).  "Will you tell me, Bartleby, where you were born?"  (Melville 19)"I would prefer not to" (Melville 19) "Will you tell me anything about yourself?" (Melville 19) "I would prefer not to" (Melville 19).  He also proves once again that he can't handle the situation when he  consults with his employees on what to do in the situation.  He ends up ASKING Bartleby if he can quit, and when he 'prefers not to', the manager bizzarely leaves himself! The manager also shows signs of immaturity when he gives his employees childish name nicknames like 'Turkey' and 'Nippers'.
     The dialogue and employers descriptions begin to give you an idea of Bartleby, he was clearly a very miserable individual.  He expressed no desire to get anything done in life, or associate with anyone seemed extremely depressed.  This is later confirmed when Bartleby dies from starving himself in jail and the employer goes on to find out that Bartleby was a great clerk at an office in the past, and he was suddenly fired unexpectidly due to a change in administration.  This was my aha moment! It makes the reader understand exactly why Bartleby acted the way he did and feel really bad for him.  By this point in the story, the narrator has definitly had an experience with this person that would go on to change him for the rest of his life.  Through Bartleby, the narrator has been able to view the world and humanity the same miserable way Bartleby had and get a little taste of Bartleby's bitter life.

Blog Assignment #2- Faulkner

      In "A Rose For Emily", the predominant point of view is first person.  Some would even say that it's first person(s). But I think that the "we" and "our" in the story links the town as a whole and makes them one voice. "When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral" (Faulkner 1).  The focal character in this story is not actually Emily, but the town itself.  They always say the best way to learn about a person is to actually listen to the way they describe others.  From the text, we can assume that the town is very nosy, gossipy, and curious which leaves us wondering which parts of the story are assumptions or rumors, and what is actually true which is proven by the following passage.  "WE did not say she was crazy then.  WE believed she had to do that.  WE remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and WE knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will." (Faulkner 3).  The towns people have made many observations in this passage. Now when the town says "we knew" did they actually really know this?  Or is this actually the perfect example of an assumption? Do we know if she was actually crazy? Maybe she was just lonely.  And there must have been a reason behind every man her father drove away.  The whole story is told by the town, we never actually hear the story straight from the source (Emily) since its a narrator perspective.  In the end, it is ultimately up to us to put the pieces together and decide what we believe.

Blog Assignment #1- Ernest Hemingway

 
     Hemingway's life experiences definitely influence his perspective in his short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place".  His drinking problem might influence the focus of this story, which is the old man who was an alcoholic that sat in the bar every night.  "Hemingway had an enduring love affair with Spain and the Spanish people" (Putman 1). He lived there for some time, which might be the reason he has a large amount of spanish dialogue at the end of "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place".  Hemingway mentions a random soldier in the beginning of the story which shows us that he is very dear to his war experience. He goes into description about the soldier's collar, which we know is very rare in Hemingway's writing style.  "The street lights shone on the brass number on his collar" (Hemingway 1).  His first hand war experiences must influence this description and choice of character.  Hemingway actually put many of his own characteristics into that older waiter.  The waiter was very selfless like the author and was willing to stay with the old man till 3a.m, similar to Hemingway who proved selfless when he carried a wounded Italian soldier to safety as he was injured, and then became injured again. (Putman 1).  The waiter talks about the cafe as if it is like The Red Cross (like in Hemingway's war experience) or a shelter of some sort.  He says, "with all those who need a light for the night" (Hemingway 2).  "Each night I am reluctant to close up because there maybe someone who needs the cafe" (Hemingway 2).  Hemingway served with the Red Cross so I believe that he is expressing is caring nature through the waiter.  The waiter never wanted to go home which is very similar to Hemingway who felt that he couldn't connect with old friends and family on the home front.  When he describes the old man he says that "he walked unsteadily but with dignity".    He uses this word again when the waiter says "nor can you stand before a bar with dignity".  This word jumps out at me and makes me see him as a war veteran right away. Hemingway's life experiences clearly influence his writing style and his choice of characteristics in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place".