Fallen Victims:
Victim of her Haunted Past. Misery From the Thought of His Future Alone.
In Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, every character has their time of victimization. And although many argue that Stella is one of the biggest victims I beg to differ. She has had total control of where her life is now. She chose to marry Stanley, live in a house with him, even if it may be lower class, and to have his child. All decisions she made herself for whatever reasons. Now, on the other hand her sister Blanche has had a rougher life. Having to deal with watching death after death and developing financial problems with family, obviously a decision she did not choose for herself, Blanch has to continually run from decisions she has made. Most decisions made in vain trying to escape bad situations, other times to fight her insecurity issues. Ultimately though, throughout the story not only is Blanche a victim of her past and illusions, but a victim of Stanley. He verbally abuses her throughout most of the play and then rapes her in the scene before last. If this is not victimization I don’t know what is. At the end of the play, Blanche’s victimization is never reconciled. She is taken a way to a mental institution where she will be further a victim of the events in her life.
Another victim in the play is Mitch. A man who is kind hearted and ready to marry for his dying mother. When we first see Mitch in the play he is winning the poker game and is very prideful, nonetheless. By the end of the play though, Mitch is still single, but not only that, in the last scene we see him losing the poker game as well as being a very depressed man. The events in the story between him and Blanche, as well as with him and Stanley, lead him to this destination of mere destruction. He has fallen victim to disappointment and heartbreak. The lies, disrespect, and confusion he is put through throughout the story causes his demise. Nothing good actually happens to Mitch after the first wining of the poker game. So from the beginning we see that this ending wasn’t going to be a fairytale ending of any sort.
Overall, as I said, each character can be labeled a victim in this story because of the tribulations they go through. But in my opinion these are the biggest two. Williams has set things up in the play for them not to work in these characters favor. Ultimately, they don’t, and as an audience we aren’t left with much room to feel any other way but sorry for them.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Stanley Under a Microscope
In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams does not leave much room for the audience to place any judgments or opinions on the characters. He makes it so that we don’t have to over think or analyze the characters ourselves, but gives them roles to where their actions depict our final views of them.
For example, with Stanley, one of the main characters and Stella’s husband, we see how rude and obnoxious he is. From the way he treats Stella and Blanch to how he interacts with his friends while playing poker. Williams gives Stanley this bad boy image that is supposed to stick in our minds as exactly that. The only thing we as the audience can do is provide synonyms of what the author has already made Stanley out to be.
It does seem though, as if Stanley has a soft spot for Stella. Other than the time he beats her, he shows much affection and support for her. Ultimately showing the audience his other, softer, side. Here Williams again makes it clear that Stella is the only woman in the story Stanley shows any true compassion for. We, as the audience, know now that he is this “bad boy”, but he has a weakness. Other than that, we are stuck with his callousness, his crudeness, as well as his uncouthness. Williams probably does this so that there is a strong foundation of the storyline he is trying to set up. All the characters have their flaws and their good qualities but he leaves no argument for what the character could be, providing a sturdy storyline.
For example, with Stanley, one of the main characters and Stella’s husband, we see how rude and obnoxious he is. From the way he treats Stella and Blanch to how he interacts with his friends while playing poker. Williams gives Stanley this bad boy image that is supposed to stick in our minds as exactly that. The only thing we as the audience can do is provide synonyms of what the author has already made Stanley out to be.
It does seem though, as if Stanley has a soft spot for Stella. Other than the time he beats her, he shows much affection and support for her. Ultimately showing the audience his other, softer, side. Here Williams again makes it clear that Stella is the only woman in the story Stanley shows any true compassion for. We, as the audience, know now that he is this “bad boy”, but he has a weakness. Other than that, we are stuck with his callousness, his crudeness, as well as his uncouthness. Williams probably does this so that there is a strong foundation of the storyline he is trying to set up. All the characters have their flaws and their good qualities but he leaves no argument for what the character could be, providing a sturdy storyline.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Miss Emily's Facebook
Miss Emily would definitely have her profile set to private because of how unsocial she is. She would only accept people she thought she knew from her community. Which means she probably wouldn’t have many friends or wall posts. Miss Emily would have only a profile picture available for people to see. Her other pictures would remain private for only her to see. The only application that would be present on her wall is that of her horoscope. Info would be limited and she would never change her status. She doesn’t want to give too much attention to her page. The only reason she has one is because she wants to know what the talks of the town were.
Miss Emily. Sent 9:11 pm
The deed is done. Now leave me alone. Stop worrying. Everything is under control.
Judge Stevens. Sent 4:26 pm
Now Miss Emily I know your not buying poison to harm nobody is ya? Leave that nonsense alone. The community is worried about you.
Druggist. Sent 2:13 pm
Miss Emily I'm not sure what you bought that poison for but I hope your not causing any mischief. You will get me in a heap of trouble, and I was only being a good businessman. Please be careful.
For Miss Emily’s facebook I decided on her profile based on things I knew or assumed I knew about her from the story. She wasn’t much of a people person and she didn’t want people intertwined in her business. Her comments are pretty straightforward as well. She was mean to anyone who talked to her, and didn’t give him or her much reason to be nice. The story creates her to be this wicked old lady and so that’s how most readers interpret her. Our only source really is the author, so we can make things up about what we think she may be like, or how she may feel, but the author pretty much dictates what he wants the audience to think or feel about her as a character.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
This To Shall Pass
In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, religion ultimately plays a big part. The symbolism of the main character, introduced in the first paragraph, establishes a magical realism during the story.
Throughout the story the old man is “held captive in Pelayos’s house”(452) for the entire town to see. The neighbors and community scold him because he is not their ideal view of an angel. So because he doesn’t speak the language of their God or look like he is from the heavens, in other words they couldn’t put in identity to him, they lose faith in what he really is. Because he did not fit their expectations, their first instinct was to exploit him. Unaware of the consequences it would have to them if he really were an angel. In the end some try and rationalize their actions to save themselves.
It annoys me a little that most times when God doesn’t answer peoples calls they criticize him and talk about how they have lost faith because he has not come to give them what they asked or saved them from something they got themselves into. But when their gift or blessing is in front of their face they can’t manage. It is too much for them to handle or deal with. I say this because at the end of the story when the man is strong enough to fly away the mom, “she 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” (455). She looked at him as something annoying. This tells you right there her faith is lost. She does not care whether or not the being was an angel or not. She just wanted him out of her house and out of her life. Sad enough a lot of people feel this way about religion. And in the end, there will always be a question about the role of faith or religion plays.
Throughout the story the old man is “held captive in Pelayos’s house”(452) for the entire town to see. The neighbors and community scold him because he is not their ideal view of an angel. So because he doesn’t speak the language of their God or look like he is from the heavens, in other words they couldn’t put in identity to him, they lose faith in what he really is. Because he did not fit their expectations, their first instinct was to exploit him. Unaware of the consequences it would have to them if he really were an angel. In the end some try and rationalize their actions to save themselves.
It annoys me a little that most times when God doesn’t answer peoples calls they criticize him and talk about how they have lost faith because he has not come to give them what they asked or saved them from something they got themselves into. But when their gift or blessing is in front of their face they can’t manage. It is too much for them to handle or deal with. I say this because at the end of the story when the man is strong enough to fly away the mom, “she 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” (455). She looked at him as something annoying. This tells you right there her faith is lost. She does not care whether or not the being was an angel or not. She just wanted him out of her house and out of her life. Sad enough a lot of people feel this way about religion. And in the end, there will always be a question about the role of faith or religion plays.
A Bug's Life
Franz Kafka’s creates quite a mystery thriller with his story “The Metamorphosis”. It is very questionable on whether or not the character is a bug or an actual human, or is there some place in the story where he transforms. The close relation to the reality and fantasy creates suspense and makes it a page-turner for the audience. In the story, Kafka uses Gregor to illustrate an illusion that is somewhat “buggish”, but because the audience is placed in his mind the assumption of him being a human being occurs.
One aspect that makes this story seem realistic first off is the setting. Gregor is lying in a bed and we find he has a family, has a job, and ultimately has a voice. Throughout the story he develops emotions and is smart. He is scared of losing his job, his family, and eventually his humanity; these are emotions of a human being. But throughout the story and in contrast, the way Gregor describes his physical features is very much so of a bug. As well as what he eats, what he enjoys doing, and the way his family reacts to him. Here the audience has to decide whether or not to take this literally or metaphorically.
I, myself, took this to be more metaphorical than literal. The author creates enough realistic characteristics as a human being to make me believe that is exactly what he is. Gregor’s humanity is lost from the beginning but just in a different way. In class we talked about how he was living to work instead of working to live. So “turning into” this bug was sort of a death for him. Here he lost humanity once, if he ever even had it. Him actual being a “bug” made things so much different. Because he wasn’t able t work, his family had to go find jobs to support their living. Gregor stayed in his room and four walls was all he became to know. His family in a way disowned him. He barely saw his parents and after awhile his sister became unfamiliar with him as well. These are not actual symbols of him being a bug but symbols that his family has lost interest in his humanity. Here again he dies, but this time more literally. His family cries, but at the same time they show that life moves on.
One aspect that makes this story seem realistic first off is the setting. Gregor is lying in a bed and we find he has a family, has a job, and ultimately has a voice. Throughout the story he develops emotions and is smart. He is scared of losing his job, his family, and eventually his humanity; these are emotions of a human being. But throughout the story and in contrast, the way Gregor describes his physical features is very much so of a bug. As well as what he eats, what he enjoys doing, and the way his family reacts to him. Here the audience has to decide whether or not to take this literally or metaphorically.
I, myself, took this to be more metaphorical than literal. The author creates enough realistic characteristics as a human being to make me believe that is exactly what he is. Gregor’s humanity is lost from the beginning but just in a different way. In class we talked about how he was living to work instead of working to live. So “turning into” this bug was sort of a death for him. Here he lost humanity once, if he ever even had it. Him actual being a “bug” made things so much different. Because he wasn’t able t work, his family had to go find jobs to support their living. Gregor stayed in his room and four walls was all he became to know. His family in a way disowned him. He barely saw his parents and after awhile his sister became unfamiliar with him as well. These are not actual symbols of him being a bug but symbols that his family has lost interest in his humanity. Here again he dies, but this time more literally. His family cries, but at the same time they show that life moves on.
Is Eveline's Dream Deferred?
In James Joyce’s short story “Eveline” the audience witnesses her paralysis early on in the story. Eveline takes care of her family, but wants to leave her abusive father to travel to a foreign place with her mate. Her mother’s wishes though, go against what she wants. Even Eveline knows that if she leaves she will just be apart of the cycle of “coming and going” around her neighborhood. Her epiphany comes closer to the end when she decides not to jump aboard to the boat of possibilities and new beginnings. A simple sound triggered her mother’s wishes and she “…clutched the iron in frenzy. Amid the seas she sent a cry of anguish!”(41). It was a cry of hopelessness, of sorrow that Eveline cried. She realizes although she doesn’t want to be a part of the change, her not changing may be detrimental to herself. And the dream she had of leaving was deferred.
Which reminds me of the poem, “Harlem”, by Langston Hughes. Here Hughes talks about what a dream becomes if nothing is done about it. Deferred is usually used to describe nothing good, but what happens to a dream put off until later. During “Eveline”, she reaches all the way up to the breaking point, and then instead of exploding, (which would have been jumping on the boat); she looses courage and stays ashore. Although Hughes character and the character in Joyce’s story are very different, they share the experience of a dream deferred.
Which reminds me of the poem, “Harlem”, by Langston Hughes. Here Hughes talks about what a dream becomes if nothing is done about it. Deferred is usually used to describe nothing good, but what happens to a dream put off until later. During “Eveline”, she reaches all the way up to the breaking point, and then instead of exploding, (which would have been jumping on the boat); she looses courage and stays ashore. Although Hughes character and the character in Joyce’s story are very different, they share the experience of a dream deferred.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
And The Last Bell Jingles
"Nemo me impune lacessit"
In Edgar Allan Poe's short story, The Cask of Amontillado, the narrator and one of the main characters, Montresor, lives by this motto. Without ever really explaining to the audience what Fortunato did to him, we learn very early in the story that he is looking for revenge. And throughout the story Montresor's attributes resemble that of a lunatic, a madman, and a manipulator; although he shows a bit of intelligence and wit. For he takes a man in high power, Fortunato, and seizes him to the lowest vaults of Scotland to avenge himself. At one point of the story it seems as if Montresor is contemplative about what he is doing and that's what makes this story so heartrending. But in the end death is thee only way Montresor sees fit to free himself of humiliation and the defacement that had doubtably occurred. A lesson taught, "No one dare attack me with impunity" because in Montresor's eyes death is the final consequence.
It is clear that Poe wanted the audience to favor with Montresor. This was the reasoning for the deeper look into Montresor's head and not Fortunato's. The audience may have felt more sympathectic towards Fortunato if they were not only able to know they story of what happened between the two but Fortunato's outlook on it. Some may feel like Montresor was right in what he was doing because pride is one of the roots of evil, but others may see Montresor as a malevolent person. His M.O was he was insulted. But does that give him the right to kill another human being? I guess to Montresor it was the equivalent. If Fortuanto were able to tell his side, the story may then be that of a whole different one, but this is what the audience is left with. "In pace requiescat!"
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