Battle Royal By Ralph Ellison

Abstract
        The narrator was cursed by his grandpa and so he always had to play it safe. He is praised by the people of his town for being a good black. As the story goes on the narrator goes to all wealthy white men to tell them a speech. He ends up taking part in a battle royal in which he has to fight the other men blindfolded. He ends up getting to the last round, where he is defeated by another man.

Journal
     This story takes place during the era of black and white segregation. This is the same era that Ralph Ellison lived in while writing his stories. He was the grandson of a slave just like that main character in the story. These are just some of the similarities that are shown between Ralph and the narrator of this story.
      The narrator is living with a curse of his grandfather. When his grandfather was on his deathbed he told him that he'd be cursed for ever and have to carry that burden on his back. All throughout the narrator's life he lives cautiously not wanting the curse to affect him. As a slaves's grandson and a black he had to be of the safe side smiling to all the whites and saying that yesses. This is how all black must act in order to remain safe under white rule.
       The problem of segregation is that the black's were never free. The narrator thought he had it pretty lucky because he was never abused by the white's. He had the opportunity to go and speak to all the wealthy men. He became really nervous because he wanted to be different than every other black, and he wanted to impress the white men. As he goes up to speak the white men don't listen until he mixes around some of his words. The words were social responsibility in which he was suppose to say social equality. Why does this catch the attention of the white men? Is it because the white's think the black's have the social responsibility to do all the labor, while the white have the responsibility of the government. They lack to acknowledge that fact that he states social equality because they don't believe that that's even possible.

The Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck

Abstract
       Elisa is a woman who lives in Salinas Valley all alone with just her husband as her company. She has no job other than to tend her garden and clean the house, which bores Elisa. One day a stranger shows up to the house wanting to find the path to Los Angeles Highway. Elisa is attracted to this man and how he treats her. She ends up giving him some of her chrysanthemums to give to a woman that is on her route. Later that day Elisa and her husband Henry are on their way to town and she see that her chrysanthemums have been thrown on the side of the rode, which hurts Elisa very much.


Journal

            Elisa is the main character in this story. She is being oppressed not only by her husband, but also by society. The story takes place on Elisa and Henry’s farm in Salinas Valley, CA. Elisa is in her garden tending her flowers and most importantly her chrysanthemums. As she works John Steinbeck explains that, “her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume.” This perceives the thought that Elisa is real masculine and rigid as a woman. She doesn’t want to be seen this way but her work requires her to dress this way. Not only does she tend her garden she also cleans the house. Those are the only jobs that Elisa is ever given, and I think they bore her. This is just one way Elisa is oppressed in the story.

            As that story continues Elisa see that’s her husband is talking to two men. She wonders why, but doesn’t dare go speak to them because that would be out of line in society. Henry comes over after the men leave to tell her that the men brought him money for the steers he sold, and he asks if she’d like to go out to dinner, Elisa agrees. Henry jokingly inquires they should go to the fights in town tonight, but he assumes that Elisa wouldn’t want to go to them. The reason he assumes this is because in the times of this story women didn’t go to fights, that wasn’t the womanly thing to do. This just shows how society too oppressed women in what they do. In other words women weren’t really free to do what they wanted because they were oppressed by the society, which were the men because other women wouldn’t make rules for other women.

            The gender roles are stereotypical of this time period. The men were the workers who provided for the women, while the women cooked and cleaned all day. Although like Elisa women didn’t always like their roles they still did what they were suppose to do. Why is this? Why wouldn’t women want to change their lives by speaking out? Is it because they didn’t want to humiliate their self or their family by being different, or maybe that they never got the opportunity because the men were so controlling of the women.

            This story showed strong feminism from society oppressing Elisa to Henry oppressing Elisa. Everything that was written was pretty much how men controlled everything. The only time that Elisa is a little bit flattered by a man is when the fixer guy comes by and he speaks to her with passion. At first she isn’t open to this because she’s not used to it. After awhile she sees how lovely this guy really is and how he respects her. He shows this respect by inquiring about her chrysanthemums, which mean lots to her. Since Elisa has never had children these flowers become her children in a sense.

            In the end of the story Henry and Elisa are on their way into town for dinner. She sees that the fixer guy’s covered wagon is ahead. As they come upon the wagon she sees that he has thrown out the chrysanthemums that she gave him. Elisa breaks into tears not only about the flowers, but about the fact that she respected the fixer guy and how he acknowledged her as more than just a woman.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place By Ernest Hemingway

Abstract
      There are two waiters that converse about this old man and how he visits the cafe everyday to drink brandy. One waiter tells the other that the old man tried to commit suicide last week, but neither know why. As they tell the man he must leave the older waiter expresses to the younger waiter that he likes working late into the night and being in a clean, well- lighted place at night.


Journal

            Ernest Hemingway was known for his short and to the point writings. In this story, “A clean, Well-Lighted Place” the writing was very short. There wasn’t much explanation to his writing he just told the story briefly without many adjectives, which was his style of writing. This style really confused me when I first read the story. I had to re-read it two more times to get the dialogue and the time transitions that he was expecting you to figure out on your own.

            The biggest symbol throughout the book was the difference between light and dark. He talked about an old man who always visited a cafe at night and how he must have like the light. There were two waiters, and the older one admitted he liked to be in a clean, lighted place at night. The reason for this odd request is because he didn’t want to be alone. He didn’t want to become depressed and absorbed in his feelings about how old he was. This is a key symbol showing that the older you get the more sensitive you are to the dark. I think this may be because death is associated with darkness and the older people are the closer to death they are.

            The main character that is found in this story is the old man who sits and drinks brandy all night. I think this character represents Ernest Hemingway. The old man is alone and doesn’t want to be in the dark. Ernest had four wives, which shows he never wanted to be alone at all. Also the old man in the story tried to commit suicide, but his niece caught him and stopped him. This is the case with Hemingway too, he had a gun to his head when his wife came in and convinced to put it down.  After this, throughout Hemingway’s life he became more and more paranoid of different things, for instance the FBI. He believed that the FBI was tracking his every move, which drove him to have paranoia.

            All of Ernest’s paranoia started when he was sitting at a restaurant in Ketchum and saw that there were lights on in the building beside him. This directly relates to the setting in the story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” maybe the old man watched something every night when he sat there drinking his brandy. Maybe what he saw was something that drove him crazy and into to paranoia just like what happened to Hemingway. 

            

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall By Katherine Anne Porter

Abstract
      Granny Weatherall is in the hospital and nearing death. She is very grumpy and doesn't want anyone around. As she falls asleep she starts to see her life go by and how was was never really a happy person. In the end Granny is at peace with dying and tells her children all they things they must do and the items they receive after her death.


Journal

In the story, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” there isn’t much of a plot. It seems as though we are just hearing the thoughts that Granny Weatherall is thinking while laying in a hospital bed. She is a cranky lady who doesn’t want to be at the hospital because she’d rather be at home cleaning and doing other chores.

            The characters of the story kind of confuse me on why they are even in the story except for George and Hapsy. I think that George is significant to this story because not only was Granny jilted by him it represents how her life was lived. She was never really happy and at the end of the story she realizes that. She was jilted by this thought and that’s what ended up killing her. Hapsy was another character that was important to the story and showed up in many instances. I’m not quite sure the actual significance of Hapsy, I just know that Granny loved her very much.

            The tone of the story is very dark and unhappy feeling. I feel this closely relates to the life that Katherine Anne Porter lived. When she was young her mother died and her father raised her family. Once Katherine grew up she married a man who abused her and they later got divorced. I think the reason for this writing to be dark and unhappy is also because she wants to depict that life of Granny and the stage that she was going through in her life, and that she had to accept death.

            One of the symbols in the story that you see throughout is the expression of things floating. This can relate to what heaven is like in Katherine Anne Porter’s eyes. She talks about how the doctor floats into the ceiling in the beginning and that her body feels like bones just floating about within her skin. This truly shows that Granny knows she’s dying and that the thought of death makes her think everything in real life is floating and converted to the way of heaven.

            

The Rocking-Horse Winner By D. H. Lawrence

Abstract
        Paul is a child of an unlucky and greedy family. His mother and father are both big spenders, but they don't have the money to pay their debt. Paul and his sisters notice that the house is whispering, " There must be more money" this bothers Paul so he decides to do something about it. He begins gambling  on horse races, which he wins because of his rocking horse. He takes his winnings and gives some to his mother to make the house shut up, but it only becomes louder. Finally Paul becomes weak and is able to make one last bet in which he wins a lot of money for his family.




Journal
         Master Paul was a child who had an illness. This wasn’t something that his family noticed, but it became apparent with time. Paul heard that his parents had no luck and he wanted so badly to find that luck so he searched for it himself. As he searched he found a rocking horse out of all the things in his house, and this had the answer. Why would Paul pick a horse? Why wouldn’t he pick something that could make him money like notebook and pencil?

 Paul was making sure he found luck for his mother because he loved her very much and wanted her to be impressed by him. From the theory of Sigmund Freud, Paul wanted to be better than his father. He wanted his mother to love him and not his father, so he went about this by trying to provide for his mother. He did this by betting on horse races with Bassett, the gardener and winning large amounts of money. Paul decided that he was going to give some of his money to his mother for her birthday. She gladly accepted it and asked if she could get the whole lump sum of five thousand pounds. Paul agree and Uncle Oscar told the lawyer that was all right.

Paul’s mother used the money to buy material things for herself, and never once stopped and thought about what her family needed. This made Paul angry and confused. The whole reason Paul was gambling was so the house would shut up. Paul’s id or basic needs drove him to want to gamble. He had to shut the house up because it kept whispering, “There must be more money!” This bothered Paul so he wanted to fix it and he thought he had. Paul was wrong about that the whispering only became louder. Paul couldn’t understand how his mother could be so selfish. Why couldn’t she make the house be quiet? What motivated her to be so selfish?

            As Paul tried harder and harder to win money, he was only losing it. He was struggling because he didn’t have his rocking horse anymore because he was too old for it his mother said. Paul demanded that it be put back in his room and his mother listened. This was the reason for his success in winning the bets. Paul’s ego kicking in, he wanted so badly to have luck he would do anything to get it. He rode his horse day and night trying to find the answer. He was mentally not going to be at rest until he found the winner of The Derby.

            Paul shows a strong Ego throughout the whole story. He wasn’t stopping for anything or anyone. He was driven by his Ego to find luck and make the house shut up. Paul’s Superego never really stopped him or was even apparent to him throughout this whole story. Finally, Paul’s Id was the whole drive behind everything he did, it was his instinct. He knew in his mind he had to help his mother and was going to do it in any possible way he could. He was driven so much to please his mother that it killed him.

Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

Abstract
       Gregor is a young and successful man that is supporting his family, until one day something happens that changes his life forever. He wakes up and he is a gigantic insect. He life in immediately changed forever. He isn't able to support his family and they begin to be affected by this change and they all gave to get jobs. In the end Gregor dies because of starvation.


Journal
           Franz Kafka wrote a very interesting story that symbolizes the reality of his life. His father was a businessman who was always busy and never had time for his family. Gregor in this story represents Kafka’s father. They were both businessmen who are always on the go and were hard working men. They never stopped to enjoy life with their family of just relax because they are so focused on their job. Kafka wrote, “The Metamorphosis” because he wanted to show people that working so hard turns you into a monster in a sense.  Why would Franz Kafka write about something he hated so much? Why would he encourage the fame and icon of his father? Was it so he could teach others to change or maybe to express his feeling through writings.

In the story Gregor is disabled to work or even support his family. At first the family is sympathetic, but soon they become impatient with him. The reason for this frustration is because of the economic standing of Gregor’s family. They couldn’t support their selves just on Gregor’s savings so they all had to get jobs. This becomes a struggle because they aren’t able to care for Gregor and work at the same time. They have to adjust their life and get rid of their cook, their house cleaner, etc. They no longer are of the higher economic class; they have now dropped to middle class if not lower. Gregor’s mother has to sell her jewels for money so they can live. Also they sell some of the furniture in Gregor’s room in order to support themselves. Does this economic instance show how Kafka had to live his life?

This story shows how taking away someone’s job can bring them to reality. It shows the person what they’ve missed out on while busy working. In the story Gregor finally sees how talented his sister is at the violin. He had never noticed it before because he was so busy working. He loves her music and knows that she could get into Conservatorium and he wants to help her get there, but it’s too late. Gregor can’t speak to her and she is afraid of Gregor so the dream that he had for is sister is just a fantasy. This story makes me realize that you can’t take the things in life for granted because otherwise you will regret no participating in activities and you’ll never get the full experience of life.

            In “The Metamorphosis” it also shows how someone so focused on their work will die alone. Gregor never really was susceptive to what was around him. He doesn’t notice this until he is changed. Throughout the story his sister cares for him, but in the end just gives up. This example shows how someone so successful can become so lonely.     

The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Abstract
           The narrator of this story is in an unstable mental health state, so her husband has advised her to sleep and not do much. They are renting a house for three months and there is one room that the narrator is fascinated by and she's thinks it was a nursery. In this room there is yellow wallpaper which the narrator she struggles to find peace with so everyday she analyzes the paper while her husband is at work. As she later discovers there are women trapped behind the paper trying to get, so she frees them.In the end those women represent the narrator herself and how she's been trapped by her husband in a sense.


Journal

            While reading “The Yellow Wallpaper” it came across to me that there are definite gender roles shown. The narrator is convinced that she is mentally ill and is not capable of doing anything else. She believes this is true because her husband who is a physician told her so. He told her she must not do much activity during the day and she must sleep as much as possible. This is the stereotypical role of a female that stays home. She just sits around and every once in a while will clean or do something active. I don’t understand why Charlotte Perkins Gilman would write about the woman’s role stereotypically when she herself was a feminist. I think this story shows no feminism because the narrator is being controlled by her husband, ans she isn’t independent at all.

In this story the husband, John, is the supporter. He is a physician and helps others with their ailments. This shows the stereotypical role of a male, to be the supporter. This is the one whole provides the money for the women to buy and get what they need to raise a family. The male figure is suppose to be strong and not afraid of anything. This is shown in the story when the narrator explains that she must always be with John otherwise she gets nervous and begins not feeling well. I think this shows how the male figure is represented in the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Again I find it hard to understand that the main supporter in this story to be a role just because she was a feminist writer, and she strongly believed in feminism.

            By the end of the story the narrator becomes free from her life of being trapped. She is finally able to do what she wants and not have to be nervous about it. This is represented when the narrator tears all the yellow wallpaper off the walls. She does this because she claims that there were women behind the wallpaper creeping around and they were trapped. In all actuality this is the life the narrator was living. She was trapped in her house wanting to free herself, but couldn’t because her husband kept and close eye on her at all times of the day.