Monique’s Comments (group member since Jan 21, 2015)

Monique’s comments from the Morales 2341 Spring 2015 Class MW group.

Kirsten wrote: "The similarities in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Revelations" by Flannery O'Conner is that both stories are very judgmental in appearance. In the story in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" the gran..."

I agree that both women see themselves as better than everyone else and practically think they are god's gift to the world.

Maritza wrote: "The similarities between “A Good Man is Hard to find” and “Revelations” are about two women that always have something to say. The Grandmother talks a lot, and has always opinion about her family w..."

O'Conner's stories do have religion present in a small way but in an impactful way as well. Both women were judgmental christians so maybe thats how she viewed all christians.

The stories “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelations” by Flannery O’Conner both consist of ladies who think highly of themselves and look down on others but also are consumed with religion is some way. The ladies actions both have a negative outcome. The grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” considers herself as a ‘lady’ and dresses as such with fancier clothes than the usual people in her surroundings. She is kind of a snob but when faced with death, she turns to religion in a last attempt to save herself. In “Revelations”, Mrs. Turpin is a tremendously judgmental being who sees others as white trash and is also racist with thoughts ‘to send all black people back to Africa’. All her negative opinions upset the wrong person which resulted in a book being thrown at her and then being attacked. In the wake of all these, Mrs. Turpin turned to God and asked why she received this messaged when other ‘trash’ deserved it. They both turned to religion in some sense and both are just terrible people. I think maybe O’Conner saw the bad in the majority of ladies that were in her time.

Kirsten wrote: "In the short story "The Overcoat" by Gogol is trying to say that appearance is everything in social society. Akakievich was often bullied by his co-workers so he would ignore them and acted like th..."

Its funny and sad how something as simple as getting a new coat changed the way Akaky was treated by those around him. Society now hasn't really changed since the same mindset still exist.

Maritza wrote: "The short story “The Overcoat” by, Nikolai Gogol is a story about a poor man who has being criticizes because of his appearance. The coat symbolized an important role in Akaky Akakievich’s life. He..."

It was unfair of Akaky's coworkers to not pay attention to him until he had a new coat. A coat doesn't give a person their personality.

“The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol revolves around Akaky Adadievich, who is an awkward, hardworking man who is a nobody in the eyes of everyone around him. Akaky is a dedicated worker who lives for his work, so dedicated in fact, he takes his work home with him. He lives alone and keeps to himself for the most part. Akaky lives in Russia which is known for the brutal cold, unfortunately for Akaky, his coat was a pile of rags. No matter how much he wanted it to be repaired in order to avoid buying a new one. He attempted to get the help of his tailor to repair his beloved coat but it was hopeless. His only option would be to buy a new one, which cost more than what Akaky could afford. After saving up, he finally got a new coat. The new coat put a new twist on his life. People around him started treating him differently, everyone would complement him continuously, and they even threw him a party. Even if Akaky started liking the attention at first, it becomes too much for him. Gogol is trying to emphasize the point that the way you look and what you have effects the way you’re treated and respected. If you dress a certain way, then people assume you are of high social class and standing, this is highlighted more in Gogol’s story when Akaky is mugged on his way home from the party, purely cause of his new coat. The mugger probably assumed he was rich cause of the way he was dressed because if he would’ve been wearing his old coat then it’s unlikely he would’ve been mugged.

Maritza wrote: "Death of a Salesman is a tragedy drama, but in my opinion, I don’t believe that Willy Loman was a tragic hero. He is a sad small man who wants to do great things but never successfully achieved i..."

Willy was in his own way in his quest for a better life. If he would have embraced reality and stopped putting pressure on others to fulfill his dream life rather than achieving it himself, life would be better for his family.

Kirsten wrote: "I do not believe that the "Death of a Salesman" was tragedy. I believe the death of Willy was simply the demise of a small man. When Charley was offering Willy a job so he can have money to pay his..."

I agree about Willy's pride being the cause of his eventual demise. If he wasn't stubborn in his ways, he could have improved his life greatly.

All death is tragic in one way or another, some more tragic than others. Do I think Willy Loman is a tragic hero? Not exactly. Maybe just another victim that has fallen due to the chase towards the “American Dream”. This man wanted everything to be perfect, but was it really worth the fight? Many are consumed with the idea of having the perfect family. Some parents put a lot of pressure on their own kids in hopes they achieve what they couldn’t. Many parents see their kids achievements as their own achievements and as an image they want to put out to the public. Willy wanted perfection from his life and especially the lives of his kids, but at the cost of something much more in the end. He tried to live out the successful life he always wanted though his son Biff.

Maritza wrote: "In Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, addresses a man’s capacity to accept the changes within himself and society. Willy the main character in the act plays a denial in his life. He doesn’t ac..."

I agree with your statement about Willy not wanting his sons to recreate his own past mistakes, I think thats what all parents want for their children so its understandable.

Kirsten wrote: "In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, I believe the play show criticism of society. Willy is trying to support his family and have the best relationship with his kids. Unfortunately, his dream o..."

I agree with your post, all Willy wants is the best for his kids and for them not to waste their time or abilities.

In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, this story revolves around your typical hardworking American man, Willy, who chases the ‘American Dream’ and only wants the best and the most out of his two grown up sons; Biff and Happy. Miller works as a traveling salesman who does frequent long car rides to travel for work, one night while driving, he constantly kept forgetting he was driving and his thoughts were on other things but the road. His wife pleas that it’s time to ask for another job in a New York office that isn’t so stressful on the mind. Although he feels he is a vital businessman, he caves into his wife’s pleas. Instead of being transferred to the NY office, he is fired. Willy wants his sons to be the best men they can be in order to succeed. He isn’t all too happy with the career pathways they have chosen so he tries to persuade them to put their efforts into something that Willy feels will be best for them in the long run. Since Willy wasn’t able to achieve the “American Dream” himself, he puts the pressure on his kids.

Kirsten wrote: "I believe there was a "lack of moral culture" in the story "The Storm" by Chopin. Calixta was cheating on her husband and showing compassion to another guy that doesn't mean a thing. I see the guy ..."

Her confessing to her husband would've made her unmoral act and betrayal on her marriage a tad bit better. She should be honest instead of keeping this secret which makes everything worse.

The moral issues raised in this story is the act of adultery committed by Calixta and by Alcee. The story starts out Bobinot and his and Calixta’s son Bibi being stuck in a storm at a store where they are worried about Calixta being at home by herself. She ended up being not as alone as they thought. She ended up having a rendezvous with a man that is not her husband. The act of adultery is frowned upon no matter if it was in present time or her time. Although it is done more often in present time, it still doesn’t make it right. Calixta acting as if all was well and normal makes her actions more despicable. Alcee is no better than her in this situation, they were both involved in the act and committed separate acts of adultery. Women, especially in her time, get most of the heat in these situations. The closing sentence of “everyone is happy” is immoral in the sense that it is misleading since if Bobinot knew of his wife’s betrayal, he would be the furthest thing from happy.

Kirsten wrote: "In "Wild nights-Wild nights" by Emily Dickinsons I believe it's was her way of showing people she turned her back against her religion and wanting to do whatever she felt was right. Dickinson would..."

I didn't grasp wild nights wild nights as well as the flea, so your view on this helped.

“The Flea” by John Donne is about a man who sees a deep meaning behind a single flea sucking the blood from him then his beloved. He sees this action as him and his lover becoming one inside of this flea, this being achieved by their blood being blended inside of the flea’s body. He sees this simple action as this grand beautiful occurrence. His lover however is quick to wanting to kill the flea cause she just sees it as an annoying bug. The man continues on to tell her how she could kill this flea ending its life and their ‘lives’ within its belly. The lover after hearing his extensive and detailed explanation on how beautiful this occurrence was, still smashes the flea with her nail, spilling the blood of them both. This action made the man start ranting again about how she could do that. I think this poem highlights how some people can see beauty in the most mundane, insignificant occurrences that happen in everyday life.

Kirsten wrote: "In the story A&P by John Updike I believe Sammy is quitting can be seen as a statement of some sort. He was attracted to the girls that walked into the store so when the manager confronted the girl..."

Sammy's statement, although irrational and seemed right in the heat of the moment, maybe he shouldnt have reacted in that way to his manager's actions towards these girls.

Maritza wrote: "I think Sammy quitting was principally a statement that he didn’t want to live a middle life anymore. Sammy wishes only to identify with the girls and gain acceptance. The enemy and his target is h..."

Sammy did make a statement by quitting, this showed his manager that he didn't need to be working there where he doesn't agree with his opinion.

Sammy quitting can be seen as a statement. Sammy made a statement to his boss Lengel, that no matter if he was friends of his parents or not, that made no difference in his decision to quit. Lengel confronted a group of girls who wore bathing suits in the store Sammy and Lengel worked at. He told them ‘We want you decently dressed when you come in here’ and how ‘this isn’t the beach’. Sammy witnessing his boss embarrass these girls with no good reason behind it besides the way they were dressed, decided to quit his job. He didn’t regret this decision cause he did not want to be stuck there his whole life like his coworker, Stokesie. Unlike Stokesie, Sammy felt he had more to offer the world and although unsure of the future, he knew there was more to it besides A&P.

Maritza wrote: "In the poem “Quincenera” by Judith Ortiz Cofer interprets a young girl getting ready for her fifteen birthday party. In the Mexican culture, the celebration is important since is a passage from a ..."

I dont think it was fair of the mother to view something that the speaker had no control over, as something of dishonor since I'm sure the mother herself had experienced the same. The same was probably done to the mother for her to do this to her own daughter.