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

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

Dee has two different types of personalities depicted in the story, the early and the later more educated. It seems like when she was living at home she didn’t want anything more then to leave everything behind or rise above what was given to her. She was unhappy with the things she had early on in the story, and when she comes back to visit her mother it is totally the opposite. She seems more proud of her heritage and wants to remember what her family went through. I’m guessing it is like that for a lot of educated people. You learn where you coming from and you can’t help but to want to display your roots. Education opened Dee’s eyes to see the beauty in her past. I don’t think she is unlikable at all, I like that she wants her family’s heirlooms. The only thing I don’t like about Dee is that she comes back very demanding and tries to bully her sister out of her rightful property, the quilts.

“The Death of a Salesman” is the pursuit of the “American Dream” in a format that is more realistic to the illusionary standards. This story is a tragedy, and Willy did have all the characteristics of a tragic hero, but I wouldn’t call him one. The Loman family seems to be living lies within lies, but the lies are in the open and yet they seem to buy into the idea that everything is going to be fine. The paternal characteristics plague the family, and are instilled more in the sons. He was secretly ashamed of himself and saw himself as a failure, as a man of house and a father. I suppose it strikes a chord in modern day American men, with the pressures of maintain a household. I picture Willy as a sad washed up man that saw no way out, and gave up a lot of his own dreams for his family. When Ben told him he could go out and gain a fortune out of Brooklyn, he hesitated and felt confortable with his salesman position. He admired an 86-year-old man for being able to still sale. He got complacent and that was his down fall. This story opens my eyes in a lot of ways. For a long time I thought it was a modern day phenomena, that thirty something year olds were still living with their parents, but it seems it has been happening for a very long time now. It’s mostly the parent’s fault, like in the story with Willy and Linda cradling the “men” as “boys”. So at the end of the story Willy dies as a bad father, husband, and man.

Even though everybody thought that the writer in "Porphyria's Lover" didn’t know that he was going to kill her, and did it out of impulse, I think otherwise. I think that it was premeditated, and his selfish, almost childish character wanted her for himself. In "The Cask of Amontillado", Montreso also had a plan to kill him making it premeditated as well. Montreso was also childish in the sense that he was easily insulted. Just like the main character in "Porphyria's Lover" wanted her for himself, Montreso wanted revenge. Both characters show a glimpse of normality and almost back out, but the wanting takes over.

Emily Dickinson starts the poem like if she was answering a question, " because I could not stop for death." The reader doesnt know why exactly she starts with an explanation, but it intrigues us and we want to know. Death stops "kindly," as saying death came to her in a almost peaceful way. It also raises a question, why couldn't she stop for death but death could stop for her? She rides with death and "Immortality," which is kind of a contradiction, unless she thinks there is life after death. Death didn't make it a hasty drive, but took his time almost as if they were both enjoying it. Dickinson makes us think something is about to happen. She gives up work and hobbies, or in other words life. They pass a school, and I would like to think they pass it for melancholic moment, as if to say I was there yesterday and now I've passed. We also don't know how old she is, so that mite signal an age difference and shows how life passes by slow and quick at the same time. This, in my eyes, shows death as an escort to an internal life, or "paradise". Death is showing her one last look at the world before she is taken.

What I think Cynthia Ozick is trying to say is that we all go through life lying to our self. We are too distracted, as we should be, on aspects of our lives that we forget the truth, and most certain thing we have; we are all going to die some day, and there is no way around “it”. As Ivan Ilych’s illness grew everybody started to lie, either to themselves or to Ivan. Doctors, friends, and even family started to lie. It is so appropriate for the story to start at the funeral and show everybody’s reaction and feelings towards Ivan’s death. “At least it was him and not I,” finding comfort from his death, and looking at the situation so adventitious. “Lying, lying, this lying carried on over him to the eve of his death, and destined to bring that terrible, solemn act of his death down to the level of all their visits, their curtains, their sturgeons for dinner….” It was sort of ironic that Gerasim (the peasant/servant) was the only person that didn’t lie to him, but was more like a relief to Ivan from the lying. Cynthia Ozick’s observation is condign. We are surrounded with lies.

As a young man, Ivan’s life was looking prosperous, both personally and professionally. He was on he's way up the social latter, making influential net workings. “Why not,” was his own response to if he should get married. After all he was doing well, and it seemed it was the next step for him to make. The author describes Ivan’s life as, “most simple and commonplace—and most horrifying.” The author is trying to say that even though people strive to have an ordinary life, the life that is ordinary is the most horrifying. The simple life is pledged with chores and even your significant other becomes a burden to deal with. Ivan, to distract himself of his commonplace life, buries himself in his professional life. While others mite rush home to get to their families, I can only imagine him struggling to find more work to distract himself of his problematic life.

Monique wrote: "By definition a misfit is someone whose behavior sets them apart from others in an uncomfortably conspicuous way. The grandmother in the story can be seen as a textbook misfit since she thinks so h..."

Overall an unpleasant misfit indeed. She seemed more of a misfit then the actual misfit, her attitude and her presences together were misfitted. The author introduced very subliminal clues, but at the same time left them in the open.

Victoria wrote: "A misfit is "a person whose behavior or attitude sets them apart from others" I would say that the grandmother fits the definition well. She was one who was always against what everyone else wanted..."

Ironically, in my opinion, the grandmother is the misfit all along. The family is very quick, at the start of the story, to ditch her from the trip. The grandmothers egocentric attitude is the families demise.

The grandmother is the biggest misfit of the story. It seemed like her family had had enough of her poisonous character. From the beginning of the story the children could see the way she was trying to get what she wanted by trying to make Bailey feel bad for taking them where there was a escaped convict, and how it would be advantageous for them to know others parts of the world. “If your don't want to go to Florida, why dontcha stay home?” When reading that, mixed feeling surface, don't know what to think about the grandmother, can't help but feel sorry for her. I quickly realizing that the grandmother is very superficial and cares about statues. When the “Misfit” was introduced I identify with him more, making the grandmother a little more unlikeable. Even while her whole family is taking to be murdered, she is trying to save only herself. Being selfish isn't a normal trait in a grandmother making that a “misfit” action.

Victoria wrote: "Because “he didn’t drink, and kept his word . . . and paid his debts" does not mean that Mr. Wright was a good man over all. One of the ladies saw a difference in Mrs. Wrights over all actions afte..."

It sounds like your kind of on the fence on this subject, which is totally cool, but your words have no teeth. I know what you mean when you say that there is no evidence of him actually being a good man towards his wife, but there isnt either. We can play the what if game all day every day. What if she was mentally ill with depression? What if he verbally abused her? What if she went crazy and killed the bird and her husband? There is no way of knowing for sure, but everything DOES points towards her being the murder and in everybody's eyes, "a jury of her peers" she is guilty, no matter the scenario.

Monique wrote: "I believe Minnie Wright was absolutely guilty of murder because even if John Wright was an emotionally abusive man, she still took his life. The women could see the toll her depressing life with Jo..."

So we both agree that it was murder. Was there a better way of handling the situation she was facing? You mention the feminist point of view, and the lack of appreciation Mr Wright had for Mrs Wright. The lack of appreciation doesnt make any justification toward the murder. She could have easily left him.

For the sake argument lets just say we don't know for sure if she did kill him. Everything points towards Minnie Wright, but we don't know for sure. It isn't enough information for her to be charged for the crime. On the other hand, I absolutely think she did it, but I could be wrong. To address the question, if it was a crime for her to take the law into her own hands and cold bloodily kill him? I say yes, it was a crime for her to kill him. The only way it would't have been, would be self defense and if her own life was endanger. There are so many things she could have done instead of killing him. Nothing says there was a struggle so it had to be homicide. She can't justify his death with "he made me stop singing," or "he killed my bird." We really dont know who killed the bird either. Simple justice would have been her killing his dog if he had one or if he did kill the bird. It was definitely a crime.

Victoria wrote: "I do believe that Eveline made the wrong decision. Despite the fact that she made a promise to her mother; she hadn't thought about it till last minute. Although I also believe she kept her promise..."

Evelines future, if not with Frank, is prognosticated to be a very un-filling life. She, like you said, was keeping a promise but that had to be let go. Good observations.

Monique wrote: "I believe Eveline did not make the right decision since it was out of fear of change. She clings on to the past when offered an opportunity for a future away from her unfortunate home situation. Ev..."

"Like a helpless animal," is the perfect quote to take from this story. Evenline wasn't ready to leave everything she knew, even if it was harmful to her self esteem and persona.

Melancholy seems to play a big role in Eveline’s decision. The dilemma should be based on the current situation, but she is remembering past events. The past shows a father that was more attentive and kind. She sits and remembers her deceased mother to which she had promised to keep the family together. Her brothers weren’t home anymore, “Ernest was dead and Harry, who was in the church decorating business, was nearly always down somewhere in the country,” the current scene at home is different. Her father treats her as a maid and spends his money on recreational habits, “ for he was usually fairly bad on a Saturday night.” She also had a right to happiness, but that was all she knew in the world. Eveline was afraid of change or of what was to happen to her father. He still needed her to a certain extent, even if he didn’t show loving feeling, she knew he loved and cared for her. People have to move on and adapt to new thing but it is easier said then done. I think she should have left with Frank and started a new life.

Victoria wrote: "In my point of view this poem "Porphyria's lover" it give you the sense how much a person can love another person. He is so deeply in love with her its starts to drive him crazy he only wants her t..."

Adding on to what you said, Brown shows to what extent a love/obsession can go. I not sure he killed her out of sheer passion or was a premeditated murder. Whatever the case Browns intention was to show that we really dont know who we meet or who we are with.

Monique wrote: "I get the vibe of Browning writing this poem for "shock value". In the beginning it starts with a contrast of light and darkness. The darkness being the storm and the light being Porphyria coming f..."<

We can notice that Brown was painting a dark scene awaiting Porphyria. Porphyria, like you said, does provide the contrast. "When glided in Porphyria; straight she shut the cold out and the storm, and kneeled and made the cheerless grate blaze up, and all the cottage warm." Brown show that the humans psyche is unpredictable and dangerous.

My interpretation of Brown’s intentions with this poem is to make the reader think about the narrator. Brown makes me think of the man as an obsessed lover, I don’t know for sure. I start thinking outside of the poem as if I would make my own story from it. I start thinking it is two lovers,and Porphyria is cheating on her husband. The weather suggest that it is ugly outside, so why still meet? Brown moves at a nice pace for half of the poem, but towards the end he introduces a side of the man not foreseen. “ In one long yellow string I wound three times her little throat around, and strangled her,” Brown makes me wonder if it was premeditated. The last sentence shows the man not having any remorse, “and yet God has not said a word!”

Monique wrote: "An example of dramatic irony can be seen within the show Dexter. This show revolves around a Miami police forensics expert who leads a double life. To everyone around him, including his sister who ..."

Duncan does expresses how much he likes the estate and the clime. You feel that he is comfortable when he arrives. Naive to the assassination plot, he joins Macbeth and his wife.

Victoria wrote: "The example of a dramatic irony I have chosen is from a show I am addicted to which is Pretty Little Liars. (Don't judge, it's a good show) In the beginning of this show there are 4 girls who's clo..."

Lady Macbeth absolutely fits the dramatic irony criteria. As soon as she is introduces we get the idea that she is power hungry. I think she show another side of her character when she meets the king. She hides that yearn for power in the kings presents.