Blog Fourteen

The story "Oh Darling" was written by Anton Chevok. The main character, Olga, easily fell in love. She first fell in love with her father, which I think is weird. She then falls in love with a man, but their love was always suppressed. After he died, she had an affair with another shop keeper. He eventually was reunited with his wife and son and she asks for them to move back in with her. They move back in and she falls in love with his young son. I think that this was very twisted and that Olga fell in love too easily. The little boy felt like her love was too much for him (Chevok).

Thoeau had an interesting view on love. In chapter four of Walden, he wrote " . There were times when I could not afford to sacrifice the bloom of the present moment to any work, whether of the head or hands. I love a broad margin to my life. Sometimes, in a summer morning, having taken my accustomed bath, I sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon, rapt in a revery, amidst the pines and hickories and sumachs, in undisturbed solitude and stillness, while the birds sing around or flitted noiseless through the house, until by the sun falling in at my west window, or the noise of some traveller's wagon on the distant highway, I was reminded of the lapse of time" (Thoreau). I think that Thoreau fell in love easily as well. He wrote about how he fell in love twice. I think that Thoreau fell in love with objects and ideas, not just people like Olga. They are different in that way.

Emerson helped out during the war as a nurse. He helped all the men and got them back to good health. With the harsh conditions and the horrible sights, he must have being a very loving man. He would have to look deep in his heart to put others first and help everyone. I think that Emerson probably fell in love easily as well. In Self Reliance, Emerson wrote a lot about love. He wrote that ""What we love that we have, but by desire we bereave ourselves of the love" (Emerson). I think that he valued love, as did Thoreau. Olga seemed to throw it around a little more in a childish way while Emerson and Thoreau seemed to take it more seriously and value it a little more.

Thoreau. "Walden - Chapter 4." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. .

Emerson. "Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. .

Blog Thirteen

"I Will Fight No More Forever" by Chief Joseph was written as a speech. It was his surrender speech (Chief). In this speech, the chief basically says that he is done fighting. He names off a couple people who were killed during the battles. He talks about all the hardships they have to go through besides war, like the freezing weather and their small amount of warmth to protect them from it. Chief Joseph does not even know if his children are alive or dead. He has been so busy with the war that he has not been able to provide for his children and keep them warm. He then ends with "I will fight no more forever" (Chief). I think that this was a very sad speech. I think that all wars have negative spins and have to eventually come to an end. Since Chief Joseph realized that it was time to end the war because of all the bad things that they should be concentrating on instead, he spoke this speech to his people so that they could also come to the realization that the war was having more of a negative effect rather than a positive. It needed to end.

Emerson and Thoreau have different opinions on war than Chief Joseph did. Both Emerson and Thoreau wanted to fight in war. They both did not think of the hardships of it and rather thought of the good that would eventually come out, such as slavery ending. Emerson and Thoreau were against slavery so they participated in the war to end it. Chief Joseph probably had a good reason for fighting in the beginning, but he realized that it was not worth all of the bad that was coming with the battles. He had to make a smart choice and choose to no longer fight. He wanted his family back. Emerson and Thoreau probably had negative effects on their lives from war too, but the positive was worth it to them.

Chief Joseph. "Chief Joseph." Welcome to Georgia State University. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. .

Blog Twelve

Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology was a collection of poems. An excerpt from it is a poem called The Hill. The Hill is a thirty five line poem was written about the reason behind death. Where most people would be sad and uninterested in the subject, Edgar Lee Master's wrote in a way that made you curious about the topic. One of his main points was that no matter what you do in life, you will be laying in the ground for eternity next to a complete stranger. He writes, "

One passed in a fever,
One was burned in a mine,	5
One was killed in a brawl,
One died in a jail,
One fell from a bridge toiling for children and wife—
All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill"

(Masters). No matter what you do, you will end up laying dead on a hill with strangers. Edgar Lee Master's seems to view death in a way that most do not. He seems to think that life is pointless in a way.

After Thoreau's brother died, he wrote a letter to one of his friends. In it he wrote,

"Soon the ice will melt, and the blackbirds sing
along the river which he frequented, as pleasantly as ever.
The same everlasting serenity will appear in this face of God,
and we will not be sorrowful, if he is not. "

(Thoreau). He seems to value death a little more than Masters did. In Walden, he wrote

I learned this, at least, by my experiment;

that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,
he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

(Thoreau). He seemed to think that life was not pointless and that one should strive for their best confidently. I think that in this passage, he means that one should try hard in life and then he/she will be rewarded.

Thoreau and Masters had completely opposite views on life and death.

Masters, Edgar Lee. "1. The Hill. Masters, Edgar Lee. 1916. Spoon River Anthology."Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. .
Thoreau. "Thoreau Quotes." Psymon. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. .

Blog Eleven

In "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," Mark Twain wrote about how the character Simon Wheeler sat the narrator down and told him a story. Simon Wheeler then tells a tale of Jim Smiley, a curious man who always bet on things. This man had a frog and would take bets on it. Simon Wheeler wanted to know about a girl with the last name of Smiley and asked Jim about her. He did not really know anything about that topic, so he started rambling about a completely random story. I think this could relate to Ralph Emerson's philosophy on discipline. He wrote that "understanding comes through measuring and classifying, through physical experience and common sense" (Wayne). think that Jim Smiley could have used some more common sense. When someone is telling a story, it is normal for you to want to be included in the conversation. A little comment here and there usually does the trick unless you are someone who really needs attention. Most people find this trait annoying. Jim Smiley definitely wanted a lot of attention. If he had some common sense, he would realize that his story was pointless to the question that he was asked. He could have simply said that he did not know her, but instead he wasted everyone's time with a story about a frog. Emerson incorporated nature with common sense. He believed that nature taught you more common sense (Wayne). Jim Smiley seemed like he got along with nature, but apparently nature did not teach him any common sense. Mark Twain seemed to have a negative view on society, so maybe he thought that a lot of people lacked common sense. Thoreau may have seemed to believe that people did not have common sense in a way. He believed that people sometimes lived lives that they didn't even care for (Wayne). I think that they all looked down on society in their own way. They did not think that people were living for the right reasons sometimes, in my opinion.

Twain, Mark. "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." 301 Moved Permanently. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

Wayne, Tiffany K. "Nature." Critical Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson: A Literary Reference to His

Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom's Literary Reference Online.

Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?

Blog Ten

The Red Badge of Courage is about a battle during the civil war. Henry Fleming, the main character, won an unlikely victory. After defeating his enemy, he reflects over everything that has happened and decides that he was a man of courage. He is then able to feel at peace and is no longer bothered by the opposing side (Crane). Before he felt accomplished he did feel some disappointment of himself for being such a horrible person and leaving a man behind. He wanted to prove a point and did not really have a good reason for fighting.

Telling his story from the point of view of an ordinary soldier, his text was believable to the members of his town. Henry Fleming dreamed of gore and the battles of war his whole life (Personen). Fighting in war himself, he relates to Emerson and Thoreau.

In a literary criticism, " As to other points, against the opinion of the gallant veteran who criticizes the book might be put the opinions of other veterans who have found only words of praise" (D. Appleton & Company). This literary criticism discussed how this story was told and if it was true. People in the town wanted to know where this story was coming from. Some did not believe that he could write this without any experience so they wanted to know where his sources came from (D. Appleton & Company).

Emerson and Thoreau both had their own experiences with war themselves. Emerson fought in war and wanted to end with slavery. Thoreau also did not like the idea of slavery. Thoreau and Emerson were both for the war for their own reasons. Stephen Crane also sided with the Civil War. He fought in it himself. He did not like that the opposing side mocked him. I think that one of the main reasons for fighting in the war was petty, such as because he was being mocked. Emerson and Thoreau seemed to have a big reason to fight that would benefit the whole country. Stephen Crane seemed to want to fight just because he wanted to prove a point.

Crane, Stephen. "Untitled Document." The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. .

Personen, Ari. "Stephen Crane." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. .

D. Appleton & Company. "The Red Badge of Courage: A Correction." Dial (May 1, 1896): 263. Quoted as "The Red Badge of Courage:A Correction" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Stephen Crane, Bloom's Classic Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCVSC055&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 21, 2012).

Blog Nine

Just learning about her husband's death, Louise Mallard goes up to her room for some alone time. As she is crying, she looks out at the world through her window. She has a breakdown. After her breakdown, she finds that she is free. I find this odd because I would not think someone should be happy after her husband dies. Someone comes to the door and tries to get her to come out, but Louise just tells her to leave. She then sits in her room and fantasizes about the upcoming years of her life. She is happy to have this new sense of independence. She then goes downstairs when her husband walks through the door. He was unaware that there was a train accident and he was not in it. Louise then died of a heart attack that the doctors say were of happiness (Chopin).

I think that Kate Chopin seems to feel that marriage oppresses people whether they do it out of kindness or not. Kate Chopin hints that marriage plays a negative roll on both the male and the female. I think that the window that Louise looks out when she runs upstairs symbolizes freedom. There is a whole world out there that she now has to her own.

Abby Werlock thinks that the surprise ending symbolizes a tragic defeat (Werlock). The doctors tell the family that it was "Joy that kills" (Werlock). I think that this is ironic.

I liked this story. I think that Emerson and Thoreau's writings that I have read do not really seem comparable to this story. Emerson was married so I think he valued marriage. I do not think that he felt oppressed by marriage by his poems that he wrote about his wife. They were all great things and about how much they loved each other. Emerson and Chopin definitely shared different views on marriage. Chopin seemed to not like it while Emerson seemed to value it.

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour" Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. .

Werlock, Abby H. P. "'The Story of an Hour'." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS782&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 16, 2012).

blog eight

In Willa Cather's short story, "A Wagner Matinee," a man gets a letter saying that he needs to go pick up his aunt from the train station. The narrator seems to respect his aunt. For example, he writes " . I felt the knuckles of my thumb tentatively, as though they were raw again. I sat again before her parlor organ, fumbling the scales with my stiff, red hands, while she, beside me, made canvas mittens for the huskers" (Cather). He seems to be nervous around the aunt, but in further text he seems to respect her as well. He knows that his aunt is very educated in a musical aspect and in a book smart aspect. Being poor, I think he might be a little intimidated by her because she is so rich and educated.

Knowing that his aunt likes the higher life, he decides to take her to the opera. She seems a little muted about her life, but he keeps pushing her to talk about her high end living. Willa Cather writes " From the time we entered the concert hall, however, she was a trifle less passive and inert, and for the first time seemed to perceive her surroundings. I had felt some trepidation lest she might become aware of the absurdities of her attire, or might experience some painful embarrassment at stepping suddenly into the world to which she had been dead for a quarter of a century" (Cather). She seems to be passive about her life.

Taking her to the opera anyways, she seems to be quietly enjoying it. After it ended, she replied with " I don't want to go, Clark, I don't want to go!" (Cather).

I think the point of this story is to how different lifestyles can all come together and effect each other. I also think it explains how past events can sometimes creep up on you and give you a feeling of nostalgia. Abby Werlock seems to have the same opinion as I do. She says that the nature of her unwillingness to leave is fundamentally ambiguous (Werlock). The aunt never feels regret and only after the feeling of nostalgia from the concert did she feel the sensual awakening (Werlock). This moment in the aunt's life makes her reflect all of her life choices.

Emerson and Thoreau seem to have similar events with their past. They both wrote about their past events in life and described how they feel about it now.

Cather, Willa. "Willa Cather's Short Story: A Wagner Matinee." Read Book Online: Literature Books,novels,short Stories,fiction,non-fiction, Poems,essays,plays,Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. .

Werlock, Abby H. P. "'A Wagner Matinée'." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS846&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 16, 2012).