Interpreter of Maladies

Jhumpa Lahiri

Interpreter of Maladies, is a short story written by Jhumpa Lahiri. It really stuck out to me, because of the fact that the other poems and the other short story, that told an actual story, were all about African Americans. This story, however; is about an Indian American family. They in India to visit family. The literary technique I found central to this story is that of the style of narration. The story is told in a third person limited point of view. This allows the third party to watch the Das family, and to make observations about them, observations normal people would make. For instance, Lahiri writes, referring to Mr. Das "He had a sapphire blue visor, and was dressed in shorts, sneakers and a T-shirt" (Lahiri). This goes along well with the theme of identity. Even though Mr. Das is of Indian descent, and is even in India, he is still wearing very American clothing. Mr. Das's identity is not that of his parents, Indian, it is very different. I can only imagine in India, many people wearing traditional clothing, with a man wearing a bright blue visor. You can imagine he would stick out like a thumb. Had it not been for the point of view, this observation would not have been made. We would not hear about Mrs. Das's affair, in nearly the same way. The third person limited point of view is crucial to the telling of this story, and the effect of identity it puts forth.

Everyday Use

Alice Walker

Every day use is a short story by Alice Walker, that recounts a story about a mother and her two daughters. The technique I found most useful in this story is diction. The way the narrator speaks in this story, really makes the story come alive. It is as if we are reading the mother's diary, on what happened that day. The whole story feels very personal, and makes the reader feel as if he is in the story, watching the story as it unfolds. The mother says "He flew to marry a cheap city girl of ignorant flash people." (Walker) This quote shows that the mother thinks poorly of herself. This continues throughout the entire story. Mama seems to always think of herself as subpar, and not good enough. She sees Dee, educated, and dating an educated man. The thing I saw that really stood out to me was at the end, when Dee says that mama doesn't understand her heritage. I found this to be false. Mama is aware of her humble heritage. Her family, and the things they'd made, the life they'd lived. Mama focuses on the humble life her family has maintained. Dee has grander aspirations. She is not interested in any quilts except for those made by her grandmother with civil war scraps. She cares not for her own history, but for history itself. Mama cares about where she came from, Dee is interested only in the part of her family that has moved her forward.

Hazel Tells Laverne

Hazel Tells Laverne by Katherine Howd Machan, is a very different story. It is told in a very odd way, and has no punctuation. The poem is riddled with literary techniques. The many I noted include personification, motif, anecdote, ballad, allusion, and colloquialism. The ones I found most important are motif and colloquialism. The colloquialism gives insight into the identity of the narrator. Machan writes, "well i screams' ya little green pervert an i hitsm with my mop an has ta lush the toilet down three times" (Machan).  This shows that the narrator is uneducated. My guess is that she is African American, due to the fact that the other poems that I have profiled, have been about African Americans.  The other important literary technique is motif. Machan repeats the phrase "me a princess" (Machan) twice. This shows that Hazel doesn't think much of herself. She doesn't believe she can be a princess. She believes she couldn't possibly be chosen to be the frog prince's princess. The poem shows that importance of even the uneducated, and the poor. It is not simply the classic snow white, Cinderella character that can become a princess. Even Hazel, an uneducated person can be chosen by the frog. We all have importance, and are all of great value.

Mr. Z

M. Carl Holman

The next poem I read, was "Mr. Z", by M. Carl Holman. The first things I noticed were that the poem is split into 4 stanzas, doesn't give the character a specific name, and has an ironic tone. I think the reason Mr. Z isn't given a name is in order to not reveal any thing about the character. The author wants the reader to be free of preconceptions while reading the poem. The reader is forced to figure out who Mr. Z is through text alone, with little help from the title. It seems to me that Mr. Z is a man who rejected his African American heritage. I came to this conclusion through multiple lines throughout the poem. The poem reads "His palate shrank from cornbread, yams and collars" (Holman). This shows that he is going away from the traditionally thought of African American stapes, and moving on to a more Caucasian cuisine. The irony comes into play with the last line. Holman writes "One of the most distinguished members of his race" (Holman). Him being called the greatest member of his race is highly ironic, because he doesn't live his race, and it's culture, instead, he shunned it, moving away from it, choosing instead a more white way of acting.

Dream Deferred

Langston Hughes

While reading "Dream Deferred", by Langton Hughes, there were a a few things that struck me. First, I noticed repetition in the layout. There was repeated use of question marks and similes. Another thing I noticed is that the last like of the poem: "Or does it explode?" (Hughes), is a metaphor rather than a simile. While I initially did not understand this poem, after talking it over with some peers, I came to the conclusion that the poem was about The Civil Rights Movement. The dream is the African American dream of equality. They have been set aside, and treated poorly for so long, that they finally explode, and fight for their rights. After a bit of research into the poem, it appears it is also named "Harlem". This seems to show that the poem is about the oppression of the African American population, coming up to the Civil Rights Movement.

Perrine Blog Post

I have to say that I feel enlightened after reading the Perrine article. While I was reading the poems for class earlier, I had no idea what was going on in these poems. I did my best, and came up with what I thought were some good ideas, but they were not "correct". While reading this article, I found myself agreeing with the ideas about poems. I agree that while more than one poem interpretation may not be completely wrong, a small amount always is more correct than the others. The idea that those which rely on the least assumptions makes complete sense, and I agree one hundred percent. The idea about symbols, I also thought was correct, where rather than being metaphors for other things, they are actually the things that are mentioned, but simultaneously represent something greater than themselves. This makes sense to me, rather than being just one representing another, one thing can actually represent both.

While reading this, I found the actual meanings of the poems that we read in class very interesting. I initially thought Dickinson's poem was about flowers and bees, and while I was right in a way, Perrine showed that a representation of a sunset actually makes sense. I suspect those who said the poem was about a sunset for homework, however looked up the poem and gained that knowledge through the internet. While reading about the poems by Melville and Whitman, I thought I already knew everything about these poems. I thought they were about war, and that was it. Little did I know that Melville's poem was actually about the stars. After rereading the poem, I thought that was definitely fitting, and had I thought to look past the soldiers, I probably would have seen the stars. The poem by William blake was about corruption and good, I figured that much. I didn't figure though, that it could have so many meanings, and that they all could be correct. Overall, I feel I have gained a deeper insight into the world of poetry through this article.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 169-180

I just finished reading The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. While there were times, I wondered the points of the book, at the end I must say, it was a great story. Even though Gatsby wasn't even in the first parts of the story, and we didn't really, truly meet Gatsby until the ending parts of the book, I now know why the book is called the Great Gatsby. Even though Gatsby threw lavish parties, and was nothing but nice to all those he met, and was a great host to the many who were in attendance at his parties, there were only three men in attendance at his funeral. I felt extremely sad for Gatsby, that no one bothered to come to the funeral. When I read "What I called about was a pair of shoes I left there. I wonder if it'd be too much trouble to have the butler send them on. You see, they're tenis shoes, and I'm sort of helpless without them" (Fitzgerald 169), I found myself furious. Nick had just told this man that Gatsby had died, and asked him to come to the funeral, when the man responded that he'd try to come, but he had a picnic he had to go to instead. It truly puts the value of the human life in perspective. Even though Gatsby was a good man, and had met many, he still only had three at his funeral. None of the many people he met were truly his friends, only Nick opened himself up to be a friend. While I hoped Gatsby would end up happy with Daisy, I see now why he had to die. In death, he is immortalized. He made something great of his life, and in death, he I see him as the man who died tragically due to the words and actions of a rich man who cared for no one but himself, Tom Buchanan. I hated him from the beginning, and hate him ever so much more now, for getting The Great Gatsby killed.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 157-168

In this section of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald Gatsby meets an untimely demise. Distraught over his wife's death, George searches for his wife's killer, sure the driver of the yellow car was also the man she was cheating with. In all reality, the man George killed was neither. Gatsby was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and because of that was killed by George. I found this event very sad, and grim. I had been holding out for a happy ending, and I knew all was lost when shots were fired. I don't understand why authors think their books have to be tragedies. I like a happy ending just as much as a sad one, and think it works just as well. Anyways, this section, also made me ever angrier at Tom. Tom in all reality gets Gatsby killed. Myrtle saw Tom drive up to the garage in Gatsby's car earlier, and she is trying to get Tom's attention when Daisy hits her.Tom has been nothing but bad in this story since the beginning. It also seems Nick is finding it hard to find Gatsby's true friends, who knew who he truly was. No one seems to want to admit their connections to old Gatsby, and I find that sad. "It was after we started with Gatsby toword the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete" (Fitzgerald 162). The word holocaust is used in this sentence, and while if you're just reading this quote it may seem overblown, but after reading the book, and investing into the characters, it seems fitting to call the killing of two people a holocaust. I have enjoyed this book, and wish that Gatsby had gotten what he wanted. I wonder what surprises, if any will come in the last section.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 145-156

In these pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, essentially nothing of interest happens. We learn a little more about Gatsby's past, how he loves Daisy, and she loved him. While reading this section, I found myself just wondering what Daisy's decision would be. Fitzgerald writes " He couldn't possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn't bear to shake him free" (Fitzgerald, 148). From this quote it seems as if Daisy is going to choose Tom. I found this chapter had a tired feeling. I can feel the end of the story coming to an end. A decision will come soon, on who Daisy truly loves. I also wonder if Daisy will find out about Tom's mistress. I am waiting to see how this story will ultimately come to a halt.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 133-144

In these pages of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, an unfortunate event occurs. A woman is run over in the middle of the street in a tragic hit and run. Myrtle ran out into the street, and was hit by a car. A yellow car, heading away from New York. "Its driver hurried back to where Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood with the dust", She is dead, and Gatsby's car has hit Myrtle, while Daisy was driving (Fitzgerald, 137). It is sad to me that a woman was hit by a car, running into the street, especially by Daisy. It seems a bit unlikely that Daisy, Tom's wife would hit Myrtle, Tom's mistress. This seems a bit forced, and seems that it would almost never happen in reality. It does add a bit of humor though. Tom's losing his wife, and has now lost his mistress as well. I couldn't tell from the end of the fight between Tom and Gatsby, whether Daisy would choose Tom or Gatsby, but I hold out hope that she will choose Gatsby. Gatsby, even after being in a car crash, is still a gentleman, willing to take the fall for Daisy's hit and run. It seems Tom may now abuse Daisy, like he abused Myrtle that day in the hotel, for going with another man. I hope Daisy makes the right decision, and chooses Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 121-132

In this section of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Gatsby and Daisy's love affair comes to a summit. After lunch, the group of Nick, Miss Baker, Daisy, and Tom head into town. They go to a hotel to make mint juleps. On the way there, Tom talks to Myrtle's husband, who is aware his wife is having an affair with some man, but doesn't know it's Tom. When they reach the hotel, in the room, Tom and Gatsby have an argument. They yell at each other over the woman they love. Tom is aware of the affair saying "I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife" (Fitzgerald, 130). It seems Daisy is going to choose Gatsby over Tom. This seems like a good choice, as Tom is a racist who breaks women's noses. I hope Gatsby and Daisy end up together, and Myrtle and her husband end up happily, leaving Tom cold and alone.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 109-120

F. Scott Fitzgerald, in this section of The Great Gatsby, writes more about the life of Gatsby, Nick, Daisy, and Tom. For a while it seems Gatsby is sick or something for his lights are all off. As it turns out, Gatsby for some reason fired all his servants and hired new. Later, Gatsby invites Nick, Daisy, and Miss Baker over to his house. Tom comes along as well, but this doesn't stop Daisy and Gatsby from exchanging a kiss. Fitzgerald writes "As she left the room again she got up and went over to Gatsby and pulled his face down, kissing him on the mouth" (Fitzgerald 116). It seems Gatsby and Daisy's relationship is still developing. They share a kiss, and it seems to not seem to have been their first since their meeting of each other again. It seems their relationship will continue to go forward, and they will end up together. This is what I hope will happen, with them living happily ever after.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 97-108

In this part of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, a new pice of information on Gatsby is revealed. Jay Gatsby, isn't really Jay Gatsby. Gatsby's real name was James Gatz. Gatsby changed his name at the age of 17. We also learn that Gatsby didn't really inherit all of his money. He inherited $25,000, from a Dan Cody, after 5 years of work. Before that, Gatsby had been working odd jobs, just to keep a roof over his head. This shows to me that Gatsby is truly an intelligent man. He was able to make millions out of nothing. We then go to a party that Gatsby invited Daisy to, and Tom came along to. While at the party Tom says "By God, I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me. They meet all kinds of crazy fish" (Fitzgerald 103). This shows, to me what type of man tom is. Tom looks to control his wife, and keep her doing what he wants. He doesn't believe she should be able to go around by herself, even though he is the one cheating on her. I am still waiting to see what will happen between Gatsby and Daisy. I am curious as to see what will come in the next section.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 85-96

In this section of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby and Daisy finally meet. Gatsby is so nervous at first that he barely even talks to her. After that however, things begin to warm up, and they are happy to see each other. It seems they may end up with a romantic relationship. I hope Daisy and Tom get divorced so Gatsby and Daisy can get together. Tom is a jerk, who is cheating on Daisy, while Gatsby is the man whose dream is to be with Daisy. Gatsby seems like a much better man than Tom Buchanan. A quote that struck me says "...I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes" (Fitzgerald, 91). This shows how important Daisy is to Gatsby. If Gatsby and Daisy end up together, it will be a happy ending. I wonder what will happen through the course of this book.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 73-84

In this section of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, we learn a crucial fact about Gatsby. This comes with vital knowledge about Daisy. When Daisy was younger, and Gatsby was getting ready to go to war, they dated for a while. Daisy was very much in love with him, but her family would not have it. The next summer, she ended up marrying Tom, regretfully, it seemed. We now know why
Gatsby is in this story, he and Daisy will be a budding romance. Also, adding to Gatsby's mysterious ways, we learn of one of his friends, "Meyer Wolfsheim? No, he's a gambler. Gatsby hesitated then added coolly : He's the man who fixed the World's Series back in 1919" (Fitzgerald, 73). I hope they end up together, unlike the characters in Mirth, that were constantly being pulled toward and away, only to end up alone without each other. I hope this story has a better ending than Mirth, that is happier. I hope all the characters get what they want and need. If this story does not end up better, I feel I will be bitter towards the both of them. While I can understand these books separately, they do seem to come hand in hand. 6

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 61-72

In these pages of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald finally reveals this great Gatsby. Gatsby and Nick take a ride in Gatsby's car, where he tells a bit about himself. He was educated at Oxford, and spent some time in the Great War. It seems that he is a man of great interest. From the limited information we have been given, we are told that he was essentially a war hero in World War I. I am interested to hear about some of his other exploits. It seems he is a man of great experience, and I wonder what else he has gotten through. I enjoyed this quote "Then came the war, old sport. It was a great relief, and I tried very hard to die, but I seemed to bear an enchanted life" (Fitzgerald, 66). I thought this quote seemed to explain Gatsby well. Going off to fight a war, with bullets rushing through his hair, was a nice break for him. Gatsby also tells Nick there will be something for Miss Baker to tell him. I am curious to find this information and wonder why Gatsby couldn't tell Nick herself.

The Great Gtasby Pgs. 37-48

I finished reading the next section of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and a few interesting events have happened. One, Tom Buchanan broke his mistresses nose. She kept repeating Daisy's name, and he slapped her in face. This seemed to fit Tom's personality greatly, a large rich man with regards for no one except for himself, it came as no surprise that he also abuses women. On a lighter note, we finally meet the great Gatsby. This mystery man, who we've been waiting to meet has been revealed. Even Nick didn't know who he was though, at first.  There was a quote in the book, that I found a bit confusing, it reads "I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands. (Fitzgerald, 38)." What exactly does this quote mean? Why is the man in his underwear, and why is Nick by his bed? This quote brings up some different questions, and I am struggling to understand what exactly it means.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 49-60

Nothing huge happened in this section of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. We met Gatsby, but we still don't really know him. We have heard all sorts of rumors about Gatsby, but do not know which are true, and which are false. At this point, I'm still wondering what Gatsby's significance is. I wonder how he will impact the story. We also met a character who was just hanging out in Gatsby's study, checking out his books for a while. Later, he gets into an accident where a wheel comes off of a car. I found this man fairly interesting. It seems as if Nick and Miss Baker are becoming a couple, from meeting at Daisy's, to going on dates together. I wonder where this romance will lead. Fitzgerald writes "I'd been writing letters once a week and signing them: love Nick..." (Fitzgerald 58). Nick writes in his letters that he loves her, with his closing. I'm wondering when the main conflict will begin, and for that part, what it will be.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 25-36

In these pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, we learn that Tom Buchanan has a mistress. Nick meets her with Tom. The themes of wealth, are kind of annoying to me. I feel like I've gotten to much of the upper class. One thing that we are told is that Gatsby is a cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm. This makes me excited to meet this mystery man. I wonder what role Gatsby will play in this story, and because the story is named after him, why he hasn't yet been introduced properly. I thought the quote "I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon" (Fitzgerald, 29), was fairly humorous. This quote shows that Nick doesn't especially want to be there, and gets drunk. I am wondering why we have been introduced to Buchanan's mistress, and what the story of the book will be.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 13-24

I read a bit more of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Not a lot has happened, but we learn that Tom Buchanan, Nick's cousin's husband, has a mistress. I find myself disliking Tom Buchanan greatly. He is a egotistical man, who seems to have everything in the world. He is incredibly rich, with large wealth. Also, he is a massive racist. He believes that his lineage is the best, and that it is imperative that the superior race holds all positions of importance. He says "It's up to us, who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things" (Fitzgerald, 13). This gives me an insight into racism at the time. It is obvious that there are racists and bigots at this time, who are against other races. While Mirth didn't have anything to do with racism, it seems it may become a theme throughout the story. From Tom Buchanan, I have become aware that there have been those who are angry towards anyone different from themselves, for no reason, but their own insecurities. I am still wondering how Gatsby will factor into the story, for as we know, the story is named after him.

The Great Gatsby Pgs. 1-12

So, I started reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Right off the bat, I'm feeling definite parallells to The House of Mirth. Both of these books seem to be centered around the wealthy of New York, and seem to take place within a gap of close to 30 years. I'm wondering what else was going on in New York at the time, or even better yet, the rest of the United States. I feel like we are getting a fairly narrow view of the time, because we are focusing primarily on the wealthy. I think it would be nice to see the struggles of the poor at the time, or how the working class was getting through the period. That being said, Gatsby does seem to read more easily than Mirth. I like that the diction of Gatsby is more easily comprehended, and that it seems to move with more purpose. F. Scott Fitzgerald does a great job with imagery in this story. One quote that I found reads, "The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow a little way into the house" (Fitzgerald, 8). I am enjoying the story and wondering where it will lead me.