Thoughts on Death of a Salesman

Everyone seems to have sympathy for Willy. Poor Willy. The world beat him down and broke his spirit. : (   Nope. I can honestly say I have no sympathy for Willy. He was very cruel to his wife, and cheated on her. He would interrupt her and tell her to be quiet. He seemed to need to be the center of attention. I know he felt like he had to prove himself, but prove himself to who? Linda? Biff? Happy? Charley? I think he was just a whiny, neurotic old man.

The character I felt bad for was Happy. He was so neglected. He never seemed to be taken seriously. He definitely seemed to have a little bit of that youngest child complex. He seemed like he was trying to overshadow Biff, who had always overshadowed him. I honestly wanted Happy to move out and get away from his family. I think that's the only way he will ever be happy (irony). 

I didn't really have any sympathy for Linda. I think she could have been a much better mom to her boys. I agree she had to take a lot of crap from Willy. He wasn't exactly a loving husband to her, but she wasn't exactly a loving mother so I think it balances out. I really wanted her to embrace Biff at the end, or do something to show that she didn't think Willy's death had anything to do with Biff. I think she sort of blamed him for it in the end.

The Red Wheelbarrow

Not gonna lie, I don't understand this poem. I'd like to believe that there is this deep metaphorical meaning about life and usefulness (or something along those lines), but I honestly think Williams was trying to capture an image of something he say. No metaphor at all. 

I just don't know what to do with this poem. What are we supposed to do with this? It barely counts as a sentence! I like the idea of the word "glazed" being used. It evokes a much different emotion than a word like dripped or shined (not that I could tell you what that emotion is). 

I want there to be something more to this poem. It's a sentence! One! And not even a very good one at that! I want there to be some deeper meaning to this poem. It needs to tell what "so much depends upon". I don't think it's just the wheelbarrow. Maybe so much depends upon hard work and perseverance. Maybe so much depends upon our ability to weather the storm. Maybe we all just need to make friends with chickens. I don't know!

Thoughts on Sharon Olds

Having never read a Sharon Olds poem before, I was equally impressed and just slightly horrified (Some of her poems get a little hard to take).  I enjoyed her brutal honesty, and how she is willing to take on issues and scenarios most other poets wouldn't dare to touch.

Of the two poems we read, I liked Last Night more. The imagery of the dragon flies was such a unique way to show how her night went. It was such a different metaphor to explain such a base thing. I noticed, after reading some more of her poems, that Olds really likes to use unusual metaphors to describe the events she's writing about.

Olds really does a great job of capturing moments and really putting you right there in the situation. It takes a real talent to be able to do what she does. 

Barbie Doll

This poem was equal parts funny and disturbing. Taking it in the literal sense, as in she is actually talking about a real Barbie, it's hilarious to picture a mutilated Barbie acting out the motions in the poem. Taken in a more metaphorical sense, the poem becomes scary as we think about the things women force themselves to do so they can look "good".

This poem could so easily be interpreted from a feminist theory point of view. It definitely tries to show the gender roles expected of women. It talks about their GE stoves, showing how woman are taught to be home-makers as little girls. IT goes on to show that the woman in the poem is willing to manipulate her body to try and fit into what is considered socially acceptable. 

I think Pearcey was really trying to show how ridiculous the whole institution of "beauty" is. Barbie dolls are considered to be so beautiful by little girls. They show how a woman is "supposed" to look, and what little girls should emulate to be. Pearcey does a good job pointing out the ridiculousness of it all. 

So true!

I don't expect this to count as a full blog, but I saw this quote and knew I had to share it!

The Story of An Hour

Definitely one of the more depressing stories I've read. The girl's husband dies, she's finally free from her loveless marriage, turns out her husband is alive, and BANG, she dies! Really!?!

I really liked the title. I thought it was really creative for Chopin to use. She could have used some generic, sort of romantic title that would have been more fitting to the time period. I really liked the title, as the whole story takes place in the shortest time frame possible. All the drama of the story takes place in an hour (I see what you did there, Chopin!). She hears his dead, contemplates life without him, and dies. Boom. Short, simple, to the point.

One of the most ironic lines in the short story is the closing line, when the doctors come and say "she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills". This is so ironic. I really don't think she died of joy, which I think was the point of the short story. The main character was so happy to have a life away from her husband, a life full of possibilities that she could decide for herself, and when she sees her husband still alive she sees that life disappear. This is what kills her. Her life went from complete freedom to being constrained again.

The Yellow Wallpaper

Okay, so one of my new favorite short stories right here! It was one of those stories that I could see a really weird and twisted movie coming from. Anyway, I really enjoyed it in all of it's creepiness.

I was very intrigued by the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman. So I did some research. (Again). Gilman explained that the idea for the story was from her own experience as a patient: and the real purpose of the story was to convince her doctor of the error of his ways. Apparently, Gilman had suffered for years from depression, and after consulting a physician who prescribed a "rest cure" which required her to "live as domestic a life as possible." She was not allowed to write or paint and was only allowed two hours of mental stimulation a day.

After three months, Gilman decided to ignore the doctor and started working again. Realizing how close she had come to a mental breakdown, she wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" with exaggerations of her own misdiagnosed cure. She sent a copy to her doctor but never received a response.

She added that "The Yellow Wallpaper" was "not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked." Gilman later claimed that her doctor had changed his treatment methods, but  historian Julie Bates Dock discredited this. However, her doctor did continue his methods, and was interested in creating entire hospitals devoted to the "rest cure."

Painting by Jonathon Sutton, entitled The Yellow Wallpaper
more info on Gilman and The Yellow Wallpaper