Week 17 Analysis: Close Reading - Don't You Wonder, Sometimes?

This is an excerpt from "Don't You Wonder, Sometimes?" by Tracy Smith

Bowie is among us. Right here
In the same way "god" can be among us. Bowie's vibe is felt all around

In New York City. In a baseball cap
In the same style he wore his baseball cap

And expensive jeans. Ducking into
And in his general style

A deli. Flashing all those teeth
He was always happy, friendly, smiling, like an average person
At the doorman on his way back up.

Or he’s hailing a taxi on Lafayette
Smith is listing things that normal people do, humanizing Bowie

As the sky clouds over at dusk.
again, an average day; an average man

He’s in no rush. Doesn’t feel
The way you’d think he feels.

He doesn't feel entitled or more important than anyone else as you would assume a super star would.
Doesn’t strut or gloat. Tells jokes.
He isn't above everyone else, he just wants to be with everyone else; telling jokes is a way to make personal connections 

Works Cited

Smith, Tracy K. “Don't You Wonder, Sometimes? by Tracy K. Smith.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55520/dont-you-wonder-sometimes.

Week 17 Reading Notes Part B: The Salve Trade

First, I read the title as "The SLAVE Trade' - it is SALVE... if I hadn't decided to listen to the audio of the poem, I would have continued to read it as slave trade and never known anything different. So what does "salve trade" mean??
 I am still confused. I don't like the stereotypical assumption that it is supposed to be "slave trade", especially since I am not sure of the meaning of the poem. 

I do get the lines:

"the big fat women and the heliocopters they bring

helicopter moms who can't separate themselves from the kids. They hover over their children to ensure they are safe - but extreme. 

with them to watch them and their kids. whole long-

ass sheets of improper names. we refused to act right

stereotypically, there are many African-American names that are spelled seemingly incorrect or extravagantly.  

at the hospital and I was right with ’em. at the wrong time"  (Moten). 

Week 16: Taking Stock

Man, this week was tough! I have began to write and re-write my final project so many times!! Each time, something extra random has come in my way. This week, I have been working so hard on a new job application -- this I CANNOT turn in late or the opportunity is GONE! So in my taking stock this week, I added my job application to the list of "Must Do's" and I have finally completed it! Wish me luck!

As far as class work, I have spent extra time reading assignments, reading my classmates analysis, reading notes, and project submissions. I have made a solid attempt to leave meaningful comments on each assignment I have read.

We have one week left, and I know exactly what I need to do and how to keep on top of it! I am ready!



Cheers!!

Week 16 Extra Reading Notes: The Rememberer

The Rememberer by Aimee Bender

Annie - speaker / narrator
Ben - Annie's lover

The story begins a month into transformations. Ben is a sea turtle. Annie believes he is traveling through evolution.

The day before the transformations began, Sam was "sad about the world" (Bender 3).

Annie spoke about how they used to talking about sadness and question the concepts of being smart or too smart.

On Ben's last night, he slept outside, under the moon.

At first sight of Ben as an ape, Annie was not afraid. She believed it was only temporary.

Throughout each transition, Annie never called for help. Perhaps after he made it past the ape phase no one would believe her.

She feeds Ben, now a salamander, honey because Ben loved honey.

This was it though, a month in to Ben's transformations, Annie's limit was the salamander. She no longer believed he would be coming back.

Week 16 Analysis: Close Reading of “The Rememberer”

"Even before I saw the eyes notice how she says "the eyes" and not "his eyes", I knew it was him but she continues and says she knew it was "him" the speaker is creating a separation of the ape or and the person she knows to be her lover . And once we were face to face, he gave me his same sad look and I hugged those enormous shoulders I found it interesting that although she referred to "the eyes" as if they did not represent her lover, but in this sentence, she states she recognized him through the look on the ape's face, "same sad face" . I didn't even really care, then, not at first; I didn't panic and call 911. I think the speaker is intrigued at this point. She is in a place where she doesn't quite believe it is real.  I sat with him outside and smoothed the fur on the back of his hand. Instead of freaking out, she is comforting him. When he reached for me, I said No, loudly, and he seemed to understand and pulled back. I have limits here I don't think reality hit until he reached out to touch her. This is where she drew the line, she wanted to have control. " (Bender 4).

"I review my memories and make sure they're still intact because if he's not here, then it is my job to remember" (Bender 4). I really liked this quote. It is a quote relevant to when you lose a loved one. When we lose someone we love, no new memories of that person can be made. It then becomes our job, as survivors, to keep that person alive through sharing their memories and therefore, it is our job to remember. While her lover did not die in death, he was no longer human and no longer a person the speaker could share her life with. 

Bender, Aimee. The Rememberer.

Week 16 Reading Notes: Part B - "Don't You Wonder, Sometimes?"

I found this poem so intriguing that I had to research if it was written in honor of David Bowie passing, however, I found it was actually written nearly 5 years before he passed. 

The third stanza / verse personified David Bowie as an average person, same as you or me:

"Bowie is among us. Right here

In New York City. In a baseball cap

And expensive jeans. Ducking into

A deli. Flashing all those teeth

At the doorman on his way back up.

Or he’s hailing a taxi on Lafayette

As the sky clouds over at dusk.

He’s in no rush. Doesn’t feel

The way you’d think he feels.

Doesn’t strut or gloat. Tells jokes."

I have now spent almost an hour reading about David Bowie! I unintentionally made a full Wikipedia trail, haha!


Works Cited

Smith, Tracy K. “Don't You Wonder, Sometimes? by Tracy K. Smith.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55520/dont-you-wonder-sometimes.

Week 15: Wikipedia Trail - From The Big Sleep to Penny Dreadful

Stop 1: The Big Sleep
Stop 2: Hardboiled
Stop 3: Pulp Magazine
Stop 4: Penny Dreadful

I chose to begin my Wikipedia Trail by simply searching the title I am writing my final paper on. Most of what I read was information I knew from reading the book, however there was more background on the author, Raymond Chandler. Chandler would often use stories he had previously published and re-write them together to create a new story.  Chandler wrote "The Big Sleep" from his two previously published storyes, "Killer in the Rain" and "The Curtain".

The term "hardboiled" is , according to Wikipidia, "is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective stories)". Detective Marlowe from the story "The Big Sleep" would be considered hardboiled. I thought hardboiled was such a random term to be used so I had to follow the link to check it out.

Pulp magazines, according to Wikipedia,  "were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the 1950s". "The pulps gave rise to the term pulp fiction in reference to run-of-the-mill, low-quality literature."  Pulp is referring to the type of paper used to print the magazines. I grew up watching the film Pulp Fiction  and had no idea the term came from a type of fiction magazine.
 
A Penny Dreadful  would be considered a "cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts, each costing one penny. I was drawn to read about this term because I have followed a show named Penny Dreadful and I now feel as though I have a much better understanding of the show itself.

This was a fun Trail to follow!

Week 15: Take Stock

I wish I had taken stock earlier on in the semester. This process of deliberately going back through the announcements, syllabus, and grades really have helped me keep on top of what is due and how many more points I need to achieve the grade I am pursuing. With this in mind, I have completed the backup of my Blogger account and I have confirmed that I have completed all of my intended assignments for this week -- and that I have takes each applicable quiz.

Until next week!

Cheers!!

Week 15: Weekly Review - SO CLOSE!!!

Here we are! I have survived Week 15! I honestly wasn't 100% sure if I would make it or not, but I am thrilled to see that I have!

Here's a little snapshot of whats going on in my world: My husband decided that he has not traveled enough so far this year and needs to visit a minimum of so many cities before the mid-year review. So, lucky me, he has decided to make May his insane month of travel! This means he will be gone Monday - Friday all month long. This past week was pretty hard, but I am more concerned with this coming week. I have multiple evening meetings this week which means I will need to pick up my kids and deliver them to the babysitter then rush back to the meeting...!!!  Oh, and I have 2 quizzes, 3 reports and our class' reading notes, analysis and final project to get done! Someone please pray for me!

On a positive note, this past weekend was Mother's Day so I spent Saturday with my in-laws and today with my super sweet family who have fed me nothing but bread, chocolates and flowers all weekend! Also, next week will be the 12 month anniversary of my 30th birthday! AND, on May 28th, my family will be welcoming our first four-legged member, a super sweet border collie the kids have named Ziggy P. "P" stands for "Patch". My son wanted to name him patch, but he was out voted by everyone else so we compromised :) May really is the craziest month, isn't it!?

I do find it interesting how when this semester began, this class was definitely the most intimidating class, however, I have finally found a comfortable jive with this course work and this is finally the class I most look forward to working on every week.

2 weeks to go!

Cheers!

Week 15 Extra Reading: The Mother of All Questions

I am so happy I decided to read this piece. I noted so many quotes because it felt like so much of it was written directly at me; partially because I once felt the way the author is negatively reacting to and now since having children of my own, I am able to see from a different perspective and have formed a parallel mindset to the author. 

One comment that really stuck out and a common thought I have had and my husband and I have joked about , "ideal it was to be a divorced parent...". God knows I love my children, but man it would be so nice to have a weekend OFF! We joke all the time that we would be so much happier together if we were divorced!

I think my favorite quote is, "life can take flower - and wither- all around us". To me, this is saying that beauty and happiness can be temporary or a simple facade that will eventually fade away unless it is genuine. 

Another quote that I once struggled understanding how it could be false is the concept that "motherhood as a key to feminine identity in part from the belief that children are the best way to fulfill your capacity to love." For me, I tapped in to a whole new level of love the moment I found out I was pregnant. Then, the moment my daughter was born, it literally felt as if my heart could explode. I don't know how else I (speaking for ME only, not anyone or everyone in general) could have tapped into this level of love that I have received from my children, but I am certain people could find this love in many other ways. 

This is a very good read for anyone to take time to reflect. 


Works Cited

Solnit, Rebecca, et al. “[Easy Chair] | The Mother of All Questions, by Rebecca Solnit.” Harper's Magazine, 14 Sept. 2015, harpers.org/archive/2015/10/the-mother-of-all-questions/.

Week 15 Analysis: "The Last Night of the World

This story felt so strange to me. Everyone, or at least all adults, have been told through a dream that this night would be the last of the world. Yet, everyone had so simply accepted it. There was no extreme behaviors. It was not even being reported on the news. I feel like we panic at the unknown. In this story, everyone has been given the same information. Initially, when the information is seemingly just their own, the characters are distant, “'looking at their desks or their hands or out windows.'”. Once they begin to share their thoughts and determine they have all had the same dream, a calm comes over them. There is no more uncertainty, there is only acceptance. 

I do like how the husband and wife choose to keep a normal evening routine and fall asleep holding hands, but i still feel an awkward emptiness with the girls in their own rooms down the hall from them. I would need to be holding their hands, but again, there was the eerie calm and quietness in the house. If they wanted a normal routine, then perhaps it felt natural to keep the girls in their own room. 

I could tell you for almost certain, this would not be my reaction to the end of the world. 



Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. “A Classic Ray Bradbury Esquire Story.” Esquire, Esquire, 9 Oct. 2017, www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a14340/ray-bradbury-last-night-of-the-world-0251/.

Week 15 Reading Notes: Cathedral

"Cathedral" caught my attention mostly because of the recent Good Friday fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris which this story does actually mention. 

There are multiple layers of feelings and emotions within this writing. It is written in first person, narrated by a married man who seems to be jealous of a blind man his wife has been friends with for many, many years. He has it set in his mind that he does not like this man, but by the end of the story, you begin to see him opening up to the blind man as he first tries to describe a cathedral to the blind man and eventually attempts to draw a cathedral. 

Week 15 Reading Notes: Last Night of the World

"What would you do if you knew this was the last night of the world?"... "She turned the handle of the silver coffeepot toward him..."

This is a dialogue between a man and a woman. - man posing the question to the woman.

Turns out everyone has had the same dream. The world is going to end. But no one is reacting. It just is and everyone has accepted it.

But what the heck... I want to know what happens?!

I would be spending my last night with my kids and husband snuggled in my bed. I felt empty reading how they knew it would be the last night, but they left their children in their own beds and debated shutting the door.

a little eerie.

Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. “A Classic Ray Bradbury Esquire Story.” Esquire, Esquire, 9 Oct. 2017,        www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a14340/ray-bradbury-last-night-of-the-world-0251/.

Week 14 Project Action Plan: Love Reflected in "The Big Sleep" and "In the Land of the Free"

In realizing my final project had to include the text I chose to read, I have decided on the following project and choose the subject of love.

Then choose two selections and discuss how that subject is discussed in those selections. Use literary devices to help frame your discussion. 

The two selections I have chosen are "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler and "In the Land of the Free" by Edith Maud Eaton (Sui Sin Far).

Each of these to texts express the extent a mother, father, or even a sister would go for their child or sibling. 

Raymond Chandler uses a great deal of imagery within his writing. Every scene is very well described, you feel as if you have warped right into the scene. Lae Choo, mother in the story by Edith Eaton, finds herself in a paradox when her toddler is taken from her by the United States government and not returned for 10 months. 

"The Big Sleep" is written in the first person with the main character, Private Investigator Marlowe, narrating. "In the Land of the Free" is written in the third person. 

The plot of "The Big Sleep" involves a father hiring a private investigator to dig into the reason behind why the old man is being blackmailed. This father asks PI Marlowe for help instead of going to the police because a part of him knows both of his daughters are likely involved and may be in trouble. While the ending implies that the father did not know his daughters involvement in the blackmail, however, I think he did to an extent. The other side of the story is that of the older sister, Vivian, covering for her younger sister, Carmon. Vivian went to great lengths to ensure her sister would not get caught and eventually makes a deal with Marlowe to take her far away and hopefully get her some help. 

The plot of "In the Land of the Free" involves a Chinese family who has been established in San Francisco for many years. The wife, Lae Choo, had gone back to China to care (hospice) for  elderly parents. While in China, she gave birth to her son. Soon after, the parents passed from their illnesses and Lae Choo joins her husband, Hom Hing, on a journey back to San Francisco. Because they did not have papers proving the child was theirs, the government took the child and told them it would only be until the following day when they government could provide permission to them to bring the child over. This moment of having her child taken from her was a moment of intense agony which was exacerbated when the child was not returned the following day as promised, nor the day after or the day after that. The story continues for 10 months until the mother is reunited with her child. All of this effort and when the two are finally together again, the child does not recognize her and instead hides his head and cries for her to "Go 'way, go 'way!"

I think I can pull similarities between the two stories to make a solid final project. 

Please share any thoughts or ideas with me!!!

Many thanks!
Amanda

Week 14 Analysis: Close Reading on "The Big Sleep"

"What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on top of a high hill? You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that. Oil and water were the same as wind and air to you. You just slept the big sleep, not caring about the nastiness of how you died or where you fell. Me, I was part of the nastiness now. Far more a part of it than Rusty Regan was. But the old man didn't have to be. He could lie quiet in his canopied bed, with his bloodless hands folded on the sheet, waiting. His heard was a brief uncertain murmur. His thoughts were as gray as ashes. And in a little while he too, like Rusty Regan, would be sleeping the big sleep" (230-231).

Finally the title of the story is tied in!

Who cares where you are left once your dead? Its not like the person could be more or less comfortable, right? "The Big Sleep" = Death. There is nothing where your thoughts once were.

Marlow's involvement has now made him just as responsible for all of the deaths on the story as the one's he had personally caused. By knowing who the real killer and not reporting it, he was just as guilty. BUT he did not feel the General needed to know these things. It would only hurt the old man. After all, he would (much sooner than later) be dead too.

Week 14 Reading Notes: Part B

Wait, what?? Carmen killed Geiger? Carmen has "fits" like mental health breakdowns where she goes on violent tangents. Vivian was in on the cover up. The butler knew. And now Marlow will be in on the cover up as he instructs Vivian to take Carmen as far away as possible and that their old man will never know.
I am still confused on what happened to Regan. I will need to read the last couple chapters over again to pick up some details I must have missed... this is what happens when you fall asleep reading :)

Week 14 Reading Notes: Part A

I have made it towards the end of the book!

Marlow has just found out that the Missing Persons Bureau actually had been working on Regan's case and that they have put together that Regan and Eddie Mars' wife, Mona, ran off together. She was not even living with Mars prior to Regan's disappearance.

Marlow also finds out that Vivian is frequently betting, losing, and taking Eddie Mars' money... Marlow tracks Vivian down at a club where she puts "all in". The table does not have enough to cover for the house so they have to call Eddie Mars over to match her bet... Vivian wins and is ready to leave. Marlow waits outside for her and lucky he did because he was able to catch a mugger who tries to lift her winnings. Turns out Marlow even knows the kid and tells him to get out of there. Marlow is suspicious Mars sent the kid to get his money back. … Marlow winds up in the car with Vivian (since her date / escort / whatever is drunk and past out). They share a long and intense kiss before Marlow stops her and gets back to the main point... he drops Vivian off at home and goes home himself -- awkwardly to find Carmen naked and in his bed. Carmen's character is so childish -- it doesn't seem like she knows how to be serious. Marlow tried everything to get her to put her clothes back on. He promises her a drink once she gets dressed and eventually he threatens to throw her out of his apartment naked if she isn't dressed.

The next day, Marlow is contacted by a Harry Jones who states he has information... "his" information was actually Agnes' information.

In chapter 26, Harry Jones is confronted by one of Mars' guys wanting to know why Jones has been tailing Marlow. unconvinced it has nothing to do with Mars, the guy threatens to shoot him unless he tells him where Agnes is. Jones eventually says that he will take him to her and gives him the address. The guy got what he wanted and poisoned him anyway.

Topic Brainstorm - Final Project

My final project must discuss at least two texts since I have not yet written a project with more than one text. With this in mind, these are the three projects I am pondering:

 

1.       Compare and contrast elements of two different texts. For example, explore the similarities and differences between two characters in the texts, or examine how one theme is handled in similar and dissimilar ways in two different texts.

 

You may choose from any of the readings we have done this semester including poetry, short fiction, and drama. You may also choose two texts from two different genres to write about (a poem and a short story, for example).

 

The two stories I would like to compare and contrast would be Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon  and Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep.  With them both being murder mysteries, there is a great deal to be analyzed between the two.

 

2.       Pick a subject: love, work, freedom, etc. Then choose two selections and discuss how that subject is discussed in those selections. Use literary devices to help frame your discussion.

 

I am considering writing a project on the subject of freedom. I am thinking of using the Four Poems of Angel Island and Chinatown, Edith Maud Eaton’s In the Land of the Free, and Ambrose Bierce’s Moxon’s Master as my literary focus.

 

3.       Think about a theme you see running through your life (failure is the best lesson, love is eternal, etc). Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme (even if it reaches different conclusions about it). Explore connections between how the theme plays out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading.

 

For this option, I would like to write analyzing the writings of John Muir from The Mountains of California  and Gertrude Atherton’s The Californians or possibly Georgoe Sterling’s Beyond the Breakers.

Week 13 Analysis: Close Reading The Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler writes the most eloquent and descriptive lines, it is hard to choose one small section to focus on. I literally fanned through the book and blindly chose the following section for a Close Reading:

                  "...I had a bellyfull of the Sternwood family.
                   I read all three of the morning papers over my eggs and bacon the next morning. Their accounts of the affair came as close to the truth as newspaper stories usually come -- as close as Mars is to Saturn." (pg. 118).

Chandler's style of writing gives the speaker an addictive personality which draws the reader in. I love the crass, nonchalant,  and direct disposition of the narrator. He has a dry, but clever sense of humor. I also love the way he transitions from one paragraph to another or from one chapter to another. In this excerpt he moves from speaking figuratively about having a "bellyfull of the Sternwood family" to describing his breakfast the following morning.
In this piece the narrator is looking through the morning newspapers to see if either of them have put these connected murders together only to find that each has been "solved" with very simple and far from the truth explanations.

The narrator describes the newspaper's accounts of the stories to be as close to the truth "as Mars is to Saturn"(pg. 118). The satire here is that while the two planets may only be separated by one other planet, the planet which separates them happens to be the largest (by far) planet in the solar system, Jupiter which places them more than three "earths" apart.



Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. First Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Edition, 1992.

Week 13 Reading Notes: Part B - The Big Sleep

notes on chapters 11 - 17

Marlowe returns to Geiger's house. He quickly realizes Carmen is also there. She has little memory of the night before. Can't recall how, but Marlowe has a key to Geiger's house and lets himself and Carmen inside. She tells him Joe Brody killed Geiger. He then tells her that the photo from that night was gone -- the photo I'm guessing Geiger was taking of her.
Someone new is arriving.

Guy at the door lets himself in and finds Marlowe and Carmen inside. He turns out to be Eddie Mars. Mars is the landlord. He questions Marlowe and why the two of them are there if Geiger is not. questions quickly escalate as Mars pulls out a gun and points it at Marlowe. Mars is highly suspicious of the situation, but Marlowe is able to smooth talk his way out and leaves.

He goes to Joe Brody's place. or the place the kid had followed the trucks with the boxes from a previous chapter... Marlowe throws out a bunch of information to Brody trying to get him to slip on something. He insists Brody killed Geiger to take over his porn rental business. ...Brody has a gun to and it is soon pointed at Marlowe. Marlowe calls out the girl from behind the curtain who turns out to be the girl from Geiger's bookstore... more dots connected... at some point Brody hands Agnes (bookstore girl) the gun.

In comes Carmen Sternwood with a gun pointed at Brody's face demanding the pictures and claiming she saw him shoot Geiger. Sure enough Brody had the photos and gives them to Marlowe.

Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. First Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Edition, 1992.

Week 13 Reading Notes: Part A - The Big Sleep

I have never been much of a reader so I am not sure if the vivid and articulate descriptions of every little detail is common or if it is just a part of what makes reading Raymond Chandler's writing so special.

I think my notes here entail chapters 8 - 11ish...

Marlowe has discovered Geiger's dead body in his Geiger's home with a naked (with the exception of a pair of jade earrings) Carmen Sternwood sitting on a chair in from of Geiger seemingly unconscious or possibly deep in thought... definitely in a different state of mind. 

At one point Carmen actually giggles and Marlowe has to slap her in the face to get her to snap out of it (unsuccessfully as she giggled again when he showed her Geiger's dead body, she thought he was "cute"). He is able to get her into her car. He took her home and dropped her off in the care of the butler and the maid. 

Marlowe goes back to Geiger's house where he discovers Geiger's body is no longer there. Everything else was exactly as it had been before. It was clearly not the police, but who?

The next morning Bernie Ohls from the DA's office checks in with Marlowe on his developments with General Sternwood. Aparently Ohls sent Marlowe the lead for the Sternwood case. Really though, he was asking Marlowe to join him to a crime scene involving Owen Taylor, the Sternwood's chauffeur. Throughout the trip to the crime scene, Ohls seems to be probing Marlowe for information on the Sternwood case he is working on. -- really pressing Marlowe in Regan, the missing son-in-law.

Marlowe is dropped off and heads back to Geiger's bookstore. Business seems normal... /marlowe tries to get the blonde at the counter to give him some information ,but she insists Geiger is out of town and wouldn't be back until the following day. When he leaves, he sees a truck across the alley with boxes in it and pays a kid to tail the truck. 

Marlowe had a client waiting for him. while it never specifically states her name until the end of the chapter), it is Vivian Sternwood. She is still trying to get information on what her father has Marlowe working on... seemingly hoping he is looking for her missing husband. 

She passes Marlowe an envelope with her name and address typed on it. inside, a photo of Carmen in her jade earrings. She told him the blackmail (a woman had called) amount was $5000 by end of day.  Vivian does not know exactly what the blackmail in regarding but knows it involves something criminal. She believed Carmen was home all night. Through the conversation she states she could borrow the $5000 from Eddie Mars...

Week 12: Weekly Review: The Final Count Down

I have enjoyed reading many of my classmates’ reading notes and analysis. I can see a difference in their writing as it seems folks are connecting with these readings a little more. Maybe this is because they had a choice in what they wanted to read which makes reading a tiny bit easier… or maybe that is just me!

I am working hard to make sure I can accumulate enough points to have earned an “A” in this class. I greatly appreciate all of the extra credit options. I feel like this has been one of my most consistently busy classes, but over the past few weeks, I have grown to appreciate the consistency. I am learning quite a bit from peer reviews/peer input.

This past week was busy with preparing for the Easter holiday – two little ones do not care if you have homework when they are on Spring Break, they want to dye eggs, go see the Easter Bunny, find EVERY community egg hunt possible, and eat non-stop from the moment they wake up and tear in to their Easter baskets on Sunday morning! It has been fun, but I am glad to get back to a regular routine this week.

My main struggle has been making sure I complete each assignment by taking the declaration quizzes! I don’t know why I make it so complicated, but so many times I have actually completed the work, but MISSED the time to complete my declaration! For the final weeks of this class, I am determined to keep on top of my stuff and get all of my declarations in the night they are due and not depend on the extended 12-noon cutoff time.

I am excited to be turning the corner to the final few weeks of class! Best of luck to everyone!

Week 12 Analysis: Analysis featuring Chapters 1 - 5 The Big Sleep

not published :(

Week 12 Notes Part B - The Big Sleep

Marlowe is on a mission to figure out that Geiger has going on at his bookstore. He visits the store where he sees a suspicious man and pursues him on his way out of the store. The man drops the book he had been concealing and Marlowe later reveals the book was pornographic which revealed the other business of the bookstore, Geiger is running a secondary business of renting/lending porn from the back room. 

Marlowe is able to get more information about Geiger from another woman from a different bookstore nearby. The woman is able to give Marlow a description of Geiger which Marlow is able to use to recognize a man who he believes to be Geiger and begins following him. Marlow follows him to a house. A woman arrives. Marlowe runs her plates and finds the car belongs to Carmen (the General's daughter). It grows late as Marlowe is still staked outside when he hears gun shots and screams. He climbs through a window into the house to find Carmen sitting (naked) in a chair, seemingly drugged and  Geiger shot dead .

Week 12 Reading Notes: Part A - The Big Sleep

I chose to read "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler

The book has 32 chapters so I will break it down into reading 10 - 11 chapters a week.
.

Character development:

Detective Philip Marlowe aka "Doghouse Reilly" ( or at least to the General's daughter)
General Sternwood (oil / wealthy / is being blackmailed, not the first time)
Norris (General's butler)
Carmen Sternwood - (General's younger daughter)
Joe Brody (Previously blackmailed the General)
Arthur Geiger (blackmailing General with his daughters gambling problem, $1,000)
Rusty Regan (General's missing son-in-law)
Vivian Sternwood (General's oldest daughter)

Rusty just randomly drove away one day without saying anything. His car was found in a garage.

Week 11: Taking Stock

I have backed up my blog to my computer.
I have confirmed that I have posted my declarations due by 4/14 as well as checked my progress in canvas up to this point.
I have reviewed announcements and I am current!

I have not found anything notable in this week's edition of taking stock :)

Week 11 Analysis: Close Reading - David Henderson

Growing up in Southern California and living my adult life in Northern California, I really enjoyed reading each section of David Henderson's "California 13". I connected with so many lines because I have experienced these places personally and in a very similar way.  We enter David Henderson's "California 13" in the Berkeley hills then continue to travel south down the coast of California.

I chose to write my close reading on the following section:

Santa Monica and Venice Beach
weekenders biking walking jogging skating
disco-skaters rocking backwards
tank tops halter tops and shorts
cradling boom boxes like babies
rolling sand and surf
the horizon above our heads
the Far East due West
beach blondes frolic
topless surf
white noise of Malibu

We land in Santa Monica near the middle of the writing . It is not necessarily written in order of direction or location. Henderson jumps around a bit. The stanza here is written as one would see people and experience the surroundings of Venice Beach. You really would see people all around you (weekend or weekday). Jogging, skating, biking, walking... everyone is moving . There is non stop action in any direction you look. The section ends with "white noise of Malibu". I had never thought of it as white noise, but if you were to show me a clip of the above description, I would immediately connect it with Venice Beach. It is interesting though, because I initially read it as a silent film, but I can also see how my image of a silent film could also translate into white noise. I just really loved this stanza of "California 13".

Week 11 Reading Notes: Part B - Henderson

David Henderson
born in New York
1942 - present
co-founder of Black Art Movement
helped establish the Society of Umbra
arrived in Berkeley in 1968

"California 13"

Project 2 Final Submission

    Stories: Underestimated Artifacts

            Stories are written with a certain purpose in mind. Ramona was written by Helen Hunt Jackson after she had been introduced to California tribal cultural and experienced the lowliness Native American Indians had been subjected to. Jackson wrote this story to bring awareness to the inhumanity shown towards American Indians. Within this essay, I am going to explain how Ramona can be considered and artifact of history as well as explore a few things this story teaches us about history and how it does so in a different way than you would experience through a history book.

             The story of Ramona was written in the year 1884. At this time in American history, American Indians were forced, against their will, to either conform with general society or stay on designated Indian reservations. Their entire standard of living had been reconstructed in a far from positive way. Jackson attempted to elicit an emotional response from the reader to view American Indians in a different way; to humanize them, by showing an interpersonal connection between the reader and the characters, through a love story. By Google definition, an artifact is “an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest” (Google). By this simple definition, it is clear and obvious to see the story of Ramona as an artifact of history.

            The content of the story is deeper than a forbidden romance. For the purpose of this essay, I will contain my analysis on the short excerpt of Ramona which concludes just as Alessandro, Ramona’s forbidden love, first lays eyes on Ramona. The history the reader absorbs from the small portion of Chapter 4 is that of the negative feelings towards Native Americans, from the Catholic population in Southern California, the social status among households and ethnicities, as well how as simple things such as transportation were a luxury.

           An elderly priest was traveling a day’s journey by foot. He was thinking to himself about the sadness he felt over losing his Missions. “He had lost heart; stretched out wearily as he brooded over sad memories and still sadder anticipations, -- the downfall of the Missions, the loss of their vast estates, and the growing power of the ungodly in the land.” (pg. 269, 270). Our history books teach us very one-sided “facts”. With the help of this story, we can unravel a different side of the facts. Through researching “the downfall of the California Missions”, I was directed to the California Missions Resource Center and found that “in 1831-32 the missions were “secularized” by the Mexican government. Land was distributed to the Indians (most of who were quickly hoodwinked out of their holdings.)” (Why Did the Mission System End). With this knowledge, I am now able to understand the priest’s frustration toward the Indians and why he held them responsible for the Missions demise. He felt he had been robbed by the Indians as well as the government who granted “the ungodly” the land; however, he did not know that many of these tribes had lost their designated land just as quickly as they had been granted it (pg. 270). The Indians, too, were hit with a terrible blow.

             It is also important to address the idea of beauty expressed within chapter four. Ramona was of Indian and Caucasian ancestry and was fostered in a Mexican culture. She describes the character Felipe, the full Mexican son of her foster mother, by exclaiming to herself, “How beautiful Felipe is!” “How much handsomer brown eyes are than blue! I wish my eyes were the color of Felipe’s!” (pg. 273). She would compare his favorable features to her “ugly” ones. All the while the author describes Ramona as “unconscious of her own beauty”, furthermore, Felipe is equally infatuated with her beauty (pg. 273). It is apparent that Ramona has been raised within a culture of anger and dislike towards Indians that has cultivated a level of self-loathing towards the part of herself that resembles Indian characteristics. She is unable to find the beauty within herself and feels that others could not love her or could not love her as much as they might love someone who is not of Indian descent.

            While referencing the beauty of Felipe, Ramona states, “If I had been beautiful like that, she would have liked me better.” (273). She then continued to list distinguishable characteristics of her Indian genetics, such as her thick, dark eyebrows to his delicate eyebrows. Ramona believed that her foster mother would have been able to love her if she was not part Indian. While her foster mother still provided the same accommodations as Felipe, Ramona could feel the lack of love from her. Ramona was still known as a “Señorita” of the house, but there is a difference between status and love. Ramona had made herself believe this lack of love stemmed from the fact that Ramona was of Indian descent. Because of this Ramona resented her heritage and viewed her physical features as ugly.

             The relationship between Ramona, who was a Señorita of the household, and Margarita, the maid, gives the reader a sense of the expectations of the house maids of this time and of this culture. Margarita had been responsible to care for an altar-cloth which she had badly torn. Margarita was terrified to admit this to the lady of the house; Señora Moreno, Ramona’s foster mother. It is unclear if Margarita is afraid of a physical punishment, but it is clear that she did not want to disappoint Señora Moreno. Ramona sees her terror and immediately tries to help the maid and mend the cloth which was to be used for mass the next morning. Even though Ramona is treated as one of the Señora’s own children, Ramona still sees herself as an outsider and is compelled out of compassion to help Margarita in her time of desperation. This segment regarding the alter-cloth also gives the reader insight of the importance to the maids of maintaining favor with the head of the household, or in this situation Señora Moreno. “I prayed to the Virgin to let me die. The Señora will never forgive me.” (pg. 274). Stated by Margarita to Ramona when she felt she had completely ruined a handmade cloth sewn by Señora Moreno many years ago. The thought of losing Señora Moreno’s favor was crippling to Margarita.

               The story of Ramona is truly filled with historical artifacts. These artifacts are hidden within the character’s expressions and feelings of themselves and of others. Their expressions and feelings divulge truths of how history affected them and how it may have affected other people like them. This story, while fiction, was written from plausible experiences of a difficult time in our country’s history. This story was written to bring awareness to an otherwise disregarded and deteriorating quality of life for Native American Indians. It is important to read about history and learn of it through the eyes of someone who has experienced it directly. Personal experience is not something you can learn from a history book, but it truly is a priceless artifact that we should treasure.

Works Cited

Hicks, Jack, and James D. Houston. “Helen Hunt Jackson” The Literature of California,             University of California Press, 2000, pp. 268–278.

“Why Did the Mission System End?”. California Missions Resource Center,                                        www.missionscalifornia.com/ate/why-mission-system-end.html.

Week 10 Reading Notes Part A: Jade Wong

Jade Snow Wong
1922-2006

I chose this of the two readings for tonight first because my daughter's middle name is Jade and second, I was intrigued with a more recent author. She was an author alive within my own lifetime and I wanted to learn more about her as well as read a portion of one of her writings; this one happened to be an autobiography so even better!

Jade Snow Wong was born from immigrant parents in San Francisco. Raised in Chinatown. Graduate of Mills College. Her book, "Fifth Chinese Daughter" was the first written by an Asian American female and receive national recognition (pg. 593).

She chose to work away from her family factory. Worked in 7 different homes. she received referrals and added more clientele. She named the families by category and not of family names:

• horsy family - elderly father (quiet), tense mother, 2 daughters needing to be "smart"; they took family photos in "horsy poses"
• the apartment-house family - one 3 year old daughter; center of their world;
• the political couple - middle aged. dinners in honor of young Californian political figures ; mostly men
• bridge-playing group - The Gilberts' - big, beautiful home. played bridge every Sunday, no matter what. "The girls" middle aged, 35 - 50, wore hats.

All of this was prior to her graduating high school and beginning her studies at Mills College.
Her father preached that education was the path to freedom. (pg. 596). She had to beg her father to help support her through college. He was insistent that the family's financial support would go to the men in the family first as they are who carries the family name..."she was trapped in a mesh of tradition woven thousands of miles away by ancestors who had had no knowledge that someday one generation of their own progeny might be raised in another culture."(pg. 597) However, she was conflicted by knowing she was also the person she is now because of these Chinese traditions.

Jade is able to attend Mills College through scholarships as well as working directly for the dean. She is challenged by new ways of learning and not only adapts, but thrives from it.

as a part of a course, the professor asks Jade if they may be able to tour her father's factory and compare/contrast the visit to a larger American factory. She noticed a few drastic differences:

• size (20 times larger)
• the workers did not talk amongst themselves
• it would not have satisfied the happiness of a baby
• there was no personalization or significance for the employees

Week 9 Progress

After reviewing the course grading chart, I feel a little more confident in my progress so far. At about 3 weeks into this semester, I thought for sure I was going to fail this class because, go figure, balancing 60 hour work weeks, 3 classes, 2 kids and a husband is pretty damn hard. This class feels just as non-stop as my life, but after reviewing the course grading chart and calculating exactly how many points I will need, I am finally able to breathe a little easier!

 

I enjoy the analysis and close readings most. I find myself rushing through the weekly reading, but I have to really take my time to write the analysis and close readings. I have never been much of a reader so these assignments are helping teach me how to really read and not just rush through things. I also readlly enjoy reading everyone else's analysis and close readings - especially on passages I have read myself. I enjoy seeing the different take-aways other people have from the same writing. 

For the second half of the semester I want to try working ahead. My goal is to take a day off within the next few weeks to give myself some extra time for classwork. 

  

Week 9: Project 2 Action Plan

With some peer guidance, I have chose to write my second project off the excerpt from Ramona, choosing to explore the following topics:

  

1.     In what ways could this story be considered an artifact of history?               The author, Helen Hunt Jackson was an activist and wrote the story of Ramona and Alessandro with the hope to bring awareness to the treatment towards American Indians. Because this story was written during the height of this disturbing time in our American history, it references very real and plausible situations. Also, I will keep in mind Ramona was written in 1884 with the purpose to bring attention to current issues. 

2.     What does this story teach us about history? 

      The story teaches us history from a different perspective. My generation might read about history or be taught about history, but we are so removed from these terrible things that it is hard to fathom the reality. Stories like this bring that reality to life. In comparing cultural and racial topics, this story teaches us that while history evolves, there are still many aspects that remain the same or similar. I could use this as an opportunity to explore how far we have come as a society in regard to cultural acceptance and racial equality and at the same time, explore how there are so many things that have yet to change. 

3.     How does a story teach us about a time or place differently than a history book?  Similar to question 2, history books reference time periods as a generalization. It is hard to personalize everything about history. History books also often tell the story from one point of view. This story brings a few different points of view to light. 

     In writing papers such as these, I like to analyze the author as much as their writing, however, the prompts / questions for my chosen topic are very text specific. The questions do not ask for a reflection of the author. Instead, the questions ask what the specific story teaches us. For these answers, I will re-read the text and focus on every descriptive detail regarding standards of living, social expectations, and any other details that could help paint the picture of this time in history. 

Working Arguable Thesis: Still pending... I want to address that history can be written and reflected in more than just text books. While a non-fiction story may not depict true or actual events, it can depict true settings and standards from the time in which it reflects.  

Hicks, Jack, et al. “Ramona.” The Literature of California, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 269 - 278.