Root Cellar

This poem descries a cellar that seems like a dark and dreary place. The cellar is described as dank as a ditch. There are shoots just dangling on mildewed crates not to mention that it also stinks. Everything thing you can think of not wanting to put together is in that cellar. Throughout all of this the place is describes as a place where nothing would give up life even the dirt. While someone may see this place as the worst place in the world it is a place full of life were everything no matter how ugly or unattractive something is it continues to yearn for life.

The Fury of Aerial Bombardment

This poem by Richard Eberhart talks about the war and murder that people commit in the face of god. The author questions whether man was made stupid to see his own stupidity. The author obviously thinks that war and death are something man should immediately cease doing. He mentions some people who are now just names on a list because they have gone on to an early death because of senseless murder. He says that after so many centuries of killing you would think that man would repent but yet they still kill. He is making a statement against murder and violence because of its senselessness.

Grass

In the poem “Grass” Carl Sandburg talks about how though we may have wars and death on the battlefield, grass always covers up and hides the remnants of the battles. As time passes we sometimes forget about those battles and the lives lost that the grass covers. People ask “What place is this?” and “Where are we now?” when on these battlefields because they have forgotten what has happened in those places. This poem may be a reminder that even though we may not be able to see physical evidence on the battlefield, this place was a ground for war and lives were lost in these places and that we should always be aware of that fact for the people who lost their lives.

I may have finally got a job. I had someone refer me up at UPS. Hopefully that will be enough to get me a job up there. If I do get this job I will finally be able to get my car and not have to take the plane home and go through all that that brings. I’m tired of being broke so I will finally have some money to do something with all the time instead of some of the time. There are some shoes I been waiting to get and plenty of other things. I won’t have a problem with spending too much after I get passed them first couple weeks of splurging so I should be fine after that.

The semester is almost over and I have to say that I’m ready for it to be over. The problem is getting classes for next semester. I admit that I made my advising appointment a little late but the earliest day she had available was the day after thanksgiving. That was at least a couple weeks after I made the appointment. Now whenever I look for classes everything is practically filled up. I knew I should have made my appointment early than that but I didn’t think it would cost this much. Hopefully some more classes will open up so I can at least be a full time student.

Planes

This Thanksgiving holiday me and my brother took the plane back home to Atlanta. I had done it plenty off times and have had minor delays here and there but nothing that ever made me to mad. On this particular flight all the passengers had already boarded the plane and we were ready to hit the runway. As we started taxiing down the run way we just stop for a while. I sure people were thinking like me and wondering what was going on. Over the intercom the captain told us that there was a minor issue and we would need to go back to the gate. He said the problem would take about ten to fifteen minutes to fix. Well it didn’t and everyone had to get of the plane and board new flights. Lucky for me and my brother about two hours later we were able to catch a flight that was about to leave but I’m sure there were plenty of people who were stuck in the airport well beyond that. I guess we got kind of lucky.

My parents always told me that everything that is popular goes in cycles. There aren’t too many new ideas that are coming out. Something that is popular now was popular before and will be popular again. It is very evident when it comes to clothes that this trend is true. My mom has some of her older clothes in her closet that she has started to wear again because they are back in style. It makes you think that it would be easy to be a fashion designer but I guess there is more to it than just bringing back things that were popular in the past.

Now that my dad is about to retire from the military he has more time on his hands than he knows what to do with. He built up off days throughout his career by not using them so before he retires he has about four months of no work. He always gets up around five o’clock so I guess he can sleep in a little bit but he never sleeps late so I wonder what he is doing with his day. His sister said that he is probably driving my mom crazy all day which I can imagine is probably true. He is using this time to search for his new job and he will be making a huge adjustment to civilian life.

Point of View

When written works are transferred to film many things can happen. It can help the reader visualize what was going on the story. Another outcome is that it can ruin a piece of work with bad acting when you thought was well written. In the case of Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” it offers a reinforcement of the point of view. When reading the story the reader understands what is going on but the movie added things like facial features and other subtleties such as that. I don’t always like movie versions of books but I enjoyed actually seeing the characters and seeing just exactly what Phoenix was going through. For one you see just how long and difficult the journey was for her to make. This helps add to the image of her being a phoenix rising to go do this journey whenever her grandson needs the medicine. The film version in my opinion does not lose anything because it did not try to do a whole lot of extra things. It basically just the same story while just giving you a visual of what is happening. Overall it was probably a good idea to make the story into a movie. I don’t know if it was exactly like the other saw it but it couldn’t possibly be much different than it was portrayed.

Weekend Trip

This weekend I took a trip to Nashville with my cousin. On the way there we had a little car trouble but we got it sorted out. All we had to do was put some more transmission fluid in the car and keep rolling. During the weekend we didn’t ride in my cousin’s car but in a friends so we wouldn’t have noticed if something was wrong anyways. On the way back we stopped for gas and then tried to get back on the road. We went less than a mile and the car started smoking so we got off at the next exit. We took a look under the car and saw the transmission fluid leaking. Well the car definitely wasn’t moving after that so we ended up having to wait a couple hours in the gas station for a ride. When the man with the tow truck eventually got there he said that the transmission pump had blown out and the whole transmission had to be rebuilt. All this happened because we didn’t get a seal that we needed on the transmission. I’m sure it would not have been that expensive but now my cousin has to pay for a rebuilt transmission. I guess we should have just listened to what people said when they told us to rent a car.

Study Questions "Sonny's Blues"

Sonny's Blues

1. 1. This story is from the point of view of Sonny’s brother. Sonny’s brother does not share most of Sonny’s beliefs therefore in the beginning he tells the story in a disappointed way.

2. 2. Sonny’s brother is a teacher this may show the importance he sees in getting an education.

3. 3. If the story were told by Sonny then the realization that his brother has at the end may have never been heard.

4. 4. The narrator writes Sonny when his daughter dies.

5. 5. The mother asks Sonny’s brother to watch after him and to just let him know that he’s there.

6. 6. These names may give you the idea that this is a family issue that these two brothers are going through.

7. 7. Sonny in a way is escaping from all his problems while he plays his music and the same can be said about the audience listening.

Study Questions "A Worn Path"

A Worn Path

1. 1. This story is told from the point of view of someone watching this women make her difficult journey.

2. 2. Because like a phoenix she rises from the ashes in a sense to keep going.

3. 3. Like the hallucination with the cake it is a dream that she wishes to come true.

4. 4. The people Phoenix encounter treat her rudely and demeaning. It is obvious that this is set in the south and not to long after slavery was abolished.

5. 5. She may have been admiring that it was a big black dog that was scared of nothing.

6. 6. This image could represent that she was just coming out of a war in a sense while wearing her armor.

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Cleaning

I have usually been a pretty messy person in terms of cleaning my room and such. Lately I have been trying to clean up some more and have my room look presentable. When I was at home the only time I would clean my room was when I was told to and even then I half did it. I’ve since realized that since I have been cleaning my room it is easier to find stuff and it just feels better to have a clean room. I don’t trip over stuff when I go to the bathroom at night and figuring out what clothes are dirty and which are not is a lot easier.

Work

It’s hard for me right now because I have been looking for employment and have thus far been unsuccessful. I don’t have a car right now so I’m trying to get a job to then be able to get a car and maybe be able to buy more clothes and stuff. It would also make it easier to get to more of these outside events. I usually have to catch a ride from somebody but having a car would make it much easier to be able to travel back and forth. I’m trying to get some of my family members to help get me a job and so maybe something will come up.

Parker's Back

In the short story "Parker’s Back" the character Parker has many differences and similarities to the grandmother from "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and Mrs. Turpin from "Revelation". The difference is that Parker does not believe in God and faith while the other two characters do. Parker’s wife seems to be more like the characters from the other stories but she is not the one to have a revelation. This story can show that you don’t have to have a current belief in God to have a revelation. Parker like the characters has a revelation of sorts and starts to have faith. Parker’s wife does not have the revelation like the other characters so Flannery O’Conner is showing people of maybe a lower class can receive grace just like anyone else.

Past Friends

Over the years I have had many different friends in different places. I do try to keep up with them and see how they are doing but since I have been away from them for so long I don’t know if we would still be as good friends as we used to be. I don’t think I’ve changed a whole lot but to them I may have or they may have changed a whole lot. I don’t know if I’ll ever go to see them ever again but I will try to stay in contact with them because we were good friends and that counts for something.

Advice

I remember being younger I did not take advice from my parents very seriously. You would always here that everything that I’m going through they went through already but I never believed that. Though they might not have went through the exact same situations as me they have some kind of idea of what I’m like because they weren’t much different. That always made it hard to lie to them because they already knew what I was doing. I now realize that advice they give me is usually pretty good. I will still make decisions for myself but listening to them every once in a while shouldn’t hurt.

O'Conner's Faith

Reading the critical texts it is apparent that being a Catholic was an extremely critical part of Flannery O'Conner's writing style. She tried to communicate to her audience some ideals that she felt that the audience would have trouble comprehending due to the lower number of Catholics. She felt that Catholics lacked their own region or part of the country so most of her audience would not be Catholic. Being Catholic she tried to show some redemptive qualities in her work. For example the grandmother in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” in the end has a revelation and in a way repents for what she has done. Though throughout the story the grandmother seems like the last person to repent she has a moment of grace on realizes what has she has done. According to the analysis “Parker’s Back” the story is about direction. Parker has an unease that he tries to fill by getting tattoos. This does momentarily ease him but only for a short period. This story once again shows redemption showing O’Conner’s Catholic influence. Once again her faith influences what she writes about. Redemption and grace are common themes in the short stories and are aspects of her faith.

Excuses

I used to be pretty insecure about my height because I am noticeably short. When I was younger I was never really teased too much about my height because I was friends with everyone but I always thought about it. I was actually pretty mad about it because I always thought about what I would be able to do if I was just a little bit taller. I was pretty good at sports but from a past experience never wanted to try out. I always gave my friends some kind of excuse to why I wasn’t trying out but I just didn’t want to be cut because of my height. That lasted a pretty long time through most of high school. I have gotten over that and don’t really use that as an excuse for anything anymore. It easy to use the excuse by I tend to just try to use what I have.

Just Do It

I just recently learned how to swim and I must admit that it is easier than I thought. In that past I was held back by the fear of drowning. My younger brother learned to swim years before me so that was a little embarrassing. He always told me if I started to sink just stand up but for some reason I didn’t trust that. I always wanted to keep my feet under me. Well no matter how many attempts I made I was not going to be able to swim like that. I never wanted to go under water either so that definitely hindered my progress. I finally started just doing what I needed to do to swim and turns out that it is not hard at all. I’m still not an expert but I can handle myself at a pool party or something without being the only one outside the pool.

Changes

Being in a military family we had to relocate plenty of times in my lifetime. As a young child this did not bother me much because I thought that that was what everyone went through and I had no trouble making new friends. As I got older and closer to high school moving around got to be an annoyance. The first time I was mad about having to move was in the 8^th grade. We had only lived there a year and in that short time I made a lot of friends. When everything was really working out good we had to move. Having to pack up all our stuff in boxes was enough of a hassle without having to leave all my friends. That was difficult for me but it got easier because of things like Myspace so I could keep in touch with everyone I have moved away from over the years.

Between Connie and Arnold Friend in the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” the main character would have to be Connie. A case could be made for Arnold friend as well, but the way I see it Connie is the main character. This is a story about coming of age and in a sense “growing up”. This is a story about how Connie starts off as a carefree young girl who argues with her mother quite a bit. By the end of the story you get the sense that she is a changed person and may have “grown up”

Connie’s house may be a metaphor for her comfort zone or the place where she would like to stay. Whenever she leaves the house it could be her leaving her comfort zone. Leaving the house could also represent going from adolescence to adulthood. Her uneasiness to do it could represent anxiety of going from adolescence to adulthood. She doesn’t want to leave the house because leaving would leave to an uncomfortable situation. The house could mean many different things and they could all probably be right. The house could ultimately represent her old adolescent lifestyle that she needs to leave behind.

There are many theories to what the numbers on Arnold Friend’s car means. Many people said that they are a biblical reference to Judges chapter 19 verse 17 which reads “And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?”. Other theories I read about were that Christ was thirty-three when he was crucified and the missing number between seventeen and nineteen is eighteen. R is the eighteenth letter in the alphabet and taking the R’s out of Arnold Friend’s name gives you An Old Fiend. I think that Oates was referring to the biblical verse which basically says the title of the story.

This story has many important images including Arnold Friend. When describing him he seems like a shady character that may be sly or sneaky. As previously stated the house could be an image of her comfort zone. This forms the story to be a coming of age story where Connie has to decide what she is going to do .

Seeing the similarities between the pieces “Where are you Going, Where have you been”, the movie Smooth Talk and the three reports. It’s easy to see Charles Howard Schmid from the reports being the same guy from the short story and film. All the pieces fit together so much so that it may seem they are all telling the same story. As I said before it seems as if Charles Schmid and Arnold Friend could very well be the same man. The short story seems like a coming of age type of story for Connie. She starts off as a goofy young girl but later seems like she maybe will change how she acts in the end realizing she may attract the wrong kind of attention.

The parallels between the Bob Dylan song and the story may be about moving on or changing or something to that affect. Bob Dylan’s song reflects that someone is done with something and moving on to something else. The author of “Where are you Going, Where have you been” might have been trying to say that there comes a time when you have to leave something you used to do in the past and move on to doing something else. In his song Bob Dylan wrote “Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you
forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you”. That seems to clearly be saying to move forward with your life and forgot the old things you used to do.

The similarities between the three reports and the short story are very apparent as well. Arnold Friend seemed liked the type of person that didn’t want to grow up was very conscious of his appearance. He may not have been quite old as Arnold Friend was assumed to be but he was still into younger women. It might not have been said that he would but Arnold Friend seems like he would maybe kill to get what he wants.

Obviously being based on the story the movie is very similar. One thing I noticed in the movie that may point to being more about coming of age is the ending. She comes back in the end a different person. Everything else that happened in the movie was pretty much the same as in the story. Minus the ending from the movie the story leads to believe it would end like the articles did. That leads me to believe that most or parts of these stories could be combined to tell the same story.

The three pieces A&P, Rites of Passage and The Only Girl at the Boy’s Party, have some similarities in their “made things” or their meaning. Both of Sharon Olds’ works have some kind of connection with parent and child. The parent is observing the child in what he or she is doing and comments on it. All three works have their idea of a hero. Their ideas of heroism are something that the writer wanted the reader to get. Sharon Olds also wants people to see different things about children. Whether it’s their likeness to a grown man or how they develop through the process of life. The writer of A&P shows us how the mind of an adolescent works and what goes through their mind. Both authors try to show the reader how different people think.

John Updike and Sharon Olds definition of heroism appear to be different. Sharon Olds definition appears to be just someone who solves the conflict while Updike sees a hero who does something for the benefit of someone else whether they are looking for gratitude or not. Sharon Olds seems to have fewer qualifications for someone to become a hero then Updike even though neither one seems to have a long list of qualifications. Seeing the difference in perception of a hero from these two it is easy to see how many different people can be viewed as heroes by various people.

When John Updike wrote A&P the thoughts that went through his head were much like those that go through many people’s heads. He wanted think like an adolescent would and put those thoughts into Sammy. All the descriptive language John Updike used may have seemed like a lot, but I’m sure most people can attest to having their minds race around just as Sammy’s did. When you rethink the situation maybe Sammy initially may have made his decision for the wrong reason but he did not regret it even after he knew the girls had not witnessed it. If he was angry about quitting his job and wanted it back then he would have been wrong the whole time instead of the one moment when he looked for gratitude. Sammy might not be your traditional hero but he may be considered so.

When it comes to being a hero some people have different opinions on what makes one. Some people look to comic book characters or firefighters for heroes, while other people think of their parents or other close relatives. A hero defined by dictionary.com is “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.” Some people may not see a hero as someone fitting this definition. Some may view a hero who has not performed a courageous act but someone that greatly influenced them or someone has accomplished many things. I look at a hero being someone that could fit either one of those descriptions. Everyone has someone that they may consider a hero whether someone agrees or not.

Someone I consider a hero because of his accomplishments is Barack Obama. He may not have done anything overly courageous but he did achieve something that many people did not think would possible as soon as it was. My parents tell me that he did something that they didn’t think would happen in their lifetime. Even though my parents always told me that I could do whatever I want, it’s just nice to see him as the leader of the country. He has something that I can look up to and strive to make myself successful as well. Like I said my criteria for making Barack Obama a hero is not for some courageous act but for his accomplishments.

In the case of Sammy and whether or not his is a hero is up to the opinion of the reader. I personally don’t see him as much of a leader. He may have performed a heroic act but I don’t think that is what classifies people as heroes. People can do heroic things for all the wrong reasons. Sammy quitting his job because of the unfair treatment of the girls on its own would have probably made him some sort of hero. Because he was looking for approval and praise from the girls as his main goal, his heroism was lessened. I also don’t believe he would have performed the act if he were not attracted to “Queenie”. His attraction to her made all the difference in whether or not he would quit or not. He may have felt the treatment of the girls was unfair but I doubt he would have quit his job. Quitting his job was just to impress the pretty girl and if she wasn’t pretty then there would have been point in doing it. The fact that I believe that does not make him a hero in my eyes. Some may disagree but that is the way I see it.

Pg. 6

1. 1.The North Wind is forceful while the Sun is more persuasive.

2. 2.The high winds of the North Wind made the man just cling harder to his covering.

3. 3.The Sun gradually got the man to remove his covering instead of all in one attempt which the North Wind tried.

4. 4.He represents a person listening to the argument of two sides.

5. 5.Convincing somebody to do something is always better than forcing them to do so.

Pg. 8

1. 1.The First Sentence. One

2. 2.He wants to use a story to help him prove a point. Using the story will better help the officials realize why he makes his decision. It further stresses its point.

3. 3.That he is sort of a free spirit.

Pg. 19

1. 1.How he notices everything in the grocery store. Tells exactly where he is and what is happening.

2. 2.Very close attention to detail. Wanting attention may have lessened the level of heroism. This character notices details more.

3. 3.Almost the whole story. So you can see exactly what the main character sees.

4. 4. His feelings really don’t change toward Queenie.

5. 5.When the manager comes into the story. When the manager starts to question the girls. After the character says he wants to quit.

6. 6.To impress the girl.

7. 7.The way he feels about Queenie. How he is upset about the mangers questions.

8. 8.Sammy has given this job up. He knows that quitting the job may make his life a lot harder.

9. 9.That the society is not very difficult to live in.