Poetry

To me poetry is a form of writing in a descriptive way that expresses a thought or a feeling. The first words that come to mind when I think about poetry are rhythm and rhyme but I know not all poems are based on patterns. I see poetry as not being a short story with details of events about occasions, but more about giving value to certain events with the writer’s personal perspective on them. It is based on a free form of expression that allows the reader to explore the inner feelings, thoughts, senses and beliefs of the poet.

"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe used the term “spirit of perverseness” in the short story “The Black Cat” illustrating the man’s insanity levels. At first his instincts causes him to react and hurt the cat’s eye when it scratches him. Overwhelming feelings from abandonment to hostility stirs in the man until he snaps and takes the cat’s life. He kills the cat tired of feeling the guilt from damaging the animal and its love. He's taunted every time he sees it and he thinks he's justified.

I remember when I was in 9^th grade the “spirit of perverseness” hit me at a time when my best friend and I were arguing. I can’t say what we were arguing over though but she had started it! I know I was very aggravated over the situation which led to my revengeful scheme. Something came over me that I couldn’t resist, I knew my deviant plan would work and I could get by with it. I created it only to get her in trouble by writing on my locker making it look as if she had wrote it! This message then gave me reason for a returned retaliating message that I also wrote on HER locker. We both got in trouble just as I conspired! Even though I received detention, so did she and we both had to clean the messages we had wrote! I felt very justified, even though I was in the wrong, at the time I thought it was asked for! I believe the “spirit of perverseness” isn’t always evil, as long as it’s not harmful, sometimes lessons aren’t learned easily. Some people need a conspiring mind to kick theirs into another direction.

"A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell

Minnie Wright and Louise Mallard lived very different lives and at the same time they were much alike. They wanted a healthy life, a comfortable home and both women only wanted their husband’s love. They adapted and settled for less and existed more like prisoners than as a wives in their homes.

Minnie Wright didn’t really want her husband gone. When Mr. Wright killed her bird he also killed the last bit of happiness and love she was desperately holding on to. She had started acting like him. Her bitterness turned to hostility and she was not stable or in her right mind. She laughed and hardly showed any emotions as if she was in shock about her actions. Mr. Wright had broke her spirit completely finally. All she wanted when they took her in was her apron and shawl proving that she didn’t believe she deserved anything more. She felt that her life was condemned to imprisonment and she welcomed it proudly.

Mrs. Mallard was thankful to hear about her husband’s death though. She was terrified of Mr. Mallard because he was violent towards her. Still yet she desperately broke down and sobbed in grief. It wasn’t obvious that she felt happiness through her tears and that she seen a brighter future as if she had longed for it secretly for some time. Years of repression had only given her strength. Louise Mallard wasn’t a broken spirit. She acted as if she was just freed from prison and was ready to recover her rights.

Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Wright were the same in the way that they never felt appreciated or accomplishment in their husband’s eyes. Both women would have stayed in their environments and settled for less than what they actually desired though. At the loss of their husbands, no matter the circumstances they were both also scared and heartbroken. They wanted to live a long happy life with their husbands and wished things could have worked out more for the better than for the worse. They loved their husbands besides everything and demanded for nothing more.

The husbands were different in many ways. Mr. Wright was short and bitter and it was obvious he wasn’t much on company. He wasn’t a compassionate man but wasn’t physically harmful to Mrs. Wright either. Mr. Mallard was violent towards his wife but socially the Mallards hid the violence, so it wasn’t common knowledge. They presented themselves as normal as possible.  Mr. Mallard provided a more comfortable home for Mrs. Mallard also.

Both men thought of themselves before their wives. The thought of women being helpless without a man was common. The doubt of women having the capability of thought or plan was common also. Women were to do their job and to be subservient to their husbands.

"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver

I can’t remember anytime that I ever judged someone or questioned their ability because of having a disability. My aunt has a learning disability and even though she’s 15 years older than me, we were always hanging out and were best friends growing up. I guess she gave me the ability to see people for who they are, no matter the circumstances. But I do remember once when I was 4, my Grandma innocently pointed out a dwarf couple that was in front of us in line at the movies. Since I was so young, the second I seen them I was insistent on taking them home with me! She couldn’t get me to shut up! My Grandma always told this story because of how cute and funny, right? Well that gets me to a radio show I was listening to recently, the host was interviewing two little people (dwarfs). He asked them how had people treated them differently. The dwarfs said people would approach them and ask stupid questions like “So how is it being a dwarf?” and “Do you wish you were taller?”!!! They also said people would get their phones out and obviously take pictures of them as if it were no big deal. Since my Grandma put them on display for me, a 4 year old, I was not discreet in any way, my demands that I wanted to take my new friends home were obvious! If they heard me they completely ignored me though, I do remember that also! Now I realize that dwarfs get put on display lots, some people are more innocent and others are more hurtful. But to respect people for being who they are and treating them as equals is what I try to practice every day.

"Neighbors" by Raymond Carver

Minimalism



I really enjoyed reading Neighbors by Raymond Carver, his style of minimalism kept me interested and caught up in his story. I’m not sure if I could write anything like this though because I am a very detailed oriented person and to be able to list each event smoothly without it sounding broken up seems probably not as easy as Carver makes it look. Minimalism has a mysterious effect to it by not giving away all the information, only the main actions are told not so much as the thoughts of the characters. The tone stays the same throughout and it’s almost like your reading from someone’s journal or diary. Events in the story that are examples of minimalism are 1.When Bill stole the prescription pills there is absolutely no reason stated of why he takes them, if he takes them or even what they were for. 2.After Bill finishes trying on both Jim and Harriet’s clothes the story jumps to Arlene and him eating dinner together. What was left out wasn’t important enough for the story but you still have to guess what events took place in‑between. 3.And when Arlene locked the Stone’s apartment key inside and they couldn’t get back in. It’s not obvious what the Miller’s were truly concerned with. Arlene could have left the pictures lying out since she was distracted by Bill knocking at the door and ending the story this way only leaves you with your imagination to come up with the many conclusions that’s possible.

Women?

I became inspired after reading A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner to blog about an issue that I am very passionate. I analyzed why Emily lived the way she did so much, maybe too much but I thought I would share what will be a part of my thesis one day - women’s repressed history and how it affects female behavior today. I have been a determined advocate for healthier relationships and interconnections between males and females for over 10 years. The reason I first took interest of the communicational issues that drive us all crazy was exactly that, I was tired of feeling crazy! Over time my interest has expanded to the interconnections between women as well as women’s repressed history. The first studies of women in psychology were assumed to be a waste of time because men could not understand us, so they stated that we were defected and no use would come from further studies. Women were seen not capable of intellectual conversation! This attitude affected the complete social function between men/women and women/women. History proves women were set up to oppose other free thinking females. Honestly how absurd is the fact that women who first fought for our equal rights were killed and oppressed by other women?

"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

Sibilant

“The negro met the first of the ladies at the front door and let them in, with their hushed, sibilant voices and their quick, curious glances, and then he disappeared.” p.94

“They held the funeral on the second day, with the town coming to look at Miss Emily beneath a mass of bought flowers, with the crayon face of her father musing profoundly above the bier and the ladies sibilant and macabre; and the very old men—some in their brushed Confederate uniforms—on the porch and the lawn, talking of Miss Emily as if she had been a contemporary of theirs, believing that they had danced with her and courted her perhaps, confusing time with its mathematical progression, as the old do, to whom all the past is not a diminishing road, but, instead, a huge meadow which no winter ever quite touches, divided from them now by the narrow bottleneck of the most recent decade of years.” p.94

Sibilant - [sib-uh-luh nt] 

–adjective

1. hissing

2. Phonetics . characterized by a hissing sound; noting sounds like those spelled with s in this

noun

3. Phonetics . a sibilant consonant.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sibilant

The word sibilant is used twice near the ending of A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner to describe the way the town ladies’ gossiped quietly together when they entered Emily’s home after she had passed. Emily lived disconnected from everyone in her town still her issues were no secret to them, it was well-known her father had controlled her personal life, his influence for the most part had prevented her from marrying and she lived basically in complete solitude. Emily was a focal point for the town ladies’ babbling rumors and nosy opinionated views. The curiosity of how she lived, of what she had was their main interest when attending the funeral. The word sibilant is used in this context because the town ladies were judging and criticizing under their breath to one another. They tried to gossip quietly together but the “s” sounds of their words were frequent and obvious. Using sibilant illustrates how rude and disrespectful the town ladies had presented themselves at Emily’s funeral and for additional emphasis on their improper conduct sibilant was used twice concerning their behavior.  Knowing the definition helped with understanding how harsh the town ladies’ attitudes were towards Emily and how they could have helped reinforce her already established alienated personality.