Blog Post 28: ANOTHER ONE. Major Key.

Overall, I like Aberlard's character. He is very wise to handle Trujillo the way he does by keeping a low profile in politics while still maintaining his status as a wealthy social light and scholar. He also manages to help those who have been harmed by Trujillo without showing outward opposition to his reign. His care for his family is one of his most admirable traits, but in the end it is his downfall. He played it smart up until he became sick with worry. Once he let paranoia take over him because he was afraid Trujillo would rape his daughter Jacquelyn, he began drinking and letting every aspect of his life fall apart. As his world came crashing down, he brought more attention to his family and became vulnerable to Trujillo and his secret police. In the end he lost the battle and Trujillo cursed them with fuku.

Diaz makes a wise decision in narrating the story from different perspectives and messing around with the typical chronological order. This makes the book more interesting and allows the reader to experience different outlooks on Dominican culture. Each generation and gender is affected differently by Trujillo's reign and the family curse. It also makes the novel more interesting to read because each chapter is a different piece to the puzzle, and by the end they all fit together to create a clear picture.

Blog Post 27: Yunior Junot

Chapter 4 is told from the perspective of Yunior Juno, an arrogant player who goes to school with Oscar and rooms with him in order to get in good graces with Lola. For most of this section, I personally hated Yunior. Everything he did was for himself. He may have roomed with Oscar in order to show his care for Lola, but really he had no other option because he "must've pulled the lowest number on the lottery so it was that or living on the streets or at home" (170). His care for Lola isn't even genuine because even while pursuing he was still getting lots of "pussy" and cheating on several girls at once on a consistent basis. Some would say he obnoxious fuckboy attitude is due to the gender roles imposed on him by a typical Dominican upbringing, but in my opinion there is no excuse for his complete lack of morals and objectification of women. His most compassionate act-- the Oscar Redemption Project-- is even with selfish intention at its roots. He only did it because he was bored, and when Oscar quit and then put himself on his own plan for Jenny later on, he was not happy for him, which shows he did not have Oscar's best interest at heart. Yunior is a self-serving arrogant player who only cares about getting laid and keeping up his cool reputation.

Although an unlikable character, I still found myself as a reader rooting for him to get with Lola. I did not want for her to simply be a part of his collection of hoes, but rather a woman who could open his eyes and change the way he treated women and love. Towards the end of the chapter Yunior starts to have a change of heart. He even tries to take what he's learned from Oscar in being more of a romantic person rather than chasing after sex. When asking out Lola he says he "made like an Oscar and said, Have dinner with me, Lola, I promise, I won't try to take your panties off" (198). Later on he even moves back in with Oscar even though he had the option to stay in his single in one of the best buildings on campus. I still don't think he can change entirely, but there is a light of hope.

It is interesting to hear about Oscar from Yunior's perspective because Yunior is another Dominican male of the same generation. He and Oscar are almost polar opposites-- Yunior is the perfect Dominican male while Oscar can never measure up to the standard ideal Dominican male. Yunior is suave, arrogant, and good with the ladies, while Oscar is a nerdy, unpopular, freak who can't talk to a girl to save his life. These contrasting personalities emphasize their differences but also show that they each can learn from the other.

Blog Post 26: The GREAT Diaz

The following pictures are of emails I sent to Junot Diaz on February 13th and March 14th:

Blog Post 25: Clap the Red Heels, Maybe Trujillo GOES HOME

The inclusion of Trujillo makes for a much more cautious atmosphere because most of the society feels oppressed. This changes the tone by adding intimidation. Anytime Trujillo is mentioned, the reader becomes weary of what may happen because he is so powerful and ruthless. In this section of the book especially, it seems like everyone in some way is connected to Trujillo. He affects the lives of all, and divides the country into two sides-- Trujillo's and those who are oppressed by him. No matter which side one falls on they must live in fear. At one point, Beli tells the Gangster she wants to be like him because he is "free" (134). Those who are on Trujillo's side are not confined by finances because they have all the money they could ever need and more, and they are not restricted by any racism or other bias imposed on society by Trujillo's reign. This gives everyone else the impression that everyone who is in with Trujillo is "free." They do not have to hide from the police as Arquimedes does, they do Trujillo's reign no one is really free. Those on Trujillo's side may have high standing in society, but every day they have to live with the guilt of all the crimes they have committed. Even the Gangster, someone who appears to have everything he could ever want, cries himself to sleep most nights because he is" tormented by his crimes" (125). His love life is also restricted, as he has to leave Beli frequently and his own marriages with Trujillo's wife was created as protection of his safety and financial standing. The addition of Trujillo into the story means everyone is enslaved, whether on his side or not.

As we learn more about Beli's past, we learn more about why she treats Lola so harshly. First off, Lola is a constant reminder of the Gangster, a man who traded in love for money under the reign of Trujillo. For Beli, Lola is a lesson that love does not exist and does not work out. Beli thought that having a child would trap the Gangster with her and be a gateway into a perfect domestic life in Miami. While we do not know quite yet how her story with the Gangster ends, we do know it does not work out the way Beli always envisioned. Lola is also a disappointment to Beli because she wanted a son because that is what the Gangster wanted. If Lola were a son, she would be able to fulfill the Gangster's wishes and, ironically, make him into a doctor just like La Inca wanted to do with her. In these ways, Lola will always be a constant disappointment to Belie and a reminder of her failures.

Blogpost 24: Free as the Caribbean Wind

This section of the text takes the reader back in time to explore Beli's upbringing and teenage years back in the Dominican Republic. For me, what I found most interesting about this section is how her childhood experiences shape the way she behaves as a parent to Oscar and Lola.

In her earliest years, Beli struggled as an orphan in a harsh foster home. The text does not reveal a whole lot about these years of her life yet, but it implies that it was an extremely rough time for Beli. The absence of a stable parent in her earliest years could explain why she struggles as parent.

However, once out of foster care, most would say Beli was treated very well by La Inca. Interestingly, La Inca was strongly against beating Beli (79), yet Beli beats her children frequently as a parent. Beli treats her children very differently from the way she was treated as a child because she did not respect her relationship with La Inca. She distanced herself more and more from La Inca as she grew up because she wanted to create her own path, which could explain why her parenting style is much different.

Although different, there are many similarities between the mother-daughter dynamics between La Inca and Beli and Beli and Lola. Beli and Lola both grow up having the same burning desire: to escape (57, 80). Yet, both of their mother figures are the main things holding them back from their achieving their one wish. They also both make references to feeling like a slave: Lola says "What it's like to be the perfect Dominican daughter, which is just a nice way of saying a perfect Dominican slave" (56) and Beli refers to herself as a "pagina en blanco," or "blank slave" (78). Both Beli and Lola experience transformations when they decide to stop being perfect Dominican daughters and start acting as the rebellious and strong women they imagine themselves to be. They also both even have fights with their mothers over their hair (59, 80). Hair is often seen to be a symbol of womanhood because it is a key feature of a woman's appearance, and these arguments may symbolize a disagreement between mother and daughter over the way a woman should look and behave to fulfill their role in society.

Beli shares similarities not only with Lola, but with Oscar too. Before hitting puberty, Beli was an outsider at school and had trouble making friends and meeting guys. "She wasn't even lucky enough to be demoted into that lamentable sunset-- those mega-losers that even the losers pick on. She was beyond that, in Sycorax territory" (85). Oscar too struggles with hopeless romanticism and feeling like an outsider. Beli hated being treated that way at school and does not want the same for Oscar, which could explain why she is so hard on him for liking comic books and other things that would label him as "uncool."

I chose this picture to represent Beli because she felt trapped while she was living under the rules of La Inca. She desperately wanted to create her own path but felt powerless--she was just a little girl living under Trujillo's reign afterall. However, once she hit puberty and her breast size grew dramatically, she found she could use her body for power. Even though she did not want to be objectified, she liked it because she felt she finally had some control over her life and over those around her, so she could finally break free and stop feeling like she was living at "bottom of the ocean."

Blogpost 23: Feisty Mama

While Lola's upbringing was within the same household as Oscar's and they experience similar issues, Lola represents a different perspective and handles her struggles in contrasting ways from Oscar. I admire Lola as a girl who stands up for herself and rebels against the gender and cultural norms that are forced upon her. She is headstrong and often retaliates to issues with her mother in ways that are not always the best, but I respect her for standing up for herself instead of behaving like her brother, who often complains about his problems without taking much initiative to fix them. 

Junot Diaz's decision to switch the narrator perspective gives the reader a glimpse of what it is like to experience traditional gender role issues from the female perspective. A main issue in this novel is the gender roles of traditional Dominican society, and Oscar represents a male who struggles with masculinity through self pity, and Lola represents a female who wrestles with feminine norms through defiance. It is interesting to see the other half of this major topic and how different characters react to conflict.

The mom of Oscar and Lola, Belicia is a multidimensional character. Through her often toxic relationship with Lola, a main issue that comes to focus is the expression of love and what actual love looks like. Often times Lola feels unloved by her mother, and like she is being "crushed under her heel" (Diaz 55). On page 70, when Lola runs away but turns back for her crying mother, she finds out her mother was only faking it to be able to reclaim her daughter. This scene makes the reader question whether Lola's mom really loves her or if she just wants to treat her as a possession and slave that she has full control over. However, later on Belicia says to Lola on the phone, "Just know I would die for you" (Diaz 72). Belicia's willingness to sacrifice her life for Lola is the ultimate act of motherly love, which presents another conflicting side of Belicia. 

When it comes down to it, despite the volatile dynamic between them, Lola and her mother do love each other. It is society's cultural norms that cause them to express themselves in conflicting ways. As a Dominican woman, Belicia has probably had very little control over anything in her life, but having a daughter gave her the opportunity to be able to claim something as entirely hers, especially because she raised her children as a single mom. Because of this, Belicia's tyranny over Lola can be somewhat justified, because her behavior as a mom is just a result of society.

Personally, I can relate to Lola's relationship with her mother because my mom and I used to fight frequently and there is still often tension between us. We love each other, but our different ways of expressing it often lead to conflict. In the end, my mother wants what is best for me, but she does not always handle situations the way I would want to handle them. If I go about achieving my goals in a different way from how she would do it, she often worries and then expels that stress onto me. A similar dynamic is seen between Lola and her mom: they both want the same end result (for Lola to be happy), but they want to go about achieving this goal differently. Belicia wants Lola to conform to society and be like her, but Lola wants to make her own path.

Blogpost 22: Oscar Meyer... Wao?

Junot Diaz often uses footnotes throughout the text as an opportunity to tell backstories about Oscar's life and Dominican culture. Unlike most authors, Diaz's footnotes have just as much, if not more character than the regular text, because they are just as vital to the story as the text itself. These footnotes enhance the story by bringing the reader closer to the author because they are Junot's chance to speak directly to his audience. They also enhance the story primarily through their ability to provide background about Dominican culture and history- key influences on the behavior and gender roles of the society in which Oscar lives.

The reader has a love/hate relationship with the protagonist, Oscar. On one hand he is an endearing young boy who struggles with his abilities to fit into a society with traditional gender roles. Knowing Oscar's struggles and his unfulfilled desire for affection, the reader feels sympathy for him. On the other hand, Oscar has skewed values and judges people in ways that are far from admirable. He places too much importance on his ability to have a relationship, he objectifies women, and he values attractiveness over intelligence regarding his own self worth and the worth he places on girls. His consideration of his own depression and his complete disregard of Olga's following the breakup that ended his "Golden Age" is just one example of the double standards he has for the way people of different genders should behave. However, the way he judges people is only a result of his upbringing. From an early age, he was taught that the ideal man is strong, dominant, non-emotional, and sexually versed and the ideal woman is submissive, beautiful, and only useful for staying home to take care of the family. So on one hand, the reader wants "fuku" to teach the sexist, materialistic, and shallow Oscar a lesson, but on the other hand, the reader just wants Oscar to be able to rise above the norms of Dominican culture so he can express himself and be loved, no matter how he compares to the cookie cutter ideal male.

Blog Post 21: Or Does It...EXPLODE?

The money the family is expecting to receive carries large significance because it plays an important role in the family's past, present, and future. In terms of the past, the family has never had much money, so they have not had very many opportunities to make their dreams reality. For the future, the family wants this money in order to open up more opportunities to make their dreams come true, whether it be Walter's dreams of a successful career or the next generations dreams for the life ahead of them. The money is also important for their current situation, because at this point, many of the families' interactions are arguments, many of which involving money. They all experience frustration with their current financial standing and it sparks many debates, whether it be over marriage, Walter's career, Beneatha's education, Beneatha's boyfriend, or Travis's school project. Money constantly places limitations on their way of life, which results in a broken family dynamic.

Walter's life centers around the concept of money. In the end, his desire for wealth only hurts him because he cannot see the positives in his life and does not draw attention to what really matters, such as his family. His preoccupation with financial status will only steer him towards quick fixes rather than lasting solutions for the family.

Blog Post 20: The Evolution of D

Throughout the text, Paul D struggles with his sense of identity and manhood. His decisions are often guided by his avoidance of the past and his yearning to feel like a man.

Paul D's past scarred him because his experiences as a slave taught him he was no better than an animal. Mr.Garner always said he treated his slaves like real men, but when the school teacher came, Paul D felt like he was being treated no better than a rooster. The brutality Paul D experienced taught him that to survive, he would have to lock away all of his memories and feelings in a "tobacco tin buried in his chest where his red heart used to be" (Morrison 86).

Once Paul D escaped slavery, he was known to be a wanderer, never settling down anywhere for too long. Because of his tobacco tin, he did not want to feel attached to anything or anyone for too long, so he found it easier to cope wandering around on his own. However, when Paul D came to 124 and found Sethe, he finally found a place he could not leave. Sethe reminded him of his past and gave him the strength to face it, and her home and family provided him the opportunity to assert dominance and claim his manhood. Even though he had no business taking the role as head of the household, he immediately started trying to take over because he had a necessity to prove to himself that he was a man.

A key turning point for Paul D was when he had sex with Beloved. Beloved is representative of all the pain harnessed in the past, and him having sex with her was a demonstration of him confronting all of his repressed memories. After the sexual act, Paul D's "tobacco tin" is again replaced with his "red heart" because he is now vulnerable and ready to have all the emotions his past and current life entails (Morrison 138).

Chapter 19 represents another key turning point for Paul D because in this chapter, Stamp Paid tells him about the murder of Sethe's first daughter and Paul D decides to leave 124. His discovery of Sethe's crime alters his perception of Sethe and her household, and he is too afraid to remain there with her. Before given this insight, he had imagined a future with Sethe in which he could build a family and claim his manhood, but now that dream is tarnished and he feels the need to remove himself. This leaves him questioning his future, his past, and his identity as a man and human being. This is clearly seen by the disheveled state he is found in: "on the steps of Holy Redeemer, holding his wrists between his knees and looking red-eyed" (Morrison 222).

Blog Post 19: HoneySUCKLE Rooooose....

One could argue that Baby Suggs' treatment at the hands of her masters in slavery was better than the treatment she received from her community as a free woman. When describing her time as a slave at Sweet Home, she continually repeats that "nobody knocked her down...even when she slipped on cow dung and broke every egg in her apron" (Morrison 164). No matter how badly she messed up, she was always respected and listened to, and never criticized. However, as a free woman, she was constantly knocked down by her community and continually experienced "the scent of disapproval" (Morrison 162-163). Instead of interpreting Baby Suggs' acts of generosity as true benevolence, they took it as "uncalled for pride," "overstepping, giving too much, and offending them by excess" (Morrison 163).

Denver's suckling her sister's blood along with her mother's milk accounts for both her acceptance of the non-material spirit in the house and her acceptance of Beloved as the material re-embodiment of her sister's spirit. When Sethe nursed Denver, she refused to clean herself,despite Baby Suggs' discontent, because she still felt the pain of what she had done and was clinging onto the past. When Denver suckled both her mother's milk and her sister's blood, she became connected to Sethe's painful past. The non-material spirit of Beloved often represents Sethe's guilt, which was represented by the baby's blood. The milk represents the nourishing side of Sethe's motherhood, which is what allows Sethe a second chance when Beloved comes back as a material re-embodiment of her spirit. Denver connects to Beloved in both of these ways because they both have a distrust for Sethe yet are reliant on her for nourishment to live. 

Blog Post 18: FREEDOM...FREEDOM...

Chapters nine through twelve examine Beloved’s role in each character’s life and how they deal with the past. In chapter nine, Sethe has decided to go to the Clearing, a place Baby Suggs used to preach, because in recent days she has found herself at unease with how to deal with her burdensome past. At one moment, she is letting the ghost of Baby Suggs rub her neck, but shortly she finds herself being strangled (113). When she is saved by Beloved and Denver, bruises appear on her neck. These physical marks are made to show that even though one’s past cannot be seen, it has a lasting and visible impact on the future. The way Denver and Beloved react to the bruises represent different ways of dealing with a harsh past: Beloved’s choice to nurture and touch them represents her advocacy for confronting the past, while Denver’s choice to ignore them shows that she would rather avoid the past and try to focus on the present (114).

In Chapter 10, the reader learns about Paul D’s experience in a prison where he was chained to forty-six other prisoners, sexually abused, forced to work, and confined to living in a wooden box in the ground. After Paul D escapes from this low point in his life, he learns to deal with the past by repressing it and putting it into a “tobacco tin lodged in his chest” (133). In Chapter 11, when Beloved and Paul D have sex, Beloved demands that she will not leave until he calls her by name (137). When the sexual encounter is complete, Paul D repeats the phrase “Red Heart” over and over (138). Because Beloved is used as a representation of the past, her insistence on him calling her by name shows that the past must be confronted before one can move on. Paul D’s repetition of “Red Heart”  symbolizes that he is finally confronting his past and letting his memories out of “the tobacco tin lodged into his chest” and into his heart.

Blog Post 16: Dearly BELOVED...We is Typing Here Today...

When Paul D comes to 124, he immediately rearranges the prior familial structure and assumes the typical male role as the head of the household: “There was no room for any other thing or body until Paul D arrived and broke up the place, making room, shifting it, moving it to someplace else, then standing in the place he had made" (47). One might find it peculiar that Sethe allowed him to take this role so promptly considering all the men in her life have left her, but this male absence is actually the very reason she enables him to assume the head position of the family. On page 47, Sethe reminisces on when her two sons left her: "There was a time when she scanned the fields every morning and every evening for her boys." Ever since her sons left her, she has been yearning for a male presence to come back to her, which is why she is so eager to accepts Paul D when he comes from her past and into her present life. She believes that if she is able to move forward and create a family with him, she will be able to move on from the past. On page 51, Morrison writes, "To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay. The "better life" she believed she and Denver were living was simply not that other one. The fact that Paul D had come out of "that other one" into her bed was better too; and the notion of a future with him was beginning to stroke her mind." Throughout the next chapter Sethe continues to think of Paul D as part of the family as she watches their shadows "hold hands". Paul D being part of the family is not only beneficial to Sethe because it is a way to escape the past, but she also sees it as a way to help Denver: "Soothed by sugar, surrounded by a crowd of people who did not find [Denver] the main attraction, who, in fact, said, "Hey, Denver," every now and then, pleased her enough to consider that Paul D wasn't all that bad." As Denver warms up to Paul D at the carnival, Sethe continues to entertain the idea of Paul D being the head of the family because she sees him as a way to bring her family back to normalcy and therefore give Denver more companionship as part of society.

In chapter 5, a strange woman named Beloved comes out of the water and eventually makes it to 124. There is obviously something extremely peculiar about Beloved, but Sethe, Denver, and Paul D do not even make an effort to ask her questions about her background. On page 62, Paul D identifies with Beloved's slow and difficult pronunciation of the letters of her name and relates it to a part of his past, when many people from all different backgrounds would walk together, all with different destinations and issues. On page 63 he describes these crowds as "silent, except for social courtesies, when they met one another they neither described nor asked about the sorrow that drove them from one place to another." Because Paul D understands that everyone deals with different struggles, he decides not to ask Beloved about her past. Sethe's lack of inquiry is for other reasons, however. Sethe does not ask Beloved any questions about her background because she is preoccupied with reminiscing over her daughter: "Sethe was deeply touched by her sweet name; the remembrance of glittering headstone made her feel especially kindly toward her." Because Sethe feels called to be a motherly figure to Beloved, Sethe does not care where Beloved came from, she only cares about nurturing her. Denver does not question Beloved's identity either, and her reasoning varies from Paul D's and Sethe's as well. Denver's upbringing has been very isolated, so she sees Beloved as an opportunity for companionship. Denver immediately takes on the role of Beloved's caretaker because she is desperate to have someone there for her to keep her from being lonely. So even though their reasoning is all different, Paul D's, Sethe's, and Denver's decisions not to question Beloved leaves her identity up in the air.

Blog Post 15: SWEET HOME...not in 'Bama

Blog Post 15: SWEET HOME...not in 'Bama.

                The name Beloved is fitting for Sethe’s daughter because as a slave, it was a blessing and anomaly at the time for Sethe to have the opportunity to have a husband and be able to nurture her children. It is also clear that Sethe highly values her role as a mother because she constantly puts her children before herself, such as when she agreed to have sex in order to engrave Beloved’s tombstone (page 5) and when she was more concerned that the schoolboys took her milk than them whipping her (page 20). Motherhood itself is a “beloved” thing to Sethe.

                It is clear that Denver’s lack of companionship has affected her emotional growth. All of her life, Denver’s only company has been her mother and Beloved’s ghost. There have been no visitors at 124 because it is haunted, and the boys and girls do not like Denver. It is evident that this condition has affected her emotional state, because she clearly feels trapped and lonely. When Paul D comes over, Denver immediately starts acting very rude towards him and jealous of Sethe’s attention towards him, because all her life Denver has been used to receiving Sethe’s undivided attention—her eyes never looking away (page 15). Once Sethe’s eyes are not focused on her, Denver suddenly spirals into a state of utter loneliness.

                Even though Sweet Home is associated with much suffering for Sethe and the men that were there, Sweet Home also represents a place of fellowship for them. Once Paul D comes to 124, him and Sethe’s friendship is easily rekindled, because they reminisce about all their times together back at Sweet Home. On page 16, Paul D says, “It wasn’t sweet and it sure wasn’t home” and Sethe replies, “But it’s where we were. All together.” Because of all the hardship they went through during their time there as slaves, they were able to form tight bonds because they were as close a thing to family as they had at the time. Because they were placed in an “us vs. them” type situation, it brought all the slaves together in a strong and tight unit.

Blog Post 17: Paul D...JERSEY FIST BUUUUUMP!

                Towards the end of Chapter 17 of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Paul D uses Mister, a rooster back at Sweet Home, as symbol for everything wrong with his life. Both Sethe and Paul D express malice towards Mister, because they remember Mister as proud and mean. For Paul D, Mister represents how slavery took away his identity, because Paul D was treated as more of an animal than Mister was. On page 86, Paul says to Sethe, “Mister always looked so… free. Better than me. Stronger, tougher. Son of a bitch couldn’t even get out the shell by hisself but he was still king and I was…” Later Paul D goes onto say, “Even if you cooked him you’d still be cooking a rooster named Mister. But wasn’t no way I’d ever be Paul D again, living or dead.” As he recollects this story, it is evident that Paul D feels that slavery dehumanized him and robbed him of his sense of identity.

Just as Paul D uses Mister to express his feelings about his harsh past, Sethe also uses symbols to voice her feelings of anguish. A prevalent example throughout the text is the way Sethe describes the scars on her back as a cherrychoke tree. In Chapter 9, on page 93, the scars are first described as a tree when Amy is helping Sethe give birth to Denver. Repeatedly, Amy mentions that parts of the scar look like blossoms, which make her “wonder what God had in mind.” Amy sees these blossoms as a symbol from God that Sethe is special, especially because of all that she suffered while she was a slave. For Sethe, she uses the symbol of the tree to say that her experiences as a slave have an impact on her that will never leave. Just as Paul D feels slavery took away his identity, Sethe uses the tree metaphor to say that she feels slavery left an imprint on her identity as well. It is even more impactful because trees are usually used as a symbol of life, but slavery is often considered even worse than death. The tree is used because it shows that the struggles Sethe faced as a slave are still alive in her years later.

Blog Post 11: Welcome to the JUNGLE!

                In Chapter 1 of The Bell Jar, the narrator, Esther, describes the Amazon as “[a hotel] for women only, and they were mostly girls [her] age with wealthy parents who wanted to be sure their daughters would be living where men couldn’t get at them and deceive them; and they were all going to posh secretarial schools like Katy Gibbs, where they had to wear hats and stockings and gloves to class, or they had just graduated from places like Katy Gibbs and were secretaries to executives and junior executives and simply hanging around in new York waiting to get married to some career man or other. (1. 4.)” Esther describes the Amazon and its residents in this manner to mock how alike and superficial they are and put emphasis on why she feels alone in this particular group of girls. The way Esther judges their aristocratic lifestyle, it is easy to tell that she has a much different background and different goals for her life.

                On page 5 and 6, Jay Cee is described as old and ugly by both Esther and Doreen, but despite her appearance, Esther still admires Jay Cee for her intelligence and talent as a head magazine editor. Esther tends to judge others based off of very superficial criteria—height, clothes, attractiveness, etc.—but Jay Cee is one of the few people Esther appreciates for who they are on the inside. Esther does not care that Jay Cee is old and ugly because she looks up to her as a mentor and as a woman who has accomplished a great deal in her career. Esther also mentions on page 6 that she cannot picture Jay Cee having sex. This odd view into Esther’s thoughts characterizes Esther as very innocent and narrow minded. She struggles to picture people such as Jay Cee in bed because she sees sex as taboo and only for more promiscuous women.

                In Chapter 2, on pages 19 and 20, Esther decided to take a hot bath because it helps her feel more pure. In this way, Esther’s character is very similar to Blanche in a Streetcar Named Desire. Both women feel the need to take hot baths whenever they feel guilty or morally dirty. As Esther sits in the water she says to herself that all the people in her life and the city are dissolving and she does not know them. She does not want to associate with her surroundings because she feels like her new experiences are tainting her and distracting her from her identity.

                In Chapter 4 Esther tells the reader that her mother was the one who taught her shorthand and typing. Even though Esther loves to write, she does not associate this passion with her mother. Instead, she sees her mother’s teachings as something that was done out of necessity when her father died. Her mother forcing her to learn shorthand in order to support the family explains why Esther questions her career path and passions later on in life. She began writing purely out of necessity, so now in this stage of her life, when Jay Cee questions what Esther wants to do, Esther is unsure of whether or not she actually wants to go into writing. In addition to explaining Esther’s confusing about writing, Esther’s relationship with her mother may also explain why Esther seems to have an unstable mental state. Her family background is obviously one of hardship and little support, which explains why Esther experiences a lot of self-doubt.

Blog Post 10: I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T - Do you Know What That Means?

                In Chapter XXIV, once all of her family has left, Edna “[walks] all through the house…as if inspecting it for the first time.  (XXIV.97.)” She does this because she finally is alone and does not have to worry about being tied down to her family. Now that her husband is away she is not attached to a man, and with her children gone she does not have to worry about her motherly responsibilities. These are two defining roles of the female in that society, so with are family gone she finally feels free and independent—something she has never had the chance to experience before. This is especially symbolic because the house is thought of as a symbol for women, so with the men gone from the house, they are also gone from Edna’s worries.

                In Chapter XXVI, on the way back from Mademoiselle Reisz’s house, Edna stops by the bakery and gets treats for her children—something she only does when she is feeling good about herself. Edna only expresses her love for her children when she is happy because she prioritizes herself over her children. She will not think of her children before herself because that would mean she was confining to society’s role for her as a woman. She wants to love her children, but not when she feels forced to.

                Edna sleeps with Alcee even though she is longing for Robert because she needs an outlet for her romantic passion because she knows she cannot be with Robert. Not only that, but her act of cheating is a way for her to exercise control and break away from the standards of society. She likes to break rules and go against norms because they make her feel more independent.

Blog Post 9: This Girl is on FIIIIIIIRE

In Chapter XIV, as Edna is discovering herself, she is also becoming closer and closer to Robert. One perspective could argue that her love for Robert is ironically just tying her down to another male figure, which actually makes her take on a more feminine role. In this feminine role, she cares for her children more, “coddling” and “caressing” them, because her passion for Robert needs an outlet that she can use without society’s disapproval.

                Robert decides suddenly to move to Mexico in Chapter XV because he feels guilty for having feelings for Edna, a married woman. On page 59, after Edna has offered him a fan he replies, “It does no good; you have to stop fanning some time, and feel all the more uncomfortable afterward.” Chopin uses this situation as a metaphor: Robert does not want to stay and let a relationship between himself and Edna blossom because he knows it will not work out, and when it is torn apart by society it will only leave them in more anguish than to begin with.

                On page 70 in Chapter XVII, Edna flings her wedding ring down on the floor in anger because she knows she is not happy with her marriage, but as a woman she has no control over it so she feels trapped and powerless. The act of her trying to crush it with her foot afterward is a symbol of her trying to break free, but she “did not even make an indenture, not a mark upon the little glittering circlet.” This is Chopin’s way of symbolizing how little power females had in that society. Edna slipping the ring back on at the end of the chapter even further develops the notion that females had no choice in society.

                In Chapter XIX, the significance of Edna’s painting is that she is able to find her voice and identity through it. In that time, women were not expected to express themselves, but painting allowed Edna to do that. Not only that, but painting also represents independence to Edna because eventually it would result in her having enough income to move out on her own away from her husband.

                To Edna, Madame Reisz and Madam Ratigonelle represent opposing feminine roles. While Adele represents the ideal female in society—one whose entire existence revolves around her family—Madame Reisz represents women who have broken free from standard feminine expectations. As the book goes on, Edna becomes much closer to Madame Reisz than Adele as she finds herself and breaks away from society.

Blogpost #8: The Awakening: Chapters 1-12: I'm EVERY WOMAN-- It's All in MEEEEEE

                Right from the very beginning of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, it is evident that Robert and Leonce treat Edna differently. Even though Edna is married to Leonce, she has a stronger emotional connection with Robert. These contrasting relationships serve to point out how women are viewed and treated differently from men. While Robert still has a somewhat stereotypical male role in his relationship with Edna, he is not so overbearing to confine Edna in any way, whereas Leonce’s marriage with Edna serves to represent classic gender roles which limit Edna’s spirit of individuality. At the top of page 3, it even says Leonce “[looks] at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of property which has suffered some damage.” Yes that’s right—“property.” Crazy right? A clear difference between the two men’s relationship with Edna is seen throughout page 3 of Chapter 1, when Edna and Robert arrive from the beach together full of laughter and Leonce is condescending and disconnected. The difference in Edna’s relationship with each man is clearly seen just by the way she approaches them: she does not even talk to Leonce and instead “silently reaches out to him” to retrieve her wedding ring, whereas with Robert she “[looks] across at [him] and [begins] to laugh” as if they have an inside joke. Following that interaction, Leonce asks what is so funny and Edna and Robert struggle to share their amusement with him. This immediately shows that Leonce is more of a “third wheel” in this trio, despite his marriage with Edna. After Leonce becomes bored with Edna and Robert’s laughter, the text says, “‘Come go along, Lebrun,’ he proposed to Robert. But Robert admitted quite frankly that he preferred to stay where he was and talk to Mrs. Pontellier. ‘Well send him about his business when he bores you, Edna,’ instructed her husband as he prepared to leave.” This interaction places tension between the two men because Leonce realizes he has the lower hand so he tries to exercise control by splitting up Edna and Robert, and then when that plan fails he tries to put Robert down by implying he is boring. It should also be noted that when Leonce addresses Robert, a fellow male, he is “proposing” an idea to him, but when he is speaking to Edna, he is “instructing” her. Leonce fills the stereotypical male role of superiority which imprisons Edna. On the other hand, Robert respects Edna and enjoys spending time with her, treating her as an equal human being rather than an object.

                In Chapter 3, Leonce has left for a trip and sends Edna a box full of treats and delicacies, which cause all the women to “[declare] that Mr. Pontellier was the best husband in the world.” In response, “Mrs. Pontellier was forced to admit that she knew of none better. (III. 9.)” Leonce is viewed as the perfect husband because he provides for his family financially and showers them with material possessions. He satisfies the male gender role of “the provider” almost without flaw. This is an issue for Edna because it confuses her definition of love and makes her feel guilty for wanting something more. Edna struggles with not knowing what love is, because society keeps telling her that her marriage has it. But Edna struggles to admit to herself that she wants real love—a meaningful emotional bond. Edna and society’s conflicting definitions of love fill her with guilt and confusion—so much so that she cannot understand the reason behind her reoccurring tears every night. She mistakes Leonce’s superficial ways of showing love for genuine “kindness and uniform devotion. (III. 8.)”

                Throughout the passage, the sea is a common motif for freedom. The ocean is vast and boundless, which Edna finds appealing because it differs from her reality of oppression and confinement by the boundaries of gender roles. On page 18 in chapter 6, Edna is having another midnight breakdown as she begins to gain insight about her purpose in life. She looks toward the sea as describes it, saying “The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea in sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.” Edna views the water as a symbol of desire, freedom, independence, and comfort. The sea’s symbolism is most evident in Chapter 10, when Edna first learns to swim. Throughout page 37, it repeats that she feels empowered and strong. Once they return from the water that night, Edna acts much more independently—developing her relationship with Robert and acting defiant for the first time with Leonce.  

                Throughout the text, Edna struggles to define romance and marriage. In her mind, the ideal wife is represented by the character Mrs. Adèle Ratignolle. In chapter 4 on page 10, it says “There are no words to describe her save the old ones that have served to often to picture the bygone heroine of romance and the fair lady of our dreams.” Adèle represents the perfect fulfillment of the typical female gender role: a woman who “idolizes [her] children, worships [her] husband, and [esteems] it a holy privilege to efface [herself] as [an individual] and grow wings as [a] ministering [angel].” Part of Edna wants to believe that a marriage will flourish with romance and happiness if the wife is able to satisfy this role. Edna often idolizes her because she is the model for the female mold of society. However, the other part of Edna knows that a relationship that confines her to that specific role does not lead to love or happiness. This is the part of her that married Leonce as an act of defiance against her father and because she was “flattered” by his “absolute devotion (VII. 24.)” At the point in time when she married Leonce, she had a secret love for a tragedian, but she says, “The acme of bliss, which would have been a marriage with the tragedian, was not for her in this world. As the devoted wife of a man who worshiped her, she felt she would take her place with a certain dignity in the world of reality, closing the portals forever behind her upon the realm of romance and dreams.” Because society had told her all of her life that she was inferior to men, she believed that Fate had decreed that she had to give up her romance for a man’s. In short, Edna believes marriage endues specific roles to the wife and the husband that prohibit real romance. So marriage is more of a social contract rather than an act of romance.

Blog Post #7 : Socrtic Seminar Questions

1) Why do you think Dante (the author) switches to coldness for the ninth circle as opposed to the extreme heat and fire used in all the preceding circles?

2) How do you think the plot would have changed if Dante (the character) would have had to face this journey alone rather than with Virgil?

3) How do the things Dante saw in Hell apply to the living world?

4) How do you think this story applies to the modern world? And how do you think this story would be different had it taken place in modern times?

5) In what ways does Dante's exploration of Hell represent "The Hero's Journey"?

6) Why do you think it was so important that Dante had to see and understand Hell? Why do you think he specifically was chosen for this mission?

Blogpost #6

Blogpost #6

Throughout Cantos XXI-XXVII, it is evident that the path Dante and Virgil are traveling on is getting tougher and tougher and more obstacles are being thrown their way. As their voyage becomes increasingly more difficult, a shift in their relationship is seen and they become closer. Evidence of an obstruction in their path is first mentioned in Canto XXI on page 191 lines 107 and 108 when one of the demons warns Dante and Virgil, “’There is no use in going much farther on this ridge, because the sixth bridge … is smashed to bits.’” It is calculated on the next page, by the way, that this bridge crumbled 1266 years ago on Holy Saturday following Jesus’s death (this is explained in greater detail in the reference pages in the back of the novel). This is significant because it not only gives the reader a reference as to when Dante entered Hell, but also because it signifies that Dante is going through a huge struggle that will have great significance to humanity, just as Jesus did the same week 1266 prior. The next obstacle Dante and Virgil face that brings them closer together is in the beginning of Canto XXIII, when they realize they are about to be hunted down by demons for causing them harm. At the bottom of page 207, Virgil says to Dante, “If I were a leaded mirror< I could not gather in your outer image more quickly than I have received your inner. For even now your thoughts have joined my own; in both our acts we are kin—with both our minds I’ve come to one decision.” Virgil says this to point out that the fear they share makes them alike and bonds them together. Their bond is developed further on the next page, when the demons fly to them and Virgil immediately becomes protective of Dante, like a mother’s instinct (lines 37-45). It even goes as far as to say that Virgil cares for Dante more than himself. This shift in their bond shows a development in their characters, as they are now more reliant on each other and trust each other more. Another time this shift can be seen in the text is in Canto XXIV on page 219. As Dante and Virgil are traveling on an extremely steep slope, Dante reaches a breaking point and tries to quit pushing forward. But instead of breaking, Virgil delivers a motivational speech to him and instills confidence in Dante to keep going.

Throughout this selection, Dante uses foreshadowing in many interesting ways. One particular instance I found interesting is on page 197 at the beginning of Canto XXII. At this point in the journey, Dante and Virgil are being accompanied by a pack of demons through the Fifth Pouch of the Eighth Circle. In this circle, Dante has already witnesses that Barrators are punished by being forced to submerge themselves into boiling tar. In lines 19-24, Dante mentions that occasionally these spirits come out of the tar like dolphins and show their backs in our to have a brief moment to “ease [their] torment.” Back in the time period Inferno was written, dolphins were seen as a warning for a storm coming. The use of dolphins in this chapter is symbolic because it foreshadows both the immediate possibility of conflict, in which the spirit may be tortured by demons if caught coming up out of the tar, and the more long term possibility of conflict, which takes effect at the end of the Canto, when Dante and Virgil cause a scene that results in two demons dying, which puts their lives at risk.

Another case of foreshadowing I found interesting in the passage is on pages 223 and 225 of Canto XXIV. At this point, Dante encounters Pistoia, a thief who forewarns Dante that the two groups in Florence (the Blacks and the Whites) will have a “fierce” and “impetuous” “clash” which will result in the Blacks defeating the Whites. Back in Italy, Dante is part of the Whites, so this foretelling is a warning of a struggle Dante will face on Earth. This also connects to another warning from a spirit in an earlier chapter in which it was told that the Blacks would win the battle at first, but eventually, with God and Dante’s help, the Whites would triumph.

Many cases of poetic justice are also seen throughout this selection. For example, on pages 209 and 211 the hypocrites are described as wearing cloaks that are “dazzled” on the outside but “heavy” and made of lead on the inside. This is to signify that the image hypocrites like to portray themselves as through their words is much more appealing than their true character, which often goes against what they say.