Love in Love in the Time of Cholera

I find Love in the Time of Cholera to be a much more enjoyable read than The Sound and the Fury, though that should not take anything away from Faulkner’s work. The story line has been captivating enough that I usually have to force myself to not get ahead of the assigned reading. I thought that the discussion in class today was particularly interesting, and after listening to others and taking a little more time to reflect on the work, I have decided to write about my views on love in the story.

Starting in chronological order, Florentino is the first to fall in love just by laying eyes upon Fermina. Some people are skeptical as to whether or not he really loves her based on first glance, but I believe that if a person truly loves someone they will find out relatively quickly. Usually there is just something about a person that makes them attractive to someone else, and I think Florentino found it quickly. He seems really passionate about Fermina as can be seen through his letters written to her and the way he feels about her such as his willingness to die and endure jail time. Another interesting debate the class had is whether or not Florentino is obsessed with Fermina or really in love with her. In regards to pure romantic love, I believe that in order to truly love the other person you must be somewhat obsessed with him or her as is the case with Florentino. However, I do not believe Florentino takes his obsession to the extreme, and I applaud for him for his continued loyalty toward Fermina.

Next, I want to move on to Dr. Urbino because he is the exact opposite of Florentino. Florentino is proactive in his love, whereas Dr. Urbino is content to let his love grow over time. Personally, I do not like Dr. Urbino’s point of view and I am disappointed that he married her due to “some vanity on his part.” I think that he only likes her because she is beautiful, and he did not seem to have the same attraction towards her that Florentino had. I feel like he does not really deserve Fermina, and that she only marries him due to his social standing. Indeed Fermina does not really seem to like anything about him, and only gives into the marriage because he has been so persistent. I am glad to know that by the end of his life he can say he loves Fermina. In the end, the readers find out that he really did love Fermina, it’s just that he went about acquiring his love in a different way that Florentino. Neither way is right, but if my personal opinion, I prefer Florentino’s way, no matter how unrealistic and idealistic it may appear.

The biggest mystery in the story appears to be Fermina’s feelings. I really find it difficult to interpret who she loves. When she was with Florentino, she never really let herself go emotionally in her letters. I believe she began to grow more attracted towards him, but she never felt a strong emotional attachment as can be seen by the ease with which she breaks off the relationship. The same can be said about her relationship with Dr. Urbino. As mentioned above, she does not really give a good reason for marrying him, and it seems odd that she agrees to marry him at the height or her annoyance with him. It feels as if she just accepted his proposal just to get marriage out of the way so that her father and Dr. Urbino would not keep bothering her about it. During the marriage, I never got the sense that Fermina is as devoted to Dr. Urbino as he is to her. For example, she was ready to move out of the house due to a petty argument over soap. I am really interested in finding about more about Fermina and her interactions with Florentino after the death of Dr. Urbino. I feel that these interactions will give us a better understanding as to her true character.

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Jason Compson: A Closer Look

Generally, when someone thinks the following thought: “Once a bitch always a bitch…” we can assume the character is not a very likable one. Indeed, Jason Compson does have his fair share of problems. He is sexist, racist, and terribly mean to Benjy—his only sibling left surviving and pretty much everyone around him. Yet despite his flaws, I believe we need to take a minute to look at some of the reasons for his behavior and some of his finer aspects.

From a very young age we can see some of the meanness in Jason’s spirit such as when he destroys the dolls that Caddy and Benjy were playing with. Yet, by examining Jason’s childhood from the limited information we are given, it seems as if he really did not receive much attention from anyone. Quentin and Caddy were a few years older than him and they had already established their own special bond. Benjy received attention from everyone especially Caddy, but that is in large part due to his condition. Father grew progressively worse due to his drinking problem, and his mother was too selfish to think about anyone other than herself. Seeing as how his mother is his favorite character, it is not surprising he follows along her path. Another example of the lack of attention given to Jason is the fact that the family sold Benjy’s pasture of land in order to pay for Quentin’s college but never seemed to do anything significant for Jason. Jason also has to deal with the heartbreak of being promised a job that gets taken away from him due to his sister’s actions. The heartbreak from that moment is enough to make any young person bitter.

Taking everything into account, Jason still provides for the rest of his family. He has grudgingly taken in Quentin (though not without some personal gain himself), and he has been there for mother the most out of anyone in the family. Sure the family may be a bit dysfunctional, but Jason was the only one willing to endure the pain which may be part of what caused him to become hard. Quentin became overly concerned about what others would think of his family without stopping to think of what impact his death would have on the rest of the family. Caddy managed to act out by becoming promiscuous, without managing to think about the effect it would have on her and the rest of the family. Caddy’s situation has become so bad that she cannot even keep Quentin with her. Father eventually drank himself to an early death, forcing Jason to take charge of the house. If it weren’t for him, it is quite possible that his mother and Benjy would not have any place to live. Also, while Jason acts cynically towards mother, it is important to note that he listens to her for the most part, and he must have done something right to earn her love and respect.

Is Quentin a good character? Even I would have a hard time saying yes to that question. Yet it is important to note that he has been burdened with the expectations of providing for the family for a good portion of his career, while not receiving some of the same benefits as his other siblings. In the end, he is there fore his family, which is something that can not be said for any other Compson.

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The Sound and the Fury Part I

Reading The Sound and the Fury is both enjoyable and frustrating. Its nice to read a book that challenges us; however, because the book is so confusing it takes a very long time just to read a little bit and even then there is the feeling of not understanding everything the way Faulkner intended.

From the first two sections it’s clear that Candance Compson (Caddy) plays a large role. She arguably is the main character in the novel even though we never hear directly from her. Falkner’s decision to not give Caddy a section to narrate is fascinating because it forces the readers to make opinions of her based on her actions and the views of others around her. From her childhood, Caddy’s interactions with the family suggest her nature as she grows older. She cares for Benjamin Compson (Benjy) at a young age, essentially doing the job her mother should be doing. Benjy forges a relationship with Caddy that becomes problematic as Caddy grows older. When Caddy gets her undergarments muddy and takes off her dress, Quentin Compson tries to force Caddy to put her dress back on. This signifies the beginning of Quentin’s attempts to conform Caddy to the traditional Southern values. Since Caddy’s relationship is close to both Benjy and Quentin, she dominates their thoughts. Caddy’s growing up presents a problem to both Benjy and Quentin though for different reasons. As Caddy grows up, it means she has less time to spend with Benjy. Also, Caddy’s maturation conflicts with Quentin’s ideals for her because her promiscuity leads her to make several choices Quentin does not agree with. One symbol that seems to follow Caddy around everywhere is water. Water traditionally symbolizes purity, and it’s ironic to juxtapose the water against Caddy. Caddy’s troubles start off when she enters the water against her brother’s orders. In addition, she is able to successfully use water to rub off her perfume and her kiss to appease Benjy. Losing her virginity is a turning point. She is not able to simply “wash away” her sin and eventually runs away to the river lying down where it all began for the reader. In effect, her life has taken a full circle and landed right back in the same spot though under much different circumstances.

Faulkner intended for each reader to have to make their own opinion on Caddy. She seems disillusioned with the crumbling world in which she lives in, and I do not blame her. Her mother is a selfish, hypochondriac and her father is too weak to do anything but drink. She tries to escape the false sense of pride and superficiality of the era through any means possible, even at the expense of Benjy and Quentin. It is unfortunate that she is forced to make a compromise and marry the conniving Sydney Herbert Head. In the end she is not strong enough to totally leave her family, but losing her virginity planted the seeds of disillusionment which ultimately finish up whatever was left of the once proud Compson family. I am interested to get the full picture of Caddy through the views of Jason and Dilsey and wrap up the loose ends surrounding her.

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The Things They Carried

It is debatable as to whether or not “The Things They Carried” even has a plot. In the traditional sense, the story lacks a defining story line. Instead the novel contains a central incident and a bunch of descriptions which go beyond what a plot could offer in portraying Tim O’Brien’s views on war.

One of the first things O’Brien does is differentiate between members of Cross’s group. Each person has a slightly different load meant to complement his particular skill set and situation. For example, Henry Dobbins, a large man, often carried extra rations, and Kiowa carried an illustrated copy of the New Testament and an old hunting hatchet. The personalization is important because it humanizes each individual during the trying time of war. Too often, the army is referred to as a unit without regards for each individual.

I enjoyed the way Tim O’Brien was so precise and meticulous with his descriptions of each piece of equipment each soldier had. He often goes as far as to describe how much a weapon weights when loaded or unloaded and how much a couple of letters weigh. The exactness of weight in each item can be juxtaposed again the immeasurable weight each soldier holds in the form of feelings. For Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, his feelings come in the form of a deep love, almost lust, for Marta. Yet it is not so much the love that is as important as the fact that Martha serves as an escape for O’Brien. He uses Martha to stay human during the craziness of a war which he did not know why he was fighting for. With the loss of Lavender, Cross severs his connection to the outside world which he had forged through Martha. Lavender’s death was the turning point that sucked him into the bleak landscape of war as evidenced by his change after Lavender’s death. Cross unnecessarily blames himself for being a “coward” by trying to escape his reality and in the process losing a comrade.This plays onto the idea of courage felt by most of the soldiers. Each of the soldiers could have called quits by refusing to move or by intentionally injuring himself. From speaking to my cousin who went to war, the main reason soldiers continue on is for the friendships each person builds within his or her unit throughout the war. In “The Things They Carried,” Cross feels cowardly because he did not devote his full time to his troops and could be blamed of trying to escape physiologically as opposed to physically.

The central incident in “The Things They Carried,” is one that does not receive a lot of time in the story. Lavender’s death is referred to many times throughout the story including the beginning and ending. The reference to his death occurred so quickly and unexpectedly in the story, just as it did in real life. One minute we are reading about Lavender’s death and just as quickly the topic moves towards superstition. The lack of mention of Lavender’s death should not be unnoticed. The effect of Lavender’s death on Cross is apparent, but it also affected other members of the unit including Kiowa who questions himself after he realizes he does not feel the grief Cross feels. In this way, O’Brien humanizes the soldiers by showing how hard death can be even for trained experts such as those of the army.

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Harrison Bergeron

The central theme of “Harrison Bergeron” is not entirely difficult to comprehend. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. uses his short story to satirize the notion of an egalitarian society in what could be considered a warning for the many aspects of American society including the government, the consumer, or the education system. Through his use of narration and characterization, Vonnegut is able to create an absurd world which forces the reader to determine the important aspects of the story.

Vonnegut’s use of third person narration plays an important role throughout the short story. Viewing the story from the eyes of someone detached from the event makes sure we see each character through the same lens and it also ensures that we do not get attached to any one character because they all bring different views to the story. The narrator’s reliability comes into question with statements such as, “Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds” (56) and the description of Harrison and his “empress” defying gravity while dancing. The narrator’s unreliability adds to the Vonnegut’s idea of the absurd. Vonnegut’s presentation of the story in such illogical terms allows him to fully maximize his point on the dangers of total government control throughout the story. Placing the story 120 years into the future allows readers to accept many of Vonnegut’s premises throughout the story. Another important aspect of narration is the limited knowledge of the narrator. This allows Vonnegut to make his point without having to deal with obvious holes and other pertinent issues. For example, if everybody was finally equal, then why does not everybody have handicaps to prevent them from seeing, hearing, or even walking? Another important issue Vonnegut does not have to deal with is income distribution or government services. During the 1960s, tensions were at an all time high with the Soviet Union, and Vonnegut’s exclusion of wealth management allows him to skirt around a potential controversy.

Each of the characters also adds a different dimension to the story. George and Hazel seem to represent opposite ends of the spectrum. Hazel represents the view of the weak who are often the first people to be at a disadvantage in the real world. While weak characters are often thought of as the sympathetic characters, in the year 2081 she is clearly at an advantage because the gap has been closed. Instead the reader is forced to feel sorry for George because of the extensive handicaps he must wear just because he was born naturally gifted. In many cases, strong characters receive very little sympathy but Vonnegut was able to turn the tables in this instince. The duo of Diana Moon Glampers and Harrison Bergeron work much in the same way. Often times Glampers is seen to be the evil character in the story, but it is important to note that Harrison is not a great moral character either as can be seen by his conduct pertaining to the musicians. Once he escapes from prison, his intentions are to rule the world are shown when he claims, “‘I am the Emperor!’… ‘Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!’…” (54). Bergeron serves as a warning as to what is possible in a world where people have too much freedom. On the other hand, Glampers is in a position where she is in charge of taking away freedom from people and keeping them repressed. The contrast between Harrison and Glampers can serve as a caution as to what happens when people have too much freedom or too little freedom.

Vonnegut’s story could be viewed as a warning sign for the American society of the 1960s; however, many of his same messages can be applied to our times. A recent Time article highlighted the glaring lack of resources gifted children receive when compared to the average child. Now more than ever, there seems to be an endless supply of television commercials implying that it is only cool to dress and act a certain way. American rights are slowly eroding as we continue to fight the global war on terror. It is during these times such as ours that we can really appreciate the message Vonnegut sent over 40 years ago.

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Choices

Another interesting slate of stories, where choices the characters made seemed to be defining moments within each story. To start it of with “A&P,” I understand some people’s thinking when they support Sammy’s decision to quit his job abruptly because Lengel is giving the young girls a hard time about their attire. They believe that if Sammy wants to find his own identity, he needs to leave the regulated confines of A&P or risk turning into Stokesie. Yet I feel Sammy’s decision was a poor one. Lengel had every right to reprimand the girls because as manager of the store he has to watch out its best interest. While girls walking around in bathing suits doesn’t seem to be a big issue, it could potentially upset some of A&P’s older customers. Older customers tend to provide more revenue than the occasional shopping trip by teenagers. With that being said, Sammy’s decision is irresponsible regardless of whether or not Lengel’s decision was right or wrong. From the story we can infer that Sammy’s family really needs the money and even Sammy goes on to regret what he said. If Sammy was so concerned about becoming just another mindless worker, he should have had the foresight to search around for other opportunities instead of putting his family in a tough situation.

In the story “Revelation,” it takes another girls actions to make Mrs. Turpin realize her mistake. Yet even then, I do not see any great changes in Mrs. Turpin’s character. During her “revelation” she describes it as, “And bringing up the end of the procession was a tribe of people whom she recognized at once as those who, like herself and Claud, had always had a little of everything and the God-given wit to use it right…They were marching behind the others with great dignity, accountable as they had always been for good order and common sense and respectable behavior. They alone were the key.” From this view on Mrs. Turpin’s revelation, it seems as if she still believes that she is of a higher class than “white trash,” black people, and the “battalions of freaks and lunatics.” Mrs. Turpin’s beliefs are so ingrained in her, I find it hard to believe that the incident she faced really changed her opinion especially considering the way her vision takes place. Because I do not have much understanding of the Bible, I may be more skeptical than others when it comes to believing in Mrs. Turpin’s sudden conversion into a believer of equality.

From my understanding, Flannery O’Connor was a devout Christian. Her beliefs in Christianity seemed to pervade throughout her short stories. In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the Misfit and the grandmother are direct contrast of each other though not in the way most people would assume them to be. The grandmother comes across as insincere and selfish. For example, she wants her family to go Tennessee as opposed to Florida, she dresses properly so that people will recognize her as a lady when she dies, and she lies about a house in order to get her family to listen to her. She complains about everyone else but fails to notice her own. Ironically, she doesn’t want to visit Florida in part because the Misfit is headed towards there, but her actions lead her right to the Misfit. The Misfit may seem to be the morally wrong character, but he is able to accept himself when he says, “Nome, I ain’t a good man…but I ain’t the worst in the world neither.” When he dies and reaches his judgment, he will have a better understanding of himself than does the grandma. In O’Connor’s eyes this makes the Misfit a more devout Christian than the grandma, who only remembers Jesus during her times of difficulty.

In “Cathedral,” the narrator does not enjoy the prospect of Robert coming to visit him and his wife. Due to selfish reasons, he is a bit hesitant about Robert coming over. He feels that his wife will spend too much time with Robert, and he is also apprehensive about taking care of a blind man feeling it will be too much work. From the story, we also learn the narrator has few friends, doesn’t like his work, and seems to use marijuana as an escape mechanism. Yet it is his decision to talk to Robert, which potentially changes his life. As he tries to help Robert get a better understanding of a cathedral he seems to get a better understanding of himself in a way he never thought possible. By making the choice to help a blind man, the narrator receives more help from Robert than he could have ever imagined.

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Mr. Coon, sorry for not posting my blog yesterday. I figured I would do it after I came back from my JLP trip, but I was so tired that I came home and literally slept the moment I got back home.

The Crazy, Spoiled, and Selfish

One thing I noticed was that the first few stories seemed to present characters in a demeaning light. In “A Rose for Emily,” the character Emily Grierson appears to be (and probably is) crazy especially after the “O. Henry ending.” At first I felt revulsion towards Emily for her sick actions; however, after the in class discussion I tried to examine her character beyond a shallow level. Her upbringing by her father inspires a sense of pity because it seems as if she never got a chance to find a man on her own. Therefore, even though Homer Barron seems like an especially poor choice for her because he seems to be the exact opposite of what her father would have liked, it can be inferred that she liked Homer to spite her father’s memory. With her background in mind, it seems as if she wanted to hang on to Homer no matter what it took (in this case killing him). Her arrogance compelled her to believe she was above everyone else and that the killing was justified. Nevertheless, I find her actions disgusting. She has no excuse for what she did. Upon reflecting on the title of the story, I believe the “rose” symbolizes the visits of the townspeople to Emily’s house. By mourning for her in which cases flowers could be brought, they finally come to terms with the true depths of Emily’s sufferings and are able to view her in a different perspective.

The short story “Everyday use” does not evoke any sense of pity for Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee). Being family orientated, it is disappointing to me that she never fully found a way to understand her family. When she was younger, it was still understandable for her to not fully accept her family as every child has something to be ashamed of. After her education, she should have a deeper appreciation for what her mother and sister have done for them. Instead she comes to their house, and expects them to go out of their way to please her. The love she shows for her family and heritage is on a superficial level. I particularly dislike how she just feels she is entitled to anything she wants from the house such as when she simply informs her mom that she is taking the churn and dasher. I hope she eventually comes to her senses and repents for the way she has acted. I am glad the narrator of the story finally stood up for her daughter Maggie though it seems a bit disappointing it took so long for her to realize her daughter’s struggles. In addition, Maggie deserves some of the blame for not being a strong enough character though the way she has been treated her whole life makes her a somewhat sympathetic character.

In “Teenage Wasteland,” the character Donny is as lazy and spoiled as they come. I fully credit the parents for trying their level best to help their son though maybe they should not have yielded as much control to Cal as they did. It is easy to criticize the parents looking back in time, but the tutor did tell the parents not to interfere and Donny showed positive results in the beginning. I am disgusted by the way Cal duped the parents. It seems as if he just used the kids to hang out with and to forget about his own misery but charged exorbitant amounts of money to render this service. One character who did not get the attention she deserved in the story (or in the class discussion) is Donny’s sister. If the parents did make a mistake, it was by not giving their daughter enough attention just to deal with their son’s problem. In the end, the parents lose both of their children. Ironically enough they lose one child because they gave him too much attention, and they lose their other child by not giving her enough attention.

Mina Das is presented in such a selfish light that is difficult to find any good in her. Even I have a hard time understanding how she can act this way towards her family, particularly her children. One thing that should not be overlooked is Mina’s childhood. She never received love, and it seems that because of this she is not able to properly love her family. While I am not saying her actions, particularly her selfishness, are inexcusable, I believe the it is important that the author includes this information. It helps to put Mina’s woes and feelings into perspective and show how important family bonds can be.

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