Shakespeare's Marlowe

While my uncle is creating art on canvas and in sculpture, my husband (Aron) has an uncle who creates written art. Uncle Bobby (Robert A. Logan) teaches English at University of Hartford (in Connecticut) and has a loving obsession of Shakespeare. Recently, Bobby released his much anticipated book that compares the lives of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. The book discusses the influences that the two had on each other and theorizes on what might have become of each writer had Marlowe lived as long as Shakespeare. I am very excited to read this new book since I do not know very much about Christopher Marlowe. To me, learning of the reltationship between the two has put an entirely different spin on the works of William Shakespeare.

If you are at all interested in learning more about this pair, you can purchase Shakespeare's Marlowe. Yes, it is quite expensive, but if you enjoy Shakespeare, it may be worth it. Oh! And even better: Bobby's partner, John Wright, designed the cover. Since John is my favorite uncle-by-marriage, this makes the book even more special! :)

Leaped And Danced

Journal No. 24
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Jack London

From "To Build A Fire"

I. "A little longer it dealyed, howling under the stars that leaped and danced and shone brightly in the cold sky. Then it turned and trotted up the trail in the direction of the camp it knew, where were the other food-providers and fire-providers."

II. Jack London is describing the end-scene where the dog waits to be punished and soon moves on after scenting that death is near. He moves on to the next master.

III. The dog has sensed for a while that the man has only been there to feed him and to scold him. He has not known any connection to the man and therefore does not feel a loss when the man dies. If the dog and man had been closer and had created a bond, I think that this scene would be much more sad. However, since the dog does not have ties to the man, he moves on to the next endeavor.

I think that the dog actually knows that the next camp is close by. He seems to be thinking, "Well, I'll just trot on over here and get me some good grub and some warm feet to lay on." The point of the story was to show the reader that man does not dominate all of nature and its wisdom. He simply relies on it and then discards it when he has filled his need. In this case, he ignored the dogs frequent pleas to move back to warmth and safety. He believed that the dog was just some dumb, lazy animal. He chose to ignore reasoning and paid the price for it. In the end, the dog proved to be the more intelligent creature. He knew that warmth was the only way to survive. He had instincts to bury into the snow. He knew that the camp was nearby. And yet, the man failed to "listen" to any instincts, including not only the dogs and the old man's, but his own as well. How many times do we pass our days ignoring little voices in our head that tell us how to choose from right and wrong? I know that I have regretted not listening to my instincts before. Now, I would like to believe that I might listen a little more intently the next time that I hear reasoning enter my thoughts.

Not In The Significances

Journal No. 23
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Jack London

From "To Build A Fire"

I. "He was a newcomer in the land, a chechaquo, and this was his first winter. The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances."

II. Jack London is exposing the main character's flaws in the beginning of the story to lay out the plot. He gives the reader a foreshadowing of what's to come.

III. In the beginning of the story, London sets the reader up to understand what the man is about. He is committed to doing something and he is not going to back down. The man has wisdom about the things in life, but not about what makes the things in life what they are. This character is not too unlike Sui Sin Far's American young male neighbor in "Mrs. Spring Fragrance." Though he believes that he understands what it is to love and to lose, he really only understands the superficial aspects of love. With the man in London's story, he only understands what he wants to. He constantly fails to recognize that though he may be tough and strong, he is not smart. He forgets (or maybe completely failed to have knowledge in the first place) that he needs reasoning and rationale behind all of the vital decisions that he will be making to make it through to his goal. Though he has a goal, he does not take into consideration the scope of the goal and what it means to get there. He treats the dog with the same lack of respect as he does his own sensibility. He pretends that both are not there for the most part. While he does do several things to prove that he can make it, he puts forth as little effort as possible to accomplish this. Though he appears to struggle to survive throughout the story, his reckless abandonment makes one wonder if he had wished to die all along...

What You Do Not Love

Journal No. 22
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Sui Sin Far

From "Mrs. Spring Fragrance"

I. "Is it not better to have what you do not love than to love what you do not have?"

II. Mr. Spring Fragrance is speaking with the "scholarly" young boy who lives next door about love and loss.

III. While Mrs. Spring Fragrance is speaking with Laura of love and loss, Mr. Spring Fragrance overhears the conversation and starts to contemplate the discussion. While Mr. Spring Fragrance is pretty sure that he and his wife love each other and have a good relationship, he is a little uncertain after hearing his wife speak of something loved and lost. As he walks outside, he notices the neighbor outside and asks him what American's think about love. The amazingly naive neighbor considers himself to be the ultimate expert on love and loss. Though he understands the basic meaning of Tennyson's poem, he fails to understand its deeper meaning and inspiration. Mr. Spring Fragrance expresses further confusion about the entire concept. It seems to be completely foreign to him - love is practical, is it not? In his own concept of love, he was probably better off. He might have interpreted the meaning of the poem incorrectly, but he would have saved himself quite a bit of heartache later on when he wrongly believes his wife to be in love with another man. Fortunately, the American version of love does triumph after all when all of the confusion is settled and Mr. and Mrs. Spring Fragrance are happily in love again and Mrs. Jade Spring Fragrance receives the necklace that she had so long been dreaming of. Awww! I just love happy endings!

Noble American

Journal No. 21

English 48B

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I Chose: Sui Sin Far

From "Mrs. Spring Fragrance"

I. "Is there not a beautiful American poem written by a noble American named Tennyson, which says: 'Tis better to have loved and lost,/ Than never to have loved at all?"

II. Sui Sin Far shows Mrs. Spring Fragrance speaking with a young girl from nextdoor about love.

III. Mrs. Spring Fragrance is speaking to the young Laura about what it really means to feel true love. In relaying this information to Laura, she is hoping to help Laura "get over" Kai Tzu. Ironically, Far is mocking Mrs. Spring Fragrance's own knowledge about love when she refers several times to Alfred Tennyson as being an American poet. Tennyson, in fact, is a British writer. Far is saying to the reader, "How can someone really know about a poem's meaning when you don't know the poet himself?" Although it is true that Mrs. Spring Fragrance is not as knowedgeable about Tennyson's origins, this does not take away her own experiences in loving someone and being loved back. Perhaps she is actually referring to the loss of her own two children, whom she only knew for less than a month. She seems to be reflecting that to have been able to love them and then lost them was far greater a privelage than never to have known them at all. While she certainly is good at mis-remembering important information about an author, she does know what she's talking about when it comes to love and loss.

Transplanted Into The Spirit Land

Journal No. 20
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Sui Sin Far

From "Mrs. Spring Fragrance"

I. "Mrs. Spring Fragrance loved babies. She had had two herself, but both had been transplanted into the spirit land before the completion of even one moon."

II. Sui Sin Far is explaining that Mrs. Spring Fragrance would be visiting with many acquaintances who had recently had babies. She is also using many descriptive words to explain that Mrs. S.F. had lost two children of her own before they were each a month old.

III. Though Mrs. Spring Fragrance has lost two newborn babies of her own, she seems either to have "gotten over it," or to have not dealt with it just yet. Part of me believes that she has gotten over it with the belief that they have moved on to a more restful, spiritual world. Is this what helps people to move on with their lives after mourning a death of a part of you? Since I am not a believer in organized religion - for myself - I can not wholly understand or answer this. I wish to believe that this is one of the reasons that people choose to put their beliefs (and complete trust) in organized religion. I would hope that they do it to cope with the unexplainable and the seemingly unjust parts of the circle of life. Maybe being a cynical non-believer is not all that it's cracked up to be. If I put my "faith" into another entity, maybe I would find that the unanswerable things were indeed answerable after all - but only by the one being above all others. Would I find this to be satisfactory to my ever-inquiring and increasingly-curious mind? I find it hard to see myself accepting that when I lose a loved-one, they are going to be met by a supreme mind who has had a reason to take them from me in the first place. I don't believe that I can build my entire world around that. However, for Mrs. Spring Fragrance, it seems to have worked just fine. She seems content in knowing that the souls that once shared space with her own are now in good hands - and in a happier place. Me, not so much.

Celebrating Life

I have very little connection with my Mexican-American heritage, as I have mentioned before. So when I have the chance to connect with family, I take the opportunity. This month, my mother's uncle, Manuel Santana, will be turning 80 years old. He is a very unique man. He has had a successful restaurant for over 40 years, he is a very talented artist, and he has contributed much to the community that surrounds him. I look forward to being among my family and celebrating the life of Manuel. In him I find the last little bits of Mexican pride. His strong, community-bound dedication gives me inspiration for what I want to do with my own life. I don't want to become President. I don't want to become a movie star. I don't want to discover the next great electronic miracle. I just want to be connected to where I came from and give that back to the people around me. What that means, I'm still trying to figure out. Who knew that you could still be looking to find yourself in your thirties?!

And by the way, if you're looking for the most delicious authentic Mexican food - and the best refried beans ever - you must visit Manuel's Restaurant in Aptos (just south of Santa Cruz on Highway 1) or Jardines de San Juan (in San Juan Batista).

Captured Young

Journal No. 19
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. "Trembling with fear and distrust of the palefaces, my teeth chattering from the chilly ride, I crept noiselessly in my soft moccasins along the narrow hall, keeping very close to the bare wall. I was as frightened and bewildered as the captured young of a wild creature."

II. Zitkala Ša is describing what it is like for the little girl to leave her tribe for the first time to attend school in the Eastern land.

III. The little girl has dreamed of adventuring off to see and experience new things firsthand. She has always wanted to ride on the iron horse and to see how it is that the other little girls her age live among the palefaces. Though she has heard many scary tales of how evil the palefaces can be, she has also heard about a wonderful group of missionaries that might provide for her the experiences that she has always wanted.

As soon as the little girl leaves her mother's (reluctant) side, she already begins to fear what she does not know. What if the elders were right and the palefaces were going to harm her? What if she never got to see her family again? Once the little girl embarks on the train ride, she remains no more consoled than previously. The palefaces on the train stare and ridicule the little girl and the other natve-American children the entire journey. After a long, cold, and sometimes frightening journey, the little girl finally arrives at her new home which resides in a large brick building. Coming from the small tribe that she had, the little girl has never seen such a monstrous structure before. Among strangers and foreign facilities, the little girl is left feeling more bewildered and anxious than she had ever prepared to be. This was supposed to be a wonderful adventure, full of experiences that she had only before dreamed of. What was to become of her with only her friend Judéwin to turn to? What had she gotten herself into? Hadn't she begged her mother for the chance to see the rest of the world?

Heap Of Dead Ashes

Journal No. 18
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. " 'My granddaughter made coffee on a heap of dead ashes, and served me the moment I came.' They both laughed...but neither she nor the warrior...said anything to embarrass me. They treated my best judgment, poor as it was, with the utmost respect."

II. The author is describing a scene where the little girl has been playing hostess to a tribe elder when her mother returns to see that she has not completely gotten things right.

III. The little girl is proud of her mother's ability to serve the people of the tribe when they pay visits to their home. The little girl has spent many days observing her mother and her maternal ways. She takes such good care of their visitors: she makes them coffee and serves them food while they are seated comfortably for good conversation. They are always made to feel welcome. Now, it is the little girl's turn and she wishes to emulate her mother's tasks. While she has observed her mother, she has never done these things herself so she is a little misguided in her efforts.

Though the little girl has made coffee from grounds over a dead pile of ashes, she has made the efforts nonetheless. This is something that her grandfather has recognized. He politely - if not proudly - accepts the refreshments just as quickly and graciously as he would had it been the little girl's mother serving him. When the little girl's mother arrives, the grandfather shares the occurence with her and they both have a light laugh over it. Just as discreetly as she can, the little girl's mother makes some "real" coffee. The quiet and unassuming behavior that the two adults share show the little girl that even though she has not done things correctly, her efforts are greatly appreciated. Without words, she has learned a lesson in what it means to be an adult. She feels their admiration and their respect, something which she even carries with her into her adult life.

Size And Sheer Will

This is a poem that I read for another class that I'm currently taking. I completely fell in love with the images of what it is like to watch your child grow. I can see that it can be both a joyful and sad experience all at the same time.
..................................................................

Size And Sheer Will
By Sharon Olds

The fine, green pajama cotton,
washed so often it is paper-thin and
iridescent, has split like a sheath
and the glossy white naked bulbs of
Gabriel's toes thrust forth like crocus
this early Spring. The boy is growing
as fast as he can, elongated
wrist dangled, lean meat
showing between the shirt and the belt.
If there were a rack to stretch himself, he would
strap his slight body to it.
If there were a machine to enter,
skip the next ten years and be
sixteen immediately, this boy would
do it. All day long, he cranes his
neck, like a plant in the dark with a single
light above it, or a sailor under
tons of green water, longing
for the surface, for his rightful life.
..................................................................

Vital Bond

Journal No. 17
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. "Before this peculiar experience I have no distinct memory of having recognized any vital bond between myself and my own shadow. I never gave it an afterthought."

II. Zitkala Ša is explaining the little girl's awareness (or lack of prior to this instance) of her own being and how it relates to the world around her.

III. The little girl has been playing and chasing her own shadow when she comes across a group of friends. When the friends ask what she is doing, she tells them that she is chasing her shadow. She then invites them to chase her shadow, as well. During this time, she never realizes that her shadow is in fact a part of her own self. She has assumed that her shadow has its own identity and its own purpose. It could choose to go anywhere it wanted to, and yet it continued to tease her, always staying just beyond her reach.

When the little girl invites her friends to join her, she never encourages them to chase their own shadows. She has invited them, instead, to only chase her shadow. I think that this is representative of the innocence that we possess at such a young age. We do not realize how we are connected to everything else around us. Not only has the young girl failed to recognize that she controls her own shadow, but she has also failed to realize that other people also have control of their own shadows. She is so captured by her imagined ability to keep this playmate constantly close that she fails to realize that she has an impact on the people around her as well as on herself. Ultimately, she is responsible for her actions as much as any other being might be of their own.

The Sun Hung Low

Journal No. 16
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. "I was always glad when the sun hung low in the west, for then my mother sent me to invite the neighboring old men and women to eat supper with us."

II. Zitkala Ša describes the little girl's desire to hear the tales of the tribe's elders.

III. The little girl (who is never named- is it Ša herself?) enjoys the time when she is able to sit down on her mother's lap while listening to the elders of the village tell tales of adventure and intrigue. Often, her deceased uncle is mentioned in the tales since he was a much repsected and brave warrior. However, even if her uncle was not featured in the evening's stories, the little girl finds herself being happily whisked away into the centers of the stories.

The little girl seems to appreciate that tales and stories are entrances into other lands and sometimes even other worlds (spiritual worlds). She listens with intense curiosity to how the rest of the world lives beyond her own home. She finds an acceptable form of escape suitable for a seven-year-old girl as she listens to stories of magical moods, far-away fantasy lands, and even sinister events. While we do learn later on that she does have an unsatiated need for adventure, for now this is her closest chance at living a life outside of her own. Perhaps the tales that she listened to almost every evening enhanced the longing to experience these things on her own.

Wild Freedom and Overflowing Spirits

Journal No. 15
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. "Loosely clad in a slip of brown buckskin, and light-footed with a pair of soft moccasins on my feet, I was as free as the wind that blew my hair, and no less spirited than a bounding deer. These were my mother's pride, - my wild freedom and overflowing spirits."

II. Zitkala Ša is describing a seven-year-old girl who is free-spirited, even as her mother weeps.

III. Ša's introduction to this free-spirited little girl gives the reader a sense of eternal naivete. The little girl has just witnessed her mother crying and is wondering what makes her so sad. Quickly, the mother wipes the tears away and tells the child not to worry about the tears- never to worry about the tears. The mother then challenges the little girl to run as fast as she can. Just like that, the little girl has picked up the invitation to run and sprints around until she can't catch her breath anymore. She has quickly forgotten that there might be something to be sad or concerned about. She has instead replaced it with joy and delight.

The freedom and light-hearted spirit that this little girl has is what makes children's spirits so amazing. The ability to go from something uncomfortable, painful, or even tragic and then to be able to suddenly (at least for the moment) overcome it with laughter and play is almost magical. While children are quite observant, they can also be very resilient. They are able to take in the world around them, even the bad stuff, and filter out the things that they sense are harmful to their hearts and minds. While this is obviously a great "survival" skill, it can get to a point where it can also prevent children from learning how to cope with certain types of situations. Today, there are many children who grow up to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues that lack in reality-based coping. As a parent, how do you know what to do to encourage your children to play and laugh and learn while dealing with stressful and possibly traumatic incidences in their lives? If they bear witness to life's ups and downs, how do you encourage them to balance the weight of it with the importance to live life?

When I see children that are engaged in the world and who want to run and be free, I can't help but smile. They are happy children who don't feel like there is an ending or that there can be something to turn things upside down. They feel like life still has so much to offer to them. There is much left to learn. Their naivete is something that, once you become an adult, you never gain back. When is the last time that you ran through a stranger's lawn just to get to a sprinkler? I'd pick that over "dealing" with pain and loss any day. Can't we just go back to being kids again?

The Children's Hour

Okay, I feel like I must be the last person on this planet to see (or to even know about) the movie "The Children's Hour" which was adapted from Lillian Hellman's play of the same title. Wow- this was a good movie! Starring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner (three wonderful roles for three wonderful actors), the movie is set among an all-girls school. The two headmistresses, Karen (Hepburn) and Martha (MacLaine) are caught up in the middle of one student's awful lies. When the entire community is alerted of the "scandalous" behavior ocurring in the private school, the children are suddenly removed from the care of Karen and Martha.

So, the little brat whispered into her grandmother's ear a horrible, awful secret! What was that secret, you ask? Why, Karen and Martha are LESBIANS! (gasp!!!) So of course, everyone in the community rallies together and marks the home of Karen and Martha with the scarlet letter and move on with their feeble little lives while Karen and Martha are forever condemmed to lives of solitude and shame. Why, they can't even be in their own home without someone else coming in to balk at them. As the delivery boy helps himsef into their home through the backdoor with his weekly grocery delivery, he even stares at them as they hang their heads down and yell at him to stop being so cruel.

Meanwhile, James Garner's character, Dr. Joe Cardin, is madly in love with Karen. He plays a lover who is desperate to marry and will wait for Karen, but gets a little impatient along the way since she has put the school and her life at the school ahead of their marriage plans. At least temporarily. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), Dr. Cardin is related to the little tattle-tale and the grandmother who have bulldozed the lives that Karen and Martha were leading before the rumors had started. He portrays a noble, respected man who believes strongly in the woman who he loves and wants to tell his nosey aunt that she can go to h-e-doublehockeysticks, dang it! He vows to run away with not just Karen, but Martha as well. He promises them lives of solitude and bliss when they move off to a farm somewhere else. However, Karen points out that there is no way to lead "normal" lives again. Not only will other people start talking again, but they will always doubt each other as well. They will never be able to run away completely from this haunting rumor. Dr. Cardin tentatively leaves, promising that he will be back for her after she has had a little time to "get over" her concerns about their future. As he disappears, Karen whispers, "No you won't" in response.

Now, Martha shares with Karen that she may be in love with her, after all. In "that" way, in fact. She also shares with Karen that when the little girl told the lie, she felt like she was somehow sure of who she was for the first time and that it all finally made sense to her. Martha is quite upset and inconsolable as Karen tries to "reason" with her and to comfort her by putting her hand on her shoulder and looking her in the face. Martha states that she can't bear to look at her or to feel her touch any more because she feels so dirty and disgusted with herself.

As Dr. Lankford so kindly pointed out to our class recently, there was the promised tragedy at the end of the story. This version of the movie has kept up the tradition that when a woman has "sinned" and proven herself "unworthy," she must kill herself. Great. Thanks for that positive ending! The camera work in this ending is really advanced and very artistic for it's time. Though we never see Martha hanging from the ceiling, we do see the shadow of the rope as Karen first enters the room, then the camera goes to the toppled chair with a dancing shadow of Martha's swaying feet right behind the chair. This was quite striking.

What a time to live in! What's really amazing however, is that though the film was made in 1961, the play itself was written in 1934! What a brilliant writer to be able to bring such an emotional subject to the theater during a time when nothing like this was so openly talked about. In the movie, I was very pleased with how honest and sincere Hepburn, MacLaine and Garner all were in their difficult roles. I was constantly impressed with Garner's stick-to-it-iveness and conviction. I wonder how difficult it might have been to be a man addressing such strong feminine issues during that time. Probably no more or no less than today.

In the 1936 film "These Three," the story takes on a different meaning. The roles are instead played by two woman and a man who are involved in a "heterosexual love-triangle." The Production Code's standards of the time prevented the actual subject-matter to be a part of the big screen. While the film had it's original subject-matter removed, Lillian Hellman worked on the screenplay and kept all of the play's original dialogue intact. I am very glad to see that just by 1961, which was still a very repressed time indeed, the true story came back to life in it's proud glory. I was of course very concsious of just how repressed these characters are in today's standards. However, looking at the time that they were living in in 1961, this was a brave taking-on of the conservative standards of morals and ethics. You have to love the shadows of the two women in the movie poster, too! Bravo!

If you are interested in learning more about the original play, the movie "These Three," or the movie "Children's Hour," please click here.

Prisoner Of Chillon?

Journal No. 14
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Henry James

From "Daisy Miller: A Study"

I. "I would much rather go to Chillon with you."

II. Winterbourne is telling the new young lady that he has just met, Daisy, that he would be more than happy to be her guide to the castle across the lake from where they are standing.

III. Daisy has just finished telling Winterbourne that she has failed to find a good candidate for a guide to Chateau de Chillon. Winterbourne of course finds this so hard to believe that she hasn't found another suitable fellow to accompany this dear young lady. After inquiring, he admits that she cannot go alone or with her mother, who really does not want to go without Randolph. So, of course, Winterbourne would be the best person to take her to Chillon, right?

I find it interesting that James has perhaps used Chateau de Chillon as a symbol that was almost imperceptable at this point in the story. However, upon doing some research about the castle, I found that it indeed does seem to hold some meaning that would have otherwise remained undetected in my wee little brain. It seems that Lord Byron has written a poem about the exact same castle. The title is "Prisoner of Chillon." Hmmm... interesting, no? Well, I read bits of the (loooooong) poem and found that it was similar in some ways to the situation that Winterbourne later finds himself in. I thought that there might be more than just coincidence here. In "Prisoner of Chillon," the prisoner finds that he has become accustomed to and dependent on the very walls and chains that hold him there:

At last men came to set me free;
I ask’d not why, and reck’d not where;
It was at length the same to me,
Fetter’d or fetterless to be,
I learn’d to love despair.
And thus when they appear’d at last,
And all my bonds aside were cast,
These heavy walls to me had grown
A hermitage—and all my own!
And half I felt as they were come
To tear me from a second home

Winterbourne's fate seemed to be destined to end the same way as the Prisoner of Chillon's was. He had wanted to be free of Daisy's hold on him - so much that he convinced himself that he was disgusted by her behavior. But in the end, she had such a strong hold on him that when he heard of her own true behaviors with Giovanelli, he was devestated to know that even in death, she still had a strong hold on his love for her.

If you are interested in reading more of "The Prisoner of Chillon," please visit the Pennsylvania State University’s Electronic Classics Series.

Great Slanting Waves Of Optic Horror

Journal No. 13
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

From "The Yellow Wall-Paper"

I. "...the sprawling outlines run off in great slanting waves of optic horror, like a lot of wallowing sea-weeds in full chase."

II. The main character of Gilman's story is observing the ever-changing pattern in the yellow wallpaper that covers her room of mental imprisonment.

III. The woman in the room has been left alone often, without a task to have to herself. She has been robbed of the ability to write (at least as far as her husband knows) and the ability to converse with her family and friends. She has been brainwashed into believing that she would harm their child if she dared to try and take care of him. She has been convinced that she is nothing but a fragile, desperate woman. She has been convinced of this so much that it is indeed becoming true. She has begun to believe that she is seeing things in the wallpaper's patterns. What would you do if all of your time was spent either looking outside through bars or staring at a horrid, sickly-yellow pattern that was torn and stained?

Gilman's use of imagery is wonderful here. As the character descends more and more into mental instability, so does the imagery that Gilman uses. As the reader continues, they are left feeling as dizzy and confused as the main character herself. The idea of seaweeds being able to chase something gives even more human-like quality, and therefore "reality," to the images in the paper. "Slanting waves" would imply that the pattern is moving severely and extemely in one, or possibly more than one, direction. And of course, my favorite would be the "optic horror." This is implying that the mess of movement and humanness of the paper is now taking on a frighteningly haunting form. The paper is no longer paper- it is a being that is there simply to haunt and possibly to posses the main character's already fragile spirit and to take over her soul.

Singularly Honest And Fresh

Journal No. 12
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Henry James

From "Daisy Miller: A Study"

I. "...he saw that this glance was perfectly direct and unshrinking. It was not, however, what would have been called an immodest glance, for the young girl's eyes were singularly honest and fresh."

II. Henry James is describing what Winterbourne finds unique and refreshing about this new young lady that he has just met. Winterbourne finds that her behavior is unexpected at first, but certainly admired by her observer.

III. Ms. Miller is introduced to the reader as a young lady who dresses in all of the "latest" fashions and trends while not seeming to mind one bit if someone steals a glance her way. She is presented as a material woman who prefers to have a young man tripping over his own words just to get closer to her. At this point in James' story, Winterbourne is learning a very small part of Daisy's personality. She has so much more complexity than jus the direct stares and the "honesty" in her eyes. Winterbourne might have seen these things in the beginning as a symbol of how complex she might become later on in their strange relationship. If he had been able to figure out more of who she was, he might have saved himself many days of confusion and hurt. Winterbourne, however, is absolutely enamored with the young lady right from the start, noticing that her pretty features were nothing below the standards of feminine beauty. If Winterbourne had been able to see anything beyond Daisy's superficial offerings, he might have at some point noticed that Daisy really wanted his affection more than anyone else's. I wonder what might have happened if Winterbourne had realized that she "wanted" him in the beginning. Would she have been off galavanting with Giovanelli? She might have never even met him. Instead, she might have been inside on the sofa next to Winterbourne in front of a warm fireplace on the night that she caught the Roman fever.

An Aged Expression Of Countenance

Journal No. 11
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Henry James

From "Daisy Miller: A Study"

I. "...a small boy came walking along the path - an urchin of nine or ten. The child, who was diminutive for his years, had an aged expression of countenance, a pale complexion, and sharp little features."

II. Henry James is describing a little boy whom the main character, Winterbourne, sees while he is sitting at his hotel-room patio. The little boy is wandering around the hotel grounds and trying to find things to busy himself with. As he wanders over to Winterbourne's table, he is poking a walking-stick at various objects just for the fun of it.

III. James describes his characters in long, sometimes drawn-out detail. In describing the little boy that we soon learn is named Randolph, he uses contrasting words such as "diminutive for his years" and "aged." These two word-choices show the reader that the boy is small and almost meek appearing, but he has perhaps seen or experienced more than other boys his own age have. While Randolph is certainly a little boy in many ways, he seems sometimes to have knowledge that his own behavior can be quite immature. He appears to be conflicted within his own self. It is unclear to me as to what might have caused Randolph to be so knowledgable about behavior since his own sister is quite immature in her behavior. I don't know if the family's travels was supposed to be the basis for Randolph's own awareness of people's behaviors or if he just learned from watching his sister meet with so many different gentlemen, but he has certainly picked it up from somewhere. My guess is that it is the latter: Daisy seemed to have met such a variety of young fellows not only throughout their travels abroad, but at "home" in Schenectady, New York as well. She played hostess to many young, American men who had hopes of winning over her heart. Randolph, being the ever-so-curious boy, had of course played witness to many of these charmed meetings, I'm sure. Either way, Randolph is indeed both a little boy and a little man in the same body. While he cannot help but run and skip and poke at dresses with his stick, he also cannot help but learn from the life - and death - of his own sister, Daisy Miller.

Without Special Direction

Journal No. 10
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

From "The Yellow Wall-Paper"

I. "He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction."

II. Charlotte Perkins Gilman is describing a woman's thoughts about her husband and how "kind" he is to take such care of his wife while she is in need of resting her mind and body.

III. Gilman's main character, a nameless woman, has been feeling as though she is not very healthy mentally. Because of this, her husband John has decided to rent out a house that has "stood so long untended" for her mental and physical recovery. John seems to believe that the his wife is imagining her illness, though she knows that she is not happy at all. She brushes this off as though John would know better than herself as to what is really wrong with her. She seems to be suffering from depression. Or could it be suppression? While her husband John is certainly thoughtful superficially, he seems to think that this is something that women can choose to do on a whim. He seems to her to be very thoughtful, but he is treating her more like a child, and a burdensome child at that! While he has rented a home with a peaceful garden and terrace, he confines her to a room at the top of the stairs where he can lock her in all day if he chooses (i.e. if he needs to). The woman expresses interest in residing in a downstairs bedroom that has views of the garden and the terrace which is covered in beautiful blooms. She feels that this will help her to feel more alive and to remember what beauty really looks like. John disagrees, giving her the excuse that she really just needs to rest her mind and not think about a thing. He is forbiding her to have any beauty in her life, to find any joy in the simple things that she could surround herself with. John has fronted his true intentions with words of affection and mild concilation, but she is barely aware that these words are simply superficial. She has become quite a burden on John and his need to live his life fully in spite of her "whims." Despite his allegedly thougtful care and consideration of her well-being, the woman is indeed becoming more and more mentally unstable as she passes the time with only the ugly yellow wallpaper to keep her company.

Unfortunately, John is not unlike many men of his time. Fathers, husbands, brothers, physicians, and other men who had women in their lives were influential in their beliefs that women could just as easily end an "illness" as they were able to begin it. They believed that women had created these silly circumstances all on their own due to their desire to go off on vacation somewhere. They believed that women simply wanted an excuse to stop caring for the children, to stop taking care of their household and wifely duties. Therefore, the women obviously just needed to completely stop thinking for themselves- as though they were actually "permitted" to do so in the first place. The men of the time attributed these behaviors to "hysteria," which was a term that described many different "mental" inconveniences. Simply put, the women were often depressed, or as I stated above, suppressed. They were, in my mind, so stifled in what they could say or do that they ended up having anxiety attacks or went into depressions. Defining themselves by the way that they raised the children or by the dinners that they served was something that was making them feel ill. I believe that often times women were in need of social stimulation and a sense of a purpose of their own. They were not encouraged to go out and find things that would make them feel challenged or creative. They were often treated as though they were simply a window-dressing, expected to sit still and smile: Only nod or speak when addressed. And never, ever express a unique opinion of your own. Certainly not without asking your husband about it first.