Victimization: tragedy's accomplice

The two characters who are most victimized would be Blanche and Mitch. Blanche is a victim to many negative characteristics. Clearly, Blanche is a victim of her pride and her delusions caused by the past. She is trapped by her inability to get over her husband's death and creates her own dream world in order to escape it. It is because she is a victim that she creates all this drama and a bad image of herself but she just refuses to acknowledge this fact due to her pride. Her flaws drives her to her downfall in which the whole cast soon knows about her sinful actions in Hotel Flamingo and back in Laurel, her hometown. Her past creates this fear of loss in which she is another victim of. She fears losing aristocracy and true happiness with real love. This forces her to find comfort in any man and those who remind her of Allan, her husband. She pretends to be of high-class and as if she is desirable to men to quiet reality. As a tragic victim to all these characteristics, it is sad to see the effects of being victimized drive her into the end of her road, which points to going to a mental institution.



Mitch on the other hand, is not a victim of himself but rather he is a victim to others. He is also tied to his family duty. His mother is seriously ill and her only wish is for Mitch to bring home a wife that is worth her praise. With this pressure, Mitch has no choice but to find someone who may seem easy to approach so that he can marry her within a limited time. Blanche somewhat fulfills this requirement. Mitch knows that she is old and he is willing to give her an opportunity of love for the sake of making his mother happy. Blanche has high standards and it requires a man to double his effort in order to court her. He was willing to give crazy Blanche a chance when all the readers can see that Blanche is obviously not worthy of Mitch. He is sacrificing his own ideal of a woman and working hard to accommodate a woman who is high maintenance to accomplish his mother's wish. Sure, Mitch may have fallen for Blanche but soon he realizes that Blanche becomes a liar and in the midst of trying to fulfill his mother's wish, he becomes yet another victim to heartbreak. He thought that Blanche could have been the one but now all his efforts and sacrifice has been negated. Blanche was just using Mitch for companionship whereas Mitch had put him himself out there for real love. Throughout the play, it seems that we only see Mitch as a tragic victim and barely a winner.

Black or Blanche?

Tennessee William's play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche is well-known as the delusional aging woman at the beginning but as the story goes on, it is evident that she is slowly changing into a more real person. At first she is displayed as the high-class sister that does not tolerate dirty common people when she herself does not seem to go off any better. She had just lost the family property and yet she still lies to herself by trying to play off as a young woman with class. She is blinded by her pride which leads her to lie about her age and the situations she has gone through. Blanche is glued to her pride such that all she cares about is her appearance and what people say about her. In advantage, she knows Stella would believe whatever she says and that is why she always nags Stella to tell her what people say about her and lies about her life.

The one moment we finally see Blanche start to change is when she opens up to Mitch. She seems to really care about Mitch which is evident when she talks nervously about him to Stella. Blanche even doubted that she may not be able to actually get Mitch to fall in love with her. Mitch is a very sincere gentleman and that may be the reason why Blanche decides to tell him her past. We see a real side to Blanche where she is willing to open up, put her pride aside, and tell Mitch her shame. Also, she has been too occupied in thinking about her relationship with Mitch to even fully fight with Stanley anymore. Blanche is starting to become more vulnerable and unable to hide that. Even more, now that most of the characters know about Blanche's mistake in Flamingo, Blanche is even more vulnerable at this point. She now has to fear rejection from Mitch.

Stop. Drop. and Realize.

In James Joyce's short story "Eveline", the main character lives a miserable life with her father and her brothers. Her mother had died and that was when the family became in such a miserable state. She is so unhappy with her father's constant yelling and abuse along with the unappreciated effort she puts in keeping the household together. This causes her to want to run away with a boy named Frank. She plans to go with him to Buenos Ayres on sea and leave everything behind.

Before this journey could begin, Eveline slowly analyzes the pros and cons of this decision. This draws to her paralysis in the story. She flashes through memories of her mother where her mother had told her to try and keep the family together for as long as she could. Along with those memories, she remembers how nice her father could be and the happy days she had had with her family. These flow of flashbacks literally puts Eveline motionless right before Frank and the ship that could sail her to her new life. She is paralyzed as she has an epiphany that she cannot leave her family behind because she had promise her mother to fulfill that duty. This sudden realization forces her to leave her possibly happy life with Frank and sacrifice her love for the sake of her family.


In Joyce's "Araby", a boy falls in love with a girl and offers to buy her a gift from the bazaar in Araby since she could not go herself. Through frustrating patience with his uncle, the boy finally gets money for transportation to the bazaar and arrives seeing many stands closing. He goes into an open shop where this woman is flirting with two soldiers. At this point, the boy is paralyzed when he does not buy anything because it is then that his epiphany hits. He realizes that the girl he is about to buy something for may not even feel the same way he is. The sound of the flirting woman tells him that the girl of his dreams may just be playing around with him.

In both cases, the main characters are paralyzed and has an epiphany related to love. Eveline has to deal with the love for her family and mother as the boy in "Araby" realizes that love is what makes him a fool. Both of the protagonists were fooled. Eveline was convinced that her love for Frank can make her happy but her responsibilities come first. The boy in "Araby" thought that buying something for his crush will bring them closer to love but it is his rationality and logic that knocks him out of this state. Both of these characters cannot love what they want so they have to deal with reality.

stop buggin' me

In Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis", Gregor the protagonist is described to be a giant insect but it is arguable about whether he is really a bug or its just a metaphorical comparison. Kafka meshes the reality of Gregor's life to the fantasy of him transforming into a bug.

The beginning of the story starts out with descriptions of his transformation such as "He was lying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely."(p. 89) He is described as a physical being with the parts of an insect. Along with that, his habits such as hiding under the couch, his inability to get out of bed due to his back, and his liking to fetid foods supports the notion that he may really have turned into an insect.

But then again, there is also the side where this metamorphosis is more symbolic than real. This "transformation" may symbolize the empty, boring life of Gregor. If he really was a bug, why would his family still care for him instead of trying to kill him? The transformation can be a comparison to Gregor's inability to work anymore. He may be deeply ill and like the description of an actual bug, he can be unable to get out of bed, has a change in appetite, and is growing to be more undesirable. In my opinion, Gregor is metaphorically changed into an insect to show the significance he plays in the family. He is finally turned into this vegetable that cannot do anything to provide for the family and we see how the family reacts to this. Possibly, his change reassures Gregor himself that he is needed in life and that all his work is worth it. Gregor is no longer useful and like a bug, he stays in the house doing nothing but waiting for death and taking up space. Once he had died, his family moved on to a better life making it seem as Gregor's life as a metaphorical bug seem insignificant.

good turned bad

Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown", is a portrayal of seventeenth-century Puritan society. It is a tale of a young Puritan man who is drawn into a covenant with the Devil which causes him to think differently about his neighborly townsmen. Hawthorne's message within the story is that the positivity in religion does not continuously and dominantly strive. There will always be negativity along with positivity even in the purity of religion because that is the balance of the world. Goodman Brown as a Puritan is taught to believe in the purity of God and is devoted to the church and to take a walk on the dark side forces him to question this purity.

Faith is one of the biggest aspect of religion, but even Brown realized faith can turn bad also. In the beginning of the story, goodman brown had to depart from Faith, his wife. ""What wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought, as she spoke, there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done to-night. But, no, no! 't would kill her to think it..."(p. 233) This symbolized him leaving his own faith of God since he is traveling to see the other side of heaven. Faith was worried that her husband will be harmed especially when she cannot be with him just as if actual faith is being drawn apart from him. More over, Faith later on joins Goodman Brown in the dark forest which shocks Brown when he says ""My Faith is gone!" cried he, after one stupefied moment. "There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil! for to thee is this world given.""(p. 238) Even faith, the one pure piece of Brown, has turned towards the devil and it automatically makes Brown doubt purity.

Goody Cloyse is anothe rexample of purity gone wrong. She is Goodman Brown's teacher of cateschism and she represents the "best of the best" of Puritan society. When he sees her in the forest, he exclaims ""That old woman taught me my catechism!" said the young man; and there was a world of meaning in this simple comment."(p. 236) and that showed his doubt in purity once again. Her piety and righteousness are the models he looks up to and to see her as a part of the devil's covanent, shatters those values. He is hurt and confused that such a pure woman would be in the same group as the devil.

There is no such thing as a world full of only purity, innocence, and positivity. Evil will always coincide with good and as a puritan since young, Brown finally realizes that after his adventure in the forest. Even the purest of the purest can be sinful because that is life.

Notification: Miss Emily has joined fb.

WALL:
Toby wrote at 9:13am
Hello madam. What food would you like for lunch today?

Emily wrote on 9:30am
The usual. And don't forget to make enough for three: me, Homer and daddy.

Toby wrote at 9:35am
Yesum.



Above is an image of Emily Grierson which she would post on her facebook to show that she is still stuck in time thinking she is young and beautiful. The conversation also shows how she does not want to feel lonely since she keeps thinking of the two men that she believes will always be by her side. Toby is merely a servant to Miss Emily and does not share any personal friendship with her. If Miss Emily was to get a Facebook page, her page would be pretty blank with privacy settings such as allowing limited people to see her profile, search for her, or to be able to write on her wall. She may have friend requests from fellow townsmen as an act of pity but it would not be a surprise if she rejects their requests. Emily would not allow others to comment on her because people may feel sorry for her and say something that will remind her that her father is dead or how sad her life is now. I do see Toby and Homer Baron to be on her friend list. Toby and Homer are the only two people who come physically in contact with Emily which shows a lot of trust or from Emily. There would be a picture of her and her father in her album along with a picture of her and Homer if there is one. Those pictures will never be taken off since she can not get over the fact that these two people are no longer with her. However, all these settings I have chosen may be wrong since these are all assumptions gathered through gossip by the community and the narrator that creates this possible image of Emily Grierson. This is one version of Emily that we can imagine since no one truly knows the real Miss Emily.

Uhhhh...

Uhhhh...

4 I have told you
2 that I
3 would not tell
3 him secrets

2 but I
5 did because he did
2 not know
3 how to be

3 a good friend
5 but please forgive me
2 i am
3 your best friend

As for my version of parodying William's "This is Just to Say", I followed the form, the number of stanzas, and the number of syllables within each line. Although, I did change the title's syllable count because I felt that 'Uhhh..' is used a lot during times of lying and doubt and it would be more effective. Along with that, I also chose not to use any punctuation because that is the most significant and noticeable feature of this poem. Other than the form, the original poem gave a sense of apology where I had parody also. Instead of apologizing for eating some one's plums, the person in my version is apologizing for spilling a secret to someone for a rational reason. My version mocks the original because it is more sincere than Williams'. I feel that my last line "your best friend" has a stronger sympathy towards the apology.

ctrl+C and then ctrl+V

Ode to a Nightingale

Stanza I.

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains

My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,

Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains

One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:

'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,

But being too happy in thy happiness,--

That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees,

In some melodious plot

Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,

Singest of summer in full-throated ease.

The poet falls into a reverie while listening to an actual nightingale sing. He feels joy and pain, an ambivalent response. Consider whether pleasure can be so intense that, paradoxically, it either numbs us or causes pain. What qualities does the poet ascribe to the nightingale? In the beginning the bird is presented as a real bird, but as the poem progresses, the bird becomes a symbol.

The speaker opens with a declaration of his own heartache. He feels numb, as though he had taken a drug only a moment ago. He is addressing a nightingale he hears singing somewhere in the forest and says that his "drowsy numbness" is not from envy of the nightingale's happiness, but rather from sharing it too completely; he is "too happy" that the nightingale sings the music of summer from amid some unseen plot of green trees and shadows.

In the ode, the speaker responds to the beauty of the nightingale’s song with a both “happiness” and “ache.” Though he seeks to fully identify with the bird – to “fade away into the forest dim” – he knows that his own human consciousness separates him from nature and precludes the kind of deathless happiness the nightingale enjoys.

A Song of Sorrow and Joy

Ode to a Nightingale

John Keats utilizes nature as a way to create a fantasy he wishes to escape to. Keats expresses his thoughts on both the joy and pain of human life. He starts off telling us that he wants to forget the pain but yet he thinks about the happiness he has gone through too. Nature can be beautiful but yet it can be dark. Throughout this poem, Keats uses many nature-related colors like "of beechen green"(line 9), "and purple-stained mouth;"(line 18), "last gray hairs"(line 25), and "fast fading violets"(line 47). The green and the violet may represent a brighter joy whereas the gray and purple can be negative aspects of life. The "purple stained mouth" represents wine showing that drunkenness is his answer to avoid hardship and ache.

He also uses many history references relating to mother earth such as "One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:" (line 4), symbolizing the river of forgetfulness in Hades. A river is never ending and Keats would want to forget all about the ocean of pain in reality forever. Another reference would be "That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees," (line 7) which points to the Roman goddess of flowers that represents the blossoming of love and pleasure just like the old saying of "the birds and the bees" would also bring upon joy and love.

The focus of this poem is on a natural creature itself, a nightingale. Many people may think that it is a female nightingale that sings but it is the male that entertains us with its vocals. It seems as that Keats himself may be singing a song of his sorrow and delight. A nightingale continuously sings everyday of its life and Keats wishes to be the nightingale itself that sings a continuous song of joyful fantasy. A nightingale can also fly away just as John Keats wants to fly away from his problems and keep soaring for happiness.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Langston Hughes's "Harlem: A Dream Deferred"

Hughes uses a lot of figurative language and imagery to express his thoughts about deferring a dream. As said in his poem, once a dream is put off, it is like "a raisin in the sun", "a festered sore", "stink like rotten meat", and the such. The meanings behind these similes are simple; putting off a dream will lead you to nowhere. Hughes is comparing dreams to negative objects saying that if you do not follow your dream, it will shrivel away like a raisin in the sun or be infected requiring more time to heal. More on, your dreams will fade away if you do not realize its importance in time or it will crust over to a hard shell of difficulty if it is left untouched.

I chose this image because it symbolizes the same meaning that a dream will seem so far away if people do not prioritize the importance of their dreams and let it shatter instead. The faded colors also blends with the poem because dreams will slowly fade away the more an individual gives up on it. In the last line, Hughes uses the metaphor "Or does it explode?" implying that if we all do not keep up with our dreams, it will explode and destruct our lives. In the picture above, the bottom has chains and the colors are more dark saying that a person can be trapped into the darkness and destroy his or her life.


Hughes uses many rhetorical questions in the poem but does not answer them. This is a good method to allow readers to analyze the message he is trying to portray. In this case, Hughes is trying to warn people that if they do not treasure their dreams, their future may not come out to be as desired. It takes effort to reach your dreams and nobody should ever give up on a dream.

Poetic Form

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

lines 87-95
(original)
And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
woule it ahve been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it toward some overwhelming question,
To say: 'I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all'

(paraphrased)
Is it worth it all?
All the lunch or dinner dates,
with conversation between us two,
Is it worth
to pretend things are okay,
and hold in the pain
and skip all the conflicts
To say: "I am Lazarus, alive again,
come to warn you all."

In contrast with the prose I chose, the original words of this part of the poem tends to put a dramatic effect on the idea of rather love is worth everything at all. The prose version seems too bold and holds weak sentimental value.T.S. Eliot chooses more fancy words to describe components of a relationship such as dates and conflicts. The poet uses personification to inflict a stronger sense of hurt from Prufrock's love story. The word choice and comma pauses hint a portion of personal memory and brings the readers to have a more inner feeling for J. Alfred Prufrock.

This section accompanies Prufrock's story of his miserable love life of growing old. Without this portion, the readers would not know of the past experiences in the relationship of the love story. The past provides understanding to why this man would be in such hesitation, sorrow, and doubt. Most of the poem tells us about Prufrock but this section tells us about his partner and what love is like to him.

and i say...

it works!