IUPENGL121-ConradRachel

The Invisible Man

2005-04-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

An Invisible Man? No not physically invisible man, but a man in which no one sees. The Invisible Man is a tale of a black man living in a white world. In the beginning, he lives in the South with his family but is a gifted public speaker, and his ability of speech enables him to win a scholarsip to a prestigious black college. He enjoys the college experience gaining an education and in entrusted by the President of the institution to drive a trustee around the school. This Mr. Norton, is taken through the back part of the campus where the "black folk" live, and this is where he encounteres Jim Trueblood who is impregnated his own daughter. The story though fascinates Norton makes him "need" a drink so IM (the narrator/Invisible Man) takes him to the Golden Day, a saloon/brothel for black men. At the same time of their arrival many mentally insane black veterans are at the bar and taunt Norton who passes out. The combination of these occurances has IM removed from the institution and sent to New York where he takes a job at Liberty Paints and during a tank explosion IM loses consiousness and wakes up in the hospital having temporarily lost his memory and ability to speak. The doctors take the opportunity to conduct electric shock experiments. After making a recovery he is released and heads back to Harlem. He encounters a couple of elderly blacks who are being evicted from their apartment and gives an impassioned speech against the eviction. Brother Jack, leader of the Brotherhood, overhears his speech and encourages him to take a job with the botherhood. This requires him to take a new name, break all ties with his past, and mve to a new apartment in a different part of town. He accepts the job and is trained in rhetoric by whites working hand in hand with blacks and whites alike on issues such as black rights and women equality. He eventually comes to dispise the Brotherhoods and seeks to destroy them. He does this by following the advice given to him by his grandfather--undermine them by seemingly going along with them. He is drawn into a riot, setting fire to an apartment and then is chased by the police during which he falls into a manhole which they draw the cover over. He had stayed underground since then. Thus the end is just the beginning becuase he realizes that he must be true to himself and respect his individuality and responsibility to the commutnity and society.

The House of Spirits

2005-03-23T09:56:00.000-08:00

The House Of Spirits written by Isabelle Allende starts and ends with the same sentence: Barrabas came to us by the sea. It is a book made from two prominant perspectives. The first being that of Clara a claraboyant young woman who can make tables move across the room and salt shakers fly. She has contact with the spirits and can foresee things before they occur. The second belongs to that of Estaban Trueba, an obsessive, violent, and materialistic man who devotes himself to his business and political career. He is determined to become rich and powerful. He rebuilds Tres Marias, his family legacy, and is very successful, however, that success is due largely to the labor of the peasants who live at Tres Marias, but he never treats them with respect or equality. They are of a lesser social class and hold no education and therefore hold no relevant value other then for labor purposes. In the beginning of the novel, Estaban is madly in love with Rosa the Beautiful, Clara's sister, and works to gain her hand in marriage. Upon her death he leaves to take care of his mother who later dies leaving he and his sister alone. He then becomes engaged to Clara, and falls passionately in love with her, though its more like an obsession, but even that isn't enough to curb his violent temper, in a rage he strikes her breaking her teeth. This anger problem and passion for materialistic things and power prevents him from becoming close to anyone except his granddaughter Alba. This relationship is due to the fact that as he ages he begins to see the negative outcomes of his violent, selfish actions and his increased awareness of his loneliness after Clara's death.
The book while portaying Estaban as having an uncontrolled temper and a deep obsessive ability to love through possession protrays the Trueba women, Clara, Blanca, and Alba as amazing unique individuals who are sincere with the best interest of others at heart though sometimes they seem to be untouched by the realities of life. They exist in their own little world inside their big house. Together they balance each other the violatile realist and the harmless dreamers. Together they pull through all the problems life throws at them to realize the value and importance of family.

Antigone

2005-03-01T04:24:00.000-08:00

Antigone is a woman with a conscience; she lives by her standards, values,
beliefs, and morals. She believes in doing the right thing and if that
includes breaking the law so be it! She believes in leaving behind a
positive legacy because she doesn't have to answer to anyone besides her
maker (GOD or to quote the book the "underworld") after death. Her brother
is killed because he ran away during battle so he was put to a disgraceful
death and the King Kreon made it law that he shall not be buried but be
devoured by vultures. Antigone has a strong sense of duty to family and
cannot let that happen so she breaks the law of the state and scatters ashes
over the body. She is caught and sented to be buried alive. Her fiance,
Hameon, who is Kreon's son, strikes out at his father, then kills himself
after he believes Antigone is dead. Leaving Kreon alone.

Bounden Duty-Poetry

2005-03-01T04:23:00.000-08:00

This poem is about a man who receives a call from the President of the
United States who asks him to do him a favor--just to act normal. What
wasn't he acting normal before? But since he was told to act normal he
questions himself as to what is normal, is he acting normal, or is he being
so normal that its too normal and is causing people to suspect he's up to
something outside the rhelm of normality? I believe the meaning behind this
poem is that everything can be made to appear normal, but sometimes looks
can be deceiveing.

RSVP-Poetry

2005-03-01T04:22:00.001-08:00

Now this is an invite who really doesn't want to go to the party! He believe
that the party is being held as a pity party. He is basically saying that
everyone has problems and woes, but they shouldn't be broadcast to the
public for sympathy and if that is what the party is then he does not want
any part of it.

Chicken--Poetry

2005-03-01T04:22:00.000-08:00

The Chicken-now that is a poem that I liked immediately, of course it was
just because they used the word "shat" in it. But to me the real meaning is
that though you have bad situations they can always get worse. Or that
though you have one bad issues you can remove yourself from that one only to
be confronted with another one. Its the process of life. But, no matter what
happens everything will work out in the end.

Mars Needs Terrorists--Poetry

2005-03-01T04:20:00.000-08:00

Upon reading this intially it seems to be a bunch of rambling by a rather
preverted author. Then you wonder is there some underlying meaning. The
words: American, Republican, sex, slave, terrorists, teenager, wet, and
alien are repeted over and over again. You have to wonder is the auther
trying to say that the problems in the world are caused by teenagers
obsessed with sex and blaming America's political problems on Republicans.
However, after reading the author's note, you realize that it is just a
bunch of randomness. They are selected words ripped from the headlines of
newspapers placed randomly together to create the wonderful poem: Mars Needs
Terrorists.

Gregario Cortez

2005-02-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

Folklore--a story that is passed down from one generation to another by word of mouth. It is only recorded when someone writes it down, however, it is usually done by a younger generation that hears it from an older which in turn heard it from the generation before them. With time that story changes. People cannot remember every detail from the version in which they were told. They interpret things different. They change details. In the end the version is never the same as the original. The Story of Gregario Cortez is such a tale. There are many different versions of his story that exist. Different versions exist within different areas of the country as told by people of different ethnicity.
It is a story of a man who was more than a man. He, Gregario Cortez, a Mexican, defied Americans, out-smarting the law which has him placed on a pedistole holding a higher status than man almost that of hero, or to go further god. He became a symbol to the people who were suppressed and of lower class. They held him as their hero and would do anything for them.
But is this story fact or fiction. Did these events actually occur or are they a combined effort of people imagination. While a version of this story did actually occur in reality with time as it was passed down from generation to generation by way of mouth it was distorted into the numerous versions which exist today after entertaining the many generations of the past.

Blood Wedding

2005-02-03T04:35:00.000-08:00

The Blood Wedding is literally about a wedding gone bad! To begin, the play
begins with a mother who had lost both her husband and eldest son to murder
by the Felix family. While both killers are incarcerated, ill feelings are
naturally bore against the whole family. Her only living son is now engaged
to this woman who herself was previously engaged--and to who? a Felix! The
groom loves his bride, however, the bride does not love her future husband
and isn't anticipating the wedding because she still harbors feelings for
her former beau, Leonardo (who is now married with children despite the fact
that he still loves her).
The marriage goes forth, with the blessings of both sides, however, on the
wedding night, before the first dance could be had the bride comes missing;
having run off with her former fiance. Her husband chases after her trapping
them in the woods where he quarrals with Leonardo, to the death. Both men
are killed; the bride surviving visits the mother of her husband begging to
be killed.
The story is about two lovers who were forced apart for unmentioned reasons,
however, despite this, they realize that while they can't be with one
another nor can they let each other be with someone else. Ultimately they
run off together so they can "love forever, where the people don't matter,
or the 'venom' they throw." But tragedy strikes when her husband finds them
and both are killed by the hands of the other, and both men in the brides
life was gone leaving her wish of being alone.

The Yellow Wall Paper--Charlotte Perkins Gilman

2005-01-26T14:44:00.000-08:00

The Yellow Wallpaper, is a very unique story to say the least. When you read the story you have to wonder what exactly is going on in it. My first impression when it stated that she took phosphates and tonics prescribed to her by her husband, a physician was that he was drugging her because no one believed she was ill just suffered from depression or a nervous condition. Her husband takes her away from their home to an abandoned house which she feels there is something strange about it. They place her in a room that has the strangest wallpaper she has ever seen, its as though the pattern on it takes form and moves around the room. She believes that there is a woman trapped in the paper behind bars and during the night she paces restlessly and has even wandered out in the garden pathways, breaking free from her bondage. After reading the article in its entirety, you come to the conclusion that the woman is just plain crazy, its not depression or a nervous/anxiety condition--just lunacy.

Kate Chopin--The Awakening

2005-01-25T03:07:00.000-08:00

The Awakening was written in the late 1800s and was based in the Victorian time period. It was during this time period that women were expected to be submissive, yielding, and obedient to their husbands. They were expected to be the picturisque wife and perfect mother. A woman, of upper-class stature, was expected to stay home, dress nicely, receive company, play the perfect hostess, keep the staff of the house in order, socialize and keep up on current social fashions and events. With all these expectations imposed upon them they weren't allowed freedom of thought or act because there was nothing more prized then a person's social standing in this era--and nothing could be done to jeopardize it--enter Mrs. Edna Pontellier.
Edna Pontellier, was one of the women expected to be obedient to their husbands, a devoted wife and mother, kind host, and all around social butterfly, however Edna had different ideas. She was interested in a marriage to a stiffling husband nor being the devoted mother to her two sons. One has to wonder what exactly did she want, or if she even knew herself what she wanted. One thing appearant to me as the reader was that she wanted to be her own person with her own thoughts and feelings, the right to express herself and to explore her interests without the opposition of others. She deviated against society, breaking free from her husband, taking time to explore her artistic abilities in lieu of sitting inside waiting for someone to "call".
In the book it stated when she made her first independent swim she wanted to swim further than any woman had ever swam before. Indicating that in the sea of people that comprise the world she wants to be unique, breaking the mold, standing out--being the person she can be not what they (society) wants her to be.
The book also deals with the case of infadility, however, to me though this is an issue, particularily for the time period, it wasn't the key issue. It supports the hypotheses that Edna really didn't know what she wanted for herself. The marriage she was in was based on opportunity. While in the bondage of her marriage she fell in "love" with another man, however, when he was absent she "ran around" with other men gaining their favor. To me that makes her a very fickle person. She quickly turns her attention from one man to another though deep in her mind she always thinks of Robert, the man she fell in love with at the beach during their (she and her husbands) vacation.
In the end of the book, she returns to the sea where she takes her life swimming further then no woman has before. To me this symbolizes that she had been herself and done things women in that time had never deamt of doing, but society was to pressurous and drowned her like the waves of the sea.

Frederick Douglass--The Narrative

2005-01-20T22:42:00.000-08:00

The Narrative, is a bibliography written by Frederick Douglass, which depicts his life as a slave. It starts its tale with a young innocent child ripped away from his mother only seeing her a few times before she died (stealing hours with her during the night) and never knowing his father. This child while growing up is sheltered from the inhumanity of the institution of slavery until he had his eyes thrown wide upon when he witnessed his Aunt being whipped by their master. It tells of his many "masters and mistresses;" how some were cruel and a small minority kind, though rapidly changed for the worse from the exposure to the power they held over the slaves. It witnesses his first introduction to literacy and how he gains a "thirst for knowledge" driving himself to self-taught literacy then regretting having gained the ability to reason and read because he then dreamed of a life outside of slavery. He uses his skills then to tell his story, to push the abolitionisht cause further, to give Northerners an inside glimpse to the cruelty the slaves sufferred at the hands of the souther plantation owners. He taught fellow slaves to read, think, and even dream of the opportunity for freedom--to escape the brutality they lived everyday. And this was a horrible development because the belief was that if a slave was educated they would want liberation. To solve that they (slave holders) would deprive the slaves of education as well as items to meet their needs making them completly dependant on slavery as their lifestyles--their only lifestyle optional. And if a slave was to break one of the slave holders rules they were severely punished and beaten even to the point of death. While possessing slaves was a symbol of wealth, the lives of these people held no value emotionally or personally just economically. They were taught to work and nothing else, they were ignorant and easy to control, manipulate, and exploit.