"Bastard of Carolina" by Dorothy Allison

"Bastard of Carolina" by Dorothy Allison is a great book. It was hard for me to put it down, after I began to read it. This story almost seemed familiar because we have heard of similar situations like this in society today.
I felt extremely bad for Bone while I was reading. All she wanted was attention, love and care from her mother, Anney. She was deprived of that positive attention that normal little young girls receive from their mothers.
I wonder why Bone was the victim of assault rather than her sister Reese. I think it could be because Reese was a stronger character than Bone. Bone was more acceptable maybe.
I really dislike Anney for the things she does throughout the story or does not do for that matter. It is frustrating to see her pretty much turn her head on the things her husband, Glen, is doing to her daughter, Bone. Most "normal" mothers would do anything to protect their children from anything harmful or anything that will take their childhood away. Anney represents a horrible mother for what she is doing to her daughters. She is ruining their lives, for closing her eyes and turning her head on what is going on in their lives. It's very sad and frustrating to see Anney do this, especially as a mother of two girls.
I don't have much to say about Glen, except I really dislike him as a character because he is a horrible person, father, wife or even friend for doing harmful things to human beings, like Bone.
I can not wait to finish reading the book "Bastard of Carolina". I really am excited to see what happens at the end. I really hope Bone can get her life back, and I hope her mother finally realizes she needs to take action in her life as well as her children's life. Hopefully there is a chance for Bone to live a normal life with her mother and her sister without being abused.

James Dickey poems

After going over most of the poems in class, really helped me understand the poems more. I went back and read some of the ones I was having trouble with and broke them down, like we did in class, and that helped me get a better understanding of the poems.
It was interesting going over the poem, "Cherrylog Road" because i thought I understood what the poem was about, but I missed a lot of what Dickey was trying to portray. I did not catch on that the old cars represented the past. The big one was I did not catch on that the narrator was waiting for his girlfriend. After I learned that, it made so much more sense to me. This poem was my favorite when I thought I knew exactly what was taking place in the poem, but after I learned the true meaning of the poem, it still is my favorite poem. I really enjoy this poem.
Another one I did not understand before our class discussion was "The Underground Stream". I was totally last when i was reading this poem, but when we went over it in class, I really understood what was going on. After our discussion, I enjoyed reading it for a second time, because I knew what was happening, and I was not completely lost.
So our class discussions on Diskey's poems really helped me get through these. I am terrible at poetry.

"Cherrylog Road" by James Dickey

I enjoyed reading the poem "Cherrylog Road" by James Dickey. While I was reading, I could visualize the scenes and what was taking place in the poem. When I'm reading a piece of writing, I enjoy being able to imagine the events to the point where I can see everything that is taking place. In "Cherrylog Road", I can get into the poem and really understand what is taking place. I thought this poem was easy to read, unlike some of the other James Dickey poems.Which also is a reason why I could visualize the scenes more than the other ones. Also he wrote the text so nicely, that the poem almost seemed realistic and familiar. Almost like we see this in are everyday life. Which the majority of us do not. We all know what he's talking about, for example, the different car parts he describes in the poem,he puts it into content like we experienced this before.
I enjoyed the ninth and tenth stanza, where Dickey was describing the image of the mice in the junkyard. The mice seemed to be doing a scavenger hunt, and bringing back the goodies for the others.
"Loosening the screws,
Carrying off headlights,
Sparkplugs, bumbers,
Cracked mirros and ger knobs,
getting ready, already
To go back with something to show".
In this part of the poem, it's almost describing the mice lifetyle. The mice stealing the car parts, kind of symbolizes the animal they really are. When we have mices in our houses today, they always try and get food, and take whatever they want and can, and it's similar to what their doing in the mans junkyard. Overall, I really liked reading this poem, by James Dickey. One other poem I enjoyed reading was "A Dog Sleeping on My Feet" by Dickey.

"Revelation"

I really enjoyed reading "Revelation" by Flannery O'Connor. I thought it was easy to read as well as understand. I thought the protagonist, Mrs. Turpin, was an interesting character. She was a very spiritual character. When I was reading in the beginning, I kind of got the impression that she was jealous of Claud in a way. In the beginning, she would "brag" about him and how attractive he was. She also seemed like she had a high self esteem. She is overweight, and she knows this, but she still thought she was attractive and better than everyone else. She demonstrates this behavior in the waiting room. She had a negative comment and stereotypes about everyone who was in the waiting room. On page 824, she states white trash" are too lazy to light a fire", "There was nothing you could tell her about people like them that she didnt know already. And it was not because that they didnt have anything. Becuase if you gave them everything in two weeks it would all be broken or filthy or they would have chopped it up for lightwood". So, she thinks white trash as being lazy and people who can not have respect for their belongings.

Mrs. Turpin showed she had manners and was raised to respect elders, which ironic because the last thing she did in the waiting room, was show respect to individuals. She got really upset when the young boy did not move for the elderly lady. She shows shes "old fashion" and ladylike.

Mrs. Turpin also portrayed she did not like change. She liked everything and everyone to be like her and no different. She didn't like when different people were around. Mrs. Turpin was very interested and concerned with social classes and status. She used them to protect her and she used them to develop her views on life, as well, she used her expectations of different people to decide what her views were going to be. So she used people and social class and status to make her world up as well as categorized individuals. When anything got confusing or when she questioned the different social classes, it made her really worried and she could not concentrate. It made her confused about the world around her. She needed everything set in stone.

I found it vey interesting that she was very spiritual, but she questioned and yelled at god a lot throughout the story, which i found weird in a way. For example, she yelled at him for "calling" her a hog. She did not except it. She was shocked he would do such a thing. She kept yelling and questioning his choices. Then she challenged his decision by asking him why he did not make her black or white trash. I thought it was weird and ironic that she questioned gods choices a lot throughout the story, specially being so spiritual. I figured she would look at gods choices, more as everything happens for a reason.

The only part I was confused about was why did the "ugly girl" all of a sudden snap and go crazy on Mrs. Turpin. I did not think the girl could hear what Mrs. Turpin was saying. Out of the blue, the girl went off on Mrs. Turpin. It happened really fast while I was reading, that I went back and re read that part, to make sure I understood what had happened.

Streetcar the play vs. Streetcar the film

I really enjoyed reading Streetcar and then being able to watch the film. It was interesting how I read the play and visualized the characters and scenes, and then being able to see what it really looked like. While I was reading I pictured Blanche the way she was being portrayed in the film. Except, I pictured her less dramatic than she was in the film. When I was reading, I picked up that she was dramatic, but in the film, she was almost fake in many ways. I say she was dramatic, because of her eyes rolling, while she was talking to everyone, and the hand movements, while she was having any kind of conversation. She looked like she was acting, rather than being in "normal" real world situations. Also she blew a lot of things out of proportion, more than in the play, it seemed like, becuase I could actually see her gestures and her physical actions.
I pictured Stanley a little differently than he was in the film. In the reading, I pictured him very violent and always needing power over everyone, which he showed in the film, but i pictured him looking a little more intimidating.
I liked how the producer used light to trigger the scenes in the film. For example, Blanche did not like being seen in the light, and I think they did a good job "protecting" her, until Mitch turned on the lights to see what she actually looked liked. Also, the producers did a good job using light to catch the audiences attention when something was going to happen, or did happen and they used light for the transitions between scenes.
I really enjoyed watching the film. It abled me get into the play more because I could visualize the scenes, instead of just reading it like a play. I could see how the characters were reaction, and their gestures in the different situations.

A streetcar named desire

I really enjoyed reading the play "A streetcar Named Desire" by Tennesse Williams. Blanche was a very interesting character. From the beginning of the play, Blanche seemed insecure, fear of reality and she was always looking for an escape route. She also needs male attention all the time. I think her sister Stella was similar to Blanche because she seemed out of reality also. Blanche was very protective of her sister. When Stanley hit Stella and broke her dishes, Blanche was so worried and upset becuase this happened and Stella was not upset and angry at Stanley. Blanche wanted to get Stella out of the situation so bad, but Stella did not want to. I think Stella wanted to stay in the relationship because she was expecting a baby and she was financially set with Stanley. Stella lets Stanley dominate over her. She likes the violence and the inappropraite behavior, becuase she thinks that she needs to put up with it, if she wants everything to work out with the baby and financially. I did not like Stanley as a character. He needs power over people, and he acheives this by the way he talks to people and the way he acts around people. He is a very sexual character. He is very full of himself. I really looked down on him when he told Blanche about Stella expecting, becuase he knew how much Stella wanted to tell her but she wanted to wait. So it proved to me again that he had to have power of both of the girls. I think her did it to be mean and hurtful. Blanche looks down on Stanley becuase of his background being Polish. She can not believe her sister would date a polish man.
Blanche shows she is out of reality throughout the play, but one example is when she was dating the seventeen year old boy. She knew it couldnt work out becuase he was seventeen and she was his teacher. But she kind of blocked it out of her mind and just went for it.
I think Stanley raped Blanche becuase he needs to have power over people, and he was not really getting as much power over her than he would like. With Stella, he had all the power he wanted becuase she would do anything and put up with anything. The way he was acting around Blanche, kind of led me to some kind of sexual act, but i never thought it would be rape. So it surprised me that he did such a thing, but in a way it didnt surprise me becuase thats the kind of character he is. I also think it was low how he lied to Stella and tried to get Stella to turn on her own sister, Blanche. Once again, you can see what kind of character he is. Is's ironic that the baby is a boy becuase it kind of states that he could turn into a little Stanley, which is very negative.

"Barn Burning"

"Barn Burning" by William Faulkner was difficult to understand the first time I read it. I thought I understood, then all of a sudden it would take a turn and I would be lost again.
I think the question is, should Sarty be loyal to his family and tell them the truth about his father burning down the barn or should he not say anything and keep it to himself. I think he wants to tell his family that his father did burn down the barn, and be loyal to his family, but he is afraid of the consequences that might occur if he does tell he knows about the barn.
I think the father burns down barns becuase he wants to be independent and support his family on his own. Right now, he is sharecropping, so he has to rely on wealthy families, to support his family and himself. He is basically a slave because he is sharecropping. He does not like to be treated in this manor, so i think he burns down the barns to get "even".
Faulkner describes Sarty in an interesting way. In one way he is loyal and respectful but in another way hes ignorant and disrespectful. He is described as hungry, poor and non educated. On page 161 Faulkner states "...Whose labels his stomach read, not from the lettering which meant nothing to his mind...", which means Sarty can not read the labels because he does not know how to read but he can determine the food by the specific smell and the design on the can. It also shows us he is poor and very hungry. He is respectful because he wants be to loyal to his family and friends and he wants peace and to forget the old events, like his father burning down the barn and killing people. His father on the other hand, does not think about peace and loyalty. He has been killing and burning barns for so long, i think its his nature, so it would be hard for him to stop this immature act. Sarty is disrespectful because when he stepped in the manure he deliberately dragged his feet across he floor and he knew he was getting the manure all over the floors and he did not care. So you can see what kind of character Sarty is.
Race plays a major role in this Faulkner story, just like in all other Faulkner stories we read so far. It's ironic because its not the typical race issue we are normal to, its not about an African American family but a low class white family. I think Faulkner is trying to show not just African Americans are depicted but white people are as well. He gives the audience a different perspective on race.
The father was shot at the end, which was not given to us, we as readers have to figure that out, just like the last Faulkner story, "An Odor of Verbena". I dont like how Faulkner makes us figure out what happens at the end, instead of just coming out and telling us, he was shot.