Both southern heritage and catholic religion played a part of O'Connor's short stories. She didn't base he stories particularly on these topics; she believed in creating a character and letting his or her actions make the story come to life.
Within O'Conner's many short stories, the presence of the Catholic religion is pretty much there. She always has one character in her stories that displays some religious attitude. For example, the grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find," is the one character that truly shows any faith. She keeps saying "Jesus" like she is calling out to him for help. Some times it seems to me that quite a few very devout Catholics are quite pushy about their religions beliefs and about their opinions just like the grandmother. Mrs. Turpin, from "Revelation," also shows a a religious background that could be shaped by O'Conner's religious influence. Mrs. Turpin always thinks about her relationship with God and how the good things she does must have earned her a really good place. Both of these characters are very serious about how their religion should be acted upon, however, I don't think O'Conner was trying to preach to the readers about converting faiths or anything, but she wanted religion to be apart of each of the characters.
The Southern heritage influence is more put into play by the language and actions of the characters. O'Conner was from the dirty south, so naturally she related with the dirty south readers. The family is "A Good Man is Hard to Find," is a very typical portrayal of a southern family: 3 kids, 2 parents, pets, and a grandmother staying with them. The grandmother has many traditionally southern characteristics by herself. She uses intolerable and unnecessary terms for African Americans which really shows alot of southern background.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
iterations
When i got finished reading "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been", and watching Smooth Talking I saw a lot of similarities. One thing about the short story is that it starts to be very repetitive and seemed to drag along in the end, Smooth Talk also did that at the end whe A. Friend was trying to get the girl. Repetitiveness is one thing that I really do not care for I just get tired of reading something that seems like it is taking forever to read. The three nonfiction stories were similar but there were certain differences within each article. You could see how different people tell the same story but in a different way. Reading the nonfiction articles of Charles Schmid gives us an idea of Arnold Friend. I really liked reading the nonfiction articles about the story because it gave the real hard truth and facts about where the real idea for "Where are you going, Where have you been". The video was way off and I didn’t really like it at all, maybe because it was a horrible depiction of what we just saw and read. The movie was the best description of the short story because you could actually see the story being played out in front of you. Writing the same story in different iterations is creative and impressive but i find it easier to understand when i see the movie first then reading the short story.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
made thing
Taking a story and breaking it apart piece by piece helps the readers understand the story a little better. As we broke down the three stories in class, it helped me better understand the work and the writer. The process of ingredients, process, and the made thing can be attributed to all of our readings. “A&P”, “Rites of Passage”, and “The one Girl at the Boys’ Party” are stories that once they are broken down to where it is easier to understand, they make the reader rethink about their opinions . If you break down the stories to their smallest parts the reader can compare and contrast the stories. Even though each story is different in its plot and storyline, they share the same structure. The ingredients are the raw material for any piece of literature; The process is how the author uses the ingredients to create the made thing; The made thing is the overall message of the story or what the reader is able to take away from the story.
In the story “A&P” a cashier, Sammy, tells the story of when he worked at a grocery story and what encountered after the girls walk in. It seems like the average story of a boy trying to impress girl, but as we take it apart it we start to realize its about more then that. The ingredients in “A&P” are as such; “bathing suits”, food items, and the summer setting, but the main ones are the characters Sammy, Queenie, and Mr. Lengel. These ingredients are mixed with the setting of a grocery store, and the presence of the girls to produce a clear picture for the reader. The process of adding all of these things together helps me to understand and connect with the characters more. Breaking down shows the relationship between the Sammy and the clique of girls, but at the same time it shows the problem that they all had with Mr. Lengel. Updike gave great details to the story to help the reader put together all the ingredients into a bigger picture. This made thing is the hero does the right thing, but for the wrong reasons.
The poem “Rites of Passage” can be interpreted in many different ways. Breaking down “Rites of Passage” into three parts helped me understand the different ways it can be viewed. Many of the ingredients are ironic like children being generals, turrets as small bankers, 7 year olds killing a two year old. Sharon Olds manages to combine the carelessness of small children with the very serious world of career men. Her careful planning and writing helps guide the reader to a better understanding of the children becoming men. It is her process of combining the traits of a child with the traits of a man and putting them into a smooth flowing poem that the reader can understand once they take apart “Rites of Passage”. The made thing that Olds creates is an ironic view of boys and their parallels to full grown men.
The last poem “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party” also has ingredients, process, and a made thing. It is the story of a girl at a swimming party with all boys that was told from the view of one of her parents. Olds includes ingredients like hamburgers and fries bating suit, strip to their suits, hard body, curves of the sexes, and math in the pool. Her process is one of irony just like “Rites of Passage”, comparing a little girl to math. She describes the girl and what the girl is thinking in a way that she should have not been able to understand at her age. Olds other process shows the reader that the girl is maturing more and more from the beginning of the poem to the end. The parent’s perspective of the poem tells the reader what the “made thing” could be that your children grow up fast.
All three stories have different characters, setting and plots, but in the end they have the same composition. They all have ingredients that were usually the characters. The processes were in the descriptions and the way the stories were written. The made thing was always involving growing up and learning from your mistakes. Breaking these stories down helps the reader visualize the story thus making them understand its true meaning.
In the story “A&P” a cashier, Sammy, tells the story of when he worked at a grocery story and what encountered after the girls walk in. It seems like the average story of a boy trying to impress girl, but as we take it apart it we start to realize its about more then that. The ingredients in “A&P” are as such; “bathing suits”, food items, and the summer setting, but the main ones are the characters Sammy, Queenie, and Mr. Lengel. These ingredients are mixed with the setting of a grocery store, and the presence of the girls to produce a clear picture for the reader. The process of adding all of these things together helps me to understand and connect with the characters more. Breaking down shows the relationship between the Sammy and the clique of girls, but at the same time it shows the problem that they all had with Mr. Lengel. Updike gave great details to the story to help the reader put together all the ingredients into a bigger picture. This made thing is the hero does the right thing, but for the wrong reasons.
The poem “Rites of Passage” can be interpreted in many different ways. Breaking down “Rites of Passage” into three parts helped me understand the different ways it can be viewed. Many of the ingredients are ironic like children being generals, turrets as small bankers, 7 year olds killing a two year old. Sharon Olds manages to combine the carelessness of small children with the very serious world of career men. Her careful planning and writing helps guide the reader to a better understanding of the children becoming men. It is her process of combining the traits of a child with the traits of a man and putting them into a smooth flowing poem that the reader can understand once they take apart “Rites of Passage”. The made thing that Olds creates is an ironic view of boys and their parallels to full grown men.
The last poem “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party” also has ingredients, process, and a made thing. It is the story of a girl at a swimming party with all boys that was told from the view of one of her parents. Olds includes ingredients like hamburgers and fries bating suit, strip to their suits, hard body, curves of the sexes, and math in the pool. Her process is one of irony just like “Rites of Passage”, comparing a little girl to math. She describes the girl and what the girl is thinking in a way that she should have not been able to understand at her age. Olds other process shows the reader that the girl is maturing more and more from the beginning of the poem to the end. The parent’s perspective of the poem tells the reader what the “made thing” could be that your children grow up fast.
All three stories have different characters, setting and plots, but in the end they have the same composition. They all have ingredients that were usually the characters. The processes were in the descriptions and the way the stories were written. The made thing was always involving growing up and learning from your mistakes. Breaking these stories down helps the reader visualize the story thus making them understand its true meaning.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
A worn path
In “A Worn Path”, The story and the movie seem to have a lot of comparisons to it. Not a lot changes between the story and the movie. There is a lot more descripition of the main character, Phoneix Jackson, in the story that is in text but that’s usually a given. There was also a lot more said by Phoneix Jackson in the text version than in the movie. A lot of the situations in the text version were not at tents as some of the ones in the movie. Like when she was walking across the log that went to the other side of the creek. When I read it, that part did not seem to stand out to me that much but when I saw it on the movie, I really thought she might have fallen off even though I already knew that she was not going to. Also, after she crossed the bridge she seen a little boy bring her a slice of cake. So when I ready this part of the story it seemed a little weird and out of place to me but when I accually saw the boy put the cake in her face on the movie then that’s when I really started asking questions about the story. Like; Who is that boy?; Why does he just randomly appear?; Why does he bring her cake out of all the things in the World?
But the part that really stood out to me was the fact that the written story told Phoneix Jackson’s name at the very beginning and on the movie it is not mentioned till she ends her long journey at the colored clinic. I do not know if they did that on puropose or what, but that did catch my attention.
But the part that really stood out to me was the fact that the written story told Phoneix Jackson’s name at the very beginning and on the movie it is not mentioned till she ends her long journey at the colored clinic. I do not know if they did that on puropose or what, but that did catch my attention.
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