9/27- "The Yellow Wallpaper"

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper", the narrator is ill with a condition that is known to be nervous depression. Her husband who is also a doctor decides to lease a house for them where they spend the summer. Here at this house the narrator is told not to do anything but rest, and her husband forbids her from doing any type of work or writing, but she still manages to write in her journal behind his back. The narrator then begins describing the house's exterior as well as the vibe she fed off of it. "... but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad. So I will let it alone and talk about the house. The most beautiful place!...anyhow the place has been empty for years. That spoils my ghostliness, I am afraid, but I don't care--there is something strange about the house--I can feel it.(266)" In the beginning of the story, the narrator has an uneasy feeling about the house they are leasing, and she also does not believe that sitting idle will do her any good. "Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good.(266)" She is restricted by her husband from doing anything other than eat and sleep, she is trapped. Finally, once she comes to terms that her husbands advice that he could possibly be right, she decides to spend all of her time staring at the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom. She then becomes obsessed with it. The narrator begins to see things in the wallpaper, she believes that it changes all the time with light. At night she sees a trapped woman in the wallpaper attempting to break free, but during the day she sees the same woman creeping along the garden outside the house. "And I'll tell you why--privately--I've seen her! I can see her out of every one of my windows! It is the same woman, I know, for she is always creeping, and most women do not creep by daylight.(276)" Towards the end of the story the narrator begins to believe that the trapped woman in the wallpaper was herself. She attempts to set this women free by locking herself in her bedroom and tearing down the paper. "I don't like to look out of the windows even--there are so many of those creeping women, and they creep fast. I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did!(278)" Here, the narrator clearly feels trapped at that house when she begins to see herself as the woman trapped behind the yellow paper. Her husband was finally able to open the door and this shocking scene made him faint. The narrator then continues to creep even over his unconscious body.

9/22-"The Things They Carried"

In the story, "The Things The Carried" Tim O'Brien describes life at war in Vietnam. He uses the things they carried as a way for the soldiers to escape from the violence and misery and instead remind them of the life they were living back home in the United States. "First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey... He would imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains in New Hampshire. (341)" Most soldiers tried to imagine themselves living in a different world outside of the war, these things they carried have a great significance to them and their sanity. Since they were at war, they needed memories of loved ones along with them. Of course these soldiers carried their necessities along as well. "The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among the Necessities or near -necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. (341)" While at war soldiers were expected to carry most of these items, their survival skills were of some question since many of them risked losing a limb just to be sent back home. "By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composer. They sneered at the sick call. They spoke bitterly about guys who found release by shooting off their own toes or fingers. (353)" With out the things they carried these soldiers would have lost most of their sanity out in that violent war. Escaping the reality of being at war was the only way they knew how to stay sane.

9/20-"To Build A Fire"

The short story, "To Build a Fire" by Jack London, written in 1910, is about a man and his dog who are on a day long journey in freezing cold weather, attempting to reach the camp where his friends were waiting for him. This man carries a lot of courage and pride because he seems to travel with no regard towards these conditions. He begins his journey at nine in the morning, on a freezing Alaskan winter day where the sun was no where to be seen and with out a cloud in the sky. "Fifty degrees below zero was to him just precisely fifty degrees below zero. That there should be anything more to it than that was a thought that never entered his head.(107)" This man did not seem to acknowledge the lack of temperature, as if he did not mind the chances of freezing to death. His dog on the other hand is more apprehensive towards these conditions. During their journey they did face a few obstacles, the dog was testing out the frozen ice when it broke and he fell in, he was able to survive. The man also experienced a fall into freezing water and relied on the fire to keep him and his limbs alive. "A certain fear of death, dull and oppressive, came to him. This fear quickly became poignant as he realized that it was no longer a mere matter of  freezing his fingers and toes, or of losing his hands and feet, but that it was a matter of life and death with the chances against him.(117)" The temperatures eventually got so freezing that he could no longer maneuver his hands to light another fire. This eventually resulted in his demise because he was so arrogant and prideful he refused to take any advice to always have a partner during conditions such as these.

This looks to me like a frozen river or waterfall but it reminds me of the story because these are the types of obstacles the man and his dog had to overcome.

I chose this picture because this man's face reminded me of the way the character's face was described. Although this man does not have much facial hair, his cheek bones and nose are severely red and numb from the cold.

The is a how I pictured the dog in the story. A wolf looking snow dog with lots of thick fur.

This is a picture of a person with severe frost bite on his fingers. It reminds me of the ending of the story when the man is no longer able to use his hands to build a fire because they have frozen.

This picture reminds me of the story because it depicts the time frame, since the story takes place in 1910.

9/15 "This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix Arizona"

1. Who is the main character or protagonist of the story?
The main character of this story is Victor, he is also the protagonist.

2.Make a quick list of the character's physical, mental, moral, or behavioral traits. Which seem especially significant to the actions of the story?
Victor is a middle-age Native American man who lives with his mother in a reservation. He seems to carry a depressed mood through most of the story. He did lose his job and find out about his father's death at the same time. He seems sluggish and sad through his tone but he is also determined to find a way to get to Phoenix to claim his father's savings account and ashes. His main motive at first was to claim his father's money, but he did not expect to leave with closer and peace of mind.

3. Does the main character have an antagonist in the story? How do they differ?
I believe that the antagonist of the story is the same person as the protagonist, Victor. He is trying to find a way to Phoenix, Arizona to claim his father's savings account, and he comes across an old friend named Thomas Builds-The_Fire who ironically helps him even after Victor deserted their friendship. Victor's motives are all about claiming his father's money in Phoenix but he did not expect Thomas to broaden his mindset and help him to see that there was more to life then allowing in his own depression and pride get the best of him. I believe that Victor was not happy with the person he had become as an adult, and Thomas is a representation of Victor's happier days when money did not matter but relationships did. "He knew he needed more more to make it to Phoenix and back. He knew he needed Thomas Builds-The-Fire. So he put his money in his wallet and opened the front door to find Thomas on the porch. (250)" Thomas promised Victor's father that he would help watch over him, and that is exactly what he does.

4. Does the way the protagonist speak reveal anything about his or her personality?
Yes, Victor speaks with a melancholy tone through most of the story and also an eager tone at times, that reveals his sense of emptiness in the story. " 'Listen,' Victor said. 'My father died. I need some money to get to Phoenix to make arrangements.' ... 'But I thought the council had special funds set aside for stuff like this.'"(248) Victor's tone here shows he did not quite realize the value of his trip yet but still insisted on going for the money.

5.What is the characters primary motivation? Does this motivation seem reasonable to you?
Victor's primary motivation is to claim his father's money in Phoenix. This motivation seems reasonable to me since Victor has just lost his job and is very poor. This trip ends up doing much more for Victor than just the extra money he gained by going. He does not only gain money but he also gains closer with his father and a sense of peace with himself.

6. Does the protagonist fully understand his or her motivations?
No, Victor does not fully understand his motivations for the trip to Phoenix. He thinks he is just going to claim the money from his father's savings, but he is really going to get some closer and gain a sense of selfness where he doesn't already carry those traits because he lets his pride and sadness get the best of him.

7. In what ways is the protagonist changed or tested by the events of the story?
When Thomas  re-enters Victor's life he helps him to gain closer and peace of mind was the main motive of his trip. Victor and Thomas had a very fun and happy childhood together and Thomas made a promise to Victor's father that he would watch over him and he did just that. By telling Victor the promise he made to his father years ago he is basically telling him that his father did love him very much and his father already knew Thomas would always be a reliable friend.In the end Victoir is a happier person and he found himself in Phoenix, Arizona just by reuniting with an old friend.

9/13 "A Rose for Emily"-ReneHernandez

In the short story, "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, there is only one narrator and also one point of view. The new generation of the town all carry the same opinion about Emily Grierson. "When her father died, it got about that the house was all that was left to her;and in a way, people were glad. At last they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become humanized"(36) The Grierson's were viewed as immortal and untouchable, but once Emily's father died they saw a real reaction from her and knew she was not as contained as they thought. The narrator seems to express much jealousy towards Emily not only from himself but also from the rest of the town. They liked to judge Emily only by the content of her image not by the knowledge gained from friendship. Emily Grierson was judged even after her death, and gossiped about all her life. She seemed to have no choice but to live in the public eye, and no matter what she did the town critiqued her. "Like when she bought the rat poison, the arsenic"(37)..."So the next day we all said, 'She will kill herself' and we said it would be the best thing"(38). The town, including the narrator himself, basically felt that Emily Grierson was crazy. They did not think that she deserved any positive attention, so they took it upon themselves to judge her based solely on what they see and not what they know.
This story is told by a man who seems to be another member of that society. He seems to know only the exterior of Emily Grierson, therefore I believe he did not know her on a personal level. It is unusual that the story of Emily Grierson is told by an ordinary civilian. This point of view does fit the theme of this story because it is coming from an ordinary outsider. He does represents the majority of the town and their feelings towards Emily and her father. They believe that the Grierson's were an unfair exception to the laws. This is what sparked the jealousy of the town members, and explains why they disliked her. " 'They're married.' We were really glad. We were glad because the two female cousins were even more Grierson than Miss Emily had ever been"(38). This town assumed they knew everything about Emily Girerson but they never bothered to get to know her.

9/8 "A Good Man Is Hard To Find"

Does the plot surprise you? Why or why not? When you started reading the story what did you think would happen? In the story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" by Flannery O'Connor, I was very surprised by the plot. I usually tend to get an idea of a story by fist reading the title, and this title lead me to believe this would  be a love story of some sort. When I began reading the story I noticed the author's tone was not at all romantic. Flannery O'Connor uses the dialect to portray more of an intense and dramatic type of mood through out this story, although I still did not expect the ending to occur. In the beginning of the story I really had no idea what would happen next.

Rene Hernandez-Intro.

Hi! I'm Rene Hernandez. My Birthday is September 11th, next weekend, and I'll finally be turning 20. Yay! :) My best friend is Maria Carla Chan. We met 5 years ago at Franklin High School where we both attended. During my time at Franklin High School I was a cheerleader for three years. Some of my favorite memories were made cheer leading because being apart of that team has taught me a lot. I never realized how close a sport could bring a team together and some of those members I've made life long friends. I then moved on to an All Star team where I spent half a year. Since starting college I realized that I don't have as much time as I did in high school to join a sport, although I still keep active. This is my third year here at PCC and I am a majoring in Speech Pathology. I enjoy helping people in need, and I find it very rewarding especially when they're children.

I have a dog named Shakespeare, he's a terrier mix. His name was inspired by my 12th grade English teacher, Mr. Martinez. My favorite color is pink and some of my favorite things to do are spending time with my nieces and nephew. I have five sisters and no brothers. I was born third, making me the middle child. I absolutely love spending my quality time with my family, we enjoy shopping, gossiping, and also gardening together. Every Saturday my mom and I go hiking, usually at Griffith park. I love being active and especially outdoors. I am a friendly, outgoing person and I hope to meet some cool interesting people during the rest of my stay here at PCC.