"Bastard Out of Carolina"

wow.....this book really blew me away. I kind of figured that it was about a child with no father but it really went behind what I ever imagined the book to contain. It was a great novel and it sucked me in completely as a reader. I was captivated by Bone as a character and I wanted to know everything that happened to her. She was a charatcer who struggled and begged for life and was handed shit in return. She truly needed to find herself and I think this is so clear at the end of the book after Glen has beat her for the last time. Bone let her mother go and she was the bigger person when she did this. Anney was to weak for Bone so Bone had to come out on her own and fight back. I think the moment when she accepts RAylene's embrace at the end of the book is significant also. Bone would never accept anyones love other than her mama's and in this moment she realizes that her mother's love is what is hurting her and she needs to let it go. Raylene is there for her as an aunt and as someone who has been hurt before. They come together in this breif moment and I think that Bone realizes RAylene can help her and they can start a new life together. Bone may actually have been happy in this last moment of the book because she realizes that her life can change now that she has let go of the one thing that was holding her back...her mama. This whole novel was wonderful, very graphic but it really created a setting for me to work with as a reader. Allison did an amzing job at making this true and almost a reality, you can see where she was probably working from moments from her own life. Great book!

James Dickey Poetry

I have had a really hard time with all of this poetry....it is a type of literature that you do not usually read if you are not interested or if its for a class. Everyone has such a different interpretation and sees so mnay different things within each poem. In "The Heaven of Animals" I see the life cycle taking place and every living thing having its own identity and space. It talks about the killing of some animals but why it must come about for others to live and they accept this becuase that is their place in the life cycle. The very last lines spoke to me..." At the cycle's center, They tremble, they walk under the tree, They fall, they are torn, They rise, they walk again." It is this simple description of life at its fullest and then being broken dwon again just to be reborn which is captured throughout the whole poem but is really state clearly here. It is beautiful and creates an image of life and death coexisting in a world together but for the reason of depending on one another. Animals are part of this world and Dickey presents them to us as coexisting with humans because they have their own type of world but it is the same as ours. People live and die so that others can do the same and it is a cycle that every living thing encounters and has to deal with. This poem was one of the more straight forward ones and it spoke to me because it had a simple message.

Revelations

"Revelations" by Flannery O'connnor was a different color story than "A Good Man is Hard to Find". I think that they both have many of the sme reoccurring themes such as religious messages and finding yourself with God. Also the portrayal of the Old South and how it is not everything glamorous that so many people think it was. O'Connor is one of the more intersting authors we have read this semester. She incorporates a lot of her personal feeling in her wrtings and I believe she is trying to convey a message to her readers. She has a deep spiritual belief and she wants everyone to be aware of it. Also the theme of violence shows up in both books. It is weird how the author is trying to be spiritual when at the same time these dreadful things are happening to her characters. When MAry Grace tells Mrs. Turpin that she is an old warthog and to go back to hell I was so surprised. These are strong words and it is like a message from someone other than Mary Grace becuase she is just a young girl. O'Connor wants everyone to save themselves and become good christians even if that means doing it through an extremem manner. Mrs. Turpin finally realizes at the end that she is not really such a great person and that she takes life for granted. I think that she had her "revelation" and understands what God wants her to do and how he wants her to act. I thin she had always loved her husban but maybe now she will appreciate him and appreciate eeverything they have togetherr instead of being snotty about it.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" Characters

After watching the movie version of this play I kind of got a whole new perspective of the characters. Stella is a plain Jane as people would say, there is nothing truly special about her and it is a wonder why Stanley is with her. All of the tough things that she deals with in the relationship with Stanley are probably okay because he is so handsome and everyone admires him in a way. You can see the passion that Stella has for Stanley right in the beginning when they are at the bowling alley. He is fighting and she is still lusting at him to her sister Blanche. In most cases I think you would be embarassed by the way your significant other was acting especially when a relative was meeting him for the first time. The director did a good job in casting this actress.
Marlon Brando does an exceptionally good job in his character. I feel as if he brings that real masculinity to the character of Stanley. He is the all around hunk, muscles, good looks, and he is funny and seems pretty easy going. He seems less mean in the movie because of the attitude he has and Brando is the type of guy everyone wants to be with. It is easy to see why Stella was attracted to him and why she puts up with his crap sometimes.
Vivian Leigh is great in this role because she is that helpless character and does a great job acting like a damsel in distress. She is very pretty but they cover that up with makeup to make her look older. You can see why her and Stella are so different and she has that very petite voice that is almost like a shrill sound. Everything about her is demure and small, making her seem even more helpless. Her next to Brando is a good mix because you get the sense of power from him towards her.
Actually seeing the actors in motion puts it into a whole new light and the director does a good job of playing with the characters through the actors he chose. I am glad we read the play first but is always fun to see it on the screen as well.

" A Streetcar Named Desire"

I found the title of this play to be quite significant after reading the beginning of the play and after the class discussion today. On p.657 Blanche makes the comment about how Desire is the only thing that is holding Stella and Stanley together. She seems to make this comment and then we are brought to a different light of the story on the actual streetcar. Stella seems to be okay with this desire that is holding them together so why can't Blanche. I feel that Stella and Stanley have such a strong desire for each other that they can not ignore the passion and they are desperate for each other sometimes even if that means fighting. I think that Stanley represents the streetcar for Stella and that is why the title makes sense. Also Blanche needs someone in her life and I think she is almost jealous of the fact that her sister has it and not her, maybe that is why she fishes for compliments from Stanley. She says that the streecar brought her there but she is ashamed to be there, maybe not just the fact that it is a lower class part of town but because she has not achieved the one thing that Stella has and that is passion and desire which has led her to love?

Zora Neale Hurston

I am so glad Faulkner is over. I really enjoy reading Zora Neale Hurston, she is very interesting. I am taking an African American Literature course this semester and she has been discussed in that class as well. As far as an author goes she was very influential and her novel that we are reading is regarded as one of the best pieces of literature we have available today. My favorite thing about this book so far is the use of colorful language. I fell deeply connected to the characters because through their dialect I am able to picture them talking to each other. Eatonville is a hubbub of activity and I love the way Zora uses it in her writing. This was an actual town and it is where she grew up. She introduces the use of folklore in her writing and makes it a very convincing town. I think it is great because you are getting a picture of this town that really existed through the author's eyes. This story is a journey through a woman's life who has not yet reached the fullness of her desire. I really feel like this is a great story and everyone should read it. Also her short stories that she has written are very interesting as well.

Katherine Anne Porter

After reading Faulkner this is a breez to get through. I liked Porter's use of feminism played throughout all of the stories we read. She was giving us an early view of what women were thinking and how they perceived the world. We start out with being introduced to Miss Sophia Jones, she is a very respectable lady and no one seems to mess around with her. She is outspoken but just enough to get her point across and still be a lady. We meet Old Nannie who is a black servant but who resorts back to her roots as a black woman after her mistress passes away. We also meet Miranda who is a image of the New South emerging and she is a very interesting charcter. We see her as a young girl who still uses the shiteness to her advantage as we see with Dicey in the story "The Circus". But then we see her as a child in the story with Uncle Jimbilly. She is a child who cowers in his shadow when he talks baout all of the bad things that have afflicted the black slaves. We see so many different perspectives in her story but here is a definite line of feminism throughout all of them. This is a turn from Faulkner who bases his writing about men and who their heritage affects them. I think women had new rolse to assume as the New South was emerging becasue they were still ladies but finally had a chance to be recognized as individuals.