The Sound and the Fury/William Faulkner/Southern Gothic
The story begins with a narrative from Benjy, the mentally challenged son of a previously wealthy family, the Compsons, who live in the Southern United States. The book takes place as the 1920's are winding down, and is a precursor of the Great Depression. Benjy has many siblings, including his sister Caddy, who is a rebellious youth; his brothers Quentin and Jason. Caddy's rebellious behavior causes her to become pregnant before she is married, and then she tries to become married to save her honor, but fails. Quentin tries to help her through her problems, but is also unable. He then goes to Harvard, where the second section of the book takes place--narrated by him. Jason, the only child who Mrs. Compson loves, also has a section of the book. He is grown in this section and has to search for Miss Quentin, Caddy's daughter. The family owns a family of African-American slaves. The mother of this family is named Dilsey, and she narrates the final section of the book, where she takes the family to her church.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to experience something unique, but for the everyday person, I would not recommend it. The book is extremely confusing in that the first to sections are basically incomparable. Faulkner uses "stream of consciousness" in which he gives many thoughts to the reader in quick succession, but that is not the worst of it. In these sections, sometimes Faulkner does not use punctuation at all, making it nearly impossible to decipher what the meaning of much of the story is.
http://11rflam.glogster.com/The-Sound-and-the-Fury/
Friday, October 30, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Blog Post #3
The Jena 6 case in Jena Louisiana seems like a racist miscarriage of justice. This incident does seem to be somewhat isolated, while also being over-the-top. This is one of the only really serious racially-based criminal trials that has occurred in the United States in the past few years. This could not happen anywhere or anytime because people are more tolerant and less ignorant, or at least I thought they were until I heard about this. Race has changed from a huge issue to a smaller one that I thought people were becoming more educated about, but after hearing about this case, I do not believe our country has gotten over racial issues. I could not imagine a school that segregated In Pennsylvania where we live, but I could imagine it in the deep South. Some aspects of our school are somewhat segregated, but nothing to the level of the Jena High School. There is no tree or something that one race has claimed for themselves that others cannot use. Our school is definitely more racially accepting.
Many injustices occurred during and after the trial as well. First of all, the African-American students were charged felonies while the white students were just suspended from school for a few days and no charges were pressed. Over 3,000 people gathered in Jena to protest the Jena 6 hearings. At first the case did not receive widespread attention, but quickly became known throughout the nation. Some of the Jena 6 were actually convicted and charged with time in juvenile prisons. Many people are calling for President Obama to correct the wrongs of this situation. Civil rights groups such as the NAACP have been raising funds to provide the Jena 6 with attorneys.
Many injustices occurred during and after the trial as well. First of all, the African-American students were charged felonies while the white students were just suspended from school for a few days and no charges were pressed. Over 3,000 people gathered in Jena to protest the Jena 6 hearings. At first the case did not receive widespread attention, but quickly became known throughout the nation. Some of the Jena 6 were actually convicted and charged with time in juvenile prisons. Many people are calling for President Obama to correct the wrongs of this situation. Civil rights groups such as the NAACP have been raising funds to provide the Jena 6 with attorneys.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Blog Post #2
"Jem, she's old and ill. You can't hold her responsible for what she says and does. Of course, I'd rather she'd have said it to me than to either of you, but we can't always have our 'druthers." (pg 105)
This quote is told by Atticus to Jem. Atticus is saying that Jem cannot be angry at Mrs. Dubose for what she said or did. She is old, sick, and also quite crazy, which means she cannot be held responsible for what she says; it is not her fault that she is aged and irritable. He also says he wishes she had said it to his face, but he cannot always get what he wants, which is another lesson he is teaching Jem. Jem needs to learn that life is unfair, and that sometimes people are insensitive and ignorant. Atticus is also teaching Jem about respect for his elders, and he is teaching Jem about understanding some people's motives.
This quote applies to my life in many different ways. First of all, when I was Jem's age, I was much like him in that I did not understand why people said what they did, and I did not really understand old or sick people. I was always a bundle of energy, running around and wreaking havoc. But I never understood why my parents or grandparents did not want to, or could not, play games with me. I know now that relatively older people do not have enough energy as I had back then, and I know that older people are not necessarily physically able to keep up with a ten year-old. In this quote, Atticus also tells Jem about how, as The Beatles said, "you can't always get what you want." In this instance it pertains to Mrs. Dubose not bad-mouthing Atticus to his face, but doing it behind his back. This can apply to my life as well. When I was young, not only did I have boundless energy, I was also quite selfish, and to be honest, a bit conceited. I always wanted to have something new, and if I already had it, I wanted more. I used to play novelty card games like Pokemon or the like, and I always had to have more. As many people know, one has to buy single packs of cards at one time. My parents would buy me a pack or two, and I would open them quickly, look at the new cards I had received, be satisfied for about ten minutes, and then want more. This was very unhealthy and costly, if my parents had consented to buy me more every time I wanted them to, which thankfully they did not. I wish someone had told me what Atticus told Jem, that we cannot always have what we want. I did learn my lesson in the end, but it came at the price of my parents wasting too much money for my silly games. After that, I decided never to get involved with novelties again.
This quote is told by Atticus to Jem. Atticus is saying that Jem cannot be angry at Mrs. Dubose for what she said or did. She is old, sick, and also quite crazy, which means she cannot be held responsible for what she says; it is not her fault that she is aged and irritable. He also says he wishes she had said it to his face, but he cannot always get what he wants, which is another lesson he is teaching Jem. Jem needs to learn that life is unfair, and that sometimes people are insensitive and ignorant. Atticus is also teaching Jem about respect for his elders, and he is teaching Jem about understanding some people's motives.
This quote applies to my life in many different ways. First of all, when I was Jem's age, I was much like him in that I did not understand why people said what they did, and I did not really understand old or sick people. I was always a bundle of energy, running around and wreaking havoc. But I never understood why my parents or grandparents did not want to, or could not, play games with me. I know now that relatively older people do not have enough energy as I had back then, and I know that older people are not necessarily physically able to keep up with a ten year-old. In this quote, Atticus also tells Jem about how, as The Beatles said, "you can't always get what you want." In this instance it pertains to Mrs. Dubose not bad-mouthing Atticus to his face, but doing it behind his back. This can apply to my life as well. When I was young, not only did I have boundless energy, I was also quite selfish, and to be honest, a bit conceited. I always wanted to have something new, and if I already had it, I wanted more. I used to play novelty card games like Pokemon or the like, and I always had to have more. As many people know, one has to buy single packs of cards at one time. My parents would buy me a pack or two, and I would open them quickly, look at the new cards I had received, be satisfied for about ten minutes, and then want more. This was very unhealthy and costly, if my parents had consented to buy me more every time I wanted them to, which thankfully they did not. I wish someone had told me what Atticus told Jem, that we cannot always have what we want. I did learn my lesson in the end, but it came at the price of my parents wasting too much money for my silly games. After that, I decided never to get involved with novelties again.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Blog Post #1
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/23/pennsylvania.swim.racism/index.html?iref=newssearch
"Commission Penalizes Swim Club in Pennsylvania Racism Complaint"--Summary:
This article is about Valley Swim Club, Philadelphia, PA. They revoked the swimming privileges of mostly minority day care. The mostly African-American and Hispanic population of the camp was causing many of the white campers to be fearful, and raised many racial slurs and complaints from other attendants of the swim club. This story gained national acclaim, and the club asked the camp to return, but the camp denied the request, and said decided to take legal action in the future.
"Commission Penalizes Swim Club in Pennsylvania Racism Complaint"--Reflection:
This article struck me as very strange and exasperating. I do not experience very much open racism or segregation in my life here, and to hear about it that close was very unnerving. I hear enough racist comments at school, but many or most of them are meant in a joking matter, and these types of things are generally not segregation-like. I also thought it striking that in an interview, some of the African-American and Hispanic campers said "white club members made racist comments to them during that visit, asking why black children were there and raising concerns that 'they might steal from us.'" This being on the visit when the camp went to the swim club and found out their swimming privileges revoked. I did not think that people in this day and age made those kinds of remarks, let alone in hearing distance of small children. Those white club-members must have serious problems if they are still under the notion that African-Americans and Hispanics are all criminals. It is good that the camp is not going there anymore and are going to press charges. Those people deserve to be taught a lesson.
"Commission Penalizes Swim Club in Pennsylvania Racism Complaint"--Summary:
This article is about Valley Swim Club, Philadelphia, PA. They revoked the swimming privileges of mostly minority day care. The mostly African-American and Hispanic population of the camp was causing many of the white campers to be fearful, and raised many racial slurs and complaints from other attendants of the swim club. This story gained national acclaim, and the club asked the camp to return, but the camp denied the request, and said decided to take legal action in the future.
"Commission Penalizes Swim Club in Pennsylvania Racism Complaint"--Reflection:
This article struck me as very strange and exasperating. I do not experience very much open racism or segregation in my life here, and to hear about it that close was very unnerving. I hear enough racist comments at school, but many or most of them are meant in a joking matter, and these types of things are generally not segregation-like. I also thought it striking that in an interview, some of the African-American and Hispanic campers said "white club members made racist comments to them during that visit, asking why black children were there and raising concerns that 'they might steal from us.'" This being on the visit when the camp went to the swim club and found out their swimming privileges revoked. I did not think that people in this day and age made those kinds of remarks, let alone in hearing distance of small children. Those white club-members must have serious problems if they are still under the notion that African-Americans and Hispanics are all criminals. It is good that the camp is not going there anymore and are going to press charges. Those people deserve to be taught a lesson.
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