Bad Bone?

This story makes me so angry. Reading the first hundred pages or so it made me angry and almost sick by what Daddy Glen did to Bone, the worst was that I didn't see it coming. What makes me so angry was that I don't understand how someone can do this , especially with all the circumstances at the time. It was her stepfather and Bone's mother was at the time trying to have a baby at the hospital, the thought of this makes me sick.

Beyond all this I feel bad for Bone in many ways. Because of her families financial status, I think Bone seems to have a hard time. But to add what Daddy Glen does, I feel, puts her over the edge sometime. When it gets to this point she tries to leave, not be at the house. Think about if it were you, afraid to go home? What would you do, where would you go. Also it makes me sad that her mother isn't doing more at this point to help her.

What really gets to me is the Bone seems to be blaming herself for what Daddy Glen is doing to her. I believe the reason she is doing this is because of how old she is. Children most times blame themselves for things, like if their parents got divorced, usually the child thinks it is something they did wrong. I think the same thing is happening here. Bone believes that it is something she did to make Daddy Glen act this way. I also think it has something to do with fear, because she knows what he is doing is wrong but she might think that if she tells someone that her mother has to choose between her and Glen, and in the back of her mind scared that her might pick Glen over her.

The Heaven of Animals

This poem made me think of doggie heaven. Like what your parents tell you your pet went, when it really died. But there was the difference, there was still the voilence like there is on earth. But to me I thought about it as for one animal. Say a lion, they hunt all day wanting the best kill, thats what they do. So if you think about it, if you believe in heaven, you want to think that you can do whatever you want there, in the lions case, getting the best kill.

Some of the description also sets a good picture of what they think the animals want as animal heaven, like
To match them, the landscape flowers,
Outdoing, desperately
Outdoing what is required:
The richest wood,
The deepest field.
With this you can see the picture of the beautiful land the animals are on.
This poem makes me think that the author was trying to say that there is a difference between humand and animals and that they do more and think more then we believe they do.

A Dog's world

Reading the poem, "A dog sleeping on my feet" by James Dickey the whole time make me thing about my dog and being home. It was a very cozy poem, one that's soothing and fun to read. To me most of the poem was her thinking or writing in a dogs brain or was of thinking. It seemed like since the dog was on her feet it seemed to give her insight to their minds.

I know what she goes through, my dog wants to be with you at all times, especially if you are sitting in a comfortable chair. Even if you are just standing she wants to be close anyways, so she lays on your feet, sparled out, taking over. But like in the poem sometimes when she is on your feet or laying with you, you seem to think about the dog and what she is thinking more than what you had been doing before the dog got there.

It seems like she is writing his dream like in the lines,
"Like a twisting shout through the trees
Sent after the flying fox
Through the holes of logs, over streams"
It seems to me that the dog is dreaming of chasing a fox, running through the forest in pursuit. Overall I liked this poem, it was fun cute, like seeing things from a dogs eyes, but not on purpose.

Seeing is Believing

Throughout most of the play I didn’t really see what was really wrong with Blanche. From just the dialogue you couldn’t really tell or notice anything. In the play reading it there was some stage direction but not too much to explain what Blanche was really doing. Like in the beginning of the play when Blanche is already there and Stanley comes home. At the time Stella is in the other room. In the play reading this you don’t know if there is tension or if Blanche is acting strange because there isn’t as much dialect talking about it. But in the movie you see the tension between them and the looks they are giving each other. Blanche also seems to have an attraction towards Stanley by the looks she gives him and the music in the background.

In the movie you also got a better sense of what the characters were like more because you could see what they looked like. But what I didn’t understand is in both the movie and the play Stanley is played up to be a macho guy who is tough, and handsome. But in the movie after the first time he attacks Stella when he is calling to her in that well known scene he is crying. He is crying and almost breaking down, the same scene in the book to be just sounded like he was drunk and yelling, not as upset as it seemed in the movie version.

Mitch in the movie version looked very shy and not very confident. All the other guys are mostly rude and don’t really care. Mitch dresses nice and leaves the games early to take care of his sick mother. All this was even more present in the movie in his dress, voice and everything he did. What he most reminded me of was in the movie “Chicago” the husband Amos. They both look alike and are both shy and let people, especially women walk all over them and take charge, or wear the pants in the family.

Living in the past

I found the play, "A Streetcar Named Desire" to be very interesting. But to me it depicted the south as a culture only in a person rather than a whole. Blanche who was Stella's sister seemed to try to be as much as the "southern belle" as she could trying to hold on to the past and things she know. But from the play you know the culture has changed and immigrants have come in and the southern culture is in this play almost lost, except for Blanche who is holding on to it for dear life.

What I found interesting is how Blanche acted. She made it seem like she was so much better than them especially Stanley. But through the whole play you know she seems slightly strange, but there is no knowing if they stories are true until Stanley finds out and exposes her. But what I find disturbing is how Stanley rapes her to get her out of the house. He know she wasn't stable and he knew he could break her but attacking her like he did. He also know no one would believe her because of all the lies she has told. I know Blanche was a ignoring person to live but but I do not agree with what Stanley did at all.

There Eyes Were Watching God Part 2

As I finished reading this story I realized how much it was different than other southern stories that we have read this year. Some have been of discovery like this one, but more of discovery of themselves in society or compared to society, in instead of discovery of themselves like this story is.

What I find interesting about this book is that for the time period that she was married three times in her life. My perception was that people in that time when married would stay married, especially black and workers. Like Janie's grandmother explained is that she needs to find in a husband someone who will be able to care for you, calling that love. I think my perceptions besides coming from stories and movies is that too me thinking about workers it seemed like the women would be doing different work from the women and at the end of the day everyone was exhausted and just wanted company, like they didn't have time to fight or disagree, which I realize I am wrong.

Also interesting is that each time Janie got married her husband's were completely different. But in the beginning they were all the same, they all told her that they would give her things like fun, protection, a supporter and adventure. But over time this faded with everyone except Tea Cake, could this be why she really loved him and only him? It seems this is directly related to freedom of love vs. relationships, the more freedom she was given the better she did.

There Eyes Were Watching God

What I found interesting is how different the characters and there customs were portrayed. The roles of men and women were very different than the usual portrayal of the southern gentlemen and the southern belle.

The opening paragraph started it, changing and challenging the gender roles. "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some then come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by time. That is the life of men." This opening looking back sets the stage for different gender roles. It seems like it is saying that the men dream of things, like being the southern gentlemen. So they seemed mocked by it trying to live up to a standard, trying to do the right thing and fight their desires. But it seems like eventually there dreams get the best of them and they make the change.

Like Janie's first husband, who she really didn't love from the start, gradually changed. I think part of it was that maybe he knew that she didn't love him, but he started out doing everything for her and treating her nicely. By the time she left him it seemed like she wanted her to do everything.
With her second husband, who I am still not sure it she truly loves goes through the same changes. He started out telling her she deserved more and needed someone to care. When they moved to the new town soon he had her running the store and doing things she really didn't want to do and maybe didn't know how.

It seems that part of the problem is Janie and not knowing what love is. It was like a tradition or a culture thing of that time to find a man based on how wealthy he was and if he had land and could support you. So I think that Janie at this point in the book doesn't know what love is.