This week's readings were not my particular favorite. I have enjoyed Hemingway. I love the way that he writes and what he writes about. Out of all the Hemingway that we have read for class, this "Cat in the Rain" is my least favorite. It was not very interesting to me and just seemed to be a pointless story.
Like I said, I did not find the story very interesting. It took place in Italy, which is an awesome place to vacation. There could be so many cool stories that come out of a vacation in Italy. Instead, it is raining so there is nothing to do. With nothing to do, a woman sees a cat, wants to get it away from the rain and fails to do so. The husband is disinterested the entire time and the woman makes a comment about wanting to grow her hair out and wanting a cat. This was the entire story.
I found this story boring because I found it bland. There was nothing deeper to me in the story. The husband is disinterested so that shows trouble in the relationship. The maid brings up a cat that was requested, that shows that the woman gets some of the stuff she wants. That is all I saw in this story.
Also, I did not relate to this story. I have first off never been to Italy. I would love to go to Italy when it is sunny, but a rainy Italy does not sound like a fun trip. The best trip that I have ever gone on was a trip to Europe. I went to Spain with my family. It was amazing. I got to see Madrid, Barcalona, a bull fight, the beach, and much more. It was one of the best times of my life. Therefore, I cannot see how anyone can not enjoy Europe. It did rain for one day in Madrid and my family and I took a cab around the entire city going to the museums and sights. Even in the rain, people have fun on a trip, but in this story it seemed to be a boring time in Italy. I didn't understand this. Also, I am not married so the whole rest of the story doesn't make any connection with me.
Overall, I have enjoyed Hemingway. I enjoy reading most of his stories. Yet, this particular story was not one of them. I did not connect or enjoy this story.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
A Way You'll Never Be
Hemingway tells a confusing tale of Nick in this short story. It deals with Nick going through post-traumatic trauma. He has suffered a head injury and is not fully recovered. Nick is suffering from the heat and a head injury, possible concussion. When I tried to understand this story, the first thing that I looked for was Nick in relation to Hemingway. Nick is an American that claims to know the Captain and has a quirky story to go along with his being there. When I thought about it more, I thought of Ernist Hemingway in WW1 as an American Cross volunteer. As part of the American Red Cross he was able to talk to people from the other side of the war. This is probably the background Nick has in the story.
Next, the major theme to look for in this story is identity. Nick is looking for his identity. This is evident in the story, but can be seen in every day life also. College is a major example of this. College is the place that many people across the world find their identity, find who they truly are and what they truly want to do. In my case, I am still looking. I have not found my perfect calling, but seem to have a little better grasp than last year. The great thing about college is that there are many opportunities to allow me to find myself.
This story hits home for me for one reason mainly. This reason is that my grandpa (grandfather) took part in WW2. The war talked about in the story is most likely WW1 seeing as how that is what Hemingway took part in, but it still related to me. My grandpa has experienced a lot in life and knows who he is. He has found his identity.
My grandpa told me a story one time about his best friend before they both went off to war. My grandpa was a fighter pilot and his best friend a soldier. They did their jobs and eventually returned back home after the war. When he got back his friends had changed a lot. They had seen the world through a different perspective and had changed. He said he had changed also. This is a perfect story when thinking about identity. People are lost at one point in their lives. Whether it is in college or in a war, people in one way or another need to find who they truly are. Before they do that they are just like Nick, confused and wondering around.
Next, the major theme to look for in this story is identity. Nick is looking for his identity. This is evident in the story, but can be seen in every day life also. College is a major example of this. College is the place that many people across the world find their identity, find who they truly are and what they truly want to do. In my case, I am still looking. I have not found my perfect calling, but seem to have a little better grasp than last year. The great thing about college is that there are many opportunities to allow me to find myself.
This story hits home for me for one reason mainly. This reason is that my grandpa (grandfather) took part in WW2. The war talked about in the story is most likely WW1 seeing as how that is what Hemingway took part in, but it still related to me. My grandpa has experienced a lot in life and knows who he is. He has found his identity.
My grandpa told me a story one time about his best friend before they both went off to war. My grandpa was a fighter pilot and his best friend a soldier. They did their jobs and eventually returned back home after the war. When he got back his friends had changed a lot. They had seen the world through a different perspective and had changed. He said he had changed also. This is a perfect story when thinking about identity. People are lost at one point in their lives. Whether it is in college or in a war, people in one way or another need to find who they truly are. Before they do that they are just like Nick, confused and wondering around.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The End of Something/The Three-Day Blow
Clay Fox
Dr. Williams
Lit and Civ II
21 October 2010
Ernest Hemingway Short Stories
The stories I read today were "The End of Something" and "The Three-Day Blow". Out of the two stories, "The Three-Day Blow" was the most enjoyable. That being said, I did enjoy "The End of Something" as well.
These stories are about Nick, Bill and Nick's girlfriend Marge. I enjoy Ernest's way of continuing the story in the next one. In "The End of Something", Nick breaks up with Marge, and in "The Three-Day Blow" they talk about the break-up. I feel everyone has been at this point in their life. They break up with a girlfriend or boyfriend, and even though it is over, it isn't completely over.
Some themes I enjoyed in "The End of Something" are Nick's inability to not have a feeling of loss at the end. This shows that, like everyone else, a break-up is hard to do. It is one of the hardest things a lot of young people have to do in their lives. In continuance in this theme, Marjorie comments on the fish in the water and Nick talks about them not biting. I feel Nick is the fish that won't bite in this. Marjorie wants the next step in the relationship and Nick is feeling the end of the relationship, at least for now.
Another theme that I enjoyed in the story was that of the town they pasted by. They mentioned how the town was past it's prime. It talks about how it was awesome back in the day. I feel this is talking about Nick and Marjorie's relationship. In the past, it was awesome. It was in it's prime. Now, it is past it's prime. It has gone on for a long time and is ready to end. It is just sum "iceberg" effect Ernest Hemingway adds in the story to make the reader think more. He does this with all his stories, making you relate and think about them.
The Other story, "The Three-Day Blow" talks about two boys getting drunk and discussing life. There are two things I picked up on in this story that made me smile when I read it. First, Nick and Bill talked about baseball during their drunken adventure. They talked about their passion for the St. Louis Cardinals. I am from St. Louis and am a huge Cardinals fan. I can talk about Cardinals baseball for days and days, so I related to the boys during this time in the story and began reading the rest more closely because of it. The second thing that made me smile was at the end of the story when Nick says that nothing is over. He is talking about his relationship with Marjorie, yet doesn't know what he is talking about because of all the drinking he has done. This just made me laugh thinking about Nick stumbling around, blabbing about life and his passion he still has for Marjorie.
Ernest Hemingway has a great way of writing short stories. His stories, with Nick as the main character, relate to people and give something called an "iceberg" effect that makes people think about what is really going. All in all, Ernest wrote two good stories that I read today. I enjoyed both, relating and thinking about both while reading.
Dr. Williams
Lit and Civ II
21 October 2010
Ernest Hemingway Short Stories
The stories I read today were "The End of Something" and "The Three-Day Blow". Out of the two stories, "The Three-Day Blow" was the most enjoyable. That being said, I did enjoy "The End of Something" as well.
These stories are about Nick, Bill and Nick's girlfriend Marge. I enjoy Ernest's way of continuing the story in the next one. In "The End of Something", Nick breaks up with Marge, and in "The Three-Day Blow" they talk about the break-up. I feel everyone has been at this point in their life. They break up with a girlfriend or boyfriend, and even though it is over, it isn't completely over.
Some themes I enjoyed in "The End of Something" are Nick's inability to not have a feeling of loss at the end. This shows that, like everyone else, a break-up is hard to do. It is one of the hardest things a lot of young people have to do in their lives. In continuance in this theme, Marjorie comments on the fish in the water and Nick talks about them not biting. I feel Nick is the fish that won't bite in this. Marjorie wants the next step in the relationship and Nick is feeling the end of the relationship, at least for now.
Another theme that I enjoyed in the story was that of the town they pasted by. They mentioned how the town was past it's prime. It talks about how it was awesome back in the day. I feel this is talking about Nick and Marjorie's relationship. In the past, it was awesome. It was in it's prime. Now, it is past it's prime. It has gone on for a long time and is ready to end. It is just sum "iceberg" effect Ernest Hemingway adds in the story to make the reader think more. He does this with all his stories, making you relate and think about them.
The Other story, "The Three-Day Blow" talks about two boys getting drunk and discussing life. There are two things I picked up on in this story that made me smile when I read it. First, Nick and Bill talked about baseball during their drunken adventure. They talked about their passion for the St. Louis Cardinals. I am from St. Louis and am a huge Cardinals fan. I can talk about Cardinals baseball for days and days, so I related to the boys during this time in the story and began reading the rest more closely because of it. The second thing that made me smile was at the end of the story when Nick says that nothing is over. He is talking about his relationship with Marjorie, yet doesn't know what he is talking about because of all the drinking he has done. This just made me laugh thinking about Nick stumbling around, blabbing about life and his passion he still has for Marjorie.
Ernest Hemingway has a great way of writing short stories. His stories, with Nick as the main character, relate to people and give something called an "iceberg" effect that makes people think about what is really going. All in all, Ernest wrote two good stories that I read today. I enjoyed both, relating and thinking about both while reading.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Sailing to Byzantium
Yeats' poem Sailing to Byzantium was my favorite of the poems we were suppose to review this week. The imagery that Yeats' writes is outstanding. I can picture every word as if I was there. The first line when Yeats' writes "that is no country for old men", I picture the movie No Country For Old Men. It is basically the same thing. Both tell about the country being for youth and lively things, so old men are out of date.
The old man wants to be young again. I see this in me when I get older. The old speaker in the poem talks about going to Byzantine and trying to gain life. I don't see me doing this, but I will find my own Byzantine. Whether it is going tanning to get a bronzed body when I am 50 years old and not attractive anymore or jumping out of a plane to feel the thrill of life, I will find my Byzantine.
Many men go through a mid-life crisis and I believe this poem is talking about the speaker going through one of his. If I think harder about what I will do, it will have to be a car. I will probably buy a fast convertible and drive it across the country with some of my friends that are going through their mid-life crisis also.
The fascination with the artificial as superior to the natural is a major theme in this poem. He believes that tales are better than life. Sometimes we wish that our life was like a cartoon, and I believe this is what he (the speaker) is thinking when he writes about Byzantine. He talks about no longer taking his body as a natural thing once he is out of the natural world. This shows that he (again being the old speaker) wishes his life to be a fairytale. A fairytale never dies and the old man is getting closer and closer to death. A fairytale stays youthful and innocent it's entire life, which is the dream of the speaker and of every person in the world.
This was a very inspiring poem and one that enjoyed reading and analyzing.
The old man wants to be young again. I see this in me when I get older. The old speaker in the poem talks about going to Byzantine and trying to gain life. I don't see me doing this, but I will find my own Byzantine. Whether it is going tanning to get a bronzed body when I am 50 years old and not attractive anymore or jumping out of a plane to feel the thrill of life, I will find my Byzantine.
Many men go through a mid-life crisis and I believe this poem is talking about the speaker going through one of his. If I think harder about what I will do, it will have to be a car. I will probably buy a fast convertible and drive it across the country with some of my friends that are going through their mid-life crisis also.
The fascination with the artificial as superior to the natural is a major theme in this poem. He believes that tales are better than life. Sometimes we wish that our life was like a cartoon, and I believe this is what he (the speaker) is thinking when he writes about Byzantine. He talks about no longer taking his body as a natural thing once he is out of the natural world. This shows that he (again being the old speaker) wishes his life to be a fairytale. A fairytale never dies and the old man is getting closer and closer to death. A fairytale stays youthful and innocent it's entire life, which is the dream of the speaker and of every person in the world.
This was a very inspiring poem and one that enjoyed reading and analyzing.
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