Journal #16 Twain

Liana Laskin

English 48B

"Letters from the Earth" and "The War Prayer" by Mark Twain

February 26, 2009

"If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian." (Twain, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain)

Summary:

"Letters from the Earth" starts out with God creating animals and human beings as experiments; he has three archangels, Gabriel, Michael, and Satan, who are his audience. Of course, Satan is banished into space, but decides to go to Earth to see God's creations. He writes a series of letters about how humans and angels differ in every single way. Satan points out that although humans value sex above all other pleasures, they leave it out of their heaven and instead replace it with prayer. In the "Letter to the Earth," the last sections of "Letters," humans are shown to have contradictory prayers (i.e. the prayers the say out loud conflict with the ones that are in their hearts). "The War Prayer" begins with families celebrating their male members going to war, either to come back as heroes or die valiantly in battle. An old man tells the minister leading the prayer to step down and begins his own observation; he begins by telling the stunned audience that he has "come from the Throne-bearing a message from Almighty God!" He disregards the positive message of glory and pointing out how many will die and suffer at the hands of the great soldiers. After going on for a very long time, the stranger finally pauses, and then says that if going to war is still what the people "desire," they should say so right then and there. After he leaves, the people end up believing that the man was merely a "lunatic" with no clue as to what he was going on about.

Response:

I had to read "Letters from the Earth" twice to completely understand the humor in the story (it did not jump out at me as much as “Fennimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses” did). The first time through it felt very cynical and was kind of odd, but as soon as I really got what I was reading, it became quite hilarious. I think my appreciation of it had a little to do with the fact that I am an Atheist, especially when I got to “Letter to the Earth.” There are so many religious people (definitely not all) out in the world who pray for good things to happen to them and others, but unfortunately do not are not as caring or giving in their hearts or vise versa (i.e. pray for bad things to happen to others, but silently pray for good things to happen to themselves). I found it funny that Satan was the one doing the commentary on what was happening in Heaven and on Earth, specifically because I would imagine God being the narrator in that instance. Satan narrating makes more sense since the idea of sexual intercourse is brought up (the story is already blasphemous enough without God making this observation). I did not like “The War Prayer” as much because it seemed a little too depressing for my taste (the mood definitely makes the story into something quite ahead of its time). I felt like it did not fit in with the other stories I read because it was so different.

Journal #15 Twain

Liana Laskin

English 48B

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (Chapter 31) and "Fennimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" by Mark Twain

February 25, 2009

"The father of American literature" (What William Faulkner called Twain) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain

Summary:

In chapter 31 of Huckleberry Finn, the duke, the dauphin, Huck, and Jim continue on their raft for days without stopping. After attempting to get money through various schemes and failing, the duke and dauphin start to make the other two nervous with private discussion, leading them to decide be gone their first chance. The group (sans Jim) goes into a town to get money. After a bar fight, Huck leaves and returns to the raft to find Jim gone; he finds out that Jim has been captured, recognized as a runaway slave. The boy Huck talks to says that Jim was later sold for forty dollars the farmer Silas Phelps. At this point, Huck thinks of writing to Tom Sawyer to let Miss Watson know Jim's whereabouts. But he thinks about it, he realizes not only will Jim be sold but that his part in the story would shame him. After trying to pray but failing, he writes the letter. Going to pray again he thinks of his friendship with Jim; deciding he's going to hell anyway, he tears up the letter. Huck then goes to see Phelps, but runs into the duke, who questions him about where he has been. After telling him about how both Jim and the raft were gone, the accidentally tells him where Jim is but changes his story; he tells Huck where to "find" him, a journey that is forty miles and will take three days. In "Fennimore Cooper's Literary Offenses," Twain's criticism of the author's writing, he points out the many problems he has with Cooper. These issues include having a very convenient twig handy for someone to step on when silence is worth a lot, dumbing down his Native American characters to the point that they cannot jump onto a boat that is so big it is scraping each side of the river, and having shooters know that their bullets hit a nail from so far away it would be impossible and not checking because they are so sure of themselves.

Response:

I definitely appreciated the criticism of Fennimore Cooper more than chapter 31 of Huck Finn. I find it hard to really get into a reading when I start in the middle of a story I have never read before (I had the same issue with the Ruiz de Burton reading). Unlike that chapter, chapter 31 was not as hard to understand because the story is pretty straightforward, even with the way Twain's characters speak. I liked that Twain did not put himself into the story (i.e. as someone making an observation) because the writing becomes more personal since it feels like Huck, not Twain, is telling the story from his perspective. I also thought it made the story more interesting when it seems like Huck is going to tell Miss Watson where to find Jim, but decides that because Jim is a good person that would be a betrayal. Although I have never read anything by Fennimore Cooper (which would probably make the criticism more clear) I could still find humor in it; the overused twig that gets snapped at the worst possible time is something that has transcended Cooper and made its way into popular culture, making it even funnier when Twain goes on and on about it. When Twain talks how a character who is not described in an elegant way suddenly has a very flowing dialogue, I could understand the frustration because there are many authors who make this amateurish mistake and are able to publish books with characters like that.

Journal #14 Wharton

Liana Laskin

English 48B

"The Other Two" by Edith Wharton

February 19, 2009

A "Rabid imperialist" (Wharton's description of herself, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Wharton)

Summary:

Taking place in New York, Mr. Waythorn, a successful investor, is getting ready for his day. He and his new wife Alice (who is now married for the third time) are at home because Alice’s daughter Lily (whose father is Alice’s first husband, Mr. Haskett) is ill with typhoid. To see her father, Lily usually goes to his home once a week; since she cannot get out of bed, Haskett has insisted on coming to her. At first Waythorn is angry at his wife, but she soon calms him down and tries to please him by pretending as if their argument had never happened (this, in turn, makes Waythorn more uncomfortable because she has so easily moved on, like she was only acting). Waythorn leaves the house the next day (when Haskett will be in) and ends up running into Alice’s second husband, Mr. Varick, on the train. He informs Waythorn that his investing partner has been laid up with “the gout” and now Varick needs Waythorn to handle his accounts (Waythorn agrees to help his business). The conversation is awkward for Waythorn and he is relieved to get away. When he comes home, he questions Alice about Haskett’s visit; she simply says that she never spoke to him and he only had contact with the nurse (which turns out to be a lie). Waythorn ends up meeting Haskett, who is small and in a lower class than both Varick and Waythorn. Working with Varick and having Haskett over at the house visiting Lily makes it impossible for Waythorn to avoid either one of them. Eventually they all end up together in the study with Alice, which is awkward for all three of them as this has never happened before (even with this train wreck, things seem to end well for all involved).

Response:

I could argue both ways about whether or not Alice is being manipulative or not because sometimes she goes back and forth. When she gets into an argument with Mr. Waythorn, her third husband, and Mr. Haskett (her first husband) coming to see Lily, the daughter from Alice’s first marriage, she becomes vulnerable. Alice makes her lips quiver (as if she is about to cry) and makes Waythorn feel “like a brute” (832). She is also eager to please, letting all traces of the fight fade from her face as if she has already moved on from it. On the other hand, this behavior may be from marrying so many times. Wharton comments on how a little piece of Alice was lost every time she changed her name and who she was married to. I personally think that Alice really is not all that manipulative because she just does not come off as that kind of person to me. I found it highly amusing that all the character’s blushing was a nonverbal way of saying “Oh s**t,” especially because it would be extremely inappropriate to voice these reactions. Although the story did have a “happy” ending, I felt that having all three husbands in the room with Alice quite fitting because had the ending just been that Alice and Waythorn live as happily ever after as they could possibly be, it would not have the same satisfaction as what actually happened. I also do not see Waythorn as stupid, but in his own perfect little world where the fact that his wife had two other husbands does not have any effect on his marriage or life (his bubble just gets burst is all).

Journal #13 James

Liana Laskin

English 48B

"Daisy Miller, A Study" by Henry James

February 18, 2009

"James's invalidism . . . was itself the symptom of some fear of or scruple against sexual love on his part." (F.W. Dupree's theory on why James did not marry, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_James)

Summary:

Taking place at a hotel in Vevey, a young American named Frederick Winterbourne first meets a little boy, Randolph and then his older sister, pretty sister Daisy Miller (both Americans traveling with their mother around Europe). Winterbourne, having grown up in Geneva, is intrigued by Daisy, who is not as proper and considered "common" by his aunt, Mrs. Costello. Although Winterbourne's aunt refuses to be introduced to Daisy, he still wants to be around the young woman, going so far as to take her to Chillon Castle (without a chaperone). After not seeing each other for a while, Winterbourne heads to Rome, knowing that Daisy is there, and learns she has become close to lower class men and is now the topic of gossip. She is intimate with one handsome man, the Italian Mr. Giovanelli, who pretends to be upper class. Not only is Winterbourne amazed by Daisy's behavior, but Mrs. Walker, who is a part of Rome's upper class society, is not amused. Although they try to get Daisy to stop this way of living to save her reputation, she will not have any of it. Winterbourne is now unsure of her behavior and relationship with Giovanelli. Sometimes she says she's engaged to him, but then takes it back. On his way home one night, he decides to see what the Coliseum looks like by moonlight, and comes across Daisy and Giovanelli. Even though he thinks she lacks enough self-respect to take care of herself, Winterbourne urges Giovanelli to get her home. A few days later, Daisy comes down with malaria and passes away. Her mother gives Winterbourne a message from before Daisy died, saying that she was not engaged after all. A year later he realizes that he has lived in Europe too long but still goes back to his old ways in Geneva.

Response:

Even though James was only writing about the rich and extravagant in this story, I thought it made a lot of sense to have Daisy Miller die. Not only is it appropriate because in nineteenth century literature a woman who does not act as she should seems to always die, but it almost seems to be the right thing to do for the story since everything is so perfect. This story would become less interesting if Daisy had a happy ending since the life that she lives, just like Winterbourne, is considered excessive. It would just become an observation of rich people doing over the top things and having lavish vacations, which is more entertaining to watch on MTV than read in a book. I also liked how James is never clear about whether or not Daisy died a virgin (much like Crane is ambiguous about how Maggie died). Giovanelli saying “she was also the most innocent” could be read one of two ways: either she did die a virgin or that is how she was in the bedroom. Living this up in the air makes the story appeal to more people because different readers can have different theories about her character. As a writer myself, I do not really like how James writes because it feels like he goes on and on about describing a place. Personally I like to be descriptive in my writing, but the beginning of the story just lagged a bit too much for my taste.

Journal #12 Crane

Liana Laskin


English 48B

"The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane

February 12, 2009

"A scene at this time taken from the middle kitchen of hades." (Crane's description of the SS Commodore engine room as the ship was taking on water, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Crane)

Summary:

This story is based on Crane’s near death experience on the SS Commodore when it sank off the coast of Florida. Four sailors: the Captain (who is injured), the Cook, the Oiler (named Billie), and the Correspondent (most likely Crane in the third person) are lost at sea during a storm and the dinghy they are in is quickly filling with water. They soon see shore, but believe that they are too far out to swim (when in actuality the shore is only twenty miles away). They think a man on shore sees them and is going to get help and save them, but he only turns out to be a tourist. They row back out to see and try to get to another shore the next day; soon they realize the dinghy will not last much longer. They abandon ship and attempt to swim for shore after seeing men on the beach pulling off their clothes to meet them and get them safely back on land. In the end all but the Oiler make it safely to shore and have their own reasons for believing why they managed to get back safely from such a tragedy.

Response:

I like how Crane did not tell “The Open Boat” from a first person perspective, even if it was based on a true story. As a reader, writing the story in the third person makes it easier for me to understand the Correspondent (Crane’s persona) and even relate; when a story that is based on true events is in the first person, not only is it harder to get into the head of the character (since the character is an actual person), but it also makes the source less trustworthy in a way (whether or not the person telling the story is honest). I also liked that the story was not overly pessimistic or optimistic because it made it feel more real. This was much less depressing to read than Maggie: A Girl of the Streets because there was (at least, I felt this way) a small glimmer of hope and I could see that things might turn out okay for the sailors (not counting the Oiler). I think that Crane’s view of the Correspondent wishing he had been different in life was definitely a sarcastic one because most people probably have the same sort of feeling about dying and not having done enough. Many who say they will change either change, live life differently for a while, or go back to how they were living. The Correspondent is probably only having these thoughts because his death seems so imminent. I thought it made more sense for the Correspondent to take notice of the cold water when he jumps in rather than seeing his life flash before his eyes because when he thinks about dying before, he says he would change how he acts at introductions or tea time instead of possibly helping others more.

Journal #11 Crane

Liana Laskin

English 48B

"Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" by Stephen Crane

February 10, 2009

"Such an assemblage of the spraddle-legged men of the middle class, whose hands were bent and shoulders stooped from delving and constructing, had never appeared to an Asbury Park summer crowd, and the latter was vaguely amused." (Crane's account of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics' American Day Parade which appeared in the Tribune, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Crane)

Summary:


The story opens in the Irish slums with a young boy named Jimmie leading a street fight against another group if boys. Jimmie is rescued by Pete, a teenage friend of his, but starts another fight which is broken up by his father. Jimmie and his father come home to his older sister Maggie, little brother Tommie, and his mother Mary, a violent drunk who goes into a rage at any little thing (i.e. Maggie breaking a plate). After a good number of years, both the father and Tommie die. Jimmie becomes a violent cynical young man as well as a drunk, taking his father's place in the house. Maggie is the opposite, being somewhat pretty and full of hope, but naive. Pete (Jimmie's "friend" and now a bartender) draws Maggie in with the life he lives, which to her seems glorious. They start dating and Maggie sees this as the end of her problems. After being told by Mary that she has disgraced the family and a fight between Jimmie and Pete, Maggie leaves with Pete; Mary and Jimmie continue blaming Maggie for their problems. Unfortunately for Maggie, things do not get better because only a few weeks after she leaves with Pete he abandons her for the more sophisticated Nellie. Unable to return home, Maggie turns to prostitution and ends up dead in the end. Mary decides in the last line of the story to forgive her daughter (after she finds out that Maggie is dead, of course).


Response:



I do not think that Crane’s writing is pessimistic (although it is quite morbid) because life in the Irish slums (or any slums at that time) must have been that awful. I think that this story is a realistic representation of what might have happened in that kind of setting, which for me adds feeling to the story since it is almost an honest portrayal in a way. It is fair to say, in my opinion, that when I read the story I was looking for the character that would not be completely destroyed by the horrible setting and would end up a hero. I definitely rooted for Maggie and was almost surprised considering that this was not going to have a happy ending based on the fact that all the odds are stacked against Maggie having true happiness. The fact that there is no happy ending makes the story not only more realistic but also more touching because life (especially the life that Maggie lived) is never perfect or even fair. I also found that the irony of Mary’s “confession” at the end, saying that she will forgive Maggie after her daughter has been found dead adds to how despicable she is as a human being. Based on how she has acted throughout the entire story, I would bet that if it turned out Maggie was alive, Mary would change her attitude completely. As unfortunate as this idea is, the only character that seems to even have redeeming qualities is Maggie; I think this story is the epitome of “bad things happen to good people.”

Journal #10 Ruiz de Burton

Liana Laskin

English 48B

"The Squatter and the Don" by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

February 6, 2009

"While birth gave María Ruíz de Burton a sense of family, regional, and national identity, migration and marriage determined citizenship, social status, and access to a variety of social strategies in the United States." (Point of view of Rosaura Sanchez and Beatrice Pita, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Ruiz_de_Burton)

Summary:

Set in San Diego, the once wealthy Mexican landowner Don Mariano is suffering from the effects of the Land Act of 1851. Not only is he losing pieces of his land to "squatters" or poor white men, but he is also losing cattle that are being "corralled" or killed. Since he does not have too many options, he decides to make a deal with the men who are taking parts of his land to grow grain. The Don's idea is to have them all grow fruit trees and split the cattle he has left because in the long run, more money will be made than if the other men just grow grain and leave a good harvest up to nature (in the past years the weather has not been so kind). The men reject this plan because they believe it will take too long and they will not be able to make enough money quickly enough to support themselves.

Response:


I had to read this story twice to even begin to really understand what was going on. I think it was harder to follow because it was a chapter from the middle of Ruiz de Burton's book, so not having the first four chapters to have as reference made it a slightly harder read. It was interesting to contrast this to the Jewett reading because it was so different (not just because both stories are set on different sides of the country). This story reduced nature, animals, and women to mere things, focusing on what the men were doing and how much they could gain from having a good harvest or many heads of cattle. I also like how the issue of class was portrayed (while not taking one side or the other). Personally, I thought that both sides were not that great because the squatters were stealing land (even if they were American and were allowed to) and Don Mariano, although he is probably being robbed of his land and cattle unfairly, is living in the United States and has to accept the fact that times have changed and the life he was living will have to change as well.

Journal #9 Jewett

Liana Laskin

English 48B

"A White Heron" by Sarah Orne Jewett

February 4, 2009

"Feminist critics have since championed her writing for its rich account of women's lives and voices." (Willa Cather, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Orne_Jewett)

Summary:

The story starts out in a field with Sylvia, a little girl who comes to live on her grandmother Mrs. Tilley's farm to escape city life, taking her cow, Misstress Mooly, home. On the way, she runs into a young hunter and is at first afraid of him. He asks if it is possible to stay the night in her house with her and her grandmother. Sylvia takes him back with her and Mrs. Tilley is more than happy to have him in the house. He is amazed out how nice their home is and pleased to get a good meal and shelter for the night. He tells them that he collects birds not as pets, but to stuff and mount as trophies. It turns out he is searching for the elusive white heron and offers ten dollars to Sylvia to find it; Sylvia, eager to please the hunter, leaves a little before dawn to search for the heron. She climbs the tallest pine tree (bigger and older than the surrounding trees that had been planted more recently) and is able to see the heron. Sylvia is taken aback and has an internal argument with herself over whether or not to tell him of her discovery. She finally decides not to, wanting to protect the bird because telling the hunter would be a betrayal; he ends up leaving for California, disappointed.

Response:

I liked how Jewett almost inserted what happened to her where she grew up as a child into the story by talking about how the giant pine tree dwarfed the surrounding trees because it was older and had been left to grow, becoming a landmark. I think the idea of industry coming in and destroying nature is not one that can only be applied to when the story was originally written; the idea of change may be even more relevant now because most of the United States has become much more technologically advanced, which unfortunately does not leave a lot of room for nature. I think it is also important to note that nature in this story (especially with the huge tree in the second part) is personified, making it much larger than humanity because it has a beauty that cannot be replicated or reproduced if destroyed. This is probably why Sylvia is adamant about protecting the white heron from being caught by the hunter. She is not just keeping a beautiful bird safe, she is also keeping nature from being stripped and forever changed. I also found it interesting that the only male influence in the story is the hunter because he seems to be the only threat in the story with his gun, whereas Sylvia, Mrs. Tilley, Misstress Mooly, and the cat (as well as mother nature) are more peaceful and do not bring sudden change. I do not think this was intentionally done by Jewett, since she had a great relationship with her father, but it does make sense that men would be considered much more violent in comparison to women in this story.