The rocking horse winner is a story about a boy who is born to "unlucky" parents, and determined to be "lucky", is able to determine the winner of a future horse race if he rides his rocking horse to the finish.
1) What does the boy ride?
2) Why does the boy finally die? Is he lucky or unlucky?
3) What does it mean to be lucky? Why is it important that "luck" extends beyond wealth?
The Rocking Horse Winner has a theme of luck and one's drive for wealth. The boy, who claims to be lucky, comes from a family of people that claim to be unlucky. The theme of the story is essentially the drive to be wealthy. The boy confuses luck with wealth... and the mom's description of the fact that "luck" is what brings you wealth is to blame. The boy was brought up in a family without love- his mother didn't love him, and he knew this. The family was also brought up without money, so the boy felt that if he were lucky enough to bring in wealth, the family would be saved. However his drive for luck got mixed up with his drive for wealth- one can't make himself lucky, but one can make himself wealthy. He essentially drove away his entire family when he was on his rocking horse trying to see the finish- but he totally neglected that there is a lot more that his family needed then just money. Therefore in the end he was not lucky, but unlucky, for he was only looking for the finish.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
1943
1943
They toughened us for war. In the high-school auditorium
Ed Monahan knocked out Dominick Esposito in the first round
of the heavyweight finals, and ten months later Dom died
in the third wave at Tarawa. Every morning of the war
our Brock-Hall Dairy delivered milk from horse-drawn wagons
to wooden back porches in southern Connecticut. In winter,
frozen cream lifted the cardboard lids of glass bottles,
Grade A or Grade B, while marines bled to death in the surf,
or the right engine faltered into Channel silt, or troops marched
—what could we do?—with frostbitten feet as white as milk.
—Donald Hall
This poem strikes me in several different ways. Primarily, I was drawn to it because 1943 refers to World War II, one of the most fascinating historical eras (in my opinion). The poem however hardly even speaks of the war, but instead of the daily life with an undermining tone of war. It, in a way, reflects war- when one is not actively fighting or in some other way involved in it, the day to day life can seem unchanged on the surface- but it isn't. War effects everything- especially a war to the degree of WWII. The author first speaks of becoming prepared, "toughened up" for war. However, the person being "toughened up" for war died ten months later. It is a difficult concept; to be "toughened up" for death. There is a melancholy to this segment, because that is indeed what has happened.The melancholy undertone continues as the writer talks about the milk, which is a mundane, daily task that is somehow still effected by the poison of the war. Finally, the poem ends talking about the war again, bringing what has been an undertone to the whole poem to the surface- "what can we do?"
They toughened us for war. In the high-school auditorium
Ed Monahan knocked out Dominick Esposito in the first round
of the heavyweight finals, and ten months later Dom died
in the third wave at Tarawa. Every morning of the war
our Brock-Hall Dairy delivered milk from horse-drawn wagons
to wooden back porches in southern Connecticut. In winter,
frozen cream lifted the cardboard lids of glass bottles,
Grade A or Grade B, while marines bled to death in the surf,
or the right engine faltered into Channel silt, or troops marched
—what could we do?—with frostbitten feet as white as milk.
—Donald Hall
This poem strikes me in several different ways. Primarily, I was drawn to it because 1943 refers to World War II, one of the most fascinating historical eras (in my opinion). The poem however hardly even speaks of the war, but instead of the daily life with an undermining tone of war. It, in a way, reflects war- when one is not actively fighting or in some other way involved in it, the day to day life can seem unchanged on the surface- but it isn't. War effects everything- especially a war to the degree of WWII. The author first speaks of becoming prepared, "toughened up" for war. However, the person being "toughened up" for war died ten months later. It is a difficult concept; to be "toughened up" for death. There is a melancholy to this segment, because that is indeed what has happened.The melancholy undertone continues as the writer talks about the milk, which is a mundane, daily task that is somehow still effected by the poison of the war. Finally, the poem ends talking about the war again, bringing what has been an undertone to the whole poem to the surface- "what can we do?"
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Lesson
The Lesson is a story about a girl who has grown up in a bad part of town and her reaction to a woman's attempt to show her and her friends that there is more to the world.
level one: What is the name of the main characters best friend?
level two: What is Miss Moore trying to teach the children?
level three: What is the significance of education to get rid of poverty? Is it effective?
The theme of this story is essentially the response that the characters have to an attempt to educate them about getting a better life for themselves.
I believe it is significant to educate to get rid of poverty, but the truth is, and the story shows, that it is extremely difficult. As shown in the story, the kids are very happy when they don't realize what they are "missing out" on. When we read Nickel and Dimed last summer, I remember that when Eihnreich (I am not sure how to spell her name) tried to talk to the other maids (when she worked in a maid service) about what she was trying to accomplish by writing the book, many of them were simply disinterested. However, the other thing that many people have to realize is that although being in poverty certainly isn't a good thing, what is important is being happy- and money certainly doesn't mean that (ok it's a little cliche but still far too many people fail to see it). Sometimes the people without all the money and the "things" are the people that need to be teaching the lesson to the people that do have everything- because people tend to put way to much value on their material possessions, and their money. Not only does having money not mean everything.... it hardly really means anything. Not that education isn't a great thing... of course the kids should be educated, and of course they should know what is out there beyond what they know- but it should be recognized that people can be happy in all walks of life if they learn to put less worth on their money and more worth on more important things.
level one: What is the name of the main characters best friend?
level two: What is Miss Moore trying to teach the children?
level three: What is the significance of education to get rid of poverty? Is it effective?
The theme of this story is essentially the response that the characters have to an attempt to educate them about getting a better life for themselves.
I believe it is significant to educate to get rid of poverty, but the truth is, and the story shows, that it is extremely difficult. As shown in the story, the kids are very happy when they don't realize what they are "missing out" on. When we read Nickel and Dimed last summer, I remember that when Eihnreich (I am not sure how to spell her name) tried to talk to the other maids (when she worked in a maid service) about what she was trying to accomplish by writing the book, many of them were simply disinterested. However, the other thing that many people have to realize is that although being in poverty certainly isn't a good thing, what is important is being happy- and money certainly doesn't mean that (ok it's a little cliche but still far too many people fail to see it). Sometimes the people without all the money and the "things" are the people that need to be teaching the lesson to the people that do have everything- because people tend to put way to much value on their material possessions, and their money. Not only does having money not mean everything.... it hardly really means anything. Not that education isn't a great thing... of course the kids should be educated, and of course they should know what is out there beyond what they know- but it should be recognized that people can be happy in all walks of life if they learn to put less worth on their money and more worth on more important things.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
I Stand Here Ironing
"I Stand Here Ironing" is a story about the daughter of the narrator; her life as she grew.
What is the daughter's name?
Why did the mother emphasize how much she nursed Emily?
What is the effect of a father leaving have on a child?
Though I am not a mother, and don't plan to be for quite a while, I felt a connection with the mom. Simply because the story is so well-written; but it really allows you to understand the love that the mother has for her child. However it struck me as odd how she compared Emily to the other children- and she didn't even list many of the other childrens' names. It was as though Emily was the only one that truly mattered to her, and she felt in some ways as though she had failed Emily because of how melancholy she always was. The comedy is the fascinating aspect, to the mother. "How did she get that comedy?" is kind of the repeated theme and question for the piece. Her mother is convinced that it was obviously not from her own childhood. However I believe that in some ways, one can receive comedy from less than pleasant experiences. Like a coping mechanism, in a way... comedy could be a way for her to escape from it. Though at the same time, her childhood didn't sound too terribly painful... her mother was loving. So her comedy could have come from this.
What is the daughter's name?
Why did the mother emphasize how much she nursed Emily?
What is the effect of a father leaving have on a child?
Though I am not a mother, and don't plan to be for quite a while, I felt a connection with the mom. Simply because the story is so well-written; but it really allows you to understand the love that the mother has for her child. However it struck me as odd how she compared Emily to the other children- and she didn't even list many of the other childrens' names. It was as though Emily was the only one that truly mattered to her, and she felt in some ways as though she had failed Emily because of how melancholy she always was. The comedy is the fascinating aspect, to the mother. "How did she get that comedy?" is kind of the repeated theme and question for the piece. Her mother is convinced that it was obviously not from her own childhood. However I believe that in some ways, one can receive comedy from less than pleasant experiences. Like a coping mechanism, in a way... comedy could be a way for her to escape from it. Though at the same time, her childhood didn't sound too terribly painful... her mother was loving. So her comedy could have come from this.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Why does joe want this?
Joe wants more than anything to die, because he wants to end this state of almost-death that he is in. He is unable to speak, see, hear, has no arms or legs, and so he is essentially unable to communicate or establish a connection with a human being ever again. He feels that he is as close to death as possible without being dead, because he is essentially dead but aware of it. However, he realizes that he is a one in a million that survives; most people that suffer the kind of injuries or even things less severe than him will die, and he feels as if instead of winning he is the one that has lost, because being in this state of conscious death is much worse than just being dead (although he does say for a passage that there is no abstract cause worth dying for). He didn't think he could ever win a one in a million draw, and everyone thought that he had won versus everyone else because he was the one that got to keep his life, but he sees it as a loss because he must suffer with this for eternity... or at least as long as his natural life lasts.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
How injured is Joe?
Joe is seriously injured. He finds out progressively through the first part that he is deaf, then he is missing his arms, then his legs, then he is blind and has no face. He essentially has no ability to do anything, communicate, or express his thoughts in any way. However, he is not paralyzed, and his mind is completely intact, which is the worst torture of all. All he has is his mind and his consciousness and therefore that is how the entire book is narrated. It would be extremely frustrating... maddening in fact, to be able to be perfectly conscious and be unable to express anything whatsoever. One of his greatest desires is to die because he doesn't want to have to put up with this, and therefore he realizes that death for a cause isn't worth anything because he is the closest to death that is possible without actually being dead, so essentially he is aware of his "death" as opposed to someone who is actually dead who is presumably unaware of this, and from that standpoint he says that a person should always preserve their life.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Gender roles in once upon a mattress
As someone who spent a lot of time with this show, I had a lot of time to think about the gender roles. In a way it tries to defy them, but in defying them it still defines what they are. Dauntless and Winnifred are opposite roles in the sense that Dauntless is submissive and Winnifred is very strong and powerful. She even takes on a boy's name; "Fred" to show her manliness. Dauntless is ruled over by his mother. Queen Aggravain also has some distinct "gender personality". Women are often stereotyped as being overly talkative and annoying, and Aggravain certainly follows this. King Sextimus is, though very nice, afflicted with loose morals, chasing girls constantly. This also follows a stereotype; that women act like they don't want to be pursued when they really do, that it is ok to "trap" them (as the jester says "I will set a trap tomorrow". However, the musical mocks this stereotype more than following it, as it makes it extremely humorous. Lady Larkin's conversation with Winnifred struck me as interesting as well, because not only does Winnifred tell Larkin to apologize to Harry (Harry is the one that should apologize for blaming Larkin for mistaking the princess for a chambermaid), But she also tells Larkin not to act "too strong" because men like "weak women". This is very counter intuitive for Fred to say, as she is the ultimate "tomboy". I find it very interesting that Fred doesn't practice what she preaches, though its possible that she just knows Harry's personality and that he is extremely pompous and somewhat stuck up.
Finally, the song "Happily Ever After" covers the whole fairy tale stereotype, as there is one line that Fred sings in which she talks about how the "princess is always a bride" or something. She sings about how when she is married she will be happily ever after too, but she makes fun of this idea a little bit as well, even though it is obvious that though she is not the "typical" princess, she still wants the same thing that "typical" princess want.
Finally, the song "Happily Ever After" covers the whole fairy tale stereotype, as there is one line that Fred sings in which she talks about how the "princess is always a bride" or something. She sings about how when she is married she will be happily ever after too, but she makes fun of this idea a little bit as well, even though it is obvious that though she is not the "typical" princess, she still wants the same thing that "typical" princess want.
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