Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
January 17, 2008
Journal #7 Mark Twain
Quote:
"It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said"(Twain 324).
Summary:
The town is having a religious rally to send off the troops with a high morale. Amidst the town people is a stranger who claims he is a messenger of God. The towns people cast him off as crazy and pay no mind to what he said.
Response:
I found that the last quote line in this work struck me as the most powerful and profound out of the whole short story. The most ironic thing about the towns people calling the man crazy is that he is summarizing what they are all praying about. In a nutshell the man is telling everybody that their prayers have been heard by God. The villagers pray that their soldiers kill all the enemy soldiers and that they come back home safe. Yet when the stranger says this he is outcast as crazy. This really says a lot about the attitudes and beliefs of these religious people. Who is to say which side is right. How can you expect a loving God to answer your prayers asking for the deaths of all the enemy soldiers. This really strikes me as odd that these religious people would wish death upon people they do not know. This reminds me of our current day situation with the war on "terrorism".The military is constantly saying how God is on their side yet so are the people we are fighting. Who is to say which one is right and which one is wrong. To me it seems like an easy way to gain the support of people by saying that God is on your side.
Religion is a very sensitive issue which is why Twain wrote this piece of work. He wrote it so that the reader would be aware of the criticisms that are made about religion. As easy as it is to use God to gain support it is just as easy to call someone crazy and make your cause seem like the right one.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
This is not funny!
Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
January 17. 2008
Journal #6 Mark Twain
Quote:
"...and he would go to work and bore me to death with some exasperating reminiscence of him as long and as tedious as it should be useless to me. If that was the design, it succeeded"(Twain 104).
Summary:
The narrator of the story is telling the reader that the following short story is boring and is not funny.
Response:
I forgot to mention this passage in my previous blog entry but It is an important one because it shows the sarcastic humor that Mark Twain uses in his works. Twain truly was a master of his art and the best at what he did. No other writer could captivate an audience like he did. He flat out says that he thinks the story is boring yet it proves to be otherwise. This is a very clever way of introducing the reader his type of humor. I think that in our present day there are few to no writes or comedians that could excel in this early American humor as did Twain. The only type of comedies that come close are the situational comedies like, "Everybody loves Raymond" and "Seinfeld". These two comedies do an excellent job of putting characters in awkward or compromising situations and having them deal with the situation. I didn't watch "Seinfeld", but the only episode I did was the one about the soup nazi. The soup nazi was a man who made the best type of food and when you ordered his soup you had to follow a very strict procedure. If you did not than he would yell, kick you out and ban you from ever buying soup from him again. I like to think the Twain would appreciate this type of humor and be proud to know that he was the father of this American humor.
Sarcasm is a very strong way to get your message across. Its also an easy an effective way to get a laugh from people. Mark Twain does a excellent job of using sarcasm in the above quote.
English 48B
January 17. 2008
Journal #6 Mark Twain
Quote:
"...and he would go to work and bore me to death with some exasperating reminiscence of him as long and as tedious as it should be useless to me. If that was the design, it succeeded"(Twain 104).
Summary:
The narrator of the story is telling the reader that the following short story is boring and is not funny.
Response:
I forgot to mention this passage in my previous blog entry but It is an important one because it shows the sarcastic humor that Mark Twain uses in his works. Twain truly was a master of his art and the best at what he did. No other writer could captivate an audience like he did. He flat out says that he thinks the story is boring yet it proves to be otherwise. This is a very clever way of introducing the reader his type of humor. I think that in our present day there are few to no writes or comedians that could excel in this early American humor as did Twain. The only type of comedies that come close are the situational comedies like, "Everybody loves Raymond" and "Seinfeld". These two comedies do an excellent job of putting characters in awkward or compromising situations and having them deal with the situation. I didn't watch "Seinfeld", but the only episode I did was the one about the soup nazi. The soup nazi was a man who made the best type of food and when you ordered his soup you had to follow a very strict procedure. If you did not than he would yell, kick you out and ban you from ever buying soup from him again. I like to think the Twain would appreciate this type of humor and be proud to know that he was the father of this American humor.
Sarcasm is a very strong way to get your message across. Its also an easy an effective way to get a laugh from people. Mark Twain does a excellent job of using sarcasm in the above quote.
The jumping frog and the conman
Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
January 17, 2008
Journal #5 Twain
Quote:
"And he ketched Dan'l by the nap of the neck, and hefted him, and says, "Why blame my cats if he don't weigh five pound!"(Twain 107).
Summary:
Smiley has challenged a stranger in town that no frog in calaveras county can out jump his frog, Dan'l. While Smiley is off getting a frog to compete with Dan'l the stranger fills Dan'l with lead shot making him unable to jump and ultimately Smiley loses his money.
Response:
The humor that appears in this short story is very unique to the American humorist. All other short stories have a punchline that is built up throughout the story but in the case of Mark Twain the whole story is humorous. First there is Simon Wheeler who tells the story of the jumping frog, but also goes on all these wild tangents. This is part of what makes this short story funny is that the story goes nowhere. It is almost like a bunch of random thoughts put together. Here is the narrator trying to find a man only to be thrown on a wild goose chase. My favorite part is when Smiley gets cheated out of his money by the conman. Now he knows how it feels to be cheated out of many just like he has done. I can just imagine hoe mad Smiley was when he realized he had been cheated out of forty dollars based on his own eagerness to cheat the stranger. What I think is clever about the story is that the Stranger seems to be the True Smiley that the narrator is looking for. Only the ultimate conman could con Smiley and his frog.
I also want to comment on what Juliet said yesterday in class. The Simpson's analogy that she used was very good. When she brought up the episode that has Krusty dealing with a gambling problem it does a perfect job of showing me what Smiley is like. I love the line about Krusty asking Fat Tony who he has on the opera. The connection between Smiley and Krusty is just amazing.
English 48B
January 17, 2008
Journal #5 Twain
Quote:
"And he ketched Dan'l by the nap of the neck, and hefted him, and says, "Why blame my cats if he don't weigh five pound!"(Twain 107).
Summary:
Smiley has challenged a stranger in town that no frog in calaveras county can out jump his frog, Dan'l. While Smiley is off getting a frog to compete with Dan'l the stranger fills Dan'l with lead shot making him unable to jump and ultimately Smiley loses his money.
Response:
The humor that appears in this short story is very unique to the American humorist. All other short stories have a punchline that is built up throughout the story but in the case of Mark Twain the whole story is humorous. First there is Simon Wheeler who tells the story of the jumping frog, but also goes on all these wild tangents. This is part of what makes this short story funny is that the story goes nowhere. It is almost like a bunch of random thoughts put together. Here is the narrator trying to find a man only to be thrown on a wild goose chase. My favorite part is when Smiley gets cheated out of his money by the conman. Now he knows how it feels to be cheated out of many just like he has done. I can just imagine hoe mad Smiley was when he realized he had been cheated out of forty dollars based on his own eagerness to cheat the stranger. What I think is clever about the story is that the Stranger seems to be the True Smiley that the narrator is looking for. Only the ultimate conman could con Smiley and his frog.
I also want to comment on what Juliet said yesterday in class. The Simpson's analogy that she used was very good. When she brought up the episode that has Krusty dealing with a gambling problem it does a perfect job of showing me what Smiley is like. I love the line about Krusty asking Fat Tony who he has on the opera. The connection between Smiley and Krusty is just amazing.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Dickinson's personae
Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
January 11, 2008
Journal #4 Dickinson
Quote:
"This is my letter to the World
That never wrote to Me-"(Dickinson 87).
Summary:
This is Dickinson's outcry to the world. She is lonely and only wants to be loves and known.
Response:
When I read this poem I read it as an outcry and a plea for help. Dickinson was a recluse that spent the majority of her life in her parents home. She is thought to have suffered from multiple mental illneses including depression. Dickinson was also a user of personae. She used other narrators within her poems to help give her innermost thoughts and feelings a louder more powerful voice. From her hermit like behavior her socail skills had to have been poor to none existent. Therefore she had to create a strong voice for herself that was capable of expressing the feelings that she was to shy to express. This poem is quite an extremely sad poem. She begins by the poem by writing a letter and receiving no response. How devastating can this be to a persons mental condition especailly considering that they are already secluded and depressed. In the first stanza she uses the first person but than suddenly she switches to the third person in the second stanza. Dickinson uses her but she also capitalizes her. This is the stronger voice that I was talking about earlier. SHe is reaching out to her readers and telling them that her poems are her innermost soul and feelings. She wants people to know who she is and not judge her in a negative way. She goes on to ask them to, "judge tenderly", of her. She is affraid of the harsh criticism that she may get and does not invite it. This plea to her readers seems to sum up just how lonely and depressed she may have been. As a reader of Dickinson's poetry we have to be amazed that we can see just how she was feeling and her view of herself from just eight lines of poetry.
English 48B
January 11, 2008
Journal #4 Dickinson
Quote:
"This is my letter to the World
That never wrote to Me-"(Dickinson 87).
Summary:
This is Dickinson's outcry to the world. She is lonely and only wants to be loves and known.
Response:
When I read this poem I read it as an outcry and a plea for help. Dickinson was a recluse that spent the majority of her life in her parents home. She is thought to have suffered from multiple mental illneses including depression. Dickinson was also a user of personae. She used other narrators within her poems to help give her innermost thoughts and feelings a louder more powerful voice. From her hermit like behavior her socail skills had to have been poor to none existent. Therefore she had to create a strong voice for herself that was capable of expressing the feelings that she was to shy to express. This poem is quite an extremely sad poem. She begins by the poem by writing a letter and receiving no response. How devastating can this be to a persons mental condition especailly considering that they are already secluded and depressed. In the first stanza she uses the first person but than suddenly she switches to the third person in the second stanza. Dickinson uses her but she also capitalizes her. This is the stronger voice that I was talking about earlier. SHe is reaching out to her readers and telling them that her poems are her innermost soul and feelings. She wants people to know who she is and not judge her in a negative way. She goes on to ask them to, "judge tenderly", of her. She is affraid of the harsh criticism that she may get and does not invite it. This plea to her readers seems to sum up just how lonely and depressed she may have been. As a reader of Dickinson's poetry we have to be amazed that we can see just how she was feeling and her view of herself from just eight lines of poetry.
Wlid Nights!
Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
January 11, 2007
Journal #3 Dickinson
Quote:
"Rowing in Eden-
Ah- the Sea!
Might I moor-tonight-
In thee!"(Dickinson 82)
Summary:
Dickinson is describing the intimate night that she and another woman had.
Response:
Dickinson sure had a wild night judging by the poem that she writes. In class we went over several ways that the poem could be interpreted but one sticks out clearly in my mind. I just find to much proof to read the poem as any other way but about a wild night of passionate lesbian love. The way she starts off the poem for me is a big tip off, "Wild nights-Wild nights!", this suggests that they had deeply passionate sex for the whole night. Dickinson goes on to explain that these wild nights are a luxury. She is by no means a nymphomaniac but rather a person who is deeply in love with her partner. This says a lot about Dickinson as a person because she puts extra value and emphasis on love and love making by treating it as a luxury. As most of us know luxuries are often expensive, rare and precious. Therefore we must make the most out of the luxury so that we can get the most satisfaction from it. In Dickinson's case her luxury comes on the form of a woman. The last stanza acts as further proof that this poem is about a night of sex. The first line of the third stanza describes the love making as being from Eden. Eden is where Adam and Eve stayed after they were created but Eden can also be a place of pure happiness and bliss. What more blissful feeling than the bliss of passionate love. "Ah- the Sea!", is the rush and waves of orgasm's that Dickinson experiences. Furthermore Dickinson even says how she wants to be "in thee" surely a woman cannot be in a man, but what about a woman? After giving the other interpretations of this poem some thought I just can not help but to feel that this poem is not about the act of love-making. What strikes me as most incredible is just how classy and unimposing Dickinson puts her experience into words. There is nothing filthy or raunchy in this poem rather it is beautiful and full of life.
English 48B
January 11, 2007
Journal #3 Dickinson
Quote:
"Rowing in Eden-
Ah- the Sea!
Might I moor-tonight-
In thee!"(Dickinson 82)
Summary:
Dickinson is describing the intimate night that she and another woman had.
Response:
Dickinson sure had a wild night judging by the poem that she writes. In class we went over several ways that the poem could be interpreted but one sticks out clearly in my mind. I just find to much proof to read the poem as any other way but about a wild night of passionate lesbian love. The way she starts off the poem for me is a big tip off, "Wild nights-Wild nights!", this suggests that they had deeply passionate sex for the whole night. Dickinson goes on to explain that these wild nights are a luxury. She is by no means a nymphomaniac but rather a person who is deeply in love with her partner. This says a lot about Dickinson as a person because she puts extra value and emphasis on love and love making by treating it as a luxury. As most of us know luxuries are often expensive, rare and precious. Therefore we must make the most out of the luxury so that we can get the most satisfaction from it. In Dickinson's case her luxury comes on the form of a woman. The last stanza acts as further proof that this poem is about a night of sex. The first line of the third stanza describes the love making as being from Eden. Eden is where Adam and Eve stayed after they were created but Eden can also be a place of pure happiness and bliss. What more blissful feeling than the bliss of passionate love. "Ah- the Sea!", is the rush and waves of orgasm's that Dickinson experiences. Furthermore Dickinson even says how she wants to be "in thee" surely a woman cannot be in a man, but what about a woman? After giving the other interpretations of this poem some thought I just can not help but to feel that this poem is not about the act of love-making. What strikes me as most incredible is just how classy and unimposing Dickinson puts her experience into words. There is nothing filthy or raunchy in this poem rather it is beautiful and full of life.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Whitman and Men
Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
January 9, 2008
Journal #2 Whitman
Quote:
"As the hugging and loving bed-fellow sleeps at my side through the night,
and withdraws at the peep of the day with stealthy tread,
Leaving me baskets cover'd with white towels swelling the house with their plenty"(Whitman 32).
Summary:
Whitman is describing an encounter that he has with a male.
Response:
You would almost have to say definitively that Whitman was homosexual judging by the above quote. He is describing the night that he spent with a man. They both enjoyed each other and were amorous towards one another. The strange part is how the male companion sneaks away in the morning. Almost as if he were afraid that another person would catch him and Whitman in bed together. You have to give Whitman a lot of credit for having the courage to write about his homosexual relationships in a time when they were much less accepted than in the present. The thing that grabs my attention the most is how the man that sleeps with Whitman sneaks out at daybreak. This almost suggests that Whitman may have had a girlfriend of wife. Yet this is exactly the confusing part there is so much critical evidence for Whitman being homosexual that him having a relationship with a female is very unlikely. I think the man sneaks away because in the 1800's it is taboo for the same sex to be seen together as romantic partners. I do want to point out that this is not a one night stand but rather a intimate and ongoing relationship. The other man leaves baskets covered with white towels, it seems that the man may be doing some cleaning in Whitman's home. This would suggest that they have an ongoing relationship. Again this must have been very tough to do in the 1800's where this type of relationship was looked down upon so negatively
English 48B
January 9, 2008
Journal #2 Whitman
Quote:
"As the hugging and loving bed-fellow sleeps at my side through the night,
and withdraws at the peep of the day with stealthy tread,
Leaving me baskets cover'd with white towels swelling the house with their plenty"(Whitman 32).
Summary:
Whitman is describing an encounter that he has with a male.
Response:
You would almost have to say definitively that Whitman was homosexual judging by the above quote. He is describing the night that he spent with a man. They both enjoyed each other and were amorous towards one another. The strange part is how the male companion sneaks away in the morning. Almost as if he were afraid that another person would catch him and Whitman in bed together. You have to give Whitman a lot of credit for having the courage to write about his homosexual relationships in a time when they were much less accepted than in the present. The thing that grabs my attention the most is how the man that sleeps with Whitman sneaks out at daybreak. This almost suggests that Whitman may have had a girlfriend of wife. Yet this is exactly the confusing part there is so much critical evidence for Whitman being homosexual that him having a relationship with a female is very unlikely. I think the man sneaks away because in the 1800's it is taboo for the same sex to be seen together as romantic partners. I do want to point out that this is not a one night stand but rather a intimate and ongoing relationship. The other man leaves baskets covered with white towels, it seems that the man may be doing some cleaning in Whitman's home. This would suggest that they have an ongoing relationship. Again this must have been very tough to do in the 1800's where this type of relationship was looked down upon so negatively
Whitman uncensored
Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
January 9, 2008
Journal #1 Walt Whitman
Quote:
"It is in my mouth forever, I am in love with it,
I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked,
I am mad for it to be in contact with me"(Whitman 31).
Summary:
Whitman is describing the sexual urges that radiate from his body. Whitman wants to be with everybody, he wants nothing to hold him back when he chooses his next sexual partner.
Response:
Whitman really is better uncensored. I can not imagine how different Whitman's poetry would sound if it were edited for content. His poetry is full of sexual and sensual overtones and feelings. When I first read the selections that we were asked to read I was not able to pick up on just how erotic the poetry is but after learning some background information about Whitman I have developed a somewhat discerning eye. After reading his poetry a second and third time I am able to see just why Whitman's poetry caused such an uproar with the 1800's public. When student's like myself read the poetry of Whitman It doesn't cause as much of a shock factor as it did during Whitman's lifetime. With this said you do have to have a high level of maturity and respect for the works of poets like Whitman. I'm sure that in an entry level high school English class you could not teach Whitman as the erotically explicit poet that he is. College is great because as mature adults we are able to discuss and read deep into what Whitman was saying and feeling as a poet. The sexual energy that jumps off the pages is just enormous. When I read his poetry I forget that it was written in the mid 1800's. The words and the hidden meanings behind the stanzas makes me think that this poetry is written by a contemporary author. These are my initial thoughts about Whitman, in my next journal I will be taking a closer look at a particular section from, "Song of myself", so that I can give my own personal interpretation on the poem.
English 48B
January 9, 2008
Journal #1 Walt Whitman
Quote:
"It is in my mouth forever, I am in love with it,
I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked,
I am mad for it to be in contact with me"(Whitman 31).
Summary:
Whitman is describing the sexual urges that radiate from his body. Whitman wants to be with everybody, he wants nothing to hold him back when he chooses his next sexual partner.
Response:
Whitman really is better uncensored. I can not imagine how different Whitman's poetry would sound if it were edited for content. His poetry is full of sexual and sensual overtones and feelings. When I first read the selections that we were asked to read I was not able to pick up on just how erotic the poetry is but after learning some background information about Whitman I have developed a somewhat discerning eye. After reading his poetry a second and third time I am able to see just why Whitman's poetry caused such an uproar with the 1800's public. When student's like myself read the poetry of Whitman It doesn't cause as much of a shock factor as it did during Whitman's lifetime. With this said you do have to have a high level of maturity and respect for the works of poets like Whitman. I'm sure that in an entry level high school English class you could not teach Whitman as the erotically explicit poet that he is. College is great because as mature adults we are able to discuss and read deep into what Whitman was saying and feeling as a poet. The sexual energy that jumps off the pages is just enormous. When I read his poetry I forget that it was written in the mid 1800's. The words and the hidden meanings behind the stanzas makes me think that this poetry is written by a contemporary author. These are my initial thoughts about Whitman, in my next journal I will be taking a closer look at a particular section from, "Song of myself", so that I can give my own personal interpretation on the poem.
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