"Bastard out of Carolina"

Dorothy Allison’s “Bastard out of Carolina” is one of the best books that I have read in awhile. It is very hard for me to “love” a book, but Allison’s style and realness really grabs my attention. Books that deal with real issues that really delve into the topic really grab my attention, especially sensitive issues such as the abuse that Bone experienced.
Bone was a very intelligent and experienced person for such a young girl. Bone knew a lot of things that most people do not know about until they are much older. Bone’s family and surrounding environment were very honest with whatever was going on in their lives, especially the struggle they went through just to get by. Bone’s family’s financial situation was very bad, and always was her whole life, and she had to experience things that most children do not usually have to go through. I feel that this was the main reason that Bone knew more than most children her age know. Her mother, Anney, was very honest with her, and always let Bone know what was going on whether it was about their financial status or about the health of their family members. They had a big extended family, and all of the members of the family were in the same boat financially.
One main flaw that I have with Anney is her constant need for a man in her life. Anney had Bone at a younger age than most woman plan on having children, and does not even keep in touch with Bone’s father. Anney continues to fill this void of a man in her life, I think, for financial security. However, the men that Anney brings home are never good, and she is much better off without them. More specifically, is Anney’s brother’s friend, Glen. Glen and Anney eventually got married after a little time together, which was one of the biggest mistakes Anney could have made. I am not sure if Anney is aware of the sexual abuse that Glen imposes on Bone, but I feel it is impossible as a mother not to know when something is going on with your child. Anney is a good mother to Bone, and this is why I feel she must not know exactly what is bothering her daughter, because she is always looking out for the best thing for Bone. One main reason besides money that I think Anney stays with Glen is because she knows that he could make Bone’s birth certificate official since he eventually takes over both Bone and Reese’s custody as a father. Dorothy Allison was very descriptive when it came to explaining the abuse that Bone experienced, which added to the realness. So far, Bone has experienced not only too much mentally that most children her age do not have to experience, but also physically. The physical abuse that Glen performs on Bone is absolutely disgusting and disturbing to think that someone who is supposed to be a “father figure” could ever do something like this to anyone, especially a “daughter.” This was a very different perspective of the southern lifestyle, but I do not feel the actions had anything to do with the location of where they live. I feel that an experience such as this could occur anywhere; in the north, south, west or east. I do not think Allison’s intentions were to exactly tear apart the south as a whole with this example of them living in the south, but it was interesting to see Allison’s connections to southern lifestyle. Clearly, Glen is not the ordinary southern gentlemen, nor was he rich, nor did he own slaves, or anything of that matter.
I feel that Dorothy Allison’s “Bastard out of Carolina” is, so far, a great book that tells of the realness of a child’s experience growing up in the south with little money. I feel that due to the amount of negative things that took place in Bone’s young life, there is only hope for goodness in the future. I am hoping that by the duration of this novel, Bone will be happy and successful in her future endeavors.

"The Heaven of Animals"

James Dickey’s “The Heaven of Animals” was a very interesting poem that caught my attention once it was reviewed in class. I did not think this poem was as appealing when I read it on my own, but once we had a class discussion and dissected each stanza of the poem, I have a better respect for Dickey’s writing. Along with the rest of Dickey’s poetry, the title, “The Heaven of Animals” was self explanatory as to what the poem was going to be about. The first line of the poem states “Here they are. The soft eyes open.” This was a very visual poem right from the start, and the first thing I thought of was that this was the start of the after life for the animals. When I envisioned the soft eyes opening I thought of the picture of when a new born baby animal is born and their eyes open, and I feel that birth and “after life” are very similar. Even when it comes to infants and very old people, I think it is the start of a new life for an infant and the restart of life for older people. “The soft eyes opening” was symbolic to this vision, to me, and the way the animals are described is that they are in their natural habitats, comfortable. When animals as well as humans die, it is said that right before they die they are at peace with themselves and are content with everything that they have. Continuing with the theme of visioning the afterlife of these animals, Dickey states in the third stanza “To match them, the landscape flowers...” I felt this part of the poem was a statement in addition to the vision of the afterlife because things “resurrect” such as the blossoming of a new flower, symbolizing new life. This was a reoccurring theme I found throughout the poem, where the afterlife was seen in many different aspects, not just in the animals themselves.
I also liked the way in which Dickey made the afterlife for animals seem the same way it is when they are alive on Earth. These ideas made things seem more realistic and that an afterlife for animals really did exist. Another point that I got out of this sixth stanza was that the weaker animals that are hunted in their lives go to heaven as a reward. When an animal is sacrificed whether it is hunted by humans or physically killed by another animal, its “reward” is to go to heaven and continue their lives in the afterlife and be free of danger from everything and from pain. In the last two stanza, Dickey states the idea that all animals grow into themselves in the afterlife and come full circle and at peace with themselves. If only animals could actually read Dickey’s work, I am sure they would have a positive outlook on death and the afterlife, because Dickey makes everything seem so serene.
The tone throughout this entire poem is peaceful. Dickey makes death seem like an acceptable thing that people, as well as animals, should not be scared of. I feel that Dickey uses animals as an example to show humans that they should not be scared of death. Instead of using people, Dickey makes it seem like the poem is not for people, but I analyzed this poem as a way for people to look at death as a positive thing that things will only get better and you should not fear death.

Walking on Water

James Dickey wrote many poems that all dealt with people, nature, and animals in some way. Dickey labeled his poetry with very significant titles that told the reader exactly what the poem was about. Sometimes poetry can be very confusing to me, and I have to read things over and over to understand visually what is being told, but with the help of significant titles I can make better connections. Sometimes in poems the title has nothing to do with the poem, and it makes it harder to comprehend. In this case, this was not a problem.
"Walking on Water" was the most interesting poem to me out of all of Dickey’s poetry, and I thought it had a religious significance built into it. Once I read the title of the poem, I automatically thought of Jesus. When I continued to read, I got to the second paragraph and read the following lines:

Later, it came to be said
That I was seen walking on water,
Not moving my legs
Except for the wrong step of sliding:
A child who leaned on a staff,
A curious pilgrim hiking
Between two open blue worlds,

My motion a miracle,
Leaving behind me no footprint,
But only the shimmering place
Of an infinite step upon water

The first thing that came to mind was the vision of Jesus walking on water and the significance of this event. When Jesus walked on water he was walking on it to save people. In Dickey’s poem, the person walking on water, I think, was trying to help the animals. The tone throughout this poem was definitely intense. The tone was intense due to the build up of wanting to see if there was going to be the same connection of walking on water with Jesus. The message that I got from this poem was that Dickey was taking the place of Jesus when he walked on the water, and he wanted to leave a mark on nature by leaving steps in the sand. Dickey made the connection of people, nature and animals and how they all are linked to one another.
For the most part, I can never interpret what a poet is trying to say in their poetry. I do not like to read poetry, and I do not like when I have to write it for an assignment. I think it is too personal to the writer to have other people interpret a writer’s work, and that it should not have to be examined, but rather only read. However, I feel that Dickey’s “Walking on Water” was the most comprehensible, to me, and that is why I chose to write about it, especially because I was able to make a religious connection.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" play vs. movie

The play “A Streetcar Named Desire” was very similar to the movie version when it came to plot. I felt that the lines recited in the movie were exactly the same in the play. However, a main problem I had with the movie was the actors. The actors were not exactly how I had pictured them while reading the play, and I prefer the characters I imagined in my mind. I am aware that the movie was not made recently, but I felt the acting was terrible, except for Stanley’s character. The acting was very poor on many levels. I felt there was no emotion coming from Stella and Blanche when they recited their lines, and the producer could have found much better actresses to take their places. The emotion that I felt from the characters while reading the play was much more powerful than in the movie. For instance, when Blanche was about to be raped by Stanley in the play, there was a lot more of a build up and nervousness felt while reading. When I watched this scene in class, I didn’t think Blanche showed any emotions nor was scared whatsoever right before she was raped in the movie. This made the movie very boring and dry since I didn’t feel like the actors were good enough for the parts they played, minus Stanley. I feel that if there was a modern day movie made of “A Streetcar Named Desire” there would be a lot of more emotions put into the parts. Also, in our present society, the rape scene would definitely be shown. Our society has changed drastically since this movie was made, and in today’s media a scene such as this would be expected to be shown in full detail. I found this humorous in a strange way that things like this are expected to be shown in movies because that is what the media wants to see. Times have changed a lot and I am not sure if it is for better or for worse. People want realness in film now and want everything to be revealed and shown, no matter how extreme it may be.
Blanche was portrayed as very sexual in the movie, and I didn’t think she was as sexual in the play. In the play, I felt that Blanche was more of a snooty person and thought she was better than everyone else. In the film she didn’t give this feeling to me as the viewer, but I felt that she was more into her sexual encounters with men. Stella was older looking than I had imagined while reading the play. I felt that Stella was older looking than Stanley and she was very high strung when it came to her relationship with Stanley. From watching their relationship despite the bad acting, the viewer could tell that Stanley had Stella wrapped around his finger. One similarity about Stella in the movie and the play was her weakness. It was upsetting to see someone drop everything for a person that doesn’t appreciate you half as much as you appreciate them and this was the way that Stella and Stanley’s relationship worked. I was very surprising to see how good of an actor Stanley’s character was, especially for his time. Stanley was better than I imagined in the movie than in the play and was very good at showing his true colors that were described in the play. Stanley did a good job of making Blanche feel smaller than a bug and stepping on her whenever he wished, and was abusive to Stella and embarrassed her whenever he wanted to.
Overall I think the movie was dull, boring, and dry and could have been a lot better. It was sad to see such a good play shown in such a bad lighting on film. I think that this should be publicized and fixed, and remade into a modern version of the play with better actors and better music.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Tennessee Williams’s play. A Streetcar Named Desire, was different than many of the readings we have read in class. This play was a much easier read for the fact that it was a play with characters that consisted mainly of dialogue. I liked this style of writing because it flowed well and wasn’t dry or difficult to understand. I have not read a play in awhile, and it was different to read this style of writing and to have to imagine everything that was occurring whenever Williams wrote in italics to let the reader know what was occurring.
As well, I enjoyed Williams’ play overall for the plot and the messages that were being demonstrated. This play was written in a time of male dominance, where women were supposed to act like cliché southern belles. Stanley was a perfect example of what was expected of the males, in the way that he made all of the decisions for Stella and Blanche and let them both know what was expected of them. Stanley loved Stella in an abusive way, because he would beat her whenever she didn’t do exactly what he wanted her to do, the “right” way, but at the same time was still a good husband to her in most aspects. I think that Stanley was abusive to Stella because he wanted to make sure at all times that he had authority over her. Stanley was an insecure man, and needed to know that Stella was his and would never leave him. Stanley would abuse Stella in front of their friends and Blanche, Stella’s sister, which I felt was a sign of disrespect. Stanley knew he had complete control over Stella, and I felt this was unnecessary to not only abuse Stella in front of their friends, and especially Stella’s sister. Stanley could have had more respect for Stella if he accepted her sister, Blanche, and didn’t try to ruin everything for Blanche. This was a common theme that was found throughout the whole play. From the start, Stanley didn’t like Blanche, and his goal throughout the entire play was to ruin her reputation. Whenever Stanley got an opportunity to knock Blanche down, he did and made sure that she knew he didn’t like her. I feel that Stanley raped Blanche at the end of the play to show that he still had the upper hand regardless of their situation and regardless that Stella was in the process of having a child. I feel that Stanley raped Blanche at this specific time to show the extent to his authority, and to show the extent to which he had authority. If Stanley could get away with raping Blanche while Stella was in labor, and would still be able to keep his wife, this shows the extent to which Stanley held power over Stella.

Her Eyes Were Watching Love

Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” was a novel that focused on Janie, and her journey with love, as well as the process of learning and growing from it. I felt that this common theme was present throughout the entire novel, where Janie had no idea what love was in the beginning, but from her experiences, learned what love meant to her, even if it resulted in killing Tea Cake in the end. When Janie was married to her first husband, it seemed as though she was only married to him because she wanted love, but didn’t know what it was. She felt this was what she was “supposed” to be doing, and went along with the process yet had no idea what she was getting herself into. Her first marriage, to Logan, was not what Janie wanted or expected out of a marriage. I think that Janie thought that when you marry any person then you will find a way to love each other the way you are supposed to in a marriage where there is already existing love between two people. Logan and Janie’s marriage was arranged by Nanny, who felt that financial security was more important than love in a marriage. Janie followed her Nanny’s guide because that was what she was supposed to do, but ended up feeling used, and knew that there was no love connection between her and Logan. This marriage was a big learning experience for Janie however, and I feel she needed to experience the marriage in order to learn what love isn’t, and know what she does not want in a marriage.
Janie’s strength that she endured was very helpful when she left Logan for Jody Starks. At first, Janie feels that this marriage will be better for her due to Jody’s gentleman-like qualities, but soon after Jody becomes very money and power hungry, and lets it take over his marriage with Janie. Janie and Jody turn into a couple that are staying together for the sake of being together, not because of love or any other reason that a couple should be together. Jody takes over the town of Eatonville, and becomes the mayor as well as every other important ruler to the African American community. As I read about Jody’s power and responsibilities, I felt as though he played the role of a dominating white male in Eatonville. As Jody’s power grew, he became more and more well-respected in the community, and held the position that most white males do. He became very authoritative, which soon lead to the deterioration of their relationship. Jody and Janie’s relationship soon ends, however I feel that Janie got a sense of what love was from their relationship. It was unfortunate that Jody did not have Janie as his priority and became power and money hungry, but if he didn’t then they could have possibly worked out their differences. Jody was very protective of Janie and didn’t let her be herself in her own skin. Jody felt he had to control Janie in order for her to function correctly around other people, which was unfair to Janie. I think that Jody was insecure about him, which led him to take his self-consciousness out on to Janie. Janie never let Jody know of her feelings about situations and whenever they argued, Jody always had the upper hand. Janie grew to secretly hate Jody, and I feel that his death was almost a way to relieve Janie of her hostility, and was a chance for Janie to let her true colors show.
Janie’s third husband, Tea Cake, was very different than most males, and much younger than Janie. Tea Cake let Janie be the person she was inside, and let the child in her come out more often than she ever was allowed. Tea Cake would do things with Janie that she was never allowed to. Janie was uneasy at first with her relationship with Tea Cake because of the age difference and because she didn’t want to get hurt again a third time. Tea Cake and Janie grew to truly love each other. Janie grew a lot from the start of her relationships to the last relationship she had with Tea Cake. Although Janie ended up killing Tea Cake, I feel she came full circle and conquered her quest. Janie shot Tea Cake because he tried to shoot her with a gun and killed him in self defense. I feel that Janie could have been, in a sense, taking Tea Cake out of his misery from the rabbis he encountered when he saved her life from the dog that tried to attack her. Janie also learns here that she does not need a man to love her in order for her to live. The commonality at this time was that women were supposed to get married when they are young and have children and be supporters of their husbands. Janie learned that she doesn’t need a relationship in order to function and I feel that she shows this at the end of the novel by killing Tea Cake. Janie truly loved him, but needed the relationship to end, where she would have the upper hand at the end. Therefore, I feel that Janie needed to be with all three of her husbands, Logan, Jody and Tea Cake, in order to find herself.

"The Ethics of Living Jim Crow"

Richard Wright’s, “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” is an autobiography of Wright’s life and the hardships he faced growing up in a time of discrimination and racism. The amount of racism that Wright encountered as a child was disgusting to read about, but he talked about it as if it were any other topic. Wright talked about how it was difficult to grow up and live in a time like this and gives the reader a clear idea of what it was like to be at the receiving end of racism. He wrote his autobiography about his younger years growing up in this difficult time and the discrimination he faced in the work atmosphere as well as his own neighborhood.
Wright’s way of writing was not as “graphic” as Frederick Douglas’ was. I felt as though Wright was simply telling his life story and experiences, and not going into details of the abuse he faced. While reading Frederick Douglas’ autobiography, I found it very difficult to read at many times due the graphic descriptions he gave of beatings that he felt and witnessed. Wright took a different way of approaching the topic of racism, but they were also at different times. Douglas was a slave and was abused, while Wright was a young boy living in a town where racism was at its highest, but there were no slaves anymore. However, Wright’s style of writing still was interesting to me. While reading his story, you could tell that Wright did not want to be pitied for his experiences and was not looking for help in any sense. He talked about racism as if it were any other topic that is discussed and his style of writing was very nonchalant. I feel that he wrote this way to tell the realness of things, and how racism WAS viewed as something that was normal for the time. It was common at this time to discriminate, and was almost expected during this time.
Many times throughout Wright’s story he speaks about the idea of being “lucky.” He repeats this time and time again through the voices of his African American characters. I feel that they used this term “lucky” as a way to get through their hardest times and relate the idea of being lucky to having someone watching out for them, such as a religious figure. I got this feeling when I read this because I feel that the African American’s as a whole did not have a lot of hope because no one in society cared about them or their well being. They were constantly discriminated against and their voices meant little to nothing in any affair. This idea of being “lucky” was not common and when it was applied to African Americans it meant a lot. I feel that they turned to religion as a guidance to get them through life, and it was some kind of god that they believed in that would save them and they’d be lucky to still have their life, or whatever the situation may be. Specifically, there was an incident that Wright wrote about where there was a group of white boys were picking on him and were saying hurtful things to him. The boys left Wright and told him he was “lucky” that they were going to leave him alone and not kill him. To Wright and other African Americans at this time it was very common for them to receive death threats such as this one, but they considered themselves lucky to escape them. I think religion played an important role in their lives due to the amount of discrimination they faced, because they had no one else to look after them, especially in times of need.