"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" Robert Frost

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" was a very interesting poem, and definitely my favorite out of the assigned readings. Automatically I tend to search for any kind of symbolism in Frost. I was especially intrigued by the poems ending lines "And miles to go before I sleep./ And miles to go before I sleep." because they entice feelings of being on the road and the theme of travelling or being in a transition phase becomes apparent. In addition to the theme, I liked the word choice Frost uses. For example, "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep/But I have promises to keep," are poignant and left an impression on me. Word choice along with Frost's use of imagery are reasons why his poems stand out among the rest.

Robert Frost

I enjoyed reading Robert Frost, he wrote one of my favorite poems 'Nothing Gold Can Stay'. 'Mending Wall' was a tad bit confusing to me. I like Frost's modernism and I feel there are many things you can take away from his poems. It feels that almost everyone can relate in one way or another. What I found in 'Birches' was maybe he wasn't really talking about the actual birches themselves. When Frost got done explaining how the birches became bent and formed it dawned on me when he specifically said,

"...And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves;..."

it made me think that he could possibly be talking about a persons experiences in life. Bad and good things happen to each and everyone of us and once they do we are never the same. Yet, we don't break, we persevere, and keep on living because to give up under ever little or big pressure that is pushed upon us is usually not an answer. Even with good things that happen, we want more good things so we don't typically just stop and say...well that was good enough. The last thing is I find myself saying often...well it could be worse...and it does have an influence on your perspective to thing of people and situations that are way more difficult to handle than yours, ultimately giving you some of your motivation.

"...One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."

I really enjoyed 'The Road Not Taken'. I love all of the meanings you can get from it. A saying that comes to mind is "going against the grain", which I love. He choses the road less taken to explore and find himself, I believe. It turns out to be more than he could have expected so much so that he states he may never return. This unworn road was more beautiful and gave him much more happiness. So what I get out of this is don't always follow the crowd, it doesn't always get you where you need to go.

Robert Frost

Robert Frost has always been a favorite of mine. His poems are sometimes difficult to understand but for the most part it is relatively simple to see the underlying message. I like his style of writing and the rhythm of his poems. “Mending Wall” was not one that I enjoyed, it seemed kind of jumbled to me, like he jumped around from idea to idea. However, my interpretation of the poem is something to do with the idea that if you put up “walls” in your life you will be happier due to the fact that he used the phrase “Good fences make good neighbors” more than once. “The Road Not Taken” is probably my favorite poem by Frost. It’s very simple to understand with a delightful meaning and life lesson. He is faced with a decision to be a follower or take a chance and not go with the crowd. He chooses to take the road less traveled and was very pleased with his decision. I believe this is something everyone, no matter how young or old, can learn from and use in life. “Birches” is a little more difficult to understand but what I got out of it is that he sees the trees bent by the ice storm but he likes to think it is because of boys swinging on them as he once did. And when he did he felt like he left the worries and problems of earth for a short time and was gently let back down. I actually enjoyed this poem as it is not one that I would usually like. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is pretty short and to the point. There isn’t much to it and is pretty much explained in the title. However, if there must be a deeper meaning I would say it is that sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy and appreciate what is around you even if it seems unusual or not exactly beautiful at first sight.

Robert Frost

I do enjoy reading Robert Frost's work, but sometimes I do feel that it is hard to follow. I like the fact that what he writes about is realistic and the readings that had to be read all had something to do with nature. Some of his poems may be easily misunderstood, for example, "The Road Not Taken." I took me awhile to really understand that he was staring down two different roads and could only travel one at a time. He would travel the less traveled then travel the other one at a later time. But he says that it may not happen because he is unsure of what the future holds and doesn't know he'll ever be in the same spot again. The poem I enjoyed reading was "Birches," because it gives us, the readers, insight on how he thinks back to his past and his imagination of bent tree branches were from boys swinging on them instead of the storms that have caused it. Since Robert Frost is the eraa of modernism, I think he portrays the characteristics very well because it follows the characteristic of that it is the belief that literature could create meaning and connection. Frost does a good job with giving connection and meaning to his writing, which gives the readers a greater insight of understanding what he is trying to get across.

"Guillaume Apollinaire" by Gertrude Stein

"Guillaume Apollinaire," by Gertrude Stein is a very interesting piece in my opinion.  To some extent, I dislike the way that her ideas are so vague in her free-verse that it is nearly impossible to decode a fluent meaning, but in a sense, it is also what I like best about her work.

Free-verse is meant to express a feeling more than anything else and Stein does this well. There is also something to be said for her acknowledgement of the individual's thought. Stein uses the vague language that she does so that every reader can translate their own unique meaning, and judging by the vastly different ideas that different students had for her various poems in class today, it is clear that she succeeds in doing this.

With lines like, "Elbow elect, sour stout pore, pore caesar," the meaning can be interpreted in a million different ways, none of which are ultimately right and none of which are ultimately wrong. The meaning is simply what it makes each individual reader feel, and that is extremely powerful.

For these reasons, I am very interested in Gertrude Stein.

E.E. Cummings "next to of course god america i"

"next to of course god america i" I found was an interesting read. I'm not sure why Cummings uses incorrect capitalization. I took it possibly as him thinking those things that are typically capitalized in the English language are unimportant to him. It could be a way for him to get our attention, the poem looks unfamiliar because of the 'mistakes'. The main point that stuck out to me the most was "...we should worry in every language even deafanddumb..." America is beautiful and there is no place like it, but we shouldn't take it for granted and know that it is not all the stereotypical Land of the Free. Because freedom doesn't come free. I think thats why Cummings mentioned "...why talk of beauty what could be more beautiful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead..." I got out of this that America isn't as beautiful and cookie-cutter as we might all make it out to be. There was lots and still is lots of blood spilled to make this country what it is. That's what is beautiful. The heroism. We discussed in class that Cummings might have been trying to be sarcastic and that is a possibility, but I don't believe this to be true. I think he was trying to get our attention directed to the reality of how we came to be and why we love America...next to God of course.

On J. Alfred Prufrock

Eliot uses dark language in this work when describing the streets as the narrator walks through the city, giving the reader an idea that maybe Eliot saw society as very broken and pulled apart. This work seemed overwhelming to read at times because the author intertwined so many heavy ideas into the work. I think the narrators account of the surrounding is supposed to convey a sense of decay to the reader. What Eliot was seeking to do here is convince the reader of mankind's mortality. I feel like Eliot wanted to expose the typical man who is big headed, often forgetting how truly small he is. This vivid imagery that the writer uses is key in painting a very dark, somber theme creating an eerie feeling for the reader. I would even go as far as to say Eliot is poking fun at the established, patriotic idea of the modern man. This poses a challenge to readers maybe even not to take their own lives so seriously. When the narrator says time to set back and descend the stair with a bald spot in the middle of his hair, this is a perfect example of Eliot's bad ass use of language to point the reader towards humans mortality and frailty. I really actually enjoyed this work just because I really appreciate Eliot's abstract, but highly intelligent writing skills. Although Eliot's style is very dark, I sense that he also writes with a good sense of humor as well. I support the man's philosophy to never take one's self to seriously. 

                                        Peace out, Nate Shackelford

Wallace Stevens: The Rock

This short poem by Wallace Stevens titled The Rock seems to glorify living in the present. In this poem there seem to be a dismissal and illusion of the past. Since Wallace seems to view religion as fictitious, this might be insight on why he writes about the present.

The imagery presented seems to perpetuate this idea. In the seventh line it reads; "Even our shadows, their shadows, no longer remain". This infers that our past and every ones past is no longer relevant, it no longer exists, so why bother dwelling on the past. In lines twelve and thirteen, Wallace seems to portray his pessimistic view of religion by saying " An invention, an embrace between one desperate clod".  And then follows with "And another in a fantastic consciousness". This line I believe give us insight into his existentialist belief about living in the present. "The green leaves came and covered the high rock, the lilacs came and bloomed.....Exclaiming bright sight" are a few lines that seem to portray the present as beautiful.

Although he seems to glorify the present, it seems to me that there is another side of him that has contempt for life. In the last line he uses dark language about life; "The blooming and the musk, Were being alive, an incessant being alive, a particular of being, that gross universe".

Wallace Stevens: The Emperor of Ice-Cream

The Emperor of Ice-Cream by Wallace Stevens is a short poem consisting of only 16 lines. In this poem, there is clear existentialist influence. In his bio, it reads that Stevens regarded religious explanations of the world as fiction, and I believe The Emperor of Ice-Cream plays with that idea.

The poem throughout contains imagery, it begins with "Call the roller of big cigars/The muscular one, and bid him whip/In the kitchen cups concupiscent curds." Concupiscent refers to a strong sexual desire. So we begin this poem with the image of a muscular man, maybe one who celebrates by rolling cigars, whipping up lustful curds. It is a strange start to a poem, it leaves the reader unsure of the mood--whether it is a celebration, or not. The imagery continues throughout the poem, and later says for the "boys/Bring flowers in last month's newspapers./Let be be finale of seem." with this new image, the reader now understands a death has occurred.

In the second stanza, we get an image of the person who died. Her face is covered with a sheet she embroidered herself, her 'horny feet' stick out, and she is 'cold' and 'dumb'. The poem ends the first and second stanza's with "The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream."

Using this ending in a poem that deals with death of a woman leads me to believe that he does not believe there is a God, or any other religious leader. He uses a silly thing, such as ice-cream, to say that there is no emperor with the exception of ice-cream. I feel that this was his rebuttal to those who seek answers, it his existentialist answer: there is life, there is death, but God is silly fiction.

Snow man by Wallace Stevens

The Snow Man by Wallace Stevens is a poem where the poet puts the reader into a frame of mind; the snow man’s.  To “regard the frost and the bough,” as a snow man would experience it is an example. Those boughs “crusted with snow” to which the poet relays the world of snow man is a cold world a regular man, but a “crusted with snow” world to a snow man.  In the next stanza, Wallace Stevens uses the word “And” to bring the reader back into snow man’s world, “have been cold a long time” describing the space and time he occupies. The poet lets the reader know it is winter and he uses another “and” to continue the existence of the snow man’s world in which he occupies.  The inescapable sound of the wind, that snow man can’t escape from.  In the world of the snow man the “blowing in the same bare place” is every present and normal. I believe that in the last stanza the poet is referring to the “listener” as the person reading the poem and then he uses the word “and” to bring the reader back into to the snow man’s world.  But really, is there is something there? The last sentence contains three negatives which equates to a negative; suggesting nothing but is there “nothing that is.”

Abe

EE Cummings: Somewhere I have never travelled

This is one of EE Cummings best love poems. Cummings never gave a title to his poems and so editors have named it by its first line. This poem is about a man who describes how inferior he is to this woman, how he makes her feel, and how in love he is with her. It appears everything the woman does, woos him. It is a very intense and romantic poem. The tenderness and intimacy of the poem is amazing. When you read the poem you can feel his emotions through words. He uses analogies effectively in expressing his feelings for her.

 "you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens

        (touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose"

You don’t know really know for sure if it’s Cummings in the poem. But you can tell it’s definitely from experience. It’s hard to describe love like that without ever actually falling in love. I believe the place he has never traveled to is his inner love for this woman. This is first time ever going this deep into describing his love for her. The silence is in her eyes. I think he wrote down on paper what he felt when he looked into his lovers eyes.

E.E. Cummings- The Cambridge ladies who live in furnised souls- Mayra Toscano

 The Cambridge Ladies Who live in Furnished Souls by Edward Estlin Cummings

The poem at first was a bit different rhyme scheme than his other poems but I found it to be very distinctive. He quickly attacks the way they live their life and what they are accustomed to, which was really odd to me, but I found it to be infrequent. The way he described the characters was splendid. He referred to the Cambridge ladies as upper class, spoon-fed women with no worries. Cummins quickly points out they live in “furnished souls” stating they are well off women who have everything done for them, all emotions controlled and even their minds, perhaps. I feel like he was indicating they are not very open-minded. He states they “have comfortable minds” and “do not care” they are settled and accustomed to their own lifestyle, they box themselves in. Cummins effectively directs the ideas of furnished houses and essentially filled house with spirit and soul, in reference to attack their way of life and the way of life perhaps of many in the Cambridge area. While I was reading the poem, I felt like he was directing this to not only the ladies way of thinking, but to their “comfortable minds” which show their lack of individuality. It’s very amusing the way he experiments with the poem and I found it to be one of my favorites! 

E.E. Cummings - Buffalo Bill's - Melanie J.

Buffalo Bill’s by Edward Estlin Cummings

The poem goes on to tell us from the very beginning that Buffalo Bill (American hero William Cody) is ‘defunct’.  Cummings decided not to use the word dead because maybe it would have changed his tone at the beginning of the poem. He seems to just be having a simple conversation with the reader, in opposition to the tone a person would have when telling another a person that someone has died.  He then goes on to tell us that he rode a ‘watersmooth-silver stallion.’ When I picture that animal it is not your average horse. It’s a strong and powerful animal that takes skill to control. Followed by ‘Jesus” in line 7 lets me know that he is in awe – he is astonished by Buffalo Bill. Kind of like saying “Wow” or “Amazing.” So it starts off positive. Then leading into that Buffalo Bill was ‘handsome’ and ‘blueeyed’ reassures readers even more that yes – everything you think of this man it true. He sounds loved – even after death - even by this author that probably never met Buffalo Bill.

Cummings ends with the simple question of “I want to know how do you like this man, Mister Death?” It seems very sarcastic to me. Like it’s a question he doesn’t want to know the answer to. Because who really cares what death thinks? Buffalo Bill’s death happened but he will never be forgotten.

Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Charles Wales of Babylon Revisited is haunted by the shadow of his past mistakes in a life of luxury, but pursues a brighter future for his daughter’s sake. The reader receives glimpses of both his true nature the man he used to be through the reactions of old friends and acquaintances as he returns to France. Respected and liked by most, it’s Marion’s reservations that initially leaves reason to be suspicious of Charlie. As the story progresses however, we do find Charlie to be a truly changed man. He honors his one day a drink pledge, resists sexual temptation, and strives to satisfy the role of both parents for his young daughter. He desperately attempts to re-kindle, or perhaps kindle, a father daughter relationship in fear of having missed the opportunity. Before he can do that though, he must convince Marion that he is not the man that had his daughter taken from him before being promptly placed in a sanitarium. This proves harder than he expected as he discovers her true hatred of him when she blames her sister, his wife’s, death on him. Marion perhaps out of care for Honoria, or jealousy as her husband suggests, begins to withdraw more and more until she will not see him. Her husband is the bearer of a sad conclusion as he tells Charlie that she will not relent, but in the last sentence his thoughts are of himself rather than his daughter. To me, this ending seems to leave the story’s true ending to the mind of the reader.     

Response to "Babylon Revisited"

I'm quite surprised that the author of the blog post found little drama or emotion in this particular piece, but I'd be willing to bet their opinion of the story has changed since we went over the story in class. The title alone signified to me that the main character was visiting a place that was significant to him in the past, and while I didn't immediately understand the references to the characters Charlie was naming off, I was confident that the significance of these characters would be revealed to me as the story unfolded.
   I'll admit, I'm not exactly sure if this response is a response to the initial blog post or a response to the story in general, so I'll just do my best here.
   In response to the author of the initial post, it seems that the story may have been read in haste, as many assigned readings are. I, in fact, finished the story just before class today, but I found it engrossing, and I did find myself emotionally invested in the story and the characters. The author did a fine job of letting the reader know that the main character was re-introduced to a place that had great meaning to the life of the main character, and that the people mentioned in the initial conversation were as important to Charlie's experience in Paris as the backdrop was.
  At the time this piece was written, I think the intent of the author was to convey that Charlie was employed during the economic boom just prior to the Great Depression, but the job itself, in the context of character and story development, was of little importance. What was important concerning Charlie's livelihood was that he had been successful, and that he was no longer as financially successful as he once was. His success is also symbolic, as the sympathetic narrator states "It had been given, even the most wildly squandered sum, as an offering to destiny that he might not remember the things most worth remembering, the things that now he would always remember-his child taken from his control, his wife escaped to a grave in Vermont." In this, the author is stating that while one may be financially quite well off, the money and the extravagances that accompany such success may very easily avert one's eyes to what is truly important.
   To say that Charlie had a lack of emotional response is far too broad. If I were to guess, it seems that Charlie was continuing to own up to the negative effects his excessive year-and-a-half in Paris. The poorly timed visit of Lorraine and Duncan while Charlie was trying to talk Marion into giving him custody of his daughter, Honoria, was a wonderful metaphor for your past coming back to haunt you during a moment of intense vulnerability. After finding out that his tumultuous past, and the devastating reminder of that past (the unexpected presence of Lorraine and Duncan), Charlie lost his ability to talk Marion into giving Charlie sole custody of Honoria. But, in proving that he had indeed changed his ways, denying a second drink from the bartender proved that, while Charlie was certainly momentarily devastated, his desire to be reunited with his daughter far outweighed his fondness for drink.

Response to F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited"

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited," a theme I noticed was the recurrence of past situations in the main character, Charlie's, current life. In the story Charlie is a former party boy who seemed to have a bit of an untrustworthy reputation among a few of his friends. He meets and falls in love, it seems, with a girl Honoria. Throughout the story he attempts to convince his friends that he is a changed man who is capable of being trusted with Honoria and living with her. Something I noticed and thought was a little ironic was that in every section of this story there seems to be an element of his past that comes up. For example, Charlie has trouble finding a restaurant that does not remind him of past drunken meals when trying to find somewhere to take Honoria for lunch. Throughout the story the hints of his past life remind him of his former lifestyle and of his previous failed marriage with his ex wife. In my opinion the central theme of this story is the inability to run from your past. It is fairly obvious that Charlie has not faced the demons of his past. This story emphasizes the incapability to move forward with your life when you have not faced the problems of the past.

Babylon Revisited - F. Scott Fitzgerald

When I first began reading this story I kinda of felt like I was put into the middle of a scene and suppose to use context clues to figure it out. There were a lot of questions about the background and setting that I would of liked to have been given. For instance, Why did they keep refering to different parts of the world? What was the significance in mentioning the french, american, and so on throughout the entire story? I also didn't understand if his type of work was suppose to be clear, or why they didn't mention it.
Overall, the story did not take me through an emotional experience like i feel the author intended. The story was blissful when Charlie was getting together details on taking his daughter home. Even though i did feel a sense of joy, i didn't feel a total 360 when the mood changed and he ended up not getting his daughter. The response that charlie had kind of seemed neutral. Was charlie not THAT devastated about not being able to take his daughter?
I was a little confused on if Charlie had a romantic relationship with Lorraine in the past. Or maybe if that couple tagged along with him when he was "acting badly".
I always enjoy Fitzgerald's pieces, but this one was not my favorite, I didn't find it as dramatic, or emotional, as his other work.

My Response to T. S. Eliot: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Reading

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock to me is the tale of a man that desires social connections but at the same time feels like an outcast, that he just doesn't fit in and fears what others will see in him. First he refers to a room with women talking about Michelangelo where a yellow fog rubs its back and muzzle on the window panes, licked into the corners of the evening. I think that fog represents Prufrock in a way, getting as close as he can to the women in the room but not able to get through to them.

Then he talks about eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase, when he is formulated on a pin, wriggling on the wall, and how should he begin. This further shows his feeling of not belonging in my opinion because it shows him being pegged to the wall like he is a bug, exposed in his entirety to them and not having a clue what to do to have is voice heard, to show them who he is.

He talks if he dares or not, they will say his hair is growing thin and that his arms and legs are growing thin. I see this as yet another example of how he sees himself as not being accepted by these women that he so much wants to talk with. Then he describes himself as not being Hamlet but a mere attendant lord that will start a scene or two and even at times be the fool. I think this also shows that he thinks his existence isn't of real importance which further supports his feeling of not belonging.

Eliot has very well depicted a man that feels alienated from society as a whole and is too insecure to change that.

The Love song of Alfred Prufrock

The love song of Alfred Prufrock is about a seemingly pessimistic man. The man is of course Alfred Prufrock. When I was online I found out that “Prufrock” is actually a subliminal connotation of“prude” and “frock”, which describes our shy classy character.  He goes on and describes his location as foggy and yellow. The fog rubs against a window where well dressed women are talking about the artist Michaelangelo. I think the fog is prufrock, the fog is unable to enter the room filled with women, just like he is unable to talk to them because of his type of personality. He also tells us that he is very experienced, that he has been through it all.

“For I have known them all already, known them all:      

Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,                    50

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;             

I know the voices dying with a dying fall               

Beneath the music from a farther room.              

  So how should I presume?

But his experiences doesn't help with building his confidence.Through the eyes of Prufrock, we get a very vivid description on what he feels and see in his life. He states that he should just have been a crab, which probably describes how unimportant he is compared to the rest of the world.

T. S. Eliot: The Love Song of Alfred Prufrock

Prufrock, to me, seems like a very lonely man who wishes he had more. He feels very rejected about his entire life, and to what I believe is socially awkward. He mentions the smog/fog in the air that rubs its back against the window-panes. He wants to mingle with the strangers, but can’t force himself to do so.  On top of that, he sees the world as a dirty and cheap. Now T.S. Eliot was about 21-22 years old when he wrote this poem. The poem is obviously not about him, but who is it in reference to? Maybe it’s the way he sees life in general. Prufrock seems to be a middle-aged man that sees the world as an empty place. Does Eliot see the world the same way? Or maybe he fears of becoming this man in his future. In reference to the fog/smog, a timid cat that observes the society around him and never mingles, I’m sure Eliot does not want to become one who lingers around being creepy. Also, Prufrock is very indecisive and questions himself way too much. I think he puts too much thought into everything, making him very weird. Eliot does a very good job of developing strange characters.

Ernest Hemingway

As I started reading the two assigned Hemingway stories I found myself having a hard time understanding what was happening in the stories. I felt like I walked half way into a movie someone was watching and I had no idea what was going on.

The characters in the first story just seem to be a couple, but somehow the fact that the author refers to the characters as "The American and the girl" is kind of odd and makes me wonder what the relationship between them is. Are they lovers? The fact that the author refers to her as "girl" and almost makes her sound like she's just dumb, makes me wonder why he would do that to the female character. I also didn't understand why they seemed to consistently argue over nothing and then be in a good mood again a few lines later. The male character was the all knowing and the female was portrayed as weak and clueless. I really didn't care too much for this short story, felt like it started abruptly and ended in the same manner.

The second story too seemed to jump into the middle of a recount of a soldier's experience while at a hospital. I did look into Hemingway's background and being that he was injured while serving in World War I, I wondered if it was a personal account of his experience while being rehabilitated for his injuries. I did like the story of the major who lost his wife and how he actually cried. As a reader I felt for the guy and conjured the image of losing someone and how hard and difficult it is. I personally have not suffered too much in that way (losing a loved one), but I have often thought about what it would be like and how much it would hurt to not be able to do anything about it. While it was a bit depressing, it definitely tugged at my heartstrings.

I noticed the male characters were portrayed in a better light than the one female character in these stories. I am left wondering did Hemingway have a problem with women? He did have four wives throughout his lifetime, so I'm going to assume he may not have been good at having relationships with women in real life.

Reading Between the Hills

"Hills Like White Elephants" is the perfect example of a bad relationship. This woman wants to talk about problems, but the man does not want to talk about the subject. The couple is waiting on a train at the station. This train station marks the crossroads of their relationship, with one train going to Barcelona and the other to Madrid. Hemingway suggests that there are some communication difficulties in this relationship by using the bartender. The woman cannot speak Spanish and must rely on the american to translate for her and order her drinks. The main problem comes up when she mentions the hills looking like white elephants. A white elephant being a gift that no one wants. This said gift is difficult to understand without reading a little extra material, but it is actually a baby. However, the woman is very indecisive and changes her mind about the hills. She is stuck and cannot make a decision about whether to keep this child or not. The man insists on having this abortion, and the woman just wants the man to be happy. She tries to tell him that she wants the child, and he keeps saying you don't have to unless you want to, but you should get the abortion because it will make me happy. The woman responds by saying she doesn't care about her happiness. They argue a while longer until she begs him to shut up. However, she wants another drink now, but must have the american translate for her, showing us that he still has control over her. The story ends with the woman deciding that she feels fine with the operation. This woman needed to do what she wanted to do. Relationships are two way streets and one should never control another, especially not in a situation like this. Putting subtle hints in between the lines like this is one Hemingway's favorite things to do in his work, and he did a good job in this story.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY (LISA STANTON)

Honestly, I’m not really much of a Ernest Hemingway reader. I do remember watching some biography of his life in high school, but I don’t recall reading much of his stories that he has written. If somebody were to give me a story by him at this moment and ask me to read it I’m not sure how I would feel after I was finished reading it. I mean sure, I would have some opinions here and there, but all in all I think I feel indifferent about Ernest Hemingway. Like right now, I’m sitting on the floor of my room, a few pages into The Snows of Kilimanjaro and I just can’t get myself to finish the rest. Yes, it is interesting, and I do want to figure out what happens to the man and woman, but my mind just isn’t as willed to finish this story as it would be if I were reading a much more modern author, like, let’s say, Jodi Picoult, or Khaled Hosseini, the gentleman who wrote The Kite Runner. Of course, I will force myself to finish this story, but I doubt I’ll really get the full gist of it. I’m sure if I did read more Ernest Hemingway back in high school or in general I would have more appreciation for the guy.

Why I no longer read Ernest Heminway. -James Hester

     When I was younger and far more romantic I loved Ernest Hemingway. As my fourth novel (For Whom the Bell Tolls) was edging towards the ending I put the book down and walked away. After that I read The Green Hills of Africa, some short stories. What at first had me transfixed by noble but doomed protagonists turned into over the top compositions of machismo ideology.

     Several things bug me about Hemingway. First every story makes you want to crawl in a bottle and die. If you are a recovering alcoholic DO NOT read To Have and Have Not for you will surly relapse. I'm not about happy endings. I don't really believe anything in life ends happily. Even with my pessimistic fatalism I think it's too much. To Hemingway's credit it is his command of the English language that allows him to sink you into a spiraling depression. Next thing that really grinds my gears is how women are portrayed in one of two ways: needing to be saved (by a man) or a real biz-iz-nich. I guess Anselmo could be the exception but she gives a girl to the main character for sex after she knew him for a day. How messed up is that? The last thing that really ruins his works is how the protagonist never breaks his composure or shows any emotional vulnerability. What kind of man doesn't cry when his women and baby are dead on a hospital table? (Sorry if I ruined A Farewell to Arms for anyone) I don't think that's a real man at all. It's over compensation if you ask me. Low self esteem is probably why Hemingway spent his entire life trying to build a mystique around himself that was merely a facade only to eat his father's shotgun in Montana. 

     So there you have all the bad thing I got to say about old Ernie. So I don't seem like a complete "hater" I will end by saying that Hemingway was an extremely talented writer that could draw you into a character like no other author I've ever read. His book are classics and I am not advocating that a person not read them (unless of course they are trying to stay off the sauce). Besides these are just my opinions and no more valid than the next man's. What I would like anyone reading this to do is take Hemingway with a grain of salt.

Upton Sinclair

In chapter 9 of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” Sinclair explains not only the horrors and disgusting things that were happening in the Chicago meat packing plants at the time, but also the terrible working conditions for the workers of the meat packing plant itself. Sinclair goes into extreme detail of the disgusting and dangerous working conditions, diseased beef and pork being sold to the public, and even the chance of having human meat in their products in this chapter. This book brought to light these terrible working conditions for the workers and the disgusting and diseased meat that was being used. Sinclair also showed how corrupt the political system was at that time in American history. Their was the Ward Boss Mike Scully who helped Jurgis get his citizenship and the right to vote, but only so that Scully could fix the election to who he wanted to win. These “Ward Bosses,” also called Political Bosses at the time would provide food, jobs, legal aid, etc., in exchange for their vote in political elections. These ward bosses established the pattern for many American cities in voting, elections, employment, etc. in this time period. Many of them were very corrupt and ruthless like Mike Scully, and also established the pattern for many vices in American cities such as prostitution, gangs, violence, etc. at this time. 

Johnson & Dunbar

After reading from both James W. Johnson and Paul L. Dunbar I have noticed that Johnson is more of a formal writer than Dunbar has more normal style of writing. Both Dunbar and Johnson seem to include God in their work, but Dunbar had a different perspective and wrote as a prior slave and Johnson was very descriptive so to say. I read "The Creation" by Johnson and "We Wear The Mask" by Dunbar and honestly I'm not a fan of either of these two. If I had to choose a specific poem I enjoyed more I would say The Creation because I understood it more and knew what he was talking about. Overall they are both great writers but I find Dunbar's work far too difficult to read at some points and I like to read fluidly without having to question what I am reading.

Upton Sinclair

Upton Sienclair was an American author, and surprisingly enough was at one time in the candidacy for california governor. He has written hundreds of books, but his most notable book was "The Jungle" and in this book, he exposed all the conditions of U.S. meat packing companies. He vividly describes the work environment and how it is packaged, and it could probably make you want to switch to a vegetarian after reading it. I was disgusted with how poorly they treated everything back then, from the sick employees to the rotting meat. After the book was released the public was pretty sickened to see what they have been eating so it because a federal matter and they created a Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act. It seems as though Uptons writing had a lot more of an effect on the world than most writers can say they have had, but even in his other books, he is a very talented writer and is good at keeping your attention and putting an image in your head.

Upton Sinclair

Sinclair was good at analysing and interpreting social and economic situations. He would share his political views with his readers through his writing. For his insight on the meat packing industry in the Jungle, he personally infiltrated the world of meat to fully understand the treatment of meat packers. In the story, the main character and his wife must undergo the hardships and mistreatment that come with working in a world of exploitative employers.
Not only did they endure trials of inhumane treatment in the work place, but they were also in constant strain with the hard life that came with living in the immigrant meat packing district of Chicago. When faced with pregnancy, the couple had to hustle even harder than they had ever imagined. The couple was constantly loosing employment and realized the impossibility of finding new jobs. The main character eventually loses his wife to child birth, experiences agony to the bounds of which he is driven to alcoholism, disconnects from his family, and finally delves into a life of thievery and begging.
The author exposed the realities of poor sanitary conditions and low wages in the meat packing industry during his time. His intention for such straight forward realism and shocking reality was to help sway the American public to generate new standards for improving the treatment of workers and the conditions of their work places.