My thoughts on Bastard Out of Carolina

Dorothy Allison’s writing style in Bastard out of Carolina, was phenomenal, as a result I often got the chills. My heart just poured out for Bone; however, I almost felt like I was reading about Dorothy Allison’s horrific childhood experiences because the abusive events were extremely descriptive. Furthermore, it enrages me to think that people can just abuse children and forget about the damage that they are causing. Since studies show that most children don’t speak up about being abused, just think about how many cases we don’t know about. Young children are developing human beings who have not yet, learned what abuse is and how to deal with the problem, so if they don’t know about it, then they won’t know that it’s wrong.
Throughout much of the novel we understand Bone is struggling as she desperately searches for her self-identity. In the beginning Bone asks her mother, Anney, who her birth father is; however, she never gets a response. Instead of finding Bone’s real father or telling her about him, Anney feels the need to replace him by finding men she thinks will be good fathers, who will love and care for her and her girls. However, I personally think that this was a cover story. I think Anney just wanted a man to love for herself (I realized this much in the end). We clearly detect that Anney is selfish by not taking action when Daddy Glen beats Bone and for that, she is the one to blame for destroying Bone’s self worth. Bone begins to think that she desires the beatings and is afraid if she doesn’t then it will ruin her mom and Daddy Glen’s relationship. Eventually the beatings make her an angry person. On page 262 Allison states, “Anger was like a steady drip of poison into my soul, teaching me to hate the ones that hated me.” The affect of Daddy Glen abusing Bone caused her to not only hate herself but others too. Bone felt trapped because she felt no one could help her so she found ways to cope by becoming angry, using music as therapy, and masturbating. Lastly, I noticed that Daddy Glen felt the need to abuse Bone because it appeared his whole life he strived for the attention/love that Anney gave him. Moreover, it was a competition between him and Bone. Glen felt that Bone had taken away the love that Anney should have been given to him.
Anney looks one way but acts in different way; like Blanchie in A Streetcar Named Desire. She wants people to think that Daddy Glen loved her and the girls so that she could keep him; however, when the truth is revealed she runs away and abandons her girls. On the other hand, Blanchie acts rich when she is really poor and when her truth comes out she denies it and ends up in a mental institute. Both Anney and Blanchie don’t want to face their problems but rather cover up their shameful lifestyles.
I have provided a website that includes a biography of Dorothy Allison and mentions some of her masterpieces if anyone is interested in future readings.

http://www.answers.com/topic/dorothy-allison

I believe as any educator, it my duty to educate my students about abuse and how to approach the problem; however, at what age are we suppose to start talking to children about such an issue?

My interpretation of the “The Underground Stream”

I am lost when it comes to reading James Dickey poems; however, after our class discussions, I got the general sense that he is trying to convey that humans, nature and animals are all in unison because they are God’s creation. One poem that interests me was “The Underground Stream.” I believe this poem is about a man who died falling into a well after seeing his reflection in the water/stream. Through the stream in the well he is searching for his spirit as he is falling- “I sought how the spirit could fall.” The man, the well, and his spirit become one within the stream. As the man falls into the well he comes closer to his reflection in the water, hits the water and dies- “An eternal grin.” Suddenly, the poem seems to take a twist to where the man is in his grave. He leaves behind a lover and shares a grave with his brother-“I turned from the girl I had found. In a song once sung by my mother, And loved my one true brother.” Although, he shares this grave with his brother he seems to be lonely without his lover-“Gazing up at the sky alone.” Moreover, he is angry with his brother for being in his grave, when it should be his lover beside him-“And claim his own grave face; That mine might live in its place.”

James Dickey poems are extremely hard to follow and interpret so I am sorry if it is difficult to understand my interpretation, but I tried.

Revelation: Mrs. Turpin Deserved It

Flannery O’Conner is my favorite author so far. I think the reason that I love her writing style so much is because her religious subject becomes somewhat relatable while also being dramatic. They show lots of depth such as, in her story, “Revelation.” Her readers are taken behind the characters thoughts which is very unique and takes talent. Mrs. Turpin wants to be well liked and be known for her great character. On the other hand, she puts on an act for others and thinks differently. To me she resembles a “silent hypocrite.” A “silent hypocrite” is someone who acts one way, but deep down thinks the complete opposite of how they WANT to act but can’t because society or religion rules their decision. In Mrs. Turpin’s case her decision revolves around social class and religion. Her biggest concern is class; however, when Mary grace confronts her by saying “Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog, (827)” she is deeply scared and doesn’t feel that she deserved the treatment. Mrs. Turpin was clearly, in denial about her subconscious thoughts. I think she thought that since she acted “Godly” that her “Evil,” thoughts would never be detected by anyone but herself, not even God. Personally, I believe Mrs. Turpin deserved every bit of what she got.

How did Mary Grace know what Mrs. Turpin was thinking? Was it the girl’s intuition that made her dislikes Mrs. Turpin? Was it the way Mrs. Turpin was talking to others that made Mary Grace detect Mrs. Turpin’s “corrupted” or “evil” thoughts?

This is the part that I found the most intriguing. Mary Grace clearly read what Mrs. Turpin was thinking. In many ways Mary Grace resembled God because they say that he knows everything that we are doing, thinking, and saying. Just like God she knew what Mrs. Turpin was all about. Mary Grace discovered Mrs. Turpin’s true character.

Teaching English within a Diverse Classroom

Everyone is doing a great job on their presentations! However, Amy, Rae, Courtney, and Brian encouraged me to think, specifically, about the type of students that will be within my classroom. Furthermore, some day I may be teaching students who are Native American and/or Southerners (e.g. Red Necks- Brian and Courtney’s subject)

As a future teacher in the field of Education, I must develop a well rounded curriculum for students of many cultures. A cultural diverse classroom often contains an assortment of different family structures, economic backgrounds, cultural heritages, religious beliefs, and regional customs. As a result, I must be sensitive of each student’s individuality.

One essential element within the curriculum is to teach our students to speak and write the English language correctly. However, each student comes from a different background and up bringing. Furthermore, a teacher needs to consider that some students have been taught slang, Ebonics, and English as a second language (such as Native Americans). My questions are: How can a teacher instruct all these students to learn the English language, correctly? Are we forcing our students to speak more like white people or are we instructing them to speak the English language correctly? Do we tell our students that it isn’t proper to use Ebonics or slang (such y’all), if that’s how their region talks? Is the Educational system being judgmental and/or insensitive, to the student’s native language?

Flannery O'Connor

I enjoyed reading Flannery O’Connor’s stories because her creative, yet peculiar writing kept me interested. Furthermore, I loved her dramatic storylines. The story that I liked the most was “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” I have to admit that when I first read the title I thought the story was going to center around a woman searching for a ‘good’ man that she wanted to marry. However, we later interpret that the title suggests that it is hard to find a good person. I believe O’Connor’s stories are suggesting that there is a little evil in everyone, regardless of how religious they are. The Grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” plays the role as a religious person on the outside but on the inside, she seems somewhat self-centered (evil). Being too self-centered can be a bad thing. She dictated where and what the family did; as a result, they were all killed. The Grandmother was a threat to the Misfit so he decided to kill her; just like Christ was a threat to society. After reading the story, I tried to analyze why Flannery O’Connor had shot the Grandmother three times in the chest; rather than once or twice. When you are doing the “sign of the cross” you touch the middle of your chest (son), then the left side (Holy) and lastly the right side (Spirit). It almost symbolized that she died similarly to Christ. I guess, for me, it seemed a little ironic that he shot her in the chest three times. Why do you think he shot her three times? Could I be right or am I looking too deep? I mean O’Connor is a hard writer to decode.

Here are a few of Flannery O’Connor’s statements that reflect the type of writer she is…

All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it, but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal.

I don't deserve any credit for turning the other cheek as my tongue is always in it.

Manners are of such great consequence to the novelist that any kind will do. Bad manners are better than no manners at all, and because we are losing our customary manners, we are probably overly conscious of them; this seems to be a condition that produces writers.

http://www.literarytraveler.com/literary_articles/flannery_oconnor.aspx- This is a website that gives information of Flannery O’Connor and her stories.

“A Streetcar Named Desire”

I enjoyed reading the play “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Before our class discussion today I didn’t realize that Stanley raped Blanche. In my notes I wrote “Stanley was a gentleman for carrying Blanche to bed.” I thought that Blanche and Stanley were arguing, she tried to hit him, then she passed out and got tired from all the arguing and drinking (“she sank to her knees”-page 684) and he carried her to ‘her’ bed. While, I knew that he still didn’t like Blanche, I thought he was so happy about the arrival of his baby, that he overlooked her disgusting attitude. Oh well, I guess I was wrong on my interpretation (funny huh). Now that this is clarified I can better understand the conversation that Stella and Eunice had about whether to believe Blanche.
Stella: I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley.
Eunice: Don’t ever believe it. Life has got to go on. No matter what happens, you’ve got to keep going.
Eunice’s response upset me. Her comment implied that life for women will never change and that they need to live with their circumstances. I think that Eunice character can easily be compared to Richard Wright’s attitude about life. While both addressed different topics, they both live in the present and don’t think that within their life time there is going to be any good outcomes.
If I were in Stella’s position, I don’t think I could go on living, thinking that Stanley may have slept with my sister. In the beginning Blanche admitted to flirting with Stanley, so that would make me believe that it really did happen. However, it is Stanley that could easily say Blanche lied because eventually, she gets caught up in her lies. I think that Stanley took advantage of her lies and knew that Stella would believe him over Blanche because she cried wolf too many times. Plus he has complete control over Stella.
Another thing that I found funny was that Stanley tried his hardest to get rid of Blanche by buying her a bus ticket home, but when she wanted to leave he stood in front of the door, trapping her. Although, Stanley’s character is gorgeous (in the movie) I still think Stanley is a jerk for betraying his wife by sleeping with Blanche.

What I liked in "Their Eyes Were Watching God," by Zora Neale Hurston

I absolutely loved reading “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Neale Hurston. She is such a powerful writer who uses creative and colorful passages to enable the reader to create emotions. Lastly, the entire book was full of images. I love Janie, for being such a spontaneous character and often she made me laugh. She fought for what she felt was right in her heart. She was just as hard of a worker as the men. I got the impression that the men expected more of the women, while the men got the pleasure of sitting back watching their wife slave over them and the children. It wasn’t fair and I admire Janie for standing firm in her believes (even though they didn’t have children). I loved her strength.
Throughout reading the book, I had pictured each character in my mind. For me, although it wasn’t stated in the book, I had pictured Janie having muscles and Tea Cake’s being a scrawny man. I don’t know why, because I felt like he did just as much work as Janie, if not more. He wanted to make her happy and for this he is a true gentleman. I can see why she loved him so much. On the other hand, I felt bad for Janie when Mrs. Turner’s brother came home because Janie got beaten for Tea Cake’s jealously. Hurston stated that “Before the week was over he had whipped Janie. Not because of her behavior justified his jealously, but it relieved that awful fear inside him. Being able to whip her reassured him in possession. Not brutal beating at all. He just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss.” I loved this quote because Tea Cake’s felt the need to do this because it not only made him feel better but also because this was the way the husbands were supposes to treat their wife. They were the boss; there was no equal medium back then, but in their relationship there was. Tea Cake’s allows her to have an equal say or he at least wants her to. Another reason why Tea Cake’s beat Janie was because he feared that she would leave him. I felt like Janie allowed him to do this because she knew his intentions and why he did it.
I found it ironic that Mrs. Turner, a black person, does not like other Negroes, especially Tea Cake’s. She wanted to hook Janie up with her brother, another black man. She is a hypocrite. I hated her for this. I felt she wanted to ruin a perfect relationship, because she was jealous of what the two had. I think she wanted to ruin Janie because she was a free spirited woman and was jealous of her strengths. I think deep down inside Mrs. Turner wanted to be Janie.
During the storm scene I laughed when I found out the name, Motor Boat. This name was a clever one. One would think that Motor Boat was going to come out a survivor; instead he wants to stay and sleep and ends up dying. Another thing that popped out was when Janie and Tea Cake’s ended up in a strange place, where Tea Cake’s found himself burying dead people, he felt out of place and hates the job. He wants to move back home where he knows people, even the whites. When he gets home he loves doing the same kind of work, simply because he is surrounded by familiar people. I can’t say that I blame Tea Cake’s because when times are bad we turn to our family and friends who know us best. These are the people who we except to help us gather our strengths.
I wish the book ended with Tea Cake and Janie living happily ever after, but that would be too great. Life wasn’t good for the blacks. Everyday was a struggle for them and that’s why Hurston makes Janie kill her lover; the only person who made her whole. I hope everyone loved reading this book just as much as I did. I found it interesting and believe that Zora Neale Hurston is a brilliant writer. Here are a few websites that I found interesting and could be helpful in the future.
A) http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/hurs-zorx.htm This Website gives a brief description of Zora Hurston and shows an image of her posing as an independent, dignified, and strong woman.
B) http://womenshistory.about.com/od/quotes/a/zn_hurston.htm This website gives a short description of Hurston and several selected quotations from her.
C) http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=52&section=notes This third website gives us a better understanding on how she became to writing “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” It also offers insight to her other masterpieces.
D) http://www.bookrags.com/notes/tewg/TOP1.html This website maybe helpful for studying for the final. It gives chapter by chapter descriptions on how Janie defined and searched for her identity. It will also reveal the theme of nature. If you go to this website it will help summarize the book. It’s a helpful and great website.