Rachael's Southern Lit Blog

Dorothy Allison

2006-05-03T09:55:00.000-04:00

First, I would like to say that I really enjoyed reading Bastard out of Carolina. It was a lot different than the other readings that we have been doing this semester and I like this new-south kind of writing more than the old-south writing. At the end of the novel, Bone ends up being raped by Daddy Glen, her mothers husband. All through the novel, Bone is a troubled character with a screwed up identity due to her absence of a real father figure and the legend of her family, the Boatwrights. Bone struggles through sexual abuse, the meaning of love and trust, and relationships. I think that the tragic end for Bone is an absolutely terrible experience, but at the same time, very appropriate. Bone had been sexually assaulted by Daddy Glen for several years, and that has contributed to Bones distorted image of relationships. For Bone, there was not really any hope for her. She came from a poor family, didn't have a lot of schooling, and was bound to lead a life just like the rest of her low class family. When I think of Bones perspective, I can only imagine what it must feel like to have your mothers husband rape you, your mother betray you, and be left with no one but yourself. I think that the end of the book was very appropriate in context with the rest of the text. Thumbs up with me.

Analyze a Dickey poem

2006-04-26T19:02:00.000-04:00

i have chosen to TRY to analyze the poem THE HEAVEN OF ANIMALS. What i think is going on in this poem is that someone is thinking about if animals have an afterlife, like humans are supposed to. I also think that the narrator is asking him/herself if animals have souls that CAN die and go to heaven. In thinking about this, i think that the narrator makes an image in his head about what this place would look like. He pictures it as very beautiful and lush, which connects this poem to virtually all of the other Dickey poems we have read. The imagery of nature is very strong in this poem. It basically describes what an animal would do in its regular life, but even better. The poem describes rich woods, and deep fields. What i think is very beautiful (can i say that?) is when he talks about the animals that are hunting. Even though these animals are out to kill because thats what they did before they arrived at this heaven, there is something peaceful about it because the animals that are being hunted know they they can't be killed, because they are already dead. I think that this poem is related to what humans imagine THEIR heaven as, it is beautiful, and peaceful, and the animals are happy to be there, as a human would.

I'm not sure if i am interpreting this ENTIRELY wrong, but in reading it, this is what i was thinking. I think that it connects to the other Dickey poems we have read in class, and i think this is one of his more ..... normal(?) stories. I like it. What do you think? Did i not read deep enough into this poem and just pull the surface meaning out, or is this what you thought, too?

Dickey

2006-04-19T21:52:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed the Dickey poems that we read over break. I thought that it was very interesting that there was an element of nature involved in every one. Unfortuantely, i couldn't come to class today so i wasn't there to discuss this further as a class. But, all in all, i would really like to read a little deeper into some of Dickeys poems.

Presentations

2006-04-12T21:11:00.000-04:00

First off, i would like to say great job to everyone who presented! All of your presentations were very interesting and informative. I really enjoyed listening.

Today, Wednesday April 12th, while listening to Nolan and Elizabeths presentation about stereotypes of blacks and whites in the south, i was very intrigued. The thing that struck me as the most interesting is that these stereotypes are still being examined today. While looking through the Times Union in search for an article for another class, i came upon an article that immediately struck me. Its title was "A question of race, funds, college," by Michael C. Obel-Omia. This article discusses the rates of scholarships given to whites and blacks, and the difference was absolutely astonishing for me to see. There was something like a 20 percent difference in the amount of black and white males enrolled in a dree-granting college.

I thought that i would share that piece of information from this article with you, just to prove that what Nolan and Elizabeth presented today, is in fact, still happening.

A Streetcar Named Desire

2006-04-04T21:02:00.000-04:00

After watching the rest of the movie A Streetcar Named Desire, i noticed that many things were actually changed in the movie from the play. First, Blanche never tells Mitch that her dead husband was gay, and thats why he had shot himself. Also, at the very end of the movie, where the climax happened in the play, there were very significant differences. The biggest change was that Stanley is not shown carrying Blanche to the bed. There is no implication that Stanley rapes Blanche at the end of the movie. I think that this is because to suggest rape would have been very inappropriate to show this at the time that the movie came out on the big screen.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044081/board/nest/39132006

This link is what some other reviewers who have read the play and seen the movie think about the changes from the play to the big screen.

A Streetcar Named Desire

2006-03-29T10:03:00.000-05:00

While watching the beginning of A Streetcar Named Desire film, i noticed something very interesting. We have talked about Blanche's previous marraige in our class discussions, and i noticed in the film that she is still wearing a wedding band around her left ring finger. I think that this symbolizes how much Blanche really does rely on the past. I also think that she is in denial about losing her husband, and wears the ring as a way to remember her life when she was happy, or maybe she is just insecure about being in her 30's and not being married. I just found that a very interesting little detail that the writer decided to put into the film. Does anyone else find this interesting, or am i just reading too deep into it?

Their Eyes were Watching God

2006-03-20T10:19:00.000-05:00

After finishing the book Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, i had very different views about the book than i did when i read it in high school. Janie is such a strong character, and when it comes time for her to kill her husband in self defense, she does it with great courage. When reading the book in high school, to me it seemed as if she was doing this for herself. Now, after reading the book again and with the background that i have recieved by reading other books, i realize that she did it for Tea Cake. Janie knew that Tea Cake would never want to purposely hurt her, so when he was pointing a gun at her and bit her arm, Janie knew what she had to do. It has to be extremely hard to shoot your own husband, and Janie does it with such a good intention (if i may say so). Hurston does a perfect job portaying the shooting of Tea Cake.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

2006-03-13T08:02:00.000-05:00

After reading the assigned pages from Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, i view this book in a very different way. I read this book when i was in high school, and my point of view of the book then was very different then it is now. Because of the earlier texts we have read in this class, it is much easier for me to understand the book and what it is talking about. Do you think that it is necessary to have read numerous texts in order to understand a certain type of literature? For me, it has definately helped.

Uncle Jimbilly

2006-03-01T08:02:00.000-05:00

I think that Porter did an excellent job portaying Uncle Jimbilly in the story The Witness. The rest of the stories that we have read from Porter have had a very serious tone. Uncle Jimbilly brings a bit of humor to the Porter stories and i think it was done perfectly. He is a freed slave who now refuses to do any work for anyone. Another point of humor with Uncle Jimbilly is when he suddenly gets aggrivated with the kids and starts telling them the horrible things hes going to do like cut their ears off or skin them. I just think that this character was a perfect addition to the stories by Porter.

Desirees Baby

2006-02-06T09:56:00.000-05:00

When reading this passage, it was a bit confusing to me at first. I was thinking that maybe the baby had a disformity? When i got to the end of the story, i was, if it's not too strong, ENRAGED. As a man, i think that Armand should have told Desiree that the baby was partially black because of him, NOT her. Desiree was hurt, and confused by the whole situation and i don't think it is fair for her to feel that way. I think Armand is a coward and should take responisbility for the situation. Am i reading this wrong, or do you think that it was wrong of Armand to tell Desiree to go back home because of this conflict, when in all reality, it happened because of his family?

Frederick Douglass

2006-02-02T22:23:00.000-05:00

While reading through Frederick Douglass's slave narrative, it surprised me that someone that has gone through that kind of trauma, would still be comfortable enough to talk about it. It disturbs me to think that someone would think that they had that much authority over someone just because their skin color is different. The reasoning for some of Douglass's masters beating were pointless. It sometimes seems to me that the masters beat their slaves just to establish authority over them, or just to please themselves. This reading opened my eyes to what life was really like during the period of slavery, and helped me learn more about the real facts from someone who actually experienced it.

testing

2006-01-24T21:31:00.000-05:00

hey guys! just making sure that my blog is working correctly. thanks.