Willa Cather, in her novel My Antonia, offers her view of life during the pioneer times. She portrays herself and all of her views through her characters. Through Jim and his experiences the audience gets a view of life in the good ol' days.
If the book were told in the point of view of Antonia instead of Jim, the story would have been drastically different. In her perspective, the audience would have gained insight into what it was like to be in a family who was new to the country and struggling for survival. Also, we might have gained a motive behind some of her actions, such as her behavior towards Jim and her dancing escapades. Her thoughts and feelings would have been made known during the tough times, such as when she had to work in the fields like a man or when she was betrayed by her supposed fiance, Larry, and left alone and pregnant. The book would have turned out completely different if we had learned all of the facts firsthand instead of hearing them through as Jim learned them through the grapevine.
Willa Cather was fairly effective at writing in the point of view of a man, considering she herself is not one. The only way that one could even guess that the author was a woman was that Jim seems to be fairly feminine for a guy. Not to the point of being ridiculously or overly girly, but still more so than some guys would have been. There was not really any description of him doing any manual labor, which could hint at the fact that the author is a girl due to the fact that most woman did not do any sort of field work in that time period. Overall, though, Cather did a good job portraying a man in the book.
Jim changed the title of the story from Antonia to My Antonia because he was telling the story of his friend Antonia as he saw her. The different people who grew up or lived around Antonia would have viewed her in a completely different way than Jim did. He saw the good in her; the willingness to do anything for her family and how she refused to give up on making something of herself even though she was left alone and pregnant in a time where that was highly frowned upon. However, others viewed her with pity, as the girl who was gullible enough to be tricked out of her money and left pregnant. She would have been seen as cheap and a floozy. Jim wanted to show people how he viewed her; how he loved her. The title My Antonia shows that the story is not about her flaws and mistakes and meant to degrade. It shows Jim's unconditional love towards her.
My Antonia is a very unique book that would have been completely different if the author had made even one minor change. Cather's novel is very good at showing the lifestyle of a typical family during the pioneer times. The story shows not only the good in life, but also the hard, unforgiving times that occurred so very often in those times. The book is well written and interesting enough that I would recommend it to anybody who likes classic books.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Effects of a Setting
Author Willa Cather embedded literary devices, such as metaphors, similes, and personification, within her writing.
"As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running."
"The grave, with its tall red grass that was never mowed, was like a little island."
"Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie. The wind that sweeps in from the open country strips away all the leafy screens that hide one yard from another in summer, and the houses seem to draw closer together. The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops, now stare you in the face, and they are so much uglier than when their angles were softened by vines and shrubs.
The setting plays a major role on the lives of the characters within the novel. For example, if the Shimerda family had moved to a large city, they might not have fallen on such hard times. Mr. Shimerda might have been happier and not killed himself and Antonia would not have been forced to live the rough lifestyle of a man. She may have been a prim and proper lady and been married off to some rich guy, never to have to work in the fields again. If Jim had not moved to the farm with his grandparents, he would have never learned to appreciate the things he has in life. By living on a farm, he learned to work hard and follow instructions. He also would not have been exposed to the people, such as Otto and Jake, who taught him all of the things that a father would teach a son. The setting of the story made a huge impact on the plot and all of the characters.
The woods are a paradise to me. The best time is during the fall when the leaves turn colors and float softly to the ground. The tall, imposing trees give me a sense of safety and comfort. They stand tall and proud, like a veteran soldier bravely defending his country. I love to hear the small creek whispering its song to the world as it weaves its way across the landscape. I can sit, relax and ponder the ways of the world when there is nothing but nature surrounding me. Off in the distance, the sun is slowly losing its battle with the night, leaving everything bathed orange in its warm glow. When I see this, I know it is time to head back to my home. However reluctant, I am placated by the realization that my paradise is permanent and I can always visit again tomorrow.
"As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running."
"The grave, with its tall red grass that was never mowed, was like a little island."
"Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie. The wind that sweeps in from the open country strips away all the leafy screens that hide one yard from another in summer, and the houses seem to draw closer together. The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops, now stare you in the face, and they are so much uglier than when their angles were softened by vines and shrubs.
The setting plays a major role on the lives of the characters within the novel. For example, if the Shimerda family had moved to a large city, they might not have fallen on such hard times. Mr. Shimerda might have been happier and not killed himself and Antonia would not have been forced to live the rough lifestyle of a man. She may have been a prim and proper lady and been married off to some rich guy, never to have to work in the fields again. If Jim had not moved to the farm with his grandparents, he would have never learned to appreciate the things he has in life. By living on a farm, he learned to work hard and follow instructions. He also would not have been exposed to the people, such as Otto and Jake, who taught him all of the things that a father would teach a son. The setting of the story made a huge impact on the plot and all of the characters.
The woods are a paradise to me. The best time is during the fall when the leaves turn colors and float softly to the ground. The tall, imposing trees give me a sense of safety and comfort. They stand tall and proud, like a veteran soldier bravely defending his country. I love to hear the small creek whispering its song to the world as it weaves its way across the landscape. I can sit, relax and ponder the ways of the world when there is nothing but nature surrounding me. Off in the distance, the sun is slowly losing its battle with the night, leaving everything bathed orange in its warm glow. When I see this, I know it is time to head back to my home. However reluctant, I am placated by the realization that my paradise is permanent and I can always visit again tomorrow.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Argument: Pit Bull Bans
Assertion/Claim (Topic Sentence) = Main Idea
My Thinking: I believe that this paragraph is based mainly on inductive reasoning due to the fact that the conclusion can still be argued and is not a definite fact.
Sources:
- Pit bull bans should be abolished.
Evidence -Concrete Detail:
- The problems that occur seemingly due to the breed are actually caused by the owners, not the dogs themselves.
- Commentary 1: Pit bulls are not born killers, they are turned that way as a result of a bad upbringing or traumatic experience. Most of the dogs that attack people have been the victims of abuse or neglect or have taught to fight or kill.
- Commentary 2: There are thousands upon thousands of pit bulls around the world that have never attacked anyone. All of the dogs are not vicious just because some of them have attacked people before. Besides, how many times do ban supporters mention the pit bulls that have saved their owners from certain death? Or do they ever specify whether or not the dog was provoked by the person they attacked? Hardly ever.
- The breed "pit bull" is probably one of the most misused terms ever.
- Commentary 1: Most people group any dog with certain characteristics, such as a stocky build, as a pit bull. a majority of the time, it is one of the many other breeds that are incorrectly labeled as a pit bull.
- Commentary 2: The pit bull gets blamed for the actions of dozens of many other breeds due to their misidentification. This would multiply the attack number for the breed by huge amounts and would account for why the numbers are so high and why the breed has such a bad reputation.
Opposing Claims/They Say:
- The Dog Bite Law Center argues that "these dogs are bred killers."
- Some claim that they "have not place in a family home" and that any "defense of them is misplaced affection."
- However, I say that the majority of pit bulls are being unrightfully punished for the mistakes and actions of the few. Most of the "pit bulls" aren't actually pit bulls at all. If you are counting the number of attacks for many different breeds all under one breed, of course the number is going to be higher than any one single breed.
My Paragraph
Pit bull bans should be abolished. The problems that occur seemingly due to the breed are actually caused by the owners, not the dogs themselves. Pit bulls are not born killers, they are turned that way as a result of a bad upbringing or traumatic experience. Most of the dogs that attack people have been the victims of abuse or neglect or have taught to fight or kill. There are thousands upon thousands of pit bulls around the world that have never attacked anyone. All of the dogs are not vicious just because some of them have attacked people before. Besides, how many times do ban supporters mention the pit bulls that have saved their owners from certain death? Or do they ever specify whether or not the dog was provoked by the person they attacked? Hardly ever. The breed "pit bull" is probably one of the most misused terms ever. Most people group any dog with certain characteristics, such as a stocky build, as a pit bull. a majority of the time, it is one of the many other breeds that are incorrectly labeled as a pit bull. The pit bull gets blamed for the actions of dozens of many other breeds due to their misidentification. This would multiply the attack number for the breed by huge amounts and would account for why the numbers are so high and why the breed has such a bad reputation. However, not everybody believes as I do. The people at the Dog Bite Law Center argue that "these dogs are bred killers." Some claim that they "have not place in a family home" and that any "defense of them is misplaced affection." Nevertheless, I say that the majority of pit bulls are being unrightfully punished for the mistakes and actions of the few. Most of the "pit bulls" aren't actually pit bulls at all. If you are counting the number of attacks for many different breeds all under one breed, of course the number is going to be higher than any one single breed. Thus, pit bulls should not be banned and they should get the same treatment that any other dog breed does.My Thinking:
Sources:
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Dependent & Independent Clauses
Whenever I have the chance,
Although I'm stressed for time,
After the school bell rings,
Until the sun goes down,
I ride horses at the barn.
Although I am reluctant,
When the sun has said goodbye,
Before it gets too late,
Because of my responsibilities,
I go home and prepare for tomorrow.
Although I'm stressed for time,
After the school bell rings,
Until the sun goes down,
I ride horses at the barn.
Although I am reluctant,
When the sun has said goodbye,
Before it gets too late,
Because of my responsibilities,
I go home and prepare for tomorrow.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Things Fall Apart Book Review
"His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness." Okonkwo, a strong man living in an Ibo village in Nigeria, has only ever known hard labor and turmoil for the whole length of his existence. He is finally conquering over his struggles and fears but perhaps as they seem to get better, actually things fall apart. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart captivated me with its strong, diverse characters, excellent theme, and connections to other works of literature.
This book is full of realistic characters and contains a wide array of diverse personalities. The author did a great job at making the people very believable and encouraging readers to make connections with the characters. Many of them, such as Okonkwo, who was "afraid of being thought weak," can make the readers relate to them. I, personally, do not like Okonkwo very much, which I do think affects how I feel about the book. He "ruled his household with a heavy hand" and cause his wives and children to "live in perpetual fear of his fiery temper."(page 13) He was willing to kill the boy who viewed him as a father all because "he was afraid of being thought weak."(page 61) All of this dampens my view of him, which affects the level of enjoyment that I get from reading the book. I have trouble reading a book in which I do not like or agree with the main character, but that is strictly a personal preference and I do think that others would feel different about it.
However, Achebe's theme that he incorporated into the novel makes up somewhat for the dislike that I have for the main character. The moral that I came to interpret is that one shouldn't let their pride rule their life and control their actions because one day they may come to regret it. This theme, I feel, is directed mainly at Okonkwo. He let his pride rule his life when the story said that "Okonkwo drew his machete and cut [Ikemefuna] down. He was afraid of being thought weak." He let his fear and pride control him and because of that he killed one of the few people that thought the world of him. The theme seemed to kick in after he became depressed and began to regret killing Ikemefuna. He "did not taste any food for two days after the death" and "he drank palm wine from morning to night." However, it seems to me that the message really hit home when he realized that everything he had done in order to make people see him as strong had really been for nothing. "He had all but achieved [his dreams]. Then everything had been broken" and "he had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry, sandy beach." The strong, inspiring theme makes the book much more pleasant to read in my opinion.
Another thing that increased my willingness to read the book was that I could form connections to the people and other personalities as well as link the book to another that I have read. Okonkwo reminds me of a majority of people in today's world, doing horrid things in the name of pride and constantly living in fear of what other people will think of them. I, myself, sometimes find myself fearing what others think of me and letting that rule over how I act so I feel that, even though I do not like Okonkwo,I can somewhat relate to him. This book reminds me of The Odyssey because the character Odysseus is very similar to Okonkwo. Both were very proud, strong, and stubborn. They let their pride get them into some very sticky situations and won't let anything change their minds once they decide on something. Also, both end up finding their whole worlds crashed down around them and eventually realizing that they have no one to blame but themselves.
Overall, I believe that Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a fairly interesting book that offers a wide variety of character personas and possible themes, in addition to having characters that can easily be linked to other, more common pieces of literature and the actions of modern-day people as well. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading about different cultures around the world and how the different societies run. I believe that certain people could get a lot of enjoyment out of this book.
This book is full of realistic characters and contains a wide array of diverse personalities. The author did a great job at making the people very believable and encouraging readers to make connections with the characters. Many of them, such as Okonkwo, who was "afraid of being thought weak," can make the readers relate to them. I, personally, do not like Okonkwo very much, which I do think affects how I feel about the book. He "ruled his household with a heavy hand" and cause his wives and children to "live in perpetual fear of his fiery temper."(page 13) He was willing to kill the boy who viewed him as a father all because "he was afraid of being thought weak."(page 61) All of this dampens my view of him, which affects the level of enjoyment that I get from reading the book. I have trouble reading a book in which I do not like or agree with the main character, but that is strictly a personal preference and I do think that others would feel different about it.
However, Achebe's theme that he incorporated into the novel makes up somewhat for the dislike that I have for the main character. The moral that I came to interpret is that one shouldn't let their pride rule their life and control their actions because one day they may come to regret it. This theme, I feel, is directed mainly at Okonkwo. He let his pride rule his life when the story said that "Okonkwo drew his machete and cut [Ikemefuna] down. He was afraid of being thought weak." He let his fear and pride control him and because of that he killed one of the few people that thought the world of him. The theme seemed to kick in after he became depressed and began to regret killing Ikemefuna. He "did not taste any food for two days after the death" and "he drank palm wine from morning to night." However, it seems to me that the message really hit home when he realized that everything he had done in order to make people see him as strong had really been for nothing. "He had all but achieved [his dreams]. Then everything had been broken" and "he had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry, sandy beach." The strong, inspiring theme makes the book much more pleasant to read in my opinion.
Another thing that increased my willingness to read the book was that I could form connections to the people and other personalities as well as link the book to another that I have read. Okonkwo reminds me of a majority of people in today's world, doing horrid things in the name of pride and constantly living in fear of what other people will think of them. I, myself, sometimes find myself fearing what others think of me and letting that rule over how I act so I feel that, even though I do not like Okonkwo,I can somewhat relate to him. This book reminds me of The Odyssey because the character Odysseus is very similar to Okonkwo. Both were very proud, strong, and stubborn. They let their pride get them into some very sticky situations and won't let anything change their minds once they decide on something. Also, both end up finding their whole worlds crashed down around them and eventually realizing that they have no one to blame but themselves.
Overall, I believe that Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a fairly interesting book that offers a wide variety of character personas and possible themes, in addition to having characters that can easily be linked to other, more common pieces of literature and the actions of modern-day people as well. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading about different cultures around the world and how the different societies run. I believe that certain people could get a lot of enjoyment out of this book.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Henry vs. Forrest
In intense situations, a person's instinctual reaction causes him/her to react for self-preservation whether that means fighting or taking flight. Henry for The Red Badge of Courage and Forrest from .
Forrest Gump may not seem to have anything in common with each other but, in fact, they do. Both Henry and Forrest were being driven by their fear while they were running.
Henry ran out of fear for himself without once caring about the welfare of others. He got scared that he would get hurt of die, so he decided to run away. He ran "like a blind man" or a "proverbial chicken," not knowing where he was going and at the same time, not caring. He was fleeing the battle to save himself, letting fear get the best of him.
Though Forrest too ran out of fear, his fear was for someone other than himself. At first, he ran just because he was ordered to by his superiors, but when he realized that his best friend Bubba was unaccounted for, he ran to try to find him. He was not thinking about himself at all. He ran into the war instead of out of it; risking his life even though he knew that the chances of finding Bubba and saving him were slim. Uncaring of his own self-preservation, he ran, and because of it, a lot of people were saved.
Both Henry and Forrest ran because of fear but Forrest's self-less fear was much different than Henry's selfish flight mentality.
Forrest Gump may not seem to have anything in common with each other but, in fact, they do. Both Henry and Forrest were being driven by their fear while they were running.
Henry ran out of fear for himself without once caring about the welfare of others. He got scared that he would get hurt of die, so he decided to run away. He ran "like a blind man" or a "proverbial chicken," not knowing where he was going and at the same time, not caring. He was fleeing the battle to save himself, letting fear get the best of him.
Though Forrest too ran out of fear, his fear was for someone other than himself. At first, he ran just because he was ordered to by his superiors, but when he realized that his best friend Bubba was unaccounted for, he ran to try to find him. He was not thinking about himself at all. He ran into the war instead of out of it; risking his life even though he knew that the chances of finding Bubba and saving him were slim. Uncaring of his own self-preservation, he ran, and because of it, a lot of people were saved.
Both Henry and Forrest ran because of fear but Forrest's self-less fear was much different than Henry's selfish flight mentality.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wounded Warrior Project
I feel that the Wounded Warrior Project is a very honorable organization. It helps to build the confidence of the people that are part of the program and helps them feel loved. Many people who have been wounded in war come back and have PTSD and in turn, that can lead to them feeling depressed and unappreciated. WWP can help veterans realize that they are not being forgotten and that they did in fact make a difference. To me, this is one of the greatest aspects of the program. Not only does it help the people in the program, but it helps raise awareness in the general population too. It seems that some people believe that soldiers go off to war, fight, come back, and everything is all hunky-dory. WWP shows them that the people who died serving our country are not the only ones who sacrificed their whole lives. The survivors have given up a major part of themselves also because they will never be the same. They are forced to live with the memories of what they saw and experienced and nothing will ever be able to completely make that go away. After all, there are things that a person can't unsee that are utterly life-changing. The Wounded Warrior Project is an amazing organization that benefits not only our admirable and intrepid soldiers, but also ordinary civilians. What the WWP is doing is showing everyone the sacrifices made and giving honor to those who deserve it. I would like to say a big THANK YOU to whoever thought of and created this idea for what they have done, are doing, and will do in the future. :)
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