I was looking forward to Pod 8! Not that it was the last Pod, but that we got to explore some of the later writers of the 20th Century. A couple of the stories were good. But then... ew.
I am aware of a great many perversions out there, but a *racist* pervert? Really. C'mon. I'm sure America can produce better writers than that, that can tell vastly better stories. I am *extremely* disappointed E.A. Poe gets bumped for this tripe. If anyone read "Goin' to Meet the Man," I suggest you hurry out, right away and get "An Evening With Edger Allen Poe." Better yet, here is part 1 of Vincent Price's rendition of "Tell Tale Heart" and here is part 2. This will cleanse your mind! A truly masterful author being recited by a truly masterful actor. Now...
Don't you feel better?
I knew you would :)
Anyway, I'm sorry this semester is drawing to a close. I thoroughly enjoyed this class! I enjoyed the work, the Pods, the blogging, the teacher and my classmates! I want to thank all of you guys! This has been my fave class so far :)
As for my blog...
I'll prolly keep posting to it, although it most likely won't be strictly about Lit. I keep running across news stories I want to save but my fav folder is getting so big I needa do something with it. So maybe I'll sort my faves file into my blog. If anyone is interested in Religion or Politics, this might be the blog to check every 6 months or so LOL
Anyway, thank you Mrs. LadyBug. I appreciate your dedication and patience. Thank you classmates for making this class lively and fun! May God bless your labors :)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Desire, the streetcar
Ok, here was one of those rare occurrences where the movie was better than the book. ~*~SPOILER ALERT!!~*~ I noticed that the movie changed some info. For one, the reason Blanche's husband committed suicide was changed. In the print version, it was because she had found out he was homosexual and told him she had lost respect for him. In the movie with Brando at least, the reason her husband committed suicide was merely because she lost respect for him. Another is, in the written work, no one seemed to really believe Stanley raped Blanche. In the movie it seems both Stella and Mitch believe her.
There are three things I would like to point out. Firstly, the relationship between Stanley and Stella. Their relationship thrived on violence. It didn't come out so much in the book as it did in the movie. The way Stella approached Stanley after he smacked her around, she comes down the stairs in an almost sultry manner then leaps into Stanley's arms. For them, their violence is a prelude to romance. Along with this thought is the idea that Blanche was raised to flirt. She was raised as a Southern Belle. Trained to read a man's desire and dangle it just out of his reach. Without knowing it, Blanch invited Stanley to rape her as soon as she broke the bottle she intended to defend herself with. This of course was no excuse for Stanley's actions, but perhaps looking at this moment in Blanche's life we see perhaps her upbringing did her no favors.
Secondly, Blanche's bathing. I don't believe she bathed for her nerves' sake. She was trying to get clean. She had become the sort of person she loathed. She wanted very much to be the Southern Belle, the Lady of the Manor but all she really had left after her family died and left her homeless was her training as a Belle. And, I tend to believe, not even a complete one. If I were to judge Blanche by Scarlett O'Hara, I'd have to say someone forgot to teach Blanch quite a bit. Anyway, no matter how many times she scrubbed in scalding water the effects only lasted a short while.
Lastly, Mitch. The "good guy" of the whole sordid affair. Even though his purpose in life was to please his ailing mother, he didn't mind trying to get his little piece of Blanche once he learned the truth. "Too dirty" to be in the presence of his mother. So much for Mitch.
All in all, the best part of the story was the music from the local bars, but then I'm a sucker for Jazz :)
There are three things I would like to point out. Firstly, the relationship between Stanley and Stella. Their relationship thrived on violence. It didn't come out so much in the book as it did in the movie. The way Stella approached Stanley after he smacked her around, she comes down the stairs in an almost sultry manner then leaps into Stanley's arms. For them, their violence is a prelude to romance. Along with this thought is the idea that Blanche was raised to flirt. She was raised as a Southern Belle. Trained to read a man's desire and dangle it just out of his reach. Without knowing it, Blanch invited Stanley to rape her as soon as she broke the bottle she intended to defend herself with. This of course was no excuse for Stanley's actions, but perhaps looking at this moment in Blanche's life we see perhaps her upbringing did her no favors.
Secondly, Blanche's bathing. I don't believe she bathed for her nerves' sake. She was trying to get clean. She had become the sort of person she loathed. She wanted very much to be the Southern Belle, the Lady of the Manor but all she really had left after her family died and left her homeless was her training as a Belle. And, I tend to believe, not even a complete one. If I were to judge Blanche by Scarlett O'Hara, I'd have to say someone forgot to teach Blanch quite a bit. Anyway, no matter how many times she scrubbed in scalding water the effects only lasted a short while.
Lastly, Mitch. The "good guy" of the whole sordid affair. Even though his purpose in life was to please his ailing mother, he didn't mind trying to get his little piece of Blanche once he learned the truth. "Too dirty" to be in the presence of his mother. So much for Mitch.
All in all, the best part of the story was the music from the local bars, but then I'm a sucker for Jazz :)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Yikes!
I love blogging, but it wouldn't appear that way by my sporadic posting.
We are finishing up with Pod 6. I'm finding that Mr. Fitzgerald wrote for therapeutic reasons. We can glimpse that which ailed this poor man through his stories both short and long. The man dreamed of those things which he had lost and longed to capture time in a bottle. I wonder if he ever understood how his demons left him known as an author of note on the pages of history. Ironic. Some seek the happiness being a published author would bring in that measure of success. Some gain that measure of success through what they see as their failures, pains and struggles.
It seems if the authors themselves aren't in some way damaged, their characters are. At least Mark Twain's Huckleberry was seeking to become "normal" in the face of all the "normal" people around him being somewhat less normal than himself.
Maybe that's why I loath a bad ending. Happy endings are so scarce, not only in story and out here in reality. I'll never forgive Stephen King for ending "The Gun Slinger" badly. But ENGL 223 is at least allowing me to search for endings to make up for King's lack. Without much success I'm afraid. Cinderella is still my favorite story :)
We are finishing up with Pod 6. I'm finding that Mr. Fitzgerald wrote for therapeutic reasons. We can glimpse that which ailed this poor man through his stories both short and long. The man dreamed of those things which he had lost and longed to capture time in a bottle. I wonder if he ever understood how his demons left him known as an author of note on the pages of history. Ironic. Some seek the happiness being a published author would bring in that measure of success. Some gain that measure of success through what they see as their failures, pains and struggles.
It seems if the authors themselves aren't in some way damaged, their characters are. At least Mark Twain's Huckleberry was seeking to become "normal" in the face of all the "normal" people around him being somewhat less normal than himself.
Maybe that's why I loath a bad ending. Happy endings are so scarce, not only in story and out here in reality. I'll never forgive Stephen King for ending "The Gun Slinger" badly. But ENGL 223 is at least allowing me to search for endings to make up for King's lack. Without much success I'm afraid. Cinderella is still my favorite story :)
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