ENG 3320
Welcome to my weekly dose of blog analysis for Modern American Literature
We all have heard of the saying, "blood is thicker than water," but is it true in the case of Stella being stuck in between her sister, Blanche, and her husband, Stanley? Let's break down how toxic Blanche and Stanley are.
For starters, Stanley plays a very toxic husband. He is very dominant and controlling. But Stella keeps running back to him... Why? Was it because she was having his baby or was she truly in love with him? If we did not read this play, what would be the assumptions (just by watching the video clips)? Stanley treated Stella poorly. Especially when Blanche came into the picture. When Blanche came into their lives, the brought baggage. The baggage of what was her past... the plantation. Blanche had no one left for her so she decided to being under Stella's wings. This really set Stanley off. Blanche became emotionally abusive toward Stella, and almost manipulative. Both Blanche and Stanley took a toll on Stella. Like when Blanche and Stanley would argue or even when Stanley raped Blanche. Stella had no other choice but to crack down and pick a side. In this case, Stella stays with Stanley, and this leads me back to my question, why? Personally, I believe this is where Tennessee William's came up with the title, "Streetcar Named Desire." Each character had their own wants and desires in the long run. Stanley desired to be the 'man' of the house. (Though we see him give in to his masculinity and cries for Stella at his weakness... I won't even get into that right now!) Blanche desired support from her sister. Stella desired for love from both her husband Stanley, and Blanche, her sister. So my question to you is; Is blood thicker than water?? Who should she have chosen? An abusive man or a draining sister.
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A Portrait in Georgia reflects on a very specific person. Not just a person, a woman. A woman in the Harlem Renaissance. She is beautiful but violent. She tells a two way story: her looks and her history. Jean Toomer has a very nice play of descriptive words. Each description is very specific and can tell a two sided story. "Hair braided chestnut, coiled like a lyncher’s rope" (Toomer). Toomer is describing this woman's hair. Not only is her hair chestnut but so is the coiled lyncher's rope. There is an ongoing/repetitive theme in beauty and history. Next we read about the eyes. They are described as fagots. Fagots are pieces of wood that are ready to be burned. Meaning this woman's eyes holds a fire. Her lips are old scars and blistered. This could indicate her past. Her breath smells like old sweet cane. Old and sweet gives off a fermented smell indicating age. Her slim body is like burned flesh. No matter what you burn, it will turn into ashes. This reading being under the Harlem renaissance is showing black history. Learning about black history, we are going to hear stories of the past. The past being slavery and racism. Beauty and violence are coiled together in the south.
This whole set of readings showed great and in depth detail of black history. Black history is important in modern literature because the history was so important to know. It is crucial for us to learn about black history through literature because we read as if we are living the life of the author. Whereas learning about black history through textbooks could be dry. We as readers find a better understanding of the past through literature. Work Citing: "Portrait in Georgia" by Jean Toomer Starting this semester out, we put our focus on modernist poetry. Our first poet is Marianne Moore. She wrote, "Poetry." I found this poem to be very intriguing. Poetry being our "it." Marianne seems to be critiquing her passion, poetry. This poem was a kick off to the rest of the modern poetry that we read and discussed in class.
We then discussed "Of Modern Poetry" by Wallace Stevens. What I got out of this poem was that Stevens is explaining what it takes to be a modern poet and how poetry mirrors the modern world or time period. H.D's "Oread" and "The Garden" bring a nature aspect to modern poetry. She uses nature to explain some greater meaning of our modern society. William Carlos William's "The Red Wheelbarrow" was very complex but so short and difficult to interpret. The way Williams played with his words and the set up of his poem stanzas. Though it seems the setting is at a farm or field, we can infer that it is more than a wheelbarrow. It is a metaphorical image portraying that our lives depend on other things that depends on other things. It is a continuous loop. The chickens depend on the wheelbarrow but what about the rain? The wheelbarrow is a support system but without the rain, could there be any form of healthy life? Williams' next poem, "This is Just to Say" has a very good play of words. Watching the video in class of someone acting out the poem and speaking it gave me a better understanding of this poem. To me, he comes off condescending. He teases his wife or who ever he is writing to that the plums were delicious, however, they were not his plums, they were hers. All of these short modern poems gives a hidden message about our society. As discussed in class, a lot of these modern poems have to do with sex, dependency, and freedom. I think that women also had a great movement in modernist poetry and was a great way to express how they felt. |
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