Poetry Packet- THEMATIC STATEMENTS!

POEM 1- True love depends on personal connections made in the relationship.

POEM 2-When one loves another, there are no emotional limitations.

POEM 3- Death consumes many, being mighty and powerful, yet continues to perplex many.

POEM 4- Time, although not tangible, is wasted when it should be used to live life the best way one can.

POEM 5- No matter how content one may be, they can never be truly complacent.

POEM 6- Beauty can be found in the simlest things.

POEM 7- Greatness cannot be chosen, but it can be earned.

POEM 8- Power and greatness are the goals of people who truly want to succeed.

POEM 9- Love is achieved not through physical beauty, but inner beauty as well.

POEM 10- A ruler cannot be characterized by their rule, but what impact they leave behind.

POEM 11- One can never truly appreciate something until they realize what life would be like without them.

POEM 12- The love between a child and parent cannot compare to any other.

POEM 14 - Love, young or old, is as real as the relationship defines it.

POEM 15- Even though celebratory feelings excell, a mournfull tragedy can tear them down to nothing.

POEM 16- No matter how prepared a person is for something, the slightest distraction can effect a
moment.

POEM 17- True love can be found through other people or places.

POEM 18- The experiences one goes through has the power to shape how they act today.

POEM 19- Seperation may cause problems, but it resolves them through distance.

POEM 20- Human nature forces people to find flaws that often make them unique.

GOW ACTION PROJECT!

At first, I thought the answer to the "Why are we doing this?" question was to take a substantial step towards solving a crisis or problem we've had or have been having. However, after I progressed further in my project, I found that my primary idea of an answer wasn't quite right. The results of my project definitely reflect my new answer to the "Why are we doing this" question.
  
The company that I decided to confront with a dilemma was the Frito Lays Corporation. Now, I chose Frito Lays because I've purchased their products pretty much all my life and I've run into some problems with the packaging of their ten ounce bags of chips. Every time I open a bag, I find that it is either half full of chips or almost empty. Then I thought about paying for a half full bag of chips, and I got very confused because the usual price of these ten ounce bags is $4.29. I found this to be outrageous, so I decided to first call the number on the back of the ten ounce bags. My biggest concern for this project was not to seem like a pushy and angry customer, so I tried to be as polite as possible. I first called the Frito Lays Company on April 12th 2012 at 2:03 p.m. Like most companies, I got an answering machine voice asking if I was a sales representative or if I was a retailer then to press a number for assistance. However, I stayed on the line to speak to a person at the company. A lady answered the phone, so I asked why the pricing of the ten ounce bags was relatively high even though we only get a bag half full of chips. She replied saying that the bags are half full because air is needed to keep the chips from crumbling. I told her that that made sense, but I still didn't understand why the prices are so high for these bags of chips. She continued on to tell me practically the same information she told me before, but still hadn't mentioned the pricing, so I asked to speak to a manager or a higher ranking employee. The lady asked me if I didn't like the answer she gave, but I assured her that I just wanted a little more information on the pricing of these bags. She told me that she was getting a manager, but after about two minutes I heard beeping noises and I asked if anyone was there, but a cellular voice came on saying that the call had been dropped...suspicious. However, determined to get answers, I called again and started talking to a very kind lady named Ross. I explained to her that the first call was dropped and she immediately apologized for that and asked me if I had any questions. I told her I wanted to talk to a superior about the pricing of the chip bags right away, but she said she could answer that question herself. Ross said that these bags are weighted rather than counted by a machine, so in some cases bags are sent out empty without the company knowing. So I thanked her for the information and we hung up, but I began thinking about the machines and how bags could be sent out empty without the company knowing. I wondered why the company wasn't paying more attention to this problem because people paying full price for empty bags is not good business. Although Ross was very helpful, I wanted to talk to a superior and get more information about these machines. I was seriously concerned that the company didn't want me to talk to any superiors because the third lady I spoke to, Anne, just answered my questions herself. I asked for a manager, but she also asked why I wanted to speak to one. When I explained my curiosity with the machine weighing process and the price problem, she went on to tell me that no company is perfect and that they rely on reports from customers so they can get information off the bag like which plant is was made at so the company can fix the issue. Again, I thanked her for the information and she replied that she would've done the same thing. Finally my fourth call was with Kim who told me more about the pricing of the chip bags. I asked her how the prices are determined because $4.29 seemed a little ridiculous for a half full bag of chips. She didn't really know hoe to answer so I took this glorious opportunity to ask for a superior, and she actually connected me to a manager! Despite the creepy waiting music I listened to, I finally spoke to a superior who restated that the chip bags are measured by weight, not volume and also informed me of how the price of these bags are determined. I never thought about these factors, but the price of making the chips also involve the price of gasoline for trucks because the company delivers their own products. She also told me that when people report the empty chip bags, the company sends the person coupons for their products. When there are less inconveniences, then the company saves billions of dollars, which is passed on to customer savings. Unfortunately, the lady said that a higher up member wasn't available until next week Thursday. I thanked her for the information and we both hung up.

Although I didn't speak to an even higher authority member, I believe that I would've received the same information that I've already gotten, which brings me to answer the "Why are we doing this?" question. The answer isn't to solve the problem brought about, but more to bring attention to it. When I spoke to the third lady, Anne, she said that no company is perfect. I thought about this and decided that although people try their hardest to solve these dilemmas, they most likely will never solve the problem completely. There will always be small errors that we cannot get around because, like Anne says, no company is perfect. I believe this project relates to the Grapes of Wrath novel by John Steinbeck because like the company, many problems arose throughout the Great Depression and many people were left in the dark. I know that a half full bag of chips doesn't really compare to the problems faced by people in the Great Depression, but they are very similar because they cannot be fully solved, but brought forth as issues. Even today the world is having financial and economic problems left over by the Great Depression. Now, however, people are being more cautious to refrain from creating another depression. As to the question of "Why did I assign this?" I believe that this assignment was to show how many layers there are to a company. I had difficulty reaching high members of the Frito Lays Company, and I can't even imagine how some other students got to the president. I also think that this assignment was to help us realize that everything can't be fixed and problems will always arise, but we can help the companies by bringing attention to the dilemmas that we customers and students have to face. Sometimes the company depends on the consumers to help them find and fix issues that they cannot find. Like Anne said, "No company is perfect."        

Things Fall Apart/ Heart of Darkness...Literary Criticism

Chinua Achebe, author of the novel Things Fall Apart, has responded to the literary work, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Achebe comments on Heat of Darkness saying that it is a racist work of literature.
To support his thesis, Achebe considered Conrad's life and experiences. We are informed that Conrad was born in the same year the first Anglican missionaries were arriving among the people of Nigeria. Basically, Conrad lived in a time where the reputation of the black man was definitely low. Achebe also spoke about Albert Schweitzer and his quote on the Africans he helped, "The African is indeed my brother but my junior brother." Conrad only considers the relationships with the Africans as a "kinship" rather than a brotherhood. Achebe also brings to light the fact that Conrad was more concerned with laying a claim on the kinship, which was previously mentioned. He then goes on to talk about how Conrad voids Africa as a recognizable setting. It is more of a backdrop, again eliminating the African person as a human factor. There is definitely a prejudice against the humanity of the black people and the references to darkness and blackness in Heart of Darkness. For example, Conrad described a black figure with long black legs and waving long black arms, which shows a bit of an obsession with this concept, even though he seems to criticize it more than flatter it. Conrad uses this novel to spread the dehumanization of the African people.
I believe that this thesis was very well supported and there were many more examples he gave from Heart of Darkness. At first, I didn't know what to expect from Chinua Achebe and I wasn't sure about his argument. That being said, he completely convinced me on his thesis. I actually really enjoyed reading this article because I never would've thought about these points.

The Awakening...LITERARY CRITICISM #4

The article, "Kate Chopin's Motherless Heroine" by Virginia Ross, further explores Edna Pontellier in The Awakening. The thesis that Ross illustrates to the readers is that Edna's character is shaped primarily by her true desire for a mother or mother figure in her life.
To support her claim, Ross shows that the symbol of the sea is related to Edna's longing for a mother because water is where all life comes from. In the novel, Chopin writes that Edna hears the water "like a mournful lullaby on the night" (7). The sea acts as a replacement for a mother in Edna's life. Edna feels detached from this part, therefore she feels an overwhelming attraction to the sea. Another example of Edna's true character and want for a mother is the fact that she, herself, does not nurture her children often. This is because she has never learned how to mother children since she never felt a mother's comfort or had a maternal role model to look up to and imitate. Therefore, she could never truly be the "mother-woman" her husband wanted her to be. However, she did have her friend, Mrs. Ratignolle, who is the epitome of a "mother-woman" because of her current pregnancy and the care for her children. Despite Mrs. Ratignolle's ideal personality as a mother figure for Edna, she is distracted and obligated to care for her children. Edna could also be feeling left out of the Ratignolle family because of their domestic bliss, and her lack there of. This feeling isn't a romantic longing, but more of a child's exclusion from her parents' intimacy. The final example Ross explains the desire of Edna for a mother is Edna's suicide. Edna's experience shows a feeling of abandonment, loss, and fear, which she most likely felt when she lost her mother. In Civilization and its Discontents, Freud writes about the possibility of a relationship when a mother is gone or inadequate, an individual may try to recreate an "inclusive, all-embracing bond with the universe." This proves that Edna felt hopeless and a desire to be comforted because she had no connections with anyone on the shore that she occasionally looked back to when out in the Gulf. Her lack of a mother's love causes her character traits and her eventual death.
I believe that the thesis was very well put forth because there were many examples that supported her claim. She had a variety of symbols, events, and people that helped the thesis come across clearly. I was pretty skeptical about her argument, but I do agree with the argument presented because the examples she gave really made sense. This was also a very interesting way of looking at this work of literature. I would've never thought about the lack of a maternal figure effecting Edna's personality. I think that it would be really interesting to further explore other possible examples that would prove this thesis that were only mentioned once in the article. For example the people that "abandoned" Edna, like Robert and Dr. Mandelet, seemed very concerned for Edna, but I wonder why they didn't try to really help her or why they never asked about her true feelings since she seemed guarded throughout her life.

The Yellow Wallpaper...REACTION

In the story, The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman the marriage of the narrator and her husband, John. Their relationship seems to be very different from today's marriages because John is almost overbearing of the narrator. He wants to control every aspect of her life and he wants to make sure she is taken care of and healthy. The fact that he placed her in a nursery while she was sick gives off the impression that he is treating her like a parent would treat a child. I believe that this tendency to baby her is due to the unfortunate truth that women weren't socially accepted as dominant figures during this time of place in the story. He believes that she is a child that needs to be taken care of and controlled. This reaction shows that women were not treated equally as men in this time period, which further explores the concept of feminism. The narrator is treated feebly and is not allowed to think for herself or do what she wants to do. In other words, she is being repressed.
The subject of repression brings me to conclude that the yellow wallpaper symbolizes just that: Repression. I think this because the narrator spoke of the woman creeping behind the hideous yellow pattern of the wallpaper and how she was rattling or shaking the "bars" back and forth. This means that the woman was being held back by the theory that women were incapable of surviving without men. I also think that the woman could represent the narrator because she is being repressed by her husband and the social trends of this time period.
The narrator even sympathizes with the woman behind the wallpaper when she believes to see the woman "creeping" in the daylight on page 15, "I don't blame her a bit. It must be very humiliating to be caught creeping by daylight!" Then, at the end of the story on page 18, she actually is caught creeping by her husband and she says to him, "'I've got out at last,' said I, 'in spite of you and Jennie. And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!'" This shows that the narrator sees herself as the woman behind the yellow wallpaper. She is acting like the woman because she relates to the repression the woman is going through. The narrator is being held back mostly by her husband and the time period, while the creeping woman is contained by the yellow wallpaper.

Ethan Frome...LITERARY CRITICISM #4

Within "Edith Wharton's Dream of Incest: Ethan Frome" by Ferdâ Asya, the thesis of this analysis seemed to be that Wharton feared the punishment for the feelings she had for her father, however as I read further into the article, I found that the thesis may be that she used this novella as a need for punishment.
This thesis was shown through the novella of Ethan Frome because the work was used to show the "writer's urge to confess the guilt that she unconsciously felt for her incestuous desire for her father" as said by Ferdâ Asya. This "urge" is also the reason that Wharton feels the need for her characters to be punished for their immoral feelings. This article also brings about Wharton's personal experience with an affair she had that lasted two years. Her own feelings relate to those of Ethan's because she looks for an escape from her loveless and also unfaithful husband. She feels the need to punish herself by punishing Ethan because she knows what she did was immoral and wrong. However, she felt more incestuous when she began to have desires for her father. This led her to ultimately punish the characters by forcing them to live in unhappiness and regret for their feelings at the end of the novella. As well as penalizing the characters because of her own experiences, the author prevents Ethan and Mattie from engaging in an emotional or physical relationship because of the guilt feeling. The author uses their lack of a relationship to exude the need for punishment brought out by the guilt because she feels just thinking about the possibility of a relationship was immoral in this time. This shows that she wants to punish herself through her characters, which displays a need for punishment. This work was said to be a "dream-wish," which was described as the motive force for producing dreams supplied by the unconscious, by Sigmund Freud. These "dream-wishes" eventually became "dream-thoughts" from Wharton's frustrating and agitating incidents of her life trying to search for the reasons of her disillusioned wishes. Wharton had wishes and desires about her father. Ethan is seen as a father figure in this book to Mattie Silver, which are the two main characters who experience the dominant form of pain. These wishes proved to be Wharton's need for reprimand.
I believe that this argument was extremely well put and the thesis of the article was clear and supported by many points. Besides the ideas presented previously, there were many other suggestions that prove Asya's thesis is valid. I agree with the points brought about by Asya and I believe that Wharton's main purpose for this novella was created because she felt a need to punish herself for the immoral feelings she had for her father through the characters of the novella, Ethan Frome.
I noticed that in the article, Asya mentions that in 1907, Wharton was very lonely. I wonder if this loneliness led her to think about feeling intimate desires for her father, which ultimately led her to write the novella, Ethan Frome. The writer also moved to Paris that winter and lived alone, which is when these feelings for her father began. This loneliness could also be a reason for her need to punish the characters of Ethan Frome, while also punishing herself in the process.

Ethan Frome...SEASONAL IMAGERY!

"After the funeral, when he saw her preparing to go away, he was seized with an unreasoning dread of being left alone on the farm; and before he knew what he was doing he had asked her to stay there with him. He had often thought since that it would not have happened if his mother had died in spring instead of winter" (Wharton 62).

I chose this passage because I understood the deeper meaning of this seasonal imagery right away. I remember from the sonnet lessons what each of the four seasons represents. I was drawn to this passage primarily because of the thought process Ethan Frome goes through. He seems to relate his marriage to the season of winter and when his mother had died. The season of winter has been symbolic of things like cold, brittleness, and old age. The fact that Ethan describes his wife’s appearance as cold and wrinkly shows that her cold expression and her aging relates to the season of winter because those are the portrayals given by the symbolic meaning of winter. I think that this shows the function of imagery as well, because it gives the reader a deeper and more complex way of grasping an idea, such as the true meaning of the season, winter.
The description of the setting gives the reader a chance to further interpret an idea brought about by the author. The different meanings of each season illustrates the diverse possibilities of these interpretations, which proves that the setting description can be used to help a reader further explore the deeper meaning of the ideas brought about by life. The different situations that the characters go through in the book establish the effect that seasonal imagery has on the reader’s judgment. Ethan questions his relationship with his wife by discussing the different possibility in setting change when he asked her to stay with him. This signals the reader to consider Ethan as an ambivalent man who seems to make excuses to make up for his hesitant nature.