Annotated Bibliography; Russelly

Annotated Bibliography

Ellen Peel analyses and critiques the different characters and their actions from the short story "Desiree's Baby" This review is useful for my essay because I plan on writing about Desiree and her characteristics this as a source that proves the kind of role Desiree as a woman had in the story, and what lead her to her actions.

Peel, Ellen. American Literature. Jun90, Vol. 62 Issue 2, p223. 15p. SEMIOTICS & literature; AMERICAN literature -- 19th century; UNITED States; DESIREE'S Baby (Book); CHOPIN, Kate, 1851-1904

Denise Larrabee discusses the life of Kate Chopin. This is helpful for me because I can mention how Kate Chopin’s life somehow influenced her works of writings.  This can also help me connect the character of Desiree from “Desiree’s Baby” to something that Chopin might have experienced.

Chopin, Kate 1850-1904 American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, Retrospective Supplement 2

Ed. Jay Parini. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. p57-74. COPYRIGHT 2003 Charles Scribner's Sons, COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale

Denise Larrabee

This article discusses and explains Guy de Maupassant's background, and how it relates to certain characteristics in his short story "The Necklace".  In this review, Madame Loisel's behavior and actions are analyzed.  This is useful for my essay because I plan on analyzing Madame Loisel’s actions, and how those actions define her character. 

Brackett, Virginia. Masterplots, Fourth Edition, November 2010, p1-3. (Work Analysis) Author Name: Maupassant, Guy de. A brief synopsis and critical analysis of Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”.

Charles E. May discusses Guy de Maupassant’s life story and his famous works.  This will help me connect Maupassant’s work to his life story.  It will help me understand the reasons why his short story “The Necklace” is written in a certain context.

May, Charles E.; Includes bibliography Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century; January 2000, p1-3

Writing Through Literature: Short Story Essay--Share your choice of author(s) ...

Professor I have chosen the Lame shall enter and a rose for Emily. My thesis will be about how the parents impact on the children suffering. The reason I choose these two stories because both of them have the parents in some way affecting their children life in a positive way or a negative way. I found that interesting and wanted to talk about it.   

Writing Through Literature: Rosario Ferre "The Youngest Doll" post by Monday e...

When I was reading the youngest doll I felt that women was being mistreated. It was very surprising to find out how the men dominated their life and how they could nothing about it. One of the characters in the story a doctor which is a man takes advantage of a women that is rich. This women body have been invaded by a river prawn and she goes the doctor to get rid it. The doctor see an opportunity to use her even though he could have cured her. The doctor son even states “You could have cured this from the start”( Ferre, Rosario 247). The doctor responds by saying “ but I just wanted you to come and see the prawn that has been paying for your eduction these twenty years” ( Ferre, Rosario 247 ). The doctor is telling his son that the only reason he has an eduction is because he been taking advantage of this women. What is more shocking that he had said this front of that women and she said nothing to him. It was like the women had no voice in this story. The son of the doctor is just as worse because he only cares about money and treats he wife like a trophy. He even takes parts of the doll the aunt had given his wife as a present and sells them . However the wife notice that he was selling parts of the doll and hide it. When question by the doctor the whereabouts of the doll she states “ Since its hands and face were of Mikado porcelain she said they must have thought they were made of sugar and at this very moment they are most likely wearing down their teeth”(Ferre, Rosario 248). The daughter is telling the doctor that ants must have eaten the doll because they must have thought it was filled with honey. 

 

After reading the youngest doll I realized this story time line must have been written in a time when women had no rights. I learned the importance of the prawn in the story. It probably was a symbol for a limited life because after the aunt had gotten it she had just given up her life and started making dolls. Her niece probably had a limited life too because she married a man not for love but out of curiosity. I think one main of themes that seems to pop up in this story his how man takes advantage of women. The niece and the aunt both have this in common. The man in both their lives is the doctor and the husband. The doctor ends up taking advantage of the aunt for her money and the husband takes advantage that his wife family is rich

Thesis For Short Story Research

Depictions of mythologies in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ short stories The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World and A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, demonstrate the possibility that formulated beliefs have to either inspire a group of people or enable the power and profit of a few based on the ignorance of many.

More Detail on Comparison/Contrast Short Story Essay

On Tuesday May 28 your annotated Bibliography is due:

1.  biographical info on one or two writers depending on your choices--find one interview or website for each
2.  an article that is relevant to your theme/topic for each story
WRITE A ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY OF THE IDEA FROM THE ARTICLE OR BIO AND ONE SENTENCE ABOUT HOW YOU WILL USE IT IN YOUR ESSAY

Essay is due May 30--Thursday: here are some other reminders:

Be sure you have a thesis in your opening paragraph--the thesis should contain:
1. basic similarities between the two texts that you will be focusing on
2. specific differences in theme that you will elucidate through close reading of the two texts

For example: the two female characters in Story of an Hour and Desiree's Baby--both somewhat passive, oppressed; unable to communicate true feelings to partner; both suffer; one submits to patriarchy and goes off to die!  the other finds a space for a moment of self realization!

Using research:  these feelings about women's oppression, women's struggle for self expression are central to Chopin's life and her own path shows bravery that reminds us of her characters!

DRAFTS WILL BE RETURNED JUNE 4; REVISIONS DUE JUNE 11.

General Guidelines:

Every essay should have:

1.  a heading: Your name, course title and section, Dr. Van Slyck, Spring 2013, Final Reflective Essay
2.  a title that reflects your focus, theme
3.  double spaced, 12 pt font, 600-800 words
4. correct Works Cited page--alpha listing--parenthetical documentation should be author or title.

Remember: titles of stories in quotations; titles of journals, books, websites in italics!

Here is your Final Reflective Essay Assignment--Due June 5! Absolutely no Exceptions :)

English 102.0858

Writing Through Literature

Spring 2013

Dr. Van Slyck

Final Reflective Essay

PLEASE REVIEW “HOW TO READ A POEM”: COURSEPAK PP. 102-103

For this essay you will choose two poems from our course-pak (or two poems of your choice with my approval) that share a theme.  You will write a comparison contrast essay examining the form of the poem, the speaker’s tone or attitude toward the subject, use of imagery, symbolism and other devices and the subject or argument of the poem.  Begin by explaining what the poems have in common; then  explain how they differ in approaching theme.  In some cases you may wish to consider differences in the times or cultures in which the poems were written.

Suggested comparisons:

1.     Poems of seduction: Andrew Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress”; John Donne, “The Flea”

2.     Poems of love: William Butler Yeats, “When You Are Old”; Li Po, “The River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter”

3.     Poems about civilization: Matthew Arnold, “Dover Beach”; William Butler Yeats, “The Second Coming”; William Blake, “The Tyger,” Sandburg, “Chicago”

4.     Poems about mortality: Gerard Manley Hopkins, “Margaret, Are Your grieving”; Dylan Thomas, “Fern Hill” of “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”

5.     Poems about race, culture, identity: Jean Toomer, “Portrait in Georgia” or “Face”; Jimmy Santiago Baca, “Portate Bien”; Maya Angelou, “Still I Rise”; Langston Hughes, “Theme for English B” or “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”; Julia Alvarez, “Bilingual Sestina.”

Your essay should be 600 to 800 words.  It should be typed, double-spaced, using 12pt font, Times New Roman.  It should have a title of your own that reflects your argument.  You should quote from each poem 2-3 times.  Be sure to integrate the quotations carefully, comment fully on each and use line numbers in parentheses.  Do not use overly long quotations.  Use an ellipsis (. . .) if you are leaving out some of the words and be sure to mark line breaks and capitals for the beginnings of each line: “You may write me down in history/With your bitter, twisted lies. . .”

The voice in the poem is the “speaker”; be sure to use stanza and line numbers when quoting.  Use slashes between lines; each new line begins with capital.

Please remember to put a heading in the upper left corner of your essay with the course, section number and your name as well as mine!  This is the only essay you may not revise and it must be returned to me.  Due Date: June 5.   You may review this essay at our final class meeting and celebration on Tuesday, June 11.

Thesis Statement

Females in the 1800's lack the ability to have a voice in their marriages.  In the "Story of an hour", "Desiree baby" and "The necklace", the female demonstrate their voice in 3 different way stages.

P.S. I'm having major writer's block ! :(

Research Topic...

After suffering from considerable writer's block and going back and forth with what angle to go with on this paper, I decided to write about the symbolism of female oppression in The Youngest Doll and Desiree's Baby.  (And if I could figure out how to start it, that would be thoroughly good.)

Both Rosario Ferre and Kate Chopin depict the way societal roles for women are extremely belittling and oppressive, as well as using powerful symbolism to describe the crippling of women by men. It also shows the way women retaliate against their situations. In The Youngest Doll, more than anything else, the symbol of oppression is the prawn. It enters her body and cripples her from within, reducing her to nothing more than a shadow of the vibrant woman she was when the story began. There is another symbol of oppression in this story; the United States and the way they colonized Puerto Rico and crippled their infrastructure. Kate Chopin's story uses racism and neglect as a symbol of oppression. The prawn and the issue of race can be compared in the way that the prawn bites the aunt in Ferre's story much the same way that the issue of race bites into Desiree's situation.

This are my thoughts so far. I need help with this, cause for reasons unknown, I cant seem to find a way to put my thoughts in order to write this. :(

Short Story Comparison

The Gothic nature of both Poe's A Tell-Tale Heart and Faulkner's A Rose for Emily resides in the author's ability to take a very common human emotion and exaggerate the emotion to irrational levels. In A Tell-Tale Heart the narrator is stricken with animosity towards the old man. While dislike of another person is a common human emotion the narrator takes it a step further and kills the object of his hate. This ability to force a familiarity between the character and the reader makes the character's fall into madness seem somewhat rational. However, the fact remains that the reader can still see the wrongness in the character while still connecting with him on a personal level. The character's ability to rationalize his irrational behavior causes a conflict in the reader. The actions, the motive, the extent of the emotions may seem exaggerated but the connection has already been made. For the reader that connection makes is seem as though the character is correct in his actions and thoughts.

--Still Under Construction

Research topic

I chose to write about Kate Chopin and the theme of "marriage" that she explores heavily in Desiree's Baby and The Story of An Hour. These two stories allow Chopin to express her feelings on marriage and what it does to the characters in both short stories. Desiree's Baby shows that even though marriage has its great deal of unity between two people, there are is controversy that can arise from unknown origins in a person that can greatly effect the marriage of two lovers. The Story of An Hour tells a woeful story of a woman who is informed of her husbands death and now examines how she may be able to live for herself now that she is free from the chains of a married lifestyle. Chopin excellently places the reader in the woman's point of view for both stories to get a feel of how it was to be a married woman during that time period.  

The Youngest Doll Reflection

In the “Youngest Doll,” the aunt struggles to have a life of independence or freedom. Her only opportunity to leave her family would have been to get married, and that was taken from her when she was injured by the prawn. Not only that, but marrying at that time would not have been a path to freedom because of the very male dominated and patriarchal society she lived in. When her doctor, who’s treated her for years, exclaims to his son, “ I just wanted you to come and see the prawn that has been paying for your education these twenty years,” (Ferre 247) it is very telling of the woman’s role in her society. The doctor never had any intention of healing her, and thus kept her in a weekend state for twenty years, using her illness to make money. Furthermore, there is nothing she can do to change things, she is at the mercy of his selfish acts. The only act of independence that the aunt shows throughout the story is her creative talent and drive to make dolls. The dolls are powerful in that they symbolize freedom, innocence, youth, and identity that was taken away from her when she was bitten by the prawn. She perfected her doll-making craft to a place where they were incredibly life-like, almost an exact replica of her nieces. She used glass eyeballs that had been, “submerged at the botom of the stream for a few days, so that they could learn to recognize the slightest stirring of the prawn’s antennae” (Ferre 246). This process of creating the dolls empowered her, and was used to instill a wisdom in her nieces which she acquired only after it was too late. The “stirring of the prawn’s antennae” is symbolic of men’s untiring grasp on women and she wanted others to understand this concept. This wisdom is important for young women to carry into their lives in a male dominated world, and to be wary of cruelty and dominance of men.

It was difficult for me to understand the purpose of the dolls in this story until I realized that it was tool for female empowerment. As the article describes, “Instead of the women being dolls manipulated by men...Ferre’s dolls are made and ultimately controlled by women” (Sneva 541). This is portrayed in the aunt’s obsession with the dolls, and by creating them and then idolizing them she is experiencing an innocence that was taken away from her by the prawn. She utilizes the dolls to teach her nieces lessons, and gives them a very special doll when they are married. Keeping this doll with her in her marriage, the youngest niece can never forget the plight of her aunt, and the oppression she felt because of men. It was difficult for me to see the female empowerment in this story until I understand the background of the culture and the time it was written. In the end of the story, the man ultimately loses out, and the doll wins. The doll is fighting back, and it’s Ferre’s way of showing that woman can fight back, and if women are weakened, the men will be negatively affected as a result.

2 ideas The gothic genre or the theme of Feminism and Identity

Gothic Literature Theme: A Psychoanalytical Approach

Gothic literature creates a world where tragedy and repressed thoughts and behavior rise to the surface.  It gives us access to the unknown realm of the unconscious, also known as the id. Many unacceptable passions and thoughts that we as humans repress are blocked from our consciousness because it would be to unsettling to acknowledge. However, although these thoughts are repressed, these feelings and ideas powerfully influence us. They are instead expressed in disguised forms such as the work we choose, the beliefs we hold, and our daily habits. In order to cope with these thoughts we form defense mechanisms to help us cope with the stresses these thoughts create. A common defense mechanism used in gothic literature is rationalization. Rationalization involves explaining the unacceptable behavior in a logical or rational manner, avoiding the true reasons for the behavior. Overall the use of this mechanism is evident throughout The Tell-Tale Heart and The Lame Shall Enter Heaven First. In both stories it depicts the internal conflict each character faces. As soon as the unconscious thoughts attempt to ascend, they are brutally sunk down by the character’s justifications of their actions.

Theme: Feminism and Identity A Humanistic Approach

There are many psychological theories that explain the lifespan of a human; one being called Erikson’s developmental stages. It suggests that we as humans go through stages throughout our lives. It is important to understand that they are called “stages” because the individual must solve the current conflict in order to proceed to the next stage. Erikson proposes that Identity vs. Identity Crisis is one of the most fundamental stages for developing an identity. In modern day societies it normally takes place during adolescence, as teens take on various roles and integrate them to form a single identity. An identity gives the individual unity with different roles they undertake and purpose on their future outlook of life. But what happens to individuals in an oppressing society? What happens to those that aren’t encouraged to have a voice or are given the opportunity to take on a variety of roles and experiences? How can one have purpose if there is nothing to live for? In the stories Desiree’s Baby and The Youngest Doll it expresses how the lack of identity makes the females stagnant and submissive. Neither the women have a voice to speak up. Desiree was a weak woman who merely mirrored her husband’s desires. Armand’s view of woman reflected the overall opinion men had of woman. “what did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana?” (Chopin 58). It implies that men didn’t care for the woman’s originality since at the end she would only become what the man wanted her to be. In The Youngest Doll it depicts how women lacked a will to move on. As soon as the prawn began to nest on her leg it symbolized the end of her independence and the beginning of her submissiveness to men. No longer did she have a voice but it now belonged to the man. The stripping of identity removes the woman’s purpose and it is evident that she loses her as she locks herself into the room and refuses to see any suitors. There are no implications of her trying to better herself.