"To Build a Fire" --- Naturalism mini-unit

In class we have been introduced to Naturalism and Realism which deal with the harsh reality of life and how nature doesn't care about humans. Nature will go along with its course without worrying about human life. In the story "To Build a Fire" the narrator describes a man who decides to walk out in the freezing cold. We see how the man has no imagination and no common sense to know that it is too cold to be walking around. Then man also has a companion, a dog who knows the danger of being alone so he stays with the man. In this story the dog has more common sense than the man since he knows it is too cold and dangerous out. The dog is smarter than the man because the dog knew how to deal with the situation while the man simply went along through the dangerous conditions. Naturalism is connected with this story since it's showing how the forces of nature are stronger than man and man can never go against it. The man's confidence in this story end up hurting him since he is clearly weaker than nature. Naturalism emphasizes the way humans don't know how to deal with risky/deadlysituations. They only know what's right in front of their faces, but don't know how to react or save themselves.

Gatsby- color gold

In the novel The Great Gatsby, the color gold is constantly seen associated with the character of Gatsby. To me the color gold represents wealth and riches which is what Gatsby is seen as in the book. Gatsby has the perfect life. He has a huge mansion and a lavish life which is represented through the color gold. "His bedroom was the simplest room of all_ except where the dresses was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold." In this quote we see how the color gold is constantly being described with all the objects Gatsby has. Even though Gatsby appears to have the perfect life, it's all fake and not up to reality. He's been working his whole life on achieving his dream of wealth and a lavish lifestyle, and he has finally obtained it. But towards the end, he realizes that he has step up his standards too high and will never be completely happy with his life. The color gold represents in the novel the riches all the characters are constantly seeking to obtain.

The Great Gatsby- one symbol

In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses many symbols throughout the novel. One of the symbols is drunkness. We are constantly reading about characters being drunk throughout the novel. We get this impression by Fitzgerald's way of expression some character's lack of eyesight or blurry vision. He also makes characters misunderstand words and meaning. The drunkness symbol connects with the lack of communication characters have which relates to modernism. Modernism is the growing fragmentation and isolation of society which is seen in this novel. Fitzgerald also uses drunkness to criticize society of the 20's. He's expressing the constant partying and drinking which took place. He's also criticizing marrige by expressing the affair Tom has with Myrtle. All these things symbolize the way society was in the 20's and how careless it was.

Overall impression on A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun was a great play about the dreams of a family wishing to better their living situation and leave their cramped up life in the apartment they live in. We are introduced to this family and immediately know their life is a constant struggle since they are fed up with each other. After Mama gets insurance money from he dead husband, everyone gets excited because they feel this is the hope they have been wanted for their dreams to come true especially Walter. But soon after, Walter losses the money Mama gave him for his liquor store and Bennie's college fund and it turns into the climax of the play where everyone loses hope in their dreams. Towards the end, Walter realized that more important than the money comes his family and his need to be the head of his family and make the right choice in not letting his family be looked down upon. Beneatha also realizes she needs to keep going with her goals in becoming a doctor even though the money Mama gave Walter for her school is gone. She realizes that this money, which was never truly hers, wasn't going to ruin her chances of doing what she wanted to do with her life. Every character learned a lesson after the money was gone. They realized their family sticking together was more important than fighting over the money and their lives.

"A Raisin in the Sun" impression

After beginning the play "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Handsberry, I get the impression that the play will be centered around the check that Mama will soon receive. The play started out with the Younger family fighting the whole morning which makes me think the family has many issues regarding their living situation which is what Walter mainly complains about. The characters in this play seem to be very caring towards each other but want change in their lives. Mama, the most caring character thus far seems to be the head of the house hold by taking charge and caring about everyone. With the check she will receive, it is very likely she will share it with everybody since we get the impression she is very compassionate and caring and is looking out for the best in her family. I believe this check will cause many conflicts through out the novel since everybody has a different view of how it will be spent. It may even cause the family to fall apart from all the conflicts. Each character in the play has a very strong personality which I believe will develop as the play progresses.

Research Paper

Well now in class we are working on a research paper on a poet. My poet is Alice Walker, an African American activist who writes mostly about African American rights and about African American women and their roles in society. My theme in the paper is about how Walker explores the fight against oppression and search for freedom both in personal and racial points of views in her work. As i research Walker, most of her poems deal with the fight for freedom and how individuals are constantly attacked. She also writes a lot about the fight against oppression in a male-dominated society. In my paper, I plan to talk about the poems that deal with these themes and having each paragraph refer to one poem and analyze it. I am also going to mention Walker's novel The Color Purple which also deals with these themes and finding connections with the poems and the novel. I also found that Walker's like connects with her work in the sense that she also felt oppressed by society and felt left out at times due to a childhood incident. Some difficulties about this assignment is finding poems and analyzing them and connecting them to the theme.

Reaction to Huck Finn overall

After finally finishing the novel "The Adventures of Huckeberry Finn" by Twain i've come to realize that is very much depicts the South during the time period before the Civil War. Towards the end I was very much excited that Huck finally realized that Jim was indeed a regular human being like himself and everyone else, but little did I know that was all going to change as soon as society stepped in once again. As soon as Tom Saywer came back, it's as if Huck lost all his discoveries and lessons he learned while in the river with Jim. It was as if all these lessons and the whole entire journey were pointless. That is what I thought of about the story, not about the bigger picture behind it all. I believe Twain wrote the ending because he wanted to get the point across that even though many people did have revolutionary ideas of slavery to be abolished and that it was a mortal sin, no one really did anything to stop it. It all goes back to the 'mob' mentality and society. No one had the courage to stand up for what was wrong, everyone just let society control their thoughts. That is why i believe the endidng was brillient. Througout the whole novel we were made to believe that Huck was really going to change and was going to help out him slave friend Jim, but of course society (tom) took over and all was lost. He went back to seeing Jim as property and how everyone else saw him. Even though he still had the heart to be able to see that Jim still needed his freedom, his mentality of Jim was they same as when the novel started. This book was a way to describe how the South really was and how people acted.

Crain vs London

Now in class we have been introduced to the concept of naturalism which is a shift from realism. Both naturalism and realism are from the same branch and that is why many scholars do not distinguish them as different movements. Naturalism is a type of literature that applies to scientific principals of objectivity and detachment to the study of human beings. In class we read some pieces of two important naturalist writers which are Crane and London. Both these writers wrote about how humans react to nature and how insignificant they are against it. In their works they described nature as a very powerful force against humans. in "To Build a Fire" by London he described a 'man' as an insignificant human being against nature. Crane depicted him as almost stupid and without an imagination to survive. Nature was up against him and of course took over him. This is a very naturalist view of nature since it is seen as an indifferent force. On the other hand, we take into account Crane's "The Open Boat" where a group of human beings are put against nature and trying to survive. They each put their skills to work but then again we see how nature is much too strong for any human being.

Huck Finn after Ch31

After chapter 31 Huck faces once again the moral dilemma of freeing Jim, but this time we as readers actually hear what Huck is thinking and we feel it. Huck is very descriptive through out this scene which draws together the theme of freedom and social satire. In this chapter we notice how Huck is trying to get away from the perverted value system and finds himself trying to do the right thing for Jim but at the same time he believes he is doing wrong due to the morals he has grown up learning through society. We see Huck trying to follow his hearth and instincts as he sacrifices himself for him friend Jim. After chapter 31, the quest for freedom comes back as it was interrupted while duke and king entered scene after chapter 16. But in these chapter, this process is more internal for Huck since he is on his own trying to fight his way though society. We hear Huck now feeling for Jim, but he still doesn't see the big picture because he doesn't feel for slavery as a whole.

Novel change after Ch16

After chapter 16, I have become to realize Huck's changes on his morals and they way he is with Jim. Huck's really starts to question actions he feels are wrong like whether or not he should turn Jim in or not since he seems how many great things they Widow has done for him. He never seemed to realize this in the beginning, but now he sees the importance of education and going to school and learning new things. Huck has also become more book smart as I noticed that his speech changed and the way he narrated things changed drastically. He has become more observant since he goes into great description of things, as well as more mature. He notices the feud between both families in chapter 18 and questions why they are fighting and understands that it is very wrong. We also see his moral have changed as he becomes very emotional in the scene where Buck dies and Huck begins to see how wrong it all was and notices he doesn't fit in and goes back to Jim and the raft where he takes comfort in and can be himself. I also noticed they way Huck starts to call the raft a "home" for him since he feels himself while he's there with Jim. He also starts to notice all the people that have been good to him like Buck and the Widow and this seems to help him mature throughout the rest of the chapters as his views change about his moral.

Comparing Huck, Pap, & Jim

As we read more into the novel, I've noticed how Huck and Jim's relationship develop as I saw how Huck was glad to see Jim after he ran away from Pap. Jim made Huck not feel lonesome anymore and they started really connecting since they each had a similar quest to freedom. Huck seems to want to get away from society and the people he doesn't really fit in well with, while Jim doesn't want to be sold and wants to seek for him own freedom. This quest of freedom unifies Huck and Jim. They are both also very street smart and can survive on their own. Jim is like a father figure toward Huck since he helps him find shelter and food, while Pap locked Huck up in a cabin and wouldn't come back for days. Another way Jim seems like a father figure is the way Huck looks up to Jim and really believes all his sayings about good luck. We see the archetype of communion through the way they share their food and eat together as a sign of family and togetherness. They both also seem to take good care of each other which was not the case while Huck and Pap lived together. Pap is the complete opposite of a father figure since we learn that he teaches Huck that lying isn't a bad thing, while Jim on the other hand tells him it is very wrong and justifies a way to get around it. Pap would encourage Huck to take part in unlawful activities like when he asks to take the judges money form Huck just so he could get drunk. Huck sees these activities and knows they are wrong. And so through the book, we are well aware how Jim is seen as more of a good influence on Huck's life rather than Pap.

1st impressions of Huck Finn

As Huck Finn was introduced in the novel The Adventures of Huck. Finn by Mark Twain, i figured he was not raised with manners or very educated. I got this impression from the way he saw life while he was taken in by the widow. He seemed to me like he lacked a family to teach his manners as i saw in the scene where he felt that sitting down to have dinner and prayer before dinner were unusual to him. Huck Finn also seems like a very adventurous boy since he is always looking for something to do and accepts Tom's request of forming a band of robbers. Since Huck never really had a family, he sees his friends as his family and does not really distinguish right from wrong. He also doesn't seem to have morals in life and feels that religion is silly. I believe that all the mischief Huck may get into in the future will directly be caused by the fact he never had a family.