"Miss Brill"

"Miss Brill"
by Katherine Mansfield

This story is in a section about characterization, but beyond that, I am not very clear on the purpose of the story.  Miss Brill is clearly alienated; the tone and writing style give the feeling of separation between Miss Brill and the people she observes.  The detail that struck me the most was that going to hear the band was clearly an established routine for most of the participants, including Miss Brill, but still no one approached or directly acknowledged Miss Brill.  She sat back and observed the actions of all the other citizens in the park.  The only characters with which Miss Brill interacts are the briefly mentioned characters of "her English students" and the invalid man who sleeps while she reads to him.  No character goes out of his or her way to speak to Miss Brill.  In the story, there is a lengthy description of an ermine toque; later I saw a similarity between that woman and Miss Brill.  The woman bought her ermine toque when she was much younger, and though it is shabby now, she still wears it.  Miss Brill similarly bought her fur accessory when she was young, but now that she is older, it is described as "a fried whiting."
At the end of the story, the tables are turned when someone else talks about Miss Brill instead of being talked about.  Two young lovers snicker and insult Miss Brill.  "Why  does she come here at all- who wants her? Why doesn't she keep her silly old mug at home?" (Mansfield, 186)  This causes her mood to change- she is a static character because at the end of the story, her mood is opposite what it was initially.  She started out happy, content, and excited, then became rushed and upset.  The author uses the words, descriptions, and actions of others along with Miss Brill's related actions to indirectly characterize Miss Brill and show how the character changes.  

"Death, be not proud"

"Death, be not proud"
by John Donne

This poem personifies death and makes it seem less powerful and frightening.  Death does not kill everyone it thinks it does and is a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men," and dwells "with poison, war, and sickness" (Donne, 971).  The speaker puts death down a belittles it.  He puts himself above death by saying that death cannot kill him.  The speaker may go to sleep, but he will always wake up.  The speaker directly addresses death and reprimands it- telling death to not be too proud or self-confident because it hasn't accomplished much.  The speaker has strong faith and therefore is not afraid of death.
My favorite line is the last one where it says, "and death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die" (Donne, 972).  The speaker's faith is so strong that he believes that Christ will completely destroy death and everyone will have eternal life.  Though God is not directly mentioned in the poem, it is a good assumption that it is God that the speaker is referring too because He is the only one in which a person can place complete faith that death will be destroyed.

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"
by Dylan Thomas

The poem's title, which is also the refrain, urges the the reader to "not go gentle into that good night" (Thomas, 968).  This is a fancy way of saying not to accept death calmly.  Another refrain, "rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas, 968), reinforces the plea.  The speaker repeats the advice to fight against death, do not go out peacefully.  But in telling the reader to fight, the speaker also acknowledges that everyone does face death at some point, wise me, good men, wild men, grave men, even his own father.  These different types of men may perceive the approach of death in different ways, but they all must fight it in their own way.
This resistance toward impending death is a theme shown in the poem "That time of year" by Shakespeare as well.  The lover mentioned at the end of the poem loves the dying man with even more strength and passion the closer he gets to death, knowing that their time will soon be cut short.

"Crossing the Bar"

"Crossing the Bar"
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

This poem is an allegory in which the imagery of the sea serves as a way for the author to describe death and the journey to it.  Going out to sea stands for the beginning of the journey towards death.  The speaker knows and expects death, and does not desire grief over his death.  "And may there be no sadness of farewell when I embark" (Tennyson, 886).  The speaker mention "moaning of the bar" and how he doesn't want it when he goes out to sea.  This can be interpreted as the speaker asking for a calm and painless death.  He wants the tide to be smooth, comparable to dying in his sleep.  Though I was confused on the meaning of the boundless deep, I know that it has a negative connotation.  Lastly, when the speaker says that he hopes "to see my Pilot face to face" (Tennyson, 886), it implies that the speaker wishes to meet his maker, the Creator.  Pilot is capitalized because it refers to a higher being, the one who watches over us all.

"A Rose for Emily"

"A Rose for Emily"
by William Faulkner

Many of the details in the course of this story help to characterize Emily; specifically, anecdotes are used illustrate Emily's prominent traits and how other people perceive her.  A common theme in multiple anecdotes is Emily's inability to change or move on.  For example, when Emily's father died, she refused to even recognize his death.  "She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body" (Faulkner, 285).  And when neighbors complained about a smell from her house, a young men said, "Send her word to have her place cleaned up. Give her a certain time to do it in, and if she don't..." (Faulkner, 284)  But people were afraid to confront her, so four men simply spread lime in and around her house to dispel the odor.  Another instance of Emily's stubbornness is when the town authorities come to inform her that she needs to pay taxes and she tells them to "see Colonel Sartoris" because he excused her father from paying taxes.  But the Colonel has been dead 10 years and Emily simply refuses to accept that things are changing.  She won't even allow a number to be put on her house in order to receive mail.
These repeated displays of Emily's stubbornness and resistance to change help the reader unravel and understand the final events of the story.  Emily wanted Homer to stay with her forever, she didn't want things to change.  Therefore, she kept his dead body on a bed in a room that was in a state of preparedness for a wedding.  Also, the reader discovers that Emily would repeatedly lay next to the dead and decomposing body of the man.  Though there is no concrete proof, the reader can assume or deduce with confidence that Emily poisoned Homer so that he would stay with her forever, so that she would never have to let go.

“The Lottery”

“The Lottery”

By Shirley Jackson

The objective point of view contributes a lot to the meaning of the story.  It also plays a role in the situational irony.  The objective stance of the narrator means that there is no emotional tone, sense of morality, or judgment in the telling of the events.  This forces the reader to pay close attention to the attitudes and emotions of the characters to determine the tone of the event.

In the case of “The Lottery,” the reader is led to believe that the story will have a positive tone, because the word “lottery” has a positive connotation and implies the receiving of money or a prize.  The fact that the narrator does not refute this positive assumption with a negative tone or judgment leads to the situational irony.  The reader expects a positive response to the winning of the lottery, but that is not what happens.  When Mrs. Hutchinson realized that her husband had drawn the marked paper for their family, she immediately protested.  “Suddenly, Tessie Hutchinson shouted to MR. Summers. ‘You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair’” (Jackson, 269).  At this point the reader still may not realize what is so awful about the lottery because the narrator has yet to suggest a problem with it or display any moral objection through tone or other characters besides Tessie.  At the end, the result of the lottery is spelled out: “A stone hit her on the side of the head” (Jackson, 271).

This matter-of-fact statement elicits shock from the reader but also displays how little the townspeople care about the horrible violence.  It is a tradition, the feel no moral wrong, and so they continue on.  The objective point of view helps show the townspeople’s complete lack of moral and common sense.

This seemingly innocent pile
of stones soon turns deadly

The End of Jim

The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams

I would definitely categorize Laura as an antihero, as she does not possess courage, grace, or intelligence.  The lack of these traditional qualities serves to elicit pity for Laura throughout the play, especially in her bad fortune with suitors.  That is why the end of the play upset me so greatly- I truly desired Laura's happiness.  Laura obviously was getting along quite well with the charming caller, Jim, and towards the end of their conversation, Laura surely assumes that he will call her or ask her on a date sometime in the future, especially since they had just kissed and Laura had previously established that he was no longer seeing his high school girlfriend.  Unfortunately for Laura, just went she thought she had  a chance at happiness and companionship, Jim reveals that he can not see her again.  "I can't call up next week and- ask for a date.  I though I had better explain the situation in case you- misunderstood it and- hurt your feelings...I've got strings on me. Laura, I've- been going steady ! I go out all the time with a girl named Betty" (Williams, 1284).
Seriously!?  Jim just spent a long time talking to Laura and pretty much flirting, then it was odd when he said he wanted Laura as a sister...then he kisses her!  Then we found out he's engaged!  Laura's hopes are shattered and my likability for Jim just plummeted.  How dare he?  And then he just tells Amanda that his fiance is waiting and he leaves.  Poor sweet Laura is still on the floor, and her mother comes to comfort her.  This is partly Tom's fault because he was the one who unknowingly brought home an engaged man.  The play ends with Tom leaving for good, Amanda comforting Laura, and the narrator saying that he has tried to forget Laura, though his faithfulness sometimes prevails.  Tom the narrator asks Laura to blow her candles out and say goodbye.
The lights go out and the play is over.

This is totally what I would have done to Jim if I was Laura