In his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, William Faulkner clearly states what a writer should write about to make a good story; courage, honor, hope, pride, compassion, pity, and sacrifice. A good story is drenched in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, which is exemplified in his short story, "That Evening Sun."
Nancy, a tall black woman working for the white aristocratic family of the Compson's, portrays the agony of the human spirit Faulkner so fervently advocates. Faulkner displays pity and honor through her. The narrator tells the readers a story of how Nancy faces Mr. Stovall, a white man and a deacon in a Baptist church. He uses Nancy as a sexual object but never pays her so she shouts out, "When you gonna pay me, white man?" (Faulkner 168) Because of the racial differences during this time period in the south, it is unthinkable for a black person to be condemning a white person, so Nancy must have had a good amount of honor to actually accuse him. Even though she shows honor, she also portrays pity and sacrifice. She keeps repeating to herself, "I ain't nothing but a nigger." (Faulkner 168) She is the person of pity in the short story and thus represents the agony of the human spirit.
The Compson's represent a more positive heart by displaying compassion, sacrifice, and hope. Because Nancy is scared to death, Mr. Compson decides to accompany Nancy back to her house by saying, "I'm going to walk down the lane with Nancy." (Faulkner 169) Immediately after saying that, Mrs. Compson asks, "You'll leave me alone, to take Nancy home? Is her safety more precious to you than mine?" (Faulkner 169) Mr. Compson, even though leaving his children and wife unattended, brings Nancy back home, sacrificing himself and his family for the needs of others. Mr. Compson also shows hope to Nancy. When Nancy says that Jesus, her husband, is out in the open and waiting to kill her, Mr. Compson says, "Well, he's gone now. There's nothing for you to be afraid of now." (Faulkner 169) Mr. Compson tries to comfort Nancy through the sweat of the human spirit.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
A Clean, Well-lighted Place
The form of the film for the most part does fit the content, but the very last scene did not fit very well. In the short story, it clearly stated that the waiter has insomnia, but in the film adaptation, it simply shows him walking back home in the stroke of dawn. Also, the British accents did not match up to the story. I thought the story was based in Cuba, as Hemingway always stayed there and also because there was Spanish in the text.
Even though the film has a few minor differences, I still think it is true to Hemingway's intent for the story. The old man represents a darker side of life, and Hemingway's existential-nihilistic ideas are shown through the old man's attempt at suicide and the repetition of "nada", which means nothing in Spanish. Hemingway believed that there was nothing beyond death, and the repetition of "nada" implies the idea. Even though in the film it said "nothing" instead of "nada", I thought it still put the same point across.
As I said before, the key element that has been altered is the ending and the accents. The ending in the film still worked, but that was because the bar scene and the actor's ability in portraying somebody who is wide awake. I personally did not like the film ending. If I did not read the short-story beforehand, I would have been confused. The film should have had the waiter lay on his bed, wide awake, staring into nothingness just like the short-story.
I thought the filmmakers did an excellent job in adapting the bar scene. I actually thought it was a lot stronger than on the page. I needed visual representation for the scene, and the film showed me a good number of people in the bar, referring back to the need of a well-lighted place. Hemingway's message comes of just as strongly in the film as in the short story, but only because of the strong bar scene.
If I had made the video, I would have first of all gotten a new set of actors that don't have British accents. I could not understand a good amount of dialog until I got used to it. The filming itself was very poor. The filming angles put me to sleep. I wanted to see the actors' faces more. That is one of the reasons why the bar scene stuck out for me. The waiter's face just screamed out that he was not tired, which was the point.
I do not think the majority of the actors casted were fitting to play the key characters in the novel. I portrayed the young man to be more irritated. He seemed irritated but not irritated as in the short story. I also portrayed the old man to be more drunk and imposing. He didn't even look drunk. He just kept saying "another brandy", but never used his body language to make it imposing. The only actor that did his job correctly was the old waiter, who showed his apparent insomnia well.
Even though the film has a few minor differences, I still think it is true to Hemingway's intent for the story. The old man represents a darker side of life, and Hemingway's existential-nihilistic ideas are shown through the old man's attempt at suicide and the repetition of "nada", which means nothing in Spanish. Hemingway believed that there was nothing beyond death, and the repetition of "nada" implies the idea. Even though in the film it said "nothing" instead of "nada", I thought it still put the same point across.
As I said before, the key element that has been altered is the ending and the accents. The ending in the film still worked, but that was because the bar scene and the actor's ability in portraying somebody who is wide awake. I personally did not like the film ending. If I did not read the short-story beforehand, I would have been confused. The film should have had the waiter lay on his bed, wide awake, staring into nothingness just like the short-story.
I thought the filmmakers did an excellent job in adapting the bar scene. I actually thought it was a lot stronger than on the page. I needed visual representation for the scene, and the film showed me a good number of people in the bar, referring back to the need of a well-lighted place. Hemingway's message comes of just as strongly in the film as in the short story, but only because of the strong bar scene.
If I had made the video, I would have first of all gotten a new set of actors that don't have British accents. I could not understand a good amount of dialog until I got used to it. The filming itself was very poor. The filming angles put me to sleep. I wanted to see the actors' faces more. That is one of the reasons why the bar scene stuck out for me. The waiter's face just screamed out that he was not tired, which was the point.
I do not think the majority of the actors casted were fitting to play the key characters in the novel. I portrayed the young man to be more irritated. He seemed irritated but not irritated as in the short story. I also portrayed the old man to be more drunk and imposing. He didn't even look drunk. He just kept saying "another brandy", but never used his body language to make it imposing. The only actor that did his job correctly was the old waiter, who showed his apparent insomnia well.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Tip of the Iceberg
The clapper struck the bell. High school students dashed up the hill. Cell phones rang, kids laughed, couples held hands, teachers screamed. I detest it. I detest it all. I can't join them. I can't join them laughing, talking, yelling, running, yet I'm only 16. Only 16 years old, yet I can only watch from my windowsill.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Great Gatsby: Ch. 9, pages 163-180
Two years later, Nick recalls the events that happened during and after Gatsby's funeral. Nick attempts to hold a large funeral for Gatsby, but nobody shows up besides a few former servants, Gatsby's father named Henry Gatz, Owl Eyes, and Nick. Nick tries to get Wolfshiem to come but he claims he is busy and cannot come. Before Nick left for the Midwest, he sees Tom and concludes that Tom and Daisy are too careless and only bring misfortune to people who know them, which completely contradicts his statement in the beginning of the novel that said he doesn't judge people. At the end of the novel, Nick compares the green light on the other side of the dock to the American dream.
Character: Nick
" They were careless people, Tom and Daisyーthey smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their cast carelessness, or whatever it was that kepy them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made..."
Nick is trustworthy yet not-trustworthy. In the beginning of the novel, he never was on any side and also never judged people. Because he was also the narrator and everything he finds out the readers find out, he becomes trustworthy. As the novel progressed, he began to view everybody besides Gatsby in more contempt and all his previous claims about reserving judgement were contradicted. As seen in the quote above, he judges Tom and Daisy.
Nick's active role in the novel in not only to narrate, but also to connect Daisy and Gatsby. If Nick wasn't in the story, Gatsby and Daisy would have never met. Throughout the novel, Nick is the one connecting Gatsby and Daisy together. At one point, Nick says, "I tried to go then, but they wouldn't hear of it; perhaps my presence made them feel more satisfactory alone." (Fitzgerald 94) The start of their relationship was all thanks to Nick.
Quote:
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. it eluded us then, but that's no matterーto-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther....And one fine morningー So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
The quote is not only important to the chapter, but to the whole novel. Gatsby represents everybody pursuing the American dream in Fitzgerald's time. The green light is the American dream, which Gatsby never reaches. I think Fitzgerald is trying to say that the American dream is somewhat out of reach because people in his time look back at the past too much, which is exemplified as Gatsby tries to make the present with Daisy just like the past. Fitzgerald first published the novel a few years after the Great War. Disillusioned, people wanted to return to the past but at the same time also going forward.
Character: Nick
" They were careless people, Tom and Daisyーthey smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their cast carelessness, or whatever it was that kepy them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made..."
Nick is trustworthy yet not-trustworthy. In the beginning of the novel, he never was on any side and also never judged people. Because he was also the narrator and everything he finds out the readers find out, he becomes trustworthy. As the novel progressed, he began to view everybody besides Gatsby in more contempt and all his previous claims about reserving judgement were contradicted. As seen in the quote above, he judges Tom and Daisy.
Nick's active role in the novel in not only to narrate, but also to connect Daisy and Gatsby. If Nick wasn't in the story, Gatsby and Daisy would have never met. Throughout the novel, Nick is the one connecting Gatsby and Daisy together. At one point, Nick says, "I tried to go then, but they wouldn't hear of it; perhaps my presence made them feel more satisfactory alone." (Fitzgerald 94) The start of their relationship was all thanks to Nick.
Quote:
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. it eluded us then, but that's no matterーto-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther....And one fine morningー So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
The quote is not only important to the chapter, but to the whole novel. Gatsby represents everybody pursuing the American dream in Fitzgerald's time. The green light is the American dream, which Gatsby never reaches. I think Fitzgerald is trying to say that the American dream is somewhat out of reach because people in his time look back at the past too much, which is exemplified as Gatsby tries to make the present with Daisy just like the past. Fitzgerald first published the novel a few years after the Great War. Disillusioned, people wanted to return to the past but at the same time also going forward.
The Great Gatsby: Ch. 8, pages 147-162
In the beginning of the chapter, Nick wakes up worried about Gatsby and visits him at his mansion. Nick tries to convince Gatsby to leave West Egg and go far away, but Gatsby reluctantly refuses, saying that he would wait for Daisy. Gatsby then tells Nick everything about his background; from Dan Cody all the way to Daisy's letters. The scene shifts to George Wilson and Michaelis, and George disappears from his garage on the motive to kill the man who had an affair with Myrtle. While Gatsby is in his pool, George Wilson comes up to him and shoots Gatsby and then shoots himself.
Character: Gatsby
"If that was true he must have felt that he has lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream." (Fitzgerald 161)
Gatsby is a devious and narrow-minded man; nevertheless, he is the only character in the novel that sticks to his /her core values. In the past five years, Gatsby has only thought about Daisy. He carefully planned parties only with the aspirations that Daisy would come to one. His narrow-mindedness made him only concentrate on Daisy, and once he lost his holy grail, which was Daisy, his hole world fell apart. Every single character besides Gatsby were corrupted by society by the end of the novel, but Gatsby was the only one who didn't change. After his dream of getting Daisy was clearly over, he still waited for her call, which ultimately decided his death.
Gatsby's role is essentially the whole plot. The plot revolves around him and his actions. He is the one who instigated Daisy's adulterous behavior. Before hearing about Gatsby, Daisy was an innocent and tolerant girl that did not seem to care about Tom's cheating, which is not the case by the end of the novel. Gatsby also brought the narrator to sympathize with him, making readers also sympathize with Gatsby because Nick is a trustworthy narrator.
Quote:
"His house had never seemed so enormous to me as it did that night when we hunted through the great rooms for cigarettes... " (Fitzgerald 147)
The quote stood out to me because it described Gatsby. His house mirrors Gatsby's self. In the beginning of the novel, people filled his house. The description by Gatsby to Daisy made readers stare in disbelief at the lustrous image of Gatsby's house, but the quote above says otherwise. The quote describes Gatsby's house as enormous, dusty, and empty, just like Gatsby. Once his sole goal disappeared, he turned into another Dan Cody, a man with money but no purpose.
Character: Gatsby
"If that was true he must have felt that he has lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream." (Fitzgerald 161)
Gatsby is a devious and narrow-minded man; nevertheless, he is the only character in the novel that sticks to his /her core values. In the past five years, Gatsby has only thought about Daisy. He carefully planned parties only with the aspirations that Daisy would come to one. His narrow-mindedness made him only concentrate on Daisy, and once he lost his holy grail, which was Daisy, his hole world fell apart. Every single character besides Gatsby were corrupted by society by the end of the novel, but Gatsby was the only one who didn't change. After his dream of getting Daisy was clearly over, he still waited for her call, which ultimately decided his death.
Gatsby's role is essentially the whole plot. The plot revolves around him and his actions. He is the one who instigated Daisy's adulterous behavior. Before hearing about Gatsby, Daisy was an innocent and tolerant girl that did not seem to care about Tom's cheating, which is not the case by the end of the novel. Gatsby also brought the narrator to sympathize with him, making readers also sympathize with Gatsby because Nick is a trustworthy narrator.
Quote:
"His house had never seemed so enormous to me as it did that night when we hunted through the great rooms for cigarettes... " (Fitzgerald 147)
The quote stood out to me because it described Gatsby. His house mirrors Gatsby's self. In the beginning of the novel, people filled his house. The description by Gatsby to Daisy made readers stare in disbelief at the lustrous image of Gatsby's house, but the quote above says otherwise. The quote describes Gatsby's house as enormous, dusty, and empty, just like Gatsby. Once his sole goal disappeared, he turned into another Dan Cody, a man with money but no purpose.
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Great Gatsby: Ch. 7, pages 113-145
In the beginning, we find out that Gatsby replaced all his servants with dangerous people connected to Wolfshiem through Nick being greeted rudely by on of Gatsby's new servants. Nick drives to the Buchanan's house to have lunch with Tom and Daisy, and also find Jordan and Gatsby also there. While in the house, Daisy openly expresses her love for Gatsby, and Tom begins to suspect something and suggests they all go to town together. During the drive to town, they stop at the Wilson's and discover that Mr. Wilson has discovered that Myrtle has been secretly seeing somebody. In the hotel, Gatsby and Tom get into a heated verbal fight about Daisy, and on the drive back home, Daisy hits Myrtle on the road and kills her.
Character: George Wilson
"Wilson had never seemed faintly capable of such a statement. Generally he was one of these worn-out men: when he wasn't working, he sat on a chair in the doorway and stared at the people and the cars that passed along the road. When any one spoke to him he was invariably laughed in an agreeable, colorless way. He was his wife's man and not his own." (Fitzgerald 136)
George Wilson is a trustworthy, yet submissive man who kisses up to higher society to get the money he wants. From the quote above, it is clear that he usually trusts Myrtle and lets her do what she desires, but he locks her up when he finds out that she was cheating on him so he can be dominant too. Mr. Wilson also is a kiss-up. Each time Tom comes, Mr. Wilson asks Tom with utmost politeness if he can sell his cars to Mr. Wilson himself so Mr. Wilson can make a lot of money.
George Wilson's role in the novel is to represent a normal man in society that wants to climb up the social latter by trying to do business with Tom. He also represent's Tom's poorer counterpart because both have discovered his wife's infidelity.
Quote:
"They weren't happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale, and yet they weren't unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together. " (Fitzgerald 145)
The quote stood out to me because I felt it foreshadowed a downfall to Gatsby in the coming chapters. It says that Daisy still dearly loved Tom, so in the future, I think Daisy will tell Gatsby straight out to stop bothering her. She was already mad enough when Gatsby told her to tell Tom that she never loved Tom, that the five years she spent with him was only a filler for Gatsby.
Character: George Wilson
"Wilson had never seemed faintly capable of such a statement. Generally he was one of these worn-out men: when he wasn't working, he sat on a chair in the doorway and stared at the people and the cars that passed along the road. When any one spoke to him he was invariably laughed in an agreeable, colorless way. He was his wife's man and not his own." (Fitzgerald 136)
George Wilson is a trustworthy, yet submissive man who kisses up to higher society to get the money he wants. From the quote above, it is clear that he usually trusts Myrtle and lets her do what she desires, but he locks her up when he finds out that she was cheating on him so he can be dominant too. Mr. Wilson also is a kiss-up. Each time Tom comes, Mr. Wilson asks Tom with utmost politeness if he can sell his cars to Mr. Wilson himself so Mr. Wilson can make a lot of money.
George Wilson's role in the novel is to represent a normal man in society that wants to climb up the social latter by trying to do business with Tom. He also represent's Tom's poorer counterpart because both have discovered his wife's infidelity.
Quote:
"They weren't happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale, and yet they weren't unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together. " (Fitzgerald 145)
The quote stood out to me because I felt it foreshadowed a downfall to Gatsby in the coming chapters. It says that Daisy still dearly loved Tom, so in the future, I think Daisy will tell Gatsby straight out to stop bothering her. She was already mad enough when Gatsby told her to tell Tom that she never loved Tom, that the five years she spent with him was only a filler for Gatsby.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Great Gatsby: Ch. 6, pages 97-111
The chapter begins as Nick has a flashback about Gatsby's early life. James Gatz, or Jay Gatsby, lived in North Dakota an attended St. Olaf's College in Minnesota, only to drop out two weeks later due to his despairing work as a janitor to pay his own tuition. As James Gatz worked on Lake Superior, he warned Dan Cody of a storm and Cody employed Gatz as his personal assistant and named him Jay Gatsby. Later, Cody died and left his inheritance to Gatsby, but Cody's cunning mistress prevented the transaction to happen and got the thousands instead of Gatsby. The scene changes and Tom and Daisy are in Gatsby's party, Gatsby showing off his wealth to Tom with every chance he gets.
Character: Dan Cody
"A few days later he took him to Duluth and bought him a blue coat, six pairs of white duck trousers, and a yachting cap."
Dan Cody is wealthy, charitable, and grateful. His wealth is shown through his transactions of Montana copper. His gratefulness is exemplified though taking in Gatz, a mere child of farmers. To show even more charitableness, he buys Gatsby a good amount of clothing.
Dan Cody's role in the novel is to pose as Gatsby's rich friend to the eyes of others and also to remind Gatsby of who he originally was. Gatsby is self-conscious of how others look at him, so he would want people to think that his old friend is an extremely rich person. So far in the novel, the picture of Gatsby on "his" yacht is the only proof of his secret past.
Quote:
"He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: 'I never loved you.' "
The quote signifies how obsessed Gatsby is about Daisy. According to novel, there has never been anything mentioned between Daisy and Gatsby about switching loyalties from Tom to Gatsby so far. There is no reason why Daisy should go up to Tom and tell him the truth at the moment, yet Gatsby desires her to. Even though Gatsby has waited for five years, the quote also tells how desperate and impatient he is now.
Character: Dan Cody
"A few days later he took him to Duluth and bought him a blue coat, six pairs of white duck trousers, and a yachting cap."
Dan Cody is wealthy, charitable, and grateful. His wealth is shown through his transactions of Montana copper. His gratefulness is exemplified though taking in Gatz, a mere child of farmers. To show even more charitableness, he buys Gatsby a good amount of clothing.
Dan Cody's role in the novel is to pose as Gatsby's rich friend to the eyes of others and also to remind Gatsby of who he originally was. Gatsby is self-conscious of how others look at him, so he would want people to think that his old friend is an extremely rich person. So far in the novel, the picture of Gatsby on "his" yacht is the only proof of his secret past.
Quote:
"He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: 'I never loved you.' "
The quote signifies how obsessed Gatsby is about Daisy. According to novel, there has never been anything mentioned between Daisy and Gatsby about switching loyalties from Tom to Gatsby so far. There is no reason why Daisy should go up to Tom and tell him the truth at the moment, yet Gatsby desires her to. Even though Gatsby has waited for five years, the quote also tells how desperate and impatient he is now.
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