Caroline Kinsey
Mrs. Schumacher
English
12 August 2018
Summer Journals
The Necklace – Prompt
Madame Loisel and her husband serve as literary foils throughout the short story, “The Necklace,” by Guy de Maupassant. The main contrast between these two characters is their outlook on their financial situation. This contrast is quite evident while reading “The Necklace,” and is seen in numerous places within the short story. An example of this contrast is found on page one, where Madame Loisel is dreaming about her dream life, complete with “elegant dinners with gleaming silver and tapestried walls peopled by knights and ladies and exotic birds in a fairy forest… exquisite dishes served on gorgeous china, and of gallantries whispered and received with sphinx-like smiles while eating the pink flesh of trout or wings of grouse.” She dreams this right after her husband exclaims “Ah, a good homemade beef stew! There’s nothing better…” This shows literary foil between the two characters by showing the level of contentment in their current situations. Madame Loisel believes that she needs ornate dishes, birds, and decorations to be content in life, while her husband believes that life cannot get better than a good stew with his wife. Another example of literary foil between Madame Loisel and her husband is found on page two, when the two characters are deciding upon what the wife should wear to the event. Madame Loisel cries, for she believes she has no dress or jewels suitable to wear. On the other hand, her husband believes that her theatre dress and fresh flowers will do the trick. These foils are used within “The Necklace” to emphasize the traits of each of these characters. By making her husband so plain, Madame’s greediness and unsatisfied outlook on life is put on larger display. Meanwhile, the high-maintenance and expensive taste on Madame Loisel’s side makes her husband seem more reasonable, simple, and quite honestly, normal. To conclude, many foils are used throughout “The Necklace,” by Guy de Maupassant, many of which serve the purpose of emphasizing traits.
The Necklace – Personal Response
While reading “The Necklace,” I had many thoughts. Why is this woman so self-righteous and bratty? She values her possessions over anything else, even family. I think it’s pathetic that the only thing that brings her joy is jewelry and diamonds. Her husband is way too nice to be with a woman like that. He even gave up the money he put aside for himself to buy her a dress. Additionally, why does she refuse to appreciate what she already has? If she was good enough friends to borrow the woman’s necklace, why couldn’t she tell her she lost it? Although I felt extremely bad for the husband and completely detested his wife, who seemed to have an ungrateful and spoiled outlook on life, the story still serves to share a message: Always appreciate what you have, for it could always be worse. After seeing the woman fall from mediocrity to having absolutely nothing, I felt no sorrow for her. Instead, I was left with a, “you deserved it!” feeling, although the author clearly is trying to gain sympathy for this woman. After all, we have all been the Madame Loisel in one situation or another.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge – Prompt
In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” the author used the setting to develop our understanding of the character’s emotions in many ways. First, at the beginning of the story, the author describes the treacherous waters 20 feet below the bridge. While reading the text, I originally thought that jumping off of the bridge would be the best course of action to escaping, but after pondering my inference more extensively, I came to the conclusion that the man, who Bierce later clarified to be named Peyton Farquhar, could never escape by jumping off the bridge because not only will he be shot by the soldiers before he could try, but even if he did manage to escape and jump in the water, he’d be killed by either the impact of hitting the surface of the water or drowning in the fateful water. In addition to this, Bierce describes how the railroad bridge is surrounded by soldiers, destroying any escape route Peyton Farquhar had in mind. I took note of the intricate details he included about how the sentinels were positioned, and how they essentially barcaded him into the bridge, with no path to flee. Each of these scenarios collectively elucidated my impression that Farquhar felt trapped and hopeless, and had no chance of escaping to his family. Next, when Farquhar was escaping from the soldiers, and he was describing his keen senses, I thought that he felt grateful. In the story it said, “He noted the prismatic colors in all the dewdrops upon a million blades of grass. The humming of the gnats that danced about the eddies of the stream, the beating of the dragon flies’ wings, the strokes of the water spiders’ legs, like oars which had lifted their boat–all these made audible music.” I felt as though his observations about that nature around him were very profound and sounded meaningful and passionate, which is why believe that he felt grateful. Finally, at the end of the story, when Farquhar reaches his home, I think he felt joyful and relieved. The reason I think this is because he describes the glowing gate of his house and his gorgeous wife standing on the steps to greet him. The way he describes it makes it sound like the weight was taken off of his shoulders and he felt at ease.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge – Personal Response
At the beginning of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” I had many questions. First, why did the author choose Northern Alabama as the location? Is there significance to this location? Furthermore, I wondered what body of water they’re referring to under the bridge? In the text, they described the water in great detail, from the gentle acclivity to the pieces of driftwood floating upon the surface, but they never mentioned whether the water was a river, lake, strait, bay, etcetera. However, based on the fact that the story was set in Northern Alabama, I can infer that it was either a lake or a river. Additionally, at the beginning of the story, I was surprised that the public was allowed to watch. I feel as though it is unfair to have citizens watch as someone is executed because no matter what they did, they’re still a person and deserve to have rights. Just like people on death row have a right to be given a last meal of their choice.
Also, in the middle of the story, when the text switches from the scene of the man being hung, to his back story. The text explained that the man, who we now know to be Peyton Farquhar, is “ardently devoted to the Southern cause.” I think this means that he supports confederacy. Then, a federal scout, pretending to be a confederate soldier, came to his house and conned him into trying to burn down the Yanks’ stockade on the bank near Owl Creek bridge; even though anyone caught tampering with the railroad, its bridges, tunnels, and trains will be hung. While reading this section, I was frustrated by how gullible Peyton Farquhar was, but at the same time, the federal scout was very sly and convincing, so anyone would’ve been fooled. Finally, I found the ending surprisingly devastating because the author described the man’s journey home in such a compelling and suspenseful way, and finding out that it was all a dream was oddly crushing for the reader.
There Will Come Soft Rains – Prompt
While reading the poem “There Will Come Soft Rains,” I felt as though it marginally expanded the reader’s knowledge regarding the theme of human technology in many ways. First, I interpreted the poem as saying that, no matter how advanced human technology is or will be, nature will always be exponentially more powerful. For example, it couldn’t have been an accident that the author made a point of informing the reader that while mankind perished during the war, nature survived it and thrived without humans. Additionally, I found it interesting that even though the war completely obliterated everything in sight of the high-tech house, nature still prevailed. In fact, even the high-tech house eventually died, and it was ironically caused by nature! Furthermore, in the story it says, “The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes. This was the one house left standing.” However, animals still managed to survive the war, which is remarkable considering that it took out all of mankind and their homes. This tells me that we are underestimating the power of nature. If you dissect even deeper into what the text is trying to tell the reader, you can even see that nature is so strong and powerful that the war doesn’t even affect them. The reason I believe this is because in the poem it says, “And not one will know of the war, not one will care at last when it is done.” This shows that the animals aren’t phased by the war at all, they’re too resilient to even notice. Finally, I feel as though the poem was trying to say that no matter what we do to get rid of nature, such as chopping down forests or leveling hills, it will always come back. For example, in the poem it says, “Robins will wear their feathery fire, whistling their whims on a low fence-wire.” Since low fence-wires have spikes on them to prevent from birds sitting on them, this shows that nature will always adapt and come back.
There Will Come Soft Rains – Personal Response
When reading “There Will Come Soft Rains,” I had many questions. First and foremost, I wondered what happened that cleared out all the people and their homes. I think it was a nuclear bomb or some other type of explosion because at the beginning of the story, it said, “at night the ruined city gave of a radioactive glow which could be seen for mile.” Plus, in the poem it talks about the war that caused mankind to perish. Next, at the beginning of the story, I was shocked by how much food was made for breakfast, and wondered how many people lived there. I made an inference that four people lived there because four drinks were served for breakfast. I also assumed that the four people were two kids and two adults because the house served two glasses of milk and two cups of coffee, and usually adults would drink coffee and kids would drink milk. In addition to this, the voice in the house said at eight-one, “off to school, off to work,” which also lead me to believe that there were two kids and two adults. Finally, my theory was confirmed when the author wrote about the side of the house, with silhouettes of a man, woman, and two young children, all surrounded by a thin layer of charcoal. While I was reading this section, I felt sorrow for the family because I can’t imagine what they went through at the time of their death. After all, they were just enjoying each other’s company outside in their garden. Another though I had while reading the story was how didn’t the house know that it was vacant, considering the fact that it could make meals, read poetry, draw a bath, and so much more. Finally, while the house was burning I was surprised by how fast the house deteriorated. How did the house survived a nuclear explosion but when the wind blows it completely falls apart? One guess I have is that because since the houses around it are gone, the wind isn’t distributed among the neighborhood, it’s focused on one house.
The Scarlet Ibis – Prompt
Throughout “The Scarlet Ibis,” I noticed how the author used imagery to enhance the atmosphere in many ways. First, he painted a picture of the time of year, describing it as “the clove of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born.” While I was reading this, I was instantly engaged. I thought that this was a compelling way to start the story because it hooks the reader. From that point on, the author used imagery throughout the story to make the writing “come to life”. For example, another way the author used imagery was when Doodle stood for the first time, and the author described Old Woman Swamp. He wrote, “the grass beneath us was soft and the smell of the swamp was sweet.” As the reader, I could tell that they were overflowing with joy because of how the setting around them was described. This illuminated Brother and Doodle’s relationship because not only did it show that they were both excited and proud, it showed they were excited and proud together. While reading this, I was happy for the two of them, but I was also worried that something bad would happen to Doodle, considering his health issues.
Another way the author used imagery was when he described their progress towards teaching Doodle how to run, swim, climb, and fight. It says that during winter they didn’t make much progress because brother was in school and Doodle was chronically sick. However, when spring came, they were able to resume their work. The author described spring as “rich and warm,” which gave the reader insight into Brother and Doodles emotions. I know this because it sent a message to the reader that Brother and Doodle became hopeful and optimistic.
The Scarlet Ibis – Personal Response
Throughout the process of reading “The Scarlet Ibis,” I had many thoughts and confusions. First, I wondered what was actually wrong with Doodle. In the story it said that when he was born, he had a tiny shriveled body; but it never said what caused it or if he was diagnosed with anything. Another confusion I had was regarding Brother’s resentment towards Doodle. While I understand that Doodle wasn’t a normal little brother, I was shocked that Brother was planning to kill him even though he’d always wanted a brother. Additionally, even after Doodle could walk and play with Brother, he still resented him. For example, during the storm, Brother left Doodle behind because he was angry with him, but Doodle had learned how to play with him like he’d wanted. At some point, when does it stop? At the beginning of the story, Brother wanted Doodle to show signs of life. After Doodle succeeded in doing this, Brother wanted him to stand. After Doodle succeeded in doing this, Brother wanted him to walk. By then I thought this would be enough for Brother to finally accept Doodle, but I was wrong. Brother insisted that he learned to run, swim, climb, and fight. I knew when I was reading the story that eventually Doodle’s body would give out and he wouldn’t be able to take the intense training any longer. Sure enough, Brother pushed Doodle too hard and would up killing him.
The Alchemist – Prompt 1
I chose “The Alchemist” for a few reasons. First, it was recommended by my mom, who read it in a book club years ago. She told me that it is one of her favorite books and I would really enjoy it. Additionally, I chose “The Alchemist” because I love books that are adventure fiction, mainly because I find it compelling to hear about their journey and quests. I also enjoy adventure fiction books because I always find myself “on the edge of my seat” while reading them. Finally, another reason I chose “The Alchemist” as my free choice book is because it’s a famous book that I’ve heard great things about, and I wanted to be able to check it off my list of books I’d like to read. After all, it’s won countless awards.
Not only did “The Alchemist” match my expectations, it exceeded them. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I benefited from reading it this summer. The messages it portrayed were so profound and deep, and I really learned a lot from it. It taught me to follow my dreams, and the universe will guide me as long as I’m willing to take a risk. For example, throughout the story, they talked about the Arabic word maktub, which the King described in the beginning of the book as “it is written.” I think maktub means your fate that God has decided for you and the universe will help you reach.
Yes, I would definitely recommend “The Alchemist” to others. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it this summer. There were many inspiring statements in the book that sparked many profound thoughts. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, “there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” I found this statement really interesting because if you think about it, it’s completely true. If you think about any dream someone could have, and then you think of factors that make the dream “not do-able,” they’re all based on the fact they the person fails.
The Alchemist – Prompt 2
The first character in “The Alchemist” that I found memorable and important is Santiago, a shepherd from Andalusia. His dream was to find a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. Throughout the book, he acquired a lot of knowledge about listening to your heart and trusting that the universe will help you reach your goals. He believed that your heart will speak to you, and you must listen to what it has to say. He said that where your heart is, your treasure will also be. I interpret this as, your heart is your compass and if you follow it, it will lead you to your treasure. However, Santiago also believed that your heart will stop speaking to you if you let your fears get the best of you. Finally, Santiago helped convey an important theme in The Alchemist by showing the reader that God has a plan for you, and once you discover what exactly he wants you to do, you must go out and pursue this. Although it may seem impossible, the universe will help you along the way.
The second character in “The Alchemist” who was memorable and important was the Alchemist. He approached Santiago and helped him reach his goals. Throughout the story, the Alchemist was cold and distant, but also helpful and resourceful. Not only did he teach Santiago many things, but he gave Santiago the tools to learn these lessons by himself. The Alchemist valued bravery. When he first met Santiago, he tested his bravery my holding a sword to his head and threatening to kill him. However, Santiago didn’t flinch at all. It was only after Santiago passed the Alchemist’s test that he was invited to study under the Alchemist. Finally, the Alchemist helped convey an important theme by showing that if you believe in yourself and the power of God, you can do anything.