Summary
A child is sitting in a courtroom while his father speaks to the court. Their barn was burned because of a quarrel over a stray hog. The judge orders the family to leave town. The members of the family travel to a new town. Their house is plain and does not quite accommodate all of the family members. They are hard working corn farmers and they immediately start working on the crop. The father walks into a house with soiled boots and ruins an expensive rug. The family is ordered by a different court to replace the rug. The father has a difficult time accepting this and he burns a barn in protest. The youngest son runs away from home.
Comment
Almost all of the conflict in this story is initiated by the father's stubborn demeanor. The youngest son can not cope with his overbearing, rude, and violent father, so he escapes. The problems in this story could have been avoided by very simple changes in behavior. The son's troubles were almost exclusively with his father, and junior wrestled with situations that were far too complex for a person of his age.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Sweat
Summary
Delia Jones washes clothes for a living. She works very hard all week washing and delivering clean laundry. She is married to an abusive man named Sykes. He beats her and sleeps with other women. Sykes knows Delia is afraid of snakes. He manages to catch a large rattlesnake, and he keeps the caged animal on their property. He torments her throughout the story with violence. The snake gets loose in the house while Delia is working, and she flees in terror. Sykes comes home drunk and manages to get bitten. He dies.
Comment
Delia struggled very hard for extremely basic human needs. Sykes made her life more difficult. The conflict was that of a failed marriage with both parties hanging on because they did not know how to let go. I think that if Delia was a little less religious, and Sykes was a little more frugal--they could have gotten divorced and led happy lives. The unseen central character is the taboo of divorce. The entire ordeal of a tragic 15 year marriage could have been avoided.
Delia Jones washes clothes for a living. She works very hard all week washing and delivering clean laundry. She is married to an abusive man named Sykes. He beats her and sleeps with other women. Sykes knows Delia is afraid of snakes. He manages to catch a large rattlesnake, and he keeps the caged animal on their property. He torments her throughout the story with violence. The snake gets loose in the house while Delia is working, and she flees in terror. Sykes comes home drunk and manages to get bitten. He dies.
Comment
Delia struggled very hard for extremely basic human needs. Sykes made her life more difficult. The conflict was that of a failed marriage with both parties hanging on because they did not know how to let go. I think that if Delia was a little less religious, and Sykes was a little more frugal--they could have gotten divorced and led happy lives. The unseen central character is the taboo of divorce. The entire ordeal of a tragic 15 year marriage could have been avoided.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Paul's Case
Summary
The story starts with Paul in front of a board of his teachers. He is there to answer and maybe explain his inappropriate actions in the classroom. He twitches nervously and gives annoying half-answers. He leaves but does not go home to eat. Instead, he spends the time in a picture gallery until he has to work as an usher. He is slightly late, and dresses in a rush. He is very cordial to all of the patrons, including his teachers. After everyone is seated, he relaxes and drifts away into his own world. When the symphony is over, he loiters outside a hotel for a bit, then goes home. Much description is given to the 'hell' of Paul's home life. He avoids his father, and spends a sleepless night in the cellar. The weekend passes as a nonevent. On Sunday night, Paul leaves the house under the pretenses of meeting his geometry tutor. Instead, he goes to see a theater company rehearse. He is only able to 'be himself' when in the company of actors or musicians. He regards home life as drudgery. He has no desire to stay within the confines of the life his father has planned for him. After some strange behavior at school, including unbelievable lies concerning performers and travel, Paul's father takes away his ability to visit his favorite hangouts. Paul revolts by stealing a few thousand dollars, and taking a train to New York. He has enough money to sleep in a fancy hotel, and to wear custom clothing. Paul is very happy in New York, but the newspapers report that he has been found out. Paul's father is looking for him, and Paul is sure he will be back in hometown hell in no time. Paul makes a decision. Not the revolver, but the locomotive will be his end. He kills himself instead of having to face his father.
Comment
Paul struggles to escape a life he does not want to live. The repetition of stoop sitting and child-rearing does not appeal to him. His entire neighborhood thrives on the monotony of church and dead end jobs. He sees a different world for himself. He wants a world of well trained violinists. He wants a backdrop for his thoughts. If he had more patience, he could have had exactly what he wanted.
The story starts with Paul in front of a board of his teachers. He is there to answer and maybe explain his inappropriate actions in the classroom. He twitches nervously and gives annoying half-answers. He leaves but does not go home to eat. Instead, he spends the time in a picture gallery until he has to work as an usher. He is slightly late, and dresses in a rush. He is very cordial to all of the patrons, including his teachers. After everyone is seated, he relaxes and drifts away into his own world. When the symphony is over, he loiters outside a hotel for a bit, then goes home. Much description is given to the 'hell' of Paul's home life. He avoids his father, and spends a sleepless night in the cellar. The weekend passes as a nonevent. On Sunday night, Paul leaves the house under the pretenses of meeting his geometry tutor. Instead, he goes to see a theater company rehearse. He is only able to 'be himself' when in the company of actors or musicians. He regards home life as drudgery. He has no desire to stay within the confines of the life his father has planned for him. After some strange behavior at school, including unbelievable lies concerning performers and travel, Paul's father takes away his ability to visit his favorite hangouts. Paul revolts by stealing a few thousand dollars, and taking a train to New York. He has enough money to sleep in a fancy hotel, and to wear custom clothing. Paul is very happy in New York, but the newspapers report that he has been found out. Paul's father is looking for him, and Paul is sure he will be back in hometown hell in no time. Paul makes a decision. Not the revolver, but the locomotive will be his end. He kills himself instead of having to face his father.
Comment
Paul struggles to escape a life he does not want to live. The repetition of stoop sitting and child-rearing does not appeal to him. His entire neighborhood thrives on the monotony of church and dead end jobs. He sees a different world for himself. He wants a world of well trained violinists. He wants a backdrop for his thoughts. If he had more patience, he could have had exactly what he wanted.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
The Yellow Wallpaper
Summary
A woman is suffering from nervous depression, and her physician husband, John, rents a house. The woman stays in a room upstairs that has the yellow wallpaper. She stays awake at night watching the wallpaper, and sleeps during the day. She starts to see things in the wallpaper that are not there. She is consumed by her hobby of staring. To her husband's eye, she appears to improve in condition, but she deteriorates into a state where she sees a woman in the wallpaper. She sees this imaginary woman struggle and creep, and she mimics her. She rips the wallpaper off of the walls, and locks herself in the room.
Comment
The theme of the story is mental distress, and the comfort of being consumed by a world of illusion. It is so comfortable, in fact, that the narrator chooses to live in her imaginary world. Her hardships are completely manufactured by her own mind. She takes cod liver oil, tonics, and walks to placate her husband, while she is wholly obsessed with finding some hidden meaning in rotting wallpaper.
A woman is suffering from nervous depression, and her physician husband, John, rents a house. The woman stays in a room upstairs that has the yellow wallpaper. She stays awake at night watching the wallpaper, and sleeps during the day. She starts to see things in the wallpaper that are not there. She is consumed by her hobby of staring. To her husband's eye, she appears to improve in condition, but she deteriorates into a state where she sees a woman in the wallpaper. She sees this imaginary woman struggle and creep, and she mimics her. She rips the wallpaper off of the walls, and locks herself in the room.
Comment
The theme of the story is mental distress, and the comfort of being consumed by a world of illusion. It is so comfortable, in fact, that the narrator chooses to live in her imaginary world. Her hardships are completely manufactured by her own mind. She takes cod liver oil, tonics, and walks to placate her husband, while she is wholly obsessed with finding some hidden meaning in rotting wallpaper.
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