Communication V Privacy

This week we read Mrs. Dalloway.

I wanted to discuss the theme of privacy and communication in this novel. Throughout Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa, Septimus, Peter, and others struggle to find outlets for communication as well as adequate privacy, and the balance between the two is difficult for all to attain. Clarissa in particular struggles to open the pathway for communication and throws parties in an attempt to draw people together. At the same time, she feels shrouded within her own reflective soul and thinks the ultimate human mystery is how she can exist in one room while the old woman in the house across from hers exists in another. Even as Clarissa celebrates the old woman’s independence, she knows it comes with an inevitable loneliness. Peter tries to explain the contradictory human impulses toward privacy and communication by comparing the soul to a fish that swims along in murky water, then rises quickly to the surface to frolic on the waves. The war has changed people’s ideas of what English society should be, and understanding is difficult between those who support traditional English society and those who hope for continued change. Meaningful connections in this disjointed postwar world are not easy to make, no matter what efforts the characters put forth. Ultimately, Clarissa sees Septimus’s death as a desperate, but legitimate, act of communication.

Growing OLD

This week we read:


When You are Old

by W. B. Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

I really enjoyed this poem. It made me think of my grandparents. My grandmother was so SO Pretty when she was young, but as they got older priorities change and being beautiful wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was that they had each other. They were married for 65 years until my grandpa died. The last year of his life was a struggle with cancer. Being beautiful doesn't really matter when someone you love dying. It's spending time together and supporting one another is whats important. Beauty fades.

Don't judge a Book by its Cover

This week we read Great Expectations. In my essay, I discussed the issue of social class in the novel. Pip had to realize that Social position is not the most important quality one can have, and that his behavior as a gentlemen hurt important people in his life.

The theme of social class is essential to the novel’s plot and to the moral theme of the book, Pip’s realization that wealth and class are less important than love, loyalty, and inner self.

Even today, often we value people more if they have more money or material things. We don't take the time to really know people. "Don't judge a Book by Its Cover."

The Merman

This week we read The Forsaken Merman. I felt like the poem was saying that we had to choose between religion and imagination. I totally disagree. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. How can you have faith in a god you have never seen? You use your imagination. How do you picture heaven, you've never actually seen it? You use your imagination. The two go hand in hand

Frankenstein

This week we are reading Frankenstein. I had never read the book in high school, and I'm enjoying learning about this classic story.


"I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on."

In Walton’s final letter to his sister, he recounts the words that the monster speaks to him over Victor’s dead body. This explosion of angry self-pity as the monster questions the injustice of how he has been treated captures his inner life, giving Walton and the reader a glimpse into the suffering that has motivated his crimes. This line also evokes the motif of abortion: the monster is an unwanted life, a creation abandoned and shunned by his creator.

When we Two Parted

Last week we read "When we two Parted" By Lord Byron. I really enjoyed the poem.

When we two parted

In silence and tears,

Half broken-hearted

To sever for years,

Pale grew thy cheek and cold,

Colder thy kiss;

Truly that hour foretold

Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning

Sunk chill on my brow ---

It felt like the warning

Of what I feel now.

Thy vows are all broken,

And light is thy fame;

I hear thy name spoken,

And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,

A knell to mine ear;

A shudder comes o'er me ---

Why wert thou so dear?

They know not I knew thee,

Who knew thee too well: ---

Long, long shall I rue thee,

Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met ---

In silence I grieve,

That thy heart could forget,

Thy spirit deceive.

If I should meet thee

After long years,

How should I greet thee? ---

With silence and tears.

I think they had a secret relationship, and possibly the woman died (Pale grew thy cheek and cold). He cannot grieve over her because their relationships was a secret and every time he hears her name he feels pain and he wonders if when he sees her in heaven after many years how he would greet her and if their love would be the same.

Allow me to Introduce Myself

My name is Amanda. I live in Chandler with my husband and three dogs. Yes, I'm one of those crazy people who treat their dogs like actual people. I am a sophomore and my major is Elementary Education. I currently work at an Elementary school as a tutor. I, also, coach 3 Allstar cheerleading squads and 2 school squads. I recently moved and I am enjoying my new house so much more than my old house. I love hanging out at home and SLEEPING. Whew, I am tired all the time. Will there ever be a time where I can catch up on my sleep. The first week of school has been exhausting and I am disappointed with most of my classes. I am not looking forward to the semester that is before me.