YELLOW WALLPAPER
I had to read this twice just to make sure I understood it better. But one can tell from the beginning that John, her husband, has such a strong hold on her. She tells us from the start that John, as well as her brother, is a well-known physician and we can assume that she doesn’t have such a high degree. Actually, considering the time this story is written, she probably hasn’t finished school. So it’s clear to see that John uses the fact that he is an all-knowing physician as an excuse to tell her what to do. He basically controls her and dismisses any questions or worries she tells him. John says that it is unwise to “give away to such fancies” when she voiced her opinions about the wallpaper. We already know that she is mentally unstable but he seems to force his thoughts on what she and should not do or who she can or cannot see. So in this case, we see two different ways of how the husband can overpower the wife. The first way is by having a higher degree which is used to John’s advantage in this story. The second way is to have the upper hand by using her mental state as an excuse to run things his way.
I think the last paragraph is the most important one to the overall argument that the story is making. It’s their last day at the house and John is away at work. The wife finally decides to rip away all of the disgusting yellow wallpaper. She locks the door and starts to tear away the paper. When John comes back and finally unlocks the door, he is shocked at what he sees. The wife tells him she is out at last and that he won’t be able to put her back into the paper since she had pulled most of it out. He faints. Of course, it’s pretty obvious to see how trapped she felt being in this marriage. In reality, she is not physically behind the bars of that horrible yellow wallpaper. But in this marriage, she is not free and her husband has the control. He decides who she’s able to see and says that he is looking out for her best interests. She is actually obedient and agrees that he loves her very much and cares about her health. There is a difference between protecting someone you love and trapping them in an isolated location away from the rest of the world.
STORY OF AN HOUR
In this story, Mrs. Louise Mallard is told that her husband was killed in a railroad disaster. Her sister, Josephine tries to break the news to her gently as possible because she knows of her heart problems. Louise of course breaks down and weeps and then goes upstairs to her bedroom, where she sinks in an armchair overlooking the window. As she sits there, she begins to feel something coming over her. She starts to whisper “free, free, free!” Her pulse beat wildly and “she did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her.” Mrs. Mallard realizes that she does not have to live for anybody from now on, but she will only have herself to live for. There will not be an overpowering control over her like she was used to in the years of her marriage. She admits that she loved him but now that her husband is dead, she is free “body and soul”. She sees days of herself running in the spring and winter. Josephine then knocks on her door and Louise comes out to see her after reassuring her sister that she is okay. As they walk down the stairs, the front door opens and Brently Mallard, Louise’s husband walks in. Mrs. Mallard faints and when the doctors come, they said she had died of “heart disease – of the joy that kills.”
When Mrs. Mallard found out her husband died, she became happy because this meant freedom for her. There is a passage in the first half of the story that describes the surroundings outside, including the weather, the rain in the air, and the birds chirping. I think this passage is such a strong one in relation to the point of this story. This is a sign of spring and spring is usually a symbol of revival and a new beginning. This was going to be the case for Mrs. Mallard, until she walked down that staircase and saw that her husband is alive. That was the real tragedy, not that of his death. She died of a heart attack because she realized that the joy, freedom, power, and hope she felt only a little while ago were completely diminished. It was too good to be true. This is the joy that kills. After years in marriage, she got so close to being free. It’s too sad to see how short these feelings of joy and hope lasted. If only she waited to double check.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Family As An Institution of Power
The American cultural norm of family acts as an institution of power by being able to program certain views and perspectives into our heads from such a young age. We are taught specific lessons that stick in our minds and shape the way we act and decide on things as we get older. For example, we have always seen the father as the most important figure in a family. He sits at the head of the table, he brings in the money, and all the decisions are run down by him. This is not the case for every family, especially for the century we live in now but that has been the father figure for years. As we grow up, our family installs in us various ideologies of how men and women are expected to be. We are encouraged to think on our own and explore other cultures and views, but that really isn't always what happens. Each culture has its own set of expectations that they have of their future generations. We live according to what we learned from our parents, even though we may not agree with them, but those lessons have been imprinted in our heads for so long, that we know nothing else. This is how family acts as an institution of power that leads the way of how and why we do the things we do.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Signs
1. ED HARDY
- Now that I really looked at this Ed Hardy boot, I don’t see anything good about it. But a few years ago, everyone in my high school started wearing Ed Hardy. From shoes, to shirts, bags, and hats. Basically, we looked at the brand name before we looked at the product. Whether we liked it or not, it was Ed Hardy and that’s a popular brand name so the item was bound to get praises. All it takes is a person to wear it and then the masses will follow. This is how the American mass culture works. We live in a society that encourages us to think for ourselves and gives us freedom of speech and all that good stuff. But if we really did think on our own, this country wouldn’t function. For everything to run according to the way it should be, media has to play a huge role in our lives, especially when it comes to decision making and consumerism. When things are advertised, naturally we will go out and buy them. The Ed Hardy trend is an example of this. This is how our American culture works. We are not all born leaders. We are followers of what media and propaganda send our way.
2. POUTING GUY
- If anyone looked at this picture, they will definitely make fun of it. I don’t understand what is up with his hair, the orange headless cap, the pouting lips, and the peace sign. He also looks a bit too confident for such a pose. This sign displays what our expected views of gender are. Guys don’t take pictures like this one. If they do, their sexuality is automatically questioned and will receive negative comments. In the American culture, guys are expected to take “manly” pictures. Like the ones where you flex your biceps or stand in an arrogant, bigger-than-life pose. It sounds shallow and superficial, but honestly, this is what we expect. It’s okay for a girl to take this kind of picture but if a guy does, the feedback will be anything but positive. In our culture, we grow up having a specific idea of how the male should act. They are expected to be athletic, strong, tough, etc. As a society, we always say ‘express yourself’ but when we truly do, many times our expression will not be supported. As a culture, we want to maintain the balance and the circle that is built around us. We don’t want anything or anybody to step out of that safe circle with new perspectives and ideologies.
3. VISA/MASTERCARD
- We are all about money. No matter what everybody says, money is what makes the world go round. In almost every decision we make, money is involved. This sign just shows an easier way to get what we want and to access the greens. Credit cards have taught us that we can have anything we want, and all we have to do is worry about it later. We only live once so why not enjoy life to the fullest. And if there is one thing that is portrayed over and over again in our society, it’s that materialistic things bring us happiness. Of course, we are taught the complete opposite of that from our families, those feel-good movies, and from school. They tell us that money doesn’t bring happiness and I do agree with that. But yet again, as we get older and start to think about our career choices, the salary is a major factor in our decision. When we go out and buy something, whatever it is, its price plays a huge role is whether or not we will buy this item. In the American culture, we are encouraged to think wisely, especially when it comes to money. But at the same time, if everyone thought sensibly when it comes to spending money, we wouldn’t be the proud capitalist country we are today.
4. TRUCK
- This is an interesting picture. We all know how much guys love their trucks and this picture definitely portrays that connection. We also think a guy in a certain way when we see what type of car he drives. There is a huge difference between a guy driving a sedan and another driving a truck. Those who are in the big trucks blasting music are usually in your face and are too arrogant for their own good. With guys, it’s always a competition, especially when it comes to cars. Of course this is not completely true, but this is the stereotype in our culture today. This shows that we do judge a book by its cover. When seeing one of these trucks pass by the road, we automatically place the driver in a certain category. We’ll probably think that he’s a jerk in old ripped jeans with a faded t-shirt and work boots. I definitely wouldn’t expect to find a businessman in a suit come out of that truck in this picture. We don’t know this for sure but this is how our culture works. We categorize people by what they wear, do, drive, and everything else, even before we get a chance to know them.
- Now that I really looked at this Ed Hardy boot, I don’t see anything good about it. But a few years ago, everyone in my high school started wearing Ed Hardy. From shoes, to shirts, bags, and hats. Basically, we looked at the brand name before we looked at the product. Whether we liked it or not, it was Ed Hardy and that’s a popular brand name so the item was bound to get praises. All it takes is a person to wear it and then the masses will follow. This is how the American mass culture works. We live in a society that encourages us to think for ourselves and gives us freedom of speech and all that good stuff. But if we really did think on our own, this country wouldn’t function. For everything to run according to the way it should be, media has to play a huge role in our lives, especially when it comes to decision making and consumerism. When things are advertised, naturally we will go out and buy them. The Ed Hardy trend is an example of this. This is how our American culture works. We are not all born leaders. We are followers of what media and propaganda send our way.
2. POUTING GUY
- If anyone looked at this picture, they will definitely make fun of it. I don’t understand what is up with his hair, the orange headless cap, the pouting lips, and the peace sign. He also looks a bit too confident for such a pose. This sign displays what our expected views of gender are. Guys don’t take pictures like this one. If they do, their sexuality is automatically questioned and will receive negative comments. In the American culture, guys are expected to take “manly” pictures. Like the ones where you flex your biceps or stand in an arrogant, bigger-than-life pose. It sounds shallow and superficial, but honestly, this is what we expect. It’s okay for a girl to take this kind of picture but if a guy does, the feedback will be anything but positive. In our culture, we grow up having a specific idea of how the male should act. They are expected to be athletic, strong, tough, etc. As a society, we always say ‘express yourself’ but when we truly do, many times our expression will not be supported. As a culture, we want to maintain the balance and the circle that is built around us. We don’t want anything or anybody to step out of that safe circle with new perspectives and ideologies.
3. VISA/MASTERCARD
- We are all about money. No matter what everybody says, money is what makes the world go round. In almost every decision we make, money is involved. This sign just shows an easier way to get what we want and to access the greens. Credit cards have taught us that we can have anything we want, and all we have to do is worry about it later. We only live once so why not enjoy life to the fullest. And if there is one thing that is portrayed over and over again in our society, it’s that materialistic things bring us happiness. Of course, we are taught the complete opposite of that from our families, those feel-good movies, and from school. They tell us that money doesn’t bring happiness and I do agree with that. But yet again, as we get older and start to think about our career choices, the salary is a major factor in our decision. When we go out and buy something, whatever it is, its price plays a huge role is whether or not we will buy this item. In the American culture, we are encouraged to think wisely, especially when it comes to money. But at the same time, if everyone thought sensibly when it comes to spending money, we wouldn’t be the proud capitalist country we are today.
4. TRUCK
- This is an interesting picture. We all know how much guys love their trucks and this picture definitely portrays that connection. We also think a guy in a certain way when we see what type of car he drives. There is a huge difference between a guy driving a sedan and another driving a truck. Those who are in the big trucks blasting music are usually in your face and are too arrogant for their own good. With guys, it’s always a competition, especially when it comes to cars. Of course this is not completely true, but this is the stereotype in our culture today. This shows that we do judge a book by its cover. When seeing one of these trucks pass by the road, we automatically place the driver in a certain category. We’ll probably think that he’s a jerk in old ripped jeans with a faded t-shirt and work boots. I definitely wouldn’t expect to find a businessman in a suit come out of that truck in this picture. We don’t know this for sure but this is how our culture works. We categorize people by what they wear, do, drive, and everything else, even before we get a chance to know them.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Carver's Gin and Love
In the "Beginners", the two couples are sitting around talking about love while drinking gin. So Carver shows that when people are going to gather and converse about love, they need alcohol to get through it. Gin in this case, seems to be some sort of escape. It makes it easier to talk about love and the problems that come along with it. For Terri, it won't be that easy to speak about her past abusive relationship if she were completely sober. Alcohol just makes everything easier to deal with. It is very obvious to see that Herb hates his ex-wife, and he's upset that his first marriage didn't work out. As a succesful cardiologist, he can't be hindered by his emotional problems. So he definitely needed the alcohol to talk about his issues.
Besides the obvious, the gin represented the pain and troubles of love itself. When you wasted, you deny that you're drunk. This is exactly what happened in Terri's situation. She was so deep into the abusive relationship that she still defends Carl and his behavior.
Besides the obvious, the gin represented the pain and troubles of love itself. When you wasted, you deny that you're drunk. This is exactly what happened in Terri's situation. She was so deep into the abusive relationship that she still defends Carl and his behavior.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Raymond Carver, "Beginners" and "Why Don't You Dance?"
In Raymond Carver’s two stories, “Beginners” and “Why Don’t You Dance?”, the subject is love. In “Beginners”, there are 4 people, 2 couples, who are having drinks together and the topic of love comes up. They all talk about how they got to be where they are now and their past relationships. Herb McGinnis, a cardiologist, thought that real love was that of the spiritual love. His wife, Terri, starts to tell of how she was in an abusive relationship. The other couple seemed to be the one that had the normal relationship. In “Why Don’t You Dance?” a man is having a garage sale and has the furniture set in the same way as it was inside the house. A young couple comes along and starts to look around, finally settling on buying the TV and the bed. The couple and the man all get drunk and then dance to a record player in the yard. The girl tries to tell everyone about what happened but for some reason, she wasn’t able to talk about it. So in both Carver’s stories, the subject definitely has a connection to love and the relationships we encounter in our lives.
Even though I have a hard time wrapping my head around this, I think the aspect of collective cultural ideology that Carver is examining is the role of relationships in our lives and what is expected of us. There are certain milestones that we all “should” reach by a certain age. Those milestones include: finishing education, leaving home, getting a job and become financially stable, getting married, and having kids. Of course, this is what shapes the American Dream. We all are also expected to be happy forever after if we do this right. But in these two stories, this is not the case. In “Beginners”, these are not the relationships that we think about having in our future. Herb has already had a failed marriage and he thinks about how he had managed to love his ex-wife one day but now hates her completely. Terri, his current wife, was in a terrible situation before meeting Herb. She had lived with a man, Carl, who beat her up constantly and threatened to kill her as well as Herb. His reason for his actions was because he loved Terri very much. This is not the type of love that we see advertised in movies and romance novels but even Terri herself confirms that he loved her. As a society, we do not approve of abusive relationships and that would turn into a scandal. But in this case, Terri openly talks about it and actually admits that sometimes she thinks about him. She argues with Herb that Carl loved her very much but in his own way. While I was reading this, I felt terrible for Terri and sorry for Herb. At the end of the story, Terri breaks down and tells the other couple that Herb has been suicidal recently. There’s a lot that could be said regarding this issue. Herb is what many of us wish to be when we are at his age. He is a successful cardiologist, and of course he is making tons of money. So he has already reached all those milestones that are expected of him. But he is not happy, his relationship with his ex-wife is draining him, and he misses his kids. This proves that even if we play our expected roles in society correctly, it does not mean that we will be happy.
In “Why Don’t You Dance?” the man is selling the furniture that used to belong to him and another woman. We don’t know what happened to their relationship, whether he was married or not, or where the woman is now. A significant part in this story is when the man and the young girl have a dance together. As they get close together, the young girl tells him that there are people watching them. The man tells her that it’s okay since this is his yard. As they dance, they become aware of each other and something definitely passes between them. The man says, “I hope you like your bed” and as the young girl pulls him closer and buries her head in his shoulder, she replies, “You must be desperate or something”. A couple of weeks later, the young girl cannot explain what happened back there at the yard sale but still tries to describe the situation to her friends. I really didn’t understand the point in this story but I know it has something to do with what happened between the man and the young girl. In the society we live in today, we sometimes do see an old man with a girl who is younger than him by way more than a few years. To be honest, we will question such a relationship more than we would wonder about a couple who seem to be in the same social circle.
I think the point of these two stories is that Carver wants to prove that not everyone is able to live their lives according to what society expects from them. We are not able to control who we fall in love with or who we come across in our lives. Carver showed that even we go according to our roles, we can still be unhappy, such as in Herb’s situation. He achieved all the milestones, so one would think he would be “stable”, but in reality, he’s not. The young girl in the second story is supposed to be in love with her boyfriend, and she is, but something did pass between her and the older man. Society would probably disapprove, but Carver showed that this is something we cannot control.
Even though I have a hard time wrapping my head around this, I think the aspect of collective cultural ideology that Carver is examining is the role of relationships in our lives and what is expected of us. There are certain milestones that we all “should” reach by a certain age. Those milestones include: finishing education, leaving home, getting a job and become financially stable, getting married, and having kids. Of course, this is what shapes the American Dream. We all are also expected to be happy forever after if we do this right. But in these two stories, this is not the case. In “Beginners”, these are not the relationships that we think about having in our future. Herb has already had a failed marriage and he thinks about how he had managed to love his ex-wife one day but now hates her completely. Terri, his current wife, was in a terrible situation before meeting Herb. She had lived with a man, Carl, who beat her up constantly and threatened to kill her as well as Herb. His reason for his actions was because he loved Terri very much. This is not the type of love that we see advertised in movies and romance novels but even Terri herself confirms that he loved her. As a society, we do not approve of abusive relationships and that would turn into a scandal. But in this case, Terri openly talks about it and actually admits that sometimes she thinks about him. She argues with Herb that Carl loved her very much but in his own way. While I was reading this, I felt terrible for Terri and sorry for Herb. At the end of the story, Terri breaks down and tells the other couple that Herb has been suicidal recently. There’s a lot that could be said regarding this issue. Herb is what many of us wish to be when we are at his age. He is a successful cardiologist, and of course he is making tons of money. So he has already reached all those milestones that are expected of him. But he is not happy, his relationship with his ex-wife is draining him, and he misses his kids. This proves that even if we play our expected roles in society correctly, it does not mean that we will be happy.
In “Why Don’t You Dance?” the man is selling the furniture that used to belong to him and another woman. We don’t know what happened to their relationship, whether he was married or not, or where the woman is now. A significant part in this story is when the man and the young girl have a dance together. As they get close together, the young girl tells him that there are people watching them. The man tells her that it’s okay since this is his yard. As they dance, they become aware of each other and something definitely passes between them. The man says, “I hope you like your bed” and as the young girl pulls him closer and buries her head in his shoulder, she replies, “You must be desperate or something”. A couple of weeks later, the young girl cannot explain what happened back there at the yard sale but still tries to describe the situation to her friends. I really didn’t understand the point in this story but I know it has something to do with what happened between the man and the young girl. In the society we live in today, we sometimes do see an old man with a girl who is younger than him by way more than a few years. To be honest, we will question such a relationship more than we would wonder about a couple who seem to be in the same social circle.
I think the point of these two stories is that Carver wants to prove that not everyone is able to live their lives according to what society expects from them. We are not able to control who we fall in love with or who we come across in our lives. Carver showed that even we go according to our roles, we can still be unhappy, such as in Herb’s situation. He achieved all the milestones, so one would think he would be “stable”, but in reality, he’s not. The young girl in the second story is supposed to be in love with her boyfriend, and she is, but something did pass between her and the older man. Society would probably disapprove, but Carver showed that this is something we cannot control.
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