For February 9, read "Where Are You Going, Where Have you Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates
IMPORTANT-LAST PAGE OF STORY MISSING FROM COURSEPAK: HERE IS LINK TO ONLINE VERSION OF STORY:
https://www.d.umn.edu/~csigler/PDF%20files/oates_going.pdf
SPECIAL NOTE: I HAVE DRAFTED FINAL ESSAY TOPIC AT BOTTOM OF POST BELOW--PLEASE DO BRIEF BLOG ON THIS TOPIC SO WE CAN DISCUSS IN CLASS NEXT WEEK (THIS WILL BE YOUR FINAL BLOG).
WEEK OF FEB 9-11:
Bring to class your ideas and images for Visual Essay (Essay #2). Please include a summary of main traits of your female character. We will do some peer critique of your ideas.
We will also continue screening of Moolaade.
Here is end of semester schedule:
Thurs. Feb. 11: Peer critique of Essay #2
Tues. Feb. 16: Submit Revision of Essay #2 (THIS IS OUR LAST CLASS)
Friday, Feb. 19: submit final essay-reflection
Monday Feb. 22: conferences, return of essays, grades to be submitted
Final Essay Topic:
In the majority of texts we have studied, two themes have been surfaced in our discussion:
1. ways in which women experience male control, domination (cultural effects of patriarchy)
2. ways in which they respond to this experience by creating their own space, discovering their own voice, and, sometimes, outsmart their "colonizers."
Choose TWO texts we have read (NOT ones you have already written about) and trace the female characters' movement from recognition of a problem to confrontation and response. How are the recognitions similar/different? How are the responses similar/different? Whose response seems most creative and/or effective?
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ReplyDeleteIn the short stories “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Stetson and “Trifles” By Susan Glaspell both women struggle with not having a voice. By not having a voice I mean that both women’s opinions, actions and words were silenced. Their husband’s had the say in what they could and couldn't do. In both stories the women are pushed to their boiling point. They act out in different ways but their actions stem from the way they have been mistreated by their husbands.
ReplyDeleteIn both stories the moment of recognition is crucial. From that point on the women's actions are based on the moment when they realize that their life isn’t right. In the story “Trifles”, Minnie Foster has her moment of recognition when her husband kills her bird. Her bird was the only thing she had left to keep her sane and once that is taken away it pushes her over the edge. Similar to the story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, her husband takes away her freedom which also drives her insane. In both stories the husbands are all about taking and not giving back. The selfishness is what triggers the women’s responses.
Both women’s responses to their situations are different. Minnie Foster chooses to put an end to her husband's life because for years he has ended her’s with his controlling and selfish ways. In the “Yellow Wallpaper” the mother destroys the room she is confide in, so it can stop driving her crazy. In both stories as readers we can compare both women's actions as an act of revenge toward their husband’s. They were pushed over the edge and as a result the husbands had to pay.
After comparing the two women, Minnie Foster’s response to her confinement seemed most effective for her situation. By killing her husband she eliminated her problem and was able to regain her freedom. As far as creativity goes, the mother in “The Yellow Wallpaper” definitely wins the trophy. By tearing down the wallpaper it is as if she was ripping away all her troubles. She doesn’t punish her husband for misdiagnosing her but takes out her angry on the wallpaper. Both women come out stronger than ever by the end of the story. They faced their problem head on and in the end found a solution. In the end their biggest reward was freedom.
agree that she takes the trophy for creativity! Note author name: Charlotte Perkins Gilman :)--so the tricky bit in this comparison is that you can't really quote Minny--everything is inferential--maybe you can use what the women say? Be sure to add some quotations for final version.
DeleteIt seems that the Oates story is cut off in the book. For anyone that is interested, I was able to find it online here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.d.umn.edu/~csigler/PDF%2520files/oates_going.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjx--iY3-TKAhVI9h4KHRMcBPAQFghZMAs&usg=AFQjCNGibB75dnGsSz4ASfid8RkqvovY5g
ReplyDelete.
It will be a PDF download
Hi. Thank you for the link.
DeleteIn the necklace by Guy de Maupassant, Madame Loisel is a beautiful woman who isn't happy about her life style, because she's not living the luxury life that she dreams of. She suffers because she's living in poverty with her husband, and she's insulted and insecure about their living situation. One day her husband returns home with an invitation to a formal party and Madame Loisel becomes upset and starts to cry because she has nothing to wear. So her husband gives her the money he had saved up for his own use, to buy a dress and make her happy. When the party approaches, she becomes upset again because she doesn't have any beautiful fancy jewels to wear with her dress. So her husband convince her to borrow some from her rich friend Madame Forestier. Madame Loisel recognition takes place in the story when she attends the party and when it's over she loses the necklace. She panics because it can not be found and it has to be returned as soon as possible. She then ends up working hard for the next 10years to help her husband pay their debt, which is paying off the balance for the necklace. She then finds out 10years later from Madame Forestier that the necklace didn't cost as much as they thought it did, and she spent so many years working herself tirelessly for no reason. This caused her beauty to decay because Madame Forestier didn't recognize her. If she was honest in the beginning about the necklace, she wouldn't have to work so hard over the years. Now all she's left with is memories from the night of the party.
ReplyDeleteIn everyday use by Alice Walker, the mother has two daughters, one who lives with her name Maggie and the other Dee who has went away to college, and is returning home to visit. The mother likes to fantasize about her successful daughter. The mother also felt that Dee hated Maggie, so the community raised money to send Dee to college. The mothers recognition comes in place when Dee wanted to take back with her the quilts that her grandmother made. The quilts contained small pieces of garments worn by the grandmother. Before in the past the mother offered Dee the quilts when she was leaving to go to college and she refused them claiming they were out of style. Now that she has returned home she wants to have them for her self. The mother suggest to her to take another quilt because she was saving those particular ones for Maggie. Dee insist on having them claiming Maggie won't know what to do with them, and the mother snatches the quilt from her and gives it to Maggie, because she realizes all along she has been giving Dee everything she wants to please her and to have a relationship with her.
From both stories their recognition are different because Madame Loisel was not happy about her life style and she wanted more to fit in with the other rich woman. The mother in the other story was comfortable in the house she lived in even though it wasn't lavish or the community . Both of their responses are effective because both stepped up when they had to. Madame Loisel realized it's not all about pretty looks and was determined to help her husband pay for the necklace because it was her fault since she was being too needy for what her husband couldn't afford. The mother finally puts her foot down and stood up to Dee because for years she knew Dee was ashamed of them, and she always gave her what she wanted because she wanted a relationship with her, also to appreciate Maggie as a sister.
Anika--see if you can cut some of the plot summary to one or two sentences and get to recognition, change, so you can go deeper in discussing how they differ...
DeleteIn the two stories "Where are you going, Where have you been?" and "The Yellow Wallpaper," both main characters experience male control to some major degree. There was a superior male figure that victimized them in each story, a complete stranger and rapist in "Where are you going, Where have you been?" and a strict husband in "The Yellow Wallpaper."
ReplyDeleteIn the first story mentioned, Connie (the main character) was very open and flirty to all the boys which eventually lead to her downfall when she was stalked by a malicious stranger. As the story progressed, she became more closed and weaker as the stranger, "Arnold Friend," explained what he wanted from her. This deterioration of her character lead to her presumed demise.
In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator allows herself to be overly-controlled byu her husband. She doesn't fight him or his wishes which leads to her mental breakdown and eventual loss of character and fate at the end of the story. She ends up losing her mind by the end of the story.
The responses from both women were about the same with the same kind of result. They lost their respective "battles." To be honest, neither response was more creative than the other. One woman lost her life and the other woman eventually lost her mind.
Jonathan--this could be interesting if you could go a little deeper--for example is there struggle, growth in awareness--your reading of wallpaper is a bit oversimplified--were you in class for discussion?
DeleteProfessor Van, can you clarify this assignment? I'm a bit confused. Is this Blog Post the "Final Essay" or just a way to generate ideas for when we write the actual essay?
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Deleteme too.
DeleteHi, yes, I am confused too. I don't think this is due yet but I see many people started posting.
DeleteWe are supposed to write a blog regardless but it is unclear whether this is a primer for the Final Essay or if it is the easy itself.
DeleteWe are suppose to read the link above and what we responded were essay topics for essay number 2 . Professor Van Slyck just gave us topics to have an idea what to write .
DeleteThis is actually the blog for Essay #3. That's why we are all a little confused. Essay #2 is the Visual One. 🙃
DeleteCorrect G.This is for Essay#3 which is the final essay. So I don't think we are supposed to be posting anything now. It's not due until 2/19. All we have to bring tomorrow is ideas for Essay#2.
DeleteI emailed her to ask about the final essay and she did not say to post anything for tomorrow.
In 1937 and The youngest Doll both story was influence by the magic realism . Two strong females influence a another woman about their values . In 1937 "the Madonna " hold a mystical journey that was in the family for generations , representing sisterhood ,uniting and identity . The river also represented the bloodline of identity and the story of who she was and where she came from . The river represented freedom and the love of sisterhood, motherhood and woman empowerment by sticking together . In The youngest doll "the dolls" " The birth of the doll was always cause for a ritual celebration " Even though the dolls couldn't have been a saver due to the family wealth falling in need she didn't use it for profit. Instead she devote to make them to represent her nieces and her . The river in the story also has a big influence , the aunt was bitten by a prawn and became a part of her . The story way of showing womanhood was with the dolls , if a man can get the opportunities they can destroy a woman a part due the their greed and selfishness . Both story end with mystical ending and symbolic metaphors of a man taking a woman a part and become something else .
ReplyDeleteAna--this is a really interesting comparison--since you are using the river to talk about bloodline, identity, connection, you could use the dolls perhaps in the same way?--ritual, connection, ultimate power?
DeleteKate Chopin expresses the experience of women suffering in different perspectives throughout her short story called " The Story of An Hour" when she explains how Mrs.Millard finally experiences freedom when she finds out her husband has died . After analyzing "The Story of an Hour" a great comparison can be made with the play "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell. In "Trifles" Glaspell also expresses women suffrage although she uses a form of mystery where readers put clues together to understand how Mrs.Wright dies from depression within her marriage. This short story and play both gives a strong meaningful example of a tragedy through Chopin's and Glaspell's unique skills to portray tragedy within marriage from a women's perspective.
ReplyDeleteMrs Wright suffers from depression perhaps; she doesn't die but maybe you don't mean that literally!? Last sentence too general though I respect your effort to look at big picture. So see if you can bring the two women together in a single statement--but specific: they both suffer, and respond to their situations--both escape their marriage? temporarily?--let's talk
DeleteThe recognition and response are different in “The Yellow Wallpaper” and in “Desiree’s baby” because in “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator liked the room, but not the yellow wallpaper due to being “revolting” and “unclean”. The patterns seems to never end. However, the narrator later accepted the wallpaper. I think that the narrator loneliness and being trapped in the room causing her to project a woman that is confined in the wallpaper. The narrator then decides to free the woman by tearing off the paper. In “Desiree baby”, Desiree identity was put on trial when her husband, Armand question her if she was African American. Desiree point out that her skin color was lighter than Armand. But Desiree didn’t have any concrete evidences proving that she was white; she decided to leave Armand and her fate remains unknown.
ReplyDeleteKelly--analysis of wallpaper is clear--not sure how these two stories are linked via women's identities--can you share more of what you are thinking--Is Desiree also trapped?
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ReplyDelete"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlote Perkins Gilman and "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant both explore the ways in which women try to reinvent their lives in a way to overcome feelings of oppression. In each piece the female characters create fantasy worlds for themselves in order to lift their spirits and try to break out of the confined spaces they believe they are trapped in. In these alternate worlds the narrator from "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Madame Loisel from "The Necklace" enjoy a happier existence, free from domineering male restrictions.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Yellow Wallpaper" the narrator is most likely suffering from post-partum depression and due to being isolated for most of her days she has to create a way for her mind to escape her bleak situation. She desires a better life and the only way she accomplishes that is to imagine herself into a world that borders between fantasy and pure mania. As she begins to realize that her surroundings are oppressing her she tries to find a way to escape, but I don’t think she ever truly does.
For Madame Loisel in "The Necklace", what keeps her going in her unhappy marriage is the fantasy of becoming a part of high society and having a wealthier husband to give her the lifestyle she believes she is being deprived of. She undermines her own fantasy when she chooses not to come clean to Madame Forestier about losing the necklace that she borrows in the hopes to live out her fantasy. Had she chosen the virtuous path and told her friend that she lost the necklace she could might have made peace with her status insociety and potentially lived a happier existence.
Each character comes to their decisions through completely different motivations. On the one hand in "The Necklace", Madame Loisel’s gripe with her husband is extremely petty. She only cares about money and status even though her husband works day and night to repay the debt that she is completely responsible for. On the other hand, the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" may or may not be losing her sanity and therefore is justified in the actions she takes and the behavior she exhibits. She is literally trying to escape her own mind and needs to use her creativity as a vehicle to drive herself out of the maze that she is trapped in inside her own head.
Greg-fascinating--very clear opening thesis statement--for final version, use some quotations from text and sharpen conclusion--maybe take more of a stand about the wallpaper lady's creativity--sane or insane? maybe insanity is only possible response if you can't get out of prison?
DeleteIn the stories “Yellow wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins and “study of an hour” by Kate Chopin both demonstrate women who were “Mentally ill.” These stories also display that back in the day women were completely controlled by their husbands and felt trapped in the marriage they were in. Both these women yearned to escape their captive husbands. These stories also both deal with female isolation even though one chooses isolation and the other is sent there by her husband. "Wallpaper" is about a woman so desperate to escape her situation that she tells the story even though she was ordered by her husband not to engage in mental activity such as, writing .At the end and she suffers a breakdown as she classifies herself with the woman who creeps in the wallpaper trying to escape. Then at the end of " Story of an Hour" the women finds out her husband is alive, which results in a heart attack that others in the story thought she would have gotten when she found out her husband was dead.
ReplyDeleteBrittany--if you are imprisoned maybe an unusual response, that society deems mental illness, is actually the only creative solution? I think you can find evidence of isolation that works for both as you indicate here. You will need a conclusion that analyzes the "solutions" or "escape" of each woman...
DeleteChoose TWO texts we have read (NOT ones you have already written about) and trace the female characters' movement from recognition of a problem to confrontation and response. How are the recognitions similar/different? How are the responses similar/different? Whose response seems most creative and/or effective?
ReplyDeleteIn “ The Yellow wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins and Desiree's Baby, the two women experience oppression by the male characters in the stories. In " The Yellow Wallpaper" the woman is said to be mentally ill or depressed from which we now know might have been from post partum depression after having her baby. Her husband keeps her in this room with ugly yellow wallpaper where she is supposed to rest and feel better from just resting. She gets no other social interactions and does not get to do what she enjoys like writing in her free time. Offering her no stimulation she is kept in the room because her husband is a doctor and she must obey what he says because hes clinically allowed to diagnose her and treat her and because he's her husband and a woman had to always obey her husband. In the story Desiree's Baby, Desiree and her husband armando are at ends with each other because in the time of slavery, there was no life for african americans and if you were even some percentage of black, you were deemed unworthy and were either expected to be a slave or be killed. Armando accuses his wife of being black because their baby had come out to have darker skin when in fact armando is the one who has the darker skin. He makes his wife leave because he believes she is black and she listens to him and leaves with her baby and we are left not knowing what has happened to Desiree and her baby. In the end we find out that Armando was really the one who was part african american and he just made his wife leave because maybe he didnt want to admit it to himself or believe that he could be black so he laid the blame of their dark baby on the mother Desiree.
In The Yellow Wallpaper, the wife goes stir crazy from being constantly kept inside with no stimulation of her mind which she ends up resenting her husband and thinking of her room as a prison and begins seeing a woman in the wallpaper which she ultimate "becomes" as her only mean to escape the room and escape her husband. Many times she has begged her husband that the solitude in the room is doing her no good but time and time again he refuses to believe her because he apparently knows whats good for her. This ultimately leads to her husband finding her potentially trying to kill herself from going stir crazy. Her only escape. In Desiree's Baby, it is a little different. Desiree does not want to leave her husband but he forces her to upon believing that she is part black. She tries to fight him on it when she points out his features but he refuses to listen and banishes her and his baby from the house. She leaves and we dont know what becomes of her.
The recognitions are different because the wife in TYW finds her only escape in the wallpaper and potentially killing herself to be free of the room and her husband but Desiree tries so hard because she does not want to leave because she knows there is no life for her outside. The responses are almost the same in that they both end with the reader questioning if the two female characters tried to kill themselves. Because Desiree walks into a field and disappears so we have no idea what has happened to her. And the wife in TYW attempts to hang herself but we see that she does not succeed. They are similar in that both their husbands pushed them to a point where ending their lives was the only way for an escape. The wife in TYW is a ltitle more creative in her response only because she goes stir crazy and starts imagining herself as the woman in the wallpaper and actually goes crazy as her husband wanted her to believe she was since that was what the rest she needed was for.
Aidasee if you can find some quotations toward end of stories that help you sharpen conclusion--how does woman feel at end of wallpaper? how are we meant to feel about desiree as she exits?
Deleteotherwise good work!
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ReplyDeleteI will keep my post brief as indicated. I believe she's only looking for our general idea for the final essay.
ReplyDeleteI have chosen "Life" and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" as the two texts to compare and contrast. Life and Connie will be the two female characters that I will be analyzing.
If you want to draft a couple of paragraphs here I'll review it. Others wrote a lot so I am trying to respond!
DeleteIn both the reading Trofles and The Yellow wall paper the women experience male control from their husbands because their husbands have subjected them to a life I which they give themselves away in the marriage leaving them without a voice, or an opinion about much they are seen not heard.
ReplyDeleteThe way the women take their voices back as well as reversing the controlling roles, they find comfort in themselves, they both had break downs that leads to them finding that inner voice, allowing them to gain power back over their lives. They find their way to a new life a new outlook on things.
In the yellow wall paper she breaks free from the prison on the dull yellow walls that screams, and stares at her.
In trifles she set herself free from her husband by killing him, she was the cage canary. Beautiful, filled with life joy, who was trapped in a dull, lifeless marriage.
Shavonne--good thinking about taking voice and power back, finding inner voice--see if you can get a little text support to help with these good observations
DeleteYikes, I just saw this now, a little late. I too was confused. two texts that I wish to compare are Life and Rapaccini's Daughter. I was impressed how the Life and Beatriz conducted themselves and made decisions in the pursuit of the truth. They differed in that Beatriz sacrificed herself for another, while Life sacrificed her life in pursuit of her own independence.
ReplyDeleteI will be comparing Double Indemnity "Phyllis" and "Life" . I will Compare their lives and how they have used men to get what they want/need.
ReplyDeleteI will be comparing "Life" and "Rapaccini's Daughter." I was impressed how Life and Beatriz conducted themselves and made decisions in the pursuit of the truth. They differed in that Beatriz sacrificed herself for another, while Life sacrificed her life in pursuit of her own independence.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice
"Give me thy breath, my sister," exclaimed Beatrice; "for I am faint with common air! The flower gives Beatrice strength (30).
She watches, sadly, as the lizard dies from a droplet of moisture from the stem of the poison flower, also when the insect dies from her breath (30).
“Evidently her experience of life had been confined within the limits of that garden” (35)
She is smitten with Giovanni, but as he approaches the fatal flower, she warns, “Touch it not! Not for they life! It is fatal! Then hiding her face, she fled from him” (36).
They fall in love (27), but Beatrice, protecting Giovanni, keeps “a reserve in her demeanor, so rigidly and invariably sustained…there had been no seal of lips, no clasp of hands, nor any slightest caress” (37).
Beatrice thought she could not get closer to Giovanni. ”I dreamed only to love thee and be with thee a little time and so to let thee pass away, leaving but thine image in mine heart” (43).
Beatrice, not knowing her father has arranged for Giovanni to be poisonous like her (and therefore compatible with her), she scolds her father, “wherefore didst thou inflict this miserable doom upon thy child?” (44).
Desperate to be with Giovanni, perhaps unsure of the effect of the medicine, she demands to drink it, which causes her death. (44). Life
Life’s new neighbors did not take long “to shun her completely” (41).
“She attracted a second wave of women--the beer-brewers of the village” (41).
“Then one evening death walked quietly into the bar. It was Lesego” (41).
“She saw in him the power and maleness of the gangsters” (41).
“He took control of the money. She had to ask him for it and state what it was to be used for” (43).
He “didn’t like the transistor radio blaring the whole day long” (43).
He told her “If you go with those men again, I’ll kill you” (43).
The boredom of the daily round was almost throttling her to death” (44).
Her life had become “a physical pain” “Married life doesn’t suit me,” she says (44).
“A wild anger was driving her to break out of a way of life that was like death to her” (44) Life had resumed her former lifestyle while Lesego was away.
Life defies her existence; she lies to Lesego that she has no sugar (45).
She goes with another man. Lesego finds them (45). Life’s choices put her in great danger. Life chooses death over a stifling existence.
The story's I will be comparing are "The Necklace" and " Desiree's Baby"
ReplyDeleteIn both of these texts women are controlled in some form by men.
In the necklace Madame Loisel is a beautiful woman who is married to a regular non wealthy man. She is controlled not directly by her husband but she is controlled by his income because she isn't able to live the wealthy lifestyle she wants to. Her husband invites her to a formal party and she is deeply saddened because she can not be as extravagant as she wants to be. Unlike most other men we read about her husband tries to make her happy by giving her money he saved up for his own personal use. Still this wasn't enough for her so he suggests that she borrows a necklace from her friend Madame Forestier.
The problem occurs when she loses the necklace at the party and has to work 10 years of her life to repay for it, not knowing that the necklace was fake. This causes her beauty to decay which is her pride and joy. So for 10 years she is trapped in a life she didn't want to live. At the end of the story all she is left with is memories of the good time she had at the party.
In the story "Desiree's baby" Desiree is a light skinned women who is married to a white man. Desiree and her hub and lives their lives normally until they see that their child is born dark skinned. Even though her husband is dark skinned then her, he makes her leave the house because he thinks she is black. Desiree is trapped because she doesn't know her heritage and is now being labeled African American and she's also trapped by her husband because during the time of slavery isn't unacceptable to be any percent black. At the end of the story she leaves the baby with her husband.
Both characters differ because Madame Loisel is trapped by her own self. Her needing to look the best causes her downfall. In Desiree case she's trapped because of society and her husbands accusations of her being black, when in reality it was him that was black. They are both similar because their husbands situations was the root of their problems. If Madame Loisel husband was rich she wouldn't have need to borrow the necklace and if Desiree's husband wasn't racist or ignorant to the fact that he was black, she wouldn't have needed to leave the family.
The two short stories that I chose to compare and contrast are, “Where are you going, Where have you been? by Joyce Carol Oates, and “Life” by Bessie Head. Both short stories are about two different women who share similar personality traits which involve being free-spirited and going against the norm by being rebellious in their own ways and for their own distinct reasons. By being rebellious they stir up some trouble. Each one ends up attracting a threatening man with bad intentions. However, despite being threatened by these men, Life and Connie try to fight the authority that they are trying to resist succumbing to.
ReplyDeleteFor my final essay I choose Billy Wilder’s film noir “Double Indemnity” and the short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. In Wilder’s “Double Indemnity”, we have a female character that appears to be the victim of oppression by a male, due to marriage. The same goes for the protagonist in Maupassant’s “The Necklace”. Both Female characters, Phyllis and Mathilde, have been blessed with physical beauty. A beauty that is so extraordinary, they use it to manipulate the men in their lives. Both of these women are in marriages that they believe they don’t belong in, mainly because of the financial aspect. They tolerate their husbands because they don’t have much of an option. They are living in a patriarchal society where women can only survive if they are harmless, unintimidating, and vulnerable. However, these two women play around with the idea that patriarchal rule is one of those rules that are meant to be broken.
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