The Dead

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

Somewhat of an ironic title don't you think?  Well when first reading this short story by James Joyce,  I was quite confused as to why this was the title... was Aunt Kate going to drop down dead? Was Mr. Browne finally going to go mad and shoot everyone in the party? Nope.  This party just kept going on it its happy fashion with no deaths.

As the story went on and on about this Irish gathering I couldn't help but notice Mr. Browne pop up everywhere.  No, this was not because of his character per say but because he shares my last name :D

The short story was not my favourite though I felt that it really dragged on, going over the same situation over and over again but with different people.  I realllllly disliked Gabriel as a character he was snooty and just felt as if he was better than everyone. But what really pushed me over the edge was when he was in lust for his wife.  Sure it was nice that he was complimenting her saying how good she looked in his head but he was really objectifying her and when he said, "[h]e longed to cry to her from his soul, to crush her body against his, to overmaster her" (1970), that just made me think he was a pathetic typical guy who feels he is above everything, especially women.

The only turn of this short story was when Gretta told Gabriel about her old dead boyfriend.  I thought this was a nice slap in the face for him to finally get a grip on himself and realize he wasn't the master of all.


Yours in writing,
Hailey Browne

Oh the Joy of Essays

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

In World Classics I expected a lot more essays to be written.   I was pleasantly surprised to find out we only had to complete two (Thank you Dr. Reed)!  In writing 2 essay's I feel like I put more effort into each one spending time crafting it into my very own masterpiece.

Although, I found the first essay to be very insightful to research this one was all the more pleasing.  I research tons of websites and even used a REAL PRINTED BOOK!

I enjoyed the fact that we had to pick a theme that drove the author in their writing.  This was especially challenging with the poem I chose to dissect..."The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S Eliot.  This was a challenge I brought onto myself for no other reason than to say I could.

I spun his words and morphed them into my own meaning as there is really no other way to do it.  I researched his background to see if that had any clue to the hidden meaning behind lines such as, "The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes"(16).  WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN! Well after careful research I figured out that the yellow smoke Eliot talks about is actually the smoke that comes from the pollution from power plants near his home in St. Louis, Missouri.

Figuring out little tidbits like mentioned above are great epiphany moments that left me satisfied for the rest of the night :)

I hope all of you had as fruitful as an experience as I did trying on different lenses and figuring out themes in your poems or short stories!


Yours in writing,
Hailey Browne

Poetry, poetry, and more poetry

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

Well hopefully you have gathered from my title that in the post I will be talking about the very much anticipated poetry day!

At first I thought it was going to be people reading their favourite poems by their favourite poet, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear people read their own poems.  I myself have written quite a few poems, I went on a mad writing spree in grade 12 when it was a poetry unit and we were forced to write poetry for class.  The more and more I wrote the more therapeutic it became.  Soon I found myself scribbling emotions out on a piece of paper daily.  I grew out of this phase eventually, but I did enjoy very much just sitting down and letting my emotions out.

When we all discussed the deep nature of poetry, sort of a way of letting out frustration, sadness or other dark emotions I started to notice it more and more.  It is true one does write the best when they are angry just as one can voice their displeasure more easily than their pleasure.

Tonight I think I might sit down and write a poem again just for old times sake and release any emotions that I may have buried deep inside.

I challenge you all to do the same!

Yours in writing,
Hailey Browne

Squares and Angles?

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

Squares and Angles.  Storni.  Not being a huge fan of math I was wondering what a poem with that title could do for me, but as I started reading my doubts melted away.  The image that this short and simple poem puts into my mind is one that is intriguing yet relatable.

As the world becomes more and more "blended", men going out to work every day, women staying with the kids one would go crazy living in this circle.  This poem is trying to mock suburbia as more Americans are migrating to this world.  I really enjoy Storni's work as it challenges her reader to take a look at their lives and make them wonder if they are living as they hope.  She sheds light on the "norms" of society (mainly women's rights) and speaks of change towards a better and equal world.

"Squares and Angles" is a very nice puzzle that is easily put together by thinking. The gaps that Storni leaves for her readers to fill, allows them to think in a way to challenge change in the world.

Yours in Writing,
Hailey Browne

Oh the Wonders of Love

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

I'm not really sure if most people understand this about me.  Maybe its because I don't really appear as a softy or that I play hockey, who knows.  But I am a huge sucker for a romantic poem. I fell in love with Tagore's "No. 5" which I wrote about in my last post, but another poem that has tugged at my heart strings and stayed in my mind is Neruda's poem, "Tonight I can Write".

Now not all love poems have to be about the warm fuzzy feeling that people get when they are in love, it can also be the agonizing pain when that love is gone.  The tone throughout this poem is not extremely sad but you can sense the despair that Neruda feels.  This piece he is voicing his discontent of his lovers absence from his life and her lack of love for him.  He is unaware the feeling that he has for his lover and the feelings that she has for him in return.  He jumps back in forth between "I love her", "I don't love her", and "maybe I do love her".  It is a very chaotic feel which is exactly what happens when one is in love.

I really enjoy when poets write about humanly feelings as it is a great way to relate and connect to the poem.  Poems like this have a deeper impact, to me at least.  Although it is interesting and entertaining to decipher deeper meanings behind a more cryptic poem, having a nice straight forward poem that is about emotion and nothing more is a very nice balance.  I thoroughly enjoyed "Tonight I can Write" by Neruda.

Yours in Writing,
Hailey Browne

Release

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

In light of the essays we all handed in (hopefully), I have been thinking a lot about the poems and authors we have discussed.   In my Essay I explored Tagore and his wonderful poem "No. 5".  This poem was about Tagore's struggles as he dealt with the death of many members of his family in a short period of time.  Now there was just a short overview of the poem, but the reason for my essay and this blog is to talk about writing as an outlet.  As we have learned more and more about writers and their struggles everything from Wolfe and her suicide to Soyinka and his, Poems from Prison. 


I'm sure we've all done it, maybe not to the extent of a worlds best selling poem, but maybe through an email or a letter or a lesser selling poem in order to voice our feelings.  I know that when I am upset writing down the way I feel on a piece of paper makes me feel a lot better.

Through this class I hope we all master the skill on voice our opinions and feelings through paper and writing no matter how frustrated we get, writing can make us feel a little bit better.




Yours in Writing,
Hailey Browne

Mental Block

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

As I sit here today eating my breakfast thinking about English class, I feel a little bit shaken up from the last class I attended.  The class of Thursday April 12th 2012 was one to document in the books.
I had read the whole passage of Achebe envisioning the characters as I read with great detail.  To me the name Achebe sounded very much Asian, and to my surprise I found out he was in fact very.. not Asian.

The beat of the drums and all the talk of the ancient gods and traditions how could you not mistake it!  As we talked more and more about Okonkwo being a black man, I could not shake the vision of a big strong Asian man with a fu manchu.

In my mind:                                                                                                  Actual:
                       

As you can see it was quite a transition for the rest of the class to wrap my brain around the new look the characters in this story now had.   Now back to the actual story... I thought that we had made some steps forward in class when we talked about feminism and the role that women play, no longer being looked at as property but as equal, but this was not the case.  Women had gone back to their role of belonging to the husband and providing, cooking, and caring for the children.  There was a shining moment in the story during the trial when the elders said that "it was not brave to fight with a woman", but for the most part it was revolved around the wife beating, alpha male Okonkwo.

Although I did enjoy this story and the read went by quicker than others, I still will never fully appreciate a story where there is multiple woman beatings and guns fired in their direction.

Yours in writing,
Hailey Browne