Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Night Blake Lost All Power

The Night Blake Lost His Power

In the beginning of “The-Five-Forty-Eight” John Cheever leaves readers pondering about the mysterious woman Blake sights in the lobby. Does Blake know her? Are or were they in love? Why does Blake not want to confront the mystery woman? After the first three paragraphs are questions are answered. It is revealed that Blake does know the woman he spotted in the lobby. They had worked together and ended up having a short affair six months ago. After the affair ended Blake had her fired and cut off all communication. The woman was out for revenge and was able to bring Blake to his knees helpless to save his life.

It was obvious from the start Blake wanted to avoid the woman he had spotted. Soon after noticing her, Blake dashed out of the lobby and walked expeditiously towards Madison Avenue where he thought he would be able to lose her in his trail. It was raining and Blake tried to listen for the woman’s footsteps so he could tell whether she was following him or not. Momentarily, Blake spotted a reflection of her standing only a foot or two behind him. Instead of confronting his ex-lover he continued to flee. He wondered if she was meaning to kill him. He became panicked. He felt if he reached Madison Avenue he would be able to escape her and he would be safe for no one would harm someone in a crowd. Blake was mistaken. The pain he had made her feel was too strong for her to give up. She was determined to demean him as he did her.

After having the women fired, whose name we learn to be Miss Dent, it seemed as though Blake felt no compassion for her. He could not even remember her name just that he had spent a night with her and then had her fired by his secretary. It was as if he felt he never would see her again so why should he be bothered with her issues. And as it turned out she did have issues that needed to be dealt with. The woman had said she had been “terribly sick” and the hospital was never able to find a cure for her. Through the short story I wondered if her sickness was a mental illness. The way she spoke of Blake and referred to him as her husband in a letter she wrote to him made me question if she was truly disturbed. Soon I felt my assumption to be true.

When Miss Dent first was able to get contact with Blake it did not seem as though she was out to hurt him. She was crying and did not make threatening comments. But shortly she became demoniac. She forced Blake into the subway and threatened, “Don’t move or I’ll kill you.” (33) In a state of fear Blake did not dare to utter a word for help and followed her commands. He understood the woman he had betrayed meant business and would not leave him alone until it was finished. While on the train Miss Dent told Blake, “Even if I did have to kill you, they wouldn’t be able to do anything to me except put me back in the hospital, so you see I’m not afraid.” (43)

Miss Dent revealed that she had been scheming revenge on Blake for weeks and Blake would not be able to escape what she has in store for him. She had brought a pistol with her to ensure that. Once they reached her desired stop she brought Blake to a poor lighted site and had him put his face in the dirt while she yelled at him in a forceful manner while still holding the pistol. Blake was crying. His life could end at any moment. There was no telling what Miss Dent could do. She was in full control of his destiny and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Once Miss Dent realized this, she knew she had accomplished want she wanted to do. She made Blake feel the same oppression that he had left her feeling. As she walked away from Blake with a sense of power and new found freedom, Blake rose from the dirt and without even trying to clean himself off, he walked home.

In class many people thought that Blake would not change his ways. That he would continue to take advantage of vulnerable women and would feel no remorse for his actions. I feel that Miss Dent scared the daylights out of Blake. She stalked him in a way so sly he did not know whether to confront her or run. Once she had him under her power he was too scared and unable to escape. In the dirt Blake lay weeping, vulnerable and helpless. In triumph Miss Dent walked away. Blake arose in shock and walked away emotionless. This left me feeling that he was so frightened by this experience that he would never want to treat another woman with such disrespect again, let alone have an another affair. I feel that Blake will never put himself in any compromising situation whether it involved men or women or business or pleasure. Blake was shaken to the core the night Miss Dent took away any means of power he had and nothing will erase the fear he felt.

(897 Words)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Unfairly Accused Grandmother

825 Words
In A Good Man is Hard to Find the grandmother is treated with disrespect by her son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. The grandmother’s daughter-in-law is an inadequate mother without an ounce of a clue on how to discipline children and the grandmother’s son does not seem to care. The grandmother’s reckless grandchildren are named John and June. The grandmother’s family acts as if she is an annoyance and do not even try to be civil to her. Despite the family’s mistreatment towards the grandmother she still tries to create order and stability in the children’s life. I found it very interesting that some of my classmates thought that the grandmother did not deserve respect because they believed she was constantly nagging the family. I feel like the grandmother is trying to help the family unite and truly cares for them. There are many instances when she is involved with the children whether that be playing a game or telling a story. I feel she deliberately tries to get their attention to help them mature and behave properly. Although the grandmother leads the family to a tragic ending, I sense her intentions were good. I think the main reason she wanted to go to the old house is because she feels she deserves something that will make her feel happy since she is mistreated by her family.

At the beginning of the story the grandmother is working hard to get the attention and acceptance of her grandchildren. The grandmother desperately wants to go Tennessee to see an old home while the rest of the family wants to go once again to Florida. In order to convince her family that Tennessee is the better choice she warns her family about a killer on the loose called, “The Misfit.” She tries to persuade her family that he is on his way to Florida. The family paid not attention to her inquiries and they head off to Florida. On the car ride to Florida the grandmother tells the kids stories and plays games with them which shows that she wants to be accepted and cares for her grandchildren. On their journey they stop at a restaurant for lunch. Jane is obnoxiously rude to the waiter and declares that she would never “live in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks!” The grandmother is flabbergasted and felt the granddaughter should be ashamed of what she had said. Then she stated that “People are certainly not nice like they used to be.” There is not response by the children’s parents.

The grandmother is able to convince her grandchildren that Tennessee is the better destination through a story she told them about the house she wants to visit. The children decide that they want to see the house with the secret panels that their grandmother had told them about. John begins to whine and complain in order to make his parents stop at the house. The father screams at the children to “Shut up!” and gives in to their commands. On the way to the home, the family gets into a car accident and the car flipped over. Three men come over to the scene. The grandmother recognized “The Misfit” almost immediately. The families lives were taken after the grandmother struggled to convince the “The Misfit” not to harm anyone.

In class many people thought that the grandmother should be held responsible for the deaths. I feel that it is not entirely her fault. Before the story begins I feel there was tension within the family and the grandmother felt as if she was not included or wanted. Because of this she decided she wanted to go to Tennessee and she was going to try her hardest to get there for she felt it was finally time for her to have things her way instead of putting up with brat children and insignificant parents. If the family had not been so dismissive towards the grandmother I feel she would have been eager to go to Florida with them because it would be enjoyable if everyone got along. Unfortunately, the family never seemed to find a happy medium. The family ran in to some very bad luck when “The Misfit” and his crew spotted their accident. And though some believe that it was the grandmothers fault because of her requests and schemes to get the children excited to see the house she loved so much I feel that the rest of the family is more to blame. If the parents would have paid more attention to the children and set rules and discipline in the family, the structure of their household could have been entirely different. I do not deny that because of the grandmothers wish the family ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, but if the family would have communicated with one another and worked out their differences the situation could have ended up entirely different.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Everyday Use #1

Karen Johnson
AP English Class 3
9-10-08
994 Words
One Heritage; Accepted and Rejected
“Everyday Use” tells a story depicting the contrast between two sisters, Dee and Maggie. The girls come from a poor, rural, black, family. Their heritage is described through the eyes of their mother, Mrs. Johnson. She describes her small shack-like home to be “more comfortable than most people know.” (1) She is able to look at her life in a positive manner, making readers envy her oasis before they find out the truth about her stark poverty. Despite Mrs. Johnson’s lack of wealth and education, she is still able to be optimistic about her home life. Through the mother’s eyes the qualities of her daughters is revealed. Dee is described as a selfish child who rejects her upbringing as if their poverty and heritage is associated with worthlessness.
When reading the short story, “Everyday Use,” I was overwhelmed with Dee’s selfishness and insecurity. It floored me that a person from a family of such little circumstance could be so selfish and belittling towards her mother and sister. Alice Walker included subtle hints of Dee’s insecurity and lack of concern for her family throughout the beginning of the story. Dee intrudes upon Mrs. Johnson and Maggie at their home, after claiming to her mother ,“no matter where [they] “choose” to live, she will manage to come see [them]. But she will never bring her friends.” She brings Hakim-a-Barber with her. (13) Mrs. Johnson and Maggie do not know whether or not he is her husband. Dee’s behavior comes across as if she is refusing to engage with her family unless she needs something from them. In this case she wants their family heirlooms for their monetary value. When Dee’s mother refuses to give her the hand-stitched quilts, Dee quickly throws a childish fit.
At the beginning of the story Maggie thinks that Dee holds life in the palm of her hand and is granted whatever she desires, but she discovers that Dee is not as secure as she pretends to be. In the first two pages the reader already recognizes Dee’s superficiality and selfishness. When the mother describes the reuniting family on the talk show she mentions, “I am the way my daughter would want me to be: a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake. My hair glistens in the hot bright lights.” (5) This illustrates that Dee wants her mother to have the characteristics of a white woman for she is ashamed of her ethnicity and culture. The mother imagines her daughter “embracing her with tears,” but in real life this would never happen for she is a larger women who does manly deeds. Dee does not want to accept those characteristics in her mother. (5)
Dee pretends to be confident and knowledgeable though truly she is unable to find out who she truly is. She leads people on to believe that she is more significant than they are and in that process she demeans people and intimidates others who associate with her. Dee acts as if she is of a higher importance than the rest of her family and because she is literate she decries her mother and sister and acts as if they do not understand the words she reads. As Mrs. Johnson states, “She used to read to us without pity; forcing, words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice… Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand.” (10)
Though Dee tries to portray a life of perfection there are many circumstances in which she sub conscientiously reveals her true colors. When the family’s home was on fire and Maggie was burning in the flames, Dee was outside of the home under the sweet gum tree that she used to pick gum off of, with no concern for her sister. The mother remembers thinking, “Why don’t you do a dance around the ashes?” (9) It was as if Dee had no concern for her family and the struggle they were now presented with. Dee also shows her insecurity when she arrives to her mother and Maggie’s home with Hakim-a-Barber. She changed her name from Dee to Wangero in order to gain his acceptance. (22)
Throughout the story, Maggie is described as weak, nervous and shy. Maggie was accustomed to being spoken to by Dee as if she were worthless and insignificant. Mrs. Johnson sees that Maggie has accepted, “This was the way she knew God to work.” (39) It suddenly dawned on Mrs. Johnson that Maggie was willing to accept that she was of little value when truly Maggie was of great value in the family. Maggie was in touch with her family’s heritage. She loves the family with sentimentality. She valued the talents Grandma Dee and Big Dee passed on to her by teaching her to quilt. Maggie knew it was Henry who whittled the dash on the butter churn. For this Dee belittled Maggie. Her only interest in the butter churn was for a centerpiece. (30)
Once Dee’s mother finally says no to her by refusing to give her the quilts, she had to leave Maggie with one last insult. “You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you’d never know it.” (47) As if Dee has now grasped all the knowledge there is to make the most of one’s life. This is the point when Maggie realizes that her sister does not have the grand life Maggie once envisioned but instead is hiding behind a fake persona to hide her insecurities and conceal her true identity and heritage. Maggie only smiles at the thought of her revelation and is proud of who she is and where she came from and finely discovers her true self.