Reading with Music

I know that a lot of people do not like to listen to music while they read because they think that it is distracting; however, I find it helpful to listen to music while I read. I do not listen to rock, country, rap, hip hop, or anything like that. I listen to classical music and score music from movies. I find that it helps me to concentrate better on what I am reading. Usually what happens when I read without listening to music is I will read a sentence or two, and I won’t know what I read. This will happen over and over, and it is a big waste of time. I love to listen to this kind of music while I read, write, and study.

"Harrison Bergeron" Questions

1. I think that now they all do live in a totalitarian world where everyone is forced to be equal except for that one person in charge, the Handicapper General. The elimination of advantages, difference, and competition has taken away the individuality of each person and hindered the God-given gifts of all of the people. The world is so dull now.

2. In my opinion, these changes are completely impossible to happen under American capitalism. This is the most extreme thing I have ever heard, and I believe if something like this would even start to form, that the American people would stand up to this and stop it before it got so extreme. Vonnegut is showing the human tendency for wanting power, and also the human tendency for most to just go with the flow and not stand up for themselves when they are threatened by a greater power. I do not think this is the end result of middle class greed, envy, and pettiness, I think it has more to do with showing how government is taking more control of things. The experience of America in the late twentieth century suggests that our nation is moving more towards a nation controlled by the government and influenced by a certain few people. The popularity of shows such as Oprah suggests that our nation is influenced and wanting to hear from a few really popular celebrities. America is being influenced a lot by the media. I think the idea of Barbie Dolls being redesigned to look like real people is somewhat manipulating to little children because Barbie Dolls are also created to look skinny and perfect, so the children want to be like the Barbie Dolls. In education, some teachers grade with a curve and boost students’ grades. This shows that maybe students are lacking and being lazy in school and are getting unfair help in their grades. The standards for education are dropping. In sports, I think it is important in youth competitions to give kids about equal amount of playing time just so that they all have equal chance to improve and reach their potential, but then as they get older, I think it is important to show them that they all do not get equal playing time because just like a sport is a competition, life is a competition.

3. The functions of the agents of “the United States Handicapper General” are to make sure every person in society is living equally by forcing handicaps on people, and if someone tries to disassemble his or her handicap, the agents punish these people. These agents threat society in that they are not equal with the other people because they enforce the rules. This leads to moral problems. Political processes that could lead to such absurdities I guess could be government taking over health care, or maybe the government controlling all economic activity or something like this. This could be the starting point, but in my opinion, it will not get this bad. Radical mediocrity is achieved and enforced through making the people scared to go outside of the norm, and if someone does, then force takes over.

4. Vonnegut could be referring to the issue of universal health care, or things like free public education for all children. I think that the conception that all people should have equal opportunity to succeed or to fail motivates these policies and trends, but in the story it is more of an idea of equal outcome where everyone should have the same result in what they do with their lives.

5. There is equality in terms of money between the buyer, the seller, and the wage laborer because the money flows through all of these people from one to the other. Yes, capitalist social forms create some sort of inequalities. That is simply the way life is. When we try to create some sort of equality with a particular matter, we usually create some sort of equality in another matter. Our own personal freedoms are another way we can look at this matter. I have certain freedoms, but they are limited by the freedoms of another because if I exercise my freedoms as fully as I can, I may infringe upon the freedoms of another. Yes, I think that government enforcing equality in the story points to such an irreversible tension because without some sort of authority, there is not equality, there is chaos.

6. Vonnegut is showing in his story that mediocrity simply does not work. When you make everyone mediocre in all aspects of life, they are not really good at anything, and the world is then quite unsuccessful and boring.

7. Hazel is described to have only average intelligence and could only think about things in short bursts, and George’s intelligence was way above normal, but he was ordered by the government to wear a mental handicap. They live a boring life. Vonnegut is showing how life would be so boring if everyone was equal. The story warns against society and the media looking down on individuality. Television, radio, and the mass media generally function like George’s mental handicap radio in that they impair our senses to violent and bad things that we see and hear, and then we just forget about what we’ve seen or heard.

8. Harrison Bergeron is such a threat to society because he is fighting for his individuality and making a stand and encouraging others to break the law and be individuals. Harrison is fourteen years old and has been handicap using a lot of different material. He has tons of scrap metal on him everywhere and around his head and neck. He has really strong glasses that make it so that he is half blind and should give him headaches, and he had big headphones on instead of just the little hearing handicap that George had.

9. I think that Harrison’s showing up on the TV where they were reporting his escape is significant in that it shows to all of the people that his individuality is real. I think it is showing that it takes a strong person to be individualistic, and he was not afraid to show it to the world. I think that he keeps saying, “I am the Emperor!” because it shows that he does have great power and influence in breaking away from the norm, and that should make him Emperor. Vonnegut could be suggesting a return to feudalism, but I think it is more geared toward simply suggesting that society become more individualistic.

10. I think that Harrison is trying to be a hero, but I do not think that his initial intentions were to woe a woman into being with him, that just came second. I think that he is similar to Sammie in that they both want to be heroes, but Sammie wanted to be a hero to be noticed by the girls while Harrison wanted to be a hero to inspire others to break the norm. The young are pitted against the old in that the young are more rebellious and want their freedom, and the old are usually more content to go with the flow of things and how they have been for the past so many years. The damsel in distress translates to socioeconomic terms in that it takes just a small group of people to start a wave of rebellion to save the nation from a totalitarian way of ruling. It is suggested in this story that the means of production is owned by a small group of people in authority.

11. I think Harrison telling the musicians that they will be made barons, dukes, and earls is significant in that he did not tell them all that they would all be dukes, or all be barons. He gave them different things to be so that they would be individuals. Beauty and aesthetics play a role in Harrison’s rebellion in that when everyone was made equal, some people had to wear masks and such to hide their beauty; however, when the ballerina took off her mask to be with Harrison, everyone could see how beautiful she was when she made the choice to be different and an individual.

12. For me, the meaning of Harrison and the ballerina’s flight-like dance and kissing was that when they became individuals, they were on top of the world. They could do anything they wanted when they defied the laws of their society and did what they thought was right.

13. Harrison and the ballerina being shot down symbolizes that there is going to be opposition when you decide to go out of the norm and be individualistic. The name Diana Moon Glampers suggests that she is a cold-hearted, mean person. She is similar to Lengel in that they both believed that rules were rules and couldn’t be broken. If someone tried to be different and outside of the norm, then he or she deserved to be punished at all costs.

14. Hazel forgets what she is crying about because she has a handicap of only remembering things for a little while, just like when we watch TV we seem to forget after a short time what we saw. I think the line, “That one was a doozy,” is significant in that it just shows how we get used to things and then we do not even take it seriously anymore. We just continue on with life as if nothing is wrong.

15. The thing that is striking about his hyperbole is that if equality is so great, then it should not be enforced so harshly. Also, if there is complete equality, then there should be nobody there to enforce the equality on everyone. I think that complete equality and force do not work with each other. I do not think that there is a set limit to ensuring equality. There is always going to be some sort of opposition and diversity. The only thing that makes sense to me is to give everyone an equal opportunity to succeed and to fail, and then their outcome is up to them.

Questions to "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?"

Group 1, Question 3:

In the story “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” the main character in my opinion is Connie. The whole story focuses on the decisions and person that Connie is. She is the girl that wants to go out to have people notice her. Arnold Friend in the story is just another viewer of Connie’s actions, but he takes advantage of that. He is like me, the reader, because he sees all that Connie does and soaks it in just like the reader. The only thing different is that he is able to put himself in Connie’s way. Connie is the main character in the story.

Group 2, Question 2:

Arnold Friend is the man who is obsessed with Connie and all that he does. He is a stalker, rapist, and in my opinion a potential murderer. I think that his name is appropriate because it gives the people he meets an illusion that he is a really nice, sweet guy. He can use it as a method of trickery. He says to people that his name is Arnold Friend, and that he wants to be their friend. He uses his name to woe women. The significance of his car, clothing, and language I believe is that it shows that he is trying to be cool and trying to be slick. I think it shows that he is older and knows what he is doing and knows what to say to get girls to go for him.

Group 3, Question 1:

In the story, the numbers 33 19 17 are written on Arnold Friend’s car. Some believe they are significant in that it means the 33^rd book of the Bible, Judges and chapter 19, verse 17, it says the words “Whither goest thou? And whence comest thou?” These words are essentially the same words as the title of the story, “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” Maybe Arnold Friend is saying to the world that they better watch out because he is watching you. Some believe that it is a sexual reference because when you add the three numbers together, you get 69 which is a sexual expression. I think that maybe the numbers are the ages of girls he has raped or killed.

Group 4, Question 3:

The setting of the story in the small town with the theater and drive-in restaurant and such is perfect to set the mood of the short story. It is important that the story is set like this because it shows that even creepy stalkers are in the most normal places. I do think that the story could be placed in a different setting, but it would be quite a different story. The setting of this story really brings the story into one’s own life because it is so normal. Oates chose this setting because it is similar to Tucson, Arizona, the place from which the story was inspired. This story was inspired by some murders that happened in Tucson, Arizona, so Oates described a place probably similar to Tucson.

The Working Together of Different Pieces of Literature

Literature comes in all kinds of shapes and forms. Literature could be in the shape of a song, short story, poem, and so much more. Because each author has different experiences and backgrounds, literary works are extremely varied, but that is the beauty of reading literature. If a certain story or event is written about by different authors, the person reading the story will most likely see the story as the author intends it to be seen; therefore, it is nice when a certain event is written about by multiple authors so the reader does not only read from the point of view of one author.

These pieces of literature that we are studying are all similar in that they talk about young girls being followed by some sort of stalker or in some sort of messed up love affair. Each gives a different tone, feeling, or expression about the affair because it is seen in a different way by each author. One of the articles was longer and had a lot more detail than the others; however, the others appealed more to me as a reader because I like just getting to the point and the cold hard facts. The movie was also shown in a specific point of view also. The movie was different than any of the readings simply because when one is given a movie to watch, he or she does not have to use their imagination to visualize what they are reading. Bob Dylan’s song was also very different. The words of the song were very abstract and left a lot of room for interpretation of what the song writer was trying to say. All of these different points of view are not a negative in my opinion. I think that it is great to have a lot of different views so that they can all be put together and there is not so much bias. There is a much fuller picture of what is going on.

The different styles of literature also eliminate the single bias opinion of the story. Along with the different styles come the different reasons or final outcomes of the piece of literature. For example, one of the articles wanted to make a point that the parents of the town had to start being responsible and questioning their kids about what they were going out and doing. Another article was more focused on giving the picture that the murderer was a real monster. The YouTube video was really more of a mockery about the whole story than anything else. Bob Dylan’s song was a way of making a point maybe to those who are more musically inclined or deep thinkers perhaps. Each different version of the story was unique in its own interpretation, but each of them had the same basic plot.

Whether it is differences in the format of the literature, the opinions or point of view put into the literature, or the purpose of the literature, they all bring their own biases. It is good to have a variety of different pieces of literature based on the same story because mixing all of the sources together can give someone a good overall outlook on the story. I believe that the reader is greatly benefitted by having a lot of different sources so that he or she is not so narrow minded and influenced by one single source. All literature has some sort of bias or point of view, so it is up to the reader to rejoice in the uniqueness of each piece and to put all the pieces together to get a good overall picture of what is happening.

Favorite Kind of Book

My favorite kind of books are murder mystery books. I really do not like to read, but sometimes I'll pick up a Sue Grafton or Mary Higgins Clark book and read. I like these kind of books because they are exciting and usually not slow. There is always something in murder mystery books that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I am the type of person who will maybe read of chapter or two at a time and then stop reading, but when I read a murder mystery book that leaves me wondering something at the end of the chapter, I cannot help but continue reading on into the next chapter. I think murder mystery books give you a little heads up to the way the world is even if the book is fiction.

Themes of the Short Stories and Poems

A common theme that we can see in both of Olds’ poems along with Updike’s short story is that there is a growing up process for the main characters. In Updike’s story, the main character is a teenage boy, Sammy, who makes a decision to quit his job for the sake of wanting to be some girls’ hero. I think it is important to note that it was his decision to quit. We can already see that Sammy is growing up simply by noting that he made a decision on his own. He knows that from that point on, he is going to have a tougher life. He is breaking away from his parents and making decisions on his own.

We see a similar theme in Olds’ two poems. A little six year old boy is the subject in her poem “Rights of Passage.” She portrays this boy growing up by making his own decisions too. His decision is different than the decision Sammy made, but both were trying to be heroes. The little boy in the poem tries to be a hero by being a peace maker. He grows up when he makes his decision to stand up for the younger boys and keep the peace for all of the boys. He makes this decision on his own. His mother or father did not tell him to do something, and the mother or father did not step in to take control of the situation. The boy took matters into his own hands and dealt with the situation wisely and grew up a little bit from that experience.

In Olds’ poem “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party,” the subject is a little girl. She grows up by making her own decision also. She makes the decision to go into the pool full of boys. Her mother did not make her go in; rather, she made her own decision. Because of her decision to go into that pool, she saw and learned a little something about the opposite sex and how they are different than her. She grew up by making her own decision just like Sammy and the little boy in the other poem.

Another common theme that we can see in the three pieces of literature is that each of the main characters stands out as his or her own individual. They do not conform to the norm which makes them unique. Updike’s Sammy lives in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and if someone does something out of the norm, the news about that person spreads fast. All teenagers and young adults in that town probably worked at a little job like Sammy’s grocery store job, so for him to quit that job is a big deal. I do not think he actually thought thoroughly about his decision before he made it, but the fact is that he did make that decision to stand out from the rest of society.

The boy in Olds’ poem “Rights of Passage” stands out from the rest of the boys in that he did not get involved with all of the bickering and fighting but rather made a statement that made the peace. It is completely normal for little six and seven year old boys to get into fights about someone being bigger or stronger than the other; however, the little boy thought of a rational solution to the argument and was brilliant and made the reader see him as a special individual.

When I read the poem “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party,” I get a similar vibe about the girl standing out from the rest and being an individual, but this one is a little bit different simply because the girl did not really have to do anything to stand out. The one thing that the girl had to do was get into the pool with the boys, but that was it. She is no less of an individual figure though. She just did not have to do much to stand out from the rest of the crowd. She had to be strong and learn that she is no less of a human just because she is a girl.

To sum everything up, I would say that all three of the pieces of literature have a single solid theme or message. The overall theme that they try to portray is that a hero is someone who makes decisions that make them older beyond their time, and a hero also stands out from the rest of the group and gets away from the norm. Sometimes people will praise the hero for what they have done, and other times heroes do not get any credit for what they have done. Either way the person is a hero.

Falling Slowly

I was listening to the song “Falling Slowly” by The Frames today. I just love to listen to songs like that song. It is sung with so much passion, and the words are so great. I do not like to read, but I love listening to the words in songs like “Falling Slowly.” Really, the song is just a poem, but it is in the tone that the singer uses that brings the emotion about. In the song, he talks about his love and want for this girl that he does not even really know. This song is from the movie called Once. I have not seen the movie, so I do not know the context that the song is in; however, from my interpretation of the song, it sounds like he suffers some kind of heartbreak. Maybe his lover died or left him. He sings words like “falling” and “take this sinking boat and point it home.” At the very end he says, “I paid the cost to play. Now you’re gone.” I can just feel the emotion coming from the words he sings, and it just brings me back to a place where I have experienced heartache of some sort. I would say that songs are stories or poems of some sort, but they make me think a lot deeper and harder on the words than a poem or story with no music.

Sharon Olds poems vs. John Updike's short story

When Sharon Olds describes the little boys, she uses words that would make it sound like these were not little boys but actually grown men. She calls them short men, and talks about them fighting and going to war at the end of the poem. When she describes the little girl in the other poem, she makes the girl sound like she is very smart with all of the math that she talks about. Her poems made children seem like adults. When I think of a hero that she describes, I see someone who is small but has a lot of fight and courage in them. I get a similar vibe when I think of Sammy from John Updike's "A & P." When I think of Sammy, I see a teenager who does not have a lot of power over his boss. The only thing that he can do to stand up to his boss is to quit, so that is what he does. He is courageous in that now he has to face the whole community he lives in, and he will have a somewhat bad reputation because he quit. In his mind, however, he is moving on to something else. Even though he did not get the girls in the end, he made a valient effort.

Reaction to John Updike Interview

In John Updike's short story "A & P", we see a picture of a teenage boy, Sammie, as some sort of "hero." John Updike got the idea of this story from a real life experience of seeing a woman in a bathing suit walk into an A & P one day. Some of the characters names came from people in John Updike's life who seemed similar to the characters in his story. I think that it helps my perception of the story in knowing that the names and such were picked out of Updike's real life experiences. It makes the story more real to me even though I do not personally know the people. The way that Updike explained and spoke the lines of Sammy in his interview made me like Sammy more. At first, my perception of Sammy was that he was kind of a coward for only quitting because he wanted the girls to notice him; however, now I feel like even though his reasons for quitting were kind of shallow, he has taken a step out into the real world now, and I can see the look of sadness on his face when he now has to face the whole town who knows that he quit, and he doesn't even have the girls.

What is a Hero?

When I think of a hero, I think of someone who puts the good of others ahead of himself or herself. I also think it is a person who has a positive influence on others. A hero may go out of his or her way to help someone else succeed or flourish in a positive way. He or she is always doing the deed for the prosperity of others and not for the individual spotlight. A hero does not flaunt his or her power or good deed; rather, he or she simply goes on with his or her life as if nothing had ever happened. In order for someone to be a hero, his or her intentions must be for the benefit of others, not for the hero’s benefit and fame. Police officers and fire fighters who do their job to get pats on their backs and get medals and awards are not heroes in my book. I believe a hero is always humble. A hero can receive an honor or award, but it is never a hero’s intention to do the deed simply for the fame. I believe intention is a key factor in determining if someone is considered a hero or not.
The dictionary definition of a hero is someone who has a distinguishing amount of courage, and he or she is admired by other for his brave deeds and noble qualities. Another definition of a hero is someone who, in the opinion of others, has done a heroic deed or has heroic qualities and is a model for others. I think this definition is important because it says that a hero is someone who is seen that way by others, not by himself. A hero cannot be a hero simply because he or she thinks that he or she has done a heroic thing. Other people have to say he or she is a hero. I would say that my definition is different than the dictionary definition because my definition adds in an element of humility on the part of the hero along with making it clear that the hero’s intentions are not for self-acknowledgment. I believe a hero needs to be humble and always does things for the betterment of others, not for individual pride and joy in the feat he or she has accomplished.
I would not consider Sammy to be a hero in “A & P.” Sammy’s intentions were not to stand up to his boss to say that his boss was wrong in discriminating against the girls. If these were his intentions, and he did not flaunt his deed, then I believe he could be considered a hero. His intentions, however, were to get the girls’ attention and bring all the glory to himself for quitting and going against his boss’s policy. He wanted to look like a hero to these girls. I believe, however, that a hero does not go about trying to look like a hero. A hero does the good deed out of good morals and only for the benefit of others.

Chapter 1

p. 6

1. The North Wind has a mean, forceful, and furious personality. The Sun has a more gentle personality, but it is majestic and powerful at the same time.
2. He tried to use his own power to force the cloak off of the man; however, his method backfired, and the man clinched his cloak tighter because the North Wind was making him cold.
3. The Sun was successful because he created an atmosphere that made the man want to take his cloak off. The Sun did not force the cloak off of the man. The man took the cloak off himself.
4. The human is in this story to show that humans have a choice, power, and a will.
5. The Sun created a situation that persuaded to human to take off his cloak, and that worked. The North Wind, however, tried to force the cloak off of the human using his own power, but this actually made the human hold onto his cloak tighter.

p. 8

1. The exposition of this story is the part where it talks about Chuang Tzu fishing and approached by two officials. He uses one sentence to set up the dramatic situation.
2. He mentions the sacred tortoise because he wants to show the officials, in a simple story and words, why he does not want to be in the administration. He does not answer directly because he wanted to teach a lesson that would get across easier using a simple story. I think making the officials answer the question just shows the officials how blatently obvious it is that he would not want to be on the administration.
3. I think this story tells us that Chuang Tzu has a carefree personality, but I think it also shows us that he is a wise person too.

p. 19

1. I think the details at the checkout counter are very true to real life. The part at the beginning where he describes the woman who watches him ringing up the groceries and makes sure he doesn't ring one up twice is a very good description of how certain people are in real life. This close attention to detail makes the story more real and easy to relate to.
2. I think the author draws out the character of Sammy quite well. Sammy is kind for the most part, a good worker, a typical boy who wants to be noticed by the girls, and he has gumption. I think we get to see a lot more characteristics of Sammy, both good and bad, than we see in the doctor from "Godfather Death." We only get to see a narrow aspect of the doctor. We see that he is a doctor who wants to do what he knows he can do, and that is to save lives, and no threat will stop him from doing just that.
3. I would say the exposition is the whole part where it just talks about the girls coming in and shopping around. Queenie must be described with a lot of detail because she is the leader, so there must be a lot of focus on her so show the reader that she is important.
4. I think that at first Sammy was a little bit judgemental with the girls, but as he began to watch them more, he started to judge them less harshly.
5. The conflict becomes apparent when Lengel tells the girls that they weren't at the beach. The crisis is when the girls are arguing with Lengel, and then the climax is when Sammy quits his job.
6. Sammy quits his job so that the girls would notice that he does not agree with Lengel's policy. Then maybe the girls would like him. I also think he quit his job because he did not like it. It was boring, and being the hero gave him a reason or excuse to quit.
7. I think the part where he laughed at his boss telling the girls that the store wasn't a beach was a forshadow that he was going to show some sympathy towards the girls.
8. I think in the conclusion Sammy realized that now he was unemployed, his parents were probably going to be mad at him, and he did not even get a look of gratitude from the girls. He probably wonders if quitting was actually the best choice.
9. I think he is saying that supermarkets are kind of low class and people think working at a supermarket is the job that people do if they cannot find any other job to do.