Week of September 22-September 28
Silent Snow, Secret Snow
The short story Silent Snow, Secret Snow written by Conrad Aiken is about Paul Haselman, a twelve-year-old boy, who has a psychological disorder. The young protagonist discovers a new world in which he travels to in and out of frequently where it is covered in a plethora of beautiful snow. This constant daydreaming tends to cause many problems in Paul’s life such as in school and at home. His parents often tried to communicate with him and even brought a doctor to consult with Paul, even though he did not want to speak of his secret world in which he loved more than the reality he lived in.
In this short story, it is clear that Aiken wanted to convey the theme of psychology and the mental illness that Paul obtains. Paul uses this imaginary world to escape the world in which he was brought up in because of his dissatisfaction he feels. It’s as if entering this “snow globe” world will fulfill needs unmet in his reality of the “dry land.” He also uses this fictitious world as some sort of protection, as if he is scared of something in the real world. Aiken writes, “Nor was it only a sense of possession—it was also a sense of protection,” he used the land of snow as if it were to keep him covert. The frequent switching of worlds causes him socialize differently or hardly at all, considering he usually just listens and speaks to the voices in his head.
Since Paul often drifts from world to world, he experiences his mental illness build up as students in his class begin to laugh at him due to him not paying attention to what the teacher has just taught. Aiken writes, “In the general laughter, he did not share, or only a very little. He was thinking about the Arctic and Antarctic regions, which of course, on the globe, were white,” he seems to not mind the laughter since he doesn’t mind the many pleasant distractions he is experiencing. Paul begins to act strange especially at home where he changes his attitudes quite often due to the astounding voices he’s heard and the breathtaking world he’s transported to. His mother begins to find his behavior peculiar and insists on an appointment with the doctor. During this appointment he becomes silent of all that he has encountered in order to keep his utopia secure. Later in the check-up is when he begins facing the increase of his mental illness where he begins to hear noises from the unknown, and laughing multiple times from the delightfulness felt. He denies feeling any dizziness our headaches but as the voices continue he begs, “Mother-can I go to bed, now, please? I’ve got a headache,” and races up the stairs to see what is awaiting him. He views his greatest gift as he enters a room with snow blowing through his window. As he worships this great sight, his worried mother enters his room and demands her out stating, “Mother! Mother! Go away! I hate you!”
Aiken includes powerful language throughout the text where he conveys the theme of psychology and mental illness that Paul must endure. His unknown world to him is horrific yet beautiful, harsh but inviting, and warm but surrounded by the coldness. As Aiken mentions, “This was, after all, only what he had expected. It was even what pleased him, what rewarded him: the thing was his own, belonged to no one else. No one else knew about it, not even his mother and father.” He loved the voyage of escaping into a land where no one knew, but shared it with the voices who understood his psychological and mental illness. This quotation makes one come to a realization that Paul knew his utopia wasn’t real, he was afraid to reveal this to anyone in case they had discovered the illness he carried with him. In the end, the purpose of this “snow globe” was so he could spend time alone, because no one understood him like he did.
Week of September 29-October 5
A Christmas Memory
The short story, "A Christmas Memory," by Truman Capote is narrated by an adult who reflects on a Christmas at least twenty years earlier that he'd enjoyed as a seven-year-old boy. He remembers sharing that particular day with his favorite cousin who was then in his sixty's that called him Buddy. Throughout this short story, Capote switches from past tense to present tense creating a dramatic effect, he does so at times to inform readers the importance of the moment. The theme that Capote tries to convey is the you need a friend. The author stresses the importance on the protagonist and his cousin working together on their annual ritual of baking fruitcakes in late November. As the protagonist inches closer to Christmas day that occurred twenty years ago, it seems as if they become closer in separation. Buddy's cousin makes Buddy a kite every year for Christmas so he has decided to make her one as well, seeing as it is their last Christmas together before he's off to the military. As they fly their Christmas kites together, his friend views it as heaven, that it must be exactly like this. It's as if the reflection of his Christmas memory was to pay tribute to the sadness of his cousins passing. After Buddy's friend slips into dementia and passes away, Buddy says, "And when that happens, I know it. A message saying so merely confirms a piece of news some secret vein had already received, severing me from an irreplaceable part of myself, letting it loose like a kite on a broken string. That is why, walking across a school campus on this particular December morning, I keep searching the sky. As if I expected to see, rather like hearts, a lost pair of kites hurrying towards heaven."
Week of October 6-October 12
Araby
The short story "Araby," by James Joyce obtains many themes and main focuses which merry in together beautifully. Joyce speaks about the disappointment of love, innocence, experience, religion and faith of the young protagonist. The narrator has grown up religious and bases his memories and decisions on what he's learned in the church. He worships Mangan's sister's every movement and see's her as pure as is his love for her. The young boy lives with his aunt and uncle in a house where a now deceased priest once lived. The narrator is playing outside with others when Mangan's older sister calls him in, in that very moment, he falls in love with her. He is completely fixated on her and cannot seem to get her out of his mind. The narrators female interest isn't able to attend a church event, Araby, so she asks the protagonist to bring her back a gift. As he attends and sees the older woman tending to the customers, he immediately decides to reject the opportunity of giving Mangan's sister a gift. He comes across a pair of jars at the woman's that show symbolism in his decision. Perhaps "the two great jars" resemble guards, or guardian angels keeping the boy from buying her a gift at all.
Week of October 13-October 19
Neighbors
"Neighbors," by Raymond Carver fixates on a couple who does what many of us do, compare their lives to others' lives. They are asked by their neighbors, the Stone's, to do simple tasks in their home while they're away on vacation. The couple finds that while they are completing these tasks, they become increasingly curious of their neighbors' home. The male protagonist, Bill, finds himself obsessing over their possessions, living their lives by doing simple things such as eating their food and wearing their clothes. It becomes such an issue that he begins to take time off of work to spend time at the Stone's apartment. Bill's wife, Arlene, also begins to rifle through their possessions as well. It comes to a point where they lose the key to their home inside the Stone's apartment, and begin to realize what "they've done," as if they'd just become aware of how wrong their actions have been. Carver's writing comes off as straightforward and impersonal. Carver has written in an unbiased tone so the reader can conjure up their own thoughts on the couple and their behavior. It is up to the reader to interpret the actions of the characters as well as the story as a whole.
Week of October 20-October 26
The Phoenix
Lord Strawberry has a collection of birds and decides he wants to add a phoenix to it. As he accomplishes his desire, he takes great care of the bird and tends to its every need. Following the death of Lord Strawberry, the future of his bird collection cannot be determined as it is quickly put up for sale. Poldero is the name of them man who bought Lord Strawberry's greatest possessions, his Phoenix. It's hard to make out what kind of man Poldero is toward the beginning, he collects strange creatures and exhibits them. The phoenix becomes a huge attraction and earns Poldero a lot of money. But some things can only be great for so long, the crowd begins to fade as the bird stays silent. The phoenix begins to get old and grows to flames, leading to the birth of a beautiful new phoenix. As Poldero sees this in fascination, he begins preparing the birds death in unnatural ways such as starving the phoenix and other hostile actions. Being the selfish man Poldero is, he begins advertising the phoenix and as expected great flocks of people and media come to view the bird. The phoenix bursts into flames as do all that attended the torturous death of the phoenix, including Poldero.
Silent Snow, Secret Snow
The short story Silent Snow, Secret Snow written by Conrad Aiken is about Paul Haselman, a twelve-year-old boy, who has a psychological disorder. The young protagonist discovers a new world in which he travels to in and out of frequently where it is covered in a plethora of beautiful snow. This constant daydreaming tends to cause many problems in Paul’s life such as in school and at home. His parents often tried to communicate with him and even brought a doctor to consult with Paul, even though he did not want to speak of his secret world in which he loved more than the reality he lived in.
In this short story, it is clear that Aiken wanted to convey the theme of psychology and the mental illness that Paul obtains. Paul uses this imaginary world to escape the world in which he was brought up in because of his dissatisfaction he feels. It’s as if entering this “snow globe” world will fulfill needs unmet in his reality of the “dry land.” He also uses this fictitious world as some sort of protection, as if he is scared of something in the real world. Aiken writes, “Nor was it only a sense of possession—it was also a sense of protection,” he used the land of snow as if it were to keep him covert. The frequent switching of worlds causes him socialize differently or hardly at all, considering he usually just listens and speaks to the voices in his head.
Since Paul often drifts from world to world, he experiences his mental illness build up as students in his class begin to laugh at him due to him not paying attention to what the teacher has just taught. Aiken writes, “In the general laughter, he did not share, or only a very little. He was thinking about the Arctic and Antarctic regions, which of course, on the globe, were white,” he seems to not mind the laughter since he doesn’t mind the many pleasant distractions he is experiencing. Paul begins to act strange especially at home where he changes his attitudes quite often due to the astounding voices he’s heard and the breathtaking world he’s transported to. His mother begins to find his behavior peculiar and insists on an appointment with the doctor. During this appointment he becomes silent of all that he has encountered in order to keep his utopia secure. Later in the check-up is when he begins facing the increase of his mental illness where he begins to hear noises from the unknown, and laughing multiple times from the delightfulness felt. He denies feeling any dizziness our headaches but as the voices continue he begs, “Mother-can I go to bed, now, please? I’ve got a headache,” and races up the stairs to see what is awaiting him. He views his greatest gift as he enters a room with snow blowing through his window. As he worships this great sight, his worried mother enters his room and demands her out stating, “Mother! Mother! Go away! I hate you!”
Aiken includes powerful language throughout the text where he conveys the theme of psychology and mental illness that Paul must endure. His unknown world to him is horrific yet beautiful, harsh but inviting, and warm but surrounded by the coldness. As Aiken mentions, “This was, after all, only what he had expected. It was even what pleased him, what rewarded him: the thing was his own, belonged to no one else. No one else knew about it, not even his mother and father.” He loved the voyage of escaping into a land where no one knew, but shared it with the voices who understood his psychological and mental illness. This quotation makes one come to a realization that Paul knew his utopia wasn’t real, he was afraid to reveal this to anyone in case they had discovered the illness he carried with him. In the end, the purpose of this “snow globe” was so he could spend time alone, because no one understood him like he did.
Week of September 29-October 5
A Christmas Memory
The short story, "A Christmas Memory," by Truman Capote is narrated by an adult who reflects on a Christmas at least twenty years earlier that he'd enjoyed as a seven-year-old boy. He remembers sharing that particular day with his favorite cousin who was then in his sixty's that called him Buddy. Throughout this short story, Capote switches from past tense to present tense creating a dramatic effect, he does so at times to inform readers the importance of the moment. The theme that Capote tries to convey is the you need a friend. The author stresses the importance on the protagonist and his cousin working together on their annual ritual of baking fruitcakes in late November. As the protagonist inches closer to Christmas day that occurred twenty years ago, it seems as if they become closer in separation. Buddy's cousin makes Buddy a kite every year for Christmas so he has decided to make her one as well, seeing as it is their last Christmas together before he's off to the military. As they fly their Christmas kites together, his friend views it as heaven, that it must be exactly like this. It's as if the reflection of his Christmas memory was to pay tribute to the sadness of his cousins passing. After Buddy's friend slips into dementia and passes away, Buddy says, "And when that happens, I know it. A message saying so merely confirms a piece of news some secret vein had already received, severing me from an irreplaceable part of myself, letting it loose like a kite on a broken string. That is why, walking across a school campus on this particular December morning, I keep searching the sky. As if I expected to see, rather like hearts, a lost pair of kites hurrying towards heaven."
Week of October 6-October 12
Araby
The short story "Araby," by James Joyce obtains many themes and main focuses which merry in together beautifully. Joyce speaks about the disappointment of love, innocence, experience, religion and faith of the young protagonist. The narrator has grown up religious and bases his memories and decisions on what he's learned in the church. He worships Mangan's sister's every movement and see's her as pure as is his love for her. The young boy lives with his aunt and uncle in a house where a now deceased priest once lived. The narrator is playing outside with others when Mangan's older sister calls him in, in that very moment, he falls in love with her. He is completely fixated on her and cannot seem to get her out of his mind. The narrators female interest isn't able to attend a church event, Araby, so she asks the protagonist to bring her back a gift. As he attends and sees the older woman tending to the customers, he immediately decides to reject the opportunity of giving Mangan's sister a gift. He comes across a pair of jars at the woman's that show symbolism in his decision. Perhaps "the two great jars" resemble guards, or guardian angels keeping the boy from buying her a gift at all.
Week of October 13-October 19
Neighbors
"Neighbors," by Raymond Carver fixates on a couple who does what many of us do, compare their lives to others' lives. They are asked by their neighbors, the Stone's, to do simple tasks in their home while they're away on vacation. The couple finds that while they are completing these tasks, they become increasingly curious of their neighbors' home. The male protagonist, Bill, finds himself obsessing over their possessions, living their lives by doing simple things such as eating their food and wearing their clothes. It becomes such an issue that he begins to take time off of work to spend time at the Stone's apartment. Bill's wife, Arlene, also begins to rifle through their possessions as well. It comes to a point where they lose the key to their home inside the Stone's apartment, and begin to realize what "they've done," as if they'd just become aware of how wrong their actions have been. Carver's writing comes off as straightforward and impersonal. Carver has written in an unbiased tone so the reader can conjure up their own thoughts on the couple and their behavior. It is up to the reader to interpret the actions of the characters as well as the story as a whole.
Week of October 20-October 26
The Phoenix
Lord Strawberry has a collection of birds and decides he wants to add a phoenix to it. As he accomplishes his desire, he takes great care of the bird and tends to its every need. Following the death of Lord Strawberry, the future of his bird collection cannot be determined as it is quickly put up for sale. Poldero is the name of them man who bought Lord Strawberry's greatest possessions, his Phoenix. It's hard to make out what kind of man Poldero is toward the beginning, he collects strange creatures and exhibits them. The phoenix becomes a huge attraction and earns Poldero a lot of money. But some things can only be great for so long, the crowd begins to fade as the bird stays silent. The phoenix begins to get old and grows to flames, leading to the birth of a beautiful new phoenix. As Poldero sees this in fascination, he begins preparing the birds death in unnatural ways such as starving the phoenix and other hostile actions. Being the selfish man Poldero is, he begins advertising the phoenix and as expected great flocks of people and media come to view the bird. The phoenix bursts into flames as do all that attended the torturous death of the phoenix, including Poldero.