Edward

As I was reading this final work from our Family Unit, it occurred to me the trend of disturbing and unhappy stories that each author has written about families. Not one has seemed to happily reflect a holy overall. Edward (written by an anonymous author) is no exception. The poem is about a sontelling his mother that he has killed his father. He denies this at first, then admits the truth and the mother asks what he son will do about the situation. I am curious as to why the son has done this. More than curiosity, this poem spurred anger and contempt for the son. He seems to feel no moral responsibility for anything in his life. He shows no regret for his horrible deed and proceeds to make himself appear worse with each question his mother asks. First, rather than face what he has done and pay the consequences, when his mother asks what his penance will be, he says he will escape on a boat. Then, he completely disregards his family, saying "the world is large, let them beg through life", meaning he intends to let his family suffer as a result of his selfish actions. Lastly, he tops all the horrible things he says with "the curse of hell from me shall te bear", putting the blame of his killing his father on his mother because of "such counsels you have me". The mother did not know whose blood was on the sword, so it is unlikely that she told the son to commit this act, therefore he proves furthermore his shallowness and selfishness with this statement of blame.

The Joy of Cooking

This poem confused me upon reading it the first time because the author seems to be literally describing how she went about cooking her sister's tongue and brother's heart. However, after reading it a few more times, I have a suspicion about the metaphorical meaning behind the poem. I think that the author's discussing of her sisters tongue might hold similar to the meaning of the phrase "hold your tongue" or someone who has a "sharp tongue" in reference to their manner of speaking. It is a possibility that the author, Elaine Magarrell is very bitter towards her siblings, as the tone suggests, and therefore composed the poem in an expression of this bitterness. Having resenent for her sister's "tongue" would perhaps prompt her to write about the joy of cooking it in a metaphorical sense. She describes preparing the tongue for the meal and how perhaps it will grow back. She also says "next time perhaps a creole sauce or mold of aspic?" which alludes tkt he fact that she dislikes her sisters words (tongue) so much that she would cook it again should it grow back. Similarly, her brother apparently has a dad heart, which means to me that he is a bad person. I get the indication that he is a bad person by her describing the heart as "firm and rather dry" and saying that it "needs an apple-onion stuffin to make it interesting at all". Overall, she describes these pieces of her siblings with only negative details which characterize her brother and sister as a whole only negatively as well. Clearly, The Joy of Cooking is a somewhat disturbing illustration of Magarrell's bitterness towards ER siblings.

A Worn Path

"In answer to a student who wrote to ask her 'Is the grandson really dead?' Welty responded, 'My best answer would be: Phoenix is alive.' "

This question and Eudora Welty's significant response both really intrigue me. The question of whether her grandson was alive did not even occur to me while reading the story. However, looking back on the text, there are several instances in which the grandmother gives hints that the boy might be dead. For example, when asked whether he is dead by one of the nurses, she hesitates in her response because she at first actually forgets her reason for coming to the doctor's office. She then responds with "My little grandson, he is just the same, and I forgot it in the coming". The bizarrity of the situation is made even more obvious when the nurse says that the incident took place two or three years ago. In the other hand, the grandmother also says again, "No, missy, he not dead, he just te same." I can't help but to feel curious about this muster of whether or not the grandson is actually alive, but Welty's response to the students question of, "my best answer would be: Phoenix is alive," emphasizes that the grandson's being alive is not actually important to the central theme of the story. Phoenix's determination and drive to secure the medicine for her grandson and the love she shows by doing this are actually what I think Welty is trying to convey to readers of A Worn Path.

The Drunkard

Despite the obvious humor thought Frank O'Connor's The Drunkard, such as the mere fact that a young boy is in a bar and drinking a beer, an underlying presence of pathos also exists. I thought it funny that a young boy accidentally became belligerent, but the reason why this situations as necessary is quite tragic. The boy had to attend the funeral with his father because his mother saw this as a way to possibly stop his father from drinking and then spiraling into a cycle of alcoholism that the family had no doubt seen before. The boy is aware of all of  this, "I knew that my mother would be half crazy with anxiety; that next day Fathe wouldn't go to work; and before the end of the week she would be running down to the pawn with the clock under her shawl. I could never get over the lonesomeness of the kitchen without a clock". I'm not sure what times were like in the era in which this story was written, but I don't think any child should be faced with te trouble of preventing his fathers alcoholism and the effects of that alcoholism. Regardless, the boy drinks the beer, giving the story a surface feel of humor. The more subtle pathos is nevertheless present.

Once Upon a Time

A constant theme that I see throughout Nadine Gordimer's Once Upon a Time is irony. She begins the story with a an anecdote about how she was asked to write a children's story. Clearly, by the way she describes her declining of the request, children's stories are not her writing style. She then proceeds to write a dark and gloomy story that she claims is her "children's story" that she thought of after being woken in the night by a strange noise. This is ironic because she ends up writing a children's story that is not appropriate for young people at all. It is clear why she originally refuses to write the story, and I find humor in her subtle way of proving this to the reader. I found more irony in the story itself as well. Throughout the story, a couple (as well as the rest of society) is obsessed with continuously improving the security around their house in order to prevent intruders and robbers that seem to plague the suburb. The irony is that all the security measures only resulted in severe injuries to their son when he climbs into barbed wire that is supposed to be keeping the house intruder-free. One last example of irony is that Gordimer implements many aspects of. A fairy tale into this story to set the tone of a children's story, including the "wise old witch" and when the son attempts to conquer the barbed wire like the "Prince who braves the terrible thicket of thorns to enter the palace and kiss the Sleepig Beauty back to life". However, it is ironic that her story ends in such horrible trajedy with the boy getting mangled by the barbed wire, quite contradictory to most fairy tales and to Sleeping Beauty, the story to which Gordimer compares the boy's actions.

A Raisin in the Sun: A Seemingly Unimportant Meeting

One o my favorite parts in Larraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is Beneatha's meeting with Asagai.  Asagai seems a very genuine character who speaks his mind, no matter what others seem to think. He blatantly tells Beneatha of his feelings for her, "No. Between a man and a woman there need be ot kne kind of feeling. I have that for you... Now even...right this moment...", though he knows she does not really return his feelings at theoment. He even is truthful about these feelings in the presence of Mama, "It means... It means One for Whom Bread-Food- Is Not Enough",in explanation for the nickname he gives Beneatha. The meeting between Asagai and Beneatha at first seems very casual and of little significance, but after the drastic change seen in Beneatha afterwards, it seems of more importance. Beneatha shapes her hair naturally like the African woman because of Asagai's insistence that the style is beautiful. She dresses in the beautiful African gown he gave her and pretend to act like a tribal woman. She seems to embrace her culture more and I think she is trying to impress him. Not only this, she favors his line of thought, embracing the new idea that her heritage is something to be proud of. The short temper she has with Heorhe following her meeting with Asagai only further proves her growing affections for her culture verses the American way of thinking.

A Raisin in the Sun: Abortion

The situations that Lorraine Handberry's characters in A Raisin in the Sun find themselves in often lead them to make decisions that are out of character for them. We discover in the play that Walter is similar to his decease father I many ways, "And my boy is just like him- he wasn't meant to wait on nobody. The text also informs that Walter's father was "crazy 'bout his children!", so this, at least for me, lead me to believe that Walter cared about his children a great deal as well. Also, they way he tries to spoil his son, despite the family's obvious lack of financial resources, illustrate his love for his son. Ruth also shows great passion towards her son. She works herself to exhaustion to help provide for him every day. The loving exchange before he leaves for school when Ruth teases him with "I wouldn't kiss that woman goodbye for nothing in the world this morning!" also shows a special mother and son bond. The evidence of the parents' care for their son made Ruth's decision to consult an abortionist even more shocking. To add on to the situation, Walter doesnt even say Nything to sway his wife's irrational thinking. I feel bad for both of them because based on their previous behaviors this is not what either of them really want. They are both feeling the pressures the world has placed upon them as parents and are folding at the fear of the challenge of another life for which they are responsible.

A Raisin in the Sun: Can or Cannot Adjust

A key aspect of the characters in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is their ability to adjust to negative aspects of their environment. For example, Walter who was always raised by his father with pride and the desire to succeed in life and as the head of his family, has a difficult time adjusting to the adversities in his life. Walter hates his job, working as a mere ate up from a servant as a limo driver. He hates the inferiority he feels and longs for the financial success of a man who has succeeded in his life endeavors. I really feel bad for Walter because he is trapped in a lifestyle that he's ashamed of. The fact that his family who loves him plays a part in his being trapped makes the situation even more desperately tragic. He does not respond well to all this negativity, lashing out at his wife, "Who's fighting you? Who even cares about you?", and seeking a distraction through drunkenness. Ruth, on the other hand, responds muc better to the negativity with which she is surrounded. Ruth wakes up everyday as a leader of her family, waking everyone and ensuring that they all prepare for the day at hand. She cares for both her husband and son and continually works hard to try to improve the stark living conditions the family seems unable to escape. Ruth is a lot like my own mother in a lot of ways. She puts the family on her back in the way that she works herself raw but expects no gratification. Though she is a little angry and moody at parts die to exhaustion, it is celad that Ruth doesn't do anything without her family in mind, a very good response to the negativity she lives with.

A Raisin in the Sun: Lonliness

None of the characters in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun are lonely in he sense that they have no one to talk to or simply no company. However, there are some that seem to be lonely, though surrounded by many other people. One such character that fills this role is Walter. Walter's mother and wife are both always at his side throughout the play, yet he still seems lonely. He says, "Nobody in this house is ever going to understand me". Walter has so many ideas and aspirations, but no one in the family seems to agree with any of his dreams. He wants to dream big and open a liquor store that he can properly provide for his family and succeed in life, but his family doesn't support the idea. As a result, though he is not physically alone, surrounded by a family that loves him, he is alone in his yearning for his dream. His individual dream isolates him from the rest of the family, especially because of the extent to whic he desires to achieve it.

A Raisin in the Sun: Generation Gap

The obvious presence of a generation gap is clearly presented in Lorraine Hasberry's A Raisin in the Sun.  There are several instances throughout the play in which I noticed the differences between the elder and younger characters, like Act I Scene One when Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha are discussing her new fascination with learning to play the guitar, and her tendency to "flit so from one thing to another".  Beneatha say that, "People have to express themselves one way or another", causing her mother and Ruth to burst into laughter.  This shows the gap in the mindset regarding the individiual between two generations.   Beneatha is already thinking closer to the mindset of people today, in the individual sense, more concerned with her own personal growth and discovery than other wordly concerns.  On the other hand, elders like Mama never had the luxury of "expressing themselves", having other priorities to worry about. Another example of this generation gap is Mama and Walter's argument about what iostnimportant in life, money or freedom. Mama says, "Once upon a time freedom used to be life - now its money. I guess the world really do change... " This shows how Mama's generation had a very different outlook on life than Walter's, creating a generation gap.