Great Works of Literature II, Fall 2019 (hybrid) HTA

How does one reconcile Gurov’s apparent misogyny with his newfound of love of Anna Sergeyevna?

Chekhov developed the character of Gurov as one who is savvy with women. He knows how to hold a conversation and win over their love. This personality trait consequently causes Gurov to have a cold blooded view of women. This misogamy works as irony when he meets Anna. Chekhov takes his time with this dynamic by taking the relationship between them slowly. Day by day. Over time it seems that Gurov begins to value women, more specifically Anna. The misogamy that was established in the beginning of the story is turned around towards the end.

What do you make of the fact that we learn a great deal about Gretta’s youth at the end of the story? How does this change your view of Gretta and her relationship with Gabriel?

I believe that Gretta and Gabriel was an interesting characters in the story because the whole story was evolved around between them. Gretta’s youth was interesting at the end because she told the story about how her friend, Michael Furey dies, with who she used to go out for walk when she was young. Gabriel was kind of curious about if Gretta loves that boy in the past but Gretta said that he was 17. I believe that Gabriel love Gretta because first he asked the question to Gretta that if she loved him but then he also got emotional with Gretta too. Gabriel and Gretta’s relationship was kind of complicated because one moment I feel that they love each other and the other I feel they do not love.

What do you make of the fact that we learn a great deal about Gretta’s youth at the end of the story? How does this change your view of Gretta and her relationship with Gabriel?

When I started reading the story I thought Gretta and Gabrial were in love with each other. However, by the end of the story, I realized that she seems as if she was with Gabrial all this time so she could forget her past memorize. When she started telling Gabrial about Michael Furey while crying it means that she still has feelings for Micheal and that’s what made Gabrial sad. It made me think as a reader if Micheal was still alive she will leave Gabrial and go to Micheal. While Gretta was telling Gabrial about Micheal he tries to hold himself and not do anything that will make her sad. That tells a lot about that Gabrial is trying to not lose Gretta, he still wants to give a chance for Gretta to make their relationships better. 

Chekhov chooses to depict these two people meeting each other but not much more because it places an emphasis on how someone can encounter a change so small in their life but can affect it greatly. In Gurov’s perspective, he usually goes around dispising women and calling them “the lower race” and disrespecting everything about them. However, once he meets Anna Sergeyevna, everything changes for him. He limits his story to represent the huge amount of change one person can make in another’s life. Gurov has gone throughout his life shaming women’s actions and living his life with a dull perspective using women for momentary bliss. However, the one moment where he met Anna changes his life, his thoughts, and influences his future actions. At the end of the story, Chekhov expands on Gurov’s view on life, adding on to the impact Anna had on his life. He questions the cruel world for bringing someone he truly loved at the worst time. Although they bring hardship and grey hair, Gurov and Anna have a moment to reflect on their current relationship, one that actually makes them happy.

How does Joyce change your expectations as a reader throughout the story? e.g. your idea of what the story is about and what kind of story you are reading might have changed at a few points throughout the story.

In the short story The Dead, the author, James Joyce, changed my expectations as a reader. For example, Joyce started the story by introducing a character, Lily, and describing her. By doing so, Joyce has caused me to assume that Lily will be the protagonist of the story. Therefore, I expected the story to be about how Lily’s character is developed and how her life changed. However, that was not the case. As I continued reading, I tend to notice that the majority of the story is revolving around another character, Gabriel. Lily was mentioned often at the beginning of the story; however, as the story progresses, the focus tends to shift to Gabriel. After realizing that Gabriel might be the real protagonist of the story, I expected the story to be about Gabriel’s life and how Lily helped develop his character. However, I noticed Gabriel’s wife, Gretta, played a more significant role because of the song The Lass of Aughrim that caused her to remember what happened in the past.

Consider the symbolism (or various symbolisms or meanings or emotional or psychological values) of the gilded coin​ in the story.

In the story “The Gilded Six-Bits,” the gilded coin represent deceit. In the beginning, Joe and Missie May were exposed to Otis D. Slemmons’ wealth and were awestruck by his “five-dollar gold piece for a stickpin”, “ten-dollar gold piece on his watch chain” and his mouth filled with “gold teeths” (3). At this point, the gold present status and wealth that is not attainable for Joe and Missie May. They are in the working middle class and based on the description of their life, Joe and Missie May’s life could be described as not lacking. They have a house and Joe is able to provide enough to live a humble life with enough to fill the table. However, Missie May mentions that the only way for them to get to Slemmons’ level of wealth is only by chance of finding it on the streets. By establishing that Slemmons’ wealth is unattainable for them, it becomes enticing for Missie May to sleep with Slemmons in exchange for the golden watch charm, which I dont think it’s because of greed. However, the golden watch charm was simply fake (gilded coin) and all Slemmons’ wealth was a lie. The gilded coin is a symbol of how money does not necessarily lead to happiness or make life more satisfying. Joe and Missie May’s life was pretty good before Slemmons came into the picture. They would rely on making the marriage fun and enjoyable rather than focusing on the materialistic factor. They would banter with each other and have these personal games to keep their marriage authentic. Joe was also doing decent in providing for the family. Towards the end of the story, it was stated that they were able to save up a decent amount of money for a child as well as being able to indulge in gifts and ice cream every week. In the end, what saved their marriage was not money but rather the small gifts that Joe and Missie May indulged in before the affair. 

What do you make of the fact that we learn a great deal about Gretta’s youth at the end of the story? How does this change your view of Gretta and her relationship with Gabriel?

Yalta is a resort city, part of Ukraine at the time of the passage (now under Russia), that has a reputation for where promiscuous affairs and forbidden rendezvous transpire. The city revolves around stories of budding romances amongst strangers who are willing to sin; though, to great extents to where it doesn’t sound as plausible. Of the two lovers, Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov did not believe in such tales about this city of Yalta. Even though he didn’t, he couldn’t help but “remembered these tales of easy conquests, of trips to the mountains, and the tempting thought of a swift, fleeting love affair, a romance with an unknown woman, whose name he did not know” when he looked at Anna Sergeyevna, whom he would soon form a sinful bond with. Because the setting of this story is revealed to be a place where affairs happen, readers can kind of foreshadow what might happen between these two strangers meeting in Yalta.

“The Gilded Six-Bits” By Zora Neale Hurston

How and why does Hurston incorporate the process of giving great value to seemingly small things (e.g. gifts, personal foibles or tendencies, inside jokes, games) into the story?

Hurston incorporates the process of giving great value to seemingly small things into the story by describing in great detail and length, at the beginning of the story, of how Missie May and Joe interact as a married couple. In the beginning, Hurston’s “The Gilded Six-Bits”,  Missie May knows that Joe will be home every Saturday and will throw silver dollars in the door for her to pick up while he will hide behind bushes. She also knows that Joe will hide many surprises for her in his pocket including candy kisses, yet she and Joe still pretend like it’s their first time. Joe and Missie May will often role-play as a way of expressing their love. They don’t openly express their undying love for each other but show it in other ways. For example, during their lunch, there was, “very little talk during the meal but that little consisted of banter that pretended to deny affection but in reality flaunted it.“ Missie May and Joe’s relationship is based on small gestures which can be seen as unobtrusively flirting. It’s how they show love for each other while not flaunting about it.

I think Hurston incorporated these seemingly small things into the story to show that love does not always need to include big and extravagant things, nor does love need to be so apparent. The couple lives a simple life enjoying each other’s small gestures and companion. These small things signify their relationship and the love that exists; however, the simple gifts and gestures were not enough for Missie May. Her greed for more than just silver coins, causes her to commit adultery. Joe then stops getting gifts and flirtatious gestures. Small gestures build a relationship, but all that can be destroyed by one simple act of betrayal as shown by Missie May’s infidelity. Towards the end of the story when Missie May had given birth to a son, Joe bought candy kisses and threw silver coins again on the front porch to signify his forgiveness and the shift in their relationship again.