Category Archives: DG13E

OPTION #3

When reading the first paragraph of Cathedral, I immediately, I do not know why,  thought about Gerry and Cookie’s visit to her ex-boyfriends house. I said to myself, “uh-  oh” and imagined something like a hidden love line between his wife and the blind man.  I guess because I had this perception of  their relationship, I have no clue what went on  and how he ended up understanding the blind man but, the blind man’s visit really made  me think of Gerry’s attitude when they visited I believe, Mark’s house.

I remember how Gerry did NOT like the idea of the visit and the narrator pretty much had  the same idea. He did not like the idea at all. They were very pessimistic about it and very  very jealous. One thing different about the husband and wife’s relationship between these  two couples is that Cookie comforts Gerry while the wife in the story does not. When  Gerry expressed his feelings towards the visit, Cookie replied something like “he’s the  past and who’s my future? you are” while the narrator’s wife’s response seems to be like  “you can’t do this for me? how could you? don’t you love me?” I don’t feel the love of the  wife towards her husband, all I see is how excited she is for her “friend’s” visit and all her  focus is on that.

However, one thing very similar in both situation is that only the wife and “long time boy-friend” gets along and is involved in the conversation. No matter how much Gerry and the narrator try to say something once in a while, it only makes the situation more awkward and uncomfortable. They both feel intimidated by their opponents thus very negative in their thinking and critical towards them. The narrator is consistently judging and stereotyping what the blind man is doing by using words like “pathetic, creepy, spiffy.” I felt that he was not a happy person and he was going to stay that way for a while until the blind man leaves the house but, I guess that’s not what happened because something about the cathedral conversation changed him and he now understands the blind man. Is life like that? One moment we are not happy and the weirdest and most random things make us happy the next moment?

As conclusion, honestly, I didn’t understand what happened or what kind of connection the blind man and the husband had when drawing the cathedral but, I’m pretty positive that the husband’s first feeling towards this situation was very like Gerry’s feelings when walking into his wife, Cookie’s ex-boyfriend’s house and I found this very interesting.

“Hills Like White Elephants” shows happiness in a very weird way but one that many people experience in their life. Happiness here is being depicted as something that makes the person you love happy. If the person you love is happy and you made them that way then you are also going to be happy. Many relationships are built upon this notion, a lot of people have some type of run in with this situation. I find it a very weird situation and one that I found I did not like. After a while you start to resent the other person or you feel resentment, at some point the mutual trade of happiness does not equal out. This will causes feelings of resentment and anger and will ruin the entire relationship. I saw this story just like that. The girl seemed like she, personally, wanted that baby but she wanted to make her man happy. She decided to give up that baby to make him happy and yet he had given nothing in return. I see this relationship as breaking up soon and the happiness is short lived. Happiness is sometimes just a mask for something worse.

“Story of an Hour” is very similar to Hemingway’s short story. The woman believes that she is recently widowed and beings to celebrate. She goes through life and realizes that she really was not happy and did not enjoy life. She thought she was happy though, she did not realize it was fake. She did not realize that her happiness was just a mask for something worse, something that would ruin her. These two stories seem to say that happiness is really not such a great thing. I see a common idea, one that says that happiness can be fake or it can be a mask for something worse, something that neither party wants to confront. Jig seemed happier than Louis and yet in the end Louis was the far happier person because she realized what she was missing in her life, even if it caused her death. Jig just went on with her life and is heading for a huge fall.

As a reader, what did you think that the stories tried to accomplish? Did they support the idea that happiness is just a mask or is that me reading far too much into the tone of the stories.

This is one of my favorite songs, its by a famous Ukrainian composer and i just like the way it sounds. It also relates to what i am saying, the video that is. These people really do not seem that happy and yet they want to stay together, it seems like they have bigger problems and they try to mask it. See what you think, fast-forward to 38 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4-cYLi-RgQ

Different people have different views of happiness. Earning and experiencing happiness vary from people to people. Both short stories “Hills Like White Elephants” and “The Birth-mark” demonstrate particular person’s beliefs about happiness. These stories represent happiness by its characters Aylmer and the man. Aylmer from “The Birth-mark” and the man from “Hills Like White Elephants” depict anxiousness and wishes to obtain happiness in their own format.

Both of the characters show their passionate desire to be happy. Aylmer founds his happiness by removing his wife’s birth-mark from her cheek. Even though, he admires Georgiana’s beauty; he monopolizes about the birth-mark. He does not learn to appreciate the fact that his wife idolized this mark as her charm. Similarly, the man persuades his girlfriend to have abortion in order to get his own happiness. His carelessness about Jig’s opinion and hardship of convincing her to do abortion notify his determination of happiness. Next, these characters symbolize man dominant society. Aylmer was succeeded to convert Georgiana to get rid of her charm. As if it is dangerous, but she does not care.In similar, the man induced Jig to abort her tiny white elephant. Additionally, she is not conscious about the situation afterwards. Here, these circumstances draw pictures of victim women who are willing to do anything for their significant others without expressing their anticipation.

However, both of these persons are seeking for happiness; their purposes of being happy are contrasting. Aylmer thinks happiness is perfection. He put his best effort to make his wife perfect by removing her birth-mark in terms of achieving happiness. But, because of his impatience and thought of perfection he loses his wife. It does not grab his attention that being perfect could be the cause to become unhappy also. Aylmer confirmed that judging the loved ones and attempting to convert them as perfectionists can harm individual’s own life. On the other hand, the man wins happiness through his pleasure. He evokes his youngness by rejecting his beautiful future child. Furthermore, he believes that he can enlighten his life through exploring and enjoying. In fact, he considers himself having a bright future; if Jig agrees to have abortion. At this point, the unborn baby is a barrier to get his own pleasure.

In conclusion, illustration of these two characters specifies that people carry out different opinions about happiness. Whether it is about being perfect or getting pleasure, everyone has their own means to become happy.

In the story “Hills Like White Elephants” happiness was having the abortion.  The American told Jig the baby was the root of all their unhappiness. The American wasn’t ready for a kid.  He just wanted to try new drinks and traveling.

In the story “The Birth-mark” happiness was perfection for both main characters. In the beginning Georgiana didn’t seem to have any problems with her physical appearance until Aylmer kept reminding her with his facial gestures and overreaction. Aylmer said the only thing that was keeping her from being perfect was the birth-mark. He wanted to get rid of it and she just wanted the birth-mark gone so Aylmer thinks she’s beautiful. The whole time Aylmer was obsessing over the birth-mark rather than just accepting her for who she is. When he finally got rid of the birth-mark was he happy? I think he lost what should be his only happiness – Georgiana.

Both Jig and Georgiana are alike. They didn’t really care about themselves;  they were only trying to satisfy the men in their lives. In the end they both die. Although Jig and the American agreed with each other that their friends who went through with the abortion were much happier. I don’t believe that their friends were actually happier; the women who lose a part of themselves wouldn’t come out of the operation and just go back to what they were before. On the outside they may seem happy, but no one really knows how they’re really feeling inside. Jig was definitely thinking about the baby. Often times when people were talking to her, her mind wasn’t there. Georgiana drank the mix; she lost the birth-mark, but she also lost her life.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/MwvMjiOCyqY" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

“No, indeed,” said she, smiling; but perceiving the seriousness of his manner, she blushed deeply. “To tell you the truth it has been so often called a charm that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so.”

“Ah, upon another face perhaps it might,” replied her husband;”but never on yours. No, dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature that this slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection.”

“Shocks you, my husband!” cried Georgiana, deeply hurt; at first reddening with momentary anger, but then bursting into tears.”Then why did you take me from my mother’s side? You cannot love what shocks you!”

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Our parents send us out into the world feeling “perfect”, being that they prepared us to the best of their abilities. As we enter society with our own personal “charms”, we are suddenly confronted by the criticism of others. We are told that are “charms” are not good enough, and we are basically forced to chance in order to fit into society.

When we are being raised we are taught to value our own opinions and value ourselves. As we enter society we start valuing the opinion of others and start putting more emphasis on what they have to say and what they think.

In this story as Georgiana enters her marriage she is a child. She is a child that lived her life thinking that she herself was good enough. She actually thought that she was better than good enough, she felt that her personal “charm” made her perfect. But when confronted by Aylmer, who represents society, she is told that she’s not good enough after all. Just as society does to us, Alymer gives her the impression that if she were just to change one small thing about herself she was essentially be PERFECT in her entirety. She was obviously happy what her imperfections, but as she was forced to change, she slowly died on the inside and eventually died altogether.

This story was written in 1837, which just goes to show us that for centuries our society has only focused on the aesthetics and the key source of happiness. After entering society our view of happiness is altered, and we are forced to become nothing more than a face in the crowd.

Perfection is just as bad as positive thinking. Positive thinking is like lying to yourself, it’s a scapegoat. It’s pretending everything is okay and using it as an excuse to not make things okay. Sounds a little like perfection, right?

Perfection is the epitome of positive thinking. It’s a universal desire. It’s an excuse to look past imperfections and pretend those flaws are perfect. But if flaws are imperfect, then how is anything or anyone perfect if they are all flawed?

Perfection is positive thinking. It’s pretending those flaws don’t exist, or that they are perfect so that we can feel good about ourselves. Almer tries to make his wife perfect in his eyes despite the positive thinking that everyone else is emitting. He tries to use positive thinking on his wife to persuade her to go through with the removal of the imperfection, regardless of it’s risks to her health.

In the end, how perfect did she become? Is death perfection? If we want to positively think, then yes it is. In Almer’s eyes, perfection was achieved as the imperfection disappeared but positively thinking won’t bring her back to life.

Group 6- Foreshadowing

“You don’t know what you have until you lose it.” This is something that no one ever understands.

“Ah, upon another face, perhaps it might! But never on yours! No, dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of nature, that this slightest possible defect- which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty- shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection.”

Until he loses her he will not realize what he has. He must always strive for perfection and this is true of all Americans. They are all undermining America by their relentless need to have something perfect. They are always looking to improve their situation by the use of positive thinking but never realize that this is what screws us all over. This is the mistake that all of you make and this is what needs to be fixed before we can say that we are safe.

Even during the past decade, Americans have always been living beyond their means and this is what caused the recent economic collapse! The signs were all available and all one had to do was look and it would have been obvious. The signs were there already in the expanding crises and all of the corruption. Americans were all so greedy that they missed it. Just as this Aylmer, he missed what he had and so he has to lose it before he realizes it, he is the perfect comparison to the Americans and the economy.

Characterization/Symbolism

The characterization in this short story is good at best and is deeply flawed. The flaw being that the woman is objectified. She has become the means for which her husband can fulfill his desire to play god. The man stereotypically taking on the god complex, yet another flaw. I did say the characterization was good. The way he depicts each character surrounds them in their own aura, enabling the reader to anticipate the character’s reactions to the situations given in the story. The fact that Aylmer played a doctor in the story assigns the trait of a “perfection-pursuer” to him, distinguishing him from his assistant and any other man, who would give their life to kiss the birthmark he so much despised. Even more so, his desire for perfection derives from being a failure of a doctor who has not completed a full experiment. As a remedy he sought to perfect his wife, his “trophy” so to speak.

On a side note, the hand upon Georgina’s cheek acts as the hand that has pulled the strings of her marionette life. Every decision she has made has been influenced by that hand.

So today after class I went to work and my manager had a huge newspaper article posted on our board. It’s an article from the Wall Street Journal that he found very interesting. I’d like to share it with you guys since it is related to our “happiness” theme. Enjoy! :]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704893604576200471545379388.html

At first this movie made no type of sense to me. I found it very funny, but was lost in what the director was trying to tell us. But then I came to the conclusion that the movie really had nothing to do with dogs or contests. The movie was actually about people and their motivations. It was about how far people will go to get what they want, ultimately how far they will go to be happy. In a sense it was even about what makes people happy.

All the contestants had different motives for winning the dog show. But at the end of the day the winning the contest was what made the contestants happy. In my first paper I wrote about how you must count on yourself to make your own happiness, but this movie definitely supported my thesis statement. These contestants were willing to do anything and everything ton win this contest. This is exactly how we should be when it comes to our happiness – we should not have any limits as we attempt to acquire our own happiness, especially being that we’re the ones experiencing our happiness. In the movie, the contestants who won were going to take home the trophy and cherish it. When it comes to our happiness, we’re the ones who cherish it. Yeah, others rejoice in our happiness, just like the other contestants congratulated the winner, but when we lay in our beds at night we’re the only ones who feel whether we are happy or not.