tkral15’s Blog

i liked reading deacon taylor this section. it reminded me of that saying that goes truth comes out after death. I think its ironic how the whole town thought that the Deacon died from eating a watermelon. It’s like because he was part of the church no one suspected anything else. When really everyday he would drink. He said he drank from a bottle marked spiritu frumenti-which means whiskey. So basically this man had another side to him. He would be innocent to the people-someone they could look up to, trust. He says he even belonged to the party of prohibition! yet every noon he would pour himself a generous drink.

one thing that i am really enjoying about this book is the conflicts between certain people. It’s interesting to see different sides of a persons story. It’s kidna like these people’s last explanations, like if they hadnt passed away, this is how they would explain their death. one of my favorites from the section we read was between knowlt hohemier and lydia puckett. Knowlt says he turned a solider beacause he wanted to escape from going to jail. She says it was beacuse he found her sneaking around with another man and they got into a fight . I think these things are so crazy. Who do we believe. I wish i could go back and talk to some of these characters to get the stories straight. The spoon river anthology reminds me of a big gossip magizine, or like two. Like US weekly, OK, and Star Magazines. the  magazines tell the same stories, but sometimes from a different person. Like the feud between Lauren and Heidi- one magazine interviews lauren, the other heidi, and one another friend. They all give different reasons, different stories, just like this book.

i think that the class disscusion of how we revolve around gossip fits in well with chapter 12. As soon as Janie and Tea Cake go public the whole town needs and wants to know everything. Soon everyone is talking about them. They have now become the center of attention. Think of when a celeb marries-theyre the center of magizines for the next week. and then we judge. We either decide oh this is a good couple they’ll last long, or we think oh my gosh what were they thinking, this will never last what a mistake. The town makes their own ideas about janie and tea cake. I find that very annoying. i think that if someone is happy and in love, they deserve to be respected by whomever. no one should make judgements about anyone. and i am guilty of judging people, and i bet they are some really cool, interesting people around that i’ve looked at and made a comment about..and i’ll never know their story, or their truth. i’m missing out and i bet a lot of people have done the same to me..its like a semi viscious cycle.

i like how janie take its upon herself to do what she wants. she moves away with tea cake, has a nice loving life with him and then decides she wants to work. she gets on overalls and goes outside in the fields right along next to him..and nuckie.

of courseeeee nuckie scandelous. the big news is that tea cake and nuckie are flirting, and wrestling…i think jealousy plays a big role in this book. sometimes, and often gossip comes from jealous.

i dont know if i like tea cake anymore. he almost seems too good to be true. he keeps poping up just when janie is about to get mad and leave him. he has just the right excuse for everything he does… taking her money, leaving for days, wrestlting with nuckie…it just doesnt seem like it will last forever.

its seems like the good person always gets hurt in the end…but were they really a good guy the whole time? although tea cake saved janies life and was at that time the hero.. he eventually got infected with rabies and was shot by janie. so the hero gets shot..but was he a true hero? He beat janie a few times, and stole from her. he did bad things …MAYBE karma comes back in the end

i know one of the best feelings is content. when youve finihed something you just feel so good about it. in the last chapter janie finally feels good and satisfied. she goes back to eatonville and lays in her bed. She reflects back on her life.  realizes how good tea cake was to her and she feels so good. she’s been “to the horizon and back” and thats whats important

class discussion:

after our two class disscusions about celebs, and famous people i did some thinking. This is what we care about…people who cause problems and make big deals. Where are all those celebreties that just mind to themselves, dont go out and get drunk, do scandelous things…thats right we dont know..we really dont care. The things we want to read about in US weekly and people…whos going out with whos x. Who cheated, who showed up to the club not wearing any underwear. Yup, thats what our world likes to know about. and i am 100 % guilty of wanting to know what the latest thing is, whos pregnet with who. who just got married without their family at the wedding. Yeah, i love that stuff but why? shouldnt i be spending more time worrying about the world, our economy? Instead of watching e news.

The same goes for school, no one cares about the kids who just go about their business. the attention is on who just had the huge party on friday, where the cops showed up over the weekend. Who got so drunk and hooked up. That is where peoples concerns are.

This book is very interesting and i think it addresses a lot of different morals, and viewpoints from the past. I think that it is really in a way “cool” to see how the world was back when. However, obviously i feel that Janie is not being treated right. In the beginning of the book i just wanted to yell at her, tell her to stick up for herself. But now that i think about it more, it must have been impossible for a woman to stick up for herself in these times. I liked it when Janie yelled at Jody telling him he looked ugly naked, what a low blow in front of his friends. I think that showed that Janie is really proactive, and has a lot to do, and many things she may want to accomplish. Janie doesn’t want to sit around inside the store all day, she wants a life.  I feel like its obvious she won’t stick around. She left her first husband, and we know she finds a third. Janie is kinda like the girl breaking all the rules because she wants to, and does what she wants.

In chaptesr 8-10

Well, Jody died. And Janie has to

“She rips off her head-rag, freeing her imprisoned hair, but then realizes that she must appear to be mourning. She ties it back up, assumes a mask of sadness, and yells out the window that Jody has died.”

That just shows how unhappy Janie was, it mentioned a lot in chapter 8 how Janie wasn’t able to express herself and was unhappy with Jody.

After months of mourning, Janie really is not emtional or upset at all. She puts on a face that makes her appear to be missing Jody, really though shes a new woman. Shes rich, and beautiful and has plans to settle down with another man. Janie let’s down her hair now that she is allowed to.

Now that she is allowed to?… I could never imagine living in the world that Janie lives in. I couldn’t imagine not having the freedoms the legacies have worked so hard on to give me. Just wearing my hair however i like it i take for granted. Being able to go to school, choose who i want to marry, have a job. All these simple things i really don’t think about as “far out” or not being able to have. i respect Janie and all other women for putting up with these rules they had to follow.

“Janie replies that she doesn’t care what the town thinks because she shouldn’t pretend to be sad if she isn’t.”

Tea cake utt ohh..-What a guy. He actually let’s her play checkers with her. AGAIN, i just dont have the opportunity to know what it is like to not have these preveliges, but it makes Janie so happy just being able to play a board game with a man.

The rest of this book will be a good read. It works in well with my essay so far beacuse it seems like Janie is trying to search for love. Shes already married and left two men, and now shes quickly falling for tea cake. So we’ll see!

well, what an ending.

i thought that this chapter was pretty sad. But, was pertinent for my essay. I’ve decided to change my thesis again. after reading this book i got a new idea. The American character goes after love. Ahab went after moby dick, his obsession, his love. Gatsby goes after Daisy, his love, his obsession.

i felt bad for gatsby after such a life, i’m sure meeting so many different people close to nobody showed at his funeral. How sad is that. Those that were most interested were the gossip reporters.

I think this chapter i gained more respect for Gatsby. When his father showed Nick the book with his schedule. “It just shows you. Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving in his mind? He was always great for that. He told me i et like a hog once, and i beat him for it.” (173)

I feel like Gatsby was just trying to make a great life for himself. Giving himself a name, a reason to live. Since he was young he made himself lists of how to live, no room for fooling around. He had specific goals that he wanted to reach. i would have liked to see his friends at his funeral. I would have liked Daisy to be there, after all Gatsby went through just for Daisy, and she wasn’t even at his funeral. EVEN, after Gatsby took the blame for Daisy, after she killed Myrtle. I guess that shows the true side of a person.

When Nick encountered Tom in the city i was so angry. I just wanted Gatsby to yell at him and tell him how it was Daisy who was drivning the car. Daisy did it. then would nick have a different opion?

“God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!”  pg. 160

i thought this quote was important because during this section of reading there were a couple refferals to the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg I though that these eyes could deffenitly be referring to God, especially after the above quote. I guess it depends on your religous views, but if you beleive God see’s anything then this book becomes so much more scandelous. You know that one man or woman is watching your every move. The multiple affairs that are going around, the people who party and get drunk, the crimes, the illegal businesses that lurk. I find that a lot of this book has to do with image. How someone sees you. The pretty girls only want to marry and rich guys. Rich boys drive nice, fast cars and have lavish parties…to find their lost lover? Is that how it really is supposed to happen? I am still curious why didn’t Gatsby just go after Daisy. He knew where she lived, he felt he knew that she loved him, and never loved tom. Why couldnt he just go over to her house and get her? he had the money now, he had a huge beautiful house now that would impress Daisy.

Also i found that in these chapters you can see a persons true personality. when put in crazy situations, like hit n runs, fights, murders. You see people reactions. some cant cope, and go after a murder and kill them, then they still feel they have nothing to live for, they kill themselves. Saying that, i wonder if Gatsby ever had a chance, did he see Wilson coming? i feel like Gatsby would be fine with the thought of death. He felt he had nothing to live for Daisy was basically gone.

interesting.

is the rich american character different from the poor? well duh, but how different. Are the values suddenly changed beacuse of someone’s wealth?- “It made no difference to me. Dishonestly in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply-I was casually sorry…”

“you’re a rotten driver, i protested. either you ought to be more careful, or you oughtn’t to drive at all. i am careful. no you’re not…well other people are. she said lightly. Whats that go to do with it?.. They’ll keep out of my way, she insisted, it takes two to make an accident” (58)

so, it is okay for these rich people to have their way, they don’t need to pay attention, someone else can for them. It takes two people to make an accident… Values to change. It’s okay for rich women to lie, lying doesnt make a difference. The scandel about Jordan moving her gold ball was passed by, obviously the few people that started the rumor backed down..interestttting.

“i’ll tell you God’s truth” His right hand suddenly ordered divine retribution to stand by. I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West-all dead now. I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford, beacuse all my ancestors have been educated there for many years. It is a family tradition…What part of the Middle West?…San Francisco.” (65) Oh, so this is where all of Gatsby’s money came from. This shows that sometimes the American Character doesn’t have to do much to earn his or her money. Some people are just born into lavish families. But is that really being an american character? or does the american character work hard to be sucessful. Do they have to go through painful experiences in order to feel sucess? I just find it so funny too that gatsby said he was from the middle west, and then continued to say san franciso, http://www.effingham.k12.il.us/central/4thgrade/donaldson/midwest/schimmel/mwstates.html

california is clearly not part of the middle west….lies, what else is Gatsby up to?

quote:

“i thought you didn’t if you’ll pardon me-you see, I carry on a little4 business on the side line, you understand. And i thought that if you don’t make very much-You’re selling bonds, aren’t you, old sport?…trying to. Well, this would interest you. It wouldn’t take up much of your time and you might pick up a nice bit of money . It happens to be a rather confidential sort of thing” (82-83)

i decided to use this quote because with all the disscussions we’ve had in class about who these people are i thought this one brought out a secret side of gatsby. He said he has this little side business and i am dying to find out what exacatly it entiles. Also i feel like this chapter shows something about the american character. It shows how even the richest people have their own problems. Gatsby is so nervous and uncomforable meeting up with Daisy. I though at times he wasnt going to go through with his plan with nick.

anyways how nice is gatsbys house? it is described as being so luxourious is it a greenwich back country house, a north street monster?