So Long, Farewell, Auf wiedersehen, Goodbye!

I am about to finish grading the blogs, but I wanted to write a quick post telling you all how much I have enjoyed having you in class this semester. Kudos to those of you who perservered after losing your original instructor two weeks into the semester. I appreciate your patience for giving me a chance to get a course thrown together in a short amount of time. I enjoyed your class discussions (when you read!), and I enjoyed getting to know you all a little better. What? Your blogs have been so enjoyable to read. I know some of you are graduating this spring. Good luck in your future endeavors. For those who will be around a bit longer, I hope to see you around campus!

The blog will remain up. Feel free to continue to interact with each other!

Metamorphosis 2

During Gregor's metamorphosis, the only person who really cared for him and helped him was his sister. "By early morning--it was still almost night--Gregor had a chance to test the strength of the resolutions he had just made, for the sister, almost fully dressed, opened the vestibule door and suspensefully peered in." (Kafka 2010-2011) She would come in and feed him everyday. "Hoping to check his likes and dislikes, she brought him a whole array of food, all spread out on an old newspaper." (Kafka 2011) The rest of the family wouldn't even dare enter his room. After an event in which an apple was thrown at him and had jammed into his back, Gregor died. The family moved on with their lives as if he were unimportant. "Then all three of them left the apartment together, which they had not done in months, and took the trolley out to the coutryside beyond the town. The streetcar, where they were the only passengers, was flooded with warm sunshine. Leaning back comfortably in their seats, they discussed their future prospects and concluded that, upon closer perusal, these were anything but bad; for while they had never actually asked one another for any details, their jobs were all exceedingly advantageous and also promising." (Kafka 2030) This shows me that they have moved on with their lives and seem happier without having to deal with Gregor.

Hedda Gabler

Henrick Ibsen's play, Hedda Gabler, was one of my favorite readings of the semester. I found it very interesting and had no trouble staying entertained. I know Hedda had a problem with power but I hated the way she used men to have power. She only wanted them if she could be in control. In the end she felt like she lost all power. She said to Brack, "Nevertheless, I'm in your power. Depended on your will, and your demands. Not free. Still not free! No. I couldn't bear that. No." (Ibsen 1517) She felt as though she had lost power because Brack had power over her. This eventually led to her committing suicide. After gunshots were heard, Tesman told Brack, "She's shot herself! Shot herself in the head? By Jove! Fancy that!" (Ibsen 1518) Once she felt she had run out of power, she committed suicide. I think Hedda was a vicitm to society because she felt that people expected things out of her, which eventually led her to being power hungry.

Metamorphosis

Frank Kafka's The Metamorphosis was a very strange story, but it was also a very good reference to life. At some point in life, we all go through some kind of change, usually more than one. Although it may not be as drastic as turning into a bug, change happens and we have to learn how to adjust as Gregor Samsa did in the story. I found it funny that even though Gregor had transformed into a bug, he tried to continue on with life as though no one would notice. He thought he could get out and go about his regular lifestyle. He said, "I'll be dressed in a minute, pack up my samples, and catch my train." (Kafka 2007) He also thought about it a second time in the story. "For now, he wanted to get up calmly without being nagged, put on his clothes, above all have breakfast, and only then think about what to do next; for he realized he would come to no sensible conclusion by pondering in bed." (Kafka 2001) Not only had he seen what most of his body looked like, but he had also tried to get out of bed and didn't succeed. There was no way he could just get out of bed and go to work. This is also a demonstration of change in life because while we are going through things in our life, we tend to put on a smile and pretend nothing is wrong, thinking no one will notice a difference.

Fragment E

Fragment E is an interesting story, now that I’ve done some serious analysis of it. It’s easy to read a story and overlook some very important details that change the way you see the story. The most interesting thing I found is the reference to religion throughout the story. In the opening paragraph, the narrator makes the first of thee references. “North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers’ School set the boys free” (Fragment E, Paragraph 1). This suggests that the author resents the church in some way. Rather than saying “the school dismissed the boys, he uses words to suggest that the boys were imprisoned by the church.
The author also mentions the priest, who was the former tenant of their house. He describes the backyard with a central apple tree. This could be referring to the Garden of Eden, and the Tree of Life. He mentions times when his mind would revert back to the thought of the girl. “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I, myself did not understand” (Fragment E, Paragraph 5). The mention of strange prayers and praises here is not only a reference to religion, but the way it is being used suggests that he did not feel an obligation to this religion.
I read this story twice before I began to catch these details, and when I did, it was like a light went on, and several other things began to become obvious to me as well.

Metamorphosis

This story metamorphosis is so hard to visualize and the Author Franz Kafka's use this change to catch the readers attention. In the first sentence ''One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin. (Kafka 1999).'' This story took me to a suprise to find out why is a man being transformed as a bug. But the author is getting an oppurtunity to let the readers know that anything can change in your life at any giving moment. And then Gregor said"What if I slept a little more and forgot all about this nonsense,"he thought. But his idea was impossible to carry out, for while he was accutiomed to sleeping on his right side, his current state prevented him fromgetting into that position."(Kafka 1999). This statement is to recognize that he is wondering if what he is going through is real or not changing into this monstrous vermin. Gregor is aware that the life he once live will never be the same because he was to comfortable and the situation with being this bug as got him out of his comfort zone.

The Guest

The book about the Guest is interesting, the Author Albert Camus explains how action can cause a reaction towards the choices the prisoner made in his life. Some things in life is like karma the things that you do comes back on you. In this book its about a prison guard who is alone and find a friend or company. The writer entertain the readers and make them feel like it's ok to be friendly and to show some kind towards any body no matter what they have done. The prisoner Arab is guilty of the murder he has commited and has no problem doing his time, but the Guard wants to set him free.The author is showing how the prison guard is really wanting to help the prisoner Arab to be free. The prisoner do not want to be free he knew the crime he committed and is willing to accept the punishment. This story is about friendship, companion, and being social. The guard and the prisoner is in the same area and they are by themselves so who else can they talk too. This shows that it doesn't matter who the individual is as long as its somebody to communicate with and to be social.