belatedly(115): old-fashioned; out-of-date
fatback(116): the fat and fat meat from the upper part of a side of pork, usually cured by salt.
EMOTIONAL APPEALS:
"[...]and trees waving their arms."(102)
The trees don't really have arms, but the author gives them personification by saying that their arms (branches) were waving in the wind of a storm.
"I felt as if I'd swallowed something warm and huge, like a child."(104)
This is how Claire says she feels after eating a bunch of sweet potatoes in sorrow for the death of her husband. When she wakes up, she explains the way her stomach feels with as if she swallowed a child, which is dark and twisty, but her husband comitted suicide. She's allowed to be.
"The corners were buried in snowdrifts of dark." (115)
The dark cannot acutally bury a corner, but it gives the reader a feel for just how dark it is.
PROBABLE THEME:
The way one death has a complte ripple effect, as well as the way ecach individual grieves. Death can bring both togetherness and solitude from those who loved the desceased one.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
[Post B Week 4]
After Kate's father commits suicide, the long funeral process begins immediately. Neighbors come over bearing casseroles and other hot dishes, as well as flowers. Listening to Claire discuss her emotions and happenings at the funeral immediately brought memoires of the funerals I've attended throughout my life.
Just the thought of a funeral gives me a feeling of pterodactyls in my stomach. Unlike butterflies, pterodactyl are evil, and gut wrenching, with their beaks tearing out your insides. At each funeral I've been to, essentially, the only thing that varies is the person who passed away. The most recent funeral I've attended was for one of my grandfather-like figures in my life. Papa Dave and his wife, Joann (who I had fondly nicknamed Bobes), babysat me when my parents worked. Every morning since I was 3 months old, I would get dropped of at Papa Dave's and Bobes' house. I credit my happy childhood with their personalized attention that I got all day. As I got older, their daycare was no longer needed. Papa Dave retired from his job as a cop, they moved south....about an hour away from Red Wing. I saw them during the summer and on some breaks, and they always came for my birthday. I loved staying with Joann and Papa Dave, and I espeically loved this little vanity that he made for his niece. Its ironic that the vanity he made for me was proably the last thing he made. Long story attempted to be shortened, Papa Dave battled for a long time with brain cancer, and in the final stages, I avoided seeing him, because he was no longer the Papa Dave that I love.
Papa Dave passed away peacefully.The funeral followed 3 days later. Funerals are so difficult. I personally think that the hardest part is when a family member gives the euology. Watching them try to give a speech without bursting into tears is something I can relate to, because when I was 10 years old I had to give a speech at my grandmother's funeral. I found it heartbreaking to see all the pictures, and the smudged make up of the wife, daughters, and sisters. The funeral is just a landmark of healing, and even moving on, from the death of a loved one.
Overall, funerals mean pain. It means that someone is gone forever, someones love, husband/wife, sister/brother, grandmother/father, niece/nephew.
I admire Claire's courage through the funeral. I know more than well just how hard funerals are, whether you are giving a speech, standing at the gravesite years later, or just a family member or friend there for support.
Just the thought of a funeral gives me a feeling of pterodactyls in my stomach. Unlike butterflies, pterodactyl are evil, and gut wrenching, with their beaks tearing out your insides. At each funeral I've been to, essentially, the only thing that varies is the person who passed away. The most recent funeral I've attended was for one of my grandfather-like figures in my life. Papa Dave and his wife, Joann (who I had fondly nicknamed Bobes), babysat me when my parents worked. Every morning since I was 3 months old, I would get dropped of at Papa Dave's and Bobes' house. I credit my happy childhood with their personalized attention that I got all day. As I got older, their daycare was no longer needed. Papa Dave retired from his job as a cop, they moved south....about an hour away from Red Wing. I saw them during the summer and on some breaks, and they always came for my birthday. I loved staying with Joann and Papa Dave, and I espeically loved this little vanity that he made for his niece. Its ironic that the vanity he made for me was proably the last thing he made. Long story attempted to be shortened, Papa Dave battled for a long time with brain cancer, and in the final stages, I avoided seeing him, because he was no longer the Papa Dave that I love.
Papa Dave passed away peacefully.The funeral followed 3 days later. Funerals are so difficult. I personally think that the hardest part is when a family member gives the euology. Watching them try to give a speech without bursting into tears is something I can relate to, because when I was 10 years old I had to give a speech at my grandmother's funeral. I found it heartbreaking to see all the pictures, and the smudged make up of the wife, daughters, and sisters. The funeral is just a landmark of healing, and even moving on, from the death of a loved one.
Overall, funerals mean pain. It means that someone is gone forever, someones love, husband/wife, sister/brother, grandmother/father, niece/nephew.
I admire Claire's courage through the funeral. I know more than well just how hard funerals are, whether you are giving a speech, standing at the gravesite years later, or just a family member or friend there for support.
[Post A Week 4]
VOCABULARY:
viscerally(96): proceeding from instinct rather than intellect
harlequin (97): fancifully varied in color, decoration
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
"Her sharp blue eyes met mine, as if she were looking for something."(88)
Claire is describing Kate's eyes, and the adjective "sharp" doesnt mean "pointy". It means more of a direct, or intense, blue-eyed look.
"Night hovered just over the horizon, the thick dark hesitating at the edge of town." (93)
This sentence gives night a little bit of human characteristics, because night cannot acutally hover, and dark cannot be thick or cannot hesitate. The author chooses to give the night and dark human characteristics so the reader can more easily imagine the night.
"Then you disperse like a shattered atom." (96)
This is an example of a similie, used at Mr. Schiller's funeral. Claire feels amost disbelief that her husband is in a box at the front of a church, and as she walks down the aisle to her husband's casket, talks about "dispersing like a shattered atom".
PROBABLE THEME:
The way one death has a complte ripple effect, as well as the way ecach individual grieves.
viscerally(96): proceeding from instinct rather than intellect
harlequin (97): fancifully varied in color, decoration
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
"Her sharp blue eyes met mine, as if she were looking for something."(88)
Claire is describing Kate's eyes, and the adjective "sharp" doesnt mean "pointy". It means more of a direct, or intense, blue-eyed look.
"Night hovered just over the horizon, the thick dark hesitating at the edge of town." (93)
This sentence gives night a little bit of human characteristics, because night cannot acutally hover, and dark cannot be thick or cannot hesitate. The author chooses to give the night and dark human characteristics so the reader can more easily imagine the night.
"Then you disperse like a shattered atom." (96)
This is an example of a similie, used at Mr. Schiller's funeral. Claire feels amost disbelief that her husband is in a box at the front of a church, and as she walks down the aisle to her husband's casket, talks about "dispersing like a shattered atom".
PROBABLE THEME:
The way one death has a complte ripple effect, as well as the way ecach individual grieves.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Film Lit Review aka EXTRA CREDIT
A few weeks ago, when asked when it is okay to be the whistleblower, my immediate response was that it is never okay to be the whistle blower. Playing the role of whistleblower has its definite pros and cons, but becoming the “tattle tale” is far from admirable. As I viewed On the Waterfront, I was unsure about whether Terry Malloy was doing the morally correct thing by unearthing the truth about the mob’s operations at the dock. The right combination of the literary, dramatic and cinematic aspects gave me a new sense of perspective on the role of a whistleblower.
On the Waterfront takes place in the winter on the mob-organized docks of New York. On these docks controlled by Johnny Friendly, what Terry Malloy seeks is simple, employment. Terry quickly learns, after his haphazard involvement in the murder of his childhood friend that life on the docks is far from impartial. Father Barry, who is the priest at the local church, becomes suspicious about what the longshoremen know about the murder of Doyle. Throughout On the Waterfront, Father Barry symbolizes a God-like figure, saving New York from the mob. When Terry is called on for information on Doyle’s murder, Terry faces the dilemma of playing deaf and dumb or becoming a canary and singing out the truth.
The famous Marlon Brando portrays the character of Terry Malloy with ease. The emotion of confusion came through in every action he made. Brando’s physique also allows the viewer to subconsciously compare Terry as a less powerful person against the heavy-set Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). The casting of Lee J. Cobb as Johnny Friendly could not have been a better choice. The powerful dock-master’s booming voice commands the attention of both the viewer and the longshoremen who work for him. With each step, the ground seems to crumble underneath his might, as well as the people who tremble at the mere thought of him. Eva Marie Saint, who is the character of Edie Doyle, has a commanding presence in the film. She appears fragile and girlie, but when she speaks, she is truly passionate about ending the corruption on the docks by the mob. The character whose casting was disappointing was that of Charley Malloy. Rod Steiger did a poor job on balancing both the compassion and toughness in his character.
The use of costume is a strong point in On the Waterfront’s use of dramatic aspects. The best example of costume is Edie Doyle. Her bleach blonde coiffure provides contrast against all the dark haired men, which makes her character exceptionally bold. All of the men in the film, with the exception of Father Barry, wore heavy coats, as if to symbolize all that they had to hide. Father Barry was always filmed wearing his coatless costume because he, unlike the longshoremen, had nothing to hide. An extremely symbolic prop was Joey Doyle’s jacket, which after his death, his sister Edie gave to another longshoreman, Kayo. Kayo, viewed as a threat to the mob’s operation, was killed. Edie took the jacket and passed it on to Terry, who ironically enough was about to become a canary, and therefore on the mob’s kill list. A good example of use of light is in the scene where Edie and Terry are running down a shadowy alley, and a truck drives through, nearly hitting Edie and Terry. The truck’s headlights are used to illuminate the area where Terry’s brother, Charley’s dead body is hanging lifelessly.
The music in On the Waterfront significantly contributed to dramatization of the film. High pitched and choppy throughout the most suspenseful parts, the music added to the anxiousness and anticipation. During fast-moving scenes, the music becomes more rapid, quickening the pace of the film. Another good use of sound is the voices of the characters. The man with the most power also has the most booming voice, and Edie, the only woman present has a whiny tone that makes her impossible to ignore. Medium shots are the most frequent during the film. This gives the viewer the most realistic perspective of what the characters see. An effective use of a low angle is demonstrated when Father Barry is being raised up from underneath the ship, making him appear superior to the longshoremen.
Joe Keller, of All My Sons, and Terry Malloy, of On the Waterfront share the same conflict of being the whistleblower. Their decisions alike have deathly consequences; for Terry his life, as well as the life of others if they choose to report the mob and Keller puts the lives of America’s pilots at risk with the cracked cylinder heads. Both Joe Keller and Terry Malloy’s involvement in the business of dishonesty comes at the cost the life of a family member. The ultimate difference between Keller and Terry is their honesty. Keller lives his life in a tangled web of lies, claiming that he never knew about the cylinder heads, and blamed it on his business partner, who received a jail sentence for Keller’s crime. Terry decides to tell the truth about the happenings at the dock, and although the mob could easily have him killed, he decides to do what he feels is right. Terry falls under the classification of an ethical crusade, choosing a difficult task because its morally correct, and Joe Keller is a traitor, causing harm to others for personal contentment.
After watching On the Waterfront, I realized that I needed to soften my position on when it is okay to become the whistleblower. I now believe that when someone’s life is at stake, it is necessary to blow the whistle. I think when Terry tattled on the mob’s dishonest actions, it was the overall morally correct thing to do. The gripping plot, tasteful casting, effective use of costumes and props and suspenseful music helped cast a light on the importance of when being a whistleblower is necessary. I would highly recommend this movie, because I found it extremely thought provoking.
On the Waterfront takes place in the winter on the mob-organized docks of New York. On these docks controlled by Johnny Friendly, what Terry Malloy seeks is simple, employment. Terry quickly learns, after his haphazard involvement in the murder of his childhood friend that life on the docks is far from impartial. Father Barry, who is the priest at the local church, becomes suspicious about what the longshoremen know about the murder of Doyle. Throughout On the Waterfront, Father Barry symbolizes a God-like figure, saving New York from the mob. When Terry is called on for information on Doyle’s murder, Terry faces the dilemma of playing deaf and dumb or becoming a canary and singing out the truth.
The famous Marlon Brando portrays the character of Terry Malloy with ease. The emotion of confusion came through in every action he made. Brando’s physique also allows the viewer to subconsciously compare Terry as a less powerful person against the heavy-set Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). The casting of Lee J. Cobb as Johnny Friendly could not have been a better choice. The powerful dock-master’s booming voice commands the attention of both the viewer and the longshoremen who work for him. With each step, the ground seems to crumble underneath his might, as well as the people who tremble at the mere thought of him. Eva Marie Saint, who is the character of Edie Doyle, has a commanding presence in the film. She appears fragile and girlie, but when she speaks, she is truly passionate about ending the corruption on the docks by the mob. The character whose casting was disappointing was that of Charley Malloy. Rod Steiger did a poor job on balancing both the compassion and toughness in his character.
The use of costume is a strong point in On the Waterfront’s use of dramatic aspects. The best example of costume is Edie Doyle. Her bleach blonde coiffure provides contrast against all the dark haired men, which makes her character exceptionally bold. All of the men in the film, with the exception of Father Barry, wore heavy coats, as if to symbolize all that they had to hide. Father Barry was always filmed wearing his coatless costume because he, unlike the longshoremen, had nothing to hide. An extremely symbolic prop was Joey Doyle’s jacket, which after his death, his sister Edie gave to another longshoreman, Kayo. Kayo, viewed as a threat to the mob’s operation, was killed. Edie took the jacket and passed it on to Terry, who ironically enough was about to become a canary, and therefore on the mob’s kill list. A good example of use of light is in the scene where Edie and Terry are running down a shadowy alley, and a truck drives through, nearly hitting Edie and Terry. The truck’s headlights are used to illuminate the area where Terry’s brother, Charley’s dead body is hanging lifelessly.
The music in On the Waterfront significantly contributed to dramatization of the film. High pitched and choppy throughout the most suspenseful parts, the music added to the anxiousness and anticipation. During fast-moving scenes, the music becomes more rapid, quickening the pace of the film. Another good use of sound is the voices of the characters. The man with the most power also has the most booming voice, and Edie, the only woman present has a whiny tone that makes her impossible to ignore. Medium shots are the most frequent during the film. This gives the viewer the most realistic perspective of what the characters see. An effective use of a low angle is demonstrated when Father Barry is being raised up from underneath the ship, making him appear superior to the longshoremen.
Joe Keller, of All My Sons, and Terry Malloy, of On the Waterfront share the same conflict of being the whistleblower. Their decisions alike have deathly consequences; for Terry his life, as well as the life of others if they choose to report the mob and Keller puts the lives of America’s pilots at risk with the cracked cylinder heads. Both Joe Keller and Terry Malloy’s involvement in the business of dishonesty comes at the cost the life of a family member. The ultimate difference between Keller and Terry is their honesty. Keller lives his life in a tangled web of lies, claiming that he never knew about the cylinder heads, and blamed it on his business partner, who received a jail sentence for Keller’s crime. Terry decides to tell the truth about the happenings at the dock, and although the mob could easily have him killed, he decides to do what he feels is right. Terry falls under the classification of an ethical crusade, choosing a difficult task because its morally correct, and Joe Keller is a traitor, causing harm to others for personal contentment.
After watching On the Waterfront, I realized that I needed to soften my position on when it is okay to become the whistleblower. I now believe that when someone’s life is at stake, it is necessary to blow the whistle. I think when Terry tattled on the mob’s dishonest actions, it was the overall morally correct thing to do. The gripping plot, tasteful casting, effective use of costumes and props and suspenseful music helped cast a light on the importance of when being a whistleblower is necessary. I would highly recommend this movie, because I found it extremely thought provoking.
Monday, November 26, 2007
[Post B Week 3]
During this section of the book, the father in the Schiller family commits suicide. His suicide changes the family and their ways greatly. There is little explanation behind his suicide, and when Claire is asked why she thinks her husband committed suicide, she says, "He was sad." This is clearly the great loss of the family that is described in the synopsis. I think suicide brings different emotions to individuals based on personal experience.
In my humble opinion, I think that suicide is very selfish. I also understand that suicide is very serious. I know that people who have this kind of issue feel like they are often alone and the world is against them, which is a probable skewed perception. However, when an individual follows through with the act of suicide, their issues do not evaporate into thin air. Instead, they are dumped into the laps of their loved ones. The loved ones have little explanation, and are left hanging. Even though suicide notes can offer closure to the parents, the siblings, the friends, the significant others, the true reasoning behind the choice to follow through can never be unearthed. Also, it shouldn't take a suicide to realize just how many loved ones that were there to support this individual. That is why I firmly believe in never ending a conversation on a bitter note, and I think it is important to always tell the people that you love that you love them. In any time of loneliness and hopelessness, I would rather a friend call me because they know that I love and care about them than turn to an extreme measure such as self harm, or even suicide.
What are your thoughts on suicide?
In my humble opinion, I think that suicide is very selfish. I also understand that suicide is very serious. I know that people who have this kind of issue feel like they are often alone and the world is against them, which is a probable skewed perception. However, when an individual follows through with the act of suicide, their issues do not evaporate into thin air. Instead, they are dumped into the laps of their loved ones. The loved ones have little explanation, and are left hanging. Even though suicide notes can offer closure to the parents, the siblings, the friends, the significant others, the true reasoning behind the choice to follow through can never be unearthed. Also, it shouldn't take a suicide to realize just how many loved ones that were there to support this individual. That is why I firmly believe in never ending a conversation on a bitter note, and I think it is important to always tell the people that you love that you love them. In any time of loneliness and hopelessness, I would rather a friend call me because they know that I love and care about them than turn to an extreme measure such as self harm, or even suicide.
What are your thoughts on suicide?
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