Journal 44: Black Swan

Black Swan is a masterfully done film and probably my favorite film ever. It's a psychological thriller that has to do with the art of ballet and the breakdown of a dancer in a famous studio as she strives for the lead role in the version of Swan Lake they are putting on. The movie itself is very bleak and dark, and also extremely well done. I just saw it a few days ago and I can't get over how awesome it was. The hero in the movie was very flawed and as evidenced throughout the course of the film is an unreliable narrator with a serious mental problem that is warping her perception of everything and thus making our viewing of the film unreliable. With these qualities in mind several incidents of the film occur in which we are given a warped view. Also the ending is left up to viewer interpretation which gives way to the multiple meaning. The view is wapred and we see reality break through a few times which gives us the multiple viewpoints in the film due to the protagonist's unreliability. Also the protagonist is very flawed and the entire film reveals the seemingly kind and caring protagonist has a dark and evil side to her that is responsible for the death and downfall of herself eventually. It really was a great movie and Natalie Portman was just obnoxiously good and so very deserving of that Academy Award that she won. Anyway I really liked that movie and would highly recommend it. Oh good lord I still have way too much blog to write and I really don't want to so I'm just gonna go off on a tangent here for a bit I think just to get rid of some of these word reuqirements. But yeah the film is more epic in scale than most and therefore it makes for a more fantastical story. That's about all for that.

Modernism Project

Works Cited


Sandburg, Carl. "Carl Sandburg Poems - I Am The People The Mob." Carl Sandburg - Chicago Poems - Carl Sandburg Biography. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. .

Werlock, Abby H. P. "modernism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS589&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 17, 2011).

Gaydosik, Victoria. "modernism." Facts On File Companion to the British Novel: 20th Century, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= GCBNII371&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 17, 2011).

Anderson, George Parker. "modernism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds.Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1234&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 17, 2011).

Journal #43: Blue Train anlysis

Ahhh John Coltrane. What a man. A champion among the Jazz greats even though I do prefer Miles Davis to him, but all the same you gotta respect the greats. The point of this blog is to analyze the Coltrane song Blue Train. Running in at 10 minutes it is just a brilliant piece of jazz. It starts out relatively clam and it just bursts into this hectic but somehow orderly and brilliant piece of chaos with order. You can just feel like you are in a dark but somehow just perfectly lit club with the circular tables and a main stage with Mr. Coltrane just going at it during this piece. You can see each individual piece of sweat dripping down his face and hitting the stage. His backup band is getting into as well the drummer jamming out, and the cello player standing up and just getting down with that beat. The smell of the place is not the most pleasant because it's such a small and somewhat cramped space but still it's just brilliant and the sound of that music is just overwhelming to any of the cons or negatives that are going down. You can just feel the passion of the musicians while they are playing this epic and you can feel ever ounce of their beings that they put into the music. You can just feel the heat of the place rising up as the musicians keep playing and you yourself can just feel as if you are up on the stage playing your heart out right there with these jazz legends and greats. These are just a few of the senses that I get when I'm listening to Blue Train. I really do love Jazz because there are so many different types of it that you can either just relax and chill out to our just listen to to feel the passion of the musicians as they just jam their hearts out on this stage full of strangers. So all in all Jazz is a really passionate and emotional type of music.

Realism and Modernism Simliarities

There are numerous instances in which realism and modernism are similar. Some of the more pressing similarities are the instances in which they use redemption, the realistic portrayals of their characters and the time period as well as their use of symbolism to get across their points. Through their use of thematic elements in the form of symbolism and their portrayal of characters the similarities between modernism and realism are revealed. In books like Grapes of Wrath we see the light at the end of the tunnel and are shown the underlying theme of redemption in the novel which is similar to the theme of several Realism novels, but it is presented in several Modernism writings such as the works of John Steinbeck where the theme is even more present than in most novels. This theme of redemption is prominent in most modernism writings save for some such as All Quiet on the Western Front where the theme was much more depressing and does not end with any sort of fantasy of a happy ending or a fairy tale ending. These themes were so prominent in most modernism writings that the common thematic elements of the two are easy to decipher and tell apart. The two writing styles shared much in common especially in the form of their characters. With the characters we are given people like Rose of Sharon who show us the qualities of redemption and what not in humanity while giving us hope in play with the common thematic elements that are played in to effecct with both of the types of novels. These common thematic elements are easy to reveal when put page to page with both styles of writing. Along with characters and thematic elements symbolism is rampant in both styles of writing which is made evident in the thematic elements of the Hemingway novel The Old Man and the Sea. The Sea and the fish and just about everything in that novel have a symbolic relationship with something or another like with the sea being so representative of God and the whole being of human existentialism and all of that jazz and what not. Yeah symbolism is really rich is boh types of novels but more so in the writings of men like Hemingway and Steinbeck in their powerful writings of the American front and everything. These kinds of symbolic relationships in the novels reveal to us the nature of the two writings which goes hand in hand with the many common thematic elements that are used in both types of writings such as in Steinbecks primarily. It is evident through all the others use of characters that they attempt to portray them in a manner that will get the reader to be able to sympathize with them while they are attempting to get across their message of redemption to the reader and that is the primary message and theme in the writings of both Realism and Modernism. These are the themes of the two writings.

Job Shadowing

All in all my job shadowing experience was pretty awesome. I had to go to the Illinois State Police Central HQ and followed a trooper around for the day and she explained to us some of the interworkings of police work and how you became a police officer and what sort of opportunities you had once you graduated from the police academy. All of that was pretty interesting but sadly we didn't get to go much into forensics which was what I assumed we would be talking about, but it turned out for the best really and I had a fantastic time while there. It did clear up what was required to became a state police forensics investigator and I know that I won't be going into that field, I will just be a civilian forensic analyst. Getting through the police academy sounds like a brutal 6 months and I don't think I would enjoy having to go through that, so I don't think I'll be joining the state police anytime soon, however I am still interested in going into forensics. Overall I was very impressed by what I saw on my experience especially when we got to go into the Illinois State police evidence vault and saw about half a billion dollars worth of drugs. It was insane in there. But, I digress despite not seeing any forensics work I still really enjoyed my time shadowing the state trooper and learned a lot of policework.

Journal 42: Whitman vs. Dickinson

Ok, so I hate both Whitman and Dickinson so preferably I would rather not read any of their poetry but I guess for the sake of this journal I'm going to have to pick the lesser of both evils and i would have to go with Dickinson because the fiery passion of my hate for Whitman is barely able to be contained. So yeah if having to choose I would have to go for Dickinson. They were both considered to be insane at the time and I don't know why anybody likes them now but hey whatever I guess it just further talks to my theory of human de-evolution and the decline of intelligence of humanity, but hey whatever. I mean her poems aren't that bad I guess but she was still an insane old cat lady who lived out in the woods all by herself so that couldn't have been healthy for her state of being or anything along those lines. Some of her poems aren't that bad and are somewhat enjoyable but they are still not very good and I just detest poetry as a whole if it's not modern or in some lyrics. I mean I freaking love Robert Smith and he is a modern day poet. I just sort of detest the whole old age poetry except for Dark Romanticism because that was some pretty dark and creepy stuff and I really enjoyed some of that. Otherwise however I'm not a really big fan of poetry as a whole unles it is from this day and age or it is all dark and kind of explores the whole of human psychology in an interesting and unique way. These are just some of my opinions and what not so I guess you shouldn't be too mad at me for hating on poetry and stuff cuz it just isn't for me but I feel very strongly about it so that's me and you should not judge your opinions on poetry or anything so yeah.

Superfluous Were the Sun

Dickinson's poem "Superfluous Were the Sun" is a standard Dickinson poem about time and eternity found in the fourth section of her complete book of poetry. The poem is a simple one about the nature of the sun and space. As McChesney writes "As subject, she provided an array of dichotomies: strength/ fragility; boldness/timidity; certainty/questioning; health/frailty; Christian/pagan. As an analyst, she explored her psyche untiringly, reaching conclusions and expressing those intellectual leaps in her poetry." This statement is found to be all too much true if one were to read and analyze the entirety of Dickinson's work. This poem in of itself is an analysis of the sun and how it sits in space and affects the earth.

SUPERFLUOUS were the sun
When excellence is dead;
He were superfluous every day,
For every day is said
That syllable whose faith	5
Just saves it from despair,
And whose “I ’ll meet you” hesitates—
If love inquire, “Where?”
Upon his dateless fame
Our periods may lie,	10
As stars that drop anonymous
From an abundant sky.

As the first stanza says the sun works in excess every day providing too much sunlight and heat than is necessary to sustain us. It exerts itself unnecessarily and does excellence work until excellence is dead. The poem's first stanza is just an admiration to the sun for sustaining human life and working for the good and survival of the human race as a whole.

With the second stanza talks of the human's on the planet who are kept alive by the sun and go about their lives without realizing how large of an impact it has on their lives. It sustains them and allows them to do things such as fall in love and meet with their beloved and only those who have faith realize what God did for them by giving them the sun and allowing them to live as such. The second stanza applauds those with faith and tell of how their admiration saves the sun from flickering out and lapsing into "despair."

The final stanza of the poem is about the inevitable decline and death of the sun. It talks of all the stars that eventually fall out of the night sky and how this will one day occur to the sun as it is nothing more than another star, although one that is especially important to humanity as a whole. It makes the sun seem insignificant in the larger roll of the universe but it stays relevant to humans despite this. There is one line that explains how our lives and beings rely on the fame and ability of the sun to sustain the planet and it's significance for just one planet in the entire universe.

On the surface this poem is a testament to the sun and thanks God for it and no further reading into it is required. It is easy to reveal the true meaning of the poem through a simple reading through of it and the simplicity and thankful nature of the poem are what allow it to excel and work as a poem and a testament to faith and the sun.

Dickinson, Emily. "116. “Superfluous Were the Sun.” Part Four: Time and Eternity. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 23 Mar. 2011. .

McChesney, Sandra. "A View from the Window: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson." In Harold Bloom, ed. Emily Dickinson, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BCED03&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 23, 2011).

I Can Wade Grief

This poem is about coping with grief. The author speaks of having to deal with grief in her first line, "I wade grief, whole pools of it" The author is stating that she can make it through any period of grief or any inordinate amount of suffering and bleak moments. She can wade through any amount of these through force of will and powers of endurance. Then she says that when having difficulty of dealing with wading through all the grief she is able to "rise" above the pools of grief using joy as a new form of alcohol in the line "But the least push of joy, breaks up my feet, and I tip-drunken. Let no pebble smile, 'Twas the new liquor,- That was all!" She says that she can use joy and happiness to wade of the pools of sorrow and grief in her life through use of joy and happiness in her life. She claims in the first line in the next stanza that "Power is only pain" explaining that through gaining power and using power, the quest for power in itself, will only lead to despair and end with pain and suffering for those involved. The rest of the poem is the attempt to explain that relying on freidsn and family is like using a giant to help you with work and struggles in your life. The entire poem is a testament to the strength of humanity and the power of the human mind and it's ability to overcome struggle and adversity with support from their friends and all the good moments in life. The entire poem is a story of human's being able to go through their entire lives suffering from adversity and struggle and being able to get through the misery of life through the happy moments and using their friends and family as support to their difficulties in life. These are the meanings behind this poem and what not.

Long, Too Long America

"Long, Too Long America" is a poem from the "Drum-Taps" section of Walt Whitman's book "Leaves of Grass." The poem was written about the soldiers from the Civil War and their return from war after the tragic war. Whitman had a history of being a nurse to soldiers who were wounded in the Civil War. His brother was wounded in the Civil War and he went to find him and comfort him in his time of need. Instead he found hundreds of wounded soldiers who were in agony and he comforted them as best he could. Doing this he forged a great bound with the men at arms and was greatly drawn to their struggle and their sacrifices.

LONG, too long America,

Traveling roads all even and peaceful you learn'd from joys and prosperity only,

But now, ah now, to learn from crises of anguish, advancing, grap- pling with direst fate and recoiling not,

And now to conceive and show to the world what your children en-masse really are,

(For who except myself has yet conceiv'd what your children en-masse really are?) As Oliver wrote, "He has experienced firsthand the bravery of the soldiers both North and South, and he is writing these poems in order to describe the significance of what he has learned." This poem showed the great respect and regard that Whitman held for the men in arms and very little symbolism is used throughout. The main symbol behind the poem is the concept of the everyman and Whitman uses this concept to give the men in the poem character and have the reader emphasize with them. He wrote of the selflessness of the soldiers and the the struggle that America went through. As Oliver wrote

For too long the speaker says in this five-line poem, America has been satisfied with its "joys and prosperity," but now that the Civil War has begun—this "crises [crisis] of anguish, advancing, grappling with direst fate and recoiling not"—we must "show to the world what your children enmasse really are." The children enmasse are the soldiers returning from war and they are tired from their battle-hardened struggles. They have suffered through hell and back and have come back as weak men who had seen the end of their ropes. They went off to war as boys looking for a thrill and going to seek the glory of war. Whitman saw through this and knew that after the war the boys would be weak and unfit to do anything else.

There are no uses of symbolism in this work as evidenced in Whitman's earlier works, but the message and thought behind the poem are the same as his usual works. He uses the concept of the everyman but there are no mentions of self or relating religion and spirituality into his work. The message of the poem is to pay tribute to those disheartened souls that suffered through the tragic battlegrounds of the Civil War and there own minds to an extent.

Oliver, Charles M. "'Long, too Long America'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW257&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 7, 2011).

Whitman, Walt. "LONG, TOO LONG AMERICA. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. .

Ages and Ages Returning at Intervals

"Ages and Ages Returning at Intervals" is a poem written by Whitman that explores more into the author's realm of sexuality and his own personal viewpoints. The poem is a raunchy, lust-filled song that exhibits the odd sexual tendencies that Whitman held and his controversial viewpoints at the time. The poem delivers an odd meaning with many references to sex and Whitman's own often vague sexuality. Despite his religious nature Whitman often delved into the topic of sexuality with little holding him back, as he saw himself as a revolutionary who was in touch with the everyman. He thought that his messages would get across to the common populace and despite the ulterior meanings of his poems he believed that the common man would delve deep into his poems to reveal the meanings just beneath the surface of his poems.

"Ages and ages returning at intervals, Undestroy'd, wandering immortal, Lusty, phallic, with the potent original loins, perfectly sweet, I, chanter of Adamic songs, Through the new garden in the West, the great cities calling, Deliriate, thus prelude what is generated, offering these, offering myself, Bathing myself, bathing my songs in Sex, Offspring of my loins (Whitman.)" As Oliver writes in his thematic analysis of Whitman's poem, "The Adam of the Garden of Eden is, for the poet, "immortal": "Ages and ages returning at intervals, / Undestroy'd, wandering immortal." And sexual: "Lusty, phallic, with the potent original loins, perfectly sweet." And Adam has been reborn in America." Now in my opinion what Whitman is writing is just pure smut and is a glorification of a taboo in our society. It's just rude and awkward to publicly discuss sex and our opinions on sexuality but hey I guess since the critics interpret this stuff as such and say so it must be true. But, I digress, the poem uses original sin and the concept of Adam and Eve as the basis for this work and indeed most poems in the "Children of Adam" section of "Leaves of Grass."

Our first glance of "symbolism" in this work is the line where Whitman mentions "chanter of Adamic songs." This excerpt from the poem uses the Christian tale of the creation of Adam and Eve to demonstrate Whitman as a religious man who viewed the repression of sex by the church as the sin as opposed to the public focus on sex which was not allowed with the Church. Whitman is writing of the spirituality and the true beauty of sex while the church represses these kinds of thoughts and behaviors in it's people claiming that sex for reproduction is the only good kind of sexual relations. There is no relation to Jesus or the everyman in this poem instead the poem takes a rather unorthodox approach to sex and in my opinion completely crosses the line with his focus on the sexual nature of his behaviors and thought process, while people like this critic viewed it as a religious statement. I don't buy that one bit but hey whatever, he's the critic here not me.

Whitman, Walt. "AGES AND AGES RETURNING AT INTERVALS. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .

Oliver, Charles M. "'Ages and Ages Returning at Intervals'."Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW010&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 3, 2011).

Bardic Symbols

Whitman was a very symbolic writer who relied on several symbols and analogies throughout his works. Due to this several of his works have the potential to be misinterpreted as their literal meanings are often not analyzed enough. Although in the critics defense Whitman used some very odd topics to use as symbols in his work, and I mean really who uses kissing their father as an analogy for God. It's just kind of weird and creepy. So yeah the author of the criticism just talks about how nobody can really tell what the ulterior symbols of this poem are and that the literal meaning of the poems are just easier to see and that analyzing the poem itself would be too difficult. The critic just talks about how it's very difficult to analyze the poem and that all in all there is no message behind any of the words behind the poem. The poem is just a literal poem that has no deep symbolic meanings like any of his other poems. It is just a literal poem that Whitman was not able to insert any deep meanings into and thus it just turns out as a creepy poem about Whitman on the beach thinking about life and wanting to kiss his dad. Apparently instead of having an Oedipus Complex like any other male child Whitman got lucky and got the female equivalent in the Elektra complex which is just a bit weird. So all in all this poem was not successful in whatever the heck that Whitman was able trying to get across to the readers, instead he just came across as a creepy old man talking about making out with his dad. I mean that is just weird and I don't really feel like reading about something like this. Despite what people say the poem has no ulterior meanings and it is just a failure of a poem. That is the basic message he critic is trying to get across is that there are no hidden meaning and that the poem is just weird.

The Ship Starting

Whitman wrote "Leaves of Grass" throughout the course of his life and during his lifetime revised it several times until his death. it is a short collection of his poem that rely heavily on his concept of "Self" and draw influences from religion and spirituality, Christianity primarily. He often makes several allusions to God and Christ using common things to represent the two. His poem "The Ship Starting" was included in "Leaves of Grass" and throughout it we find many of the common themes that were characteristics of Whitman's writing style with it's heavy reliance on Christianity and his collective version of the human being which was referred to as his "Self."

"LO! the unbounded sea!

On its breast a ship starting, spreading all her sails---an ample Ship, carrying even her moonsails; The pennant is flying aloft, as she speeds, she speeds so stately---below, emulous waves press forward, They surround the Ship, with shining curving motions, and foam (Whitman.)"

This poem is one of the first poems that the readers finds in "Leaves of Grass" and the symbolism in this poem is rich. The first line introduces the "unbounded sea" which initially seems unimportant but after analyzing the rest of the poem the meaning behind the ship becomes evident. The sea alludes to the Earth, representing the place where the ship sails and the nature of it's sailing. It represents the untamed Earth and the place where the ship must navigate and the passengers must spend their lives navigating without being overcome by it's rough and destructive nature.

The next symbol the reader comes across is the ship. The ship, which spends it's day carrying passengers must navigate the sea, Earth. The ship can thus be representative of the vessel that is humanity. Humans must navigate the course of their lives on Earth and attempt to find their's way. Through Whitman's concept of "Self" we are all one and thus are all one person. This clarifies as to why there are not multiple boats for each individual human and instead there is one large ship for the entire mankind.

The third symbol in the poem are the waves. As Whitman writes the waves carry the ship "emulously" which means it has an innate desire to excel. The ships carry humanity on their mission to excel and to be the best there ever was, which Whitman was a strong proponent of. The waves are thus representative of the collective self and the human desire to become the best. These are the symbols that are used throughout the poem and each one supports the others in ways that allow it to exist or reveal the nature behind each term thus giving away it's greater meaning.

The terms alone in this poem are not much and initially the poem is seen to be about the story of a ship sailing across the ocean. Upon further analysis the real meaning of the poem is evident and the reader finds evidence of Whitman using his well known concept of "Self." Each symbol assists each other in the poem and their meaning are evident from one another.

Whitman, Walt. "11. Ship Starting, The. Whitman, Walt. 1900. Leaves of Grass." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .

Journal #38: Religion in As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing"

Obviously this poem is an analogy for Hinduism. Whitman writes of the circle of life and the aspect of reincarnation can be easily tied into the concept of the circle of life. In reincarnation the idea behind the concept is that people have an infinite number of lives and they are born and die. Once they die their spirit inhabits another being as they are born again into another life. Whitman writes of the harvesting in this poem and reaping the benefits of what is sown from the sweat of one's brow. This portion is not so relevant to the concept of religion but it does set the analogous properties of the poem as a whole. The idea of farming the circle of life in which crops are planted and grown and they are harvested. When they are harvested they reap seeds, which are then planted. The seeds grow into plants and the cycle repeats and repeats until the end of time. The main concept of the religion of Hinduism is the idea of reincarnation so the poem shares similarities of their main concepts between the cycle of harvesting and reincarnation. This is how the poem is representative and analogous of religion. Speaking of society the poem is representative of the great prairie farmers of the United States. The poem was written around this time and Whitman looked to the west for inspirations of this poem. The poem shows the harvesters and farmers of society during the time period and is representative of these men and women of the time period. The main concepts of the poem are religion, and the cycle of life and society. The reader must dig to unearth the concept of spirituality in this poem, but underneath the surface it is evident in it's relationship to the Hindi concept of reincarnation. In reference to society Whitman uses the workmen of the fields as a basis for the society of the poem.

Journal #37: Whitman Response

Well in this paper about Whitman the author expresses sentiments that were similar to my own when reading Whitman initially. I still have mixed feelings on his writings and his poetry as a whole but I believe I am beginning to warm up to him. The authors states that he believes Whitman is an egotistical, narcissistic maniac. Initially this is how I felt, and I still do feel this way to an extent. The author seems to be taking the straight forward and literal approach to Whitman's work which makes Whitman seem like a self-obsessed fool. After reading deeper the reader learns of Whitman's concept of "self" and the author of this reaction to Whitman's work seems to neglect the deeper interpretation of Whitman's work taking the straight and narrow path of analyzing Whitman's work which on the surface does make a convincing case that Whitman was simply an egotistical nutjob. If the author of this reaction would have analyzed the work and known what Whitman had been talking about then maybe he would have no been so critical of his works, but in his defense most people would not initially look for the deeper meaning behind the poem and only scratch the surface of his works. If one were to do this then they would easily miss the deeper meaning of Whitman's "Self" and simply see that Whitman was a crazy old man with a beard who thought he was the greatest man in the world with none even comparing to him. I have mixed reactions on the author's take on Whitman's work as I agree with him on some points and yet still find myself doubting when it comes to Whitman altogether. The whole egotistical aspect comes into play with me and I am not able to quite grasp the concept of Whitman's spiritual "self" but hopefully with time I will open up to the idea and be able to fully understand the concept of Whitman's work.

Journal #36: Favorite Meal, Yum!

I like food, just gonna throw that out there to establish my love of dietary stuff and what not. So anyway I do like me some food, and as an added twist I am a vegetarian. My favorite meals are usually organic and what not so you get to enjoy reading about that. One of my favorite meals is a delicious spicy black bean Morning Star soy burger and this thing is just succulent. I mean how one could not enjoy it is just beyond my comprehensible ability. As a side I usually grab some yogurt (strawberry banana for the win) and eat that as well with my brilliant burger (he's got a PHD in delicious.) I usually grab a piece of fruit, while I'm eating usually a kiwi because those are the greatest fruits known to man. As one of the final steps I grab some cashews or soy nuts and I'm basically all set. That's basically my favorite meal in the world because it just tastes so delicious it is beyond comprehension. I mean it's just like an explosion of deliciousness in my mouth. Finally to drink with it all I usually just grab a glass of milk to wash everything down because milk is both delicious and good for you. Anyway that's my favorite meal of all time and I mean how you could not like it is just not possible. It's both delicious and great for you. That's just a plain and simple fact, because nobodies taste buds can not like that stuff. Seriously it is one of, no, THE best meal you could ever eat in your entire existence. There are so many crazy flavors just interacting and going freaking crazy that is just makes your taste buds explode with awesome. So yeah, that's my take on food and my most favorite meal in the entire freaking galaxy. Morning Star just makes some of the best food in the universe. Anyway yeah you should go eat that meal right now because you would just love it.

Walt Whitman and Self

Whitman was one of the most influential poets in American history. Throughout the course of his lifetime Whitman wrote several poems and was acclaimed for his poetry. He is regarded as the great American poet and has been compared to Shakespeare in his writing ability. His most iconic use of symbolism and representation in poetry was his use of "self." Through several of his poems Whitman explored the use of "self" and coined a new use of the term.

In his poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" Whitman writes of his identity crisis and his difficulty in discovering who he is in lines like "As I stood on the rising ground in the breeze in the cool transparent night, as I watch'd where you pass'd and was lost in the netherward black of the night, as my soul in its trouble dissatisfied sank, as where you sad orb, Concluded, dropt in the night, and was gone." This line aptly describes the trouble Whitman is going through at this point in time at discovering who he was. Something in his life was confusing him and he could not straighten it out and thus he went outside and looked into space when the night sky was filled with stars. He had lost a lover and was confused in his life and thought he had no direction and no motivation in his life or as a person.

Yet another famous poem of Whitman's "Excelsior" explores the concept of "self" and reveals much about the author through Whitman's exploration of his own being. With lines like "And who benevolent? For I would show more benevolence the rest; And who has projected beautiful words through the longest time? By God! I will outive him! I will say such words, they shall stretch through longer time!" In this poem Whitman reveals his confidence and his finding of self. He is confident and capable and knows his abilities well. He shows some signs of arrogance and vows to reach for the stars for he will outdo all humans who came before him.

Through poems such as these Whitman reveals much about himself and mainly his state of mind when he wrote these poems. Obviously at the time of writing "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" it shows that he was getting out of a relationship or was struggling with his identity trying to discover who he was. With "Excelsior" we see that Whitman has overcome this crisis and has affirmed his identity showcasing his confidence in his self and his identity. Through his poems Whitman was able to convey his "self" to his readers and allow them to discover themselves through his own identity.

Whitman, Walt. "WHEN LILACS LAST IN THE DOORYARD BLOOM'D. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt. "EXCELSIOR. (Leaves of Grass [1867])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. .

Journal #35: Action News Reporter!

I think being a news reporter in a war would be exciting and very frightening. Living in the trenches with the soldiers would give you a much more accurate report of the war and the battles themselves, and allow me to write a much more accurate portrait of the war itself and how the soldier's lives were like. I don't think I would really enjoy myself in a war environment because I would be frightened and unable to really report all that well in such an environment. I would probably become friends with many of the soldiers and losing any of them in combat would be difficult because I would see my friends cut down in front of my eyes. It would not be much different from being a soldier but not having a weapon would probably make me a little jumpier than everyone else and more susceptible to getting shell shock and all of that good stuff I suppose. I really don't know what else to write about. But yeah all in all being a news reporter who lived in the trenches and like Frank West I would have covered wars ya know? So anywho being in war would be difficult with all the bombs and gunfire constantly surronding you and creeping in your ear as you sleep to surprise attacks. I don't think I would enjoy being in a war but whatever I really don't care that much in all. I'm really bored. More accurate facts and pictures of the war would be advantageous but still I don't really think it would be worth it in the long run because of the psychological trauma and being surrounded by death and all that bad stuff. This had better be three hundred and twenty five words at this point or I will be sorely upset. Yea but war is bad and being a journalist on the front lines would be difficult to handle and unenjoyable all in all. That's all I have to say about that.

The Works of Paul Dunbar

Paul Lawrence Dunbar was the son of two freed slaves and an African American. A regionalism writer famous for his use of African American dialect in his poems, often with the central action occurring in the deep south and focusing on African Americans, who never had an opportunity for education and thus their pattern of speech and dialect sounded unrefined to the untrained ear, but their language added some color to otherwise bland sentences or descriptions, which was one of the reasons Dunbar used the dialect in his writings. His focus on setting and dialect, mark him as akin to the African American Mark Twain and he was famous for his use of dialect in his poems and stories, which like Twain sets Dunbar in the regionalist category for his use crucial use of dialect and setting that serve to introduce and memorialize characters through distinctive speech patterns that allow readers a more vivid portrait of the action occuring and visualizes the characters.

Regionalism is defined by Giles as, "It is generally seen as having two distinct strands: social realism (the recording of observable experiences of individual characters within distinct social classes) and psychological realism (the exploration of the hidden and complex workings of the conscious minds of individual characters)." Through his use of dialect and memorable identifiable characters Dunbar cemented his place as a regionalism writer although he neglects the pursuit of the American Dream and the atypical everyman characters instead opting for using the average African American standpoint on issues that reveal the mentality of the society of African Americans. Two of his poems "Douglass," and "We Wear the Mask" were not written in dialect because although Dunbar appreciated dialect, he thought that some poems simply sounded better in plain English and lost too much of their subject matter in translation from English to African American dialect, while with others it added in certain twists and descriptions that would otherwise be lacking in the English version.

With lines from "Douglass" like, "For they strong arm to guide the shivering bark, The blast defying power of thy form, To give us comfort through the lonely dark (570.)" and lines from "We Wear the Mask" like "Why should the world be over wise, In counting our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask" Dunbar clearly marks the African American point of view. In his first poem he sends a message to the ghost of Frederick Douglass calling upon his help in the African American communities need of guidance and assistance revealing the mentality of the African Americans and their respect for Douglass. In the second poem to veil their emotions from their white overlords the blacks "wear a mask" that cover up their true emotions and fool the whites into thinking that everything is fine. Through his use of setting and revealing the society of African Americans, Dunbar reveals his regionalist roots and tendancies and he and his works plant themselves firmly as regionalist works to be remembered for the ages, due to their ability to reveal so much about a society through simple poetry and language.

Giles, James R. "realism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1326&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 16, 2011).

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 570. Print.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 571. Print.

I Will Fight No More Forever

Chief Joseph was the leader of Nez Perce during the attempted evacuation of from their land by the US military. His very short story "I Will Fight No More Forever" tells the heart wrenching tale of the abysmal conditions the Nez Perce were put through when the United States military attempted to forcefully relocate them and put them in a government run preservation. Because of the bleak, depressing, and shockingly truthful nature of the story it is categorized as a naturalist piece of work using common themes and characteristics of naturalism stories.

As defined by Sommers, naturalism is "naturalism was a literary movement based on the writings of the scientist Charles Darwin, author of Origin of Species (1859). More specifically, naturalist authors were largely interested in maintaining Darwin's suppositions that human beings were soulless creatures, "merely higher-order animals," bereft of free will, whose mannerisms and behavior resulted primarily from their heredity and the influences of a capricious environment (Abrams 261)." With these ideas in mind it is simple to see how "I Will Fight No More Forever" falls into the naturalist category with the theme of despair and the trail of destruction and misery that seems to tread on the Nez Pearce tribe. Joseph writes of the intense despair of the people who follow him and miserable conditions they must put up with in lines like, "It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead (553.)" The content of this line explains the dire situation the Indians were facing, and the all but real situation they were in due to the tyranny and injustice of the US military and their unjust actions they were taking against the Indians.

Unlike most naturalist settings that were written about life in the city and revealed the abysmal conditions of some of the lower parts of the city such as the slums, "I Will Fight No More Forever" reveals the abysmal conditions that some of societies lesser respected people were receiving because of their skin color, and the fact that most whites viewed them as an inferior race when compared with their own. Thinking they were "less than human" and not worthy of respect and proper treatment. This kind of racism had it's effects and the effects were revealed in Chief Joseph's writing, and his portrayal of the cruel injustices of the world that his people had to suffer through were enough to categorize his work as a naturalist piece. His use of the gritty truth shocked people due to the horrendous journey the Indian people were facing due to white greed and cruelty. Because of the revealing nature of the story with it's emphasis on reality and no mention of good or their chance for the American Dream the Nez Perce writer Chief Joseph cemented himself and his short story as a Naturalism masterpiece that would be remembered for years to come.

Sommers, Joseph Michael. "naturalism." In Maunder, Andrew.Facts On File Companion to the British Short Story. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBSS450&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 16, 2011).

Joseph, Chief. "I Will Fight No More Forever." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 533

To Build A Fire

Jack London was one of the highest regarded naturalist writers in American history. Several of his works take place in cities and in bleak environments that highlight the terrible lives that the lower social classes who resided in the slums had to endure. One of his most popular pieces of work was his short story " To Build a Fire" which is the story of a man and his dogs in their attempts to survive in the bitter cold and attempt to escape, but as in most naturalist stories in which nature is portrayed against man nature came out on top and showed the all powerful nature of things not of human nature and why humans should not trifle with nor attempt to better nature, as in the end they have no hope of beating nature.

As defined by Quinn, Naturalism is "According to Zola, the artist must bring the scientist's objectivity to the depiction of his subjects. The motives and behavior of characters are determined by heredity and environment. The artists' task is to reveal the role of these factors in the lives of the characters." As evidenced in London's story the conflict between man and anture is evident in the man's attempted survival against the weather. The story documents a man and his faithful pet dog as they attempt to survive nature's harsh conditions in negative temperature conditions. They survive for a time before finally succumbing to the cold and perishing alone, ableit with each other. London is able to paint a convincing portrait of the cold in his descriptions of the weather, and the portrait of the despair and misogyny the man is experiencing as he travels through the snowstorm. As evidenced by his use of language in lines like, "There was nobody to talk to; and, had there been, speech would have been impossible because of the ice muzzle on his mouth. So he continued monotonously to chew tobacco and to increase the length of his amber beard." With his convincing use of the man's despair and continuing loneliness is shows the decreasing mental state of the man as his journey continues. Revealing the mentality of the character as well as demonstrating nature as a force not to be trifled with and to be left to it's own devices the work falls into the naturalist category.

Unlike most naturalist works the story is not set in the city and does not reveal the evils of the slums and the lower rungs of society, but instead goes for another popular viewpoint in which nature is the enemy of man, ut was not out to get man in the first place, it was only existing on it's own and once man attempted to take on nature he perished due to it's unconquerable nature and the ability it has to destroy unmercifully and force it encounters. These common characteristics of naturalism the story is grouped into the naturalism branch of literature and London cements himself as a literary force.



Quinn, Edward. "naturalism." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0538&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 17, 2011).


London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 603-614.

Spoon River Anthology

A master poet and popular realist writer, Edgar Lee Masters wrote Spoon River Anthology which most consider to be his magnum opus. The poem displays several typical realist traits, among them the American Hero and dream, and paints a convincing portrait of the society of the area and the mentality of the people residing there. Using a simplistic style and monologues from several different characters Masters crafts an enticing piece that successfully portrays a realistic work on the life and mannerisms of an entire town through his masterful poem.

Realism is defined as "denotes the idea of a narrative reflecting accurately the world around the writer and the lives of the people in that world—a reality taken to be self-evident and available through looking and listening and then recording the world as it is (Maunder.)" Through Masters use of plain language and several lifelike characters that express their own opinions, and emotions on matters Masters is able to convey a startlingly realistic piece with heavy emphasis on individual thought process that reveals much about the small community through the thought process of the entire town through individual thought processes. The sociology of the town is revealed by pieceing together excerpts from individuals through the story with use of lines like, "

One died in shameful child-birth,
One of a thwarted love,
One at the hands of a brute in a brothel
One of a broken pride, in the search for heart’s desire,
One after life in far-away London and Paris
Was brought to her little space by Ella and Kate and Mag—
All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill"

Using his simplistic style of writing as evidenced his place as a realistic writer can not be questioned and through his use of plain language that the everyman can understand he made his work accessible to all audiences. He did not use dialect and speech patterns specific to a certain region, Illinois in this case, that would have alienated other readers and appealed to a narrower audiences instead taking the everyman route and not giving any characters speech differentiations instead aiming for a realistic take on the people giving them human emotions, wants, needs, and thought processes similar to those of everyone in the world. With his common thematic elements similar to other realistic works Masters was able to artfully weave in the lives and thoughts of the characters in his epic poem and seamlessly interweave them into the thought process of the entire town and reveal it as a society and the thought process and mentality of the entire society through exploration of key characters who were central to the exploration of the common man, whom Masters based his characters off of. His inspirations came from real people and thusly the characters on the pages are fleshed out to seem like real people a common element in realism that cements his epic work Spoon River Anthology as a realist work and seat Masters as a King among Realist writers.

Maunder, Andrew. "realism." Facts On File Companion to the British Short Story. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBSS456&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 15, 2011).

Masters, Edgar Lee. "Spoon Rivers Anthology." Bartleby: Great Books Online. 2011. Online. http://www.bartleby.com/84/index.html. February 15, 2011.

Two Views of the River

Mark Twain is one of the highest regarded regionalism writers in US history. His novels were famous for their use of Missourian dialect and speech patterns and popularization of the stereotypical man from Missouri. He popularized the style of speech used in rural Missouri and painted convincing portraits of all of his characters through his masterful use of dialect. Growing up in Missouri had a large influence on the writer who set almost all of his novels and stories in Missouri, the most famous of which Hannibal, he put on the map. On occasion when not writing the dialect he would write of the immense beauty of the state and it's namesake river usually with focus of the narrator on a steamboat, one of his favorite things in the world. Through his masterful use of language and metaphors Twain is able to convey the natural beauty of the landscape.

His short story "Two Views of the River" was written about one of Twain's rides on a steamboat, a favorite activity of the author. The novel shows characteristics of regionalism as defined by Werlock, "A literary subgenre that emphasizes the setting, history, speech, dialect, and customs of a particular geographical locale or area, not only for local color, but also for development of universal themes through the use of the local and particular." Twain was almost fanatical of his love for his state and this bled through in his writing style where he would set almost all of his stories in or around Missouri. His short story is rare in that it did not use any dialect or Missourian speech patterns, it was only Twain's documentation of the emotions he felt as he rode down the Missouri on a steamboat.

With lines such as "A broad epanse of the river was turned to blood; in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold, through which a solitary log came floating, black and conspicuous; in one place a long, slanting mark lay sparkling upon the water; in another the surface was borken by boiling, tumbling rings, that were as many-tinted as an opal; where the ruddy flush was faintest, was a smooth spot that was covered with graceful circles and radiating lines, ever so delicately traced; the shore on our left was dnesely wooded, and the somber shadow that fell from this forest was broken in one place by a long, ruffled trail that shone like silver, and high above the forest wall a clean-stemmed dead tree waved a single leafy bough that glowed like a flame in the unobstructed splendor that was flowing from the sun." Twain is able to convey the natural beauty of the Missouri River accounting for the importance of the setting and glorifying it for the reader making the river seem like one of the most beautiful things they will ever witness in their life. He is able to so masterfully paint this portrait that his praise for the region becomes clear and the make is easily categorized as a regionalism piece.

Twain, Mark. "from Two Views of the River." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 504-505. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "regionalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0581&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 15, 2011).

he Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County

Samuel Clemins, more commonly known by his pen name Mark Twain was arguably the greatest regionalism writer in American history. Known for his influential novels following the famous characters of Tom Sawyer, and Huck Finn, Clemins popularized the Missouri region and fleshed out the dialect and speech patterns of the people in the region.

As regionalism is defined by Werlock is, "A literary subgenre that emphasizes the setting, history, speech, dialect, and customs of a particular geographical locale or area, not only for local color, but also for development of universal themes through the use of the local and particular." Clemins is notorious for his use of dialect when his characters speak and the outside narrator who recollects the entire tale to the reader while offering his own opinions of the region, its populace and their customs.

As evidenced through lines Twain wrote such as, "There was a feller here once by the name of Jim Smiley," and lines like, "Why, it never made no difference to him---he would bet on any thing---the dangdest feller (499.)" Twain is able to seamlessly flesh out his characters speech pattern with local words like dangdest and feller, to their use of double negatives to get their point across to the listener. Along with dialect Twain would almost always include something about the Missouri river and a steamboat, which was one of his favorite things to do growing up, watching the steamboats float down the peaceful waters of the Missouri as he demonstrates with this line, "his underjaw'd begin to stick out like the fo'castle of a steamboat...(500.)" The setting of the novel allows him to reference these standard characteristics that any local of Missouri would be able to recognize in an instance, and we are again shown his use of dialect through words such as fo'castle, a term for the upper deck of steamboats.

The characters in his novel are extremely identifiable due to the dialect and distinguishing characteristics that make his characters seem like real people. Made identifiable by distinguishing traits such as always having a pipe filled with tobacco and thus the character's speech was somewhat slurred by the pipe was a common idea used by Mark Twain when he wrote his characters. Common themes like these tied the characters together and gave them distinguished characteristics of the region that gave the setting and time period very important roles in the novel.

Through his use of dialect and speech patterns along with his regionally dependent characters Mark Twain was able to successfully paint a convincing picture of regions, mainly along the Missouri river, in his novels. These common characteristics paired with his writing talent land him among one of the most influential and highly respected American regionalism writers in the nations history. His novels put towns like Hannibal Missouri on the map and his short stories such as "The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County" are known for their regionalist traits. His abilities and talent are unrivaled to this day and he is regarded as an American great.




Werlock, Abby H. P. "regionalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0581&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 15, 2011).

Twain, Mark. "The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 498-502. Print.

The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane is consistently regarded as one of the greatest realistic writers in American history. Although he only lived to be 28 years old Crane is regarded highly for his realistic style and is most recognized for his novel The Red Badge of Courage in which a young recruit in the Union army becomes a military hero for his actions in combat. The novel is highly regarded for it's realistic coverage of the Civil War despite Crane being born long after the end of the war. With his emphasis on the nature of the combat and the gritty descriptions of the war in his novel. In fact Crane was so successful in his authoring of the story people are often misled into thinking Crane was a veteran who saw combat in the Civil War.

As Quinn describes Realism, "In art and literature, a term covering a broad range of views centered on the attempt to depict life as it is usually experienced, without recourse to miraculous events, larger-than-life characters, or supernatural intervention. In a realistic text, the emphasis is on the way things are for ordinary people, whose behavior and speech mirror their social position and cultural attitudes." Crane is able to successfully portray the unrelenting cascade of emotions that flood a soldier as the adrenaline pumps into his system heightening his senses beyond that of a normal man. His descriptions of the blood rush and the pure energy tat rushes through a soldier in those adrenaline filled moments is highly regarded and champions the writing style of the novel.

The main character of The Red Badge of Courage is a young 18 year old Henry Fleming, an American everyman. His harrowing journey documented his trials and his emotional growth and how the war changes this innocent young man. He does not desire the American Dream, only to truly discover who he is in this war and he successfully learns about himself and his abilities through his service.

Stephen Crane painted a vivid portrait of the war and it's battles through his words with lines such as, "He developed the acute exasperation of a pestered animal, a well-meaning cow worried by dogs. He had a mad feeling against his rifle, which could only e used against one life at a time. he wished to rush forward and strangle with his fingers. He craved a power that would enable him to make a world-sweeping gesture and brush all back. His impotency appeared to him, and his rage into that of a driven beast." Crane portrays the emotion of rage that Fleming feels in this passage as the adrenaline beats throughout his body, a feat that any realist would appreciate. His unparalleled ability to reveal the mentality of his characters and their thoughts and feeling at the time, similar to any of which a regular person has felt ranks his work among other realist stories and cements Crane as a realist author of unparalleled talent. His masterful writing style along with his ability to reveal the psych of characters and use of the everyman as a hero are common realist traits.




Quinn, Edward. "realism." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0706&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 15, 2011).


Crane, Stephen. "The Red Badge of Courage." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 493.

The Works of Kate Chopin

Kate Choplin was an early feminist writer in America. Her works were usually set in the deep south in Louisiana so one could argue the point that she was a strong regionalism writer but if the reader were to delve deeper into the words it would become evident of her realistic style. Most of her novels have female main characters and the novels explore the struggles they must go through and the hardships they must endure throughout their lifetime because of their gender. She writes as how things were for women in the period and how little respect they garnered from society. Her works explore these women working to make a change in society and attempting to overcome their disadvantages to achieve the American Dream.

As Werlock describes it, "Realism is the attempt to depict life as it actually exists, not as the author wants it to be in the present or the future, or imagines it was in the past. A realist carefully chooses details that illustrate this vision, unlike the naturalist who tries to include all possible details." Choplin was notorious for her depiction of life in Louisiana as it was and her novels revealed much about the society and their attitudes towards women at the time. For examples Choplin writes in this line from her novel The Awakening, "An indescriabable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish." This line describes this intolerable cruelty of how women were treated unfairly in olden society. The woman is having trouble keeping her emotions in check due to the vast amount of injustices that she must endure day in and day out as they are beginning to take her toll on her. The mentality of the character reveals the mentality of women in this culture and the attitude of others towards them as they were treated with less justice then the men.

One of her other works, a short story called "The Story of an Hour," is a story of an elderly woman who is told of her husband passing away and her difficulty in coping with this news, in the end she dies from a heart disease she had after receiving the tragic news. Chopin manages to create a tragic tale that shows how much women cared for their lovers and reveals much about the mentality of the aged lovers and how the women react when their husband passes away. The story documents the troubled, yet always prevailing relationship that Chopin wrote of with lines like, " And yet she had loved him---sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter!" The line reveals the tipsy turny nature of their love and yet once he is gone the woman realizes how strong the love between them was and shows the mentality of the character and the realistic nature of losing a loved one. With both of her stories Chopin is able to delve in the minds of women from different social classes, ages, and upbringings and reveal their character and the society that surrounds them, and these qualities land her as a realistic writer as opposed to a regionalistic writer.

Chopin, Kate. "The Awakening." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 491.

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 554-555. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0575&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 14, 2011).

The Works of Willa Cather

Willa Cather was an influential American author whose works often took place on the new frontier in America with novels like O Pioneers! and other such works as "A Wagner Matinée." Her works had great focus on the new frontier of the American West and most of her novels focused on the pioneers to the west and the new settlers. The focus on the new frontier in most of her novels has classified Ms. Cather as one of the most influential, and most important Regionalism writers in U.S. history.

One of her most important novels, O Pioneers! was written about a group of immigrant farmers around the turn of the 19th century. The novels documents their struggles of the family in the region after the death of the Patriarch of the family as the eldest daughter inherits the ranch and runs it herself. Through use of common characteristics of people in the western frontier of the United States the author manages to paint a convincing portrait of life on the prairie in the United States. Willa's use of lines in Op Pioneers! like, "Like most of their neighbors, they were meant to follow in paths already marked out for them, not to break trails in a new country." This line showcases how the settlers saw themselves as "breaking new trails" for their country. With use of the mentatlity of the characters like this the authors shows the pride the settlers held for their stature, a common theme in Regionalism, as Werlock writes, "A literary subgenre that emphasizes the setting, history, speech, dialect, and customs of a particular geographical locale or area..."

Another famous work by Cather, "A Wagner Matinee" was a short story written about the change a man's aunt had undergone after several years on the prairie. Cather uses familiar terms of the prairie such as, "...her linen duster had become black with soot...(520)." The duster was a long jacket that is associated with the prairie due to it's popularity with settler at the time. The author's incorporation of such familiar elements paints a picture in the reader's mind of the region the characters are in and the behavior and attitude of several characters based on their reactions to the item in question. Throughout her works for the sake of the reader's understandability Cather neglects to use dialect and speech patterns used in the west, but familiar terms that reader's associate with the west makes appearances that help associate the work as a regionalistic piece.

In both works Cather weaves in familiar idiosyncrasies of the western culture and the mentality of the prairie family by revealing the values and behaviors of the common pioneer of the west by exploring how the minds of her characters work in both Op Pioneers! and "A Wagner Matinée. Her works are common categorized as Regionalism pieces due to her attention on setting and mentality of her characters often giving them traits and characteristics familiar to people of that period. These are some of the reasons her works are considered to be in the Regionalism category.

Cather, Willa. "A Wagner Matinée." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 521-526. Print.

Cather, Willa. "O Pioneers!" Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 489.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "regionalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0581&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 14, 2011).