The Handmaid’s Tale Topic Proposal
I have many questions about Atwood’s book. There are many things I do not understand about the book.
The way I saw Atwood’s situation was her being a slave. I understand their country is at war and things are much different, but I don’t understand why the females were treated the way they were. I don’t understand how they based their rules alone the bible. I am a Christian and I don’t think the bible could possibly influence these laws and rules.
I would like the base my research on feminist and female rights, and also research this war and time to get a better understanding of my question. I am also going to dig more into the religion see what the relation is to the laws in The Handmaid’s Tale.
About Me
- Kristene
- Hi everyone! :) My name is Kristene, and I am 18 years old. This is my second year at YC. I live in Black Canyon City, which i about an hour south of Prescott, which is why I prefer online classes. I work at Rock Springs Cafe, so if your ever around stop in and say hi! Well I guess thats covers the basics. Were all going to have a great semester! :)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Mid-Session Blog
1. What has been your biggest challenge in this class so far? What has been your biggest success?
2. How have the readings in the class affected you?
3. How is literary analysis different from other types of writing you have done in college?
4. What are your goals for the second half of the session? What do you hope to improve or accomplish?
My biggest challenge in this class so far has been getting used of the type of writing for our essays. I am more used to research papers and papers with a lot of facts, and less opinion. I think my biggest success in this class so far would be my essay two. I am starting to get the hang of the expectations more and feel like I did a much better job on essay two, then on any other of my assignments.
The readings in this class have been interesting and mind blowing, I enjoyed the two readings with have worked with so far. Both books on the Vietnam War have absorbed into my brain and I know I will never forget either of them. Doing an essay on them and homework assignments has been interesting to share and play with the ideas and concepts of the stories.
Literary analysis has been different then other writing types that I have had to do, because literary analysis is analyzing a story and also being argumentative and opinionated and in Eng 101 most of our essays were all about facts. In eng 101 we did research on our topics and used a lot of resources and facts to form our ideas and papers. Eng 102 lets us put our own ideas into our papers to give the reader an idea of how we say the author’s main points.
For the second half of the semester I am really hoping to work on bringing my grade up by putting an extra 100% on top of the 100% I’m already giving. I am going to get every assignment in on time, and I am going to put more of an effort towards my discussion board post. I would also like to improve my class discussion work. I would like to improve my writing as much as possible in the time I have in this class to better myself in my next English classes.
2. How have the readings in the class affected you?
3. How is literary analysis different from other types of writing you have done in college?
4. What are your goals for the second half of the session? What do you hope to improve or accomplish?
My biggest challenge in this class so far has been getting used of the type of writing for our essays. I am more used to research papers and papers with a lot of facts, and less opinion. I think my biggest success in this class so far would be my essay two. I am starting to get the hang of the expectations more and feel like I did a much better job on essay two, then on any other of my assignments.
The readings in this class have been interesting and mind blowing, I enjoyed the two readings with have worked with so far. Both books on the Vietnam War have absorbed into my brain and I know I will never forget either of them. Doing an essay on them and homework assignments has been interesting to share and play with the ideas and concepts of the stories.
Literary analysis has been different then other writing types that I have had to do, because literary analysis is analyzing a story and also being argumentative and opinionated and in Eng 101 most of our essays were all about facts. In eng 101 we did research on our topics and used a lot of resources and facts to form our ideas and papers. Eng 102 lets us put our own ideas into our papers to give the reader an idea of how we say the author’s main points.
For the second half of the semester I am really hoping to work on bringing my grade up by putting an extra 100% on top of the 100% I’m already giving. I am going to get every assignment in on time, and I am going to put more of an effort towards my discussion board post. I would also like to improve my class discussion work. I would like to improve my writing as much as possible in the time I have in this class to better myself in my next English classes.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
On the Rainy River
“On The Rainy River”
First of all Tim O’Brien starts off at home on a cloudy, humid day in June of 1968. He had just graduated from Macalester College and had plans to go on to Harvard with a full ride scholarship. On this cloudy day of June Tim received a letter in the mail, a letter drafting him to a war he hated. Tim was only 21 years old at the time and full of ambition to be something great, and to proceed on to college and make a life for himself. At dinner that night at home with his parents his father asked him what his plans were, and his response was “nothing”, “wait” (page 40). Tim worked at an Armour meatpacking plant in his home town of Worthington, Minnesota in the summer of 1968 (page 40). His job at the meat plant was the Declotter; someone who removed the blood clots out of the necks of dead pigs.
One day at the meat plant he felt something break in his chest. It scared him and it was painful. He immediately left work and went home. Tim held himself together as best as he could, while he took a shower and pack a suit case. He wrote a note to his parents, something like “Taking off, will call, love Tim” (page 44). He got in his car and drove north. Tim had been contemplating whether of not to flee to Canada or not since mid-July. Canada was only an eight hour drive away and would save him from the war, and possibly save his life.
Towards the afternoon of the next day Tim started looking for somewhere to rest and came across a place called the Tip Top Lodge. The lodge had eight little yellow cabins closely together next to the rainy river. The main building was between a cluster of pine trees, with an odd lean toward Canada. The man who owned the little lodge was Elroy Berdahl. Elroy was a short, skinny, balding eighty-one year old man. The man took Tim in with no questions ask, while Tim stayed there for six days. Tim and Elroy ate together, and did various activities together. They played games, took hicks, read, went fishing, and Tim helped Elroy with maintenance jobs around the grounds. Elroy never asked any questions, and Tim never told him why he was there. They spent six days together soaking up each other’s company without asking the obvious. Tim still didn’t know whether or not he was going to run away to Canada or not, and was a frantic mess in the mean time. One night at dinner Tim asked what he owed the man so far for his hospitality, and the total came out to be 260 dollars. Tim said that was reasonable but would have to be leaving the next day. With that said Elroy clapped his hands together and told him that he would have to pay him for the labor that Tim put in around the grounds, and he figured that he owed Tim 375 dollars. Elroy subtracted what Tim owed him from the 375 dollars and determined he owed Tim 215 dollars. Elroy pulled four fifties out of his pocket and paid it on the table, Tim refused the money but Elroy snuck it to Tims room away with a note that said “Emergency Fund” (page 51).
On the sixth day Tim and Elroy went out on the lake to fish. Tim realized after awhile that somewhere down the river they had passed the Canada border. Elroy stopped the boat at a spot he had felt was appropriate and cast his line. They sat in silence, and all Tim could think about was how this would be the perfect opportunity to jump out and swim to the Canadian shore. Tim sat in the boat thinking out both choices, and then he saw his parents faces on the shore line, then the towns people, and then all the people of his life. This made Tim start to cry. He was crying at the thought of shaming his family and friends and being a coward. Elroy did not say a word at all about Tim crying, but just kept fishing. Tim made his decision he would go to war and kill, or be killed, for himself and his family. When they got back to the lodge they ate dinner and Tim told Elroy he would be leaving in the morning. The next morning they ate their last meal together and then Tim went and packed. Elroy had disappeared in his truck at some point while Tim was packing. Tim washed the dishes and left the 200 hundred dollars on the kitchen table before he got in the car to make the long drive back home, then to Vietnam, then home again.
Tim was scared of the war, scared of dying, but most of all disgracing his family. Making the decision to stay and be drafted off to war was a decision for not wanting to be a coward in all he knows eyes. “I would go to the war- I would kill and maybe die- because I was embarrassed not to” (page 57). Even though Tim did not agree with the war, he didn’t want to embarrass himself or family. When it came down to it, his family’s opinion of him outweighed any fear of the war he had. He survived the war and made it back home, still without a happy ending. He was still a coward in his own. He went to the war, not for himself, not to defend our country, but just not to show his own cowardness and embarrassments to the world.
Work Cited
O’Brien Tim. The Things They Carried. New York. Mariner Books, 1990. Print.
Video from youtube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oluzMNM0HT4
First of all Tim O’Brien starts off at home on a cloudy, humid day in June of 1968. He had just graduated from Macalester College and had plans to go on to Harvard with a full ride scholarship. On this cloudy day of June Tim received a letter in the mail, a letter drafting him to a war he hated. Tim was only 21 years old at the time and full of ambition to be something great, and to proceed on to college and make a life for himself. At dinner that night at home with his parents his father asked him what his plans were, and his response was “nothing”, “wait” (page 40). Tim worked at an Armour meatpacking plant in his home town of Worthington, Minnesota in the summer of 1968 (page 40). His job at the meat plant was the Declotter; someone who removed the blood clots out of the necks of dead pigs.
One day at the meat plant he felt something break in his chest. It scared him and it was painful. He immediately left work and went home. Tim held himself together as best as he could, while he took a shower and pack a suit case. He wrote a note to his parents, something like “Taking off, will call, love Tim” (page 44). He got in his car and drove north. Tim had been contemplating whether of not to flee to Canada or not since mid-July. Canada was only an eight hour drive away and would save him from the war, and possibly save his life.
Towards the afternoon of the next day Tim started looking for somewhere to rest and came across a place called the Tip Top Lodge. The lodge had eight little yellow cabins closely together next to the rainy river. The main building was between a cluster of pine trees, with an odd lean toward Canada. The man who owned the little lodge was Elroy Berdahl. Elroy was a short, skinny, balding eighty-one year old man. The man took Tim in with no questions ask, while Tim stayed there for six days. Tim and Elroy ate together, and did various activities together. They played games, took hicks, read, went fishing, and Tim helped Elroy with maintenance jobs around the grounds. Elroy never asked any questions, and Tim never told him why he was there. They spent six days together soaking up each other’s company without asking the obvious. Tim still didn’t know whether or not he was going to run away to Canada or not, and was a frantic mess in the mean time. One night at dinner Tim asked what he owed the man so far for his hospitality, and the total came out to be 260 dollars. Tim said that was reasonable but would have to be leaving the next day. With that said Elroy clapped his hands together and told him that he would have to pay him for the labor that Tim put in around the grounds, and he figured that he owed Tim 375 dollars. Elroy subtracted what Tim owed him from the 375 dollars and determined he owed Tim 215 dollars. Elroy pulled four fifties out of his pocket and paid it on the table, Tim refused the money but Elroy snuck it to Tims room away with a note that said “Emergency Fund” (page 51).
On the sixth day Tim and Elroy went out on the lake to fish. Tim realized after awhile that somewhere down the river they had passed the Canada border. Elroy stopped the boat at a spot he had felt was appropriate and cast his line. They sat in silence, and all Tim could think about was how this would be the perfect opportunity to jump out and swim to the Canadian shore. Tim sat in the boat thinking out both choices, and then he saw his parents faces on the shore line, then the towns people, and then all the people of his life. This made Tim start to cry. He was crying at the thought of shaming his family and friends and being a coward. Elroy did not say a word at all about Tim crying, but just kept fishing. Tim made his decision he would go to war and kill, or be killed, for himself and his family. When they got back to the lodge they ate dinner and Tim told Elroy he would be leaving in the morning. The next morning they ate their last meal together and then Tim went and packed. Elroy had disappeared in his truck at some point while Tim was packing. Tim washed the dishes and left the 200 hundred dollars on the kitchen table before he got in the car to make the long drive back home, then to Vietnam, then home again.
Tim was scared of the war, scared of dying, but most of all disgracing his family. Making the decision to stay and be drafted off to war was a decision for not wanting to be a coward in all he knows eyes. “I would go to the war- I would kill and maybe die- because I was embarrassed not to” (page 57). Even though Tim did not agree with the war, he didn’t want to embarrass himself or family. When it came down to it, his family’s opinion of him outweighed any fear of the war he had. He survived the war and made it back home, still without a happy ending. He was still a coward in his own. He went to the war, not for himself, not to defend our country, but just not to show his own cowardness and embarrassments to the world.
Work Cited
O’Brien Tim. The Things They Carried. New York. Mariner Books, 1990. Print.
Video from youtube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oluzMNM0HT4
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Tim O'Brien Response
“On the Rainy River” was my favorite story out of the three short stories. I feel like this story was one of the most important moments in O’Brien’s life. This story shows the significance of how hard Tim’s decision to start and join the army or running away to Canada was. Tim had the choice to stay and fight for a war that he strongly disagreed with, or run to Canada and disgrace his whole family. Tim didn’t feel like he belonged in war, he had a full ride scholarship to Harvard and potential to be something great. Running away from the war was the only thing worst then the war. Tim wants to make himself happy, but also his family, but how can he do both? He must choose, and I feel he made the right choice by staying and excepting the fact he was being drafted. I understand what Tim is feeling; no one wants to be forced into a war, especially not one they disagree with. I think disgracing your whole family and town is far worse than going to fight for county though. Tim was smart and could have taken a million different paths in life, but this one choose him and running from it would just make his life worse then he thinks the war could have made it. Staying those six days with Elroy was the best thing he could have done. It was like the road lead him straight to whom he didn’t to be with. Even without words or full knowledge of the situation, Elroy helped Tim more than anyone could have. In the story it seems like Tim never even gave consideration to what going into the army could do for him. The army could have made him a better person, a stronger person then he could have done on his own. The army could have opened doors he wouldn’t have even dreamed of, obviously because now look, he’s a famous author because of his stories about the war and his life. I believe that he made the right choose in staying and redeeming his conscience for his own personal being. In the end he probably made himself and family very proud.
I found this neat little website with quotes, books, events, and all kinds of stuff on it, and Tim O'Brien has quit a few nice ones. Check it out. :)
http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?q=tim+o%27brien&search[source]=goodreads&search_type=quotes&tab=quotes
I found this neat little website with quotes, books, events, and all kinds of stuff on it, and Tim O'Brien has quit a few nice ones. Check it out. :)
http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?q=tim+o%27brien&search[source]=goodreads&search_type=quotes&tab=quotes
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Sand Storm By: Sean Huze
The writing of Sean Huze made me feel a lot of different emotions. The story came from so many different people’s point of view and each person made me feel different things. I have a very close friend in Iraq right now, and to hear these stories that could of could not be happening to him makes me feel sad, worried, curios, and so much more. The story is very honest, the only feelings they seem to hold back are their emotional ones towards each other. Throughout the entire story soldiers told us about their memories and feelings. Some of the stories were hard to read, hearing about their joy of killing people and the lack of remorse. Some of the soldiers actually enjoyed killing the people over there, and not just the bad people but civilian women and children too. It’s understandable to want to kill the people that are trying to killing you, and accidently kill civilians along the way, but to enjoy it seems cold hearted. It hurts knowing that the people you know and love leave this country human and become something awful over there. From what the soldiers in the story explain it doesn’t seem like we treat them well enough at all. They shouldn’t have to run out of water or worry about food and medical supplies. They are fighting for our country and we can’t even make sure they are well taken care of? That doesn’t seem right at all. This story should make anyone feel for our soldiers overseas whether they agree with the war or not. I am not a fan of the war, nor is anyone, but I support our troops and their decisions to bravely fight for our country. Our country needs someone to fight for it and all the men and women out there fighting should be highly respected. This story opens your eyes to real dirty details of what our soldiers go through. The soldiers in Huze’s story tell every detail of their memories without holding back. They curse and tell the awful things they’ve done and about all the people they’ve lost. All the emotions of these soldiers filled my heart and made me feel what they were feeling. All the pain when they lost a friend, the anxiety of battle, the warming sensation of getting mail from home, and the comfort from the small community in Baghdad. This play was written very well, it is a very powerful and truthful. I enjoyed reading about the memories of these brave soldiers, even if some of the stories were harder to read than others.
I found a interesting little site with some poetry about Iraq, check it out.
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/warpoetry/Iraq.html
I found a interesting little site with some poetry about Iraq, check it out.
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/warpoetry/Iraq.html
Friday, September 10, 2010
Responding to a Poem
The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window, by Joy Harjo was one of the poems that really jumped out at me. Since the first time I read it till now it has been stuck in my head. I think this poem was a way for Joy Harjo to speak out to women, and address issues in every woman’s life. The woman hanging from the thirteenth floor is every woman, and every woman’s desire to break away from her problems. The woman on the thirteenth floor wants away, maybe by death. She has kids, a mother, a father, and two ex husbands that tie her to this world. She wants to feel comfort and needed, the way a mother feels holding her new born child. This women seems to feel alone and miserable. But, like in every woman’s life she doesn’t jump away from reality. This woman picks herself back up and looks at the beauty in life hoping for a better tomorrow, as do all of us. This poem spoke to me. The first time I read this poem I liked it, but I didn’t feel any resemblance to it, now I do. We all have our good and bad times, and when you have your bad times you must pick yourself back up and try to make things better. This poem may seem like a story of a woman with no better intensions than to kill herself, but then restrains herself because of her three children, but to me its not. I find a far deeper purpose. This poem should speak to anyone who as felt close to the edge and turned back on hopes of making a better tomorrow.
The second poem I really enjoyed was Song of Napalm, by Bruce Weigl. It took quite a few times of reading for me to understand this poem, but I still have mixed theories. At first I thought this was maybe a soldier writing this poem about war flashbacks. I viewed this soldier as a good man who didn’t want to hurt anyone, someone who felt the pain of his decisions every day. Then I had the theory that he wasn’t a soldier but a victim of the war, maybe a villager. Seeing how Bruce dedicated this poem to his wife I feel like it had to have been a true story of some importance. Seeing how it is for his wife I don’t see how it would be of any importance if he was a soldier having flashbacks. That is how I got the theory of him being a part of the village and witnessing his wife’s death. I like this poem for the simple reason that it is good. It is written very well and it grabs my attention right away. I like the figurative speech and the way he gets you to see what he is saying. Either of my theories could be right or wrong, but I feel like they are both good. I know I could probably look it up and see what happened in his life but I’m afraid that might ruin my views, that I already like so much, of the poem.
All Pictures are from photobucket.com.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/
The second poem I really enjoyed was Song of Napalm, by Bruce Weigl. It took quite a few times of reading for me to understand this poem, but I still have mixed theories. At first I thought this was maybe a soldier writing this poem about war flashbacks. I viewed this soldier as a good man who didn’t want to hurt anyone, someone who felt the pain of his decisions every day. Then I had the theory that he wasn’t a soldier but a victim of the war, maybe a villager. Seeing how Bruce dedicated this poem to his wife I feel like it had to have been a true story of some importance. Seeing how it is for his wife I don’t see how it would be of any importance if he was a soldier having flashbacks. That is how I got the theory of him being a part of the village and witnessing his wife’s death. I like this poem for the simple reason that it is good. It is written very well and it grabs my attention right away. I like the figurative speech and the way he gets you to see what he is saying. Either of my theories could be right or wrong, but I feel like they are both good. I know I could probably look it up and see what happened in his life but I’m afraid that might ruin my views, that I already like so much, of the poem.
All Pictures are from photobucket.com.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/
Friday, September 3, 2010
"The Necessity to Speak" Sam Hamill
In Hamill’s narrative it states “a true poet is often faced with the difficult task of telling people what they already know and do not want to hear”. People know that there is abuse and violence going on every second of every day, but does anyone do anything about it? Because everyone is silent, no one knows. No one knows how to feel emotions and when they do feel emotions they do not know what to do with them. Because everyone is silent the world goes on to be violent. We grow up hearing the horror stories and watching the movies, but does anyone teach us what to do about it in real life? How to feel about it when it happens to your best friend? What if it happens to you? Do you know who to go to, or how to feel? The information about the real world shouldn’t be a secret, or unspoken. It is real, and everyone a should know of it. Just because you can’t change the world doesn’t mean you can’t change a life, even your own life.
I think Hamill wants to get the point across that poets write about everyday life good or bad, weather you want to hear it or not. Poets speak the truth threw their own eyes, experiences, and beliefs. He states that he is not the “I” in the poem; anyone can be the “I”. You can perceive yourself as the “I”, or the author or the little girl down the street. Hamill relates to “Poetry of Witness” poems because, weather those poems are about the authors or not they get you to think about what is going on in the world and put yourself as the “I”. When you read those poems you have sympathy, gilt, discomfort, maybe regret. Hamill wants us to feel those things and relate to poetry, take it in and learn from it. It is necessary to speak and to know. Hamill teaches us through his poetry.
Here is a link to a short poem found and want to share with you.
http://www.poetseers.org/themes/poems_on_violence/
Video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2lZsmrFT4g
I think Hamill wants to get the point across that poets write about everyday life good or bad, weather you want to hear it or not. Poets speak the truth threw their own eyes, experiences, and beliefs. He states that he is not the “I” in the poem; anyone can be the “I”. You can perceive yourself as the “I”, or the author or the little girl down the street. Hamill relates to “Poetry of Witness” poems because, weather those poems are about the authors or not they get you to think about what is going on in the world and put yourself as the “I”. When you read those poems you have sympathy, gilt, discomfort, maybe regret. Hamill wants us to feel those things and relate to poetry, take it in and learn from it. It is necessary to speak and to know. Hamill teaches us through his poetry.
Here is a link to a short poem found and want to share with you.
http://www.poetseers.org/themes/poems_on_violence/
Video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2lZsmrFT4g
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