Atonement

Atonement is the satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury. In my opinion, everyone in this story is guilty of something in one way or another. The degree of their crimes and the amount of guilt vary, but atonement is something that lingers within everyone involved. After that one crazy evening at the Tallis mansion, their lives will never be the same again. After finishing the story and analyzing the characters I have come to the conclusion that no one really achieves atonement. Briony is the main character searching for atonement because of the crime she committed. She expresses the fact that she wants to be atoned by writing a book about Robbie and Cecilia, with an alternate ending. This ending gives Briony the chance to be forgiven by her sister and Robbie, while they get to live happily ever after in love. It also proves that it was not Robbie who raped Lola. By changing these two scenarios in her book she is in someway admitting that she was wrong for what she did, and only feels comfortable admitting it in this form of writing. There were many inferences in the book that prove Briony realizes that she is wrong, and might not know the whole truth about what happened that night. This does not matter though because she tries to put these thoughts out of her head and piece everything together. She is still a child but tries to act as if she is an adult by being a detective with the whole situation going on at the house. I do not think that Cecilia and Robbie have anything to be atoned for in this story. I do think that Cecilia feels she could have done more by helping save Robbie, and proving that her sister fabricated everything. I do feel a little sorry for Briony. I feel as if her age had a great deal to do with the way she acted. She did not know what sex was at the time, so when she walked in on her sister and Robbie it looked as if he was trying to hurt her. Having this image in her head led her to believe that he was also the person to rape Lola. I am not saying what she did was justifiable, but her age did play a big factor on her actions. Being that Briony was the main character of the story, and the things she experienced were the basis of the book, I believe that atonement was a perfect title.

A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire was absolutely my favorite piece of literature we have read thus far. There were definitely some characters that I liked more than others, but overall I liked each character in a different way. I thought all of the different backgrounds and personalities of these characters really added something special to the story. Blanche Dubois happened to be my personal favorite. I have wrote two of my blogs about her already, so I will focus on another aspect of the story for this blog. Stella, Blanche's sister who is married to the "crazy" Stanley, was also one of the most intriguing characters to me. Stella possesses the same aristocratic background as Blanche, but she did not follow in the same footsteps as her sister. She was not worried about marrying into money, or keeping up her high class image. She fell in love with a middle class polish man, and was extremely happy and content with her life. Although there were a few instances in the book that made me question their relationship, I think the fact that she is not bothered by his class in a time period like this is absolutely remarkable. After Blanche comes to their home in Mississippi, Stella is completely torn between her sister and her husband, and somewhat put in the middle between the two. In the end, she stands by her husband Stanley, possibly because they were soon going to be having a child together. At the end of the story, after Stanley rapes Blanche, Stella seems to be in some sort of denial. She cannot bring herself to believe her sister, and allows her to be dismissed to a mental institution. I thought that Stella's character faced alot of difficult decisions throughout the story. It was very interesting for me to read the outcome of all the situations she got herself into to. The problems between her husband and sister, the drunk fight with her husband, the baby, and the rape are alot for a woman to deal with. I did not particularly agree with all the decisions she made, but I think she is a very strong woman for being able to come out of all this okay.

It was All My Fault

It was a cold winter night. I was finishing up my hot chocolate, and getting ready to go to bed. This was the only time I did not have to replay the images of what I had done in my head. If only I had been more careful when I was driving. If only I had not been rushing to get to our friends house. If only I had left a few minutes sooner this never would have happened, He would still be here. Nothing will numb this pain, I dont even know myself anymore. Everyone tries to convince me that I should not continue to put the blame on myself, but I cannot accept that. Loud crashing noises, flashes of light, images popping out of nowhere consume my thoughts. The drugs help me to forget these things, but nothing will numb the pain and guilt that I feel inside. It is all my fault!

Promiscuous girl

I chose "Promiscuous Girl" by Nelly Furtado to compare to Blanche Dubois. This song refers back to the stage in Blanche's life where times were difficult and she slept with a good deal of men. She didn't exactly consider herself to be a prostitute or anything of the sort, but she was quite aware of the fact that there was a stage in her life where she was considered promiscuous.
" If you looking for a girl that’ll treat you right, If you lookin’ for her in the day time with the light". I found this lyric to be pretty interesting because it talks about the light aspect, which was a major theme in the play. If Blanche was really promiscuous she would not care if it was light or dark in the room, or what time of day it was. This shows that she was very picky and discrete about her secret lifestyle. "All I can do is try, gimme one chance, What’s the problem I don’t see no ring on your handI be the first to admit it, I’m curious about you, you seem so innocent" I think this particular lyric describes the part of the story where Blanche is interested in Mitch, and not really sure why because he is not the type of guy she normally is interested in. He is innocent and from a much lower class, but she is ready to give him a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIM4DCn7AlE
- link to "Promiscuous girl" by Nelly Furtado video

Blanche Dubois

"I have found it easier to identify with the characters who verge upon hysteria, who were frightened of life, who were desperate to reach out to another person. But these seemingly fragile people are the strong people really." This particular quote taken from Tenneesee Williams is best portrayed by Vivian Leigh in the 1950's version of A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche is a character that Williams considers to represent the traits and lifestlye of his mother which is why i believe that he identifies with these type of chracters best. You can tell that in this particular scene Blanche is very fragile not only by what she says but how she is whenever Stanley comes around. Even before he puts his hands on her she is very skiddish and nervous to be near him. The events that have happened in her life have put her in a extremely difficult place almost on the verge of hysteria. She is all dressed up when Stanley gets home wearing one of her old formal dresses and a tiara. She has completely lost her mind and looking to find her old self again. This scene shows stanley talking to her about covering the candle, which retreats back to a few other scenes in the play where she covers up the light. She does not want to reveal her true feelings, flaws,and desires. This whole scene shows a different side of blanche and really focuses on the fear that is built up inside of her. I think that Williams is trying to show that you can still be fragile and frightened but strong at the same time.

Modernism vs. Postmoderism

I think that "The Obsolete Man" portrayed the modernism vs. postmodernism contrast perfectly. On one end we have Mr.Wordsworth who is clearly postmodern. The story presents him as a man who upholds his values in religion, culture,and human rights in the face of danger. He will not back down to the state when questioned about his profession and beliefs. He could have easily gotten out of being "liquidated" by stating his profession as carpentry, but decided to stick with his passion and what he is true to. On the other end, we have to chancellor, who I would consider to be an extreme modernist until the very end of the story. Libraries were obolished so in his opinion if you considered yourself a librarian there was no use for you. He listened to everything that the state said, and would not change his values for anything except when put into the face of danger. He acted as a material machine and believed that nothing was more powerful than the state. There was no "God" or anything beyond this place. At the end of the epidose when there is about one minute till the bomb goes off the Chancellor makes the transition from modern to postmodern. He returns to the "state", is doomed obsolete, and murdered by his people. This was a very interesting/bit unrealistic story that gave a good interpretation of the basics of modernism and postmodernism.

About Me!

My name is Courtney Lynn Harris and I am from a small town in New Jersey called Fords. I am currently a junior marketing major here at Clemson University. I am a very friendly, outgoing person and absolutely love to meet new people. I came here to Clemson not knowing one person which was probably one of the scariest things I have ever had to do. I am so glad I decided to do it because I love it here and have so many good friends. Here are a list of some things that I like:
- Favorite color- purple
- Favorite type of music- all
- Favorite movie- Mean girls and Juno
- Favorite quote- Live, Laugh, Love
- Favorite thing to do- Dance and hang out with family and friends
These are just a few things about me that will give you a better idea of what I am into to. I am looking very forward to English this semester, Have a great day!