Modernist Poetry

Favorite: This is Just to say by William Carlos Williams (is that his real name? Goofy Parents...)
This is my favorite because it reminds me of my sister, my father and I. We have an unfortunate relationship when it comes to the refrigerator. Example: chocolate pastry you bought with your own money at the farmers market. Here's the deal you must eat it with in 2 days or it's anyone grab. My dad counts hours till the foods time is up and is guilty of breaking the treaty put in place by Rae and I when we were around the respective ages of 7 and 9. He often breaks it. Nothing is sacred. Not Birthday cake, nothing you cooked on your own, not the last piece of sourdough when clearly there is nothing else left to eat. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Anyways sometimes he leaves a note... Aud, I just ate last chocolate crisiont. It's fridge life was over. When are you next going to the Farmers market? ..... Jerk. So this poem made me laugh, it was very papa like.
Next Favorite: In a Station of the Metro by Ezra Pound. It seemed very deep yet easy to understand and descriptive minus words. Strange eh? The few words that are there are perfect for the message it is trying to pass along. Yes, the NYC subways are crowded and each face is different but if you blur your eyes they all become part of the same picture.
Least Favorite: The Red Wheel Barrow By William Carlos Williams. Why? it's stupid. I know it could have been deep but, I don't think the author meant for it to be deep or even cared it's just a red wheel barrow used to feed the chicken who incidentally, are white.

Winter Dreams

Conflict is always there especially in drama. Mrs. Hoskings says in a scene you must always play your two strongest opposites. It make your character interesting. When there is undying love there must be unforgettable hate present also. This adds layers to help complete understanding of the character. This was quite clear in Scott F. Fitzgeralds Winter Dream. Dexter loved her. He loved he with all his soul even as he hated her for tearing him up and datingthe other men he still held on to the hope that she would be there for him, even as he became engaged to Irene, his heart held out for Judy ready to take her back when she came. Her opposites were more complicated she wanted to love infact she did for short periods of time but in all honesty it couldn't let him love her completely. She had to shut him out to save her freedom. She was a free spirit but a one point when she came back to him and asked him to marry her she wanted to be captured and held close. She was tired of being free. The lack of boundaries held back happiness. She was never happy and to be honest, probably never would be. Married to him and with any other poor bloke. She was just meant to drift.

Fitzgerald. Winter Wonderland

Winter Dreams, a classic F. Scott Fitzgerald story. Beauty, intelligence, lost love and humanity all combined to make a witty and frustrating story. This one is of a boy and girl (duh) and the beginings of both of them. He was poorer golf caddy with dreams and she was the rich girl who had everything plus an attitude. He quits and disappears and then they grow up separately only to meet years later. He's 21 and now wealthy and she's 19 with no match for beauty or amount of suitors. They meet and it's love at first sight....sort of. For him at least, she doesn't care. They go off their seperate ways again and he becomes engages only to have her show up and ruin it with talk of love for him. They become engaged then, she leaves. Years later he hears a story of her she is no longer the beautiful captivating woman she once was, just dowdy wife with kids who has an alcoholic husband. He can't believe it. How can she no longer be the exotic person who caught the eye of every man in her sight? A woman like her couldn't just fade away. Then he realizes everyone fades. If everyone is fading then it looks like no one is fading to those in proximmity (hope that makes sense). The story end with him feeling vulnerable as he chases memories. Essentailly the story, pressed the point and cliche "you never forget your first love."
It was astounding and ridiculous though true? I don't know. You decide.

Charlotte's Web Issue: Spiders

Spiders are scary. This past winter I was crushing boxes at the Flower shop where I work and found a Black Widow spider crawling beside my foot. It had a perfect ruby red hourglass upon its back. I'd only seen A Black Widow once before. That time I was wearing flipflops and was around 9? Maybe 10? It scared the living bajeezes out of me (yes, I know bajeezes is not a word). In case you were wondering this time I was wearing my brown Sebago loafers. Thank buddha. There was a dilemma of killing it or letting it survive and kill somepoor unsuspecting dog. So, I got a cup shoved the spider in with a pen and carried the spider outside to the storm drain outside the shop. Where I promptly threw it in and hurried away to check for more black widows. There were none. How does this relate to Charlotte's Web? Well it's a spider story as is Charlotte's Web only... the Charlotte sounded like such a kind spider and her death made me cry. It was interesting how E.B. White gets the audience to care about something they normally wouldn't notice or if they did notice, be very frightened of. That strikes me as similar to the case of Stuart Little. He's a mouse, she's a spider, seriously, isn't that awesome? His ability, I mean? He makes you care only as the best of authors can.

Charlottes Web

Animal cruelty and animals living conditions improving with the turn of the century? Yes, I think so... Today, I'm sure some crazy farmer still kills the runt of the litter of piglets, but in the US and other places I'm sure animal awareness has been raised greatly from the times of the early 1900's. New groups have come to order, in example PETA or Green Peace. Though Green Peace generally focuses on non-domestic animals. Anyways laws against animal cruelty have been passed. Dog fighting is no longer allowed in the US (Michael Vick is a CREEP) and animals that a slaughtered should be slaughtered in a way that is as humane as possible. Quickly, and in a sanitary way. Personally I hate meat and thinking of this is making me feel terrible because every once in awhile a case will show up in the courts of inhumane treatment and slaughter of animals. In farming communities sometimes malicious behavior is ignored and thought of as "everyday." Last month BBC reported a case in Iowa where the Farmers were picking up pigs with cranes to kill them. GAh seriously, This is making me sick but, as I read Charlotte's Web this issue kept coming back into my mind. In the begining when the Father said all of Wilbur brothers and sisters had been sold already. My imediate question was: WHERE? The ham factory? Poor babies.

E.B. WHITE again

Yes, its another E.B. White children's story so, suck it up. I'm enjoying these. This one here, is Charlottes Web. I really enjoyed it and cried for like 3 minutes its so sad. It again brings up the silliness and depression of White. He is a very sad man. What I didn't realize is, how simple the wording of it is. There are no big words, mind you, when I speak and write I sound like a 6th grader. I have a terrible vocabulary. Wilbur, the pig, is the cutest thing in the world. The pictures by Garth Williams are phenominal. He did both Stuart Little, and Charlottes Web. They are pen drawing, consistant with most books in the 1950. You may not have read the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew mystries or Trixie Beldon Stories, well, let me tell you, I drilled those. Pretty much read every single one, two times over. The point is they had the same type of drawings in them. Especailly the originals not the strange 1990's versions.
Aw snap! Connection: Garth Williams also was an ambulance driver in a World War. That make 3 people involved in modernism that were ambulance drivers in a World War E.E. Cummings, Garth Williams, and some one else... I don't think it influenced him as it did the writers though.... They seemed very depressed and he not so much, he always has a very unique and careful eye for shading and detail. Though, that could be a sign of someone with PTSD (post trumatic stress disorder). Often times they becomes neurotic perfectionists.

Frederick Douglass Conclusion and Thank You

Ms. C---
Thank You for picking Frederick Douglass and Huck Finn for us to read. I enjoyed Frederick Douglass a lot more than I thought I would. Actually I really, really, enjoyed the book. That's hard to admit because I am not usually a fan of "hardcore-nonfiction." I need a bit of fiction mixed in to make it readable but, Frederick Douglass wrote so the truth was the strongest and most fascinating thing to read. He wrote history that touched me 150 years later and will continue to affect people and opinions for the next 1000 years. Anyways, thanks for the introduction to his great work. Do you have any recommendations for other well written works of nonfiction? I'd appreciate any ideas, summer is coming up. As you are aware summer is prime reading time.

By the way, I have enjoyed most all the books I've read from your shelves. You have good taste.

The Great Gatsby versus Stuart Little.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, is much better than E. B. White's Stuart little. Even though I have yet to finish The Great Gatsby I am much more intrigued than I was as I read Stuart Little. The characters are more developed and round while Stuart Little seems like 1950's child version of Ratatouille the 2007 animated film. There lies the problem, when my sister and I were little, say ages 8 and 6 we received Stuart Little for Christmas from Auntie Kate. She lives in New York and always gave us the best books purchuased from a used book store near the New York Public Library. The books always had a New York city theme to them but, that's not important infact none of that is but anyways, she read it to us one visit when Rae and I were sent there. It didn't live up my expectations when I read it last week. It's so simple and the font is so large. The story was so short yet went on forever in away that is better read to small children night upon night. The Great Gatsby also placed in New York is older litterally and figuratively? I mean 1920's and meant for an older crowd. It's now easier to connect to it. Believe or not there is cheating in relationships in highschool and all around otherwise. I guess you may not see it but,yeah.. it's there. People screw up in very adult ways starting early. Those things may have existed but, the kid that read Stuart Little didn't have to think about that. That's the changing ways I've accepted and today The Great Gatsby is simply more fitting.

The Great Gatsby

So far: I have read to page 128 and now will give my opinion of Gatsby as the people in the book are so fond of doing.
Jay Gatsby is:
A man of the times.
A man in love.
A man of probably poor roots.
A man in the right place at the right time.
A man unsure of himself.
A man who could be a sad loser or a winner.
A man as unrealistic as his house.
A man confused with life.
A man that allows lies to be conceived.
A man that thrives off the lies built around him
A man that needs psychological help for his obsession that has lead to stalking of Daisy.
A man whom religion doesn't affect and only limits (marriage vows).
A man that could use a dog or an angry ex-girlfriend either one would work both, are very distracting.
A man of extreme patience and calculation.
A man of great taste.
A man with in society's watchful eye.
A man who heart is misshaped, malformed and probably will break.
A man who is confusing and whom I would never date.
A man that shows off.
A man who has a nice car that I may be jealous of.
Amen

The explanation for E.B. White's ending of Stuart Little.

I was looking up Stuart Little to find the date the movie was produced and to my surprise I found out why the book ended so quickly. Apparently, E.B. White was a hypochondria. He thought that death was soon approaching him. So he quickly finished up the book. The amusing thing is he wasn't sick, in fact, he lived another 40 years after publishing Stuart Little. The un-amusing thing is the book is unfinished. The ending is not at all satisfactory, it's abrupt and strange. He doesn't find the bird, gets rejected by a girl, and is a regular little ol' fool who can't make up his mind or stay out of trouble. No "American dream" or beautiful ending with lost-love found. This is a rushed ending, the work of someone who believes they won't be alive tomorrow. Especailly the last parageraphs where the telephone poll repair man is talking about all that he's seen and done. The beautiful wonders he's seen and how at peace he is with traveling to an unknown place and time. Full of hidden messages and sort of sad acceptance of life. Terrible and funny because White doesn't die for another 40 years.

Stuart Little

This book is not at all the same as the movie. There are many discrepancies in the stories. The only similar story is the sailing story, but even that is different.... in the movie his brother's boat is broken by a little boy-jerk and the steering and navigation is unable to be fixed so Stuart drives the boat in a race. In this book he asks to go on a random man's boat and sails it through a miniature storm. He also always seems to be in trouble of sorts either he is locked in the fridge or wrecking a small invisible car. The biggest difference is the bird Margalo. In the 1999 movie version, the bird is a bad guy and steals his mother's diamond ring because the evil hawk is forcing her to do so rather than Margalo leaving Stuart Little's house after she receives a warning from a pigeon that over heard plans of Margalo's "assassination" by Snowbell the cat. In this book Margalo never tells Stuart that she is leaving. He is heartbroken at her sudden disappearance. Stuart makes a rash decision to find her and sets off. Eventually he acquires a car and travels the state of New York stopping here and there to have adventures as he looks for her. The book ends quickly and He never finds her. Infact he finds another hot girl who he crashes a canoe with. Strange.

E.B. White Stuart Little.

On July, 11 E. B. White will be 110. His work has been appreciated ever since 1922 when he began writing for Cornell University. He later began working for The New Yorker and submitted poems sketches and editorials. In 1938 he left to write from Harpers Magazine where his essays for Harper's were later published in a book I own called One Man's Meat. My dad says it's very good but, I have enough to read... so you can count on some later blogs about E.B White and essays. I have just read his only book that resembles a child book called Stuart Little. I was later made into a movie. You probably saw it. It has Hugh Laurie in it, as the boy's father. Anyways, this book was a lot stranger than I remembered. I mean, Mrs. Little gave birth to him rather than him being adopted from an orphanage. How terrible, to give birth to a mouse, you expect a ugly little grimiln looking child but, instead you received/ give birth to a mouse. I guess it could be related to something such as having a child with Downe Sydrone. You pretned they are normal for their benefit but, make specail allowances and make decisions with the realization that your life will never the same.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer By Mark Twain. Continued :)

This is Tom Sawyer continued. Yes, its late, but I refinished it today. Having finished it already but, having forgotten it, I realized I'd have to read it again in order to get this blog done. :)

Tom Sawyer is now a successful conman. Just as I predicted, the terrible little boy is now rich. He found the money with Huck Finn ( who deserves the money..maybe). While being a bad child he found loot in a cave... He was not even supposed to be there yet, he got the money. As usual they were ever so happy to get him back. His Aunt is much to forgiving. When he disappears in the river with the boys and comes back just in time to see his own funeral she cries. She cries because she is so happy to see him, I might to but still every time is bad she cries and says it's alright don't worry I love you. She never really discourages his make believe and mischief. That is bad parenting. Hey... what happened to his family? They aren't ever mentioned in the book. There's no father, no mother, no cousins, no grandparents, in fact the only relative mentioned is his story is elderly Aunt Polly. Why did Mark Twain leave the family out? To restricting for his style? Maybe. Huck Finn only has a drunk father. It could just be easier to write a story when there are less authority characters involved.

The Glass Castle 2

As I was looking up Jeanette Walls I found a 2007 Colbert Report interview with her about the Glass Castle, it made me realize how unbelievable her story is. It could be complete bs. We wouldn't ever really know though. In the interview she was a very pretty woman with perfect hair, make-up and clothing with an annoying habit of calling Colbert "honey." As she attempted to explain her story and life she came off as a maybe. I had a difficult time telling if it was all scripted or what. I mean the whole story is unbelievable right? Who could have survived that and turned out successful? Not many. She really ought to have died of neglect at age 4 when her body was covered in 2nd and 3rd degree burns due to her being left alone to cook hotdogs at age 4. That's barely out of toddler stage right? It doesn't make sense. There were no visible scars or anything. That woman looked like a beautiful suburban mother with 2 kids that go to Dunwoody high. Not a woman that lived through abuse for 16 years.
That's another thing that I don't understand how did they escaped the system for so long? How is it that child protection services never found them? True they lived in many different places for short amounts of time but twice a socail worker came asking around but never filed anything or tried to ask the right questions. This here is a classic case of a failing system. Each year many children are neglected and abused because somewhere there's a person who should care but isn't. What can we do nothing really? Just yesterday a bill attempted to go through the Georgia state senate that would allow hospital workers and people other than primary care givers the ability to report injured and abused children in prostitution rings. I think it passed with only one person voting no. That's a start.

The glass castle 1.

The glass castle is a fantastic unbelievable story. It's the memoir of Jeannette Walls a gossip columnist and contributor to MSNBC news network. It's mostly the story of her growing up homeless and dirt poor dreaming for better things. Essentially the "American dream" with a few hilarious and painful quirks. In example having her cat thrown out the car, herself getting thrown out of the car, seeing her mother being held out the window, starved, living in in a new town every half a year or less for the first 10 years of her life. Life just wasn't pleasent. There was never enough money with her father an acholholic and her mother was a... I don't know, maybe a complete FAILURE. O.k. let me tell you about this lady. What this lady was, other than being a failure as a mother to her children, was a failure in life. She never held a job more than a year and even that was pushing it after a few months on the job as a teacher she would lay and bed and scream refusing to get up saying she was sick or making up any kind of story. Work is really not that bad. Back in those days being a teacher wasn't bad at all not when your children are starving and you have nothing left in your cabbinet. If she didn't want to work she should've sold the land she inherited from her mother. She wouldn't, she said it had been in the family for years "family land." Who cares about that when there's nothing to eat? Even as she grew older she never changed. In the end of the book she decides to be homeless with her husband who she has never left. Yes, she decides to be homeless. This horrified me. It actually took laziness to the extreme.

Frederick Douglas: The most and least

Ok, so, what I like most and least.
What I like: Frederick Douglas. Most the story of Frederick Douglas himself this guy is awe-inspiring. He ought to be so angry, raw, frustrated, like ready to take off heads but he isn't. He calmly goes on about all the injustices done to him and the people around him in a "I'm going to act like I'm not pissed off" tone. Does anybody else feel that? Like, he's pissed off yet, not "seeing red" angry? In fact it's almost wrong how matter of fact he is. Golly, I'd have already started kicking down buildings not written a novel.

What I don't like slave masters. Inhumane cruelty is demonstrated throughout these chapters we've been reading, lack of food, worked to exhaustion, whippings, beatings, killings, horrible horrible things. People shouldn't be able to do that to others. They can't but still... What if it was your long ago relatives that did that? I just went and checked my moms Native American and Quaker so no slavery there and dads family was to poor or was fighting for the Union. I can almost sleep safely at night. I also didn't like how the slaves didn't fight back. They vastly outnumbered the slaveholders in the south. If they had banded together they could have made quite an impact. The same is said about the roman slaves. In the time of Spartacus the Romans were completely outnumbered by the slaves they imported. Its a mystery why they didn't rebel they could taken over without any trouble. (we're watching Spartacus in Latin)

I can't find my group's blogs. The only one I found hasn't updated. Sorry Ms. C.

Dialect Frederick Douglas

The narrator is Frederick Douglas. The dialect of the narrator is in the tone of an educated white man. Strange yet, not. If he talked in the dialect of an uneducated slave this would just be another Uncle Tom's Cabin. That is not the image Douglas wants to portray, slaves are completely equal if they are given the chance. He shows that with dialect. It's very matter of fact to him. Frederick Douglas would not be saying these things if they had not happened to him but, because they did he's there to tell the stories and examples off human cruelty.

In this book, I have enjoyed the quality shown in the writers voice and sentence structure, his tone fits his political issues. The writers style inflicts awe upon the readers. A man to have lived through the activities is a strong man indeed. A man to have lived through the painful times and then was to write about them is even stronger, he is awe inspiring. Reading those moments it is like pulling a band aid off a healing wound. It is painful but, necessary. The wound must air out to get better, and slavery changed and ended after people began to protest it, and fight it in public.

Frederick Douglas

Frederick Douglas is a very good writer. His writing is very correct. In it's probably more "correct" and better than mine will ever be. His structuring is just fantastic and ends up sounding smart. How come some people do that naturally but, others like me sound like imbeciles who have a word spewing disorder? Honestly now, but because of that I am given a stronger feeling of awe. This is man who went through more hardships than any person today will face in their life. Douglas started his education late (age 12). By learning the alphabet, he was able to put together words and learn to read and write. It's simply amazing that one of the final products we have today is the great literary piece we are reading in class today.
His writing in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave touches your heart. I especially liked the second chapter. He said slave sing more when they are sad and cry when they are happy rather than the other way around. I can understand that, when my father is upset, like when my grandmother died he sat down and played piano for hours. Sad music, happy music, fast slow, whatever. The point is he played like the slaves sang. Its not exactly the same. How can one compare the issue and sadness of slavery to the death of one person?

Mrs. C. is it alright that I post 2 or 3 blogs about my reading for individual reading? I am very behind but, can now hopefully catch up since mocktrial is done taking over my life. I think I will if they don't count its fine, sort of.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer By Mark Twain.

Tom Sawyer is a little rascal. It a good thing his aunt loves him. I think with anyone else during those times Tom would not have lasted a month. I've only read 31 pages into The Adventures off Tom Sawyer but for real now ... how in the world are you going to get everyone else to paint the fence for you? This boy is going to be a con artist. I mean he made a profit out of it. "Tom was literally rolling in wealth. He had besides the things before mentioned, twelve marbles,part of a jews-harp, a piece of blue bottle-glass to look through, a spool cannon, a key that wouldn’t unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, a glass stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, six fire-crackers, a kitten with only one eye, a brass door-knob, a dog-collar – but no dog – the handle of a knife, four pieces of orange-peel, and a dilapidated old window sash." As I said, this boy is going to be a con man. I think his aunt knows it too. She's pulled in by his sucking powers and can't help but love him. It must be a conspiracy by Mark Twain to convince small boys to do bad things, like the stupid but called "A Dangerous Book for Boys." My younger cousin Raleigh is now terrifying the children of the neighbor hood with his "not-so-very dangerous and easy to use" sling shot. Raleigh wants to be a lawyer when he grows up. He likes to argue.... NOTE: This is not completely done and will be revised some.

The Jelly Bean

The Jelly Bean is a about a small town, a small town boy named Jim Powell and a small town girl. It's sad but adorable. It has no happy ending or is one of those morale stories. Yet it sticks with you more than 30 minutes after you've read it. I have to give it credit for that. When I was reading Franny and Zooey I had a hard time keeping what they said in my head as I typed these blogs. The plot line of Franny and Zooey I could remember, as only 4 things happened in it but for the life of me nothing they said stuck out in my head. While in this book I can remember direct qoutes. " Mr. Jim Powell King of Jelly Beans." What is a jelly bean? I don't know. I believe it is someone who idles. All I do know is Jim Powell was referred to as the jelly bean everytime there was something important to be said.. It doesn't make much sense but I guess since the famous Jelly Bellly Jelly beans were invented in 1976 it makes more sense. By the way this blog just inlfuenced me to look up jelly beans. Well done Mrs. C. I have never before been motivated by a blog to go the extra 3 inches. Back to The Jelly Bean, the gist of the story is lost love, Jim Powell loves Nancy Lamar but will never get her because he is not the right man who has money. He has no money. He works in a garage, shoots pool and throws dice to support himself. Nancy is the girl who wants out of the snall confining town. She hooks up with the man who she thinks will get her out and ends up accidently married in the end causing Jim Powell the jelly bean to leave town. Sad isn't it?There are times when people just don't have a chance. This was one of them. This jelly bean just didn't fit into her plans.

The Offshore Pirate

Ardita, Ardita, Ardita. The Character of 15 to 21 year old women from the 20th century. Bossy, rude, well learned, as I said, the 20th century. She is also the classic Fitzgerald women, a woman with style who wouldn't wear just anything. She'd wear what ever would shock and bared everything (almost) to shock those who'd like to be shocked. In fact, that sounds a lot like Lily Allen. The British pop star of the moment. That's the women who is ridiculous and couldn't give a care until its too late, I'd like to nominate her for ugliest album cover. Have you seen it? HIDEOUS. The only reason Lily Allen still exists is because of her enchanting and amazing voice. Ardita didn't have a voice but, she did have that... style which made her unforgettable. Her manner is one that you think about even as your reading the next story. If it was for her the protagonist this story wouldn't exist. Carlyle/ Toby Moreland great character but, really its Ardita that matters. I mean Carlyle/Toby Moreland is "sexy" sounding guy but, I can't say that, so I ask the court to scratch that from the record. He is a very "hot" sounding guy and I could imagine him perfectly and I read it I found my self again thinking Fitzgerald for his Amazing description. "He was a young man with a scornful mouth and the bright blue eyes of a healthy baby set in a dark sensitive face. His hair was pitch black, damp and curly--the hair of a Grecian statue gone brunette. He was trimly built, trimly dressed, and graceful as an agile quarter-back." Could it get any better??? No I don't believe it could. This was the first story in the Collected Short Stories Of Fitzgerald. So my mind was blown away by his descpriptions of everything. The sky, the boats, the sound of their voices, was in beautiful details. EVERYTHING.

Porcelain and Pink

Porcelain in pink is a wonderful one act play Scott Fitzgerald wrote for the magazine Smart Set in 1922. It has "elegantly crude humor" as my sister put it. He asks what are you wearing and Lois just can't say "nothing". It's the 1920's for goodness sake. So she describes her skin. The man never realizes.My sister Rae was rolling on the floor with laughter once she got it. It's very difficult to explain. I'll just paste it. Here:

THE YOUNG MAN: (Sentimentally) It's so nice talking to you like this--when you're merely a voice. I'm rather glad I can't see you.

JULIE: (Gratefully) So am I.

THE YOUNG MAN: What color are you wearing?

JULIE: (After a critical survey of her shoulders) Why, I guess it's a sort of pinkish white.

THE YOUNG MAN: Is it becoming to you?

JULIE: Very. It's--it's old. I've had it for a long while.

THE YOUNG MAN: I thought you hated old clothes.

JULIE: I do but this was a birthday present and I sort of have to wear it.

THE YOUNG MAN: Pinkish-white. Well I'll bet it's divine. Is it in style?

JULIE: Quite. It's very simple, standard model.

Isn't that just quaint? I can't get a rid of double spacing. Sorry. Lois is the same delightful character through the entire thing. She is truly in her own world and seems to enjoy making thoughtful yet, ridiculous answers. Birthday suit? Pinkish white? Oh dear, the puritans would have truly hated this girl.

How Fitzgerald knew the ways girls are and act we'll never know. He captured the moments perfectly. In such a detailed manner too. This here was my favorite passage in Bernice bobs her hair;
Downstairs she opened the big front door, closed it carefully behind her, and feeling oddly happy and exuberant stepped off the porch into the moonlight, swinging her heavy grip like a shopping-bag. After a minute's brisk walk she discovered that her left hand still held the two blond braids. She laughed unexpectedly- had to shut her mouth hard to keep from emitting an absolute peal. She was passing Warren's house now, and on a impulse she set down her baggage, and swinging the braids like pieces of rope flung them at the wooden porch, where they landed with a slight thud. She laughed again no longer restraining herself. "Huh!" She giggled wildly. "Scalp the selfish thing!" Then picking up her suitcase she set off at a half-run down the moonlit street.
What a delightful stretch of words. Marjorie deceives Bernice into getting her hair cut into a bob and almost shames her in front of the whole crowd. So Bernice cuts her hair, giving Marjorie-the-bad-word a bob.

Collected Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I have just finished Collected Stories of Scott Fitzgerald. It was very good. He had the stories organized under Flappers and Philosophers, and, Tales of The Jazz Age. Very fun and Fitting sections but, the titles were even nicer. My favorites were; Bernice bobs her hair, The offshore Pirate, The Four Fists, The Jelly Bean, and Porcelain and Pink. The one's with the best titles are the best stories. No reason, they just are. Simply genius. Each in their own way. I will write about each of the best individually in separate blogs. Because writing about them all here will take up a ton of room and they just simply can not be all squashed together. They were all very different in style and morale(I want to say morale but I don't know if that is the right word for what I mean). Bernice Bobs her Hair is tacky and wonderful with a great bit of spitefulness tossed in too. The offshore Pirate is snappy, stylish and romantic? Sort of, not really. The Four fists is nice and is available to be learned from. It's teaching in a "don't-do-this" kind of way. The Jelly Bean is sad, adorable and homely. Sort of like that kid at school you want to help but, can't because you're not good enough. Porcelain and Pink was one of the funniest things I have ever read. I'd love to do it as a play in drama. The bantering in the beginning reminded me of my sister and I. The ending didn't but, made it all the funnier. Silly, silly man, Mr. Calkins was a very good supporting character. Written so well, that I could imagine the color of his glasses and the length of his trousers.

Franny and Zooey. It's all about Franny.

Franny and Zooey is finished. The ending was stupid. Yes I probably come up with a better word than stupid but, I don't want to. Stupid Stupid Stupid. I read an entire book that ended with a nothing. All Franny did was cry some more yell at Zooey, receive a phone call and find new faith in the world. On the screen that all looks very interesting but its not. Not at all. It was disappointing. I waited the whole time for something interesting to happen. All I got was confusion and a fat lady who is secretly Jesus Christ.
The confusion is from the Phone call Franny received. Was it really Buddy or was it Zooey. I thinks its Zooey. He picked up the Phone and made a local call. He could not have been calling Buddy whose number was not local. It's all very confusing because the writer wrote it so that it could have been either.
The fat lady was a very nice touch. Shine your shoes for the fat lady says Seymore. So in his head when he's on the radio or television he thinks about the fat lady sitting in her chair at home listening to the radio all day long. There is always someone there who is listening and believes in them and what they have say. Jesus Christ.

The Issue: Smoking

The issue of smoking has appeared in the book. Every character smokes. The mother, the son, the daughter, the boyfriend. It's very strange how accepted it is. In the restaurant it was polite for Lane to light Franny's cigarette and normal for them to smoke 5 or 6 in one sitting. When Zooey was in the bath tub he went through almost an entire pack. Bessie, while talking to Zooey in the bathroom, smokes alot. Almost every time there's a subject change she has a new cigarette. The way they smoke is very different from smoking today. It's sort of taboo.... people hide the habit these days. When my mother smokes (once of year) she tries to hide it going out late. Society forces people to. It's cool that society has the power to do so but, also frightening.

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

I'm reading Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger because it was the only book close to those on my list in my house that I could find and Clark a Paideia English teacher had his class reading it during short term. One of my best friends Charlotte Cloyd is his daughter and is taking his class. Wouldn't it be strange to have your father as your teacher?
Anyhow I finished Franny and am a quarter of the way through Zooey. So, 109 pages to be exact. In one day I'm very proud to say. Bet your not proud to hear that either oh well. Ahhh another strange fact, as I was reading Franny and Zooey, Mr. Skillman unknowingly sat next to me in Dancing Goats coffee shop. I didn't have him as a lit teacher but the rest of your first period class did I had Zimbardo... Um back to J.D. Salinger, I am enjoying his writing a lot. The story Franny made sense in a "got on the wrong subway in New York then sat next a mariachi band" kind of way. Strange right? It was refreshing in it's length of 43 pages. Very short, as that train ride was. There were tons of intricate plot details like; the perspiration on her forehead, what she did in the bathroom stall, or who she looked at before she fainted. On the other hand Zooey is fascinating too. Salinger spends 60 plus pages with Zooey in the bathtub. It seems ridiculous but he manages to make it entertaining. I hadn't even realized I had read so many pages in which nothing ever happened. No that's a lie, stuff happened, lots of stuff. Bessie, the mother and Zooey, the son talked about the family and all the problems. They have many problems. One son committed suicide and, another is a hermit, while the daughter is going through a mental meltdown. The daughter is Franny. Salinger connected the two stories, Franny is back from visiting Lane and she is also going through major religious issues. That's as far as I got but anyways, its very good. Thank you for suggesting the author.
Oh right, I forgot to mention this; in the beginning Franny's letter is a perfect example of what we are studying in drama. The contrast of feelings and emotions all shown in one piece monologues. I'm sorry there is so much random stuff in this post it has been a dreadful day.