Woman Hollering Creek

In the beginning of Woman Hollering Creek, Cleofilas lives an independent lifestyle. She gets to be whoever she wants and do whatever she wants. She has friends and daily activities. Once she is married she loses herself in the marriage and becomes dependent upon him. She no longer goes to the movies, gets milkshakes, or watches soap operas with her friends. Now she sits at home and serves a husband who makes her feel inferior to him and beats her.
Every night she listens to sound of the creek near her house, waiting for her husband to come home. And while she's waiting she thinks about her life back in Mexico she used to have and of her father's love. A parents love for their child is something that will never go away. She realizes this after she is married. "How when a man and woman love each other, sometimes that love sours. But a parent's love for a child, a child's for its parents, is something entirely. " I think this is what makes her ultimately decide to leave Juan Pedro and go back home to her family. She realizes that she wants her child to feel that love that her parents gave her. Her child will never experience that in a home where abuse occurs. I was happy to see her leave her husband and go back to her family in Mexico. Also, I liked how the story ended because you do not know if she ever makes it back home to them. You just have to hope she does or makes it on her own.

Alice Walker

Everyday Use
"Mama" is never given a name in this short story but everyone else is; both of mama's girls have names, their boyfriends, and other family members. I think Alice Walker used this to make "mamas" character seem ignorant of the rise of education and women leaving homes instead of staying home. Mama never got an education, and can barely read. She seems proud of her daughter, Dee's success but doesn't think it was necessary. "She washed us in a river or make-believe, burned us to her with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know. " Even though, she doesn't think Dee needed to go to college to become a successful woman, she supports her by raising money with the church and sending her to Augusta School. Obviously, she loves her daughter very much and encourages her to be successful in her own way.
Dee seems to take advantage of the fact that her mother will give her anything she wants. I think she is appreciative of her mother, I just think she has a hard time being understanding of her mother's background. "Mama" seems to be the only one taking care of her two daughter's because no father is every mentioned.
"I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man...I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing;"
She is one strong woman providing for her family. Dee seems to me to want a better life for herself than this but I don't think its because she doesn't appreciate everything her mother gave her necessarily.

Going to Meet the Man

James Baldwin creates a very vivid horrifying picture for his readers of inhumane treatment of African Americans. I found myself cringing several times throughout the story. Jesse hated African Americans with his whole heart but the idea of rough sexual intercourse with them excited him is beyond appalling. "Come on, sugar, I'm going to do you like a nigger, just like a nigger, come on, sugar, and love me just like you'd love a nigger." To me this is comparable to sick pornography of children that some very sick men have fantasies about. Not because its a white man with a black woman but because the man hates a whole other race but wants to completely destroy it mentally and physically with his sick fantasy. Jesse likes the power of fear over another human being, which men who have sick fantasies, do as well. It is the action of power over another being, that is so unjustly and makes me sick to my stomach. I'm not naive enough to think this doesn't happen in life but its just something no one wants to think about because it is so heart-breaking to know people exist like this in life.
Jesse and his family sat and watched the burning and torture of a black man with a sense of pleasure and thrill.
"His father's face was full of sweat, his eyes were very peaceful. At that moment Jesse loved his father more than he had ever loved him. "
I could not even watch my very own worst enemy go through that inhumane cruelty of a death. Blood and gore do not usually make me nauseous but reading this story made my stomach turn quite a few times. Although, James Baldwin writing style is very descriptive and precise, I will not be reading this short story again due to the simple fact that it disturbs me emotionally, mentally, and physically.

The Long Day's Journey into Night

This was an interesting story to say the least. It was not my favorite piece of literature we have read this Spring. On a positive note, it was funny to hear the Tyrone family go back and forth in their ridiculous, repetitive conversations. On another note though I did not like this play because everyone is dependent upon someone or something. I had a hard time relating to the characters and not getting frustrated. There is not a happy ending, yes I know life doesn't always end like Hollywood's perfect endings but this story just ends in pain caused upon by each other.
Maybe Mary's dependency upon Morphine is related to her dependency of her husband, Tyrone.
Tyrone: "You're a fine armful now. Mary with those twenty pounds you've gained"
Mary: "I've gotten too fat, you mean, my dear. I really ought to reduce."
Tyrone: "You didn't. Not as much as I'd like to see, anyway."
You can tell how much she values her husbands opinion of herself over he own opinion. At this point in their relationship, I don't think she has a voice anymore. Whenever, I read characters I envision myself as that character to understand them better. I had a very hard time putting myself in Mary's shoes. Maybe its the fact that I'm strong-willed and don't rely on other people's opinion that made me cringe the entire time reading Mary's character. Needless to say, I think the reason why she is addicted to Morphine is because she relies solely on her husband to support her mentally and physically. Since she can't support herself mentally with her own free will then she relies on a drug to stimulate her.
Another reason I was not a fan of this story is the repetitive pattern of their lives. They wake up everyday and do the same events. It's like Groundhog day, everyday for the Tyrone family. They are all slowly dying due to their addictions. Edmund has Tuberculosis and is dying. All of the men have serious drinking problems, where they drink till they pass out. While Mary has her Morphine addiction. Its just a sad sad family with no hope, literally dying in a living room. Their all just wasting away....

The River Merchant's Wfe: A Letter

The River Merchant’s Wife really drew me in the more times I read it. I began to understand where the woman was coming from and her transitions through life. The poem begins with the wife being a child and develops into her womanhood, the transitions of her life. The first stage of her life depicts the innocence of her as a young girl and her future husband. “Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.” There was innocence in their friendship as children, until the arranged marriage changed their lives. Their innocence transitions into a deep, extreme love and filled with sorrow.

The first transition from children to adults is when they are married. “At fourteen, I married My Lord you….At fifteen I stopped scowling….” At first, the merchant’s wife despised the fact that her childhood and innocence was taken from her. She was forced to marry the merchant. However, at the time this was normal. Parents arranged for their children to be married and the children didn’t have a say in the matter. Personally, I cannot imagine having someone choose for me who I will marry. Marriage is such a big leap of faith into the next journey in our lives and you’re choosing to take that journey with your marriage, together. The merchant’s wife does not get to choose what journey she will embark upon. Although the poem does not indicate why her husband left her, we can assume it was out of both of their control. This journey with her husband is a sorrowful and painful journey. “And you have been gone five months. The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead. You dragged your feet when you went out. “

I can relate to this poem in many ways because I was once put in the situation of having to deal with long-distance relationship. Being away from someone you care about for a long amount of time, makes you sad. You wake up every day to get through the day so that it makes the future comes faster of when you will see your loved one. Time seems to drag by. In my case, whenever I got the chance to see my boyfriend, I jumped at the idea and took a road trip. Even if we got to see each other for ten hours, it made my whole week go by faster and put me in a happy mood. Unfortunately, the merchant’s wife does not get this opportunity. “If you are coming down through the narrows of the river Kiang, Please let me know beforehand, And I will come out to meet you As far as Cho-fu-Sa.” Their approximate distance is equivalent from Peoria to Chicago. In my head, I’m thinking oh that is not far because we can get there by car in three hours roughly. However, we have the luxury of cars/trains. The merchant’s wife did not have that luxury; she had her feet to carry her that distance. After about a four mile walk, I’m ready for a nap so I cannot even imagine walking from Peoria to Chicago to see my loved one. She loved him enough that she would have traveled any distance just to see her husband.

So far this has been my favorite poem we have read so far; mostly because I can relate to it. I like the transitions of the merchant’s wife from childhood to a woman. However, it is not so much the transitions of one’s life that make this poem so different but the outline of a beautiful love story.

Trifles

The definition of Trifles is something of little  importance or value. The play "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell is all about the details of this murder mystery that lead to solving the murder. The women roles are understated in the play while the men are the ones attempting to solve this crime. The women are assumed to take the role of the house keeper and care taker of the household, while the men are the brains behind the hard labor that get the job done. However, it is not the men who solve the murder mystery it is the women. Men often over look details and see the big picture. Women pay attention to the small details. As a woman, I am the first person to notice if something has moved or is missing in my house, that I did not move. Something that was not there before you left but is there now, I notice. It is the little subtleties like this that women naturally pick up on. These subtleties are what led Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale to solve the murder and what was the motivation behind it. The men mocked the woman for reading too much into Mrs. Wright's sewing. "They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it." 
The first trifle that leads the women to believe something occurred to upset Mrs. Wright was her sewing. "Mrs. Peters, look at this one. Here, it has been so nice and even. And look at this! It's all over the place! Why, it looks as if she didn't know what she was about! " They noticed her sewing was neat and in sewn perfectly until right before she stopped on the quilt. The last few stitches were not sewn neatly and stood out from the rest of the stitches.
The second trifle that the women pick up on is the bird cage that is missing a bird. " No, she didn't have a cat. She's got the feeling some people have about cats-being afraid of them."  Why would Mrs. Wright's bird cage be missing a bird if she did not own a cat? It wouldn't unless someone killed it.  Most of us have a pet that we love very dearly. If someone hurts or worse yet kills a loved one, you become volatile to your own dangerous actions.  In a distraught over her lost bird, Minnie Wright clearly lost control of herself and killed her husband. 
Even though the women had solved the murder, they did not tell the Sheriff or their husbands because they emphasized with Minnie. " When I was a girl, my kitten...there was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyes....and before I could get there....If they hadn't held me back I would have hurt him. "  The men never find out the motivation behind the murder or who the real murderer is. All the little trifles that the men thought were foolish and silly were the clues that led to solving the crime. The moral of the story, don't overlook the trifles because they are what make the big picture.

Roman Fever

In my opinion, Roman Fever, is a timeless classic short story. No matter how old you are or where you come from, the reader can relate to the theme of deception and jealousy. At some point in our lives we have dealt with the so called friend who betrayed us behind our back or we may have even betrayed our friend. 
The phrase, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, depicts the "friendship" between Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley. " Mrs. Slade bears her true feelings toward Mrs. Ansley in this line, She thought: "I must make one more effort not to hate her."  The two woman grew up together as children, lived across the street from each other, been "friends" for years but are they really friends?  The two woman competed their entire lives" Well as a girl she had been exquisite; far more beautiful than her daughter Barbara, though certainly Babs. according to the new standards at any rate, was more effective-had more edge, as they say. Funny where she got it, with those two nullities as parents."  Mrs. Slade was envious of Mrs. Ansley's daughter because her daughter got the physical characteristics  and personality that Jenny lacked. It was almost as if the girls were born to the wrong families.
All of Mrs. Slade's life she thought had the upper hand because she got the prize husband along with the exquisite, rich lifestyle. Yes, Mrs. Ansley did lead a rich lifestyle as well but not as exquisite as Mrs. Slade. However, Mrs. Ansley did get the "perfect" daughter that every mother is envious of, due to Mrs. Slade's own jealousy. The root of Mrs. Slade's jealousy led to her own misfortune. If she had not tried to deceive Grace Ansley into believing that Delphin (her husband) had written that, then Grace never would have had the daughter Mrs. Slade always envied and been deceived by her husband. Jealousy and insecurity leads to our own undoing and misfortune. The last line in the book, "I had Barbara," stated by Mrs. Ansley sums up the short story's theme of deception. Mrs. Slade was always proud and haughty of her flashy life she had because of marrying Delphin but in the end her life was based on deception by her husband and "friend." I feel bad for the woman because Delphin gets off easy in this short story with no consequences and she deceived by her friend. At the same time, she did this to her own self by writing the note to Grace. Her own insecurities and jealousy were the cause of the deception that Delphin and Grace carried their entire life. Had she not wrote that note then Barbara never would have happened. In the end I don't feel so bad for Mrs. Slade because she brought her own misfortune upon herself with insecurities.