Them on Us, Us on Them: An Examination of the Views of One Sex on Another

In the grand scope of literature, the theme of male versus female has shown up time and time again. In fact, upon review of a handful of random texts, one may find it hard to pick one that had no form age-old concept. In their works, Sandra Cisneros and N. Scott Momaday, use a unique form to portray this battle, the short story cycle. Using this literary structure, these two authors portray male and female relationship in The House on Mango Street and The Way to Rainy Mountain through the views of one sex on another.

In order to accurately compare and contrast the voices used in each book, I believe it is necessary to first examine the overall similarities and differences of the works as well as how those similarities and differences relate to the interaction of men and women. Overall, Cisneros’s and Momaday’s writings had some very important similarities; first and most obvious being that both are short story cycles. Each book is made up of a number of individual stories that collectively work to define the text – as opposed to a novel that lives primarily as one giant mass. The structure of the short story cycle relates well to the lives of men and women alike because no person’s life is regarded as a seamless mass; rather, it is regarded as a collection of relationships and experiences spawning from a lifetime of interaction with others. Secondly, the works of these two authors are similar in the point of view they portray – that of a minority. Cisneros’s writing shows the thoughts and emotions of a young Latina girl, and Momaday’s work comes mostly from the voice of small Native American tribe. This similarity holds importance because the dynamics of male in female interaction is different within a minority group than an overpowering majority group. Finally, both works show the efforts of either a person or a group in the midst of a struggle. Whether it is the complex fight of a Hispanic girl against poverty in big city or the basic battle to survive off the land, conflict always affects the interaction within and between sexes. These similarities pay a vital role in linking the masculine and feminine voices between the two collections.

Equally as important as the similarities of the two books are their overall differences. As I mentioned before, both books depict the voice of a minority group, and while the voices of minority groups are similar to one another in comparison to a majority, they each hold their own unique characteristics. Obviously, the biggest gap between these two minority groups is in cultural heritage. While the Kiowa share a hunter-gatherer culture, the Hispanic American people hold different customs living in a big American city, leading to a slight difference in the way people within each culture interact. With that in mind, another discrepancy in Cisneros’s and Momaday’s work arises – that of time. Obviously a tribe roaming around the open American plains must have lived in different time than a group of immigrants in a modern American city, and with a drastic time difference identified, we can imagine a communication difference exists as well between the two books. Finally, the issue of age comes into the examination of the voices in the works. As Esperanza is only a young to adolescent girl for the duration of The House on Mango Street, her view of male and female interaction may be slightly different from that of the grown men dominating the stories of The Way to Rainy Mountain. Luckily, with the careful regard for these differences, I have chosen to explore a topic that is colorless and timeless, as well as a good bit ageless. As though it is a part of our DNA, the overall portrayal of males through the female voice as well as females through the male voice changes little from person to person and from time to time.

Focusing specifically on The House on Mango Street, we can get a clear idea of the way the female voice portrays the male. As the book was written by a woman and told through the eyes of a girl, it immediately holds weight in the scope of this exploration. From the beginning, Cisneros declares that males and females “live in separate worlds” (8). This solidifies the idea that the author believes men and women are different and thus may view each other in a varied way. Cisneros establishes throughout her text that women see men as overpowering. In one specific case, the character Alicia has trouble with her father in the story “Alicia Who Sees Mice” (32). This story insinuates that her father has some sort of overpowering role in her life, even though we are left in the dark as to what the role is. Another character that interacts with an overpowering male figure is Sally, who comes to school wearing bruises on several occasions because her father is afraid she will run away (92). Later, after Sally is married, she is bounded within the walls of her husband’s house because “she is afraid to go outside without his permission” (102). The text regarding the men in Sally’s life is a clear scope of the generalized way the female voice views the male in this short story cycle, as well as elsewhere, but one passage does break the mold. In “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark,” Cisneros shows a much more positive view of a man. Esperanza reflects on how she would feel if “her own Papa” died, a though that moves her to “hold and hold and hold him” (57). While this contrasting portrayal of the male character is a breathe of fresh air from other passages, it still holds small weight when compared to the larger scope of negative male illustrations throughout the book.

Looking at The Way to Rainy Mountain, we can spotlight the view of the male voice on the woman. While there is no direct quote in Momaday’s text regarding the difference of men and women or each sexes’ role in society, the implications of his stories are hard to ignore. A negative vibe towards women in the writing starts immediately with story of how the Kiowa came to be. As the Kiowa “came into the world through a hollow log,” it was a woman that stopped their becoming by getting “stuck in the log” (16). Momaday’s text continues to shed negative light on the female labeling them as objects. As though the women are material goods, Momaday explains that in Kiowa culture, “bad women are thrown away” (58). An examination of the implication of this passage shows that men in that Native American culture portray women in a material way. Although a following passage tells the story of Kau-au-ointy, a women who rose from slavery to a prominent member of the tribe, the passage implies that she surpassed the typical “part of a Kiowa woman,” meaning most women of the tribe held lower roles than the males (59).

I raise the point of male portrayal of the female and female portrayal of the male to shed light on an age-old issue of sexual inequality. While the authors of these two texts may not share the views I have touched on, their story cycles show that the issue is alive in the past, as well as the present. The medium through which these ideas were conveyed, the short story cycle, works well to give an accurate depiction of how these issues fit into regular life because of how closely the short story cycle correlates to regular life. Fortunately, each author included a hint of positive view toward the opposite sex, evidence of hope for change and more equally viewed genders.

Later, at the Bar

Later, at the Bar has a very different style compared to the rest of the books this semester.  To be honest, I feel it is a little watered down compared to the moral-rich story collections we saw before it.  The other books were filled with deep ideas like feminism, hope, and entrapment.  The stories in this collection really just seemed juvenile and redundant with a very repetitive form.  But I have spent a lot of time in my blogs this semester talking about the form of the story cycles we have read, and to be honest, I am getting tired of it.  So for the rest of this entry, I think I’m going to try to pull some symbols out of Rebecca Barry’s work instead.

 

First, I feel Lucy’s death is a cyclical symbol.  In the first story, Barry states that Lucy is originally from Alaska, where she experienced a lot of intense snowstorms.  Because of this she feels at home when it snows outside of the tavern.  When she walks outside on the night of her death, she looks like she’s “waiting for something wonderful to happen.”  To me, this is her way of returning to the snowy grounds from which she was born, thus completing a full circle.

 

The other symbol I picked up on was of the tavern itself.  I saw it primarily as a symbol of home.  As I have been writing this blog entry inside my warm house, I have noticed the weather outside as cold, damp, and depressing.  Just as the characters in Barry’s stories are comforted by the walls of the tavern, I am comforted by the walls of my home in troubling weather.  To me, it seems the tavern is a refuge for the characters from the physical weather as well as the weather of their lives and actions.

The Dew Breaker

Every book we have read this year has had a unique form – some more unique than others – and The Dew Breaker is no different. While reading these stories, I felt the presences of fiction much more than in the other books this semester, but I do not see this style as a fault. The form each author chooses for his or her stories is important to the message they intend on conveying. In Danticat’s case, the blanketed theme of cause and effect calls for a slightly more “fabricated” form.

Throughout the book, we follow the story of man that performed horrendous acts of murder in dictator-ruled Haiti as well as the people affected by those acts. All of these people, in one way or another, are related through the Dew Breaker and his actions, but the omniscient view of all these characters brings on a stronger fiction aspect to the reading than other books. For instance, The House on Mango Street showed a many experiences though the eyes of one child in an urban setting, making the story quite believable and true to the reader. On the other hand, The Dew Breaker gives a broader view from different angles on a more singular experience and its effects.

By showing the story of the Dew Breaker as well as the affected people, Danticat touches on the idea of cause and effect. Seeing the lives of people related to the Dew Breaker’s murders allows the reader to understand the ripple effect of actions in the sea of experience. With some characters – those who end up living beneath the Dew Breaker, as well as the killer’s daughter – we see that sometimes the ripples of our actions reflect back to us, thus effects can impact the causer.

Drown

So far we have read two books written by people of a Hispanic descent, first was The House on Mango Street and now Drown.  Like all of the books we’ve read so far, language played a key role in shaping these stories, but for these two books in particular, the use of language served a more important role in establishing the ethnic tone of the book.  Both books used the interchanging of English and Spanish in their text to add a cultural splash to the reading.  While Mango Street made the Spanish words stand out with italics, Drown lets the words settle in regularly with the English text in order to show the fusion of two distinct cultures. 

 

Although the use of interchanging language is important in the style of Drown, even more important is the use of varying diction throughout each story.  I cannot say that I picked up on this variation initially in my reading, but after our interesting class discussion, I couldn’t stop noticing it.  The story these varying tones stand out in the most is “Aurora.”  In this story, Diaz switches immediately between a rough, slang-like diction and a smooth, poetic wording several times.  Phrases like “I want to put my fist in her face” and “feel her soft face on the other side of my fingers” are displayed closely resulting in a conflicting tone. 

 

The juxtaposition of these contradicting styles relates well to conflict of many Hispanic immigrants of that day as well as now.  While the promise of the American dream can be seen as beautiful and enticing, the struggle of attaining that dream can often be harsh; and in some cases, the dream may even be out of reach.

The Things They Carried

A story specifically about war is an interesting twist for this class.  So far, the books we’ve read have been relatively similar in themes and form – not to say I think that The Things They Carried is morally very different – but the war aspect of this book brings in a new dynamic to the story.  The effect war has on soldiers in irreparable, and I saw that come through very strongly in O’Brien’s writing.  Given the background of the narrator, I mostly struggled with taking his stories as complete or entirely truthful, even though the book is dedicated to a group of real, fallen soldiers. 

 

Directly in the text, the narrator states that stories from Vietnam are strange and hard to believe – “some improbably, some well beyond that” (89).  Also he states that in war, soldiers loose their “sense of definite…[their] sense of truth itself” (82).  Statements like these make me skeptical of events before and after them.  While I do believe that major events and deaths did happen, I am still unsure of how they are delivered to the reader.

 

Indirectly, the text is concerning too.  In the final chapter, the narrator talks about how stories help the dead “return to the world” (225).  I believe the he says this to convey that stories help celebrate the life the dead once had.  To me, it seems reasonable for the storyteller to fabricate and stray from truth in order to do so.  Therefore, I do not fully believe every event in this book.

 

I think it is important when reading to always consider whether or not the narrator is completely trustworthy.  In the book particularly, where the narrator is affected by war and the loss of friends, truth must be considered carefully.  I think O’Brien wrote the book in this manner to simultaneously show the effect war has on people as well as celebrate the lives of his fallen friends.     

The Women of Brewster Place

The Women of Brewster Place is a very emotional story collection.  Each story is filled with events that greatly characterize the struggle of an oppressed and impoverished people.  I cannot say that I saw Gloria Naylor’s book as uplifting or optimistic in anyway.  In fact, I saw the book as quite dark, and each time I thought the book would take a surprising turn for the better, the mood dropped again.

 

Starting right away with Mattie, the course of action in the book takes a nosedive.  Her pregnancy turns her away from her family, and even though she is take in by Eva Turner and fortunate enough to buy the house, her son ruins her chances of staying there by skipping bail.  The depressing material continues throughout the book with Etta’s misfortune with men, the death of Lucielia’s baby, Cora’s neglect for her children, and finally the rape of Lorraine.  The events in each of these stories all carry a common, morbid theme, one we’ve seen in so many other books this year, entrapment. 

 

Although each story was mostly depressing, Naylor throws in a few uplifting lines here and there.  At then end of Etta’s story, she excited to go see Mattie, who brings her comfort.  Also, at the end of Lucielia’s story, Naylor writes that “morning would come,” signifying hope for the days ahead.  Still, I hardly find these few lines to be hopeful in the midst of such dark material in the book overall.

 

Taking the moods and events from each story into consideration, I would consider this book a short story cycle.  All of the stories revolve around a common setting, Brewster Place, and each one seems to return to the same dark place it began.  Also, the book begins with “Dawn” and ends with “Dusk,” signifying the cycle of a day.  

The House on Mango Street

I enjoy books that seem real – books that have real-life characters with real-life situations and The House on Mango Street does just that.  From cover to cover, I was easily able to relate to the characters in the story.  I attribute this mostly to the language Sandra Cisneros uses, simple and concise.  This language is not only a nice break from the elegant, over-descriptive writing we have observed, but also a clear way to send a message to readers. The most obvious theme I saw throughout the book was that of entrapment, and I saw it on two separate levels.

 

Esperanza clearly seems to feel trapped by the place she is forced to live during her childhood, and that shows through very well in the language of the stories.   The first level of entrapment is that of class.  In the beginning of the story, we see that Esperanza’s family is not of a lower class.  She immediately expresses her shame over the house they live in, and states that some day she would have her own house, one she “could point to” without being ashamed (5).  Also, early on in the story, we see a decline in the neighborhood’s overall class.  Cathy, a girl living on Mango Street with her family says she has to move away because “people like [Esperanza] keep moving in (13).  Throughout the story, symptoms of a low-class neighborhood continue to pop up with stories of bums asking for kisses from the girls and stories of children like Sally, who is abused by her father.  Ultimately, Esperanza wants to get out and “sleep…close to the stars” in a “house on a hill,” but she claims she will not forget the people of Mango Street.

 

The other level of entrapment I picked up on was that of childhood.  Esperanza seems to be in limbo of childhood and adulthood for most of the story.  In some stories she longs to do grown-up things such as where high-heels, put on make-up like Sally, and have a boy hold her like Sire holds his girlfriend; but in other stories, Esperanza seems reluctant to grow up.  In contradiction to her feelings about Sire and his girlfriend, she is upset when Sally leaves her to kiss the boys in the Monkey Garden.  Also, she seems to talk condescendingly about the girls that get married to early in the story.  These hints of anger and jealousy show conflicting views toward growing up.

 

To me, Mango Street seems to be a symbol of the entrapment Esperanza experiences.  On Mango Street, Esperanza will always feel weighted down, but when she finally leaves, she will be free of poverty and childhood ignorance.  Once she has done this, she can return as she says she will in the end.    

True Friendship

I have found few things in life as fragile and complicated as a relationship with another person. At times, friendship seems easier to loose than it is to gain, especially in the constantly changing atmosphere of college. For me, friendships fade in and out – gain and loose weight – constantly, but these variations are what make each friendship special and distinct form the others. The best example I can give of such a friendship is the one I have with my best friend, Cody. I have been close with Cody for years, and our relationship is quite colorful, but it did not immediately get that way. In fact, to form a friendship like the one I have with Cody, a fairly long process must occur; a process outlined well throughout the development of The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett. This collection of stories takes its form in the depiction of a small Maine fishing village, Dunnet Landing, as well as the relationship the narrator has with the place, and even Jewett describes that relationship to be “like becoming acquainted with a single person” (7). Through careful examination, we can see that this book, beginning to end, parallels the life a good friendship.

I am not sure what initially draws two people to be friends, but I do know that in order to become friends, people must find some trait appealing in one another. This trait can be one of an infinite number of things, but usually, at least for me, it is a common interest. In Cody’s case, we are both very interested in outdoor activities. Whether we are biking, swimming in the lake, or just playing a game of pick-up basketball with the guys, we are perfectly content with ourselves and each other. When Cody and I first met, this common trait was what initially brought us together – introduced us. For the narrator in Jewett’s story, a different trait draws her in, beauty. She finds the town of Dunnet Landing to be quite appealing in the way it looks during a “yachting cruise” several summers before the story takes place, and she feels compelled to return. Her attention is immediately drawn to the “quaintness of the village,” describing it as a “white-clapboarded little town” (7). The narrator finds these aspects of the town to be adorable, but aesthetic appeal can only go so far in a friendship. For the narrator to truly hold a relationship with Dunnet Landing, a more substantial bond is needed.

When people enter into a friendship, it is impossible for them to know one another’s past. As they spend time getting to know each other, the friends will slowly reveal their pasts, giving a knowledge that adds color to their relationship. When I started getting to know Cody, I did not think much of our differences, mainly because I did not notice any, but as we got closer, I began to see our main difference was rooted in our family histories; his, a country-based conservative family, and mine, a suburban-based liberal family. I did not hold anything I learned about his past against him. Instead, I used what I learned to add depth to our relationship. Throughout The Country of the Pointed Firs, the narrator gains bits of knowledge on Dunnet Landing’s past through talking with its townsfolk. The narrator hears stories of adventure in “Captain Littlepage,” as well as tales of mystery in “Poor Joanna.” These stories of the towns past help her not only to see how Dunnet Landing came to be what it is, but also to shape her view of the place in the future. This knowledge gives a strong base on which the relationship between the town and the narrator can grow.

While knowing a friend’s past is important, what really sculpts a friendship are the experiences the friends share. Going through situations together brings friends closer and creates a very strong bond. My most memorable experience with Cody was helping him out when his parents split. During the hardest time in his life, I tried everything I could to be there for Cody. I had him over as much as his mom would let him, and I talked to him about his parents whenever he wanted to talk. I cannot tell you if anything I had to say was of any help, but being apart of such an intimate aspect of Cody’s life solidified my feelings; we were the best of friends. In the case of the book, the narrators journey to see Mrs. Blackett as well as her journey to the Bowden family reunion are similar intimate moments. Finally being given the chance to participate in the traditional festivities of Dunnet Landing makes the narrator feel at one with the place. Much like my experience with Cody, being invited into such a private matter made her feel as welcome as family. Of course, experiences between friends do not always have to be on this same level of intimacy to be important. Any small event, like the narrator’s help in Mrs. Todd’s business, can strengthen a relationship. All experiences help to define friendship.

At the end of getting acquainted and creating deep bonds with one another, friends ultimately part ways. One could say that Cody and I have already parted ways. I have continued on to college and he remains working closer to home. Considering that “home” is only thirty minutes away, I still see him on a fairly regular basis, but the frequency of our visits is much lower now. He and I both have created good friendships elsewhere, and as a result, we are growing in different directions. I do not by any means think that our friendship is over – in fact, I do not believe that a good friendship ever ends – but I do think our paths are now quite different. The narrator in The Country of the Pointed Firs sailed away from Dunnet Landing to return to her old life where she will continue to grow separately. Likewise, Dunnet Landing will continue on, changing without the narrator’s presence, but both will take a little something of the other with them on their way. I feel the same with Cody; while we will definitely see each other again, we each will take something from the other in our individual journey through life.

With these observations at hand, we can easily see Sarah Orne Jewett’s The Country of the Pointed Firs resembles the life of a friendship. The friendship is not necessarily between the narrator and any person in particular, but between the narrator and the town of Dunnet Landing itself. The friendship develops with an initial appeal of the town, a reveal of the its past, a collection of new experiences in and around the landing, and finally, a parting from the place. I cannot say if the narrator will return to Dunnet Landing, but honestly it does not matter. Even if Cody and I never meet again, we will keep our friendship forever, as will the narrator keep her friendship with Dunnet Landing. Once a good relationship is made, it is everlasting – that is the beauty of true friendship.

The Way to Rainy Mountain

The Way to Rainy Mountain has the most unique style I have ever encountered in literature. To me, this unique style was perfect for what N. Scott Momaday wanted to say. Because of his interesting relationship with the Kiowa people, Momaday needed a very specific form in order to tell the Kiowa story, and that is the form he used.

The use of three voices throughout this book worked perfectly to show the contrast between Kiowa America and white America as well as Momaday’s relationship with the two. The first voice, the mythical voice, beautifully painted the Kiowa mentality; however, I found it hard to believe whole-heartedly. As the voice came only from the Kiowas, particularly male Kiowas, I saw it as a bit one-sided. Next, the historical voice seemed to show how a white culture would view the ways of the Kiowa people, but much like the first voice, it wasn’t entirely fair. It showed only a view from the outside in – an observer’s opinion of a group of people. It came across dry and colorless at times, making it hard to follow. Finally, the voice of Momaday found a happy medium. Knowing a bit of the author’s background, the third sounded as expected: like a voice from the middle – the views of a man with a foot in each world. It took aspects of each voice before it and applied it to its own story, much like a boy who takes traits from each of his parents.

The organization of The Way to Rainy Mountain also works well to tell the Kiowa story. The three sections can easily be related to a journey or adventure with an exciting beginning, colorful middle, and dramatic end. “The Setting Out,” as its title suggests contains a lot of stories regarding the start of something. Most of the stories contain youth and Kiowa creation myths. “The Going On” depicts the Kiowa way of life, the traditions they held for so many years. This section touched on gender roles as well as what type of people the Kiowa were, a superior Native American force. Lastly, “The Closing In” brought closure to the journey of the Kiowa. The stories in this section hold themes of misfortune and reminiscence, and the section title itself hints that the legacy of the people is coming to an inevitable end.

I enjoyed the change of pace this book threw into our reading. Given the observations I have made, I would consider this short story sequence, but of course I’m open to persuasion.

Winesburg, Ohio

Of the books we have read so far, Winesburg, Ohio immediately takes the cake regarding social criticism.  Sherwood Anderson’s stories, filled with outrageous action and conflict, indirectly portray a number of societal flaws; flaws he obviously attempts to confront throughout the book.

 

One story that projects these flaws particularly well is “Godliness.”  Being the longest story in the book, it has plenty of room to raise social questions Anderson hoped to address – first and most obvious being religion.  Throughout “Godliness,” religion develops into a very negative force.  Jesse, who is considered a “man of god,” is driven mad with the greed he derives from his religious fantasies.  Problems trickle down from there into his daughter, Louise, and even into his grandson, David, both of whose conflicts raise different social questions.     

 

Louise, who struggles with affection her entire life, blindly allows John Hardy to take her innocence and then her hand in marriage.  The relationship between the two brings up the age-old issue of male and female miscommunication, where Louise and John enter into the relationship with very different expectations and desires.  From there, the relationship takes a dive and never recovers, strongly solidifying Louise’s hatred for men stemming from her father and ultimately ending up with her son, who she openly admits to wishing was a daughter.

 

With a family history like this, David was destined to have problems.  His interaction with his mother and grandfather thoroughly disturbs the child until he is forced to run away and never return.  His conflict obviously raises out of poor parenting, another issue touched on in the chapter.

 

While “Godliness” holds the highest concentration of societal flaws in the book, Anderson touches on many more throughout most of his stories.  This observation leads the reader to wonder if the town of Winesburg is a culmination of all the issues Anderson wishes to address, or if the town itself feeds the evil in each story.  

In Our Time

Earnest Hemingway’s In Our Time is the first book we’ve read that I can truly say seems like a collection of short stories.  While Dubliners seemed like much more of a short story collection than Country of the Pointed Firs, this latest book seems mostly like a set of individual stories.  Pointed Firs had a very chronological order with a continuous narrator, and Dubliners had a consistent setting and tone throughout.  In Our Time reads much more disjointed and choppy.  While Nick seems to be a character in a lot of stories, he is not a character in all of them.  Also, the setting changes between the stories fairly often. 

 

A consistent theme throughout book, as mentioned in the class presentation, is a failure in relationships.  In many of the stories, people either split or continue on together with dysfunctional interaction.  Early on in the stories, Nick’s mother and father seem to have a very detached relationship.  From there, the theme continues with Nick and Marge, the soldier and Luz, Mr. and Mrs. Elliot, and even Joe and his father, along with others.  I relate this to the authors experience with war and the time period in which the book was written.  Obviously, war can be very wearing on relationships, and in some cases in these stories, war or violence seemed to be the cause of the dysfunction. 

 

I did have trouble with two pieces of this book in particular.  First, the journal-like chapter intros were often hard to follow and hard to relate to the rest of the stories.  Early in the book, I expected that all of intros would pertain to war, and while most of them did at least reference some sort of violence, they did not always center around the war in which the book is set.  Second, I had trouble understanding the meaning of the last two chapters, “Big Two-Hearted River: Part I” and “Big Two-Hearted River: Part II.”  They did not continue any of the themes I recognized throughout the book.  My best conclusion regarding these stories was they served as an escape from the dark tone of the earlier parts of the book – leaving behind the troubles.

 

I enjoyed In Our Time, but for different reasons than the previous short story cycles we have covered.  Where I have enjoyed the past books as a whole, I liked this book for its individual stories – some much more than others.   

Because I did a presentation on this book, I opened Dubliners with a lot more background knowledge than I usually do with the books I read.  Having read numerous reviews of the piece, I took in the words and pages with a certain predisposition regarding the tone of the book.  The tone I felt, and expected to feel, was one of loss and entrapment, and I felt it from beginning to end.

 

Though all the stories held this common theme, the first story that really jumped out at me with a dark mood was “Eveline.”  Throughout the story, Eveline’s life was described as harsh and unsatisfying.  Of course, at first her life was better, when her mother was alive and her father wasn’t drunk, but things changed and for the majority of her adolescence she was unhappy.  When she finally was presented with an opportunity to leave her flaccid life, she tried her hardest to take it.  It wasn’t until she made it to the station, moments before she would board, that Eveline realized she was trapped.  Something was pulling her back and holding her to a life in Dublin – a life of dissatisfaction.

 

“The Dead” had the same effect on me.  When Gabriel was traveling home from the party, he had such high hopes of his time alone with his wife that night.  Watching her from a distance, he reminisced all the time they had spent together, and he felt a recharge of satisfaction being her husband.  When she told him the sad story of her childhood romance, his good feelings were lost.  As the snow fell outside and all across Dublin, it blanketed them all in their sadness and dissatisfaction – the ultimate sense of entrapment.

 

If, in fact, Joyce’s intentions were to give off these vibes, he succeeded.  His look on his homeland is hopeless and it shows through in Dubliners.  The piece was a downer, there no doubt there, but it was well written and effective nonetheless.  I enjoyed this book greatly. 

In my travels this past summer, I had an opportunity to observe a new place with new people who held new views about life and the world.  Oregon, being a whole country away from my home here in Virginia, was plentiful in foreign ideas for me to learn and bring back home with me.  Considering I spent the entire summer there making friends and exploring the state, I can relate very well to the narrator in Sarah Orne Jewett’s The Country of the Pointed Firs. 

 

The narrator of these stories meets many characters in her time at Dunnet Landing making friends and listening to the stories and insight each has to offer.  During my trip this summer I met mostly people my age, but I noticed that throughout this book the narrator met only people older than her – people with more life experience than her and people with a lot from which to learn.  My observation lends itself to the idea that this story cycle is much about a person coming into her own.  As people search for themselves, their elders are an important part in shaping their views and personality.  For the narrator of this book, Mrs. Todd, Mrs. Blackett, William, and everyone else she meets serve as those dispensers of wisdom.  Through the stories they tell and the experiences she shares with them, the narrator learns a lot about the world and a lot about herself, even though she may not state it directly. Even though the people I met this summer were my own age, they had a similar effect on me – helping to shape my view of the world. 

 

A smaller point Jewett touched on in this book was that of family value in old age.  After the family reunion, Mrs. Blackett observes that the older a person gets, the more he or she values functions like the reunion they just attended.  She relates this phenomenon directly to the fact that young people see their friends and family on a regular basis while older adults do not.  I found this point interesting because of recent life situation.  As I have moved on to college and began spending my summers in far off states, I see my family less and less, and I feel a much stronger appreciation for the time I do spend with them as well as all they do for me.

 

While I did find The Country of the Pointed Firs to be a strange, and sometimes dry, story cycle, I was able to relate to it and its themes quite closely.  I think I will keep this one on my shelf for a while.

Differences in novels and short story cycles

Novels and short stories have a lot of differences. First and most obvious, is length. While a novel goes on for hundreds of pages, a short story can end only handful of pages after it starts. To me, this contrast in length is the root of all other differences in the two, including what the stories say.

As a novel has more pages, it has more time to develop a story and lay down themes and morals. A novel could potentially hold countless underlying messages for a reader to interpret, but a short story on the other hand, doesn't have that privilege. The author of a short story has to focus on one or two lessons to be conveyed through his or her work. These lessons have to be direct and fine tuned, because the author only has so many pages to communicate them.

As for short story cycles, a mix of the two message types can be conveyed. Because the cycles are made up of short stories, they have the precise messages within them, but because they hold several short stories within them, the cycles are able to communicate many more messages over a longer period. While the messages may be slightly different from each story, they can link together to unify the cycle under a common theme.