"A Spinster's Tale"

Our group chose "A Spinster's Tale" over "Blackberry Winter" because we felt that it would be a better decision. There are more round characters in the tale which gives us more to work from. Especially because the brother and father in the story are drunks. We think that we can use that wisely in our social networking assignment. Most of the story is also in first person, which makes it easy for us to take the characters and put them into Twitter or Facebook. Hopefully this will go well for us!

"Conversion of the Jews"

I can understand how Roth has been criticized for his portrait of the Jewish characters in his short story, "Conversion of the Jews". He portrays them as if they are only concerned with one thing, and completely ignorant to the New Testament. I agree with the critics on some of the characters, example: Rabbi Binder. However, I particularly liked Ozzie. He had such a sense of humor, and all he wanted was for everyone to believe in the same God. The God that Jews and Protestants believe in. Personally, I know a few Jewish people and they do not believe in Jesus Christ the same way Protestants do, however they still respect the beliefs of the New Testament. I think that Rabbi Binder in this story does not respect the Protestants in the same way and Ozzie opens his eyes in a way the Rabbi has not done before. Overall I thought this was a good story with a great message and a a good sense of humor.

Author's Note

My paper, Lessons Learned is in the second and final draft. This morning, I went back through and completed some thoughts I had not expanded on enough for the idea to get through t0 the audience. I like this piece because I truly think it could be a good movie. Although the story is a little short, I believe there are ways that the story can be extended to make it a full-length feature film. My favorite part of the film adaptation is the irony I have created in the story. I also enjoy the story line created. However, I do have my concerns with this piece as well. I am a bit nervous that it doesn't follow the story enough. On the other side, I like where I took the story. I enjoyed making the lessons into a life. I hope that I have developed this enough, as it was not an easy thing to do. I would just like to know how I could develop my writing a little bit further. Even though I studied abroad, it has been a while since I have written a paper. I would really just like to know how to get back into writing I know I can succeed at.

Thanks!!

Paul's Case

In the opening two paragraphs of the story, Cather uses vidid words to create images. You can get a picture of Paul in your mind with her descriptions. She describes everything about him, the way he dresses and the way he acts. "His clothes were a trifle outgrown . . ." I think this statement sets us up to learn about Paul perfectly. He is simple, and little things make him happy in life. She also sets the setting clearly at the beginning with stating that they are in Pittsburgh and at his high school where he has been suspended. With close reading these two paragraphs, Cather makes it easy to put yourself in the story.

Paul's job at Carnegie Hall is one of the only things in Pittsburgh that brings him joy. When Paul is at school or home he does not have joy in his life. But when Cather is describing him at work, he is a new person. His job as an usher makes him feel important. He does the best he can while working at Carnegie, and that cannot be said for his time at school. I think being an usher takes Paul to a different world. It is glamourous and everything he wants it to be. It gives him a sense of importance and ". . . nothing was too much trouble for him;" When I was reading the story, I found myself smiling because Paul was so happy and the way Cather describes it gives it vivid joy.

"Intervention"

The TV show on A&E called Intervention always seems to catch my attention, and I must admit some of the episodes get you "addicted" to the series. I think that is why I chose to read "Intervention".

I think that the word enabler is used in the story to describe many different things. Of course they are calling Marilyn an enabler because she lives with Sid and they are married. I think that Rusty likes to use the term because it makes him feel important, and the others follow along because he is "a professional". I think enabler could be used in other parts of the story, and not just Sid's alcoholism. I do not believe the word is referenced during Marilyn's problem, but it could easily be used there. The stress of her life was an enabler for her affair and drinking problem. I think that most of the characters in the story are an enabler in some way to one another.

Overall I really enjoyed this story. It kept me interested the whole time.

Film Adaptation

I have changed my mind and I have decided to adapt the short story "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid.

Title: "Lessons Learned"

Characters: The main characters will consist of the grandmother (Sally Field); Daughter (Jennifer Aniston); Granddaughter (Dakota Fanning); Minor roles will include Grandfather (Ron Rifkin (from Brothers and Sisters/Alias); Husband to the daughter (Patrick Dempsey)

Note that I have changed the family from African-American to White. I feel as though it will be easier for me to write, seeing as I do not have much experience in an African-American family.

Setting: Modern Day Chicago

Plot/Conflict: At first the Grandmother of the story will be telling all of these lessons through stories seen to the daughter. About halfway through, the daughter will get married and eventually have a baby. Throughout the rest of the story, the grandmother will be teaching the lessons to both her daughter and granddaughter as they go through their lives. The very end of the story will result in the grandmother's death and the coping of her offspring. The lessons in the story will also be extended and the viewer will see examples

Irony: The most ironic thing about this story is how the grandmother will be telling the lessons to her daughter/granddaughter; and many times the story playing out will be her doing the opposite thing. Hence her lessons learned

Symbolism: I am thinking about Symbols at the moment. I will come back in a bit and write about them before class in the morning!

"Everyday Use"

In "Everyday Use" I side with the mother and Maggie.  Dee (Wangero) does not seem to get the importance of family tradition.  It seems as if she wants the quits just for the aesthetics.  Maggie even says she can remember her grandmother without those quilts, and I think in that part, the reader can understand that Maggie gets family traditions and her heritage whereas Dee might not.  I think the moral of this story could apply to many different families.  Families often times have arguments over who gets what when a family member died, and the importance of those objects are often forgotten.