Monthly Archives: October 2022

In my thesis, “The Lesson” written by Toni Cade Bambara opens eyes about how the economic system oppressed African American. I want to talk about how some people are aware of the situation and some don’t seem to understand the issue. In the short story, I want to talk about how one of the kids; Syliva, understood how unjust American is on its own people. Sylvia realizes that there was no equality in the world. On the other hand, the lesson Miss Moore taught went over Mercades head. The type of secondary source I would use for this research paper is “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” written by Dr. Joy Degruy. I feel like it will better understand “The Lesson” Toni Cade Bamara was trying open minds about. I know its controversial, but that was what Bambara wanted to do. To write a short to open a debate on the injustice of America. Also understand how undivided African Americans are.

I’ve never read poetry before, therefore these pieces are completely new to me. I watched the first video in this week’s material and then read all of the pieces. The thing that talked to me the most from the description of poetry in the first video is “Poetry = Power Packed Lines”, I find this definition the most accurate and common for all of the pieces from this week’s readings. It seems like they all were written about love and indeed used a lot of imagery – what makes them so powerful. The one I loved the most was “My Mistress’s Eyes Are Nothing like the Sun” by William Shakespeare. I feel that the use of parody helps the reader to connect to it perhaps more than the traditional love sonnet that Petrarch tended to write. Maybe that is why the last two lines made me smile, it feels as if his lover is very special.

The activity that broadened my ideas about poetry and taught me something new which also surprised me is activity 1 2 and 3. I’ve learned rhythm and rhyme from a young age its fun singing along poems but i never understood anything about it. Rhyme adds power to the lines of poetry that’s why we remember certain childhood poems, poetry is a form of expression and it let us get our feeling out. I love to see how words get connected that make our experience excited while writing it. I’ve never heard of the word sonnet until today it took me by surprise and i will be looking at poetry very differently. Sonnet make poetry fun because we put the rhyming words together which are Octave meaning eight lines, and sestet meaning six lines.

Hello everyone, For my thesis statement from “The lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara is how Miss Moore wants the kids Sylvia, Sugar and her friends, to see the reality of the injustice of education and class and money of the poor and the rich. As she wants to teach the kids what is money and how those who are poor live, not in the best condition. Another thing Miss Moore shows, Sylva and her friends about, is how their parents money is spent for rent and they’re expenses, also how money is not divided right in the country. I still have not found a good secondary source but Im most likely to use stories or an article about social  and economic inequality and social injustice. I will be checking on Bmcc data to see what can I find more to backup my thesis statement and my essay.

My thesis statement from my “Salvation” by Langston Hughes shares an ironic moment in Langston’s early adolescence being introduced to Christianity, misinterpreting the way he felt he had to react to worship. Though religion is practiced by many starting at a young age, a nuanced idea like religion is complex for children to understand. Though the reader is aware of this, Hughes uses dramatic irony as a way to show the naivety of the narrator whereas the reader understands the disconnect. I’ve explored a few secondary sources but I will try to look for something in the BMCC database but so far a lot of the articles I would have liked to use aren’t available so I will continue to use reputable sources from Google Scholar about Hughes’s biographical background and way or writing.

My research essay is based on “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. My thesis statement is: “ When the big day comes, the author goes through a transformative experience in which both: his faith in Jesus and his morals are being challenged.” This ceremony was a very significant experience that marked the author’s coming of age moment. So for the secondary source information I plan on using to support my essay will most likely be Langston Hughes biographical paper with an addition of a critical analysis as well.   I’m using information from a couple of different sources but mainly using BMCC Database.

For my essay, I chose “Araby” by James Joyce, the thesis statement that I wrote was “He realizes towards the end of doing this that his feelings for the girl have blinded him. Not only that, but he also had high expectations for the bazaar, and this leads the narrator to have a loss of innocence. He realizes that not everything will be how he wants it to be.” I believe that the type of secondary source information that supports my thesis might be analyzing the author’s history with the Catholic Church and how he uses it in his story to “mock” it. He uses religion as well a tremendous amount in “Araby” and one of the secondary sources I found speaks exactly about this. It is a critical essay I found on Gale, and it criticizes Joyce’s use of religion in the story. The author writes about how the girl affected the narrator’s views and beliefs of Catholicism, and I think I could use this as my secondary resource because of my theme that I’m writing about. 

For my research paper I will be writing about the story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. In the story, a young Langston believes he must lie about being saved to appease those gathered in the church, where the story takes place. This lie is so detrimental to Langston that it causes him to lose faith in Jesus Christ. My research paper will explore the significance of social culture and how it plays an influential role in his decision to lie by examining both the setting and secondary characters. My secondary sources will be Langston Hughes biography to gather knowledge on the familiar and cultural upbringing of Mr. Hughes and various articles pertaining to Lev Vygotskys theory of social culture to provide a clear point of reference to what social culture is and its effects on the human experience. I have not explored the BMCC database yet, I have been using external sources from google searches and textbook infromation. 

For my research essay I chose “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara and my thesis word for word is ” Miss Moore wants to show them the unfairness of the world and its distribution of wealth, in the end only two students actually get the lesson.” I have recently, to the best of my interpretation of the story, tried to show how certain actions of Sylvia and Sugar are different from the other students which may show why they were the only ones who actually got something out of the trip to the toy store. I think the kind of secondary source of information that would be helpful to me would be how other people would interpret some of the actions or things the kids have said to help show my point on why only those two got the lesson. So far I have used One search to try to find what other people have written on the actions and words of the children. I have found one result that talks about one thought Sylvia has made that could help my thesis statement.

My research paper will be on “The Most Handsome Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The main points that I am focusing on are the villager’s perspective on life and how they want to change their lives for the better when they see this drowned man wash up in their village. My thesis is “The arrival of this mysterious man displays to the reader that it does not take much to change oneself rather it is a deeper want for them to want to change for the better.” The kind of secondary source information that will support my thesis is physiological studies on how other people may change your mindset and life and also a biography on Gabriel Garcia Marquez to understand the way he thinks. I would get these articles from places like JSTOR and the BMCC library. I would also add other articles where people have similar ideas on how and why Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote this and thinks that it takes a great person to change others.

For my research essay, I have chosen “Araby” by James Joyce. My thesis statement is – “The author uses light and darkness to demonstrate the narrator’s battle between the fantasy and brutality of reality”. I have decided to use literary critique as a secondary source to support my research essay and to better describe Joyce’s use of dark and light imagery. I found several literary databases in the BMCC library, such as JSTOR, Literature Resource Center, however, I have not made my final decision yet.

My research essay will be on Araby by James Joyce. The main thing I will be focusing on for my essay is how the story is not actually a love story but one with many other underlying tones. The thesis statement is “Throughout the story readers see how the narrator uses settings and metaphors, particularly the contrast between light and darkness to show how the feelings he has towards the girl are not love but obsession.” I feel like dissertations on the author, James Joyce, would be useful as I would be able to gain insight on the authors writing style. Furthermore, there are many Journal articles on JSTOR which would provide many different interpretations of the story which I could draw ideas from in my research paper. Biographies on James Joyce would also further my understanding of her, specifically her writing style. Lastly, criticisms of literature would be helpful as they provide constructive criticism of Araby from which I can draw points from to connect to my thesis.

For my research essay I will be focusing on the short story written by Langston Hughes, “Salvation.” The reading centers on a young boy who attends church with high hopes of being “saved by Jesus,” only for circumstances to change when he is the last child sitting on the mourners bench and has yet to be rescued. In fear of wasting any more time, he stands- though he goes to bed later that night with the lack of faith in Jesus and feeling remorseful for lying. From the beginning to the end of the story, readers are able to see the change in his thought process as well as feel his emotions. The secondary source information I will use to support my thesis will be the journal article “The American Dream of Langston Hughes” published by Southern Methodist University. [JSTOR] This article supports my thesis because throughout the reading, readers are informed on everything Hughes had experienced. From being a victim to racial discrimination to using poetry to make ends meet and than making poetry his voice. Readers are able to witness the character development.

I chose to do my research essay on the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. My thesis is “During the course of the story, the character undergoes a great change and is a very different person by the end.” For my secondary source, I am choosing to do a biography on him. This will explain will more about his childhood life, since in this story he was twelve turning thirteen. By researching, I am hoping to find out why he wasn’t able to see Jesus in the church, and I think that his early childhood may have had an impact on that. I am choosing to go more into his personal life and find deeper meanings in his childhood because it will show how one course of the event led to another. The BMCC database that I explored is the “Gale Literature Resource Center.” I found this database interesting because it explains how he saw his “home” in another church. 

For my essay I chose “Araby” by James Joyce, My thesis statement is “James Joyce uses light and dark imagery to symbolize the narrator’s journey from childish romanticization to disillusionment.” I think the specific kind of secondary source information that will support my thesis best would be a literary critique analyzing or critiquing Joyce’s use of dark and light imagery. So far I’ve browsed JSTOR and GALE. I haven’t had luck yet finding a critique similar to my idea that the narrator is  childish for his romanticization, but I’m sure I’ll be able to bounce off of some of the opinions in whichever source I decide to work with.

For my research essay, I picked “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. The reason I chose this story is that the young boy lost his faith in Christ due to misunderstanding what his Aunt said about being saved. The narrator shows how the pressure of his aunt and the crowd add to his distress. This reflects my thesis of the character undergoing many shifting emotions and is significantly changed by the end of the story. My secondary source will be Langston Hughes’s biography where he talks about the hardships of who he was, especially in the early 1900s, and also his famous “Harlem Renaissance” explaining the path that led to Hughes’s determination to understand religion, although often from a critical perspective, and incorporates his experiences going back as far as his childhood. His experience relates to my thesis on how Langston lost his faith in Christ when he was young because of his disappointing experience of not being saved. 

For my research essay I have chosen to write about “salvation” by Langston Hughes. My thesis is about the conflict the young boy faced throughout the story that led to an internal battle between his expectations, beliefs and his realization of harsh reality. For my secondary source I will be using Langston Hughes biography because in there it mentions the few times Hughes had to experience conflict because of his writings and beliefs which soon clashed with the harsh truth of reality. This resonates with my thesis so I will be putting that to use to help with my research summary. As for the bmcc databases so far I’ve explored JSTOR but haven’t found anything useful yet.

my research essay is about “Salvation” by Langston Hughes my thesis statement is about the range of emotions by the young boy on the path to his epiphany going in with  expectations and leaving with disappointment. I will be using Langston Hughes biography as my secondary  source to help with my research summary. Langston Hughes was one of the most talented writers of the Harlem renaissance in the 1920’s they weren’t very religious which can show how much that experience in church has had a major effect on Langston hughes which I will be mentioning in my research summary.

My research essay will focus on “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. Everyone has different religious experiences. Young Langston Hughes religious experience was in an African American church. In this church he experienced the church singing songs and hymns. There was a spiritual word from a preacher reading directly from the King James Version Bible, dissecting the words of God for sinners to understand and hopefully get some sort of spiritual healing. Young Langston had high hopes and expectations of what was told to him about God and being saved. In my essay I talked about what he was informed, his experience, and how he felt after his experience. Some secondary source information that I feel will support my thesis is black religion, influence in an African American church, and Langston Hughes autobiography, because this story was a real-life experience. So far, I have searched the Gale and JSTOR databases on the BMCC library website. I received a lot of results in which I explored “Make A Joyful Noise Unto the Lord” and “The Church, The Family, and the School in The African American Community” so far.

I have chosen for my research essay, ” A good man is hard to find” by Flannery O’Connor.  My thesis will be focused on southern femininity and the deceptive image of wholesomeness through god fearing and charm, which allowed the grand mother to constantly maneuver every decision to suit her wants. Through out most of the story, she uses her overbearing charisma to manipulate every outcome or get a pass for inappropriate speech and behavior.  Using past southern teachings as the standard and imposing herself and her beliefs onto everyone else in the story.  I initially explained how I found the grand mother harmless. In the beginning I thought she was trying to gain ground on how her upbringing is important and was using certain tactics to get through to stubborn grand children, including her son. She wanted to feel important. Which means I also fell for her southern charm.  Her moment of grace was short lived and didn’t redeem the grand mother at the end. However, her ignorance didn’t seem to be harmful until the very end and it seemed easily missed by me because of the image she portrayed as a southern god-fearing woman who only wanted to share her roots with her family. I will be using  the BMCC Library to collect information on white southern womanhood.

I am focusing my research essay on “Araby” by James Joyce. My thesis statement is that this story shows how people’s ideas of love are warped by what they see around them. This is shown by the relationship that the main character’s aunt and uncle have with each other and how this changes his mindset on what a loving relationship looks like. I am using a biographical paper to back up my research paper and as my secondary subject. I am talking about how the examples of relationships that people see in their lives set up the foundation of what they think relationships should look like. So I want to look at James Joyce’s life and his parents to actually examine what he say and how it affected him. I want to see if I notice bits from his life that made their way into his work and shows how his parent’s relationship affected his own ideas.

My essay is about the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. The main idea in my essay claims that this story is about expectations and disappointments, as well as that the resulting epiphany in the story makes him doubt what he has believed in all his life. I would like to use it for my research essay on Langston Hughes’s Biography. Langston Hughes was one of the most promising black writers, and a leader of the Harlem Renaissance (The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s). they put art before religion and that connects to the part in my essay where young Langston lost his faith in Jesus at a such young age (He was around his 20s when was part of the Harlem Renaissance, and his experience in the story was when he was 12). I would also like to use critical analysis about “Salvation”, or if I will be able to find articles about the connection of the African Americans to church during the same times (1900). 

My essay is on “Araby” by James Joyce and my thesis statement is: Although it seems like a love story “Araby” is really about a boy who creates a fantasy to help him escape from the harshness of his reality. As for the BMCC database I have looked and have seen some articles and literary critiques about the boy in the story and other resources about the story in general which should help me to prove what my thesis statement is saying.

In “The Wife”, The poet portrays an unmarried woman and contrasts her with a wife. ‘I’m “wife” – I’ve finished that’ explores personal themes of independence, society, and womanhood. Dickinson takes the reader through several differences, emotional and mental, between being a “spinster,” or an older, unmarried woman, and being a wife. In “The Story of an Hour”, the theme of the story is freedom. Once the grief of finding out her husband died passes over her, Louise begins to realize that with his passing she has the freedom to live her own life. You can see the moment this realization hits as she whispers, “free, free, free. Chopin’s view of the repressive role that marriage played in women’s lives as the protagonist, Louise Mallard, feels immense freedom only when her husband has died. While he is alive, she must live for him, and only when he dies does her life once again become her own. Both stories are common in having independent life where Kate got her independence after her husband’s death and found peace where she feels like a relive because to her being in a relationship, she is a slave to her husband and doing whatever he says. They both intend to have their own life and not be under someone that they rely on.

In my essay, I’m writing about “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. My thesis is on: In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, the writer uses different Literary elements to present the difference in the life of children and the life of the people in Manhattan. Ultimately, we saw a change in the children after the trip. I feel that secondary source information about African-American lives in the 1960s as well as the lives of new yorkers in the 1960s. Also maybe the chance of walking out of poverty by having an education or not. If these I can’t be found I will also look for information on the differences of the poor and the rich in the 1900s maybe also a biography on Toni Cade Bambara. So far I have only read through the story, but I will have to look through the BMCC Database later on this week. 

Flannery O’Connor produced a few works in her short lifetime of 39 years. She was considered one of the most important short story writers of the twentieth century because of her interesting characters. O’Connor was the only child of wealthy parents she went high school in Milledgeville, Georgia. Her father Edward Francis O’Connor died when she was sixteen from Lupus, that same disease later took her life. In college she majored in Social Sciences and edited and wrote for school publications. She later received a master’s degree in writing from Iowa State university in 1947. After completing graduate school, she attended the prestigious Yaddo writer’s colony in upstate New York then moved to Connecticut to live with her good friends Sally and Robert Fitzgerald. She wrote steadily through the 1950s. She won three o. Henry memorial awards for her short stories, a ford foundation grant, a national institute of arts and letters grant in literature and two honorary doctor’s degrees during her lifetime. http://”A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Short Stories for Students, edited by Kathleen Wilson, vol. 2, Gale, 1997, pp. 97-114. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2694900016/GLS?u=cuny_mancc&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=92e4a36c. Accessed 24 Oct. 2022.

Hello good afternoon, The theme of the Emily Dickinson Poem “The Wife” relate to Mrs, Mallard’s emotional state in “The story of an hour” is by showing the emotional state of how Mrs. Mallard felt sad, but also happy of the newfound freedom, which show’s how before in the older years women’s did not really have freedom. As in the Poem of Emily Dickinson “the wife” the first quote says, She rose to his requirement meaning that she had to focus and mostly obey what he says. from this quote we can see that a women didn’t not have the word, to do what they wanted. Another quote is to take her honorable work of woman and wive, which for me means that she loses her rights her honor, to become her husbands women and wife, also like maid, because she has to dedicate her time, her work her rights for him. This is how I believe that the them of Emily Dickinson Poem “the wife relates to Mrs, Mallard emotional state in “the story of an hour” because of her loss of joy of been free at the end of the story.

“The wife” by Emily Dickinson and “The story of an Hour?” by Kate Chopin are both short pieces that highlight the inequality faced by women, especially married women. They both have a reoccurring theme of the dysfunctional relationship between husband and wife. In the third stanza of “the wife” it says “But only to himself is known the fathoms they abide.” I believe that this means that the husband is the only one that knows what their wife goes through on a day-to-day basis and at the same time it means that they don’t know the depth of what their wife actually goes through especially during the times the poem and short story was written as women had much less rights than they do today. This is especially noted when Ms. Mallard dies when she finds out her husband is alive as all her hopes and dreams of being freed from married life are instantly crushed. It shows how their relationship was so dysfunctional and how Ms. Mallard hated it so much that she would rather die than go back to her husband.

The theme in Emily Dickinson’s “The Wife” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state in “The Story of an Hour” by using the theme of oppressiveness within marriage. In “The Wife”, there is a lack of independence within marriage.  In “The Wife”, line 1 starts off with “She rose to his requirement, dropped” (Dickinson). I find this quote shows the lack of bodily autonomy, relating to how Mrs. Mallard felt during her marriage. In lines 3 to 4, the text states, “To take the honorable work Of woman and of a wife.” (Dickinson). Dickson uses the two words woman and wife to mean very different things. You have to give up a part of yourself being a woman to become a wife, losing a part of yourself you once were to be a wife. The poem highlights the reality of how women are overlooked and their own identities are stripped away from them within marriages to please their husbands. In paragraphs 8 through 10 in “The Story of an Hour”, Chopin writes, “But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought. There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully… as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!” (Chopin). Her husband’s death though shocking at first gave her a sense of independence. Normally a wife would be portrayed as devastating hearing their husband is dead but focusing on the societal expectations of a wife around that time period, […]

The Author Flannery O’Connor, in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” demonstrates the transformative power of human compassion and grace. Transformations of the two-character stereotypes, which the grandmother and the Misfit embody, are used to get across the story’s message. By allowing the stereotypes to evolve into round characters with the potential to change, the author demonstrates that anyone can change through the presence of grace. The grandmother represents the stereotypical southern, Christian, domineering mother who is often hypocritical and two-faced. She is flawed and annoying from the start, and more than anyone else is responsible for the family’s terrible problem. While she considers herself a “lady” and morally superior to others, she freely and frequently passes judgment on others without inspecting her own hypocrisy, selfishness, and dishonesty. She also takes any opportunity to judge the lack of goodness in people. The Misfit is described as the stereotypical criminal and more specifically, an ignorant, someone who has gone wrong in life. It is hard to empathize with him, especially after he kills the grandmother’s family in such a casual manner. The Misfit carries on a philosophical conversation with the grandmother, explaining that he doesn’t view actions as right or wrong and that if he does something that others consider wrong, he gets punished. Both characters, by the time of their final face, feel profound changes. Only when the grandmother faces death does she realize where she has gone wrong in life. Instead of acting superior like she has throughout the story, she recognizes that she is flawed like everyone else. She sees that both she and the Misfit are the same at their core they are sinners in need of grace. By seeing the murderer as “one of my own children!”, the grandmother offers him unconditional love and acceptance […]

In the poem “the Wife” by Emily Dickinson, the main theme is the self-realization of being a full-on wife. She realized that to meet her husband’s “demands” she has to change her original life and fully support and devote herself as her husband’s wife. In “The Wife”, the author states in the text, “She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife.” Mrs. Mallard realized after finding out her husband is dead, she finally feels that she is “free” and can live how she used to. The two readings both have the theme of realization,  In “The Wife”. The wife realizes that she has to drop everything from her life to be devoted to her husband. During Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state, she realizes that she feels “free” to do things how she used to after her husband dies.

Prompt: How does the theme of the Emily Dickinson poem “The Wife” relate to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state in “The Story of an Hour?” The theme of Emily Dickinson’s poem ” The Wife” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state in “The Story of an Hour” by showing how in the poem the wife laments on how she is drowning in her marriage and cannot find herself, Mrs. Mallard is grief-stricken at first with her husband’s death but realizes she is free to do what she needs like the waves have calmed down and she can finally breathe again. In that time era, most women’s entire lives are dedicated to their husbands and domestic life. For Mrs. Mallard to finally enjoy her life it’s like her husband’s death bought out life in her in a way.

The theme in “The Wife” and “The Story of an Hour” relate to each other of the women wanting to have an internal sense of being good enough and worthy of love. Both poems shine the light on how yes in society it is respectable if you’re married but being a wife can cause suffering, especially for the women in both poems who value their independence life. In The Wife, “If ought She missed in Her new Day, Of Amplitude, or Awe Or first Prospective Or the Gold In using, wear away,” analyzes the women’s new married life she can’t express the old life she misses when she was independent, using the world “Amplitude” to show the change she’s going through. Her married life has more responsibilities and pressure she may not be able to handle. In The Story of an Hour, when Mrs. Mallard finds out about her husband’s death she says “She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!” this tells us that she’s discontent with her husband and is a benefit to her being free now. Usually, when someone finds out about the passing of someone they love, their first reaction would be to become emotional and ask questions but Mrs. Mallard just sits motionless on her chair and doesn’t seem to be phased by it, opening her arms means she’s comfortable now. In both poems, the women will have a new journey of them being independent and don’t have to worry about the pressure marriage can bring.

During an earlier time period, women were not on equal footing with men. The Story Of An Hour by Kate Chopin and The Wife by Emily Dickinson relate heavily to this theme since they both address the unhappiness of the oppressed woman. At the time, a woman’s main goal was to find a husband and sustain a family. In more cases than not, the wife would wind up miserable and emotionally suppressed. Mrs. Mallard from the Story Of An Hour suffered the same fate up until her husband’s death which is when she had finally realized what she had been missing for all those years. She briefly shares her thoughts in this quote: “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free! The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes “.  On a more imaginative note, the poem, The Wife, by Emily Dickinson also alludes to the unfortunate wife’s sacrifice to her husband and family. Laying out the imagery, Emily wrote: (referring to the wife’s depression) “It lay unmentioned, as the sea Develops pearl and weed,” To me this evokes a deep, sinking feeling as mentioning the sea is synonymous with depth. Seemingly, nobody knows about the troubles that come in upholding entire families and nobody cares. I believe both of the characters I mentioned were emotionally, and at some points physically, stuck in pits of desperation as they went completely unnoticed.

A common theme between the two readings is a woman wanting to be released from their husbands. However, another theme that also came to mind is what it means for a woman who desires of finding her own identity and self-worth in the world. To be able to exist as her own person without the constraints of societal pressure. To be more than whatever men tell women to be and seek out opportunities. Lines 8-9 from Emily Dickinson’s The Wife “It lay unmentioned, as the sea, develops pearl and weed.” and the line from Story of An Hour- “Go away. I am not making myself ill. No; she was drinking in the very elixir of life through that open window.” Both resonate with the idea of starting a new chapter and embarking on a personal journey to discovering oneself. The “sea” that the wife mentions could be interpreted as her husband who “develops pearl and weed” – with “Pearl” meaning a dream or something similar and “weed” being like a seed of doubt planted by the husband. While the line “she was drinking in the very elixir of life through that open window” could symbolize that nothing is “wrong” with her and that the “elixir of life” is really her finally opening her eyes and take in the realization that now she no longer needs to grieve for her dead husband. That she’s taken in the sights and beauty of her surroundings which inspire her to have a new outlook on her life.  

The poem “The Wife,” written by Emily Dickson, expresses what it represents to get married; when a woman becomes a wife, she losses her independence and identity, as indicated when the author says, “dropped the playthings of her life” to carry out wife duties as “his requirement.” Metaphoric words such as “pearl” and “weed” describe marriage elements. She needs to be submissive and respectful to hold the “Wife” title as her new identity. The conventional practice of a wife was to please their husband because they belonged to men’s property. That was a reality for a married woman during 19 century. Similarly, the narration of “Story of an hour?” by Kate Chopin contributes to the topic of marriage. When Mrs. Mallard finds out that his husband is dead, she starts crying because of his abandonment but quickly realizes that his husband’s death means freedom. Her moment of enlightenment, staring at the window, changed Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state from sadness to relief, empowerment, and independence. The narrator whispers, “Free! Body and soul free!” to dictate her coming years. Even though the protagonist died at the end of the story when she found out her husband was not dead, the moment of imagining her life as independent was already a victory.

The Story of an Hour was very interesting to read. It was by far the most interesting and I think it is relatable in some sort away. I think we can see that although Mrs. Mallard received the tragic news of her husband dying. She took it well unlike others. In the poem, The Wife, it says “ …dropped the playthings of her life to take the honorable role of woman and of wife” it seems like she chose to become a wife and left things that she liked behind. Just like Mrs. Mallard said “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.” I feel like she felt like she was tied down. Then in the second verse it says “If aught she missed in her new day of amplitude, or awe, Or first prospective, or the gold In using wore away” from what I understand is that they wondered what they were missing out on. I feel like they both describe being stuck in this position they chose to which was being a wife. She wasn’t happy.

These two pieces of literature “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin “The Wife ” by Emily Dickinson took place during the 19th century and show what women had to deal with. They had little freedom and had to do certain things because of their gender. The poem “The Wife ” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state as in the poem it shows a wife who has to give up what they like in order to do what people expected women to do. In “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard at first is sad at the news of her husband’s death. but later realizes that she no longer has to do what is expected of her and she now is free from expectations. Just like the poem Mrs. Mallard also once had to give her freedom away but not anymore. In the poem “The Wife” it says,” or the gold in using wore away.” The wife in the poem can’t use her gold anymore but Mrs. Mallard can now that she has her freedom back.

The first thing we notice is how Women are debilitated by adjusting to social jobs. We realize that Louise Mallard opposed her longing for opportunity through a functioning restraint of musings that disregarded the particulars of female family life. Sarah Penn likewise opposed normal driving forces by devoting herself to the perfection of household womanhood. This prompts a significant split between the outward life and the inward experience that is ruinous to oneself and to the encompassing society. In the Story of an Hour,” she utilizes various types of abstract components to unmistakably characterize her story and to demonstrate the majority of the implications behind what occurs in the story. There is a wide range of sorts of abstract components utilized in this short story however I accept the most significant one is incongruity. Incongruity is the thing that she used the most throughout the story right into the end which was by far what gave the story a grievous and unexpected completion. The unpredictable, uncertain tone of this segment of the story is inferred by the blended symbolism of “patches of blue sky appearing to a great extent through the mists”. Louise’s life is immediately dim, yet new alternatives are starting to first light (Evans). It’s the shrouded imagery like this in this story that uncovers the implications of everything and how she is truly feeling. Now perusers are confounded about whether he was a decent spouse or now however it unmistakably demonstrates that he was not an awful one since she is miserable. She simply doesn’t feel a similar route about him any longer so that is the reason she has an entirely different “free” life in front of her.

The theme of “The Wife” by Emily Dickinson is that of a woman’s duties by societies standards in the role of wife during that era and the sacrifices she is forced to endure. The poem is from the perspective of a woman who is trapped in her duties as a wife. In the first stanza, Ms. Dickinson speaks of the subject letting go of the things that bring her joy to conform to her role as a wife (“She rose to his requirement, Dropped the playthings of her life to take the honorable work of woman and of wife”) The second and third stanza to me touch on the woman reflecting on missing aspects of her former self/life (“if ought she missed…”) in this perceived higher station as a wife (“in her new day of amplitude and awe..”) and dealing with those emotions by burying them deep away within herself to never address (“It lay unmentioned as the sea develop pearl and weed…”). To me the relation I get between theme of The Wife and the emotional state of Mrs. Mallard’s in “The Story of an Hour” is that they are complete mirror opposites of one another, but they can be looked at as two halves of the same whole. The wife in Ms. Dickinson’s poem can be seen as Mrs. Mallard right before she got the news her husband had died. She feels trapped, bound by the rules of social culture. interpreting the poem, we can speculate she may have been experiencing depression, feeling caged in her societal station. Continuing this train of thought, Mrs. Mallard would represent the perceived emotional response the wife in Dickinson’s’ poem upon finding herself unchained from the shackles of her marriage would exhibit. The woman while saddened by her husband’s death because it […]

The theme of the Emily Dickinson poem “The Wife” is closely related to “The Story of an Hour?” because both speak on the jobs or requirements of a wife when they go into marriage. Wives are expected to drop what they have in life and conform to what their husband wants. In the first section of the poem it says. “She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife.” This directly tells us that she would not have a life of her own anymore rather she is a sort of entity attached to her husband. Working for the husband and that being their only role. It relates to The story of an Hour because when she found out that her husband had been in an accident she was ecstatic that her husband had passed and had gained back her life only to find out that the news was false and the husband was still alive. The last section of the poem also mentions “It lay unmentioned, as the sea Develops pearl and weed,” The way I view this line is as long as a woman is married their own personality is buried deeper and develops weeds that shroud their own personality which is separate from their role as a “wife”

In their works, both Mrs. Mallard and Emily Dickinson discuss the notion of being a woman during highly patriarchal times. Living in a patriarchal society, both describe being married or associated with their man as suffocating and limiting. While Mrs. Mallard is relieved to hear of her husband’s death, Dickinson also sees being a wife’s role as limiting. It is apparent from her poem that she feels lost or depressed in her new role of being a wife; “If aught she missed in her new day. Of amplitude or awe. Or first prospective, or the gold. In using wore away, It lay unmentioned, as the sea. Develops pearl and weed,” In entering the life of marriage, the woman leaves all her ‘playthings’ behind to be a wife instead- it automatically connects to the sense of losing oneself. Therefore, both authors explore the powerful theme of womanhood and identity in patriarchal societies.

In the story “Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, the wife Mrs. Mallard of course mourned her husbands death in such sorrow, weeping in her dear sisters arms for comfort of her loss. When she was finally alone in her room staring out the window she mourned a little more, until she felt a sense of freedom come over her. She no longer felt trapped in the hold that marriage has, especially at that point in time. the wife in “Story of An Hour” and the wife in the poem by Emily Dickinson “The Wife” correlate; “She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife.” Those lines are so powerful, because they emphasize on what being a wife meant, having to let go of your own sense of self to dedicate yourself to a man, a husband. Those words in “The Wife” is what Mrs. Mallard had to do in her marriage, once her husband had passed she knew she would be free from being dutiful to a person other than herself.

In the poem “the Wife” by Emily Dickson the theme is realization, the wife comes to a realization that to meet her husband requirements she will have to drop the enjoyments of her life and devote herself as a wife “it lay unmentioned, as the sea develops pearl and weed, but only to himself is known the fathoms they abide”  this theme relates to the emotional state of Mrs. Mallard in the story “the story of an Hour” by showing her coming to the realization after she found out her husband is dead that she’s finally free and able to live for herself.

The theme of the Emily Dickinson poem “The Wife” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state in “The Story of an Hour” in the sense that the women have both lost their identity to a man. The first two parts of the poem talk about how the woman is dropping everything in her life to go and fulfill the duties of a wife and devote her life to a man. In the story “The Story of an Hour” the main character cries due to the news of her late husband, but not entirely for the reason of sadness. She is crying because she is happy that she gets to become an individual again. Many people in relationships might find themselves losing their identity to their partner, instead of keeping their own individuality. It can be tough to maintain that sense of self when you are enamored and focused on your partner, but it is vital to keep those parts of yourself that make you, YOU! Both women in each of the works we had to analyze lost that part of them self and it screams a tone of sadness in each work.

Emily Dickinson’s poem “The Wife” and Kate Chopin’s short story “Story of an Hour” have two main characters that feel very similar. Both of these texts are centered around women whose lives are defined by being married and neither one of them like it. The “Story of an Hour”‘s main character Mrs. Mallard’s husband just died, and she comes to the realization that while she might have felt sad at first, she was then overwhelmed with this feeling this she could finally be free. Be free to be her own person. She had been forced to sacrifice a good part of her life just to be her husband’s wife. She wasn’t allowed to be her own individual. This is very similar to the theme of “The Wife”. There the reverse is happening. A woman is being forced to set aside her own life, and her own identity for a man’s. Emily Dickinson writes, “It lay unmentioned, as the sea Develops pearl and weed” (Dickinson). Here, she is describing how the wife in the poem is going to have to lay aside all of her ambitions, her personal life, and her own interests now that she is married.

Just by reading the title of Emily Dickinson’s poem, The Wife, I predicted that it will be from the perspective of a woman telling her readers how life has changed on her behalf after marriage. Dickinson’s states, “She rose to his requirement, dropped the playthings of her life. To take the honorable work of woman and of wife.” Within the first paragraph, the writer makes it clear that she has changed her ways to live up to his standards. Further throughout the poem, she mentions that “It lay unmentioned, as the sea develops pearl and weed.” She would repress her emotions and freewill to be the wife she believes she is supposed to be. This theme connects to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state in “The Story of an Hour.” In the beginning of the story the news of her husband’s passing is broken to her. She is filled with grief, locking herself away in her room. Though as shes processing reality as a widow, she sees beyond that- a free and independent woman. She was accustomed to living for someone other than herself. It seems to have filled her with excitement.”There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” Shortly after, Mrs. Mallard passes away after the moment she evidently yearned for was taken from her when Mr. Mallard walked through the door.

In the story, “Of An Hour”, Mrs. Mallard is heartbroken when her sister breaks down at her the death of her husband. She feels her environment start to change negatively and that life was not the same for her anymore, she had lost a huge piece of herself. Her husband then comes and her mood is suddenly lifted. This shows her husband playing a huge part in her happiness in her life. This passage discusses how a character can feel a change coming into their environment. She repeated the word “Free” to persuade herself that things were going to be okay and that she needs to move and do more. The poem “Wife”, by Emily Dickinson, explains how she is willing to sacrifice her life before being married, and giving it up for her husband. She realized that she wanted to become to a standard for her husband, where she would have to do different things, and how her life was going to change and not be the same anymore. She did not want to miss any day with him to help him out. They both show how marriage plays a significant role in wives’ lives. It gives them control and wanting to be accepted and validated.

In the story, ” The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard, while grieving by the window in her bedroom, found that a thought beyond the grief was creeping into her mind and growing stronger than the sorrow she felt from the news of the death of her husband. She describes the resistance of the emotion by saying ” She was striving to beat it back with her will.” However, the smell of the rain and the clouds in the sky, gave her a sense of new beginning and her life being her’s again. While the sister, Josephine and the husbands friend believed she was mourning, It was  frowned upon for her to express the extreme happiness that came with the thought of her freedom. The poem ” The wife” by Emily Dickinson, speaks on the depth of a feeling only known by the person themselves, “but only to himself is known the fathoms they abide”, how far thoughts and reach that sit in our minds without being able to express them. ” If aught she missed in her new day, of amplitude or awe, or first perspective, or the gold in using wore away.”  expresses to me how the wife, in both the poem and the story, longs quietly, for who she was before she was married.

The theme of Emily Dickinson’s “The Wife” relates to the emotional state of  “The Story Of An Hour” because they both take place during a time period where women didn’t have the same rights as men and overall highlights the unhappiness that women during this period felt for example in “The Wife Emily Dickinson states She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife. While in The Story Of An Hour the women loses her husband  (falling into the sea) but after she is finished crying she comes to the realization that she’s free (“Develops pearl and weed”,) these stories overall highlight how women felt at the time when it came to being at the behest of their husbands and not having being happy about their life or freedom until their husband passes away then they will be able to be free.

In the reading Oedipus the king, Timeless human experience, or behaviors we can find is from oedipus the king he who is brave, We know this because he ruled and serve at Thebes until his last days, he showed bravery. In the article we can read it said, you that live in my ancestral Thebes, behold this, Oedipus, him who knew the famous riddle and was a man most masterful: 1725 not a citizen who did not look with envy on his lot- see him now and see the breakers misfortune swallow him! looked upon the last days always,  Count no mortal happy till he has passed the final limit of his life secure from pain. This is refer to him telling us he will ruled till his last days, as a brave ruler not scare of his last days. This is a timeless human behavior because everyone is brave many different ways but we are brave.

The theme of Emily Dickinson’s poem “The Wife” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state in “The Story of an Hour?” because of the low mood and unhappiness. My assumption is that Mrs. Mallard emotions before she found out her husband passed away were described as the lines below from the poem: “If aught she missed in her new day Of amplitude, or awe, Or first prospective, or the gold In using wore away” In my opinion the lines above describe the nostalgia of spontaneous glee, wonder, and good thoughts that aren’t there anymore. In Mrs. Mallard’s words, being “free”. I’m pretty sure in the beginning of both marriages mentioned there were wonderful times, but somewhere they grew apart. This has caused the wives to be full of disappointment, grief, and not wanting to be with the person anymore. During these times society didn’t believe in divorce, so women really had to stick it out with their husbands. This made them miserable, however they continued their duties of being a good wife. Emotions were held inside, and it was all about the husbands. Mrs. Mallard’s joy to find out her husband passed away made it obvious to readers that she wasn’t happy. So unhappy to the point she drops dead when her husband walks through the door alive.

Oldipus: What can I see to love? 1525 what greeting can touch my ears with joy? take me away, and haste- to the place out of the way! take me away, my friends, the greatly miserable, the most accursed, whom god too hates above all men on earth! I think this passage meaning or it’s referring to of who or which men can he trust or feel love as a friend, if from all men they an betray you. From what you have or are many of them sometimes envy you for that and want what you have, so that’s what I think he is trying to say. He also say this because of the truth of what happen with the king on that age who slowly betray not just only any friend or men. Doing whatever for what a man what’s, he becomes the worst from everyone. This is what this passage is most saying, as he says, What can I see to love, If he you don’t know who can betray you. Take me away, my friends, the greatly miserable, the most accursed. whom god too hates above all men on earth. referring to, all those bad mean friends, who even god might hate betray you and even though they are your friends.

The theme of Emily Dickinson’s poem “The Wife” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state because both women lack freedom to be themselves. Becoming a wife meant that their own aspirations and interests had to take a backseat to their husband’s and  now he has the autonomy to dictate their destiny. The way the society was set up  is that there were certain expectations that a woman and a good wife had to follow and there were no exceptions to those rules. “It lay unmentioned, as the sea develops pearl and weed, But only to himself is known, The fathoms they abide”. It went without saying that women would be forced to follow the same set of rules once they are married in order to be perceived as a “good woman and wife” and not bring a disgrace to their family. Mrs. Mallard couldn’t help but feel relieved at the thought that she now has the freedom to be herself:”There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature”.

In ”A good man is hard to find” I think it’s a story that inside is about the massacre of an entire family, father, mother, children and grandmother, by a convicted murderer and two of the accomplices. The family takes a road trip and dies on the way to their destination. However, the grandmother is a believing woman who, from my point of view, I see as hypocritical because whoever is religious cannot be speaking lies and/or have classism before others; deception is experienced with her because she appears to be another person even in a quite shameless way since even if she tries to disguise it, she is hypocritical and is the one who leads her family to obtain something tragic, that is why we should not deceive prejudices based on cataloging with where we judge people based on how they look without even knowing who they really are.

She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome. The Story of the Hour says how the wife (Mrs. Mallard) is finally free, how she saw the future would belong to her, and she is excited about it. It relates  to ” The wife” because the poem tells us how the wife gave up everything (2) and took the honor of being a housewife and “dropped The playthings of her life, To take the honor, Of woman and of wife.” In ” Story of the hour, Mrs. Mallard repeats, ” Free! Body and soul free! “, although she loves her husband, there are times when she doesn’t (13). “And yet she had loved him — sometimes.” The two stories’ theme connects because they are both wife who are lost and become a housewife. But then became free once their husband’s died

The theme of Emily Dickinson Poem”The Wife” related to Mrs. Mallards Emotional State in “The Story of an Hour” based on both is the time period, they both were based in a time when women had to depend on men. In “The Wife” the first stanza was “She rose to his requirement, dropped The playthings of her life To take the honorable work Of woman and of wife.If aught she missed in her new day”.  I feel like what was said shares a similar meaning in “the story of the hour” when the wife said ”There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.” they both realize being with a man you feel tied down and like your life isn’t your own anymore. The only difference is one just got married and the other thinks she just became a widow.

In the poem “The Wife” by Emily Dickinson the author talks about a woman getting married is like giving up a part of her and taking up new responsibilities. The marriage slowly washes away the woman’s youth and views of society. She also mentions how hard it is for a woman to escape this marriage. I connected with “The Story of an Hour?” because in the beginning when Mrs. Mallard learned that her husband had died she cried like how she saw other women do that is how far she has slinked into the sea as mentioned in the poem. But then she realized that she would be free and that she could finally claw out of this marriage which in the poem is symbolized by the sea and how deep a woman has sunken into the water is shown in the “The Story of an Hour?” by when Mrs. Mallard realized she should be happy that she is free even if it was a lie.

The Story takes place in the 19th Century where women didn’t have any rights, where women were oppressed. In “The Story of an Hour” By Kate Chopin, Mrs. Mallard’s emotional state starts off with sadness, grief, and exhaustion. Halfway into the story the illustrator describes Mrs. Mallard quoting, “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression” which reminded me of this quote in the poem “The wife” by Emily Dickinson “it lay unmentioned, as the sea develops pearl and weed”. The connection I discovered was the repression that was unspoken of by Mrs. Mallard, but it was an obvious observation to know that she was suppressed emotionally and physically. Being a wife meant taking commands and rising to requirements as Emily Dickinson poetically describes a wife. Mrs. Mallard’s emotions became ecstatic when she realized she would be free from the chains of enslavement. In the poem “Dropped the playthings of her life to take the honorable work of woman and of wife”, shows the connection of self-neglect that Mrs. Mallard comes to realize she will no longer possess in conclusion of her husband’s death. All of the excitement and longing for her freedom comes to an end when Mrs. Mallard passes away from a joyful fantasy.

“The story of an hour” was about this married woman named Mrs. Mallard who had a heart condition. She got news that her husband passed away in a horrific train accident. Her sister Josephine told her about the news but Mrs. Mallard was rejoicing, well she was not happy in her marriage but all she can think about was her freedom from her marriage and that made her happy. She was depressed because she loved her husband sometimes, but with him gone all she can think about was being  “free”. Her sister was so concerned about her health because Mrs. Mallard was just in her room. She was surprised when she saw her husband was opening the door well she fell because she got a heart attack.

The reading “Oedipus the King” discusses some timeless human experiences and behavior. For example, in the play, the citizens constantly pray to god, begging for Thebes because they are experiencing a horrific plague, faithfully believing that the king can save them. Similarly, in contemporary society, we can see how religion is still dominant; countries such as Iran and Yemen have an example of theocratic governments. Religious beliefs have been passed from generation to generation. Another example is pride, a negative human trait that can affect your self-growth. The consequence of having a superior and antisocial personality can result in a tragedic outcome. In the play, the oracle reveals to king Oedipus his inevitable fate, and he immediately protects himself using excessive pride as a shield. Despite his internal and external fights, he fulfills the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his wife. Those two characteristics are general aspects of life.

In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, I believe the story in its interior is about deceit and ignorance can go hand in hand.  O’Connor uses the grandmother as a way to show how manipulation and deceit toward her own family, people who you’d never turn on, to see a plantation home. Devices such as irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism are all used to tell the story but do play a part in the interior of the story. We see that the grandmother is obsessed with her vanity and views the past, specifically ignorant, racist parts of the past, to paint a better image of herself for others. Manipulative people like to be seen in a more positive light and will do many things to seem better than others. With all of her lying and ignorant comments, the topic of trust was brought up numerous times almost making her family’s death bound to happen. Without the lying, they would’ve been safe. The Misfit was symbolism for the opposite of a “good man”. Even in the grandmother’s last efforts to save herself, she is manipulating the Misfit and is only stopped when being shot and killed. The Grandmother wasn’t as good of a woman as she thought she was. The interior of the story shows that people no matter how true they believe their words are, do not practice what they preach.

In “A good man is hard to find,” the grandmother’s actions and opinions are interpreted as prejudice. She is described as religious, talkative, and discriminatory, which is perceived every time she innocently refers to the people and her surrounding. The audience can sense the interior side of the story when the grandmother emphasizes the importance of judging somebody by their appearance, the way she idealizes the fugitive criminal- Misfit. First, she tries to point out some positive observations about his identity, and then she faithfully attempts to declare his innocence to convince somehow he is a good man. Still, the criminal has already accepted he is guilty, and a bad man so ends up killing the old lady. Even though The grandmother is represented as a “Lady” who is morally superior and caring, her actual character is that she is a hypocrite and dishonest which lead her family to a tragic ending. This is a clear message: You can judge a book by its cover.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find was full of suspense towards the end. In my opinion the interior of the story was based on deceit and punishment. The grandmother was very deceitful, conniving and misleading. I honestly feel if the grandmother didn’t say a word the whole trip they wouldn’t have wounded up in the predicament they were in. The grandmother pretty much lied multiple times for the family to do as she says. She went as far into making up a story to get them to a destination that was somewhere else. When the thought of her sending her family to the wrong location came about in her mind, she didn’t even have the compassion in her heart to let them know. This led her family to be killed, which I felt was punishment for her actions, because she was the last to die. She had to listen to the gunshots that killed her family, in which she still thought of herself and tried to convince the Misfit to allow her to keep her life. Her trickery didn’t work this instance and she came to the realization of how she should’ve been when it was too late.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a story about a family who decides to go on a road trip to Tennessee but are killed along the way. On the surface the story seems to be about a family whose road trip is ended short due to tragedy. However, the story is really centered on the grandmother, the protagonist, and how her hypocrisy and ethics led to the downfall of her family. First, her standards are extremely hypocritical. She cared about her appearance and how people saw her on the surface but around her family she didn’t mind lying to get what she wanted. Her blatant racism is also a stark contrast from her outwards appearance. Furthermore, it was her lying that led the family to their death. She lied about the fact that there was treasure in an old plantation to manipulate the children into convincing their father to driving there. Later, she realized that the plantation was actually in Tennessee and everything goes downhill from there. She is the reason that the her family was killed.

In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, on the surface, O’Connor writes about a small family meeting a serial killer on the loose while on a trip to another state. The interior of this story is that the grandma is very racist and extremely narrow-minded, she thinks that she’s the main character of everyone’s life. She believes she is a good manipulator and even hid the cat her son doesn’t like in a suitcase. The grandma is very ignorant and selfish, and I would say she is the reason she and her family died to the killer. On her trip, she ironically finds herself with the killer and attempted to manipulate the killer into not killing her. She attempted to do the same thing she does with her family by trying to soft-talk the killer and feed him lies. She was saying how a good person he is and mocking him, saying he wouldn’t shoot a lady. All these arrogant acts led to a tragic ending for her and her family’s lives.

In “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, the interior is about morality and hypocrisy. Focusing on the grandma, she claims she’s a good person and sympathizes with what goes on in the world but yet she doesn’t do anything good. She thinks her moral qualities are self-evident and doesn’t even ask herself if what she is doing is right or reckless. Not only rationalizing bad behavior, she has no moral integrity. When the criminal gets introduced, shows integrity even though he can’t remember his crime, actually admits to his moral standing and has honesty. Although he is a murderer which is immoral, he is honest which separates him with the grandmother. When the criminal meets the grandmother, she becomes affectionate and comforts him, something she wouldn’t do for her son. This brings out another side in grandma instead of being judgemental and manipulative to the family. Ultimately as grandma says, “it’s a fallen world” but she’s wrong thinking she’s not part of it. With the Misfit, at least he’s honest and knows he’s not a good person, it doesn’t erase the burden on him but it separates him and the grandma in honesty.

I enjoy this story the most compared to the other reads. I would say that the story’s “interior” is mostly a commentary on how some people practice virtue signaling directly or indirectly. The grandmother acts very sanctimonious throughout the text and believes that a person’s morality is solely determined by some superficial observation.  The irony is that the misfit is the most honest and believable character because he sees himself for who and what he really is. The line where he says “Nome, I ain’t a good man,” The Misfit said after a second as if he had considered her statement carefully, “but I ain’t the worst in the world neither”.  is very interesting because I understand it both literal and subliminal. I interpreted it as he was calling out the grandmother’s hypocrisy, piousness and naivete. Which also brings me to the understanding that perhaps maybe all of her observations could come from a place of guilt in her younger days. Maybe she wasn’t all that “good” herself and thus projects herself onto people. Perhaps she believes that by seeing people’s goodness regardless of who or what they are-then maybe people can see her for how she wants to be seen.  

I feel Like that the interior of “A good man is hard to find” is one that focuses on the true character of a person. The Grandmother who refers to herself constantly as a “lady” (she even dresses in a manner that in the event that there is an accident those who come upon her will know by her dress that she was a lady) is anything but, she’s shallow, and judgmental. She looks down on her family and others, seeing herself as better, she also prideful (even after realizing that she had the address wrong she allowed the family to continue (thus sealing their fate). The “Misfit” while appearing (by his way of speaking respectfully showing some sort of warmth towards the mother when asking if she’d like to join Bailey. and his embarrassment of being without a shirt in the presence of women) comes off as a southern gentleman is in reality a murderous monster who is unfeeling. 

I think, “A good man is hard to find” by Flannery O’Connor is about how there is both good and bad in everyone. The grandmother is someone who was described as caring about her appearance and wanted to look good on the outside but she was also racist because of her upbringing and she just didn’t realize it. Meanwhile the misfit is described by the grandmother as looking like he’s a good person but in reality he’s a murderer. Throughout the whole story the grandma was trying to find the good in the Misfit by saying things like maybe they locked up the wrong person and telling him that he looked like a good person. The grandma is someone who wants to see the good in people which is why she kept calling people good like when Red Sammy was telling her that he got ripped off of gas. 

On a surface level “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor is a story about how a family meets their untimely demise to a serial killer. However, I think the interior of the story is about how people may act like they know what their moral compass is like but most don’t. In the story the grandma thinks of herself very highly. She talks about how she once was sought after by a rich man who brought her watermelons every Saturday, and dresses nicely so that if she may die during the trip people will know that she was a lady. Throughout the story however, she shows that she is racist and manipulative and selfish. On the other hand we have the misfit who is a serial killer and facing death the grandma tries to plea to him to not kill her. She tries to show him that he is a good person because of how he looks and that he can still be saved. However, the misfit knows that he isn’t a good person and is evil. He knows exactly what he is and doesn’t try to pretend that he is someone that is good or neutral but just evil.

In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor explores the conflict between appearance and reality. The grandmother appears to be a lady-like Christian woman, yet her encounter with The Misfit reveals that she does not believe in the central tenet of Christianity that Christ can raise the dead. In the story, there are two kinds of people. Those who know they are bad people and those who are bad people yet persist in believing they are good. The story depicts the impact of Christ on the lives of two seemingly disparate characters. One is a grandmother joining her son’s family on a trip to Florida. The grandmother makes the mistake of thinking that her own moral qualities are self-evident. At the end of the story, it is the grandmother who is seen as attaining grace. She attains it at her moment of death. She reaches out and recognizes the Misfit as her child. It is noted that throughout the story, it is the grandmother who advocates for the Christian faith. Both the grandmother and the Misfit are portrayed as stereotypes throughout the story, but their final encounter changes them. The grandmother’s journey from spiritual blindness to the realization of her own sins allows her to affect hopeful change in even the most despicable, unrepentant character, the Misfit. The author of this short story purposefully uses the two character types represented by the grandmother and the Misfit to show that anyone can change, as both characters, to varying degrees, represent humanity in all of its sinfulness. Looking carefully at the final encounter in the story, grace, an incredibly important concept for Flannery O’Connor, is shown to operate in both of these characters, presenting them with the possibility of change. Change through the delivery of grace is possible in anyone, as […]

The story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” was such an interesting read. It had a twist. I found myself pretty much on the edge of my seat. I think this story’s interior is how someone is portraying someone they aren’t. They are deceiving others to get what they want. People can be selfish.  For example, the grandma didn’t want to travel to Florida but wanted to go to Tennessee. She took every opportunity to convince her son not to travel to Florida. She even mentioned that the Misfit escaped jail and wouldn’t risk her family with him being out there. Ironically, they bumped into him. She also bought her cat without mentioning it to her son. She lied about a secret panel and then realized that the house was in. The grandmother portrayed being a nice person. She said, “…oh look at the cute little Pickaninny!”. She had a double meaning by calling the child cute but used an offensive term in the same sentence. By deceiving her family to get what she wanted, tragically got them killed by the Misfit and he killed her at the end in the dress she wore in case she was found dead. It was very ironic story, but this is chef’s kiss.

“ A good man is hard to find” by Flannery O’Connor is a fascinating read and a very complex one. To start off as we get familiarized with the family it’s not very likable all around: the kids are spoiled and entitled, the dad seems aloof and burnt out, the mother is listless. When it comes to the grandmother she is the opposite of a caring, warm granny we subconsciously expecting to see. She is extremely self-centered, selfish and manipulative. Her goal was to change their trip destination to Tenesseee and she was trying to scare her son with the news about the murderer on the loose first. Since that didn’t prove to be effective she moved on to pretending like it would be good for the kids to see something new. The picture we had painted of the grandmother character was that of a superficial lady who cares to look her best even after she is dead.  But something happens to her right before she gets shot by the notorious murderer “misfit”, she has an epiphany. This tragedy that had happened to her and the whole family, revealed her true essence right before she dies. And I think it’s one of the connotations of this story. “it is the extreme situation that best reveals what we are essentially”  as the author says in the essay about her work.

In the story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by O’Connor the interior is about the personalities under the different characters personas what they show on the surface for instance how the grandmother potray that she’s a good person who cares about her children well being and is a good influence while under that she is a narrow minded manipulating racist. The interior also shows how the most evil character (the criminal) is the only one who’s most true to himself and doesn’t need to put on a persona to potray something he’s not.

When reading “A good Man Is Hard to Find” on a surface level it is a story about a family that faced a very unfortunate event. The exterior of this story is that the family is dysfunctional and they encounter an “unlucky” situation with a criminal, Misfit. At the root and internal point of this story is so much deeper and somewhat philosophical. The Grandmother has the upmost character and moral compass flaw that leads her character to be hypocritical, manipulative and egocentric. One could say she is stuck in her own arrogance, she believes she is a Christian like woman while her actions prove otherwise. With her character flaws contradicting with how she sees herself, I don’t know if she truly believed that she was a perfect person. The Grandmothers’ encounter with Red Sam made her feel understood and heard, that is something she did not feel very often. She disregarded how Red Sam acted toward his wife, but awarded him with such respect and gratitude that he were polite to two strangers that needed gas. I think that was something she needed to feel good about herself. When the Grandmother and The Misfit meet, The misfit explains how he views no one is truly good or that it is extremely rare to come across genuine people. The Grandmother pleads for her life, possibly not truly understanding what he is saying, she tried to lead him to god and even tried to console him. Even though he felt some emotion towards her words to him, he knew this was a manipulative tactic to get him to have mercy on her life and not out of genuine concern or sympathy for The Misfit.

In the story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Connor, the interior is more about the Grandmothers characteristics, and how she plays an important role in the story. The story’s interior is more based on her traits and actions in the passage. I think that a story’s “interior” is what it is mostly more than what it seems. I would compare it to an iceberg as how we only see so little, but if we were to look at the bottom of the ocean we would see so much for what it is. The Grandmother has a lot of negative characteristics as she is very racist and disrespectful. She shows her family that she is good and that nothing will happen, but then they end up being murdered. This is not a coincidence, it is on purpose, as she wanted all of it to happen. She tricked the family and is very selfish.

I just want to say this is probably my favorite story. A southern gothic classic in my opinion I love it. It has been a while since I felt so passionate and mesmerized by a story.  “We know what the story is about on the surface. What do you feel the story is about in its “interior?” is a very ironic question since the story is about how appearances can be decieving. The grandma acts like she is a top class lady and thinks she is more superior than others by the way she is very racist and classist, calling the little black child who has done nothing but be a bystander living his own life a slur and showing her racist and very snobby side. She doesn’t even feel the need to learn her daughter in law’s name or get to her and just simply refers to her own daughter in law and mother of her grandchildren “The children’s mother” The family’s demise is all based on cause and effect of the grandmother manipulating the family to see a plantation that is not even in Georgia but in Tennessese. The Grandma thinks herself as so smart and cunning and can get her own way no matter what just like how racist and classist and every bit of a snob she is. The Grandma warning the family of the dangers of traveling is also a self fullfilling prophecy at the end since she is also the cause of getting her own family killed. The Grandma tries to see the good in the Misfit because of the way he is dressed and his demeanor which also plays into her being snobby and classist and only judges people based on their outer appearance and their outer appearance only which in the end […]

What timeless human experiences or behaviors do you find in your reading of Oedipus the King? The story “Oedipus the King”, is relevant to this world crisis and in the past time as its been happening through the centuries where the kings are getting executed by their own family members to get into power. Just like that what happens in this plot when he would murder his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus is ignorant of the deep dishonor he has done. Had Oedipus taken a moment to consider that there was any possibility that the man he was arguing with was his father, maybe he wouldn’t have killed him. Immediately following the murder, Oedipus could have felt shame for killing someone, but he could not have felt shame for killing his own father,  however, was viewed as an act of significant dishonor and, therefore, if Oedipus had known immediately after the fact that he had killed Laius, he would have taken on the burden of shame. Speaking to the Chorus, Oedipus asserts, “I account myself a child of Fortune, beneficent Fortune, and I shall not be dishonored.” Oedipus, believing that he has gone his whole life thus far outsmarting the gods, regards himself as being a man of great fortune and honor. Because Oedipus thinks he has not dishonored his family by killing his father and wedding his mother.

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor is a story about a family that had unfortunate luck and got killed by a criminal on the surface. I think the story in its “interior” is about human behaviors and punishment. The grandmother is very arrogant and judgmental. She thinks of herself as a good person but in real life she is racist and superficial. It’s funny how all of her decisions, which her family followed by her manipulation, lead them to this terrible incident. She chose to take the cat and hide it which led them to the accident when the cat jumped on Bailey. The accident was on a road where there was almost no one to help them because she decided to take the dirt road to see the house she thought was in Georgia (she also lied saying there was a secret panel in this house to convince the kids to go there). And finally, she wanted to go to Tennessee instead of Florida trying to convince her son not to go there because a criminal that just escaped, the misfit. Ironically they ran into the misfit on this dirt road and they all got killed. The grandmother was also very selfish – when she realized the man is the misfit she called “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?”. Looks like she didn’t care at all about her son, his wife, or her grandchildren, but herself. Right before the misfit shot her she told him he is one of her own children and reached out to him. She showed some emotion, but he shot her anyway. The misfit talks about punishment a few times, maybe because of the punishment he got (maybe for a reason or maybe not). Even the misfit noticed that she […]

I think the interior of this story, like many ancient Greek stories, has its core rooted in the idea of fate. The story, “A Good Man is Hard To Find” is about a family that ends up being murdered on their way to vacation in Florida. However, the grandmother of this family leads them down the path, quite literally, that leads them to their murder. She is obsessed with the idea of dying, especially since she is close to death. She tries to avoid it, as most of us would, but she takes it to a different level with how all-consuming it is for her. She plans what she is going to wear in case she is found dead in it. And she wants to take unnecessary extra precautions to try to push death away as much as possible. However, it is proven to be unavoidable. The route she takes her family downs leads to their death, and she is unable to talk the murderer out of it. No matter what she did she couldn’t avoid it. Much like Odysseus, she couldn’t fight her fate.

This week’s read “A Good Man is Hard to Find” could be seen on the exterior as a chilling story about the murders of a family who just wanted to go on vacation. When we dive deeper, think about the story and maybe even reread it, you may notice that the interior is all about the coincidental theme of the story. From all the characters and including the title. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” so a bad man- The Misfit must be easy to find. The grandmother thinks there is no good left in the world, what a coincidence she is stuck with a grumpy and disrespectful family. What a coincidence that the grandmother dressed nicely so that if there was an accident and her body was left in the road, people would know she was a lady. And what a coincidence that the dirt road she tells Bailey to turn down leads them to The Misfit. The grandmother really thought she would be able to reason with a stone cold killer, maybe find something in common with him to get some sympathy but in the end she just gets left in the dirt, dead in her nice clothing.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor has a lot going on emotionally from the start the grandmother comes off as super condescending and deceitful the rest of the characters come off as somewhat like able in their own way but the grandmother seems to drag everyone down with her negativity and manipulation. She also is super racist saying that a black child must have stolen the watermelons that Edgar Atkins left. I think the interior of the story is that everyone can have a human character that people may like but that doesn’t make them any less of a bad person as we see with the grandmother and her soul mate Red Sam and we see how those kinds of people can have an effect on children and potentially raise them to become bigoted and manipulative like they are. The grandmother also seems to know that she is a bad person to a certain extent as well as when she comes in contact with The Misfit she starts being nice and seeing the good In him while also talking about Jesus it seemed like she knew she was going to have some things to answer for if she was to be killed in that moment.

In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor I believe the story’s interior is about the fact that no one is good in this story where everyone is supposed to be good. Which leads me to discuss information about the grandmother and the misfit. The fact that the grandmother is ignorant, hypocritical, selfish and, manipulative. She is the reason they ended up dead in the woods. The Grandmother refuses to enjoy the family trip she had to manipulate her son and grand children to go on the family trip to another state. She asked them to make a detour which led them right to the misfit. Now I’m not sure if they would have gotten help and gotten out safely if she would have kept quiet but because she thinks she can get herself  out of everything, she just kept going, and got everyone murdered because of her ignorance. Now for the misfit he is clearly stuck in his ways and is on a killing spree. He let the grandmother go on and on as if he really cared about what she had to say he knew before he got out of the car that he was going to kill the family. The interior is definitely about a woman who thinks she can manipulate people and she tried to manipulate a murderer ,and not understanding the misfit is to far gone and there’s no saving him.

The story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’ Connor rides on suspense heavily. Throughout the whole story we get very interesting and telling bits of characterization. None of these people are supposed to be likeable. Our tension and hate between these characters just builds and builds with every other paragraph. To me, the grandmother, right off the bat, comes off whiny and unapologetic. She’s stubborn, manipulative, and stuck in her old ways. We’re introduced to the rest of the family and it seems like the norm is to ignore the grandmother. I think this is their way of handling her stubborn antics. It’s definitely not the healthiest or most proactive way but it’s telling of the rest of the family. The grandmother warns them of some criminal gone rampant in Florida; the Misfit. Soon after, they are caught by the Misfit. Surprisingly, out of all the characters, the grandmother shows compassion towards the him and acknowledges him as a human being. He shares one last melancholic word with her that her ignorance and lack of self awareness is innate to her character — creating a hideously ironic ending.

It started off with the grandmother who was trying to persuade her family to visit Tennessee instead of Florida for their vacation because she had motives, she tried everything in changing his mind and said “the kids already been there” they suggest she stays home but  they knew that wouldn’t happened, the  grandmother hides the cat in a basket in the car. The grandmother was dressed in the finest clothes, while driving and they were seeing some beautiful scenery. The grandmother conversations with the misfits reveals a lot about the grandmother and her religious beliefs, the misfit on the other hand does not  believe the grandmother likes red Sammy because he agrees with her. The  grandmother is so manipulative she convince Bailey travel off course.

In “A good man is hard to find” by Flannery O’Connor takes us in a roller coaster of emotions where each character plays a role in Mediocrity. The grandmother comes off as stuck in her ways as a manipulative, prejudice, deceitful lady. In the story, it seems as if there’s a hunt for goodness in everyone that the grandmother engaged with or mentioned to base her believes that “good” people do exist. Every character had a basic human positive trait as well as a negative trait since no one is perfect. I perceived the story as everyone trying to prove themselves, especially the grandmother. She judged her grandchildren, but uplifted Red Sammy for doing a kind gesture to customers.  She uplifted The Misfits when she saw her and her family’s life in danger. I believe that by her portraying she saw good in others, possibly others would see good in her. Also, the grandmother bringing in the topic of Jesus to the Misfits showed me that she knew her time was coming to an end and she needed grace. The Misfits were the ones that had to convince the grandmother that good people are very hard to find. This story depicts that no one takes accountability for their behaviors and ways but The Misfits. Even if they were bad, they were the only ones to show self awareness.

When speaking about the interior of the story, I found it helpful to re-read and consider what was being displayed passed the dialogue.  Initially, I found the grandmother to be persuasive and charming and even harmless.  However, after reading the entire story, her so-called harmlessness is what lead to the demise of the entire family.  I went back to the beginning of the story, and realized her persuasive charm was more of manipulation all for self-serving purposes. For example, she insisted on visiting Tennessee over Florida and went as far as to try to scare her son using the escape of the Misfit from jail to instill fear in him. Also, using guilt by saying, “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did.” Her willingness to exploit her sons fears to get him to adhere to her wants, displays extreme selfishness and lack of consideration for her impact on him. Again, her responses seemed harmless during my first read because it is common for people to make comments like that.  Towards the middle of the story, when the grandmother told of the old house on a plantation with hidden silver in the wall panels, the way the children began to impose their wants onto the father, was very similar to how his mother treated him, only with less grace. It showed how her overbearing treatment of him turned Bailey into a push over even by his own children. On the surface the children just seemed like regular kids who, ” say the darndest things.” a bit rude but it isn’t uncommon for kids to test their parents, especially in public. Again, after re-reading the story and seeing beyond the surface of my first […]

Oedipus the King is a play written over a thousand years ago. However, the characters’ experiences and behaviors are still relatable to people from all eras, including us living in the modern era. One of these things is how we tend to think about the worst case scenarios as Oedipus did when be believed that Creon was after his throne. In the play it states “I have come because I heard deadly words spread about me, that the king accuses me.” Oedipus is so paranoid of Creon taking the throne that even Creon knows about this rumor without Oedipus directly informing Creon. Another thing that humans have experienced for all eternity is pride. Oedipus the King is completely based on the hubris of Oedipus and how it was his downfall. We see this happen over and over throughout history. One example is Hitler, he thought his ideas were the truth and decided to subject them to most of Europe but failed as he was too prideful and never thought that he would lose the war.

“Oedipus the King” is interpreted by many people in different ways. My personal view on Oedipus is that his actions had consequences. I think poetry is a very philosophical art form. It’s created to tell stories but also creates thought-provoking life lessons. Life doesn’t just happen to you, though things can happen out of your control, overall, the actions you choose affect the trajectory of your life. Oedipus is shown to have immense pride described as hubris. His pride got in the way of his clarity even when it was laid out in front of him. The oracle told him his fate and even then he chose not to listen because he thought he was above that. He was ignorant of the fate shown to him to keep power over Thebes and keep a good image. Blindness and eyes are also used as symbolism for the ignorance shown by Oedipus in comparison to a character like Teiresias, physically blind but not ignorant. The psychological aspect of Oedipus is very interesting considering there are different psychoanalysis relating to “Oedipus the King”. The Oedipus complex, hubris, toxic pride, and psychological egoism are some of the few studied theories seen in literature and the real world. Whether people believe in them or not, it shows that it is timeless and can still be used to look at real-world problems.

I agree with Aristotle when he explains that “poetry is a higher form than history.” This is because in poetry so much is able to be explained with such little words. We are able to see how people were able to feel using the figurative languages. The audience is also able to understand different points of views. History is much more biased and may only focus on one side instead of all of them, just like today.   Oedipus, wants to find the truth so he sees anything in his power to do so. He is very curious and knows that he takes control and gets the best of him. I understand why he wants to find the truth out because when I look at it from his point of view I am able to see how important it is and why he is so determined to do so. Even thought he had many obstacles he still wanted to do whats best for him, because he did not want to keep it hidden from him.

In Oedipus the King, there are many timeless human experiences or behaviors. Aristotle also writes that poetry is a higher form than history, he uses poetry to show all of these timeless human experiences. One of them is death and, everyone knows what death is and that we cannot escape it when it is our time also almost everyone has heard on the news about a tragic murder. In the play, Oedipus had to go through the consequences when he found out that he had killed King Laius. Death has always affected humans, centuries ago and even in the play. Another timeless human experience or behavior is religion, most families have their own beliefs and gods they believe in. The play frequently brings up the “gods” or praying to Zeus to protect a king. They really believed in Zeus so much that the citizens would pray about anyone who wants to cause harm to “important” people, like kings, for example, should be harmed. This is an example of timeless human experiences because many people now still pray to their God, not exactly like in the play, but they pray for good things.

Oedipus the King is a story about a Greek king who ends up killing his father and marrying his mother, even though he does everything he can to avoid doing that very thing. Even though it is set in Ancient Greece, there are timeless human experiences that people from today still can relate to. For instance, Oedipus ignores everything that points him to the truth about his life. He is so blinded to it. People around him are telling him things he doesn’t want to hear, so he simply doesn’t listen and remains ignorant. This is something that people can relate to. People constantly try to deny things that might be true because accepting the truth is too hard for them. Another relatable moment in the play is the fear that the chorus experiences. They represent the average citizen who has to live in the city but doesn’t have any real control over what is going on. They can only watch and hear about what is happening. People, especially recently, can relate to this. With scary events going on around the world, and with politicians not seeming to do a lot to change it, I know that people feel like the only thing they can do is sit and watch.

One of the defining human conditions that is prevalent throughout the play is the attempt to escape one’s fate and the burden of truth. I understand that in his position the idea that he would murder his own father and to then sleep with his mother deeply disturbed him so much that he perhaps thought he could do something to escape that destiny by using his free will. However, not realizing that his actions end up fulfilling the very prophecy he’s terrified of. Along with the idea of escaping fate and free will, another theme I’ve picked up is sight and blindness. The contrast between a blind prophet who can “see” the world for what it really is and Oedipus who is able to see with his own eyes yet to chooses not to see things for what they are.  Sometimes we choose to see what we want to see because it’s easier to live in ignorance than to be burdened with the weight of the truth. 

“Oedipus the King” is considered timeless because it shows us a sense of control we feel we have of our lives but can cause us problems. In this story, Oedipus couldn’t escape his destiny even having the best intentions. Oedipus lesson can apply to us also with our curiosities, if we figure out the questions we have it doesn’t mean it can change our viewpoint. We can decide how to act and go on with the consequences. Oedipus seeks out knowledge finds the truth out and bears the consequences with dignity and personal responsibility. Oedipus suffers the consequences but it’s what comes with knowing ourselves. This story also tells us we can’t always control our destiny but we can steer it in the right path. We as humans are blind to the truth because we are afraid of facing and dealing with reality. Sometimes the truth can have a positive or negative impact on our lives.

Throughout history there are people out there who experience things only they will forever for the rest of time. While everyone else in history may experience things others will never they also experience things everyone will. In “Oedipus the King” one experience or behavior that everyone experiences is the will to keep a secret to your grave. The Herdsman knows the truth of Oedipus but he doesn’t want to tell the secret as it is terrible and he knows that Oedipus will not take it well. Another experience or behavior is when Oedipus learns the truth and he then gets stuck in grief and despair. He begins to hate himself and wishes that he had died instead of being saved. Both of these are something everyone no matter the time period experiences as we all have things we wish to keep to ourselves or hate ourselves for something we did intentionally or not.

This play of Oedipus the King was an interesting play to read. It showed the King’s character development in many ways. The King was soaring high. The timeless experience that stood out to me of how he was this loved King who had it all. The citizen’s admiration, a family. He found out that he killed his father and married to his mother. His whole behavior changed, and everything came crumbling down. Tragically, this ripple effect caused his mother to hang herself. It is tough when you’re in a situation like that and sometimes you feel like you’re not able to get yourself out of this hole you’ve dug yourself in.  The mother couldn’t face the fact that this has come to light, and she found this as her only way out. I think that it showed that no matter how high you are, there is no such thing as perfection.

There are many Timeless human experiences or behaviors you would find In the second half of Odepius The King Sophocles, one of those being facing the death of a loved one everyone have experienced this for centuries and is bound to at some point in their lives and will react differently to it depending on the person. Oedipus reaction was strucking his eyes when he saw his wife/mother after she committed suicide by hanging herself after that he then wanted to isolate himself in the mountains until he dies. Another Timeless human experience is parents mistakes befalling onto their children like how oedipus killed both of his parents and now his children have to live with being inbred and the children of a murderer “1685 your father killed his father and sowed the seed where he had sprung himself and begot you out of the womb that held him these insults you will hear. Then who will marry you? No one, my children; clearly you are doomed 1690 to waste away in barrenness unmarried.” 

What timeless human experiences or behaviors do you find in your reading of Oedipus the King? We all agree that Oedipus’ most admirable traits are his determination, commitment to truth and justice, and his desire to be a good king to Thebes’ people. When he hears that the devastating plague Thebes is a result of Laius’ murder being unpunished, Oedipus stops at nothing to discover the truth about Laius’ murder.  He seeks to enforce justice for the murder of Laius. Despite being warned by the blind prophet Tiresias that Oedipus will be upset by the true identity of Laius’ murderer, Oedipus still stays committed to his search for the truth. We can definitely say that  Oedipus’ determined search for the truth on behalf of his people ultimately leads to his downfall and tragic end.  Even when Oedipus discovers the horrifying truth that he is, in fact, the perpetrator of the crime, he does not deny it or attempt to hide the truth. Instead, he acts as a great and loyal king to the people of Thebes because he sacrifices himself for the higher cause of his people’s wellbeing. he is strong and determined in his search for the truth at any cost, he bravely faces and accepts his guilt.

While reading Oedipus the King there are mentions of timeless human experiences and behaviors. One of those would be the societal fear of killing their father and marrying their mom. Most people in society would think that it would be one of their greatest fears for that to happen. In all cultures, there’s an incest taboo that this story would relate to in the real world. Another behavior that is mentioned in the passage is that we would not have control of our own lives rather a more significant and greater force is making these things happen. The fear that we do not control our own lives is something that most people would be afraid of. I myself think that if I didn’t have control over my own life what’s the point in doing anything if it’s all predetermined and you wouldn’t be able to choose for yourself. There are other behaviors that are exhibited in the passage but these are the ones that I have seen.