Victoria Santagato

When I hear or read the word vignette, I think of short stories that are not related to each other, like the vignettes in the movie “Paris, je t’aime” where the only thing tying the stories together is the city itself. Reading “The House on Mango Street” broadened my perception of vignettes. The ending to “The First Job” surprised me. How bold of that man to kiss Esperanza! That was the last thing I was expecting to read after she recounts her mediocre first day at a new job. I was intrigued by “Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water.” Elenita represents a very specific and mysterious aspect of Latino culture I have always been curious about- brujeria. I remember my religious Grandmother from Honduras walking very quickly past Botanicas because she deemed the products in those stores evil. I like how Cisneros portrays Elenita as a witch and a mother cleaning up after her child spills kool-aid, giving her realistic and mystical qualities simultaneously. I was initially puzzled by “Geraldo, No Last Name.” This story of a hit and run came unexpectedly and I found myself almost disoriented when I started to read it the first time. I had to go back in the story to remind myself who Marin is in order to make a connection between this story and Esperanza’s community. I am a bit perplexed as to why Cisneros uses racist terminology in this vignette, and it is written in the style of a rushed conversation. I wonder if this is coming from Esperanza’s perspective or someone else’s perspective.

Bettleheim discusses narcissism in his psychological analysis of the variations of Snow White, and it made me realize how much of a role narcissism plays in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Carol Oates. The main character, Connie, is a teenage girl obsessed with her appearance and puts herself in an incredibly dangerous situation with an admirer because of her narcissism and want for attention. This story warns of the “evil consequences of narcissism,” such as in “Little Snow White.” Bettleheim also states that it is the parent and child who both have these narcissistic personalities. I did not consider Connie’s mother narcissistic, but this quote from Bethlehem’s article is interesting and made me look at her in a different light. “It is the narcissistic parent who feels most threatened by his child’s growing up, because that means the parent must be aging” (Bettleheim, 203). Although she never says anything grandiose about herself, it is her mean disposition towards Connie that may come from fear of her own aging, which makes her narcissistic.

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a thrilling and captivating story that can leave the reader with a few different impressions simultaneously. When I read this, I initially thought of it as a coming of age story with a terrifying twist. Ultimately, I look at it as a representation of the defeat of women by men because of gender inequality. I enjoyed reading the details of all the interpretations in the article by Rena Korb. I see how they can all be applied to the story. I did not consider the “inverted fairytale” interpretation with Arnold assuming the role as the devil. It is apparent by the way he psychically knew this information about Connie and her family, and his name being so similar to “archfiend.” I can see how it can also be perceived as an “initiation into an evil, depraved American culture.” However, the writing is strongly gender specific with Connie’s obsession of keeping up with a beauty and behavioral standard society has engrained in her; and the type of predatory evil she faces. I think this story is an initiation into evil for specifically a female. I do side most with the “feminist allegory” interpretation, but all of these themes blend together.

The poem “White Lies” by Natasha Trethewey made me fall into the first and second assumptions Edward Hirsch discusses in his article “How to Read a Poem.” From the title, I expected the poem to be about one subject, lies that were not too grandiose. But it is not solely about lying, and each detail does not correspond to only one thing, like I originally thought. It took me three times to read it to understand it is more so about the experience of a young girl of African and European descent than about small fibs. The use of color in the first stanza of the poem is very powerful. “The lies I could tell, when I was growing up light-bright, near-white, high-yellow, red-boned in a black place, were just white lies.” (Trethewey, lines 1-6) I did not immediately understand the perspective of the narrator and it took me multiple times to read to fully digest the true nature of the poem, and the use of color in the first stanza. These exercises are definitely teaching me to read poetry with a more open mind, without expectations, to completely understand the message the author is conveying.

My way of rephrasing the quote “Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique” is “Read a poem with an open mind to truly interact with it.” Before reading “How To Read a Poem” by Edward Hirsch, I always read poetry trying to find the meaning behind it immediately. I guess it is my impatient nature to want to be able to properly understand the abstraction behind more difficult poems. After reading the essay by Hirsch, I attempted to approach the sonnets in a different, less preconceived manner. The last poem “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” was the most successful for me to read in this nonjudgmental way. I read it twice to myself and twice aloud. While reading it, I asked myself of the qualities of the poem; including what is the rhythm? How is imagery used? One of the first things I noticed was the use of imagery to create a hauntingly lonely atmosphere. For example, “Under my head till morning; but the rain Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh Upon the glass and listen for reply, And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain” (Millay, lines 3-6) Each time reading it, I absorb more of the speaker’s mood and how she feels about the lovers of the past she is referencing. It inspires me to ask, is the narrator just somber in her solitude or does she long for a new love?

The text on the greeting card “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” both discuss love, but are very different. The sonnet is composed of its’ standard fourteen lines with ten syllables per line. The text on the greeting card consists of eleven lines with the lines having either five or seven syllables with no specific order making it a mixed up longer haiku; with the exception of the second to last line with four syllables “as well as my.” This quote displays how the greeting card follows no classic poetic structure, and has no meter. The greeting card has some repetition, asking “Why Do I Love You So Much?” twice. The sonnet begins four lines with “I love thee…” which truly adds to how infatuated the narrator is with the person she is describing. The tone in the sonnet is so much more passionate, while the greeting card is more tender. The sonnet rhymes at times, and the greeting card does not rhyme at all. I really enjoy this part of the sonnet that rhymes and contains imagery that captures the strong feelings of the protagonist: “My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need by sun and candlelight I love thee freely, as men strive for right” (Browning lines 3-7)

The literary work I am focusing on for my research essay is “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel García Márquez. My thesis statement is “Women are typically characterized as more empathetic and nurturing, and men typically as more stoic, such as in ‘The Handsomest Drowned Man.’” I think the type of secondary source that will best support my thesis is an article on gender stereotypes. So far, I have found an article called “Content Analysis and Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Books” on the JSTOR database which seems perfect for my essay.

I was surprised by two things in “Story of An Hour.” The first is Mrs. Mallard whispering “freedom” to herself after sobbing when hearing her husband has passed away. I was taken aback by this unexpected change of emotions. The other section that surprised me is the end when Mr. Mallard winds up being alive. That was completely unexpected! I was intrigued and entertained by the irony in “Story of An Hour” and “The Necklace.” These stories use humor to deal with underlying themes; patriarchy in “Story of An Hour” and class differences in “The Necklace.” I found it clever that Guy de Maupassant decided to make Madame Forestier’s necklace fake, ultimately making a statement of how artificial the wealthy world is. I am puzzled by female authors who contributed to sexist ideas in the various female lifestyle magazines quoted in the article “The Cult of True Womanhood,” like Mrs. A. J. Graves and Fanny Forester. How can they just blindly follow this strict description of what being a woman is? Not only adhere to this submissive role, but to reinforce it. It is so hypocritical to write an article for a publication that will publish another article on how women need no education other than religion.

“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” tells of a family driving from Georgia to Florida. They get into an accident while driving and are found by a trio of men led by the Misfit, an escaped convict mentioned by the grandmother in the beginning of the story. This interaction between the family and the Misfit is not just a murderous event. The Misfit and the grandmother discuss morality, religion and the penal system. This conversation evokes the nature vs. nurture debate- what determines the Misfit’s evilness, genetics or the environment. The Misfit states that a psychiatric doctor at a penitentiary told him he killed his father, despite him remembering his father dying from the flu earlier in time. With this information and the descriptions of the cruel treatment he has endured, the reader cannot help but put blame on the penal system for the Misfit’s violent disposition. This also made me think of how the harshness of an older generation, shown by the grandmother’s selfish stubbornness, can negatively affect the younger generation. It is not just the penal system, but the standards of society set by closed-minded people that are also to blame. Realistically, Jesus is not going to save the Misfit, like the grandmother keeps proclaiming. What would have saved him from this fate is a righteous judicial system and loving support from a caretaker growing up.

The story of Oedipus and his tragic fate was written by Sophocles in Ancient Greek times, but it contains poetic language and themes such as family, death, community, violence/war, and surrender that are relevant to readers today. People are affected by these matters to a certain extent, whether experienced first hand or from a distance. These themes are also used for entertainment in excessively dramatic contemporary shows and movies, such as soap operas. They may not be as intense as the murder, incest, suicide, and eye gouging involved in the story of Oedipus, but still very theatrical. There are also so many emotions that people experience in devastating times that are expressed in “Oedipus the King” including hopelessness, desperation, anger, and distrust. Although shown in an exaggerated state due to the plot, it can still be relatable to be that passionate in a heated moment. “Oedipus the King” is an example of what would happen if people did not control their emotions. These qualities make this story an enduring one that will always be disturbingly fascinating.

“Oedipus the King” begins with King Oedipus discovering how to end the plagues that are currently upon Thebes. Creon comes with news from Apollo telling him they must kill the person who murdered a previous king named Laius. While Oedipus is trying to figure out who this person is, he is visited by Teisias who ultimately confuses Oedipus with his answer. After this interaction, the Chorus is now asking who the murderer is. A part of this section of the story that caught my attention with its vivid imagery is line 557-563: “In the savage forests he lurks and in the caverns like the mountain bull He is sad and lonely, his feet that carry him far from the navel of earth but its prophecies, ever living, flutter around his head.” I really enjoy the references to nature, and the simile comparing the murderer to a bull. The first three lines create a rich, dark imaginative setting. It is a clever way of calling this search for the murderer a hunt. I also like the personification of the earth, giving it a navel like it has a human form. This passage poetically captures the racing thoughts of who the murderer can be, which is a very perplexing subject at the moment to everyone except Teirsias.

  The unnamed protagonist of “Araby” is introduced to us as a young Irish boy who goes to school and plays in the street outside his house with his friends. When he begins to see a girl in the neighborhood, Magnan’s sister, in a different light, we are shown another side of the narrator. His character becomes shy, sensitive, and obsessive. This confused adoration he gains for Magnan’s sister completely preoccupies his thoughts. He is unable to focus in school, and he cries and sings thinking of her. He is also unable to speak to her. When he finally does, after she approaches him about the bazaar she is unable to visit, he promises to go there and buy her something. When he arrives at the bazaar, it is not the exotic sales stalls he is expecting, and he does not find a suitable gift for Magnan’s sister. This raised expectation caused by his romantic feelings that have grown for her is not met and is ultimately the reason for his frustration as he stands in the darkness. You realize how innocent he truly is, and how he is not ready to experience real love yet.

The two characters from “The Lesson” whose responses to the FAO Schwarz visit I find the most interesting to compare are Sylvia and Sugar. They both become aware of racial inequality, but Sylvia is more affected and angry by this realization. Before Miss Moore asks the group what they think of FAO Schwarz, Sylvia is thinking about the $35 toy clown on the train going back uptown. During this inner dialogue, she is questioning why certain people are able to afford these expensive toys while other people are not able to. She asks what kind of work they do, pointing out that other people are given different opportunities than people in her community. When the group returns and Miss Moore asks the children what they think of FAO Schwarz, Sugar replies with insightful opinions, which upsets Sylvia. Sugar is stating ideas that emphasis the thoughts Sylvia was having on the train about equality and how everyone should be able to attain the same opportunities. Sylvia feels betrayed by Sugar answering Miss Moore and siding with her in a sense. I believe Sylvia is not only mad about Sugar speaking up, but she must also be so upset comprehending this unfair truth that exists in this country. On the other hand, Sugar does not seem too negatively affected by it. When they leave, Sugar is ready for the next fun activity while Sylvia must be alone to contemplate the day.

Young Langston in “Salvation” is introduced to us as an observant and curious boy who becomes excited when his Aunt tells him he will hear and see Jesus when he is saved at church, which he takes literally. As the other children go up to the altar during the church revival, he is still waiting for Jesus to appear. He finally surrenders and stands up, being led to the altar by the priest under the guise of seeing Jesus. In the beginning of the story, Langston is skeptical, but hopeful. He is looking forward to having a personal experience with Jesus to feel more connected with the religion he has been raised within. After the church revival and returning home, Langston feels ashamed because he lied. At the end of the story he is not only ashamed, but also sad and confused. He went from thinking he will see Jesus to not believing Jesus at all, losing his faith in religion.

I believe “The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World” is the first story of the course to be assigned to show us a piece of writing that illustrates a specific culture through myth, the basis of story telling. In this case, Latin American culture through a children’s tale. Myths and legendary tales passed down from generation to generation exist in every culture. These stories teach us about peoples’ belief systems and what they hold important, most times ultimately teaching a lesson or knowledge to contemplate afterwards. Mythological stories have become the model narrative for many contemporary books and films. In “The Handsomest Drowned Man,” the women in a village grow an attachment to an anonymous tall, handsome man who washes to shore. They clean him, make clothes for him, and give him an identity, Esteban. From these actions, we can assess that the people in the village live in a small, welcoming community where the afterlife is important. When the men and women are preparing to bury Esteban, they make people in neighboring villages aware of the funeral and assign family members for Esteban including people from the other villages, uniting them all. “The Handsomest Drowned Man,” has the potential to teach children to unite and work together, while the author is able to honor his family and culture by displaying this idea through the style of story his Grandmother would tell. This myth also displays how many places are identified by one single person, who is human but idolized, which gives this story importance as well.