O Conner: Being a Southern Catholic

O Conner’s southern background and Catholic upbringing are very evident in her works. In “A good man is hard to find” the family’s trip through the south is evidence of this. They insinuate that the southern states are not good enough. They make references to the current attitude toward African Americans. Both of these I believe show, to some degree, O Conner’s southern heritage being portrayed. I believe, in writing this story, she is contrasting the old regal, way of the south, with the new modern attitudes that have developed. The south, to her was a place of tradition and homely respect. By staging this work in the south, she is making a statement about her beloved homeland, that things were once better.

In addition to this, her catholic background also plays a significant role in the story. Throughout the grandmother’s conversation with the Misfit, they bring up the subject of Jesus. The misfit makes a very compelling argument that, if Jesus did what he said he did, then one should follow Him, but if not, then live in total meanness. He also wishes he could have been there to know if Christ did raise people from the dead, so he wouldn’t be the way he is now. This provides deep insight into O Conner’s beliefs. Being a catholic in the heavily protestant south must of shaped her religious life significantly. This is clearly seen in the dialogue between the grandmother and the Misfit.

Peer Review

i thought peer review in class was interesting. It's been a long time since i have done peer review, probably since high school. It can sometimes be a intimidating thing to hand someone your paper and be at the mercy of their criticism. However, doing this very thing is often one of the most beneficial ways to improve your writing. The comments on my paper helped me restructure my paper better and see my paper from a different perspective. Many times when i'm writing, i'll write in one sitting and never look back at it with fresh eyes. Doing this, in addition to peer review will greatly improve one's writing i think. What is hard is critiquing someone else's work. You have to be objective and willing to actually have some constructive criticism, rather than simply placate someone so you don't have to be negative. It was more challenging to me to critique someone else's work, than to accept criticism of my own. But all in all i thought the experience was beneficial to the class.

"Williams' American Dream"

All of us have a concept of the American Dream. It’s been glamorized in movies and TV shows for decades. We’ve heard politicians talk about it and we’ve heard about people achieving it. This dream, of going from rags to riches though hard work and coming to this nation with only a few pennies in one’s pocket has been talked about in literature since this country was founded almost. It is one of the most common tropes in literature. Tennessee Williams delves deep into our concept of the American Dream in his plays “Streetcar Named Desire” and “The Glass Menagerie” to form his own thoughts about what that really means.

“The Glass Menagerie” is in essence to me, a story about class and uniqueness. The Wingfields represent the nature of what it means to be an American Family to Williams. Amanda looks back and longs for the old days as an esteemed southern Belle, while striving to achieve some kind of life, through marital union, for her daughter Laura. Tom is the dutifully brother and son forced into being responsible for his family. This represents the American family, struggling along attempting to make it in the world. Then comes Jim O’ Conner, Tom’s fellow warehouse worker and proposed suitor to Laura. The situation that unfolds with Jim is used to illustrate the futility of hope, perhaps in Williams’ mind. The whole family is revolving around the prospect of Jim marrying Laura, when this hope is crushed at the revelation of his engagement. I think this is a window into Williams’ view of the American Dream. Perhaps the Dream is the obtaining of what we associate as the ideal American life.

In “Streetcar Named Desire” Williams continues to describe the American Dream in the comparison between ideal America, and the realistic industry that has developed. Blanche’s character is from a dying era, and has lost all her possessions, while Stanley survives on the sweat of his work in industry. To me, Williams is pointing out that the American Dream is not as magical as we believe it to be. It involves hard work, suffering, and toil. The conclusion of the story is interesting in the regard, when Stanley commits Blanche. The comparison between the two embodies Williams comparison between the magical America, and the real one. One involves heady ideas and inheritances, while the other is a gruesome struggle for survival in a harsh environment. I believe Williams is showing us two extreme views of what pursuing the American Dream looks like.

Streetcar Named Desire

I saw streetcar on Thursday night at the Hattiloo Theater. The theater was nice, it was my first time there. As the play got started, i enjoyed the cultural slant of the play, especially involving the acting. The story of the play was held to fairly well; it did get slow at points though, the play was rather long. I was glad there was an intermission. I liked Stanley's character a good deal, but Blanche tended to annoy me at points. Overall, i liked the play because it put a different slant to Williams' play i think; while the plot was maintained, the way the play was done, characters, acting and environment made it somewhat of a new animal to me. I enjoyed seeing the play visualize Stanley's violent tendencies and Blanche's very eccentric behavior. The play was pretty good, if long, but i'm not sure it was worth 16 bucks. Such is college, i suppose.

Poetry and Music

The world of music and writing go hand in hand i've found. Poetry, for instance, is a lot like music. When i read lines from Frost or Hemingway, or anybody, i see something that looks lyrical. When i write a song, the words tell a story, they enforce an idea. With music, unlike poetry, the music itself is another tool to form that idea. This is why i love music, because it allows me to express ideas not only on an intellectual level, but on a deeper, emotional level. Some of the most moving music i enjoy has no lyric. The song itself speaks it's own language, deep and penetrating. I've always been drawn to music, and as of late i've started to see the similarities between different art forms, such as poetry.

writing and art

Writing and Art

Writing is not often associated with art in a general sense. Writing deals with words, art with images. But words and images are in my mind almost the same. A word is an image, an idea. An image works the same way. They both express ideas in the same way. When a book is written, it centers on an idea. In the same way a piece of art communicates an idea as well. While the medium of communication may vary, the goal is the same. I’m a musician, so I believe music also falls in close association with art and writing. In essence, music takes the words and thought of writing, and combines it will the expression and abstractness of art. But all of it is united in it’s goal, of communicating an idea.