"The Drunkard" by Frank O'Connor

"He had long months of abstinence behind him and an eternity of pleasure before." (pg. 346)

I think that the title refers to both the father and the son, each in their own way. Obviously, the father enjoys drinking too much. It is tearing his family apart. However, the son is the one who gets drunk in the story. Also, I believe the story has to do with becoming like one's parents, which is something many children dread. Alcoholism runs in families, so I believe that the son will become an alcoholic. The mother predicts this when she is yelling as the father. Also, this is encouraged by the mother's praise of the son when he wakes up.

"Popular Mechanics" by Raymond Carter

"She would have it, this baby. She grabbed the baby's other arm. She caught the baby around the wrist and leaned back.
 But he would not let go. He felt the baby slipping out of his hands and he pulled back very hard. 
In this manner, the issue was decided" (page 345 [handout]).


I believe the meaning of this work was to symbolically show how divorce tears a family, and especially a child, apart. The parents must have once loved each other enough to get married and have a child. Now, for whatever reason, they are splitting up. Many children blame themselves when this happens. It tears them up inside. Also, when parents can't agree on time, children must split their time. This can be difficult, as parents may live far away from each other. All in all, I believe this is the author's interpretation of how divorce affects a child.

"You're Ugly, Too" by Lorrie Moore - Question 1

"This was what she'd become: a woman alone at the movies with everything in a Baggie." (pg. 363)

What is the significance of Zoe's many eccentricities-for instance, her keeping all her pocketbook items in Baggies, and her unusual way of interacting with her students? Does her eccentricity make her more of less sympathetic of a character.

Zoe's eccentricities are details to show how she does not fit into society. In a way, she has chosen to be herself, but this also means she is lonely. This all results in her almost pushing Earl off the balcony. At this point, she stops attempting to make friends with him. I don't know if I would say I feel sympathy for her, but I definitely feel pity for her. She's just different, and she doesn't have anywhere that she fits in. She's kind of in a mid-life crisis. She's in a job that she hates, she's single, but her sister is getting married. Nobody pictures his or her life to be this way.

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson - Question 1

"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." (pg. 263)


What is a "lottery"? How does the title lead you to expect something very different from what the story presents?


The primary definition of lottery from dictionary.com is "a gambling game or method of raising money, as for somepublic charitable purpose, in which a large number of tickets are sold and a drawing is held for certain prizes." However, the fourth definition is "any happening or process that is or appears to bedetermined by chance." The cultural connotation of lottery is in line with the first definition. The title creates the illusion that this lottery has a positive result. Besides the title, the first part of the story creates the image of a peaceful day in a happy small town. The only hint that this is a stoning is the children's gathering of stones, yet this detail is disregarded. This makes the ending all the more surprising.

"Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield - Question 7

"But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying." (pg. 186)

 What function does Miss Brill's fur serve in the story?

When Miss Brill puts the fur on, she immediately feels happier. She only puts this fur on for special occasions, especially on the Sundays when she goes to hear the band. She isn't married, and there is no mention of other family or friends. She is probably lonely, and this fur, with its eyes and mouth, bring a sense of companionship, especially since she wears it to go out on Sundays. She actually cares about the fur, and I think it represents that she feels important and wanted.

What is the meaning of the final sentence?

When Miss Brill puts the fur away, she is upset about what the young couple said. This is in contrast with how she acted when she put the fur on. The last sentence represents how she feels really truly alone. She thought that she was important to the people listening to the band, but really, no one cared that she was there.

"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty - Question 6

"'Yes. Swallowed lye. When was it?-January-two, three years ago-?" (pg. 229)

What might have led the student to ask that question?

Phoenix obviously believes that her son is still alive. However, the encounter with the nurse may lead the reader to believe otherwise. For a moment, Phoenix seems to be having an epiphany, but then she returns to her former way of thinking. The event doesn't conclude whether the grandson is dead or alive.

How can the author's remark be seen as an answer?

Welty does not give a definite answer either way; instead, she pushed the question off to the side. I think this means that it doesn't matter whether the son was dead or not. That isn't the important part of the story. What is important is Phoenix's love for her grandson and her dedication to him.

"Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer - Theme

"...he dragged a ladder to the wall, the shining coiled tunnel was just wide enough for his little body too creep in, and with the first fixing of its razor-teeth in his knees and hands and head he screamed and struggled deeper into its tangle." (pg. 236)

The theme of this story is that there are so many dangers lurking in our world, and it is impossible to guard against them, so we can't live in fear. In the story, there are an infinite number of things that threaten the family. The parents and everyone in the neighborhood are so scared, that they build walls and fences around their homes. While this may or may not keep them safe, it does increase the paranoia and destroys the beauty of the neighborhood. The family no longer sees the beautiful lawns and elegant homes, but instead they observe which protections seems to be the most efficient. In the final paragraph, the little boy reads a story of a fearless prince, and he aspires to be like this, so he attempts to battle barbed wire, which his parents installed out of fear. The irony of this plot twist refers to the theme. By living in fear, the family created a new danger.

"Eveline" by James Joyce - Question 2

"She would not cry many tears at leaving the Stores." (pg. 219)

What in Eveline's present circumstances makes it desirable for her to escape her home? Characterize her father and Miss Gavan.

Eveline is a lower class worker. Her father is abusive. Although he has not physically hurt her, he threatens to, and he verbally abusive. Miss Gavan is Eveline's supervisor, and she does not show her any respect. Eveline has no chance of moving up if she stays in the Stores. Frank is an opportunity to make something of her life.

What does the memory of the mother contribute to her decision to leave?

When Eveline thinks of her mother's death, she panics with the need to escape. However, before that memory, she contemplates the promise she made to her mother to keep the family together as long as she could. In the end, this promise helps Eveline make the decision to stay with her father.

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker

"Dee, though. She would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature." (pg. 174)

Although she was extremely obnoxious, Dee was the kind of character that I could fit into my own life. I know plenty of people like her. She's headstrong, selfish, and confidant. She seems to have it all, and she knows it. She's the kind of character that is portrayed in stereotypical teenage dramas as the mean, popular girl. It's her way or the high way. Despite her character flaws, I can almost understand where her actions come from. She has potential to go places, but she grew up in this poor, rural environment. Now that she's experienced freedom and culture, she's going to take as much of it as she can to try to keep from losing it.  

"Hunters in the Snow" by Tobias Wolff - Question 1

"'You shot him,' he [Frank] said to Tub." (pg. 193)

Which of the three principal characters do you find the most sympathetic?

I definitely find Kenny to be the most sympathetic. Yes, he is immature and rude, but he gets shot...by his best friend. After he gets shot, he's the one who knows what to do and who organizes the situation. While he lays bleeding in the backseat, his friends go inside and have some pancakes. Because his friends took a different turn, he's most likely going to die.

The least sympathetic?

To me, Frank is the least sympathetic. Tub pours his soul out and tells Frank that he can't stop eating. So what does Frank do? Shove some pancakes down his throat (while Kenny is literally dying in the truck). Oh, plus he's having an and affair with a fifteen year old (which would be illegal), and he's going to leave his wife for her. What a great guy.

Do the characters' names help us to form our impressions of them?

Frank is honest (frank), Tub is fat (like a tub), and Kenny is...well, I have no clue how Kenny's name has anything to do him.

"Bartleby" by Herman Melville

"I'd prefer not to."

Guess what? I'd prefer not to write this blog. I bet that joke comes up a lot today. Probably because Bartleby is the most annoying character ever. If he were a real person, we would have problems. I'm sure Melville was trying to say something deep about society, Wall Street, or something really deep. However, I was too annoyed with Bartleby to notice. In fact, I was annoyed with all of the characters. They were extremely ridiculous, and I was completely frustrated with them the entire time. If I were the narrator, I would fire them all, start fresh, and hope to find some normal employees.

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker-Question 6

"Maggie smiled; maybe just at the sunglasses. But a real smile, not scared. After we watched the car dust settle I asked Maggie to bring me a dip of snuff. And then the two of us sat there just enjoying it, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed." (pg. 181)

Is Dee wholly unsympathetic?

I would say that Dee is not completely unsympathetic. I feel bad for her in that she doesn't understand how selfish she is. She doesn't appreciate her mother and sister for who they are, and she completely disregards the way that they live. Maggie has obviously not had an easy life, but Dee, instead of being there for her, concentrates only on her life, and she misses out on the love that she could share with her family. For that, I believe she is sympathetic.

Is the mother's victory over her (Dee) altogether positive?

Mama's victory is definitely not completely positive. Although she stood up for one daughter, she may have lost the other one. Hopefully, Dee can reconcile their differences, but that may not necessarily happen. However, I definitely believe Mama did the right thing.

What emotional ambivalence is there in the final scene between Maggie and her mother in the yard?

As Dee drives away, Mama and Maggie watch her, and I think they both know that Dee might not come back, at least for a long time. However, they have each other, and this is enough for them.

"Interpreter of Maladies"

"'Leave me alone,' Mrs. Das said, blowing on her nail and turning her body slightly. 'You're making me mess up.'" (pg. 151)

The characters in this story all annoyed me. The children are immature, but they're children; they have an excuse. Mr. and Mrs. Das were the quintessential uncaring, unfeeling spouses and parents. They were only concerned with their own experiences on the trip. Throughout most of the story, I assumed it was an arranged marriage. Mr. Kapasi was kind of slimy. He didn't really care at all about the family's experience. He was only interested in having an affair with Mrs. Das. I can't say I connected to or cared about any of the characters.

"A Rose for Emily"

"For a long while, we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin. the body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him." (pg. 289)

This story is full of suspense. The narrator tells the story out of chronological order, but in the order that creates the most suspense, culminating in the discovery of Homer Barron's body. At first, Emily just seems strange, but things get creepier and creepier. Emily killed Homer because she was afraid of him leaving her, like her father had left her, so she decides that having his body forever is better that having him for a little while. The thing I'm curious about is why the Negro stayed with her all those years. What could she have done to force him? He would have been able to easily overpower her. He could have turned her in. He obviously knew what she did and that she was crazy.

"Interpreter of Maladies"- Question 4

"When she whipped out the hairbrush, the slip of paper with Mr. Kapasi's address on it fluttered away in the wind. No one but Mr. Kapasi noticed." (pg. 166)

4. Discuss the significance of Mrs. Das's requesting, and then losing, Mr. Kapasi's address. Apart from its function in the plot, how does this suggest a resolution to the story?

When Mrs. Das asks for Mr. Kapasi's address, he is envisioning how she will send him the picture, they will begin a correspondence, and then they will leave their spouses for each other. To him, that address is a sign of hope and promise. It is also the sign of betrayal because through that, they will both cheat on and leave their spouses. However, when she loses the paper, it is a representation of how his hopes of an affair disappear. Mrs. Das doesn't notice that the paper blew away because she was never interested in Mr. Kapasi in that way. This suggests a resolution because Mr. Kapasi knows that this affair will never happen. Also, losing the paper signifies that Mrs. Das will not have an affair, but will instead be a good wife and mother to her children.

"How I Met My Husband"- Situational Irony

"He always tells the children the story of how I went after him by sitting by the mailbox every day..." (pg. 146)

Throughout the story, the reader believes that Edie will end up with Chris. He seems so charming and heroic. Of course, she is immediately infatuated with him. However, his fiancee shows up, and at that point, she should have become skeptical. This just shows her naivete. The mailman is just assumed to be another minor character and not at all important to the plot. This is situational irony because throughout the entire story, the plot seems to be pushing Edie and Chris together. However, in the last chapter, it is revealed that her husband is in fact the mailman, thus creating the surprise ending.

"Death, be not proud"

"Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,"


This poem is about how death is not as powerful or unconquerable as many people claim it to be. In some ways, we can control death. People can kill each other with weapons or poison. People can commit suicide. Also, in the end, death will be conquered by our everlasting life. "One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally, / And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die." I assume that the speaker is alluding to the everlasting life we gain through our belief in Jesus Christ. Again, this is a poem about how death should not be feared. The more poetry we read, the more I notice how common a theme death is, and how many different approaches people take when writing about it or how many views and opinions people have about it.

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"-Dylan Thomas

"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

In this poem, the speaker is urging his father not to give in to death. Even though many "good" and "wise" men have accepted death, the speaker does not want his father to do so. He wants his father to fight to live. This is not like most of the poems we have read so far this year. Most say just the opposite. "Crossing the Bar," for instance, was all about how the speaker was embracing death. Some people can learn to accept death, but many struggle with the idea. I think it is harder to imagine some close to me dying than myself dying., and I think that partly accounts for the two different approaches to death.

"Delight in Disorder"-Robert Herrick-Oxymoron

"A careless shoestring in whose tie
I see a wild civility;"

This poem describes the speaker's love of chaos over perfect order. Instead of a neat world, the speaker prefers things to be in disorder. This disorder doesn't overthrow all order; it simply makes the world a bit more unique. The oxymoron is "wild civility." Even though there is underlying order in the world, there are still details left to chaos. This strongly reminded me of Brave New World, where everything had its place. I agree with the author that I prefer a bit of "wild civility" to the rigidness of a world like that described in Brave New World.

"Lonely Hearts"- Wendy Cope- Structure

"Can someone make my simple wish come true?
Do you live in North London? Is it you?"

The structure of this poem is a villanelle, and the two lines that are repeated throughout the poem are the ones above. These lines represent a universal longing to have a companion to love. The poem describes five ads in the "Personals" sections of a newspaper. Each person is asking for someone different. However, the intent is the same. The people are all desiring someone special in their life. Since these lines are repeated, they are the focus of the poem. The reader can understand this specific feeling, even if they don't connect with the writers of the ad or the writers' desires.

"That time of year"- William Shakespeare- Imagery

"In me thous see'st the the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,"

This poem is a sonnet, with three quatrains and a couplet. In each couplet, there is death imagery. In the first, the image is of fall. Fall is associated with the death of plants and the hibernation of animals. In the second, the speaker employs sunset imagery to represent death. The sunset is the end of a day, while death is the end of a life. The final image is of a fire. The fire dies down until it becomes nothing but ashes. The couplet describes someone close to the speaker, possibly a lover, who is holding on tight because he or she knows the speaker is about to die.

"Hazel Tells LaVerne" by Katharyn Howd Machan

"an how i can be a princess
me a princess"


This poem was an allusion to the fairy tale, The Princess and the Frog. However, in this version, the speaker does not accept the Frog's invitation. Instead, she flushes the Frog down the toilet. To me, that speaks of how often something good and we simply flush it away. We have to be able to distinguish the "Frogs" from "the little green perverts." I thought the way the poem was written was really interesting, but I honestly didn't really understand what the point of it was.

"To His Coy Mistress"-Andrew Marvell

"For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at a lower rate."

This poem is all about time. The speaker wishes he had enough time to court his lover slowly. However, he, like everyone else, only has a limited time. If he could, he would adore her forever. He wants to have more time. He is saying that they should get together now while they are young instead of wasting time with other potential lovers. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised this poem was allowed in the 17th century. It basically just sounds like he's trying to get her in bed.

"Getting Out" by Cleopatra Mathis-Tone

"...Every night
another refusal, the silent work
of the tightening of the heart."

The tone of this passage is somber and regretful. The speaker is experiencing a divorce with her husband. She describes the time before the divorce with words like "exhausted" and "escaped." The anecdotes she relays are full of fights and sad moments. Obviously, the divorce was not easy on either of them. Then, after the divorce, the couple is hesitant to let go. Even if they weren't able to make it work in marriage, they obviously still care about each other. The ex-husband writes letters saying he is happy, but if he feels the same as the speaker, then that is doubtful.

"Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson- Imagery

"Sunset and evening star,
             And one clear call for me!"

When I was first reading this poem, I took it to literally mean the speaker was going on a journey at night. It is, of course, full of imagery of night. Words like "evening," "twilight," and "the dark," left a picture of the setting sun and the coming night. However, once I reached the last stanza, I realized that the entire poem had been a metaphor for death. "The bar" would be the line between life and death. The "Pilot" is God, and the "one clear call" is God's call to the speaker. The speaker is dying, but is not mourning this death. He or she wants a peaceful death with "no sadness of farewell," and views it simply as the next step to take.

"My mistress' eyes" by William Shakespeare- Simile

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;"

Most poems that describe love often resort to describing the lover's physical beauty. At times, this becomes the main theme of the poem. However, this sonnet by Shakespeare is nothing like that. The speaker mentions all the typical comparisons that poets describe their lovers as, but then negates every one. My first impression was that the speaker wasn't praising his love, but actually trying to be offensive. However, once I read the last line, I understood. "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ As any she belied with false compare." The speaker is saying that although she isn't society's version of beauty, he loves her for what she is. He sees the beauty in her face, even though others may not, and he also sees the beauty inside of her.

"Barbie Doll" by

"Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs."

This poem was of personal interest to me. It was a relevant and totally understandable commentary on today's society. I've played with Barbies all my life, and I remember how I idolized them. Every day, girls have that same image put in their face. They see that and think that's what they have to look like. Then, when they grow up, and they don't look like that, they get plastic surgery or wear makeup to change themselves. Girls don't realize that they don't have to look like Barbie dolls.

"Mr. Z" by M. Carl Holman

"Taught early that his mother's skin was the sign of error,"

Question 6 asks what color Mr. Z was. At first glance, I thought he could be any ethnicity (besides Caucasian). However, after rereading the poem, he is an African American. "Cornbread, yams, and collards" are foods traditionally associated with the south, and "jazz and spirituals" are more specifically associated with African Americans. However, since it is only his mother's skin that is the "sign of error," his father was probably Caucasian, and Mr. Z was the child of these two races. The irony in the last line is that Mr. Z is "One of the most distinguished members of his race" yet, that is the last thing he would have wanted. He tried all his life to escape his mother's culture and heritage. He cast aside that part of him to act as if he were completely white.

"APO 96225" by Larry Rottmann- Situational Irony

"And the father wrote right back,
'Please don't write such depressing letters. You're upsetting your mother.''

Question 1 asked whether the poem was dramatic or situational irony. I don't think it is dramatic because that is discrepancy between what the speaker says and what the poem means. I don't think this is the case because the speaker is describing a soldier talking about mundane things, but then when he describes something real about the war, the mother can't take it. I believe that this directly relates to the speaker's message: America would rather ignore the violence of war and pretend it isn't happening than accept it. It is situational irony, a discrepancy between what one expects to happen and what actually happens. The mother repeatedly asks what the war is really like, but when the son tells her, she can not take it. She would rather pretend nothing is wrong. Literally, this is a mother's concern for her child, but the real message is that people would rather fake innocence and know the truth.

"Sorting Laundry" by Elisavietta Ritchie- Metaphor

"Folding clothes,
I think of folding you
into my life."

This poem is a metaphor that compares folding laundry to the speaker's life with her lover. The poem has little anecdotes, such as the towels described in lines 10-15, that create an image of their life together. The reference to the "creatures in the ark" shows that the couple was chosen to be together, like the animals paired together to live through the flood, which is described as the "foam" of the washing machine. The speaker finds "In pockets, surprises;" when she does laundry. In much the same way, the he sees surprises in their relationship; they are always discovering something new about each other or about love. The last three stanzas describe how she would be if her lover left her. She wouldn't be able to find someone else to replace her, as described when she says "a mountain of unsorted wash/ could not fill/ the empty side of the bed." Who knew laundry could be so romantic?

"Much Madness is divinest Sense" by Emily Dickinson- Paradox

"Much Madness is divinest Sense-
To a discerning Eye-
Much Sense-the starkest Madness"

This poems states that those considered mad by society are in fact sane, and those considered sane by society are actually mad. By mad, the speaker is referencing those who are seen as eccentric or who don't follow the rules of society. This poem would be a paradox because it contradicts what is understood. Most people who are labeled insane are seen as nothing more than that. Those with views other than those of society are outcasts in our world. The speaker, however, is pointing out that this should not be the case. The speaker says that those who don't follow shouldn't be kept in "Chains." The "Majority...prevail," but the "mad" people of world are in fact correct in their views.

"February"

"But it's love that does us in."

I thought this line was really interesting. It actually has a bit of truth in it. So many times people do things that don't make any logical sense for love. Often times, it is people doing something for what they only think is love. This can end in disaster, like the tomcats. Sometimes, we should make sacrifices for those we love, but we also have to be logical. We can't let our emotions get in the way of certain decisions. However, we definitely shouldn't start eating our young.

"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"

"Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold  to airy thinness beat."

No matter what, everyone must die. Here, the speaker is about to pass away, and he is telling his friends, family, and lover not to mourn his death. The theme that they will be reunited repeats throughout. He continually mentions the soul, and how their souls will one day be together again. The beginning of the poem could be for anyone who knew him, but the last are definitely just for his love. I thought this part of the poem was especially melancholy and romantic. Even death cannot part them.

"Bright Star"-Apostrophe

"Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou are-"

Here, the speaker is directly addressing the star. He wants to be like the star in that it is undying. At first, this is just for the sake of living forever and being able to watch the world. However, he does not want to be unchanging by himself. The stars, although to us seem to be close together, are thousands of miles away from each other. The speaker does not want to be as alone as they are. He wants to be with his love forever. By addressing the star instead of simply saying his desire, it invokes the image of a plea to be immortal.

"Dream Deferred"-Similes

"Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?"

After someone has given up on a dream, where does it go? This is the question Hughes poses in his poem. Personally, I believe that a dream never disappears. It may be replaced or modified, but even if someone pushes his or her dream off to the side, it still lingers in the mind. Hughes uses similes to create an image of a "dream deferred." All of his comparisons are to something negative, such as the "raisin in the sun" or the "rotten meat." Obviously he views dreams that have been abandoned as a terrible thing. They can sag "like a heavy load" on our minds until we are consumed by the idea of what could have been.

"I taste a liquor never brewed"- Extended Metaphor

"When butterflies-renounce their 'drams'-
I shall but drink the more!"

In this poem, the speaker is comparing the feeling he or she gets when outside to the feeling of being intoxicated. Since this comparison runs throughout the poem, it is an extended metaphor. Although the speaker uses words such as "Inebriate" and "Debauchee," it is clear that he or she is not actually getting drunk. The liquor that is described is "never brewed," so it cannot be a physical, intoxicating drink. Obviously, the speaker is being metaphorical and uses words such as "Air," "Dew," and "endless summer days," to show the audience that it is in fact the beauty of nature that makes him or her feel drunk. In the fourth stanza, the speaker mentions that even the "Saints" and "Seraphs" approve of this kind of "intoxication." This reminds of the feeling I get when I'm overly tired and completely "slap happy." I feel extremely happy to the point that I can't even think rationally, and I think this is the speaker's point: that the natural beauty of the world around us is beyond our ability to rationally comprehend.

"The Convergence of the Twain" by Thomas Hardy

"Over the mirrors meant
to glass the opulent
The sea-worm crawls-grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent."

The thing I like most about this poem was the contrast between the images. There is such a strong picture of the elegance and beauty of the Titanic, but then there is the description of the disgusting sea creatures. In general, I really enjoyed reading this poem. The Titanic has always fascinated me because of the time period and because of how invincible the ship was meant to be. The way the author described the collision of the Titanic and the iceberg as imminent is interesting. They are "twin halves" destined to meet on that day in 1912. This collision is due mainly to the "human vanity." If people had not been so pompous and sure of their infallibility, more precautions would have been taken, and thousands of lives could have been saved.

"The Panther" by Rainer Maria Rilke

"It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world."

This was one of the most visual poems for me. I actually just went to the zoo a few days ago. The tiger (obviously not the same thing as a panther, but still) was pacing back and forth by the bars. People stood and simply ogled it. This isn't a real, natural tiger. This has been raised in captivity or taken from the wild and caged behind bars. It has none of the wild power that makes a tiger a tiger. Rilke creates the same image of a panther: what should be a magnificent creature but has been subdued.

I think this poem is a symbol. The panther represents something oppressed, and the bars represent the oppressing force. The image is hope, but the panther has been in the cage for so long that it is only a fleeting image. The panther has no chance to escape unless some outside force comes to help it.

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden- Rhetorical Question

"What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?"

This poem is about the speaker's father, who did a lot for the speaker. The speaker didn't appreciate his father at the time, but now, he realizes how lucky he was to have a father that cared for him so much. Now, the father may be gone or the speaker may have a family of his own, and he understands how hard it is to love and care for someone. The rhetorical question emphasizes the feeling of remorse that the speaker feels because of how unappreciative he was.

I related most easily with this poem. It is difficult for students to understand what our parents are going through as they work to raise us because we haven't been there. We can't associate the events of their day to day lives to ours. Someday, however, we will, and only then will we really be able to appreciate everything they did for us. I think the speaker asked the rhetorical question to invoke that feeling in the reader.

"London" by William Blake- Tone

"And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe."

The tone of this poem is definitely negative and depressing. Every line describes some terrible aspect of London. It seems very hopeless. The author offers no alternative image to balance out the negative imagery. The repeated crying surrounds the reader in the sound and amplifies the tone.

I was really struck by the image of the "mind-forged manacles." These people are not physically in chains, yet they are still imprisoned in their life. Because of the social and cultural "chains" they can not increase their standard of living. These chains seem to come from the "Palace" and the "Church" the only institutions of the time with any power.

"They Widow's Lament in Springtime" by William Carlos Williams- Imagery

"The plum tree is white today
with masses of flowers."

The strongest image for me was the beauty of spring. Spring is a time traditionally described as joyous, beautiful, and full of life. However, because of the widow's pain, she cannot appreciate the season. This is especially highlighted by the line, "the grief in my heart is stronger than they" ("they" referring to the beauty of the flowers). This is a very powerful image since the renewed life in spring is such a powerful feeling. The author describes spring primarily with colors. The color white, which usually represents purity or innocence, is mentioned twice, which I think is significant. Before the loss of her husband, the woman feels pain that were previously unknown to her. His death destroyed her innocence to how painful life and loss could be. She mentions that her son "saw trees of white flowers" in the distance. She wants to go to these flowers, to this innocence, and forget her pain.

Perrine

"That all interpretations of a poem are equally valid is a critical heresy, but one which perennially makes its reappearance in the classroom." ("The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry," 1)

I've always believed that poetry should be open to interpretation. My first reaction to Perrine's theory was disagreement. To me, all literature, prose and poetry, is for the reader. The writer writes with a specific purpose, whether to entertain or prove a point, but in the end, the meaning of a work should be determined by the reader. However, that being said, I do see his point. This is a class about analyzing literature and getting down to what the author wants the reader to see in the work. From that perspective, Perrine's criteria is very accurate, and will be helpful getting down to the "facts." In a class, it's important to come to some kind of conclusion, but for people who read poetry for enjoyment what matters isn't the "real meaning," but what the poem means to them personally.

The last section of Perrine's essay about symbolism seems to contradict the rest of it. With the first three poems, there is one answer, and that's it. However, with Blake's poem, because it is symbolic, there can be multiple, correct meanings. He still puts parameters on the interpretations, but there is more than one interpretation. In the end though, who says what the writer was thinking about. Blake's poem is interpreted to be symbolic, but maybe it's not supposed to be. For all we know, Blake was just writing about worms and roses in a really romantic way. Again, I see Perrine's point. I understand that this class isn't about feeling, it's about analysis. I just don't like having limits placed on how I can analyze a work.

Brave New World-20

"During the first days, the Savage lived alone and undisturbed." (pg. 246)

This chapter was just weird. I honestly could have done without it, although I'm sure it's very important. I wasn't really all that surprised when John killed himself. He never would have been able to handle living like this, so this was kind of his only out-not that I'm promoting suicide. I just couldn't see him being okay with people gawking at him all the time.

I enjoyed reading Brave New World much more than Never Let Me Go because I felt it was much more engaging. And I liked in the end that there were islands and people like Helmholtz weren't just killed off. I do have to say that the ending of BNW did not have the shock factor of NLMG.

Brave New World-19

"'Art, science-you seem to have paid a fairly high price for your happiness.'" (pg. 232)

I think these last few chapters were Huxley's call to action. Don't sacrifice things like religion, art, and science for a stable "happy" world. Without these types of things, people lose their humanity.

I like how science was noted as one of the things people lost. The whole book is very scientific, but this is a very limited form of science. Scientists can only study and do what their told; there's not room for them to think and ask their own questions. I see this world as very gray. There's no beauty or inspiration or passion because that would be a threat to the stability. There's no room to create, or even think for yourself.

Brave New World-18-Implied Metaphor

"'You cannot pour upper-caste champagne-surrogate into lower-caste bottles.'" (pg. 223)

This metaphor means that a high-class person can't live the life of a low-class one. In this society, I have to agree. People are so well conditioned that anything out of their ordinary isn't okay. Their taught that this is there station in life, and that's all there is. For our culture though, I do think it's possible. For someone who's lost their job, they may not have a choice to take a job that isn't quite up to par with their previous level of work. It's necessary to make sacrifices like that to make a living. The people of this book, though, don't have to worry about losing their job because their economy is stable, and the word sacrifice isn't even in their vocabulary.

Brave New World-17

"Grief and remorse, compassion and duty-all were forgotten now and, as it were, absorbed into an intense over-powering hatred of these less than human monsters." (pg. 212)

John has pretty much lost his mind. I completely agree that these people need to be freed, but randomly running around causing havoc is not the way to go about that. I'm surprised the Deltas didn't kill him for taking their soma. This doesn't seem like the kind of society that tolerates this type of thing, so I don't think these guys are going to be alive for much longer.

Bernard's reaction to the whole thing was, I thought, understandable for the kind of person he is. I have to say, I'm really surprised he didn't just run away. He's shown himself to be very fickle when it comes to friends, so I thought he would deny it when the guards asked if he were friends with them. It may not end well for him, but at least he wasn't a coward.

Brave New World-16

"...as though any one mattered as much as all that!" (pg. 206)

I'm not really sure how I feel about how the people of this society treat death. They look at it just as a fact of life, and this eliminates all the sadness from it. At the same time, these people are all alone. They're conditioned to be okay with that, but still. I obviously can not understand how they feel, but I don't want to die in a hospital room all alone. At least Linda had John.

John's about to go do something crazy, and I don't think it's going to end well. First the thing with Lenina, then his mom dies. Especially in a society focused on stability, John is very unstable right now.

Brave New World-15

"Twenty-two years, eight, months, and four days from that moment, a promising young Alpha-Minus administrator at Mwanza-Mwanza was to die of trypanosomiasis..." (pg. 187)

Obviously, none of my predictions were right. Society doesn't change if they're still using the caste-system twenty-two years from now. I have to say a revolution wasn't really looking that promising anyway, but I still hoped.

My predictions about Lenina and John could not have been farther off. I thought that she might come to love him, but I think she's so well conditioned that love may not even be possible for her. I was not at all expecting that reaction from John. I think civilization is making him lose his mind. I'm not saying he should have been with her, but I was shocked by his violent reaction. Lenina, on the other hand, should have used some common sense to see that he wasn't going for it.

Brave New World-14-Couplet

"'Oh! she doth teach the torches to burn bright.
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night...'" (pg. 178)

This couplet, obviously taken from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, is very important to John. He sees himself as Romeo and Lenina as Juliet, but the problem is that she just sees him as another man she wants to be with. Helmholtz has not only never heard Shakespeare, but he has never heard most of the themes within them. I'm not surprised when he laughs about love. In a way, it's the same thing as when I laugh about their lack of love. They're two very distinct cultures, and they don't really have much in common. I'm surprised that John was that offended about Helmholtz laughing, because at this point, he should recognize that these people don't view love and marriage as he does. Shakespeare is supposed to be banned, but they're all reading it, so if they're caught, they're going to be in a lot of trouble.

Brave New World-13-Internal Conflict

"Bound by strong vows that had never been pronounced, obedient to laws that had long since ceased to run, he sat averted and in silence." (pg. 170)

John's internal conflict is Lenina vs. honor. This round, honor won, but I don't think John will be able to stay away from Lenina for long. John would be considered a gentleman in our time, but I think around the influence of the "Everyone belongs to everyone" mentality, he's going to give in. John would want to be Lenina's only; he might even think about marriage to her. To Lenina, this idea would be ridiculous-at least for now. Maybe because John won't be with her right away, she'll actually develop feelings for him. I mean, she does go home and take soma to cure her disappointment. She obviously wants him to want her. That may just be the hormones talking, but maybe it's deeper than that.

Prediction: Lenina and John will eventually get together, and she'll get pregnant, but she's come to love John, so she doesn't abort the baby. Far-fetched, but it could happen.

Brave New World-12

"He put his hands over his ears and rushed out of the room." (pg. 152)

The Director is kind of a huge coward. And by kind of, I mean completely. I guess I don't really have anything to compare that to, but still. Thirty seconds ago, he was all high and mighty and about to send Bernard to Iceland. The fact that he changed so quickly from pompous leader to scolded school boy was shocking. He probably didn't really know what else to do, but I still would have expected more from him. However, I don't think we've seen the last of him. I would bet he's going to try to do something to get revenge on Bernard.

I also think the whole thing was kind of low of Bernard. He did have reason, because the Director was being a jerk, but springing Linda on him like that was low. Bernard should still have been the bigger person.

Brave New World-11-Onomatopoeia

"Zip, and then zip; zip, and then zip;..." (pg. 143)

Everyone has sat and mindlessly played with a zipper. Even just getting dressed everyday, it's a common sound. Most people have seen the wonder on a child's face as he or she plays with a zipper. When my sister Emma was a baby, she was astonished by the sound, so that made this onomatopoeia really help me imagine the scene as John plays with a zipper for the first time. He's read Shakespeare and seems so mature, but he's still so naive when it comes to technology. He's been going up in a culture that is primal even by today's standards-even by the standards of 500 years ago. Honestly, if he is this in awe of a zipper, it'll be really interesting to see the technology in London. I mean, it's one thing to hear about it from his mom; it'll be something completely different to see it. I really don't think he's going to fit in at all in London, and I don't really think he'll like it. No matter how hard his mom tried, he was not raised like those in London, and I don't think he'll be okay with the way they live.

Brave New World-10-Flashback

"'As far back as I can remember.'" (pg. 123)

This chapter is almost entirely a flashback. It tells us all the important events in John's life so that we can understand what has made him the person he is. I noted in my last blog that John is a mix of both worlds, and these flashbacks reinforce that. I would have to say that not only is he a mix , but he's a mix of the best of both worlds. He's not a savage, but he wasn't conditioned, so he's not a robot either. I'm hoping that this will come into play to create a balanced society (in case you haven't caught on, this book better not end like NLMG, or I will not be happy.)

I think these flashbacks reiterate that no society is perfect, and just because our society is different from someone else's doesn't mean their way is the wrong way. I sound like a hypocrite now because I am personally against the society of the "Other Place." I guess as long as the people are free to live as they want. Again, this futuristic almost lives up to that. I mean, people are brainwashed to think this way, but a child who is raised in a Catholic or Muslim (or any religious) home, is taught to think a certain way from the day their born (and I'm not in any way saying that's wrong). Now that I put it that way, I kind of see this society in a different light. I still have a hard time justifying everything they're doing, but that's because I was raised differently. In the end though, who gets to say what's right and what's wrong?

Brave New World-9

"'I don't like it," said Lenina. 'I don't like it'" (pg. 109)

If Lenina doesn't like the savages, there's a fat chance that any other people from the "Other Place," do either. So, I'm wondering, why are they allowed to live? Is there some purpose they serve? It wouldn't be hard to squish out the people of the Reservation, and the people from the "Other Place" obviously don't have a respect for human life, so what's stopping them from just wiping them out?

Also, I have to say, I was really disappointed by these people. I was hoping they would be more like people from the 1900s, not prehistory. I wanted Lenina to realize that this was the right way to live and the culture she came from was more like slavery, and there would be a really happy ending, but that's definitely not happening anymore. John, however, is a mix of both worlds, and he's the closest to what I consider a normal human being than any other character in the book.

Brave New World-8-Aphorism

"'Never put off till to-morrow the fun you can have today...'" (pg. 93)

Technically, this wouldn't be an aphorism to us.What we would consider to be an aphorism is "Don't put off till tomorrow that which you can do today," which is literally the exact opposite of what Lenina is saying. However, this is an aphorism to her and her society. The author includes these as more evidence of the difference between our cultures. We value pretty much everything that they despise.

Also, Lenina is spitting out these aphorism like word vomit, and I'm starting to get annoyed. She was literally brainwashed to think this way, so I kind of understand that she subconsciously does it. At the same time, though, I want to slap her and say, "Think of yourself," although I do understand that she pretty much doesn't have that option.

Brave New World-7

"'Fine to think we can go on being socially useful even after we're dead.'" (pg. 73)

Between Never Let Me Go and Brave New World, I'd have to say I'm enjoying reading BNW much more, although the ending of NLMG was mind blowing, so I won't make my final decision until then.

The biggest similarity between the two books (and what my quote relates to) is that the characters are seen not as people, but as objects to be used for the "greater good." In NLMG, it was for organs, and this is for production. There whole life is about being beneficial to someone else, and they don't have any real freedom. Then, of course, is the acceptance. Despite the way they're treated and controlled by outside forces, that's just the way life is.

The biggest difference between the two is that in NLMG, people are still produced naturally, while in BNW, the word mother is taboo-it could even be considered a cuss word.

However, in NLMG, the characters got to grow up and live their own (limited) lives. They weren't conditioned to think one way or have some kind of personality. BNW is much more scientific and detailed, and there isn't one absolute main character, like NLMG. I think it't interesting to see the way two others took the idea of cloning in such different directions.

Brave New World-6

"What the two men shared was the knowledge that they were individuals." (pg. 67)

Mostly up until this point, it seemed that this creation of human beings and their conditioning worked well to create a uniform society. Lenina was a bit different (she was with only Henry for four months-who does that?), and so was Bernard, but I just assumed they were main characters, no big deal. However, with the introduction of Helmholtz Watson (what kind of name is that?), I'm starting to think it's more than just coincidence that Lenina and Bernard aren't stereotypical. Maybe this society isn't as uniform as it seems. Maybe its possible that individuals around the world weren't quite created or conditioned perfectly. Bernard, Helmholtz, and Lenina are individuals, who are, well, individual. None of them want their "peculiarities" to show, so I think it's more than possible that there are others who are like this. My prediction is for a rebellion. Or at least, after Never Let Me Go ended with nothing of the sort, that's my hope.

Brave New World-5-Characterization

"'And then he spends most of his time by himself-alone.'" (pg. 45)

A lot of this section is focused on Bernard Marx. Everyone except for Lenina thinks he's strange, and if I were them, so would I. For whatever reason, he isn't like the rest of his caste physically, and that has messed with his mind a lot. He gets mad that the other men are talking about Lenina like "meat," and he doesn't use soma. I would say that he's more like people of our time than of his. I think that so far, he's the most relatable character in the book, but I'm unsure of what Lenina sees in him.

Huxley uses both direct and indirect characterization to describe Bernard. Huxley tells the reader that Bernard is short and unlike his peers. On the other hand, Marx's personality is depicted by how Henry Foster treats him and how Fanny and Lenina talk about him. In this case, the indirect characterization is much more helpful in creating an image of what kind of person Bernard Marx is.

Brave New World-4-Imagery

"Home, home-a few small rooms, stiflingly over-inhabited by a man, by a periodically teeming woman, by a rabble of boys and girls of all ages. No air, no space; an understerilized prison; darkness, disease, and smells." (pg. 37)

Everyone has had those moments where we wish we could just get away from our family. We just want to pull our hair out sometimes when we're around them. This imagery makes us feel what the students are feeling, which is pretty much disgust that people live this way. Honestly, if I had no previous experience with what a family really is, and this is all I'd ever been told, then yes, I would definitely think the way they do. However, this description is mostly inaccurate. Sure, there are times when we feel this way about our families, but the way the Controller explains the family relationship is that experience times infinity. It doesn't include any of the positive aspects. This makes me wonder what details of the past our society has shut away. This is about 500 years in the future, so looking back 500 years to the Middle Ages and the arranged marriages and everything from that time, we consider all of that crazy. We probably consider their way of living and thinking as illogical as the people of Brave New World consider ours.

Brave New World-3-Allusion

"'...Our Ford's first T-Model was put on the market.' (Here the Director made a sign of the T on his stomach and all the students reverently followed suit.)" (pg. 25)

The Director has mentioned Our Ford several times now, and I finally think I may have figured it out. The model T was the the first automobile produced by Henry Ford. So, I'm assuming that every time a character mentions Ford, he or she is alluding to this guy. I mean, yeah, he's obviously extremely important, but these people seem to consider him to be a god (or maybe THE God?). Maybe it was the technology from the automobile, or maybe it's something else entirely. When the Director mentioned the T-Model, everyone made a T on their chest, which I bet is more than coincidentally similar to how Christians make the sign of the cross. Following that line of thinking, I'm gonna guess that A.F. stands for After Ford. If it is Henry Ford (and I really do think it is), then he was born in 1863 and died in 1947, but they could be using any number of dates from between those two years (like the T-Model was produced in 1908), so I'm going to say this is probably set between 2495 and 2579. I obviously still think they're crazy, but if someone from five or six hundred years ago, read about our society, they would think we're crazy too.

(Sidenote: This may very well be the weirdest book I've ever read. Seriously? "...gross viviparous reproduction..." (pg. 24)? French, German, and Polish (and probably most other languages) are dead? My only response is: what the heck happened between now and then?)

Brave New World-2-Diction

"Explained why it had to be stimulated with placentin and thyroxin. Told them of the corpus luteum extract. Showed them the jets through which at every twelfth metre from zero to 2040 it was automatically injected. Spoke of those gragually increasing doses of pituitary administered during the final ninety-six metres of their course..." (pg. 12)

The diction has been very scientific and impersonal up until this point. There's no emotion or feeling. While that may change as the main characters are introduced and the plot takes shape, I think this word choice sets a tone for the rest of the book, and for the society the author has created. People say first impressions are what stick in the mind, and the first thing we read about is a cold, scientific room with "frozen, dead" light (pg. 1). Then all the characters talk about humans very coldly, like they're machines. If they think like this, then there's a good chance the rest of society does too. However, I think the scientific diction is the most important to the story. I obviously know absolutely nothing about cloning, and so I have no clue whether or not Huxley's description of this process is accurate, but the point is that he makes it feel real. He acts like he knows exactly what he's talking about, like he's actually there, and that makes the book almost believable. My feeling about this book isn't "wow, this author is really creative." My reaction is "wow, this society is crazy," and I think that distinction does a lot to get the reader involved in the book.

Brave New World-1

"The principle of mass production at last applied to biology." (pg. 7)

What??? My reaction to this first chapter was disbelief and shock. Obviously there's some (a lot of) confusion mixed in there, but mostly I'm just dumbfounded that people would think this way. Yes, I know they're characters in a book, but still. They're talking about making the entire population made to order. We live in a society where there is quite a bit of emphasis on being oneself and not being afraid to be different, and this is the exact reversal of that. My mind is literally blown by how nonchalantly the Director and Mr. Foster talk about scientifically creating thousands of people. They're talking about this pretty much in the same way I talk about the weather. Mass production of people? Seriously? We're not talking about toasters or lawn chairs. These are living, breathing, thinking humans that may have thousands of identical clones. I'm assuming that this is supposed to be sometime in the future, but the series of events that led to this had to have been extreme. It could have been over a long period of time, but it could have been relatively short; I don't know, and I don't know that it really matters, but I cannot imagine what would have made people change their thinking so radically.

Never Let Me Go-20-Theme

“...and I half-closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I'd ever lost since my childhood had washed up, and I was now standing here in front of it...” (pg. 287)

When I first finished the novel I just sat there. I really did despise the first half of the book, but the last few chapters blew my mind. I just can't fathom that kind of world, even though I know in some ways it's similar to the one we live in. A connection that comes to mind is abortion. People abort their babies for many reasons, and though I can sympathize with many of the emotions of fear or helplessness, that doesn't make it right. Maybe Ishiguro doesn't want us to look at clones necessarily, but the way we treat people in general. I think the theme is more about taking advantage of people than anything. There are so many minorities and poor that society uses carelessly and then throws them away. Maybe our worlds are really similar, and that's just a scary thought.

Never Let Me Go-19

“I saw a new world coming rapidly. More scientific, efficient, yes. More cures for the old sicknesses. Very good. But a harsh, cruel world.” (pg. 272)

This chapter started with a heart breaker. I didn't actually think they would get the deferral, but I would have at least imagined that they would be given a shot. The entire chapter continues that way from one depressing tale to another. I guess I got all the answers, although I can't say I'm happy about any of them. I think that's what makes a book real though. Answers and endings that aren't happy. They don't have to be unhappy necessarily, but it can't be forced. These explanations felt natural. The logic, the chances, the whims of people, it's all so unexplainable, but so true. I mean, as awful as it is, there are people in this world who are racist and sexist and every other type of prejudice, so it's no shock that people would be so cruel to people just because they're clones. I'm definitely not happy about it, and I wish I could say the last chapter will change everything, but I know that can't be. Tommy will have his fourth donation and complete. Kathy will end her time as a donor and everything will be exactly the same for the rest of the world.  

Never Let Me Go-18

“The figure in the wheelchair was frail and contorted, and it was the voice more than anything that helped me recognise her.” (pg. 255)

What's Madame's deal? When the girls did their “experiment,” she seemed thoroughly disgusted by them. Now though, she speaks to Kathy and Tommy almost normally. She welcomed, maybe not particularly warmly, them into her home. She got really passionate about her gallery, and although Tommy has his theory, she didn't confirm what he thought. Hopefully we'll get some answers in the next chapters, but I feel like Miss Emily will be the one to give them, even though Madame was the one in charge.

The first half of the book was pretty dreadful, but I have to say I'm kind of into it now. It's not going to make my list of favorite books, but as far as books that I've had to read for English, this one's pretty good.  

Never Let Me Go-17

“So that feeling came again, even though I tried to keep it out: that we were doing all of this too late; that there'd once been a time for it, but we'd let it go by, and there was something ridiculous, reprehensible even, about the way we were now thinking and planning.” (pg. 241-242)

Kathy and Tommy do finally get together, but its not until after Tommy's third donation. The book mentioned that Tommy would receive a notification for his fourth. How many organs do they have to give? The way the book has been, the way people treat them, I wouldn't be surprised if they just have to keep giving until their bodies give out. I guess I'm just stuck on what I mentioned in my previous blog. It's just all so hopeless. Kathy found Madame, but I can't honestly believe they'll be able to get a deferral. Even if they did, Tommy's given three vital organs, and his body probably won't be able to hold out much longer. Given the depressing nature of the story, I don't foresee a happy ending for either character.

Never Let Me Go-16

“'I was pretty much ready when I became a donor. It felt right. After all, it's what we're supposed to be doing, isn't it?” (pg. 227)

Not that its been any different so far in the book, but the characters' nonchalance about organ donation really hit me in the beginning of this. They're maybe mid-thirties, and they're about to start giving up vital organs, and they're probably going to “complete.” There's no argument, no cries of unfairness, of cruelty. They just take it. I'd think that one of them would stand up and say, “Hey, we may be clones, but we're people too,” but no, there's no one like that.

This was obviously a huge chapter. What Ruth said didn't surprise me, although the fact that she said it did. I said a few blogs ago that I thought Tommy and Kathy went together far better than a Tommy and Ruth did. Ruth's death happened so fast; it reiterates my point above. It wasn't like she fell asleep and didn't wake up. Her last few days were pure agony. Maybe that's the way Ishiguro imagines it, but I really can't believe that these people have suffered for who knows how many generations and no one ever rebelled or tried to outrun the donations.  

Never Let Me Go-15

“I thought about Hailsham closing, and how it was like someone coming along with a pair of shears and snipping the balloon strings just where they entwined above the man's fist. Once that happened, there'd be no real sense in which those balloons belonged with each other any more.” (pg. 213)

It was revealed in this chapter that Hailsham closed down. Kathy reflected on that for a long time, and I guess if I put it into perspective and thought about my own school closing, I would be pretty upset, but I don't really understand exactly how she feels. As much time as we spend at Roncalli with our class, its nothing like the time Kathy and her peers spent at Hailsham. The balloon analogy was really vivid, and that helped me picture it, but its still hard to fathom that feeling of being lost. I think Hailsham closing is going to somehow be important for the rest of the book.

Kathy officially becomes Ruth's carer, and at first things are alright between them, although it is kind of awkward. It's kind of a role reversal, with Kathy in the authoritative seat. Ruth was always the one telling other people what to do, but now she's a donor who doesn't get much say in anything. They're going to visit Tommy, which will be a really interesting encounter after the way everything ended between them.

Never Let Me Go-14

“I behaved towards both Tommy and Ruth as though nothing special had occurred, and they did much the same. But there was always something there now, and it wasn't just between me and them.” (pg. 198)

This last section was a huge turning point for the story. A lot happened in just a few chapters. I guess its been a long time coming though. Ruth is just awful. Maybe she thinks she's doing the right thing, but I think she's terrible. Leading up to these last few fights, she's treated Kathy and Tommy with no respect. Tommy needs to get away from her, and I commend Kathy's decision to do so. Maybe it was a bit rash, but I can't really blame her. Obviously, Kathy and Ruth meet up again in the future and work things out, but for now, the friendship is basically ruined, and I can't say its anyone's fault but Ruth's.

Never Let Me Go-13

“'It's just that, well, I wish I'd found it.' Then he did a small laugh and went on: 'Back then, when you lost it, I used to think about it, in my head, what it would be like, if I found it and brought it to you. What you'd say, your face, all of that.'” (pg. 172-173)

It was really cute how Tommy went out of his way to help Kathy find her tape. I think Tommy is a really good guy, although he can seem a bit dopey at times. I don't really understand why he is with Ruth. They've been together since Hailsham, and maybe its just a relationship of convenience, because I don't see what the connection is between the two of them. Tommy seems to get along with Kathy a lot better, and she's so much nicer than Ruth. He obviously really trusts Kathy, as she is the first person he tells about his theory about the gallery. Ruth finally pulls the theory out of Tommy, but then she mocks him and twists it so it seems Kathy finds him ridiculous. Honestly, I think Ruth is a bit jealous of Kathy's and Tommy's friendship.

Never Let Me Go-12-Foreshadowing

“'What they were saying was that some Hailsham students in the past, in special circumstances, had managed to get a deferral. That this was something you could do if you were a Hailsham student. You could ask for your donations to be put back by three, even four years. It wasn't easy, but just sometimes they'd let you do it. So long as you could convince them. So long as you qualified.'” (pg. 153)

The idea of a deferral immediately intrigued me. Apparently, the applicants had to prove they were truly in love, but nobody knows the specifics. Ruth says she knows what Chrissie is talking about, but I bet she's just making it up. I think the author is foreshadowing that two characters, Ruth and Tommy, are going to try to get a deferral. Whether or not they'll succeed, I have no clue. This idea that only Hailsham students can defer reiterates that Hailsham was different than all the other schools.

Ruth's outburst after the woman was not her possible, was really intriguing. I think she may have a point. Most successful people in life wouldn't want a clone of themselves running around. Chances are that people were in need of money, so they let themselves be cloned, much like college kids are paid to test out medicines or give blood.

Last note for this section is that Ruth is really starting to tick me off. She just keeps being awful to Tommy and Kathy, but they just take it. Hopefully, one of them will step up and stop letting Ruth treat them like that.

Never Let Me Go-11-Motivation

“I could see that Ruth was making a big effort to present not just herself, but all of us, in the right way to Chrissie and Rodney; and here I was, threatening to undermine her and start an embarrassing scene.” (pg. 148)

Throughout the novel, it has been apparent that Ruth wants to be well-liked by her peers. In many ways, she's the girl who will do anything to be “popular.” Even when the girls were younger, Ruth was obsessed with being the center of attention. She is even willing to be rude to Kathy and Tommy to do so. Kathy believes Ruth is doing it for the good of everyone, but if that were so, why would she be so cruel to them and make a point to belittle them in front of all the veterans? No matter what Kathy thinks, I feel that Ruth's main motivation isn't the good of the group, but the good of herself.

The idea of “possibles” are mentioned in this section. A while ago, I thought about how if they were clones, then they had to be cloned from someone. I'm not surprised at all that they had speculated about it, but I personally don't see the interest in finding one's “possible.” It wouldn't change anything about their lives or being forced into organ donation, so I guess I don't really see a point in searching.  

Never Let Me Go-10

"What I'm saying is that we were all of us struggling to adjust to our new life, and I suppose we all did things back then we later regretted." (pg. 131)

Looking back, Kathy is able to sort out why she was so upset with Ruth. At the time, it was obviously a huge problem, and Kathy doesn't really say how the friendship was after that fight. The quote is a universal feeling. Anytime someone goes through a major change, he or she has to cope in some way. The event that comes to mind is the transition from grade school to high school. We were all accustomed to these small schools, and Roncalli is relatively large. A lot of people were like Ruth and had to show off to feel cool. Others were more like Kathy, and they just stuck to people they knew, and kind of branched out, but not really. Again, I'm struck by how average these characters are. They're clones, but in a way, they're just regular people. It's cruel that they're forced to be organ donors for non-clones. I'm hoping this plot somehow takes Kathy away from the prejudice and mistreatment that probably faces clones in the regular world.

Never Let Me Go-9-Simile

"We could see hills in the distance that reminded us of the ones in the distance at Hailsham, but they seemed to us oddly crooked, like when you draw a picture of a friend and it's almost right but not quite, and the face on the sheet gives you the creeps." (pg. 118-119)

Kathy and all the other students are feeling homesick for Hailsham. That's the only home they've ever known, and all of a sudden they're thrown into this whole new environment. I can't relate to that, and I don't even think college kids can because they can call or go home. This simile tries to compare the feeling the kids have to something we would recognize. While I can't cite a specific time when that happened to me, I kind of understand that feeling.

The most significant thing in this chapter is the conversation Kathy and Ruth have. In the beginning of the novel, Kathy mentioned the "differences" she and Ruth had, and while there were small issues at Hailsham, I have a feeling the problems are just beginning for the two. Ruth might be on to something with by noting Kathy doesn't talk to anyone unless they're from Hailsham. I think this is going to play a big part in the future, and that Kathy will be begin to branch out.

Never Let Me Go-8

"Miss Lucy had left Hailsham and wouldn't be returning." (pg. 111)

The characters feel very real at this point. I thought a lot of the description and going on about sex was pretty unnecessary and uncomfortable, but I feel like most people around this age can relate to the feelings that she and her classmates are going through. There aren't any parents involved in these kids lives at all, which is something I'm not familiar with, so I can't relate on that. I guess a lot of the circumstances are very different, like being at a boarding school, but the whole "wanting to be a couple" or "being the odd man out" feelings are something that every teen goes through at one point.

Something big happened in this section; Miss Lucy left soon after her very important conversation with Tommy. From the beginning I noted how everyone placed such importance on creativity, and Miss Lucy's talk with Tommy strengthens that, although I still don't know what the big deal is about artwork and the Gallery. The revelation about them being clones is probably the explanation for Madame's reaction to the girls a few chapters back. I'm not really sure how the scene with her watching Kathy and crying has to do with anything. I think that these things somehow all fit together, though.

Never Let Me Go-7-Parallelism

"None of you will go to America, none of you will be film stars. And none of you will be working in supermarkets as I heard some of you planning the other day." (pg. 81)

The above sentence is an example of parallelism since the author repeats the phrase "none of you." This use of parallelism adds to the weight of what Miss Lucy is telling the kids. This gives the reader an image of how she would say it, with emphasis on the word "none." This image drives home the message for both the reader and the kids.

Finally some answers! The kids are destined for organ donation. That explains the carer and donor question. Though it doesn't come right out and say it, I'm assuming they're clones. The page with the copyright information says that's one of the topics, and I've kind of had that suspicion throughout. The author leaves it up for us to figure out, which is partially really frustrating and partially really intriguing.

Never Let Me Go-6-Flashback

"But what you must understand is that for you, all of you, it's much, much worse to smoke than it ever was for me." (pg. 68)
The entire book has been told in flashbacks, which was fine, but now I'm starting to get frustrated by it. Kathy knows everything. She knows how this turns out, and she knows the answers to all the speculation going on. It's not like most books where we're waiting for the protagonist to figure it out. She needs to just come out and say whatever this big secret is. From the end of this quote to the page break on pg. 69, Kathy's even more cryptic about whatever it is that makes her and the other kids so special. She hints at it, but she doesn't say anything new. There are so many little stories and occurrences, and they don't seem to go together at all. Kathy is just spending a lot of time telling seemingly meaningless stories, and I'm ready for there to be some direction to what she's telling us. I thought the incident with Madame a few chapters ago would kick it off, but nothing major has happened since then. There have been the hints and little teases, but that's it. It's really frustrating, and I'm ready for Kathy to quit dragging the secret out.

Never Let Me Go-5-Rhetorical Questions

"So what if she'd fibbed a little about her pencil case? Didn't we all dream from time to time about one guardian or other bending the rules and doing something special for us? A spontaneous hug, a secret letter, a gift?" (pg. 60)

Ishiguro has used rhetorical questions many times throughout the book so far. These definitely help give the novel a personal touch by bringing the reader into the story to experience what Kathy is experiencing. Kathy was furious at Ruth, but she comes to understand how her friend feels. As Kathy noted in the beginning, she's a good carer because of how understanding she is, and this is just another example of that personality trait.

Another important part of this chapter was the secret guard and the plot to kidnap Miss Geraldine. When I was a kid, I used to play spies with my friends, and we would basically do all the things Ruth, Kathy, and the rest of the group did to try to expose the would-be kidnappers. They just seem like regular girls, but something about Hailsham is just a bit off, and I want to know why these girls were put here. I have a hunch that this plot to kidnap Miss Geraldine might have some truth to it. At first, I just thought it was the girls' imaginations, and maybe Ruth was making up about all "the stuff from before," but I wouldn't be surprised if someone really did plan to kidnap her.

Never Let Me Go-4-Stream of Consciousness

"I won't be a carer any more come the end of the year, and though I've got a lot out of it, I have to admit I'll welcome the chance to rest-to stop and think and remember." (pg. 37)

The plot hasn't really been following any specific timeline. It goes in whatever order Kathy decides, and to me, it seems very random. This style of stream of consciousness makes the work that much more mysterious, because the flow is unpredictable, and I have no clue what to expect next. In this chapter, Kathy reflects on the token controversy, which is between the story of the pond and the story of Madame. Then there was the random story of when Miss Emily saw Kathy on the path. Maybe that was just part of characterizing Miss Emily, but the actual story could be very relevant. Somehow, it all has to fit together, but that will come later.

Another really interesting thing I noticed is that no one has last names. The guardians are all Miss something, Madame doesn't even have a first name, and the children have one initial for their last name. To me, it almost seems as if they're being labeled simply as a way to tell them apart.

Never Let Me Go-3-Characterization

"...you realise that you really are different to them; that there are people out there, like Madame, who don't hate you or wish you any harm, but who nevertheless shudder at the very thought of you-of how you were brought into this world and why..." (pg. 36)

Though Miss Lucy is mentioned in Chapter 2, she is not fully introduced until Chapter 3. She is directly described on page 26 as being very athletically, and then she is indirectly characterized as being kind and caring in the way she talks to Tommy. Ishiguro spends a lot of time describing the conversation between Miss Lucy and Tommy. Miss Lucy hints at something about Donations to Tommy, and going along with my earlier prediction, I believe she is talking about organ donations. I have a feeling she will very influential in coming chapters.

Madame is also introduced and characterized in this chapter. Kathy comes out and says that Madame never talks to them, but it is not until later in the chapter, when the girls run their experiment that the full extent of Madame's separation becomes apparent.  The quote above is from after said experiment, and I think the story is just starting to pick up, and though I'm sure there will be many more questions, I'm hoping there might be some answers too.

Never Let Me Go-2-Point of View

"What she said was that if I didn't want to be creative, if I really didn't feel like it, that was perfectly all right. Nothing wrong with it, she said." (pg. 23)

The story is being told from Kathy's point of view.  She is speculating and reflecting on things that happened in the past. It seems that the whole story will be told from this perspective. While we get Kathy's take on things, we don't get to see how the other characters are affected by the events at Hailsham.

One thing that struck me in this chapter was how important creativity is to everyone. The guardians and the students seem to place it very high, if not highest, in a list of desirable attributes. We know that not everyone is creative, but in the story, the kids and guardians shun Tommy mostly just because he isn't creative. If creativity wasn't so important, it wouldn't have been such a big deal that Miss Lucy told Tommy he didn't have to be creative. What's the big deal if a kid isn't creative? Why does that matter so much?

Never Let Me Go-1

"What he wanted was not just to hear about Hailsham, but to remember Hailsham, just like it had been his own childhood." (pg. 5)

Finishing Chapter 1, I was left with a lot of questions. Most importantly, though, was why Hailsham is or was so special. Kathy H.'s patient to whom the quote refers obviously felt Hailsham was far superior to his own childhood, so my prediction is that pleasantries of Hailsham and treatment of its students was not the norm. That leads to the questions, what is the norm and why were some children more privileged than others? It could be money, but there have been no mention of parents or homes away from Hailsham.

The other major question I have is what are carers and donors? There isn't much to go on about that so far, as it is only mentioned in the first few pages, but it seems that it will be an important part of the story. The page with the copyright information notes that one of the topics in the book is organ donation, so donors could be organ donors, but the previously mentioned patient has been through three donations. He probably isn't going to make it, so why would he put himself through that? I have a feeling, though, that things are going to get much more confusing before there's any explanation.