Quiet Listenner

Though socially impaired, it seems that Billy picks up on nearly everything around him.  He seems to take the lessons that he has learned from his alien friends and applied what he knows to his life on earth.  He cannot express anything at all. However, when one does not think he is listening, it seems that he is.  "I was there"(Vonnegut, 192).  This quote for Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five comes after Billy is assumed delusional and hysterical.  It is believed by his roommate and others that he is totally insane and not listening to any conversation.  However, it seems that instead, he listens to everything that others say, it is just hard for him to express that.  Additionally, he is very good with remembering colors and different situations.  On multiple occasions, he characterizes that Russians based on their facial structure that no one else recognizes.  He also remembers the orange and black colors of the train cars at his daughters wedding.  Though he cannot communicate effectively, he is very skilled at remembering and interpreting the meaning of things. 

Relationships

It seems that Billy has little or no relationship with any person in his family what so ever.  His son, a Green Barrett, is a person that Billy himself claims he knows nothing of.  Billy even mentions that he does not care either.  His daughter is a person that seems to be the only one who is left to give two cares about Billy.  She constantly claims his insanity, yet every time that she says this, it seems Billy is not aware.  Additionally, Billy has what seems like a fruitless and pointless relationship with his wife.  It seems that she adores Billy; however, he seems to not care at all for him. Even at her death, it seems he did not care.  Going back to the pain he suffered in the war, Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse Five is trying to relate everything in the novel about how bad Billy is with relating to people in general.  ""He's simply echoing things we say""(Vonnegut, 192).

Billy is insane. It's official. His mental institution stay, lack of emotion, and untalkativeness shows his insanity.  Billy admitted himself into an institute because of his instability. Additionally, he talks I'm his sleep according to his room partner in the hospital after the crash. The roommate continually states his insanity because of his constant blabbering. His wife Lily agrees solely because she wants to please her husband. His quietness is also a sign of his insanity. His quietness goes hand in hand with his lack of emotion. He continual shows no emotion to his wife and other Individual. Even at the death of his wife, he hardly reacted. " Even though her father was broken and her mother was dead"(Vonnegut, 188). I am certain that Billy, from his war experiences does not feel or think like any other human.

Time

Kurt Vonnegut's use of time distortion confuses the reader to to say the least. He continually emphasizes the later experiences that he has In his life by flash forwards. However, the main story is obviously the war. He continually mentions the war and when he revers back, he's in Dresden. Vonnegut himself is a war antagonist. Multiple times he uses a character, Billy, to identify himself in pivotal points to show is anti war views. Without a doubt, Billy is insane. However, his flash forwards are used by Vonnegut as a technique to show what after war experiences do. It shows that post war experiences destroy people. "...traveled in time to a may afternoon"(Vonnegut, 193).

War Camp

It really does not seem that bad at all from the British perspective when speaking about war camps.  " A German Major came in now.  He considered the Englishmen as close friends"(Vonnegut, 128).  His experience with the Englishmen almost seems to surreal.  I am curious to see as to whether or not this whole tale is just another fallacy.  Additionally, Kurt Vonnegut in "Slaughterhouse Five" portrays the Russians in a very negative light.  Though he never mentions the executions and deaths of british soldiers, he does not hold back when mentioning the deaths of the Russians.  The Russians seemed to have the very hard road.  As Billy walked into the camp, the first individual he saw was a Russian man starving and just looking at him.  Also, when he got caught in the barbed wire, a mysterious Russian appeared and helped him.  

Fast Forward.---------------->

To begin, I believe that every fast forward the Billy has is simply a figment of his delusional mind.  The proof that he had been admitted into a mental hospital further proves my point.  In Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five",  Billy has flash forwards that seemingly allow him to see the future.  However, I do not believe that these imagines simply come together randomly. It seems that nearly every time that a negative or poor situation is happening, he flashes forward into a happier or distant image.  " He groped for the light, realized as he felt the rough walls that he had traveled back to 1944, to the prison hospital again"(Vonnegut, 123).  Prior to this question, Billy's wife had been asking him about his experiences with the war.  Obviously, he did not enjoy talking about it.  All the symptoms of what he is going through seems to be half insanity and half PTSD. He is constantly having flashbacks of the time when death was so close.  He sometimes acts irrationally and unexplainably.  Instead of being a traveler, I believe that Billy is just a poor man who is suffering from a disease that makes him believe ridiculous things. 

So It Goes.

Death is evidently a fairly significant aspect in Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five".  Additionally, with every mention of death, there comes along the quote "so it goes" at the end of that paragraph.  From early on, the quote "so it goes" represented the transient nature that the alien creatures that abducted Billy believed in.  Now, as the war progresses and more men are dying around Billy, the phrase has come to mean more to Billy.  Billy has come to view the lives of men around him as simple moments of existence and their current "being alive" is only relative to the current moment.  In a different period of time, that person is still alive and well.  Simply put, death has become very meaningless to Billy due to the delusions that the aliens have put into his head. "Billy was the only one to have a coat from a dead civilian. So it goes"(Vonnegut, 82).  This quote further proves that he feels little attachment to the tenderness of life.  I can imagine him reacting to the news of someones death and simply shrugging his shoulders.  Billy, to begin with, was a very disturbed man in need of help.  WIth the far in full gear, all he need now is further reasoning behind his insanity. 

Orange and Black

The first pattern that initially made itself very evident at the beginning of section two was the mention of the orange and black color scheme. The chapter starts out at Billy's daughters wedding scene.  "The stripes were orange and black"(Vonegut, 72).  In an previous chapter, the author makes a mention of the orange and black stripes that lined the rail cars transporting the prisoners.  This story makes little sense so far; however, I am going to take a leap of faith and say that the similarities between the colors represents something.  To Billy, those orange and black stripes may represent the servitude and captivity that he had to endure.  He states that the ware affected him, in this way, I believe that the orange and black stripes on the tent may represent the servitude and captivity that marriage may bring.  Billy in his twisted "flash-forwards", has presented the colors that he saw in the war to events that he imagines.  That flash forwards that he experiences are all just delusions in a very sick person's head.  

Acquainted with the Night

Though a morbid subject, I actually enjoyed Robert Frost's Acquainted with the Night.   After going over poetry for multiple weeks, the first thing that I noticed was that this was a sonnet.  I also noticed that the first and third line of every stanza besides that last one had a rhyming pattern to it.  

Referring to question one, I believer that the purpose of the walking at night is to see if anyone will come after him.  "But not to call me back or say good-by"(Frost 976).  This significance of this quote is that it states the purpose of the late night walks that this speaker takes.  For most, the night represents a sense of hostile solitude.  Humans naturally relate the world of the unknown as potentially hostile.  The night allows the purpose to be exemplified because walking around alone at night never seems like the best idea and the walker obviously knows that.  The night, for the speaker, really does isolate him for the society that he lives in.  When he does come into contact with another person, it states that he simply keeps his head down and keeps moving.  

The Dirty Laundry

After reading Elisavietta Ritchie's Sorting Laundry, I realized the symbolic meaning that the laundry played in the couple's lives. The laundry that the clearly female speaker is folding is her way of relating their lives to each other. The sorting of the laundry means that the couple is clearing doing very well. As we see in the third stanza, it is first clear the Ritchie is using the laundry as a metaphor for certain aspects of their relationships. "pillowcases, despite so many washings, seams still holding our dreams"(Ritchie, 841).  Initially, I passed over the "seams" in this poem as a the normal "seems".  However, doing so canceled out some of the deep meaning behind the previously stated.  The 'seams' that the speaker mentions is used as something to compare the strength of the relationship to.  By those seams still holding strong and that they are both still carrying dreams together, the readers are able to see that the relationship that the speaker obviously cares so much about is doing well. 

I taste a liquor never brewed

The first indication that this drunkenness was not correlated to the typical alcohol that normal people think of occurred on the 2nd line. "From Tankards scooped in Pearl--"(Dickinson).  Then,  immediately following the first stanza, stanza two confirms my previous thoughts.  The speaker is literally drunk on air, dew, life, nature, summer.  They are living it up until they cannot any longer.  The speaker states that even after butterflies turn away from their sweet nectar, they will still be getting drunk on the sweet nature.  
The figurative meaning behind the inns of Molten Blue is one that takes some outside understanding to comprehend.  The most basic explanation that I could derive would be that the blue represented the sky.  Inns are places that people stat and pass through.  The speaker is saying that the blue melded together sky is something that all people pass through.  

Convergence of the Twain

Upon reading Thomas Hardy's Convergence of the Twain, I could not stop correlating every action or description in this poem to the movie Titanic.   The reasoning behind this has to do with the immense imagery contained in the poem.  The first three to four stanzas deal solely with visual descriptions of things that enable us to put pictures to the words we read.   As the poem progressed, I noticed that he was using a continuing and evolving metaphor.  The first evident example of the metaphor comes in line 9.  "The sea-worm crawls--grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent"(Hardy).  This quote puts a negative connotation to the presumed and stereotyped view that the extravagant Titanic had.  Hardy, by describing the ship in such light, is characterizing the ship and placing a name upon it based on the nature of those that the ship carries.  By nature, the ship is a floating piece of human vanity.  What surprises me more is that this surprisingly harsh and realistic view of the Titanic was published a very short amount of time following the sinking.

My Mistress' Eyes

Now, I am not one to get into the lovy dovy stuff that poetry often entails; however, this poem, from my interpretation deals with some of that.  Shakespeare in My Mistress' Eyes uses examples of fabulous attribute that women in poetry usually have. " And in some perfumes is there more delight"(885, Shakespeare). He uses other examples of extravagant things and states that his mistress does not have these attributes or other things like that are superior to those of his mistress. However, near the end, he states that he loves his mistress because she does not have those things as they are described.  She has her own lip color, her own breath smell, her own breast color, her own voice that are all unique to her. This is what Shakespeare makes clear as to what he loves in his women.  Essentially, he is saying in a modern translation that he loves her just the way she is and that he would not ever change a thing. 

Barbie Doll

The poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy is one that is full of irony.  The title itself is ironic at the end of the poem.  Barbie: the classic image of what every perfect girl should like like.  However, in reality, Barbie wouldn't even be able to stand due to some feature.   This comparison to Barbie shows how this perfectly fine girl was pushed to the brink due to societies messed up rating system.  The girl, a person with healthy differences in her appearance, was always being compared to an inanimate doll that people strived to be like.  Albert Einstein once said, "But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”  This quote could easily be applied here.  

Referring to question 3, the answer of it could be take in two ways.  One way is that these description assisted her fate by making her look more like a male.  In this, she may have been criticized more. Additionally, these "strong arms and back"(835, Piercy) may have made the terrible procedure that she did to herself easier. 

Jury of Her Peers

Referring to question one, and the title A Jury of Her Peers, it appears that the age, date, and society that this article takes place reveals a level of gender discrimination.  The title itself is ironic due to the fact that when this article was written, a man had the right to have a jury based on his peers.  Women are largely regarded as inferior in this story. "...women are used to worrying over trifles"(412, Glaspell).  This quote is followed by the remark, "...what would we do without the ladies"(412, Glaspell)? I got the feeling of sarcasm that would coincide with the rest of the story.  
As the story progresses and we the readers see the clues that the women are collecting, I get the feeling and image of the classic, sneaky, seemingly submissive wife.  These are the women who men assume are futile and dependent on them, but instead they are outsmarting the males. These women are obviously not submissive and stupid as their society would have us the readers believe.  Rather, the are intellectual individuals who aim and eventually succeed in finding out the motives behind the murder.  Mrs. Wright was an unhappy individual who saw no escape.  

Hunters in the Snow

Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff was extremely interesting.  Frank: a hippie.  Tub: a lier who is obsessed with food. Kenny: a sly individual who enjoys keeping secrets and causing conflicts between people.  Referring to question one, sympathy expands and evolves as the story moves on.  Initially, we feel sympathy for Tub. He's mocked and bludgeoned for his supposed gland problem.  We also have an initial hate for Kenny that accompanies the sympathy we feel for Tub.  We feel sympathy for Tub until we shoots Kenny and admits that he has no gland problem at all.  Kenny, the one shot, invokes sympathy through cries and pleas for help as illustrated in this quote,"It was a joke. Oh!(193, Wolff). We see that Kenny was simply being a juvenile, immature person who inadvertently makes Tub shoot him.  Overall, I feel sorry for Kenny as well as Tub in the end.  Kenny is stuck in the truck at the mercy of two people who obviously do not like him too much.  

Othello 4

Act five of Shakespeare's Othello went by extremely fast.  This act was truly crazy due to the revelations, the action, and the heartbreak.  As was predicted, Desdemona perished at the hands of Othello.  Also, as expected, Othello later has a moment of clarity where he realized how truly toast he is and how much of a mistake he has made.  "O Desdemona! Desdemona! Dead!"(V, ii, 280, Shakespeare). This quote shows a moment of "Oh my gosh, what have I done?" Othello realizes how truly he has messed up and how much he has thrown away.  Iago, the sneaky, evil devil that he is, refuses to say anything after the results of his actions are shown to him.  Ironically, Othello dies while the villain lives to be tortured another day.  Though not exactly ironic, the situation is probably for the best.  Iago now is going to be tortured severely for the crimes he has committed.  Othello then committed suicide due to his rather crappy predicament.  With his reputation and wife gone, Othello really has nothing more to live for.  

Othello 3

Roderigo seems to kind of be the classic red shirt Star Trek character.  He is the guy you always send in and never expect to come back out.  Particularly in the first scene of Act 5 for Othello, we see how really useful Roderigo is.  We see that Iago initially wanted Roderigo to kill Cassio.  However, knowing that Cassio is in the military, the likelihood of that was fairly slim.  As Roderigo was being stabbed, Iago came up behind Cassio and stabbed him.  It was dark and he quickly ran away to avoid being discovered.  Further example of Roderigo's usefulness is when Iago actually stabs him. "Oh, murderous slave, Oh, villian!"(V, i, 62, Shakespear).  This quote shows that Iago is showing his allegiance to Cassio and Othello by stabbing and eventually killing the man you supposedly hurt Cassio.  He used Roderigo to further win over the gratitude of Othello.  

Othello 2

As with any quality play, foreshadowing will likely be clear in the plot.  This being the case, Shakespeare decided to use foreshadowing in Othello through the characters Desdemona and Bianca.  The most obvious example of foreshadowing came from the song the Desdemona sang while her and Bianca were in her chambers.  Though this song does not exactly foreshadow a death, it doesadow foreshadow negative things that may soon occur.  "I called my love false love..."(IV, iii, 53, Shakespeare).  This quote shows the Desdemona may be believing that her first love, Othello, may have been an actual false love.  Additionally, her placing her wedding sheets on my be sign that she is ready to die.  Earlier, she implies that she wished to end this marriage on the seem sheets that it started on.  This could be foreshadowing for a possible death later on.  

Othello 1

Iago had begun to take some new techniques and methods under his belt.  First, he is actually straight forward this time.  Every other lie that he has ever fed to Othello was one that was implied but no factually stated.  Shakespeare makes Iago seem like a suspicious little creature in the beginning of Othello; however, as the play progresses, it seems as though Iago has become much more confident in his system of lying.  "With her, on her, what you will"(IV, i, 45, Shakespeare).  This quote is an example of the upfront and outrageous statements that Iago has started to use.  This method of straightforwardness amplifies Othello's certainty that Desdemona is surely doing him wrong.  
Additonally, he begins a new technique for manipulation by allowing others to say what he would say. Hearing Cassio describe his feelings about a women that he has obviously has interesting situations with leads to Othello being very upset.  He is upset, however, because he believes that the women that Cassio is talking about is Desdemona.  Cassio was in fact talking about Bianca and Iago told Othello that he will be talking to Cassio about Desdemona; therefore, Othello only assumed that the talk was about Desdemona.

Othello 4

Though racist, people in Shakespeare's Othello do treat the victims of their racism differently compared to today's racists. Othello, a black male who was previously a slave, is a well respected general.  Though some are racist to them, I do not believe that all of it is maliciously racist, it is just a welcomed part of their society.  "Your son-in-law is far more fair than black"(Shakespeare, I, iii, 1379).  This quote, though sounding malicious, may indeed just have been their well accustomed custom.  Though fairly odd to modern people, it was probably okay then because as the reader sees, there are not physical restraints to what black individuals may do.  Similarly, women, though treated with some amount of sexism, are treated with some respect, too.  After Cassio's fight, Desdemona was woken up.  Othello, seeing that his wife was awake, slapped Cassio for doing that.  This particular action showed that people of the day still treated their women with some respect contrary to what Iago tries to portray to the readers.

Othello 3

Racism, Sexism, and any other "ism" that can be described is prevalent in and towards many characters throughout the play.  Racism specifically takes a role in many conversations and comments.  Othello, being of Moroccan dissent, is on the tail end of some rather racist remarks.  "...Or else the Devil will make grandsire of you"(Shakespeare, 1, i, 1364).  In the footmarks, the Devil is portrayed as a black individual.  This representation may give a glimpse as to the feelings that may surround Othello and other black or colored people of the time.  In Othello, Shakespeare gives the reader a glimpse as to how different races were viewed.  

Similarly, sexism also plays a major role in the plot.  Iago, a manipulative little weasel, is severely sexist, especially towards his wife.  He literally has no good praise that could be given to any woman.  This given portrayal may allow the reader to see why Iago is so intent on persuading Othello that is wife is cheating.    

Othello 2

Irony, specifically with Iago and Othello have also played important roles so far in Shakespeare's Othello.  The master of manipulation, Iago, has showed to be good at making people believe in what he wants them to believe.  "If she be black, and hereto have a wit, She'll find a white that shall her blackness fit"(Shakespeare, II,i, 1386).  Essentially, Iago, the master of manipulation himself, is claiming that women, all women, can manipulate their way out of any situation.  His own manipulation is also rather effective.   Additionally, I believe that conversation between Iago and Desdemona that this quote was found in delivers a message of foreshadowing.  As we see act three progress, we continue to see Iago manipulate and persuade Othello through the guise of a honest and trustworthy man.  Iago is able to sneak his manipulative techniques through the classic, "I'm only trying to help" act.  Iago claims that he never wants to speak his true thoughts because he fears that they may harm the receiver. However, by doing that, he is essentially egging the receiver on to keep asking for the information.  From a third person view, this guy is an obvious lunatic and no one even sees it!

Othelllo 1

Trust seems to be a real problem for many of the people in Shakespeare's Othello.  As I continue to read through act three, even Othello is experiencing multiple situations involving trust.  First, his Lieutenant Cassio is involved in a reputation ruining fight.  Because of this, we see that Othello cannot trust his supposedly most trusted man.  Secondly, his new wife, Desdemona is seriously trusting Othello's patience and trust.  However, he testing his trust is not by any means by her doing.  The mischievous Iago is implanting fallacies inside of Othello's head.  Unfortunately, I do not believe that Othello currently has the guts to just go and find out immediately instead of even looking through Iago. However, we do see that Othello is serious about finding the truth and will do anything to find it.  "Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore, Be sure of it, give me ocular proof"(Shakespeare, III, iii, 1416).  I feel that trust will continue to be an interesting factor in the outcome of this play due to its prevalence at the beginning with Brabantio all the way to the end of act three.

Popular Mechanics - Raymond Carver

Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver was one of the more disturbing stories that I have read.  Instantly, readers know that there are bad things happening in the house.  " ...but it was getting dark on the inside, too"(Carver).  This comparison between the dark on the outside and the inside instantly allows the reader to realize the darkness on the inside.  This story emphasizes something fundamentally wrong with some people.  Both of those parents love the child very much.  They also hate each other a considerable amount.  Hate causes people to wish ill on the target of their hatred.  I believe this is why the parents were so adamant about keeping the babies to themselves.  They loved that baby so much and wanted ill things toward the other so much that they neglected to think about what there baby tug-of-war was doing to the child.  In the end though, the battle was not about the child, it was about taking away what was most important to both of them.  In that struggle of pure selfishness, greed, and stupidity, they inadvertently decided that if both cannot have their most precious gift, neither of them can. 

The Story of an Hour- Kate Chopin

I will begin by stating the obvious.  The death of her husband came as a release and freedom to her.  He had obviously been one to restrict her and hold her down; however, because of his death, she was allowed to be free again.  I find that there is some irony held within this story due to the fate of Mrs. Mallard.  ""Free! Body and soul free""(Chopin)!  or "She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long"(Chopin).  There is irony contained in both of these sentences.  The first is that she is rejoiced at her recently found freedom of her body and her soul; however, as soon as her not-dead husband appears, that freedom is cut short by her death. The initial news of the death of her husband was eventually greeted by elation and joy, but the death is not what killed her.  The culprit to her death was her husband showing back up after he was supposed to have been killed.  The irony in the second quote is that she does not end up living longer at all.  There was also a bit of foreshadowing in the beginning of the story with the mention of her heart condition.  However, the heart condition was not activated by what the reader initially would think would start it.  

You're Ugly, Too - Lorrie Moore

Zoe is an interesting, unique, independent, and extremely weird person.  The beginning of the story with the description of her house evokes a slight amount of sympathy for her due to her loneliness. Furthermore, Zoe has had extremely poor experiences with the dating situation.  Though some of the men were a bit odd, Zoe did through a few of them off with her eccentricity.  ""I knew a dog who could do that"(Moore).  This line emphasizes that relaxation and comfortability that Zoe has with her self and her oddness.  Additionally, she does not help her situation with Earl when she pretends to push him off the balcony.  If this is flirting, it is no doubt a very odd and probably not very successful approach to it.  Though she emphasizes she was kidding, her doing that may push Early away.  However, as the story closes out, we see a different side of Zoe that is curious to see what Earl thinks of her and her appearance.  This entire story consisted of Zoe dismissing relationships and giving up on the love seen over all.  By her doing this, she is a free spirit not that is not concerned about how she treats others.  In the end though, we see that she is not totally given up on the love seen.  She genuinely is curious as to wether or not Earl is interested in her.  

February- Margaret Atwood

First, I read through this poem as I would while reading a novel.  The first real sense that I had about the Margaret Atwood's poem was one of despair, longing, and a sense of giving up.  Initially, I presumed that the speaker was gloomy about February because well, it's February.  Answering the first question, I would say that February to me is and forever will be the worst month ever.  Once Christmas passes, I am totally over the cold weather.  January can be bearable; however, what is there to look forward to in February? I feel as though the the speakers feelings towards February are similar to my feelings as well.  

As I reached the middle of the poem, I realized that the gloominess that the speaker is feeling is most likely due to the fact that she is alone in regards to a lover.  February is the month of Valentines Day, a day of love. I feel as though the reader is bitter and critical of the love in general.  "But its love that does us in. Over and over/ again, He shoots, he scores!"  Based on her text, I would say that the speaker is an individual who has experienced bad luck with love and is better towards those who have success with it.  Instead of hanging with a person from the opposite gender, she hangs out with her cat. 

Eveline

Eveline by James Joyce was slightly disappointing to say the least.  It was rather anticlimactic; however, if looked at with a little Hollywood pizzaz, it becomes a very interesting story.  Eveline is a girl in an extremely tough situation.  She is stuck in a drab, possibly abusive, and degrading situation up keeping the house with her father.  Contrasting that is Frank's promise.  Frank is promising Eveline a wonderful life in Buenos Aires that leaves all of the worries that she has had behind.  We see her attempt to defend that wondrous dream; however, this quote may show that deep down, she has not fully bought into the full idea of leaving.  "Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition"(Joyce, 222).  Additionally, she feels a sense of obligation towards her father.  Even though her father is possibly becoming violent, she remembers that kind sides that her father occasionally has and feels she must stay.  Along with that is her promise that she made to her terminal mother.  Before her mother died, Eveline promised her that she would keep the home together for as long as she could.  However, with all of the awful memories of her mother's death, her brother's death, the drabness of the atmosphere, and her long departed friends, it would seem that her solution to the problem would be to move out.  In the end though, she realizes she cannot just leave onto some voyage she does not know she wants to take and abandon her struggling father.

Lonely Hearts- Question 5

Referring to question five, all of these stanza in Wendy Cope's Lonely Hearts seem to be advertising for something new and different in their lives.  In the first stanza, a male is obviously looking for a young female to go touring with, with their bicycles.  Though he states that he wants a bicycle partner, we do not see him asking for a new date or life-partner like some of the other stanzas are asking for.  The second stanza involves a gay vegetarian looking for a date partner who is in to Shakespeare and being outside.  Initially, I associated the word gay with meaning homosexual, however, as I looked at the date that this story was published, I realized that at this time period, gay simply meant happy! So, in essence, this individual is looking for a happy individual who is a vegetarian and enjoys reading Shakespeare outside!  The third stanza centers around a business person looking for some adventure and uniqueness in their life.  This person is obviously tired of their old life and hoping to move on to something new. "Executive in search of something new-"(Cope, 973).  The forth stanza deals with a young Jewish woman looking for a man in her life.  She is probably around 30 years old due to her child and probability of her having that child while married to someone. The fifth stanza is from a person named Libran who is looking for a young individual who does not smoke.  Finally, the last one is something rather interesting.  The last one is rather vague and general.  This being the case, it leaves it open for something, anyone, to start with the person asking.  

A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

This poem, if looked at from different angles, could be interpreted many different ways.  As question two inquires, what way between the two is correct: a journey or death? Even at the beginning, I presumed that this poem was going to be about death. "The breath goes not, and some say, no"(Donne, 801).  As I continued to read, I felt that death was a subject in the poem, though not the main one.  I believe one of the main topics being discussed is the connection two lovers have in their souls, not only their physical attractions.  In A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, Donne is speaking about death in a way as if it was a journey that is taken by two in a way.  I had a difficult time understanding this completely, but I believe his similes about the foot are to explain that death is a journey that is started by one(the dying person) and carried on( the living person) by staying alive until they are both gone.  If this poem was looked at in the perspective that this was a normal, worldly journey, the feet would imply that one must bring the other along if they are to go anywhere.  However, because the journey being referenced here is one of a slightly different nature, I believe that Donne is trying to say that lovers are connected and tugged on even after death.  Finally, at the end, he makes the connection that this journey that he is taking is going to lead him to where he started out in the first place anyway, heaven. 

How I Met My Husband- Question 4

In Monro's How I Met My Husband, Edie is the character that is focused on throughout the entirety of the story.  Edie is initially perceived as a type of failure and individual of a lower class.  Though we know it not to be true, Edie's role as a hired girl lowed the initial view of her.  She is obviously serving the higher class and by Mrs Peebles negative reference to farmers and Edie's internal response to this, we know she comes from a farming family. "Let's not stand her gawking like a set of farmers"(Monro, 131).   Through this quote comes other examples that make the reader feel pity for Edie.  Because of these incidents, Edie really is a sympathetic character.  However, through experiences and other situations that show that Edie is like any of individual, her working situation gives less need for the sympathy initially given. Although we do feel pity for her, we begin to have less pity for her because of her working situation.  We begin to have pity for her because of her naivety and her situation with Chris Watters.  Though we receive the sense that Edie feels that she was not forced to do anything and that she is not too terribly harmed by the experience, the modern reader of today cannot help but feel sympathy and a tad of weirdness while reading about a 16 year old being seduced by a war veteran.