Literature forum | Literature homework help
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Page 1- original forum with references
page2- kenneth Response
page 3-davis Response
original forum
This week’s Readings:
Stephen Crane: Author Bio
Stephen Crane: “The Open Boat”
Jack London: Author Bio
Jack London: “To Build a Fire”
Sarah O. Jewett: “A White Heron”
Willa Cather: “Paul’s Case”
Anthony Channell Hilfer “Nature as a Protagonist in ‘The Open
Part One: Compose a paragraph that applies a Marxist reading to any of the stories from this week. Be sure to ask yourself ( and answer) the kinds of questions discussed in this week’s lecture.
Part Two: Which of the characters this week did you feel the most sympathy for? Who did you most identify with? Why? Who did you feel the least sympathy for? Why?
Part Three: In “The Open Boat,” lines of philosophy about man’s fate and his reward for trying hard are repeated throughout. Quote a line of this story that stands out to you as expressing something philosophical about life. Do you agree with the statement? Why or why not?
Student response
Kenneth
Part One: Compose a paragraph that applies a Marxist reading to any of the stories from this week. Be sure to ask yourself ( and answer) the kinds of questions discussed in this week’s lecture.
While reading “Paul’s Case”, I could not help but immediately looking at this story from a Marxist perspective. Paul is obviously a product of the class in which he is born into. He is from an upper middle-class family, but he does not feel like he belongs. It is too boring for him. His father holds considerable power over him. Paul is expected to do well in school and become a man to be respected. This point is made when Paul and his father are sitting on their porch on a Sunday afternoon and the author describes the visiting gentleman who has a good job, is married, and has four children. Paul wishes to escape his fate, to live a more glamourous and exciting life but his father will not approve of such antics. Paul is miserable and completely unhappy with his life and its outlook. He is compelled to devise a scheme of theft and running away in order to escape his class and live out his dream.
Part Two: Which of the characters this week did you feel the most sympathy for? Who did you most identify with? Why? Who did you feel the least sympathy for? Why?
I felt the most sympathy for the man in “To Build a Fire”. To die alone and in such an unexpected way would probably be a horrible way to end life. I also sympathize with him for he was unprepared for the environment in which he put himself.
I also most identify with this same character. It reminds me of my first winter in upstate New York, for which my family and I were completely unprepared. The man in “To Build a Fire” was actually a newcomer to Alaska, this was his first winter. All he knew about surviving in the Yukon, he had learned from an old timer’s lecturing. This mistake was evident when he lit the fire under the tree and the ensuing snowfall extinguished his life saving fire. I identify with this story as we can get snowfall amounts overnight of several feet. The cold where I live isn’t as bad as Alaska, but we will hit temperatures of 35 below zero, which is quite cold the first time you experience it. If you aren’t prepared for winters in upstate NY, it can be quite a shock.
I have the least sympathy for Paul. He is filled with idle thoughts of glamour and a lavish lifestyle, yet he is unwilling to work hard to accomplish this dream. He lives in a nice sized house, has everything he needs provided to him by his father, and is enrolled in a school where he should have received a decent education. He doesn’t realize how good his life is or could be and instead is consumed by thoughts of fancy. If he really wanted to live life in such a grand manner, then he should have decided to work hard for it instead of stealing money to get what he wanted.
Part Three: In “The Open Boat,” lines of philosophy about man’s fate and his reward for trying hard are repeated throughout. Quote a line of this story that stands out to you as expressing something philosophical about life. Do you agree with the statement? Why or why not?
In “The Open Boat” the line that stood out to me is ” It is, perhaps, probable that a man in this situation, impressed with the lack of concern of the world, should see the many faults in his own life.” We have all heard a line similar to this, especially when reading about or contemplating our own death. The philosophy of this statement is when we reach the end of our lives, will we look back on them with fond memories or of situations in which we wished we had behaved differently? I’ve often said that I wish I could return to my youth with the knowledge that I have now. I would do things differently. I would treat people differently. I would have made wiser choices considering finances and relationships.
Ken
David
In using Marxist criticism on Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat”, one must first determine if there is any evidence of power structures or class structures. Once this is found, it then must be discovered how these structures impact the characters roles and lives in the story. This is quite simple because each character is referred to by their trade. There is a cook, an oiler, a correspondent, and the captain. While these characters come from different trades and walks of life, it seems that they are not pitted against each other in terms of power. They work together in keeping the boat afloat and moving forward toward land. The oiler and correspondent are responsible for rowing while the cook bails water out of the small vessel. When discussing power structures, the captain is clearly in power due to his duty position even though they are all working together. In discussing the character’s fate regarding their class, it seems that the oiler could not escape his. As discussed in this week’s lesson, Marxist Theory states that life seems to conspire against the hard-working, honest, lower-class character keeping them from succeeding in life. This is the obvious case when it comes to the oiler. He seemed to be one of the hardest working crew members while on board. He also worked hard by swimming toward shore strongly and rapidly when the boat sank. Unfortunately, the oiler, who was the lower class of the characters, drowned before he made it to shore with the rest of the crew members. It is also noticeable that the captain coached all the members in swimming to shore besides the oiler. The oiler also the only character that’s actual name was revealed.
I think the character that I had the most sympathy for was the oiler. As I stated earlier, he seemed as though he was one of the hardest workers on the boat but he did not make it to shore alive. I think that I identify with the captain the most because he continued to be a leader and push his men which led to the survival of most of his men. I tend to step up at times and push my coworkers to do their jobs and encourage them to get through the hard times. The character I would least feel sympathy for is the correspondent. It seemed that he was one of the weakest members on the boat.
The line I chose from “The Open Boat” is “The difference between right and wrong seems all too clear to him then. And he understands that if he were given another opportunity, he would improve his conduct and his words”. This is a thought from the correspondent when he realizes that he might lose his life. This is philosophical about life because most people want to change their lives after a life threatening experience. They realize the erroneous actions they have done in life and essentially want a second chance. Whether they receive that chance and change their actions relies on the character of the individual.