Dimensional Discussion

     For this blog-post, I'll link you to my WikiSpace to take part in what hopefully becomes a large discussion over the short story "Dimension" by Alice Munro. On my Wiki, you'll want to go to my discussion board and navigate to where it says "Dimension Discussion". Once there, I'll have a few question that you can answer to try and make this an engaging online discussion.

http://dimensiondiscussion.wikispaces.com/

Fear of Cowardice

In fear of being heard, 
In fear of being understood, 

In fear of not being heard, 
In fear of not being understood, 

In fear of being misheard, 
In fear of being misunderstood, 

In fear of hearing too much, 
In fear of understanding too much, 

In fear of saying too much, 
In fear of saying too little, 

In fear of being too enlightened, 
In fear of not being factually correct, 

In fear of being too bright, 
In fear of being too ignorant, 


In fear of being praised, 
In fear of being bullied, 

In fear of not being like others, 
In fear of loosing my individuality, 

In fear of being ostracized, 
In fear of being camouflaged, 

In fear of being the attraction, 
In fear of being ignored, 

In fear of being too different, 
In fear of being too common, 

In fear of following others, 
In fear of disobeying others, 

In fear of being too gullible, 
In fear of being too stubborn, 

In fear of being used, 
In fear of being misused, 

In fear of rewards, 
In fear of punishments, 

In fear of responsibility, 
In fear of expectations, 

In fear of being trusted, 
In fear of being mistrusted, 

In fear of your lack of response, 
In fear of your over-reaction, 

In fear of eternal silence, 
In fear of noisy communication, 

In fear of your acceptance, 
In fear of your rejection, 

In fear of exciting you, 
In fear of upsetting you, 

In fear of loving you, 
In fear of hating you, 

In fear of your love, 
In fear of your hatred, 

In fear of being loved, 
In fear of being hated, 

In fear of thinking, 
In fear of existing, 

In fear of living, 
In fear of dying, 

In fear of being myself, 
In fear of being another, 

In fear of knowing myself, 
In fear of neglecting myself, 

I lost my voice; 
I lost my identity; 

I lost my self.
I lost this life; 
I lost my life; 
I lost life's life.

By Suraj Samtani

     I use this poem as a look into the short story "On The Rainy River". In the story, the protagonist Tim O'Conner receives his draft card as he is chosen to go out to the Vietnam War. He is stunned, shocked, and afraid. He immediately thinks that he is better than the war and doesn't deserve to lose his life in a pointless war. He follows his impulse and decides the only way out of the war is to leave Minnesota and make it for Canada. Though he acts in this arrogant and cocky manner, you begin to realize throughout the story that what O'Conner really have is fear.
     Just like in the poem, there were many fears that raced through his head during the story. Of course you can say that he feared for his life, but there is much more than that. He feared the responsibility, he feared being used, he feared being unpatriotic, he feared ostracized, and dealt of all of this through stubbornness. In all, he knows might and could become of him if he does leave for Vietnam, but he fears the thought of he might be if he doesn't go. He'd be thought of as selfish, unpatriotic, and thinking he was better than the rest. In the end, he gives into the fear and becomes a coward, as he fears standing up for what he believed.

What do you feel that O'Conners feared about going/not going to war? Do you think it was more than fear/cowardice that caused his to change his mind? 

The Only Traffic Signal Assignment

It's an odd, sad feeling to try and compare Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the reservation in Sherman Alexie's "The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore". It's odd because this story is about failure, not just once, but a cycle of never living up to potential and crashing back down to Earth. It's sad because Alexie's reservation is played out in the story as though it has no hope, and just as the traffic signal quit working and the cup continued to revolve, the tradition of failing to achieve will continue as well. This comparison makes you think of the failed lives on reservations, the despair, poverty, and alcoholism among the lives of Native American people.After reading about a reservation who's heroes are alcoholics, you only found myself hoping that Pine Ridge had a little more hope to live off of.

"She is born into a community were she is more likely to give birth before she graduates high school. She has a high chance of having her first sexual experience, be a violent one.

- Her father knows that on the reservation, life isn't great and things won't be the best for his daughter, but he still has hope for a better future. Just Like at the end of the story, Victor and Adrian know Lucy is likely to fail at basketball, but they still hope that she might be the one who breaks the cycle.

"The culture there I think, must be one of brotherhood. If you think about it, though they drink, they watch out for each other. They share their big cans and their blankets, their fights and their love."

- Just like in the story, alcoholism is a strong part of the culture in Pine Ridge, but they deal with it. They live like "zombies" in their culture, but they all have a strong bond with one another. Even when Victor and Adrian come across Julius, they don't kick him out. They put a blanket over him and let him be."

"No one outside of ourselves and our dedicated fans believed we could beat Custer; now, absolutely no one will believe we can beat our next opponent."

- I didn't choose this in anyway because of the basketball theme but because of the quote. Just like with Julius and Lucy, both are good basketball players but no expects anything from them. In this case though, while no one expects this their team to win, they keep hope they can win another upset and beat the odds.

Mother

Mother

They had quarreled, just as they had before. The mother was in tears. She was sad and distraught, and in need of connection. She was losing her daughter, as each day they grew further and further apart. 

     "I just want to help you dear, there's no need to push me away." said the mother. She reached out as if to hug her child, but the girl rejected it and backed away. She still wasn't content. "No, you listen! I'm a mom too! And I sure don't need mine telling me how to raise my own daughter!" yelled the girl. It's true, she had become a mother, but with no father for her child, and a mother she had never disagreed with the start of it all. They had quarreled, for as long as they could remember, and the mother hoped the birth of her grandchild could change that and save their relationship. Their love only became more distant when the girl's father had died. He was the rule of the house, and she would respond to him out of respect, unlike with her mother. This is how it had been for years, with each passing summer and winter, until he had died. Now it was only fights, and no conversation ended in smile. They had both shed a fair amount of tears through their conflicts, and both wanted to have a better relationship, but opposites never decided to attract. Maybe they never had a chance to. The mother was thirty-five, her daughter seventeen, and her daughter a new-born. They were young, and they never had a chance to make-up.

     "Here, if you think your way is always right, why don't you take her?! I'm going for a drive." said the daughter. "But what about her, what happens when she wakes up hungry?" "You deal with it, you'll know what to do. You always do." She began to cry and ran out the door. She had always been reckless, and her mother had hoped she would calm down with a child to bear, but that chance never came. She would die that night, car crash on a highway. It wasn't her fault, the other driver was drunk. The mother didn't care, she still thought it was reckless, not that the girl was driving, but that the mother had let this all happen. Her own carelessness, her stubbornness, her way of always believing she was right it what had killed her daughter. She'd never be able to get over overcome this loss, but she had a new duty as a grandmother. Maybe this was her chance to be the mother she wasn't ready to be before. She was determined to make sure that while her own daughter had died, this daughter would grow up and follow the right footsteps.
     Still would still manage thing her way, still believe she was always right, and stayed stubborn with her granddaughter. They would quarrel, all summer and winter, year after year, but hadn't she always?

House of Symbolism

This is the second blog for my English short story unit. These ten images are symbolisms that are important to the story of "Chef's House". If you haven't read this story yet, go ahead and do so, and then be sure to come back and add your opinion. As I said, each of these ten images are referenced in the story and lead to deeper insight into the story. Each object has symbolism that provides meaning to the story, and here are a few that I've decided to view.

The Wagon

Symbolizes the sobriety of Wes and the only reason to

restart the relationship

Fat Linda

The end of all they had; Wes reverting back to his old self

The House

It was their reconstructed life and repaired marriage

The Ring

Edna's representation of hope. When on, the marriage was stable

The Letters

Edna's connection to the kids as well as Wes' distance from them

The Clouds

Their beginning represented the end of the marriage

The Fish

The intangibles of the relationship; all they had left

"My friend"

Edna deciding to leave her future for her past

The Ocean View

Their dreams; disappeared as soon as they lost the house

Chef

In a way, he was Wes and Edna's patron saint, someone
who allowed them to leave to life their life together with no problem.


- If there were some other symbols I missed or should have explained better, and you have a different opinion on what each symbol means, I'd love to hear t in the comments section.