The ending: Herland blog 4

The book towards the end gets a little repetitive and boring.  It is moving slow and is more of the same about how wonderful this land and these women are and the difference between their way of life and life for women in the United States.  There is a lot of back and forth trying to explain the role of women and mothers.  The women of Herland are confused by the explanations and clearly not impressed.  The guys spend a lot of time trying to convince the women that the society in America is great place to live. 

The most interesting part is that the three guys marry their assigned companions in a triple wedding.   Jeff worships Celis and they are very much in love.  Although Terry falls in love with Alma, they are not going to live happily ever after.  Terry wants their relationship to be something more than it is and Alma is not interested.  Terry loses it and Alma and friends are ready to hang him (for real).  Terry has worn out his welcome and is ready to get back to American women.  It’s time to go!!!  But Jeff wants to stay and Van agrees to go back with him and have Ellador (his wife) leave with them.   I find it hard to believe, although Jeff sounds like a really great guy, that he (or any man) would stay behind and live with three million women.  I also do not think that the women of Herland would allow him to permanentlystay.  I also do not think that they would accept having a man live among them forever.  One married couple would disrupt this country.  The dynamics would change, but this is utopia so maybe they adjust and make it happily ever after.

The final part of the story is the departure of Terry, Van, and Ellador.  The plan is for the three to go to America, but Terry and Van have to promise to not tell anyone where Herland is located.  I am not really crazy about the end.  It just ends.  You don’t know if they make it back, if Jeff lives happily ever after, if Ellador and Van make it, etc.  Although I do not LOVE the ending, I do like the plot.  I think it is creative, interesting, and thought provoking.  The story made me think about the role and treatment of women in our society. 

Unique: Herland blog 3

The uniqueness continues and I remain interested in Herland.  The country was the size of Holland, 10-12,000 square miles with a population of about three million.  These mothers figured out food supply, education, work assignments, and pretty much everything else to run a society in perfect harmony.  According to Van, the narrator, the most impressive feature of Herland was the intelligence.  Van wanted to find fault in all their perfection, but it was not possible. 

Everything the men thought and expected was wrong.  “We had expected a dull submissive monotony, and found a daring social inventiveness far beyond ours.”  Instead of pettiness they found a social consciousness.  Instead of jealousy they found a broad sisterly affection and a fair minded intelligence. And instead of hysteria they found a standard of health and vigor.  I expected the same as the travelers.  There has to be something wrong with these girls.  They are not human.  This book has become a fantasy.

The visitors are intrigued, but they are becoming impatient with their confinement.  Terry is irritable.  He thought he was going to be surrounded by beautiful and submissive women whom he could charm.  Van and Jeff are more tolerant and interested in their history and culture.  Each of the guys is “assigned” a teacher and then a “companion.”  I don’t think the teaching is going to last much longer and I don’t think the relationships with the “companions” will be successful either.  So how will this end?  The reader knows from the beginning that the visitors return to the United States, but the story is not predictable.

How did Herland come about? Herland blog 2

How did Herland come about?  The history is very unique.  “at about the time of the Christian era this land had a free passage to the sea.”  There were men and women.  The country was larger and they had ships, commerce, an army, a king, and a bi-sexual race.  Then 2000 years later there was a succession of historic misfortunes.  War, invasion, and struggles to defend their mountain reduced the male population.  Then there was a volcanic outburst and the result was the complete filling of the pass, their only outlet.  They were walled in and very few men were left alive, except the male slaves.  The slaves revolted and killed the remaining masters even the youngest boys, old women, and mothers.  The young women “rose in sheer desperation and slew their brutal conquerors.”  And the remaining young women and girls figured it all out!

I can accept Herland’s evolution so far, but how they continued to exist without men is a lot harder to accept.  But I have to admit the writer’s creativity is a reason why the book is so enjoyable.  “For five or ten years they worked together, growing stronger and wiser and more mutually attached and the miracle happened- one of these young women bore a child.”  Her name was Maaia (they all have nontraditional names) and this wonder-woman bore child after child, five girls.    And when these five girls reached the age of 25, they had five daughters.  Herland is one family all from one mother and motherhood dominated their culture.

The power of mother-love and sister-love is the key to the success of Herland.  There is no fighting or jealousy.  I don’t have a sister, but I have observed that most sisters fight and mothers and daughters definitely fight.  But not in Herland.  At this point I am just enjoying the fiction.  I can’t imagine living such a peaceful existence, but it also appears boring.   I like the crazy element to my life, although world peace and no poverty or illnesses would be nice.   

The Snake: American literature themes

"The Snake" relates to the theme of freedom in American literature.  Freedom is what best describes this poem because the snake is unrestrained and in control.  The poet, Theodore Roethke, observes a young snake as it is gliding out of the shade.  It is hanging limp on a stone and even his tongue is motionless.  There is a calmness about the snake and in the air.  There is no hurry, stress, or worry.  The snake has choices and is without restrictions.  It comes out, is observed, then quickens and is gone.  I believe this type of freedom is exactly what many Americans throughout history and today want. From the colonists who wanted religious freedom, to slaves who wanted personal freedom, and women who wanted equal rights, Americans desire personal control over their lives.        

Roethke longs to be the snake. Just like the colonists, slaves, women, and immigrants, Americans throughout history have been longing for the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  To be allowed to live how you want with limited government involvement is still a theme that is exhibited today.  This is a continuous struggle for many Americans and will be into the future.  I too want personal, religious, and any other kind of freedom now and forever. 

Herland or Feminisia?

Herland was written from 1909 to 1916 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and so far is one of my favorite books.  It's of course fiction, but the plot is intriguing, unique, and thought-provoking. What if there was really an ALL female civilization?  Would it be chaotic, ruthless, miserable, and hormonally challenging where everything was broken and unmanageable?  Or would it be paradise because you are surrounded by beautiful land in a peaceful existence with everything figured out and no one competing for boyfriends or worrying about what to wear?  I would definitely sport the Miley Cyrus shaved haircut for sure. 

"They had the evenest tempers, the most perfect patience and good nature- one of the things most impressive about the all was the absence of irritability."  These resourceful women, of all ages, seem to have everything figured out.  From food, clothing, and shelter to pets (just cats), this is dreamland.   What I like most so far is that the three main characters (Terry, Jeff, and Vandyck) are American citizens, classmates, and friends discovering a lot more about life, themselves, and women.  This personalities of this threesome range from complete jerk to really great guy, so their perspectives should be fascinating. 

So far this vision of utopia has my attention and I am eager to read on.  I have never thought of myself as a feminist, but if I was living in the early 1900s, I would relate to this novel better than a 21st Century gal.  The gender stereotypes are alive and positively entertaining.  Almost as amusing as Grey's Anatomy and Alex Karev's consistent beliefs about women.  Terry and Alex may have been separated at birth.

Second Quarter/Blog 4: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Second Quarter/Blog 4: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

The last Act and ending of The Crucible can be best described as doom and gloom.  Many people have been hanged and others are to be hanged.  The town is falling apart.  The townspeople are a wreck.  Proctor and his wife are still in jail and the end centers around whether or not Proctor can be saved from death by confessing.  He confesses, but then refuses to sign a confession.  Therefore, he must die and he does.  I guess standing up for himself now is to be thought of as heroic, but I do not see him as a hero.  I think his situation and the rest of the accusations, trials, and hangings are tragic.  A lot of blood shed because of lies and paranoia.

So what did I come away with from reading this literary work?  Well, I looked up the word crucible.  It is defined as a pot or metal container in which metals or other substances are heated to high temperatures or melted.  Not sure that helps me understand what I read, but then I found that “crucible” could also refer to the literary technique in which characters are placed in an inescapable situation and are forced to change or make difficult decisions.  The characters in this book were definitely in an inescapable situation and forced to change or make difficult decisions.  And their decisions were life or death and most ended in death.  A very morbid plot.

If I go back to why I picked this book, it was because a friend said reading this changed their love of books.   I have say that I do not agree.  I was rather disappointed with the lack of plot and lack of suspense.  There is no witchcraft or spells or excitement at all.  Instead, it is full of false accusations and unfortunate circumstances.  Probably a lot of the interest in this book came from its intended parallel to McCarthyism, but that message was completely lost on me.  The good news is that it was short and once I made it past the first Act it was very easy to read, but unfortunately it did not change my feelings about reading.  I will keep trying.

Second Quarter/Blog 2: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Second Quarter/Blog 2: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

I am now 30 pages into this book.  Usually it would not take very long to read 30 pages, but to get this far has taken me several hours during quite a few attempts.  There really is not much going on with the plot, but the descriptions of the few characters are lengthy and it’s hard to remember who is who even though there are not that many of them.  If I had not started a blog on this book, then I probably would not keep reading, but I am committed to finish the blogs.

This plot is pretty simple.  The story in the bedroom of a young girl named Betty Parris, age 10, who is sick in bed after “dancing in the forest.”  Her father is Reverend Parris and he is praying over her, but she is not moving or waking, but she is not dead.  The talk around the town is that Betty and her cousin Abigail Williams, age 17, were seen in the woods together, that they were naked, and that were seen flying over houses.  The people of Salem “believed that the virgin forest was the Devil’s last preserve, his home base and the citadel of his final stand.  To the best of their knowledge the American forest was the last place on earth that was not paying homage to God.”

Betty wakes up and talks to Abigail.  She says they drank blood and drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife.  Abigail tells her to stop saying this and not to tell anyone.  Betty collapses again.  People from around the town come by to see what is going on.  The rumors are rampant.  Reverend John Hale is called to ascertain witchcraft, as he is said to be a specialist.  Not much is happening yet.  I find it slow and painful to stay focused and interested.  I hope it gets better soon.     

Second Quarter/Blog 3: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

I finally made it through Act One and then made it quickly through Acts Two and Three.  Act One ends with Reverend Hale showing up to eliminate the evil spirits.  Before his entrance, there is a long discussion about good vs. evil and then a longer discussion about the political twist to equate political policy with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence.  “Once such an equation is effectively made, society becomes a congerie of plots and counterplots, and the main role of government changes from that of arbiter to that of the scourge of God.”  Wow!!  I think this is really deep and beyond comprehension at this point in my short lived political life.  I feel very sheltered from the world of politics and cannot conceive of plots and counterplots.  So whatever messages that the writer is trying to convey are difficult for me to comprehend or relate to but they sound pretty deep.

Thankfully the story’s plot gets ramped up quite a bit.  There is huge roundup of girls in Salem who are thought to be witches.   They are arrested and brought to court.  The number goes from 13 to 39 and then more and more are accused, arrested, and confessing.  If they don’t confess then they are told they will be sentenced to hang.  So the plot thickens around whether or not they are telling the truth about witchcraft or confessing so they don’t have to die.  Then the additional plot is about the Proctors and whether or not Mary Warren (their servant) is telling the truth about the other girls having powers and whether or not the Proctors are liars too.  It’s really not complicated, but the web of misunderstandings and lies causes extreme conflict.  By the end of Act Three everyone in the town of Salem is either on trial for witchcraft or involved in the confusion.

There is only Act Four left to read.  I really can’t predict how this will end.  At this point everyone’s lives are turned upside down and the truth is not going to set anyone free.  The truth up to this point has caused more confusion and problems, so I can’t see a happy ending.  I hope I am wrong and they all realize there are no witches in Salem and all these girls can go back to a normal life, but I don’t think that is how this ends.    

Second Quarter/Blog 1: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

The Crucible was first produced as a play in the 1950s.  I selected this book for a few reasons: (1) a friend of mine told me she read this book and it changed her way of thinking about books, reading, and literature in general; (2) the story is about the Salem witch trials and stories about witches sounds interesting; (3) I thought it would be interesting to read a play with its different format; and (4) the book is short, only 145 pages.  I really have never likes reading so I thought maybe I will be changed like my friend and become a better reader.  If I don’t like the book, then at least it’s short and about witchcraft and something that really happened. 

After reading the introduction, I am confused.  It says that the setting is 17^th Century Salem, Massachusetts, but it was written in 1950s, during a time of war and hysteria over communism.  So, the play was designed to be a contemporary parallel to McCarthyism.  I looked up McCarthyism (phrase coined in the 1950s).  A United States Senator, Joseph McCarthy, was the person behind the term.  Wikipedia states that: “McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism.’ 

The Crucible’s plot will compare America’s heightened fears of espionage and communist influence to America’s heightened fears of witches and warlocks and more generally an intolerance for people with different beliefs.  I think this part sounds a little too deep.  I was hoping to read about witchcraft and hangings rather than a history lesson.  But I am keeping an open mind because the theme of intolerance for people who are different will be something I can relate to and could be relevant for any time.

Scarlett Letter: Blog 3

           Reverend Dimmesdale (father of Pearl) is revealed to the reader and continues to be tortured by Roger Chillingworth.  Rev. D is suffering physically and mentally from the sin and secrecy.  He continues to give sermons and serve the town.  He is thought to suffer from a terrible illness and keeps his hand over his heart.  He is heartbroken.  He should have revealed his love for Hester and set his pain free.  I understand that he is a priest and would lose his vocation which probably makes the decision harder and more stressful.  He is undeniably in turmoil. 

           The book then advances seven years.  Hester is doing well.  She helps the poor.  She is admired and the "A" no longer causes people to shun her but instead they see the "A" as Able.   So, seven years have passed and Hester has not talked to Rev. D.  She has seen him and watched him suffer because of Roger.  Hester feels she owes it to Rev. D to make him aware of who Roger really is and his evil plot.  The book says that Hester feels that she has a link to Rev. D because "the mutual crime" has lasted through time.  I don't think the book had to tell the reader this.  Certainly the story plays out without spelling it out.  But I think it is more than their mutual crime.  I think Hester and Rev. D love each other.  That Hester thought she could save him from the torture if no one knew, but she sees that Roger is destroying him and she wants to save him.  So, she tells him and they decide to runaway together (with Pearl) to Europe.  They have plans to leave by boat after the Election Day celebration (when Rev. D will give his final sermon).  But on election day, in front of everyone, Rev D. confesses his sin, reveals his chest which is branded with an "A" and then dies on the scaffold.  Very dramatic!!! 

           The conclusion tells you what happens to Hester and Pearl (and Roger).  I won't spoil it, but it's not a happily ever after ending (obviously, Rev. D died), but it's not a horror story ending either (not everyone dies).  But the last chapter makes you think about sinners and what happens when you harbor your sin and what happens when you admit your sins.  And how others react and deal with their sins and the sins of others.  The message I received was: accepting and acknowledging your sins is much healthier than hiding and running from them.  I definitely recommend reading this book.   

Scarlett letter: Blog #2

I am now more than halfway into the text of The Scarlet Letter.  According to the author, wearing the "A" was a living sermon against sin.  Hester was sparred death because her husband had gone out to sea making the adulterous behavior less offensive because he is thought to be dead.  But he returns (showed up at the scaffold and then went to see Hester in prison) and now posing as a doctor of medicine and going by the name Roger Chillingworth).  He tells Hester that they wronged each other.  His wrong was making her marry him when she did not love him and then deserting her.  And although he does not want to hurt her, he is determined to figure out who the father is and reveal him.  I find this strange because if he realizes he did wrong by Hester, then why does he care who the father is and vow to expose him.  He says that few things are hidden "from the man who devotes himself earnestly and unreservedly to the solution of a mystery."  Sooner or later, he is going to uncover the father.  He says that he will read it on his heart and he will let him live but he will seek to ruin his soul.  Sounds like a horror movie to me, definitely not a romance.

So, we know what is going to happen. Hester's long lost thought to be dead husband is going to figure out who the father is and torture him.  This seems odd to me.  It seems like he does not love Hester because reveling the father will only make the people more enraged, so why not leave the father alone.  Hester does not want to expose him, so why is he determined to do so?  Jealousy?  Revenge on the one who got away with the crime?  Or maybe he's just evil?  Some people love making other people miserable.  They are fulfilled by the misfortunes of others.  This is a terrible character flaw.  Although I do not think it is fair for Hester to suffer alone and the father to "get away" with his participation in this, I do not think it should be someone else who makes it their mission to solve the mystery and bring more humiliation to this situation.  I guess if I think of it like a crime (as that is what it was considered in 17th century America), then Hester's husband is uncovering a criminal. . .I guess that makes more sense on why he is doing it.

Meanwhile, Hester’s child, Pearl is growing up.  She is described as angelic, full of life, intelligent, strange, and elfish.  I think she sounds awesome.  She is full of life and of course she is odd.  She is recluse from society.  She has only her mom and when around others, they point at her, run from her, and isolate her.  I think it’s a miracle she is not a demon.  This really could be a horror film. So I will read on about how the father will be uncovered and tortured and how Hester and Pearl will continue to be demonized and mistreated.  Good stuff.  

Scarlet Letter post #1

My American Literature "free read" for this quarter is The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  The setting is the mid-17th century (1642 to 1649) in a Puritan colony on the edge of an untamed forest still inhabited by Native Americans.  Sounds like classic American Literature to me.  Published in 1850, this 150 year old story is famous, at least I have heard of it and seen clips of movies, and the plot seems pretty simple, so I am excited to finally read it and see what all the hype is really about.  I am only a few chapters into it and it starts right into the essence of what, when, where and who.  No mystery about why it's entitled the Scarlett Letter.  I like that.  Although the sentences are flowery and filled with vocabulary words, you can't get lost or confused.  That's another plus for me when it comes to reading.  It has my attention and I am not lost.  This says a lot for me, as I have never been much of reader.  But so far, I am all in.

The Introduction states that this story is timeless and the characters face the same moral struggles as readers in the 21st century.  I don't think that is true from how I see America today.  If Miley Cyrus is any indication, America has accepted just about every possible behavior out there.  In fact, today's society thrives and begs for sensational stories and glamorizes issues of morality; personal freedom; and public life.  The thought of someone being demonized and punished in front of their community seems so far from reality.  Gay love, teenage pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse are all part of everyday life.  Acceptance is here.  I can't think of anything or anyone who would be jailed, branded, humiliated, demonized, and abandoned like Hester Prynne.  Rather society would put her on the cover of magazines and You Tube and make money selling her story.  Her Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts would be liked and followed.  There would probably be a marketing opportunity to sell crimson A's with gold threading.  University of Alabama would love it.  

I just don't envision that the modern reader is going to see themselves as a victim anymore.  Sin and guilt are yesterday's worries.  Rather, I see Hester's story as the way it was and no longer is.  But I think this is good thing, to a certain extent.  Seems our society could use a lesson on morality and less personal freedom, but then there would be an outcry of rights.