Journal Entry 1: Cinderella, the Tale of a Shoe

    One of the most permeating factors within the story of Cinderella, regardless of origin, is the importance of magic and how it drastically impacts her life. Regardless of the hardship she has undergone, there still seems to be an external force wishing her good fortune. This magic is not provided purely by whim or fancy, however. It each story, the assistance she finds in life always seems to be at least partially due to her kind heart or related to some act of kindness she performed.

    Within the all three versions, Cinderella is very kind to animals and takes care of them either in their time of need or just in her general behavior. These animals wish to pay her back for her charity and come to her in her times of need, be it removing her from her imprisonment, cleaning the home, or making her wishes come true. In all but the Chinese version, Cinderella is very modest with the help she is offered, and very sparing in taking anything from the magic that’s offered. In the Disney and Grimm versions of the story, she asks only for what she needs at the moment. The girl within the Chinese tale, however, is quicker to see that her lot in life isn’t fair and want to advance it through gold, pearls, and the most beautiful dresses.

    The magical influence within all three stories is always very important, relating usually to the direct resolution of the fairytale. I feel it’s an important part of the story and in the lesson it aims to impart on society, both as a tale of morality and in giving people hope through the hard times. Magic is something that we as adults know doesn’t exist, but we all believe in on some level. The story, while mostly aimed at children, still puts forth the hope that there’s something out there that will look out for you. If you do good, accept your lot in life, no matter how unfortunate, and work hard, something will be out there working in your best interests.

Journal Entry 2: Yellow Woman

“Yellow Woman” takes place on a Native American reservation, following the author on her own spiritual journey as she relates the stories her grandfather passed unto her and her own life.  In this story, the author’s trip is guided by a man who claims to a spirit, the Whirlwind Man. He meets her at the river outside the reservation as she’s taking a walk, already wishing to initiate her own spiritual journey. When he approaches her, while she cannot believe he truly is the spirit her grandfather told her of, she is entranced by him and wishes to follow. This spiritual walk takes them from the familiar, flowing river to the more distant, rigid mountains. The change of scenery is profound and has a powerful impact on the young woman, who is so pulled in by the young spirit man that she finds herself drawn to him despite the signs that he is not who he claims to be.

Through this journey, she not only becomes drawn to the man, and the visage he maintains of being a spirit, but she becomes pulled into the image of being that woman she had always heard of as a young girl. Despite not actually traveling with a spirit, she still ultimately has her spiritual experience. The story is a mixture of fantasy and reality as the author travels with an unknown stranger between the familiar and unfamiliar, the river and the mountains, and fantasy and reality.

Journal Entry 3: "Where are you going, where have you been"

    Between the stories “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” and “Smooth Talk”, the Connie’s character underwent some minor, but noticeable changes that impact the story in how she comes off. While they remain fairly true in the opening imagery of her and all of her lines remain the same, the delivery is where things take a wild turn. In the book, Connie is clearly a young girl and acts the part. She’s immediately worried when Arthur arrives at her house, and while drawn in to some extent by his charm, she never completely falls for him or his game. She can sense the danger coming from him upon his arrival and, while occasionally playful, never trusts him or his well-kept image. The movie Connie, however, comes across as drastically different. She is also initially suspicious of Arthur, but gets drawn into his show, stopping to initially consider getting into his car. Even stranger, despite that both are supposed to be of the same age, Connie comes off with an air of sexuality and mild mischief in the movie. In their banter, delivery of her lines, and body language, there’s a mild playfulness that was absent in Connie’s character in the book.

    The only changes I would make in the movie would be in toning her character down a bit. The girl of the book wasn’t as wild as she was in the movie, content simply to sit in her room and listen to the radio rather than turning it up to fill the entire house and sing along to the music herself. While she was aware of boys and interested in them in the book, she seemed to have more of a passing interest in the book while the movie it was more active. I think these changes would bring her back a little closer to the Connie that was written in the original story.

[Additional]: The Three Arnold Friends

[Inspiration] [Word] [Character Web Image]

Arnold Friend

(Charles Schmid)

-"Arnold Friend" from the movie "Smooth Talk".

- Arthur Friend from  the book "Where are you going, where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates.

-Charled Schmid from the book "The Pied Piper of Tucson" by Don Moser.

I.       Arnold Friend [Smooth Talk]

A.    Mildly psychotic

In the movie, the character is quick to lose his temper when things stop going the way he wants, like when Ellie starts interrupting him with his plan to cut the phone line.

-"Shut up, Ellie! Can't you see what's going on here? This is my date!"

B.    Unnaturally knowledgable

He seems to know things about Connie and current events that he should have no way of knowing. For these to only be educated guesses would be amazing luck.

-"And your poor sister, with her party dress and red, high-heeled shoes, like she doesn't know what a barbecue is."

C.    Fast on his feet

He doesn't find himself at a loss for words or in a situation he doesn't seem to have an answer for, as if this is all well-rehearsed.

II.     Arnold Friend [book]

A.    Evasive

When he finds himself at a loss, he redirects questions to her, as if he isn't the problem or the one doing something wrong, and that her actions are out of place.

-"'What're you thinking about? Huh?' Arnold Friend demanded. 'Not worried about your hair blowing around in the care, are you?'" [p.191]

B.    He's been at this awhile

He's been doing these things for awhile, going around and trying to draw in young girls. He's clearly experienced in luring girls to him. He does things to make him look like the youth of the current age.

-"...MAN THE FLYING SAUCERS. It was an expression kids had used the years before, but didn't use this year." [p. 191]

C.    His image is well-practiced

His image is well-practiced and rehearsed, everything about him is faked and prepared to make him look as ideal as possible to try to lure someone in.

-"She recognized most things about him, the tight jeans that showed his thighs and buttocks and the greasy leather boots and the tight shirt, and even that slippery friendly smile of his, that sleepy dreamy smile that all boys used to get across ideas they didn't want to put into words." [p.192]

III.    Charles Schmid [Tucson]

A.    Has no compassion

He has no respect nor care for life. In his own self-centered nature, he can't seem to find anything within him to care about others.

-"A friend says he once saw Smitty tie a string to the tail of his pet cat, swing it around his head and beat it bloody against a wall. Then he turned calmly and asked 'You feel compassion--why?'" [p.200]

B.    Cares only about himself

He doesn't care about people and will use them if it can get his needs met. He's interested in only how the bottom line impacts him.

-"His plan, he confided to a friend, was to put each of the girls to work and have them deposit their salaries in a bank account held jointly with him." [p.203]

C.    Quick to spread blame

He wants to make sure that others are in deep just like himself so he isn't the only one to blame for these things.

-"He said take off her tennis shoe and throw it over there.", "Then he said, 'Now you're in as deep as I am.'" [p.205]

Journal Entry 4: A & P: Time To Check Out

    In the story “A &P”, we follow the character of Sammy, just another guy in just another town working just another job, or at least that’s how he seems  to view his life. While the story doesn’t follow anything other than one day at his job in a small town grocery store, you get the feeling that much of his life is similar in pace to that of the store. Despite being mostly consigned to his fate, he has little respect for those who have settled for this existence and seems to feel that there’s more he could do with life than this. From his feelings towards the customers, to his opinions of his coworker’s desire to become the store manager (which Sammy seems to view as giving up, and that his life is already written out, nearly over), it becomes obvious that Sammy wants more from life, but doesn’t feel he’s getting it. When the girls come through the store, providing a splash of color in his nearly black and white world, he feels invigorated and excited. They’re different, interesting, and break out of the barriers in how they dress. When these two worlds clash, his dull, structured life, symbolized by his boss and something invigorating and different, symbolized by the girls, he’s caught literally and figuratively between these two worlds, two desires he holds onto. After the confrontation ends, he decides to turn his back on his world of expectations and predictability and decides to take a step out into the world by quitting his job. But as he steps out of the store, he watches as the girls drive off as well, leaving him somewhere in the middle.

    Since the story ends at this point, we don’t know what becomes of this, and whether Sammy made the right decision in impulsively shedding his boring life to chase after some girls who didn’t know him anyway, or if he should have waited and this was his lot in life. After all, according to his own words, it’s amazing how people are sheep and don’t even notice. The irony in this is that he leaves his job to go walk mindlessly after girls, much akin to how his customers would come in day after day for a daily special.

    In regard to John Updike’s interview, he seems to have written Sammy as “Joe Somebody”, an average guy. Sammy was just a young man who most readers could associate with. His interview didn’t really offer much insight into the character, as most of what they discussed was in how the author’s life related to the character, not what the character would be like in their own independent life. I feel this is an unfortunate overgeneralization of writing, as many people seem to assume everything the author writes is somehow secretly related to him. While this is true on some level, I believe that characters can and do take on a life of their own. The author is at times simply a custodian to a given character. This is similar to the view John Updike expressed when he made the comment on characters naming themselves.

    The Sammy of the book strikes me as even less fleshed-out and more cynical. Many of his comments, be they towards his work or other people, tend to come off as dark and judgmental. He seems to feel that he’s reached some form of enlightenment, almost as if he feels that he’s better than those around him due to having some superior view and understanding of the world.

-“A few houseslaves in pin curlers even looked around after pushing their carts past to make sure what they had seen was correct.” [p.409]

-“… and Big Tall Goony-Goony (not that as raw material she was so bad)…” [p.411]

-“A couple customers that had been heading for my slot begin to knock against eachother, like scared pigs in a chute.” [p. 411]

Journal Entry 5: Superman, America, and Me.

    In the essay “What makes Superman so darned American?”, the author makes the assertion that Superman is the quintessential American. He has a respectable job, a nice wife, and lives the basic American dream. From all external facts, his entire life mirrors that which society associates with the traditional “down home” American. The author of this essay proceeds to put forth his theory that Superman is a story of the immigrant experience, considering that while the known facts of his life may say that he’s a “good ol’ boy” from the country living a good life,  the reality is that he’s an alien. When he’s not in the shell of his mild-mannered life, he’s fighting the “bad guys”, taking on the world and fighting for the down-trodden.

    While this is an interesting point, and certainly has a few good arguments for it if you look at the written facts, it doesn’t compare very well with the immigrant experience. Clark Kent (the supposed outside, American face that immigrants would maintain) has a lot going for him. He speaks the language flawlessly, he understands all the customs without fail, and he has little problem assimilating with the rest of society. The only issues he does have with blending in are a matter of personal choice, choosing to appear as a weakling in societies eyes, most likely due to an overcompensation to hide that he truly is super powered or a desire to have someone else protect him. Even Superman needs a superhero. As Superman (the inner, home culture face that an immigrant would keep hidden), things only get better for him. He’s now better than everyone else around him, with absolutely no negative attributes to counterbalance his experience.  Even better, nearly everyone loves Superman. He’s a hero, an idol, and everyone is happy when he’s around. He is accepted by society both as Clark Kent and Superman, with very little difficulties on his part.

    While he may factually be an immigrant, very little about his experiences relate to that of a traditional American immigrant. The disassociation, sense of loss, and a feeling of not fitting in are all likely things he would have felt even if he was born human. He has been on Earth and raised as a traditional, American human since he was an infant. This is an interesting article, but I disagree on nearly all points.

Journal Entry 6: Who am I, and what will I become?

I’ve never thought it fair to say who I am, though I’ve been confronted with this question many times in the past. Generally, I refuse to answer it on grounds that I’m not in a position to say who I am. All I know is who I’d like to be, who I wish I was. Considering this, I can’t offer a fair or even remotely accurate image of who or what I am. The best I can do is to say what I wish I were, what I strive for and who I hope to be when the day comes to an end. When it comes down to it, my demands are fairly simple. If I can make one person’s day just a little bit better, or if when confronted with a choice I can decide to do the right thing, then that’s all I ask. I don’t care much about the details of interpersonal relationships. I’m not too concerned with who I am, like many of these existential questions, I realize that it’s important, but you’ll never be able to come to a concrete answer.

            My parents are good people, though slightly lost in their own lives, as they didn’t spend much time discovering who or what they were when they were younger (this is a road I’m likely traveling down myself). They were married young and are quite responsible people.

            If I were to discover that my parents were not truly my biological parents, I don’t think I’d be too concerned, and I wouldn’t be interested in finding or contacting my true parents. I’ve never known those people, so they really are or little consequence, beyond having physically been involved in my coming into the world.

            While I agree that “ignorance is bliss”, having truth and intelligence is something that, once you’ve had it, you couldn’t truly give it up and go back. Knowledge truly is bittersweet. When something is unknown to you, it has a certain feeling of magic, of beauty. This magic is uncertain, however. Because you don’t understand it, you don’t know how it works, or if it will work against you. Once you experience, know, or understand it, that magic is lost forever, but with it comes a certain feeling of safety. It is now a known, you know what it can and cannot do. Unhappiness is certainly painful to live with, I’d still rather know the truth.

            Considering that law is a static, finite thing, I don’t believe that ignorance of it is an excuse. In some situations, I feel that some consideration, or lightening of the sentence, should be given if the person can be proven ignorant of the law, but in cases of common-sense it simply isn’t acceptable as an excuse. If you were to open the wrong door and head out unknowingly, you couldn’t have possibly known. However, I feel that murder is a matter of common sense, the person should know better anyway. Even if they don’t, the person is now dead, and the murderer should deal with the consequences.

Journal Entry 7: All Work and No Play..

            In the story of Sweat, we follow the life and some of the trials of a poor woman living in the South and the trials she faces with her no-good husband that haunts her life. Initially, she loved him dearly and continued to feel that way for 15 years, working hard to support both herself and him because he wouldn’t do anything for himself, and what money he did make he would spend on either himself or another woman. After spending years living with emotional, verbal, and physical abuse, Delia decides that she’s had enough of this and doesn’t want to take it anymore. At first, she stands up against him, despite him being much larger and more powerful, she makes a stand against him with a pan and threatens to strike back. As it progresses and she becomes more set in her decision and treats her abusive husband with a form of indifference. If she can’t get him to live and live without him, she can at least live without him in spirit.

            This, unfortunately, only works for awhile until he decides that he wants to rile her up again. Knowing that she’s terrified of snakes, or even anything that simply resembles a snake, he brings a rattlesnake in and leaves it in the soap bucket that she needs to do her work, to earn money to live. After living with this for a few days, she decides to take a stand and kicks him from her house. This is where Delia’s resolve to better her life can be seen in full-force, as she goes from living with the torment to trying to avoid it and find her own happiness to finally removing herself from the situation altogether to make a life for herself that she wants. Interestingly enough, it’s never made clear why after 15 years of this abuse she would decide that day was different, that she would no longer take it and move forward with her life. While all her later actions make sense and show logical progression, the author never explains what was the exact catalyst that put her into fighting with him initially, to drawing a weapon against him. Regardless of this, this makes for an interesting and inspirational story on moving through and overcoming abuse.

Journal Entry 8: To Hide the Mistakes of Life.

            In the story “I stand here ironing”, we’re invited to reminisce with an older woman as she follows the details of her daughter’s life, through her daughter’s successes and her own perceived failures as a mother. From birth, Emily had always been a brilliant flame that, by her mother’s own admission, was never fed and left to dwindle, surviving as the embers of a dying fire. While her mother does make some efforts occasionally to make up for her mistreatment of her daughter, they seem as more of an afterthought and a knee-jerk reaction to the problem. The story seems to provide a much-needed alternative point of view to the troubles and dilemmas that face children of neglect or poor treatment. Her actions were undeniably wrong at times, there is still the human element that we can all feel. At times, you have to wonder what you would do in the same situation, if odds were stacked against you in the same way. Few people mean to actually hurt their child and it can occur even with the best intentions.  However, just as you can still find some human in a killer, while there may be pangs of sympathy and understanding occasionally, I still find the woman’s actions and neglect to her daughter, especially in favor of the other children, reprehensible.

Journal Entry 9: "I Don't Want to Grow Up, 'cause if I Did.."

            In the Peter Pan stories, we’re offered to look at the lightness and joy often associated with the carefree days of childhood. When we look at the story “When Wendy Grows Up”, we see the girl who loved being a child, who idolized the lifestyle that Peter had in his world of Neverland, grow up into an adult. Unlike what we expect, Wendy has come to terms with growing up and has realized that, while she still longs for them, there was a sort of foolishness in the way they ran about without a care in her younger days. Wendy has truly grown up, not only in the sense that her body is aged but in her outlook of the world. While this troubles Peter initially, he quickly finds a new playmate in Wendy’s daughter, who brings back the same lightness, innocence, and gaiety that she once had. The ending of the story was brought to bear an important point, in that Peter will always be the companion of these bright and innocent girls, and that they will all, as everyone does, grow up and head into the world of realism, nicely summing up the way most of us move through life.

Journal Entry 10: They weight of a soul

            The story of “The Things They Carried” is about the men who served in Vietnam and the types of things they brought with them. The author paints an image of a world filled with hopelessness, false fronts, and feelings of insignificance in the soldiers and in the gear they carry. The main character, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, desperately seeks distraction from the horrors of the world he’s in. He constantly goes between letting his personal feelings--love, fear, regret—show and losing himself in his practiced soldier bearing in how he talks about the things these soldiers bring with them into the battlefield. He discusses feelings of fear, guilt, loss, remorse, false bravado, and military gear such as grenades, mines, and ammo as if they were on the same level. Through his lists, constantly, meticulously listing the weight of every item, he gets across the point that these things may be a heavy burden on the body, but the burden on the soul that these men carry is far greater.