For Monday:
1. Be sure to have a hard-copy version of your phrases from A Streetcar Named Desire with you in class to work with.
2. Read "A Good Man in Hard to Find," pp. 364-375, AND then post a comment on this blog, answering this question:
What examples of possible foolishness (define this term however you want) and examples of possible attempts to be wise or good are there in the paragraphs assigned to you? Why do you think they are examples of foolishness or attempts to be wise and good?
Feel free to ask a question on the blog if you're confused about something in the story, or to respond to someone else's question. Feel free to question the others in your paragraph-group about what they've said. Here are your paragraph assignments:
paragraphs 1-9 (note that the paragraphs are numbered in your anthology): Heidi, Elizabeth, Katharine
paragraphs 10-21: David C, Chelsea, Torrie
paragraphs 22-33: Kelly, Adam, Steve
paragraphs 34-64: DeLaney, Cathy
paragraphs 65-95: Soo Jin, Emily, Michal
paragraphs 96-140: Drew, David, Megan
I think it was wise of the grandmother to take the cat in the car with the family. she was obviously being caring and thoughtful because she was afraid the cat was going to accidentally asphyxiate himself. I believe it was somewhat foolish to have a baby seating upfront. The child should at lest be in a secure carseat if it is going to be upfront. It was good of the grandmother to dress well. she says that if she were lying on the side of the highway, people would know she was a lady. It was also wise of her to remind Bailey of the speed limit since their are patrolmen hiding behind billboards. Lastly, i think it was good of the grandmother to remind the children how important respect is because you never know what could happen and you dont want to have any regrets.
ReplyDeleteThe previous comment was written by Torrie, and sent to me by email. Thank you, Torrie.
ReplyDeleteI think one foolish thing in paragraphs 65-95 was when the grandmother said "you're the Misfit!" "I recognized you at once!"...She saw that they were armed and by stating that she knew who they were was puting everyone in more unnescessary danger. A wise comment from her was to say "I know you're a good man at heart"...This I feel was a good attempt to take some of the hostility out of the situation.
ReplyDeleteIt was very caring and wise of the grandmother to alert her son and his wife of the predator headed towards Florida. It shows her persistence to want to change the destination for the benefit of the children but also the fact that she cares for her family. I think it was a little foolish of June Star to talk back to her grandmother about the fact that she wouldn't stay home for a million dollars. She's basically calling her grandmother a wimp.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Liz, the Grandma was being wise and caring by telling her family about The Misfit, who had escaped from prison and was headed towards their family vacation spot.
ReplyDeleteThis was wise of her because, as you see at the end, her decision would have most likely saved the family their lives. And she had good reasoning to convince them to do it her way, by saying that they had been to Florida before.
It was foolish of June Star to talk rudely about her grandmother saying: "She wouldn't stay at home to be queen for a day," and "She wouldn't stay at home for a million bucks." No one should ever talk to their family like that, and her grandmother makes it apparent that if June Star keeps going on like that, she won't curl her hair.
It was foolish of the old lady to say in her opinion, Europe was entirely to blame for the way things were now. That is obviously a foolish thing to say because it is a huge generalization. Another foolish thing that was said was, "You can't go inside the house, you don't know who lives there." This statement is really foolish considering that is completely rude and unnecessary to walk into a person's residence that you don't know.
ReplyDeleteIn the paragraphs 65-95, I think it was very foolish of June Star
ReplyDeletewhen she said "But nobody's killed," with disappointment.
This sentence seems as she wanted somebody in her family to die and
although she's young, she shouldn't say such a thing about her family like that.
I also think it was wise when grandmother decided not to mention that the house
was in Tennesse, because if she said it, every family member would've blamed on her
about the accident. I agree with Michal that Soo Jin wrote:
it was foolish when the grandmother
said "You're The Misfit!," because by saying that, she put her family in more danger
and more quickly. However, it was wise saying "I know you're a good man at heart," because
the grandmother was trying to convince and negotiate The Misfit in some way by getting
rid of his hostile feelings.
the previous comment was made by Soo Jin.
ReplyDeleteDavid Tocci wrote: There is an example of being wise when the misfit explains how God can help him, but he doesnt need any help. Clearly he does because he is sitting in a ditch filled with blood hiding with no clothes, because he just escaped from jail. He needs any help he can get, i think he is being very stubborn. He also mentions later that God is the reason everything is like this, so he contradicts himself because he says God can help, but God is the same person who put him in that situation, so why would he want help from the person who put him in that situation? it is him being foolish and wise in the same mindset.
ReplyDeleteEmily McNeely wrote: Paragraphs 65 through 95 introduce the Misfit and his accomplices and describe the aftermath of the car crash. The idea of violence being somehow pleasurable is directly introduced here. "'We've had an ACCIDENT!'" the children screamed in a frenzy of delight." (370) This phrase interests me because I believe O'Connor uses it to directly introduce the phenomenon she is discussing. Their pleasure in the drama and excitement of the event foreshadows the actions of the Misfit and his philosophy about life. They take a perversion resembling a fake kind of pleasure not unlike the kind the Misfit describes. The children's repetition of this exclamation emphasizes the foreshadowing and concepts here.
ReplyDeleteDavid Cornelius wrote: Going on what torrie said, I found something foolish the author describes the lady with all these clothes on. I thought it was foolish that she had too put all these clothes, just so in case of accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once she was a lady.
ReplyDeletethe lady talking to June star and John Wesley, is wise. she tells them in her time children were more respectful of their native states and parents. What Torrie explained in her blog response.
Heidi Bauer wrote: I don't think that this part of the poem has parts that can be defined as wise or foolish. I think that it is maybe slightly selfish, and rude. I say it is selfish because the Grandmother does not want to go to Florida, she wants to go somewhere she wants to go, and while the reasoning she gives her son for this are valid (It's good for the children to experience new places, plus there a criminal on the lose) I believe she is just using those as an excuse. I say rude because everyone in the part is rude. The Grandmother waves the newspaper in her sons face, the son ignors her, so she tries his wife, who also ignors her. Her grandson say "why dontcha stay at home?", but not in a very nice way. Then her Grandaughter pipes is "She wouldn't stay at home for a million bucks". The Grandmother responds is a childish way to this, which doesn't help anything, not to mention it wasn't even a very good comeback. So I think that it is all round a very disrespectful atmosphere where no one is really trying to do good, and no one is really being foolish because they're to busy bashing each other verbally and non-verbally.
ReplyDeleteIt was foolish for the Grandmother to start lying about the house not being far away and having secret panels...etc. I agree with Heidi in that it wasn't necessarily foolish but selfish. I she only knew that she would run into the Misfit. In some ways she paid serious consequences for lying. I think that Bailey was wise in not wanting to drive back to the house initially. Especially because of the news of the misfit. However, it was unwise for Bailey to tell everyone to shut up. It was quite rude.
ReplyDelete