Diary Entry 4-19-13

What is the significance of Gatsby stopping the parties?

I think Gatsby stopping the party is very significant to the story. This is because this means that his long search for Daisy is over. This is also interesting because this must mean that he does not expect Daisy to come to the parties that he has had. I am not sure yet if this represent his finding of Daisy, or giving up the search.

Journal Entry 4-12-13

Dear Diary,
I did not expect Gatsby to be so mysterious in the book. I had the preconceived notion that he would be the main character of the novel because his name is the title. Similar to Harry Potter who's name is also on the book. This, however, was not the case. It turns out that Gatsby is a character that is talked about in the first two chapters, but the reader is not formally introduced to him until the third chapter. And even when we meet him, he is mysterious. It is interesting to hear about the luxurious parties that Gatsby has and i am interested to see how Gatsby and Nick's relationship grows throughout the book.

Journal Entry 4-4-13

What was Mark Twain's intention for writing Huckleberry Finn?

I believe the main intention for Twain's writing was entertainment. This is a book about adventure with an implied comical aspect. It is also meant for children. Huck is a child and therefore children can easily relate to it. He is always adventurous like many other children is age. For example when Huck and Jim stumble upon the wreck, Huck says "well, it being away in the night, and stormy, and all so mysterious like, I felt just the way any other boy would a felt, when i see the wreck laying there so mournful and lonesome in the middle of the river: I wanted to get aboard of her and slink around a little, and see what was there". (Twain 77) This clearly shows Huck's childlike persona. Also there is pictures in the book which would encourage children to read the book. Overall i think the novel is meant to entertain children, although i believe it could also have deep moral lessons about slavery. I think Twain is trying to help children understand the complexities of slavery in the south. Also, the main character Huck is coming to the realization that slavery is wrong and immoral. This is something that i am sure many other children faced during the time period.

Journal Entry 3-25-13

How does the newest anecdote of the two con artists continue to reveal the tension between the maturity and immaturity of Huck's Perspective and voice?

I am torn on this subject. I think that it shows a lot of maturity that Huck is willing to go along with the King and Duke's shenanigans in order to keep Jim and himself safe. But i also believe that it is immature that Huckleberry allows the two to walk all over him. This shows his kiddish nature to allow adults to take advantage of him. It is okay to play along with them, but i do not believe he should give them his bed. And why does he not leave them or say they are going the other way. Why is he allowing them to stay on the raft. This seems like a much bigger risk. I think this shows more immaturity. Overall i think he is showing his immaturity to the reader through the two con artists. 

Journal Entry 3-20-13

How does Huck understand right and wrong? How does he put his morality to work?

Dear Diary,

We saw much of how Huck's morality works in chapter 16. He was at first willing to give up his friend because he was a slave and black but then realized he was not able to throw him under the metaphorical bus. This shows that he is starting to realize that race is not the most important thing, but also that he has lived in a place where blacks and slaves were considered to be inferior people. I think that this shows that Huck has a good heart. Another example of him having morality is when he tried to save the two robbers on the ship by letting other people know they were there. Huck is clearly showing that he is willing to help others even if they may not deserve it. Overall i think Huck has a good idea of what is right and wrong but is still sometimes confused about how to deal with each situation. 

Journal Entry 2-15-13

Dear Diary,

What would you expect Emma to write in her note to Charles?
I would expect Emma to tell Charles that she is sorry for the position she has put him in. I would also expect her to tell Charles to take care of her daughter. I believe she would be mostly vague about her doings and not say much and that is why Charles does not realize until later she was having an affair. Overall i think this is just a way for Emma to tell Charles she has given up.

What would you hope she would write?
I would hope that Emma told Charles that she is so sorry and that she loves him and their daughter. Even if this is a lie, i hope she would say this to make Charles feel better about her death. I also would like her to tell the truth about the other men and clear the air. Even though she probably didn't do this i would hope that she did.

Blog Entry 2-5-13

I seem to think that Emma does not learn anything as she continues to rotate men in her never ending affairs. She continues to not learn from her mistakes and this is shown by her making the same mistakes again and again. This is partly because she does not realize that what she is doing is a problem. She thinks that somehow she deserves to have relationships with other people because Charles is not good enough for her. This is her pessimistic view that will continue to allow herself to do these things. Her life will not become better until she admits what she has done and take a optimistic view on her relationship.

Journal Entry 1-15-13

I continue to notice that Emma feels as if she was cheated out of something in life. This comes up again in this passage in Part 2 chapter 3 when she mentions "having a male child was like an expected revenge for all her impotence in the past." (74) She clearly has much resentment for the life she lives and she feels that having a boy would at least give her the joy of seeing him succeed. When she finds out she is having a girl she is instantly disappointed and faints. This does not tell me anything new about Emma, but it does give me further evidence that she is unappreciative of the life she was giving. This continues to make me disappointed about her character.

Blog Entry 1-10-12

"The night was dark; some drops of rain were falling. She breathed in the damp wind that refreshed her eyelids. The music of the ball was stil echoing in her ears , and she tried to keep herself awake in order to prolong the illusion of this luxurious life that she would soon have to give up."

Page 47

"She was there; beyond the ball was only shadow overspreading all the rest."

Journal 1-9-13

Dear Diary,

I believe that a Madame Bovary can be used to look at the culture, but in a cautious way. We can determine what it was like for the main characters, but we are not able to assume that this is what happens to every person in the culture. 
One of the things that we learn about in the first few chapters of Madame Bovary is marriage. In the novel we are able to see that when a couple is married, there are usually festivities that occur. In Charles marriage with Emma, this is especially true. We can also see from the text that marriages are arranged in the culture.
Overall, there is much we can learn from the book but we can not take these things for granted.