Monthly Archives: March 2018

Habitual

Habitual (adjective) – done or doing constantly or as a habit.

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/habitual

From “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka

I came across this word while reading “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka. It appears at the end of the reading on the eighth paragraph on the second sentence when the author is discussing how the people have become accustomed to seeing the hunger artist a certain way. It caught my interest because it’s a word I hear quite often but didn’t know it’s meaning, and i’m curious as to how it ties in with the sentence and the author’s overall point.

“People became accustomed to thinking it strange that in these times they would want to pay attention to a hunger artist, and with this habitual awareness the judgement on him was pronounced.”(Kafka).

After reading the definition of the word I better understand the context of how the author was using it in that part of the text. As seen in the quote, the author is discribing the consistency of said awareness and how it had soldified a certain judgement on him.

Ignominy

Ignominy (noun) – deep personal humiliation and disgrace

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ignominy

“”Oh, yes! I remember about you now. I’d forgotten for a moment. Well, he isn’t exactly your uncle, is he? Your mother wasn’t married, was she? I mean, to your father?” “I–I don’t know,” stammered the girl, feeling pushed down to the uttermost depths of ignominy.” (Larsen, pg. 61)

Helga met her Mr. Nilssen’s wife who had told Helga that Mr. Nilssen is not her uncle because her own parents were not married so there is no relation between the two. Which made her feel humiliated because she didn’t even know that her parents were not married and has shown up to Mr. Nilssen’s house for a uncle that is not her uncle.

Inextricably

Inextricably (adjective) – in a way that is impossible to disentangle or separate.

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inextricably

From “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka

I came across this word while reading “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka. It appears at the beginning of the reading on the third paragraph on the first sentence when the author is describing the suspicions some people have with the hunger artist as they question the legitimacy of his art. It caught my interest because it’s a word I don’t see being used often, and i’m curious as to how it ties in with the sentence and the author’s overall point.

“However, it was, in general, part of fasting that these doubts were inextricably associated with it.”(Kafka).

After reading the definition of the word I better understand the context of how the author was using it in that part of the text. As seen in the quote, the author is discribing how the suspicions on the legitimacy of the hunger artist’s performance are to be expected because what he does is of extreme intensity on the human body and would most likely lead to death for the average person. So people are bound to question if he’s secretly doing something to assist him or if he’s really just a master at what he does.

Embellish

Embellish –  (verb) – to decorate (something) by adding special details and features : to make (something) more appealing or attractive.

I came across this word while reading Quicksand by Nella Larsen (on page 37 at the bottom). This was the context, ” And then he had spoken of contentment, embellishing his words with scriptural quotations and pointing out them what it was their duty to be satisfied in the estate to which they had been called, hewer of wood and drawers of quarter”.  In this case, the statement was given some extra details to make it seem more viable or more informative.

Source – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embellish

Spurning

Spurning (verb) – to reject with disdain

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spurning

From “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka

I came across this word while reading “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka. It appears at the beginning of the reading on the first paragraph towards the bottom when the author is illustrating the hunger artist and how the audience perceives him. It caught my interest because I’ve never seen use of the word before and was curious as to how it correlates to the overall image the author is trying to describe as to better undestand the text and it’s meaning.

“…as he sat there on scattered straw—spurning a chair—in black tights…”(Kafka).

After reading the definition of the word I better understand the context of how the author was using it in that part of the text. As seen in the quote, the author is discribing how the hunger artist would sit on scattered straw rather then on a chair, rejecting the comfort it would bring and embracing an uncomfortable minimalistic lifestyle to express his art.

Ramification

Ramification (noun) – the act or process of branching

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ramification

From “The Complete Fiction of Nella Larson” by Nella Larsen, Page 43

“Negro society, she had learned, was as complicated and as rigid in its ramifications as the highest strata of white society.”

The author uses this word to describe how the Negro Society has many layers or branches in it. This shows that the Negro Society is big, and contains various divisions that are complex.

 

 

Helga’s Relationships

Throughout the first couple of chapters that I have read I could already see conflicts brewing due to Helga’s race. She is the daughter of a white Danish woman and a African American jazz musician. We don’t really see Helga’s father because he left her and his wife when Helga was born (might be wrong). Due to this she is a mix of both races. She has a hard time expressing her true feelings. Helga has a hard time fitting in society, she does not “feel at home” whether it’s with the black people or the white people. Even at the school that she teaches she cannot really fit in, just because she is a mixed race. In my opinion being a mixed race does not mean that you cannot fit anywhere, it should be the other way around, where you can see and live  the life of both races. Anyway, the biggest dilemma in the story would be whether or not Helga can find a place called home, without there being anyone to judge her because of her mixed race.  In Naxos she had no time to relax or rest from any thoughts ” ever since her arrival, she had striven to keep these ends of the days from the intrusion of irritating thoughts and worries”.  No matter what she does or goes, there will always be a shadow casting down upon her, reminding her that she cannot fit in any group. Although she will face these troubles, I think she will overcome and find a place that she can call home.

—- Do you think Helga will wonder aimlessly without being welcomed anywhere throughout the whole story, or will she be able to cross her racial boundary ?

 

Helga Crane and Importance of Family. Christelle.

We can infer from the first chapter that Helga Crane is someone that lacks personal relationships in her life. There are no people in her life that she can heartily share her time, thoughts and feelings with. She doesn’t seem like she could connect with anyone around her. She certainly values companionship for it is stated in the chapter “she had wanted social background”. Her lack of love and communication with her own family accounts for her inability to be with others.

It all begins in the home. The way in which we interact with our family members (whether to be related to us or not) is what determines how we will interact with the rest of the world. In the article Factors affecting social development, it states “Children who experience the security of loving parents and have strong attachments to their parents are better able to reach out to relate to others. According to attachment theory, children who enjoy a secure attachment relationship with their parents and caregivers use this relationship as a support to venture out and explore their environment (Maccoby, 1993). Helga Crane did not achieve such confidence. There is a rift between Crane and her family. She doesn’t get along with them, as evidenced by the text “Her stepfather, her stepbrothers and sisters, and the numerous cousins, aunts, and other uncles could not have been even remotely considered. She laughed a little, scornfully, reflecting that the antagonism was mutual, or, perhaps, just a trifle keener on her side than on theirs. They feared and hated her, She pitied and despised them.” If she could not get along with the people who are supposed to unconditionally tolerate and even love her, what could she expect from the outside world?

 

Getting into Quicksand

*** Reminder: Three of you who were supposed to post for Monday’s class are posting for Wednesday’s class instead. Please use these questions again, since we didn’t get through Chapter 7 in Monday’s discussion.***

Thank you to our five volunteers for getting us started with our discussion on Quicksand. Here are some questions to get you started thinking about the novel. If you have other ideas that you want to focus on, feel free.

Posters: remember to write approximately 300 words, use quotations to get us into the text where you are, and consider asking questions or including a statement for others to respond to.

Commenters: remember to write 2 comments, each approximately 100-150 words, responding to the ideas your classmates have generated. You can also respond to a comment. Try to include quotations so we can find what you’re referring to when we discuss the text.

* Helga and family: what is Helga’ s relationship to her own family, and how does that affect her other relationships?Her work? Her life in general? Reflect on this, using specific examples from the text.

* Helga and Naxos: Helga has strong feelings about the school, its treatment of students and faculty, its treatment of what gets referred to as the race question. Reflect on this, using specific examples from the text.

* Helga and race: in Chapter One, Helga is enraged by a white preacher who comes to address the Naxos community. He believes he is praising them, but he isn’t. Look carefully at that passage (where we ended class) and further to track Helga thoughts and feelings about this, using specific examples from the text.

* Other topics you might consider in relation to Helga: work, travel, love/marriage, art, beauty, appear.

Eerily

Adverb

Eerily –  so mysterious, strange, or unexpected as to send a chill up the spine

sources : https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eerily

I have encountered this word while reading “Quicksand” by Nella Larsen. You can locate this word on page one, at the bottom of the page. When the narrator said “So large that the spot where Helga sat was a small oasis in a dessert of darkness. And Eerily quiet.” The word was interesting because it was used in such a short sentences to describe what the atmosphere was like when reading it. After understanding what this word means I think that the narrator was describing where Helga was sitting, and what it felted like, as the “shadowy”, and a large spot of lights, making the atmosphere very mysterious, and gloomy. Its atmosphere was very strange and frightening, also another word that would describe it would be emptiness.

Image result for eerily