Monthly Archives: May 2014

Cockscomb

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Cockscomb (noun):  a garden plant (Celosia cristata) of the amaranth family grown for its flowers.

Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek: “…so that they all had to be supported with brown handles and old boards; red red cockscombs, fringed and bleeding a thick menstrual color…Dolores clipped the most beautiful of these flowers and arranged them on three modest headstones…”

This flower symbolizes the loss that Dolores has gone through from the death of her sons and husband. Each week she cuts the flowers to place on the headstones, which shows that she is still mourning, or “bleeding’ from the emotional wounds she has.

-”Cockscomb.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 20 May 2014.

Ardent

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Ardent (adj): characterized by warmth of feeling typically expressed in eager zealous support or activity.

Zadie Smith, Scenes From the Smith Family Christmas: “Oh, we Smiths are ardentseekers after the spirit of Christmas, and we do not listen to Iris Murdoch’s sensible analogical advice: ”Good represents the reality of which God is the dream.” We’re chasing the dream, baby.”

The word helps reveal that the author’s family took the spirit of Christmas very seriously, and made sure they weren’t deterred from it by the speculations of others.

-”Ardent.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 20 May 2014.

Evaded

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1) Evaded (verb): to avoid dealing with or facing (something).

Nella Larsen, Quicksand: “‘You don’t like Naxos, Miss Crane?’ She evaded. ‘Naxos, the place? Yes, I like it. Who wouldn’t like it…But-well- I don’t seem to fit here”(373)

This word plays an important part in understanding how Helga was trying to avoid admitting to someone other than herself that she hated being at the school. She didn’t want to deal with the question that Mr. Anderson asked her, but tried to answer indirectly instead.

-“Evaded.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 20 May 2014.

 

Bell Jar

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“To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream”. 

http://i.word.com/idictionary/bell%2520jar

bell Jar (noun)

:Bell shaped usually glass vessel designed to cover objects or to contain gases or a vacuum

Understanding what a bell jar is helps me to understand this passage better. The bell jar is really a metaphor for her “world”. The dead baby is of her spirit. not alive, suffication of her liberation. This spiritual death seemed more like a dream.

Diaphanous

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1) Diaphanous (adj): characterized by such fineness of texture as to permit seeing through.

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar: “Then my gaze slid over the people to the blaze of green beyond the diaphanous curtains…”(141)

The use of this word allows the reader to understand Esther’s clear visual of the people. She states that she felt as if she was sitting at an enormous window, which shows how see-through the curtain was.

– “Diaphanous.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 20 May 2014.

 

 

Lacerated

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From the story “Quicksand” by Nella Larsen

Lacerated: adjective

Definition: mangled; jagged; torn.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Lacerated?s=t

From page 374: “the shamed feeling which had been penance evaporated. Only a lacerated pride remained.

After defining this work I now where how Helga felt. She was torn and tried her hardest to hide this feeling.

Eccentricity

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Take from “No name woman” by Maxine Hong Kingston

Eccentricity- noun

Definition: an oddity or peculiarity, as of conduct;queerness, strangeness, oddness, freakishness, aberration.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eccentricity?s=t

From page 1233: “on a farm near the sea, a woman who tended her appearance reaped a reputation for eccentricity.”

From defining this word it help me understand that the married women in the story that the author described were trying to the guys interest by behaving in a eccentric manor.

 

Geisha

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From “No Name women by Maxine Hong Kingston

Geisha-noun

Definition: a Japanese woman trained as a professional singer, dancer, and companion for men.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Geisha?s=t

From page 1232: Instead of letting them start separate new lives like the Japanese, who could become samurais and geishas.

After defining this word I now understand what a geisha does for a living. I was curious to know and defining this word helped me understand the text.

 

Prodigal

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Taken from “No name woman” by Maxine Hong Kingston

Prodigal- noun

Definition: a person who spends, or has spent, his or her money or substance with wasteful extravagance; spendthrift.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Prodigal?s=t

From page 1231: “leaving only the gravel, eating even the gizzard lining could such people engender a prodigal aunt ?”

After defining this word I know understand what the author was describing when she states “adultery is extravagance”. She compared this to having a aunt this is prodigal.

Intrinsic

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From “Feminist Manifesto” by Mina Loy

Intrinsic- adjective

Definition: belonging to a thing by its very nature

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Intrinsic+?s=t

From page 256: ” Rendering her lethargic in the acquisition of intrinsic merits of character by which she could obtain a concrete value”

From defining this word I now understand the terms it was used in. Mina Loy was describing the natural state that women use to obtain values that are useful to venture the female population.