Author Archives: Keila Torres

Bigot

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Bigot (noun)

Definition: a person who strongly and unfairly dislikes other people, ideas, etc. : a bigoted person; especially : a person who hates or refuses to accept the members of a particular group (such as a racial or religious group)

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bigot

Found in: “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison

Quote: “Maybe I am different now, Twyla. But you’re not. You’re the same little state kid who kicked a poor old black lady when she was down on the ground. You kicked a black lady and you have the nerve to call me a bigot.”

I understand now that this term was used for Roberta to turn the tables on Twyla, exclaiming that Twyla called HER the judgmental one, when Twyla “kicked” Maggie. In this scene, we can tell that Roberta is pointing the finger and that she hates the idea of what they did when children makes her a bigot.

Hunky-dory

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Hunky-dory (adjective)

Definition: free or trouble or problems

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunky-dory

Found in: “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison

Quote: “My ears were itching and I wanted to go home suddenly. This was all very well but she couldn’t just comb her hair, wash her face and pretend everything was hunky-dory. After the Howard Johnson’s snub. And no apology. Nothing.”

I understand now that Twyla was saying that after the incident were Roberta was very rude to her, she couldn’t just pretend that it never happened and everything was okay now.

Ladies’ Day: The Bell Jar

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In the story, the banquet, which Esther attends, is held by Ladies’ Day magazine staff. The connection here can be made that it is a celebration of women, and for Esther this means she can enjoy herself and eat all of the luxurious food she wants without worrying about the price because she is at a banquet.

“There was eleven of us girls from the magazine, together with most of our supervising editors, and the whole staff of the Ladies’ Day Food Testing Kitchens in hygienic white smocks, neat hairnets and flawless makeup of a uniform peach-pie color”

Ladies’ Day from Wikipedia :

In the western liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin (25 March) in some English-speaking countries. It is the first of the four traditional English quarter days. The “Lady” is the Virgin Mary. The term derives from Middle English, when some nouns lost their genitive inflections. “Lady” would later gain an -s genitive ending, and therefore the name means “Lady’s day.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Day

Jitterbugging

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 Jitterbugging  (noun)

Definition: a very lively type of dance from the 1940s

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jitterbugging?show=0&t=1397137285

Found in: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Quote: “The two of them didn’t even stop jitterbugging during the intervals. I felt myself shrinking to a small black dot against all those red and white rugs and that pine paneling. I felt like a hole in the ground.” (pg 16)

Here, the word jitterbugging is used to explain the dance that was continued thorough the breaks. You can almost envision Esther sinking to the background as people dance lively around her.

Mountainous

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Mountainous (adjective)

Definition: extremely large

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mountainous

Found in: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Quote: “I figured the girl across from me couldn’t reach it because of the mountainous centerpiece of marzipan fruit
”

Here, the word mountainous is used to describe the large centerpiece that was blocking the girl from reaching over.

Midterm Prep

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1)   “Life is very much more exciting now than it used to be. You see I have something more to expect, to look forward to, to watch. I really do eat better, and am more quiet than I was”

Title: The Yellow Wallpaper

Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Explain: Here, the narrator is talking about the impact the yellow wallpaper has on her. She explains that she has something to be excited for again and its affecting her life positively. This connects to the larger issue of her post-pardon psychosis as she is imagining the yellow wallpaper to be something much more than it is.

2)   “I have all of your letters here. I look at them everyday. I have one that looks as though it’s weeping, because the words fade away into nothing, and another that looks as if it’s been through a hard day, because there’s a smudge of dirt at each corner, and it smells of kerosene and burnt sugar. But I can’t tell you what they say, because I don’t read. I can’t tell whether there are any truths, but I keep them, ‘cause George gives me his heart, though it covered in mud and filthy, but he gives it to me in one of these letters. And I believed him. I believed him!

Title: Intimate Apparel

Author: Lynn Nottage

Explain: Here, Esther is talking about the physical appearance of the letters. She compares the way the letters look to the experiences of a human, crying or being tired after a long say. She gives them personification because she cannot read, so she implies from their appearance. She is upset because although she cannot read the letters, she knew that George said he gave her his heart in these letters. Therefore she cannot understand the cheating ways of his actions now.

 

 

Manifesto: The music of a woman

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A woman is like music. Some music is loud and vibrant, drumming loudly through the streets. Other music is lowly and hums through the hallways, echoing its special message.

Some women are strong and fierce, not scared to hit the high notes on the piano or vocalize their thoughts and opinions.

Other women, like myself, sing my tunes in the simplicity of a small comfy place I can call home. The music similar to the joy I take from creating art.

Some men only like country music.

But what is a woman to do, when she sings a different song than a man wants to hear?

Then she must change her song. She must alter her style. If it is for the sake of true love, a woman must adjust to the needs of her partner. Some men require more up-tempo, such as a cook in the kitchen or maid to clean the house.

Marriage is the meeting of two beings inter-weaving with each other.

Some of the knots need to be smoothed out, and something has to give.

Sometimes in the name of love, one must sacrifice their passion in order to sustain that love. And the prize is grand; to love and be loved until the end of your days
seems more than worth it.

What are beautiful hands with no one to hold them? What is art with no inspiration? What is life without love? I will take the roughness of hands that know a cleaned home and long cooked meal, to beautiful hands without the loving embrace of someone special.

So then, is it that a woman must change her song throughout life to fit the mold of each man’s preference?

I would say some women are lucky enough to not have to.

Some men are able to see the beauty in the music of a woman.