Edict

Edict is a (Noun)

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary edict means: An official order given by a person with power or by government.

This term was used by William Faulkner in, “A Rose for Emily.” on page 1 of class handout. William Faulkner wrote, “
dating from that day in 1894 when Colonel Sartoris, the mayor who fathered the edict that no negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron
” Faulkner used the tem edict to emphasized that the Colonel Sartoris who was mayor at the time and was responsible for the new law for black woman to wear apron in public would not be considered to be lying when he made formal statement that Miss Emily was excused from paying taxes because the town was indebted to her father for a loan he had given to the town in the past. This apparently was not true, but because Colonel Sartoris was in high authority within the town his explanation for not allowing her to be taxes was not challenged during his time as mayor.

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Noblesse Oblige

 

Noblesse oblige (Noun)

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary noblesse oblige means: The obligation of honorable, generous and responsible behavior associated with high rank or birth.

This term was used by William Faulkner in, “A Rose for Emily,” page 4 of class handout. William Faulkner wrote, “but there were still others, older people, who said that even grief should not cause a real lady to forget noblesse oblige.” My understanding of this term in the passage is that the towns people especially the older ones frowned upon the relationship between Homer Barron and Miss Emily. They knew her upbringing and the Griersons were considered to be aristocrats. Miss Emily the last of Griersons was still considered an aristocrat. They felt she was forgetting who she was and was dating and contemplating marriage to someone who was beneath her stature. They felt she should not let grief and loneliness cause her to settle for a day laborer. Her father who had vanquished so many suitors would have been appalled.

 

Charwoman

Charwoman is a noun

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary Charwoman means:  A woman who cleans houses or offices.

The word charwoman is used by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the class handout entitled, “Young Goodman Brown,” on page 43 paragraph 3.

Hawthorne stated, “Dead?, asked Mrs. Samsa,  looking at the charwoman.”   Even though in the next line of the story Hawthorne wrote, “That’s what I said, replied the cleaner.”  I still did not understand why she was referred to as the charwoman.  Now I understand the word charwoman and cleaner is used interchangeably to describe this woman who was hired to clean house by the Samsa family.

Unison

Unison is an adjective

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary unison means:  At the same time, simultaneously.

Unison is used by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the story, “Young Goodman Brown,” on page 7.   The narrator stated, Goodman Brown cried out, and his cry was lost to his own ear, by its unison with the cry of the desert.”

This means Goodman Brown cried out at the same time that the forest noises could be heard.  These noises prevented him or anyone from hearing his cries.

Skulk

Skulk(verb)- to move or hide in a secret way especially because you are planning to do something bad.

This was found in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” on page 61, in the 10th paragraph. “But in the places where it isn’t faded and where the sun is just so—I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design.”

The narrator notices the figure secretly moving or hiding in the wallpaper, otherwise known as the woman, which she believed was trying to escape.

Discussion: The Yellow Wall Paper and The Cottagette

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is written in first person narrator as recognize by the use of “I” in text and the narrator is telling about what she sees, thinks, feels and what her experiences are in the story.  In the story, the narrator describes how she sees and thinks the house as “I would say a haunted house “(Pg 1) and she describes her feeling of someone is staring at her from the pattern of the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom as “There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down” (Pg. 4). I think it is an unreliable narrator because there are many areas that she mentions them but no further explanation are given and the sentence that gives me the narrator is unreliable is that when she talks about the smell as “I thought seriously of burning the house –to reach the smell. But now I am used to it. The only thing I can think of that it is like the color of the paper! A yellow smell” (Pg.9). I think this is the narrator’s distorted thinking and confusing me.

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the meaning of the word “dystopia” is:  an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly.    I think “The Yellow Wallpaper” is dystopian because the narrator is unhappy about the bedroom,   the work she is forbidden for taking care of her baby like other mothers, and not to write.

“The Cottagette” is also written in first person and reliable narrator since there is nothing confusing or distorted thinking. The meaning of the word “utopia” is:  an imaginary place in which the government, laws and social conditions are perfect. I think “The Cottagette” is utopian because everything in the story is perfect for both Mr. Matthew and Malda like they love each other, to get marry, the beautiful place they both like and most important thing that Malda doesn’t need to cook and Mr. Matthew loves her as a painter.

Furtive – “The Cottagette”

Furtive – done in a quiet and secret way to avoid being noticed.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/furtive

Used In “The Cottagette” on page 47, the fifth paragraph.

“Not a two minutes walk”, he assured her, and showed us a little furtive path between the trees to the place where meals were furnished.”

The word is meant to describe a secretive and quick path to a place near the cottagette to get their meals.

 

Week 4 Blog

In “Young Goodman Brown there was two things that really stood out to me. In paragraph 11 The old man, who I believe represents the Devil in this story states “You are late. Goodman Brown, says he.” in paragraph 12 the “Good Man” (Brown) responds with “Faith kept me back a while.” A very clever way of discerning that a good man with faith is hard and challenging to the Devil to tempt in his evil ways. Unfortunately in this story the Devil makes Goodman Brown as a follower with no faith. Now you may ask what was the turning point of in this story of how this occurred. In paragraph 50 after assuming that the pink ribbon is the end of Faith, Goodman Brown states “My Faith is gone!” then goes on to say “There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil! for to thee is this world given.”. At that point he races toward sin–“And maddened with despair, so that he laughed loud and long, did Goodman Brown grasped staff and set forth again, at such a rate that he seemed to fly along the forest-path, rather than to walk or run.” The devil may not be real entity in our world but this story shows that loss of faith is.

In the second story “Metamorphosis” I am not really sure what the changing of a human being to a  to a undesirable useless bug-like creature what supposed to represent, other than the effect it had on Gregor Samsa’s family. At first there was pity on him followed by the hope that it was temporary and that he would revert back. Then there was the relationship with Greta that proved how Love can always keep you going. But in the end reality shows that all can be lost and Gregor became a disturbing entity to all who loved him the most. I think this was a harsh way of showing that. Even though the clerk’s role was short it began the pity I was talking about as he talked bad about him and put him down in front of his family, even resulting of his job loss. Who would not feel bad about someone like that. The hope was that they decided to house him and feed him, until he could become Gregor the human again. His sister became his advocate and his voice to his parents, almost knowing what he was thinking. But the paragraph that stood out was on page 45. “The charwoman stood in the doorway with a smile on her face as if she had some tremendous good news to report, but would only do so if she was clearly asked to.” then she goes on to say after a brief chuckle–“well then, that thing in there, you needn’t worry about  how you are going to get rid of it. that’s all been sorted out.”. To me it was obvious that Gregor had become himself again. But the strain that the family put themselves through was too much and they could not fathom any news that was good. What happened next was the family had new life their worries were over, and the future became bright. And that day they started their new beginning without Gregor.