Category Archives: Week 7

draft, Week 7

Comparison of “A Rose For Emily” and retelling

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“Farewell to My Duty” is a rewrite of William Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily” in different point of view. The protagonist of the stories is Miss Emily. While the original story is narrated by the town people as in first person plural, the new version’s point of view is only one person, Tobe. In the original story, because the narrator is the town people, the story is developed by the facts that they observe outside of the house, and the thoughts how they feel about Miss Emily. However in the rewrite, the narrator is Tobe who lives together with Emily, probably for a long time, and who is able to observe her even inside of the house. The new narrator here, Tobe, is probably the one who knows about Miss Emily the most, therefore the way how he describes about Miss Emily would be different from the town people’s point of view.

The point of view of the new version is Miss Emily’s closest person. In the original story, the town people talk about Miss Emily as a neighbor in their town, but Tobe is Miss Emily’s closest person; Tobe supposed to know more about Miss Emily. Therefore the original story shows the relationship between other people in the town, but the new version describes the relationship with her closest person Tobe as well as with the town people.

For the town people’s point of view, “Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” because Miss Emily didn’t pay tax after her father passed away (section 1, paragraph 3). Even though most of the neighbor didn’t like her, they eager to know about Miss Emily just out of curiosity; some felt pity for her; some expected downfall of the Grierson. In the original story, the relationship between Miss Emily and the town people is well-described. The town people care about what was happening to Miss Emily not because they really concerned about her health and comfort, but because they were just curious about her. People in the town considered her as some unsolved topic which they can gossip in gathering over years. Throughout the story, the neighbors knew all the details about Emily. For example, in section 3 paragraph 1, the narrator described the appearance of Miss Emily and Homer Barron with details. “Presently we began to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy and the matched team of bays from the livery stable.” Also the town people knew that she bought arsenic and that she ordered a man’s toilet set and clothing. As we can see in the original story, the whole town have interests in her but just out of curiosity. Even though she didn’t interact with the people at all, they knew about Miss Emily quite well.

In the story, the town assumed that Tobe would know everything about Miss Emily and tried to get some information about her from him. However they gave up asking him about her later. The narrator in the original story says “He[Tobe] talked to no one, probably not even to her, for his voice had grown harsh and rusty, as if from disuse” (section 4 second to the last paragraph). The only clue of their thoughts about the relationship between Miss Emily and Tobe was his voice; it was rusty from not using it and people can conclude that he doesn’t even talk to Emily. In the new version of the story, however, there are more details which describe the relationship between them. When Tobe found out that Miss Emily bought arsenic, he questioned to himself “Is she going to kill herself?” (paragraph 2) But soon he assumed that she would not kill herself because of a Northern laborer guy. Later even when she ordered a man’s toilet set and outfit, Tobe was wondering about the reason why she bought them, but he never asked her. He did not have any conversation with her not because he did not care about her, but because he trusted her. Also he knew he was “not in the position” to ask or tell her what to do (paragraph 2). Miss Emily was Tobe’s duty to take care of, but at the same time he also felt loyalty and compassion to her. He was the only one who really had respect for her and cared about Miss Emily. He says in the second paragraph; “luckily, regardless of my concern, she didn’t use the poison for herself.” Lastly, when Tobe as a narrator talks about the scene when Miss Emily greeted Homer Barron at dusk in paragraph 4, he describes Miss Emily’s greeting “with sad smile on her face”. He already knew Miss Emily had bought a poison and furnished Homer Barron’s room as for a bridal. Also he knew “some other corpse is still in the abandoned room” because he never saw Homer Barron again after he went inside the room. He still didn’t mention it to anybody because of the duty to protect Miss Emily. Yet, it was stressful and gloomy staying in the “dreadful house”, but he still had respect for her and admitted that “she had been a tradition, a history, and the last real lady in this town.” (last paragraph).

To conclude, the original story’s narrator focuses on the relationship between the town people and Miss Emily, whereas the new version’s narrator describes the relationship between Tobe and Miss Emily more effectively. Each point of view can provide us different information even though it is a same story.

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draft, Homework, Week 7

Comparison Essay on “The Day Gregor Samsa Revealed to his Parents that he was a Bug” and “The Metamorphosis”

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In, The Metamorphosis, the narrator, which is a third-person limited narrator (mainly heterodiegetic narrator), tells the story about Gregor waking up as an enormous bug. The narrator describes Gregor’s thoughts, feelings of his transformation, and analyzes what is going on outside of Gregor’s mind. However, this narration is only limited to Gregor’s thoughts. I was not able to hear the thoughts of Gregor’s father, mother, and the chief clerk. I also was not able to experience how these characters felt when they encountered Gregor as a bug for the first time. The narrator just simply spoke about what she/he saw and these characters reactions but I was not able to get access to each character’s mind. Therefore, by retelling the the story from a third-person limited narrator to a third-person omniscient narrator (heterodiegetic narrator), I received access to the undesirable and frightful thoughts and feelings of the mother, father, and chief clerk as opposed to the original text.

In the retelling, The Day Gregor Samsa Revealed to his Parents that he was a Bug, the mother is portrayed as being very distraught of Gregor’s newly transformed body. When the mother had her first encounter with Gregor as a bug, she immediately “fell unconscious to the floor.” The narrator describes Mrs. Samsa’s unconsciousness as “anguish for her son turning into a household pest” and that she felt astonished and depressed for Gregor’s situation. In, The Metamorphosis, when the mother encountered Gregor as a bug for the first time, the narrator only describes how the mother “sank to the floor into her skirts,” how the mother’s “skirt spread themselves out” as she laid on the floor, and how her “head disappeared down into her breast” (Page 2, p. 2). These were all observations from the narrator of the mother’s reactions but there were no descriptions of her feelings. Moreover, in, The Day Gregor Samsa Revealed to his Parents that he was a Bug, when the mother witnessed her son falling on the ground and landing on his “numerous, hairy legs,” the narrator got access to the mother’s thoughts by showing her reminiscing on “Gregor’s face as a young boy, then as a mature man.” The retelling of the story showed us that Mrs. Samsa really cared about her son and that she wanted Gregor’s old body to return, unlike the father. However, in The Metamorphosis, when the mother saw her son crouched on the ground with his numerous little legs, the narrator just states that she “was engrossed in herself.” The narrator does not state what she was thinking instead she/he shows the mother screaming after she has witnessed Gregor’s new body.

As for Gregor’s father, he looked very appalled and unaccepting of Gregor’s newly transformed body in both the retelling and original story, however, in, The Day Gregor Samsa Revealed to his Parents that he was a Bug, the father’s feelings were well represented with his dissenting actions. When the father encountered Gregor as a bug for the first time, all he could think about was himself and the financial burden of the family’s needs such as, “How was the family going to be taken cared of?” “What he was going to?” “How the vermin (Gregor) was going to take care of him?” He was not stating, what happened to my beloved son? Instead he was “hostile” and did not want to accept that Gregor had turned into an insect. In, The Metamorphosis, the narrator merely states “he looked hostile and that his fist was clenched as if he wanted to knock Gregor back into his room” (Page 20, p.2). The narrator did not state the father’s feelings and I was not able to know what the father was thinking as he was weeping (Page 20, p.2). Moreover, in, The Day Gregor Samsa Revealed to his Parents that he was a Bug, the father’s disgust for his son is clearly seen when the narrator states that the “father no longer considered Gregor as a son but as a repulsive pest that needed to die.” As the father was chasing Gregor with the chief clerk’s stick, all he was stating was, “get out, get out, get out you filthy pest.” When I read this scene from the rewrite, it showed that the father really despised Gregor, that he had no sympathy for his son’s dreary situation, and that he had no love for Gregor. As opposed to the original text, the father is continually shown as being very angry with Gregor without any explanation for his hostility. In, The Metamorphosis, the narrator explains how Gregor was fearful of getting a “lethal blow in his head or back with the stick that was in his father’s hand and how he was getting confused by the loud hissing” that was being done by his father when he was trying to return to his room (Page 22, p. 2 & Page 23, p.1), however, there were no feelings and thoughts of the father being portrayed in this scene.

With the chief clerk, I was able to get a recollection of his past in, The Day Gregor Samsa Revealed to his Parents that he was a Bug. When the chief clerk saw Gregor as a bug for the first time, he started to think “back on his youth and how he detested insects for their dreadful appearance.” The rewrite allowed me to get to know the chief clerk personally by reminiscing on the things that he dreaded as a child. In, The Metamorphosis, the chief clerk’s simply puts his hands on his open mouth as he slowly backs away from seeing Gregor’s newly transformed body (Page 20, p.2). Another detail that the rewrite gave was with, the chief clerk giving a thorough description of what Gregor’s new body looked like to him. For example, the chief clerk described Gregor as having a “big stature, numerous, hairy legs, moving in all directions, and an antenna moving back and forth like a pendulum of a clock.” Although, the description of Gregor’s new body was being told throughout the original story, it was nice to hear it from another character’s point of view. Also, in, The Day Gregor Samsa Revealed to his Parents that he was a Bug, the chief clerk’s frightful thoughts were shown when he thinks that Gregor was going to “consume every part of his flesh” and that “he did not want to be touched by the hideous creature (Gregor Samsa).” As opposed to, The Metamorphosis, the narrator does not state the chief clerk’s thoughts or feeling for the situation, he merely is seen as trying to get to the entrance hall of Gregor’s home in order to escape (Page 21, p.2).

In conclusion, the retelling of The Metamorphosis from third-person limited to third-person omniscient shows readers that Gregor’s mother still acknowledged her son, although, she was frightened and did not know how to deal with his new body. As for the chief clerk, he was depicted as frightened and that he saw Gregor as a “hideous creature,” rather than being Gregor Samsa. And finally, the father was repulsed at Gregor and did not “consider him as a son but as a repulsive pest”. The omniscient narrator gave readers more insight on the other characters and gave each character’s different point of view to reflect on.

 

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draft, Week 7

Retelling Comparison – A Story of an Hour

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For the retelling I picked “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, where Mrs. Mallard is told about the death of her husband. In the original story, we get to know the thought process of Mrs. Mallard only and the other characters actions or thought process is just left out in thin air. For the retelling I told the story in the view of how Mrs. Mallard sister Josephine would be feeling in such a situation.

In the original story, we first learn that Mrs. Mallard is told about the death of her husband and how she is feeling when is told about the news. In my retelling I start by showing what kind of day it is and how Josephine learns the news about the death of her sister’s husband. I also show how Josephine feels at the time that she learns the news and how she is approaching the situation. We don’t get to know how Josephine is feeling prior to her telling the news to her sister in the original story, so we cannot assume what she is going through or what kind of feelings are being shown by her.

In the retelling, the part where Josephine is telling the news to Mrs. Mallard there are small details that get added such as how Josephine is feeling really nervous and does not know how to tell her sister about the death of the husband. We also get to know that to calm herself down and tell her sister about the news, she drinks tea and takes her time in telling her in order to not greatly affect her health, in which she has a heart problem. From the retelling, we get to know what kind of character Josephine is instead of not knowing at all in the original story.

After Mrs. Mallard knows about the death of her husband she goes into her room and sits in a chair near the window. In the original story, we get to know how the room is like and what Mrs. Mallard is doing while sitting in that chair. We get to know how Mrs. Mallard is going through the pain of losing her husband to getting happy that she gets to live her life the way she wants to; now that her husband is dead.

In the retelling, we get to see a different view of how the other characters are responding to Mrs. Mallard locking herself in her room. We are first presented that when Mrs. Mallard goes to room to be alone is a standard respond to knowing that a loved one has past away. We get to see the different views when they try to talk to Mrs. Mallard when she is in the room and does not get an answer from her.

In the original story, we know that Mrs. Mallard is going through the process of accepting the death of her husband and how she is going to live her life now. In the retelling of the story, we get to see that the other characters assume that this type of action taken by Mrs. Mallard can lead to one that hurts herself because of her health problems. The only action that is taken in the original story that we know is Josephine calling out to Mrs. Mallard to come out of the room. In the retelling, we get to know that more action other than calling out to Mrs. Mallard is taken. Josephine tells Richard to call the doctor and find a way to open the door. From that we can tell that the other characters are worried to what is happening to Mrs. Mallard in the room since they only thing they know is that she is sitting in a chair without and response from her. From the retelling we get to see the emotions that Josephine is feeling from the moment Mrs. Mallard goes into her room to when she leaves it. We get to know that they took early action in calling the doctor in case something happens to Mrs. Mallard and that they tried to get access into the room instead of leaving her alone in the room.

In the final part of the story, both the original and retelling show is a similar view, when Mrs. Mallard comes out of her room and she goes down the stairs to see her husband which causes her to have a heart attack. The only thing we get to see more in the retelling is how Josephine felt when she saw Mrs. Mallard leave her room and the face she has. We get to see the emotion of Josephine from being worried of what happening to her sister to feeling relieved that she came out of her room just fine. We also get to see that when they walk down the stairs, the emotion that goes on when they see the husband is not dead and the facial expression that Mrs. Mallard express at that moment.

With the retelling of this story, we get to know more about the emotions that the other characters felt during this situation. The goal of this retelling was to show that Mrs. Mallard was not the only one that had to face this painful experience, but the other characters also faced one of their own with how to deal with Mrs. Mallard actions in response to the husband deaths.

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draft, Week 7

Comparative Essay – “The Story of An Hour” and “My Short Lived Happy Ending”

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“The Story of An Hour” and “My Short Lived Happy Ending” both tell the same story, but with different narration styles. “The Story of An Hour” gives the reader a third person narration. In “My Short Lived Happy Ending,” the reader is given an autodiegetic first person narration. The difference in the narration can change how each story is interpreted.  In the original story, “The Story of An Hour,” the third person limited narrator actually shows the death of Mrs. Mallard, gives access to some of her thoughts, and a view of more than one room in the story, while in the retelling, “My Short Lived Happy Ending,” the first person autodiegetic narrator shows the reason of Mrs. Mallard’s death without actually showing her death, gives access to her thoughts, and a view of only the rooms that she is in.

In both the original and retelling the death of Louise was depicted differently. The original states, “It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine’s piercing cry; at Richards’ quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife. When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease–of the joy that kills.” In this quotation, the narrator is showing the death of Louise, but the characters of the story think she died of a heart attack caused by the joy of seeing her husband alive. The retelling states otherwise. “Then, as we reached the bottom stair, someone opened the front door with a key. My terror returned at the sight of the figure that entered. It was Brently. My heart begins to race and I feel a horrible pain in my chest. I grab my chest and fall, then just pure darkness.” At the sight of her husband, Louise’s heart began to race. She died of fear. Fear that her freedom will be taken away from her once more, since her husband wasn’t actually dead. “My heart begins to race and I feel a horrible pain in my chest. I grab my chest and fall, then just pure darkness.” This line was used to represent Mrs. Mallard’s death. It was difficult to include her death into the retelling, but her heart beginning to race and her chest pain was used to symbolize her dying from the heart disease which she had.

In the retelling, there is access to all of Louise’s thoughts during the course of the story. This shows her true feelings about her husband’s death. “Now that my husband is gone, I have no one to limit me on my actions. I rise from the chair, and fall back down. I begin to feel empowerment, excitement even. Most women that I know would never feel such a way after their husband’s death. ”Free, free, free!” I begin to whisper. My pulses start to race. The terror which had overwhelmed me has dissolved” With this access, the reader can interpret that her relationship with her husband wasn’t something that made her happy. It held her back from living her life. In the original, “Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will–as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under the breath: “free, free, free!” The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.” The reader is given Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts, but only to some extent. They’re told that after the death of her husband, Mrs. Mallard comes to realization that she’s finally free. In both stories, the narrator shows the reader that Mrs. Mallard is full of joy after her husband’s death. One difference is that the retelling shows that joy in more detail.

The main differences between these two stories are the type of narrations. “The Story of An Hour,” is written in third person limited, allowing the reader to know what’s going on in multiple places of the story. “Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhold, imploring for admission. “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door–you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.” “Go away. I am not making myself ill.” No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.”  In “My Short Lived Happy Ending,” this part is told in a different view,” Josephine was behind the door shouting,” Louise, open the door! You will make yourself ill!” I ignore her warning. I am not making myself ill. My husband was who made me ill. “Go away! I am not making myself ill!” I shout in reply.” From Louise’s point of view she doesn’t know that her sister is kneeling behind the door, she only sees the room that she’s in.  In the original, the reader is shown both inside and outside of the room.

In writing the retelling of “The Story of An Hour,” the main goal was to give the reader Mrs. Mallard’s point of view. This helps clear up any confusion about what she’s actually feeling, or the reason for her death. Although, the original shows this, it’s not from Mrs. Mallard’s point of view. Her point of view allows the reader to fully understand her true feelings that she develops after she grieved her husband.

Click here for retelling draft.

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draft, Homework Instructions, Week 7

Responding to our retelling comparisons

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As with the drafts of the retellings, you’ll post your drafts of Part 2, comparisons of the original story and your retelling here and then as homework for Week 7, write comments on at least 2 classmates’ drafts.

For your post:

  • title: the title you’re giving your comparative essay
  • include a link to your retelling draft
  • paste your comparative essay into the post
  • category: choose Week 7 under Homework AND draft under Project #1
  • tags: choose the tag for the story you’re writing about, plus any others you think are appropriate

In the comments you write to your classmates, reflect back to them any or all of the following:

  • what do you understand is the argument made in the comparative essay?
  • what is the thesis statement?
  • does the thesis statement reflect the argument?
  • do you have any suggestions about the examples chosen to support the argument?
  • do you have any suggestions about the organization of the argument?
  • what do you not understand?
  • what is clear and convincing to you?

Remember that in class last week we decided that the final version is due on Wednesday on our site:

  • post your retelling using the category Project #1
  • tag your post with the story you’re working with plus any other tag you find appropriate
  • for the post’s title, use your retelling’s title
  • in the post, write your retelling’s title, then paste in the retelling
  • next, leave two blank lines and then in the same post, add your comparison’s title and paste in your comparison.

I look forward to reading your Project #1 results and gathering all of your hard work into our anthology using a WordPress tool called Anthologize.

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Homework, Project #1, Week 7

John’s Voice / Part 2 – Project 1

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Although the original narrator’s is told in first person autodiegetic from Jane’s perspective; the retelling gives a different vantage point being told by John in the first person autodiegetic narrative form.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” showed the reader the unraveling of a woman and how she perceived her situation. Throughout her narration we get a sense that she realizes that what she is feeling may be something deeper and much more substantial than what her husband John is leading her to believe about her condition. She wrestles with her current state of anxiety and depression because she has been told by John who is a doctor that it is nothing more than exhaustion. He brings her to house that he promises will be her sanctuary so that she may gain repose and get back to her old self. She has been anxious and feeling melancholy since the birth of their son and does her best to be pleasant, and tries to do as John bids her to do: rest, light exercise, eat well, and sleep. He ignores the fixation that she begins to develop with the wallpaper in the house and does his best to convince her to grab hold of her anxieties, and preoccupy herself with her recovery and rest. He issues a few warnings, though subtle, that if she does not improve that he will take more drastic measures and send her to the repudiated doctor that has handled other women with her similar condition.

“He said we came here solely on my account, that I was to have perfect rest and all the air I could get. “Your exercise depends on your strength, my dear,” said he, “and your food somewhat on your appetite; but air you can absorb all the time.”

“But John says if I feel so, I shall neglect proper self control; so I take pains to control myself – before him, at least, and that makes me very tired.”

It seems that in her quest to please and heed his word that she ignores the bubbling anxieties she feels.

It’s also interesting to see her fear of what may happen if she is honest about how she is feeling.

“Better in body perhaps – I began, and I stopped short, for he sat up straight and looked at me with such a stern, reproachful look that I could not say another word.”

The fact that she took care to keep her creeping hysteria from John shows how there was a lack of trust in their marriage. She should not been able to confide in her husband that what she felt was more than exhaustion?

“The Yellow Wallpaper” told from John’s perspective gives us his interpretation of Jane’s behavior. He married his beautiful Jane, and as a man of prestige due to his occupation as a doctor, had hoped to have the perfect picture of domesticity. He does his best as a husband to show Jane love, care and patience, but encourages her to help herself. I correlate the details in my retelling by showcasing his  bewilderment and slight exasperation at the fact that she is taking longer to recover than expected, and that she must in turn push herself to take care to his recommendations, for not only is he her husband, but a doctor as well.

“She should be focusing her thoughts on resting and doing light exercise, but absolutely no writing. I feel that it adds to her whims of her strange caprice. For heaven’s sake, I am a doctor and know how to handle her over exhaustion and need for bit of tranquility. I feel that I have done a fine job at picking the perfect sanctuary. Doesn’t she realize that I know best?”

What I try to convey in John’s version is not only the frustration that he feels at Jane’s whims, but also how he tries to convince himself that there is nothing truly disturbing about her behavior.

“If she doesn’t recover soon, she must go to Weir Mitchell for extensive treatment for her exhaustion and nervousness. The look of horror that overshadowed her face at the mere suggestion broke my heart even further, but at the same time gave me hope! Jane’s insistence that she did not require such treatment made me realize that she is slowly returning to her sound mind, for surely if she were truly on the verge of hysteria she would not protest with such conviction.”

This was the turning point in the retelling in which we start to see that it’s not that John is so domineering, but more so that he doesn’t want to see what is right before him, and that Jane’s condition may be worse than he wants to let himself believe.  We get to see that both Jane and John were both suffering from not being able to face difficulties about their spouses, and that distrust and fear on both their parts led to Jane’s unraveling.

I chose this”The Yellow Wallpaper” in particular because I felt that in relationships, someone may seem like the one who is at fault in certain situations ,and that it’s so important to get both sides of story. A person’s interpretation of a situation and why they may be behaving so is what causes most disconnection between people, and I think that with both stories we are able to see that within the complexity of this couple.

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