O'Connor, Rich, Plath, & Roth

O'Connor: Talk about looks being deceiving and the stupidity of mankind.  I was disappointed in the way Mrs. Hopewell saw her daughter, Hulga, and seemed to despise her daughter's intelligence.  On the other hand, I felt that Hulga mocked her mother's and Mrs. Freeman's knowledge of the world.  Hulga seemed to see the world far more intellectually then the people around her.  Now, when the character of Manley Pointer first comes into the scene, I could picture an innocent kid, slightly stupid but very persistent.  So, to my surprise, I was completely caught off guard when in the end, he turns into a swindling jerk.  Now I could see, that all this time, this kid was smart.  Of course both Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman fell into his innocence.  At first, I was a bit cautious with the idea of Hulga and Pointer being together.  She seemed smart enough to keep things under control thinking that she was seducing him.  But no!  He was seducing her the whole time!  I mean, Pointer new what he was doing and he was doing it very well.  The only difference between the two is that Hulga is very smart academically, philosophically, etc. while as Pointer is street smart and is an expert in conning people.  In the end, as I read all this, I was thinking: is it better to be Hulga-smart or Pointer-smart?  Which would be more beneficial in the real world?

Rich: I found Rich's "Diving into the Wreck" really mysterious in that I know she is diving, but, analytically, what is the "wreck" she is referring to.  In other words, what does she mean?  This poem was beautiful in its descriptions and organization.  I can picture myself diving along side the narrator.  But the question is what exactly are we looking for?  Is this wreck literally meaning a wreck deep in the ocean?  Maybe a shipwreck?  Maybe something else?  Or is this wreck our lives, a horrific event, or a person?  Maybe I am over analyzing the poem, but it was enjoyable to read anyways along with Rich's other poem "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning."

Plath: The Norton's intro of Sylvia Plath described her as a "remarkably controlled writer" (1417), and she is.  I was very impressed with her style of writing.  She's very organized even to the number of lines in each stanza.  Being a controlled writer, I didn't expect her to be suicidal in any way, however, in "Lady Lazarus," I got the impression that this was like her resurrection of a suicidal attempt.  Of course her childhood had a large effect on her as well such as the death of her father when she was only a child.  This experience was portrayed in her poem "Daddy."  "I was ten when they buried you.  At twenty I tried to die and get back, back, back to you.  I thought even the bones would do." (1422)  The death of her father may not have been the reason or the only reason to why she wanted to kill herself, however, she greatly desired the need for her father.

Roth: I love short stories.  I just wish they didn't end so quickly.  That is what was frustrating with Roth's "Defender of the Faith."  In some ways, the story needs to go on.  What happened to Grossbart?  Did he ever go to the Pacific with the other boys?  On the other hand, the story might get boring or plainly too long if it kept going.  However, what was most interesting about this story is that it portrayed the Jewish tradition in the army.  I never thought about it, but what was it like for soldiers to accommodate into a new life?  Do they have to break religious and traditional beliefs?  This Grossbart character also reminded me of Pointer in the first short story.  They are both nineteen, young and stupid, but smart and cunning.  Grossbart tricks Marx into signing the pass for he and his friends.  However, I see Grossbart a lot more innocent.  All he wanted was to be close to his family.  I think that because of his youth and inexperience, he was not very considerate or aware of following orders.  It was like he wasn't taking the situation seriously.