Sissy

We have yet to study a text similar to Sissy written by George Kellogg (who is actually a female herself.) In this story, the idea and the separation of gender roles are completely broken. Sissy enjoyed doing girly things like sweeping, knitting, and these things make him happy.

When we think of Sissy living in the 21^st century, we view little William as a very strange character. In the story, both girls and boys accepted him. If he grew up going to my high school, he would be made fun of and more than likely beat up by all the guys.

Why he is accepted? I don’t really know the clear answer but have a few suggestions. Is it because the boys used him for doing things they were not taught to do? Such as bake, sew, and knit? Or was it because they were children and didn’t really know better at the time? The answer only Kellogg knows. Whatever it may be, Kellogg created this text for a reason and showed Sissy as of value to both boys and girls. No one bothered him about the way he dressed or the activities he did, they accepted him regardless of these decisions.

Another thing that came to mind when reading this text was the fact that it was in the time period of the women’s rights movement. Was Kellogg trying to show the people of the 19^th century that women can do a mans job and that a man should be able to do the things that women were automatically supposed to do (e.g. sweep, clean, knit, cook).

Gilman and Chopin

As we have moved on to study literature of the early 20^th century where we see more short stories rather than long, we are almost forced to change our reading habits and take a closer look at the text. I really did not realize the need to read more carefully until we discussed The Yellow Wallpaper in class on Tuesday.

When we talked about the idea that the main character may possibly be dead throughout the whole story, I had not noticed this and realized the need to more carefully read and interpret this style of writing. On the very first page of the text we see a number of hints to the fact that she might be dead through out the story. For example, she says “John is a physician, and perhaps – (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind) – perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster.” I failed to recognize that the author might be hinting at the fact that she has passed before the story has even begun.

As we talked about a deeper meaning of The Yellow Wallpaper, we discussed how Gilman is actually writing a “double commentary” on the problems involved in marriage and medical issues. I would not have recognized this without it being pointed out to me or taking a deeper look on the text.

The same is true for the text, Desiree’s Baby. Because the text is so short we must carefully read each and every word and take a deeper meaning into mind. We have to think outside of the box. If I were to skim the text, I would never think to say that it is a story of irony. Because this story is so short and I was aware of the fact that these short stories are full of hidden meaning, it was easier for me to think outside the box and try and figure out what the author is really trying to tell us as readers. Chopin has changed the idea that children are the future to using babies as bad plot devices.

Little Lord Fauntleroy

As I was reading Little Lord Fauntleroy, I was amazed how different Burnett described and explained childhood of a young boy. We haven’t seen anything like it; In fact, Ragged Dick was the opposite of Cedric.

Like many others, I automatically assumed Frances Burnett was a male. Because symbolizes the Revolutionary War and the relationship between Americans and the British in such depth lead me to automatically assume that she was a male.

It makes much sense now that we discovered that Burnett is actually a female. Cedric is acting as a female substitute. If Ragged Dick or Tom Sawyer were to be put into the elegant velvet suit with a frilly-laced collar like Cedric, they wouldn’t know what to.

I feel as though Burnett was trying to write about the perfect boy and how males should act in general. Through Cedric, Burnett is trying to teach boys in America to live with love and loyalty. She is teaching young boys how to treat their mothers and females in general just as Cedric does in the text. We see a good example in chapter two when Cedric sees that his mother is upset. Burnett wrote, “Then suddenly his loving little heart told him that he'd better put both his arms around her neck and kiss her again and again, and keep his soft cheek close to hers; and he did so, and she laid her face on his shoulder and cried bitterly, holding him as if she could never let him go again.”

Another thing that is amusing to me is the fact that Little Lord Fauntleroy swept the nation. Other texts we have studied about the childhood of a young boy have been so different; I feel like Cedric would almost offend boys through the way he dresses and the way he acts. Dick and Tom Sawyer act so masculine and all of a sudden Burnett publishes this text about such a feminine young boy. I really enjoyed this text and reading about the sweet Cedric but I think this is only because I am a girl. I think it is safe to say that females would enjoy having more boys like Cedric around!

Adventures of Tom Sawyer

In Chapter two, we read about Tom and Ben Roger’s whitewashing incident.

“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to let on that you like it?” The brush continued to move.
“Like it? Well I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a touch here and there—criticized the effect again—Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said:
“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”

This episode of whitewashing gives us a preview of Tom’s ingenious character. Tom is able to stay ahead of his acquaintances because is gets them to act in a certain way with his clever communication skills; Tom is a trickster. Throughout the literature we have read so far, we have not really come across someone like Tom. Ragged Dick resembled Tom in some ways but Gerty, Ellen, Sybil, and all the other girls we have read about acted in the same manner as Tom or Ragged Dick.

The end of the scene ends with Twain saying, “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”

I think we can all relate to this quote as well. I think Twain is also telling people that people desire things just because they are forbidden or risky.

I have really enjoyed the change from the childhoods of boys and girls in the 19^th century. They are depicted very differently and seeing the differences in the two assumptions about girls in boys is pretty entertaining.

Ragged Dick

Through the didactic 19^th century literature we have read so far, boys and girls play very different roles. When we think about Gerty, Ellen, and Sybil, we think about very emotional girls being taught what to do, how to dress, and how to act. In Ragged Dick, the first time we see didactic literature for little boys, we see quite opposite roles. Dick is ragged, he is careless, and he is just living life to the fullest. If Ellen had to spend a night in Dick’s shoes she would probably have a heart attack.

When we look at the previous stories we have read about girls in society, we can recall how much religion was stressed and the importance of a roll model/parent growing up. Dick has heard of The Bible, but he has not read it yet. Dick is trying to trust in himself to live day by day by making just enough money to eat and a little extra to gamble, smoke, or go to a show. When Frank asked Dick if he ever read The Bible, Dick replied, “No, I’ve heard it’s a good look, but I never read one. I aint much on reading. It makes my head ache.”

I also realized that Alger is trying to enforce the rags to riches story. Alger is describing the “American Dream” through Dick. Ragged Dick was written in the mid 19^th century, a time where the middle class was the minority and there was a large separation between the upper and lower classes in society. Through Dick, Alger shows that through honesty, hard work, and ambition, one may achieve the “American Dream,” especially in the city of opportunity along with the luck Dick ran into.

A Whisper in the Dark

For the first half of the assigned reading, I found the story of Sybil and the relationship with her uncle and Guy very unusual. I didn’t know what to expect that could possibly explain relationships. After Guy, Sybil, and Sybil’s Uncle had dinner together, Sybil said to herself “The world seemed all in tune now, and when I went to the drawing room I was moved to play my most stirring marches, sing my blithest songs, hoping to bring one at least of the gentlemen to join me.” We are not really used to hearing about this kind of relationship between cousins or between an uncle and a niece so when Sybil said, “For I wanted to try my power over them both, to see if I could restore the gentler mood of my uncle’s, and assure myself that Guy cared.” I was caught off guard and it made me realize that something must be wrong with Sybil’s perceptions. Because this story is narrated through Sybil’s eyes, we didn’t know every detail.

As we read on to the second half of the story, we find Sybil in an insane asylum. Sybil is gong crazy in this “prison house.” She says things like, “I paced my room in utter darkness—for I was allowed no lamp—night after night I wept bitter tears wrung from me by anguish.” Sybil even says to herself, “I felt that my health was going, my mind growing confused and weak; my thoughts wandered vaguely, memory began to fail, and idiocy or madness seemed my inevitable fate.”

The story keeps getting more unusual and coincidental when Sybil receives letters from the woman that was in the room above her. Sybil comes to find out that it is her mother. Sybil’s mom wrote “I implore you to leave this house before it is too late.” This situation relates back to the reoccurring theme of the relationships we have seen in previous readings such as “The Wide, Wide World” with Ellen and her mother and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” with Eliza and her son. These readings all emphasize the importance of mother child relationships and they all make it a point to keep their children safe and do what is best for them.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Capitola and Gerty both had an awful childhood and an extremely tough time trying to survive. Their stories showed us the good side to American society. There were good and loving strangers that picked these poor kids up and literally saved their lives. In contrast to every text that we have studied and read so far, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is showing us the negative side to American society. It is going against the reoccurring theme of “good” and “hope” by showing us how dark this time period of slavery was.

Although this was a horrible time in American history, there were a few occurrences where “good” people came about and I felt a sense of hope. Eliza had no other option but to run with her boy. Though her master was good to her and she had a great place to be, her master was in debt and was forced to sell Eliza’s only baby boy still alive. Eliza and her boy miraculously made it across the icy river and I felt a sense of hope as she showed up at Mr. and Mrs. Bird’s home. We saw the common theme of good here when Mrs. Bird told Eliza, “Nobody shall hurt you here, poor woman, you are safe; don’t be afraid.”

John Van Trompe is another example of the reoccurring theme of “good.” He spent all of his money so that he could build a secret place in the woods for his slaves. As George came to see Tom right before he was sent away, he said to the trader, “I should think you’d be ashamed to spend all your life buying men and women, and chaining them like cattle! I should think you’d feel mean!”

Again, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is different from anything that we have read so far because it goes against the idea that our society is good. On the other hand, it does show a few different scenarios where hope is present with some “good” people who were trying to put an end to slavery.