Initial Post: Choose one of the short stories, "Between the Pool and the Gardenias" or "Eveline," from this module. Re-read the biography information about the author of the short story (either Edwidge Danticat or James Joyce). In a well-organized response, discuss how the author’s background shaped his/her writing. Be sure to use textual reference to support your ideas. Response: Choose one (1) student to respond to regarding his/her post. |
12 Comments
Kasey Gallagher
2/7/2014 07:16:53 am
I chose to discuss the story "Eveline" by James Joyce.
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Devin Blattner
2/13/2014 08:44:16 am
Kasey, I liked the way you compared so many things from the story to Joyce's life. You made a lot of good connections between Eveline and Joyce. I also thought it was very clever of you for thinking about where the setting of the story took place. I never even thought about that when reading the story.
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Devin Blattner
2/13/2014 08:44:32 am
Kasey, I liked the way you compared so many things from the story to Joyce's life. You made a lot of good connections between Eveline and Joyce. I also thought it was very clever of you for thinking about where the setting of the story took place. I never even thought about that when reading the story!
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Cole
2/13/2014 09:00:26 am
This was a very good analysis of the relation between the main character and the author of the story. I agree with everything you said. The only real difference that I could see of their lives is the size of the family. Joyce had 10 siblings, but Eveline only had 4 siblings. That was also pretty good that you picked up that the 2 children that Eveline cares for are her siblings. I thought that they were one of her brothers kids. We had completely different interpretations on that aspect of the story.
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Cole
2/10/2014 05:55:27 am
James Joyce had a tough life growing up. His father drank a lot and his family never had much. They struggled to survive. This transferred over into "Eveline" because her family also struggled to survive. Also, even though it doesn't actually say it, her father might have also been an alcoholic which could be why he was mean to her. Also, Joyce's mother died, like Eveline's did in the story. The life of Eveline closely resembles the author's life.
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Kasey Gallagher
2/14/2014 04:29:05 pm
We noticed a lot of the same things! I like that you inferred Eveline's father was an alcoholic. I didn't really think of that until you said it!
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Devin Blattner
2/10/2014 06:02:29 am
Module 3: Blog Response 1
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Alyson Picione
2/14/2014 01:13:32 pm
I also realized that the author writes about Haiti and the struggles of a Haitian woman which is interesting to me because I would otherwise not be able to hear about any of that. I think it took a lot of courage for her to come out and write about some of the horrible things that women in her culture have to endure because they are seen as lesser than men.
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Brian Burke
2/11/2014 08:18:29 am
The story "Eveline" can tell much about Joyce. The story is about a girl named Eveline who is revisiting her past. Assuming that the cretonne smell was from her bed sheets, one may believe that the narrator was on her deathbed in the story. Eveline revisits her past in the story. During this, Eveline reveals much about herself through the stories she tells of her family. She mostly speaks of her father. The narrator describes him as a very angry or hostile man. She proceeds to explain that he has not always acted in such a way. Eveline describes select occasions that she remembers him being somewhat happy and funny. This may represent Joyce's life with life's hardships outweighing the little good things. Or, it may relate to how he envisioned his own father. According to biographies; John Joyce, his father, had drinking problems and bad spending habits due to his lack of employment. Also, the mother dies in the story. Joyce had also experienced the death of his mother with the issue of then having a single father. The challenges faced in Joyce’s life have shaped his literature greatly. That can vary from the tone of the stories he writes to the style of writing. His literature can reveal much about himself. Another example relating Joyce’s life to “Eveline” is the lack of money both Joyce and Eveline shared. Joyce had needed help financially from siblings during his life and also dealt with his family and their withering wealth.
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Alyson Picione
2/11/2014 09:10:38 am
I picked the story "Between the Pool and Gardenias" by Edwidge Danticat. The story reflects Danticat's backround because the main character is struggling to live within the confines of the social norms of her culture. Danticat was a Haitian immigrant and needed to get used to the norms of her new society. In the story, the main character struggles with the constant pressure to have a baby and her husband's cheating. This is shown when she tells Rosey, "Next thing I know, it's ten years with him. I'm old like hell at twenty-seven and he's got ten babies with ten different women." The only was she knows to deal with his cheating is to run away. Her culture is shown because in a normal society the woman would just ask for a divorce, but she had to run away from her husband to escape him. Another example of how Danicat's backround influences the story is the constant reference to praying and religion. The main character often prays for the baby. She views the baby as a prize even though the baby is dead.
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Tori McCaslin
2/11/2014 10:18:28 am
I chose to talk about the short story “Eveline” by James Joyce. I think that Joyce’s background influenced her writing a big way. Joyce had to grow up with a father who couldn’t support his family. Joyce had to step up and support his family, much like Eveline. In Joyce’s background and Eveline’s, the father’s where both drunks who were too unstable to take care of their family. Joyce had to step in a take care of his family. Eveline had to take her mother’s place and raise her younger siblings. I think Joyce decided to giver Eveline a larger family because he too had a fairly large family. In Joyce’s biography, It shows him moving around the world a lot. He is from Ireland and then moved to Paris. But he then returned to Ireland when his mother died. Joyce met a young women who later became his wife. Eveline almost ran away with a man and I think this is in the story because Joyce went through the same kind of events.
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Devin Blattner
2/13/2014 08:45:27 am
Kasey, I liked the way you compared so many things from the story to Joyce's life. You've made a lot of good connections between Eveline and Joyce. I also thought it was very clever of you for thinking about where the setting of the story took place. I never even thought about that when reading the story!
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