Intro to English Major

Death of a Salesman is a remarkable work written by Arthur Miller. I really enjoy Millers plays, especially this one, however when I read the play I have to admit I was extremely lost in parts of the story because of Willy's memories/ hallucinations. The story is very straight forward with its manner about working for a living, and in this case, as a salesman. Willy seems to be very proud of the work he has done in his life, but his mental state has taken a turn for the worse and becomes a burden upon his family. As I read the play, the stage direction are very clear and laid out to the audience so that everything flows together, but I just can't say that it makes sense all the time. I wonder how some playhouses may interpret his stage direction in their versions. Between the hallucinations and the craziness of the set, it is understandable to I was lost in certain parts! There are many different conversations that happen at the same time throughout this work and these convers...

Alfred Hitchcock directed the film Rear Window and has a strict fascination with controlling audiences' focus from the male perspective. In the film, Jeffries (the main character) is watching his neighbors from his rear window of his apartment building. He is stuck in a wheelchair and cast from an accident while he was taking photos for his journalism. One could say that this is a response to his job and not being able to go out and watch others as usual, but it is quite concerning that he resorts to stalking his own neighbors to have some fun. While he is watching he comes to learn that his neighbor murders his wife and it becomes a big thing and eventually Thorwald is caught and all is well. But that isn't what this blog is about... I find it very interesting that Jeffries is watching his neighbors, more so with a camera lens and binoculars! It's creepy. I do understand that in the time frame of which this film was released that people are more trusting of each other an...

I just have a question... Why do men in many of the stories I am reading for English need to be in control of women? Or why do they have to have a side woman to satisfy their ego? In a reading I did for class called: "The Lady with the Dog," this Guvor decides that he just needs to have casual relationships with other married women because he pretty much hates his wife. He meets this woman with a dog and her name is Anna and they decide that they both want to have this fake relationship that isn't actually a relationship because they are both married, and they agree that it wouldn't go any further than sexual relations, but yet in the end of the story, Guvor just has to go and stalk this woman and find her because he can't stop thinking about her and Anna is like, no please leave even though she also thinks about him a lot. They then end up seeing each other at the same opera house and decide that she will meet him in Yalta (where they first met) and then she ...

AHHHH!! Has anyone else read Raymond Carver's "Cathedral?" After reading this short story for my English class, I have to say I'm not a fan of how the narrator speaks in the story. I truly disliked this work until the last page. In the story the narrator, whoever it may be, just seems so uninterested in telling the story, which makes me as a reader feel like I don't want to read the story! While, the narrator speaks as though he is truly talking to a friend, I just cannot get behind the way he views things and how he speaks/ tells stories. However, by the end of this short story, his eyes are opened (while they are shut) to a different viewpoint. In this work, the husband is the main character, and no he doesn't have a name so I shall call him "the husband." But the husband seems to have no friends according to his wife, and he seems very close minded about her friend coming to visit. Her friend just so happens to be blind, and the husband also d...

Fluidity of "Exchanging Hats" In a poem by Elizabeth Bishop called "Exchanging Hats," there is a uncanny connection to the different hats that people all over the world wear. Whether it be a parental "hat," student "hat," or employee "hat," everyone around the world wears "hats." Now, I'm not speaking of the literal hats that shade us from the sun and have straps and ribbons on the brim. No- I am speaking of the types of hats that one wears when performing a role as a member of society. Many people wear multiple "hats" a day. For myself, I wear the "hat" of: dancer, student, employee, son, and partner every day. That's a lot of hats to wear! In Bishop's poem, there is a clarification that I see when I read it. Lines such as "we share your transvestite twist" and "The headgear of the other sex" could explain some of these thoughts. Throughout the poem there is a referenc...

Hi everyone, My name is Austin Duclos. I wanted to have one blog about myself! As you may already know, I am a dance major at Mercyhurst University. This is a clip of my Modern III midterm evaluation. I've decided to share this video with you because I felt a very deep connection to the combination, the music, and the emotional meaning that we were told to find behind the movement. For this midterm, we were working on the different directional pulls in our personal kinosphere. This combination combined many of the things that we have worked on in the class thus far. I feel very good about this midterm, but I am not sharing it because I am proud of the work I put into it.  And there was a lot. And I also am very proud of the way it came out! I am sharing this to talk about my personal connection to the piece. For this we were told to find our story in the movement. For me, this piece was about reaching. Reaching for goals or success or desires that were just out of reach. ...

"Rockabye Baby" Rockabye baby, On the tree top. When the wind blows, The cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, The cradle will fall. And down will come baby, Cradle and all. This classic nursery rhyme has flowed through generations. From mothers and fathers, siblings and relatives, this lullaby has been sung to babies and young children all over the world. There are many different versions of this song, especially through the oral traditions of which they are passed down, but it can be recognized by almost anyone. My mother and father used to sing this song to me as a baby along with many others. However, one thing that remains constant in these classic nursery rhymes as we grow older is the meaning behind them. Take "Ring around the Rosie" for instance. While it is a lullaby that I continue to sing with my niece as we play, the words of the song are quite disturbing. It has a catchy tune and is used in a fun child's game, but one translation of ...