Response Blog 10/18

    "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant is written in 3rd person omniscient, set in France at an unnamed time period. The point of view is chosen to give us a fairly unbiased view of how the people in the story act and to showcase their thoughts at crucial moments. Most of it is focused on the protagonist but the husband and others are occasionally used.
  The protagonist is Madame Loisel, a woman of limited means who longs for riches, wealth, and luxury. Her feelings of self-worth depend heavily on what others think of her, if they believe she is charming or elegant or wealthy. This is the internal conflict at the beginning of the story. Her pride continues to affect her life throughought the rest of the story. The inciting incident of the story is when her husband brings home an invitation to a company occasion at the Ministry. Madame Loisel is convinced she won't be presentable unless she has a very nice dress, which her husband sacrifices 400 francs for, and then still not satisfied, she prevails upon her friend to borrow a necklace. When this necklace is lost, both her and her husband seek to replace it with an exact replica. Here the conflict could have been resolved by speaking to the friend about the issue, but pride prevents them from admitting they lost the necklace. They end up paying 36,000 francs after taking out loans and mortgaging, and it takes them ten years of hard work to repay it all, at the end of which they are both changed by their hardship. The twist at the end--that the necklace was an imitation worth 500 francs at the most--really shows how much of their own misery they could have prevented had Madame Loisel swallowed her pride and spoken to her friend about the issue.
  An interesting note, perhaps insignificant, is the possible symbolism of the street they live on, the Rue des Martyrs, or "Road of Martyrs." This could relate to Madame Loisel's "martyr complex" of being long-suffering and dealing with her "poverty" despite her wishes for wealth and high society.

Response Blog #1

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What do you hope to learn in this class?

  When I take this class, I hope that I'll learn from the strategies and techniques of the many short stories we will read. As a reader, I'd like to have more experience with short stories in general, how I view and analyze
them, and what is new and experimental versus what is tried and true. As a writer, I want to learn from how others have accomplished their goals in short literature. Then I'll have a reference for how these stories work when I write my own.


 What goals will you set for yourself in class this semester?

 This semester I aim to get as much of my work done early as I can. I often have trouble accomplishing things on time because I put them off. If I get things done early then I won't have to worry about doing them at the last minute. I'll also try not to miss any classes unless absolutely necessary.


What makes literature "great"?

 This is a question that could be argued for years (and has been). However, to make the answer short enough, great fiction in my opinion is the kind that tells its story, whatever that might be, with enough intimacy and vision to immerse the reader. The story should have a distinct atmosphere and voice and carry the audience through the necessary highs and lows with skill. Of course, what accomplishes this goal can vary a lot from person to person and story to story.

Eng 121--The Short Story

A Notice

Since I didn't really end up needing the blog for AP literature, and since Ms. Smith has given permission to use an old blog for her class, this is now the place for Eng. 121-The Short Story! I'll be posting assignments for my college english class here.
(I find it interesting that Ms. Smith and I are both named Jessica E. though her E stands for Elisabeth.)

Watch Out For the Fish

They bite strangers sometimes. Come on in and make yourselves at home in my little blog for AP Literature class. I think I got all the requirements on here, but I'm not sure. Ms Roman, feel free to tell me anything I'm missing.
Welcome to the Spire! On top of a tall mountain in a lost corner of the internet, I have tucked away this blog for classmates to visit--that is, if they can find a virtual blimp of some sort to take them up this high. Try not to fall, please, because I'd rather not have to explain the dead people at the base of the mountain. Bye for now--come again sometime!