Week 16 Analysis: Close Reading of "Recitatif"

For my close reading this week, I chose the paragraph on page 1176 beginning with "I think it was the day before Maggie fell" (1176). The time that Twyla and Roberta have both been at the shelter provides an insightful reflection of their emotional well-beings later in the story. Twyla informs us readers that their mothers were coming to visit them on the Sunday. She goes on to mention that her and Roberta had been at the shelter "twenty-eight days" (1176). She further clarifies that Roberta had been there "twenty-eight and a half days" (1176). This was a very small detail to include, but it goes to show how young and childish both characters are at this point in the story. It gave me the impression that they must have previously spoken to each other about how long they've both been there. Being the children they are, they probably argued over this the same way kids compare ages to see who's older before it inevitably comes down to one being older than the other by something as minuscule as a week, as if that makes a significant difference in their maturity. But this issue, unlike unnoticeable differences in age, is actually something worth noticing. Twyla and Roberta are lonely and scared children as they explicitly state later in the story on page 1187. Neither of them like being at the shelter separated from their respective mothers. This subject of how long they've been stuck at the shelter most likely served as a way for the two of them to bond and find someone to relate to. They're both scared little girls who want to be back with their mothers. Even if they're both filled with such negative feelings as a result of being stuck in the shelter, they're both still very joyed to be united with their mothers on the rest of page 1176 because their mothers help them feel more secure and less afraid.


Morrison, Toni. "Recitatif." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1172-1187

Reading Notes W16: Kenzaburo, Part B

"The Clever Rain Tree" - Kenzaburo

• The narrator stands beneath the eaves of the porch of a large New England-style building (1117)
• Agatha says the tree is a particularly clever rain tree (1117)
• Kenzaburo compares this writing to contemporary Japanese novels (1117)
• He was attending a seminar sponsored by the University of Hawaii's East-West Center on the issue of "Reappraisal of Cultural Exchange and Traditions" (1117)
• He could hardly pay attention the American poet since they became friends (1118)
• He's hard of hearing (1118)
• "I imagine the leaders of the movement still think of me as a spy" (1118)
• The young American was distraught over the rumor of him being a spy. He ended up being put in a private institution for the psychologically disturbed. (1118)
• The tree Krishna was under was most likely a bo tree (1119-1120)
• Agatha shares a portrait of herself called "A Girl on Horseback" (1121)
• "Yes, this is me... before the truly, frightful, unhappy things began to occur" (1121)
• The only people drinking beer at the party were the seminar participants (1123)
• The attacker's argument began with "you are a passionate lover of boys and young men" (1124)
• The poet enjoyed the debate (1124)
• The architect delivered a lecture about the special features of the facility of the mentally ill (1124)
• "The naked, wounded soul in America today is not even guaranteed a private dwelling place" (1124)
• His workshop is in the basement garage of the building (1124)
• "I am launching an architectural movement to place young people everywhere in 'positions' on stairways of ascent" (1125)
• The wheelchair was just a device to manipulate his external appearance. The narrator seems to think that because of how the architect positioned himself on the wheelchair (1125)
• The beatnik poet stayed silent (1127)
• The Jewish Indian poet commented on the stench (1127)
• The architect positioned himself on the wheelchair in a way that made him appear to be double his normal size (1127)
• The narrator can still picture Agatha, but he doesn't think he'll ever know what kind of tree her clever rain tree was (1128)

Kenzaburo, Oe. "The Clever Rain Tree." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1115-1128

Reading Notes W16: Morrison & Soyinka, Part A

"Recitatif" - Toni Morrison

• Toni Morrison is female (1172)
• Narrator is named "Twyla" (1173)
• Twyla's mother danced all night whereas Roberta's mother was sick (1174)
• Mary is Twyla's mother (1174)
• Big Bozo = Mrs. Itkin (1174)
• "Just like nobody every said St. Bonaventure." Did I just find a typo on the first page? (1174)
• St. Bonny's (St. Bonaventure's) is a fictional orphanage outside New York City (1174)
• They were going to watch "The Wizard of Oz" (1174)
• Twyla and Roberta were 8 years old at the time and constantly got F's (1174)
• Twyla could never remember what she read or what the teacher said (1174)
• Roberta couldn't read and wouldn't listen to the teacher (1174)
• Twyla and Roberta didn't like each other initially (1174)
• They weren't "real" orphans because they didn't have "beautiful dead parents in the sky" but were just "dumped" (1174)
• Maggie couldn't talk and Twyla felt like she walked in a funny way (1175)
• Roberta tells Twyla that Maggie can cry, but no sound comes out (1175)
• They try calling her by shouting "Dummy" and "Bow legs" but Maggie never responds (1175)
• They had F's in gym class. I don't know how they even managed that. (1176)
• Twyla and Roberta had been at the shelter for 28 days before their mothers decided to come visit them (1176)
• Twyla is left-handed (1176)
• Mary embarrassed Twyla but Twyla couldn't stay mad because she wanted to stay hugging Mary forever (1176)
• Twyla described Roberta's mother as being big (1177)
• Mary tried to shake Roberta's mother's hand but she just walked away. Mary shouts "That bitch!" (1177)
• Twyla has said "I could have killed her" twice now. (1176 & 1177)
• Roberta left in May (1177)
• They meet later when they're older. Twyla has a job now. Both of their mothers are okay. (1178-1179)
• Jimi Hendrix is an asshole, apparently. (1179)
• Bozo was fired (1182)
• Maggie was pushed down by some girls and they tore her clothes (1182)
• Roberta and Twyla speak again. Roberta seemed to be protesting. "It's about our kids" (1183)
• Twyla and Roberta argue. "Maybe I am different now, Twyla. But you're not" (1184)
• Roberta didn't acknowledge Twyla's presence later. (1185)
• They meet again on Christmas Eve and Roberta says she made up her mind that she had to tell Twyla something if they ever met again (1186 & 1187)
• Roberta tells Twyla that they never kicked Maggie. They wanted to, but didn't. (1187)
• They were both lonely, scared eight year olds. (1187)
• Twyla's mom never stopped dancing. Roberta's mom never got well. (1187)
• "Oh shit, Twyla. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell happened to Maggie?" (1187)

"Death and the King's Horseman" - Wole Soyinka

• "Olohun-iyo" means "Sweet voice" which is a nickname for the praise-singer (1052)
• "The hands of women also weaken the unwary" (1052)
• "Elesin's riddles are not merely the nut in the kernel that breaks human teeth; he also buries the kernel in hot embers and dares a man's fingers to draw it out" (1053)
• "Etutu" was a rite of propitiation and it often involved a sacrifice (1054)
• "Not-I" became the name of the restless bird (1055)
• "Esu" is the god of luck (1056)
• Iyaloja and the praise-singer sing with the women (1058)
• "The world I know is good," said Elesin (1058)
• The praise-singer questions Elesin for denying his reputation (1059)
• Oya is a Yoruba goddess said to live in the River Niger (1060)
• "I dare not understand you yet Elesin" said Iyaloja (1061)
• "I dare not refuse" said Iyaloja (1061)
• This became repetitive very fast. Feels like Bartleby all over again with his "prefer not to"
• Pilkings, Jane, and Joseph discuss what will happen (1065)
• The chief (Elesin) "will not kill anybody and no one will kill him. He will simply die" (1065)
• Joseph says Elesin must die to accompany the king, who died last month, to heaven (1066)
• Pilkings doesn't to miss the ball (1068)
• The praise-singer insists to Elesin that their dog will track Elesin down should he get lost (1076)
• Elesin falls into a trance (1076)
• Elesin, handcuffed, collapses at Olunde's feet and says "Oh son, don't let th sight of your father turn you blind!" (1088)
• Olunde replies, "I have no father, eater of left-overs" (1088)
• Elesin tells Pilkings that he destroyed his life (1089)
• Elesin strangles himself with the loop of the chain (1097)
• 
  

Morrison, Toni. "Recitatif." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1172-1187

Soyinka, Wole. "Death and the King's Horseman." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1049-1098

Week 15 Analysis: Literary Analysis of "Girl"

For this week's literary analysis I decided to write about "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid. One literary devices I felt was worth paying attention to when reading "Girl" were diction. Throughout this very short piece of writing, Jamaica Kincaid lists all of the duties that are to be learned by a young girl. However, Kincaid does so in a way that feels like more of an insulting lecture than a lesson being taught. One of the things the narrator says to the girl is "on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming" (1145). Looking at the choice of diction used by Kincaid, we can see that the speaker is assuming that the girl is going to become a slut rather than simply telling her not to become one by specifying that she is "so bent on becoming" a slut (1145). I thought this was very significant because it completely changed the way that I read this story. The entire entry became less of "here's what you should do as a girl" and more of an accusation. Skipping through other chores that the girl is being taught how to do, like sewing, there's another point where Kincaid wrote "this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming" (1146). Again, with the exact same choice of diction, there is this heavy implication that the girl is already aiming to become a slut. This idea blows up even further when the speaker says "this is how to behave in the presence of men who don't know you very well, and this way they won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned against you becoming" (1146). She says this is so they won't "recognize immediately the slut I have warned against you becoming" which at this point illustrates a shift in the way the speaker views the girl (1146). If the girl--at least in the eyes of the speaker--wasn't already a slut, then no one should be able to "recognize" her as a slut. They could suspect or think she might be a slut, but they can't recognize her as a slut unless she was already a slut. The girl is a slut in the eyes of the speaker and now the effort is no longer to teach her not to be a slut but rather how to hide the fact that she's a slut. The theme present throughout "Girl" is the oppression of women. I feel like it makes even more sense that this is the theme when we look at the bio about Jamaica Kincaid provided in our anthology. She "changed her name" because it "allowed her to evade her family, who opposed her writing" (1144). Her parents might have raised her in a such a way to convince her that she is a girl and nothing more. Maybe they opposed her writing because it wasn't part of the list of things that she was taught to do as a girl. Women, in the eyes of the parent in "Girl," shouldn't be doing anything other than their womanly duties and trying not to become a slut. Having dreams like seeking to become a writer isn't part of that picture. As far as I can tell from reading this story, women are oppressed even by their mothers and Jamaica Kincaid wanted to write something that would criticize this so that women who read "Girl" might see how unfair they are treated just for being women. She must have hoped that women would pursue their dreams just as she pursued hers.


Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1144-1146

Reading Notes W15: Kincaid & Marquez, Part B

"Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid

• I recognized this as something I read in my English 100 class from the beginning of the first sentence
• The story is told as one really long sentence.
• "Wash the white clothes on Monday" and "was the color clothes on Tuesday" (1145)
• The story is Kincaid's unusual way of portraying all of the pressure she was under growing up as a girl. There were a lot of expectations and things she was supposed to know how to do. As a girl, there are household chores and she's expected to know how to do them before of the fact that she's a girl.
• "on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming" (1145)
• "you mustn't speak to wharf-rat boys" (1145)
• "this is how to sew on a button; this is how to make a buttonhole for the button you have just sewed on; this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming" (1146)
• "this is how to behave in the presence of men who don't know you very well, and this way they won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming" (1146)
• "what if the baker won't let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread?" (1146)
• There's a large focus throughout this short reading on girls not becoming "sluts." While I can see this as the parents just trying to set their daughter on the right path, it's written in a way that reveals it as more of an assumption than a worry. It's not "don't become a slut" it's "the slut you are so bent on becoming" (1146). The parent is assuming their daughter is going to become a slut which I think shows little trust between the two of them and it comes off as being very condescending.

"Death Constant Beyond Love" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• Senator Onesimo found the love of his life six months before his death (988)
• He was married to a German woman and had five kids. (988)
• He was told that he would be dead by next Christmas (988)
• Nelson Farina didn't greet the senator (989)
• Nelson Farina had begged for Senator Onesimo Sanchez's help in getting a false identity card since the senator's first electoral campaign (990)
• The senator refused (990)
• A woman asked him for a donkey and the senator said "All right, you'll get your donkey" (990)
• He got her a donkey and made other smaller gestures like giving a spoonful of medicine to a sick man (990)
• Nelson Farina dressed his daughter up in her best clothes and sent her to the senator (991)
• The senator stood in the doorway of the meeting room and saw Laura when the vestibule was empty. She told him her father sent her. He thought she was beautiful and told her to come in. (991)
• "Thousands of bank notes were floating in the air, flapping like the butterfly. But the senator turned off the fan and the bills were left without air and alighted on the objects in the room" (992)
• "You see, even shit can fly" (992)
• The senator told Laura that she's just a child. She responded that she turns nineteen in April (992)
• "She was naked under her dress" (992)
• Laura was wearing a chastity belt (992)
• Her dad had the key (993)
• Her dad wanted Laura to tell the senator to send one of his people to get it and a written promise than he'd straighten out the situation" (993)
• Laura's heard that the senator is "worse than the rest because you're different" (993)
• The senator said for Laura to tell her "son of a bitch of a father that I'll straighten out his situation" (993)
• He told her to forget about the key and wanted her to sleep with him for a while because "it's good to be with someone when you're so alone" (993)

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1144-1146

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. "Death Constant Beyond Love." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 986-992

Week 14 Project Action Plan: Du Tenth Deserves Some Respect

I've decided to use the following project prompt to write my project:
 From a piece of fiction (short story, section of novel, or a play) choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project that discusses some of the following questions: 

• What is the author’s attitude towards her? (how can you tell?)
• What is your attitude towards her? 
• How do (at least 2) other characters view her? 
• How does she view herself? 

I'll be writing about Du Tenth from "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger." I think I'll address the question "how do other characters view her" and mention the ways that several characters view her and how their views change, if at all, throughout the story. I'll also be sure to share my attitude towards her in my project. I believe Du Tenth is genuinely a good person even if her profession causes people to doubt how sincere of a person she is. She's misunderstood and was betrayed by Jia Li in the story because he let every doubt possible overwhelm his mind instead of trusting her. Dialogue as a literary device will be a major contribution to my project since it will demonstrate how various characters think of Du Tenth. Point of view will also help because the story is told from Jia Li's point of view as opposed to Du Tenth's. If a reader doubts the integrity of their relationship, it's because of how the story is told from his point of view instead of hers. He talks to a lot of other characters who all warn him about her reputation and who she is and we get to see how he processes all of this information to reach his conclusions. We also get more background knowledge about Jia Li which explains why he's worried about being with her and his fears of his father's disapproval. If the story was told from Du Tenth's point of view, there would be zero doubts whatsoever as to how faithful she is to Jia Li. But I'm not going to mention or elaborate on what-if's for this project. I took very useful reading notes for this story which will help jog my memory and remind me of several moments in the story that would be great to mention in this project.

• Du Tenth lost her virginity when she was 13. She was 19 at the present time. (500)
• Tenth's madam viewed her relationship with Li as her being monopolized. Other heirs and lords couldn't have her now. Li was running out of money by spending so much on Du Tenth. His father found out that he was "passing time whoring in the pleasure district" and called him back home. (501)
• The more financial hardship Du Tenth saw Li in, the warmer she grew toward him (501).
• The madam is furious that Li has no more money to spend. Du Tenth mentioned how much he's spent but it didn't manner how much he had spent since he can't spend anymore. She called Du Tenth a slut and said she's been having to pay for the "upkeep of this bum of yours." The madam told Du Tenth to have him buy her out so she can be replaced with a new girl. The madam says Li has 3 days to get 300 in cash or the deals off. Du Tenth got the madam to agree on 10 days instead of 3. Du Tenth has doubts of the madam sticking to her word, but the madam says she's too old to be telling lies. (502)
• Liu put together 150 taels within two days and gave it to Li, not for Li's sake, but because he was moved by the sincere feeling of Du Tenth (505)
• Du Tenth asked about their settlement plans. Li said they can't go to his father since he'll be outraged that Li married a prostitute. (507)
• Sun Fu planted seeds of doubt in Li, saying that Du Tenth might be using Li just to meet up with another lover. Li was at a loss for words and asked what advice Sun Fu would give. (511)
• Sun Fu proposed that he would give Li 1000 taels if he were to "act decisively when opportunity presents itself." (512)
• Li was terrified of his father and told Sun Fu he needed to talk with Du Tenth. "I cannot in justice cut her off all at once" (513)
• Du Tenth told Li she didn't intend for their oath to be broken. She said there's no less than ten thousand taels in the box. She intended for Li to be able to use it all to return to his parents without shame. (515)
• She couldn't believe that he lost faith in her off of some groundless claims and betrayed her heart. (516)
• She wanted everyone to witness that she didn't betray him; he betrayed her (516).

These specific notes will allow me to go back and collect quotes, with context as needed, and address the questions relating to this prompt. My working thesis is: "Du Tenth is a mistreated prostitute who has done nothing that would reasonably suggest that she wouldn't remain faithful throughout her marriage."

Feng Menglong. "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger." The Norton Anthology World Literature,

edited by Martin Puchner, third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton, 2012, pp. 497-517.

Week 14 Analysis: Close Reading of "Notes of a Native Son"

For my close reading this week, I picked the paragraph at the top of page 739 of "Notes of a Native Son" that begins with "his illness was beyond all hope" (739). This paragraph does a great job at demonstrating the disconnect between Baldwin and his father. Anytime Baldwin ever mentioned at any point in the story that he hated his father or felt they hardly knew each other, we can trace it back to this paragraph. When speaking of his father's illness, Baldwin says it was "beyond all hope of healing before anyone realized that he was ill" (739). From what's obviously apparent by Baldwin saying "before anyone realized that he was ill," we can see that it took a long time before his family found out he was ill (739). But, the use of the phrase "beyond all hope" when referring to when the family found out gives us a greater picture as to how long this has gone unnoticed. He's been ill for many years without anyone finding out, and it has reached the point where it's become too late for any doctor to assist him. Baldwin continues, "his long silences which were punctuated by moans and hallelujahs and snatches of old songs while he sat at the living-room window never seemed odd to us" (739). Reading over this the first time, I didn't notice exactly what this meant. Doing a close reading just now has helped me understand exactly what this means. To say that his "long silences" were "punctuated" by "moans and hallelujahs" indicates that his father's illness prevented him from being able to remain silent for long periods of time (739). Every time he sat still or tried to relax, his pain would cause him to moan. He would occasionally spout out a hallelujah most likely because it would make it seem like he's okay and that way his family didn't think they would need to worry about him. This is also evident from how Baldwin said it "never seemed odd to us" (739). Baldwin's father was hiding the fact that anything was wrong with for a long time. Most likely, he wanted his illness to sneakily kill him before his family could realize he was ill. If Baldwin's father could try to keep something this important a secret, it's no surprise that Baldwin claims him and his father never spoke much. His father wanted nothing more than to keep to himself. "It was clear from the beginning that there was no hope for him" (739).


Baldwin, James. "Notes of a Native Son." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 739

Reading Notes W14: Baldwin, Part A

• Baldwin's father died on July 29th, 1943. (736)
• His last child was born hours later after he died (736)
• A race riot broke out a few hours after the funeral (736)
• August 3rd of 1943, they drove his father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass (736)
• Day of funeral was his 19th birthday (737)
• Baldwin thought of this as an apocalypse (737)
• He didn't know his father very well. He didn't realize how little they spoke to each other until after his father passed away. He wishes he had spoken to him more (737)
• His father's mother was born during slavery. He was of the first generation of free men (737)
• His father was born in New Orleans (737)
• They had a picture of Louis Armstrong on their wall for a long time (737)
• His father would preach sermons, but Baldwin grew up to view his father as someone who looked like an "African tribal chieftain" (737)
• "He was certainly the most bitter man I have ever met" (737)
• "He knew that he was black but did not know that he was beautiful" (738)
• Baldwin had been gone from his home for over a year when his father died (738)
• After his father died, the other children feared inviting friends over to the house because their friends would feel insulted or that they'd rob the family of everything they owned. Baldwin claims to have hated his father because he didn't believe they owned anything that anyone would want to steal (738-9)
• "The only white people who came to our house were welfare workers and bill collectors" (739)
• At school, his young white schoolteacher wanted to take him to the theater. "Theater-going was forbidden in our house" (739)
• When his father got laid off from his job, this schoolteacher became important to Baldwin (740)
• His father warned him that his white friends in high school were not really his friends and that he would see when he was older how a "white man would do anything to keep a Negro down" (740)
• Baldwin, when hanging out with friends, would answer sharply with smart remarks to counterman at restaurants. Their answer to him would be "We don't serve Negroes here." (741)
• July 28th, Baldwin visited his father for the first time during his illness and the last time in his life (744)
• Baldwin went with his father's older sister to visit him. Baldwin also begun smoking (745).
• Baldwin didn't own a lot of black clothes for the funeral (746).
• Some girl Baldwin was going to go on a date with found a black shirt for him. He went to the funeral wearing that shirt, a black jacket, his darkest colored pants, and slightly drunk. (746)
• "Only the Lord saw the midnight tears" (747)
• "Thou knowest this man's fall; but thou knowest not his wrassling" From English author John Donne's Biathanatos, a defense of suicide. (747)
• His father asked him one time, "You'd rather write than preach, wouldn't you?" (748)
• He didn't want to go to the casket alone nor look at his dead father. A deacon walked up there with him. "I cannot say that it looked like him at all" (748)
• After the funeral, Baldwin still tried to celebrate his birthday. A Negro soldier got into a fight with a white policeman over a Negro girl. It ended with the shooting of the soldier (748-9)
• "All of my father's texts and songs, which I had decided were meaningless, were arranged before me at his death like empty bottles waiting to hold the meaning which life would give them for me. This was his legacy: nothing is ever escaped" (750).

Baldwin, James. "Notes of a Native Son." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 735-750

Topic Brainstorm - Last Time

One idea I have, taken from my previous topic brainstorm, would be to address the following prompt: "Think about a theme you see running through your life (failure is the best lesson, love is eternal, etc). Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme (even if it reaches different conclusions about it). Explore connections between how the theme plays out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading." A theme in my life that I would enjoy writing about is my belief that everything gets better. I think I could use "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger" by Feng Menglong to show how differently my belief compares to the way Jia Li views his own life since I feel the two are almost complete opposites. This project should be something I can manage since my life is the only one I lived, so there's no way I can realistically mess up that half of the project, meaning I would just need to be careful when addressing Jia Li in order to make sure that I've clearly analyzed his life and the way his story doesn't line up with my beliefs. Whereas I always look on the bright side of things and maintain a sense of optimism when things get bad, Li would avoid his problems because he always feared the likely outcomes. Something I would hope to learn from writing this project is whether or not everything can get better for people, or if maybe some people are destined to crash and burn.

Another idea I have, also from my previous topic brainstorm, addresses the prompt that asks me to choose a female character to focus on and discuss several questions about her. For this project I think I would discuss the character Du Tenth from Feng Menglong's "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger." For this project, I would address how several characters view her in a negative manner and share my contrasting opinion about her. I'm interested in this topic because I felt sympathetic for Du Tenth the whole time I was reading this story. At first I had doubts as to whether or not her love for Jia Li was sincere, but it ended up becoming clear to me that it was sincere even if Jia Li didn't realize until it was too late and he had already ruined things with her. I could also write about Kieu from "The Tale of Kieu" since her story has a lot to talk about. She's been in plenty of different situations and has met a lot of characters who respected her, even if she never viewed herself with the same level of respect. From this project, I might end up learning something about the way that we as people perceive others who don't meet society's standards of what makes someone a good person and whether or not our judgments are fair.

My third idea, which is isn't from a previous brainstorm, is to write about the following prompt: "Pick a subject: love, work, freedom, etc. Then choose two selections and discuss how that subject is discussed in those selections. Use literary devices to help frame your discussion." For this project, I would pick the subject "love" and analyze the love lives of Kieu and Du Tenth. Kieu has a lot of love in her life. No matter what happened to her, she always had someone that loved her. Kim loved her before she disappeared and even after she came back. When she was gone, Lord Tu loved her and took care of her, going so far as to get revenge on the people who hurt her. Her family was also greatly relieved to see that she was alive and they reassured Kieu that she shouldn't feel like she doesn't deserve their kindness. Du Tenth on the other hand, wasn't well-respected nor did anyone have a genuine love for her. Jia Li came into her life and the two fell in love. Then he proceeded to screw everything up and betray her feelings by doubting the integrity of their relationship and how well their marriage would work out. Overall, I feel like there is a lot of content I could fit into this project.

Week 13 Analysis: Literary Analysis of "When You Are Old"

For this week's analysis, I decided to write a literary analysis about "When You Are Old" by William Butler Yeats. The theme of the poem is the theme of old age, as implied by the title. Yeats begins the poem with "when you are old and gray and full of sleep / and nodding by the fire, take down this book" (522). I felt that "when you are old" was phrased like that to state aging is inevitable, not just a possibility. I feel like it's his way of shocking people into reality; everyone grows old and age isn't something that happens to everyone but you. And to say that you will be "gray and full of sleep" also means your hair will its color eventually and you will grow to become constantly tired and without energy. Gone would be the days of horsing around and doing exciting things. In this poem, Yeats asks his audience to look at scrapbooks or other records of their past in order to remember the better days of their lives before growing old. "How many loved your moments of glad grace / and loved your beauty with love false and true" (522). Then he seems to bring God into the poem by saying "but one man loved the pilgrim soul in you / and loved the sorrows of your changing face" (522). He's reminding the audience, assuming the believe in God, that God will always love them no matter how old they become. When you grow old, you won't be able to participate in the activities you once loved to participate in, and you might feel like the friends and family of yours who still have their youth are on the road to forgetting you. Despite any doubts, God loving you will be constant and unwavering. This religious context can very easily affect how well someone relates to this poem. Someone who isn't religious might read this poem and think it's a bunch of nonsense; if their friends and family don't love them anymore, then no one does because they don't believe God is real. Conversely, someone like myself who at least believes God is real can make this connection and be reminded that we'll always be loved. Yeats ends the poem with a metaphor that refers to God up in Heaven. "Upon the mountains overhead / and hid his face amid a crowd of stars" (522). The inclusion of this metaphor is to address doubts the readers might have. If God loves us, why would he wait up in Heaven until we die to speak with us? Pairing this part of the poem with the early half of the poem that asks the audience to remember their youth answers this doubt. God chose to let us live life and enjoy it as much as possible before deciding to have his time with us.


Yeats, William Butler. "When You Are Old." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by
Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 518-532

Reading Notes W13: Eliot & Akhmatova, Part B

T. S. Eliot

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock"

• Opens with an excerpt from Dante's Inferno (541)
• "Streets that follow like a tedious argument / of Insidious intent" (541)
• References Michelangelo (541)
• Several mentions of yellow fog and yellow smoke. I'm actually not sure at all what this is. (541-2)
• He seems to be pondering the days in which he'll grow old. (542)
• "And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes / Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?" (543)
• "No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be" (544)
• The last stanza seems to be about sirens. "Sea-girls" with "human voices wake us, and we drown" (544).

"The Waste Land"

• The Burial of the Dead specifically refers to the burial service of the Anglican church (545)
• April is the most cruel month (545)
• "Winter kept us warm" (545)
• "Summer surprised us" (545)
• Hyacinths. (546)
• "Unreal City" references Baudelaire (547)
• A Game of Chess references a play by Thomas Middleton (548)
• Demobbed means demobilized / discharged from the army (549)
• The Fire Sermon is a reference to Buddha's Fire Sermon (550)
• Eliot includes "The Song of the (three) Thames-daughters" (553-555)
• Death by Water is about Phlebas the Phoenician. (555)
• "Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you" (555)
• Lines 367-377 refer to Hermann Hesse's Blick ins Chaos (Glimpse into Chaos) (556)
• "Poi.... / Quando..." is a passage from Purgatorio when Arnaut Daniel asks Dante to remember his pain (558)

Anna Akhmatova

"Requiem"

• "No, not under the vault of alien skies" is a borrowed phrase from Message to Siberia by Aleksandr Pushkin (568)
• The Yezhov terror of 1937-1938 consisted of mass arrests being carried out by the secret police (568)
• Black Marias were police cars for conveying those arrested (569)
• "Quietly flows the quiet Don" refers to the flowing of the great Russian river. (570)
• Akhmatova's first husband, Nikolai Gumilyov, was shot in 1921 (570)
• "For seventeen months I've been cying out / Calling you home" (571)
• "Just as the white nights / Stared at you, dear son, in prison" (571)
• "I must kill my memory once and for all" (571)
• "I must learn to live again--" (571)
• "Do not weep for Me, Mother, / I am in the grave" (573)
• In the Russian Orthodox Church, a memorial service is held on the anniversary of a death (574)

Akhmatova, Anna. "Requiem." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 565-574

Eliot, T.S.. The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 537-64

Reading Notes W13: Yeats, Part A

"When You Are Old"

Yeats advises us on some things we should do when we are old and weak. We should take a trip down memory lane by looking at pictures of ourselves or things that we've written and reflect on what we were like when we were younger. We can enjoy the memories we shared with people we loved in the past. Half way through the poem, Yeats makes it clear that he's bringing some of his own personal experiences into the poem. He speaks about who I believe to be God in his poem. He wrote "One man loved the pilgrim soul in you" and he "hid his face amid a crowd of stars" (Yeats 522).

"Easter 1916"

On Easter Sunday of 1916, Irish nationalists began a failed rebellion against British rule that ended in the surrender and execution (522). This poem reflects on that event and Yeats asks "was it needless death after all?" (524). He questions if their passion is what drove them to their death by writing "what if excess of love / bewildered them till they died" (524).

"The Second Coming"

As the title would imply, this poem is referring to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Christians believe the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will "herald the end of the world" (524). Spiritus Mundi is Latin for "world-soul" or a "great memory" (524). When Yeats wrote "A shape with lion body and the head of a man," I'm certain he was describing a sphinx.

"Leda and the Swan"

The title refers to Greek mythology. Zeus took the form of a swan to rape a mortal named Leda (525). Leda gave birth to Helen of Troy, whose beauty led to the Trojan War (525). Reading this poem, I didn't really feel like there was anything to look into or learn. It seemed to be a simple retelling of that occurrence in the form of a poem.

Most of these poems seem to be Yeats retelling old stories he's heard but in the form of a poem with his own artistic touch. "Sailing to Byzantium" and "Byzantium" are both poems of his that speak about the ancient name for Modern Istanbul (526). "Among School Children" references Plato, Leda, and Quattrocentro (526). "Lapis Lazuli" references Hamlet, Lear, Ophelia, and Cordelia.


Yeats, William Butler. The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 518-532

Reading Notes W12: Ailing & Jun'ichiro, Part X

Zhang Ailing - "Sealed Off"

• The city is sealed due to an air raid (499)
• Japanese frequently bombed Shanghai during the second Sino-Japanese War which became part of the Second World War (499)
• People would tug on the railings and beg to get in the tram (499)
• Those inside of the tram were quiet (499)
• A beggar tried to take advantage of the situation by begging for money but stopped when he was intimidated by the silence (499)
• Another beggar sang a song about having no money. The tram driver, being from the same region and recognizing the tune, joined in. (499)
• Lu Zongzhen is an accountant for Huamao Bank (500)
• Wu Cuiyuan was a good daughter and student. She became an English teacher after graduating from college. She decided to grade papers while stuck in the air raid. (501)
• While I can understand the devotion to one's job, this was still weird. There's absolutely no way I'd be able to focus on school or work-related things if there was some notable form of violence or danger around me. I say that anyways, but I remember playing video games when all of the California fires were going on not too long ago. Actually, I have no idea how I'd act in such a situation now that I've thought about it.
• Some people begin to discuss art and argue their preferences (502)
• Lu doesn't joined in the conversation and stays in his seat. He sees Peizhi and fears Peizhi would take advantage of the opportunity to press forward with his attack (502)
• Something with the narrator and point of view keeps ripping me out of the story. The story's being told in a third person point of view by referring to characters as "he" or "she" and never speaking as "I" but rather "Lu." Yet there's constant commentary between various moments in the story. "Oh no! The woman..." "Damn! Dong Peizhi had..." "Now, thank God, he was..." It's sort of disorienting and I can't help but feel I missed a crucial detail about who's telling this story. Either that or the narrator is just very vocal about their opinions.
• Peizhi sees anyone over thirty years old as being old. (502)
• "Her whole body was like squeezed-out toothpaste, it had no shape." Well that's just hurtful. (502)
• Cuiyuan was shocked that Lu was resting his arm behind her. (503)
• I don't understand why Lu is trying to avoid Peizhi if Peizhi is his nephew.
• Lu feels his wife doesn't understand him at all (504)
• Lu's marriage as arranged. He was against it from the start. (504)
• He was happy to see Cuiyuan blush (504)
• Lu wants a divorce but can't get on (505)
• Cuiyuan is 24 and Lu is 34 (505)
• They were both happy to sit by each other (505)
• Lu spontaneously decided to tell her she can't sacrifice her future and that he doesn't want to ruin her life (505)
• Cuiyuan felt she would most likely get married eventually but her husband wouldn't be as "dear" as some stranger (Lu) that she just met (506)
• She felt he was a good person and throwing away his own happiness (506)
• "If a woman needs to turn to words to move a man's heart, she is a sad case" (506)
• He asked for her number (506)
• He frantically searched for a pen and paper while she spouted out her number. Noise built-up all around them. The tramp began to move faster. She noticed he hadn't got off the tram when she did since they couldn't see each other between the crowd. "The whole of Shanghai had dozed off, had dreamed an unreasonable dream" (506)

Tanizaki Jun'ichiro - "The Tattooer"

• In an age when men honored frivolity (80).
• Kabuki theater is a form of popular, highly dramatic theater (80)
• Seikechi had formerly been an ukiyo-e painter of the school of Toyokuni and Kunisada (80)
• As a tattooer, the clients he accepted had to leave the design and cost up to his discretion (80)
• His secret pleasure was the agony men felt as he drove needles into them (80)
• "Don't act like a child. Pull yourself together--you have hardly begun to feel my needles" (80-81).
• I feel like this would be hilarious in a cartoon or anime.
• "Soon your body will begin to throb with pain" (81)
• He had desired to create a masterpiece on a beautiful woman for a long time (81)
• "I have waited five years for you. This is the first time I have seen your face, but I remember your foot" (82)
• Seikechi is creepy.
• He showed the girl a painting of a Chinese princess.
• She asks why he showed this painting to her, he said because the woman in the painting is "yourself" and says her blood runs through her. The girl admits she is like the woman in the painting but requests that he put the painting away. (82)
• "Don't talk like a coward" (82)
• He had to say this with a "malicious smile," of course. (82)
• He put her to sleep with some anesthetic (82-3)
• Hours later, the tattoo wasn't even half done (83)
• She has to bathe to bring out the colors of the tatoo (84)
• The tattoo on her back is a spider (84)

Ailing, Zhang. "Sealed Off." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 497-506

Jun'ichiro, Tanizaki. "The Tattooer." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 78-84

Week 12 Analysis: Close Reading of "The Dead"

I've chosen to do my close reading on the paragraph that begins after the sentence "she was fast asleep" (206). In this paragraph, we can see how the memory of someone who has long since passed away can have a tremendous impact on the lives of the living even has time goes on. Gabriel is described as "leaning on his elbow" as Gretta sleeps (206). If I'm picturing it correctly, this would mean that he's leaning on something with his elbow as if to make standing more comfortable since he suspects he'll be by Gretta for a long amount of time before he leaves. He "looked for a few moments unresentfully on her tangled hair and half-open mouth, listening to her deep-drawn breath" (206). By looking at her without resentment, I can safely assume that he's somewhat calmed down since she had upset him by mentioning Michael Furey. Her hair is most likely tangled because of how she carelessly threw herself onto the bed when crying. Her mouth is probably half-open due to her crying. She might have been sobbing and sniffing too much when crying and fallen asleep while mainly breathing through her mouth as opposed to her nose. The deep-drawn breath seems to be a sign that she might be calming down in her rest and not so heartbroken as she was a moment before. Gabriel restates the idea that "a man had died for her sake" as if to let this new idea sink in for a moment since he had trouble accepting it at first (206). He believes he's played a poor part in her life as her husband and he looks at her "as though he and she had never lived together as man and wife" (206). Gabriel seems to be questioning every moment of time he's ever spent with her because of how he's never known about this until now. Now he feels like he hardly knows her at all. It's as if she's become a stranger to him. This also might be due to the fact that her crying over another man, even if dead, implies that she has lingering feelings for someone other than her husband which might make him feel distant to Gretta. He pictures what she might have looked like all those years ago and it makes him feel a "strange friendly pity" (206). By picturing her as younger, it's almost like he's seeing her as an entirely different person. And by looking at her as someone else instead of his wife, it might be easier for him to disconnect from the idea that his wife is thinking of another young man. This disconnect would allow him to feel sympathy for her as opposed to jealous and resentment. He didn't want to say she wasn't beautiful anymore, but he felt that she no longer had the "face for which Michael Furey had braved death" (206). By considering the events of Michael's death, Gabriel might be having a hard time thinking that he could do the same for Gretta. To say she doesn't have the same face someone once died for makes it sounds like he wouldn't die for her if he had to because either his feelings for her had diminished or he's truly become distant from her. This paragraph also explains why he feels as though Michael Furey, though dead, at least lived a life filled with love. Michael Furey loved Gretta enough to die for her, whereas one simple story had caused Gabriel to question his entire relationship with her and doubt the integrity of their relationship.

Joyce, James. "The Dead." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 206

Reading Notes W12: Joyce, Part B

• Lily is the caretaker's daughter (178)
• Misses Morkan's annual dance is a great affair (178)
• Lily is done with school and does not go to school anymore (179)
• Gabriel gave a coin to Lily because it's Christmas time (180)
• Gabriel was the favorite nephew (180)
• Gabriel was about to ask his aunt about something but she went to gaze after he sister (182)
• Aunt Kate says she feels easier when Gabriel is around (182)
• The characters were going to dance. Quadrilles, as one woman said. (183)
• Gabriel was irritated by the beeswax on the floor (184)
• Amy writes for The Daily Express (185)
• Every year, Gabriel goes for a cycling tour (186)
• Gabriel is sick of his own country (187)
• His answer made him upset and he tried hiding it by dancing with great energy (187)
• There are two lines early on page 188 where Joyce describes how Gabriel said something. "Said Gabriel coldly" and "said Gabriel moodily" (188). This isn't significant to the reading, it just caught my attention since I always hear different things about writing the way a character says something. Some English teachers have taught me this a smart thing to do whereas other Creative Writing teachers have told me to leave it at "said" and nothing more.
• Aunt Kate fiercely told Mary Jane that she does in fact know all about the honor of God but feels it isn't honorable for the pope to turn women out of the choirs who have been there all their lives (190)
• Aunt Kate wondered where Gabriel was since he needed to carve the goose. He came back and was described as being "ready to carve a flock of geese, if necessary" (191). I thought this was funny.
• Gabriel is an expert at carving meat (191)
• Pudding was brought to the table once Gabriel finished (193)
• Monks never spoke, got up at two in the morning, and slept in their coffins (193)
• The coffin is to remind them of their "last end" (194)
• Gabriel expresses his feelings that their country doesn't have any traditions worth noting (195)
• "I will not linger on the past" - Gabriel (195)
• They sing "For they are jolly gay fellows" (196)
• Gabriel was caught off guard by Gretta's sudden kiss (203)
• He wanted to know what she was thinking about. She said she was thinking about a song called The Lass of Aughrim (204)
• She explained that someone she knew used to sing it. Gabriel got jealous because it was a boy. Gretta clarified that the boy dies at age 17 (204)
• She cried herself to sleep by thinking about it. Gabriel held her hand for a moment but let go so that she could grieve (206)
• Gabriel loves her (206)
• "His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead (207).

Joyce, James. "The Dead." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 174-207

Reading Notes W12: Woolf, Part A

• "Women must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction" (339)
• Mary Beton/Seton/Carmichael are all acceptable names for Mary (340)
• Poetry excites people to feelings like abandonment or rupture is because it celebrates some feeling that one used to have. (345)
• Comparison of how many books are written about men compared to women (352)
• Women do not write books about men (353)
• If there were indisputable proofs arguing about how women are inferior to men then it wouldn't be so hard to not be angry. But that isn't the case (357)
• Woolf's aunt, Mary Beton, died by falling off of her horse when she went for a ride to get some air in Bombay (359)
• "Great bodies of people are never responsible for what they do" (360)
• "All assumptions founded on the facts observed when women were the protected sex will have disappeared" (361)
• "Women are poorer than men..."and "perhaps now it would be better to give up seeking for the truth" (361)
• From Professor Trevelyan's History of England: Wife-beating was a recognized right of man and practiced without shame by high and low (362)
• I was really surprised when I read that. I could understand the idea of giving men power over their wives in a patriarchal society but I would have imagined that abusing one's wife would be seen as a punishable offense of some sort. Even if it resulted in less of a severe punishment to beat one's wife as opposed to beating some random male-- something. To have this just be practiced without shame makes me imagine that it was as common to see a husband beating his wife as it was to see him playing a sport.
• Edgar Allan Poe was mentioned and his name caught my eye immediately for no apparent reason other than the fact that I recognize him and enjoy some of his poetry. Didn't have the same reaction for Shakespeare. Probably because I've had to read too much of Shakespeare's works in the past year. (364)
• Women who were born with a gift of poetry in the 16th century were unhappy woman; "a woman at strife against herself" (367)
• We are not held up by some "revelation" which reminds us of the writer (371)

Woolf, Virginia. "A Room of One's Own." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 336-371

Week 11 Analysis: Literary Analysis of "The Death of Ivan Ilyich"

A literary element that I had noticed and appreciated throughout "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" was foreshadowing. While we obviously knew Ivan Ilyich was dead from the beginning of the story, there were several moments of foreshadowing for events that we would witness in the time of the story prior to the death of Ivan Ilyich. When Peter Ivanovich speaks to Ilyich's wife, she tells Peter that Ivan has "suffered terrible the last few days" and continues to specify that for the "last three days he screamed incessantly" (744). Initially I had expected this just to be a detail about how Ilyich's health was. I didn't expect to read any of what Ivan Ilyich would scream about or why he was screaming. But looking back, I say this was foreshadowing because we did get to witness this actual event later in the story. When his wife was telling him how he should be taking his medicine, he interrupted her to shout "For Christ's sake let me die in peace!" (775) While this isn't incessant screaming, I still identify this as the screaming that his wife was referring to. When looking at the relationship between Ilyich and his wife, and her emotional state about his condition, I believe that this is what she was referring to. She's exaggerating the extent in which he was screaming whether that be because of how she might have remembered the traumatic event or because of her personality and lackluster relationship with Ivan. To specify why I think their relationship wasn't the best, his wife noticed his "bursts of temper" and we're told that "her husband had a dreadful temper and made her life miserable" (756). We are also told that "she began to feel sorry for herself, and the more she pitied herself the more she hated her husband" (756). She "began to wish he would die" but didn't actually want him to die just because she needed his salary. I believe the theme of hopelessness is present throughout this story as demonstrated by both the relationship between Ivan Ilyich and his wife and Ilyich's deteriorating condition. His wife had no hope for improvement in their relationship as evident by her internal desire for him to go ahead and die. Ivan Ilyich also had no hope for his health to improve. He was in denial the whole time even before he had even admitted he was in denial. He would constantly consult doctors because he was panicking, losing hope, and just trying to find anything to give him back some hope. He even lashes out at his wife and asks to die in peace as I had mentioned earlier. I believe Tolstoy's religious affiliation played a part in this story because of Ivan Ilyich's approach to death. In the biography provided before the story I read that Tolstoy "founded his own religion" and his religion "involved rejecting any idea of an afterlife" (737). Ilyich doesn't make any mentions of going to Heaven when he says he just wants to die in peace. When he does finally die, he says "Death is finished" and "It is no more!" (778). He viewed his life as being completely over and with no mention of an afterlife because Tolstoy didn't believe in one.


Holstoy, Leo. "The Death of Ivan Ilyich." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 735-778

Reading Notes W11: Ibsen, Part B

• Play takes place on the west side of Norway's capital, Christiania (781)
• Berta is the maid to the Tesmans. George Tesman is the research fellow in cultural history. Hedda Tesman is George's wife. Miss Juliane Tesman is his aunt. (781)
• Berta has a new mistress, apparently. (782)
• Berta has been in Miss Tesman and Miss Rina's service for many years (782)
• Berta has looked after George since he was a little boy (782)
• Miss Tesman tells Berta to no longer call George "Mister Tesman." She should call him "Doctor Tesman" from now on (783)
• Miss Tesman is happy for George since he's married Hedda Gabbler (784)
• George says he has several friends in town who envy him (784)
• Miss Tesman points out how he took a five-month honeymoon (784)
• George has received his doctorate (785)
• He has prospects of becoming a professor (785)
• George wonders what he'll do with the two empty rooms in his home (785)
• Miss Tesman says he'll know what to do when the time comes. I think she's implying he'll have kids. The idea doesn't register with George. He thinks about his library (785)
• Miss Tesman took out a mortgage on her annuity (786)
• George comments on how his aunt never gets tired of sacrificing herself for him (786)
• George's book will bea bout the Domestic Craftsmanship Practices of Medieval Brabant (786)
• Miss Tesman has referred to "sainted Joseph" several times by this point in the play
• Miss Tesman gave George his old house slippers (787)
• Hedda says Berta won't last as a maid because she forgot her old hat. The hat actually belonged to Miss Tesman as George pointed out. Miss Tesman says the hat isn't old and that she hasn't even worn it before today (788)
• Hedda seems to have something against Miss Tesman. She doesn't really know her. She criticizes Miss Tesman's manners for leaving her hat around. She doesn't want to call her "Aunt" let alone "Aunt Julie" (789)
• Mrs. Elvsted left flower at Tesman's home (789-90)
• Mrs. Elvsted was formerly Miss Rysing. Hedda says she had "irritating hair" and points out how she used to be an "old flame" of George's (790)
• Mrs. Elvsted claims she was desperate when Hedda and George weren't home (790)
• There's some sort of trouble and she didn't know who else to turn to (790)
• Eilert Lovborg is in town (791)
• He was Mrs. Elvsted's stepchildrens' tutor (791)
• She wants George and Hedda to keep a watchful eye on Lovborg (792)
• George says he'll do anything in his power for Eilert Lovborg (792)
• Hedda forces Mrs. Elvsted into an armchair so they can have a "heart-to-heart talk" (792)
• Mrs. Elvsted says Hedda used to pull her hair. She was afraid of Hedda. Hedda on the other hand recalls them being good friends back in school since they used to call each other by their first names (793)
• Mrs. Elvsted has been married for 5 years now (793)
• Hedda lightly smacks Mrs. Elvsted's (Thea's) hand for calling her Mrs. Tesman instead of Hedda (794)
• Hedda insists she must tell her everything. Thea says ok but Hedda must ask all the questions (794)
• Thea says her husband claims he does everything for the best. Hedda mentions that he's 20 years older than Thea. Thea can't stand being with him because they don't have anything in common (794)
• Thea's husband doesn't know she's gone. She packed some of her things and left in secret (795)
• She says she's never going back (795)
• Thea claims to have had a kind power over Eilert Lovborg. She also says he's made a real human being out of her (795)
• He talks with her more than her husband. Whenever he wrote anything, they had to agree on it first. She seems like she enjoys how important she feels with him in comparison to how she feels with her husband (795)
• Thea says there's a shadow of a woman between her and Lovborg (795)
• Lovborg only briefly spoke to Thea about this woman. He said when they broke up, the woman was going to shoot him with a pistol (796)
• That woman walked around with loaded pistols (796)
• Hedda said their conversation will be strictly between the two of them. George entered the room. (796)
• Judge Brack tells George that his appointment for professorship might not come as soon as he hoped (798)
• He would be competing for the position with Lovborg (798)
• George feels entitled to the position because he's in greater need of the money and as promised the position to begin with (799)
• Hedda speaks with George. They agree she think about having uniformed servants at this moment because of their financial situation. She can't think about the horse either. She says she has one thing left to amuse herself with. She grabs pistols and runs to the inner room. (800)

Ibsen, Henrik. "Hedda Gabler." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 781-800

Reading Notes W11: Tolstoy, Part A

• Ivan Egorovich Shebek had a private room where a conversation focused on the Krasovski case (740)
• Ivan Ilyich died February 4th, 1882 (740)
• Fedor Vasilievich wonders about his promotion now that Ilyich has died(740)
• Peter Ivanovich says he needs to apply for his brother-in-law's transfer (741)
• Ivanovich recognized Ilyich's sister at the entrance to the Ilyich house (741)
• Peter Ivanovich made the sign of the cross and stopped after he felt it went on too long. He looked at the corpse (742)
• Schwartz bowed when told that the service was going to begin but didn't accept nor decline the invitation to go to the service (743)
• The widow kept getting her shawl stuck on furniture and Ivanovich kept trying to help her (743)
• Ivanovich remarked that Ilyich's death must be hard on her. She tells him to smoke and then he lights a cigarette (744)
• She tells Ivanovich that her husband screamed incessantly for the last three days (744)
• She begins to cry because of how hard it is (745)
• Ivanovich meets a priest and recognizes Ilyich's daughter (745)
• Ivan Ilyich was a member of the Court of Justice and died at the age of 45 (746)
• Ilyich did things in school that used to seem horrid to him and make him feel disgusting (746)
• Respice Finem is latin for "Regard the end" (747)
• Comme il faut is french for "as one must" (748)
• Ivan Ilyich never abused his power (748)
• Praskovya Fedorovna came from a good family and didn't look bad and even had some property (749)
• Ilyich's wife, for no reason, began to disturb the pleasure and propriety of their life (749)
• His wife begain upbraiding him and abusing him with words every time he didn't fulfill her demands (749)
• As his wife grew more irritable, he focused more and more on his work. Seems like he's using his work as an escape from his wife. (750)
• After seven years of service in their town, he was transferred to another province as Public Prosecutor (750)
• His wife blamed him for every inconvenience they experienced in their new home (750)
• His life continued to flow as he wanted, pleasantly and properly (751)
• He lived for 17 years after his marriage (751)
• When he departed, the cheerful state of mind from his success and the harmony between him and his wife didn't leave him (753)
• There was a time when he mounted a step-ladder and made a false step then slipped (753)
• He spent his mornings in the law court and came home to dinner (754)
• His main pleasure was giving littler dinners. He would invite men and women of good social position. (755)
• He occasionally felt discomfort in his left side (755)
• His discomfort grew and he became more and more irritable (756)
• His wife felt that he had a dreadful temper and it made her life miserable. She felt sorry for herself and wished he would die but didn't actually want him to die because she needed his salary (756)
• Ivan Ilyich visited a doctor who had to decide between a floating kidney, chronic catarrh, or appendicitis. I'm curious as to why the doctor might have suspected appendicitis if Ilyich is having pain in his left side. The appendix pain would be on the right side. (756)
• Ilyich spent a good amount of time trying to understand the doctor and figure out if his condition was bad or not (757)
• He constantly consulted doctors since he became furious about his condition (758)
• His wife said that some days he would take his drops and stick to his diet but on other days he would forget his medicine and eat sturgeon which was forbidden (759)
• Several doctors told him he had a floating kidney (760)
• Ilyich went with Peter Ivanovich to see his friend who was a doctor (761)
• He's in denial. He kept saying his kidney doesn't hurt him before admitting that he's dying and trying to deceive himself (761-2)
• When he would move something himself, his wife would insist that the servants should do it so he doesn't hurt himself again (764)
• Gerasim is the butler's young assistant (765)
• Gerasim had to help Ilyich stand up to pull up his pants. (765)
• Gerasim helped Ilyich get comfortable in his seat (766)
• He liked talking to Gerasim (766)
• Gerasim would give up sleep to help support Ilyich's legs to keep him comfortable (767)
• Ilyich wanted to be able to cry and be petted and cried over. Gerasim's attitude helped satisfy this desire. But when Shebek would come over, Ilyich had to put on a serious face. The "falsity" around him poisoned his last days (767)
• Ilyich dreaded being left alone. He asked Peter to bring him his medicine before claiming that the medicine is deception and that he can't believe in it any longer (768)
• "If only it would come quicker! If only what would come quicker? Death, darkness?" (768)
• When visiting the doctor, his wife comes in and immediately finds the need to clarify that she's been there a long time and was coincidentally out of the room when the doctor arrived. (769)
• Peter asked him a question later and he responded by asking Peter to send in Gerasim (772)
• Gerasim suggested Ilyich take some opium for his pain. Ilyich took some. (772)
• Ilyich wants to live and not suffer (772)
• He wants to live well and pleasantly (773)
• He questions why he must die in agony (773)
• He pondered the question "What is this? Can it be that it is Death?" (774)
• "Resistance is impossible," Ilyich said. "There is no explanation! Agony, death... What for?" (775)
• "For Christ's sake let me die in peace!" (775)
• I'm beginning to see what his wife meant by saying he would scream incessantly.
• A force struck him in his chest and side. Two hours before his death, his son came in as he was screaming and waving his arms. His son held his hand and began to cry (777)
• Ilyich felt sorry for his family (777)
• He asked his wife to take his son away from him. He said sorry to both of them. He then saw light. "So what's what it is! What joy!" (778)
• "He drew in a breath, stopped in the midst of a sigh, stretched out, and died. (778)

Holstoy, Leo. "The Death of Ivan Ilyich." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 735-778

Reading Notes W10: Ichiyo, Part B

• The story begins with someone tapping on "her" window (907)
• Okyo is the girl's name (907)
• Okyo lies and says she's going to bed, she tells them to come back in the morning (907)
• It was Kichizo from the umbrella shop who was knocking on the window (907)
• Okyo decided to let him in (907)
• Okyo is a stylish woman (907)
• Kichizo was referred to as a dwarf. 16 years old but looked 11 or 12. Small face. Short. (907)
• Okyo keeps teasing Kichizo about rice cakes (907)
• New Years is the most significant holiday in Japan (907)
• Okyo is working on a piece of clothing for the owner of the pawnshop on the corner (908)
• Kichizo says he should wear it first since it's a waste on the pawnshop owner (908)
• Okyo reminds Kichizo that anyone who wears another's clothes won't get anywhere in life (908)
• Okyo is doing this to support herself, not as a gift (908)
• They both try to get each other to promise they'll make each other happy if they become sucessful (908)
• Kichizo believes he's stuck in his position oiling umbrellas but he's okay with it. He believes Okyo has a better chance at succeeding in life. (908)
• Okyo believes she'll go to hell (908)
• Kichizo doesn't like his boss (908)
• Kichizo says Okyo seems like a sister to him and wonders if she's ever had a younger brother (909)
• Kichizo would be ok with dying if he could just find out who his sister is and meet her. He has no parents. (909)
• Okyo says it makes no difference who Kichizo's parents are. Okyo also believes she'd make something of herself no matter who her parents were (909)
• Kichizo says he doesn't have any "get-up-and-go." Maybe he's depressed? (909)
• Kichizo has been teased because he doesn't know about his identity (909)
• A woman named Omatsu picked up Kichizo 6 years prior to the conversation between Kichizo and Okyo. He was doing his tumbler act along the road (909)
• Okyo is going to live with a relative she hardly knows (912)
• Okyo says she doesn't want to but she has to. She won't be able to see Kichizo anymore (912)
• Okyo wants Kichizo to come inside to get warm but he declines. He says to leave him alone. Okyo says it worries her (912)
• Kichizo explains that everyone he's ever liked dies or goes away. He gets mad and wonders how he could have ever thought of her as a sister seeing how she's leaving. Okyo says she has to leave but she isn't abandoning him. She does think of him his a little brother. She tells him he's impatient and jumps to conclusions (913)
• Kichizo asks if she's going to be someone's mistress and she says it's not the kind of thing anyone wants to do but it's already been decided (913)
• Kichizo looks at her with tears in his eyes and says "Take your hands off me, Okyo" (913)

Ichiyo, Higuchi. "Separate Ways." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 905-913

Week 9 Progress

I'm surprisingly satisfied with my progress so far. I looked at the course grading chart and checked how many points I should have at the end of week 9. I've got more points than the total possible points. I missed only 1 reading assignment throughout the semester so far in this class but I've made up for it with several extra credit assignments. Specifically, I've done the weekly review extra credit assignment once and I've done 3 extra credit reading assignments. The class assignments I enjoy the most are the literary analyses. I enjoy putting extra thought into a small selection of reading as opposed to reading through a story and taking notes. It's also more entertaining because I get to share my thoughts and interpretations on the readings in a meaningful way when it comes to the analyses whereas with the reading notes I'm simply recording important events or details of the stories in a post.

Moving forward, there are some significant changes I really hope I can make. I want the way I approach assignments in this class to return to the way they were in the first 4 weeks of class. I was on top of all my assignments and didn't have to take advantage of the grace periods at all. It was a lot less stressful that way. I keep trying to budget my time in a way that prevents me from having to do assignments at the last minute, but things keep coincidentally coming up on the days that I plan to do work in this class. And when it isn't someone or something stealing my time away from me, it's my insomnia. There'll be nights where I can't sleep well and then I'm tired and unable to sleep but not well-rested enough to think straight or concentrate on working. Regarding my participation in the course, I really should be doing a lot more extra commenting for extra credit. It doesn't take long to do and the points are definitely worth it.

Reading Notes W9: The Travels of Lao Can by Liu E, Part X

• When a baby is born, he or she cries. When an old person is dying, their family cries. (605)
• Crying is the beginning and end of life (605)
• Quality of man is measured by how much he cries; it's an expression of spiritual nature (605)
• Spiritual nature is proportionate to the amount of crying done (605)
• Crying is "not dependent on the external conditions of life being favorable or unfavorable" (605)
• Spiritual nature is lacking to animals such as horses and oxen; they can suffer but are unable to weep (605)
• Apes and monkeys life a life of ease but are capable of screaming which is their way of weeping. They're nearest to man because they've got a spiritual nature (605)
• The old poem says: "Of the three gorges of Eastern Ba, the Sorcerer's Gorge is the longest; / Three sounds of monkeys screaming there cut through a man's bowels" (605)
• Spiritual natures gives birth to feelings and feelings give birth to weeping (605)
• One kind of weeping is strong and the other is weak (605)
• When a small child loses something, this is weak weeping (605)
• When a wife loses her husband, this is strong weeping (605)
• If weeping takes the form of tears then that means the strength is small (605)
• If weeping doesn't causes tears, its strength is great and it has reached farther (605)
• "The deeper the emotions, the more bitter the weeping." (605)
• Lao Dong is the owner of the inn that Lao Can is staying it (606)
• Lao Can went to buy two packets of tobacco (606)
• He sat down and looked at the man behind the counter then asked him what his name was (606)
• The man's name is Wang (606)
• Tie is Lao Can's real name (606)
• Wang refers to the place he lives in as being a hell (606)
• Wang says it's difficult to explain in a word how (606)
• Lao Can asks about bandits and Wang quickly answers that there is no injustice. He seems to be hiding something. (606)
• Lao Can says he's heard bad thing about what happens to those who "doesn't please" some person (606)
• Wang denies it (606)
• Tears filled Lao Can's eyes when Wang said "if somebody talks unwisely" (606)
• Lao Can could tell the man was struck with grief and chose to not continue the conversation (606)
• Lao Can went to go speak to Lao Dong about what just happened (607)
• Dong tells Can that Wang and his wife had a son who was taken by Prefect spies and choked to death, so when Can mentioned Prefect Yu it easily brought back bad memories for the couple (607)
• Lao Can had nothing to do the next day. His feelings took control and he wrote a poem (607)
• He writes a poem that insults the prefect (608)
• He felt bad for the cold and hungry birds outside (608)
• He was angry that he isn't in a position to immediately kill Yu Xian (608)
• He wanted to write a letter to the governor but he was wasting so much time trying to melt the ink (609)
• It was dark and Lao Can asked a servant to bring him a lamp. When the lamp lit up, the servant noticed what Lao Can had written on the wall and said he will be in danger if he doesn't watch what he says. Lao Can proudly says that his name is written at the bottom (609)
• A man came in and requested that Lao Can join Shen Dongzao for dinner (609)
• Dongzao questioned how Lao Can could be wearing a cotton gown when it's so cold (610)
• Dongzao calls Lao Can out for his ringing of bells. They argue about the matter (610)
• Lao Can criticizes the Prefect for how many people he is able to kill in his position as Prefect whereas if he weren't Prefect. (611)

E, Liu. "The Travels of Lao Can." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 602-611

Week 9 Project Action Plan: What to do and how to do it?

I've decided to use the following prompt for my project: "compare and contrast elements of two different texts. For example, explore the similarities and differences between two characters in the texts, or examine how one theme is handled in similar and dissimilar ways in two different texts." I'll be analyzing Poem 1129 by Emily Dickinson and "When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be" by John Keats and comparing how the two poems approach the theme of death. I'll share my thoughts on how I interpreted various lines from both poems and how they reveal their respective poet's views about death. I believe that John Keats fears death because of how it's an indefinite deadline to accomplish life goals. Emily Dickinson on the other hand doesn't fear death and instead points out the ways other people cope with or deny the idea of death.

My work-in-progress thesis statement is: When analyzing the theme of death present in the poems written by John Keats and Emily Dickinson, we can see that John Keats feared death whereas Emily Dickinson simply viewed death as an inevitable part of human life.

Notes:

• Consonance in the first line of Poem 1129. "Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--" (489). This line introduces Dickinson's belief that the subject of death must be approached delicately because of how easily it can terrify people. It also touches on how the truth about death is told in different ways that hide the true nature of death.
• "Too bright for our infirm delight" is about how death is too powerful a subject and human content is easily disrupted (489)
• "The Truth's superb surprise" addresses how reality is going to hit people in the face at one point or another whether they like it or not (489)
• The second stanza of the poem expands on the ideas introduced in the first stanza. I'll also be analyzing the lines more thoroughly for the proving my point in the project.
• When speaking about Keats, I will be analyzing each line thoroughly as well, but I will list here in my notes the main subject matter that will be brought up
• Keats fears death
• He worries that he'll die before he can write down every meaningful thought he's wanted to share with his readers
• He has many things he wants to accomplish in life and fears he'll die before he has the time.
• He wonders about his love life and if he will be satisfied with how much of it he can experience before he dies.
• He realizes that his desires in the world are nothing in the grand scheme of things given how large the world is.

Here are my sources I will be using:

Dickinson, Emily. "1129." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 489

Keats, John. "When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 407

Week 9 Analysis: Close reading of "The Tale of Kieu"

For my close reading this week I decided to write about a stanza at the end of page 563 of "The Tale of Kieu" beginning with "pity the child." The full sentence is "pity the child, so young and so naive-- / misfortune, like a storm, swooped down on her" (562). This sentence repeats the idea that Dam Tien had already told Kieu earlier. Dam Tien told her how she's doomed by fate to grief. All throughout the poem we see Kieu go through a miserable life. She had lost her virginity by being forced into prostitution and was lied to back to back as she had been sold to different people. Some people claimed they would help her, but it was always a lie and she would be sold to someone else to work as a prostitute in their brothel or have to do other labor. She's "young and naive" because of how she still has some of her innocence. She doesn't fully understand love from personal experience when Kim decides that they should be together and it's her first major learning experience relating to love and relationships. All of that was ruined with the prostitute lifestyle that was forced upon her. She was ripped away from her lover and family and considered suicide multiple times. She kept a knife with her in case she ever decided to go through with it. The following sentence in the stanza reinforces the things I've just said: "To part from Kim meant sorrow, death in life-- / would she still care for life, much less for love?" (563). She did struggle with having a desire to live, and she was full of sorrow, but she did give love another chance. She fell in love with Tu Hai and had a fulfilling relationship with him that allowed her to get revenge on those who have wronged her. She indirectly got him killed when she encouraged him to seek war less and caused him to drop his guard and be ambushed. His death was the breaking point for her since it caused her to finally attempt suicide. She tried to drown herself. The stanza ends with "A raindrop does not brood on its poor fate: / a leaf of grass repays three months of spring" (563). In this metaphor, the raindrop is Kieu. While she might have a poor fate, her life and all of the pain that comes along with the depressing portion of her story did repay her her with a superfluous amount of "spring." Her suffering ends at the end of the story and she is reunited with her family and gets to marry Kim after all. They build a shrine and the rest of her life is no longer one full of harm and lies.


Du, Ngyuen. "The Tale of Kieu." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 546-586

Reading Notes W9: Poetry by Ghalib, Part B

Now go and live in a place

In this poem the speaker tells someone to live in a place where no on lives. In this place where no one is, there will be no one to understand their words. They can freely build a home without a wall guarding it since there would be no neighbors around to potentially vandalize their property. If they become sick, no one would be around to take care of them. If they die, no one would be there to mourn their death. To me, this poem sounds like someone giving someone else an ultimatum. It sounds like they've reached their breaking point and are threatening to separate from this person. It's as though the speaker felt unappreciated by the person they're speaking to and admitted that there are perks to being alone, but at the end of the day that person would just die alone. To relate this to Ghalib's life, this poem might be an expression of his doubts and regrets. After the death of his wife, he might have thought life would have been easier if he had just never fallen in love. His wife would have been a stranger and her death would have meant nothing to him, saving him from all of his grief.

Be merciful and send for me

Ghalib wants to be the one to marry the woman he fell in love with. He says that she can see him at any time. He's aware that there's competition to be with her. According to the note at the bottom of the page, she might be a courtesan, which would explain the idea that she might have other suitors. He questions why he bothers complaining about the thought of someone else being with her instead of himself. He refuses to act so weak and doesn't believe that all hope is lost. He tells himself that he can't just give up on her because he's made a vow that the two of them will be together again.

Where's the foothold

This poem took me two reads to come up with something. The speaker asks their God where their other desires are. This individual is aware of the endless possibilities that the world contains, yet they haven't found anything as desirable as the thing they wanted first. Everything else that they want stems from the first thing that they wanted. I believe that this speaker is in love with someone and can't get over them. They know there are countless other people they can fall in love with, but every time they look at someone else they end up thinking about their first love. They wish their God would just grant them the ability to move on and find someone else. To place this poem into the context of Ghalib's life, he can't move on after the death of his wife. He cries to God about the fact that no other woman can replace his late wife.

I've made my home next door to you (Secular and Sacred versions)

I approached this poem in a way that made me laugh. I was frantically going back and forth between the secular version of the poem and the sacred version trying to notice the differences in each and every line of the poem. I read both poems simultaneously as opposed to one after the other. The difference in both poems is who Ghalib is addressing. He speaks the exact same words in both poems and they work equally effective when referring to his wife and God. "I've work to do with her" as opposed to "I've work to do with Him" are examples of the slight differences in both versions (593). In this poem, Ghalib seems to be reflecting on the earlier days of his life when he first met the love of his life. He builts his home next to her/Him in hopes that they'd be able to start making conversation that way and get to know each other but she never seemed to notice him. His lover and God both ask him how he can tell what's in someone else's heart. He know he has work to do with her lover and with God, but he is determined. He says that both his lover and God are both labelled as tormentors by the world. He won't lose his love for the woman he loves nor for God despite all of this. He tells himself that he shouldn't press the subject since his feeling have become apparent both in the eyes of his lover and God.

Couplets

Ghalib is told that forcing his love upon someone doesn't accomplish anything since it won't simply spread like fire and it won't easily die out either. He can't make someone fall in love with, and his love won't simply go away either should he decide he wants to love someone else. He expresses his hopes that the courtesan he loves can be faithful to him even though, as a courtesan, she might not understand what faithfulness really is. He questions God as to why punishments are given for sins committed, yet people are not rewarded for the sins that they've craved but successfully resisted. He admits to God that his situation isn't necessarily love, but madness. He tells God that God is the one who drove him mad. He tells God about how communities have already converged upon a common faith, making his efforts to share his monotheistic message useless. He says it's hard to make everything look easy and it's not easy for humans to be human. He acknowledges other poets' talent, but claims that he's seen as a talented poet as well. He has doubts about his lover, he feels like she's sleeping with someone else and it's haunting his dreams. He says he's gotten over love countless times, but his heart is an enemy of this idea and it ultimately keeps bringing him back in. Remembering images of what she looks like is painful to him. He asks God about how he can feel so strongly about another human if God is supposed to be the only thing that truly exists. Ghalib says everyone felt he would self-destruct, but he never did.


Ghalib. The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 587-601

Reading Notes W9: The Tale of Kieu by Ngyuen Du, Part A

• The first stanza of the poem talks about balance. "Talent and Destiny are apt to feud," "You must go through a play of ebb and flow," "Losses balance gains" (550)
• Beijing was the capital of the north during the Ming dynasty and Nanjing was the capital of the south. (550)
• Vuong Quan is the last born son of a burgher in the Vuong clan (550)
• Thuy Kieu is the oldest daughter and her younger sister is Thuy Van (550)
• Both sisters are described as being perfect in their own way (550)
• Kieu possessed a keener, deeper charm, surpassing Van in talents and in looks. (550)
• The Feast of Light is a chinese spring festival when people tend the graves of the dead and make offerings to them (551)
• Kieu asks why no one is burning incense for the grave of a famous singer named Dam Tien (551)
• "Harsh is the fate that has kept us apart! Since in this life we are not meant to meet" (551)
• The stranger who came oversees to meet her purchased a coffin and hearse for her when he found her dead. (551)
• Kieu cried out of pity for Dam Tien (552)
• Van says Kieu should be laughed at for crying about someone long gone (552)
• "Harsh fate has cursed all women, sparing none." Definitely feels like it from everything we read in this class (552)
• Quan says Kieu made a fine speech (552)
• "Transcending life and death, soul sisters meet." "Dam Tien had cared to manifest herself." Tien made an appearance because of Kieu (553)
• Kim Trong is a scion of nobility and is both wealthy and talented. (553)
• Dam Tien told Kieu how she's doomed to grief by fate (555)
• Kieu's mother asks her to reconsider whether she should really be freaking out over a dream (555)
• Young Kim came across a golden hairpin and took it home since he felt it must belong to a woman and that fate has bound them together (556)
• Kieu thanked him for not keeping the golden hairpin which was referred to as a jewel (556)
• Kieu says she's too young for love. Kim says ignoring his desperate love will hurt him and not profit her (556)
• Kim seems entitled for feeling that he is owed something as thanks for returning the jewel. It's also manipulative to guilt trip her into showing affection towards him.
• "How can my heart resist your heart's behest?" "I'm bound to you for life" Seriously? (557)
• They traded. Golden hairpin for sunflower-figured fan. "An oath to seal their pact (558)
• Kim gets his feelings hurt because Kieu took longer than 3 seconds to meet with him again. I don't like Kim. (558)
• Kieu wants to make amends because he feels hurt (558)
• They keep making pledges to each other (560)
• "Why do you choose to play those plaintative strains which grieve your heart" Thank God, Kieu is finally using her head. (561)
• "Who'll bear the guilt? / Why force your wish on your shy flower so soon? / While I'm alive, you'll sometime get your due." (561)
• The above excerpt makes me think Kieu is growing tiresome of Kim's needless whining.
• Kim's uncle died (562)
• A mob of bailiffs interrupted the birthday feast. The were armed and placed collars on the old man and son to show they are punished criminals (563)
• Kieu decided a child should pay the debts of their parents birth and care. She put aside her vows of love. She sold herself to redeem her father. (563)
• An elderly scrivener named Chung witnessed this and decided to take pity. She has to collect 300 liang within 3 days to free her kinsmen. (563)
• It's like Du Tenth all over again
• "She's worth her weight in gold" (564)
• The father asks Heaven why it would inflict such woes on them. Why must his daughter be put in a position where she can't wed a worthy mate as he had wishes for her. Why must she be in this position where she has to give up great parts of her life to save him? He'd rather die than deal with this pain. (564)
• Kieu asks what a daugher is worth "who's not repaid one whit a daughter's debt" (564)
• "Old Chung did all he could and gave help: / gifts once presented, charges were dismissed" (565)
• Kieu says "If only I had known I'd sink so low / I should have let my true love pluck my bud" (565)
• Kieu wonders "If I indeed was born to float and drift, / how can a woman live with such a fate?" (566)
• She takes a knife because she thinks it might help decide her life later (566)
• Kieu woke from a nightmare and questioned her worth. She contemplates killing herself (567)
• Once Kieu paid homage to her household god, her aunt Dame Tu appeared and told Kieu to kneel before her and her uncle (569)
• Dame Tu became enraged from Kieu's story and was about to whip her (569)
• Kieu pulled out her knife and asks what is left of her life. (569)
• Kieu was carried out and nursed. A doctor was there too. A girl whispered "Your Karma"s still undone: / how could you shirk your debt of grief to life?" "You're still to bear the fortune of a rose: / you wish to quit, but Heaven won't allow." (570)
• Dame Tu seems to be the voice Kieu heard. "Why lose your life and hurt me? What's the good?" This sounds a lot like Kim's question (570)
• Kieu is recaptured and forced to work as a prostitute in a brothel. Then she is kidnapped and works as a slave. She's then put in the care of a neighbor who sells her into prostitution. Her life sucks. (570)
• Between Heaven and Earth is Tu Hai. He speaks with Kieu (571)
• "He paid some hundred liang for Kieu's release" (571)
• "The hero chose a phoenix as his mate: / the beauty found a dragon for her mount" (572)
• "She pined and mourned for her old love" (572) Kim? Why Kim?
• "The phoenix-coach held ready for a queen / her glittering diadem, her sparkling robe." (573)
• Lord Tu mustered men and captains after Kieu spoke about Wuxu and Linzi (where she had been mistreated) to track down the people who harmed and mistreated Kieu. They would be dragged to stand due trial. (573)
• The captives were brought in and Kieu said "I'll borrow your almighty power / to pay such dues as gratitude deems fit. / I'll render good, then make return for ill." (574)
• Kieu judges each captive and then says "High Heaven towers over all! / It's not my law that ill be paid with ill." (575)
• The executioner recieved his orders and blood flowed around the room as they were struck. (575)
• Kieu convinced Lord Tu to not leave an ill reputation. He dropped his schemes of war and sought peace. Imperial spies saw what was going on and attacked. Lord Tu gave a secret cue and gunfire ensued. A battle was fought and Lord Tu was killed. Kieu felt guilty since this was kind of her fault by convincing Lord Tu to let down his guard. She sits by his remains and grieves. (579)
• Lord Ho makes Kieu marry a tribal chief. She throws herself into a river and is found by Giac Duyen. Kim finds her family. (579)
• Kim asks where Kieu's husband is and they tell him about Tu Hai. Kim knows about Tu Hai, probably since Tu Hai is so powerful. Kim is still heartbroken about Kieu but still keeps incense. (579)
• Kim requested that Vuong help him look for Kieu after news broke out about the battle. They were told that Lord Tu was ambushed and fell in battle and that Kieu drowned herself. (580)
• They set her tablet up and installed an altar on the riverbank. (580)
• Giac Duyen coincidentally came by and read the name on the alter. She was surprised, asked if they were friends or family of Kieu's, and told them that Kieu is alive. (580)
• Giac Duyen tells about how she found Kieu in the river and brought her. The family follows Giac Duyen to meet Kieu. Kieu cries, uncertain of whether or not she's dreaming. (581)
• Kieu says she sought to end it in the river and didn't imagine seeing them all again. (581)
• Kieu explains that she doesn't deserve any of this. She claims that she'll stay with Giac Duyen for saving her since she owes her and can't just cut her bonds and leave. (582)
• Old Vuong says the gods and Buddhas will discharge her duties and let her keep lover's vows. They'll build a shrine and have their Reverend live near them. Kieu agreed and took her leave of Giac Duyen (582)
• "It's Heaven's own design that lovers meet, / so Kim and Kieu did meet and swear their troth" (582)
• Kieu still loves Kim but feels shameful about what's happened. Kim says "stars may shift their course, / sworn pledges must be kept in life or death" (583)
• Kim suddenly seems less annoying and somewhat likable to me now.
• Kieu tells Kim "You bear a constant love for me, I know-- / but where to hide my shame by bridal light?" (583)
• Kieu continues, "I'll live a nun. / If you still care for what we both once felt, / let's turn it into friendship--let's be friends." (583)
• Kim says "How skilled you are in spinning words!" (583)
• "Heaven grants us this hour: now from our gate / all mists have cleared; on high, clouds roll away." said Kim (583)
• "Outtalked, she could no longer disagree: / she hung her head and yielded, stifling sighs" (584)
• They got married but Kieu still has feelings of shame and guilt and says Kim can always have her sister instead. (584)
• Kim reminds her that "We loved each other, risked our lives, braved death-- / now we two meet again, still deep in love" (585)
• The poem ends with a stanza that points out how Heaven and Karma will correct all wrongdoings and "the heart outweighs all talents on this earth" (586)

Du, Ngyuen. "The Tale of Kieu." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 546-586