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