Sunday, July 27, 2008

Julie's First Entry on A Streetcar Named Desire

The opening was unlike most other plays that I have read before. As I was reading the stage direction I couldn’t help but to imagine what it would look like on our school stage, and the stage at my former camp. It was explained in a lot more detail than most other sets are explained. I found it rather odd that a script would be written in such detail when part of the fun of a play is being able to interpret everything your own way and portray that to the audience. (While still following the basic idea and story line, or course). That just stood out to me.

Overall I found that the opening was really interesting. I mean just imagine what Blanche was feeling when she saw Stella’s home for the first time. It just had to have been this feeling of udder disgust. How could someone from her family living in such a horrid place? Blanche’s character seems to one that the world revolves around her. Stella on the other hand, seems much more mellow and happy go lucky, unless Blanche starts guilt tripping her that is.

Stanley seems like the kind of person who, when provoked, can be rather, lets say passionate. It looked like with Blanche he seemed to be having an awkward conversation with someone who is meant to be family. And with his buddies, he seems like a normal guy. That’s the feeling I get from them at this point. It seems like it could be a cute story.

Nicole's First Entry on Crime and Punishment

Raskolnikov seems to be lost in confusion and frustration over his poverty. He just cannot take living alone with nothing to do and with almost no money. He tries to adjust to his helpless lifestyle and tries to become who he thinks he should be in his state. To adjust, his first step was letting go of what mostly mattered to him staying healthy at the time: money. Leaving some of the little money he had at the Marmeladovs' home and giving money to a policeman on the street for him to help some drunken girl has helped lift some weight from Raskolnikov's shoulders. Raskolnikov would have felt guilty if he had not given his money away. By giving away money, he also ends up feeling like he deserves something in return. Though from the start, he always felt like he deserved to live with money like the money of Alyona Ivanova.

At first it was his need, and want, and temptations that controlled him, but now he needs to control himself. To get the fear and thought of consequences out of his mind all he does is say to himself, "What must be, must be." I like that line a lot, because it is the first sign Raskolnikov's bravery and belief in chance throughout almost the entire book so far. The line is quite different from his original mode of thinking as well. I suppose Raskolnikov is a person who looks for ways out of situations, even if he is just able to escape the situation in his own mind.

Raskolnikov has found that line very useful, even as an excuse for him to take the easy way out. He's already done the worst he could and now, it's almost as if he wants to get punished. With punishment Raskolnikov thinks will come the calming of his nerves. Maybe Raskolnikov just needed to go through the cycle of committing a terrible crime and then getting punished just to clear his nervous and the only thing he would have on his mind after would be how he is to get out of punishment.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Julie's Entries on Crime and Punishment

Entry 1

So at this point I finished part one of Crime and Punishment. When I first stated reading it was difficult to get into. The writing isn’t necessarily the same kind of English that I’m (and we all are) used to speaking and reading. It’s fairly obvious that was translated from a different language. But after the first section of part one, I stated to get into the story and the writing ceased to be a distraction.
I found that the story was really confusing at first. It’s as though you just jump right into the story. You meet Raskolnikov (although you don’t find out his name until page 7), and you immediately know what he’s thinking. I wondered what he meant when he referred to that all the time. It was as though he has multiple personalities. He has a thought, then, as if he was someone else entirely, he has a question or comment to counter the original thought. His mind is just everywhere.
What confuses me the most is that fact that it seems to me like the climax of the book has already happened. Wouldn’t the women’s murder be considered the climax? I really can’t wait to see what happens next. Does Rodya get caught? Does he go crazy with guilt and kill himself? I suppose I will just have to wait.

Entry 2
After finishing part 3 I was really confused, mostly because of who was at the door of Raskolnikov’s room. Why would Svidrigailov be at Raskolnikov’s door? Unless I’m mistaken, he is the guy that Rodya’s sister worked for. It was in that letter his mom sent him. Really, what business does he have there?
In parts 2 and 3, a whole lot of stuff happened. I found the craziest thing to be when Rodya thought he heard the police chief’s assistant beating up his landlady. The way it was described it really made it seem as though it was all real. When Natasya came in and said he was crazy, was really spooky. Rodya’s illness seems to happen right after he kills that women, which is probably no coincidence. Razumakhin takes care of him and moves close by. Apparently he used to be friend of his. He obviously cares a lot about Rodya. So much other stuff happened it would be easy to fill up 3 pages with response to it, but I will spare everyone the agony of reading it all. As of now, I just cannot wait to see how Dostoevsky will continue the book even though I feel like I have read an entire book already.

Entry 3
After finishing the Epilogue, I just wanted more to read. I mean I had been reading the book for 2 weeks, it’s sad to think that the story is over. I actually saw the book going in a different way. Where Dostoyevsky decided to end the book with Rodya in jail void of all feelings, I felt he was either going to kill Petrovsky in the heat of the moment, or kill himself. I suppose I was wrong.
I actually found it interesting that Dostoyevsky broke the 4th wall and addressed the reader. He hadn’t done that before part five (I think) and he ended the book talking with the reader. He refers to the story as “our.” I just found it to be a break from his normal writing technique. I also have to say that I found myself using the notes in the back more often than I thought I would. When Svidrigailov would speak French, I would flip to the back to see what it meant.
Overall, I found it to be an amazing read. The writing took some time to get used to, but once I got into it, I barley noticed any difference from other books I have read. The storyline was intense and one of the best I have read. I think its safe to say that I have another book to add to my favorites list.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Everett's Third Entry on A Streetcar Named Desire

The final few scenes of A Streetcar Named Desire completly shocked and excited me. I was pleased and could not tear myself away from the book until I was finished. It's funny though, because until these last 5 scenes I couldn't find much thrill or even much plot in the book, but as I had hoped for, it came, late but not at all short.

I could never have predicted what came for Blanche. Personally, I do not think what she needed was a doctor or a hospital, but rather peace. She suffered severely throughout her life regarding her husband, her home, her sister, Mitch, and her brother in law. If Blanche had recieved descent care and kindness she would not have ended up as sick as did. Early in her life, she lost the man she loved in a devestating suicide. Due to shock and depression she went a search for that same love she once had with all men she could find. But because of the hurt she felt she could not manage to hold onto these men. By leaving Laurel, Blanche was hoping to change her life and move away from that ugly past. Stanley brought it back to reality and ruined any hope of her escaping what she hoped she could. Her one chance at happiness was to marry Mitch, who like Blanche needed someone to take care of them. Stanley refused to let this happen, and tore Mitch away from her. This was when Blanche really began to show signs of her instability. She would speak to herself, break things, and drink excessively, and when Stanley finally addressed her on all that he had learned he went completly crazy. He raped and physically abused her, leaving her even worse. Her condition bacame so severe that Stella felt that her only option was to send her to a hospital to be taken care of.
I feel a lot of sympathy and understanding for Blanche. I do not believe she was crazy and needed doctors. In my opinion, Stanley's insane outburst is what needed attention. He raped his own wife's sister while she was giving birth to his child in a hospital. He drank just as much as Blanche did and showed violence early in the novel. He drove Blanche insane with him as soon as she arrived and together they pushed eachother to the limit, and it is a shame. His actions were unfair and frightening, and he is the reason Blanche ended up where she did.

In scene 9, page 117 Blanche says:

"I don't want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don't tell truth, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me damned for it!"

This is if not the, one of the most significant quotes in this entire book. It defines Blanche simply and I think justifies her actions. She came to Stella and Stanley's home to escape. She had done wrong in her past and with Mitch and with her sister she hoped to be better. To ignore the bad and prepare for the good. She wanted "magic". The truth was ugly for her, and she wanted to recreate the truth for the future. I can completly understand that. Her lies about the cruise and the man she was waiting for was a white lie to get away and try again to restart without Stanley.

The book was shocking and interesting. One of the few required readings I've really enjoyed reading and even writing about.

Chloe's Second Entry on A Streetcar Named Desire

The passage that really stood out to me was in Scene Six a conversation between Mitch and Blanche.

“It’s really a pretty frightful situation. You see, there’s no privacy here. There’s just these portiere between the two rooms at night. He stalks through the rooms in his underwear at night. And I have to ask him to close the bathroom door. The sort of commonness isn’t necessary. You probably wonder why I don’t move out. Well, I’ll tell you frankly. A teacher’s salary is barely sufficient for her livings expenses. I didn’t save a penny last year and so I had to come here for the summer. That’s why I have to put up with my sister’s husband. And he has to put up with me, apparently so much against his wishes…Surely he must have told you how much he hates me.”

Blanche is such a character; she is very dramatic and completely ridiculous. This passage reflects her personality perfectly which is why I chose it. It shows how she is pretentious, a complainer, and a narcissus. Where does she get off saying these things? She came into their home basically completely unannounced, spinning lies from the get go and she has the nerve to criticize the home and the situation that she put herself in. She is demanding so much and giving so little. She doesn’t deserve respect because she hasn’t given any. She orders Stella around constantly asking for a soda, food, towels, and takes these long hot baths in their tub. She is not considerate of the fact that she is staying in someone else’s home, its not hers. Stanley doesn’t have to behave a certain way because she is there, I mean he should be a little more modest and proper but she doesn’t deserve it considering the way she talks about him, treats him, and lies to him and Stella.

Then her excuse is that she can’t move out because she has no money, well then she needs to start acting like it. She is constantly on her high horse acting as if she has money and is the Queen but then when it’s called for she will pull the sympathy card out and portray herself as the victim. It is her fault she didn’t save a penny last year and she is lucky that Stella and Stanley have let her stay for so long, but she doesn’t see it that way she sees it as having to put up with these horrible conditions. If she is in fact poor then she needs to realize that beggars can’t be choosers and she should be more grateful. Not to mention if she is so poor then where did all her glamorous clothing and jewelry appear from and if they were in fact from admirers why not sell them when problems with Belle Reve began?

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Chloe's First Entry on A Streetcar Named Desire

I usually hate reading plays because of the format, I can’t stand it, however this play had me going from the beginning. It started off mysteriously which just made me want to know more, you have no clue who Blanche is and why she has showed up to Elysian Fields. Stella, Stanley, Eunice, and Mitch are only briefly mentioned and all I could think was where is this book heading? Soon enough a story begins to form but that just led to more questions. What really happened to Bell Reve? Who is Blanche’s first husband and what happened to him? Why is Stanley so interested in Bell Reve and what is the relationship between him and Blanche? Regardless of the questions the thing that stood out above all the rest was Blanche herself.

Blanche comes out of no where into a house that isn’t her own and starts judging everyone and everything. She tries to get sympathy from others and take control so that it suits her personality and attitude. At the moment she is my least favorite character. She is constantly criticizing Stanley and trying to persuade Stella to leave him instead of being supportive and understanding that Stella made this decision to be with him on her own and is happy with it. She is trying to change her sister and that is just going to hurt their relationship with one another. It doesn’t matter that Stanley came from a different background that doesn’t make him less of a person, just different. If she doesn’t like the way people in the neighborhood behave she needs to leave. I feel like she has some secret and that she is in trouble and looking for something, problem is she doesn’t want to do it alone and is involving Stella which isn’t fair because she was happy with her life and had no problems.

Blanche reminds me of Scarlett from Gone with the Wind. She is uptight, believes herself to be superior, and is very controlling. When she first gets there she calls Stanley and his friends and the whole neighborhood pigs, common people, ruffians, and basically scum. What right does she have to call people that and treat them as such, it’s not their fault they had a different upbringing and just because they did that is their only difference from Blanche, they are just as good if not better a person then she is. She acts like she is a better human being yet she seems to be a liar, a sneak, and overall full of deception. She reminds me of Scarlett not only because of that but because of the way they make use of others. Common people are horrible unless you can make use out of them, which is their mentality. Scarlett married every person she could to get more money and save her plantation. Blanche sees something interesting in Mitch and I feel like she might make use of him soon and she ends up calling Shep for money to escape. It is all about what people have to offer.

Last comment about the book is the one part that mentions desire. On page 70 Blanche feels that all Stella and Stanley share is brutal, primitive desire. It reminded her of the street car named Desire. That may be the theme of the rest of the book everyone is controlled by pure desire and it keeps them going and then coming back for more…

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Katherine's Entries on A Streetcar Named Desire

Journal #1

In reading the first few scenes of this play I found myself eager to find out what would happen next. This play is such a page turner. Scene three was a really interesting part of the play. I was kind of socked when Stanley hit Stella during the poker game. I feel that scene portrayed the European side of Stanley very well. I know that is a broad statement but being of European decent I know it is not uncommon for the men of those countries to beat there woman. Yea, Stanley was drunk when it had happened but to me that's no excuse. That's his wife and she is pregnant with their child; I just don't understand how Stanley could put his wife and child in danger like that.

It was almost like Stella was in a way brain washed because when she was talking about what had happened to her sister she acted like nothing bad happened and that it was no big deal. I don't think Stella should have gone running back to Stanley so quickly especially when he was still drunk. When she went back downstairs to there apartment she put herself in a lot of danger because you never know what he could have done. If I was in Blanche shoes I would have been very worried about my sister as well. Although Stanley and Stella seem to have some issues they seem like a very happy and loving couple.



Journal #2

So far this play is great. It's really interesting and a good read. I wonder weather the things Stanley found out about Blanche are true and if they are I think it is important they hear Blanche side of the story. I am not trying to say she owes anyone an explanation, it is her past and it has nothing to do with them so she has the choice to tell them or not. The fact that Blanche didn't tell her sister about what really happened at Belle Reve makes me question the relationship she has with her sister. I just think if they are as close as they say they are and the way they act Blanche should be able to tell her sister anything.

Although Blanche seems to have a bad past I wonder why Stanley feels the need to go out of his way to be rude to her. They seem to have a tuff friendship, if one at all that is. I think they should have a long talk and get everything out on the table, let each other know everything they dislike about each other. You never know it might just bring them closer. At the end of scene eight Stella tells Stanley to bring her to the hospital. I have a feeling she is going to be having the baby very soon. I predict that by the end of the book Stella will have the baby and Blanche will come clean about her past.



Journal #3

The ending of this book was a complete shock. I was so surprised that at the end of scene ten Stanley started to abuse Blanche. I didn't think Stanley would physically hurt her like that. Doesn't he think about how his wife as that the hospital and will be giving birth to there child in the morning? I just don't understand Stanley sometimes. I think he should quit drinking because every time he is drunk he does something dumb. The first time he hit Stella and now he is hurting and possibly rapping Blanche. I don't think Stanley is ready to have a baby, what if one night in the middle of his drunken rages he hurts the baby. He really needs to wake up and change his ways.

Scene eleven was also full of surprises. When they were saying Blanche was going to be leaving I didn't realize she was going to be taken away by doctors. It did seem like Blanche was having a lot of problems especially after what had happened between her and Stanley. I think putting Blanche away was the best thing for her; she has been having problems throughout the play and this could possibly help her. I feel bad for Blanche because she had no idea what was going on and was scared and this all happened in front of Stanley 's friends, they all saw her as the doctors tried to take her away. Over all this was a great play and I enjoyed reading it.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Everett's Second Entry on A Streetcar Named Desire

I'm writing my 2nd entry on the novel A Streetcar Named Desire after finishing Scene 6, page 97. I thought this was a good place to stop and write because something very significant just took place. I've found some important details on Blanche and her history. After her date with Mitch at an Amusement park they arrive home at 2AM to an empty house. Blanche's confusing signals and questions to Mitch led to the conversation of their loved ones. Mitch spoke about his ill mother who's dying wish is for her son to settle down with a woman. Blanche in return, for the first time in the book, speaks in detail of her dead husband. We learn that she fell deeply in love with him at the age of 16 and ran away to get married. But one day she found him in a room alone with an old friend of his. It isn't said what exactly happened but I think we can come to the conclusion that the two men had secret intimate feelings towards eachother and she had finally found out. Blanche's disgusted reaction to what she witnessed led her husband to kill himself in the middle of the street after she expressed her feelings to him. Blanche says that even now she still suffers much guilt about the disaster and Mitch tries to comfort her and in that ask her to possibly marry him. The scene closes with her crying in his arms in the dark house alone.

After finding this out about Blanche I can understand and even sympathize with the things she does. She seems impulsive and stubborn and very unhappy. She seems permiscuous as well. Stanley brings up a friend of his who claims to have been intimate with Blanche in a town called Laurel. Blanche also teases and kisses the paper boy who she had never met before in her life. She had flirted with Stanley and also led Mitch. Her behavior may have something to do with depression are severe feelings she has regarding to the loss of her husband. Now that I understand Blanche more than before I predict that she will tell Mitch that she does want to marry him. She will devote herself to him and eventually dissapear like she intends to. Mitch will be heartbroken and alone. He says he's never met a girl like her and has taken a strong liking to her.

In the beginning of scene 5 neigbors Steve and wife Eunice are fighting similarly to how Stanley and Stella had. They yell and their is a lot of banging but soon after they seem perfectly fine again. This tells us something about the area that this book takes place in and how times may possibly be. Males are very dominant over their wives and abuse seems fairly common in families.

I also found another mention of a streetcar named Desire in scene 5, page 83. After their date, Blanche asks Mitch how he plans on getting home from her house.

Mitch: I'll walk to Bourbon and catch an owl-car.
Blanche (laughing grimly): Is that streetcar named Desire still grinding along the tracks at this hour?

Mitch doesn't answer the question but changes the subject to how their date went. I'm now changing my guess on the streetcar. I don't think it was sarcasm but an actual means of transportation. This may be the title because of the significance of the area to how the book plays out. The streetcar is maybe a mjor landmark to the setting.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Everett's First Entry on A Streetcar Named Desire

As of now, just done with Scene 3, page 62, I've been introduced to what I'm assuming are the majority of the main characters; married couple Stella and Stanley, Stella's sister Blanche, friend Mitch, and upstairs neighbor Eunice. I can see relationships in the making of being formed and can point out some behavioral qualities of the mentioned characters. Stanley clearly has trust issues as demonstrated by his reaction to Blanche's unexpected visit. He seems closed minded, nosey and difficult. I'm sure that his behavior will be a major role in determining the plot to come. Blanche seems to be the most suspicious of the bunch. Her expensive clothing and secret papers as well as strange attitude towards alcohol and her surroundings make her appear as a soon to be antagonist character. I can see Blanche causing issues and hassle throughout the novel related to Stella's marriage and more. Mitch is an affectionate and kind friend of Stanley's. His personality seems far from his friends in regards to his treatment of women and his anger.

As I become more familiar with the character's I am finding relationships between them. Stella and Stanley though very different love eachother passionatly. They seem to fight constantly due to Stanley's temper and drinking but always come back to eachother. During the poker game the brawl between them was shortlived and no one who witnessed it seemed majorly phased. Mitch and Blanche took an immediate liking to eachother and I can see a bond forming between them. But besides happy relationships other negative ones have formed too. Stanley has no faith in Stella's sister and cannot shake the mistrust he feels towards her. He is rude and straightforward with how he feels and although Blanch shows no reaction I'm thinking she will eventually.

I've also found one mention of a streetcar named desire so far. In Scene 1, page 18, Blanche has just arrived to Stella's home and is talking to the neighbor, Eunice.

Eunice: What's the matter, honey? Are you lost?

Blanche (faint humor): They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and rise six blocks and get at - Elysian Fields.

I cannot figure out the sarcasm or humor in the line but I'm assuming the names Desire and Cemeteries is an insulting joke about the building. If that is the truth to the line then I can even less figure out why it would be the title of the novel. From what I've read of it so far I can not find a meaning behind the title. I'm thinking that it will be mentioned again as the book progresses.

So far, the book's plot has only just begun. Blanche's curious appearance from her previous estate Belle Reve is a main topic. The estate was "lost" and Blanche has come to recover or maybe another secret reason. Stanley's temper and issues also seem like a possibility for and beginnings of the plot. Within the next few scenes I expect to see a climax of the plot between Blanche and Stanley. Stella will be directly involved and likely hurt by whatever happens and I think Mitch will get himself unnecessarily involved. These assumptions are based on what I've learned about these people so far.

I'm actually really looking forward to finding out what happens!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Nicole's Third Entry on A Streetcar Named Desire

The ending was the most touching and surprising. Though previously, Blanche made it seem like it was she who most cared about women’s right, maybe it was Stella who did the most. Stella finally broke down and realized what Stanley had truly done. It wasn’t until she saw with her own eyes his dreadful wishes that she realized he really was a sick man. Though maybe Blanche did belong in a mental institution, the way it was done was not right. A moment like that in the eyes of a married couple could affect the rest of their life together, only because Blanche was Stella’s sister.

I was surprised that Blanche was that much of a liar and even if so, being a pathological liar should not put you in such a terrible place like where Blanche is going. Maybe Blanche did seem crazy, but she did lose all of her family and now that she was back with her sister, she could start thinking again, slowly. It was the people around her who made her feel like her doings and life was terrible ie: Stanley and Mitch. In other words, they made her feel like she needed to prove something to them about herself, so she lied to them and tried to make her life seem even better. I understand that Stanley and Stella couldn’t support her, but that doesn’t mean Stanley could throw her in the Looney Bin. They could have at least put her through psychiatric evaluation first. Does anyone else agree? or do you all think she should have been sent away right away?

Mitch’s reactions toward what was happening to Blanche showed the reader that maybe he did really have feelings for Blanche. But Stanley’s brainwashing and friendship made Mitch think otherwise. It’s too bad really; maybe Mitch could have helped knock some sense into Blanche. All she needed was someone to truly care for her. She found it within her sister, but it wasn’t totally real.

Nicole's Second Entry on A Streetcar Named Desire

I’m going to discuss how the beginning of Scene 5 has struck me the most thus far. Though I’m sure you would expect me to talk about Scene 4 as the most striking, but in Scene 4, the way Blanche and Stella reacted to Stanley’s drunken rant, was completely different as to how the two reacted to their upstairs neighbor, Steve’s drunken rant.

The same way that Stanley was treating Stella when he was drunk on the night the guys were playing cards at his house, was the way Steve was treating Eunice a couple of days later. The only differences there were: Eunice isn’t Blanche’s sister and Eunice was actually fighting back by threatening to call the police on her drunken husband. But when it was Eunice’s turn to get abused, instead of Blanche getting frantic in a drunken situation, she just “laughed lightly” at the scenario. Throughout the book earlier, she tried her best to make others think that she got very upset when around others who were drunk, but now she has blown up her position. Her quote to Stanley earlier in the book was, “I hardly touch it,” referring to alcohol. Her reaction to Stanley and Stella’s previous row was all just an act as we know it may be now. Now that we know Blanche can laugh at a terrible occurrence like this, we know she has been trying to portray a fake self image and maybe, she does really “touch alcohol,” more than we may think.

Compared to the other row, we would have suspected Blanche to characteristically help Eunice fight for her rights as a woman. The fact that she didn’t also shows that Blanche may have faked her freight and craze. I think she doesn’t get that scared of drunken men, she just wants her “little” sister, Stella back for herself now that the Belle Reve is lost, and now that she has been left with no one.

Nicole's First Entry on A Streetcar Named Desire

Scene one seems to have many hidden, interesting clues in it.  Stella's apparently torn between her old life and family with Blanche, and the new life she has made and found for herself with Stanley.  She seems as if she's happy that Blanche has come to stay with them, but at the same time, doesn't want her sister living within her own new lifestyle.

Blanche and Stella, though both very different, almost opposites even, are family.  They hold the same characteristics of dealing with issues in bad ways.  Stella just shrugs off her issues, making them easier for her to forget they're there.  For instance, when Stanley starts to bother her with his horrendous, drunken remarks, the next day Stella yet again treats him with all the love and forgiveness from her heart.  While Blanche, who is terribly self-conscious and almost always thinks something wrong of what she has said or done, acts as if it is only herself she cares about.  Blanche has gone out and bought tons of extravagant clothes and accessories to give others the allusion that she leads a perfect, rich life.  But deep down Blanche is a dark and scared person, who has no understanding of common sense.

Stanley seems like he may have the same feelings about Blanche staying that Stella does: he does, yet does not want Blanche to stay.  If he really didn't want Blanche staying with them, he would have thrown her out already because of her imaginary, glamorous lifestyle.  The fact that her life is imaginary is what upsets Stanley the most.  Stanley and Stella's life is pretty boring; Blanche has brought some life and change into their lives, which is what Stella probably, secretly wants.