Summer Reading Assignment Journal #3: A Streetcar Named Desire-- Angela

As I neared the end of Streetcar I was actually sad, because I enjoyed this book so much more than Crime and Punishment. But as I kept thinking about whether or not Stanley would be just as crazy as Blanche he completely showed me once again that I shouldn’t of doubted him. I found it invigorating the way Stella acted towards Blanche upon hearing about the lies she had been telling. It’s like Stella finally saw the light and pieced things together, I was almost proud of her because I felt so bad for her on how deep her head was buried in Blanches lies and stories.

I also love how in the beginning of scene five page 74, Blanche even called herself a liar!( which reminds me of how both Blanche and Raskolnikov admit their strange and deranged,yet no one seems to do much about it) I think that scene five is when everything started coming out, all the lies, interesting stories and true feelings for each other started to come out. It amazed me how fast everything happened and then ended. After Stanley ratted out Blanche to Stella, I felt like everything happened in the blink of an eye, and soon Blanche was off and leaving the house.




I was was very curious to see how Mitch and Blanche would turn out. I actually had hope for her, I thought well maybe Mitch would bring her some good and she’d want to change. But the way it ended made it seem as if Mitch had no heart, which was the complete opposite of how I thought his character would be. As fast as the relationship ended, so did Blanche's stay at the Kowalski's residence. I was actually sad to see Blanche leave, who knows if she could have changed on her own or not, but I guess sending her with the doctor was the best way to go. I felt that ‘ A Streetcar Named Desire’ had more of an intriguing plot, and way of showing the characters manic behavior. In ‘ Crime and Punishment’ the author seemed to use more scenery and inner thoughts than dialogue and characters relations.

But in the end, I enjoyed both books and liked to see how each deranged character unfolded as their stories continued.

Summer Reading assignment: Journal #2 A Streetcar Named Desire--Angela

As the book transitions into the middle of the play, I noticed I had the wrong impression of Stanley. I had thought earlier that he might also be the mad man in the play, but I soon find I am wrong.I realized as Stanley kept screaming out for his lost wife that he was definitely not who I thought he was. After the scene of stanley hitting Stella, as he is going back and forth from erratic behavior and confusion, he soon starts to want Stella back with him. If he was just as crazy as Blanche he would not have felt the guilt like he does after the scene.
The morning after the blow up Blanche seems to still be on the topic of what happened the night before, even exclaiming that Stella married a madman, which i found amusing. As the scene continues and Blanche talks about a man named Shep Huntleigh, what I found most interesting was how this part really showed how manipulating Blanche can be. I guess I should of known such a thing was coming, after the way she talked to Stella, telling her to fetch cokes for her, and soon after Blanche has her first meltdown. I must admit as I read on about Blanche, she doesn’t really intrigue me much. In fact she actually reminds me of May Boatwright, from Secret Life of Bees in a way. The way she has nervous outbreaks, and needs to be in a hot bath to calm herself, although May had an actual mental disability, I feel their characters are a bit the same, in the way they both act.
I also see a pattern in Blanche, she tends to take bathes alot, as if she is trying to wash away guilt, or regret or even her horrid past. Blanches tendencies to boss people around, and act as an innocent person gets on my nerves, and I completely understand why Stanley would want her out. As I continued to read on during the middle of the book, I start to notice how obsessed Blanche is getting about Mitch, and how i could see why her past relations have failed her. I also noticed a bit of a similarity in Crime and Punishments Raskolnikov and Blanche in "A Street Car Named Desire," they both seem to admit things that they do or have done, and everyone seems to disregard them,make excuses for them.

Summer Reading Assignment Journal #1: A Streetcar Named Desire--Angela

As I began ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ I realized the theme of madness would be very different than in ‘Crime And Punishment’. When Blanche’s character first appears in the book I immediately realized she would someone to pay close attention to, and it was clear her madness would have a big role in the play. However as I continued I quickly realized that Stanley eggs on Blanches roller coaster emotions, and it seems to have an effect on him as well. Soon after, as Blanche and Stella are getting ready for their night out, Blanche’s nerves skyrocket up and down through out the scenes.For example, when she first sees where Stella lives her nerves jump, when Stella brings up drinks Blanche exclaims “No coke, honey, not with my nerves tonight!”.
Once Stanley looks through Blanches suitcase and discovers some papers about Belle Reve, he immediately knows there is something Blanche is hiding.Then while they are discussing the papers, and letters about Belle Reves on page 36 to page 44 I noticed Stanley getting a temper and showing some manic behavior. Blanche starts to get defensive towards Stanley when she says quote “ What in the name of heaven are you think of! What’s in the back of that little boy’s mind of yours?”. This shows that Stanley can bring out Blanches potential insanity.
When Stella and Blanche come home from their night out, the men including Mitch, Stanley, Steve and Pablo are still playing poker. As Stella starts to explain that the men should head home soon, Stanley gets very agitated by his wife’s behavior and cruelly hits Stella in the shadows of their home. But soon after the blow, Stanley seems to be dazed and confused, but soon comes back to his senses and starts a cycle of erratic behavior. He goes back and forth between very vicious behavior and overwhelming guilt. This shows me that I should pay close attention to Stanley’s actions. I’m beginning to question if Blanche is the only character in the play with crazy, unpredictable behavior.

Summer Reading Assignment Journal #3: Crime and Punishment--Angela

After Marmeladovs death, Raskolnikov becomes intrigued by Sonya. I find this touching because even though he knows so little about her, he trusts her enough to admit the crime to her. Sonya seems to understand strangely why and tells him she will love him the same as long as he confesses to his crime. I was very amused by her following him to the police station to make sure he confessed, as if she had a bit of doubt in him. I did as well while I was reading. But what I found the most interesting is that even before he told Sonya, he had admitted it to others, but they all called him a madman. It made me realize that this book is far beyond demented.
It soon hit me that Raskolnikov is no longer afraid of telling people who he is and of what he’s done because he’s realized no one seems to care or believe that he is the actual murderer. This makes me still question whether or not he is dreaming or if it is reality. Even as the book started to end, the feeling of madness and confusion still existed to me. On pages 173 to 174, his character personality changes and it is unlike any other character I’ve read about, he’s so confident and sure of himself and can seem to get away with anything he wishes.
As the end came around and I began the epilogue, I noticed how much Raskolnikov has changed from a boy to a man in my eyes. Between committing the murders, falling ill, surviving Marmeladovs death, falling for Sonya, and admitting to everyone the crime he’s committed, Raskolnikov had really developed as a character. It surprised me that I actually ended up liking him in the end, he had gone through strange obstacles and seemed to become a good man in the end. I was frightened and oddly curious of what he had done and how he had tricked people, but in the end he was ultimately able to discover the way to live a life without crime and punishment.

Summer Reading Assignment: Crime and Punishment Journal #2-- Angela

I noticed as I began the second part of the book that Raskolnikov seemed much more concerned about the evidence and where to put the treasures and pawns than the fact that he killed two people. On page 111, I realized that everyone was calling him "ill". It was almost as if the author was playing with words and fooling with the reader's mind; was Raskolnikov ill, or just crazed?. After Raskolnikov hid the items, he went back to his slum. This part was confusing because I didn't know what characters, if any, were in the room with him or what was generally going on. It was hard to distinguish if it was all really going on or if he was just dreaming.On page 143, I found it ironic, and even a bit sarcastic at times, how the characters talked about selfishness and how it's based on self interest. They were almost making fun of Raskolnikov and how all he thought about was himself. All he thought about was how much better his life is now without Alyona, Ivanovna and Lizaveta, and how he would not allow his sister to be happy by marrying her fiance. But in a way i almost sympathized with Raskolnikov, because perhaps he felt threatened that the fiance would take his place in being the man in the family, and make Raskolnikov feel like he can’t do anything to help support his mother and sister.Some parts in the middle were really touching to me, such as how everyone seemed to care about his health, as well as how maybe it was just a slip in his mind, that Raskolnikov is truly a good man at heart.Then it occured to me that maybe the murders of Alyona and Lizaveta were all in his mind; maybe he's very sick and simply imagined all of it. However, everything was desrcribed very realistically, and a fantasy conjured up by an ill mind probably would have been much more confusing

Summer Reading assignment: Journal #1 Crime and Punishment-- Angela

During the beginning of the book, I was slightly confused as to who was telling the story and what the mood was. However, as the main character, Raskolnikov, started describing the setting and the landlady, I soon noticed hints of nervousness. In part one, section four, while discussing his sister's engagement, he seemed rather jealous and didn't take into consideration whether or not his sister's fiance would treat her well. All he seemed to care about was himself. In most of the beginning, I felt as if Raskolnikov was a lot like Holden from Catcher in the Rye because of how descriptive and self conscious he was. As he talks about his hatred for the pawn broker, Alyona Ivanovna, Raskolnikovs crazed tendencies seem to shine through.Right before the murder took place, I started to realize how much detail it took to plan a murder. He was over-analyzing everything. It amazed me how easily Raskolnikov got past everyone. He was drunk, but he was also suspicious. While I read about how he got past each floor of the apartment, I became quite interested in the book and did not want to put it down. However, once I started reading about the slashing and killing, I realized how powerful Raskolnikov really was.After the killing, when Raskolnikov went back to the house in fear that the pawn broker was still alive, it almost scared me a little to read about how someone could be that cruel. I didn't like reading about parts such as "He ran back to the body, seized the axe, and raised it one more time over the old women”. I felt more sympathy towards Lizaveta than towards the pawn broker. Raskolnikov at least had a motive for wanting to kill the pawn broker. Lizaveta was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Shortly after the murders, I was amused by certain parts such as on page 80 when he talks abut how he may have fallen into madeness and on page 90 when he describes his unbearable shivering. These parts reminded me of the play Hamlet, when Gertrude would wake up and constantly rub her hands, trying to convince herself that all of the blood did not exist. At each point in both books, signs of true madness in these characters became apparent