Discussion Post 3

For discussion post three I chose to identify Katherine’s id, ego, and superego at work in the short story “The Room”. This was more challenging than I originally thought it was going to be. This story is loaded with symbolism and the examples of the id, ego, and superego are not as clear as I initially thought.

Katherine does make a conscious decision to go out and cheat on her husband, a decision that many make out a passion. The id deals with a persons raw urges, often sexual in nature, but this is not the case here. In fact, her life and marriage appear to be somewhat normal since the incident of nine years ago. Even while she is talking to the man she is planning on cheating on her husband with, she admits that her marriage is not breaking up. I feel that Katherine's id, the primal urge that is driving her in this story, is her desire to deceive her husband. She feels that she was deceived by him during the strange affair that ended with a death, and wants to get even with him. A sort of revenge, she wants to deceive him the way that he deceived her. Katherine's ego is what has suppressed this urge for this long. For many years since the incident she has suppressed this feeling of wanting to deceive her husband the way that he has deceived her. But, her ego kept her from acting on this until she felt justified. Maybe it took her nine years to rationalize the idea that cheating was the right way to go about this, or to gather the courage to actually go through with it. The one thing we do know is that her ego was eventually shaped to fulfill the want of her id. The superego in all of this is the fact that she knows what she has done is something that is viewed as unethical. She takes a sort of guilty pleasure on this, finding herself on the opposite side of social norms.

To summarize, I would say that Katherine's id is her desire to deceive her husband Phair. Katherine's ego is the mechanism that had suppressed this desire, whether it was a justification or a lack of will. Lastly, her superego is her knowledge of the socially unacceptability of the affair, she realizes that it is something that she should hide.

Blog Post 3 - The Room

Katherine is making choices that the world wouldn't necessarily consider "moral," but based on the incident that happened to her and her husband 9 years ago, it is difficult to determine which area of her psyche is causing her to.  It would be easy to just say that her affair happens because she acts upon her innermost passions and desires for this other man, but she thoughtfully decides to sleep with him.  Although Katherine's ego might be slightly altered due to her husband being accused of murdering a woman that he was having some sort of nonsexual affair with, I believe that she still knows that what she is doing was wrong.  The reason she has the affair is the first place is because she's curious about what it felt like to deceive another person, and also curious about how Phair felt 9 years ago.  Katherine acts upon the id, which is curious about deceiving another person, despite the potential consequences and moral conflicts.

It is very obvious that Katherine is trying to repress the murder accusation from the moment she finds out about it.  She lies for him so the cops will leave and he won't get in trouble, but then she never asks Phair what actually happened.  They never bring it up again, and they barely talk at all for that matter.  Their marriage is now based on lies and silence.  It is as if she would rather not know at all, but still 9 years later that incident is affecting the choices she is making.  She has an affair with another man because she wants to experience what Phair had felt all those years ago, which means she has never truly been able to let it go.

Discussion Post #3 (due Fri, 3/3)

"The Room" -- In this short story, told by a semi-omniscient third-person narrator, the room is very clearly symbolic (though it's also largely the very literal setting for a good part of the plot). Given the amount of symbolism in the story, we'll do a symbolic, psychoanalytic reading of the text. Answer at least one of the following questions, and reply to at least one other person.

1. How and where do you see the id/ego/superego at work in Katherine's choices? This may be more complicated than it would first appear to be (keep in mind that she does not impulsively dive into an affair but rather very deliberately chooses to do so, and calmly). Consider especially whether the ego part of the protagonist's psyche renders certain acts or responses as morally correct in reaction to her husband's choices (even though they may not be according to the superego).

2. Has Katherine attempted to repress aspects of the nine-years-ago, life-changing event? At what point, and how? At what point, and how, does repressed material return? (You'd want to use the lectures more than Bressler to answer this one).

3. Katherine comes to two realizations; interpret them using either the tripartite model of the id/ego/superego, an archetypal plot, or the return of the repressed.

 The first is described here:

“The room was finished with. This afternoon, she had felt that, even if it had not been said” (702). 

The second: 

 “It wouldn’t be a shock, nor even a surprise. He expected no more of her than what she’d given him, and she would choose her moment to say that she must go. He would understand; she would not have to tell him. The best that love could do was not enough, and he would know that also” (702). 

***Feel free to address any other aspects of the story regardless of which question you address. You can reply to anyone; it doesn't have to be someone who's answered the same question you did.

discussion post 2

Discussion post

"Women's bodies are still turned into objects, into things....and turning a human being into a thing is almost always the first step towards justifying violence towards that person."

  I'm personally torn between whether I agree with Kilbourne's point. Many adds these days do feature girls as being objects. But I don't know if I agree if this justifies violence towards women in general. It depends on the person who views the add and whether they want to take that step towards violence. I personally don't think these adds make women seem like objects to my eyes. These adds are selling fashion, exactly that, adds. Kilbourne is just looking into these particular adds a little much. Maybe to some extent the adds depict women as objects in our modern society. But I disagree that turning a human into a thing is a step towards violence. The beholders of the add know it's an add. So in my opinion Kilbourne isn't right in this aspect. When Kilbourne talks about sex being a main thing in our adds now I agree with that. Most of our fashion adds show two people on the verge of "getting it on". But, back on topic Kilbourne is is looking into the whole "human-turned-object-leading to violence" thing a little too much. The fashion world is sort of a seperate entity in our mainstream world. They think in a strange sense. So humans being shoes or a glass is just their strange sense at work.

Blog Post 2 | Killings

First off, I want to say that I really enjoyed this story, it had a lot of emotion to it and almost seemed surreal and dreamlike in the way it was narrated. It seemed like the characters had no control over what was happening, it was just happening, and they were along for the ride. It is also interesting how the way the story is told moves back and forth between setting up the reader to sympathize with Matt and Richard.

Killings has a lot of gaps that it leaves for the reader to fill in, it consistantely only gives you part of the information. For instance the story starts off with a funeral for Frank, and a character named Steve stating that he should kill someone. The title and this first part of the story leads you to believe that this "someone" had something to do with Franks death, but it doesn't actually tell you that till far deeper into the story, it's just something that you assume, and the story continues to lead you along by having you make these assumptions. One of the biggest gaps in the story is when it jumps from Matt dreaming about having the opportunity to kill Richard, to Matt waiting for Richard outside the bar and putting him at gunpoint. As the story moves past there, the reader begins to realize that this abduction was no accident, and is actually a well thought out, premeditated plan, that had actually taken a lot of time and preparation.

I believe the ideal reader for this story is anyone that has had to feel the pull between guilt and the right to enact retribution for some wrong doing, which I am sure is something that everyone has been through at some point.

Blog Post #2

I'll be using the Phenomenology method to interpret some parts of the text that I thought had significance in the short story "Pagan Night". I can assume from the beginning of the text that at one point in time the band that they were in had actually "made it". It was stated that they were on tour and later in the text it also mentions that they had a tour bus along with an album that they had produced. Their rock and roll lifestyle was short lived and the reason for their band breaking up was not stated but I want to make the conclusion that they had split up due to the baby being born. At the top of the second page Dalton explains how its better to blend in now that everything is over and even he has cut his hair. This was a huge cue for me. Knowing that hair, especially for rockers almost defines their persona; to me this shows that he has accepted to change his lifestyle. As the story goes on Dalton somehow manages to obtain a fishing rod, whether he had traded drugs or a leather jacket hes willing to give up what is personal to him in order to help out Sunny and the baby. At first I was more sympathetic toward Sunny but after some speculation I feel the complete opposite. Dalton is a man who is trying to make the most out of his life. He has abandoned his previous lifestyle and even moved in order to start anew. He  fishes and hunts in order to provide food for his family and works on songs whenever he can to make a little income if any. On the other hand Sunny is stuck, unwilling to break the mold and change. She is constantly looking for her next high and disregards responsibilities she is faced with. She refuses to improve the situation she is in and has a negative and hopeless attitude.

blog #2 Pagan Night

I chose to analyze the short story, Pagan Night. This story is about two people named Dalton and Sonny who seemed to live a careless lifestyle and then found themselves in the situation of being parents. It's very obvious through out the story that they are horrible parents. The baby constantly gets rashes and is neglected by the father and although the mother sort of tends to the baby she emotionally neglects him. Both Dalton and Sonny are addicts and live inside of a van, they don't have jobs; Dalton is a aspiring muscician. Dalton never interacts with the baby or even seems to acknowledge the fact that the baby exists. He's constantly referring to him as "it" because he refuses to give the baby a name; i suspect i know why but it never actually states why in the story. Sonny thinks of names for the baby all the time and they are constantly changing according to random things and emotions throughout her days. They seem to put the blame on the baby for why they are stuck and so miserable. Through out the story, sonny thinks of ways to get rid of the baby making it look like an accident, for example, accidently dropping him in cage at the zoo or leaving him in a spot and forgetting where he was. By the end of the story Sonny is seriously considering it and plotting it in her head but it ends not saying and there are too many gaps to be able to know for sure the outcome.
My whole take on this story is that its just really sad and both Dalton and Sonny are to blame. They are immature and selfish. I think they Dalton doesnt want to name the baby because that will make it real and then it will be harder to just abandon a baby who you've actually claimed as your own. As for Sonny i think she actually does want to name the baby but wont because she wants to make Dalton happy and keep him from leaving her and thats why she wants to abandon the baby also, because she thinks it will create a better more loving life for her and him. Its hard to tell what Sonny will do. On one hand i think she will leave the baby in order to stay with Dalton but on the other hand I think she does love the baby even though she sees him as a burden. These are all just my opinions of course. I have no sympathy for either of them even though i recognize Dalton as the "villian" Sonny is just as much to blame.

Blog #2 Michelle Smart

For this blog out I am going to use the story "Pagan Night" by Kate Braverman.

This short story is about a couple who is very lost in the world. The male, Dalton, does not see himself as being lost but as a musician doing everything he wants to do. There are a lot of gaps to fill in as the reader on the subject of Dalton. He is a very thinly drawn character so as the reader I came to the conclusion that he is happy with his existence except for the baby that Sunny has created. Time and time again Dalton asks Sunny what it is that she is thinking. This makes me feel as the reader that he does worry about her to some degree but not enough to ask her again after she tells him that she is thinking about nothing. Sunny is the main character in the story. Her life is very rocky and she thinks more about the past than what she is going to do in the future. She does not seem set on what her future holds. She can not even give her baby a proper name because she does not think she is going to keep him. There is a lot of inner conflict within Sunny about the baby. She wants to just leave him somewhere or even drop him into the lions cage at the zoo, but does not want to take the blame for anything happening to him. This is very disturbing to me as a reader. I do not fell any sympathy for Sunny or Dalton. I feel for the baby that has no name. Sunny has done this to herself and Dalton does not care what happens to him so he warrants no sympathy.

Blog No. 2: “Pagan Night”

                In the short story “Pagan Night”, Braverman tells of a young musician couple who live a very Bohemian lifestyle. Van-dwelling, drug addicted and penniless, Dalton and Sunny just happen to have a baby on the side. There are many gaps left in this storyline leaving much room for the reader to fill in. Neither Dalton nor Sunny want this child, leaving it nameless for an obvious yet unspoken reason: both parents don’t see this baby in their future. Dalton mentions in part of the story that some African tribes don’t even name their babies until they survive their first year. It is apparent that he doesn’t plan on having the child with them much longer. He doesn’t even refer to the baby as a “him”, just “it”. Neither parent wants to get attached to their progeny. Though Sunny does think of names for her son, she is always changing them as her emotions and situations shift. Though she's constantly thinking about the baby, her thoughts aren’t in the child’s favor, they are all self-centered. She doesn’t take the baby on walks away from the van to get him out of the unfit environment she has him living in like a good mother would, it’s so Dalton doesn’t get fed up with them. Sunny sees her son as an unfair burden that shouldn’t have been placed on such special shoulders as hers. She compares herself to the extremely rare and exotic snow leopard and how it didn’t seem right that such an amazing creature was put in this marginal environment. The fact of the matter is that she put herself in every situation she has gotten into but she doesn’t want to take responsibility for her actions. Dalton and Sunny both use their baby as a scapegoat, subconsciously blaming him for their problems and thinking that if he is gone, their troubles will be too.

                In regards to reception theory, I know my interpretation of “Pagan Night” is completely biased against Sunny due to my experiences with close friends who are, or were at one time, drug-addicted parents. I know a few people who were able to realize once they knew their kid was on the way, they were now living for something bigger than themselves. On one level or another, responsible choices need to be made once a person becomes a mother or father, whether it’s cleaning up and raising the child like a parent should or taking the appropriate measures to find the baby a safe home. It is absolutely ridiculous to consider dropping a helpless human being into a river or a lion’s cage. I have no sympathy for Sunny whatsoever.

Blog Post 2

I decided to write about "Pagan Nights" and identify textual signals in my blog post. The author characterizes the two main characters Sunny and Dalton very differently. Although we have access to both characters' feelings, we do have much less access to Dalton's. This would make the narrator both omniscient and semi-omniscient, because the narrator has all access to Sunny's feelings but only some access to Dalton's. Probably due the fact that we have all access to all of Sunny's emotions, Sunny evokes the most sympathy from the reader. We are able to see that she wishes to name her baby, and secretly does so, provoking sadness and condolence on the reader's part. We are also repulsed by Dalton, who refuses to let Sunny name the baby- this ultimately being the determining factor between which character achieves the most sympathy. Although offended by Dalton more, we are disturbed by them both. They are living in Dalton's van worrying about how they will survive the winter, yet they manage to constantly have a supply of drugs and alcohol. Not to mention, they have an unnamed baby they both quite apparently wish to get rid of. Sunny has thoughts about (and even practices) this, however in a quite brutal manner. They could leave the baby somewhere it would be safe and could still have a life, but Sunny daydreams about the baby falling into the river, falling into the lion's cage at the zoo, and they practice leaving it at the river. It is difficult to say that a mother like this gets sympathy, however the story leads the reader to feel that way.

Blog Post 2 - "Pagan Night" - Brandon Arnold

I used “ Pagan Night” for blog post 2. The author uses the stereotype of drug addicted musicians to give the reader a sense of who these people are.  The author talks about a uncared for baby, how they sell their stuff for money that they use for drugs, and uses specific language such as “when she has a dollar fifty” to suggest that sometimes she does not even have a dollar fifty which is not a lot of money,  and that she gets rides places; therefore, we are to assume that they are poor, drug addicted, musicians who don’t care for their child. From there, the reader fills in the gaps with their experience with poor people, drug addicts, people who don’t care for their child, and since people usually associate these things with negative emotions, the ideal reader is intended to not like the characters: at least right off the back.

The author begins to talk about how Daltan can not stand the baby crying, so Sonny has to go on long walks to keep the baby away from him; and she is afraid if she can not keep the baby quiet than Daltan will leave her. The story also talks about the different strange ways Sonny tries to take care of the babies rashes. Daltan getting so mad when his baby cries further reveals his personality and exposes him as not very intelligent and irrational. The author draws on the cultural norm of how babies should be taken care of, I know absolutely nothing about babies, I have never even been around one, but I know that using lipstick on a baby for its rashes is probably not a smart thing to do. However, even though Sonny is taking care of the baby in a way that most would deem wrong, the act of trying to do something for the baby suggests that on some level she does care for the baby and the author begins to manipulate the reader into caring for sonny to; the author then simultaneously draws on the cultural perspective that men should be the providers for their family to make us not like Daltan even more, for he is failing to provide for his family. We then fill in the gap and assume that they can not afford diapers because they are wasting all their money on drugs.

The story about Johnny Mohawk I think reveals to us Sonny’s thought process and suggests what she does with the baby at the end. Johnny Mohawk was really drunk and fell when trying to hop onto a train which resulted in him being impaled. Daltan then explains that it was the best thing that ever happened to him, for he would have ended up a drunk degenerate like the rest of his family. But instead, he got government aid for education and ended up a success.  This story could only serve 1 of two purposes; it was either a way to further illustrate Daltan’s character by exposing what his friends are like, or it was put there because it explains how these people think. Out of this tragedy, Johnny Mohawks life turned around, and he is a financial success. He has half a body, but he has money now so to them that was a happy story. I think sonny will use this rationale to convince herself to kill her baby; out of that tragedy, her life will turn around for the better and she will make it.

I think the Narrator in this story is objective and bias. The narrator is telling the story as if an outsider looking into what is happening, hence the narrator is objective; however, the narrator also seems to have a bias in favor of Sonny.

Blog Post #2

In “Pagan Night”, I had notice that the story had the ability to make me feel strongly toward many different aspects of the story. "Pagan Night" is also full textual clues and gaps that, with my own experiences and morals in minds, I can fill in to enrich my reading. With Dalton's drug problem I was able to realize that his beliefs and weird habits, such as wearing the hat to be closer to god, seem to be all stemming from his increasing paranoia due to the use of his drugs. I'm not very well versed in drug addicts and the personal inter workings of their day to day lives, but from what I have read here Dalton is going down a definite path of self-destruction. Bringing a child into this world also has seemed to demand an increase in his use of drugs. This increase demand feeds the vicious cycle that he seems to be trapped in. These are all the gaps that I could infer using my own experiences. I may not be the ideal reader, be it that I am not a drug addict nor do I live their life. Also, I don't find anything glamorous or rewarding about a life like that. The ideal reader that I could try to identify in this story is a person who struggles with a bohemian lifestyle and an ever increasing drug habit. I also believe that, even though it is not said outright, we can infer that Dalton's wanting to leave behind the child is driven by his drug use. If he were clean he would probably be able to see exactly what he is doing. This caused me to feel sympathy for Sunny and the child because for Sunny, it was probably too much to handle. It appears to me that she wants to lead a different life.

Discussion Post 2

The short story, “Pagan Night,” definitely evokes a lot of different emotions and feeling when it’s being read. There are many gaps and textual clues throughout this story that need to be filled in by the reader. Luckily, the narrator tends to make this process a little easer. An example of a gap that I filled in is when the story mentions that Dalton believes that is better to blend in, and wearing a baseball cap makes him feel closer to god. I filled in this gap as a sign that Daltons drug use has increased since the birth of the baby. He is becoming paranoid and delusional. This too could be an example of reception theory. I believe that most people would agree that wearing a baseball cap does not make you closer to god, and to think so is a detachment from reality. This is also colored with my own life experience, I have and do know many addicts, some in recovery and some not. There are also many textual clues to produce the ideal reader. Throughout the story examples of the bohemian lifestyle are brought up repeatedly. An example of this is when there is worry about not having enough food to eat, Dalton suggests that he’ll shoot a crow for the family. I can’t help but feel sympathy for the Sunny, I feel as if she’s in over her head. Originally she wanted this sex, drugs and rock n’ roll lifestyle but I feel like she now wants out. Conversely, I feel like Dalton is a die hard, I feel like he’s in it for the long haul so to speak. At least this is the impression I got from the text using the reception theory method. 

I chose the short story "killings" for my analysis, and am trying the reception theory to elaborate on my findings of this piece. my reception of the text is no doubt hindered by my faith as a Christian. This story is most definitely not a testament on redemption or forgiveness, in fact it is quite contrary: a story of revenge. Any reader that has been through a similar situation as described in this text will definitely see it very differently, depending on the side they were on. One cannot truly fully comprehend the enormity of such a situation if they've never truly experienced the emotional impact such a loss leaves on its victims. So one that goes into a situation with preconceived notions whether by religious or political viewpoints(a person from Texas vs a person from Massachusetts) might have those notions drastically altered by the impact the situation has on their psyche.

blog post 2

I have decided to do my post on "Pagan Night". In this story many details are not mentioned and I'm trying to fill in the gaps. Dalton shows no feelings towards the baby, I believe he doesn't want to keep "it" because he wants to follow his dream.  He also doesn't show any love towards Sunny yet Sunny stays with him and supports him. I assume that Sunny stays with Dalton because there was once love there before  the baby came into the picture. Sunny keeps her baby because she is afraid to let "it' go. She does attempt to leave the baby  but she has grown an emotional bond to "it".The baby seems to be in the way between Sunny and Dalton. The baby has no fault. Sunny does get some of my sympathy because she's trying to follow her heart even though it might not be the smartest thing to do. Dalton doesn't get any of my sympathy because all he thinks of is himself. The narrator appears to favor Sunny because we do get an insight of Sunny's feelings and thoughts. We do know that Sunny has father issues which may be the cause of her codependency to Dalton, she needs to feel like she belongs to someone. Today people such as myself believe that whatever decisions we make ultimately come with consequences but some things we cant control.

Blog Post #2

I am taking a shot at the Reception Theory.  I read the story, Pagan Night and it reminds me a lot about how similar it is towards today's culture.  People just like Sunny and Dalton live selfish lives and don't want to deal with their responsibilities.  They feel stuck and dream of different scenarios where they can get away from the troubles that are burdening them.  In the culture we live in today it is not surprising when we see people high and drugged out while caring for children.  It is sad but that is what is consuming a vast majority of people today.  It should be shocking when we read a story like this, but it is not.  I have read about people in the paper and have seen people on the news who consume drugs while having kids.  I dislike people of this sort and don't respect them.  My biased opinion is that people like Sonny and Dalton have no excuse to be the way they are.  Though they do like there drugs and have no problems living that way, they should at least give their baby a different life.  Sadly, our culture has witnessed moments when mothers and fathers have killed their children for selfish reasons.  I don't know if Sonny was really going to kill her unnamed baby, but I have to say I wouldn't be surprised if she did.  That is what our cultural as come too in my personal opinion.   

For this blog i decided to talk about the Short story "Pagan Night". The analysis i used for the story is identifying textual clues or signals that are supposed to produce the ideal reader. The clues i noticed were in the first few paragraphs it kind of gives an overview of the characters, Sunny is not named yet but i took from this that she would be the more compassionate one that readers would share emotions with involving the baby also maybe her name is supposed to mean something positive. On the other hand Dalton is to me and maybe ideal readers the reason for the downward spiral that the two are in. He is introduced in a negative manner involving drugs and carelessness. So through the story i believe readers as well as myself sympathize with Sunny and look at Dalton negatively. I believe the  narrator has a bias and favors Sunny in the story going into her thoughts and feelings as well as explaining emotions she feels about her situation. The narrator in this is semi-omniscient and i believe wants readers to really hear and understand what Sunny is going through. On the other hand Dalton is talked about and really explained as a guy who gets drunk and high and writes about things that are important in his world, he has no feelings towards Sunny or their baby. I believe Sunny want's to be more close to the baby but Dalton is keeping her from this by not hating the baby to cry or even make any sound. Also i believe he is not allowing the baby to be named because he is afraid of developing a connection to his family.

Blog Post 2

I chose to read "Pagan Night" & while reading I decided to try and spot textual or context clues that would indicate how the "ideal reader" would have read it. From the beginning of page one I realized that as a reader my sympathy or sense of pathos would be driven towards "Sunny". Throughout this story we come to know how Sunny feels through a 3rd person omniscient narrator and I came to the conclusion she was just a girl longing to travel and live the life with her high school sweetheart(Though that's just my interpretation). Coming to realize they are a couple whom travel with a forsaken child we learn that Dalton is a selfish and transcendental person who only wants to leave the child behind in order to succeed. Bias tends to fall on Sunny and the child, while remaining unnamed the child is what seems to be the key in making this story tragic. Being raised by parents hooked on drugs and can't seem to handle a steady job. Though Sunny seems to despise the child just as Dalton does, we can assume that the feelings are only derived because she follows what seems to be acceptable behavior from Dalton. Hopefully the child and the so-called mother eventually leave Dalton in order to find a tranquil shelter and safe environment, but as readers we can only assume the worst and think the child will eventually be left behind with no signs of survival. (Luis Sumano)

Blog Post #2

For this assignment, I decided to read "Pagan Night" by Kate Braverman and I decided to try to identify the gaps in the story. Overall, this story was very jumpy and you really had to pay attention to keep up with everything that was going on. There were many gaps in the text like how you only knew what Sunny was thinking and you didn't have access to Dalton's thoughts. You could only know what was going on through her mind and all the stories that she was thinking about. When she talks about her dad and how "if she went to nursing school, her father could believe she has finally forgotten. He could conclude that she was well and whole, and he could sleep without pills" (545). We can fill in the gaps here that something her father did something terrible to her affected her in such a terrible way that it also truly altered him that he had to take pills to sleep because he worries so. He probably raped her or something terrible because she relates to Marilyn Monroe about the foster nights when they take their clothes off and how her uncle molested her.
In the story, there is a lot of blank space of where she walks from the river to wherever she goes next like the zoo. What happens in that time where she is walking? What does she see? What happens? The readers also dont know what is going on when Dalton asks her what she is thinking. There is a lot more conversation going on through Sunny's head rather than actual conversations. 
I feel Sunny would be more worried and more loving and caring towards her nameless baby if it weren't for Dalton. Dalton does not want the baby and doesn't even really want his girlfriend. He is ready to leave her if she doesn't do something about the baby and because we can only access Sunny's thoughts, we do not know the true reason why Dalton doesn't want the baby, but we can assume that it is because he wants to be free, not tied down, and roam the country doing drugs. He would probably sell his baby for drugs if he could. 
We do not know what happens to the child, but the reader can guess that because there has been so much thought and planning to it, that soon they will abandon their baby and no one will ever know.

Blog Post #2

I read Pagan Night and decided to look for textual signals and determine how the ideal reader would read the story.  Almost from the beginning, it is apparent that Sunny is the character that will be the main focus of the story.  She isn't the narrator, but we do have access to some of her thoughts, and the author definitely has a bias toward her.  Sunny's name isn't given until the end of the first page, but the fact that the narrator introduces her as "she" tells the reader that she is going to be the character referenced and talked about the most.  The reader is most familiar with Sunny, so the ideal reader would sympathize with her rather than with Dalton.

Dalton's name is introduced first, but in a very negative light.  The narrator explains that he is the reason they had to leave San Francisco, and that he never wanted the baby.  The author also uses words such as "claimed" and "insisted" when explaining the musical equipment, which implies that it wasn't actually Dalton's, and was probably stolen.  They both do drugs and don't want the baby, but for some reason the author wants the reader to sympathize with Sunny.

Later on in the story, Sunny realizes that Dalton will leave her if she can't get the baby to stop crying.  This tells the reader that Dalton is really the one who doesn't like the baby, and Sunny just goes along with whatever he says or does because she doesn't want to be alone.  This suggests that her poor actions and decisions may be a product of this control Dalton seems to have over her.

The names sort of guide the ideal reader as well.  Sunny is a very happy and positive name, and although the character isn't either of those things, the reader will still feel a sense of hope for this character.  The fact that the baby doesn't have a name seems to tell the reader that he isn't an important character, but Sunny gives him many different names throughout the book. She would name him if she could, which shows that she feels connected to the baby, but Dalton won't let her.  This further tells the ideal reader that Dalton's feelings about the baby overshadow Sunny's.

Pagan Night-Mare

I chose the "Pagan Night"to analyze today. Over all the story has a desperate vibe of failure in life. Not only in the two main characters life but also in the life they accidentally created. You could only imagine the view of the new born baby without a name being there unwanted. "It" feels every feeling of regret and hate from its parents towards him. There were some gaps that I noticed in the story. Specifically the cutting back and fourth between the zoo experience of sunny with baby to boyfriend/father Dalton. Dalton seems like somebody yelling for help but his cries fall on deaf ears. He has a lack of character that the writer seems to leave up to the narration of sunny. Instantly I have sympathy for sunny, but then as the name-less baby comes into view and the many ways he could accidentally die changes my whole perspective. This story definitely leaves me with a sickness in my stomach.

Blog Post #2

After reading the story, Pagan Night, by Kate Braverman, I decided to identify the textual clues and signals that produce the "ideal reader." The story is told by a semi-omniscient narrator who only has access to Sunny's thoughts and feelings. After reading the first couple of paragraphs, you would probably come to the conclusion that Sunny and Dalton have problems because they live on the road, have no money, sell their possessions for heroine, and have an unwanted baby. However, later on in the story, you start to feel sympathy for Sunny because she seems worried for the baby's life and wonders how she will take care of the child. They both act like the baby is some kind of creature that ruined their lives. Sunny can't even decide on a name for her son so she just temporarily names the baby whatever is on Sunny's mind like Forest, Sky, or River. The narrator makes it obvious that the reader shouldn't have sympathy for Dalton because he wants nothing to do with the baby and even refers to the baby as "it." Even though Sunny seems to hate her life, she still wants to be with Dalton and wants to live up to his expectations and in doing so, she imagines different ways to abandon her baby. You never find out if she abandons the baby or not but I think she eventually will because Sunny makes unwise decisions just for the sake of making her life easier.

Discussion Post #2

So I decided to take a stab at reception theory on the short story Killings by Andre Dubus. For those who might have written on Pagan Night instead, Killings is about a father (Matt Fowler) who with the help of a friend (Willis Trottier) seek revenge on the man who killed Matt's son Frank in a crime of passion. The main cultural and societal influence coming into play in the perception of the general reader of this story is that it is morally wrong to kill someone. This is coupled with the idea, which creates conflict, that at times it is necessary to right a wrong in the context of vigilante justice. While it is not going to be the general perception of all people that vigilant justice is ok, the author definitely uses the idea of vigilante justice and the love of ones child to at least make this particular reader question their perceptions of what constitutes a "justified killing" and what is moral or immoral. The idea of vigilante justice has in recent years made its way into popular culture with such televised mini series such as Dexter, which enjoyed great success, and by its popularity, might serve as an indicator to the acceptance of vigilante justice in American pop culture. Popular shows such as Dexter are likely to play into a popular acceptance of vigilante justice thus influencing a modern day readers perspective of the text. Other current events that could influence a modern reader would be the Chelsea King murder trial. While the killer of Chelsea King was caught and convicted of murder and is now serving a life sentence, he made a plea bargain for his life in exchange for revealing the location of his victims. It is this type of judicial compromise in the eyes of most people just doesn't seem fair. This sense of fairness will definitely effect the perception of most readers. It did effect my perception of the text. It didn't seem fair to me that in the story Franks's killer would only receive a 20 year sentence for his murder. Just like I personally do not think that Chelsea Kings murder should be living in solitary confinement while she is dead.

Blog Assignment #2 (Due Wednesday, 2/16)

Choose either “Killings” or “Pagan Night” as the basis for your response – or, use the poem or story you think you might use/are using for your paper.

If you do choose “Killings” or “Pagan Night”, I can incorporate some of your responses in class next week, which would be great.

That said, here’s what you should do:

Explore one of the methods we’ve discussed thus far (reader-oriented/response theory):

Identify gaps and explain how and why you “fill them in” as you do. (These can include “holes” in background information on characters; lack of access to character thoughts and feelings; getting part of a scene, conversation or action but not all of it; lack of character motive (you don’t know why a character is acting in a particular way and must assume motive, etc.)

Identify textual “clues” and “signals” that are said to produce the “ideal reader” (the one who has likely picked up on exactly how the author probably intended the text to be read). Here’s a good starting point for this one: Identify the methods the author uses for characterization – which character(s) get your sympathy? Who doesn’t? Do you detect any bias on the narrator’s part – does the narrator appear to actively favor particular characters? (Consider here point of view – who’s telling the story? Why/how does that matter? (The narrator will be either omniscient, semi-omniscient, or “objective” – omniscient narrators have access to all characters’ thoughts and feelings; semi-omniscient narrators have access to some but not all characters’ thoughts and feelings, and a third-person, objective narrator has access to none – this kind of narrator aims to tell the story as though it’s appearing on a movie screen – you see what the characters do and hear what they say, but that’s all you get.)

Try “reception theory” – Remember that the focus with reception theory is the current, larger cultural context surrounding your reading of the story.  What influences the reader’s (yours and/or the general reader) reception of the text? What kind of cultural values, practices, laws, trends, and/or current events are likely to bias the reader’s interpretation? Why? How?

Discussion post #1 (Dearly Disconnected)

 Dearly Disconnected written by Ian Frazier a piece written to show how public pay phones are becoming
obsolete. Frazier's diction, word selection, of how public pay phones are abused and pale in comparison to cell phones, is clever. Frazier describes his multiple experiences with payphones and how he considers them a special public place. Pay phones seem to come to life when put next to cell phones in Frazier's article. Frazier's target audience would have to be middle-aged people, those around before cell phones. This article by Ian Frazier uses clever diction combined with funny metaphors that enhance Frazier's experiences with pay phones to show that pay phones are becoming obsolete but that they will remain around for years, few far and between.                                                                                                                                                                                
  Frazier's personal experience on how a simple pay phone helped spin off his relationship with his current wife, is a story to tell your kids on how you and your spouse got together. It shows that "love is pure luck" Frazier's words. Frazier's choice of ordinariness and boringness convey that pay phones as simple as they are is what makes Frazier appreciate them. He describes pay phones as a source to vent ones anger or just to simply abuse them which makes Frazier sympathize with them for what they put up with. Pay phones typically in his experience are dirty, smashed up, or have gum wedged in the coin slot. Frazier says he resents some pay phones that cause some unhappiness in his past. These events make people relate because most people who have used pay phones have had bad experiences with the little beat up buggers. According to Frazier pay phones stereotypically have graffiti, empty soda cans and empty beer, and cigarettes littering their insides. But he claims that this is just a sign that humanity has flowed through there. Frazier uses analogies and similes comparing pay phones to cell phones. "The pay phone is to the cell phone as the troubled and difficult older sibling is to the cherished newborn." Frazier then says " People even treat their cell phones like babies."
  Overall Frazier got his point across, that pay phones are a dying breed but that they will linger. Linger as a artifact from a different age. a age where when you were out and about you had to dispense a few coins to a greedy pay phone to contact someone. His target audience of the older generation will sympathize with the stress of cell phones that plague the current age. Everyone knows that cell phones can be a nuisance.

Blog Post 1

After reading My Last Duchess, my perspective of what I thought to be necessary to correctly interpret a piece of literature changed greatly. When it was all said and done I had all but two items on my list change in importance. The two items that did not change were the element that was sixth on the list and which dealt with narration, and the other, was last on the list and spoke to biographical information as it relates to the author. While I rated the necessity of the author’s biographical information in about the middle of the scale, I rated the particulars of the narrator at the top of the list. It seems necessary to me that we understand who the narrator is, the narrator's role, and what if any underlying meaning there might be in the narrators placement in the work. Other items that ranked high on my list was the understanding of vocabulary used in the vernacular at the time the piece of work was completed. Initially I thought that context alone would be enough to decipher the intent of the author, but then quickly understood that certain words and phrases can mean something that is very different than what we understand them to be, therefore rendering context in the pursuit of interpretation completely useless.  Contemporary cultural context and modern cultural context were the items on the list that I had the greatest change of heart about. I ranked both a number one and by the end of the exercise ranked both as five on the list. I believe that a work should be all encompassing of the subject that it is speaking to regardless of any past or present cultural context.

I definitely think that I am steering towards reader-response criticism. In my opinion it allows for an all-encompassing analysis of a work. While I am not completely sold one way or the other, but it seems to me that some of the other methods of analysis seem to be more pointed in their approach and might not allow for an analysis to be done with one hundred percent objectivity, I could be wrong.

Blog Post 1

After reading the poem "My Last Duchess" I chose to stand by the rankings that I had originally came up with. My top three categories are as follows, authorial intent, a clear understanding of vocabulary, and lastly understanding of traditional literary elements. The reasoning behind this order is that I would be able to analyze any piece literature simply based on what is written within the text, rather than relying on outside information about the author or the time period it was written in. Although the latter still greatly influences an authors writing, you might not have access to any information beyond the actual literature. With that being said, I am looking forward to the intrinsic side of analyzing literature. I find it interesting how the use of vocabulary often can have multiple purposes/messages depending on how it is structured .

blog post #1 Michelle Smart

After reading the poem "My Last Duchess" my initial responses to the ranking of the considerations for interpretation have changed, yet not significantly. My original ranking is as followed:

Authorial intent

A clear understanding of vocabulary

An understanding of traditional literary elements

Contemporary cultural context

Author's beliefs

Modern cultural context

Scholarly context

Personal beliefs

After reading the rankings changed as followed:

An understanding of traditional literary elements

A clear understanding of vocabulary

Authorial intent

Scholarly context

Contemporary cultural context

Modern cultural context

Author's beliefs

Personal beliefs

The main changes that I think are significant is the ranking of authorial intent from a strong first choice in the beginning coming down to my number three. In the poem i did not believe that the authorial intent was a huge consideration to the understanding of what was happening in the poem. it is about a Duke that has very conflicting thoughts on his last Duchess and does not want his next to continue in her pattern. The Duke is the main focus not what author thinks or believes. I stuck with vocabulary being my number two since I believe to truly understand anything written you must first understand what the words mean. Moving understanding traditional literary elements to number one was kind of my break through with this poem. It was in a number three position, which is high for the beginning but now I strongly put it at number one. In this poem we need to understand who is the speaker and if we believe him to understand the meaning of the poem. Most of the rankings after 3 are pretty much similar, so i do not have anything significant to point out. I think that I am swaying to a New Critic way of thinking, even though I can see an intrinsic writing point of view as well. i love to dive into a piece and fully understand it with my point of view as long as the raw untouched new critic version.