Sunday, April 7, 2019

Book #36: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams


Book #36: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

            Reading a book in preparation of teaching it is a lot different from reading a book for the pleasure of doing so. I read A Streetcar Named Desire last fall because I was teaching it to my AP Literature students. I felt a little guilty for never reading it before (somehow I never had to read it in high school or college) and reading it for the first time right before I planned on teaching it. Sometimes as a teacher, I feel like I need to be an expert on what I teach, or at least pretend to me. My students expect me to know the answers for everything, every definition of EVERY SINGLE word (like I am a walking dictionary), and to tell them there is an exact way to analyze literature. They struggle to understand that there is not always one concrete answer when it comes to analyzing a text, but there sure as hell can be a wrong answer. It frustrates them to no end. So when I go into a book with the intention of teaching it, I have to anticipate what my students will think, question, and argue about (this group loves to argue about EVERYTHING!). So Streetcar is an entertaining play and I enjoyed reading it, but reading it with the intention of teaching it took a little bit of the fun out of it for me.
Even though Stanley is a jerk, Marlon Brando is
quite hot. 

            Many people think of the Marlon Brando film version of A Streetcar Named Desire where he shouts “Stella!” at the top of his lungs from the New Orleans’ streets. This scene is referenced several times throughout the series, and is a staple of pop culture. However, Lane refers to Rory as another one of the play’s characters in this exchange. “Rory: He’s not my boyfriend. Lane: Really? Rory: No. Lane: What is he then? Rory: He’s my…gentleman caller. Lane: OK, Blanche.” For the purpose of this post, we are going to assume that Lane is referring to Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire and not from Golden Girls (that would be a different post entirely).
            A Streetcar Named Desire follows the characters of Blanche, Stella, and Stanley in the French Quarters of New Orleans. Blanche, Stella’s sister, shows up at Stella and Stanley’s doorstep and immediately makes herself at home. At the onset of the play, Blanche is extremely unlikable. She crafts a web of lies and is purposely condescending to Stella and her husband to mask her insecurities around her own life. You see, Blanche lost her family home (Belle Reve) because she has been careless with money and lost her job as a teacher due to inappropriate relations with a student. It is also later revealed that Blanche stayed at a hotel with links to prostitution and revealed her husband’s homosexuality, leading to his suicide. Blanche does not reveal any of this to her sister, though. She acts like Stella and Stanley’s apartment is too small for her and that Stanley, himself, isn’t high enough quality for Stella. She almost thinks that by acting in this way and pretending that these events never happened, that they never did. She casts a false light upon herself (hence the lampshade motif – my students will know what that means).
            The other characters in the play, however, are not much better. Stanley is abusive towards Stella fairly early on in the play. He belittles her and constantly screams at her (STELLA). Stella doesn't seem to have a problem with this. She has accepted her place in their relationship, and complies with Stanley’s whims. It is frustrating that Stella can’t stand up for herself. Blanche can, though. She has no problem calling Stanley out and challenging him. But if you are familiar with the play, you know that it does her no good in the end.
            The majority of my students missed what exactly happened at the climatic scene between Blanche and Stanley at the end. The action is not explicitly stated, but inferred. This lead to a lot of frustration from my students (“What do you mean he did that? If it doesn’t say it happened, you can’t prove it?!  So does this mean I can argue that something else happened if I can infer it?!”). I won’t reveal the ending here, but I will warn that it is a sensitive topic.
            A Streetcar Named Desire is a quick and easy read on the surface level, but reveals much about character motivations and desires. Heck, I read about 22 AP Lit essays just on the topic. I wonder what Rory would have written?


Movie Poster - https://is2-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Video69/v4/81/fc/4c/81fc4c96-f620-6b1b-5fca-16d2f361617b/pr_source.lsr/268x0w.png

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Book #35: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte



Jane Eyre
was just the book I needed to restore my faith in this challenge! The past several books I have read for this challenge were difficult for me to get through and enjoy. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was clearly a one star pick for me and Northanger Abbey felt like a bore. Even before those books, it had been a while since I read a book I loooooved from this list. If you were wondering, my favorites thus far (that I had never read before this challenge) are Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, and The Tragedy of Richard III by Shakespeare. It has been over a year since I have read any of those, so it has been awhile since I really enjoyed a book from this list. I am happy to say Jane Eyre is one of my new favorites.

            Jane Eyre is a staple of English Literature and I do not know how I got to the age of 26 without reading it. It was always one I knew I would read some day and kept pushing it off. Thank goodness for this challenge! Rory recommends Jane Eyre to Dean in episode 8 after he returns her copy of Northanger Abbey. Even after he claims he enjoys books like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (bleh), she still recommends him some Charlotte Bronte. I find this a bit inconsiderate of Rory. You shouldn’t force someone to read a book you love when it is clear it is not something the other person desires to read. This may seem a bit hypocritical of me because I do make a career out of forcing high school students to read books they do not want to read. It is for their own good, though. And how many of them actually read the entire book? I know most of them resort to Spark Notes, Schmoop, Cliff Notes (I know them all) to scrape by. It makes me sad that very few of them know the joy of reading. If they had to read Jane Eyre, I am not sure how many would enjoy it because it does read at a slower pace, but I found that enjoyable in this instance.
            I have to say that Jane Eyre is one of the most enjoyable classics I have read in awhile. Some may say it is dark and melancholy, but I think that dark Victorian tone makes it fun to read. It also fits with this time of year (it has been so overcast and cold lately). Jane is a much more relatable character than any of the Austen heroines. At the beginning of the novel, Jane is living with her aunt and cousins. She is treated like a burden because they make it clear that she is unwelcomed and unloved. Her uncle was the one who adopted her when she was orphaned, but he died shortly after. Jane grew up without love and comfort. She didn’t take that poor, pitiful me attitude seen so often in tales; she knew what she deserved and how she should be treated. Very early on, we see Jane stand up for herself. Even when Jane was sent to boarding school (where she wasn’t treated much better), Jane followed what she thought was right even when authority figures claimed she was wrong. Despite these hardships and being treated like trash, Jane still treats others with compassion. She risks her health by staying with her friend and holding her as she dies from tuberculosis. If you know the ending, you also know that Jane loves unconditionally. She doesn’t care about money or about appearances; she cares about what is on the inside.
            This brings me to the topic of Mr. Rochester. I love the romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester. Maybe I just love forbidden romances. Or maybe I just like grumpy men. I don’t know. It makes sense because I love the Beast in Beauty and the Beast. Due to social status and an age difference, Jane and Mr. Rochester shouldn’t be together. Jane is the governess to his young ward, and, technically, Mr. Rochester is still married to his crazy wife he hides in his attic. [SPOILER] He makes the miscalculated call to propose to Jane and keep that fact a secret. Unfortunately (or fortunately to Jane) his crazy wife’s brother reveals the crazy wife’s existence to Jane right as she is about to marry Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rochester tries to convince Jane to marry him anyways. He tries to rationalize that he isn’t really married to his wife since she is mentally unstable and she lives in the attic. He got himself in quite a pickle. In every love story, there must be a hurdle, and in this story, that hurdle is a crazy wife in an attic. (I have never used the phrase crazy wife this often before).But when you think about it, doesn’t everyone have a “crazy wife” in their “attic”? What I mean is: everyone has some secret, insecurity, or dark thoughts they keep hidden in the far most corner of their minds. We don’t have a literal crazy wife in our attic, but there is always something we shy away from sharing with the ones we love. There is an abundance of psychological theory applied to this idea in Jane Eyre.
Of course I pictured Mr. Rochester as Michael Fassbender

            While the novel does take several dark turns, Bronte makes sure to give her novel a happy ending. After years apart, Jane returns to Mr. Rochester after learning that his wife died from jumping out a window. However, everything isn’t neat and tidy because his wife set his house on fire, burning and blinding Mr. Rochester in the process. He isn’t the handsome and charming man he once was, but Jane still loves him. And thus comes one of the most famous lines: “Reader, I married him.” Jane has no qualms about marrying him now that he is not bound by the ties of another marriage. She also does not care about physical appearances. What she loves about Mr. Rochester is his mind and heart, not how he looks. The fact that he is blind, lost a hand, and is not as handsome any more does not bother Jane. And I think that is why I love this story and their romance. Yes, there are many flaws in their relationship, but it is also very pure. When it comes down to it, they love each other for what is inside and not physical appearances or social status. They also find their way back together after tremendous hardship. I do love a story with a happy ending!

Pictures
Book Cover - https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-na.ssl-images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F51KPlGsw7-L.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FJane-Eyre-Dover-Thrift-Editions-ebook%2Fdp%2FB008TVGG8C&docid=UmSAk5BRpnzl2M&tbnid=-AHsFeP5cMqGJM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiwsq2x5tTgAhVLiOAKHX4ZBewQMwhrKAEwAQ..i&w=311&h=500&bih=642&biw=1280&q=jane%20eyre&ved=0ahUKEwiwsq2x5tTgAhVLiOAKHX4ZBewQMwhrKAEwAQ&iact=mrc&uact=8
Movie Still - https://s3.amazonaws.com/thumbnails.thecrimson.com/photos/2011/03/21/220237_1249081.jpg.800x533_q95_crop-smart_upscale.jpg




Sunday, January 13, 2019

Book #34: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson


            I don’t really know what to say about this book. To be perfectly honest, I did not like it. I know that will offend some people because this book is well regarded and considered a success. But, man oh man, was it painful to read. If you have read any of my other posts, it should be clear that I like a book the best when I can find a connection with one of its characters. I love a fast moving plot, a great mystery, an epic romance, but only when I can see myself in an aspect of one of the character. In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I found no connection. I was extremely frustrated with the narrator and all the other characters. I suppose their way of life is so far from my own, that I couldn’t empathize with them. 
It was really hard for me to find a copy of this
book. There weren't many copies in the library,
and I had it on hold for forever!

            The novel is based off of Hunter S. Thompson’s own adventures as a journalist and bases the character of Raoul Duke after himself. Duke, a journalist, and his attorney take a road trip to Las Vegas in the 1970s to cover a motorcycle race. Instead of covering their race, Duke and his attorney roam around Las Vegas while using all sorts of drugs. Name any drug. These two probably used them and mixed them with others. I don’t know how either of them survived let alone drive a car throughout this book since they were hallucinating almost the entire time. As someone who has never even dabbled in drugs, it was hard for me to find any likable traits in these characters. They manipulated people to get what they wanted, stole from innocent people, and just weren’t very nice (even to each other). It seemed like they just expected to get what they wanted without a care in the world.
            Now my major problem with these characters was not the drug use, but the fact that there were no redeemable traits in either of them. There are many down right dirty characters in literature, television, and movies (Amy in Gone Girl, anyone? Joe in You?), but there is always something about them that earns them an ounce of sympathy or there is something about them that makes you go “I kinda like them a little bit, but I don’t know why.” Not in this book. If I had to choose, my favorite part of this book was the illustrations.
  
          But despite my dislike for this book, it has found success. It first appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine, and, later, as a full blown novel. The New York Times claims “it is the best book written on the decade of dope.” I didn’t know there were so many. Maybe I’d like the movie version of this book better. I’m not sure. It seems like Rory isn’t a fan of Hunter S. Thompson either. When talking to Lane, she says “I told Dean he would like Jane Austen, but he was all ‘Forget Jane Austen, you have to read Hunter Thompson.’’’ I would much rather read the most boring Jane Austen novel, than read this book. It seems like Rory would have to agree. And, honestly, this book does not depict my idea of the American Dream. But, as I talked a lot with my students about last year, the American Dream belongs to everyone and can mean something different to each person. Luckily, I am reading a lot of fun books right now as well as the books in the Rory Gilmore Book Challenge. If you want to follow all the books I read, follow me on Instagram at @readwithleigh.

Pictures
- Book Cover #1: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/516ewsQg54L._SX319_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
- Book Cover #2: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51I4gm0GH-L._SX306_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Book #33: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen


Heyoo! How is everybody doing? I know it has been awhile since my last post, but that does not mean that I have not been reading. I have been reading, reading, reading; just not writing, writing, writing. This is partially because I have been getting into the rhythm of a new school year (not so new anymore since it is November) and been busy with planning, grading, and a hectic soccer season. Not that this is an excuse for my lack of writing. It is something that I have been chiding myself for as it was something that I wanted to make a priority. The thing is I love writing while I am doing it, but the process of actually getting prepared to write is difficult. It is like grocery shopping. I HATE going to the grocery store. I have to convince myself to go when I need fresh milk, and I have to drag myself out the door. But when I am actually at the store, I don’t mind it as much. For some reason, when I am tired and mentally and physically exhausted, I have to push myself to write. I enjoy it once I get going, but I have to convince myself to get there. I also admit that I got a wee bit distracted with other books. Lately I have been on a thriller kick, and I have been reaching for those in my times of need (by which I mean all the time because when do I not need a book?). Long story short, I apologize to the few people who read my posts for my lack of updates. Now, Northanger Abbey
Rory reading Northanger Abbey in Season 4

            Dean hands Rory a copy of Northanger Abbey that she has lent him in episode seven. Rory asks Dean if he liked the book and he responds “Well, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” Rory seems to think this implies that he likes this book and exclaims “Aha! You liked it, you liked Jane Austen. I knew you would. Lane, Dean likes Jane Austen.” I would be very impressed if Dean actually read a Jane Austen novel let alone any novel Rory suggested. I have met very view teenage boys who willingly read Jane Austen in any type of situation. But if Dean actually read Northanger Abbey, then kudos to him. I’d be happy to know of a guy who actually read my recommendations and enjoyed them. I wouldn’t hold it against them, though, if they didn’t like Jane Austen. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of her either.
        
    Many people might assume that Jane Austen might be right up my alley. It seems kind of clichéd that a twenty something woman would automatically be a fan of Austen. After all, isn’t that what Bridget Jones taught us? I like the idea of Jane Austen, and I do love the Mr. Darcy type like many others, but I can say very firmly that I do not enjoy reading Jane Austen’s writing. Even if her stories are good and she has interesting plot lines, her writing style is so formal and wordy even for that time period that it is almost burdensome to read. It took me forever to get through Pride and Prejudice in college, and I trudged through Mansfield Park this summer for the AP Literature summer reading list (that also took up a lot of my Rory Gilmore Challenge Reading time). I probably read Northanger Abbey too soon after Mansfield Park and went into it thinking “oh no, not another Austen.” (Plus, the entire time I thought “Is it a hard g? or a soft g? Is like a g in grace? Or a g in gem?” I don’t know and I am an English teacher. These are the thoughts that plague my mind.) Which, I admit, isn’t the best attitude. I can say I liked Northanger Abbey better than Mansfield Park, but not as much as I liked Pride and Prejudice.
            Basically, Northanger Abbey is about a young girl named Catherine who reads too much leading her imagination to run wild and distort her perceptions of reality. Of course, there is more going on in this story such as several love triangles, the possibility of murder, and the struggle of social status. All of Austen’s novels tend to focus on the importance of social status in nineteenth century England. It is a topic she keeps returning to and, I wonder, if this was a major point of contention in her life.
Gotta love the cheesy covers!

            Of all of Austen’s narrators, I related most to Catherine. Mainly because of her love of books. Catherine, though, took her books a bit too literally. Catherine’s story is heavily influenced by the two most popular genres of the time: gothic novels and sentimental novels. Catherine’s time at Northanger Abbey (the place, not the novel) was heavily influenced by gothic stories. Hence, Catherine’s assumption that General Tilney killed his wife. Catherine’s imagination ran amuck, and created a completely fictitious story. Northanger Abbey is also a commentary on sentimental novels where a heroine goes on a journey to find love. While not an outright love story, Catherine and Henry Tilney find their way to each other in the end. In a way, Austen is warning of the dangers of reading too much, but also succumbs to that danger herself. It is clear that Catherine’s imagination and love of stories has gotten her into some predicaments, but Catherine also follows the arc of a heroine to find her one true love. So what is Austen saying? Maybe instead of looking at extremes (books are a bad influence/books are the truth); one has to look at books and stories as a way of learning and interacting with the world. And it is as I tell my students, you can’t always take literature literally. Not everything that is written is true, but what you can take away from literature is this: do not lose hope or your imagination. Because stories are an escape, a way to express oneself, and a way to see that no matter what, you are not alone.


 Picture
- Season 4 image: https://66.media.tumblr.com/3e370554f3f5d3a795ce4054c0d40923/tumblr_mkubin9CKL1s94fv2o1_1280.jpg
- Book Cover: https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388201718l/50398.jpg
- Book Cover 2: https://hauntedhearts.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/northanger-abbey.jpg