Rain

A Connection

An Occurrence at Owl Greek Bridge, and Going to Meet The Man

Through my reading to both stories, I found a connection between them, even that each one was written in a different time. Hanging the man on the bridge in Bierce's work, and burning the black man in Baldwin's work looks somehow a like. In both stories, dominance was obvious over people. Mr Farquhar was hanged because he disobeyed the orders of the dominant authority over him and over all his people. We don't know what the black man did to be burned in Baldwin's work, but we know that white people had dominance over the blacks. The killing in both stories is ugly; which reflect the hate inside the dominant one over the other part. Hanging the man on the bridge, waiting for the captain's commands, falling into the stream, and the head shot at the end were all torturing the hanged man and humiliating him, like the black man who was burning and experiencing the most kind of humiliation in front of white people. 

Dominance over people and humiliating them are the connection that I found between An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Going to Meet The Man.

Spring's Beauty 

Today was a very nice day. My husband and I did an interesting activity for our kids. We went swimming, the most lovely thing for them. After we spent a joyful time there, we came back and ate our dinner, and I prepared my kids to go to sleep.

Grandma is here. My mother in low stayed with my children, and my husband I got the chance to go for a walk in this beautiful spring. 

We went to a park near our home. The time was during the sunset, and the weather was awesome. We walked between the lovely trees. We smelled the spring; roses everywhere, fresh green grass, and cardinal birds. 

Every week normally, I go to this park. But today, it seemed different to me. It was full of love. 

Birthday Boy

My Son is Three Years Old

Today, May 6 2013, my little son Bara become three years old. I can't believe that three years has passed since his birth. I still remember that long day of labor, I still remember his first look, it was awesome. That day was a great day. My son's birth remember me of his sister's birth, when I first become a Mom. 

 

Everyday Use by Alice Walker

The Quilt

The quilt symbolizes the heritage of the family. It is made from "all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear"

It is very important because it shows the difference in understanding the heritage between Dee, and her mother and Maggie. 

Dee is an educated woman who studied in college. She doesn't care about her family, her mom said: "she washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know". 

Dee wants the quilt because it's handmade, she wants to hang it, while the mother promised to give it to Maggie when she'll marry John Thomas. Maggie, will not hang the quilt, but she is going to put it for everyday use. In top of that, Maggie knows how to quilt, she learned that from her mother and grandmother. 

Maggie never went to college, nor her mom. They understand their heritage in the same way Grandma and ant Dee understand. Dee went to college not just to educate herself, but to became a different one. She doesn't like her family, she changed her name to "Wangero" because she was named after Big Dee.

Going to Meet the Man by Baldwin

Killing the Man

Mr. Jesse's father had took him to a picnic that he will never forget, when he was a boy. He saw the show of killing the black man, he felt joy that he had never felt before, "He watched the hanging, gleaming body, the most beautiful and terrible object he had ever seen till then". 

At the beginning of the story, Jesse is unable to do a sexual relationship with his wife, at that moment, an "image of a black girl caused a distant excitement in him", he wasn't able to ask his wife to help him "the way he could ask a nigger girl to do it". At the end of the story, he succeeded  in arousing himself, he told his wife, "Come on sugar, I'm going to do you like a nigger"

Jesse interaction with the black people give him the power of superiority over them. He finally become able to do sexual relation with his wife, but it was after remembering the superiority of his race over black people, and it was after taking the black man's masculinity. 

Keeping up With Children

Children, the most precious thing in our lives, need every body around them to keep up with them. 

From the moment that the mother has her child, both of the parents start the process of "taking care".

Nursing, feeding, sleeping, changing diapers, visiting pediatrician, giving shot, potty training, sending to preschool, finding friend, and more and more many obligations the parents have to keep up with to bring up their children. 

I am a mother of two children, four and a half years girl, and three years boy. My children and my lovely husband are my whole life. They keep me busy, but they are the best thing I love to be busy with. 

I think that keeping up with children is a symbol of successful life for the whole family.

Good Country People by O'connor

Hulga's Wooden Leg Symbol

"She was as sensitive about the artificial leg as a peacock about his tail"(O'connor)Her wooden leg was a source of her pride. She feels herself independent with her wooden leg and able to do everything by herself. She didn't allowed anyone to touch her artificial leg except for Manley, the bible salesman. I think that when Manley removed her wooden leg, Hulga starts feel as if she is loosing her pride and she asked him to put it back

Syrian Revolution

Syrian people revolt against Alassad regime (which ruled syria for almost 50 years).
Syrians asks for freedom. They protest to drop the regime. They wish to elect the president of Syria.
For the first time, at Marsh /15/ 2010, Syrians break the fear and pronounce from the deep of their hearts FREEDOM.

The Great Gatsby

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

The Green Light Symbol 

The green light is a symbol of hope. It is located at Daisy's east egg dock and it can be seem from the west egg dock (Gatsby's place). 

It is a green light and not a red one. Green light means that it's ok to pass. It charges Gatsby with hope to continue his way in achieving his dream, or in achieving Daisy. 

The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Symbol

Symbolism in"Desiree's Baby" by Kate Chopin

I enjoyed this story because it is rich of symbolism that was filled with hidden meanings.

 Armand is the only white male and the master in his plantation. Being the white master is a reference that his quadroon son with Desiree has slave's root from his mother's side.

When Desiree’s baby has reached three months age, "there was something in the air menacing her peace", unexpected visitors from far-off neighbors and an awful change in her husband manner because the baby (Armand's son) doesn't look not purely white and he seems like one of La Blanche's boys. 

La Blanche, whose name means without color or the white feminine, resembles Desiree. She is a white woman in appearance, but she had black and slave ancestors. La Blanche had that name because she is a white slave and she had a quadroon boy like Desiree baby and I think that La Blanche is a hint that Desiree might have a black ancestors like La Blanche, and that both of them had a quadroon child

Symbolism in Editha by William Dean Howells

Editha is a romantic ideal lover who drives her fiancee to war.

In this short story, Howells uses some symbols to ensure the idealistic character of Editha.

When Editha gaves George a clouded liquid to drink and he gulps the liquid but refused to drink hers. The cloudy liquid signifies the cloudy believe and situation of George because at that time, the thoughts about the glory and sacredness of war, and the question of whether going to war is right or wrong was turning in his head. 

 

Also when Editha mentioned in her letter to George some of the poem “Lucasta, going to the war”, she read herself as the heroine Lucasta; who’s her beloved explain to her why he must leave her to go to the war. 

“I couldn’t love thee, dear, so much

  Loved I not honor more. 

 There is no honor above America with me. In this great hour there is no other honor. 

 You heart will make my words clear to you. I had never expected to say so much, but it has come     upon me that I must say the utmost.”

So by reading Lucasta to George, Editha symbolize Lucasta to herself.

Finally, the description that George gives of Editha: her red hair, blue eyes, and white skin in the moonlight is all a symbol of her idealism.

New Ideas to Entertain your Kids Beneficially 

Spring is coming now days and it is a great time to have a lot of fun.

Know, it's time for planting. 

The last time I went shopping grocery with my kids, I bought some vegetables seeds bags to plant with my kids. Then after that we bought soil and small containers, and we did the process of planting.

It was so fun for my kids to fill the containers with soil and to put the seeds in it. Because the weather still a little bit colder, I placed the graft near the window in their room. Every morning, my kids water the graft and look at it hoping that it will grow bigger each day. Actually, the graft is still unseen yet because it has been planted only a week ago. But, all of us are waiting until it grow and became mature to taste the work that my kids did.

Braveheart, A Symbole of Freedom

 All of us know the story of Braveheart or has watched that film. It is one of my favorites. Freedom is the obligation that william wallace fight all his live to earn.

The message that this story bear is very deep; Freedom in all its kinds.

I respect the writer Randall Wallace for this wonderful story. I also see that the idea of freedom in this story is suitable for every time.