If you liked "In the Garden of North American Martyrs"...
If you liked Tobias Wolff's "In the Garden of North American Martyrs"....
then you might also enjoy ”A&P” by John Updike and "The Jockey" by Carson McCullers. For Friday, read the first of those stories and post a 4-5 sentence reflection/reader response here as a comment to this blog post. You also need to REPLY DIRECTLY to 2-3 of your classmates comments (think: Instagram/Facebook feed, but slightly more detailed than a series of emojis or five word responses!) as part of this assignment. There's no need to include actual textual evidence in either your original response or when you comment on classmates' work, but you certainly can. If you're having a hard time generating ideas, feel free to look back to the short story questions we used last term. I just want to get a sense of what you thought about the story you've chosen; there's no pressure, so have some fun and be creative. I can't wait to have a virtual discussion with you!
then you might also enjoy ”A&P” by John Updike and "The Jockey" by Carson McCullers. For Friday, read the first of those stories and post a 4-5 sentence reflection/reader response here as a comment to this blog post. You also need to REPLY DIRECTLY to 2-3 of your classmates comments (think: Instagram/Facebook feed, but slightly more detailed than a series of emojis or five word responses!) as part of this assignment. There's no need to include actual textual evidence in either your original response or when you comment on classmates' work, but you certainly can. If you're having a hard time generating ideas, feel free to look back to the short story questions we used last term. I just want to get a sense of what you thought about the story you've chosen; there's no pressure, so have some fun and be creative. I can't wait to have a virtual discussion with you!
I think the ending of this story is particularly interesting because while it displays a seemingly positive narrative surrounding nonconformity and rebellion against authority, Updike challenges these messages in a way that causes the reader to question their validity. The narrator doesn't quit his job to protest the treatment of the girls and uphold morality, but rather he is just an ignorant, stubborn kid trying to impress the girls, and the story ends with a disheartening and pessimistic tone. This is furthered in the way the girls interrupt and destroy the boring and monotonous atmosphere of the A&P. The contrasts are described in great detail, which is reflective of the time in which the story was written. The 60s were a time of great social and cultural upheavals, with the arrival of counter culture as youth began to express themselves in new ways. This historical context paints an interesting background for a conflict involving "scandalous" girls in bathing suits and the traditional American general store. - Lara
ReplyDeleteGreat look at the shift in tone and in the narrator's understanding at the end...you're right that the time period of the story is crucial. I believe that it's 1963 (I'll double check), right before all of the sociocultural change was about to happen, so Updike was particularly prescient here. Lengel's line at the end is particularly poignant.
DeleteI really like the way you tied in the historical context in your analysis because it really added to my understanding of the short story. I also enjoyed hearing your thoughts about the tone and atmosphere of the ending of the story because it expanded my thoughts and the way I read into the story.
DeleteI like the way you connected your analysis to a historical context and how you read into the underlying pessimistic tone that Updike ends the short story with. Your ideas broadened the way I thought about the passage as a whole, which I appreciated! -Betsy
DeleteI think that the climax in Updike's "A&P" is when the three girls who walk around the grocery store are confronted. Updike uses the three girls in his store to help illustrate the idea of dissent. Having been written in the 1960s, the idea of women possessing dissent, especially towards a male authority, wasn't very popular and Updike uses this story to help illustrate this. He demonstrates this idea of dissent through the appearance of the girls wearing "nothing but bathing suits" throughout the store. The girls are confronted by Lengel, a male authority figure, where they are asked to check out and leave immediately, which they do. Sammy, the narrator, quits his job after checking them out in an attempt to also revolt against the authority, however the story ends on a sort of negative and sad tone as Sammy states his "stomach kind of fell as [he] felt how hard the world was going to be to [him] hereafter".
ReplyDeleteTrey wrote this^
DeleteGreat ideas about the symbolism of the girls vs. Lengel...do you think that this is Sammy's one big moment? And now he'll become like one of the "sheep" that he describes moving down the aisles of the A&P?
DeleteI also think the symbolism of the girls is fascinating because each aspect of their appearances is described so purposefully, and I also like the idea that they represent dissent. The description of Lengel is also interesting because he is portrayed as boring and "gray." I also like the phrase "revolt against authority," and the drastic differences between the girls compared to Lengel and the other "sheep" in the store set up the power dynamic between them. - Lara
DeleteI don't remember In the Garden of the North American Martyrs all that well, but I like the historical context you brought in about the 1960's. I also liked the imagery you brought in to prove your points about dissent.
DeleteAlex wrote the comment above
DeleteI really like how you talked about the girls dissent towards male authority and how it affects the world around them. I also liked how you talked about their effect on Sammy and his choices. - Betsy
DeleteThe bathing suits that the girls wear in "A&P" symbolize freedom for both the girls and Sammy. For the girls, wearing only their bathing suits in the store is freeing because they go against the norms of 1960's society, where women typically did not go out grocery shopping in their bikinis. They are fully aware of the effect that they have on the men in the store, and they do not shy away from it. For Sammy, the bathing suits represent freedom from his current life. His reaction to when his manager's confronts the girls about their clothing choices offers Sammy an escape from his old life as a grocery store clerk, but he is ultimately unable to free himself from his lifestyle because he does not know what to do and is stuck in the same place he was originally. - Betsy
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DeleteI really like the bathing suits being representative of freedom not just for the girls but also for Sammy; I hadn't thought about it like that. The bathing suits also seem to have a lot of power because of their ability to affect Sammy and the rest of the grocery store in such a large way. - Lara
DeleteI also love what they buy at the store...Updike so concisely captures the class difference in his description of Queenie and her friends, from the suits they wear to their walks.
DeleteI think that one of the most important parts of "The Jockey" is the fact that one of the jockey's friends was hurt badly in a race. When the jockey is first spotted by the three gentlemen at the corner table, he is first described as "crazy." Throughout their conversation, Sylvester, the trainer, confronts the jockey about his actions, which go against the ways of being a jockey, and tells the jockey to be reasonable. This interaction develops the idea that the three gentlemen at the table, specifically Sylvester, represent the upper class people that take advantage of people, like the jockey, for money and disregard their personal feelings. The jockey is saddened about the injury of his friend and is having to cope with it, but he is judged by the upper class people, who are benefitting off of his success, and told by them that he needs to watch his behavior.
ReplyDeleteTrey^
DeleteTrey, I really like the way you analyzed status and societal norms in your reflection. I also enjoyed the language you used to describe the separation of the two classes, how one is the jockeys and the other is the rich men making money off of them.
DeleteI really liked your analysis of the class struggle between Sylvester and the jockey. I also liked how you talked about Sylvester's disregard for the jockey's feelings, especially since Sylvester is profiting off of the jockey. -Betsy
DeleteI really like the interpretation of the conflict though the lens of class, and the way that the men speak of the jockey and talk to him with condescension and disregard is crucial. I also think the fact that the men are directly benefitting from his success is very interesting especially considering the way that they regard him.
DeleteYes, class is such a huge issue in this story. I love all the details of the food that they're eating: everything they consume ("libertines!") is like a metaphor for their excessive consumption of everything around them, including the jockey and his friend. I think Trey is right that the jockey can deal with his own situation, but when his friend is impacted it pushes him over the edge.
DeleteI think the end of this story is particularly important because after the huge emotional commotion that the jockey makes, the trainer just shrugs as they clean up the table nonchalantly. This displays the huge contrast between the extreme grief that the jockey feels for his injured friend and the disregard and apathy that the three men have for him and his condition. While the jockey yells that the men have no morals or sense of responsibility by calling them "libertines," the men are not even affected by him or his situation in the slightest, often responding to him bluntly. This highlights a very interesting power dynamic because while all four roles of trainer, bookie, owner, and jockey are equally important in the success of a horserace, the trainer, bookie, and owner, exclude and look down upon the jockey as though they are superior. Interestingly, jockeys are also literally smaller, a physical detail that is mentioned many times in the story; it adds another layer to this confrontation between a "dwarf" and three more powerful men. - Lara
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you contrasted the jockey's emotions regarding his friend and his bosses. I also like how you discussed his position as a "dwarf" in the presence of the other men, despite the fact that they all are held up by his effort and excellence on the track. -Betsy
DeleteExcellent observation about the way that they are all equally important in the horseracing world, yet he is made to feel small literally as well as metaphorically. It's almost like he's an extension of the horse...both the horse and jockey are used for their bodies, so once they are too big, in the case of the jockey, or too old/injured, in the case of both, they're no longer of any use to the rest of them, who have the privilege of continuing to work for as long as they want.
DeleteI think that McCullers' main goal in writing "The Jockey" is to depict the difficulty of escaping roles that one is born into; every character in the short story is defined as their specific role like, the jockey, the trainer, the bookie, and the rich man. The jockey is the only character in the story that attempts to break out of his role, but he is met with his bosses talking down to him and telling him that "it is his funeral" when he stands up for himself. The control that Sylvester, the trainer, expects to have over the jockey off the track and out of practice demeans the jockey's entity, not just the role he plays in the story. The tone that Sylvester uses to repeated tell the jockey to "be reasonable" is rude and aggressive, which causes the jockey, hurt and upset, to leave angrily. -Betsy
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you picked the "be reasonable"--it seems to me, and I'm guessing to lots of readers, that the jockey IS being reasonable, but these guys don't want to hear it. I also like how you're defining the archetypes in the story. It's interesting that their specific role is more important than their name (if they even have one).
DeleteI'm really glad you talked about the characters' role in the story. I wrote my analysis on the classes they belonged to, but I like how you were able to be more specific and talk about each of their roles in the plot.
Delete^Trey
DeleteI like that you looked at the role each character plays and I think the level of control that the men have over the Jockey is important. Their demeaning attitude they have towards him especially when it is excessive and they are really the unreasonable ones adds to this. - Lara
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