Journal 18 : Visiting Italy

1. What is the significance of the story’s title?

The significance of the story’s title “In Another Country” is that it shows isolation from humanity.  Hemingway is going out of his comfort zone and visiting Italy.  He is there with his fellow injured soldiers to see the patients in the rehabilitation center.  Because he was unable to speak the language, he decided to try to take time and learn how to speak fluent Italian.  However, it was a lot harder to comprehend then he thought, and becomes impossible for him to learn.  This experience for Hemingway is life changing because he learning to adapt to a different environment.  Not only can he not speak the language, he also is a healthy young man that is watching others suffer. 

2. Which character do you think best represents the “Hemingway hero”?  Why?

In the novel the soldiers are looked upon as heroes in the war, but I believe the major best represents the “Hemingway Hero”.  Despite his hardships and failures in life, he is still able to keep fighting for a better future.  His wife died, he has one hand, and he is no longer a world class fencer.  He used to be on top of the world with all of his accomplishments in life, but recently he has been unable to recover from all of his losses.  However, instead of dwelling on the past, the major shows the most courageousness by being able to put the past in the past and move on.  He is not sure if treatments are going to work, but he is determined to give it a chance.

3. What can you infer about the photographs the doctor hangs up?  What is the significance of the major’s reaction?

The doctor hangs photographs of the before and after wounds to promote a positive future for the patients.  Theses photographs also help patients continue with their treatments because it gives them a feeling of satisfaction to see pictures of wounds healing.  The doctor is trying to heal both the emotional and physical wounds of the soldiers.  The significance of the major’s reaction is that he would rather look out the windows than at the pictures.  He knows that his hand will never be able to fully recover, so he has accepted his fate and moved forward.  

Journal 17: Love Song

1. What is the significance of the poem’s epigraph?  How does it relate to Prufrock?

The poem’s epigraph is spoken by Count Guido da Montefeltro.  The epigraph begins with “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” to lead the reader into believing that this paragraph will be romantic when in fact, it is about hardships and problems when dealing with life.  In other words, it was Dante’s way of suggesting that Prufrock was suffering through hell.  However, Prufrock’s perception of hell was a modern world where he does not belong.  Count Guido believes that the mistakes he has made will haunt him and his friends throughout his life, just like Prufrock believes that his mistakes will never leave him alone.  The only difference is that Prufrock’s story was an inner monologue confessing how he feels instead of telling others his emotions.      

2. Make a list of questions that Prufrock asks.  Do you see a pattern/theme to these questions or are they random?  

“To lead you to an overwhelming question…Oh, do not ask, ‘What is it?’”  (10-11)
“To wonder, ‘So I dare?’ and, ‘Do I dare?’”  (38)
“Do I dare disturb the universe?”  (45-46)
“Is it perfume from a dress that makes me so digress?”  (65-66)
“And should I then presume?”  (68)
“And how should I begin?”  (69)
“Shall I part my hair behind?  Do I dare to eat a peach?”  (122)

Prufrock is arguing with himself on whether or not he should perform an act.  He is fearful of expressing himself with others because he is insecure about his feelings.  Therefore, he becomes frustrated with being unable to take action to make himself more confident.  As Prufrock begins to think of each question, he starts to realize that he has let many opportunities slip pass him.  By the end of the story, he wants to make up for all of his regrets by gaining the courage to go out and do what he wants to do.

3. What do you think is Prufrock’s main flaw/problem?

Prufrock’s main problem is that he is unable to express his feelings and emotions with his friends because of his lack of confidence in himself.  Due to indecisive decisions, he has lived his life at the lowest standard.  In other words, Prufrock’s life is boring, lonely, and hopeless.  He has wished to have contact with certain women but because of his lack of self-esteem and fear of rejection, he has decided to live alone.  Prufrock will continue to isolate himself until he gains the confidence to make his own decision.

4. Why do you think this is called a love song?  In what way is it a love song?

The poem was titled “Love Song” because it shows the irony in Prufrock’s life.  The whole story was about Prufrock’s inability to contact women because of his fears.  Instead, he continues to separate himself from others but admire them from afar.  The poem was Prufrock’s idea of how to fall in love with a woman if he could talk to her. 

Journal 16: Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” and London’s “To Build a Fire”

“Determinism governs everything … The writer must study the inherited traits of individual character and the social condition of the time.  Together, these elements determine the course of any action, the outcome of any life.  Free will or self-determination is mostly an illusion, although chance is granted a role in human affairs.  Still, even the effects of chance are obliterated in the inevitable course determined by the interaction of inherited character traits and the social environment.“  

This quote applies to the main characters in Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” and London’s “To Build a Fire” because each character was determined by their beliefs.  In Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” Swede lived in New York most of his life.  When he came to the town of Fort Romper, Nebraska, his character was portrayed with frantic paranoia because of his belief of the dangers that the “Wild West” possesses.  Therefore, Swede would exhibit strange behavior despite the efforts of those who would give him comfort.  Swede’s mind decides that he will be murdered before the night is over, so even Scully, the hospitable hotel owner, is unable to calm the Swede’s fears.  Due to the Swede’s action, it was determined earlier in the movie that the other guests would not enjoy his company and would try to kick him out of the hotel.  It was not until the Swede began to drink whiskey and act belligerent that made him the only danger in the “Wild West.”  Swede’s fears of murder and violence only came true after he decides to pick a fight with a hotel inspector, and the hotel inspector stabs the drunk for trying to abusing him.  The Swede was safe from his environment by staying inside the hotel, instead of living in the blizzard; but in the end, it would be his behavior that would cause his death.   

The man facing a blizzard in “To Build a Fire” was portrayed to have a clear outlook on life.  In this realistic story, the man was trying to get back to his camp alive before sunset while  facing a blizzard.  He was smart in trying to stay positive and sober while facing his challenge.  However, like the Swede, he died due to his behavior in the snow.  His belief of survival in below 50 degree weather was denied when he realized that he could not feel his fingers or toes.  It was ironic to hear that a man dressed for a snow storm would die because he was not actually prepared for what he was going up against.  Just like the Swede, he was facing the consequences of his actions and would realize his mistake too late to be able to save himself.