“Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver

In “Popular Mechanics,” Raymond Carver starts to develop the theme right off with the snow melting into dirty water; he foreshadows their through snow because it is white and consider pure, but the dirty water represents the darkness that is to come in their relationship. Carver also uses diction along the lines of dark and slushed which give the story a negative feeling.

Within a few lines a reading it becomes evident that the relationship between the couple is falling apart. The man has decided to pack up and leave due to the condition of the relationship. The woman also uses the words son of a bitch which shows her anger towards the man.

One point is the man seems to keep a calm attitude about the situation while the woman is yelling and this develops the theme in the way that he had determination to take the baby which can be foreshadowed through the picture on the bed. When the woman takes the picture it also shows that she will not give up without a fight.

When the baby comes into the story the theme takes off like a roller coaster. At first he was covered up which can been seen as a shield and when they uncover the baby it is as if they are opening up their relationship to all that will come.

Once the couple starts fighting a flowerpot is knocked down which play a significant role in the story. The flowerpot also represents their broken relationship and when they knocked it off in the scuffle it showed that they are not careful with what they do and were willing to break the relationship.

In the last few lines the baby is between the scuffle and partly the cause of it. Carver made sure to be specific about where the baby was being grabbed as well, showing that the baby happened to be in the middle of the relationship that had become dark.

Carver does not give names to the individuals because it gives readers a chance to relate better to the story since they can put their own names to it. The baby is the broken relationship and every child that has been through a broken home can relate to it. Also, the baby can be anything that is fought over in a relationship; eventually after fighting for so long it will die or fade away because there has been so much pulling.

Self/Character Analysis

1.)Someone in my life that reminds me of a character in some way would be my father to Sheppard. Although my father is not Atheist he did stop paying attention to one child while he tried to make the other what he wanted.  I was always daddy’s little girl until my parents got divorced and then everything changed. My brother could be looked at as Rufus, although he did not go around and steal to make a point.

2.)In the past four years at MCHS, I would have to say I am dynamic because I have changed drastically. In ninth grade I was the shy girl that would rather not talk to anyone if I did not have to. Group work was my enemy; groups meant I had to be social. I had my few select friends that I actually liked to be myself around; however, over the years I have opened up to new friends and many more opportunities. This summer I went to GHA at Fairmont and spent three weeks away from home and it also changed my high school years. GHA brought me out of my comfort zone, from the ice breakers to play tennis with my Resident Assistant. Not only did I step out of my comfort zone and gain confidence in what I do, but I also matured. When one moves away to college, they have to do everything on their own and going to GHA gave me the chance to start doing everything on my own. Being left to take care of yourself gives you infinite amounts of room to grow as a person.

The Lame Shall Enter First

In the short story, The Lame Shall Enter First there are three main characters, Sheppard, Norton, and Rufus Johnson. Sheppard plays an important role in the movement of the story and also in Rufus’s life. Sheppard tried to have a relationship with Rufus that he could not have with Norton, his biological son. Norton was selfish and did not have any concept of what it was like to not have things, he was spoiled to the core.  Sheppard is a dynamic character; he went from being Christ-like in thinking he was a higher power into seeing his son die which may sound as a symbol. Sheppard then knew that he had messed up in not showing his own son the attention he deserved and needed.

Norton is also a dynamic character due to his changes in traits like his father. Norton starts out as selfish, but turns in the end because all he wants is to be with his mother. Some may think that committing suicide just because you think you will see your mother again is selfish, but it is selfless. One of the main causes of him committing suicide was his father paying no mind to him. His father was too busy trying to make Rufus into what he wanted, seeing that he already had the high IQ. Norton was basically shoved to the side while Rufus was there.

Rufus on the other hand was a static character; he stayed the same throughout the short story. Rufus always stood on the fact that Satan had him in his power and that he was going to hell no matter what. He also kept his ways from when he was with his grandfather; when Norton’s father took him in he broke into houses so Sheppard would get rid of him.  Rufus can also been seen as the stock character or the stereotypical character; teens are looked at as “no good for nothings.”

The Paring Knife-Symbolism

In the short story, “The Paring Knife,” Michael Oppenheimer utilizes symbolism throughout the short story several times.  In the short story Oppenheimer references a knife multiple times; finding it under the refrigerator, showing his woman, and tossing it back where it came from shows that it holds great significance in the symbolism Oppenheimer was trying to portray. With using a common object like Oppenheimer did it gives the reader the chance to connect more to the story rather than if it was and unfamiliar object. The knife represents small incidents that can happen, but they can be thrown under the table or the refrigerator in this case. Relating it to the story, even though the main character and his woman have arguments, they can still be mature about it and realize it is not worth fighting over in the long run.  To emphasize the power of the knife the author chooses to end with, “I was about to ask the woman I love if she remembered that incident when she came in from the next room and without saying a word, picked up the knife from the table and slid it back under the refrigerator.”

Another point of symbolism is the meal scene where they had eaten a large dinner and had drunk many glasses of wine. In How to Read Literature like a Professor, it states that a meal scene is never only a meal scene; a meal always represents something else. Eating and drinking together is communion and in this case it shows the bond the couple has with each other. The communion also shows sharing and the peace that the couple share for the moment. This furthers the point of the knife in the way that they do not always fight and they can get along.

An additional piece of the story is the refrigerator and the symbolism it holds. The refrigerator represents the past and that is the reason the knife is thrown back under it. The author is trying to convey what is in the past can stay in the past, but only if one lets it.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Chapters 25-27

Chapter 25

— Don’t Read with Your Eyes
After reading Chapter 25, choose a scene or episode from a novel, play or epic written before the twentieth century. Contrast how it could be viewed by a reader from the twenty-first century with how it might be viewed by a contemporary reader. Focus on specific assumptions that the author makes, assumptions that would not make it in this century.

In Edgar Alan Poe’s Annabelle Lee, he mentions a seraph which was most likely referred to more back then than it is now. A seraph is is the 6 winged angel. In today’s society, religious matters are more likely to be looked over.

Chapter 26

— Is He Serious? And Other Ironies
Select an ironic literary work and explain the multivocal nature of the irony in the work.

A point of irony can be found in The Hunger Games when they say “Happy Hunger Games.” A fight to the death on television is anything, but happy.

Chapter 27

— A Test Case
Read “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield, the short story starting on page 245. Complete the exercise on pages 265-266, following the directions exactly. Then compare your writing with the three examples. How did you do? What does the essay that follows comparing Laura with Persephone add to your appreciation of Mansfield’s story?

II noticed the social class struggle, yet I struggled with what it signified.

Would love to know more about Greek Mythology, there’s so much to it. The comparrison of Laura to Persephone was a little mind boggling and it took me a second to finally understand.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Chapter 22-24

Chapter 22

— He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know

Chapter 23

— It’s Never Just Heart Disease…

Chapter 24

— …And Rarely Just Illness
Recall two characters who died of a disease in a literary work. Consider how these deaths reflect the “principles governing the use of disease in literature” (215-217). Discuss the effectiveness of the death as related to plot, theme, or symbolism.

In The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel is dying of cancer and she spends her days with Augustus who makes the best of their last days together. This disease is picturesque because it is not gruesome and everyone knew it would eventually happen.

Another would be Wuthering Heights where Emily’s family and eventually her’s is taken by tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is symbolic in the way that one wastes away as their life is being wasted like Foster said.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Chapters 20-21

Chapter 20

— …So Does Season
Find a poem that mentions a specific season. Then discuss how the poet uses the season in a meaningful, traditional, or unusual way. (Submit a copy of the poem with your analysis.)

Spring Pools-Robert Frost

These pools that, though in forests, still reflect
The total sky almost without defect,
And like the flowers beside them, chill and shiver,
Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone,
And yet not out by any brook or river,
But up by roots to bring dark foliage on.

The trees that have it in their pent-up buds
To darken nature and be summer woods –
Let them think twice before they use their powers
To blot out and drink up and sweep away
These flowery waters and these watery flowers
From snow that melted only yesterday.

I would consider this poem meaningful because Frost is talking about how the pools of melted snow reflect the things around it, yet they will soon be gone. He then goes on to related things of nature to the pools.

Interlude — One Story
Write your own definition for archetype. Then identify an archetypal story and apply it to a literary work with which you are familiar.

Archetype- A literary work involving a character that previously existed in one work, but was imitated in another and has the culture of the story they are present in.

One example would be the Bible with Jesus and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe with Aslan. Jesus tries to save his people by being crucified and the rises again and Aslan does the same even though he is a lion battling a witch.

Chapter 21 — Marked for Greatness
Figure out Harry Potter’s scar. If you aren’t familiar with Harry Potter, select another character with a physical imperfection and analyze its implications for characterization.

Potter’s scar represents him being scarred from the death of his parents symbolically. He received the scar the night his parents were killed by Voldemort showing that this is a psychological point.

 

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Chapters 18-19

Chapter 18

— If She Comes Up, It’s Baptism
Think of a “baptism scene” from a significant literary work. How was the character different after the experience? Discuss.

In the movie GATTACA, Vincent and his brother go for a swim where they race each other. Although it is not what one would think of when they hear the word baptism, it hold great significance in how Vincent changes. He realizes that to do what he dreams of he must disguise himself as someone else and strive for the top because his family did not have him genetically engineered. In the end Vincent ended up achieving his dream which all started from a competitive swim with his brother.

Chapter 19 —

Geography Matters…
Discuss at least four different aspects of a specific literary work that Foster would classify under “geography.”

 Seeing that geography can be a number of things instead of what it is typically thought of a novel that instantly comes to mind is The Hunger Games. District 12, where Katniss is from, is the poorest district that is struck with poverty and most of the men end up in the mines. With such a shortage of necessities some are forced to break the rules to survive. District 1 is one of the wealthiest districts of Panem. Its primary industry is manufacturing luxury items for the Capitol and as a result, has a generally favorable relationship with the Capitol. With their advances they also train for the Games which is why they are named Careers. District 11 is where one of the sweet characters comes from, Rue. This district is one of the poorer of the thirteen. Their industry is agriculture; orchards, fields of wheat, and cotton surround the district. Almost everything they grow goes to the Capitol despite their starvation; if any citizen of District 11 is caught eating any of the crops, they are to be whipped in public. Then there is District 2 that deals with masonry. In this district they are trained their whole life for the Games and have volunteers frequently. Geography plays the role in shaping their lives and how they survive in the Hunger Games.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Chapters16-17

Chapter 16

— It’s All About Sex…

Chapter 17

— …Except the Sex
OK ..the sex chapters. The key idea from this chapter is that “scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at multiple levels and sometimes be more intense that literal depictions” (141). In other words, sex is often suggested with much more art and effort than it is described, and, if the author is doing his job, it reflects and creates theme or character. Choose a novel or movie in which sex is suggested, but not described, and discuss how the relationship is suggested and how this implication affects the theme or develops characterization.

One example of this  is in Gone With the Wind. There’s a scene where Butler is drunk, and he tells O’Hara that he loves her. O’Hara breaks off the conversation and walks away. Suddenly Butler runs up behind her and sweeps O’ Hara up into his arms, kisses her rather violently, and then carries her up the grand staircase and that is where the scene ends. Even though the scene ends at such an odd point it is inevitable that their relationship became closer deeming them lovers.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Chapter 11-15

Chapter 11

..More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence
Present examples of the two kinds of violence found in literature. Show how the effects are different.

An example of specific violence is in The Hunger Games when the Careers kill off the weak. The Hunger Games is filled with other specific violence such as when Rue is stabbed by another contender.

An example of authorial violence is in The Fault in Our Stars where Hazel has cancer which there is only a cure in some cases.

Specific violence differs from authorial by being more for shock while authorial effects the plot. In The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel’s cancer is the what drives the novel, while in The Hunger Games the deaths are causalities.

Chapter 12

— Is That a Symbol?
Use the process described on page 106 and investigate the symbolism in something we have read this year (short story or novel).

In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the world that the two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam end up in represents the battle between good and evil or Satan and God. When Aslan is stabbed on the stone table is represents Christ dying on the cross and resurrecting when he is saving his people.

Chapter 13

 It’s All Political
Assume that Foster is right and “it is all political.” Use his criteria to show that one of the major works assigned to you this year is political.

Animal Farm is considered political and represents the Russian Revolution. “If you have your lower animals to contend with,” he said, “we have our lower classes!” is a quote serves to emphasize directly the significance of Animal Farm as a social commentary, cementing the conceptual link between the enslaved animals and the working classes of the world.

Chapter 14

Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too
Apply the criteria on page 119 to a major character in a significant literary work. Try to choose a character that will have many matches. This is a particularly apt tool for analyzing film — for example, Star Wars, Cool Hand Luke, Excalibur, Malcolm X, Braveheart, Spartacus, Gladiator and Ben-Hur.

In The Hunger Games, Katniss is the Christ like figure where she is in agony, self- sacrificing, and spent time alone because of the games that President Snow(the devil figure) gladly lets take place.

Chapter 15

Flights of Fancy
Select a literary work in which flight signifies escape or freedom. Explain in detail.

In Peter Pan, Peter sprinkles fairy dust and flies off to Neverland. This represents freedom by the children being free from the real world and holding on to their childhood.