by Julia

Eudora Welty’s famous short stories continue to capture the imagination of readers everywhere. She is never predictable, never angry, but so brutally honest This great, and sometimes terrible, truth is seen most clearly through her characters. They are the beautiful, the slave, the child, and the tortured soul: Welty writes through the eyes of a hundred different people. One of her stories, “The Worn Path,” demonstrates this. Welty uses the journey of an old Negro woman to turn an otherwise unnoticed, but no less extraordinary, occurrence into something redeeming. “A Worn Path” tells the story of Phoenix Jackson, a grandmother who sets out on a long walk to town.

Welty’s motif is very consistent throughout the text. Rather like a small child on some great treasure quest, so Jackson marches along, refusing to allow anything to stop her. Her childlike determination is seen through a constant dialogue with the surrounding forest and herself. Behind an old, poor, beaten down woman there is a voice of great innocence. Behind her childish and naive murmurings, however Grandma Jackson is really a wise woman.

“Old Phoenix said, `Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!…Keep out from under these feet, little bob-wwhites…Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don’t let nonne of those come running in my direction. I got a long way.’ Under her small black-freckled hand her cane, limber as a buggy whip, wo uld switch at the brush as if to rouse up any hiding things.”

Jackson’s journey is both literal and figurative. In the story, she is walking a worn path to town, and in her head, instead of absentmindedly thinking, she is journeying through her life. In this, the reader sees the true purpose of Welty’s motif. Despite the fact that Jackson is half-blind and over eighty-years old, she does not see her treacherous path as particularly dangerous. She plods it with the same determination that has characterized the rest of her life. There is no turning back. She is bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter. In Jackson’s mind, the odds are already overcome; she has traveled this journey many times before. She knows her strength, choosing to forget her handicaps:

“At the foot of this hill was a place where a log was laid across the creek.
`Now comes the trial,’ said Phoenix.
Putting her right foot out, she mounted the log and shut her eyes. Lifting her skirt, leveling her cane fiercely before her, like a festival figure in some parade, she began to march across. Then she opened her eyes and she was safe on the other said.
`I wasn’t as old as I thought,’ she said.”

Welty reminds the reader of Jackson’s true self by infusing the plot with visual imagery. In her own picture of herself, Jackson is not only an old woman, but also a great hero. However, Welty offers moments, flashes of time, when the reader is jolted back into reality, and realizes Jackson’s true identity:

“A black dog with a lolling tongue came up out of the weeds by the ditch. She was meditating, and not ready, and when he came at her she only hit him a little with her cane. Over she went in the ditch, like a little puff of milkweed.

Down there, her senses drifted away…`Olld woman,’ she said to herself, `that black dog come up out of the weeds to stall you off, and now there he sitting on his fine tail, smiling at you.”

The description, “little puff of milkweed” compares Jackson to a small, pale, fragile flower. Her tumble into the ditch reminds both herself, and the reader, that the journey is not over, but she is not as young as before. Jackson’s attitude suggests that, perhaps, if one forgets their inabilities, their flaws and weaknesses, there is a possibility of achieving great things despite one’s limitations.
Phoenix Jackson has had a long journey through life. As a black woman, her experiences have been more difficult than most. Just as she fearlessly travels to bring her little grandson medicine, so she continues to travel through life. She accepts no help and asks for no favors. Her pride is laughable to some, yet there is a great dignity that she makes no attempt to hide. Her journey is the journey, not only of herself, but also of her family, of her heritage

Tennessee Williams’ renowned play, The Glass Menagerie, is the intense, evocative, and at the same time incomplete, embodiment of an American family. Despite the fact that its characters are static and rather shallow, the plot predictable?, and the dialogue familiar, Williams skillfully navigates the reader through a host of familial troubles. This play focuses on the Wingfield’s: the mother, Amanda; daughter, Laura; and eldest son, Tom. Their complete disfunctionality only serves to heighten the appeal of Williams’ play. Most tragically, the characters have some dream, aspiration, or desire to which they cling. In the end, no dream is truly fulfilled.

Amanda, the mother, is perhaps the least stable character. Amanda does not have a firm grasp on reality, and so spends her days mulling over fabricated memories of gentlemen callers, popularity, and the wealth she never had:

“AMANDA: They knew how to entertain their gentlemen callers. It wasn’t enough for a girl to be possessed of a pretty face and graceful figure—although I wasn’t slighted in either respect. She also needed to have a nimble wit and a tongue to meet all occasions…My callers were gentlemenâ—all! Among my callers were some of the most prominent young planters of the Mississippi Delta—planters and sons of planters!

[Tom motions for music and a spot of light on Amanda. Her eyes lift, her face glows, her voice becomes rich and elegiac.]”

Amanda’s formerly glamorous and elegant past becomes an obsession, and, even more dangerous, she begins to imprint her obsession on her daughter, Laura. She wants Laura to be the same beautiful social butterfly that she herself was. Amanda’s dream is to have a perfect daughter, for Laura to have a high-paying job, many beaux, and popularity. She resents the twist of fate that took her away from the Deep South and into the North. It is this attitude that shows Amanda to be shallow, demanding, and conditional. She cannot accept her own daughter, and so embarks on a quest to recreate Laura, no matter how untrue this person is to Laura’s real self. She simply says, “All girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be.”

Laura is neither beautiful nor a social butterfly. In contrast, she wears a brace to correct a bend in her leg, is sickly and plain, and shows no desire for a high paying job or fashion. Most of all, Laura is painfully shy, a result of her mother’s constant attempts to socialize her. Her one interest is a small glass “menagerie” that she has collected over the years. In other words, Laura is the exact opposite of Amanda’s ideal daughter:

“LAURA: [rising] Mother, let me clear the table.

AMANDA: No, dear you go in front and study your typewriter chart. Or practice your shorthand a little. Stay fresh and pretty! It’s almost time for our gentlemen callers to start arriving. [She flounces girlishly toward the kitchenette]

…LAURA: [Alone in the dining room] I don’t believe we’re going to receive any, Mother.

AMANDA: [reappearing airily] What? No one—not one? You mustt be joking! …Not one gentlemen caller? It can’t be true!! There mus t be a flood, there must have been a tornado!

LAURA: It isn’t a flood, it’s not a tornado. I’m just not popular like you were in Blue Mountain…I’m going to be an old maid.â”

Laura’s ultimate dream is to be loved and accepted for who she is, not who she could be. Amanda’s conditional love is not enough for the frail and simple-minded Laura. She also wishes to be rid of her physical defect, to be beautiful and, most of all, free of her mother. Laura’s shyness makes her as vulnerable and conspicuous as the glass figures in her “menagerie.”

The narrator, Tom, is another very important character. Like his sister, Tom is smothered and exasperated by Amanda’s constant demands. His job as a factory worker takes him away from home most of the day, and often into the night. This dreary work depresses and frustrates Tom, an otherwise free-spirited youth. Much like the author himself, Tom is seen as an outsider; he is creative and artistic, but nonetheless alienated from sophisticated society. He is the quintessential loner.

The frustration of work, combined with Amanda’s constant nagging, produces a very discontent young man. Tom is unable to go out or enjoy himself with friends; every time he attempts to “have a little fun” Amanda rebukes him for being lazy. Gradually, Tom begins to see that Laura’s confinement and his mother’s utter ridiculousness will only serve to drive him mad:

TOM: Listen! You think I’m crazy about the warehouse? [He bends fiercely towards her slight figure.] You think I’m in love with the Continental Shoemakers? …Every time yoou come in yelling that goddamn “Rise and Shine!” “Rise and Shine!” I say to myself, “How lucky dead people are.” …And you say self—selfâ€f’s all I ever think of. Why, listen, if self is what I thought of Mother, I’d be where he is—GONE! [He points to his father’s picture.] As far as the system of transportation reaches!”

In reality, Tom’s dream is to follow in his father’s footsteps, leave the family and never come back. In the end, he does. Tom abandons Amanda and Laura just like he had always wanted.

The dreams of Amanda, Laura are never fulfilled. Tom is the only one who experiences a kind of satisfaction. His dream is cruelly carried out. He realizes that as long as he is with his mother and sister, there will never be anything but discord. The frail Laura is too cowardly to resist her mother’s intentions, and so has to be content with her glass “menagerie,” both literally and figuratively. Amanda is too delusional to realize her own needs, much less those of others. The remaining Wingfield’s are no longer a family, but a group of bitter and desperately lonely people.–Julia

Based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck, centers around the story of Kino, a poverty-stricken Mexican pearl diver who struggles to provide for his family. One fateful day, his young son Coyotito is stung by a scorpion. In desperation, Kino returns to the ocean to find a pearl valuable enough to pay a doctor. The pearl he finds is the size of a seagull’s egg, enough to pay the doctor and much more. With the pearl comes hope, the promise of a new life, and the ability to rise above poverty. However, the pearl only serves to create a vicious circle of cruelty, greed, and corruption within Kino’s own village. He, his wife Juana, and Coyotito are forced to flee, resulting in even greater tragedy. In the end, Kino looks at the pearl and sees nothing but death, horror, and evil. He flings it back into the ocean, left with nothing but anger and grief.
Perhaps one of the most important characters in this book is Kino’s wife, Juana. Despite her quiet and almost vague demeanor, it is Juana who predicts the tragic turn of events before they happen. It is Juana who senses the evil song of the pearl, and attempts to drown it out with love. In her own way, it is Juana who is the tragic heroine. When Kino first comes to her with the pearl, Juana is overjoyed, sharing her husband’s dreams of leaving behind poverty and oppression. However, Juana is more and more assured that the pearl is a symbol of evil, not hope.
One of the most obvious questions raised by the reader is why Juana allows her husband to keep the pearl. Why does she not voice her opinions more openly? From the beginning, it is clear that Juana is much more practical and cautious than her husband. As in many Hispanic cultures, Juana looks on her husband as the ultimate authority, one that should only be questioned under extreme duress. In addition, she loves Kino and trusts him. Juana pushes aside her own instincts to trust those of her husband:

“Juana watched him [Kino] with worry, but she knew him and she knew she could help him best by being silent and by being near. And as though she too could hear the Song of Evil, she fought it, singing softly the melody of the family, of the safety and warmth and wholeness of the family. She held Coyotito in her arms and sang the song to him, to keep the evil out, and her voice was brave against the threat of the dark music.”

Despite having little education, Juana is not an ignorant woman, possessing more common sense than the resourceful Kino. In reality, Juana attempts to resist her husband’s wishes, even trying to throw the pearl back into the ocean, only to be beaten by her husband. Most importantly, Juana realizes that they are extremely poor, and will very likely stay that way, even with the pearl. It sounds crue l, but she knew the limitations of their society. She knows that poor Mexican pearl divers cannot find such a precious and rare pearl and expect to keep it, at least not without a fight.

Unlike Kino, Juana recognizes that their place in society is unchanging. She believes that things will go much smoother if Kino stays the same, if her family stays the same. She would rather protect what little they have than give it all away on a whim. Juana knows that if the pearl proves to be as evil as it seems, she, Kino, and Coyotito will lose everything. In the end, Kino does lose everything that he has worked so hard to obtain. Ultimately, he is cut off from his family, utterly blind, and completely guilty.

Juana accepts her fate with quiet solemnity. She forgives Kino for the death of their son, and is the same, quiet, submissive wife she has always been. The book ends too abruptly to ascertain anything deeper than this from her manner. She is heartbroken, but suffers stoically, never crying or voicing emotion. In a way, this silence is tragic. Neither Kino nor Juana can grieve for very long, it will only make matters worse. They have to keep20on living, taking and using what little the earth has given them. Juana’s only satisfaction is watching the pearl, a symbol of such evil, be thrown away:

“Kino and Juana watched it go, winking and glimmering under the setting sun. They saw the little splash in the distance, and they stood side by side watching the place for a long time.

And the pearl settled into the lovely green water and dropped toward the bottom….A crab scampering over thee bottom raised a little cloud of sand, and when it settled the pearl was gone.

And the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared.”

The Pearl is a tragic example of how greed and recklessness destroy a family, and almost an entire livelihood. Although Kino himself is not greedy, he refuses to listen to the wisdom of his wife, Juana. If he had, there would have been little or no trouble; their son’s death could be avoided. Kino trusts the pearl more than he trusts his wife. Strangely, the pearl’s evil is seen only by Juana, the one person who rejects her husband’s idea of riches and glory. –Julia

from a distance learning student–

At the age of thirty-five, on the night of Good Friday in the year 1300, Dante finds himself lost in a dark wood and full of fear. He sees a sun-drenched mountain in the distance, and he tries to climb it, but three beasts, a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf, stand in his way. Dante is forced to return to the forest where he meets the spirit of Virgil, who promises to lead him on a journey through Hell so that he may be able to enter Paradise. Dante agrees and follows Virgil though the gates of Hell.

The two poets enter the vestibule of Hell where the souls of the uncommitted are tormented by biting insects and damned to chase a blank banner around for eternity. The poets reach the banks of the river Acheron where souls await passage into Hell proper. The ferryman, Charon, reluctantly agrees to take the poets across the river to Limbo, the first circle of Hell, where Virgil permanently resides. In Limbo, the poets stop to speak with other great poets, Homer, Ovid, Horace, and Lucan, and then enter a great citadel where philosophers reside.

Dante and Virgil enter Hell proper, the second circle, where the sinners of the Incontinence begin. Here, the monster Minos sits in judgmen t of all the damned, and sends them to the proper circle according to their sin. Here, Dante meets Paolo and Francesca, the two unfaithful lovers buffeted about in a windy storm.

The poets move on to the third circle, the Gluttons, who are guarded by the monster Cerberus. These sinners spend eternity wallowing in mud and mire, and here Dante recognizes a Florentine, Ciacco, who gives Dante the first of many negative prophesies about him and Florence.

Upon entering the fourth circle, Dante and Virgil encounter the Hoarders and the Wasters, who spend eternity rolling giant boulders at one another. They move to the fifth circle, the marsh comprising the river Styx, where Dante is accosted by a Florentine, Filippo Argenti, one amongst the Wrathful that fight and battle one20another for eternity in the mire of the Styx.

The city of Dis begins Circle VI, the realm of the violent. The poets enter and find themselves in Circle VI, realm of the Heretics, who reside among the thousands in burning tombs. Dante stops to speak with two sinners, Farinata degli Uberti, Dante’s Ghibelline enemy, and Cavalcante dei Cavalcanti, father of Dante’s poet friend, Guido.

The poets then begin descending through a deep valley. Here they meet the Minotaur and see a river of boiling blood, the Plegethon, where those violent against their neighbors, tyrants, and war-makers reside, each in a depth according to their sin. Virgil arranges for the Ce ntaur, Nessus, to take them across the river into the second round of circle seven, the Suicides. Here Dante speaks with the soul of Pier delle Vigne and learns his sad tale. In the third round of Circle VII, a desert wasteland awash in a rain of burning snowflakes, Dante recognizes and speaks with Capaneus, a famous blasphemer. He also speaks to his beloved advisor and scholar, Brunetto Latini. This is the round held for Blasphemers, Sodomites, and the Usurers.

The poets enter Circle VIII, which contains ten chasms. The first chasm houses the Panderers and the Seducers who spend eternity lashed by whips. The second chasm houses the Flatters, who reside in a channel of excrement. The third chasm houses the Simonists, who are plunged upside-down in baptismal fonts with the soles of their feet on fire. Dante speaks with Pope Nicholas, who mistakes him for Pope Boniface. In the fourth20chasm, Dante sees the Fortune Tellers and Diviners, who spend eternity with their heads on backwards and their eyes clouded by tears. At the fifth chasm, the poets see the sinners of Graft plunged deeply into a river of boiling pitch and slashed at by demons. At the sixth chasm, the poets encounter the Hypocrites, mainly religious men damned to walk endlessly in a circle wearing glittering leaden robes. The chief sinner here, Caiaphas, is crucified on the ground, and all of the other sinners must step on him to pass. Two jovial friars tell the poets the way to the seventh chasm, where the Thieves have their hands cut off and spend eternity among vipers that transform them into serpents by biting them. They, in turn, must bite another sinner to take back a human form. At the eighth chasm Dante sees many flames that conceal the souls of the Evil Counselors. Dante speaks to Ulysses, who gives him an account of his death. At the ninth chasm, the poets see a mass of horribly mutilated bodies. They were the sowers of discord, such as Mahomet. They are walking in a circle. By the time they come around the circle, their wounds knit, only to be opened again and again. They arrive at the tenth chasm, the Falsifiers. Here they see the sinners afflicted with terrible plagues, some unable to move, some picking scabs off one another.

They arrive at the Circle IX. It is comprised of a giant frozen lake, Cocytus, in which the sinners are stuck. As they approach the well of circle nine, Dante believes that he sees towers in the distance, which turn out to be the Giants. One of the Giants, Antaeus, takes the poets on his palm and gently places them at the bottom of the well. Circle IX is composed of four rounds, each housing sinners, according to the severity of their sin. In the first round, Caina, the sinners are frozen up to their necks in ice. In the second round, Antenora, the sinners are frozen closer to their heads. Here Dante accidentally kicks a tr aitor in the head, and when the traitor will not tell him his name, Dante treats him savagely. Dante hears the terrible story of Count Ugolino, who is gnawing the head and neck of Archbishop Ruggieri, due to Ruggieri’s treacherous treatment of him in the upper world. In the third round, Ptolomea, where the Traitors to Guests reside, Dante speaks with a soul who begs him to take the ice visors, formed from tears, out of his eyes. Dante promises to do so, but after hearing his story, refuses. The fourth round of Circle IX, and the very final pit of Hell, Judecca, houses the Traitors to Their Masters, who are completely covered and fixed in the ice, and Satan, who is fixed waist deep in the ice and has three heads, each of which is chewing a traitor; Judas, Brutus, and Cassius.

The poet’s climb Satan’s side, passing the center of gravity, and find themselves at the edge of the river Lethe, ready to make the long journey to the upper world. They enter the upper world just before dawn on Easter Sunday, and they see the stars overhead. –zac