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Post by Mr. Thomas on Feb 25, 2014 9:51:02 GMT -5
From the short story collection In Our Time (1925)
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Post by frankclarke on Feb 25, 2014 18:29:49 GMT -5
Francis Paul Clarke Junior
Mr. Sean Thomas
English Eleven
February 25, 2014
D. “After the armistice they agreed he should go home to get a job so they might be married.” We see here that this man and woman were feuding on whether to get married or not (as evident with the word “armistice”) Yet, they both came to a conclusion that if he got a job they could be married, we see the man wanting to marry more than the woman. None of this really makes sense. Yet, at the end of the story we see that he didn’t end up marrying her in the spring.
A. I’m not sure the purpose of this passage “In our Time”, however we can see eagerness. I also cannot tell if it’s modernist or not. We do see get a depression feeling from it, in consideration of the fact that they didn’t get married. We also don’t know why she didn’t want to marry him, she “was sorry, and she knew he would probably not be able to understand.”
E. We again see another military theme. In the first passage we see the man being referred to as the “Major.” And here, in the “Soldier’s Home”, “ He enlisted in the Marines in 1917.” This could be Ernest Hemingway reminiscent about his days in the military. Maybe it was he imagining himself in certain situations that maybe his fellow comrades were in. Who really knows, but it’s either a jealously factor, or his own experiences.
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Post by georgebaroudos on Feb 25, 2014 20:05:54 GMT -5
George Baroudos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
25 February 2014
A – In a Very Short Story Luz learns the hard way that life does not always go as expected. She realizes that God laughs at the man who plans. Some people do not think before they act and the ends up hurting them in the long run. Life is difficult in itself, as humans we must go with the flow ultimately and try and be the best person we can be fulfilling God’s work. It is difficult to stay focused and achieve this always, but we can try. Trying our hardest is all we can do. We must also not plan.
D – “There can be no idle hands in His Kingdom” (75). This shows the culture of the postwar era. Laziness was not accepted and everyone was expected to add his or her fare share. Whatever it took to prevent another catastrophe was going to be forced upon the people. Krebs had to go out and make a difference. That is what society warranted and ultimately needed. America had to put itself in a position to prosper. Prosperity would never come easy and it was expected that each individual would contribute. The constant fear remained, but the small things assuaged the fears.
I – The battle Krebs goes through when he comes home is a battle that soldiers post war always face. Many soldiers have a difficult time adjusting to regular life again. Krebs’ lying is a perfect example of that difficult adjustment. Krebs’ feels as if he has lost everything. Many soldiers in actuality lose everything. I happen to know two veterans who are homeless. Even through their hardship and even though they have a wide age gap they watch out for each other like brothers. That brotherhood remains in tact even through the bad times. Their donation to society is great and it is both a beautiful and heartbreaking thing.
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Post by eointunney on Feb 25, 2014 22:03:19 GMT -5
Eoin Tunney
Mr. Thomas
English 11
25 February 2014
D. In the short story “Soldier’s Home”, Harry Krebs seems like a war veteran who has no will to live. He is acting like a war veteran who has lost many friends and believes he doesn’t deserve to live. We can fully see this on page 76 when Krebs says to his mother, “I don’t love anybody.” This shows that he is extremely depressed and has no idea of what to do with himself. I believe Ernest Hemingway is using Krebs as a way to show how he really feels. It may not be portrayed in the same way, but it has the same meaning.
I. I really liked what George had to say about the quote, “There can be no idle hands in His Kingdom.” (75) I agree with what George says about this quote. It really does portray the way of life at this time. Everyone wanted to strive for the best and to live this perfect life. I believe that this quote can really relate to life at Xavier because there really is no time to be idle. If you want to do really well you have to stay focused and you can never be satisfied with the minimum.
C. I wasn’t really confused about the story A Very Short Story, but I did have some questions after reading it. I was wondering what the point of the story was because it doesn’t really seem to follow the same path as Soldier’s Home. I was also wondering if this story was based off of a real situation in Ernest Hemingway’s life.
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Post by bourdonm15 on Feb 25, 2014 22:27:17 GMT -5
Matthew Bourdon
Mr. Thomas
English 11
2/25/14
C. “A Very Short Story” is very a very weird story. The story starts with a man, presumably a soldier because they said he went to armistice/war, having a relationship with a nurse while he was in a hospital. The man leaves to go to America and the girl Luz stays in Pordenone to open a hospital. After the man leaves to America, Luz has an affair with another man in Italy and calls off the marriage the two were supposed to have in the spring. “She loved him as always, but she realized now it was only a boy and girl love. She hoped he would have a great career, and believed in him absolutely.” (Page 66) Could the “man/narrator” be Nick the person mentioned in the italicized portion before the story? Considering it depicts a war scene.
A. I related Krebs’ made-up stories in “Soldier’s Home” to that of those that want to be accepted. It seemed that since no one was paying attention to Krebs after he came back from the war, he decided to make up lies and get people to listen to him. This is definitely like teens and kids who want to feel accepted into a group or certain crowd so they don’t act like their normal, genuine selves. “Krebs found that to be listened to all he had to lie, and after he had done this twice he, too, had a reaction against the war and against talking about it.” (Page 69)
I. I agree with George’s comment on the quote on page 75. Around that time, there was no laziness as mentioned or time for “beating around the bush”. These people had to take fighting for our country seriously and with urgency.
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Post by scanley73 on Feb 25, 2014 22:31:15 GMT -5
C. Something I don’t understand in A Very Short Story is what is going on. Where are they? Why was one of them in the Hospital? Was one of them hurt? There are a lot of things that aren’t explained well so I don’t know what to say to them. Also the last part about the gonorrhea seemed really odd to me. What was the point of that? It seemed to really be unimportant and it doesn’t make sense why Hemingway would put that there. All together the story seemed like a cluster of oddities that don’t make total sense.
I. In response to George saying that we should not plan I disagree with that argument. I do not think that planning is a bad thing and that we shouldn’t do it. By not planning for something you aren’t prepared for anything. Only fools don’t plan anything because then there is always a chance that they will get stumped because they weren’t prepared. By planning you have something set and while things may not go how you wanted them to go you are somewhat prepared because you have looked into it already.
A. In Soldier’s Home when Kreb isn’t received as warmly as the others it reminds me of what I heard about when the Vietnam veterans came home. People weren’t calling them heroes or praising them. Obviously their families were happy they were back. However, the general public didn’t receive them the same way they received the veterans from World War II.
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Post by Sgarlato on Feb 25, 2014 22:42:36 GMT -5
Stephen Sgarlato
Mr. Thomas
English 11
2/25/14
A. “There was something about else. Vaguely he wanted a girl but he did not want to have to work to get her. He would have liked to have a girl but he did not want to spend a long time getting her”. I don’t understand this because if you like a girl as much as it seems he does then why wouldn’t he go after her. I feel like this is a lot of the guys today. They don’t want to work to get what they want.
I. I would like to agree with what George Baroudos says. He states that Luz finds out that life does not always go as expected. This is a great point to make because it is so true. Life in any situation kind of doesn’t turn out the way you wanted but maybe it is for the better. You never know what you’re going to get.
C. I feel like Ernest Hemingway can relate to this in some way. Obviously since he wrote he already does but like in a way that relates to his life. Maybe something happened in his life that caused him to wright about it.
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Post by johnmarano on Feb 26, 2014 17:32:19 GMT -5
B. I think the significance of this reading was the ending. Kreb literally avoids his parents. He doesn't go visit his dad and he basically leaves his mother. He does this because he wants to continue on with his life and make it go smoothly, but how does he have the nerve to block out his family. Also, when he says he doesn't love anyone. I felt that this was important because it really showed what the army did to him. It literally dehumanized him. I felt that it goes to show that doing something positive can have negative results or consequences.
C. I had few questions and I was confused on some things. How does him being in the army affect his personal relationship and opinion on women? I don't understand that because from my personal experiences, I know people who were in the army and are happily married. Also, what is wrong with him? How does he possibly tell his mother that he doesn't love her? I was so shocked. The army is suppose to teach you how to become a man, yet he doesn't love is own mom.
D. As I was reading the soldier story, there was one quote that really grabbed my attention because it reminded me what I have learned this year. "He did not want any consequences. He did not want any consequences ever again. He wanted to live along without consequences" (p 71). I kind of thought this was a little strange because he basically says that he doesn't want a women because they will just have bad results. I find it weird how he believes having a girl with just bring consequences. He even convinces himself that girls mean nothing. What shocks me is that he didn't even feel like working to get a girl. I guess he didn't even want consequences,
even if they were positive ones.
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Post by matthewsegarra on Feb 26, 2014 23:03:36 GMT -5
Matthew Segarra
Mr. Thomas
English 11
26 February 2014
A. “A Very Short Story" can be very relatable to some people. This is not to say people are continuously contracting gonorrhea, but are in similar situations as Luz. They delve into relationships that they are not ready for. They make poor decisions and end up regretting them in long run. They think it will be okay, but it just blows up in their face. Most relationships are set like this nowadays; main girl with a girl or two on the side or vice versa. Even down to the message break up,
D. This quote from “Soldier's Home" sums up the universal rule of succes, “There can be no idle hands in His Kingdom” (75). In order for us to succeed as a whole unit, we must all put in the work together. Especially right after a war, which was the context of this quote, all people have to join forces to make it work. The inactive do not get rewarded, only those who work for it will get the end result they search for.
I. I agree with Eoin, Krebs seems like he has nothing to live for. It is like he is a “hollow man". I think that is just what war does to you, it completely changes your view on life. He can't even love anymore.
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