Week 2 Question 3

In the story "Desiree's Baby", by Kate Chopin, she tells of a story about marriage and how a child may affect a relationship and one's love for their significant other. In the story Desiree marries Armand Aubigny, who was infatuated with her beauty from the moment he laid eyes on her. Desiree had given birth to their son, who after some time had recognizably darker skin. Desiree unaware of her background ethnicity was blamed for their child's dark skin. Armand told her he didn't love her anymore and she left with the child. In the end Armand finds a letter from his diciest mother stating that she had the ancestry of darker skin color. If Armand had really truly loved Desiree the skin color of their child would make no difference. True love means you will do anything for your lover and stand by them through thick and thin. Armand just though he was in love with her when in reality he was in love with her looks not her as a person. A child shouldn't affect a marriage by any means if you truly love someone unless the child wasn't yours. Today a child could affect a marriage if maybe the parents were financially unstable.

Week 2 Question 1

Sylvia Plath's poem "Daddy" is described best as confessional poetry, since confessional poetry is known as when the writer is able to express their deep, hidden feelings freely by opening up and also writing about a confession they may have. In the poem "Daddy", Sylvia is able to express her feelings for her father. She talks about how her Father had left her and she is unable to truly identify herself. She blames him for her feelings of self unawareness. In reality though, her Father had died when she was only eight years of age. Therefore, her Father didn't leave her on purpose. She blames him for her unsuccessful marriage which probably was just a result of her resentment toward men leaving her. In the end of her time she commits suicide, which may have been from the feeling of loneliness and neglect.

week 2 question 4

i think that the narrator in the story, "Here I Stand Ironing," shares the parts of the story mostly from the mother's view to provide understanding and maybe some sympathy for both of the characters. the mother was a teenage mother with little or no help at all. she had to work to provide for the both of them and as a result Emily ended up staying with a babysitter and having to go live with her father. Emily resented her mother for not being there and acted out to get her attention and affection. the mother thought that she failed Emily because of Emily's behavior but she found a talent (comedy) that may help her to become successful. Emily did not think that her mother could see pass the ironing board but see does. on page 287 she says, "That she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron. she sees that her time and youth has passed but Emily still has time to have a better life and break any family cycles that she may have created.

Amanda - Week 2: Question 4

I do not think that the writer is a reliable narrator because as the mother of the child she is going to have a bias towards the child. During the story, the narrator recalls many positive aspects of her child, and the many hardships that the little girl had to endure. The narrator also has many excuses on why the events happened throughout her daughter’s life. Through the poem, we can feel her guilt at the life her daughter had but at the same time she is proud of the way her daughter turned out.

I think the narrator chose to share the parts of the story that she does because these events to her seemed significant in the upbringing of her daughter – and these events possibly directly relate to how her daughter turned out. I think at the same time the narrator shares these parts to try to explain her own actions in the circumstances at the time. Once again, I feel her guilt is coming through her and she is trying to justify her actions through the years.

Amanda - Week 2: Question 3

I think that Chopin is commenting on how a child affects a marriage. This couple was “in love” for all intents and purposes, but when the baby was born and started showing some color, Armand Aubigny regretted his impulsive decision to marry someone whose background was in question. To me, this just shows that Aubigny did not feel a true love for Desiree, but more of a lust or desire for her. The last paragraph shows Desiree’s love for Aubigny though, in her hope that he will never discover his true race. This baby did change this couple’s relationship, but I think Aubigny would have eventually felt the same way about Desiree even without the baby – it may have just taken more time.

Jessica Silva – Week 2, Question 1

Sylvia Plath's poetry is considered "confessional poetry". Do a bit of investigation, find out what you can about confessional poetry and its roots, and explain how this poem conforms to that genre.

Confessional poetry is defined as poetry that strips away all that the poet has been hiding behind, and exposes his or her private life. Before confessional poetry, the subject matter of poetry implicitly included little to no insight into the poet’s private life, and instead focused on public issues via the use of a detached persona. Plath is characterized as a confessional poet partially because of her discussion of her recurrent suicide attempts and life experiences overall: in “Daddy,” Plath confesses her feelings of hatred and fear towards her father, while also implying that she married “a model of [him].” Plath’s father died when she was only eight years old, and she is thought to have adored him as a young girl, leaving the reader to question where her hatred could possibly stem from.  “Daddy” is a prime example on confessional poetry because it exposes Plath’s feelings of abandonment, and how her father’s death left her at odds with his memory – to the extent of likening the two to a German Nazi and a Jew. However, the majority of Plath’s hatred seemingly stems from the idea that she felt as though her father left her to claw through life searching for someone similar to her father just for the sake of filling the void, and how in the end, “if I’ve killed one man, I’ve killed two”: she had to distance herself not only from her husband, but from the memory of her father in order to be at peace. 

Week 2, question 3

I think that what Chopin is saying about marriage or the start of a family is that it can reveal some of the most deepest secrets about both the husband and the wife. Marriage can expose who a person really is. Being a father or a mother is a lot of responsibility and sacrifice. In this this case Armand was unwilling to sacrifice his pride and social status for his family.

I believe that Chopin is not commenting on how a child affects marriage because it was Armand who affected the marriage. The baby may have brought out the worst in Armand, but it was not the baby's fault that the marriage fell apart. It was Armand's prejudices that led to his anger and unhappiness which caused the marriage end. Armand must have never truly loved Desiree in the first place. If he did it would not matter if the baby was colored.