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Chera Pupi
March 26, 2008
EL267
Paper Proposal

Inequality of all kinds (in literature and real life) is an interesting topic for me. I am quite passionate about gender inequality in particular; therefore, for my research paper, I will focus on the gender inequalities that appear in Susan Glaspbell’s, “A Jury of Her Peers,” and Earnest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises. Gender inequality plays a large role in both of these works in some form or another. Although the two works are similar in that they both contain gender inequalities, they differ in the genders that are portrayed or referred to as unequal. Through the men’s condescending and patronizing comments in “A Jury of Her Peers,” it is quite clear that women are the inferior sex, and therefore unequal to men in the men’s eyes; because of Bret’s unequal treatment by her ex-husband in The Sun Also Rises, she in turn has begun to treat men as unequal by using them for her own personal gain (sexual and material).
In this paper, I will argue and support with evidence from the text that the women in “A Jury of Her Peers” are treated as less than equals by the men in the story. I have found over 15 separate lines of dialogue that indicate this. From Minnie and John Wright, to the attorney, the sheriff, and Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, the women are consistently treated poorly and unequally by males. I will use the fact that the women for the majority of the story are (with the exception of Minnie) are referred to as “Mrs. [husband’s last name]” indicating that they are nothing more than property of their husbands. Similarly, the women only refer to their husbands as “Mr…” showing a level of distance and superiority of the men over the women. I will also use the condescending comments that the men make towards the women to support my claim.
I will argue that as a result of being treated as unequal herself by her husband in The Sun Also Rises, Bret has turned to treating men as unequals. I will use the fact that when Romero tries to “feminize” her, Bret immediately turns away and refuses to do what he asks to support this claim. Similarly, Bret uses men for whatever she happens to need at the moment. She has no regard for their feelings or for their basic humanity. She cheats on them in front of each other, and through an odd role reversal, takes on the stereotypical male role. She never has to justify herself or be concerned with her appearance, yet the men are constantly concerned with proving their masculinity, and are usually forced to do so as a result of her actions in some form.

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Comments from Instructor:

Good job Chera. You have designed a nice proposal. Others learn: based on what Chera has written, we now know (1) what texts she is going to write about, (2) what thematic or theoretical approach she is going to use, and (3) a few specifics about her argument.

My advice to Chera is to make ONE thesis statement that incorporates both of your works. It seems that you have two theses going right now, one for each work. Decide what you are really hypothesizing about both of the works as a pair and state that in your first paragraph. In the following paragraphs, tell me how, briefly, how you will argue in favor of your thesis (you don't have to develop those arguments yet, you'll do that in the paper).

For example, in both "Plato's Cave" and "The Matrix" a person who learns the truth about his existence tries to free his fellows from their bondage so that they too can be free. In both cases, the protagonist is met with resistance. There is a conflict between those who desire to know and those who do not wish to know. (continued)

(continued) *You see, that's the thesis. Then, in the following paragraphs--two might be enough--you'll briefly explain what evidence from the texts you'll present to "prove your case" (imagine that this is a court case):

In "Plato's Cave," the person was (?) and he did this (page number), that (page number), and the other (page number) to try and help his own kind. At (?) he was met with this kind of resistance (page number) and with (?) he had this kind of conflict (page number), and finally he had to....

In "The Matrix," repeat with similar logic...

...Together, what all this means/signifies is....(your conclusion).

So, just tweak yours a bit and everyone else do the same!

~Lee Hobbs

Samantha Graham
March 25, 2008
EL 276
Proposal

Often times, popular books are adapted into major motion pictures because of the prosperity of the book. However, motion pictures do not portray the book exactly as written. In my paper I will discuss the various techniques used in transforming adaptations from the book to the screen through editing, adding, and substituting elements. "Everything is Illuminated," written by Johnathan Safran Foer, is one such adaptation that was created by Liev Schreiber in 2005.

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Samantha, I'm afraid you're going to have to be a lot more specific here.

See the advice I gave your classmate on the blog and let me know what elements you plan to concentrate on difference in structure? Reinterpretation of characters? Missing plot elements? Added plot elements? Different beginnings, endings?, etc. Dialogue differences?

Try again and I'll repost your changes on the blog (but not on Turnitin.com)

Lee Hobbs

Candice S
26 March 2008
EL 267
Research Paper Proposal
One of the reasons I am a fine arts major is because I believe that we serve society in a very powerful an inflicting manner, through the soul. In my field of music, and especially in my forte of being a vocalist, it is the constant challenge of the performer to delve into her or her spiritual self. Therefore, the topic I will examine will be the spiritual and religious aspects of the works “One” by Metallica and “Everything is Illuminated” by Jonathan Safran Foer. However, I’m going to argue this topic as it relates to secularization of society. There are very obvious examples of religious spirituality in modern American literature, despite the unfortunate secularization of society.
First, I plan to make my statement and then I will showcase some simple but powerful examples of the secularization of society. For example, I will use the elimination of prayer in public schooling and the elimination of the name “God” in many public respects (i.e. money, the Pledge of Allegiance).
Next, I plan to make the connection that God is alive and well in modern American Literature and fine arts. First, I’ll make the general Christian argument as stated in the pleading for death throughout the song “One” by Metallica. Then I will examine the statements made from the Jewish standpoint in “Everything is Illuminated” by Safran Foer. An example being in the letter on page 25 when Jonathan’s faith is tested by his friend Alexander.
My next two arguments will go hand in hand as I will first explain how the beliefs of the protagonists, though challenged, keep them together and keep them alive and searching. Then I will explain that these are statements from the authors to the world. It would seem that in a secularized society religion cannot die in the fine arts. I will also ue some small examples that these are not the only two examples of this idea, there are many more.

Defined as being unfair in action or treatment, injustice encompasses every facet of a social, political, and economic structure. Injustice is in direct opposition with ethical and moral reasoning, which provokes in me a compassion toward those who have suffered injustices based on attributes, innate or not, such as race, class, gender, religion, or other defining difference that can constitute a bias.

Injustices noted in The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway can be compared with those seen in Langston Hughes’ “On The Road” to show that no matter the situation or location, individuals can be treated unfairly. Analyzing some of the injustices in the two works will likely result in similarities in treatment of characters who live under distinctly different circumstances. Readers will be able to deduce that injustices are not reserved for any certain group or class of people.

Hallie Geary
American Lit

Proposal
Both Kosinski’s Painted Bird and Welty’s “A Worn Path” reveal social inequality between ethnicities; however, they use contrasting differences to show that the ethnicities are all truly equal. Kosinski contrasts the poor, rural German farmers against the Kalmuks and the Red Army/Russian Soviets (it is nearly impossible to use the Jewish ethnicity in this comparison because so few appear in the novel that it is difficult to tell if their treatment would have differed from the main characters, and also it is difficult to tell if the main character’s differed much from that of any loner or vagabond at that time). Welty compares a poor African-American woman to the white ethnicity.
Both stories show a subjugated ethnicity that is highly superstitious, but contrasts this with the atheist or apathetic ideas of the higher class. The subjugated ethnicity is shown as unsophisticated, brutish, and unintelligent, but the higher ethnicity is shown as immoral and capable of extreme violence. Both ethnicities are shown as capable of both acts of kindness and acts wickedness. In the end, both stories leave the reader with a feeling that neither ethnicity is actually any better or different than the other. All of the contrasting differences only emphasize the equality of the ethnicities, showing that only strength and the power to subjugate another causes any ethnicity to be better than any other.

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Hallie,

What clues in the text lead you to believe that the peasants are Germans? Also, what clues lead you to believe that the protagonist (not the author) is Jewish rather than Romany?

You'll need to explain that since it’s a specific about a really unspecific experience of a little boy.

Work on it a little more and repost to the English blog (don't worry about turnitin.com)

Lee Hobbs

Heather Stull
Mr. Lee Hobbs
EL267.01
March 26, 2008

In “The Painted Bird”, author Jerzy Kosinski documents his experiences as an abandoned child during World War II. “Everything is Illuminated”, a novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, focuses also on World War II. The protagonist, named for the author, travels to the Ukraine to find a woman whom he believes may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Throughout both novels there exist many conflicts. In my paper, I will be focusing on a conflict that three of the major characters face, characters through whom I believe that when examined, will provide fertile ground for a deeper understanding of the experiences of both of the authors and what they were trying to communicate through writing these novels. The focus will be on Man vs. Society conflict influenced by ethnic/racial prejudices.

From “The Painted Bird” I will be focusing on the protagonist, a representation of Mr. Kosinksi himself. I will examine the impact of his experiences during the war… how his appearance influenced the behavior of his caretakers, and how these experiences were central in shaping his view of himself and the world he lived in. I will be studying two characters from “Everything is Illuminated”. The first will be Jonathan Safran Foer. I will examine the difficulties he faces on his journey to discover his grandfather’s past. What challenges does he face as a Jew in contemporary Eastern Europe and are there any connections between what his grandfather dealt with and his current day struggles? The second character will be Brod, Jonathan’s great, great, great (etc.) grandmother who was rescued from the river of the local shtetl. I will examine how her differences alienate her from the rest of the shtetl and how this impacts her decisions and the course of her life, ultimately affecting Jonathan’s life. Other characters such as the gypsy girl and the three generations of Alex’s (two of which accompany Jonathan on his journey) will be used as supporting examples of the effects of these conflicts/prejudices on relationships.

Aside from the novels, I will be consulting interviews with both Jonathan Safran Foer and Jerzy Kosinski. Also, outside sources of Jewish memoirs from those both imprisoned inside and outside of concentration camps will be used to further examine the circumstances of the parents in “The Painted Bird” , the other children housed with the boy at the end of the novel, and the members of the shtletl in “Everything is Illuminated”. Ultimately, I hope to find further connections between the two authors and the inspiration for these novels, and the consequences of such conflicts/prejudices on the adolescent mind and how it affects the children of generations to come.

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Heather, before you get too deep into this as you've laid out, "carefully" read the introduction to the Painted Bird again and then let me know how you will justify positioning the protagonist as a representation of the author.
In what way? Is this an autobiography? What does Kosinski himself say about it?

The interviews might slow down the paper and you, so remember that you don't need outside research for this. I'm really looking for what you can read from the text itself. What theory can you formulate and back up with textual examples. No outside research. You may, of course, use the introductions in the books we are using, etc. as long as they are cited correctly.

Definitely connect the stories. But try to do so with theme and/or theory.

Do that, rework it, and resubmit to the English Blog (don't worry about turnitin.com)

Best,

Lee Hobbs

A Pittsburgh native, August Wilson, wrote the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning playwright, “Fences”. The play takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the time that Hank Aaron led the Milwaukee Braves to the World Series beating the New York Giants. The main character of the story, Troy, was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues but was too old when African Americans were being drafted into the Major Leagues. He moved on with his life and works for the sanitation company lifting garbage cans into the dump truck. This step back from being a professional athlete depresses him. His son Cory, is offered to play baseball for a recruit coming into town. Troy does everything in his power to prevent Cory from having the same high hopes and expectations that he did with the Major Leagues in hopes that Cory will keep his job instead. A similar theme can be seen in the song, “One” by Metallica.
In the song, “One” by Metallica, the interpreted themes are of struggle, failure, and of deep depression. Troy experiences all of these emotions and hardships in the play, “Fences” and can be correlated with one another.
Through science and technology, the main characters’ bitterness towards athleticism in Wilson’s Play, “Fences” can be seen in parallel to the song “One” written by Metallica’s James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.

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Bob,

You've done a good job here in explaining struggle, failure, in Fences but not deep depression. I'll need to see your take on that.

You'll also need to develop in your proposal, how the themes of struggle, failure, and of deep depression are represented in the lyrics of One.

Finally, I can see how science and technology can be apparent in One, especially if you use Trumbo as a third research source, but how is science and technology apparent to "bitterness," as you say, in Fences?

You'll need to give the reader a better understanding of these issues I've addressed.

Rethink what you are really trying to say, give some specifics, and resubmit to the English-blog (but, not to turnitin.com).

Best,

Lee Hobbs

Thesis:

Through ones travels through life the daunting task of perceiving the truth is influenced by nature’s existence.

Proposal:

In all three texts: “Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, “One” by Metallica, and “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato all reveal some part of the destructive side of human nature. There has been an outside agent that has caused darkness to all characters. For instance in The One there was a bomb, in Worn Path there was disease and a struggle on a journey to help the loved one, and in Plato’s short story it is perception –vs- reality (shadows).
In this paper I will show and support how nature plays a role in the text. For instance within “The Worn Path” I will explain and prove that some sort of nature played a role in Phoenix’s journey. I will show that even though the protagonist is on a hard journey, love will conquer all. The perception is that she doesn’t stop to interpret everything around her. The reality is, is that she needs to get into town. I will also show and support nature’s role in “The One”. Within this short text by Metallica, it shows the destructive side of human nature. The perception of life has been lost and the reality was getting through the perception that he needs to die. It is the nature of warfare and destruction to all. I will also show nature’s role in Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”. Within the story, it shows how four men need something-they need freedom. The perception is that the shadows are real and that is all they know. The reality is that they are only shadows and there is more than meets the eye.

“Hallie,
What clues in the text lead you to believe that the peasants are Germans? Also, what clues lead you to believe that the protagonist (not the author) is Jewish rather than Romany?
You'll need to explain that since it’s a specific about a really unspecific experience of a little boy.
Work on it a little more and repost to the English blog (don't worry about turnitin.com)
Lee Hobbs”

I don’t know why I put Germany. I must have been thinking about the Nazis at the time.

The author is specifically pretty vague about the actual origins of the people that the narrator lives with, and there are clues that this might be to prevent anti-Polish feelings (which is where the author was). Some of it also comes from the narrator not knowing where he is, so it might be better to say “rural European peasants.”

The comparison I was thinking of making there wasn’t whether or not the author was Jewish (because that is never mentioned) simply that it’s assumed that he’s a Jew (or a Gypsie, which are also hated) but because there are so few Jews that have any interaction in the novel (other than the ones on the train and what the narrator is told about them, I believe only the little boy who fell off the train and the girl who got off the train had any specific information about their treatment) and so many of the peasants, I decided to run the comparison between the rustic, backwards peasant people and the technologically advanced armies. The peasant people are generally horrible to the narrator, beating and misusing him. However, some of their violence comes from their superstitions and their lack of education, and also the fact that they are a violent people in a violent world. Also, despite his cruel treatment, the narrator would not be alive without them, and they do prove themselves capable of love and devotion on several occasions (like hiding the narrator from people who would hurt them, Lekh’s love of Ludmila, and a few others). Meanwhile, the more technologically advanced Kalmuks come in and destroy and entire village, raping and pillaging in a gruesome chapter, proving that having more technology does not change the true nature of humans. And even the Red Army, although they are far more civilized and just than any of the others, proves that the true nature of humans is still present when the sharpshooter goes into the village and takes revenge for his friends by shooting random peasants. As the final nail in the coffin of this prediction, even the children are shown to be just as cruel and merciless as the adults, showing that in adversity humans will always resort to their basic, brutal instincts in order to survive.

Obviously Painted Bird has far more depth than “The Worn Path” but there is a feeling of equality in that story as well. The first instance that comes to mind is that the white man tells Pheonix that he would give her money if he had any and then drops a coin. Pheonix, in response, gets the man to chase the stray dog so that she can pick up the coin. This shows an equal ability to sin from both ethnicities.

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Ok, much better now! Thanks for clarifying that!

Best,

Lee Hobbs

"Journey"
In my research paper, I am going to relate the short story, “On the Road” by Langston Hughes, and the novel, “Johnny Got His Gun” by Dalton Trumbo, in the hopes of correlating the two by their similarities and parallelism of the representation of journey throughout their stories. In both of these stories, they display a lot of hidden meanings, metaphors, biblical personification, and an incredible amount of imagery to make you more insightful as to what the author wants you to think is going on. Both of these stories are very similar in a sense that “On the Road”, entails a man that is on a journey through town in hopes of finding shelter and food, and during his journey ends up meeting Jesus, much like the novel “Johnny Got His Gun”, where a man goes to war and experiences many hardships in hopes of informing other Americans of the dangers of war, and along his “Mind Journey”, he meets Jesus and asks him what he should do because of his unfortunate mishap in war where he looses all senses, touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste.

Thomas A.

T. Wineland
Am. Lit 1915-Present
Professor Hobbs
March 26, 2008

A dominant individual’s influence over another gender can create a false persona and force a person to put their real opinions and beliefs aside while they uphold the dominant individual’s values in order to please them. There are several examples of this in “A Jury of Her Peers” and many connections in Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave.” I plan to point out how another influence over us, especially of another dominant gender, can have a profound affect over how we view the world and how a realization of that hold can help us break free of the same, even if just for a moment, to express our true selves.

In both Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” and “A Jury of Her Peers” individuals begin to think and see things in a manner in which they previously were ignorant, and out of this new realization they make decisions based upon their own opinions and not that of what was previously told to them. In “A Jury of Her Peers” Mrs. Peters has portrayed a Sheriff’s wife and lived life based upon what was best for her husband and the law. However, she is forced to break out of the shell she has created for herself and do what she believes is the right thing even though it goes against everything she has been known to believe as true. The same happens in Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”. The individual who is freed from the cave can now see the truth and is able to step outside of what has always been known to be true and look at things differently, making decisions based upon his/her own decisions and not those thrust upon him/her.

Jodi Schweizer
March 26, 2006
EL 267
Paper Proposal

As an English Literature major working towards a teaching certificate, assignments that mesh together the beauty of the written form and the intricate workings of the human mind especially interest me. This is the main reason I chose to explore psychological issues evident in Earnest Hemmingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” and Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers”. Although “The Sun Also Rises” and “A Jury of Her Peers” were written at different places in time, both stories show the harmful effects caused by many psychological and mental defects, especially depression and post traumatic stress disorder.
In Hemmingway’s “The Sun Also Rises, ” there is plenty of evidence that numerous characters, including Jake, Lady Brett, and Robert Cohn exhibit classic signs of depression, including sleeplessness, alcohol dependency, crying, and extreme mood swings. Jake is also a perfect argument to the effects of post traumatic stress disorder after serving in the war. I will back up these findings by using both Hemmingway’s text, and numerous valid psychology sources.
“ A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell also exhibits sign of depression by the character Minnie Foster. Although the reader never sees Mrs. Foster, they are told of her pitiful plight by Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. The two women tell the reader of Minnie never being permitted outside to visit with her neighbors, of a beautiful singing voice that has been silenced by her husband, and the sad shell that remained of the beautiful woman after she married her husband. These signals by the other characters also clue in the reader to the fact that Minnie Foster was most likely being abused by her husband. This abuse will be the reason for Minnie Foster suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. These arguments will also be backed up using the text and numerous valid psychology sources.
After reading the arguments proving the authors use of psychological and mental disorders, the readers (members of the class and the professor) will easily be able to view the serious effects suffered by the characters, and consequently suffered by other characters due to their disorders .

Michelle Eaglehouse
March 26, 2008
American Literature
Research Proposal

Thesis: Although the decision to enter or begin a war is in the hands of people in power of nations, those that actually fight in the war or live in the countries involved with the war are greatly affected by the war in a number of ways, while those that decide to make the decision to enter a war are not affected in the same ways.
The main idea I want to cover in my paper from “Johnny Got His Gun” is that Joe was greatly affected by the war that he did not make the decision to fight in to begin with. He did not want to go to war at all, but he was drafted and did not have a choice but to go and fight. As a result of the war, he was stuck in a hospital bed for the rest of his life. He could not move, talk, eat, breath on his own, see, or hear anything. He was basically a vegetable although he still had cognitive capabilities. The people that decided to go to war walked into a room and gave him a medal for fighting in the war. They were still able to walk in the room without a problem, as far as he knew. These people that he was fighting for were not affected by the war in the same ways as him.
The main idea I want to cover in my paper from “The Painted Bird” is that the boy had to leave his whole family because he was not safe with them. He was Jewish and the Nazi people were killing all of the Jewish people at this time. As a result, the six-year-old boy was sent to a village where his parents thought he would be safe. He had to fend for himself once he arrived. He moved from village to village all of the time and was always trying to fit in. Since he had dark hair and eyes and light skin, the people could tell that he was Jewish and did not accept him. Although this boy did not fight in the war because he was too young, he was greatly affected by it. He did not decide for the country to go to war, but the war had a greater effect on him than it did for the officials that made the decision to go to war.

A common metaphor represented in Plato’s parable of the cave and Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery” is that isolation causes ignorance. In Plato’s parable, the people have been held captive in a cave their whole life, only seeing shadow puppets on a wall. They perceived these images to be reality. These people have been isolated from society their entire lives. Their minds have been confined to only knowing things they have learned from being inside of the cave. By that, the people are not willing to accept anything else as reality, causing ignorance toward the outside world. In Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”, the society which people live in is based on traditional values. These traditional values keep them isolated from advancing with the rest of the world. The people in the story believe in a lottery where a person is chosen to be stoned. They believe the lottery is a civil and normal tradition. Their isolation caused them to not realize that their traditional beliefs are barbarous and have become out-dated.

Chris King
3-26-08
English Lit.
Proposal
I chose the Novel “Everything is Illuminated” and the short story “Everyday Use” with religion/spirituality as the focus. I feel this is something that can greatly improve my perspectives on religion considering I come from a very religious background. I believe it will show both pros and cons in different situations and circumstances. Also, I feel this will be interesting for me, as a Christian, and not as a Jew
How does religion (Judaism in particular) impact Jonathan’s views during the trip he is on? Judaism and the holocaust obviously have a lot to do with one another. I feel that Jonathan’s trip, to find out his families’ history, was impacted by religion. I will discuss how it impacts his journey. Also, I will be discussing the religious title Jonathan hold as a “Jewish-American” and how that impacts his life/journey. Does that mean something different to Jonathon than it did for others during the holocaust? I will also touch upon the three different stories with in the novel. How does religion play, or not play, into each of the stories. Is it predominant throughout? Does it impact the plot line? Impact the characters? If so, how?
Does not possessing any religious views affect your life style and situations that are encountered? The family (mother and two daughters) doesn’t seem to share any religious views, which could be considered as a religious view in itself. I have always been reinforced with Christian views, but I think I can show how this family’s nonreligious views impacts their life compared to how it may if they did have religious views. Christianity, for example, supports the views of honesty, faith, trust, etc... If the mother imposed these view on her children, would their lives be different? Would Dee’s boyfriend be a different person? Also, let’s say the Maggie, for example, was the one who imposed religious views, would she be an outcast in her family? Would she better the family? Could she offer “betterness” to the family? All of these different situations are ones that I will talk about. They will show/describe the pros and cons of both believing/beholding a religious view, or not.
I will argue my points through references I use these to support my findings.

Proposal-----

Throughout reading the “The Painted Bird” by Jerzy Kosinski, I have noticed a commonality between it and “Johnny Got His Gun” by Dalton Trumbo. Both of these novels involve war and dramatically develop the consequences that come with war. More specifically, each of these novels describes a person’s fight with war. “Johnny Got His Gun” involves an adult male who has fought in the war and suffered extreme consequences. “The Painted Bird” is about a young boy who is not fighting in the war but does face cruel consequences because of the war. In each of these novels, war is represented as a violent and destructive monster that affects all people, whether they fight in the war or not.
For my research paper, I will write about the outcomes of war that are represented in each of the novels, whether it be a direct consequence from fighting in the war or an indirect consequence that is felt outside of the battle itself.

Shantavia Burchette
March 26, 2008
EL267
Paper Proposal

Great Literature takes you on a journey. A journey that either moves through the story or through the characters mind. This can be seen in Art, Novels, Poetry, and Short Stories. The journey doesn't have to be an obvious one but it will leave the reader with a sense of beginning and end. I would like to analyze "journey" in a sense of time and placement in reference to Langston Hughes' "On the Road" and the play we will read. I think that time can refer to years or hours and placement can refer to setting or mental state.
This ties into "On the Road" perfectly because Sargeant goes on both a mental journey and a physical journey. It will be interesting to see how these two works will tie together in the end.

Paper Proposal

Many times when I read a novel, I find it hard to differentiate what is actually happening to what is a memory. Sometimes it is also difficult to fully understand metaphors or hidden meanings without visual aid. It is easier to define these things when reading for pleasure but squeezing reading in for class occasionally leaves holes in the reader’s understanding.
I will be using the novel “Johnny got His Gun” by Dalton Trumbo along with the movie counterpart. I will focus on sections of the book which contain metaphors/foreshadowing/etc. and compare it to that section in the movie. I would also like to particularly focus on the flashbacks, dream sequences and the section of the book/movie which feature Jesus Christ. I found the section about Jesus very interesting after watching the movie. There were many visuals in the movie which gave a greater understanding to that section of the book.

In the two short stories, Everyday Use by Alice Walker and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, there is a representation of materialism. When one is materialistic, they become greedy; wanting something and maintaining it so others will be jealous. Walker presents materialism in the form of the character Dee and Jackson presents materialism in the form of the whole town, in my opinion.
In my paper, I will write about the similarities and differences of materialism in both short stories; as well as comparing them to the movie Mean Girls- which id the epitome of materialism. I think I will be able to shed an interesting light by comparing the materialism found in the text with the materialism found in the movie. I will help the reader gain a better sense of materialism and how it is prevalent in today’s society and how it can relate all throughout history, shown in these two short stories, which were written in 1948 and 1973.

For my research paper, I will be discussing the representations of reality in August Wilson’s Fences. The main character Troy Maxson has several characteristics that represent reality. Troy is in his forties and has become a very bitter man. He has experienced many hardships in his lifetime that have made him become this way. Because of his bitterness, Troy tends to push the people who love him the most away and also have an affair. These are all representations of things that happen in real life. In my paper I will try to compare these situations to real life.

One complimentary conflict in Earnest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” and Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a main character in each story desires something that ultimately they can not receive. Realistically this is a conflict that people confront everyday of their life. Interestingly enough, Jacob from “The Sun Also Rises” and Dee from “Everyday Use” are completely different characters with completely different outcomes. However, both characters face the same conflict on some level.
Jacob wants throughout the entire story to be with his love Brett. Whereas Dee desires more materialistic needs in wanting a quilt that were constructed by her grandmother. Even though Jacob and Dee desire two totally different items both are shallow to an extent. Jacob does himself no justice by following Brett around like a puppy for nearly the entire book hoping for something that will never be because of his impotence. Whereas Dee desires something that was promised to his younger sister and condescends her sisters needs and use for the quilt.
Jacobs’s shallowness lies in the simple fact that he is doing himself no good longing for Brett and Dee makes herself look like a shallow fool. In the end neither Jacob nor Dee get what they desire and in Jacobs case he realizes at the end of the book it is for the better. Dee, on the other hand, doesn’t realize that it was better her sister Maggie received the blanket for practical reasons and in the end would serve Dee no more purpose than a trophy.

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Erin, as with all reading responses submitted to the English-Blog for EL 267, you must first submit the response to the proper space on www.turnitin.com (the date for which it was assigned). To get credit, the response must be present in both places by the deadline. Submissions to only one will not receive credit, so beware!

Joe Bonham, a blind, deaf man with neither a face nor limbs attempts to communicate with the outside world in hopes of teaching others about the outcome of war. Sargeant, an African American homeless man tries to find a place to sleep for the evening, while attempting to knock down the racial barriers he is faced with. Two men, with hardly any obvious similarities, both share their journeys as they overcome challenging obstacles.
Both these men are treated poorly by society, and are hardly heroic. However, they embark on a journey to beat the odds and to be that change in the world. Joe hopes to educate others, and frighten families enough to hold their children and loved ones back from entering the war. Sargeant wants justice and equality, and is willing to fight for what he believes in and stand up for himself.
Joe and Sargeant undergo significant changes in characters. Sargeant follows all of the rules and behaves humanely. He politely knocks at the Reverends door, asking for help, however is shunned immediately when the door is shut in his face. Expecting the rejection, he moves on until he sees two church doors. When the doors are locked, he attempts to pull them open, however fails. His breaking point occurs when the police pull at him, demanding him to let go. They beat him until he blacks out, which is when the threshold of adventure is crossed from the ordinary world to the special world. Sargeant meets Jesus, who becomes a companion for him to talk to about his problems. He is not the almighty Jesus as Christians believe; he has no advice or knoweldge to instill in Sargeant. In attempts to get away to a new place, Sargeant jumps onto a train, but is beat again until he wakes up. He is prison being beat by the guards. Although it appears as though he is defeated, he does not give up. He knows the battle is not over for him.
Joe wakes up in the dark, unable to open his eyes because they are no longer a part of his face. After a few moments he realizes that he has no face. He later learns that he has no arms and legs, and solely consists of a midsection, neck, and back of the head. All he has left are his memories in which he flashes back to regularly. Joe feels helpless and useless. He feels dead even though he is alive. His mind races and memories haunt him. His threshold to adventure is crossed when Joe is successful in learning how to develop a concept of time. He becomes ecstatic and proud of his successes, and begins to embark on a new adventure. Joe practices Morse code every time a person enters the room, hoping he/she will understand. His new nurse becomes his ally, as she does everything possible to understand what he is trying to communicate. She brings him in a man who understands Morse code to communicate with Joe. The man asks Joe what he wants, and when Joe explains that he wants to be an exhibit to teach others about the outcome of war, the man explains that it would be against regulations. Joe is defeated, left there hopeless to die.

Amanda S.

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The answers to the midterm examinations (both versions) and scans of the research proposal sign-up sheets (the sheet for topics and the sheet for theories) are all on J-Web in the section "Handouts assigned on 12 March 2008." Pay special attention if you were absent that night and missed the details of the assignment (e-mail me with your choice[s]).

The discussion questions we covered in class are also there. Remember, I won't be "collecting" the questions for you anymore. For the final exam, be sure you are taking notes in class, reading the blogs, and keeping your own list of questions asked, whether they are in a quiz or in group/class activities.

*NOTE* The deadline for this assignment has now passed. Any comments listed below are *ONLY* for the reposting of proposals that I asked to be revised. Any posted below that missed the deadline will not get credit for the assignment. Please note, however, that you cannot turn in a final paper without doing a proposal. So, even if you missed your chance to get credit for it, you *STILL* have to do one.

A Pittsburgh native, August Wilson, wrote the Pulitzer and Tony
Award winning playwright, "Fences". The play takes place in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania at the time that Hank Aaron led the Milwaukee Braves to the
World Series beating the New York Giants. The main character of the story,
Troy, was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues but was too old when
African Americans were being drafted into the Major Leagues. He moved on
with his life and works for the sanitation company lifting garbage cans into
the dump truck. This step back from being a professional athlete and
having to settle with a "Joe" job depresses him. His son Cory, is offered
to play baseball for a recruit coming into town. Troy does everything in
his power to prevent Cory from having the same high hopes and expectations
that he did with the Major Leagues in hopes that Cory will keep his job
instead. Similar themes of struggle, failure, and depression can also be
seen in the song, "One" by Metallica.
In the song, "One" by Metallica, the interpreted themes are of
struggle and deep depression. In the song, "One" , Metallica describe the
feelings and struggles with everyday life of the main character of the song,
as well as book and movie "Johnny Get Your Gun; a World War I veteran who
had his ears, throat, sight, arms and legs blown off by a land mine. Such
struggle, where he had failed on several occasions to accomplish some of his
daily goals. This is based off of the book, the movie, as well as the
interpretation of the song. Suffering from deep depression is easily seen
in "Fences". It is also seen and well understood that the veteran would
suffer from great depression as well. Evidence of depression in the song is
seen in the refrain, "hold my breath as I wish for death, oh please God wake
me..." Troy experiences all of these emotions and hardships in the play,
"Fences" and can be correlated with one another.
Through the advances of science and technology, the main characters'
bitterness towards athleticism and evidence of depression and struggle, and
in Wilson's Play, "Fences" can be seen in parallel to the song "One" written
by Metallica's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. This connection is seen as
the advancements in technology and science, the fields too, as if a person,
had undergone struggle and depression as the veteran and Troy had endured.

Inequality of all kinds (in literature and real life) is an interesting topic for me. I am quite passionate about gender inequality in particular; therefore, for my research paper, I will focus on the gender inequalities that appear in Susan Glaspbell’s, “A Jury of Her Peers,” and Earnest Heminway’s, The Sun Also Rises. Gender inequality plays a large role in both of these works in some form or another. Although the two works are similar in that they both contain gender inequalities, they differ in the genders that are portrayed or referred to as unequal. Through the character’s actions and dialogue, it is quite clear that women in “A Jury of Her Peers,” and men in The Sun Also Rises are indeed unequal to the opposite gender within the individual stories, and are somehow inferior.
In this paper, I will argue and support with evidence from the text that the women in “A Jury of Her Peers” are treated as less than equals by the men in the story. I have found over 15 separate lines of dialogue that indicate this. From Minnie and John Wright, to the attorney, the sheriff, and Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, the women are consistently treated poorly and unequally by males. I will use the fact that the women for the majority of the story are (with the exception of Minnie) are referred to as “Mrs. [husband’s last name]” indicating that they are nothing more than property of their husbands. Similarly, the women only refer to their husbands as “Mr…” showing a level of distance and superiority of the men over the women. I will also use the condescending comments that the men make towards the women to support my claim.
I will argue that as a result of being treated as unequal herself by her husband in The Sun Also Rises, Bret has turned to treating men as unequals. I will use the fact that when Romero tries to “feminize” her, Bret immediately turns away and refuses to do what he asks to support this claim. Similarly, Bret uses men for whatever she happens to need at the moment. She has no regard for their feelings or for their basic humanity. She cheats on them in front of each other, and through an odd role reversal, takes on the stereotypical male role. She never has to justify herself or be concerned with her appearance, yet the men are constantly concerned with proving their masculinity, and are usually forced to do so as a result of her actions in some form.

*Is the thesis statement better now?

Heather Stull
Mr. Lee Hobbs
EL267.01
Revision 4-2-08

In “The Painted Bird”, author Jerzy Kosinski tells the story of an abandoned child during World War II. “Everything is Illuminated”, a novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, focuses also on World War II. The protagonist, named for the author, travels to the Ukraine to find a woman whom he believes may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Throughout both novels there exist many conflicts. I will be focusing on a conflict that three of the major characters face. The type of conflict is Man vs. Society influenced by ethnic/racial prejudices.

From “The Painted Bird” I will be focusing on the protagonist himself. I will discuss the difficulties that this character faces as a result of being “different”. Does he try to change himself to fit in? Under what circumstances is he accepted, if at all, by the other villagers? Also, when he is reunited with his own family, is he able to act as before or has he been forever altered by his experience as an outcast?
I will be studying two characters from “Everything is Illuminated”. The first will be Jonathan Safran Foer. I will examine the difficulties he faces on his journey to Eastern Europe. How is he received by his guides? What difficulties does he face on this journey as a foreigner? Secondly, I will look at Jonathan’s translator, Alex. Is he an “outsider” in any way? What difficulties doe he face throughout the novel? What is the reason behind his strong bond with Jonathan? Although these characters exist in two different time periods, the root of their conflict is the same. Ultimately, I hope to uncover similar responses from these characters to the struggles that they encounter.

7 April 2008
EL 267
Research Paper Proposal (revised)
In my paper I will be exploring how Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth and the theme of journey is paralleled in the novel “Johnny Got His Gun” by Dalton Trumbo and “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse. I will be assessing the similarities between these two works in how they are similar in the journey to find enlightenment, and how enlightenment has different definition for both of them. The universal idea of journey brings many protagonists to their personal enlightenment, and the journey in each work is very similar and can be modeled in Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth.
I plan to split the paper up into three parts like the novel, Siddhartha. The first part of the book refers to Siddhartha attempting to find enlightenment through him and his friend’s joining of a group of nomadic people. I will compare this to the relationship with Joe’s family and friends back home. The first section will focus on the use of family and friend relationships as a catalyst to enlightenment. I will use this as the departure phase of the journey.
The second part of the book is based on “the temptation of the woman” and I will use this as a comparison between Siddhartha and his lover and Joe and the many women he encounters in the book. I will examine how Joe’s relationship with Kareen, the nurse, and other minor female characters compares to Siddhartha’s love interest and compare the relationships to the monomyth. This part will be the first half of the initiation phase.
The last part of the book is about the self- finding enlightenment. Therefore, I will look at the Joe’s path to enlightenment and compare it to Siddhartha’s path. Joe’s path to enlightenment was very different in that he was forced away and it was not his choice to find enlightenment through seclusion. Siddhartha’s path was chosen, but they both reach an end that is very different literally, but symbolically similar. This last part I will use as an example of the end of the initiation phase and the beginning of the return phase.

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23 April 2008

Ok class, the results of your new assignment (as discussed in class tonight) will now be displayed below this remark. By now, your thesis should be much more refined than it was in your proposals.

Dr. Hobbs

Amanda Farabaugh
April 24, 2008

Thesis:
Perceiving the truth is through nature’s existence in a literature text.

3 Main Points:

Within both texts: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” and Metallica’s “One”, both show nature symbolizing something else within their texts. Eudora used the world around Phoenix as ways to bring out natural symbolism. I will show that they do exist within the text. For example, when Welty writes that the worn path (something in nature) actually symbolizes the natural symbolisms that surround her on her journey. Each natural symbolism has another meaning behind what is written and I will show throughout the paper how nature plays a part in natural symbolisms.

In Metallica’s “One”, natural symbolisms are in the form of his lyrics. James Hatfield uses symbols to describe the protagonist’s feelings. For example when he writes that he is back in the womb, this actually symbolizes without being able to move, speak, hear, see it’s like there is a womb that is covering him; like an unborn child in the womb. I will show the symbolisms throughout the text and their meanings.

Also within the texts nature’s role is also through perception verses reality. Both characters in the two texts are trying to deal with reality that surrounds them, while only being able to perceive things as they see them. I will show and explain how perception verses reality affects natures role in texts.

Thesis: Brett and Rose, though total opposite in character, play very strong feminist roles in The Sun Also Rises and Fences.
Argument: Their Beliefs
How they live their lives
The period of time they lived in
And the choices they make

Blog 8
Thesis: The universal idea of journey brings many different types of protagonists from both eastern and western literature to their personal enlightenment, and most of these journeys can be traced through Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth.
Arguments:
1. Both of the protagonists try to use friendship as a catalyst to enlightenment through the departure phase. This idea fails for both of them, but the experiences help them grow as a person and they learn from them.
2. In the initiation phase both of the protagonists turn to the temptation of women and peace with the father. This idea, again helps the protagonists grow as people, but it does not aid them in their path to enlightenment.
3. In the return phase of both Joe and Siddhartha’s Journey they find enlightenment through the peace and contentment within themselves.

In both The Painted Bird and Everything Is Illuminated, the characters are sometimes pulled together by the violent acts of racism, but far more often their lives are disrupted and pulled apart.

Alex and Jonathan’s friendship is born from the discovery that they share the same heritage. The boy of The Painted Bird, despite being reunited with his parents, is never able to return to his former self after his experiences during the war. His close relationship with Gavrila and Mitka serve to further complicate the situation.

The boy of The Painted Bird is separated from his home and family due to an extreme cultural prejudice.
Jonathan must journey away from his country to trace the history of his ancestors who were forced to flee because of their ethnicity.

Ethnic conflict keeps the boy of The Painted Bird alienated from the peasants and Brod, from Everything is Illuminated, from the members of the shtetl. Both suffer acts of violence because of their ethnicity.

Thesis:
Audiences will often comment that the movie is not as “good” as the book because the movie adaptation, in this case, does not fully illuminate the characters by just using illuminating effects and leaving out the past events that lead to the illumination.

1.) The movie does not even include most of the major flashbacks from the movie, making the the flashbacks that are incorporated difficult to understand.
2.) There are specific flash backs not included that diminish the illumination of not only Alex's grandfather, but Jonathan's grandfather as well.
3.) Even when the illumination effect is used in the movie, the illumination is still lacking as the viewers do not know the entire back story to how the character became illuminated.

Inequities noted in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises may be compared with those seen in Langston Hughes’ “On the Road” to show that no matter the situation or location, individuals can be treated unfairly.

Injustice is in direct opposition with ethical and moral reasoning yet is still a a composite characteristic of many. Injustices are not reserved as a form of treatment toward only the downtrodden and less fortunate; inequities based on gender and religion are often seen as a part of daily life.

The themes of gender bias and religious intolerance will be discussed as found within the two texts.

Chera Pupi
April 30, 2008
Paper Thesis and Arguments

THESIS: Through the character’s actions and dialogue, it is quite clear that women in “A Jury of Her Peers,” and men in The Sun Also Rises, are indeed unequal to the opposite gender within the individual stories, and are somehow inferior.

MAIN ARGUMENTS:
1. The men constantly degrade the women’s livelihood and intelligence in “A Jury of Her Peers.”
2. Women do not have their own identities in “A Jury of Her Peers.”
3. Women’s husbands treat them as property.
4. Every instance in which the men and women are together, the men are making fun of the women.
5. Brett totally controls the men in her life.
6. Brett has no regards for the basic humanity of the men.
7. Brett never has to justify her actions, but the men do.
8. Brett manipulates and degrades Jake.

Joe Bonham, a blind, deaf man with neither a face nor limbs attempts to communicate with the outside world in hopes of teaching others about the outcome of war. Sargeant, an African American homeless man tries to find a place to sleep for the evening, while attempting to knock down the racial barriers he is faced with. Two men, with hardly any similarities both share journeys as they overcome challenging obstacles, as outcasts of society. Joe and Sargeant embark on their journeys to beat the odds and to be that change in the world. They are both rejected, silenced, and stopped, but they remain strong willed as they attempt to break through barriers.

Amanda S.

Thesis: Those that fight in the war and those that live in countries that are involved with the war are greatly affected by the war, which is portrayed in both Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo and The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski.

Points covered:
1. Joe lost his legs, arms, and face due to the war. He was greatly affected by the war even though he did not want to fight in it.
2. The boy had to leave his parents and was on his own traveling from village to village. He did not fight in the war but was greatly affected as well.
3. War will effect people no matter if they are in the war or if they are outside the war.

Representation of Journey in “On the Road” and “Johnny Got His Gun”
A journey in a story is a process that someone must go through, easy or difficult, to get to a common objective or goal. My objective is to relate the short story, “On the Road” by Langston Hughes, and the novel, “Johnny Got His Gun” by Dalton Trumbo, in the hopes of correlating the two by their similarities and parallelism of the representation of journey throughout the two stories. In both of these stories, they display a lot of hidden meanings, metaphors, biblical personification, and an incredible amount of imagery as to guide the reader in the direction that the author would like one to believe is happening.

Thomas A.

Thesis: In Jonathans Safran Foer’s novel “Everything is Illuminated” and Alice Walkers’s short story “Everyday Use”, religion is a central theme. By comparing the religion in each story, to one’s own religion, it is possible to not only see the differences, but also that even those who do not practice an organized religion are practicing their own beliefs in their own way.
Three main points:
1 The Uprights vs. the Slouchers- what caused the split and why they are still split.
2. Alex’s Impression of Jewish People- Alex has a vision of Jewish people that is not correct. He assumes Jonathan looks like a “Jew”.
3. Showing of “non-religion” in “Everyday Use” by choosing who will get the quilt. The Family does not hold and religious view, this hinders them as a family.

Revised Thesis:

The outcomes of war are represented in Johnny Got His Gun and The Painted Bird, whether it is a direct consequence from fighting in the war or an indirect consequence that is felt outside of the battle itself.

My thesis is "Isolation of his/her mind causes their perception of reality to be very vague and can be identified in the short stories "The Allegory of the Cave" and "The Lottery", the novel The Giver as well as our reality."

The arguments that are presented in my paper are (1)Seclusion of one's mind causes lack of knowlege. (2) Finding out the truth may cause a great deal of pain. (3) Isolation causing ignorance is present in our world today.

Am. Lit II
Revised Thesis and Three Arguments

Thesis:
Both Jerzy Kosinski’s The Painted Bird and Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” reveal a definite difference in the power of two ethnicities; however, both also reveal equality between the two by contrasting their views on civility and religion, and by the different outcomes of the main character’s journey.

Argument 1:
Although the two ethnicities in both books have different levels of power, neither ethnicity is civilized and both are capable of acts of immorality and savagery.

Argument 2:
Although one ethnicity uses religion/superstition and one uses order, both ethnicities use a ritual to gain a feeling of safety and control over their own lives.

Argument 3:
The main characters of both stories see flaws in both cultures, and both characters must choose whether they are willing to return to their home with this knowledge.

Although The Sun Also Rises and “A Jury of Her Peers” were written at different historical places in time, both stories show the harmful effects caused by many psychological and mental defects that humans experience, especially depression and post traumatic stress disorder.

The first argument in proving this thesis is that Lady Brett and Jake, characters from "The Sun Also Rises" both suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following WWI. Secondly, Lady Brett and Jake also both suffer from depression in conjunction with alcoholism. Finally, the character Minnie Foster in "A Jury of Her Peers" also suffers from depression.

Natasha Hill

When movies are made about books the movie sometimes adds scenes or eliminates rather important ones. In my paper I will be proving that the film version of Trumbo’s novel enhances the experience of the reader. It makes metaphors, dream sequences and the reactions of others towards the main character more understandable and clear. This film is an excellent companion to the novel. Three sections of the book/movie I will cover particularly are the 1) separation between dream and reality, 2) The presence of Jesus in Joe’s dream, and 3) The ending of the book as compared to the film.

Reading a good novel is a very good journey. The journey is not only follow the characters’ trip in the novel, but also the readers need to feel the characters’ sprint, their emotion and their personal development. All the things that have the meaning in the story are the nature. Nature could be humans, things, the environment, and everything else that could influence the story. In “Everyday Use” and Everything is Illuminated the nature and culture greatly influence the characters and changed their personal value.

Yichuan Sun
Professor: Mr. Lee Hobbs
EL 267 America Lit.
April 30, 2008

The Nature and Culture Influence in Novel
Reading a good novel is a very good journey. The journey is not only follow the characters’ trip in the novel, but also the readers need to feel the characters’ sprint, their emotion and their personal development. All the things that have the meaning in the story are the nature. Nature could be humans, things, the environment, and everything else that could influence the story. In “Everyday Use” and Everything is Illuminated the nature and culture greatly influence the characters and changed their personal value.
Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a story that confronts us with three characters (mother and two daughters) with different opinion about how to deal with their grandmother’s remnant. And it’s actually the conflicting ideas about their identities and ancestry. The way they think about the grandmother’s quilt actually shows their different personal value.
The mother narrates the story of the day one daughter, Dee, visits from college and clashes with the other daughter, Maggie, over the possession of some heirloom quilts. We can easily find the mother and the younger daughter, Maggie are represent the old traditional black women, while the older daughter Dee who had became really different from them. Through describe the complete difference mother and daughter; I think the culture influence which is the “nature” outside that makes this happen.

The theme centers on Mama’s awakening of one daughter’s superficiality and to the other’s deep-seated understanding of heritage. Dee has a total different understanding of the meaning of the heritage from her mom and sister, Walker describe her as a selfish and arrogant woman, but what makes her has so much difference with her sister and mom. Dee left her small country home town and went to the college. Her college experience completely changed her. She got the education from the school that her mother and sister never got and met a lot of people from the different background such as her boy friend. Those things that changed her personal value are the nature and the culture.
Alice published “Everyday Use” in 1973 which was a time that black culture in the heyday, the Afro hairstyle was in fashion and Blacks were seeking their cultural roots in Africa. At the same time, black’ culture get violent strike form the white culture in U.S.A. Dee is a typical black girl which actually been influenced by the white culture. Walker described Dee’s movements when she was determined to take the quilts show how she is an ego girl. “She held the quilts securely in her arms, stroking them;”
In this story, Walker use grandmother’s quilts symbolized as the traditional African American black culture heritages, which Dee’s selfish make she does not understand. “Dee moved back just enough so that I couldn’t reach the quilts. They already belonged to her.” (Walker 6) In Dee’s mind the quilts is just quilts which only should account its financial and aesthetic value.
The white culture completely changed Dee to another girl, because she went to the college before. The “Nature” which is the outside world around her changed everything, the outside world is a world which with full of the white culture. Mum and Maggie doesn’t want be changed by the outside they want themselves just to adopt the pure Africa American culture heritage like they trying to save their grandmother’s quilt. Compared with her sister Maggie is a pure, kind, timid and even innocent black girl. She enjoyed live with her family like the tradition things, in her mind the quilts themselves, as art, are inseparable from the culture they arose from. In both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell's Paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece . . . that was from Great Grandpa Ezra's uniform that he wore in the Civil War." (Walker 6) The quilts means the history of the family. That’s also the “nature” influence her family and the family’s culture make her become such a girl like this she think the quilts is not just quilts which should account its emotional value. Obviously, Walker thinks the pure and traditional culture is right. Culture must be put into “Everyday use” situation to keep it alive and active.
In Everything is Illuminated that written by Jonathan Safran Foer, in this story, the culture conflict is basically shown on the outside world and the environment. The story about the Everything is illuminated is about a young American writer Jonathan who travelled to Ukraine in 1998 and trying to find his grandfather’s life in there. He wants to find a women who saved his grandfather’s life from the Nazis and his grandfather’s hometown – Tachimbrod.
The journey of the story is the way that three main characters trying to find that village are also the journey in their mind and spirit world, their memories and themselves. There are three main characters in this book which are Jonathan, Alex and Alex’s grandpa also named Alex and named Eli before the war.
Alex’s Jonathan’s guide throughout his trip to Ukraine he is completely different with his family like his dad and grandpa. Alex is deeply influenced by the U.S.A and western culture. His language, his clothes and his jewelry are all like a fashion U.S.A young people. Ukraine used to be a really traditional and conservative country because it’s used to a part of Soviet Union. But the nature environment around them is start being changed. U.S culture has come to everywhere. Alex spoke hilariously incorrect English and he’s proud of it. The nature make Alex try his best and do whatever he can to be a U.S people, but the first U.S. young people he now which is Jonathan, actually is not like he imagine. Jonathan is such a traditional American writer, if we didn’t heard what they said, maybe we will confused the country Alex and Jonathan come from.
In the book we can see Alex is the same age with Jonathan. They are both 20 years old and the nature they live made this country influence to them and turn Alex like a American hippy and Jonathan like a traditional Ukraine people.
In their journey, memory is very important thing that be a nature to influence them, especially for the grandfather, on the way they are travelling ,his memories are also have a trip make him back to the War, his memory are full of pain and conflict, he refused to acknowledge them at the first, but in the end, the journey changed him, the nature helped him to face the foretime and the sin he made in the war, at the last part of the book with the grandfather’s death, we can say grandfather find the peace and himself.
Alex’s journey is a way to find himself, growing and become mature. Alex is a person like lost himself at the very beginning of the story. He is trying to make himself like an American young people, but actually he does not know what he want, but things being changed when Alex start writing. At first Alex writes exaggerates wildly, but he becomes honest in the end, with writing he is able to be honest with himself about his life--and stand up to Father.
In the end of the book, Alex’s grandfather finally called him Alex which he usually called him Sasha. That means the grandfather approved Alex’s growth, he thought Alex is now a man like himself in young age. That means Alex successfully proved himself. The nature influence is their journey completed changed them, and make them growth, find themselves or face the sin.

Works Cited
Safran Foer, Jonathan. Everything is Illuminated. New York: Harper Perennial, 2002.
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” 1973. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry,
Drama,and Writing. Eds. Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. 5th Compact Ed. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2006.
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This paper is submitted to Foer's blog because in my paper I talked about how those characters in Foer’s book have a mind and inside journey and develop or face themselves in the end.

Chris King
EL 267
Dr. Hobbs
30 April 2008
Organized Religion vs. Personal Belief Systems in Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated” and Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
In Jonathans Safran Foer’s novel “Everything is Illuminated” and Alice Walkers’s short story “Everyday Use”, religion is a central theme. By comparing the religion in each story, to one’s own religion, it is possible to not only see the differences, but also that even those who do not practice an organized religion are practicing their own beliefs in their own way.
Jonathan’s Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated” is broken up into three different sections. The first section is Jonathan’s interpretation of the family’s history. Second section is Alex’s interpretation of the trip in present day. The third section describes with the letters in which the two boys sent back and forth between one another. Within the story line, Jonathan is attempting to research his Grandfather’s life while in the Ukraine. This young Jewish-American is searching to find his grandfather's shtetl, Trachimbrod. He has but only a name, a map, and some photographs. The name, Augustine, is said to be the name of a person who rescued and saved his grandfather from the Nazis during the holocaust. Within the Ukraine, Jonathon acquires a guide named Alex. Their driver is Alex’s grandfather (who claims to be blind, but isn’t). Also tagging along for the trip is grandfather’s seeing-eye dog, Sammy Davis, junior, junior. (Foer, Everything is Illuminated)
Obviously religion is correlated with the holocaust. In a beginning chapter of Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated religion is used when saying that the shtetl is divided into two sections, the Jewish Quarter and the Human Three-Quarters (Foer’s Everything is Illuminated). The Jewish Quarter is associated with being sacred, whereas, the Human Quarter is secular. While I am not Jewish, I do see that there is a fine line being split between the two sections of the shtetl. Each is stereotyped into being either religious (sacred) or not religious (secular).
Within the synagogue of the shtetl, people pray to God through shouting (Foer’s, Everything is Illuminated). This isn’t typical of anything I am used to within religion, and doesn’t seem to be the norm of the Jewish faith either. Suprizingly this tradition is two hundred years old within the shtetl. The townspeople also developed a tradition of hanging from the ceiling while in prayer. They clung to a rope with one hand and clutched a prayer book with the other in an attempt to be closer with God. Their faith is tested one time through a fly’s annoyance in the synagogue. The fly tickled the men while they hung from the ropes. Most of them passed this test by letting go of the rope instead of letting go of the prayer book proving their dedication to their God and not letting go of his word. They continued this tradition annually and these are the people who stayed to pray at the synagogue, known as the Upright synagogue members. There were, however, people who did let go of the prayer book instead of the rope for fear of falling. They chose to believe in the “flesh” of themselves rather than to believe that the holy word of God would save them. For this reason, they become known as Slouchers and these people had to wear sewed fringes on their sleeves to remind them of their disappointing non-faith. It was at this point where the two different congregations began to split becoming more and more different. The Upright congregation retained a sacred sense, whereas, the Slouchers developed a secular sense of everything. The two groups leave each other alone except when they struggle to push the Upright Synagogue, which is on wheels, further toward either the Jewish Quarter or the Human Three-Quarters (Foer’s, Everything is Illuminated).
I feel as though the Slouchers really did not trust in the religion that they had once believed in. I pondered why such people of faith would not feel safe in the mists of a God they worship. In my beliefs of Christianity, what God says and commands will be done if it is his will. In Judaism, the beliefs are of God not Jesus Christ (Religious Facts). If it is his will, whether in Judaism or Christianity, God will provide you help where it is asked for. If these Slouchers believed that God would save them no matter what, then why did they let go of the prayer book and not the rope? Also, after they “sinned” against God by not obeying, would they not try and repent for their sins rather than accept the fate of being “Slouchers” for the rest of their lives?
Women up to this point were not allowed in the synagogue, however, this changed temporarily. In 1763, the congregation tried to implement a compromise hoping to allow women into the synagogue. For a time it worked, however, as the women looked up from the basement, through the glass floor, the men became distracted. Again, the women were banned from the synagogue except for looking through a hole in the wall from the outside (Foer’s, Everything is Illuminated).
I find it interesting that the women are banned from the synagogue this late in history. Definitely in early times of the world, women were not allowed to do such things and even in present day, women are still being restricted in many ways, but I would think that women of this time would be allowed to venture into the synagogue if they so desired. Perhaps the reason is due to the Holocaust being currently prominent. This would defiantly alter views and actions taken in this era of time.
I feel that Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated” houses many religious conflicts and meanings. The two groups mentioned are starting to form the believers and non-believers of religion. The Upright congregation is confident in their beliefs, as they have always been, whereas, the Slouchers have chosen the path of a non-belief, for they have not been able to keep full faith. This is hard to comprehend. If at one time the Slouchers believed in God and happened to make a mistake, “sinning” against him, would they not be forgiven with repentance (as is typical of religion)? It seems they believe that there is no forgiveness and also that they are inferior to Godliness. It is also interesting how all of the townspeople are Jewish and should share the same beliefs, but they don’t, they are split by religion rather than by a faith-based belief.
While talking to Jonathon through letters, Alex develops an impression of Jonathan. He has seen the pictures of Jews from the holocaust and has seen Americans in magazines. Alex feels confident in picking Jonathan out of a crowd, fast. However, Alex finds that the Jewish American traits he was expecting were sadly incorrect. Jonathan is not but a simple, normal looking person; A typical American. Alex, for some reason, associated holocaust pictures with Jonathan’s appearance even though it is of a different time era and the holocaust happened many years prior (Foer’s, Everything is Illuminated). I find it interesting that Alex would make such a bold, solid image in his mind before meeting Jonathan. I feel as though people use religion or religious views in making assumptions about other people. As minute as this one is, it still carries a pretty deep meaning into Alex’s original view of Jews and how he portrayed them in his head.
Does not possessing any religious views affect your life style and situations that are encountered? The family (mother and two daughters) doesn’t seem to share any organized religious views, which could be considered as a religious view in itself. I have always been reinforced with Christianity views, but I think this family’s nonreligious views impacts their lives negatively compared to how it may if they did have religious views.
Within Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use”, the family really does not possess any real organized religious beliefs, which I think to be a belief in itself. Before the oldest daughter, Dee, comes home to visit from college, the younger daughter, Maggie, and the mother are living their lives without religious beliefs. Dee finally arrives home from college to visit her family. With her is her current boyfriend at the time, Asalamalskin (Walker’s Everyday Use). I feel that from a Christianity sense, Dee does not find any wrong in how she acts with this boyfriend. The story line doesn’t outline their relationship in-depth, but they seem fine and very suited together, but how far does that go? I wonder if they are looking for marriage in the future. Also, I wonder, in a Christianity sense, if they have performed this relationship according to those laws of God or not? Abstinence is a big deal with relationships and religion. Are they abiding by this rule of God? Through actions of the story, I feel they have not and I feel that this hurts their relationship. Already, mom is not thrilled about the new boyfriend coming to visit (Walkers, Everyday Use). Perhaps this is due to a religious view, but sadly, it probably is not.
Towards the end of the story, the two sisters begin to fight over some quilts that the mother has. The oldest daughter wants them for herself and doesn’t think about her younger sister. Maggie, however, wants the quilts, but is not up to fighting about it. The mother finally decided that Maggie deserves the quilts rather than Dee (Walker’s, Everyday Use). I feel that the mother has really “played God” in this situation. She ultimately made the decision changing everyone’s life, as minute as it may seem. I also feel that if they were a Christian family, the decision would have been easier to make and would not have had so much arguing involved.
The family relationship, in general, does not seem very understanding, forgiving, or even close. The older sister is a cast away, which could be because she is a college student not living at home. However, I feel that if the family shared a common background, like religion (Christianity in particular), then they would be more appreciative, understanding, and compassionate towards one another.
In my experience, typically Christians and family of the same, show more love and compassion than those who are not. It is in this that I see more reason to be religious rather than not. Simply because it seems to make situations turn out for the better rather than for the worse. People of a religious background house one commonality between one another, religion. In Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated”, the Jewish faith would be the common ground of Jonathan’s life, whereas, the family in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” shares a common ground by not housing any religious views. Jonathon found himself believing in Judaism, whereas, Alex and his grandfather did not share a religion. Alex and his grandfather were not as modest, loving, kind, or polite in any sense. Because of this, I feel that they are not any of those words because they do not have religious views. Likewise, if the family from “Everyday Use” held a religious view, the family may be more kind to one another. Religion is something that both, or all parties can contribute to, whether the persons believe the same morals, idea, or beliefs. Each is to their own, as it should be, but it is what a person chooses and what they do with their decisions that make the difference.

Works Cited
Religion Facts. 2008. "Christian Holidays." ReligionFacts. 8 February 2007. [from "Updated:" on the left of the article] Accessed 8 December 2007 [date you accessed the article] .>
Foer, Jonathan Safran. "Everything is Illuminated ." New York: Hougnton Mifflin Company, 2002.
Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use ." n.d.

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This paper is placed under Jonathon Safran Foer's Blog because in this paper I analyzed Religious views within his novel, "Everything is Illuminated".

Heather Stull
Dr. Hobbs
EL267.01
30 April, 2008
The Pulls of Racism
In
Jerzy Kosinski’s The Painted Bird and Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated
In both The Painted Bird and Everything is Illuminated, the characters are sometimes pulled together by the violent acts of racism, but far more often their lives are disrupted and pulled apart. The protagonist’s of Everything is Illuminated, Alex and Jonathan, form a friendship that develops out of their journey to Trachimbrod. Initially, the two are at odds with one another. Jonathan, a Jewish American, is ridiculed by Alex and his grandfather, his Ukrainian guides. Although they are living after World War II, Alex and his family exhibit many prejudices against Jewish people.
Alex is ignorant of his people’s history. He does not understand how the Poles and Ukrainian’s had treated the Jews during the War (Foer 62). He is filled with disbelief at the things Jonathan says to him and continues the historical trend of his ancestors by remaining skeptical of another culture’s practices and point-of-view. Near the end of their journey, new truths are exposed and Alex discovers the true history of his family, one that unites him indefinitely with Jonathan’s past. Through this they embark on a journey of self-discovery which shapes their friendship. Each documents the story of how they uncovered their past and in the history the line between them becomes blurred: “We are talking now, Jonathan, together, and not apart. We are with each other, working on the same story, and I am certain that you can also feel it. . . . I am you and you are me” (Foer 214). Although these two characters are brought together in the end, they are still greatly affected by the cultural divide that has persisted since the war. It pervades their initial relationship and also causes tension between all male members of Alex’s family. Most tragically, it separates the family from grandfather when he commits suicide to make atonement for the sins of his past.
The young boy of The Painted Bird is brought together with two officers of the Soviet Army, Gavrila and Mitka. Although these friendships are a result of the boy’s alienation, they aid him in becoming further alienated from his past self. Taking over the boy’s education, Gavrila provides texts which expose him to Soviet leaders and ideals. Gavrila tells him that: “people themselves [determine] the course of their lives and [are] the only masters of their destinies” (Kosinski 187). These teachings, along with Mitka’s radical demonstrations of justice, cause the boy to learn to depend only on himself, on no other human being, or even God. As a result, he begins to cherish the solitude of his earlier experiences as an orphan and tries to make the sensation endure. Thus, he is disturbed over the reunion with his parents; he “could not readily accept the idea of suddenly becoming someone’s real son. . . . A boy of my age. . . . should be able to choose for himself the people whom he wished to follow and learn from” (Kosinski 226-227). He feels smothered by the structure of everyday life and would rather be wandering alone, living a life of unpredictability (Kosinski 229). The boy has been forever changed, despite being reunited with his parents, he is never able to return to the son they once knew.
A result of the cultural discord within both novels is the separation from that which is familiar. The boy of The Painted Bird is forced away from his family and his home because of his ethnicity and the repercussions he may endure because of it. In what was initially an attempt to shelter him from severe circumstances and change, he is deposited into a world in which everyone looks and acts quite differently from him. He is persecuted for his uniqueness. The act that was supposed to deliver him from harm provided, in his solitude, an even larger arena for cruelty and prejudice.
In Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan journey’s to a country where he will face criticism for his heritage to discover the roots of his past and the stories of his ancestors who were pushed away for these same criticisms. On his journey, he faces opposition from his guides on many issues ranging from his appearance to his views about his culture’s history. The Ukrainian’s are prejudiced against him before ever meeting him. In Alex’s family, assumptions about the Jewish have been passed down and accepted from generation to generation. Alex idolizes Jonathan because he is American but does not embrace the Jewish side of him as if it somehow taints him.
Although he eagerly solicits knowledge of Americanisms from Jonathan, he ridicules the things that Jonathan tries to teach him about Jewish language and culture. This reaction is present not only with Alex and his grandfather but with several other Ukrainians such as the hotel keeper and the two waitresses. On his journey, Jonathan not only experiences the history of his ancestors physically- by being in the country of his grandfather’s birth, but mentally, as he is subjected to the criticisms and alienations that initially separated the Poles and Ukrainians from the Jews. In order to discover his ancestors Jonathan is forced to experience the modern existence of the prejudices that forced his people to flee.
Alienation is another result of racial prejudice. Ethnic conflict keeps the boy of The Painted Bird alienated from the peasants. Brod, from Everything is Illuminated is alienated from the other members of her shtetl. Both suffer acts of violence because of their ethnicity. After being torn from his home and family, the young boy is put in the care of a foster mother. She dies after only two months of caring for him and the boy is forced into wandering, seeking shelter in a remote village (Kosinski 3). He finds himself the object of scorn in a community filled with superstitions, many of which revolve around beings such as him self. The rich, educated boy from the city must now beg for food and shelter. Devoid of proper attention and love, the boy becomes like a roaming animal, being abused in the hands of all that take him in because of his ethnicity.
In addition to learning the social structures of the villages and the craft of homeopathic medicine, the superstitions of the villagers begin to etch themselves on the boys mind. As a younger child, he readily accepts the notions that his dark eyes can be the cause of great tragedy and hold the power to curse others. He becomes a victim of the prejudices and immediately begins to lose touch with all that was familiar. Even his parents, who share his appearance, seem to join the hierarchy of the villagers in his mind: “Did they [my parents] know that they should never drink or smile in the presence of evil-eyed people who might count their teeth? I would remember my father’s broad, relaxed smile and begin to worry; he showed so many teeth that if an evil eye were to count them, he would most certainly die very soon” (Kosinski 10).
Through each person that takes him in, the boy is exposed to deplorable, inhumane conditions. He is acquired, not out of love or kindness, but to fill a need that exists for his master. He is subjected to inhumane treatment, suffering from beatings, poor care, witnessing murders, and often forced to fight for his own life. While living this nightmare, the boy is growing up, defining himself and the world around him. Through his treatment as an outsider, exposed to brutal treatment and harsh living conditions in an ignorant society, the boy of The Painted Bird is forever changed. The experiences of his childhood have changed him into a person, that when reunited with his parents, is barely recognizable to them. Like the painted bird, the boy has been driven back to his kind (Kosinski 227). His only chance of living is to escape again. The attempt to save him from racial prejudice has caused him to be humiliated, abused, and transformed. His alienation from the peasants grows as he does, and soon encompasses not only his past but also his future with his parents.
Brod, of Everything is Illuminated, is immediately alienated by her cultural differences. Despite being lusted over for her beauty and mystery by some of the male shtetl members, she is ignored. Even the men who adore her do so in secret, joining in with the rest of the community in ridiculing her. From the start, she is an object to them, purely fulfilling sexual fantasy but not worthy of human love or kindness. She grows up alone as each generation discourages the next from associating with her. The villagers mock her, calling her “dirty river girl” and “water baby” (Kosinski 75). Because of the questionable details of her arrival into the shtetl, she is forever viewed with suspicion as if she were a curse set upon the town. In fulfillment to her own prophecy, she is raped one evening on her way home. Like the boy of The Painted Bird, her adolescence has been marked by abuse. The idea of the curse sets in upon her mind and she realizes that in order to escape this abusive alienation she must alienate herself even further by fleeing the shtetl.
As subjects of modern novels, the characters of The Painted Bird and Everything Is Illuminated, serve to illustrate two points. One, that far more often, cultural and ethnic discord ultimately cause destruction, alienation, and chaos. And two, that although the focus of the novels’ ethnic conflict, World War II, is in the past, the members of the Jewish community have been the subject of intense cruelty and ridicule in the past (Brod), the present (the boy of The Painted Bird), and the future (Jonathan).

Works Cited
Foer, Jonathan Safran. Everything Is Illuminated. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
Kosinski, Jerzy. The Painted Bird. New York: Grove Press, 1976.
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I chose to submit my final paper to this blog entry because the characters of Safran's novel were central to my thesis. I examined the experiences and ideas of Jonathan and Brod; as members of the Jewish community, and of Alex and his grandfather as Ukrainians.

Samantha Graham
Mr. Hobbs
EL 267
25 March 2008

Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated and the Illumination of Characters
Oftentimes, books that have developed large audiences are adapted into major motion pictures because of the popularity of the book. Everything is Illuminated, is one such adaptation of a book written by Jonathan Safran Foer, and was created by Liev Schreiber in 2005. However, motion pictures do not portray a book exactly as written. Audiences will often comment that the movie is not as “good” as the book because the movie adaptation, in this case, does not fully illuminate the characters by just using illuminating effects and leaving out the past events that lead to the illumination. I will discuss the effects used on the flash backs that were included in the movie adaptation as well as how leaving out certain flashbacks has taken away from the full experience of the work. I will first focus on a scene that is close to the end of the movie that takes place once the protagonist, Jonathan, and his tour guides have reached Trachimbrod. In this section of the book, a flash back occurs, as opposed to the movie where the characters in the present simply retell the story of how the Nazis came and made the Jews spit on the Torah
The scene that will be focused on first occurs in two places in the book; the earliest is in chapter eighteen, “Falling in Love”. In this chapter, Jonathan and his party first run into the woman who they quickly mistake for Augustine, the woman in the photo with Jonathan’s grandfather. It is not until chapter twenty-three, “What we saw when we saw Trachimbrod, or Falling in love”, that the woman they mistake as Augustine retells what happened during the annihilation of Trachimbrod. ‘“She is not Augustine,” I told the hero. “I thought that she was, but she is not”’ (Foer 151). Throughout the book, flashbacks are sections that develop the characters from the past. Since the movie adaptation leaves out many of these flashbacks, it is nearly impossible to incorporate and make sense of the Trachimbrod flashback.
The movie adaptation differs greatly from the book because of the fact that the movie leaves out the flashbacks that develop the past tense characters. It is understandable that to make a reasonably timed movie, cuts need to be made. However, this greatly takes away from the drama and emotion of the scenes like the bombing of Trachimbrod when there is no opportunity to get to know or relate to the past tense characters as the tragedy strikes them.
Also, because of the lack of flashbacks and past tense character development, there are a lot of missed connections between characters and story. The past tense characters that are not included make up a greater part of the story. Instead, in the book, readers follow the past tense characters’ journey to find out events from the past. One might even argue that the past is the actual story and the present tense characters are there to make up the side story to tell the story of the past.
The movie begins with Jonathan standing in a graveyard, whereas the book starts with an introduction to Alex, Jonathan’s Translator’s, family life. The book then moves to the past. “It was March 18, 1791, when Trachim B’s double axel wagon either did or did not pin him against the bottom of the Brod River” (Foer 8). In this chapter the past tense characters start to develop and already, the movie is missing this quality because it skips this scene and shows no signs of telling the past events that Jonathan and Alex have discovered.
There are many more examples of past events being left out of the movie. “Yankel didn’t have the heart to tell her that he was not her father, that she was the Float Queen of Trachimday not only because she was without question the most loved young girl in the shtetl…” (Foer 77). These chapters show a lot of development in the illumination of Jonathan’s grandmother that is absent in the movie adaptation. All three chapters are retellings of the past that include past tense character and story line development. The aforementioned quote above is talking about how Jonathan’s great-great-great-great-grandmother was a very popular girl at Trachimbrod and how Yankel was not her real father.
Leaving out those developments in the movie diminished the big scene when Jonathan, Alex, and Grandfather finally reached Trachimbrod. It was still effective in one way as Lista’s [Augustine’s] reaction is visible. The viewer had no connection to the past tense characters, or their history, making the climax of this scene weak in comparison to the book.
In the movie, the viewer travels along with the characters through their journey, but the full effect of illumination is not experienced. Throughout the whole book, Illumination is the knowledge gained by Jonathan of his family’s past. In learning about the past of his family, he learns about himself as well: “I do not think that there are any limits to how excellent we could make life seem” (Foer 180). This quote refers to the literal sort of illumination of embellishing the truth. At this point in the story Alex has written to Jonathan saying that they could even add Jonathan’s grandmother into their story if they wished to. It is the Illumination of the writer’s imagination to make things seem more beautiful or exciting. A form of Illumination that the movie greatly covers is that of memory. Grandfather and Lista are both trapped in a way by their memories, as neither can move forward to anything else. In the movie adaptation, the effect of Illumination is portrayed by a white light shining and slowly whiting out the screen.
The illumination effect is dispersed throughout three major points in the movie. The first is when Grandfather is driving Alex and Jonathan through what appears to be nothing but a grassy field, as they try to navigate their way to Trachimbrod. At one point they run out of gas and are forced to stop for the night. Grandfather wanders through the fields to some old stone structures that look like they once made up a building. Flashbacks are then used to show Grandfather standing in a line with other Jews, and Nazi soldiers in a firing line ready to shoot them. The soldier lifts his gun to shoot, and then the illumination effect takes place, whiting out the scene back to the present.
The movie deals a lot with the illumination of Grandfather, and yet there are important flashbacks that are either left out completely, or not fully explained. “…he went to the next man in line and that was me who is a Jew he asked and I felt Herschel’s hand again and I know that his hand as saying please please Eli please I do not want to die please do no point at me…” (Foer 250). In the movie, the flashback Grandfather has refers to the quote above that takes place in chapter 29 “Illumination.” Herschel was Grandfather’s friend. Then the Nazis invaded Kolki and lined up everyone in front of the Synagogue and told them that if they did not point out someone who was a Jew, they would be shot.
When it came time for Grandfather, who was Jewish himself, to point out a Jew, he had no choice but to point out his best friend Herschel in order to save his wife and child. Though the viewer would not know exactly what this scene is about, since the flashback Grandfather has is not portrayed exactly as it is in the book, the illumination effect used in the movie serves to show that a piece of Grandfather’s past has been illuminated or made known.
The next significant time that the illumination effect is used in the movie occurs at the very end of the book after Grandfather has written a suicide note for Alex to send to Jonathan: “If you are reading this, it is because Sasha [Alex] found it and translated it for you. It means that I am dead, and that Sasha is alive” (Foer 274). In the book, Grandfather commits suicide at home while everyone else is asleep after writing to Jonathan to tell him that Alex has kicked Father out of the house and taken over responsibility for his mother and little brother. He tells Jonathan that he is proud of Alex for doing the right thing, by telling Father to leave and not come back.
At the end of the book another important key to Grandfather’s illumination is left out of the movie. “…and it is not because I cannot endure. Do you understand? I am complete with happiness, and it is what I must do, and I will do it” (Foer 276). This quote is Grandfather telling Jonathan that he must go through with this, but not because he cannot keep going on through life, but because he has found total happiness. In the movie, Grandfather commits suicide when he, Alex, and Jonathan return to the inn the night before they have to take Jonathan back to the train station. Alex finds him in the morning, not understanding why Grandfather has committed suicide. The scene is of Grandfather with his wrists slit lying in the bathtub. The picture whites out in an illuminating effect from Grandfather driving the car, to the scene of him lying in the bathtub.
The illumination in this case goes to show that Grandfather has come to terms with his past, and it is now no longer a mystery. Alex knows who his grandfather was, as does Jonathan. Alex’s grandfather is finally freed of his past. He didn’t want Alex be held back by the past. To make it possible for Alex to move on, Grandfather kills himself so that he will not be around to remind Alex of the past.
The last scene in the movie, where the illumination effect takes place, is at the very end of the movie. Jonathan is riding down the escalator at the airport and the illumination effect takes place yet again as he is standing in front of his grandfather’s grave stone just where he started in the beginning of the movie. This illumination represents that the past has been illuminated, and that Jonathan has found out about himself or been illuminated himself by finding out about the past.
There are three key examples of illumination in the movie, but the full effect is still not gathered because the development of the past has been left out. The viewer does not experience the same feel, as they do not get the chance to know the past tense characters, or the building of the story of the past as Jonathan and Alex write the story together. It is always an interesting experience to see a movie adaptation of a book, but it still stands that the full effect of the main themes cannot be grasped by simply the movie alone. In a way it could be related to taking Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and only showing the person who was freed leaving the cave without the background to what they were leaving. It is also related as leaving the cave and going into the light being knowledge or illumination. You cannot grasp the full effect of illumination or knowledge without knowing the entire back story.
Works Cited

Everything is Illuminated. Dir. Schreiber Liev. Perf. Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, and Boris Leskin. DVD. Warner Independent Pictures, 2005.

Foer, Jonathan S. Everything is Illuminated. New York: Harper Perennial, 2002.
"Plato's Cave." Mit.Edu. 5 Mar.-Apr. 2008 .

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This paper has been submitted to this blog because it was written about, and based off of the book Everything is Illuminated. The paper covers the topic of characters being Illuminated, and how certain aspects of Illumination are missing from the movie adaptation.

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*NOTE* The deadline for this particular assignment has now passed. Any comments listed below are *ONLY* for the reposting of comments that I specifically asked to be revised or are ones from non-student posters. Any 'student' posts below that missed the assignment deadline will not get credit for the assignment. ~ Dr. Hobbs

Augustine and Jonathan are similar in the fact that they both share Safran Jonathan’s grandfather. Augustine was in love with Safran and helped him when the Nazis were invading Trechinbrod. Jonathan and Alex are similar in the fact that both of them are writers and in their twenties still searching for themselves. Jonathan and the grandfather are both again connected trough Safran, and Trechinbrod. The major thing all of these people share in common are that they are Jewish and were affected by the Nazi’s in World War II, and they all lost Trechinbrod.

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Note from Professor:

John, what is your question number? The rest of you should remember to (1) First, retype your question then (2) leave a blank line by hitting return twice, and then post your answer. Be specific and please check your spelling.

Dr. Hobbs

7. Jonathan claims that he collects things so that he won’t forget them. Is collecting the only way to remember something? Why is remembering important (or, unimportant)? What purpose does remembering serve?

To Jonathan collecting something is a way of remembering it. Jonathan could have easily just kept a journal, like Alex did; but writing things down doesn't work for Jonathan. He is more of a kinetic learner. He needs to use all of his senses. Remembering is important so a person won’t repeat the same mistake twice. It is even more important for a person to know and understand their past. The purpose collecting serves is to be able to pass it down from generation to generation. It’s important to know your own family history, to know where you come from.

10. What is significant about Jonathan sharing dirt from the river with Alex’s grandfather? Is this a symbolic act? If so, of what? Does it foreshadow anything? If so, what?

I think it is very significant that Jonathan shared the dirt with Alex because that means that Alex's family has gained the knowledge that they are jewish. Also it is like Alex's grandfather being forgiven by the rest of the people of his community and being able to be braved and remember the correct way for a Jewish person. I think it foreshadows the fact that the family of Alex will be living the Jewish way for that point on. Alex throwing the dirt in means that they are not angry with him and that they still loved it. To add to that, they are proud to be Jewish and finally finding where Alex fits in. I think it means so much to the family to know where they come from and the truth.

Response to question 1:

I think the chief conflict in the film is past and the present. From what I understood, it seems that the grandfather seems to not be able to grasp or "make peace" with his past. Almost like he assumed that he was supposed to die at the hands of the firing squad.

6.) Foer's story about secrets. What secets are held by the film's two gradfathers: Jonathan;s and Alex's? Do any other charactes have secrets? What are some other ways to phrase the idea that secrets have been revealed?
Answ: Alex's grandfather hold the biggest secret in the movie. He was very anti-sematic and held a grudge against Jews. However, in the end it is revealed that he was a Jew and was almost killed for it at the location where they were looking for. He probly knew Johnathan's grandfather and knew exactly where it was all along, but didn't want to go so he kept asking for "bogus" direction because he knew that almost everyone from that place was just about dead. It was a dark secret that he didn't want to reveal and when it was illuminated he committed suicide. Johnathan's grandfather left the town two weeks before the Nazi's came and executed everyone. He left behind his fiance who he never say again.

8. What is symbolic about Alex’s shirt which is discovered to be inside-out? Think about Jonathan’s attempt to explain the concept to Alex. Did Alex understand Jonathan? Did he acknowledge its importance or did he dismiss it?

Alex's shirt which is discovered to be inside out is symbolic because it sures the language barriers between him and Jonathan. It also helps to illustrate that Alex is not being true to himself. He is lost to what he really is and is looking to from himself. The shirt shows that he is trying to be American and truely does not understand the culture itself, he is looking to find himself just like Jonathan. He dismissed it at first, but at the end of the story when he had seen just how many things him and Jonathan had in common he acknowledge it, and it was like a barrier had been broken between them.

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