Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

- Robert Frost

Good Authors

"What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers" - Logan Pearsall Smith

Smith is saying that what makes an author truly great is one who can incorporate things into their literature without blatantly saying it. Anyone can simply transfer their thoughts from their mind onto paper verbatim, but only the best of the best can make their points through subtleties. Any great piece of literature has some sort of underlying meaning behind the literal one.

My Favorite Short Story

While I cannot really claim to be an avid short story reader, I guess I've always liked the fairy tale, The Three Little Pigs. This is the story of when a wolf blows down houses of straw and sticks and eats two pigs, but then is eaten by a third pig himself when he cannot blow down the pig's house of bricks. I like this story because it has a good moral: karma. The wolf uses his status as a predator to take advantage of the poor little pigs, and this is morally wrong. The third pig gets his revenge for the other two, though, and while some may argue that two wrongs do not make a right, it still teaches the lesson of, "treat others how you'd liked to be treated." For this, my favorite short story is The Three Little Pigs.

Valuing Education

Do you think young people today value their education as much as Sara Smolinsky does? Why or why not?

I feel that it is unfair to generalize and say that young people do not value their education as much as Sara does. While the majority probably do not, only because Sara valued it so much due to her background and the hard work that she had to do to get there, there still are some kids who realize how important their education is. A lot of kids come from poverty, and thus, they do not take their education for granted and realize that the only way out is to try hard in school and make something of themselves. In contrast, some kids who come from wealth may not value their education as much because it is not as necessary that they try as hard in school. No matter their grades, they know that their parents will be able to afford some sort of secondary education for them. Therefore, the person's background probably is the biggest factor in determining whether he or she will or will not value their education as much as they should.

A Reflection on Writing

"There's nothing hard about writing. All you have to do is sit down and open up a vein."

- Walter "Red" Smith

While Smith makes a decent point, what he says is only true under certain circumstances. Take for instance, right now, as I am writing this blog entry. This is not hard to me; I am able to write whatever is on my mind without having to worry about grammar or content (at least to an extent). On the other hand, when writing becomes a requirement, a chore that you know will be graded and analyzed, it becomes stressful. You have to proofread every sentence and meticulously dissect your work so it is fit to be handed in for a grade. And sometimes, when research is involved, or parenthetical citations, and all that other stuff, it just hinders the writing process and takes away the potential positive experience that Smith is alluding to. Additionally, when we, as students, are told what we have to write about, we do not always like the topic and cannot fully get into it. If we do not like what we are writing about, how can we be expected to enjoy the writing process?

Reaction to Bread Givers: Through Chapter 7

      To me, the most intriguing part through Chapter 7 is the question of Father's character. Is he a bad, mean-spirited person? Or is he merely ignorant? I would say both.

      He is obviously ignorant; his strict adherence to the Torah leads to him placing women on a lower level than men. He claims that it contains all of God's wishes, but he fails to realize that the Torah is an outdated text created by people thousands of years ago. Like many Orthodox Jews, and also just many from 1920s America in general, he views women as property for men. They have their roles as defined by God, and that's that. They should not pursue their own career, nor should they be without a man. The fact that he arranges marriages for his children also shows the dedication he has towards his religion and his belief in distinct roles for men and women. He is also ignorant because when his business investment (the store) goes awry, he says something to the effect of, "Oh don't worry, God will bail us out," as opposed to taking full responsibility for his action.

      That being said, I feel he is also a bad person. In Chapter 7, he is completely hypocritical when he says, "'Money lost, nothing lost. Hope lost, all is lost'" (Yezierska 126). This is the same person who denied his daughters of true love just because of money! But now that it's his fault, the money doesn't matter.

      But hey, you know what, maybe Father does have a point! After all, "God will bail him out."