“Howl” is probably one of the most interesting pieces of work I have read thus far. I enjoyed Allen Ginsberg’s style and thought it was interesting how he used some real life experience within “Howl”. The fact that Ginsberg was in an asylum didn’t shock me. I thought it made total sense when reading what he wrote. He certainly strikes me as being a little crazy.
I also enjoyed Gary Snyder’s “Axe Handles”. It was a pretty straightforward poem, unlike many that have been covered so far. In class, we talked about how it defined culture on a more intimate level. Culture is what we produce as we shape the next generation. This definition of culture isn’t the “norm”, but I think it is more realistic and is more applicable in real-life.
Flannery O’Connor told an interesting story. I literally laughed out-loud when the name Hulga came into play. There is just something about this name that gives me an image of an overweight, unattractive woman with a big mole on her face. I’m not sure why, but that is the image I get. The whole story was full of interesting things. A wooden leg? What made O’Connor think of that? The whole idea of the story would have been greatly altered if there wasn’t this wooden leg, but I question what made her decide to put it in there. I liked how there were two contrasting sides to the phrase “good country people”. For me, I naturally put a good connotation behind it. This quickly changed, and I was forced to challenge my thoughts on who really are “good country people”.
I think the best thing a writer can do is make the reader question their thoughts and feelings during and after reading their work.
I thought "Good Country People" was super interesting as well. The characters were certainly colorful. I got the same mental picture about the name Hulga. It was such a huge contradiction to the name Joy. I think Joy was who Hulga/Joy's mother wanted her to be and Hulga was the person she felt like she actually was or wanted to be. The wooden leg was really weird, but it played a huge part in the story. Who would have thought a wooden leg would be a key element in anything? I thought Dr. Dyer's "original sin" idea was interesting. Thinking back on the story, I can see how it fits. All of the characters are pretty messed up and selfish, even if they claim they aren't.
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