A Milestone in Blogging - Short Story Blog 4 (Miss Brill)

"She sat there for a long time. The box that the fur came out of was on the bed. She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying."

~ Katherine Mansfield, Miss Brill

Guess what? This is the first week in a long time that I haven't written a hate blog. There wasn't a story for which I had a strong dislike. Woo

Okay, so I'm just going to give my personal reaction to this story. Miss Brill was a bit obnoxious at the beginning. She thought she was hot stuff because she was better than everybody and into fashion. She was very vain for an old person; usually they are supposed to mature and get past that stuff. She only looked at appearances, and she didn't even consider herself old. It was like she was stuck in middle school - you know, when girls think they are cool because they have the best clothes and judge other people relentlessly. This bothered me. But then at the end, when the couple was making fun of her, I felt really bad. I think everyone has had that humbling moment in their lives - or they will experience it sometime in the near future - and that just sucks. Also, everyone has acted like Miss Brill at the beginning of the story, and even though we should all be put in our place sometimes, the couple was really harsh. I felt awful for Miss Brill when she was in her room, and she was really ashamed of her pelt thing, which she had been so proud of before someone said something. Only emoticons can express my feelings for this story - : ( 

This is Just Sad - Poetry Blog 4 (Elegy for My Father, Who Is Not Dead)

"I see myself on deck, convinced his ship's gone down, while he's convinced I'll see him standing on the dock and waving, shouting, Welcome back."

~ Andrew Hudgins, Elegy for My Father, Who is Not Dead 


I was very sad after reading this poem. I just wanted to give Andrew a hug! His father has already resigned to death, but he is really upset over this. I've never lost a parent, so I can't really imagine how painful it is, but I think if you have a lot of time to think about what's coming, then it would be very difficult to deal with before the death as well as during. Seeing someone be ready for death can be peaceful and inspiring - he/she has the courage to face the end that you don't have yet. But it is probably also concerning, especially if it's not because the person is fearlessly venturing into something that no one can ever understand, but because that person has simply given up on life. It makes me think of a nursing home full of sad, lonely old people. I feel like Andrew is a little desperate to save his father - he's trying to hold on to those last moments of life they can share, but his dad is ready to go. :( . I don't know, I'm just thinking aloud.

So Long, Farewell, I Bid Thee Adieu! (Chapters 22 and 23/ Pages 256-288)

"The fantasy never got beyond that - I didn't let it - and though the tears rolled down my face, I wasn't sobbing or out of control. I just waited a bit, then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be."

~ Never Let Me Go, page 288

Well, I am just so sad that these summer reading blogs are over........

Did you like that display of sarcasm? Maybe it could be one of my terms if I missed one.

But anyway, on to the overview of Never Let Me Go:


Overall, I didn't really like the book. It wasn't terrible, and I have definitely read worse (hello, The Pearl), but I thought it was a lot more depressing than it needed to be. I just felt kind of sad throughout the whole thing. There was too much struggle and not enough happiness or inspiration to balance it out - in Part One, it was very angsty, in Part Two, you could just feel the relationships crumbling, and in Part Three, everyone died. However, it was very interesting and I found myself wanting to keep reading to find out what would happen.

As for the last two chapters, everything really seemed to fall into place. It all made sense, and there weren't any holes in the plot - that was very satisfying. I didn't like how everyone died unhappy, though; it was as if no personal needs were really complete. Ruth felt awful about how bad of a person she had been, Tommy was no doubt sad about his and Kathy's split, and Kathy had to keep living in the midst of death knowing that that was the only thing waiting for her in the end. I just felt so bad that the clones had no way of having a fulfilling life.

This book seems to be a bit more confusing than Brave New World. I'm not exactly sure what Ishiguro is trying to convey. I guess I would say that I learned to appreciate the friends I have. I learned to not hold anything back, because it may be too late later, even if I get another chance. Even one action could completely alter my future. The last thing I would say I learned is that with progress comes sacrifice. Sometimes, we can't go back once we have learned something new, and there are repercussions of that - both positive and negative. There are instances when we just have to live with the negative effects, because the positives outweigh them. We all have burdens, but we just need to overcome those to make the best possible life for ourselves.

Well, that concludes the summer portion of my AP Lit blogging. I will see you all bright and early on Monday!