"Spring in St. Cloud's meant trouble: drinking trouble, brawling trouble, whoring and raping trouble. Spring was the suicide season" (6).
Spring in St. Cloud's is not a good time. In fact, this is the time of the year when trouble starts. It is not surprising, however. Spring in St. Cloud's is when it is impossible to travel. The dirt roads are all muddy and impassable. The people cannot leave their houses because of it. And when people cannot leave and are stuck in their homes or in their surrounding area, they start trouble. So instead of peace in the springtime, there is trouble in St. Cloud's.
In How to Read Literature Like A Professor, Thomas Foster explains how Spring is a time of renewal and a time of peace. Spring is supposed to be a time when everything has a fresh start and there is not supposed to be any trouble. However, spring is just the opposite in The Cider House Rules. The book uses spring in a completely different context. Spring instead of being peaceful is trouble and is nothing like the symbol that spring is supposed to be according to Foster.
Yet, Foster also explains later on in his novel, that irony trumps everything. If something is the opposite of what it is supposed to be a symbol of, it is irony, and thus alright to do. So Irving uses spring to symbolize the trouble in St. Cloud's instead of peace, and thus the irony of the concept makes it alright to use. So whenever something is used and is done ironically it is fine.
This time can also be foreshadowing to what is to come. Maybe there is going to be a bigger problem than the individual town problems that occur. Maybe something will happen to Homer Wells in the spring time. It seems right now that many of Homer's problems occur during the winter, but maybe a larger problem other than him not being able to stay with a foster family for very long, will occur in the winter and thus show how the spring can be used as a time of problems instead of peace and new beginnings. Or maybe, the spring will serve as a new beginning for Homer. Maybe in the spring, he will finally find a home in which he can stay longer than a few weeks and maybe even be adopted into. But, for now, many of Homer's problems do not occur in the spring, but actually in the winter and stem from him wanting to be at the orphanage more than trying to live in an actual home.
Overall, spring could play a large part of the story or it could be a minor detail. As the story progresses, perhaps the idea of spring could change or be the same, or never be brought up again. Whether Homer will be affected by the season or not is yet to be determined.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Close Reading 11/20
"'The saddest words of tongue and pen are these four words, 'it might have been''" (Gopnik).
The author of the article uses this quote as part of her explanation of how people feel. As humans we tend to think about all the would have beens of life. We sometimes focus on them more than we think, living in this alternate universe for a short time, that may even seem better than the real world at the time. Sometimes we do this as an escape and as a way to forget where we are, but we also do it to imagine the what ifs of life. We create different scenarios in our minds, trying to figure out the best one. And even after we pick our option, we even tend to consider what would have happened if we had gone with something else. It is part of our nature. We depict things in life, breaking them down to the smallest possible detail and analyzing it. We need to know why something happened and what could have been.
As the quote shows, we consider these moments sad. We are upset at the fact that we cannot actually see what would have happened. There are not rewind buttons in life to go back and see if something else might have worked better. We have to accept things as they are no matter the consequences or the actions that follow. And even though these moments are permanent with no going back and having redos, we still tend to think about what could have been. We still question our decisions and wonder what would have been different. And a lot of times, we are saddened by the what would have been. The author uses explains such as getting the silver instead of a gold at the Olympics. The silver medalist was so close to getting 1st and is actually slightly saddened by the what if she could have done better and gotten the gold than being happy that she had placed at all. That almost had it scenario makes us sad and that happens a lot in everyday life. We realize it with every chance we did not take that hurts us. It is the idea of being so close and just missing it that makes us sad.
Also as humans, we tend to over-analyze. We think about those what might have beens a little too much. We live in our own fantasized worlds and hope that everything turns out as nicely as in our minds. And when it does not, that is also a time that makes us sad. When we think things so thoroughly through and they do not work out, we get upset. These counterfactuals sometimes interfere with our lives and they make us sad, and when we tell ourselves or hear it from someone else that something might have happened, we are sad. Eventually, we will need to come to terms with reality and no longer live in our fantasized worlds filled with could-should-woulds of life.
The author of the article uses this quote as part of her explanation of how people feel. As humans we tend to think about all the would have beens of life. We sometimes focus on them more than we think, living in this alternate universe for a short time, that may even seem better than the real world at the time. Sometimes we do this as an escape and as a way to forget where we are, but we also do it to imagine the what ifs of life. We create different scenarios in our minds, trying to figure out the best one. And even after we pick our option, we even tend to consider what would have happened if we had gone with something else. It is part of our nature. We depict things in life, breaking them down to the smallest possible detail and analyzing it. We need to know why something happened and what could have been.
As the quote shows, we consider these moments sad. We are upset at the fact that we cannot actually see what would have happened. There are not rewind buttons in life to go back and see if something else might have worked better. We have to accept things as they are no matter the consequences or the actions that follow. And even though these moments are permanent with no going back and having redos, we still tend to think about what could have been. We still question our decisions and wonder what would have been different. And a lot of times, we are saddened by the what would have been. The author uses explains such as getting the silver instead of a gold at the Olympics. The silver medalist was so close to getting 1st and is actually slightly saddened by the what if she could have done better and gotten the gold than being happy that she had placed at all. That almost had it scenario makes us sad and that happens a lot in everyday life. We realize it with every chance we did not take that hurts us. It is the idea of being so close and just missing it that makes us sad.
Also as humans, we tend to over-analyze. We think about those what might have beens a little too much. We live in our own fantasized worlds and hope that everything turns out as nicely as in our minds. And when it does not, that is also a time that makes us sad. When we think things so thoroughly through and they do not work out, we get upset. These counterfactuals sometimes interfere with our lives and they make us sad, and when we tell ourselves or hear it from someone else that something might have happened, we are sad. Eventually, we will need to come to terms with reality and no longer live in our fantasized worlds filled with could-should-woulds of life.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Close Reading 11/13
"Nurse Angela, with her love of cats and orphans, once remarked of Homer Wells that the boy must adore the name she gave him because he fought so hard not to lose it" (Irving 5).
The Cider House Rules begins with the discussion of the orphanage and how the children are named by the nurses on things that the nurses like. Many of the children end up adopted and lose the name that the nurse gave them in the first place. The nurses never tell the adoptive parents of the names and they allow for the parents to pick out the name they want for their son. But, this one child, the one that is introduced in this quote, never is able to get adopted. He is never able to survive in the foster homes that he goes to, and thus he is forced to keep the name in which he is given, Homer Wells.
Nurse Angela comments on how Homer does not really want to lose his name, but most likely, it has more to do with Homer's personality than his like of his name. In the homes that Homer, most likely goes to, he is not able to fit in and he either is not well liked or does not like whom he is with. He tries to get back to the orphanage, a place that he knows he belongs. Without being introduced to Homer much beyond his failures at foster homes and his permanent home of the orphanage, it is hard to tell what sort of person Homer is. It is hard to see if Homer decided he likes the orphanage better or if he just did not find the right home for him, the right group of people to call his family, or maybe he feels that the right family, is at the orphanage all along.
The fact that the nurses and doctor allow Homer to keep coming back to the orphanage shows how they are willing to allow the boy to live with them. They are allowing him to grow up in the orphanage and be raised there instead of continuously forcing him to go to foster homes and attempt to be adopted. The doctor and the nurses could very well have found some other place for Homer, but they continue to allow him to stay, showing how they care about the orphans and are not just there to force them into adoption.
Nurse Angela also comments on how she loves orphans. She must have a heart for helping those who do not have a forever family, and she wants to be part of helping them to find a home to call their own, surrounded by people who love them. Obviously, Angela is a kindhearted person who likes to joke about how she was the one who named Homer, one of the only orphans to ever keep his name. There is foreshadowing to the fact that Angela may form a special bond with Homer, most likely a motherly bond, since she is the one who names him. She probably feels like he could be her own son and she may teach him lessons as it is obvious that the doctor will.
The Cider House Rules begins with the discussion of the orphanage and how the children are named by the nurses on things that the nurses like. Many of the children end up adopted and lose the name that the nurse gave them in the first place. The nurses never tell the adoptive parents of the names and they allow for the parents to pick out the name they want for their son. But, this one child, the one that is introduced in this quote, never is able to get adopted. He is never able to survive in the foster homes that he goes to, and thus he is forced to keep the name in which he is given, Homer Wells.
Nurse Angela comments on how Homer does not really want to lose his name, but most likely, it has more to do with Homer's personality than his like of his name. In the homes that Homer, most likely goes to, he is not able to fit in and he either is not well liked or does not like whom he is with. He tries to get back to the orphanage, a place that he knows he belongs. Without being introduced to Homer much beyond his failures at foster homes and his permanent home of the orphanage, it is hard to tell what sort of person Homer is. It is hard to see if Homer decided he likes the orphanage better or if he just did not find the right home for him, the right group of people to call his family, or maybe he feels that the right family, is at the orphanage all along.
The fact that the nurses and doctor allow Homer to keep coming back to the orphanage shows how they are willing to allow the boy to live with them. They are allowing him to grow up in the orphanage and be raised there instead of continuously forcing him to go to foster homes and attempt to be adopted. The doctor and the nurses could very well have found some other place for Homer, but they continue to allow him to stay, showing how they care about the orphans and are not just there to force them into adoption.
Nurse Angela also comments on how she loves orphans. She must have a heart for helping those who do not have a forever family, and she wants to be part of helping them to find a home to call their own, surrounded by people who love them. Obviously, Angela is a kindhearted person who likes to joke about how she was the one who named Homer, one of the only orphans to ever keep his name. There is foreshadowing to the fact that Angela may form a special bond with Homer, most likely a motherly bond, since she is the one who names him. She probably feels like he could be her own son and she may teach him lessons as it is obvious that the doctor will.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Close Reading 11/6
"'IF YOU'RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND A WAY OF LIFE YOU LOVE, YOU HAVE TO FIND THE COURAGE TO LIVE IT'" (512).
Owen says this line to John near the end of the novel. He uses this as a way to convince John to allow for him to cut his finger off. He wants to let John know that he needs to have some courage in order for him to actually go through with cutting his finger off. John does not realize that is what Owen actually means when he first says the quote to him. He thinks he is referring to finding some other way to live his, particularly avoiding the war that he does not want to be part of.
The reason behind saying this and cutting John's finger off is because in Owen's dream about his death, he always sees John there. Owen, at this point in the novel, still thinks that he is going to be going to Vietnam and dying there. He does not want John to go to Vietnam, knowing that that is the last place that John would ever want to go. Owen knows that John is contemplating a way to avoid the war, with graduate school ending, and so Owen is trying to find a way to help his friend. He knows that John truly would rather find a job using the degree he received that go to war.
This simple sentence shows how much Owen truly cares for John. He wants his friend to have the opportunity to live the life he wants and not have to go to war. Owen knows that he cannot change his ultimate fate, but he wants to find some way to change John's. He does not want to have his friend either die alongside him, or watch him die. He would rather have his friend live the life he wants to live, than live a life he hates, if it is possible for him to avoid it. Owen has compassion and shows that his friendship with John is so important to him. If he could change John's fate, he was going to try in every way possible, because that is the type of friend that Owen is.
This quote is also a life quote. If you find the one thing you love to do in life, you have to have the courage, the bravery to pursue it. Do not let anything stop you from doing the one thing in life you love. You have to find some way to live it. Nothing should get in the way of living the dream you want to live, even if it means doing something drastic to get there.
Owen says this line to John near the end of the novel. He uses this as a way to convince John to allow for him to cut his finger off. He wants to let John know that he needs to have some courage in order for him to actually go through with cutting his finger off. John does not realize that is what Owen actually means when he first says the quote to him. He thinks he is referring to finding some other way to live his, particularly avoiding the war that he does not want to be part of.
The reason behind saying this and cutting John's finger off is because in Owen's dream about his death, he always sees John there. Owen, at this point in the novel, still thinks that he is going to be going to Vietnam and dying there. He does not want John to go to Vietnam, knowing that that is the last place that John would ever want to go. Owen knows that John is contemplating a way to avoid the war, with graduate school ending, and so Owen is trying to find a way to help his friend. He knows that John truly would rather find a job using the degree he received that go to war.
This simple sentence shows how much Owen truly cares for John. He wants his friend to have the opportunity to live the life he wants and not have to go to war. Owen knows that he cannot change his ultimate fate, but he wants to find some way to change John's. He does not want to have his friend either die alongside him, or watch him die. He would rather have his friend live the life he wants to live, than live a life he hates, if it is possible for him to avoid it. Owen has compassion and shows that his friendship with John is so important to him. If he could change John's fate, he was going to try in every way possible, because that is the type of friend that Owen is.
This quote is also a life quote. If you find the one thing you love to do in life, you have to have the courage, the bravery to pursue it. Do not let anything stop you from doing the one thing in life you love. You have to find some way to live it. Nothing should get in the way of living the dream you want to live, even if it means doing something drastic to get there.
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