Shirly Ong
English 48B
13 March, 2008
Journal #35 Sui Sin Far
Quote:
“ She slipped a heavy gold bracelet from her wrist and held it out to the man…
‘It’s all right,’ said Hom Hing seriously, ‘pure China gold. My wife’s parent give it to her when we married.’…
‘See my jade earrings – my gold buttons – my hair pins – my comb of pearl and my rings…’ “
Summary:
Lae Choo gave the white lawyer her gold bracelet for him to go to get the paper to bring her son back. Hom Hing told the lawyer about the bracelet when Lae Choo went away to get even more jewelries.
Response:
When the white lawyer, James Clancy, offered to help the Chinese couple to get the required papers for their son from Washington, he asked for five hundred dollars. Hom Hing claims that he could not afford it because he has paid a lot to the lawyer for writing letters already. This shows Chinese in America did not have much power in legal matters at that time. They have to rely on the help from white people, who often charge them a lot. I think it is sad to see how much it cost the couple to get back their son. I think James Clancy is a self-interested white man. He shows no care to the couple once Hom Hing told him five hundred is too much. In this quote, Lae Choo is giving the lawyer all her jewelries as remuneration for his “help”. Among the jewelries, the gold bracelet should be the most precious one for her. That is the present her parents gave her when she married. In Chinese tradition, parents always give their daughters a precious gift, usually a costly jewelry, when they get married and “leave home”. Every woman would treasure this gift very much. In the story, in order to get her son back as soon as possible, Lae Choo gave the lawyer her gold bracelet without hesitation. I think she loves and misses her son so much. It is a pity that she has to sacrifice her precious gift for her son’s freedom in America.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Journal #34 Sui Sin Far
Shirly Ong
English 48B
13 March, 2008
Journal #34 Sui Sin Far
Quote:
“The little boy’s face was round and dimpled and his eyes were very bright…She fell on her knees and stretched her hungry arms toward her son. But the Little One shrunk from her and tried to hide himself in the folds of the white woman’s skirt.”
Summary:
This is found at the end of the story. In this quote, “she” refers to Lae Choo. This is the first sight of her son after Lae Choo was separated from him for ten months and the reaction of the kid when he saw his mother.
Response:
The ending of this story is so sorrowful. When the customs officers were going to take Hom Hing and Lae Choo’s child, they claimed that the child will be “well taken care of”. According to this quote, the child had a round face and bright eyes after being taken away from his mother for ten months. I think the child should have been well taken care of. When I was reading the story, I thought the child would be tortured. I imagined that he would be put in a room crowded with children who have similar conditions. They would be left there unattended and be starved because of the lack of nursery nurses. I am surprised that the little boy was in a very healthy condition when he was returned to his mother after ten months. Although the child is well taken care of, it does not mean the Chinese family was not harmed. When Lae Choo was going to hug his son whom she missed so much, the little boy stepped back from her. I feel so sad for Lae Choo because she has suffered so much when her boy is away. She has longed for the day when she can get back her child. I think the boy has accommodated to the living with white people. He held hands with the white woman and hide in the folds of her skirts but at the same time withdrew himself from his mother. Lae Choo must be heartbreaking. I believe this is only one of the examples of how Chinese suffered in America at that time. If the child has not been taken away from Lae Choo, their wonderful relationship illustrated at the beginning of the story would not be destroyed. Alternatively, if Hom Hing and Lae Choo had been wealthier than they were and paid for getting help in obtaining the required documentation earlier, their family would not have suffered as much.
English 48B
13 March, 2008
Journal #34 Sui Sin Far
Quote:
“The little boy’s face was round and dimpled and his eyes were very bright…She fell on her knees and stretched her hungry arms toward her son. But the Little One shrunk from her and tried to hide himself in the folds of the white woman’s skirt.”
Summary:
This is found at the end of the story. In this quote, “she” refers to Lae Choo. This is the first sight of her son after Lae Choo was separated from him for ten months and the reaction of the kid when he saw his mother.
Response:
The ending of this story is so sorrowful. When the customs officers were going to take Hom Hing and Lae Choo’s child, they claimed that the child will be “well taken care of”. According to this quote, the child had a round face and bright eyes after being taken away from his mother for ten months. I think the child should have been well taken care of. When I was reading the story, I thought the child would be tortured. I imagined that he would be put in a room crowded with children who have similar conditions. They would be left there unattended and be starved because of the lack of nursery nurses. I am surprised that the little boy was in a very healthy condition when he was returned to his mother after ten months. Although the child is well taken care of, it does not mean the Chinese family was not harmed. When Lae Choo was going to hug his son whom she missed so much, the little boy stepped back from her. I feel so sad for Lae Choo because she has suffered so much when her boy is away. She has longed for the day when she can get back her child. I think the boy has accommodated to the living with white people. He held hands with the white woman and hide in the folds of her skirts but at the same time withdrew himself from his mother. Lae Choo must be heartbreaking. I believe this is only one of the examples of how Chinese suffered in America at that time. If the child has not been taken away from Lae Choo, their wonderful relationship illustrated at the beginning of the story would not be destroyed. Alternatively, if Hom Hing and Lae Choo had been wealthier than they were and paid for getting help in obtaining the required documentation earlier, their family would not have suffered as much.
Journal #33 Sui Sin Far
Shirly Ong
English 48B
13 March, 2008
Journal #33 Sui Sin Far
Quote:
“For twenty moons my wife care for and nurse the old people, and when they die they bless her and my son, and I send for her to return to me. I had no fear of trouble. I was a Chinese merchant and my son was my son.
Summary:
In this quote, Hom Hing was telling the customs officers about his wife and his son after the officers told him they must take away his son.
Response:
When I was reading the story, I think it is weird that Hom Hing tells the officers about what Lae Choo did after giving birth to their child and how his parents blessed them. These are not related to the immigration status of his son at all. However, when I read this quote again, I think Hom Hing is actually expressing indirectly how eager he is to have his wife and his son staying with him in the United States. To have his son born in his home country China, he was separated from Lae Choo. After his son’s birth, his parents, who were in China, fell sick and Lae Choo took care of them until they die. For this expected events, Hom Hing and Lae Choo have been separated for a long period of time. I believe Hom Hing must have missed them so much. He should be very upset and disappointed to learn that his son must be taken away from him again. I feel so sorry fro Hom Hing and Lae Choo. It is sad that their family had to be separated again after they got together at the steamer shortly. It is so cruel to them. In spite of his disappointment, I think Hom Hing stayed calm and strong. He exclaimed that he had no fear of trouble. This shows his strong desire to stay with Lae Choo and his son. To me, the quote “I was a Chinese merchant and my son was my son” shows that he was very proud to be a Chinese merchant and he was very proud of his son. It is a pity that the officers were not moved by Hom Hing’s words and insisted to take away his son, according to the law.
English 48B
13 March, 2008
Journal #33 Sui Sin Far
Quote:
“For twenty moons my wife care for and nurse the old people, and when they die they bless her and my son, and I send for her to return to me. I had no fear of trouble. I was a Chinese merchant and my son was my son.
Summary:
In this quote, Hom Hing was telling the customs officers about his wife and his son after the officers told him they must take away his son.
Response:
When I was reading the story, I think it is weird that Hom Hing tells the officers about what Lae Choo did after giving birth to their child and how his parents blessed them. These are not related to the immigration status of his son at all. However, when I read this quote again, I think Hom Hing is actually expressing indirectly how eager he is to have his wife and his son staying with him in the United States. To have his son born in his home country China, he was separated from Lae Choo. After his son’s birth, his parents, who were in China, fell sick and Lae Choo took care of them until they die. For this expected events, Hom Hing and Lae Choo have been separated for a long period of time. I believe Hom Hing must have missed them so much. He should be very upset and disappointed to learn that his son must be taken away from him again. I feel so sorry fro Hom Hing and Lae Choo. It is sad that their family had to be separated again after they got together at the steamer shortly. It is so cruel to them. In spite of his disappointment, I think Hom Hing stayed calm and strong. He exclaimed that he had no fear of trouble. This shows his strong desire to stay with Lae Choo and his son. To me, the quote “I was a Chinese merchant and my son was my son” shows that he was very proud to be a Chinese merchant and he was very proud of his son. It is a pity that the officers were not moved by Hom Hing’s words and insisted to take away his son, according to the law.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Journal #32 Henry James
Shirly Ong
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #32 Henry James
Quote:
“’You were right in that remark that you made last summer. I was booked to make a mistake. I have lived too long in foreign parts.’ Nevertheless, he went back to live at Geneva…he is ‘studying’ hard—an intimation that he is much interested in a very clever foreign lady.”
Summary:
This quote appears at the end of the story “Daisy Miller: A Study”. It is a conversation between Mrs. Costello and Winterbourne. This quote also reveals the life of Winterbourne after Daisy Miler’s death.
Response:
This quote shows that Winterbourne thinks Mrs. Costello was right at the beginning of the story that he should not get along with Daisy Miller. Here, I am confused with how Winterbourne actually feel about Daisy Miller. It seemed he cared and liked her so much. He was still angry with Mr. Giovanelli for he brought Daisy Miller to the Colosseum. However, when Winterbourne met Mrs. Costello later, I think his attitude has changed. He does not care about Daisy Miller anymore. I think his life is going on as if Daisy Miller never appeared. To me, it is a big contrast to what he did earlier in the story. As he went back to Geneva, he is interested in a foreign lady, who is elder than her and is very clever. I think it infers that Winterbourne feels himself had lived in Europe for such a long time and it was a mistake for him to get along with an American innocent girl like Daisy Miller. Therefore, he is now interested in a clever foreign lady. Personally, I do not like Winterbourne. I believe he could have better treasured Daisy Miller before she dies, even though he doubts about her innocence only because he has lived in Europe for a long time.
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #32 Henry James
Quote:
“’You were right in that remark that you made last summer. I was booked to make a mistake. I have lived too long in foreign parts.’ Nevertheless, he went back to live at Geneva…he is ‘studying’ hard—an intimation that he is much interested in a very clever foreign lady.”
Summary:
This quote appears at the end of the story “Daisy Miller: A Study”. It is a conversation between Mrs. Costello and Winterbourne. This quote also reveals the life of Winterbourne after Daisy Miler’s death.
Response:
This quote shows that Winterbourne thinks Mrs. Costello was right at the beginning of the story that he should not get along with Daisy Miller. Here, I am confused with how Winterbourne actually feel about Daisy Miller. It seemed he cared and liked her so much. He was still angry with Mr. Giovanelli for he brought Daisy Miller to the Colosseum. However, when Winterbourne met Mrs. Costello later, I think his attitude has changed. He does not care about Daisy Miller anymore. I think his life is going on as if Daisy Miller never appeared. To me, it is a big contrast to what he did earlier in the story. As he went back to Geneva, he is interested in a foreign lady, who is elder than her and is very clever. I think it infers that Winterbourne feels himself had lived in Europe for such a long time and it was a mistake for him to get along with an American innocent girl like Daisy Miller. Therefore, he is now interested in a clever foreign lady. Personally, I do not like Winterbourne. I believe he could have better treasured Daisy Miller before she dies, even though he doubts about her innocence only because he has lived in Europe for a long time.
Journal #31 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Shirly Ong
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #31 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote:
“Such a story ought not to be written, he said; it was enough to drive anyone mad to read it…I was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from driven crazy, and it worked.”
Summary:
This quote appears in ‘Why I Wrote “The Yellow Wall-Paper”?’. The first part of the quote is told by a Boston physician when the story is first published. The second part of the quote is what Gilman responds to this Boston physician later.
Response:
When I am reading the story, I do not feel I am driven mad. However, I am not surprised that this story was protested when it is published because the “rest cure” was believed to be the most suitable treatment for woman’s “nervous” disorder. This therapy is used by the most famous American neurologist at that time. In the story, the woman is undergoing the “rest cure” for three months but it seems she turned worse after that. After reading this story, I have no wonder why Gilman is the leading speaker, writer, and theoretician on women’s issues of her time. I think she has such a strong stance and she would express her ideas even though the society may not accept it. Even though the idea of the story is not entirely accepted, Gilman sent a copy of her story to the physician who prescribed a “rest cure” to her. I think she is a strong and brave woman. I believe many women would not be capable of expressing their views at that time. Later, when Gilman finds out that physician actually altered his treatment after reading her story, she expressed that her intention of writing this story is to “save people from driven crazy”. Obviously, her story works. This shows how powerful her writing is. I appreciate and enjoy this story very much. This is my favorite story in this class so far.
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #31 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote:
“Such a story ought not to be written, he said; it was enough to drive anyone mad to read it…I was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from driven crazy, and it worked.”
Summary:
This quote appears in ‘Why I Wrote “The Yellow Wall-Paper”?’. The first part of the quote is told by a Boston physician when the story is first published. The second part of the quote is what Gilman responds to this Boston physician later.
Response:
When I am reading the story, I do not feel I am driven mad. However, I am not surprised that this story was protested when it is published because the “rest cure” was believed to be the most suitable treatment for woman’s “nervous” disorder. This therapy is used by the most famous American neurologist at that time. In the story, the woman is undergoing the “rest cure” for three months but it seems she turned worse after that. After reading this story, I have no wonder why Gilman is the leading speaker, writer, and theoretician on women’s issues of her time. I think she has such a strong stance and she would express her ideas even though the society may not accept it. Even though the idea of the story is not entirely accepted, Gilman sent a copy of her story to the physician who prescribed a “rest cure” to her. I think she is a strong and brave woman. I believe many women would not be capable of expressing their views at that time. Later, when Gilman finds out that physician actually altered his treatment after reading her story, she expressed that her intention of writing this story is to “save people from driven crazy”. Obviously, her story works. This shows how powerful her writing is. I appreciate and enjoy this story very much. This is my favorite story in this class so far.
Journal #30 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Shirly Ong
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #30 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote:
“He said I was his darling and his comfort and all he had, and that I must take care of myself for his sake, and keep well.”
Summary:
The woman recalls what her husband, John, said to comfort her in the room.
Response:
This quote shows that John is a very loving and caring husband. He cares a lot about his wife and her illness. Before this quote, the woman also stressed that “Dear John! He loves me very dearly, and hates to have me sick”. I think the woman believe her husband loves her so much at the beginning even though she could not understand him and get angry with him sometimes. However, I do not agree that John loves the woman so much. To me, many things in the story are strange. First of all, according to the woman, the house is strange. I wonder how John rent this great mansion with a cheap price. Does it mean there are some problems with the house? Or, is he hiding the facts about this mansion? Furthermore, if he is caring so much about his wife, he would have stayed with her every night. As a physician, he claims that he was having serious case that he needs to work overnight. To me, if he is caring so much about his wife’s illness, her case should be the most important one and he would have accompanied her more when he knows the woman wanted him to do so. I think he might have been away from the woman often because of other reasons, like having an affair with another woman. When the woman tells him that she does not like the room with yellow wallpaper and wants to move to other rooms, he insisted that is the only suitable room in the large mansion. Then, he seemed to agree to renovate the room but he asserts that they are only living there for three months, making the woman dare not to request renovation again. In this way, I think the man has had no intentions to renovate the room. He does not want the woman to leave that room. I think this is mysterious. In short, I believe John is keeping some secrets from his wife.
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #30 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote:
“He said I was his darling and his comfort and all he had, and that I must take care of myself for his sake, and keep well.”
Summary:
The woman recalls what her husband, John, said to comfort her in the room.
Response:
This quote shows that John is a very loving and caring husband. He cares a lot about his wife and her illness. Before this quote, the woman also stressed that “Dear John! He loves me very dearly, and hates to have me sick”. I think the woman believe her husband loves her so much at the beginning even though she could not understand him and get angry with him sometimes. However, I do not agree that John loves the woman so much. To me, many things in the story are strange. First of all, according to the woman, the house is strange. I wonder how John rent this great mansion with a cheap price. Does it mean there are some problems with the house? Or, is he hiding the facts about this mansion? Furthermore, if he is caring so much about his wife, he would have stayed with her every night. As a physician, he claims that he was having serious case that he needs to work overnight. To me, if he is caring so much about his wife’s illness, her case should be the most important one and he would have accompanied her more when he knows the woman wanted him to do so. I think he might have been away from the woman often because of other reasons, like having an affair with another woman. When the woman tells him that she does not like the room with yellow wallpaper and wants to move to other rooms, he insisted that is the only suitable room in the large mansion. Then, he seemed to agree to renovate the room but he asserts that they are only living there for three months, making the woman dare not to request renovation again. In this way, I think the man has had no intentions to renovate the room. He does not want the woman to leave that room. I think this is mysterious. In short, I believe John is keeping some secrets from his wife.
Journal #29 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Shirly Ong
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #29 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote:
“I quite enjoy the room, now it is bare again...I have locked the door and thrown the key down into the front path, and I don’t want to have anybody come in, till John comes. I want to astonish him.”
Summary:
This quote appears at the end of the story “The Yellow Wall-Paper”, when the woman finished stripping off the wallpaper.
Response:
I am surprised to read this. I think the woman is SO MAD when I learn that she actually enjoys the room, as it is bare, without wallpaper. At the beginning of the story, she hates the room because of the wallpaper. She hates its color, its condition, and its patterns. Yet, her husband, John does not let her move to another room anyhow. To “escape” from the room with the yellow wallpaper, she starts stripping off the wallpaper. I feel she is so poor to be trapped in a room that she hates for three months. If I were the woman, I would be so desperate. I would like to leave the room as soon as possible. The woman wants to leave the room sooner too. However, on the last day of the three months, she locked herself in the room and threw the key out of the room because she does not want other people to set her free before John comes. This does not make sense to me. I would definitely want to leave the room early in the morning if I could. I think the woman is so crazy that she wants to astonish her husband, who is a physician, by the bare wall. At the beginning of the story, I do not think the woman is mentally ill be cause she was so calm even though she hates the room. She simply did not understand why her husband put her in a room she does not like. As I come to the end of the story, I think she is acting so madly. If she is surely ill at the beginning, I feel her condition deteriorate after the “rest therapy”. I wonder if this is what her husband want, for he put her in a weird room.
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #29 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote:
“I quite enjoy the room, now it is bare again...I have locked the door and thrown the key down into the front path, and I don’t want to have anybody come in, till John comes. I want to astonish him.”
Summary:
This quote appears at the end of the story “The Yellow Wall-Paper”, when the woman finished stripping off the wallpaper.
Response:
I am surprised to read this. I think the woman is SO MAD when I learn that she actually enjoys the room, as it is bare, without wallpaper. At the beginning of the story, she hates the room because of the wallpaper. She hates its color, its condition, and its patterns. Yet, her husband, John does not let her move to another room anyhow. To “escape” from the room with the yellow wallpaper, she starts stripping off the wallpaper. I feel she is so poor to be trapped in a room that she hates for three months. If I were the woman, I would be so desperate. I would like to leave the room as soon as possible. The woman wants to leave the room sooner too. However, on the last day of the three months, she locked herself in the room and threw the key out of the room because she does not want other people to set her free before John comes. This does not make sense to me. I would definitely want to leave the room early in the morning if I could. I think the woman is so crazy that she wants to astonish her husband, who is a physician, by the bare wall. At the beginning of the story, I do not think the woman is mentally ill be cause she was so calm even though she hates the room. She simply did not understand why her husband put her in a room she does not like. As I come to the end of the story, I think she is acting so madly. If she is surely ill at the beginning, I feel her condition deteriorate after the “rest therapy”. I wonder if this is what her husband want, for he put her in a weird room.
Journal #28 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Shirly Ong
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #28 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote:
“The paint and paper look as if a boys' school had used it. It is stripped off--the paper--in great patches all around the head of my bed, about as far as I can reach, and in a great place on the other side of the room low down. I never saw a worse paper in my life.”
Summary:
The woman in the story “The Yellow Wall-Paper” thinks that the room has been used by a boys’ school as she observe the environment of the room.
Response:
Obviously, the environment of the room in “The Yellow Wall-Paper” is weird. There are a fixed bed, barred windows, and some rings on the wall. The yellow wallpaper with sprawling flamboyant patterns is stripped off while the floor is scratched, gouged, and splintered. Moreover, the room has a smell, according to the woman. There can be many predictions about the previous use of the room. This quote shows that the woman believe a boys’ school has been using this room. She thinks the wallpaper and floor were damaged by the naughty boys while the windows were barred for them. She believes the boys also hated the yellow wallpaper. For me, I do not like the wallpaper neither. It would be terrible if I have wallpaper with the color of sulphur tints and with a dull lurid orange in some places.
Like many of my peers, I think the room was used to tenant people with mental problems, instead of naughty boys. This is a more reasonable explanation because it is unlikely for the kids to have such a great power to scratch and gouge the floor. Besides, it would be strange to have a fixed bed and rings in a boys’ school’s room. On the contrary, I think the damage of the room could have been done when mentally ill patients were locked and left in the room, which made them angry and violent. The woman in the story did the same thing. The rings in the room could have been used to tie patients up when they became too brutal. The windows could have been barred to prevent patients from jumping off it. The bed was fixed to prevent the patients from further damaging the room and harming themselves. These are better explanations for the queer decoration of the room.
I think this story is interesting because it is written from a perspective of a woman who is believed to be mentally ill. Thus, her idea about the previous use of the room is different from ours. Throughout the story, no definite answer about this query is given. Yet, the woman’s idea is mostly reasonable.
English 48B
7 March, 2008
Journal #28 Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Quote:
“The paint and paper look as if a boys' school had used it. It is stripped off--the paper--in great patches all around the head of my bed, about as far as I can reach, and in a great place on the other side of the room low down. I never saw a worse paper in my life.”
Summary:
The woman in the story “The Yellow Wall-Paper” thinks that the room has been used by a boys’ school as she observe the environment of the room.
Response:
Obviously, the environment of the room in “The Yellow Wall-Paper” is weird. There are a fixed bed, barred windows, and some rings on the wall. The yellow wallpaper with sprawling flamboyant patterns is stripped off while the floor is scratched, gouged, and splintered. Moreover, the room has a smell, according to the woman. There can be many predictions about the previous use of the room. This quote shows that the woman believe a boys’ school has been using this room. She thinks the wallpaper and floor were damaged by the naughty boys while the windows were barred for them. She believes the boys also hated the yellow wallpaper. For me, I do not like the wallpaper neither. It would be terrible if I have wallpaper with the color of sulphur tints and with a dull lurid orange in some places.
Like many of my peers, I think the room was used to tenant people with mental problems, instead of naughty boys. This is a more reasonable explanation because it is unlikely for the kids to have such a great power to scratch and gouge the floor. Besides, it would be strange to have a fixed bed and rings in a boys’ school’s room. On the contrary, I think the damage of the room could have been done when mentally ill patients were locked and left in the room, which made them angry and violent. The woman in the story did the same thing. The rings in the room could have been used to tie patients up when they became too brutal. The windows could have been barred to prevent patients from jumping off it. The bed was fixed to prevent the patients from further damaging the room and harming themselves. These are better explanations for the queer decoration of the room.
I think this story is interesting because it is written from a perspective of a woman who is believed to be mentally ill. Thus, her idea about the previous use of the room is different from ours. Throughout the story, no definite answer about this query is given. Yet, the woman’s idea is mostly reasonable.
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