Aimee Bender's first story that we read in class "End of the Line" was an interesting read. The moral of this story was hard to decipher, because of the twists in the story. At first, the relationship between the big man and the little man seems to be one of odd companionship because the little man is the big man's pet. Later in the story, though, the big man starts to get jealous of the little man's story and his life--one that he maybe wishes that he has --and begins to torture the little man. This change in the story indicates that the big man is most likely unstable in some way. The way that he treats the little man also shows that he is power-hungry and since he can't find any sort of way to control his reality (with being denied a date at work, and not having any friends) being able to control the little man is a way for him to be powerful.
The next part of the story was confusing. The big man is torturing the little man, demanding to see his family, and the little man is denying him. The big man, instead of killing the little man, stops torturing him, and concedes with "okay". The big man then ends up taking care of the little man until letting him go four days later. It is not apparent at first whether or not the big man is treating the little man so well out of his care for him or not. A page later, though, the big man says that the reason that he lets the little man go, was because he wasn't any fun anymore--indicating that the big man wanted power over the little man, and now that it was gone he didn't want him anymore, and also that he is sick to want to torture the little man.
"End of the Line" ends when the big man takes the train to the end of the line, and finds a little person hat, and calls out that he wants to be part of the little people society. His motivations, though, are sketchy at best. For one, the big man didn't care about the little man that he originally had as a pet, so why would he suddenly turn around and say that he wanted to protect the little people? Also, it is likely that the big man just wants to feel powerful again, God like to all the little people that he could control.
Allison Weening, Post 6
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Post 6
This week the readings we read in class have been very interesting. Especially the readings this week that had to deal with the author Aimme Bender. At first I really did not like the of reading this far in course. Then when reading these stories I really thought the content of the books and stories we were reading were really weird. I really find it personally hard to read these types of stories and books, because I am the type of person who likes more concrete things (politics), and not metaphors, poems, etc.. That is why I personally find this class and trying to participate in the class very challenging. I realized this in high school when I did well in all my other classes, but English was never my strong point, not the writing part but that analysis of poems and different kinds of writing. But with these readings I began to look more into the meanings of the readings and different authors code meanings in their works.
The first story we read by Bender was the story The End of the Line. This when I first read it was extremely weird to me. The entire thing at first made no sense, and at first glance I was like why is this women being paid to write stuff like this. But then I cleared my mind and read it for a second time. After reading it a second time i did realize there were different metaphors in the story which readers can learn from. The story is written like a fairy tale, but the message doesnt hit you over the head like other fairy tales do. The aspect of the story with the big man abusing the little man can definitely be seen as a metaphor for bullying and how someone can deal with bullying. Also the part where the big man puts the little man down his pants, I thought was a metaphor for sexual abuse in any kind of relationship, and how humiliating and devastating it can be for the person being abused. The story also can be seen as how someone which i thought had a psychological problem (the big man) needs an intervention in order to stop acting the bi polar way he did throughout the story. If he had someone there to help him he would have been able to stop his destructive ways. This is also another real life connection because people in rehab or with mental problems or addictions usually need intervention from family or friends to help them and put them on the right track, something the big man lacked. But throughout the course i will continue to try and read the readings the best way i can, and hopefully improve and maybe begin to enjoy them at some point.
Post 6 Kenny Liszewski
The first story we read by Bender was the story The End of the Line. This when I first read it was extremely weird to me. The entire thing at first made no sense, and at first glance I was like why is this women being paid to write stuff like this. But then I cleared my mind and read it for a second time. After reading it a second time i did realize there were different metaphors in the story which readers can learn from. The story is written like a fairy tale, but the message doesnt hit you over the head like other fairy tales do. The aspect of the story with the big man abusing the little man can definitely be seen as a metaphor for bullying and how someone can deal with bullying. Also the part where the big man puts the little man down his pants, I thought was a metaphor for sexual abuse in any kind of relationship, and how humiliating and devastating it can be for the person being abused. The story also can be seen as how someone which i thought had a psychological problem (the big man) needs an intervention in order to stop acting the bi polar way he did throughout the story. If he had someone there to help him he would have been able to stop his destructive ways. This is also another real life connection because people in rehab or with mental problems or addictions usually need intervention from family or friends to help them and put them on the right track, something the big man lacked. But throughout the course i will continue to try and read the readings the best way i can, and hopefully improve and maybe begin to enjoy them at some point.
Post 6 Kenny Liszewski
Aimee Bender
I have really enjoyed the first two stories by Aimee Bender. The first story "End of the Line" was very different. I thought it was interesting how she incorporates fictional themes into the real world. For example she writes about how regular people live in a world with little people. I also thought it was interesting how it said, "friendly people got dogs and the independent people got cats," and how we talked about what kind of person gets small people. I didn't think the the big man had a mental disorder but I think he was very controlling and needed to abuse the little man. I also liked how at the end of the story the big and small man almost switch places.
I also liked the second story, "Fruit and Words." I was actually able to stay focused and read this story in a room full of people which made me realize how good of a job Bender did at keeping my attention and keeping me interested in the story. When I was reading the story I got the impression that the vender was almost like a con artist. She got the people's attention by showing off the great fruit and then once they by that they see the words made out of what they are and they will by that. Once they find that interesting they want to see more and she charges them to see more like the liquids and gases. Once they see the liquids they start to look the same and you can't tell if they are real or not. Then once they get to gases, she can tell them whatever she wants. Once the lady breaks the air she is charged for it even though she didn't do anything. People get suckered into breaking something and having to pay for it.
Wendy Rose post
Response to prompt #1
Based on Rose's poems Julia and Truganinny are viewed as outcasts for a couple of reasons. Julia is viewed as an outcast because of her facial deformities. She was a mexican woman who had long hair on her face and body and went around the world as a circus freak. She was called "The Ugliest Woman alive". She married to her manager thinking that she had actually found true love. She soon found out that he just married her for a financial investment. In a line in her poem she says " Tell me it was just a dream, my husband, ......that our marriage is made of malice and money." I feel that it was very wrong for her husband to do that to her, although her husband was found to be insane and died in asylum. Julia was viewed as an outcast and a circus freak and she just wanted to find her place in the world. She thought that she had found it with her husband, but she was wrong. Her husband just wanted to further exploit her as an outcast and freak. He put Julia on display to make money.
Truganinny was viewed as an outcast also because of her appearance and because she was the last of the Tasmanians. She did not want to be viewed as an outcast even after she died. She asked to be buried when she died but instead she was stuffed just like her husband and put on display. She was also put on display to exploit her appearance with no consideration to her feelings. This was the last thing that she wanted to happen but it was inevitable because no one cared about her, they just cared about themselves.
Based on Rose's poems Julia and Truganinny are viewed as outcasts for a couple of reasons. Julia is viewed as an outcast because of her facial deformities. She was a mexican woman who had long hair on her face and body and went around the world as a circus freak. She was called "The Ugliest Woman alive". She married to her manager thinking that she had actually found true love. She soon found out that he just married her for a financial investment. In a line in her poem she says " Tell me it was just a dream, my husband, ......that our marriage is made of malice and money." I feel that it was very wrong for her husband to do that to her, although her husband was found to be insane and died in asylum. Julia was viewed as an outcast and a circus freak and she just wanted to find her place in the world. She thought that she had found it with her husband, but she was wrong. Her husband just wanted to further exploit her as an outcast and freak. He put Julia on display to make money.
Truganinny was viewed as an outcast also because of her appearance and because she was the last of the Tasmanians. She did not want to be viewed as an outcast even after she died. She asked to be buried when she died but instead she was stuffed just like her husband and put on display. She was also put on display to exploit her appearance with no consideration to her feelings. This was the last thing that she wanted to happen but it was inevitable because no one cared about her, they just cared about themselves.
Amiee Bender Readings
Amiee Bender uses some very different styles of writing to get her point across to the reader. She uses both fabulism and magical realism to create her story and deliver her message. These styles engage the reader with their creativity and openness of interpretation. I do view these stories messages to be similar though.
In the first story we read, "End of the Line", we see her use of magical realism more than her fabulism. The story starts off with a man searching for a pet to keep him company. The story, however, take an magical kind of turn when he ends up purchasing a little man to be his pet. He enjoys the man at first but the enjoyment quickly turns to abuse. He proceeds to drug the little man and put him down his pants. Near the end of the story he suddenly has a change of heart and allows the little man to go back to his home.
In "Fruit and Words" we find a woman in an abusive and unhappy relationship that comes to a head when she is left at the alter by her boyfriend of seven years. On her trip home she has the urge for something she has never had before, a mango. This is symbolic of her wish for a fresh new relationship. Once again to this point in the story it seems to be a realistic description of a persons life. Yet, when she goes to a store to buy some mangos she seems to have a fantasy or daydream. She sees the word of a product made by the product itself, and on her way home the mangos she purchased rotten rapidly.
The moral I got from both of these stories is that it is important to be careful what you wish for and realize that your actions can greatly affect others around you. In "End of the Line" the big man purchases a little man because he thinks it will help solve his loneliness, yet he tears the Little man away from his family and hurts him. He gets bored with him and in the end has nothing positive to show for his purchase. The woman in "Fruit and Words" wishes for a new relationship but just like the mangos rot so can relationships. It takes work and not wishes to make positive changes.
In the first story we read, "End of the Line", we see her use of magical realism more than her fabulism. The story starts off with a man searching for a pet to keep him company. The story, however, take an magical kind of turn when he ends up purchasing a little man to be his pet. He enjoys the man at first but the enjoyment quickly turns to abuse. He proceeds to drug the little man and put him down his pants. Near the end of the story he suddenly has a change of heart and allows the little man to go back to his home.
In "Fruit and Words" we find a woman in an abusive and unhappy relationship that comes to a head when she is left at the alter by her boyfriend of seven years. On her trip home she has the urge for something she has never had before, a mango. This is symbolic of her wish for a fresh new relationship. Once again to this point in the story it seems to be a realistic description of a persons life. Yet, when she goes to a store to buy some mangos she seems to have a fantasy or daydream. She sees the word of a product made by the product itself, and on her way home the mangos she purchased rotten rapidly.
The moral I got from both of these stories is that it is important to be careful what you wish for and realize that your actions can greatly affect others around you. In "End of the Line" the big man purchases a little man because he thinks it will help solve his loneliness, yet he tears the Little man away from his family and hurts him. He gets bored with him and in the end has nothing positive to show for his purchase. The woman in "Fruit and Words" wishes for a new relationship but just like the mangos rot so can relationships. It takes work and not wishes to make positive changes.
Aimee Bender
Aimee Bender's surreal style of writing is not only interesting but very intriguing. She uses her fantasy stories in order to teach real life lessons and morals. In addition, she includes much symbolism in her writing to support teaching a lesson. This can be seen inn her story "fruit and words." In this story, she teaches her readers lessons in hope and love.
The narrator of the story is in an unhealthy relatinship with her boyfriend of 7 years, Steve. He is unwilling to commit to her and put effort into being with her. He's entirely unreliable. Their relationship is blatantly dead; however, they stay together out of comfort & etc. After being stood up in vegas for their wedding, the narrator is drving home alone and finds the sudden craving for a mango. She describes a mango as fresh and exciting - exactly what she craves in her love life and life in general. She is looking to b refreshed by something, someone because of the stale relationship she's in. The mango becomes a symbol for our hopes and dreams.
Hope is another important symbol in the story. While in the store she finds, the narrator breaks the word "hope," symbolizing the absence of hope in her relationship with steve.
Aimee Bender wants to send the message to her readers to have faith and hope; however not in things that cannot last or are not true such as the relationship with Steve. It is important to know when to let go of our hope in things which fail.
Angela Feeney
Posg #5 Week 6
The narrator of the story is in an unhealthy relatinship with her boyfriend of 7 years, Steve. He is unwilling to commit to her and put effort into being with her. He's entirely unreliable. Their relationship is blatantly dead; however, they stay together out of comfort & etc. After being stood up in vegas for their wedding, the narrator is drving home alone and finds the sudden craving for a mango. She describes a mango as fresh and exciting - exactly what she craves in her love life and life in general. She is looking to b refreshed by something, someone because of the stale relationship she's in. The mango becomes a symbol for our hopes and dreams.
Hope is another important symbol in the story. While in the store she finds, the narrator breaks the word "hope," symbolizing the absence of hope in her relationship with steve.
Aimee Bender wants to send the message to her readers to have faith and hope; however not in things that cannot last or are not true such as the relationship with Steve. It is important to know when to let go of our hope in things which fail.
Angela Feeney
Posg #5 Week 6
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