English Final Topics Flashcards
Pear tree
Metaphor for sex/sexual awakening (bees, flowers blooming) from Johnny Taylor
Nanny & Johnny Taylor
When Nanny finds out about Johnny Taylor (who helped Janie experience sexual awakening) she wants to get rid of him
“De mule uh de world”
Black women are mules of the world, below everyone else in the world
White men > black men > black women
Black men have horrible lives & then come home & take it out on their wives
The rapes
The two generations of rape in Janie’s family
Nanny was raped by the white plantation owner & Janie’s mother was raped by her white schoolteacher
Safety first
Nanny wants Janie to have a good, stable husband to take care of her & give her an easy & comfortable life
Safety before love
Nanny prioritizes Janie’s protection before her desire to marry for love
“Come help me move dis manure pile”
The manure pile is a shit field
He wants Janie to help move it because she is seen as garbage to Logan Killicks
Jody’s dream
Go to Eatonville & put it on the map
Put a post office in it make it an official town
Start a black town
House/field
House slaves had food & shelter
Field slaves were more often beaten & worked harder
House slaves were lighter & field slaves were darker
The street lamp
Indication of what Jody wants to turn Eatonville into
Ordered from Sears
Janie & the mule
Janie could not
Janie’s speech making
Janie was not allowed to make speeches
Jody would not let her
The porch
The setting for the oral culture
Oral culture
Happens on the porch
Like hallway, cafeteria, locker rooms, texting, twitter, etc.
“De change uh life”
Shows up Jody in front of a lot of people at the store
That is what Janie calls Jody in the store
Male menopausal woman
First time she stood up to him
“You gointuh listen tuh me one time befo’ you die”
Unloading it all
Ultimate closure between her & Jody (both cruel & unnecessary)
The kerchief
Janie lets her hair down, metaphor for her freedom
Tight kerchief hair was a metaphor for her life with Jody
No longer in Jody’s control
Jody wants Janie under his thumb
The “starched & ironed” face
Janie’s face at Jody’s funeral
Checkers
Tea Cake teaches Janie how to play checkers
Treats her as an equal (no longer classed off)
Girls used to not go into the muck just stayed & watched the store
Tea cake let her get involved
“Janie, everybody’s talking”
About Janie and Tea Cake (he’s young, below her class, not good enough for her according to people in Eatonville)
She shouldn’t be with tea cake because he is a gold digger and young but Janie does not hear a word they’re saying
Phoebe told Janie everybody was talking about them
$200
Tea Cake took Janie’s money and threw a party but did not tell her & Janie doesn’t want Tea Cake to go out and have fun without her
Tea Cake wins back the money he lost gambling
Janie does not tell tea cake about this but he finds it and throws a party
She is not upset about money she is upset that she wasnt inviited to it - boxed off again
The muck: Garden of Eden
Janie finally gets to be a part of things
Not seen as being too good for anything but when she gets out of the muck she gets to be with everyone & be in the Garden of Eden or Heaven on Earth
“Jody classed me off”
Janie was not allowed to participate in conversations
Jody would say Janie was not allowed to talk to everyone on the porch because thought they were too trashy for her and him
Mrs Turner: the snake
Was the snake that broke up Adam & Eve
Broke them up because she worshiped lightness of skin & did not want Janie to be with Tea Cake (who was dark)
wanted Janie to marry her brother because she thought tea Cake was trash
The flood
Janie can start fresh after the flood
Tea Cake is gone & she ends up in Eatonville happy & independent
The flood wipes out all of the evil of mankind in the Bible
Jim Crow burials
White people in coffins
Black people are just thrown in the ground
“She pulled in her horizon like a great fish net”
She took the horizon in & just let herself be embraced in it
Janie is a dreamer
Afraid she was never going to ge to the horizon
The central metaphor of “Constantly Risking Absurdity”
When walking on the tightrope one can fall and crash and burn
Saying that writing poetry is basically impossible
It is easy to crash and burn and mess up the poem
It is easy to crash and burn and mess up the poem
Theme of “Constantly Risking Absurdity”
When you are trying to reach beauty you have to walk on a tight rope and still do fancy tricks while still on the tight rope
Beauty in “Constantly Risking Absurdity”
Trying to get & catch beauty but it is very hard to get it
You must make your poem beautiful & make sure it has imagery, metaphors, etc.
The little Charley Chaplin man in “Constantly Risking Absurdity”
Little Charley Chaplin man is trying to catch beauty as it is walking on a tight rope but he will not be able to do it
He is ineffectual
Trying to catch beauty
Imagery in “Harlem”
A sore that runs - tactile
Stink like rotten meat - olfactory
Syrupy sweet - gustatory
Maybe it just snags - kinesthetic
The theme in “Harlem”
When you back people into a corner even a little thing can spark a major reaction (explosion)
Imagery in “Meeting at Night”
Two hearts beating - kinesthetic
Sea scented beach - olfactory
Slushy sand - Auditory
Yellow moon - visual
Imagery in “Out Out”
How the saw acted
Personification & the way the saw was portrayed
Allusion in “Out Out”
“Out out damn spot, out out brief candle” from Macbeth
Metaphor in “Out Out”
Life can end at any minute but it does not matter that he died, everyone will just go on with their affairs
Tone in “Out Out”
First sweet & imaginative then becomes horrific & sad
Personification in “Out Out”
The saw
It leapt like an animal
As if it knew what dinner was
Imagery in “The Life Guard”
The moon
Hands turn to stone
Allusion in “The Life Guard”
He wants to be like Jesus
He wants to be a savior but he was unable to save the kid
Walking on water
The central metaphor in “The Road Not Taken”
The road splitting represents a decision you can make
Sometimes it is better to take the road less taken
Ways lead on to way “The Road Not Taken”
One road leading to another
Shows how decisions will affect future decisions
Frost’s own life in “The Road Not Taken”
He had the opportunity to be a farmer but he took the road less taken because he decided to become a poet
Central metaphor in “Africa”
Poem is turning the continent of Africa into a person
Personification in “Africa”
Personification of Africa
Allusions in “Africa”
Slave trade
The central metaphor in “Ex Basketball Player”
He used to have a great life but he does not anymore
Images in “Ex Basketball Player”
He works on pearl street but his life is not like a pearl anymore
He dribbles around with the 5 gas pumps
Irony in “Ex Basketball Player”
Incredibly skilled basketball player becomes a gas pump worker
What Mr. Pirzada had in Pakistan (Bangladesh) vs. what he has in the US
He has a lot less in the US than in Pakistand
Mr. Pirzada “no longer considered Indian” but “Mr. Pirzada & my parents spoke the same language, laughed at the same jokes, looked more or less the same”
They can still relate even though they are from different countries
What Lilia learned in school in When Mr Pirzada Came to Dine
She learns about the American Revolution every year & does not know anything about Indian history
“One can only hope… that Dacca refugees are as heartily fed”
Mr Pirzada feels guilty because he can eat and is safe but in Dacca maybe not
“See children your age, what they do to survive”
References the bad stuff in Dacca
“Is this book part of your report, Lilia?”
Lilia was doing a school project & she went into the library to study but was looking at a book about Apartheid
The teacher is yelling at her because she is supposed to study the American Revolution
On Halloween in When Mr Pirzada Came to Dine: “Several people told me that they had never seen an Indian witch before”
Mr. Pirzada is worried about the danger because of the danger in his home in Dacca
Mr Pirzada returns home “to discover what was left of it”
He is scared that he will return and everyone will be dead
“Eventually I threw him away” in When Mr Pirzada Came to Dine
She is waving good bye to Mr. Pirzada
The box with the candies that Mr Pirzada had given to her
The Dases: second generation India-Americans, born in US, parents returned to India
Their parents were from India but are so Americanized
Mr Kapasi interpreting maladies, double meaning
Interpreting peoples maladies in one language and then translating it into another language
Mrs Das started acting as if he was a therapist
Mrs Das’s secret
She had an affair
Mr Kapasi’s fantasy
That Mrs Das will fall in love with him
Mr Das taking a picture for the Christmas card
This is a very American thing
Grew up Hindu probably but have changed to be so American
The monkeys in the Interpreter of Maladies
Shows the chaos of the family, shows the foreignness of India to the family
“God let’s get out of here” in Interpreter of Maladies
She wants to get back to New Jersey
See’s India as a foreign land a 3rd world country that she is too good for
“…The slip of paper with Mr Kapasi’s address…fluttered away
in the wind…” in Interpreter of Maladies
The connection between the old world and the new world flutters away
Mr Kapasi realizes there was no chance that something could happen
Laxmi’s cousin’s husband in Sexy
She is getting cheated on by someone he met on a plane
“At first Miranda thought it was a religion” in Sexy
Reference to Bengali
“She thought he might be Spanish or Lebanese” in Sexy
Someone who is foreign is exotic, she is also pretty American
Flowers, doors, & hand kisses in Sexy
Romantic things that Dev does for Miranda
“Miranda & Dev didn’t argue” in Sexy
They are in the “honeymoon stage”
“You’re sexy” in Sexy
He whispered that from across the room, Rohin also says that to her & how it means loving someone you do not know
“He’s too charming to be real” in Sexy
The stereotypical sexy foreign man
Sweatpants and pickled herring in Sexy
The clothes she wore when they hung out late in their relationship
Shows deteriation of their relationship
“As he talked [about being sent to college in upstate New York during something called the Emergency], he smoked three cigarettes” in Sexy
He smoke three cigarettes he was very sexy foreign esque
The Dixits: “It shamed her now.” in Sexy
The Indian family from Miranda’s childhood, they were ostracized
Dev’s wife resembles the actress in Sexy
Dev’s wife is exotic too
They are meant together but Miranda is just there not good enough to be with Dev
Laxmi’s cousin’s husband wants a divorce in Sexy
Was cheated on by her husband & some random girl on a plane
Rohin memorizing the capitals in Sexy
Foreign students being pushed by their parents
How he dealt with his parents divorce
“Because we’re never going to see each other again” in Sexy
Rohin calls Miranda sexy
“It means loving someone you don’t know” in Sexy
“What does sexy mean”
“At home…we have a driver” in Mrs Sen’s
Difference between the old country and the new country
“She could peel a potato in seconds” in Mrs Sen’s
Food culture of indian, how important it is to cook
“Could I drive all the way to Calcutta?” in Mrs Sen’s
How homesick Mrs. Sen is
The letters from home in Mrs Sen’s
Make her more homesick, She is to attached to india
The fish in Mrs Sen’s
More food culture, she tries to bring India to her
“Mr. Sen would arrive, patting Eliot on the head but not kissing Mrs. Sen”
Weird side effect of an arranged marriage
Shows how different Indian culture is from American culture
“What picture can I send?” in Mrs Sen’s
The relatives in India want pictures of her life, but she does not have one
The cassettes from India in Mrs Sen’s
That is how she remembers her family in India
The accident in Mrs Sen’s
A metaphor that Mrs. Sen’s attempt to assimilate is like one big crash
“Eliot looked out the kitchen window…and said that he was fine” in Mrs Sen’s
Eliot is being isolated, because his mother is rarely there for him
“No we’re not Christian. We’re good little Hindus” in The Blessed House
Twinkle is patronizing her heritage
Sanjeev’s job in The Blessed House
He is an accountant, he is making 3x as much as he needs (he should get a wife)
The housewarming in The Blessed House
They are assimilating to the American world
“…She told him she was bored” in The Blessed House
Stereotypical american wife
“The had met only four months before” in The Blessed House
Typical arranged marriage, family friends
The statue of the Virgin Mary in The Blessed House
Sanjeev hates it because he is more in touch with his religion
“…He assumed that she loved him but now he was no longer sure” in The Blessed House
Because of the artifacts & it is obvious he hates them but Twinkle still keeps them all up
“He had never seen her cry before” in The Blessed House
Sanjeev wants to get rid of the christian stuff
“Great lawn, Sanjeev” in The Blessed House
Christian = Ameican
A sign that he is assimilating
“Your wife’s wow” in The Blessed House
She is exotic, she is also assimilating
Sanjeev’ ladder-flicking fantasy in The Blessed House
He wants to lock them in the attic with all their christian artifacts
The silver bust of Christ in The Blessed House
It is very heavy & resembles a heavy burden for Sanjeev & Twinkle
“Sanjeev…followed her” in The Blessed House
He gave up, he is closer to assimilating
Bengali bachelor’s in The Third & Final Continent
They are all in England
“Don’t expect an English cup of tea” in The Third & Final Continent
Don’t expect good stuff in American
Keep having to adjust to where they are going
Country hopping
Moon landing in The Third & Final Continent
America the great
Small wooden cross in The Third & Final Continent
How different the world is in America
The religion
“A flag on the moon, boy!” in The Third & Final Continent
America the great
“For five nights…she turned from me and wept….I did nothing to console her” in The Third & Final Continent
Arranged marriage, she left everything behind
Did not know eachother
Splendid in The Third & Final Continent
It is what he says to Mrs Croft
“I’d have her arrested” in The Third & Final Continent
What Mrs. Croft would do if she saw someone walking around in a miniskirt, she is old worldish
The narrator’s parents in The Third & Final Continent
He needed to step up because his brother would not
“I gave her a bit of my company” in The Third & Final Continent
Narrator to Mrs. Croft, he is a good guy
“A five-mile separation from her parents…had caused her to weep” in The Third & Final Continent
Mala
His wife got sad over 5 miles but now she is on another continent with someone she barely knows
“She is a perfect lady!” in The Third & Final Continent
They are both old world
The honeymoon in The Third & Final Continent
When they were walking through neighborhoods and everything was all good
Mrs. Croft’s obituary in The Third & Final Continent
She was 103
The Harvard son who speaks Bengali and eats rice with his hands in The Third & Final Continent
The american dream b/c he got to Harvard but he keeps the connections to the old world
The bus in Mrs Sens
We see someone who looks different and pick on them, she had a whole fish
The Annunciation
Mary finds out she is going to be a virgin mother
Paintings by people like Da Vinci, El Greco, etc.
“To Jesus on his Birthday”
While Jesus dies now everyone is just decorating christmas trees
The pastor is just droning on while everyone is thinking about putting presents together & the days they get off
Just kneeling when the pastor goes on because going through the motions of it
Going to target & getting tinsel
Taking Christ out of christmas
Loaves & fishes
Even if you do not have much you can do a lot with a little
Walking on water
Sometimes things seem impossible but they are not
Like it seemed impossible for someone to walk on water but Jesus did it
So much with so litter
The bread of life/manna from heaven
Something good just kind of happens
Mr Buck did not feel like grading papers & he gets a nostalgic email from someone & it is like manna from heaven
Thinks things were not going very well & it all just turns around
“The Jesus Infection”
Evangelicals
The red neck Christians
The people who put stickers on car saying “Honk for Jesus”
Ted Cruz
Rural areas - they farm & if you farm you must have a lot of rain so you must pray
Ten Commandments vs New Testament
The Ten Commandments were very harsh & had the kind of mentality where if you do anything remotely bad you are going to burn
New Testament was much nicer& understood that people make mistakes
Eye for an eye
The punishment must fit the crime Eye for an eye tooth for a tooth Vindictive Jesus was like no way when someone slaps you in the face you are supposed to turn the other cheek Donal Trump
Treasures on earth
Saying you basically put all of your money for retirement but you should use your money on earth
Do not worry about all those treasures just be happy
Lillys of the field
Is saying do not worry about things
Do not worry about all those treasures & 6 majors & putting money aside
Sold foundation: sand vs rock
Must set up a good foundation for yourself - a rocky one
A rocky one is doing your homework & doing sports & doing 6 majors to get into a good college
A sandy one is not doing homework & doing no extra curriculers & not caring about hard classes or not
For Gatsby he had a rocky foundation & then Daisy showed up
The Good Samaritan
The parables
Give food & money
Not Mr Buck because he ignores the homeless men
The Pharisee & the Tax Collecter
The Pharisee is saying thank you to god for making him such a good person
The tax collecter is basically saying woah I suck & asking for gods forgiveness
Pharisee does not have humility
Jesus said that got likes tax collecter better because he is humble
The Prodigal Son & his bitter btother
The prodigal son took all of the fathers money & lost it
Did not have a great life & came home & everyone threw him a party (a huge party)
Older son gets home & tells everyone that the prodigal son was horrible & they throw him a party but when the good son comes home he does not get a party
Prodigal: wasteful, disrespectful
Wasted money on parties & lude minxes
Son expects to come home & beg for a job & a house but gets a party
Be-attitudes
Blessed are…
New Testement
We love the guys who do this …
Very positive & loving
