Blog #15 - Richard Cory

This story is about a man named Richard Cory. Basically, this blog is about how the townspeople always think that Richard Cory is a perfect guy and nothing is ever wrong in his life. For example, the story states, "And he was rich—yes, richer than a king, And admirably schooled in every grace: 10 In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place" (Edwin Arlington Robinson). The whole time the people admired him and wished that they could be as rich and as elegant as him. But little did everyone know that Richard Cory was not as happy and content as everyone thought that he was. "So on we worked, and waited for the light, And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, 15 Went home and put a bullet through his head" (Robinson). In the end Richard Cory committed suicide, which is very sad. Even though he had everything, (at least everything materialistic) something was missing in his life, obviously something very important. I found this quote that is from David Henry Thoreau and I think that it may relate to this story a little. Thoreau says, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. ...." (Thoreau). I think that this very much describes Richard Cory because he was very quiet. He looked perfect on the outside, but on the inside he was desperate. It is sad to think that more people than we realize live this way, at least according to Thoreau. I thought that this story was very sad, but it just goes to show that you never know what is really going on in people's lives. Also, I did like how even though this story was pretty short, it got across a very strong message. So, overall I did not mind this story, and I think that it relates to Thoreau pretty well.


"45. Richard Corey. Edwin Arlington Robinson. Modern American Poetry." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. Web. 05 Mar. 2012.

"Henry David Thoreau." - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss. Web. 05 Mar. 2012.

Blog #13 - I Will Fight No More Forever

I absolutely loved this speech. It was short and simple, but meaningful still. This speech is by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, which were located in Northwest Oregon. The story behind the speech is that the Nez Perce tribe were originally supposed to move to a reservation, but they did not like that and did not want to go. So instead, Chief Joseph tried to lead his tribe of people to Canada so that they would not have to live on the reservations. They made it all the way past Montana and Idaho, but were trapped only about forty miles away from Canada. The tribe fought for about five days, but in the end, they were beaten. This was when Chief Joseph made his speech. In his speech he says that he does not like fighting and he does not want to do it anymore. He also states, " The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead." (Joseph) Because all of the older men are dead, all of the younger ones have to make the decisions now and take that responsibility. It was a great loss, so he continues and finishes by saying, "Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." (Joseph). I think that this relates to Emerson and Thoreau because well, I do not know how they felt about the Indians, but I know that they both did not like slavery, and I feel that this is borderline. They did not like the violence that came from slavery, so in my opinion, I do not think that they would like the violence and loss of life that came from this either (Emerson).


"Famous Emerson Quotes - Philosophy Paradise." Philosophy Paradise. Web. 01 Mar. 2012

"Chief Joseph." Welcome to Georgia State University. Web. 01 Mar. 2012.

Blog #12 - Spoon River Anthology

Spoon River Anthology is not just one narrative or one poem, but in fact a collection of poems. The poems are about people that live in a small Midwestern town. It is really interesting because sometimes, their stories or how they are feeling overlap with each other. So you might hear a persons name in one poem, and then three poems later you might be reading a poem that also includes that person or it is in fact them who wrote it. I love books like that, so I thought that was really interesting and creative. Anyway, I read the poem called "The Hill." This one is about how everyone has their own way of passing away or dying. I think that it was a pretty depressing poem, but it is only one poem out of the whole book. Anyway, it is about death. For example, the poem says, "Where are Ella, Kate, Mag, Lizzie and Edith,The tender heart, the simple soul, the loud, the proud, The happy one?-All, all, are sleeping on the hill. One died in shameful child-birth,One of a thwarted love,
One at the hands of a brute in a brothel,One of a broken pride, in the search for heart’s desire,One after life in far-away London and Paris Was brought to her little space by Ella and Kate and Mag-All, all, are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill." (Masters).
I think that this can maybe relate to Emerson or Thoreau a little bit. I think it might relate because I feel like in this poem, the author talks about death so carelessly, but I think that Thoreau was a little more thoughtful when it came to stuff like that. I also know that when Emerson's wife had passed away, he was crushed. I think that like Thoreau, he was also a little more thoughtful when it came to death. He did not consider her to be "just sleeping on a hill", he was very sad. That is how I think it may relate.


"Spoon River Anthology." Umasd.schoolwires.com/.../lib/.../Masters_(Spoon_River).doc. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.

"Marriage | Emerson - Living Legacy." Harvard Square Library. Web. 01 Mar. 2012.

Blog #11 - The Celebrated Jumping Frogs...

In the story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," there is the narrator, of course, and a man named Simon Wheeler. The narrator was looking for another person so he decided to ask Simon Wheeler some questions. However, the story takes a weird turn I think because Simon starts talking about things that totally does not answer the man's questions, but rather has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I think that this might relate to Emerson because of his philosophy on discipline. Discipline can be defined as "a capacity to make one's actions dependent on some key principles"(Leude). This might be kind of far fetched, but I think that this may relate to Emerson because Emerson very much so believed in discipline and it sounds like Simon Wheeler really did not have any discipline at all. When asked a question, he totally got off topic and did not answer the original question. For lack of better words, I do not think that Simon Wheeler had very much common sense. This can now also relate to Emerson because he believed something like common sense often comes from nature. I am not sure how nature relates to the story necessarily, but I do know that that is what Emerson believed and I think if Emerson had ever known Simon Wheeler, they would have definitely not been friends because Emerson seems very intelligent and thoughtful and Simon Wheeler does not sound like the brightest. I did not like this story really at all. I mean I guess it has a good point to it, but really I thought it was pretty boring and I think it could have been interpreted in several different ways. I think that we have read many other stories that are way better. But anyway, that is how I think Emerson relates.


"Update and Debate on World Religious Issues, Politics, Sociology and Cultural Mediation." World Religion Watch. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." 301 Moved Permanently. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

Blog #10 - "The Red Badge of Courage"

This story can relate to both Ralph Waldo Emerson and David Henry Thoreau for several reasons. First of all, this story is about a young soldier named Henry. The whole time Henry and the other soldiers are walking to where they are going to fight, Henry is very worried and scared. He was scared that when the time for battle came, he would not be able to be courageous, but instead he would want to flee. The problem was, that Henry really wanted a "red badge of courage" like many of the other soldiers that he was fighting with. Anyway, sure enough when the time came for battle, he fled. He was running away and as he was running, he stumbled upon a "tattered" man (Crane). To make a long story short, he leaves the man there to die. The next day he feels really bad about leaving and feels especially bad about leaving the man there all alone to die. He goes out to battle that day and fights like he has never fought before. He ends up being very brave and fighting like a good soldier, and he finally feels courageous.

This relates to Thoreau I think more than Emerson. I think that this relates to Thoreau because, for starters, Henry fled from the battle originally. He was scared. Now, I don't know if Thoreau was scared, but Thoreau did separate himself from society. It just kind of reminded me of Henry fleeing into the woods and stuff. Also, Thoreau and the Union have similar views I think. Both Emerson and Thoreau are against slavery and very much for freedom and that is what the Union was fighting for as well. None of them wanted slavery. So, that is how I think that this story relates to Ralph Waldo Emerson and David Henry Thoreau. I liked this story more than I originally thought that I would, but it was not my favorite so far.






"Untitled Document." The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Web. 24 Feb. 2012.


Wayne, Tiffany K., ed. "Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson." Critical Companion to
Ralph Waldo Emerson: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Chelsea House
Publishing, 2010. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=CCRWE0243&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 31, 2012).

Blog #9 - "The Story of an Hour"

"The Story of an Hour" is written by a woman named Kate Chopin. In the story a woman believes that her husband has died in a train accident. She cries and mourns in front of people to make them believe that she is sad, but deep down she is happy that she is "free". This was back in the day when women did not have as many rights and were often oppressed. So then, they find out that her husband did not really die. He comes home and she is so shocked that she has a heart attack or something of that sort. When the doctor got there "they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills" (Choplin). I think that this can be compared to Emerson's philosophy of marriage. Emerson was married to a woman named Ellen Tucker. They were happily married but she was sick with tuberculosis. Ellen passed away when she was nineteen, only two years after they were married. "Waldo’s world came apart, literally. He felt that his personal world was cut off from the natural world, as he was cut off from Ellen. He was cut off from himself, “unstrung, debilitated by grief.” (Vetter). As you can see, Emerson never really got over the death of his wife Ellen. You can see a big difference between how Emerson felt and how the Mrs. Mallard reacted. Mrs. Mallard was not very sad because with his death came her freedom, but Emerson was not the same after Ellen, he was not happy. This shows how Emerson probably felt about his marriage in relation to Mrs. Mallards. Emerson obviously loved his wife, and it sounds like she was pretty happy as well during their marriage. Mrs. Mallards marriage does not seem as loving because her husband probably did not give her the kind of freedom that she really wanted, and it seems as though she did not love him near as much as Emerson loved Ellen. This shows a huge difference in their values.



""The Story of an Hour"" Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.


"Marriage | Emerson - Living Legacy." Harvard Square Library. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

Blog #8 - "A Wagner Matinee"

"A Wagner Matinee" is by a woman named Willa Cather. What I got from this story was two things, how music can effect people, and a little bit about pioneer life. So basically, this story is about a man who gets a letter from his Uncle saying that his Aunt Georgiana is coming into town and he must pick her up at the station the very next day. The man has very found memories of his Aunt from when he was a young boy. He states, "I owed to this woman most of the good that ever came my way in my boyhood, and had a reverential affection for her." and also, "It was to her, at her ironing or mending, that I read my first Shakespeare', and her old textbook on mythology was the first that ever came into my empty hands. She taught me my scales and exercises, too--on the little parlor organ, which her husband had bought her after fifteen years, during which she had not so much as seen any instrument, but an accordion that belonged to one of the Norwegian farmhands." This tells us a lot about the Aunt. She sounds very reserved, but still loving.

Anyways, he goes the next day to pick her up from the station and he notices that she looks very different than she used to. Her clothes were kind of unusual. He wanted his Aunt to have a great time while visiting so he decided to take her to a concert. (His Aunt had a great musical education). As they are sitting there listening to the music, she begins to cry. "I don't want to go, Clark, I don't want to go!" The man understands because compared to her pioneer life, the music and atmosphere brings back so many memories. I liked reading this story because I thought that it was a good story and I like how it incorporated all of the music, and history.


"Willa Cather's Short Story: A Wagner Matinee." Read Book Online: Literature Books,novels,short Stories,fiction,non-fiction, Poems,essays,plays,Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.