Here are the guidelines:
- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
With Wolf’s Head Lake it was interesting that the flow of the perspective kept shifting from one person to the next throughout the story. From someone standing on the porch when a storm is coming, to a man driving off from a motel, to the motel manager, to some voluptuous blonde woman, to finally a child. All while alluding that despite all these different people in different areas, they are all connected to something much bigger. To a sort of underbelly of the quiet town, that something much more sinister lies just beneath the surface. In Recuerdo it talks about Rosa and a quick visit to divorce law firm due to her sister Maruca not wanting to work with the lawyer due to sexual harassment and assault. And as the story progresses it is told that while Rosa truly loves and cares about her family, she isn’t without fault. And even worse with how bad poverty has been to her family, opportunity’s to escape it are so very rare. So rare that while the assault and harassment is vile and common, even in her own family, it is sadly an evil that is tolerated due to survival coming first. And men though being the embodiment of that vile evil, is necessary due to them being the provider not just for their victims, but for the family that is often forced upon them.
ReplyDeleteDavid Rodriguez 2
The essay “Wolf’s Head Lake” was confusing and meaningful all at once. When the narrator, Joyce Carol Oates says “you” I’m not sure if she’s referring to the reader or herself. I’m not really sure what the man in the car means to her, but I’m sure he means something. It seems as if he is a man she wants to keep a secret considering that he is coming to visit her at “dusk” when “nobody is swimming any longer” (164). The protagonist doesn’t know much about this man because she continues to say “maybe” (164). I can infer that he is married or has a girlfriend because the protagonist asserts that “these guys have companions” and that his companion is the “one who will speak first” to the protagonist (165). Furthermore, the essay “Recuerdo” was saddening. In the essay, a woman named “Rosa” meets a man who wants to get together with her daughter, and the protagonist has trouble trying to decide whether to let her daughter go with the man for what she believes is a better life or not. Rosa struggles to feed her children and she wants he daughter, Maruca to live a better life. At the end of the essay, the narrator leaves the reader thinking that she decided to give off her daughter after all, and that is extremely saddening to me.
ReplyDeleteJulissa Balderas
Joyce Carol Oates’ “Wolf’s Head Lake” narrates a woman’s observation of a predatory man on the hunt for fresh blood. The narrator details the man’s search, from the planning to the stalking of his prey. Before the man begins a new task, he makes sure not to leave any evidence behind from his previous tasks, “where maybe he lives, or has been living,…he’s checked out now, or if he’s left some clothes and things behind in the rented room he won’t be back to claim them,” the man leaves little evidence of his existence. The man also needs a Bonnie to his Clyde. His female companion will draw in his victims by asking questions knowing they don’t know the answer. Oates uses small details to emphasize certain themes. For example, the clothesline will probably be used to tie up their victims or the hunting knife to cause harm. I loved the use of subtle details as a way to carry the weight of the overall theme. Towards the end, Oates made me wonder if a killing actually happened, or not. In “Recuerdo” by Guadalupe Valdes, the story is told from the perspective of a mother named Rosa. Rosa is young mother with 10 kids, struggling to hold down a job, while worried of her husband’s betrayal. When presented the proposition for wealth and a home in exchange for a marriage between her daughter and an old man, she seriously contemplates the offer. I like how Valdes touches on the subject of machismo, or extreme masculine pride, within the Mexican community. To Rosa, old men with money were “far away gods whose houses she had worked at” and “faultless beings who were to be obeyed without questions.” Because her daughter was presented with an amazing opportunity, Rosa thinks about her lack of opportunity and decides that this would be her best option. I enjoyed the overall themes of this week’s readings.
ReplyDeleteKayla Garza
I really enjoyed the imagery Joyce Oates uses in “Wolfs Head Lake.” The entire story feels extremely vivid and real. It hits close to home because my family and I have been going to parks for years and the way she described the sky with the clouds really reminded me of the trips to the park with my family. Oates then describes the cottages along the lake. She’s very descriptive on what she remembers from the scenery, to the people and she also mentions the kids laughing. Overall, this story has such powerful imagery and its my favorite part about it. “Recuerdo” was very interesting to me. Rosas partner Lorenzo begins to be lustful to her daughter Maruca and she begins to think about the advantages if Maruca and Lorenzo were to get married. Lorenzo has money, is not entirely a bad person, but he Is lustful. Rosa only wants the best for her daughter and does not want her to go through what she went through. Maruca wouldn’t have to worry about hungry kids like Rosa is. Rosa speaks about how her daughter should move out already and maybe then, her partner would stop trying to get with her daughter. I don’t think Rosa is being entirely selfish but at the end of the day she is just trying to protect her daughter.
ReplyDeleteMarissa Sanchez
At first, it was confusing to read “Wolf’s Head Lake”, but the author does a great job not being too obvious with the story he is trying to tell. It is a small community where people are living for the summer in a lake, yet there is one man, a mysterious man, that the author emphasizes on. I believe this man looks for prey in this community, lurking around, “driving slowly, you could say aimlessly” as if cautiously choosing his prey. It leaves me to wonder if the woman telling the story is afraid of being next. The next story “Recuerdo” tells the story of a mother who is trapped in poverty, being the support of her whole family. She considers giving away her daughter to a wealthy old man, and even though she still finds him disgusting, Rosa believes that is the only way her daughter will be saved from living a life like hers. It is sad to realize that there are many situations like this in real life, people – specially woman—settling for something they believe they deserve to be “happy”. The author does an excellent job in portraying the character of Rosa in such a short story, giving the reader enough details to understand why Rosa thinks the way she does, as well as to try and feel compassion for her.
ReplyDeleteAna T. Flores
In “Wolf’s Head Lake” by Joyce Carol Oates, I found the introduction of the setting appalling because of the imagery used to describe the thunderstorm. For example, the speaker states, “And heat lightning, quick spasms of nerves, forking in the sky then gone before you can exactly see.” This gives a humanistic approach to the way the thunderstorm is portrayed. Also, it gives a dark tone for the setting which sets the mood for when the mystery man is introduced. However, I am confused as to the reason the speaker switches from points of view from second person to first person. In “Recuerdo” by Guadalupe Valdes, I loved the way the dialogue was implemented into the story. Especially, the dialogue between Rosa and Don Lorenzo. For instance, one of the piece of dialogues reads” Think about it, Rosita, ’he said smiling benevolently…’You know me…’And Rosa looked at him angrily, remembering, and suddenly feeling very much like being sick.” The dialogue makes creates the tense and uncomfortable environment that Rosa feels. It allows the reader to understand the awkward situation she is in as a mother. The one thing I do not understand is the reason that the title is “Recuerdo.” I am just confused about the connection there is between the plot of the story and the title.
ReplyDeleteKevin Esparza
Joyce Carol Oates’ “Wolf Head Lake” begins innocently enough. The author utilizes vivid imagery to bring to awaken summer nostalgia in the heart of even the most jaded individual. However, the atmosphere, much like in the story, quickly shifts as we are introduced to a predatory character. The main character’s uncle “has stories of guys like this how they appear, and then they disappear.” The use of unorthodox similes such as “She has a quick wide smile like a knife cutting through something soft” really adds to the uneasy and sinister tone. While one would usually compare a smile to something positive, the comparison is morbid. In Guadalupe Valdes’ work “Recuerdo,” the reader is introduced to the dog-eat-dog world of Rosa and her family. The struggle to make ends meet and secure a future for her 10 children is ever weighing down on Rosa. This is shown as she visits Don Lorenzo who is described grimily to have “wrinkled trousers, a sweat-stained shirt, and overgrown greasy hair.” During the visit, Rosa contemplates marrying off her daughter to this rich old man, as it is one of the very few ways to secure stability. One of the tying themes between these two works is the loss of innocence.
ReplyDeleteNick Torres
“Wolf Head Lake” was a little confusing for me, I had to read twice to make sure I got the main idea of the story, although I did like the imagery from the story the clouds being dark, it kind of showed me a dark/gloomy setting. Usually writers will try to set the tone of the character with the background setting. When someone is happy it can be clear skies and sunny for example, but in all I was mislead with this story. As for “Recuerdo” was a story that reminded me of other movies I have seen to where a women is set to marry a specific person because she seemed force, especially at the end of the story where it states “no need for her to dread, even, that the bum might leaver her. No need at all”. Basically, that a poor man will leave her with nothing since he came with nothing if the relationship where to come to an end. I don’t know if this was trying to say in a way that at least when a rich man cheats on you you’ll get something out of it or be content in life with luxuries? In all, the story carried out dialogue which was good. I liked this story more than the first one.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Duque
With "Wolf's Head Lake" I enjoyed how the author drew me into this whole vibe of the story. His choice of words and use of imagery allowed me to feel a sense of urgency, and watchfulness that was present throughout the story. I had the feeling that whoever it was telling the story was afraid as well of this man that "he is in no hurry to switch on his headlights", that for me would not be a good sign of what is to come. "Recuerdos" was so full of emotion of the back story in those couple of pages. I gathered that Rosas's situation was something that she did not want her daughter to go through. And the idea of marrying her off to an older man with money and security crossed her mind. I was able to feel how a mother worries about the future of her daughter, but at the same time, she is fighting with her consciousness of what the situation would intel. It did not take the author a lot of dialogue or long heavy pager, to make us feel a connection to Rosa, and her inner battle of what she might think is better for her daughter.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Videgaray