English 015 - Americans Abroad
Ben Ledue
Time
Category: 08B: Going After Cacciato | Ben Ledue
A recurring idea within Paul Bowles's Going After Cacciato is time. Time is a reminder of opportunity, while also humbling the soldiers. Each soldier is aware of how many months they have been at war, as well as how many until they leave. Before his first real battle action, Berlin...
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Posted by on December 02, 2003 at 02:13 PM
kit
Category: 07B: The Sheltering Sky | Ben Ledue
Kit lacks the self confidence necessary to go out on her own and pursue her desires. Never is this more true than the relationship between herself and Port. Her fear of being alone is greater than her desire for honesty and truth. She knows Port is out with other women,...
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Posted by on November 13, 2003 at 02:06 PM
the lyles
Category: 06B: The Sheltering Sky | Ben Ledue
Port and Kit left for Africa with "the intention of keeping as far as possible from the places which had been touched by war" (14.) This statement is at the root of the Lyles's apparent threat to Port and Kit. Their constant, almost nagging presence within Paul Bowles's The Sheltering...
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Posted by on November 06, 2003 at 02:19 PM
sober paris
Category: 05B: Babylon Revisited | Ben Ledue
Paris is the reflection of Charlie's new, sober view of the world. This world is now less exciting, and Charlie's vision of Paris is a mundane one. The memories of his previous experiences in Paris -- especially when drinking -- seem to hold a certain place in his heart. The...
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Posted by on October 23, 2003 at 01:42 PM
Confidence and comfort
Category: 04B: Autobiography of ABT | Ben Ledue
Confidence is a reflection of comfort. In The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas Stein's confidence is made apparent through her actions. Gertrude Stein is comfortable with her surroundings, but even more comfortable with herself. As Stein relates her experiences abroad, it is clear that she is a woman of action....
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Posted by on October 14, 2003 at 12:20 PM
jake: not man enough
Category: 03B: The Sun Also Rises | Ben Ledue
To be a hero, one must fulfill any number of traits or characteristics, but more than anything, they must stand out, above and beyond their peers, as an extraordinary individual. In Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, noone meets these qualifications. Jake Barnes comes the closest to this role, through his...
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Posted by on October 07, 2003 at 12:03 PM
Competition Abroad
Category: 1E: Twain, James, Wharton | Ben Ledue
As Americans travel to foreign places, they encounter a variety of emotional changes and experiences. A common sign of such emotions is a demonstration of their competitive side. In Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad, as well as in Edith Wharton’s Roman Fever, a competitive nature is revealed by Americans...
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Posted by on October 02, 2003 at 01:38 PM
BLOG
Category: 02B: Roman Fever | Ben Ledue
Similarities in the portrayals of Americans are abound within Edith Wharton's "Roman Fever" and James's Daisy Miller. Passion, secrecy, and jealousy reign supreme in Wharton's tale of two friends reminiscing of their youth in Rome, as well as in James's story. Both stories reveal American's obnoxiously unrefined behavior in Italy,...
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Posted by on September 23, 2003 at 11:20 AM
james v. twain
Category: 01B: Daisy Miller | Ben Ledue
While both stories reveal the apparent ignorance and arrogance of American travelers, in his Daisy Miller, Henry James presents a situation in which the characters are immersed in their surroundings, whereas Mark Twain fails to reveal either his or his companions's interaction with the people and places they encounter. Twain's...
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Posted by on September 18, 2003 at 10:24 PM
hello
Category: Ben Ledue
hello its ben-i have entirely too much work to do-goodbye...
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Posted by on September 10, 2003 at 08:56 PM