English 015 - Americans Abroad
Eric Robinson
Between Home and the War
Category: 4E: O'Brien | Eric Robinson
In Tim O’Brien’s Going After Cacciato, the Vietnam War induces a high degree of stress on every soldier involved. One of the main sources of frustration for the men is that the conflict lacks any definite purpose. Throughout the novel, characters repeatedly recall how they see no overall rationale...
entire entry
Posted by on December 14, 2003 at 04:58 PM
Absence from War
Category: 08B: Going After Cacciato | Eric Robinson
In two separate settings from Tim O’Brien’s Going After Cacciato, the common theme of absence from the Vietnam War is founded through images and characters’ dialogue. The first location is set on the trail to Paris, which leads through mountains and jungles. While the troops follow Cacciato up a...
entire entry
Posted by on December 02, 2003 at 01:13 PM
Kit: A True Traveler
Category: 3E: Bowles | Eric Robinson
From the beginning of Paul Bowles’s The Sheltering Sky, Port and Kit wish to escape from war-torn Europe and any of its influences that exist beyond the continent. In the opening pages of the work, the reader learns of Port’s fixation with being a traveler rather than merely a...
entire entry
Posted by on November 24, 2003 at 09:52 PM
Getting All the Way into Life
Category: 07B: The Sheltering Sky | Eric Robinson
In The Sheltering Sky, Kit does indeed manage to “get all the way into life” to a significant degree in that she finally overcomes her obsession and inhibiting fear of omens and holds no fears for her future. Before Port’s death, Kit describes how “there were days when from...
entire entry
Posted by on November 13, 2003 at 01:43 PM
Mysterious Actions, Appearance, and Pasts
Category: 06B: The Sheltering Sky | Eric Robinson
In Paul Bowles The Sheltering Sky, the Lyles develop into extremely creepy characters primarily due to the strange modes in which they conduct themselves and dress, as well as their puzzling history. Soon after Eric Lyle’s character is introduced, he visits Port, who describes how the man “glanced about...
entire entry
Posted by on November 06, 2003 at 02:09 PM
Sterility and Stability from Repetition
Category: 2E: Hemingway, Stein, Fitzgerald | Eric Robinson
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited” and Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, the repetition of certain events and activities bring both sterility and stability to the works; however, while this steadiness is indeed valid for the main character in Fitzgerald’s piece, it is eventually revealed to be false...
entire entry
Posted by on October 30, 2003 at 02:17 PM
Familiarity in Paris
Category: 05B: Babylon Revisited | Eric Robinson
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "Babylon Revisited", Charlie’s familiarity with his surroundings in Paris causes him to fall back into his dissolute way of life. Such dissipation befell him in his past primarily due to his excessive drinking habits while in the city. Upon his next visit to Paris, Charlie...
entire entry
Posted by on October 23, 2003 at 02:16 PM
Stein’s Confidence While Abroad in Contrast to Brett’s Insecurities
Category: 04B: Autobiography of ABT | Eric Robinson
Gertrude Stein in The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas seems to be a very confident woman when living abroad, having a high degree of personal courage that she clearly possesses. Her impressive confidence is further revealed in comparison to the emotions and actions of Brett in Hemingway’s The Sun...
entire entry
Posted by on October 14, 2003 at 01:51 PM
Pedro Romero as the Hero in The Sun Also Rises
Category: 03B: The Sun Also Rises | Eric Robinson
How does one characterize a hero? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a hero as “a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities” and “one that shows great courage” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Online. Internet.). Based on the above definition, Pedro Romero stands alone as the clear hero in Hemingway’s novel The...
entire entry
Posted by on October 07, 2003 at 01:22 AM
American Competitiveness in The Innocents Abroad and Daisy Miller
Category: 1E: Twain, James, Wharton | Eric Robinson
In Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad and Henry James’ Daisy Miller, certain American characters become racially, socially, sexually, and even fashionably competitive towards one another or other foreigners due to the stress and unfamiliarity of interacting with new surroundings and/or frustration over incidents that occur while abroad. In several...
entire entry
Posted by on October 02, 2003 at 02:15 PM
"Roman Fever" vs. Daisy Miller
Category: 02B: Roman Fever | Eric Robinson
“Roman Fever” both echoes and refutes Daisy Miller’s portrayal of American behavior in Italy based on specific characters’ decisions as to whether or not to openly state their negative feelings towards other individuals. Throughout Daisy Miller, none of the characters actually assert their true emotions to the person concerning...
entire entry
Posted by on September 22, 2003 at 04:13 PM
Twain vs. James
Category: 01B: Daisy Miller | Eric Robinson
After analyzing selected chapters from Mark Twain’s Innocence Abroad and Henry James’s Daisy Miller, one of the most intriguing contrasts between the two works pertains to the manner in which the narrator portrays the appearance of specific characters. In Twain’s work, most of the figures are presented based on...
entire entry
Posted by on September 15, 2003 at 07:54 PM
Eric's First Entry...Finally!
Category: Eric Robinson
FINALLY I GOT THIS POSTING THING WORKING! NOW I HAVE TO WRITE MY BLOG…IF THAT FAILS, I’M GOING TO HURT MY COMPUTER....
entire entry
Posted by on September 15, 2003 at 03:23 PM