English 015 - Americans Abroad
Hope Stockton
The Effects of a Story
Category: 4E: O'Brien | Hope Stockton
Whether traveling for business, pleasure, or service, Americans abroad can often be put in an uneasy situation. One method of easing this tension is to avoid the current situation and instead become involved in a different story altogether. The narrators in Gertrude Stein’s The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas...
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Posted by on December 15, 2003 at 01:38 PM
A Senseless Conflict
Category: 08B: Going After Cacciato | Hope Stockton
The soldiers in Going After Cacciato display a confusion of purpose; they remain unsure of why they are in Vietnam, what exactly they are doing, and who it is for. This confusion is reinforced when the side the characters appear to be on turns against them, a recurring idea in...
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Posted by on December 02, 2003 at 02:03 PM
Control Abroad
Category: 3E: Bowles | Hope Stockton
According to Paul Bowles, a traveler is distinguished from a tourist both in the speed of the travel and also in his or her view of civilization (Bowles, 14). However, within The Sheltering Sky, Bowles also suggests that there is something else crucial to being a traveler, something much more...
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Posted by on November 25, 2003 at 01:59 PM
Actions, Omens and Eyes
Category: 07B: The Sheltering Sky | Hope Stockton
The death of Port causes Kit to finally live her life, and not simply “[hang] on to the outside for all [she’s] worth” (Bowles, 101). To begin her changed existence, Kit turns inwards, something that can be seen in her new approach to actions and omens, and also the closing...
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Posted by on November 13, 2003 at 02:13 PM
The Lyles
Category: 06B: The Sheltering Sky | Hope Stockton
“And the war was the one facet of the mechanized age he wanted to forget”(14). From the very beginning of the novel, Port defines himself as a traveler seeking to avoid parts of his civilization “not to his liking,” more specifically the experience of the war (14). He and Kit...
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Posted by on November 06, 2003 at 01:49 PM
One of Us
Category: 2E: Hemingway, Stein, Fitzgerald | Hope Stockton
One of Us Being part of the in-crowd boosts confidence and gives a sense of power, as well as stability; this exclusivity would appear to be the perfect solution for someone feeling out of place. However, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald take a different view on being one of...
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Posted by on October 30, 2003 at 01:50 PM
Joie de Vivre
Category: 05B: Babylon Revisited | Hope Stockton
Paris has vibrancy. A sense of life, according to Fitzgerald and Hemingway, pervades every street in the city. It is this movement that draws foreigners to the city, and eventually causes them to stop living. In “Babylon Revisited,” Charlie is immediately drawn to Paris with its streets in constant movement,...
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Posted by on October 23, 2003 at 01:42 PM
Movement in Life and Syntax
Category: 04B: Autobiography of ABT | Hope Stockton
In The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein is a confident American abroad, something echoed within the prose of the piece. In particular, her level of comfort can be seen in her actions, especially when contrasted with the actions, or lack thereof, of Hemingway’s characters. Gertrude Stein is constantly...
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Posted by on October 14, 2003 at 01:39 PM
Heroes and Bull-fighters
Category: 03B: The Sun Also Rises | Hope Stockton
“’Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters’” (page 18) In The Sun Also Rises, while some may come close, no one character is ever a hero. Hemingway provides an illustration of this with Pedro Romero. From the very beginning, Romero is lauded as a hero. On...
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Posted by on October 07, 2003 at 02:01 PM
A Separate World
Category: 1E: Twain, James, Wharton | Hope Stockton
In Henry James’s Daisy Miller and Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever,” Americans abroad are mostly found to be very uneasy with their surroundings. In an attempt to make themselves feel more comfortable, these travelers work to create a separate world to which they can escape. To illustrate this behavior James uses...
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Posted by on October 02, 2003 at 01:57 PM
The Bores of Italy
Category: 02B: Roman Fever | Hope Stockton
Americans in Italy, according to both Daisy Miller and “Roman Fever”, are bored. Rome is just like any other city, and to counteract this, these Americans must create their own space and alienate themselves from their surroundings. In Daisy Miller, this space is within the carriage of Mrs. Walker. Mrs....
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Posted by on September 22, 2003 at 10:01 PM
Goals of Tourism
Category: 01B: Daisy Miller | Hope Stockton
One of the differences between Innocents Abroad and Daisy Miller is how each set of Americans treats being a tourist. More specifically, the pace and depth the characters set for their appreciation and experience of foreign places. In Twain, this pace is very rapid. The group aboard Quaker City wants...
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Posted by on September 15, 2003 at 04:15 PM
Poet Laureate of the USA
Category: Hope Stockton
A nice Billy Collins poem for everyone: The Life of Riley: A Definitive Biography He was born one sunny Florida morning and napped through most of his childhood. He spent his adult life relaxing in beach chairs, always a tropical drink in his hand. He never had a job, a...
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Posted by on September 10, 2003 at 11:30 PM