For those that are interested, my latest English Lit paper. If I had spent more time and thought on it, I could have gone on & on.
My titles always suck, but I still enjoy making them slightly corny.
Woolf in Allegory�s Clothing copyright 2003 misspriss.org NO STEALING Women�s rights and equality have long been controversial subjects that invoke strong feelings in both their proponents and opponents. In order to make her ideas known without immediately ruffling feathers, Virginia Woolf decides allegory is her ally in A Room of One�s Own, stating, �At any rate, when a subject is highly controversial�and any question about sex is that�one cannot hope to tell the truth…. Fiction here is likely to contain more truth than fact� (2154). In this essay, Woolf uses fiction to tell her views for her. She also writes, �Fiction must stick to facts, and the truer the facts the better the fiction�so we are told� (2160). In essence, Woolf is telling her readers that there is truth underneath the story she tells. While she leaves readers to draw their own conclusion, she gives strong hints to her feelings about women�s educations, women writing fiction, and a woman�s independence. When Woolf�s character encounters a noticeable difference in food quality at men�s and women�s colleges, Woolf indicates a disparity between spending for men�s educational funding versus spending for women�s educational funding. The food is not really important; what the quality of food symbolizes is the lack of care for a woman�s education. Men earn most of the money. Men endow scholarships at men�s colleges for � men, of course. Women are not educated; they are only good for making men look better. Women do not need an education to meet one of few purposes: edify men; women only need to raise children and take care of basic household needs. Therefore, in men�s eyes, it would be a waste for men to fund women�s educations. While that is a seemingly common view, Woolf clearly indicates her disagreement with past and present convention. Shakespeare�s fictional sister is a representation of what women with gifts of writing would have gone through in the past, had they tried to use or develop their gift. Women in the past were second class citizens, forced to marry at their parents� whims. A pre-1900 woman could not earn money; all household advantages belonged to the husband. She could not make decisions for herself. She could not write poetry or a novel�she was too busy raising family to have the leisure time for thinking about anything but surviving day to day. Again, Woolf shows her disapproval of the old way, preferring that women use the gifts with which they are endowed. In A Room of One�s Own, Woolf also writes about women and fiction using the guise of a fictitious character to emphasize her underlying meaning. By using the phrase �room of one�s own� Woolf is really talking about independence and the ability to choose one�s path. Women are finally getting to the point where autonomy is possible. She encourages women to fully use the advantages they now have, but warns that with freedom comes risk. Virginia Woolf�s writing in this essay exhibits a balance between truth, fiction, and underlying meanings. Allegory can be a strong tool in the right hands. Using allegory, an author can diffuse a volatile subject � making a story or commentary more palatable for the average reader while still getting a specific point across to the intended audience. Word count: 539
I found varicose (not very close for you southerners) veins on my legs & ankles. Aaaahhhh! Less than 30 days after my 30th birthday! I’m falling apart! Someone please help me, put me out of my misery, something! Aaahhh!
I just have to vent here. I frequent several topic specific message boards and I am so sick of know-it-alls.
I moderate the general-topic forum, which is the most traffic-intensive, on a site. One poster used the word flame in his title – and to me that means he intended to bad-mouth someone – in this case the owner of a business.
So, I tried to point out that he should temper his words a bit, because it seems his intent is somewhat malicious. Another guy comes along, steps in because he “knows all about this situation” and proceeds to make generalizations about how “people that have never owned their own business don’t know diddly-squat about customer service” and on & on. While it may not have been directed at me alone, I know this guy too well. He’s made what he thought were sly pot-shots at me before.
And I’m just sick of it. I’m sick of know-it-all men discounting me because I’m a woman in a male-dominated hobby. I’m sick of a paunchy, loud-mouthed moron trying to tell me he knows more than me because he is a business owner. And I’m tired of little games where people think it’s okay to take pot-shots at people because they think they know everything and don’t know when to shut the fuck up! And I’m fucking tired of this man, who has to constantly promote himself (spam) and tell everyone his business. He knows nothing about me. NOTHING.
I’ve been in some sort of customer service related position for ten years. TEN. I think I know a little about it. Which is why I tried to encourage the first guy to take his complaints to the business owner first. Not to mention the biz owner had family problems or an emergency – I’m certainly not going to cast the first stone. While what I know of the situation could have been handled better, I still refuse to cast stones at this biz owner. We’re not in his shoes and can’t say what we’d do in his place. The business may have very well taken second or even third priority. They did get their deposits back, after several weeks.
Ugh! I’m about ready to quit. This guy has been a thorn in my side for five freaking years. I’ve had enough already. Gah! GAH!
PS – Virginia Woolf was right – anger doesn’t make for good writing.
Ah, coffee, you sweet elixir of warmth-giving goodness and light. How I adore thee.
I will do anything to avoid wearing pantyhose, including freezing my butt off on a chilly morning while wearing a skirt.
Peach yogurt is my favorite.
More earth-shattering revelations to come … stay tuned!
I only have one vice. Coffee. Okay, make that two. Coffee and food.
Alright, already, quit looking at me that way. Three. Only three. Coffee, food, and wine.
Seriously, that’s it.
more…
Has anyone else’s blogroll been hijacked? I killed it until I can figure out what’s going on.
Update at Blogrolling. Damn malicious hackers.
The Simpsons are 15 this season.
That means I’ve been watching them for half my life. While I don’t always watch regularly, I will stop if I am flipping past & they are on. Even re-runs. They are consistently funny, including the new intro every episode.
Who knew that all of the phrases they use would become part of the lexicon? Everyone knows “D’oh!” and “Don’t have a cow, man” and even “Mmmmm, donuts” are from the Simpsons.
Party on, Homer.
I used to fish a lot more than I do now. I just haven’t had the money or the time. Priorities, I guess. But because I can’t get out on the water as much, my friendships with anglers have declined. And it saddens me, because we used to be quite close.
I see another girl – a very nice, personable, outgoing person – as kind of taking my place. And it hurts a little. Where people used to turn to me, they turn to her. She gets the attention. And I’m trying not to be an attention whore. But being left out hurts, even when it comes about due to the choices that I have made.
People are putting together teams for a tournament next year. One lady asked if I wanted to go and I asked for more info. Before I know it, I’ve been squeezed out because this other girl invited two of her friends.
It’s silly. Intellectually, I know that. And this girl really is nice. There’s no malice there.
I’m the one that hasn’t had time to go out at all hours and party. I’m the one that has had homework and papers to write and laundry to do and family to spend time with. So in part, it’s my fault for not being able to squeeze them in. So they look elsewhere, as anyone would. And then I wonder if they were as good of friends as I thought they were, since they’re not as persistent as I would be.
But it doesn’t make it hurt any less.
Quiet day today. Reading “A Room of One’s Own” again before writing the paper. Took a long bath and pampered myself with recently acquired Body Shop goodies from a girl’s night out party. Planning to get together with friends for drinks later on. J’s out on a Big Flag gig. All’s quiet.
And while it feels good now to go slow, I gotta get crackin’ on my paper. And my novel. I’m behind, but that’s okay. It’s my first attempt and yes, life gets in the way. I’ll just do the best I can and beat my “record” next year if I can.
Actually, this has inspired me to work more on putting thought into my writing, instead of just throwing things out into space. So when nanowrimo is over, I’ll go back and put more thought into what I wrote, and try to make it into something. I’ve found that there are little pockets of time at lunch and after work or before bed where I can carve out some quality writing time. Right now the concentration is on quantity (the nature of this project), but that will change when the month is over.
Do I have a novel inside me, waiting to happen? I have no idea. But I’m finally willing to find out.
more…
Man, there are so many cawing crows in the tree outside my window that it looks like filming of The Birds. Sheesh, can you keep it DOWN out there? 
