Journal Two: Identifying Conflict in Two Texts

Read About Journals in ENG125: Introduction to Literature for more information about the purpose and expectations for journals.

This week, you continue writing your journal entries. This journal entry is designed to help you document ideas about conflicts in literature, which will contribute to the information required for the Week Three Draft and the Week Five Literary Analysis. Recognizing conflict is essential to understanding the various commentaries literature can provide.

In Journal One, you identified conflict as it might appear in our everyday world and from other sources. Now, consider the following definition of conflict and how it relates to literature from the textbook or the story/poetry links provided under the requirements for the Literary Analysis:

Conflict is opposing actions, ideas, and decisions that hold a plot together...the struggle that shapes the plot in a story.

Chapters 1-7 of our text contain a number of stories and poems, each of which rely on at least one conflict. Choose two of this week’s assigned literary works and write about the conflicts presented in each of them. In 250 to 500 words

Individual versus Society --- “Still she had come down the road toward the big white church alone. Just herself, an old forgetful woman, nearly blind with age” (para 3.1,2) --- appears to be the main conflict in Alice Walker’s narrative ironically, yet metaphorically named "The Welcome Table”. The theme coming across is that of racism, correct me if I am wrong, with the imagery/ symbolism of “the big white church” versus the lone black Elder. This is the story of an elderly African-American woman, who on a winter night wonders into a Caucasian church service, is by force removed from the service into the bitterly cold night, and walks away until she dies of hypothermia and exhaustion. However, When I analyze the plot unfolding, I also see other conflicts occurring. For example, the conflict Individual versus Individual, and Individual versus Self appear when the reverent of the church does confront the main character, the Elder African-American Lady and tells her that this is not her church --- does he say this as a member of a society that has declared black people a fifth of a man, slavery condoned by God and government --- or in fact as an individual accountable to God and himself after all? The same goes for the little usher, and the ladies of the church. I would argue that in the final analysis each had their own weight to carry in the participation of the cruel treatment of a human life, in church, on a bitter cold winter night; after all she had come to worship and quietly sit in the back not bothering anyone, catching a bit of warmth. Thus, Individual against Individual, and Individual against Self. Question: What about Individual versus God, the Divine, or Goodness? Utilizing exposition, to give us the background of her main character, Walker writes of her main character that she was “a greyish Georgia earth” (para.2.1) (funny, I always talk about the Georgia red clay) by complexion (color); that she had seen suffering throughout her life, in poor clothing that were yet chosen carefully for the service, and that she seemed to be seeing with an inner eye, delirious or in rapture? Mumbling and singing as she was thrown out brutally and walked into her death. Does this remind me on the story of pious Christians awaiting Jesus for supper, and then turning away the beggar? Yes, it absolutely does.
Walker describes one of the most unjust oppression, by describing every detail important to the plot through the heart wrenching, heart breaking veil of two pictures emerging over and over again, painfully showing us, humanity, the evil we are capable of in the name of the powers that be, the current government of the time to justify people doing their job (Germans tried that too for a while but ultimately got condemned by the world court) Yet, in the end there is release for the Elderly lady, unfortunately through death. Yet, as she was nearing death, she had an epiphany, or a vision, in which she saw Jesus coming toward her in a beautiful light and with warmth in form of a beautiful blanket that he was carrying toward her, as she walked toward him. Still, the emotions that will come flooding in to the heart, are those of incredulous, unbelieving sadness, that we as a species sink this low time and time again; while there is still the beauty and healing heart mending power of universal love that does connect us all. The literary element of setting is definitely crucially important to set the stage for the societal norm of black people’s lives being cruelly and heartlessly discarded. Thank God we are living in more enlightened times, where people will help each other more, stand up for each other more, and safe themselves by saving each other.

Clugston, R. W. (2014). Journey into literature (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/
"The Welcome Table" from In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women, copyright ©1973 byAliceWalker. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin HarcourtPublishing Company. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by permission of The Joy HarrisLiterary Agency, Inc.
Why did this character interest you?
Ernest Hemingway's story entitled “Hills like White Elephants” has a character named Jig? I call her “The Spanish Girl”, more like a “Pilar”, and picture her to be beautiful --- pretty, wild, and strong. She also reminds me on myself, in the way she is observant of and interpretive of the nature around her (reflective of what is inside her metaphorically?). I used to look at the clouds and see things all the time, and the first time I ever became aware of this trait in me was when I saw white elephants, smile. She is facing a relationship dilemma with her lover, the American, while sipping cool beer and having drinks at a train station side bar in Barcelona, Spain. Having watched documentaries on Ernest Hemingway, I was interested also in the character of the American, to see if I could see Ernest in there, and, of course, I could.
What choices does the character make, and how do the choices (or the result of the choices) contribute to the theme of the story?
She has to face a difficult decision, because it is implied that she is expectant, and her lover, the American, wants her to have an abortion, so “that things can be again as they were” (para 48). While he wants to carry on the easy breezy way the whole scene is depicted, she has to carry the burden of keeping or taking of a life. Albeit, she appears to have love for him, her lover, she also sees a whole new future that she longs for when, towards the end, she states “we could have all of this” (para. 70). What kind of conflict (internal/external) did this character encounter, and how did he/she handle it?
The main conflict seems to be internal for the character of the girl, and external for the relationship trouble her and the American are facing. This is mainly portrayed through dialogue:
"They look like white elephants," she said.
"I've never seen one," the man drank his beer.
"No, you wouldn't have."
In order to interpret their dialogue, we have access to assess their body language, should ascertain their backgrounds and observe their attitudes towards their relationship and the card that they have been dealt. From what I have researched, some critics have written that the dialogue is a distillation of the “contrasts between stereotypical male and female relationship roles”. The girl for instance, draws the comparison with white elephants, but “the hyper-rational male immediately denies it”. However, i think she does handle the situation very well, considering the circumstance, she does not give up on anything it appears.
· How does the setting contribute to the character’s development? How does the setting contribute to the character’s experience and give the story more meaning?
The setting is a train station side bar in Barcelona, Spain, with hills in the near distance. We know we have about 40 minutes (a clear time frame) before the express to Madrid will arrive, and this gives us a feeling of a possible split, which is set into this time frame exotic location. I have been there to Barcelona. It is a harbor city with the scent of the Mediterranean in the air. This setting affects the story because it is playing out with an American far away from home with an exotic lady friend by his side, which gives her home advantage; yet, he seems also very much so in control, as Americans often are, in my experience, abroad. So we are dealing with multi-cultural characters, and this gives foreign meaning to some of the choices. When we are dealing with different cultural views, much is affected by this and thus becomes extremely important to the plot.
Stories also reflect culture. The term culture refers to common characteristics of a group or a region. Culture is never static; it is a changing phenomenon, constantly reconfigured by human behavior, language, laws, events, patterns, products, beliefs, and ideals. Put it simply, culture refers to a way of life, an ethos.
(Clugston, 2014, chapter 3.2)
Clugston, R. W. (2014). Journey into literature (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ eprinted with the permission of Scribner Publishing Group, a division of Simon& Schuster, Inc. from The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway by ErnestHemingway. Copyright © 1927 by Charles Scribner's Sons. Copyright © renewed1955 by Ernest Hemingway. All rights reserved.

* State the specific conflicts you see in each work.
The main conflict that is evident in my first story, and that is specific to Alice Walker’s “The Welcome Table”, is Individual versus Society, an external struggle: ”Still she had come down the road toward the big white church alone”(para 20). However, near the end, when the lead elder female African-American character is removed from the “big white church”, into the bitter cold of a winter night, it becomes an “Individual versus Nature” which is an external struggle also, and also an Individual versus Self, as she appears unaware or in some sort of trance as she is walking toward a hallucination of her mind, which is Jesus, the welcoming table?
The main conflict that is evident in my second story and that is specific to Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, seems to be an internal conflict for the character of the girl, and external for the relationship trouble her and the American are facing. "They look like white elephants, she said. I've never seen one, the man drank his beer”(para 48). The internal conflict is Individual versus Self and the external conflict represent Individual versus Individual. * Describe the characters, forces, and/or entities that are at odds.
Alice Walker’s lead character in “The Welcome Table” is an elderly, African-American lady who does not have a name. Her description by Walker paints a picture of a woman who has seen much suffering throughout her life. She is a very poor woman, “colored like Georgia grey earth” (para 27), who has faced slavery while maintaining her belief in the church and Jesus. Ironically, due to her going to the “wrong” church, she faces the societal force of apartheid, and a freezing outside environment when she is thrown out from the service.
Ernest Hemingway’s lead characters mainly each face each other, and maybe also are confronted somewhat by cultural norm; yet both characters are a force to be reckoned with in their own way. The beautiful and clever Spanish girl, Jig, is having an internal conflict about being pregnant and wanting to keep the baby and starting a family, while her lover, the cool American, is less enthusiastic and even suggests an abortion. Passion flying high, relationship troubles, a cultural difference, all play apart in this short story’s forces the characters are facing.

* Explain why you think the conflicts are significant and what meanings/understandings they provide to the texts.

* Paraphrase, quote, and/or summarize content from the works to support your observations. Don’t forget to add in-text citations for the works you draw from.

* Explain how each conflict has meaning beyond the work in which it appears. Why is it important to be able to recognize conflict in a literary text and extend that understanding of conflict to the world at large?

* From the stories you are reading, how much do similar elements of symbolism, metaphor, allusion, and/or allegory apply and add depth to an idea raised in the literature?

* For instance, in George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, the pigs and farmers can be seen as symbolic of workers versus managers to make points about class struggles, calling into question the idea of equality in society. * In another example, in the “Story of an Hour,” the main character expresses personal conflict in her process of coming to terms with her husband’s supposed death. But this moment symbolizes more than just her personal grief. What does it suggest about societal expectations regarding women and how they should respond to grief? How might those expectations of grief still apply to women’s roles? How does the symbolism show a conflict between Mrs. Mallard and her own desires? Are these “women’s desires” in conflict with current social norms?
As you are writing this journal entry, please review the expectations for the Week Five Literary Analysis, which you are working toward throughout the course.

When submitting your journal entry, make sure to

* Proofread your work for errors in grammar, mechanics, and style. * Format the journal entry according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Refer to the Ashford Writing Center’s Sample APA Title Page for guidelines on formatting a title page in APA style. * Provide (to the best of your ability) a reference for the text you used, including in-text citations and references listed at the end of the journal entry. Refer to the Ashford Writing Center’s Comprehensive APA Reference List Models andCitation and Reference Guide for guidelines on in text citations in APA style. * Provide a reference for the text you used. Refer to the Ashford Writing Center’s Citation and Reference Guide for guidelines on citing sources in APA style. * Perform a word count check to make sure the journal entry is 250 to 500 words in length. * Save the document as a Microsoft Word or compatible .doc or .docx file. * Use a naming convention that includes your last name, week number, and the journal number (e.g., Smith_W2.doc). | In this class, you have three tutoring services available: Paper Review, Live Chat, and Tutor E-mail. Click on the Writing Center (AWC) tab in the left-navigation menu to learn more about these tutoring options and how to get help with your writing. |
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