Post: 10

I like how Brandy talks about her mothers ring.  "To her it may have been her just getting me a really nice piece of jewelry. But to me, it meant more, it is something I can always have with me and have ever since."  That to me is very powerful and describes so well how the symbolism of something can far outweigh it's monetary value.  The other post I likes was Kyla's.  How "everything that I need on it" describes so much more than just what a key chain is.  How it symbolized to her so many different aspects of her life.

Post: 23

     My favorite TV show is Supernatural.  It is about two brothers that travel all around the country saving people and hunting the things that go bump in the night.  It's setting is unique in that it is a road show.  They do have a bunker that serves a base of operations and home of sorts but it is not the setting of the show. 
     Having a setting that changes from episode to episode means that there can be new elements constantly introduced.  One week they might be in the woods of Minnesota and the next they find themselves in LA or St. Louis.  The variety of supporting characters that this brings to the series keeps things interesting and in my opinion has contributed to the show going on now for 13 years with no end really in sight. 
     The shift in setting also means a change in scenery from show to show.  There is no getting bored with the same set time after time.  The small towns that most episodes take place in all have their own feel to them which speaks highly of whoever is putting those scenes together.  The feel you get is that the show takes place in wherever you could drive to in a day or two.  

Post 9:

This one is kind of hard.  I don't wear anything really because of its symbolism.  I used to wear a wedding ring but that didn't take.  I wore a uniform and that symbolized a lot of things but it wasn't why I wore it.  It was just what I wore to work.  I suppose I'll go with my beard. I grew my beard out because to me it symbolized the freedom of choice I have now that I am no longer in the military.  It is a symbol of self expression that I haven't been able to indulge for the past twenty years.  
The beard has come a long way from it's early days of just being there to keep ones face warm.  Over the years either having or not having a beard was a status symbol.  Though I suppose for most who wear one self expression plays a large role. 

Post 6:

After actually reading into Gail Godwin's backstory I can completely understand how she could write about a male figure that while figuratively gave support in reality did nothing.  The female side of her family (once divorced) retreated to Asheville, NC.  Once there they took teaching and writing as their professions.  Once there they poured their efforts into writing and reporting.  The story as I look into it is a win.  A mother, her daughter, and the grand daughter took a hard situation and have made their way into our class. 

Post 7:

I believe so far that this story represents the best example of "setting"  that we've read thus far.  I can completely understand how someone wants to escape the entrapment of their upbringing.  Once out of your initial safe zone you find yourself immersed in the culture of wherever you are.  In Z.Z. Packers story of "Geese" setting was the main character of the story.  Dina went to a foreign land for monetary reasons but found a different culture that once she quit her job she immersed herself in.  Once there she realized that the setting that she was used to might not be that bad after all. 

It's important for all of us to realize that the "setting" that we live our lives in might be drastically different than those around us.  Settings can overlap in real life whereas authors have to put them into words.  Every day as we walk around campus our setting morphs around our fellow man.  Setting isn't as simple as "He grew up in a simple post civil war town." Setting is of course where your story takes place but once you get past that you get into each characters interpretation of their surrounding and it gives the story "like an onion"... layers.. everyone brings into a story their own setting that is unique to them. 

Post 5:

     I think if I had to come up with one thing that would make it into a movie it would be something that happened almost a year ago.  I had just finished watching the Chiefs game when I heard a very loud fast pop pop pop pop pop from the front yard.  Our neighbor had a habit of shooting squirrels in his front yard on the weekends so my first instinct was that this is nothing to worry about.  However, the sound of the gunfire and how many shots were fired in quick succession made my girlfriend Sarah and I both pause.  “That seems aggressive” I said then I got up to see what was going on. 

     Walking out the front door and looking to my left I saw two Byron Police vehicles in my neighbor’s driveway and an officer on the ground in between them.  I ran inside telling Sarah to get the dogs, get upstairs, and call 911 immediately.  Getting everyone in the bedroom where I felt was a defendable position due to the stairway Sarah connected to the 911 operator and began telling her what we could see out our bedroom window.  She kept relaying information as I went downstairs with a handgun to check the area around our house for the shooter.  Seeing no one, I got my med kit and tried working my way to the downed officer when I heard the neighbors garage door open and the sound of a round being chambered.  That gave me quite a pause.  
      I returned upstairs where I could get a better look at what was going on and saw my neighbor take up a position in front of the lead police car and open up at the couple of officers that had shown up since the first shots were fired.  Gunfire was exchanged between him and the officers and I went back downstairs to see if I could get in position to help.  More and more officers showed up but could not see my neighbor behind the police cruiser.  I started relaying information through Sarah and 911 as well as giving hand signals to the officers who were forming up behind a shield to get closer.  One of the officers managed to hit the shooter in the abdomen and he went down.  He cleared his rifle and took off his vest as the officers rushed in.  I decided that it might be a good idea to ditch my gun and get the brightly colored med kit instead.  As the officers took positive control of my neighbor I ran to the downed officer which turned out to be two officers.  One having been hid behind the SUV for most of the incident.  There really was little to be done at that point except for first aid and praying that the ambulance would get there soon.  
      In the aftermath, I got to see the side of a crime scene that I really didn’t want to.  The different officers that were in and out and constantly on the property were professional and friendly.  They were appreciative of us providing whatever we could while they were there.  It felt as if we were catering a funeral to a very large family that were doing their very best to smile and say thank you. 

Post 4:

     In “A Rose for Emily” Faulkner lays out a very believable story in a manner that puts you in in the shoes of the narrator.  That is up until an ending that even though was foreshadowed inevitably catches you off guard.  Our textbook states that “Emily is associated with southern tradition, duty, and privilege that require protection” when explaining how the townspeople reacted to her passing.  This leads us towards feeling sorry for Emily as just a reclusive southern belle that did not move on with the times.  The same townspeople that had to endure her eccentricities also saw her as a monument to (at least in their minds) better times.   This nostalgic view that has been worked into the story however dies quickly when you discover what happened to poor Homer Barron.  The one time suiter that the reader and townspeople assumed had left Emily instead has been sharing her bed as a corpse for many years.  In one paragraph, you are forced to reevaluate everything you have read.  The sad nostalgia story that you have been reading and that the townspeople had been living is suddenly a horror story.  In his article for Crisis Magazine http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/faulkners-rose-emily-magnificent-horror Sean Fitzpatrick states that “By making death her own, by twisting death to her will and intertwining it with life, she is both a genius and a Jezebel.  And the tomb stink shrouding her house is evidence of not only a psychological horror but of a physical horror also-a magnificent horror.”  Rereading the story after knowing the ending completely changes your perspective.  The pages lose their nostalgic feel and instead are filled with a tales from the crypt feeling that will make you think twice if you’re ever driving through the old house and see an old plantation fallen into disrepair.