The Awakening

The Awakening fell short of being a great piece because of the suicide death of Edna. Her death, after have going through a mid-life crisis, was tragic because she had the opportunity to show women of the late 1800s that they did not have to be doormats to their dictatorial husband's and suppressive societies. Edna's awakening showed women to follow their heart, and not on how other's view their lives, families, or wellbeing. In that respect, Edna is a rolemodel for her era. However, Edna could not ultimately come to leave the life she had, or to start another life free from the oppression that had plauged her. In the end, Edna cannot live in either world, and decides that the only solution is suicide. While she had the makings of a rolemodel for oppressed women of the 1800s and today, Edna is ultimately a cautionary story about a women who cannot find solice in anything. Instead of finding personal freedom, or staying and raising her kids, Edna chooses the selfish way out with death. What could've been a great story of a women who follows her heart and finds true happiness ends with a women in turmoil taking the easy(and wrong) way out.

Gregorio Cortez

After talking about how Cortez's story may have been adapted many times to better suit different audiences, I wondered what a modern day Gregorio Cortez story would look like. To modernize Cortez, you must appeal to the masses of the 21st century. In 2005, Cortez would be a rugged man, who shuns the metrosexual revolution, living in a smaller area of the U.S still considered harsh, perhaps Alaska or in the Deep North or South. He would be played by a Clint Eastwood type, such as Vin Diesel or Colin Farrell, a guy all the girl's want and all the guy's want to be. Playing Ramon, his eccentric brother, would be a comedian like Jim Carrey or Mike Myers. The story would be adapted to include a love interest, necessary in today's movie market. To play the damsel in distress would be left up to a beautiful women of our time like Jessica Simpson or Angelina Jolie. Moreover, it would now focus on corrupt cops who embezzle money, steal drugs, and blackmail crime lords. The movie would climax with a heroic last battle, with Gregorio killing most of the three hundred cops, instead of merely eluding them. Finally, the story would end with Cortez being a national hero for bringing honor back to the corrupt police system of our time. Instead of basking in the limelight, the movie would end with Cortez alone in a dark cemetery, at the grave of his beloved brother, telling his brother that he had avenged his death and that he had not died in vain.
THE END

P.S. Roger Ebert will give this movie Two thumbs--way down, for using a repetitive plot that hundreds of movies have used and capitalized on.
However, MTV will award four golden popcorn buckets for: BEST KISS, HOTTEST MALE, BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE, AND BEST "KICK-ASS" SCENE IN A MOVIE

Yellow Wallpaper

In class, the question of authority was raised regarding "douglass," and "Yellow Wallpaper." Authority in "Douglass" is crucial because Douglass's narrative worked to dismiss stereotypes and break the bonds of oppression. In order to accomplish this (especially in the 1800s), it was imperative for Fredrick Douglass to be a real slave, depicting real events. Douglass's narrative worked to portray the harsh realities of slavery, which depend upon a slave to truly exhibit its horrors. Not only did he write about slavery, he did it gracefully and intellectually, proving to the masses that African-American's were deserving of equality in our nation. On the other hand, Yellow Wallpaper doesn't need to have the same authority. Unlike Douglass, Wallpaper doesn't depend on a historical event. It's content is based on events that are less specific, and don't require authority to make it relevant. Moreover, it is an introspective novel that allows you to garner your own thoughts and ideas. It is not necessary to have actual people, places, or historic era's in order to convey the meaning of the novel. Therefore, authority is not needed in order to make the novel a worthwhile read.

Douglass

The narrative of Fredrick Douglass is often seen as merely an account of one of our nation's worst iniquities, slavery. Although this is very accurate, many fail to see what Douglass's intellectual narrative did to disprove many preconceived notions of African-American's in the 1800's. Born a slave, Douglass was never formally educated, and was not even allowed to read or write. However, this did not deter Douglass from becoming literate, and later becoming a great scholar. By penning his narrative, Douglass proved that a former slave and African-American can perform as equals to any human, regardless of race.