In the short story “Gooseberries”, the author, Anton Chekhov, addresses the idea of happiness. The main character, Ivan Ivanich, tells his two friends a story about his brother. Through this, the author brings out some interesting ideas. The storyteller argues that happiness isn’t- or rather shouldn’t be- the greatest goal in life. He cries out for people to believe in a greater purpose, and seek to do good, even perhaps at the cost of their own superficial peace or happiness. He recognized that happiness and perfect peace are not something that can be completely or fully attained in this life, and that there will always be unrest or brokenness somewhere. Which is why we must do good.
Author Archives: Allison Blank
Blog Post #2
In her poem “Perhaps the World Ends Here”, Joy Harjo describes all of the many many actions that take place at the kitchen table. She brings in aspects from all areas of life, including childhood and adulthood, joy and pain, birth and death, victory and remorse, and others. She brings into perspective the part that the table itself plays in each of these areas.
Harjo opens by stating that the world begins around the kitchen table, and concludes by suggesting that perhaps the world will also end around the kitchen table. She sets the mood of this final scene with laughter and tears, and writes of “the last sweet bite” which brings into picture the last bite of a meal, but also the last moments of life.
Goblin Market
It seems pretty clear after reading the poem “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti, that it’s theme has to do with some sort of addiction. The poem uses fruit as the symbol for the addiction.
Some suggest that it is sexual addiction, which is possible given the way the goblins treat Lizzie when she goes to get fruit for her sister. It also sounds like it is some other sort of addiction like a drug because the poem mentions that another friend died from it, and it talks about Laura being listless around the house, which sounds like withdrawal of some sort.
Most likely, the poem is talking about addiction in general, and references multiple sorts of addiction.
Introduction to Allie Blank
Hi, my name is Allison Blank. I go by Allie, and a host of other nick names like Al, Al Pal, Big Bird, or anything else people come up with. I’m 18 years old, and I live in Corona NYC.
My life is full of various activities, but right now, I am the most passionate about my job. I am a manager at Chick-Fil-A, and I love being there. I love people, and take pride in building a team that is skilled and enjoys working with each other. I work hard to show my team a leader that cares about them personally. It can definitely be stressful, and being in leadership is never something I envisioned as part of my life, but I’m so glad I was willing to give it a shot. It has and is continuing to teach me so much about interacting with people and handling difficult things like setting boundaries and being ok with not being liked sometimes. It’s teaching me to stand up for myself, and to set goals and be visionary. I love my job, and am so thankful for all the people I’ve met along the way who have taught me so much.
