bought or stolen?

She is always in control. Her walls are always up and she controls the interactions she has w/ people instead of being transparent (which she should ultimately be with with her therapist)

Hinting that she's a different person when she steals

But can she really get well? Or just manage?

Is she a sociopath? This + stealing + frequent dating + lying = seems like she is aware of what she's doing and hiding about herself, even as she hurts others, but disregards these things

Is there significance that "pre-wallet," she was referring to him vaguely and now suddenly he is named and more human than before? Somehow her stealing makes her more present and engaged?

the food metaphor is reminiscent of someone with an eating disorder; this connects a so-called mental imbalance and obsession with food and Sasha's own disorder–showing it's an obsession she cannot help, and must stem from childhood or social experiences

Interesting considering Sasha seems like the type to be curious and impulsive, so she wouldn't have the mental strenght to keep herself from Googling Coz and yet she does. This shows that her stealing things is entirely separate from how she operates elsewhere in her life

I feel like I kind of understand this feeling. Sasha might not think it's enough just to exist and have posessions; nobody else, in her mind, is a functioning klepto, so why not make a game out of it and assert herself with this unique "trait." But why does she do it? Does this stem from a childhood issue in which she had to steal to prove tougher than others?

why break the fluidity with this parenthetical? what does Coz "get?"

reminds me of cultural differences; the woman in the stall could've grown up in a better environment and never thinks people will take advantage of her. this may say something not just about Sasha but about the environment that she grew up in

drug bag or purse?

I originally read this as "ghostly engine overpiled" which could've been the author's intent to hint at the overpile of bodies which make the clock run. Una's stare is like a knowing glance to these murders

I could be interpreting this wrong, but does the belltower run on bodies? At first reading this it seems like the magistrates were locked into the tower and "unusual accompaniments" reinforces this.

Why do they not want to give him the recognition he deserves? It seems like they can't fathom a plebeian to have intellectual thought in their art

An interesting touch considering Banndonna himself was secluded from others; this seems so much more bright than would be imagined. It's possibly ironic that this is the most magnificent part of the belltower if it's only going to decay

I wonder the significance between naming these two particular towers, so different in heigh/width/architecture.The Campanile is a single,straight tower and its clock barely stands out as the hours are directly on the structure rather than in a separate circle; comapare this with St. Mark's Clocktower whose clock is so obvious, so adorned with astrological symbols and transcendence. Does this mean that the Campanile is physically the structure than Bannadonna was hoping for, but instead life and the heavens got in his way?

What sequel? also: Noted use of "executed" in this section

What is the function of separating these 2 sentences from the prior and following paragraph?

This metaphor ties into the first paragraph's of Anak: Anak is compared to the pine tree and now Babel to the tower. The Anaks in the Bible were ones who came to Israel and conquered Canaan, referring to Genesis:11. Anak is conquering Babel like the pine and natural Earth is "destroying" the belltower.

immediately with the use of "unblest," we know that something is going to happen to Bannadonna and it must be more significant than the natural progression of life and death. "Unblest" must refer to Bannadonna being cursed; this makes one question the author's description of "great mechanician:" is he great despite being cursed or is this tongue-in-cheek?

daily rays, burning of the sun (fleet b/c of the change in time of day or weather); a less-hopeful description of the weather – sounds like the author is living in this beaten-down state where all is somewhat fleeting or decrepit

adv., prep., adj.: near or almost

Before reading: the belltower could indicate something good, the chiming in of something new; or it could indicate something ominous, something looming (ex. the chiming of bells after a death)

"Oppression" shows Anders is always thinking about how someone was putting him down: from the war rally and oppression of the government to this moment; however, by the time he dies, he's less worried about the oppressors (the gunman, the bankteller who ignores him in line) and more about taking life as it is

Interesting he says this in a sarcastic tone considering he's sarcastic and joking right before he gets shot also. His sarcasm was his pitfall in this situation: the one thing that was taken note of that cost him his life.

Word choice foreshadowing the murder at the end of the story

b4 reading: Is this supposed to be a metaphor? Does someone actually get shot in the head?

Is the author implying that in this moment right before death we live our entire lives again? Anders truly doesn't have time. He doesn't have a second to think about his life; the bullet is in the brain. This line almost implies that the second before death is infinite, where all of our memories live at one time.

metaphor; the speaker is the "lonely tree" and the birds are the people, the lovers, whose lips they have kissed that leave them. They are subsequently left alone.

It's like the speaker is teasing or playing hard to get or don't know how to deal with their own feelings. They say they must forget this person, and yet if that person simply told them they loved them it would strengthen and bond them together again. "loveliest lie" implies a blind hope that the person would even have anything good to say

ironic they use "contrived" b/c what they want from this person is a contrived love. It pains them truly to end this relationship, whatever it may be, but as long as they are told a "lovely lie" they will forget all of that and keep the relationship going. This reply, this lie, would be contrived. The speaeker is in denial

To tie into my own Greek metaphor, this could be how people feel after a war, or even a pit fight. They feel empty; even though the spectacle was too great and too wild, it made them feel something at least

This paragraph creates, to me, an image of war almost--like a highly romanticized Greek story or something. "Brigades," "disport themselves and thrust," "bridged," "laying plots to score," "heroic abs, "animality," and "weak pretenses" can all be used to describe the war dance of ancient Rome or Greece. Also, the contrast between total masculinity and easygoing feminity can be tied into the Grecian metaphor (Helen and Paris)

If the word "nursing" is literal, this line could also be taken literally, that her children are literally eating her alive (by nursing). Even if this were true, the line would also mean they are taking over her life; they take over her time, her life, even her conversations

Poem is a sonnet: most widely used verse form, 14 lines. I wonder if this is intentional by the poet or if the sonnet and iambic pentameter come naturally?

The form of this line represents an exasperated feeling. Even though "too late" flows with the following stanzas, it is separated in its own line, almost becoming an aside from the woman in the poem.

These two lines set the scene of the poem as if it is a play. This theme of the poem is reinfored by the word "draw," its denotation being the action the child is doing, the connotation alluding to the drawing of curtains before a play. The casual dialogue "How nice" and the word "rehearsing" create this image of two people on stage, spotlight on them ("in flickering light"). Certain genres of theatre have no plot, simply showing a moment in time; this poem reads as such.

The poem reads as if it's spoken in one breath, as if the parent/speaker is crying and between breaths speaking to their daughter leaving home. This is why the poem is in past tense, and there is only commas separating thoughts until the final period at the end. It's like the only way the speaker can get out their thoughts is if they just let them flow.

The snow seems to be personified as a person by the poet: "arrives after long silence" "You can follow the broken hearts" and "the cool cheek it offers me" are the sentences the set the tone for this narrative. These three lines remind me of a breakup or an unrequited love or an old lover returning.

Upper country and inner core are not parallel in their structure, since country is a landscape and core implies something within that. It would be better if the speaker had said "From upper country to the shore" which also would rhyme with "floor." However, I think this is intentional because it is an example of her not being perfect, or parallel–she is all of these different things.

Besides the dynamism of the diction, this description does not describe something dynamic, or intricate. This road has a long, winding path, but it is clear and doesn't branch out or break. Where can this road lead to, though, if it is convex? Seems pointless

-Is there a reason for the absence of a comma between these two thoughts? -"Undertone" implies the calm atmosphere the waves bringing about.

What is a "beginning" of an island? As in no history? Keeping with the comparison of women: men prefer a woman that has no baggage?

literally: the speaker is an "other" compared to men's preferences. they prefer an island, and yet she is something else, something more complex

after he touches the clock, it's like he's acknowledging or at least falling into the biological clock of life; once he realizes how much time he has, his life goes by so quickly

Is this relating the mosquito to a human? Like "she" wanted to get away from the buzz of the garden; to buzz her own song?

post-reading: Her Spanish language isn't enough to connect with her family anymore. they now go to American schools, have adapted to the culture while she reflects on her inadequacy in being able to fully connect and immerse herself also

side-effect of alzheimer's/dementia: remembering things about his life: his house, music, his youth, yet forgetting his wife

polemical: adj. relating to or involving strongly critical, controversial, or disputatious writing or speech

indissoluble nexus: an indestructible connected group

Capitoline Brutus

"cartographic portraits" = use of very thin brushes and oil paints

engendered v. cause or give rise to (a feeling, situation, or condition)

as in, create women in their raw, natural state versus being manicured

Roman goddess of the hearth, home, and family.

as in her father, or other patriarchal figure

v. praise enthusiastically

Italian writer, poet, important Renaissance humanist. 1313-1375