Charlotte Temple Response #2

Charlotte Temple was unbelieveable. Not in the sense that it was amazing, but in the sense that I dont find it to be a believeable story. Like Dr. Wright said, its like a soap opera. Events happening at just the right moment, and entire lives ruined because of a bad decision.

I think Charlotte put to much weight into the decision she made. She becomes so determined that she is worthless that she wastes what worth she does have by being miserable. I think she is not a good representation of a strong woman of her time. She let others influence her entire existance. For example La Rue gets her to come to America and Charlotte realizes that Montraville is not going to keep his promise, but what does Charlotte ever do to help herself? All she does is complain about how her life is ruined and how worthless she is. I understand that women did not have a lot of opportunities at the time the story takes place, but please! As hated as she is, La Rue took her bad situation and made what she could out of it. I disagree with her turning down Charlotte in the end of the story, but really is La Rue a terrible person, or is she simply a survivor?

In the end of the novel does Charlotte die from complications of childbirth or from the shame that she puts onto herself? All in all Charlotte Temple irritated me. She was such a weak person, other then her trek in the snow, what strength did she show? She clung to a guy who didnt want her and made no strides to provide for herself.

I was thinking of writing my essay on Theatre for and starring the adolescent. I have always enjoyed going to the theater, both here in Cleveland and also in New York. When I was a teenager I really related to lots of the ideas presented in the musical RENT. I am constantly engaged and interested in different musicals and shows. I know lots of teenages today that get obsessed with different shows for different reason, and I would like to explore those reasons and concepts more in depth. I also believe that kids that experience live theater form a greater appreciation for the story being portrayed. A movie is to impersonal. Time, distance, and special effects seperate the audience from the art. There are no second takes in live theater and thats part of what attracted me so much in the first place. Every performance of every show is slightly different from the next. It's exciting in a way a movie never can be. Roles for teenagers are less popular in the theater, but not unheard of. Some shows center entirely around what its like to be a teenager. The show Spring Awakening, for example, explores teenage life in Germany in 1890, and pairs a once banned script with contemporary music. It's fantastic! Theater and the American teen.....yeah, I like that.

Rise and Fall part two.....

I particularly enjoyed reading about the revolution that women in America championed in the 1920's. The era of the flapper was so significant because it was one of the first times in American history that female adolescents were able to have a voice, a culture all their own. The "flapper girl" had a lot in common with many girls today. I think that lots of "good girls" were drawn to the flapper culture in the same way that lots of girls today are drawn to alternative cultures. Its a way to express all of the changes that their body and mind are going through. An outlet to release the sexual and emotional tensions raging inside them. I refuse to believe that just because society was more quaint and demure that girls felt any less sexual tension then they do today. They just suppressed it better. Cutting their hair short and wearing more revealing clothing was rebellion against their parents. Just like the goth kids in the later chapter. Rebellion and self expression are both things we all explore during our teenage years. Jazz was the Lady Gaga of the 20's. Parents didn’t understand it, didn’t appreciate it, and didn’t accept it, therefore teenagers were inherently drawn to it. I like this because it was so ahead of its time. After the depression teenage culture backtracked and seems to have become demure once again. The roaring twenties hold such a mystique for me because chronologically they seem like they would have been better off happening directly before the mid sixties. Women were wild and free and seemed to have a voice and fashion was a huge part of the culture, and all of that is just so much more modern then the way women behaved in the 40’s and 50’s. To me the 20’s and the entire Flapper phenomenon was an incredibly relevant and necessary first step to women exploring who they are, who they want to be and what they stand for. It’s a time in our history that was fun and lively and full of life, and personally I think it would have been really cool to have lived then and experienced the entire sensation.