Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Chapters 11-16)

In the beginning of these chapters, the love between Janie and Tea Cake is tested for the first time, and they reveal their true selves to one another. To start, Janie hides money in her dress in case the relationship with Tea Cake does not work out. She has smalls doubts that his feelings for her are fueled by her wealth. Her withholding of the money, at Phoebe's advice, suggests that Janie is not prepared to be completely vulnerable and honest with Tea Cake. Tea Cake, too, holds back part of himself. He does not reveal his real friends to Janie, thinking that she would dislike him once she knew them. By the end of this section, however, Tea Cake and Janie finally are able to be more honest with one another.
Unlike her relationship with Jody, it seems that Tea Cake is willing to be more of a companion rather then a domineering partner. For Janie, this is in her mind her first real chance at happiness despite what others may think. 

Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Chapter 5-10)

In these chapters, Janie and Joe take the train from Maitland to Eatonville. When they arrive in Eatonville, both are disappointed with the town. Joe demands to talk to the mayor, but one of the men tells him that there is no mayor. Joe tells Coker that he thinks that the town is too small and that he will buy land from Captain Eaton, the gentleman that owns the neighboring land. Joe calls a meeting on his porch the next day to discuss his desire to build a post office and put up a store. The townspeople agree that building a store is a good idea. Joe earns back all the money he invested in building the store by selling land to people who want to move to the town.
Joe has established himself as "important" from the very beginning in this town. His character in these moments foreshadows his actions that will follow throughout the rest of the book. He is a control freak to a degree. He controls the town, he controls the store, and he controls Janie. 

Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Chapters 1-4)

The novel begins with a passage about the differences between the dreams of men and women. Men's dreams are like distant ships. For few men, the ship comes in and the dream is realized very quickly. For other men, the ship sails for a long, long time on the horizon. By the time these dreams finally can be realized, so much time has passed that the dreams are worthless. Unlike Men, women don't wait and watch for their "ship to come in." However, some women have dreams and some do not. And for the women, the mere possession of the dream is what matters.

T. S. Elliot: "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

What a bizarre love poem, or I suppose I should say lack of love poem. The narrater, J. Alfred Prufrock, is quiet the odd character. He appears to genuinely want to find this "love," but his self-doubt, stands in the way. Rather then seeing himself as the romantic character in this story, he sees himself as more of a fly on the wall. In the end, he sincerely regrets his decision. I think he recognizes that he has lost his chance to grab life in that moment. It's almost sad that he concludes that he will most likely not find "love."
I find it's probably a very realistic situation though. How often do we chicken out, if you will, when we are faced with monumental moments in life. The narrater will question his decision to not act for the rest of his life.

Wallace Stevens: "Sunday Morning"

While reading "Sunday Morning" by Wallace Stevens, I found myself reminded of funerals. Frequently the notion of death before beauty is brought up multiple times throughout the poem. Stevens seems to hint that death is apart of an eternal cycle. The seasons mimic this relationship as the Earth dies in the fall and comes back to life in the spring. He mentions the idea of paradise almost as a negative, since he sees the lack of change as imperfect. He concludes that death is needed in order to truly understand and appreciate beauty. This beauty is designed to be the final reality.
Conceptually, Steven's ideas seem to question Christianity. The fundamental christian belief of resurrection echoes the ideal of death before beauty, because Christ death on the cross was necessary for our salvation. However, unlike the seasons, Christ doesn't need to keep dying.  

Robert Frost: "Mending Wall"

We have all heard the saying "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors." My dad quotes it yearly every time we go to harvest the hay field that boarders our neighbors property. So I find it extremely interesting that Frost seems to be challenging this firmly held belief rather then conform to it. The narrater of the poem asks "why do they make good neighbors?" He proceeds to wonder about the purpose of a fence, specifically a fence between apple trees and pines. He questions what is being kept in/out. I find this extremely interesting. The fence between my dad's hay field and the neighbor was built to keep the neighbor from accidentally crossing the property line with his hay cutter. In a way, the fence was built to avoid any possible conflict that could result from forgetting the "fence." Frost, I believe, understands this. He knows the fence somehow makes his neighbor feel safe. The fence contains what is theirs.

Jack London's To Build a Fire

Jack London has created an unforgettably tragic tale which illustrates a modern philosophic theme. This story’s theme speaks of human kind's need to find meaning in the sufferings of our solitary existence. The environment which is both hostile and indifferent to our sufferings. London illustrates this theme in three ways: through his choice of setting, his imagery, and his placement of irony within the story.

The story is set in the wilderness of the frozen Yukon during the harsh winter months when “there was no sun nor hint of sun” in the sky. London places character in the perilous setting of the wilderness of the Yukon. When London combines this unforgiving environment with the deadly cold of the Yukon winter, he creates a setting which is the definition of hostile.

Imagery is also an important element that London uses to emphasize his theme. Earl Labor sees the “mood and atmosphere, which is conveyed through repetitive imagery of cold and gloom and whiteness,” as being “the key to the story’s impact." He simply cannot imagine a more careless environment. 

Lastly, London also uses irony. The man is “keenly observant” as he moves through the treacherous terrain of the Yukon. He is constantly on the lookout for signs which tell of the hidden dangers that he wishes to avoid, but, ironically, the man “falls through the ice” in an area which is absent of any “treacherous signs." The man gets a further dose of the impassive nature of the universe when, after painstakingly starting a fire, the fire is ironically snuffed out by falling snow just as he is about to begin thawing out his freezing feet.