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Isolation in this story is created by the storm which keeps the mother separate from the father and her son. Because of this isolation, she engages in a forbidden love affair with an old friend. Similarly to Story of an Hour and Brokeback Mountain, this type of isolation shows something about who she is and what she really wants. Because she is alone, she is able to indulge in something she would never be able to pursue if her husband and son were home.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Jay Gatsby, one of the wealthiest characters in the novel, often finds himself under a moonlight, on the balcony, and in the pool, detatched from the people. Although he motivated himself to become a wealthy businessman in the city, he does not want any involvement with the people that are considered useless to him. Gatsby uses May Wolfsheim to bargain corrupt business and Nick Carraway to win Daisy. Other than those two characters and their businesses, Gatsby doesn't mention anything else. In fact, the isolation for Gatsby is sometihing that's useful for him to conceal his evil character and true self. At the end of the novel, he gets killed by Wilson on the pool, and only a few guests visit his funeral.

CONFUSION ABOUT SELFHansong, Mad, Dylan
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Throughout many of our course readings, we have observed a theme of self-confusion. Self confusion revolves around the idea of being confused about one's identity. There are many ways one can be confused about one's identity; some of these include
Sexual Identity: Throughout the course readings, many of the characters have shown feelings of confusion about sexual identity. These characters include Colonel Fitts from American Beauty, Jack and Ennis from “Brokeback Mountain,” Paul, from Six Degrees of Separation, and Capitan Falcon from Middle Passage. All of these characters encounter confusion about their sexual identity, and deal with this confusion in different ways. Some characters hide from it, others try to hide their secret from society, and others embrace it.Moral values
"Dead Man's Cell Phone"-Sarah Ruhl
Jean: In “Dead Man’s Cell Phone “, the character Jean is a very confused character. She is a complete stranger to Gordon, but she is the first to find out he has passed away. Although she had never met Gordon before in her life, she feels as though she has some kind of connection with him. Because of this she feels obligated to pick up his cell phone and answer calls for him. She also calls Gordon’s family and sets a date to meet with them, claiming she had been good friends with Gordon. When she meets with the family of Gordon, she then proceeds to make up things Gordon never said in order to please others. This relates to “confusion of self” because if Jean had been fully aware of her identity she wouldn’t have put herself into the position she put herself into.
Gordon: InIn “Dead Man’s
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The Road-Cormac McCarthy

The Storm
Isolation in this story is created by the storm which keeps the mother separate from the father and her son. Because of this isolation, she engages in a forbidden love affair with an old friend. Similarly to Story of an Hour and Brokeback Mountain, this type of isolation shows something about who she is and what she really wants. Because she is alone, she is able to indulge in something she would never be able to pursue if her husband and son were home.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Different Kinds of Love
Fiona, Mike, Alex
Nick and Jordan in The Great Gatsby also shares a relationship where Nick finds himself madly in love with Jordan as she continues a life without the same focus on their relationship. As a professional golfer and a member of the "society" she has other distractions in her life. While Nick tires to find distractions and fill his life with meaningful relationships he relies too much on their relationship ultimately leaving him feeling isolated and abandonded. Similarly, the relationship between Gatsby and Daisey is ultimately one-sided. In their youth, the two were lovebirds. However, after breaking her promise not to marry until Gatsby returns from war, Daisey seemed to pour her affection in the direction of her new husband, Tom. Tom is a materialistic and arrogant member of the high class and Jay Gatsby finds himself competing with him to win back Daisey's interest. At times, it seems as if he may be on the track to success, but in the end Gatsby's unfledging love and persistent persual of Daisey were not repayed.
In The Road, the only apparent unrequited love is in a unique form: between the Boy and the world/other humans. A very optimistic and idealistic child, the Boy expresses his trust in the post apocalyptic world in numerous philosophical debates with the Man. The Man takes a more realistic angle; claiming that every man is responsible for fending for himself and there is no hope of companionship. Also, the Man sometimes confesses that he does not believe their fight against the apocalypse will end well. The Boy, on the other hand, suggests trusting his fellow man and having hope that the good in people will prevail over the evils in their decrepit world. In a way, the Boy is showing love towards the world he lives in and the other people who live in it. However, the thing that makes this love unrequited is that the people who the Boy is so willing to trust and love turn out to be like what the Man thinks: cruel, brutal and only interested in survival by any means necessary. The innocent, and arguably naïve, Boy witnesses roving bands of survivors who have sex slaves, old rogues who will easily jump at the chance to mooch food off of him, and houses with naked prisoners locked in the basement until they are savagely eaten. Other people show the Boy no love in return for his unwavering optimism.
Could You Be Loved?
"Could You be Loved?" by Bob Marley embodies the concept of true love prevailing over forbidden love. The soulful ditty is asking "could you be loved?" which relates to the themes of taboo love in our studied pieces this year. Characters such as Jay Gatsby (Great Gatsby), Colonel Fitts, Lester (American Beauty), Huck and Jim (The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn), Paul (Six Degrees of Separation), and Jack and Ennis (Brokeback Mountain) struggle with the question "Could You Be Loved?". They all experience moments when they wonder if the love that they feel is right and if it can go on in the face of society's condemnation.
Particularly:

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http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/01/20/president-obamas-inaugural-address/
address it.
#3
{http://compuball.com/Inquisition/av/images/DeclarationIndep.jpg} Second Continental Congress "Declaration of Independence"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Aristotle:
"Happiness depends on ourselves."
Media:
http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/01/27/happiness-in-america/3706.html
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/02/09/Happiness-study-Imagine-no-possessions/UPI-52681234159631/
{http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/the-great-gatsby.jpg} by F. Scott FitzGerald
American Beauty
and honestly.
Passing by Nella Larsen
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Picture from: http://blogs.timesunion.com/books/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/passing.jpg
much anxiety.
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
Throughout Brokeback Mountain, there is a tension between what characters truly want and what society wants for them. Ennis and Jack know that they cannot openly be gay or bisexual in their communities and homes. Ennis’ life begins to fall apart when his wife realizes he is involved with a man. Every time Ennis and Jack meet up, they discuss what to do, angry that their fear of the consequences inhibits them from being themselves. Both know that because they cannot be together, they are not truly happy with their lives. The pressure of social standards controls how they act and what they pursue in their lives.
Dwight and Jean both pursue happiness in Dead Man’s Cell Phone, by Sarah Ruhl. Dwight finds in Jean the person that he loves and he goes all out for her. He also has a job at the paper store that he is extremely happy with. Jean pursues love with both Gordon and Dwight. She falls in love with the image she has of Gordon. In her life before the story begins, Jean has not had much companionship and as a result she is drawn to Gordon because she does not actually know him so she can create her own image of him. She later falls in love with Dwight because he actually cares about her. Mrs. Gottlieb also pursues happiness by throwing herself into the fire so that she can be with Gordon.
Story of an Hour
be independent.
The Storm
The woman in the Storm also has pursues illicit happiness when concealed by the storm. However, in this story, it is evident that she can only give in to what she wants when no one knows. Therefore, she must pretend that she truly only cares about her family and that she would never cheat on her husband. Although she appears to be happy and relieved when her family finally comes home, we see that there is another side of her that wishes she could escape that routine for a while.

3. fully developed in body or mind, as a person: a mature woman
Dictionary.Com
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ExternalExternal Link What
Becoming independent
Finding yourself

Nick- Great Gatsby
The Road- Boy
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Ouisa from Six Degrees of Separation believed that she was a witty and self assure woman. She had money, a nice apartment in Manhattan, and a seemingly perfect family, with children at prestigious schools and a well-to-do husband. What she did not see, however, was how shallow her life and the people in it, truly was. When Paul came barreling into her life, he turned Ouisa’s world upside down. Paul helped Ouisa to see that she was not truly happy with her life. She finally realized that her family and friends were shallow. At the end of the movie, we finally see Paul’s influence on Ouisa cause her to walk out on Flan. This image of Ouisa freely walking down the city street represents her new, and more mature self.
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The boy from The Road started out as being really dependent upon the father and also really frightened of the predicament they were in. Towards the beginning of the novel, the boy used the father almost as a “crutch” and relied upon the dad to get them food, shelter, water, and clothing. The boy was also really naïve in the beginning and this is emphasized by the passage where he left the nozzle of the gas canister open;and leaked out all of the precious gas that would have brought them lifesaving heat. A major turning point in the boy’s journey towards reaching maturity was when they met the old man on the road. The boy realized that they weren’t alone in the world, and his caring nature reached out and wanted to help the man by giving him supplies. Later on, the boy “matures” not just physically but mentally and this is evident especially at the last scene where he covers up his father’s body on the beach and shows that he appreciates all the fatherly support he received from him.
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Nick Caraway from The Great Gatsby comes to the East Egg community feeling like he knew everything. Upon arriving there however, Nick realized that he had come to a completely new and unfamiliar world, in which he was truly an outsider. At first, Nick is very critical of all of the people who he meets during his stay in East Egg. As his stay in East Egg continues, however, he realizes that he had been very judgmental, and begins to try and understand the members of the East and West Egg communities. He begins to spend more time with Jay Gatsby, Jordan Baker and Daisy Buchannan. Upon forming relationships with these people, Nick learns more about himself and matures into a better person. We can see this most clearly at the end of the story when Gatsby dies. No one shows up to his funeral, or cares much about him, despite all of the friends he seemed to have. Yet Nick rose above this and was the only one there for Gatsby in the end, proving his maturity.
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Rutherford Calhoun from Middle Passage undergoes a remarkable transformation in character throughout the length of the book. At first, he is drawn towards Captain Falcon when he is entrusted with the ring that allows him to fire the gun. For a short span of time, he is allied with the ship’s crew, seeking out dissenters and rabble-rousers among the Allmuseri on board the ship. There are moments during the time he is siding with the crew that he realizes he’s betraying his own people by helping the white crew to enslave them. Eventually these thoughts become more recurrent and more frequent until he questions his own actions and asks himself where his loyalties truly lie. His relationship with the orphaned African girl Baleka is what eventually pushes him to ally with the captive Allmuseri on board. His relationship with her makes him realize what a terrible and atrocious crime it was to capture the Allmuseri tribe and enslave them. Although Calhoun has already matured physically at the time of the “Middle Passage”, he truly comes of age when he starts to help the enslaved Allmuseri and realizes that he should help them and not only be loyal to his heritage but also for the sake of being a morally upright and virtuous person.
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Huck Finn from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn grows up in the dregs of society; dirty, hungry and homeless with a father who is an alcoholic and a troublemaker. The Widow Douglas takes him in and tries to “sivilize” him however this only annoys Huck and makes him even more rebellious. This eventually leads to his skepticism of the upper-class and causes him to question much of what is around him. When Huck meets up with Jim on the island, he realizes that even though by law, he is supposed to turn him in, his rationale and moral compass make him realize that he should help him reunite with his family. Although he has already decided to do what is right, he still has many incorrect misconceptions about African-Americans and this is evident throughout their journey down the Mississippi River. Huck plays many cruel jokes on Jim but that is mostly due to his naivety and prejudiced ideas about African-Americans. The more time he spends with Jim, the more Huck realizes that he is a very compassionate and intelligent man, the opposite of what he had thought of Jim before. This journey with Jim causes Huck to mature and come of age with regards to race and respect of other people.
External Sources:

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"Dead Man's Cell Phone"-Sarah Ruhl
Jean
Dwight
GordonJean: In “Dead Man’s Cell Phone “, the character Jean is a very confused character. She is a complete stranger to Gordon, but she is the first to find out he has passed away. Although she had never met Gordon before in her life, she feels as though she has some kind of connection with him. Because of this she feels obligated to pick up his cell phone and answer calls for him. She also calls Gordon’s family and sets a date to meet with them, claiming she had been good friends with Gordon. When she meets with the family of Gordon, she then proceeds to make up things Gordon never said in order to please others. This relates to “confusion of self” because if Jean had been fully aware of her identity she wouldn’t have put herself into the position she put herself into.
Gordon: In “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” we learn about Gordon’s past before he dies. He spent his life smuggling human body parts illegally to earn his living. To do this he was involved with sketchy people, and didn’t spend much time with his family. When Jean meets Gordon in the laundry mat heaven, we learn that Gordon truly did care about his family, and that he would like to spend the rest of eternity with his mother. This relates to “confusion of self” because when he was alive he didn’t realize what he was missing out on, and he finally realized when it was too late.
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The Road-Cormac McCarthy

Care à Tessa’s addiction for drugs (Devvie & Sally) demonstrate her isolationism from the society. Due to her lack of caring enviroment, she is extremely dependent on her drugs rather than reaching out for help. She sees Olivia, her cousin, who is well-cared and has the exact opposite life from that of Tessa.
Stars of the Motown Shining Bright à in the story, the narrator talks about the girl named Conie who everyone dislikes. She goes out to skate and swears at Lucy for trying to help her. Although the story of Connie lasts only a page, the character demonstrates the desire to be independent and free from the social group. Jack Jacob, Mellisa, Lucy are apparently isolated from the society. They enjoy their hedonistic lives without the parental guidance. Especially, when Lucy finds a gun under a cabinet, she enjoys having the ultimate power to control herself, wielding the gun at Jack Jacobs for gaining her own indepence.
a bed, orand in a the woods with Dovidto detatch themselves from the religious supervision.
Middle Passage by Charles Johnson
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