Thursday, October 8, 2009
Breaking the Frozen Sea
According to Franz Kafka, “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” What you think this quotation means? Which short story or personal essay (“Lamb to the Slaughter,” "Born of Man and Woman," "The Lady or the Tiger," "The Utterly Perfect Murder," "Fish Eyes," "The Scarlet Ibis") has broken the most “frozen sea” inside of you? Please explain with one short passage from the story.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The quotation “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.”, by Franz Kafka really made me realize that a book can open your imagination to a different world. When I think about this quote it reminds me of the short story “Fish Eyes” by David Brenner. This story broke the most “frozen sea” for me because it reminds me of my siblings and I. We don't necessarily only pull practical jokes on each other, but we always mess around. It also broke “frozen sea” for me because it reminds me of my friends and I. It is natural of a teenager to pull pranks on other people that we don't know, and this passage really reminded me of that: “I would walk up to a store whose front window was painted halfway up in order to use the space for advertising, and the I would tap on the window lightly but loudly enough to be heard while simultaneously raising my head so that the fish eyes would appear first and then my own wide-open eyes. Women shoppers would scream. I did it to about six stores. The rumor was flying that a monster was loose on 60th Street. The neighborhood was terrorized. I was very happy.”
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.”-Franz Kafka.
ReplyDeleteThis means that a book that is read can really open up the emotions, crying, laughter, so much.
One story that really opened my emotions it “ The Scarlet Ibis”. One line that made me smile was '“Oh, yes you can, Doodle,” I said. “ All you got to do is try. Now come on.” it made me so happy that his brother was encouraging him.'
One line that made me cry was '“I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us.' How could he leave his brother there, how???
The quotation by Franz Kafka means that the book will open up your hear and mind and make you think more about what the story means and how reading it might affect you. I think that this quote would make me open my mind more than the heart because i'm more of a thinker than a feeler. The story about Red Riding Hood made me think the most. I started to think about how it was right and how we as a people aren't politically correct. Men shouldn't run everything and should definitely not be sexist to women just because we can. This story made me think of times that i thought men were better and how i now regret that.
ReplyDelete\
ReplyDeleteI think this guy Franz Kafka must really like to read and write.Books must be his life if he is saying stuff like ''a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.'' See this is pretty deep stuff.
This quote might be trying to explain how books can change something inside of you and certain passages might stick with you for the rest of your life.
ReplyDelete"The Scarlet Ibis" really broke the frozen sea inside of me because of how much the brothers meant to each other even though the older brother kind of used Doodle for his own pride. The kids really cared about each other even if they didn't show it. " I began to weep, and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar... I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain." This passage shows that all along the older brother had cared for doodle, he just didn't show it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe quote, “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us,” by Frank Kafka, means that when we read a good book, it should be strong enough to break down a part of us inside. That means that after reading a good book, our emotions are open and our thoughts are open. We have a new outlook on something because of what the book has told us.
ReplyDeleteThe short story that broke the “frozen sea” inside of me was “The Scarlet Ibis”. This story made me think of how often we try to change things because they are different, but really we are completely oblivious to the beauty of the things being different. The passage that broke the “sea” them most for me was:
“He lay very awkwardly, with his head thrown far back, making his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim. His little legs, bent sharply at the knees, had never before seemed so fragile, so thin.
I began to weep, and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. “Doodle!” I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.”
This passage really broke me down because the narrator is finally realizing how beautiful Doodle was as a person, even though he wasn't perfect. It makes me realize that I need to admire faults instead of trying to change them.
The quote “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us,” by Franz Kafka can relate to many meanings. It mostly means that a good book should be able to influence emotions and change someone's thinking on a subject. If a story is thoughtful enough, then it should be able to “go inside” someone, break through the ice, and make them think. The line is directly related to a person's emotions when they read.
ReplyDeleteThe short story that has broken “the frozen sea” that is inside me is the “Scarlet Ibis.” It was deep, meaningful, and sad. It is hard not to be influenced by the emotions that course through the story. Out of all the stories that we have read so far, besides for “Little Red Riding Hood,” it is the only one that has made me actually want to read more. “For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain,” is such a powerful line, that it was hard not to be affected by the brother's pain. There was just something about the “Scarlet Ibis” that influenced my emotions.
Kafka's quote means, a book must make us be emotional and break our barriers.
ReplyDelete“Little Red Riding Hood” really broke the ice for me because it was so politically correct. Thats how everything is now. Of course Grandma is in perfect health and needs vitamin water. It just brings things in to modern day light that makes people sound weird and outlandish. “They decided to set up an alternative household based on mutual respect and cooperation, and they lived together in the woods happily ever after.”
To me "A book must be the Axe for the frozen sea inside us" means that people can show any emotion they need to but most people only like to keep there emotions hidden, and some people just plaster there faces with a certain type of emotion without expressing what they really feel.
ReplyDeleteWhen i think about this quotation it makes me think about a short story called "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst has the most frozen sea because it gives me a sense of how the older brother felt about Doodle when he found him after he ran as fast as he could through the rain to get to his house. I feel bad for the older brother because now he has a ton of guilt on his shoulders, i think that he will miss Doodle a lot.
A book should open your eyes to the world and change your view to everything you see. Books should open your mind to think deeper about events that occur. Books can reveal the world to you.
ReplyDeleteThe ax symbolizes the book and the frozen sea symbolizes yourself or your thinking.
The Scarlet Ibis has opened my eyes to how I see people. I now see people as more equal with one another instead of seeing people as different and associating it with inferior.
The quote from Franz Kafka means to me too things.First of all I think it means a book is an axe to opens all your emoitions and ideas.
ReplyDelete"Lady or the tiger"really opens the frozen sea inside of me.First of all i think that it opens up all your emoitions because she had to choose between the tiger or the lady for her man.She had to figure out weather to let him get eaten or get married.That would be a very hard decision to make."And not only did she know which room stood the lady ready to emerge"."With all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors,she hated the women behind that silent door"."That she knew behind which door was the tiger".
The quotation “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside of us.” by Franz Kafka made me think and understand that a book can reach our emotions. The frozen sea is referring to our hearts, feelings, or our mind and thoughts. The axe is the book. When we read something heart that really hits us from a book it can open our eyes to many things. The story that we read that broke the “frozen sea” inside of me was the “The Scarlet Ibis.” At the end of the story when he was holding his brother in the rain and crying because it was his fault that Doodle was dead made me feel a lot of emotion. It shocked me the most when he started running from his brother. For example the story said, “The faster I walked, the faster he walked, so I began to run.” I understand that it must be hard having a handy caped brother, but that crushed me when he started running from Doodle.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think Franz Kafka means in this quote is that books can really get inside you and hit you emotionally. Books can open your imagination a lot and discover what you can really see in your mind. That is what I think this quotation means.
ReplyDeleteThe short story that hit me emotionally the most was, “Fish Eyes”, because I can relate so much to this story. I have two siblings and we think its fun to pull pranks on each other also. When I was reading this story I felt like I could connect to David Brenner because he seems like the kid who would be really close to his family when he grows up. I wish to grow up and be close to my family. As you can see, the story, “Fish Eyes”, broke the “frozen sea” inside of me.
“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” To me this quote means that a book should be something that can take someone away and be some place that people can escape to. In the quote, the line “the axe for the frozen sea inside us” may mean that a good book is supposed to loosen the reader up on the inside so they can relax and be inside the life of the characters. So using the quote “the frozen sea” would shatter or break as you read.
ReplyDeleteThe short story “Lamb To The Slaughter” by Roald Dahl broke the most “frozen sea” inside of me. I believe it did this because in the story, Mary goes through killing her husband because she was in such shock from him deciding that he wanted a divorce even though she is pregnant. The end of the story when she chuckles was the part that broke the “frozen sea” because it is just bizarre. “ “Personally, I think it's right here on the premises.” “Probably right under our very noses. What do you think, Jack?” And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.” This quote is from the end of the story when the cops are discussing where the murder weapon might be. It turns out, the weapon was under their noses, they were eating it. This is why the story broke the sea for me, because I know what it is like to be in shock from something terrible and I have heard many stories of people that just giggle even when something bad happens around them.
I think that the quote by Franz Kafka that said “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” means that when you find a book to read that book should mean more to you than the eye can see. That book should have some type of special meaning to you that people don't know. Whether that meaning makes sense to other people or not. The short story “The Scarlet Ibis” has broken the most “frozen sea” inside of me. In the story when it says “Finally I went back and found him huddled beneath a a red nightshade bush beside the road. He was sitting on the ground, his face buried in his arms, which were resting on his drawn-up knees. ' Lets go, Doodle,' I said. He didn't answer, so I placed my hand on his forehead and lifted his head. Limply, he fell backwards on the earth. He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red.” This passage really hits me hard because this is when Doodle's older brother finally realizes what he had and he just treated Doodle horribly. When really he should have just been enjoying Doodle.
ReplyDelete“ A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.”, by Franz Kafka means to me that life is just as good as a well-written book because this quote means that if you read a good book, it can change your whole personality very quickly. This also made me realize that you need to cherish every moment with someone because you never know when they will be gone, just like the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”. This story has broken the most “frozen sea” inside of me because it really made me think about how much everyone in our family cares about each other, even though we fight sometimes.
ReplyDeleteOne passage that moved me from this story is, “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” I like this passage because sometimes my brother and I “fight” maybe just to amuse my mom or if I am really mad at him, and sometimes I hit him with a pillow. Even though family members fight, it is that, which brings them together. Also we shouldn't take anything for granted because before we know it, it can be taken away from us. When someone close to you passes away, shock fills you right away, but after awhile, you can start to feel the sadness; just like in, “The Scarlet Ibis”. That is what the quote from Franz Kafka means to me.
Franz Kafka's quote, “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us,” signifies that books have the power to open up a persons' emotions and has the power to change our many opinions.
ReplyDeleteDavid's Brenner's personal essay “Fish Eyes” broke the sea inside of me. is an essay in which opened up many different emotions. I literally laughed out loud when I read the pranks that him and his siblings did to one another. It's an emotion of happiness that got to me. “ I would walk up to a store whose front window was painted half way up in order to use the space for advertising, and then I would tap on the window lightly but loudly enough to be heard while simultaneously raising my head so that the fish eyes would appear first and then my own wide-open eyes. Women shoppers would scream. I did it to about six stores. The rumor was flying that a monster was loose on 60th Street. The neighborhood was terrorized. I was very happy.” In this passage from “Fish Eyes” shows the emotion of happiness. He was amused from scaring poor little old women. He enjoyed frighting other people and I enjoyed reading it.
This quotation by Franz Kafka means emotion inside of me or someone else.
ReplyDeleteThe short story the quotation reminds me of is "The Scarlet Ibis". "The Scarlet Ibis" was touching to me because in the short story while the older brother See's his brother laying there dead, he covers him with his arms and says "I lay there crying, sheltering my falling Scarlet Ibis from the heresy of rain."
The quote by Franz Kafka, “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us,” means that by reading literature, it open our minds, our emotions, and our imagination. By reading we can find adventure, discover a point of view we never saw before. Discover a level of ourselves that we didn't know was there.
ReplyDeleteThe short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst broke the “frozen sea” inside of me. When Doodle stayed outside and buried the scarlet ibis after it had died, his simple, caring, innocent, action split my frozen water. “Slowly, while singing softly 'Shall We Gather at the
River,' he carried the bird around to the front yard and dug a hole in
the flower garden, next to the petunia bed.” He felt sympathetic for the bird, maybe because he could relate. But just the way he reacted compared to the rest of his family, his compassion, made my heart melt.
The quote by Frank Kalfka “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” means that a book can open our imaginations to many things. It can make us feel the meaning of emotions and show out our personalities.
ReplyDeleteThe story that was broken most inside me was “Scarlet Ibis” It had such a meaning towards me. The way he felt towards his brother. And how they are together, and the love and teaching. And picturing every moment that tells.
The quotation by Franz Kafka, “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” This quote means to me that reading can sometimes let your emotions loose. Like if you read a sad story it could make you feel emotions that you have never felt. The short story that has broken the most frozen sea inside of me is “The Utterly Perfect Murder.” One quote that I found in this story that moved me was “Then I picked up a few bits of gravel and did the thing that had never been done, ever in my life, I tossed a few bits of gravel up to tap that window where I had lain every morning of my first twelve years.” This really broke my ice because it was kinda sad to me that Ralph never did that to him and many years later he had to do it to his own house.
ReplyDeleteThe quote “a book must be the ax for the frozen sea inside us” by Franz Kafka means that a book is the way to your heart. A good book unlocks emotions in the reader. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” Doodle cries, “Brother, Brother don't leave me!” This quote stood out to me because I have a little brother and I would die without him.
ReplyDeleteThe saying, “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us,” means, to me, we should read books because they unlock certain deep feelings inside of us and chip away at hard feelings.
ReplyDelete“The Scarlet Ibis” broke the “frozen sea” inside of me the most because it has such deep feelings put into it. Here is a passage from the story that has a great amount of emotion in it, “Brother, Brother, don't leave me! Don't leave me!”.....Finally I went back and found him huddled beneath a red nightshade bush beside the road. “Let's go, Doodle,” I said. He didn't answer. I placed my hand on his forehead and lifted his head. Limply, he fell backwards onto the earth. He had been bleeding from his mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained brilliant red. “Doodle! Doodle!” I cried, shaking him, but there was no answer......”
To me the quotation “A book must be the ax for the frozen sea inside us.” said by Franz Kafka means a book or story is a way to open up your emotions and imagination. The short story “The Scarlet Ibis” has broken the “frozen sea” inside me the most. “ “Doodle! Doodle!” I cried, shaking him, but there was no answer but the ropy rain. He lay very awkwardly, with his head thrown far back, making his vermilion neck appear unusually long and slim. His legs, bent sharply at the knees, had never before seemed so fragile, so thin.
ReplyDeleteI began to weep, and the tear-blurred vision in the red before me looked very familiar. “Doodle!” I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body on the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” This passage is what broke my “frozen sea”. It's sad to lose someone, but when you realize how special that person is when they die it's even more sad. That's what happened to Doodles' older brother, he didn't realize how special Doodle was until he died. That's the saddest part of the story, the “frozen sea” breaker for me.
This quotation means that a good story should open up our hearts and our minds to the lives and characters in the story and live their lives as they do. The short story “The Scarlet Iris” got to my heart and into my head the most. The story was captivating and the ending made my eyes water. Books aren't worth it unless, by the middle of the story you can not stop reading. The story becomes a part of my thinking and I start to feel like the characters are close to me. If the story doesn't end well, or the movie that was made from the book doesn't do my expectations justice, I get irritated and am in a bad mood. That's why my favorite book is “The Big Friendly Giant” because you are connected to the characters from the beginning of the story. The story makes me feel like your living it with girl and the giant and it has a good ending, but leaves you wanting more to the story. That's my kind of story.
ReplyDeleteThe quote, “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” is written by Franz Kafka. It means that books can open your emotions or imagination. It has happened for me at least. Sometimes when I read books, I have ideas about stories or poems. But I have also learned that sometimes if you read a book that relates to your life, it can really soften or open your feelings. For instance the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” , “Broke” me the most because while I was reading the story I started thinking of my, 15 year old cousin Eric. Sometimes he seemed like a brother to me just because my family was over at my Aunt Jeni's House constantly. This story relates to me, because you see Eric was Autistic (Keyword: Was). We're not quite sure how he died but he died at a Special Olympics soccer tournament. But I was not ashamed of him. Doodle's brother is possibly the worst brother ever!
ReplyDeleteFranz Kafka says, “ a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” That is a powerful quote. To me it means that reading book opens who you really are. I also think that it opens your thinking. It will make you think what you believe in. This quote can be viewed in many ways.
ReplyDeleteKafka's quote is used directly to me when I read the short story, “The Utterly Perfect Murder.” In “The Utterly Perfect Murder” the quote that touches me was, “I had a wild thought that what happened to Ralph Underhill was that after I left town, half of his life had collapsed. This quote touched me because Ralph got what he deserved. I believe in Carma and thats exactly what I believe in.
The quote by Franz Kafka “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” meant that books can open up new emotions and ideas inside the reader, then in other stories; the author made the reader think to figure out what happened and what someone’s motivation was for their actions. Some emotions I had in several of the short stories was sadness, the writers made me feel the devastation, hatred, and sadness. And the way the text made me think is that I had to figure out what Mary Maloney’s reason for killing her husband. Also I had to keep thinking witch door the princess chose in “the lady or the tiger”. The line that hit me the most was “And so I leave it with all of you: witch came out of the door- the lady or the tiger?” from “The Lady or The Tiger”. The passage I chose had me thinking because I just couldn’t figure out which door she chose because both seemed like a reasonable answer.
ReplyDeleteIn the quote by Franz Kafka "a book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.", i think is a way to say that a book can open your mind to things that you have never thought of before. A example of his quote is given in the short story "The Utterly Perfect Murder" when a man hates someone so much that he plans the murder of this man 36 years after he was bullied. when he gets there thought the man looks old, and sad so he just says the words "bang" three times to commit his crime. that ending surprised me because i never really thought about how deadly words can be and taught me something that i never really thought about before.
ReplyDelete