Also, remember that on Wednesday (Feb 8) we have a quiz on the next 6 vocabulary words, and on Friday (Feb 10) we will have a quiz on punctuation. You can prepare for the quiz by reading BH 372-391.
As per your request, here is a brief summary of the guidelines by which I grade your responses. The following information is paraphrased from the handout I gave you on the first day of class.
- Thesis (Does your essay have a clear thesis statement? Is it arguable? Persuasive? Original?)
- Organization (Does the essay "flow"? Does one idea follow logically from the previous one? Are transition words and phrases used correctly?
- Argument (Is your thesis well-supported? Do you give appropriate attention to possible objections to your thesis?)
- Prose Style (How is your grammar? Punctuation? Style? Spelling? Clarity?)
- Creativity (Do you demonstrate creative reading? Creative use of language? Creativity of thought? Or are you just going through the motions? Varied and interesting use of punctuation, vivid verbs, and strong nouns all help here.)
- Research (Although this category will be more important when I evaluate your research papers, right now it basically means that you quote relevant passages from the text and follow MLA format when doing so.)
Cassie Ferraro
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106W
8 February 2012
The Hero’s Tragic Flaw
In many tales, one will come across a certain character that has all the traits of a hero: brave, intelligent, daring, and strong. However, these traits that one would hold in high regard are those which lead to his demise. In “The Ledge” by Lawrence Sargent Hall, we see the protagonist, a fisherman, lead his son and nephew into a dangerous situation that could have been prevented; but due to his pride, ends up leaving them stranded and desperate.
The author opens the story, discussing the characteristics. Seen by his wife as a man with an “unsympathetic competence,” (Hall 252) we are introduced to a man who is no stranger to danger. Arguments erupt with his wife every autumn due to his desire to continue working throughout the winter months. It is commonly known in his community that fishing during the winter months is very risky, and yet he challenges nature every year and rakes in his profits. His ability is unquestionable as the omniscient narrator describes him as a “big, raw man with too much strength.” (Hall 262)
As the setting is fully introduced, we learn that it is Christmas morning. The fisherman is keeping a promise that he made to his son and his nephew who is visiting from his home on a farm. He has decided, against his wife’s wishes, to take the boys out on his boat to hunt for ducks. We see that he is confident in this activity he has planned for them. His logic functions as, “If I have done this for work and succeeded, surely I can do this for pleasure and it will also be successful.” With a simple error in forgetting to properly fix the boat, the day progresses into a small catastrophe.
In this story, the fisherman thinks of himself as being nearly invincible. We see this through his language and through the actions that he takes throughout the day, and in the past. He has challenged nature and been victorious. This repeated behavior only helps his logic that he will continue to be successful in hunting and fishing during dangerous times. Therefore, he does not see, and has not seen any danger during the winter months. When he realizes that something is awry, he is almost unsure that anything is wrong. It is almost as if he is so sure of himself, that he does not think he is capable of making a mistake in something he has done for years.
The traits that would normally characterize someone as a hero are seen in this story as negative traits. The fisherman’s “unsympathetic competence” did not prove to be true amidst the trials of nature. Having the excess strength and experience the years brought him did not matter once nature began to run its course. In “The Ledge” the protagonist is a perfect example of the Greek tragic hero.
Kelsey Nolan
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
EN 106W
10 February 2012
Irony and Karma Throughout “The Ledge”
When I first began to read “The Ledge” I saw that irony and karma would go on throughout this story for each character. The fisherman claims to always have good judgment and is portrayed as a very tough individual. The wife of the fisherman is lonely and has had herself thinking of what life would be like as a widow. The fisherman’s son and nephew are finally enjoying time spent with him and do not know how to swim. The character’s traits and actions directly reflect what happens to each of them.
The main character of “The Ledge”, the fisherman, has a poor relationship with his family and goes about life wanting to do things his way. He works hard as a fisherman and is seen as a tough man with good judgment. The fisherman is very selfish and puts his relationship with the sea before his relationship with his wife. Karma is brought upon the fisherman when he left his wife that Christmas morning when she wanted him to stay in. When he realizes he’s going to die he wishes he never left his wife’s bed. The irony that goes along with the father is that he is finally content, almost enjoying time with the boys, when he is known for treating them poorly and not spoiling them at all. He even showed compassion when he tells his son “leave him be” when the son is making fun of the nephew.
The wife, at the beginning of the story, finds herself wondering what life would be if she was no longer with her husband. The karma of that is: she thought about being a widow and now she is one. It’s ironic that she finally accepted that he was going to be gone a lot and now he will never come back.
The boys are very intimidated by the angry, and abusive fisherman. Very unusual, and ironic, that they were finally enjoying the time they were spending with him when there death was only hours away. The boys never should have boarded the boat when they did not know how to swim. This action of getting on the boat to go hunting affects them with the fatal reaction of never re-boarding the boat to go home.
Karma and irony are brought upon each character in “The Ledge.” If the fisherman had turned back to retrieve the tobacco he had forgot, things could have happened differently. The time difference could have made them not make the foolish mistake of losing the skiff. The actions they made left them with a harsh reaction: death. Maybe if the man spent his life doing things not only his way, but also the way of others, this would not have happened to him. Perhaps the woman never wished to be away from her husband; because now she is forever. The boys never should have gotten on a boat when they didn’t know how to swim. Each event is very ironic and every decision made by them have an effect.
Christopher Harrison
ReplyDeleteWriting 106
Mr. Bolster
2/8/2012
Perfection has Flaws
Throughout multi-cultural literature the protagonist has been portrayed as a perfect being for centuries. From Greek mythology, to modern religious practices, the art of portraying the main character as a flawless person has its toll on the short story The Ledge. Lawrence Sargent Hall’s literary work portrays the main character as a rough, tough fisherman who comes into conflict with all his surroundings in his effort to be portrayed as perfect. After reading the story, the reader can conclude that the main character is actually quite the opposite as the author describes him.
The fisherman starts his journey to the ledge with his son and nephew. The first thing the fisherman forgets to bring on their trip was the tobacco for his pipe. After realizing that he had no tobacco, he instantly blames it one the children for his forgetfulness. The was one of the most ironic scenes in the story because the fisherman was described as flawless, humble, and perfect and here he is screaming at two kids because of his absent mindedness. It also seems like he is too dependent on the tobacco. He wouldn’t even eat without it. These are just a couple pieces of evidence that show he’s not all that he is portrayed to be.
The fisherman believed he could overcome nature and in the end failed in his attempt to do so. For instance, he fishes in the early winter when his wife disapproved of it because it’s too dangerous. He thought that nothing could happen to him and that he was too strong to be taken down by the forces of nature. However, nature always wins. When the boat floated away, not even he could swim out to save it because the water was too cold, and he was a phenomenal swimmer. It goes to show that no matter how well you are at something or how flawless you appear to be, there is always a stronger force than yourself.
Mitchel Cleveland
ReplyDeleteDr. Chappell
9 February 2012
English 106W
No Boat, No Way Home
This story is full of foreshadowing. From when the wife thinks about being a widow, to the boys not being able to swim, and even the fact that the fisherman thinks and says he is one of the best. He thinks he can predict good and bad whether and what not. It is said that the son and the nephew cannot swim. When you hear all these things you cannot help but think that something might go wrong.
The fisherman boasts about being one of the best because he goes places to fish where people don’t ever think about going. He goes way past others in the ocean. He goes far out to a ledge that no one goes to. They sat there and fished for hours then the boat is gone. The fisherman sees it a quarter mile off the coast. The boys ask if he can swim to it because they know they can’t, but he knows it is too far. It was hard not to see something like this coming because of the way the wife thought about being a widow and the fisherman boasts about being the best. You can tell the fisherman cares too much about fishing being that he is going fishing on Christmas Day.
The Fisherman is also a very intimidating man. They boys are kind of scared of him because he is very stern and yells at them. Also it is hard not to see that the fisherman got what was coming to him in a way. Death may have been too much, but he wasn’t the best guy in the world. He didn’t treat his wife all too well and he scared the boys half to death. You can tell by the end of the story that the fisherman comes to terms with his life. He boosts the boys up and tries to save them for as long as possible and for once out someone else in front of him. The fisherman put himself before a lot of people especially his wife.
In a story there is almost always a hero. We have a unknown hero here. Although he is the main character in the story because of his personality we wouldn’t expect him to be a hero. This isn’t a story that can have a hero really because the boys and the fisherman all die, but the fisherman did give it his all and did try and save the boys as long as possible.
Brandon Johnson
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
EN 106 W
9 February 2012
Triple Threat Match
When I was younger I would love watching wrestling on Monday nights. My favorite type of wrestling matches would usually consist of the ones with the most drama and conflict. My favorite type of contest was called the Triple Threat. In this type of match there would be 3 competitors all fighting each other in order to win a title. And most times the wrestlers that lose usually lose because they are out smarted, not aware of what’s going on, or they simply cheated. In many ways I think this connects to what is going on in the story “The Ledge” By Lawrence Sargent Hall. The Fisherman in the story seems to have three separate conflicts of his own. He has an internal conflict, external conflict, and a conflict with Nature. And these three issues at the end of the story would have created a Triple Threat Grudge Match for the fisherman and his family as the skiff slowly drifts out without anyone noticing. As all these conflicts start to happen within the character and his surroundings, the lives of all characters are put into the balance and things start to become a little risky.
Conflict is the basis of this story without the conflict there wouldn’t be “The Ledge”. Even though there are three important types of conflicts in this story one stand out above the rest. The fisherman’s conflict with Nature would be his biggest conflict. Being a Fisherman that is a very strong man and fishes all year around with no days off to earn more money, you would think that Nature and the Fisherman would be best friends in a sense. In many ways there’s a lot of irony to the fact that this man has been a fisherman his for many years, and now the thing that has been putting money in his pocket is the very thing that would be the thing that kills them all. I also think this story shows a level of realism. Since he was a mean person, he bragged a lot, and he was cocky karma seems to play a big role in this story. This would also be a conflict internally for the character because his ego is the main reason why he went out in the first place. If he didn’t think that he was a “He-man” they wouldn’t have been out on the skiff on that horrible day. Lastly he has an external conflict and this seems to come from his wife for the most part. He treats his wife like shit, and she is very worried about the men throughout the whole story. This is something that should be expected from a Mother, Aunt, and Wife. But she gets so fed up to the point where she wishes was a widow just so she didn’t have to worry about her husband doing so many dangerous things. He feels as though as long as he is providing that his wife should be happy but that isn’t always fair to her. Nevertheless all of these conflicts in the end contribute to the character and are important to the story.
In Conclusion, the 3 conflicts in the story affect the outcome of the story in many ways. Since the Fisherman was cocky and arrogant person karma seems to blend its self with all of the conflicts. The Internal, the External, and the conflict with nature is the main reasons why they had their outcome at the end of the story and these conflicts essentially made this story the type of story it is which is in my opinion a great one.
Jennifer Linke
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106W
9 February 2012
Man vs. Nature
In Lawrence Sargent Hall’s story, “The Ledge” the central idea is the conflict of man vs. nature. The fisherman is described as a, ‘big, raw man, with too much strength’ which gives the image or impression that he can conquer anything that is put in his path. He has always been able to fish and hunt in the worst types of weather, and has always been successful. His success comes from the fact that he challenges the obstacles of nature, by fishing and hunting during the winter season when the sea and climate is the most dangerous. When the fisherman sets out for a day of hunting with his son and nephew, he anticipates that they will be successful because he had, ‘never failed to make out gunning at Devil’s Hump.’ In his anticipation he underestimates his surroundings and does not address the possibility of any danger.
The fisherman challenges the elements everyday with his profession and is always successful because of his knowledge and experience. Nature almost seems to take control of the situation after the fisherman’s skiff floats away. The fisherman is aware of the danger because the tide will be rising and soon it will be dark and even colder. There is a certain irony in this story as well, because the fisherman has always been able to handle the cruel, treacherous weather, but now he has no way of defending himself or his son and nephew against the elements of nature. The fisherman realizes as it begins to get colder and the night falls so quickly that they will not be able to make it off the ledge. “In this space the periwinkle beneath the fisherman’s boots was king.” This was important because it was almost as if the fisherman was giving into his fate and nature had finally taken over and won.
Naomi Alphonso
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106W
9th February 2012
A Quest for Manhood
The smell of hot chocolate and traces of Santa through the house are connotations of Christmas. However, the custom of duck hunting on Christmas morning is quite different from that which we know. Lawrence Hall’s “The Ledge” depicts the idea that manhood is not something that one acquires over time; in fact, it is a quality that has to be earned. The idea that boys must pass through a phase of testing is prevalent in all cultures, even in the placid life of a fisherman. The ideals society has created lead men to risk their lives in order to protect their manhood.
The fisherman is characterized as a gruff man who has raw strength. He severely lacks communicative skills. Hall describes him as a man with no compassion. His wife considers leaving him and times but grew to accept the fact that she was always going to be second in his life. Despite the fact that she is remorseful about her husband leaving on a treacherously cold morning, she holds her peace. She would not dare interfere between him and his quest to prove his manhood while helping the boys attain theirs.
The fisherman’s attitude is as cold as the wintery day. His lack of communication and compassion creates tension and frustration between him and the boys. He believes that in order to hold on to his man hood he has to put on a façade of being macho. Hall makes clear through the course of his writing that manhood must be earned and can be lost. We see this as the fisherman takes his son and nephew out to sea against the dangers of nature. Hall’s purpose is to highlight the damage that ideals of society can cause.
This piece of work touches on a struggle that men go through: a struggle that women would not typically understand. The words “woman up” or “be a woman” are not a commonality in society. Today, men are told to “man up” and to be “a man about it.” Words are powerful and in order to avoid these labels and dreaded illusions of being weak, one goes the extra mile. Men sometimes feel the need to put themselves in danger in order to show courage and earn a right-of-passage. It is evident that the fisherman’s wife simply does not comprehend a reason for which her husband would leave their warm bed to go out in the cold and subject himself and their son to the unpredictable dangers of nature.
Manhood is a title that isn’t given. As we date back to days where men were hunters, getting the better of their game meant achieving the title of manhood. Therefore, since this was something that had to be acquired through the means of challenge, it was a desirable quality. The fisherman in Hall’s work has the same ideas instilled in him. The guns that the boys receive are a symbol of the start of their manhood. While making his point about the internal conflict that many men are subjected to, Hall also illustrates how easily nature can emasculate one. After all, we are just human. We see this through the complexities of Hall’s plot. Hunting ducks were hard enough, leave alone dealing with a winter storm! The fisherman’s strength and power was no match for nature. His quest for manhood cost him his son. Manhood is subjective and one’s personal battle. It can be taken away just as quickly as it can be attained. However, society has brainwashed many men into striving to attain their manhood even if it might cost them their lives.
Jihan Hage
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
ENG 106W
2/10/12
Last Moments of Regret
One of the biggest emotions that take place in Lawrence Hall’s short story, “The Ledge,” is regret. In the beginning of the story, the fisherman is described as a tough man. The very first paragraph states that “he was a big, raw man, with too much strength...” His physical characteristics can very well be compared to his emotional characteristics. He simply is not an emotional man. His own wife contemplates leaving him due to his emotional incompetence. Not only does he lack sympathy with his wife but his son and nephew as well.
The anger that the fisherman gained from realizing he didn’t bring his tobacco with him caused him to take his irritation out on the boys, yelling at them and blaming them. He physically abuses the boys in an effort to discipline them. He is quick to shout at them and talk down to them, never trying to comfort them or act loving towards them. You can see this attitude change as soon as the fisherman realizes the dangers of being on the ledge.
As soon as the realization came upon him that they may not make it, he showed a much more caring side to him. The narrator states, “he heard himself saying with infinite tenderness as though he were making love…” The narrator goes on to say in reference to the fisherman’s conversation with the boys, “It was the most intimate and pitiful thing he had ever said.” It seems as though the fisherman, as he realizes he is facing the last moments of his life, is beginning to regret his unemotional and mean attitude he had always had. He spent most of his life with a short temper, not caring much of others, and always quick to yell. As his life is coming to an end, he abandons the attitude he’s accustomed to in an effort to make up for his old ways. Instead of yelling at the boys, he is being nice to them. He promises to buy them gifts when they get home, almost like he is trying to give them the hope that he has lost. The end of the story clearly holds a lot of regret for the fisherman. He is trying to turn his life around in the last moments that it exists.
Brian Corbin
ReplyDeleteEng 106W
February 9th 2012
Dr. Chappel
Dying For What You Believe In.
There are many different ways people celebrate Christmas. For a hunter, his son, and his nephew this was an unorthodox Christmas, a hunters Christmas. While many children are still dreaming of sugarplums in their heads, these two young boys are gearing up and loading up. Embarking on a hunt to shoot sea ducks out of the frigid winter sky. These three and their canine companion have no idea that it’ll be their last. Lawrence Hall does an excellent job describing the setting and basic ritual of a hunter. Some may be turned off to this tragic ending. However this short story isn’t about tragedy or loss. It’s about dying while doing something you love and believe in.
I felt every emotion when dog’s paws could no longer touch ledge and eventually drowned. Then I looked at the big picture. Everything in life has a certain degree of risk, and hunting and fishing are no exception. These three knew the danger involved. While doing everything in their power to avoid their fate, this was a story about the ultimate sacrifice in doing something you have the utmost passion for. You’re guaranteed two things in life, taxes and death. No one wants to spend his or her final moments in a hospital bed. The hunter prospered tremendously from the ledge and some people may think that the ledge finally did the hunter in. The ledge however gave the hunter a gift, and that was giving the hunter one last sunset while doing something he loved before he left this world.
“Incurably Male”
ReplyDelete“The Ledge”, by Lawrence Sargent Hall, is a consummate ode to manliness. The author offers a deep insight into the character of the man, while the character of the woman is used merely as a fitting frame for the male protagonist. She only matters as long as she is thinking about the man, which is not unusual for a male writer at the time at which the story was written, but disappoints nevertheless.
The author’s admiration for the fisherman is palpable. He is “a big, raw man,” a hero of the familiar type favored by Hemingway and Jack London. Competent and strong, he is a man of few emotions, and those few he does experience are profound. It is his calling to frequently court death, disregarding any “woman’s fears.” He has some negative qualities: he is insensitive and “inclined to brag and be disdainful,” but these traits are not dwelled upon in the story, they are portrayed as only mildly negative and almost becoming for the type of man he is.
It also befits the hero that a soft patient woman stays behind waiting while he is out doing a man’s work. The fisherman’s wife is a part of his home “where you came for rest after you had had your … fill of action and excitement.” She is the warm, snug, somewhat boring background that creates a perfect contrast for the intense, red-blooded man.
The contrast between a man and a woman is repeatedly emphasized in the story: hunting is “a man’s sport”, winter sea is “a man’s hunting ground”, showing no pain is behaving “like a man”. To a modern reader it almost seems as if the fisherman has a deep insecurity about his manhood that he must cover with constant self-affirmation as the dominant male. But that first impression is wrong. All the bragging, all the baubles fall away from the fisherman during his last struggle. In the face of imminent death, nothing is left but his infinite love for his son and the resolve to hold the “small light life … through a thousand tides.” That is the true masculinity, “pure as crystal”, immortal, glorious.
The conclusion of the story, while logical and beautiful to some readers, seems jarringly wrong to others. Perhaps one has to be a mother to find it absurd. If a real mother saw that “small rubber boot still frozen under one clenched arm”, she would barely notice the body of the husband, let alone philosophize about the eternal spirit of Man. She would be only seeing the boot. She would see, over and over again, for as long as she lived, the boy’s bare feet pushing slower and slower against the icy water, his frightened eyes looking around for help, his happy laughing face the day before at breakfast, his small chest being squeezed by the deathly cold.
However, the author dismisses all that feminine emotion with only a brief nod at “remorse or grief”. His woman does not digress. She looks at her husband’s body and sees him “exaggerated beyond remorse or grief, absolved of his mortality.” The man-centered conclusion of the story is as “incurably male” as its hero.
Karina Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106
February 9, 2012
New Learning’s
Traditional Christmas mornings are commonly known for presents, hot chocolate, sitting by the fire, and family time. In “The Ledge,” by, Lawrence Sargent Hall Christmas morning was more different then the average traditional Christmas. The fisherman had bought his son and nephew shotguns, that they had opened the night before on Christmas eve. He wanted to teach the boys his boys something he enjoyed doing and something they have been anxiously waiting to learn, which was to shoot ducks. Although he was known to be a stubborn, grumpy, old man he was willing to keep his promise and take the boys out to the ledge to hunt for ducks.
The fisherman being a very experienced hunter is actually pretty excited to show off his hunting skills and techniques to the boys. He disobeys his wife’s orders and takes the kids to hunt. When they reach their destination the fisherman is looking for his tobacco. His tobacco is missing and he instantly becomes upset and aggravated and lets his anger out on the boys. He realizes that he really forgot it at home and this sets the mood of how his personality is throughout the rest of the story. Although the fisherman has his grumpy moments when he knows that the ducks were almost coming he was ready to show off his perfectionist skills of hunting. The fisherman says,, “all right, aim at singles in the thickest part of the flock. Wait for me to fire and then don’t stop shooting till your gun’s empty.” The boys obey his orders and do what they are told. Very excited of their first experience of hunting, they each were able to shoot nine birds. The experienced fisherman was more thrilled to be drinking his bottle of whiskey so that he could keep himself warm. The more he drank was the more grumpier he had gotten. He yelled at the boys when they asked questions and got quickly impatient and right back to his stubborn ways.
Being the perfectionist that the fisherman is, he thought everything that Christmas Day was going to run nice and smoothly. Knowing that his wife was right that going out in the freezing cold was wrong he still insisted for always being right that nothing was going to happen. At the end of their hunt it started to get and he was intoxicated, wet, and freezing. Death for him was just a few hours away. Instead of teaching the boys a new traditional Christmas morning and the joys of duck hunting, he disappointed them in the end by showing he wasn’t the perfect know it all and actually failed in showing the kids a great Christmas day. The fisherman was a great swimmer and the boys did not know how to swim, he could’ve gotten them home safely, but instead the boys had to change their roles and take care of the fisherman. This goes to show that although you may be good at something and want to teach people something that your really good at, doesn’t mean that you should put your genius in front of you and let it take over. If the fisherman was more responsible and less arrogant, the kids would’ve had a better learning experience and much more enjoyable Christmas.
Kristina Kruse
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
ENG 106W-01
9 February 2012
Beautiful Disaster
It is bluntly evident that there is no feasible way for man to defeat nature. This is apparent in the short story, “The Ledge,” written by Lawrence Sargent Hall. The protagonist of the story, the fisherman, has developed a strong sense of hubris due to the triumph he has achieved when battling nature before. The indication of hubris often implies that suffering and/or punishment will follow. During the hunt the fisherman and the other characters embark upon on Christmas day, they come face-to-face with discontent from “Mother Nature.” The suffering they endure from this assault of natural disasters ultimately leads to their demise.
One of the four archetypes of conflict involved in short stories is the struggle of man versus nature. In this story, Sargent emotionally describes the events that unfold when the fisherman realizes his destiny. The disregard that the fisherman has for the power of nature exposes his vulnerability. The only thing that is to blame in the situation he encounters is human error. Nature takes this opportunity to teach him a lesson. The piling of the elements strip him of his hubris, but it is too late for him change his ways. “The sea began to make up in the mountain wind, and the wind bore a new and deathly chill…First a few flakes, then a flurry, then storming past horizontally (263).” The descriptiveness of the words Sargent uses to develop this imagery is so poetic, yet it is not difficult to realize the intensity of the circumstance.
At this moment, the fisherman is overwhelmed with compassion and empathy. This is a complete transition from where we meet him in the beginning of the story. It is amazing to witness the affect the extreme power of nature has on the humbling of humanity. “Freezing seas swept by, flooding inexorably up and up as the earth sank away imperceptibly beneath them (265).” As sad as it is, all characters eventually pass on to whatever comes after this life; the way in which nature takes them is marvelously beautiful.
Mr. Bolster,
DeleteI made corrections to my essay after I submitted it. In the two places where I identified the author as Sargent, I corrected to identify him as Hall. Please be advised of this when you are grading my paper.
Thank you,
Kristina Kruse
Nick Coutant
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106W
10 February 2012
The Ledge
Nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes it is just part of life. Unfortunately some mistakes have consequences that are worse than others. In Lawrence Sargent Hall’s The Ledge, The fisherman’s over confident traits are what inevitably leads to his son, nephew, and his own death.
The fisherman is described in the beginning of the story as a very hard man who was all about himself and would brag and be disdainful. But his over confidence was noted very early in the story “Always in winter she hated to have them go outside, the weather was so treacherous and there were few others out in case of trouble”, of course the fisherman would just ignore his wife’s plea for him to just stay home and safe. Instead on Christmas morning he decides not only to put his own life in danger but also that of his son and nephew.
It was said that he went hunting all the time. If he wanted to he could navigate the boat with his eyes closed. He had everything down, it was all routine. Christmas day on the other hand did not start off so routine for the fisherman. First of all, he was bringing along two others with him on the trip. Then he got sidetracked when he forgot his tobacco at home. Everything was out of routine for him this day and his mindset of thinking that nothing could go wrong is what led to their deaths.
The fact that the fisherman would even take those kids out hunting in the weather conditions that were present that day was not a great idea. But when the fisherman was thrown off his routine everything started to fall apart. He forgot his tobacco which most likely led to him forgetting to tie the rope so they would stray off. The fisherman saw himself as almost invincible and that mindset killed three people.
Alyssa Downey
ReplyDeleteDr. Chappell
Intro to Fiction
February 10, 2012
Destine for Failure
In “The Ledge” by Lawrence Sargent Hall, the fisherman is portrayed as a stubborn and cold man. His wife learns to deal with his “insensible competence” and lives her own life. The fisherman is not connected to the characters emotionally. He does not think of others when making decisions. Instead, his disconnection and mental-strength makes him destine to fail.
When the fisherman leaves his wife to go hunting on the ledge, it is the moment where his end begins. All the fishermen are home with their families, enjoying Christmas, and taking a day off. The fisherman, on the other hand, is focused on the ducks and getting a good amount of kills. This shows how much he cares about his family. He may love them, but hunting when the time is good is more important. The author even states that the wife learns to deal with this emotional disconnect. She has given up the hope of having her husband show his feelings. If he was more connected to his wife, he would not have gone hunting on Christmas.
The fisherman’s mental-strength also brought him to his demise. He knows he is successful, and he knows that it will look good and brave to go out at a risky time of the year. This stubbornness and excessive pride lead him to do careless things. It was a bad idea to go out at Christmas time when the weather is bad. He realizes this when he cannot swim to the boat because the water is too cold. By assuming that the boat will stay in one spot, he ended his life and the two boys’ lives.
The fisherman’s overconfidence set him up for failure. He makes careless mistakes, and they result in the loss of lives. Also, his lack of emotional attachment brought him down as well. If he cared for his family and the dog, he would have stayed home and enjoyed the holiday. Instead, he wanted the twenty-seven kills to show off to everyone else.
Stephanie Sereday
ReplyDeleteIntro to Fiction
Professor Chappell
2/10/12
A Mysterious Battle Between Man and Nature
As the fisherman, his son, and his nephew prepare for their first hunt together, they never imagined what was waiting for them at the end of the day. I believe that from the very beginning of the story that it was clear something had to go wrong; from the negative thoughts and feelings of the fisherman’s wife in the beginning to forgetting his tobacco for the day, there is most certainly a negative undertone.
After reading the wife’s thoughts about living as a widow and how she thought about leaving her husband, there was clearly tension and underlying hate for the man she married. On the other hand, I sensed that there was a fear of leaving. The wife was waiting for the fisherman’s death. Although she never would’ve imagined that she would lose her son along with her husband on that Christmas day.
After the fisherman and his “shipmates” headed to Brown Cow Island, the fisherman realized he had forgotten his tobacco; something he has never done. This was another reassuring fact that nothing positive could come out of their trip. On the bright side, they managed to kill an impressive amount of birds. Things seemed to be looking up for the men but knowing the connotation of the text it was clear this bright side would only last so long.
Another mistake was made. The men had no way of returning home and their fate was to wait for the tide to rise while they slowly drown. The fisherman tried his very best to keep the hopes of the boys up, but they all knew their day would end in tragedy; just as I gathered from the first few pages.
This story ends in some sort of a mystery. The fisherman’s son and nephew's bodies are missing; only his body is found. It is left to the reader to imagine what had happened to them. Maybe they survived or they drowned. The author does not provide this information.
This story was open to interpretation from the very start; as with any story. This story in particular is a mysterious battle between Man and Nature. It would seem that Nature won, but how so?
Chynna Burroughs
ReplyDeleteBolster
Eng 106W
9 February 2012
Foreshadowing a Demise
In “The Ledge” by Lawrence Sargent Hall, the main character of the fisherman goes
through an arc that is alluded to throughout the story by way of foreshadowing. The fisherman’s
journey starts out with him being a hardened, overconfident man, to a helpless person with a
more compassionate outlook towards others. Events and thoughts by the fisherman and others
hint to an inevitable demise for the fisherman.
Within the first two sentences of “The Ledge”, a not so subtle hint at a possible outcome
for the fisherman is revealed. The story starts with the fisherman waking up to take his son and
nephew hunting. The scene is setup by the quote, “On Christmas morning before sunup the
fisherman embraces his warm wife and left his close bed. She did not want him to go.” (250).
The wife goes on to express caution about the fisherman’s plans. “Always in winter she hated to
have them go outside, the weather was so treacherous and there were so few others out in case of
trouble.” (251). In hindsight, this statement by the fisherman’s wife directly predicts the events
that the fisherman ends up going through.
A particular quality the fisherman expresses pride in is the concept of time. “All his life
the fisherman had tried to lick the element of time.” (260). He has succeeded with that too. The
fisherman is a success, with keen abilities that have made him good at what he does. But,
although it is said the fisherman has tackled and accomplished an understanding of time, it is
foreshadowed that exceptions can be made. When the hunting trip is described there is an
emphasis on the fact that among such precautions, “One thing was you had to plan for the right
conditions because you didn’t have much time.” (253). The emphasis on the fisherman
surmounting time and then time being a crucial part of the successful completion of the hunting
trip again shows foreshadowing about the fisherman’s journey and its conclusion.
The abilities of the fisherman are also called into question in regards to his swimming
using a foreboding signal. The fisherman is described as being able to “swim like a seal”. (251).
This description is just one of the reasons he is good at what he does. But, it all comes back to
the fisherman and a reality based epiphany comes to him when the boat floats away from shore
and the fisherman’s son asks if he can swim to it. The fisherman responds, “A hundred yards
maybe, in this water. I wish I could.” (260). He goes on to say, “ I was the most intimate and
pitiful thing he had ever said.” (260). His ability to swim well ends up being moot and is of no
help to him after all.
In “The Ledge”, the fisherman thinks he’s invincible. He is confident in his skills and is
brazen in his actions. The prominence put on his abilities, coupled with the stressing of the
dangerous nature of the trip foreshadow a negative destiny for the fisherman. The foreshadowing
also shows the changes the fisherman goes through throughout the story. Although he is cut
down by the unfortunate events that take place, he is humbled by them. When he knows things
aren’t going right he is more patient with his son and nephew and shows a softer side of himself.
All this foretelling lends a certain depth to the consequences of the fisherman’s actions from
where he is at the beginning of the story, to where he is at the end.
Kile Coty
ReplyDeleteMr. Bolster
Intro to Fiction
2/10/12
Talk about a Cliffhanger
The story “The Ledge” did a wonderful job of leaving the reader guessing. Throughout the story you wonder where is the action? Is there going to be a climax or just a steady step by step of a duck shooting trip? As soon as I was about to lose interest the author introduced how quickly a story can change and how every element building up to the end made sense. I didn’t catch it at first but certain symbols of the story foreshadowed its somber ending. The first instance was when the wife even sometimes imagined being a widow if the fisherman never came back, the second was the fact that the nephew was new to the duck shooting and the fisherman didn’t want him to man the boat alone, third was the simple fact that the fisherman didn’t have his tobacco for his pipe which automatically told the reader that this trip was going to be different. All of these led to the three being stuck on the ledge with their boat adrift as they frantically scramble for ways to be rescued.
I feel one instance of irony was the most important factor of the story. The fisherman had been out on the water for so long that he could tell when the weather was changing, what time was best take the boat out, and where the best spots were to hunt for ducks and yet he let his boat get away from him. That’s like going into a firefight without your rifle, and he was literally left for dead in the water. The story made it clear that the sea is always volatile and no one man is ever guaranteed a routine outing.
I personally liked the way this story ended. As it became dark and the boy sat on the fisherman’s shoulders, I wanted to believe that they both were going to make just because of the fact that the fisherman showed true grit and determination, but when it came morning and all he had was a shoe under his arm the whole tone of the story changed. Even though the closing passage painted a somber picture the fact that the boys’ fates were left out sprinkled a tiny inkling of hope that maybe they survived.
Keith Kirwan-Welsh
ReplyDeleteProfessor Bolster
English 106
10 February 2012
Ego vs. Nature
There are some things that cannot be predicted; how lions in a zoo will act around humans, what someone’s hair will look like when they wake up, and how the weather will change from one second to the next. All these things cannot be predicted and sometimes, an unpredictable situation can leave someone in grave danger. Weather is very dangerous, mainly because no one knows what it will do next. The weather man may have said it was going to be a sunny day, but just like that a dark storm cloud could roll right through the sky and start pouring water down onto the humans who thought it could not have rained. Those who do not respect and fear the unpredictable can cause harm to themselves and others.
In the short story called “The Ledge,” a very successful fisherman is ready to take to the sea to further his business. He is a very skilled fisherman who lives a comfortable lifestyle do to his success in fishing. Part of the reason he is so successful is that he fishes in the winter, when no one else will. No one else fishes in the winter because it is too dangerous. The fisherman disregards this danger and fishes anyway. Not only does he put his own life in jeopardy, he also risks the lives of his son and nephew who join him on a fishing trip Christmas day. Weather is unpredictable, but the fisherman thinks nothing of it, and continues to go out in the winter.
He does not realize the danger of the wintery ocean, almost in an arrogant way that he is such a good fisherman nothing could happen to him. Well his ego catches up with him and he was caught in a terrible snow storm at sea. No one else fishes in the winter because it is too dangerous. This fisherman however, being as good a fisherman as he is, challenges Mother Nature every winter, but this time he lost. The fisherman and the two boys are stranded at sea with no help. Thanks to the fisherman’s arrogance, he puts himself and the two children in danger. His ego allowed him to think that nothing would go wrong, but he was sadly mistaken.
When people are arrogant it leads them to not be as cautious and they start to become too comfortable in dangerous situations. The arrogance over whelms them and they begin to think they are invulnerable- even against things as powerful and unpredictable as nature.
Zach Westfall
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
Intro to Fiction
8 February 2012
One Simple Mistake
In the short story “The Ledge” a fisherman goes duck hunting Christmas morning with his son and nephew. Both of the young boys got new automatic shotguns to hunt with and were eager to try them out. Everything goes fine until the fisherman forgets to bring up the boat and get stranded on the reefs. The story details how one simple mistake in a dangerous place can be fatal. If the fisherman hadn’t forgotten to bring up the boat nothing wrong would of happened. The fisherman was in a bad mood because he forgot he tobacco for his pipe and because of this was irritated. This irritation made him even more forgetful. Along with his forgetfulness he had to take care of the two boys and make sure they were safe. In the end the fisherman put his son on his shoulders to try and save his life. This didn’t work out because he was hoping for someone to rescue them which never happened. He was doubtful but still had some hope. The fisherman was responsible for this in more than one way also. He hunted where no one else would and in doing so made it so no one would see them in distress. Even though they tried to get someone’s attention by firing their guns in five second intervals it was no use. They were too far away from anyone else plus they were hunting so gun shots were expected. In the end his body was found with the boot of the young boy frozen to him but the boy not to be found. Like his father told him He tried to swim for it. “if I fall-- kick your boots off—swim for it—downwind—to the island…” The fisherman gave his life to try and save his son in the end.
Jae Hak Oh
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106W
9 February 2012
Sympathetic Incompetence
Humans are sentimental animals. We share the common characteristics with animals in regards to basic survival, but what really distinguish man from beasts are the emotional attachments that we, sometimes, prioritize over our own survival. A husband’s love for his dying wife, a wounded soldier’s sense of honor for duty, a priest’s immortal passion for God, and even attachments of the most frivolous things are values that we sometimes put first before our own life. In the short story “The Ledge”, author Lawrence Sargent Hall depicts this uniqueness of man with animalistic imagery that contrasts with overturning and dramatic characterization, which defines what it means to be human.
The main character is described as a “big, raw man, with too much strength”. (250) Unafraid of the daring sea, he is a fisherman who delights in fishing during dangerous winter colds just because he can. People think of him as a “hard” man who is all-out for himself because of his prideful nature. (252) His promises are kept and he is in control of his situations, which makes him a man with no room for criticism. This competence, however, leads to his insensitiveness towards his wife, who eventually learns to “shut her” mind and “take what comfort she might from his unsympathetic competence.” (252)
His insensitiveness is deepened more with animalistic imageries during his conversations with his child and his nephew. With “snarls” and “growls”, the fisherman expresses his frustration towards the children as they set out to the sea. Lawrence Sargent Hall cleverly utilizes this imagery to exacerbate the fisherman’s insensitiveness to a primitive level. The hard, rough man of the sea, filled with confidence, is so great at what he does. His competence has no room for forgiving sentimentalities or emotions, for sensibilities can make him look weak and vulnerable.
This all changes however, when the main character is confronted with a force that he cannot simply take control over: nature. As his skiff is drifting away and the tide is coming in, the fisherman initially reacts in a beast-like manner. He shouts, grunts, and yells at the boys and tries to “call on all his reserves of practice and cunning”. (261) He is deeply frustrated at the situation and also at his incurable incompetence that would lead to his and the children’s demise. But as he slowly accepts his fate, his tone changes from animalistic shouts to more of those from a loving father, who asks and pleads his son to drink whiskey to ease the intensity of the chills as darkness falls on them. (264) In one of the last conversations with his son, he pleads his son to kick off the boots and swim on the downwind to the island as he “nodded against the boy’s belly.” (266) As his conflict with himself is resolved, he has glimpses of what he holds most dear: Home. (264) Lawrence Sargent Hall brings about these imageries at the resolve of the conflict to provide a distinct definition of being a human.
The characterization of the fisherman from insensitive to loving brings about the true uniqueness of man. When competence is faced with something beyond its limits, humans accept and grasp onto things that we hold dear. There’s a warmness to all of us that distinctively characterizes us as humans. The uniqueness of man is that we, no matter how much we pretend not to be, are all sympathetically incompetent.
Morgam Taylor
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappel
ENG 106W
9 February 2012
Not so Traditional Christmas
A traditional Christmas morning had soon turned for the worst in Lawrence Sargent Hall’s short story “The Ledge.” Three characters went out for a day of duck hunting, not know that it was their last. Mother nature had different things planned for the eager duck hunters.
Hall describes the main character to be raw and unconnected to his family. Many of the traits Hall gives the fisherman often seem very animalistic. The fishermen is mean to his boys and are putting their lives on the line. Were the animalistic qualities on purpose? Yes, I believe so. The fisherman is fighting nature often and would always come out on top. The fisherman tested his limits with the “greek gods” if you will, and now nature is repaying him. From being constantly in the nature the fisherman had most likely developed many animalistic characteristics.
As the short story came to an end, we learn the three characters died. Nature has defeated the humans. The fisherman had jeopardized his life as well as other children’s lives. Personally I did not like the way the story ended because the mystery it left us in. “Where are the other bodies”, often crossed my mind after reaching the end.
Jeff Semenetz
ReplyDelete“Man vs. Nature”
“The Ledge” by Lawrence Sargent Hall, emphasizes the continuous struggle between man and nature. The fisherman in this story is used as a symbol for mankind. He likes to push the limits and go against nature no matter what the odds are. By fishing when no other men fish he is opposing the great forces of nature. Mankind has made incredible advancements throughout history by pushing the limits, expanding and continuously challenging anything standing in the way of progress. This fisherman represents man’s undying desire to advance by taking his son and nephew out to fish in the harshest of conditions. He took a gamble that would not end in his favor.
The idea of taking a boat out in the middle of the winter does not appeal to many. It is extremely dangerous and any mistakes can cost a life. The fisherman understands the risks that he is facing, but is so confident in his abilities he takes his son and nephew out with him. He puts people very important to him in harm’s way. Hall does make it clear this man is big, strong, and extremely capable and has done this many times before. It has become a routine for him, almost broken down into a science. It still does not take away from the fact that he is the only person willing to take the boat out and hunt.
Sometimes exploration is the only way to make progress. Progress has been the difference between man and the rest of the animals. We have done spectacular things, like going to the moon. The risks of things like that are astronomical, but once these risks are taken the advancements make are equally incredible. If people did not go beyond what is already known to be possible, society would be stagnant and primitive still. The fisherman shows the ambition of man to challenge the limitations of the planet we live on. It is the pure stubborn determination of people that has taken us where we are now.
One Man’s Struggle
ReplyDeleteIn the short story “The Ledge” by Lawrence Sargent Hall I believe there is conflict between the main character and nature, and a conflict between the main character and himself. The story takes place in the 1950’s and the main character is a fisherman who sets out on a cold Christmas day with his son and his nephew to go duck hunting. This is not intended to be a fun day of fishing though. The fisherman and the boys get on the boat to start their day of hunting, and and they can already tell it’s going to be a bad day because the fisherman forgot his tobacco. After the boys get their catch of the day, the weather takes a turn for the worse and the fisherman begins to find it hard to control his anger. This short story displays a perfect scenario of conflicts between a man and himself, and a man versus nature.
In the story, the fisherman is depicted as being tough and insensitive. “Under her window she heard the snow grind dryly beneath their boots, and her husband’s sharp, exasperated commands to the boys.” (252) Every time the fisherman addressed the boys it was with anger or force almost as if an animal were trying to escape from his body. He never spoke to the boys nicely or quietly, and he treated his things better than his own family. “He had the best of equipment, and he kept it in the best of condition.” (252) This quote further proves my point that he treats his belongings better than his son, wife, and nephew. Another example of the fisherman acting like an animal and getting angry at the children is when he forgets his tobacco, and somehow blames the kids for his forgetfulness.
As the end of the day nears, the weather starts to take a turn for the worst. It starts snowing, the tide begins to rise, and night is falling too quickly. The fisherman and the boys lose their boat as they are sitting on the ledge. Their boat drifts away and the battle between the fisherman and nature begins. As the tide rises, the fisherman and the boys are slowly getting trapped by the water. The fisherman finds himself having the biggest conflict of his life. In the end, I find the fisherman having conquered the battle against himself by finally showing his son the love and care he deserves, by saving his life.
Cooper Whiteside
ReplyDeleteENG 106W
Prof. Chappell
2/10/12
Stepping of the Edge: Response to the Short Story “The Ledge”
The Ledge was a wonderful written but humbling sad story of a fisherman and his family lost in the arctic thunder of the winter sea at the end of a day of hunting. This was the first story I have read so far for this class that, in my opinion, actually had an ending and didn’t leave me looking for more. By the time the reader is done it becomes clear that Lawrence Sargent Hall (LSH) loves to use fanciful and illustrious words and sentences to draw up wonderful connotations, both good and bad, that carry the reader from page to page.
As mentioned above, LSH’s story is filled with very artistic and almost magical words that bring the words of the text to life so that the reader can almost visualize each and every word as it would play out had we been there ourselves. The most prominent example in my eyes, is written right at the beginning in which the narrator describes the fisherman’s son. It is said that “His son at thirteen, small but steady and experienced, was fierce to grow up in hunting, to graduate from sheltered waters and the blinds along the shores of the inner bay.” In a few short words, LSH is able to explain to the reader exactly who and what type of person the fisherman’s son is. At another point in the novel, he similarly brings the words writing to life when describing the sensation the characters felt in laying eyes on the ledge for the first time that day. “In the meantime the fisherman had turned the skiff toward the patch of foam where as if by magic, like a black glossy rib of earth, the ledge had broken through the belly of the sea.” Yet again, with such illustrious and imaginative words, LSH enables the reader to visualize the scene in front of them, almost as if it were.
At one point the author uses the word athwartships, I presume to describe the action of pulling the little boat out of the water and tying it to the ship in preparation to set out. I found LSH’s use of this word to be particularly interesting considering that it is actually two words and any editor would have discovered this. Up to this point, LSH had a certain artistic and imaginative momentum going forward about the journey ahead of the boys, but in my opinion when he inserted nautical slang into and otherwise scholarly work, it almost threw that momentum off for a moment.
The only thing I really didn’t like about the story was that, while it was obvious, no other mention was made of what happened to the young boys after the last paragraph. The closing paragraph described the rescue party’s discovery of the fisherman but nothing of the young boys. Unless of course they were swept off to sea, I think it would have better completed the story and better fulfilled the ending to include the bodies of the boys in what was discovered once the tide came back down.
In the end, “The Ledge” turned out to be a very wonderfully written but a humbling and sad story that should be a lesson to us all that even the smallest thing can lead to our demise. I knew almost right from the first line how this story was going to end, but it still caught me off guard and saddened me when the actual details of the tragedy were brought to life. While not a bad story, LSH left a couple holes in the ending in trying to describe circumstances that not everybody is aware of in the first place such as the changing tide. In some cases simplicity may have been better suited the story then visualization.
Ryan McDonald McDonald 1
ReplyDeleteProfessor Bolster
English 106W
10 February 2012
Nature Always Wins
Lawrence Hall’s short story, “The Ledge,” introduces us to a father who is an outdoors man who’s goal in life is to be as manly as possible. The father goes above in beyond to prove his manly traits to the extent that it ultimately caused his death. The father was portrayed to have such manliness about him he seemed near invincible. That is until an abrupt storm claims his and his family’s life.
After doing some research I discovered the author of this story, Hall, had worked and operated a boat marina on the coast of Maine until 1993. Hall’s short story, "The Ledge" is about a man and his boat. Hall liked to write about things that were in his interest, and boats were definitely one of them. Hall also writes with concern with the behavior under pressure. Hall notoriously writes about how individuals handle tense situations. This is all very true for his story "The Ledge." The father is put into a tense situation when everything starts to turn horribly wrong out on the island with his son, and nephew on Christmas morning. The father handles this tense situation by trying to do everything in his will to save his son. With the storm coming in heavier and heavier, his main concern is to save his son. By doing so, he puts his son on top of his shoulders so he will not have to withstand the freezing cold water that keeps coming in. Hall’s characters are typically depicted as rugged men who are skilled at their
McDonald 2
professions but unskilled at interpersonal relationships. The father in The Ledge is a very gruff man, who is definitely skilled at what he does. His hunting skill are superior, and intends to teach the boys a thing or two.
This overly manly persona that the father represents ultimately gets him in trouble when he is faced with the uncontrollable forces of nature that forces their boat off the shore. He is a good father, but he does not know how to communicate very well with his son and nephew. His way of communicating and expressing himself always has intention of upholding his manhood. His lifestyle and actions are a prototype of what it is to possess a masculine image. Although the father represents all of these outstanding traits of what being manly is, Hall uses nature to justify that he’s only human. The father wants to show the boys how manly he is through the entire book. His masculinity is ultimately faced when he is forced to carry his son on his shoulders when their boat gets swept away.
Hall’s representation of man vs. nature tells us that no matter how manly you are or think you are there is always a higher power. This higher power of nature in the story over powers even the manliest of all men and sets him back into place. Pushing the limits to make a point to the degree in which the father had resulted in death. Ultimately I believe Hall’s message is, live within your limits and have respect for your surroundings.
William Arndt
ReplyDeleteBolster
English 106W
2/10/12
Into the known future
In Lawrence Sargent Hall's, "The Ledge," Hall stresses the effect of foreshadowing and the effect of character traits on the direction of the story. From the beginning of the story the vibe I got from the text told me the ending would be tragic. In addition to this, Hall uses numerous literary examples of for shadowing. For example, the wife of the Fisherman brings up the idea of being a widow. She says this in regard to the dangerous ways and lifestyle that her husband takes on; but this connection clearly indicates the possibility of somebody losing a life. Another example of foreshadowing found in the story was the statement which introduced to the audience that the Fisherman's nephew could not swim. For myself, this statement produced the idea of the possibility of troubles on the water at some point in the story. This theory came true later in the story as they got stranded on the ledge. There were other possible factors that could have acted as foreshadowing such as, the tobacco and the Fisherman's pipe. But Hall included many re-occuring instances of foreshadowing which really gave the reader a good sense of the inevitable fate/ direction of the story. The other key idea I thought Hall stressed was the concept of Man's struggle vs self and Man's struggle vs Nature. In this case, the Fisherman is the best example of both struggles. The Fisherman and his rebellious/dangerous lifestyle that he takes on, challenges the realms of mother nature by boating by himself during the frigid winter. The way the author depicts him, as stubborn and agressive is the cause of his dangerous lifestyle. When he takes the boys on the boat to go duck hunting on Christmas Day, the Fisherman forgets his tobacco and is thrown out of "rhythm". This leads to the biggest mistake of the story by forgetting to tie the boat up to something. After the three realized the grave danger they were now in the Fisherman had a huge change in personality after he realized they had no chance. I thought this was interesting because it shows you the effect of life and death situations can have on people. "It was the most intimate and pitiful thing I ever heard him say," (8x5) said the boy in regard to the Fisherman's change in talk/ behavior.
Brie Brown
ReplyDeleteProf. Chappell
ENG 106W-01
10 February 2012
A Change in the Fisherman’s Routine
Over the years, people have become more and more adapted to having their specific rituals. When someone does something and part of his or her routine is not in it something goes completely wrong. For example when a baseball player comes up to the batter’s box, each player has his own ritual. When the player changes his ritual, then he does not hit the baseball the way he normally would if he had done his normal ritual in the batter’s box. The same thing happens in the short story called, “The Ledge” by Lawrence Sargent Hall when the fisherman does not have his tobacco for his tobacco pipe.
In the story, the audience learns that smoking tobacco is part of the fisherman’s ritual when he goes out in his boat. The reason for the tragedy in “The Ledge” is because the fisherman does not start off his little family trip to the ledge with his tobacco. Once the fisherman comes to realization that he does not have tobacco for his tobacco pipe, he is suddenly in a very irritated and animal-like mood. At this point, things also start to go downhill.
At first there is not very much dialog from the fisherman in the short story until the fisherman realizes that he does not have his tobacco. This shows how important the tobacco is to him. In the beginning of the story, the audience also understands the importance of the tobacco when it says, “They were instantly crestfallen and willing to put back after the tobacco, though they could appreciate what it meant only through his irritation. But he bitterly refused. That would throw everything out of phase. He was a man who did things the way he set out to do” (Hall 254). This quote explains not only how the fisherman feels about the tobacco, but how the children understand how important it is for the fisherman to have the tobacco for this kind of trip.
Because the fisherman did not have his smoking tobacco with him, he decided to use the alcohol. Not having his smoking tobacco was his major downfall. The fact that the fisherman did not have the smoking tobacco, an important attribute to being on his fishing boat, put the fisherman in an extremely bad mood; which snowballed into a deadly effect. Not only was the fisherman in a bad mood, but he also forgot to properly tie the skiff to the ledge. This was extremely important because it led to the skiff floating away and leaving the fisherman, his son, and nephew stranded on the ledge.
In conclusion, the fisherman’s downfall was when he did not have the one thing that was part of his sailing routine, his tobacco. A routine is important to have, but when one element is missing from that routine everything snowballs. Without a routine there is no order and organization, if things are not organized then there is really no plan to go by.
Everything cannot be expected to go smoothly if there was no thought behind the situation to begin with. The fisherman brought this upon himself with the lack of careless planning.
Nicole DeFosche
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
EN 106W
10 February 2012
A Christmas Day Tragedy
In the short story, “The Ledge”, written by Lawrence Sargent Hall, there is a lot of conflict shown. It is very visible to the readers of which conflicts are used, man vs. man and man vs. nature, but the main conflict would have to be man vs. nature. The fisherman in the story is a very confident and strong man. He loves what he does and is very intelligent and hard working. He is a very successful man with all the activities he participates in. He never has a doubt in his mind that he can’t be the best. Usually when he does everything they tend to be “perfect” and nothing goes wrong for the fisherman.
The first kind of conflict that is shown is man vs. man. It wasn’t said and was a physical approach, but the reader can tell there was conflict. The fisherman’s wife in the beginning of the story was explaining how she felt about the trips the fisherman took and how she was worried about her son going this time. She would always be worried and always think about being a widow, but the fisherman doesn’t know how his wife really feels. This just shows the readers how dedicated the fisherman is to his hunting.
The conflict of man vs. nature starts to come into play when the fisherman leaves his house to go on his hunting at sea trip with his son and his nephew. The fisherman explains how the weather has been in the past when he goes on hunting trips. He says “the fisherman had done it often in the fog or at night- he always swore he could go anywhere in the bay blindfolded.” This makes the reader think the fisherman was capable of being able to face mother nature at its worst. In my opinion, it made me think how he was a very intelligent guy and takes pride in what he loves to do. The conflict comes in when the fisherman gets out to sea and things start to go terribly wrong. He doesn’t know what to do towards the end and begins to become helpless. He’s the type of guy who likes things to go in order, but that day the smallest things that would usually go right for the fisherman didn’t go right, for example, his tobacco for his pipe.
Tami Corsi
ReplyDeleteBolster
“The Ledge,” by Lawrence Sargent Hall does not praise manliness. Although throughout the short story Hall mentions the fisherman as a “Big, raw man, with too much strength” (250) and introducing the boys to, “A man’s sport” (251) as positive aspects, all of these attributes lead towards their downfall. The Ledge is actually soft and subtle acclamation towards the conservation of a woman’s role compared to the cocky nature of the men in this short story.
Although the fisherman’s name is never mentioned, he still receives the title of ‘fisherman’. However, the fisherman’s wife is always referred as so. She never receives a title of her own other than wife and mother. It can be argued that she is not an important character because she does not appear often enough to hold the value of a title. This is not true because if she had a name, the significance of the mother and wife figure would have no effect on the story. Hall describes the wife as a background figure. On page 251 he describes, “Above the snug murmur of his wife’s protest he heard the wind in the pines…” Hall describes the wife as a background object. What she has to say does not matter because the fisherman is focused on the ’man’s work’.
Hall also describes the wife as protective. From the fisherman’s prospective, she nags so he minimizes her opinion to the confines of a woman’s thoughts. Hall says, “To the fisherman these were no more than woman’s fears, to be taken for granted and laughed off.” (252). This is one of the most important lines in the story. It clearly represents the irony of being too masculine to listen to a woman. As the fisherman laughs off his wife’s concerns, she is completely aware of his limits.
Although Hall constantly mentions the rough personality and stature of the fisherman, he also uses this as his downfall. Hall uses the over-confidence of the fisherman compared to his wife as a praising factor to a woman’s sensitivity and even her sensibility. The woman has no title in this story to represent all women rather than make her a Mrs…. She is the representation of all women and their superiority to the ‘Manly’ nature of men.