ELS Autoblog

We didn’t have time to delve too deeply into it in class, so I wanted to write my thoughts on The Glass Key’s ending here.  Given its open-ended nature, there are numerous plausible interpretations. Here’s what I came away with:
It seems to me that the “open door” at the end of the book is a reference to Janet’s nightmare about the snakes in the cabin.  If you recall, Janet tells Ned about a dream/nightmare she had about the two of them at a snake-filled cabin in the woods. In her initial account, she said that she and Ned were able to lure the snakes out of the cabin and take refuge in it. Ned accuses her of making it up. Janet tells him that he’s only partially right. 
Finally, at the beginning of the final section of the book, Janet tells Ned what really happened in her dream:  having shattered the glass key while unlocking the door, they were unable to keep the snakes inside and they slithered out all over them.
How does this relate […]

Original post by crain2mn

I confess I have never “blogged” before nor have I ever considered doing so.  I know I’m a greenie, but I figure that with everything I’ve learned to accomplish in my life (which in reality isn’t much) this should be cake.
So here I go…The Glass Key.  I had never heard of the book or the movie before this class and whenever I tried to tell anybody what book I was reading they thoughtfully corrected me and said, “menagerie. You mean the glass menagerie”. Nope, I didn’t and they were wrong.  Alas, The Glass Key was a very interesting find.  I’m a nerd so I had read the book before we started class.  I am glad though because I believe it made me appreciate the book more than I would have otherwise. The book took some getting used to, but before I knew it I cared about the messed up lives of Ned, Janet, and Paul.  I have […]

Original post by kcannon

Original post by amandaftc

The Glass Key features Ned Beaumont, who is tall, lean, mustachioed, tubercular, and a gambler – like his creator. He is not a detective, but a political fixer for construction magnate Paul Madvig, probably in Baltimore. The toughest of Hammett’s heroes, he is the ten-minute egg of the genre. This quality springs partly from his lack of “luck,” a Depression-era belief that the novel probes, and partly from his defense of his minimal idealism from political corruption.
When Beaumont finds the body of Senator Henry’s son, Madvig asks him to thwart the D.A.’s investigation sure to follow. Beaumont wants to “sink” the corrupt senator, but Madvig backs him and wants to marry his daughter, Janet. Beaumont, needing to reverse his luck, goes to New York City to collect a gambling debt, but gets beaten up. Meanwhile someone sends a series of letters to people close to the crime, hinting that Madvig […]

Original post by amandaftc

Politician/thug Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) is used to thinking with his fists; his right hand man Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd) is used to thinking with his head. Both are best friends. Madvig throws his considerable political weight behind gubernatorial candidate Ralph Henry in order to win daughter Janet Henry’s (Veronica Lake) affections. Paul also makes an enemy of a former ally, gangster Nick Varna, who has many of Janet’s brother Taylor’s gambling debts. Janet acts nicely towards Paul so that Paul will support her father but she is more interested in Ed. Ed is also attracted to her but backs off for Paul’s sake. Ed and Paul disapprove of Paul’s younger sister Opal (Bonita Grainville) dating Taylor (Richard Denning) because Taylor gambles. Outside the Henry home, Ed finds Taylor dead.
Ed and Paul fight over Janet. Ed goes to Nick Varna and implies he will reveal Paul’s secrets, then changes his […]

Original post by amandaftc

Welcome to blogs.elsweb.org. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Original post by crain2mn

Ok, so after class I thought I’d investigate more into the “Hays” or “Production Code” set by the MPAA back in 1930. Anyway, incase this interests anyone else, I’ll just post the principles and my thoughts on some of them.
Principles:
1. No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.
-I can’t help but think of the SNL skit featuring Tina Fey discussing Georgians changing the text books from “dinosaurs” to “jesus horses.”
2. Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
3. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
These principles are set to the “particular applications” such as vulgarity, sex, obsenity, religion, ‘dances’, and I even think “national feelings” […]

Original post by elizabethomas

In the Irwin chapter of “Oceans of stories” the fact that almost every story has a link to another does not surprise me in the least.  If you think about it, there are only so many ways to tell a fable or to teach a moral to others.  Almost every culture has thier own version of Cinderella and if you look at creation myths, they all have roughly the same elements within them.  I’m not saying that they are all the same, but the similarites are there. 
Another reason these stories may be linked is the simple fact that when people travel together, they will talk and exchange ideas as well as stories to ease the bordom of the trip.  This is true even in our own culture, only now we use DVD players instead of storytellers.
On to “History of 12-century Philosophy.”  I agree with badspeller about all the name dropping, […]

Original post by kathryn

Well let me preface this a little bit by stating that I am not much of a blogger.  I have only written two blogs in my entire life time *gasp* !  Since I am in a sense, a n00b at this blogging business I am not entirely sure what I should be writing about, and how to go about writing it.  I imagine my blogs will be tangenty, and scattered, so there.

While sitting in my New Media class, immersed in a deeply thrilling discussion, multiple thoughts raced through my head along the lines of ‘ohhh remember this for later, it would be good to reflect on in your blog”.  Alas, I am not a memex and therefore I can only remember my most recent thoughts which have nothing to do with my new media class.  My most recent thoughts long for my next day off from work where I […]

Original post by sarallah27

I tried, I really did. But pushing past all fo the name dropping and big words is tough for a tired student so I will try my best to give out some interpretations on “A History of 12th Century Western Philosophy.” I would write about Colish’s work but failed to find it. I’ll look again tomorrow when my eyes aren’t as crossed but I can’t say I didn’t try.
To begin with, I got a mixed message from this text. One moment Dronke is saying how Arab philosophers are essential in the developement of Western Christian thought. Okay, got it, there was respect for the Eastern thought, even though they are still considered infidels and bad to the Westerners during their crusades.
Dronke also uses the word “apologetic” a number of times. Can anyone clarify what he means exactly? I thought that the Crusaders didn’t care about the infidels, and yet they are […]

Original post by badspellar