Before I go into details, I'd like to say that I love how this story turned out to be positive. I don't see that often in the Nigerian film industry, so this was a plus!
However, this story was quite bland and although it disproved the stereotype, 419ers were mentioned a lot.
I think this story was a lot more location than story. It was just setting and background to me. It starts with a lady in a fight on the "you-beat-me-I-beat-you-bus". That's really what they call it! It's like a greyhound bus and it's really hot and uncomfortable.
Lagos traffic sucks! This is accurately depicted in the story. "All the vehicles on the road attempt to turn at once". But people on the motorcycles or mopeds are the worst. They think they can just wiggle their ways through traffic. In certain parts of the city it's just a free road with a huge lack of any traffic signals or signs. It's crazy! Cabs in the form of buses drive with sliding doors wide open so people can hop on and off whenever they please. Also, the story says that children were in the road selling items. That may be true, but when I went it was just woman around my age or older. And one thing that's always for sale is: "Pure wata! Pure wata!" Hearing the screams of "pure water" is something that me and my sister will never forget as ladies held huge tubs of ice with bottled water inside above their heads. Wow. The smell of Nigeria is coming back to me right now.
Maybe I'm dumb, but after reading it through one time--I still didn't know if the main character was a preacher or not. I love how he wishes he had the preacher "accessories" in times of trouble so that he won't get treated badly, but late her is happy he isn't "wearing [his] Roman collar so [he] won't be automatically waved on" at a traffic stop. Speaking of Nigerian traffic stops--at night, it is best to not stop. My mom got robbed one time.
I love how this story is addressing real societal issues in that region of the world. The government is sapping the Niger Delta of all its resources and refuses to give the citizens of that area any of the monetary funds. "...Niger Delta has more oil wells than flush toilets? The government has connived with foreign oil companies to enslave us". That is why the Niger Delta is one of the most deadliest places to live in Nigeria. The people there have become militants that fight against the government and against oil companies. Up until recently, they have been blowing up gas stations and trying to get the government's attention with other radical ideas. If you go out to the actual delta, they are patrolling their land on the water with high speed boats and guns pointed.
There is a lot of ethnic or tribal nationalism in Nigeria. Being of the Igbo tribe, I find it hilarious that this story tries to make the Yoruba tribe stand out. Obviously, the guy who wrote this has to be Yoruba, because I'm pretty sure everyone who lives in Nigeria knows that Igbo and Yoruba people aren't the best of friends. The Igbo people are the largest group and they weren't even mentioned in the story, but the Hausa's were? My mom would laugh and use some of the dialect they had in the story. (which I loved)
Can I just say I'm excited to go home just so I can have some authentic rice and stew :)
This story gets across a main point in the Nigerian lifestyle that money is everyone's motive. If you have money, you don't want to flaunt it too much, but enough so that people know you have some sort of status. As far as people asking for money, they will do it at all times. I don't want to say the country is corrupt--I feel like that is too harsh because they are trying to change; but, you need money if you ever are put into any difficult situation in that country.
The thoughts of the main character that were italicized--I will always be happy to be a Nigerian. So, I felt disrespected by him thinking that. Oh well, just a story.
Now to the main point--
The whole time he was sure the guy was kidnapping him and had a pistol in his pocket. But when the main character falls sick, he sees that the whole time "the gun" was just a handkerchief. People always assume the worst in others. I try not to do that, so I simply trust no one. haha. I don't know if that's worst. But, the whole time this supposed preacher is cursing the man, his "kidnapper" and damning him to hell. It's just really hard to read people's underlying motives, especially with the world we live in.
Great way to end the semester with a story about my hometown. Can't wait to get back home.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Quest for Death and Photographs.
I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just jump right in.
I don't feel there was much to say about "The Eye" except that it was a weird story.
Financial status, or lack thereof, is shown through what the character wears as seen on page 107 when "The Eye" is described as the only person the narrator saw wearing a tie. It is also addressed on page 109 when referring to the orphan services at the auction when "The highest bidder is almost always the lowest as well".
There was a rumor that "The Eye" was homosexual, and it was just a rumor until one night when he confessed to the narrator that he was indeed homosexual.
With Bolano's simple sentences, the reader finds out that "The Eye" leaves Mexico for Paris and years later so does the narrator.
And as I was typing, I realized how much these stories have in common; so now I'll just compare them by underlying themes of: emigration, search for death, photography, and saying good-bye.
Emigration:
In Bolano's "Mauricio "The Eye" Silva", there is a lot of movement. First The Eye leaves Chile to travel to Buens Aires, "but then the ill winds blowing in the neighboring republic sent him to Mexico" (106). Off to Paris he went, and so did the narrator to find him. Later, the narrator had to go to Berlin where he meets The Eye again. The Eye shares his experiences of when he was in India. When he ultimately ran off with two of the boys, "the rest [of the story] is more an itinerary than a story or plot...First they took a taxi to a town or to its outskirts. Then a bus to another town, where they caught a second bus that took them to yet another town. At some point in their flight they boarded a train and traveled all night and part of the following day" (117). Even more traveling goes on, but you get the picture. In general, people are in search of an ideal living situation. If your current location doesn't match your lifestyle, your goals, or your mindset--then change it. I have always been a dream chaser and when I'm old enough to start moving until I see progress, I will. Sitting in Clemson and your dream is to become some Hollywood megastar will get you NOWHERE. Okay, off of my soapbox.
Bolano's excerpt from The Savage Dectectives incorporates a lot of travel as well. The two main characters are both from "the Southern Cone" of South America. From Paris to Angola and all parts of Liberia, this excerpt is filled with travel.
Search for Death:
The excerpt catches this theme better than "The Eye". Urenda, the narrator, states about Belano: "I got the sense that life meant nothing to him, that he'd taken the job so he could die a picturesque death, a death that was out of the ordinary" (498). Wow. My first thought, why would someone do that? Make your family struggle to bring your body back? or just get dumped on grounds that mean nothing to you? But, what's confusing is the fact that "Belano behaved as if his health were extremely important to him". Urenda was confused to and thought "this man wants to live, there's no way he's planning to die". Page 499 offers a deeper explanation. "He insinuated that he was there to get himself killed, which I suppose isn't the same as being there to kill yourself or to commit suicide, since you aren't taking the trouble to do it yourself, although in the end it's just as disturbing". I don't even know what to think about this. So, I am thinking he wants his life to be over, but not to commit suicide so he still goes to heaven? hahaha. long shot. Later when Urenda comes back, Belano was no longer on his quest for death and could go a few days without taking any pills. A statement that stands out on page 500 is Urenda's description of Belano as healthy..."or that's how he looked to me, anyway, in the middle of so much death. What really gets me is the end of the story when Lobo and Belano are taling and Belano states that he "wanted to die, but [he] realized it was better not to" (516). But after saying this, he still went with Lobo to die with the soldiers because he didn't want Lobo to die alone. I'm not one to judge, but I can't tell if that was being brave or being stupid.
From what I can remember, the search for death is only mentioned one time in "The Eye". "then the disease came to the village and the boys died. I wanted to die too, said The Eye, but I wasn't that lucky" (119). When a person loses all they have, they feel like there is no purpose for them to live anymore. I could understand that feeling.
Photography:
Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!
"Everyone likes to be photographed" (107). I think of that line from The Eye, then I immediately think of the dead Italian that Urenda wanted to take pictures with in the excerpt. I don't think he wanted his picture taken--I'm just saying.
Saying Good-bye:
"The Eye": "I wasn't surprised that he hadn't said good-bye. The Eye never said good-bye to anyone. I never said good-bye to anyone either. None of my Mexican friends ever did. For my mother, however, it was a clear case of bad manners" (109). I'm not quite sure what this means, but I know nowadays if people purposely don't say good-bye, it's because they would rather say see you later or something of that sort. The optimistic bunch. This was vaguely mentioned in the excerpt, but I doubt it had any true meaning.
Other random blurbs...
"The Eye" favorite phrases:
--"I have never hated anyone" (116). I love this. I have been trying to live like this since I got baptized. Great feeling.
--"Not that I had a plan, or any idea of redress, just a blind determination" (116).
--"he wept for his dead children and all the other castrated boys, for his own lost youth, for those who were young no longer and those who died young.."
The Savage Detectives:
..."blackouts usually came at sunset" (502). Very true in Nigeria.
..."a country where life was worth nothing and talk--along with money--was ultimately the key to everything" (501). They say money makes the world go 'round. But wow, life was worth nothing?
..."able to hear something like the glare of the sun on the roof of the car" (507). love the personification!
Also,
**Paris Match is my favorite French magazine!
**who prays to a God they don't believe in? hey, I don't judge. hahaha.
**the embassy is never the safest place in a country.
**and this narrator was annoying. He thought he was better than everyone.
I don't feel there was much to say about "The Eye" except that it was a weird story.
Financial status, or lack thereof, is shown through what the character wears as seen on page 107 when "The Eye" is described as the only person the narrator saw wearing a tie. It is also addressed on page 109 when referring to the orphan services at the auction when "The highest bidder is almost always the lowest as well".
There was a rumor that "The Eye" was homosexual, and it was just a rumor until one night when he confessed to the narrator that he was indeed homosexual.
With Bolano's simple sentences, the reader finds out that "The Eye" leaves Mexico for Paris and years later so does the narrator.
And as I was typing, I realized how much these stories have in common; so now I'll just compare them by underlying themes of: emigration, search for death, photography, and saying good-bye.
Emigration:
In Bolano's "Mauricio "The Eye" Silva", there is a lot of movement. First The Eye leaves Chile to travel to Buens Aires, "but then the ill winds blowing in the neighboring republic sent him to Mexico" (106). Off to Paris he went, and so did the narrator to find him. Later, the narrator had to go to Berlin where he meets The Eye again. The Eye shares his experiences of when he was in India. When he ultimately ran off with two of the boys, "the rest [of the story] is more an itinerary than a story or plot...First they took a taxi to a town or to its outskirts. Then a bus to another town, where they caught a second bus that took them to yet another town. At some point in their flight they boarded a train and traveled all night and part of the following day" (117). Even more traveling goes on, but you get the picture. In general, people are in search of an ideal living situation. If your current location doesn't match your lifestyle, your goals, or your mindset--then change it. I have always been a dream chaser and when I'm old enough to start moving until I see progress, I will. Sitting in Clemson and your dream is to become some Hollywood megastar will get you NOWHERE. Okay, off of my soapbox.
Bolano's excerpt from The Savage Dectectives incorporates a lot of travel as well. The two main characters are both from "the Southern Cone" of South America. From Paris to Angola and all parts of Liberia, this excerpt is filled with travel.
Search for Death:
The excerpt catches this theme better than "The Eye". Urenda, the narrator, states about Belano: "I got the sense that life meant nothing to him, that he'd taken the job so he could die a picturesque death, a death that was out of the ordinary" (498). Wow. My first thought, why would someone do that? Make your family struggle to bring your body back? or just get dumped on grounds that mean nothing to you? But, what's confusing is the fact that "Belano behaved as if his health were extremely important to him". Urenda was confused to and thought "this man wants to live, there's no way he's planning to die". Page 499 offers a deeper explanation. "He insinuated that he was there to get himself killed, which I suppose isn't the same as being there to kill yourself or to commit suicide, since you aren't taking the trouble to do it yourself, although in the end it's just as disturbing". I don't even know what to think about this. So, I am thinking he wants his life to be over, but not to commit suicide so he still goes to heaven? hahaha. long shot. Later when Urenda comes back, Belano was no longer on his quest for death and could go a few days without taking any pills. A statement that stands out on page 500 is Urenda's description of Belano as healthy..."or that's how he looked to me, anyway, in the middle of so much death. What really gets me is the end of the story when Lobo and Belano are taling and Belano states that he "wanted to die, but [he] realized it was better not to" (516). But after saying this, he still went with Lobo to die with the soldiers because he didn't want Lobo to die alone. I'm not one to judge, but I can't tell if that was being brave or being stupid.
From what I can remember, the search for death is only mentioned one time in "The Eye". "then the disease came to the village and the boys died. I wanted to die too, said The Eye, but I wasn't that lucky" (119). When a person loses all they have, they feel like there is no purpose for them to live anymore. I could understand that feeling.
Photography:
Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!
"Everyone likes to be photographed" (107). I think of that line from The Eye, then I immediately think of the dead Italian that Urenda wanted to take pictures with in the excerpt. I don't think he wanted his picture taken--I'm just saying.
Saying Good-bye:
"The Eye": "I wasn't surprised that he hadn't said good-bye. The Eye never said good-bye to anyone. I never said good-bye to anyone either. None of my Mexican friends ever did. For my mother, however, it was a clear case of bad manners" (109). I'm not quite sure what this means, but I know nowadays if people purposely don't say good-bye, it's because they would rather say see you later or something of that sort. The optimistic bunch. This was vaguely mentioned in the excerpt, but I doubt it had any true meaning.
Other random blurbs...
"The Eye" favorite phrases:
--"I have never hated anyone" (116). I love this. I have been trying to live like this since I got baptized. Great feeling.
--"Not that I had a plan, or any idea of redress, just a blind determination" (116).
--"he wept for his dead children and all the other castrated boys, for his own lost youth, for those who were young no longer and those who died young.."
The Savage Detectives:
..."blackouts usually came at sunset" (502). Very true in Nigeria.
..."a country where life was worth nothing and talk--along with money--was ultimately the key to everything" (501). They say money makes the world go 'round. But wow, life was worth nothing?
..."able to hear something like the glare of the sun on the roof of the car" (507). love the personification!
Also,
**Paris Match is my favorite French magazine!
**who prays to a God they don't believe in? hey, I don't judge. hahaha.
**the embassy is never the safest place in a country.
**and this narrator was annoying. He thought he was better than everyone.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice
I'll start by saying this is my favorite short story of the year!!
Before I get to all of the good stuff, let me say that I'm confused by the time in which this story is taking place because at one point someone tells him to use a typewriter to write his story so he'll be free to delete, but then at the coffee shop an iPod is mentioned. One thing I know for sure is that computers came before the iPod.
Anyway,
Being Nigerian and lacking the basic childhood memories of skating and bike riding, I definitely understand Nam Le's point of view on "the ethnic story". It's so easy to write about what you think you know. But in this story, it is shown that parts of the story may be missing or that not all of the details are known. I am aware of this when my dad tells me of the Biafra War. It's one of those things where you only tell the "good" parts and everything else is left to only those who witnessed it.
I love the father-son relationship in this story. It seems like Le had a rebellious childhood, but he comes to know and love his father. His father arrives in LA early, while the house is still a mess and hits him with a quick Vietnamese proverb about laziness: "A day lived, a sea of knowledge earned". Sounds like something my mother would say. Le states that his father "had a habit of speaking in Vietnamese proverbs. [That he] had long since learned to ignore" (4). I think that's also one of those things where on the surface, you aren't listening, but subconsciously one day he'll say it to one of his peers.
The diction and description in this story are borderline overwhelming, but add great emphasis where needed: "the double-storied houses, their smooth lawns sloping down to the sidewalks like golf greens; elm trees with high, thick branches--the sort of branches from which I imagined fathers suspending long-roped swings for daughters..." (11). But, what could you expect from a story about a writer with a final paper due? Did I mention that Iowa is also in this story? It seems like that's where all the great writer reign. Oh yeah, my favorite word used by this author is "goose-pimpled" on page four. Hahaha.
His relationship with Linda may be strange to the average American. I know that my parents would NEVER want to hear or see me talk about a guy, let alone have a relationship. It's just something you don't do, especially while you are still in school. I've always wondered how it is so easy for some people to just let boyfriends/girlfriends come over to their houses and meet their parents. That's not allowed in my culture, unless you are getting married. I think Linda may have taken offense to this and not completely understood the situation. Le doesn't understand his father that well, I wouldn't expect her too. I could go on for days about this, so I'll stop.
Am I the only one who doesn't like the fact that his father moved to Sydney, Australia while his mother lived in government apartments?
My second favorite paragraph of this work (favorite is the last!) is this one:
"That's all I've ever done, traffic in words. Sometimes I still think about word counts the way a general must think about casualties...When I was working at the law firm, I would have written that many words in a couple of weeks. And they would have been useful to someone" (8). Maybe Le is growing tired or frustrated with writing. I find it difficult to write as well. Sometimes writers just want the words to flow so perfectly that it takes the joy out of writing; after all, Le states "things happened in this world all the time. All I had to do was record them" (8).
The page about "ethnic lit" was hysterical! Loved the Nigerian shout-out! But, ethnic literature is filled with descriptions of food and language that you can't necessarily double check the validity of. But, since the whole point of writing is "not to write what no one else could have written, but to write what only you could have written" (23), I think any culture is worth diving into.
It's funny how people change, yet stay the same. "and I could no longer read his smile. He had perfected it during our separation" (12).
Since we just got off the topic of American Dreams, I decided to share my thoughts on that theme in this story. The Vietnamese immigrants go to the river and see a homeless man standing near a fire. His father tells the man about his son's work and when they leave, he gives the homeless citizen money as he says "welcome to America" while his head is lowered in shame. Wow.
I'm not going to lie. The story within the story was pretty incredible. The details about the bayonet slitting throats and the ace of spades carved into people's bodies were chilling. I love how he compared the story to a eulogy.
"How far does an empty stomach drag you?" (25). That's just a great line that shows that his father doesn't necessarily like the fact that he left being a lawyer to become an author, but he respects his will to continue. And will continue to respect him, but he just wants to see how long he can go on with writing if it doesn't feed him. Another well written line on that page is "I had nothing but hate in me, but I had enough for everyone". That just speaks volumes to me.
Before I comment on the last page, I want to talk about the title. It's a lengthy one, but it's legit. Although nobody every blatantly comes out and says their work is about love, honor, pity, pride, compassion or sacrifice, I believe most works fall into these categories. I'm pretty sure they are all mentioned in this story, but I love the example of pity on page 24. When talking to his father about the story, his father says that he wants pity and he becomes offended. But his dad explains himself, saying "'Only you'll remember. I'll remember. They will read and clap their hands and forget"'.
I had to read this last paragraph twice. I couldn't believe the father went out and burned the story his son had worked so hard on. I don't think that is a good way of dealing with your past. It leaves the reader hanging a bit because there is missing dialogue: "If I had known then what I knew later, I wouldn't have said the things I did" (28). I think their shaky relationship is described best with his realization of "how it took hours, sometimes days, for the surface of a river to freeze over--to hold in its skin the perfect and crystalline world--and how that world could be shattered by a small stone dropped like a single syllable" (28). Wow. After working so hard to get the relationship back on track, one minor incident causes the whole thing to break again. And Le describes that incident in terms of words: a single syllable--those of which are so carelessly thrown around. I loved this story. Perfect!
Before I get to all of the good stuff, let me say that I'm confused by the time in which this story is taking place because at one point someone tells him to use a typewriter to write his story so he'll be free to delete, but then at the coffee shop an iPod is mentioned. One thing I know for sure is that computers came before the iPod.
Anyway,
Being Nigerian and lacking the basic childhood memories of skating and bike riding, I definitely understand Nam Le's point of view on "the ethnic story". It's so easy to write about what you think you know. But in this story, it is shown that parts of the story may be missing or that not all of the details are known. I am aware of this when my dad tells me of the Biafra War. It's one of those things where you only tell the "good" parts and everything else is left to only those who witnessed it.
I love the father-son relationship in this story. It seems like Le had a rebellious childhood, but he comes to know and love his father. His father arrives in LA early, while the house is still a mess and hits him with a quick Vietnamese proverb about laziness: "A day lived, a sea of knowledge earned". Sounds like something my mother would say. Le states that his father "had a habit of speaking in Vietnamese proverbs. [That he] had long since learned to ignore" (4). I think that's also one of those things where on the surface, you aren't listening, but subconsciously one day he'll say it to one of his peers.
The diction and description in this story are borderline overwhelming, but add great emphasis where needed: "the double-storied houses, their smooth lawns sloping down to the sidewalks like golf greens; elm trees with high, thick branches--the sort of branches from which I imagined fathers suspending long-roped swings for daughters..." (11). But, what could you expect from a story about a writer with a final paper due? Did I mention that Iowa is also in this story? It seems like that's where all the great writer reign. Oh yeah, my favorite word used by this author is "goose-pimpled" on page four. Hahaha.
His relationship with Linda may be strange to the average American. I know that my parents would NEVER want to hear or see me talk about a guy, let alone have a relationship. It's just something you don't do, especially while you are still in school. I've always wondered how it is so easy for some people to just let boyfriends/girlfriends come over to their houses and meet their parents. That's not allowed in my culture, unless you are getting married. I think Linda may have taken offense to this and not completely understood the situation. Le doesn't understand his father that well, I wouldn't expect her too. I could go on for days about this, so I'll stop.
Am I the only one who doesn't like the fact that his father moved to Sydney, Australia while his mother lived in government apartments?
My second favorite paragraph of this work (favorite is the last!) is this one:
"That's all I've ever done, traffic in words. Sometimes I still think about word counts the way a general must think about casualties...When I was working at the law firm, I would have written that many words in a couple of weeks. And they would have been useful to someone" (8). Maybe Le is growing tired or frustrated with writing. I find it difficult to write as well. Sometimes writers just want the words to flow so perfectly that it takes the joy out of writing; after all, Le states "things happened in this world all the time. All I had to do was record them" (8).
The page about "ethnic lit" was hysterical! Loved the Nigerian shout-out! But, ethnic literature is filled with descriptions of food and language that you can't necessarily double check the validity of. But, since the whole point of writing is "not to write what no one else could have written, but to write what only you could have written" (23), I think any culture is worth diving into.
It's funny how people change, yet stay the same. "and I could no longer read his smile. He had perfected it during our separation" (12).
Since we just got off the topic of American Dreams, I decided to share my thoughts on that theme in this story. The Vietnamese immigrants go to the river and see a homeless man standing near a fire. His father tells the man about his son's work and when they leave, he gives the homeless citizen money as he says "welcome to America" while his head is lowered in shame. Wow.
I'm not going to lie. The story within the story was pretty incredible. The details about the bayonet slitting throats and the ace of spades carved into people's bodies were chilling. I love how he compared the story to a eulogy.
"How far does an empty stomach drag you?" (25). That's just a great line that shows that his father doesn't necessarily like the fact that he left being a lawyer to become an author, but he respects his will to continue. And will continue to respect him, but he just wants to see how long he can go on with writing if it doesn't feed him. Another well written line on that page is "I had nothing but hate in me, but I had enough for everyone". That just speaks volumes to me.
Before I comment on the last page, I want to talk about the title. It's a lengthy one, but it's legit. Although nobody every blatantly comes out and says their work is about love, honor, pity, pride, compassion or sacrifice, I believe most works fall into these categories. I'm pretty sure they are all mentioned in this story, but I love the example of pity on page 24. When talking to his father about the story, his father says that he wants pity and he becomes offended. But his dad explains himself, saying "'Only you'll remember. I'll remember. They will read and clap their hands and forget"'.
I had to read this last paragraph twice. I couldn't believe the father went out and burned the story his son had worked so hard on. I don't think that is a good way of dealing with your past. It leaves the reader hanging a bit because there is missing dialogue: "If I had known then what I knew later, I wouldn't have said the things I did" (28). I think their shaky relationship is described best with his realization of "how it took hours, sometimes days, for the surface of a river to freeze over--to hold in its skin the perfect and crystalline world--and how that world could be shattered by a small stone dropped like a single syllable" (28). Wow. After working so hard to get the relationship back on track, one minor incident causes the whole thing to break again. And Le describes that incident in terms of words: a single syllable--those of which are so carelessly thrown around. I loved this story. Perfect!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Lazurus Project: the ending.
The beginning of this last section is a gruesome telling of what the pogrom was like in what I believe is during Olga's daydreaming--"they ripped out Mr. Mandelbaum's beard" and "I heard his bones breaking" (241) were just a few sentences that left me shaking. Roza sat throughout the first section hungry while Papa stretch[ed] on the floor to reach his yarmulke, as though something depended on it" (242). I love this. Obviously in times of panic or chaos, people reach out to their religion, even if it is something they often keep in the back of their minds. After the raid upon the house was over, Roza picks up the table settings, puts a few items back where they originally were, and seated herself, again hungry. After something like that, "nothing would ever be the way it used to be. It was impossible to remember what it used to be like at all" (245). Olga snaps out of her daydream when Taube calls her name and finally gets her to take the deal of coming to a funeral for her brother.
In present day, Iuliana, the tour guide at the museum, helps Brik and Rora find a ride. This was a very strange ride that I'll comment on later.
"Silence terrified me--whenever I stopped talking, the possibility of never saying anything again was horribly present" (250). Wow. That's scary to live like this. To live in a constant state of fear. After talking about war crimes for a minute with Iuliana, Brik starts talking a little crazy, saying how he wishes he could break some people's kneecaps. Then Iuliana says: "You are strange. I thought you were from America (251). This is a weird statement. Basically, it means that from a foreign point of view, Americans cannot be violent or used to violence, which is false.
Brik asks Iuliana how she feels about the pogrom and then thinks back to when he asked Mary about one of her patients that died. Iuliana, on one hand, says she feels great love for those people; but, Mary, a neurosurgeon that probably sees death everyday, has no real reaction to the question and simply says: "When a patient dies, I feel that he is dead" (252).
I cannot finish the ending of this book without commenting on the relationship between Azra, a surgeon, and her husband. I can't help but think if this somewhat mirrors the future of Brik and Mary. Anyway, Azra's husband had loyalty to the Serbs and when the shooting started he joined his Chetnik brothers to aim and fire at families like his own. I cannot wrap my head around this situation!! This is craziest thing I've read since the first few pages of the novel.
I love how this book talks about common things in not so common ways. The breakdown of how conversing works: "I could not stop listening, and after I listened I had to speak, and so it went on" (253).
Did I mention somewhere in this blog how I didn't like Rora. Here again it has been confirmed. "He paid some of the kids to run back and forth under fire so [someone] could take a perfect picture" (255). These little kids don't know better, but Rora wants to risk their lives in order to have a good picture. Unbelievable. One of my favorite phrases of this sections follows after: "Nobody deserves death, yet everybody gets it. This reminds me of something I saw on a billboard the other day. It read "why do we kill people that kill people to teach people that killing people is wrong?" So true.
In lament terms, the driver is crazy. Brik is having some interrupted thoughts about Lazurus, some random girl is picked up along the way, and the driver is falling asleep. The poor girl, Elena was obviously not taken anywhere by her choice, or maybe she knows where she was going. Brik isn't very sure. But he knows that he shouldn't judge her, that "each life is legitimized by its rightful owner" (260). At this point where Rora taps the driver and he pulls over to the gas station, I get lost. I don't know what was going on. But, I am pretty sure Rora and Brik beat the driver up. But I don't know why they did and with that much force. At the end of that section, it flashes back to when Lazarus just landed in America and the stories continue to become more and more intertwined.
After the funeral where so called Lazarus is buried for the second time, it is written in the paper that Olga says "Let us return to peace now", which I doubt she says. Especially knowing her brother is not at peace because his main organs were not with his body. I feel awful for Olga who is now in a foreign land all by herself. She finally sees that "dusk obscures the shapes of things". At the end of the day, "she will sit at the table, say nothing to no one, let nothing settle all around her like falling snow"(274).
The very last section of the book is great.
"Nobody seemed to remember me" (278) is followed by a phrase that I remember seeing earlier in the novel: "Home is where somebody notices your absence". So obviously he feels like he could call Sarajevo home. But Azra encourages him to stay and marry one of the women from there. She tells him "there is no life for you in America" (281). I realize that near the end of this book, Brik says "That's me" a lot. He sees himself manifested in everything.
The most beautiful thing is when Brik realizes he could never really be there for Mary, because his heart was elsewhere, and then he goes on to mention all the little tidbits about her which is truly love. It's always good when guys know and remember the little things.
And then Rora is killed in broad daylight. It had to happen. He knew way too much. Ironically, as he lay dying a phone kept playing "Staying Alive". Creepy. Seven bullets. The same amount as Lazarus. Summing it up: "sometimes you have non control over life and i keeps you far away from who you love" (288). Wow. Azra knows a lot of information too, but the book finishes too soon with her fixing Brik's hand, saying that he'll need it for writing since he now has been on one hell of a journey.
Starting and ending with a murder?
Great story.
In present day, Iuliana, the tour guide at the museum, helps Brik and Rora find a ride. This was a very strange ride that I'll comment on later.
"Silence terrified me--whenever I stopped talking, the possibility of never saying anything again was horribly present" (250). Wow. That's scary to live like this. To live in a constant state of fear. After talking about war crimes for a minute with Iuliana, Brik starts talking a little crazy, saying how he wishes he could break some people's kneecaps. Then Iuliana says: "You are strange. I thought you were from America (251). This is a weird statement. Basically, it means that from a foreign point of view, Americans cannot be violent or used to violence, which is false.
Brik asks Iuliana how she feels about the pogrom and then thinks back to when he asked Mary about one of her patients that died. Iuliana, on one hand, says she feels great love for those people; but, Mary, a neurosurgeon that probably sees death everyday, has no real reaction to the question and simply says: "When a patient dies, I feel that he is dead" (252).
I cannot finish the ending of this book without commenting on the relationship between Azra, a surgeon, and her husband. I can't help but think if this somewhat mirrors the future of Brik and Mary. Anyway, Azra's husband had loyalty to the Serbs and when the shooting started he joined his Chetnik brothers to aim and fire at families like his own. I cannot wrap my head around this situation!! This is craziest thing I've read since the first few pages of the novel.
I love how this book talks about common things in not so common ways. The breakdown of how conversing works: "I could not stop listening, and after I listened I had to speak, and so it went on" (253).
Did I mention somewhere in this blog how I didn't like Rora. Here again it has been confirmed. "He paid some of the kids to run back and forth under fire so [someone] could take a perfect picture" (255). These little kids don't know better, but Rora wants to risk their lives in order to have a good picture. Unbelievable. One of my favorite phrases of this sections follows after: "Nobody deserves death, yet everybody gets it. This reminds me of something I saw on a billboard the other day. It read "why do we kill people that kill people to teach people that killing people is wrong?" So true.
In lament terms, the driver is crazy. Brik is having some interrupted thoughts about Lazurus, some random girl is picked up along the way, and the driver is falling asleep. The poor girl, Elena was obviously not taken anywhere by her choice, or maybe she knows where she was going. Brik isn't very sure. But he knows that he shouldn't judge her, that "each life is legitimized by its rightful owner" (260). At this point where Rora taps the driver and he pulls over to the gas station, I get lost. I don't know what was going on. But, I am pretty sure Rora and Brik beat the driver up. But I don't know why they did and with that much force. At the end of that section, it flashes back to when Lazarus just landed in America and the stories continue to become more and more intertwined.
After the funeral where so called Lazarus is buried for the second time, it is written in the paper that Olga says "Let us return to peace now", which I doubt she says. Especially knowing her brother is not at peace because his main organs were not with his body. I feel awful for Olga who is now in a foreign land all by herself. She finally sees that "dusk obscures the shapes of things". At the end of the day, "she will sit at the table, say nothing to no one, let nothing settle all around her like falling snow"(274).
The very last section of the book is great.
"Nobody seemed to remember me" (278) is followed by a phrase that I remember seeing earlier in the novel: "Home is where somebody notices your absence". So obviously he feels like he could call Sarajevo home. But Azra encourages him to stay and marry one of the women from there. She tells him "there is no life for you in America" (281). I realize that near the end of this book, Brik says "That's me" a lot. He sees himself manifested in everything.
The most beautiful thing is when Brik realizes he could never really be there for Mary, because his heart was elsewhere, and then he goes on to mention all the little tidbits about her which is truly love. It's always good when guys know and remember the little things.
And then Rora is killed in broad daylight. It had to happen. He knew way too much. Ironically, as he lay dying a phone kept playing "Staying Alive". Creepy. Seven bullets. The same amount as Lazarus. Summing it up: "sometimes you have non control over life and i keeps you far away from who you love" (288). Wow. Azra knows a lot of information too, but the book finishes too soon with her fixing Brik's hand, saying that he'll need it for writing since he now has been on one hell of a journey.
Starting and ending with a murder?
Great story.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Extra Credit?
So, yesterday I went to the library to take a closer look at the Turkish-Jewish exhibit, and it was gone. But in the cases in front of the stairs there was a unity project that had something to do with the Holocaust. So, I'm not really sure how the points will go on this one. There was a big quote that said "I saw masses of people running away, and nothing was chasing them". Below it were pictures of people that were obviously at concentration camps. My favorite pictures were in the middle cases. One was of a soldier helping a little girl put her foot into her shoe, I believe it was Anne Frank. I'm not sure. Then the picture right beside it is the illustration of the phrase "American Dream". Six or seven immigrants look toward the sky with eyes glistening knowing what awaits them in a foreign land. That picture is beautiful--I tried to capture it with my phone.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
"The few who possess everything and the many who possess nothing." Lazurus Project 87-121
Granted the novel had a great start, but I'm starting to feel a little iffy about it now. I think Rora's influence is majorly affecting Brik. Especially when he told a story that wasn't his at a wedding reception and his wife called him out. He thinks its because he didn't share the story of how they met like the other couples did, but I think she was just calling his bluff from knowing him that well. Anyway, I think the half of the novel that includes Rora and his immoral ways is getting a little long. I'm not a big fan of Rora--he sounds like a bad friend that always wants the spotlight.
In the beginning of this section, I was astounded at the number of bullets that hit Lazurus. I remember all the chaos, but I didn't know all the guns were pointed at him.
Poor Olga. I think she is attempting to write her mother a letter telling her about the death. What's really sad is the part where the narrator says that the mother is still far off wondering about the well-being of her son, not even knowing that he is dead.
Isador, the curly-haired accomplice is in the outhouse, where all the feces go. If Olga had not come out there to think about her brother, what would he have done? I love his reasoning: "Good people had told me to stay away from the law" (93). My thoughts--"good" people should never be in the way of the law. Then the dictionary of which had much sentimental value falls into the feces, after hitting Isador in the face. Maybe this was Isador's way of saying, it was a bad idea to begin with. While Olga was sleeping, I found something quite interesting in that passage. "If I fall asleep and wake up dead, I could be rid of this sickening grief" (95). Waking up dead? That's ironic.
She explains how Lazurus looked in the morgue. Her little brother loooked "so angry in the morgue, so tense, his lips frigid and sharp" (95). I remember back in May of 2001 when I made a trip to the morgue to see my older brother. He looked peaceful, almost about to crack a smile. That's scary now that I think about it. But, he made me want to laugh. Especially wearing this awful yellow Hawaiian looking shirt with blue flowers that my dad picked out to go with Timberland boots. I know my brother is somewhere pissed about that last outfit choice! Oh well, God doesn't judge.
The words read from the dictionary are put into sentence form at the end of page 96, and I tried so hard to interpret it, but I can't. Just words, they probably don't mean anything.
Just a couple things to comment on in the next few pages.
First, Andriy the driver of the Focus doesn't want anyone to wear a seat belt and says "If it is your time to go, it is your time to go" (100). I say "If it's your time to go, Jesus will take you--but don't make him have to hurry, because He's a busy man." Seat belts save lives, and I'm glad Brik put it on the second time he got into the car. With all Rora's stories about casinos and Range Rovers, he was starting to sound, for lack of a better word, sketch! So in their society, it's not hard to believe that "nobody expected the truth" (103). I found a profound statement on pg. 105, something I had never thought about before: "The whole life a dash between the two arbitrary numbers". When someone walks around in a cemetery, you know nothing except when they were born and when they died. The in between lies with their soul and the few names that might have left a message. There is no brief biography, no list of accomplishments. In the end does it all matter? Wow.
I love how Guzik is some little person in a dark room who trades inside stories for cash! Just what this story needed!
I personally didn't think that your comments on religion in class were that racy; but then again you are teaching in Bible Belt central here at CU where everyone who isn't Republican with a Bible in your right hand and American flag in the other stands out. What's wrong with playing devil's advocate or stirring up he crowd? And, I'm glad to hear that another Nigerian will be playing. I have a personal thing against Egyptians and Ethiopians though, most claim they aren't "African". Hahaha.
In the beginning of this section, I was astounded at the number of bullets that hit Lazurus. I remember all the chaos, but I didn't know all the guns were pointed at him.
Poor Olga. I think she is attempting to write her mother a letter telling her about the death. What's really sad is the part where the narrator says that the mother is still far off wondering about the well-being of her son, not even knowing that he is dead.
Isador, the curly-haired accomplice is in the outhouse, where all the feces go. If Olga had not come out there to think about her brother, what would he have done? I love his reasoning: "Good people had told me to stay away from the law" (93). My thoughts--"good" people should never be in the way of the law. Then the dictionary of which had much sentimental value falls into the feces, after hitting Isador in the face. Maybe this was Isador's way of saying, it was a bad idea to begin with. While Olga was sleeping, I found something quite interesting in that passage. "If I fall asleep and wake up dead, I could be rid of this sickening grief" (95). Waking up dead? That's ironic.
She explains how Lazurus looked in the morgue. Her little brother loooked "so angry in the morgue, so tense, his lips frigid and sharp" (95). I remember back in May of 2001 when I made a trip to the morgue to see my older brother. He looked peaceful, almost about to crack a smile. That's scary now that I think about it. But, he made me want to laugh. Especially wearing this awful yellow Hawaiian looking shirt with blue flowers that my dad picked out to go with Timberland boots. I know my brother is somewhere pissed about that last outfit choice! Oh well, God doesn't judge.
The words read from the dictionary are put into sentence form at the end of page 96, and I tried so hard to interpret it, but I can't. Just words, they probably don't mean anything.
Just a couple things to comment on in the next few pages.
First, Andriy the driver of the Focus doesn't want anyone to wear a seat belt and says "If it is your time to go, it is your time to go" (100). I say "If it's your time to go, Jesus will take you--but don't make him have to hurry, because He's a busy man." Seat belts save lives, and I'm glad Brik put it on the second time he got into the car. With all Rora's stories about casinos and Range Rovers, he was starting to sound, for lack of a better word, sketch! So in their society, it's not hard to believe that "nobody expected the truth" (103). I found a profound statement on pg. 105, something I had never thought about before: "The whole life a dash between the two arbitrary numbers". When someone walks around in a cemetery, you know nothing except when they were born and when they died. The in between lies with their soul and the few names that might have left a message. There is no brief biography, no list of accomplishments. In the end does it all matter? Wow.
I love how Guzik is some little person in a dark room who trades inside stories for cash! Just what this story needed!
I personally didn't think that your comments on religion in class were that racy; but then again you are teaching in Bible Belt central here at CU where everyone who isn't Republican with a Bible in your right hand and American flag in the other stands out. What's wrong with playing devil's advocate or stirring up he crowd? And, I'm glad to hear that another Nigerian will be playing. I have a personal thing against Egyptians and Ethiopians though, most claim they aren't "African". Hahaha.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
The Clemson Literary Festival
I definitely looked at the pictures of the authors to decide what readings I would go to. I found out in life that people with wounds or scars have the best stories. Anywho, it didn't matter, because when I went to Friends Cafe on Thursday night there was no order. Oh well.
First up was Blas Falconer reading poems from his book A Question of Gravity and Light. From his stance alone, I knew he was homosexual. To me, this meant wounds. I was excited to hear what he had to say. His style was very subtle and soft spoken, and he wasn't trying to be anything other than himself. The first poem told Native Americans and Spanish conquistadors. My favorite line was "they crossed uncrossable seas". His second poem was probably the best poem I heard all night, even though I only stayed for an hour and a half. It was entitled "A Definiton of Terms" where he begins toying with the words "cruise" and "trick". The poem ends up being about two gay men who are stuck in the airport and randomly have sex. Lines like "we tricked them all" and "I'm too tired to trick and where the hell would we have sex anyway" sent the crowd into laughter. Next was "A Story of Winter", and it was a difficult poem to follow without text. It seemed like it was a poem with a lot of description and had a deep meaning that I just couldn't put my finger on. I asked around, nobody else really knew what was going on either. The fourth poem was "The Battle of Nashville". This is one of the few poems that I could find the text online. It is even more beautiful as I read it for myself. It's a strong poem about unity that starts in the past even covering civil rights. It's about being scared to fight battles alone, but getting a little courage when someone else is beside you. The last line is compelling and truly shows the love for the city: "I think they are afraid. I think this is love". There was another poem about his adopted son--missed the title of it. In a joking matter, Falconer stated that he felt that his poems were more cynical when he became a father. Overall, great work.
Michael Griffith was the second author, and his first words to the audience were: "I'm going to teach you how writing is all about failing". Scars? Yep. He gives a face-paced short synopsis to provide background to what he was going to read. He stated that his novel, Trophy, took place in the span of one second where the protagonist dies under the stuffed grizzly bear in the trophy room of his friend that is dating his lover...or something to that effect. He describes the "law of cliche" where the memory of the protagonist is only the last twenty minutes. I love how his book is over 150 chapters and, that he states that his book is over 300 pages of finding out whose time is being wasted. His writing is consisted of short, choppy sentences and a lot of dialogue. He read from the chapter titled "The Several Faces of Celeste". I believe it's about a mother-son relationship. The mother is just telling her son what is the difference between right and wrong and trying to get him to eat his yams. My favorite line is "racial justice doesn't have a symbol, it wouldn't be right". That's funny stuff. He had the audience laughing the entire time. He had so much energy, especially when he read from the longest chapter of the book, "Pablo the Bible-believing Possum". This chapter reminded me of Clemson! One line referred to showing St. Peter your ticket stub and all will be forgiven. Can anyone say football season? Hahaha. Clemson and their athletics. This chapter read by this slightly eccentric author was funny, but so much was going on! I think there was a group of students in a Christian play or maybe it was a student choir because they had on robes. They were at a baseball game too. And hotdog condiments ended up all over the children's clothing. The funniest part was when a child dropped a spray painted Webster's Dictionary that was made to look like a Bible. Griffith called this "Webster's Third Holy Bible"! Funny! All of this was mixed into homosexual, sexual, and abortion references that may have put some people on the edge. A great line he threw into the mix was: "why couldn't fame like heaven be come as you are"? He was a great speaker, and I thoroughly enjoyed his animated voices.
By this time, it was getting late so I had to go. I plan on making a trip to The Literary Fesival every year, and maybe even buying the works of these authors as well as ones in the future. I had never been to a poetry reading or anything of this nature before, just watched from the comfort of my bed; but this was a great experience!
First up was Blas Falconer reading poems from his book A Question of Gravity and Light. From his stance alone, I knew he was homosexual. To me, this meant wounds. I was excited to hear what he had to say. His style was very subtle and soft spoken, and he wasn't trying to be anything other than himself. The first poem told Native Americans and Spanish conquistadors. My favorite line was "they crossed uncrossable seas". His second poem was probably the best poem I heard all night, even though I only stayed for an hour and a half. It was entitled "A Definiton of Terms" where he begins toying with the words "cruise" and "trick". The poem ends up being about two gay men who are stuck in the airport and randomly have sex. Lines like "we tricked them all" and "I'm too tired to trick and where the hell would we have sex anyway" sent the crowd into laughter. Next was "A Story of Winter", and it was a difficult poem to follow without text. It seemed like it was a poem with a lot of description and had a deep meaning that I just couldn't put my finger on. I asked around, nobody else really knew what was going on either. The fourth poem was "The Battle of Nashville". This is one of the few poems that I could find the text online. It is even more beautiful as I read it for myself. It's a strong poem about unity that starts in the past even covering civil rights. It's about being scared to fight battles alone, but getting a little courage when someone else is beside you. The last line is compelling and truly shows the love for the city: "I think they are afraid. I think this is love". There was another poem about his adopted son--missed the title of it. In a joking matter, Falconer stated that he felt that his poems were more cynical when he became a father. Overall, great work.
Michael Griffith was the second author, and his first words to the audience were: "I'm going to teach you how writing is all about failing". Scars? Yep. He gives a face-paced short synopsis to provide background to what he was going to read. He stated that his novel, Trophy, took place in the span of one second where the protagonist dies under the stuffed grizzly bear in the trophy room of his friend that is dating his lover...or something to that effect. He describes the "law of cliche" where the memory of the protagonist is only the last twenty minutes. I love how his book is over 150 chapters and, that he states that his book is over 300 pages of finding out whose time is being wasted. His writing is consisted of short, choppy sentences and a lot of dialogue. He read from the chapter titled "The Several Faces of Celeste". I believe it's about a mother-son relationship. The mother is just telling her son what is the difference between right and wrong and trying to get him to eat his yams. My favorite line is "racial justice doesn't have a symbol, it wouldn't be right". That's funny stuff. He had the audience laughing the entire time. He had so much energy, especially when he read from the longest chapter of the book, "Pablo the Bible-believing Possum". This chapter reminded me of Clemson! One line referred to showing St. Peter your ticket stub and all will be forgiven. Can anyone say football season? Hahaha. Clemson and their athletics. This chapter read by this slightly eccentric author was funny, but so much was going on! I think there was a group of students in a Christian play or maybe it was a student choir because they had on robes. They were at a baseball game too. And hotdog condiments ended up all over the children's clothing. The funniest part was when a child dropped a spray painted Webster's Dictionary that was made to look like a Bible. Griffith called this "Webster's Third Holy Bible"! Funny! All of this was mixed into homosexual, sexual, and abortion references that may have put some people on the edge. A great line he threw into the mix was: "why couldn't fame like heaven be come as you are"? He was a great speaker, and I thoroughly enjoyed his animated voices.
By this time, it was getting late so I had to go. I plan on making a trip to The Literary Fesival every year, and maybe even buying the works of these authors as well as ones in the future. I had never been to a poetry reading or anything of this nature before, just watched from the comfort of my bed; but this was a great experience!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Lazarus Project pgs 1-27
I love novels like The Lazarus Project! Hemon has commanded my attention. If I could write, I would want to present the world with something like this.
In the first chapter or section which remains without a title, but only defined by the bindings of two pictures, Hemon gives the reader a murder situation. Why climax later?! I love it. The set up is magnificant. I wish I could write my research paper on this, oh well. The only things the author knows for certain is that the time and place are accurate. So, from there I know that the whole thing will fall into place and shock me at the end like a crazy movie.
From what I know now, the "young man" referred to in the first section is a Jewish man who was looking for the police chief for reasons still unknown. He comes from the poverty stricken side of town, and he examines his life while visiting the police chief on the wealthier street.
"All the lives I could live, all the people I will never know, never will be, they are everywhere. That is all that the world is" (2). This is so true! One life is all you get. As for everyone else and their house, it's not your business. You will never know the "ins and outs". This spoke to me profoundly. The weather is always something gracious to comment on. It depicts moods and settings of people and places. I feel like with it being a record breaking 86 degrees today in Clemson, that this deserves to go in my blog: "temperatures are falseheartedly rising and maliciously dropping". Maybe not the the point of the weather in Chicago, but I have a feeling that before this book is completed, I will again comment on the undecided mind of this weather.
1908 was the year the murder took place. When lint ridden pockets where pennies should lie still thought there was "serenity of wealth". Now, in 2010 I don't think serenity has much to do with wealth, because many that are with abundant finances are still not living serenely. But, one thing remains constant over the years that one is "always close to the noise and clatter" (3) when in the ghetto.
Literary technique! I love authors that can put together words so wonderfully! I get so jealous of their diction. I wonder if they sit and think about what to throw in or if it just flows naturally: "a roll of butcher paper, like a fat Torah; a small scale in confident equilibrium; a ladder leaning against a shelf, its top up in the dim store heaven" or his repeated use of the word "burly" seen later on page 19. Even the personification of the past: "slapping it heartily on my back" (18).
The relationship between the married store owners is one of survival and codes. It seems as though the Mrs. gives most of the clues: "never trust a hungry man"(6). Wow. I don't know what to think about this. It sounds like it would be stated in a Malthusian way, modern day Andre Bauer. But, at the end of the day they are looking for whats in the best interest of self.
After the chaos of a murder, the man "died without a curse, supplication, or prayer" (9). Dang. That sucks. And to think, his last meal was a sour apple lozenge.
I love the pictures. Just when you think that maybe the next section is about a foggy night in the city, a continuation of the first--he surprises you with a new story. The story outside of the story. And the picture comes from one line you probably won't remember when you keep reading. The uneven heights and widths of the dancing children remind him of the skyline. Ha!
"In my country, we are suspicious of free-flowing air" (12). Maybe, it's because of the war? I don't really understand the whole Bosnia/Austria/Hungary thing. My history professor couldn't even get it through to me. I'm thinking this book might do the trick. But, I'm not as crazy as Susie who must have asked him if he thinks in English. But, I have to remember that this was 1908, but a statement like that would be deemed ignorant nowadays.
"I am complicated" (15). Simply stated, I love it. I feel this way sometimes.
With the emigration and marriage section of the syllabus, I'm surprised to see that this theme hasn't come up earlier in a stronger way--the theme of the man being the breadwinner. He (being the author and not the Jewish man--forgot to mention the pov switch.sorry!) is worried that his neurosurgeon wife will think he is a "slacker or a lazy Eastern European" (17). I hope to see his dreams come to fruition by the end of the novel.
I was astounded by the accuracy with which he described seeing an old friend; but when he mentioned that he "instantly recognized that whatever had connected [them] now nearly entirely dissolved", I laughed. I think that is the funniest, most awkward moment. Because, both parties know that that person is no longer a part of your life. So when all the catching up is done, and you know that their life is going smoothly, that's it. It's not really a "I'll talk to you later" kind of deal. You just simply go back to living your life and be thankful that God gave you a second to reminisce.
The third section where the assistant chief of police comes in and overanalyzes the crime scene is hysterical, because as the reader, I know the lozenges aren't laced with poison and that since the man was a foreigner, the sentences are probably to help him learn English. It's crazy that the assistant police chief thinks he is an anarchist and wants to confirm this by looking at the man's genitals. I would say he is messing with a crime scene, but he's the police. Oh, what people do with power.
I turn the page to see a face that tells me to stop reading, a face that resembles an author I saw today at the literary festival of which I will blog about later.
In the first chapter or section which remains without a title, but only defined by the bindings of two pictures, Hemon gives the reader a murder situation. Why climax later?! I love it. The set up is magnificant. I wish I could write my research paper on this, oh well. The only things the author knows for certain is that the time and place are accurate. So, from there I know that the whole thing will fall into place and shock me at the end like a crazy movie.
From what I know now, the "young man" referred to in the first section is a Jewish man who was looking for the police chief for reasons still unknown. He comes from the poverty stricken side of town, and he examines his life while visiting the police chief on the wealthier street.
"All the lives I could live, all the people I will never know, never will be, they are everywhere. That is all that the world is" (2). This is so true! One life is all you get. As for everyone else and their house, it's not your business. You will never know the "ins and outs". This spoke to me profoundly. The weather is always something gracious to comment on. It depicts moods and settings of people and places. I feel like with it being a record breaking 86 degrees today in Clemson, that this deserves to go in my blog: "temperatures are falseheartedly rising and maliciously dropping". Maybe not the the point of the weather in Chicago, but I have a feeling that before this book is completed, I will again comment on the undecided mind of this weather.
1908 was the year the murder took place. When lint ridden pockets where pennies should lie still thought there was "serenity of wealth". Now, in 2010 I don't think serenity has much to do with wealth, because many that are with abundant finances are still not living serenely. But, one thing remains constant over the years that one is "always close to the noise and clatter" (3) when in the ghetto.
Literary technique! I love authors that can put together words so wonderfully! I get so jealous of their diction. I wonder if they sit and think about what to throw in or if it just flows naturally: "a roll of butcher paper, like a fat Torah; a small scale in confident equilibrium; a ladder leaning against a shelf, its top up in the dim store heaven" or his repeated use of the word "burly" seen later on page 19. Even the personification of the past: "slapping it heartily on my back" (18).
The relationship between the married store owners is one of survival and codes. It seems as though the Mrs. gives most of the clues: "never trust a hungry man"(6). Wow. I don't know what to think about this. It sounds like it would be stated in a Malthusian way, modern day Andre Bauer. But, at the end of the day they are looking for whats in the best interest of self.
After the chaos of a murder, the man "died without a curse, supplication, or prayer" (9). Dang. That sucks. And to think, his last meal was a sour apple lozenge.
I love the pictures. Just when you think that maybe the next section is about a foggy night in the city, a continuation of the first--he surprises you with a new story. The story outside of the story. And the picture comes from one line you probably won't remember when you keep reading. The uneven heights and widths of the dancing children remind him of the skyline. Ha!
"In my country, we are suspicious of free-flowing air" (12). Maybe, it's because of the war? I don't really understand the whole Bosnia/Austria/Hungary thing. My history professor couldn't even get it through to me. I'm thinking this book might do the trick. But, I'm not as crazy as Susie who must have asked him if he thinks in English. But, I have to remember that this was 1908, but a statement like that would be deemed ignorant nowadays.
"I am complicated" (15). Simply stated, I love it. I feel this way sometimes.
With the emigration and marriage section of the syllabus, I'm surprised to see that this theme hasn't come up earlier in a stronger way--the theme of the man being the breadwinner. He (being the author and not the Jewish man--forgot to mention the pov switch.sorry!) is worried that his neurosurgeon wife will think he is a "slacker or a lazy Eastern European" (17). I hope to see his dreams come to fruition by the end of the novel.
I was astounded by the accuracy with which he described seeing an old friend; but when he mentioned that he "instantly recognized that whatever had connected [them] now nearly entirely dissolved", I laughed. I think that is the funniest, most awkward moment. Because, both parties know that that person is no longer a part of your life. So when all the catching up is done, and you know that their life is going smoothly, that's it. It's not really a "I'll talk to you later" kind of deal. You just simply go back to living your life and be thankful that God gave you a second to reminisce.
The third section where the assistant chief of police comes in and overanalyzes the crime scene is hysterical, because as the reader, I know the lozenges aren't laced with poison and that since the man was a foreigner, the sentences are probably to help him learn English. It's crazy that the assistant police chief thinks he is an anarchist and wants to confirm this by looking at the man's genitals. I would say he is messing with a crime scene, but he's the police. Oh, what people do with power.
I turn the page to see a face that tells me to stop reading, a face that resembles an author I saw today at the literary festival of which I will blog about later.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Ha Jin's "The Bridegroom"
I do not think I've ever read a story so completely homophobic like this one. This was a very weird story that seemed very unrealistic or one that took place in the time of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, maybe from the whole electric bath thing.
The man in the story, who remains nameless, takes over the care of a longtime friend's daughter when he passes. Throughout the story he picks on her figure and then when a man named Huang Baowen wants to marry Beina, he is hesitant. I guess Baowen's randomness would be a legit reason to be worried about his adopted daughter's feelings, but he didn't really seem as though he cared too much when presented with a few gifts.
"Sometimes I couldn't help wondering why Baowen had fallen for Beina" (92). I just think this is mean. It just seems like he should have accepted that his "daughter" was happy, regardless of if her husband was homosexual or not. That's what a real father would do, and that is the position he was supposed to play.
I don't know the best way to organize my thoughts on this story, so I'll just take the lines that stood out to me and break them down in order of occurrence.
"Whenever I heard that somebody had divorced, I'd feel a sudden flutter of panic" (92). This is ironically funny to me. He was so worried about a divorce that the thought of homosexuality never ran through his mind. Also, he "believed that if it (a marriage) survived the first two years, it might last decades" (93), but at the end of this story it is reaching a year; and, although they want to see it to survive, due to his personal shame, he did not.
I loved the realism of the working scene office drama when the narrator states that "it seemed that they were determined to wreck Beina's marriage" (93).
One of my favorite lines in the story was: "I figured Baowen must have been involved in a major
crime--either an orgy or a gang rape" (94). Since he considers those major crimes, this suggests that he comes from a rather innocent or naiive background. Then on the next page, homosexuality is described as "a social disease, like gambling, or prostitution, or syphilis". In whatever time period this, they were less accepting of homosexuality and did not really understand it.I love when courses can relate to each other. In my history class, we just learned about the bourgeois lifestyle mentioned on 96 versus the lifestyle of the working class.
"I wanted to make sure, so that I could help him" (97). This upsets me. So, if he had done anything sexual with another man, he wouldn't have helped him? It's people like this that continue to hold back society from progressing. On the next page, I found this interesting: "Once he became a criminal, he'd be marked forever as an enemy of society, no longer redeemable. Even his children would suffer. I ought to save him" (98). MTV's award winning show True Life just had an episode entitled True Life: I Have a Parent in Jail or something to that effect, and I wasn't able to catch it; but, I think this is one of the most realistic lines in the whole story. Society looks at criminals with what I call a "side eye". The mere thought of a criminal in a workplace just brings notions to one's mind. Once you have that record, it's hard and nearly impossible to recover and become a working member of your community. That's why most criminals return to jail. And the absence of a parental figure in the life of a child, that damage is already known.
"He'll never have a lifestyle problem" (101). When I first read this, I instantly thought.."isn't having a gay husband a lifestyle problem", but my point was proven with further reading. I think this quote is being used to examine the male American figure. Just about everyday, some famous person is admitting their infidelities. If it's not a celebrity, it's a political figure. America even has talk shows dedicated to the confessions of unfaithfulness. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I think this also goes to show why America's divorce rate is so high compared to other nations around the world. I value a faithful man, but I don't know if I would prefer a homosexual husband over one that cheats. It seems like a sticky situation.
"I didn't touch the milk, unsure whether homosexuality was communicable" (109). This was funny, seeing as his daughter just drank before him out of the same cup. Homophobic much?
I thought it was crazy how they had spent "over three thousand yuan" in order to cure him of something that was incurable. How did they not know that homosexuality was not an illness? I'm just confused. And that figure that "one out of a thousand homosexuals" was cured. Hahaha. Someone decided to be bisexual.
"It's impossible for me to have a criminal as my son-in-law. I've been humiliated enough" (115). This one sentence sums up the adopted father's personality. He asks his daughter to divorce her husband and tells her he is not worth waiting for when he previously mentioned that the thought of divorce made his heart panic. Now, when his reputation is in jeopardy, he does not seem to care and is willing to abandon his daughter as if his responsibility was based on his availability. The poor girl probably suffered a long time due to his making her choose: "if you want to wait for him, don't come see me again"(115).
Friday, March 26, 2010
"Orbiting"
I liked "Orbiting" much more than "A Wife's Story". It was a very casual read. It reminds me of two stories we read in class about what happens after you leave your parents home. The parents are trying to see what the child has made of him or herself, and in this story the father is the accuser. "You don't even own a dining table" the father states. And the narrator daughter thinks "He uses "even" a lot around me. Not just a judgment, but a comparative judgment". This echoes for the remainder of his visit.
In this story, I felt like everyone was running away from who they really were. Either that or they were in a constant state of moving or changing, "orbiting". The main character, Renata and her sister change their names. So does her brother-in-law. Names like "Vic" and "Ro" are shortened. Brent left his Amish community behind in Iowa, and Ro left Afghanistan in order to save his life. Vic also leaves Renata and states in an argument "I need help because I want to get out of Jersey?" Fleeing seems to be an underlying theme throughout the story.
One thing I didn't like was the fact that the main character kept bringing up Vic. I felt that she was disrespected by him with his leaving and his simple demanding of the car keys. But, then again, I felt that he had taught her or made her everything she owned: "Vic made them himself, and I used to think they were perfect blue jewels" and another statement exemplifies this: "Vic found the screen at a country auction in the Adirondacks" (67). So, maybe Vic had a right to just up and leave with the van? I also thought it was quite ironic that Ro had keys to the house, but Vic didn't have keys to the car and he looked like he was "ready for other commitments" (57).
Renata seems quite desperate. It's as if she always needs someone around her, and she is very dependent. Who else would call and wait for the phone to ring seventeen times? On top of that, she needs Ro to bring her a dining room table and is having a not-so-classy potluck Thanksgiving dinner. Basically, she is struggling. I find it comical yet extremely caring that she wants to help Ro by giving him the ultimate gift of citizenship through marriage, but I don't understand how she believes she will show him such an American life when she is barely living one herself.
One of two very important lines that stuck out to me from this lengthy story were: "I feel I am looking at America through the wrong end of a telescope" and "He married down, she married well. That's the family story" (66). The first line is from the thoughts of the main character. Seeing life from her lover's point of view is not the same as being an insider. She removes herself from the crowd, and places herself in the outsider position to understand where he is coming from. I think this is important, because if they ever decide to get married she would have to constantly think about ideas and opinions from multiple vantage points. The other quote also found on page 66 is one that all married people will have to eventually face. In most situations, financially someone is more well off than the other spouse. And people will always be quick to judge or say that the wealthier person "married down" while the other "married well". Two phrases I hate.
Also, Ro is very well-cultured and quite established, and Renata knows this, but it is very hard for him to show or prove this. I feel that is why he was just rambling off when they were putting the dining table together. I love the line that says "he could make monkeys out of us all, but they think he's a retard" (72), and the funny thing is that the only person truly fascinated with him besides Renata, is Franny, Brent's daughter from another woman.
Although this story lacks adequate transitions, it is full of risque language and symbolism through scars, which I enjoy.
In this story, I felt like everyone was running away from who they really were. Either that or they were in a constant state of moving or changing, "orbiting". The main character, Renata and her sister change their names. So does her brother-in-law. Names like "Vic" and "Ro" are shortened. Brent left his Amish community behind in Iowa, and Ro left Afghanistan in order to save his life. Vic also leaves Renata and states in an argument "I need help because I want to get out of Jersey?" Fleeing seems to be an underlying theme throughout the story.
One thing I didn't like was the fact that the main character kept bringing up Vic. I felt that she was disrespected by him with his leaving and his simple demanding of the car keys. But, then again, I felt that he had taught her or made her everything she owned: "Vic made them himself, and I used to think they were perfect blue jewels" and another statement exemplifies this: "Vic found the screen at a country auction in the Adirondacks" (67). So, maybe Vic had a right to just up and leave with the van? I also thought it was quite ironic that Ro had keys to the house, but Vic didn't have keys to the car and he looked like he was "ready for other commitments" (57).
Renata seems quite desperate. It's as if she always needs someone around her, and she is very dependent. Who else would call and wait for the phone to ring seventeen times? On top of that, she needs Ro to bring her a dining room table and is having a not-so-classy potluck Thanksgiving dinner. Basically, she is struggling. I find it comical yet extremely caring that she wants to help Ro by giving him the ultimate gift of citizenship through marriage, but I don't understand how she believes she will show him such an American life when she is barely living one herself.
One of two very important lines that stuck out to me from this lengthy story were: "I feel I am looking at America through the wrong end of a telescope" and "He married down, she married well. That's the family story" (66). The first line is from the thoughts of the main character. Seeing life from her lover's point of view is not the same as being an insider. She removes herself from the crowd, and places herself in the outsider position to understand where he is coming from. I think this is important, because if they ever decide to get married she would have to constantly think about ideas and opinions from multiple vantage points. The other quote also found on page 66 is one that all married people will have to eventually face. In most situations, financially someone is more well off than the other spouse. And people will always be quick to judge or say that the wealthier person "married down" while the other "married well". Two phrases I hate.
Also, Ro is very well-cultured and quite established, and Renata knows this, but it is very hard for him to show or prove this. I feel that is why he was just rambling off when they were putting the dining table together. I love the line that says "he could make monkeys out of us all, but they think he's a retard" (72), and the funny thing is that the only person truly fascinated with him besides Renata, is Franny, Brent's daughter from another woman.
Although this story lacks adequate transitions, it is full of risque language and symbolism through scars, which I enjoy.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
A Wife's Story and American Dreamer (with sprinkles of Brenda's own thoughts).
In-class poem from a while back:
People strive for one of three things in life: Jesus, jobs, or justice.
But the bitterness and despair obliterates the light at the end of the tunnel that encompasses the three leaving an endless pit of darkness. But, I am happy.
So my demise lies in the skies, not within the anger I have for my boss--who lacks a job. My life is fairer than the skin of the one you left me for--how's yours? I was just wondering, because my perception of you is still confused by your devilish smile. And though I would have loved the situation to turn out differently, it didn't. Now I'm faced with the job of loving someone I have no respect for. Are you sad? I hope not. I hope you find Jesus. I did. I mean, I hope you get that job. I did. Sorry, I mean, I hope life treats you fairly. Because, I am happy.
I don't judge...maybe I do. To each his own, right?
(now that I re-read, it wasn't that great. oh well.)
Few comments on the ending of The Stone Reader:
As we passed the book around, I wanted to open two random pages and just start reading. I ended up opening the same page twice. One phrase stood out: "perfect nightmares". I have been thinking about this oxymoron since I left class. Is it even an oxymoron? I don't know. Just not the way I have ever heard a nightmare described. Anyway, about the movie. I love how Mossman stated that to the reader the book might be finished, but to him the story could continue on which leaves me thinking, why not just write a part two? I think people with his sort of "autistic" mindset are incredible thinkers and to hear them explain different scenarios is mind-boggling. It reminds me of the movie "A Beautiful Mind" about John Nash Jr. but on a different level, seeing as Mossman wasn't a schizophrenic.
as for the real assignment:
(I hope nobody takes offense, I feel strongly about the semi-controversial topic of hyphenations.)
So, which came first "American Dreamer" or "A Wife's Story"? I don't know, but I'll examine "American Dreamer" first because it gives the reader a sort of look into Mukherjee's life. Before the actual text even begins, the italicized text makes me realize something I had never thought of. "I am an American, not an Asian-American." Wow! Before I let the author explain herself, I am going to target this from so many different angles. First, being a Nigerian-American to me always makes me proud. It's like finding a buy one, get one free sale on your favorite cookies at BI-LO! But, maybe my situation is different because I was born here. Now, if you asked my father, who was born in Nigeria and had to "prove to the US government" like Mukherjee that he would be a law-abiding citizen, on any given day I believe he would claim his Nigerian identity. It makes him different. But in the presence of government forms, he is definitely an American (don't try and tell him he has an accent after living here 21+ years!). Secondly, being a Nigerian-American would classify me as an African-American, which in America is the friendlier version of black. But when I feel the need to be specially categorized, I prefer black over African-American, and I can't say that I have never chosen other and written in black while African-American was a choice. More on this later.
Who knew so much was going on in Iowa?
This "hierarchical, classification-obsessed society" is what I hear about all the time. From my parents, to my Asian friends back home. "A Hindu Indian's last name announced his or her forefathers' caste and place of origin." In most of the world, the last name tells it all. Watching basketball games with my parents and hearing names like Andre Iguodala would start a huge conversation. They start yelling what tribe his parents must be from and how much money they know his father has. It gets crazy. One's name and reputation are extremely valued. It must have been discouraging for the author knowing that "to remove oneself from Bengal was to dilute true culture". In Nigeria, everyone wants to escape to the US, but maybe this was not the case because they lived an "upper-middle-class life in Bengal". She was trying to "negotiate the no man's land between the country of [her] past and the continent of [her] present". Great symbolism! The paragraph stating "I am a naturalized U.S. citizen...not by simple accident of birth" rubs me the wrong way. I guess because my parents were "economic refugees" as she would call it. But, it's good that she loves America so much that she just happily left a good life in India to pursue a lifestyle here. But, part of me doesn't believe this paragraph. I do agree with the statements that come afterword.
Her opinions on the "phantom "us" against a demonized "them"' reminds me of one of the men that Chris Offutt caught a ride with. I think it's funny how globalization works. To me, America lacks culture. As for past decades, there was a tad bit of our own "sense of style", but now I think we are just made up of a little bit of everyone else's culture. While everyone wants to be like us, we are trying to be like them. I've had many discussions like this in my political science class. It's simply because the world comes to America and happens to leave its mark. I agree with her cautiousness of the "us" vs. "them" mentality. It has caused a lot of problems in not only American history, but world history.
One last point to hit: "Why is it that hyphenation is imposed only on nonwhite Americans?" Believe it or not this statement rocked Clemson's campus nearly two weeks ago. On Facebook, where most students get invited to any on-campus event, an open-ended invitation was sent out to everyone inviting them to the first Clemson Black Student Union mixer. The CBSU was not created to spite any non-black person and non-blacks were invited to the event. But, a student took it upon himself to create an event that stated "for every all black event, [he] would create an all white event". This started an uproar with threats and everything. I was shocked. He even mentioned things like retribution for slavery, and all the creators of the original event wanted to do was help students have a chance to come together at a predominately white university. Futhermore, he mentioned that there were no "true" African-Americans on campus, and that's when I had to express my feelings. He claims that African-Americans should drop the African hyphenation in order to fully embrace their American pride. So the question is: is it imposed on nonwhites or do nonwhites choose it? I think everyone has the ability to choose what they prefer. I like the fact that she stands up for what she believes she has "earned". And in America, she has the right to define herself in any way.
In "A Wife's Story", I cannot say I was not a fan of the immediate dislike of "Glengarry Glen Ross". Maybe her reaction was a little more exaggerated as far as writing the author, but I would take offense as well, especially if I was of the ethnicities mentioned in the play. I would not pay "eighteen dollars to be insulted" (26). I completely understand the ideas portrayed by the character and her pure malice towards "the tyranny of the American dream that scares [her]" (26). As an insider, it is easy to say "insult...is a kind of acceptance", but from the outsiders point of view, it makes them stick out more. On page 27 she describes herself: "My manners are exquisite, my feelings are delicate, my gestures refined, my moods undectable". Maybe that's why her and her husband's relationship seemed so distant. It's as if he is just wanting to see everything like an American tourist and not even caring how she lives or what it has taken to get so acquainted with the country. It seems at times as if he does not appreciate her or what she has accomplished when he simply asks her to come back to India.
I feel her pain, knowing "how both sides feel" (27). She simply just wants to hate one side in order to give all of her love to the other. The main character mentions generational limits that she has progressed through, her grandmother being illiterate. She addresses the American naiive mind that thinks "Indians eat monkey brains" and states how her oriental roommate had her eyes fixed--more globalization? Then on top of that, she states how in America she is "a model with high ambitions. In India, she'd be a flat-chested old maid" (30). Another example of the American dream and how it could change someone's life. An ironic juxtaposition is hidden in the story. Her husband sends her into the office to buy the tickets because "he has come to feel Americans don't understand his accent" (35) then later on when he picks up the phone he says "I am not understanding these Negro people's accents" (40). This just goes to show that anywhere, people will make fun of those that are different from themselves.
The wife is in a odd predicament. She is living in a world so different from the one she used to know, and a husband she barely knows wants her to come back to a world that she is no longer used to. I do not understand the ending of the story. I think she was unfaithful in the relationship, but I'm not positive. I can't wait until the class discussion on this one!
Here's another random poem, I threw it together a week ago and it almost relates to the story and the lack of real relationship but not from the same reasoning (read like a slam):
The hospital is might close to the club.
The club where a booty shakes like the ground in Haiti, where alcohol consumption consumes the minds of many.
The hospital where fighting in the ring against the red with the blood of Him is the only option. Unless you believe in luck. That’s where the ladybugs come in. They say they came in with the flowers, yet they never left. Don’t kill, just vacuum. Flowers die, ladybugs don't. The beeping is constant, always. Some machine or some body failing. Giving up, giving in to the darkness.
Struggle.
Fight.
Lose. But I hope you win.
If not, he’ll go back to that club. Where gin mixed with rum makes a bastard of Carolina. And that bastard keeps the door open until 7 in the morning to sit around with the addicts that don’t have families like his own. The next day he returns without a dollar to his name, yet he complains.
And she is still in the hospital fighting.
People strive for one of three things in life: Jesus, jobs, or justice.
But the bitterness and despair obliterates the light at the end of the tunnel that encompasses the three leaving an endless pit of darkness. But, I am happy.
So my demise lies in the skies, not within the anger I have for my boss--who lacks a job. My life is fairer than the skin of the one you left me for--how's yours? I was just wondering, because my perception of you is still confused by your devilish smile. And though I would have loved the situation to turn out differently, it didn't. Now I'm faced with the job of loving someone I have no respect for. Are you sad? I hope not. I hope you find Jesus. I did. I mean, I hope you get that job. I did. Sorry, I mean, I hope life treats you fairly. Because, I am happy.
I don't judge...maybe I do. To each his own, right?
(now that I re-read, it wasn't that great. oh well.)
Few comments on the ending of The Stone Reader:
As we passed the book around, I wanted to open two random pages and just start reading. I ended up opening the same page twice. One phrase stood out: "perfect nightmares". I have been thinking about this oxymoron since I left class. Is it even an oxymoron? I don't know. Just not the way I have ever heard a nightmare described. Anyway, about the movie. I love how Mossman stated that to the reader the book might be finished, but to him the story could continue on which leaves me thinking, why not just write a part two? I think people with his sort of "autistic" mindset are incredible thinkers and to hear them explain different scenarios is mind-boggling. It reminds me of the movie "A Beautiful Mind" about John Nash Jr. but on a different level, seeing as Mossman wasn't a schizophrenic.
as for the real assignment:
(I hope nobody takes offense, I feel strongly about the semi-controversial topic of hyphenations.)
So, which came first "American Dreamer" or "A Wife's Story"? I don't know, but I'll examine "American Dreamer" first because it gives the reader a sort of look into Mukherjee's life. Before the actual text even begins, the italicized text makes me realize something I had never thought of. "I am an American, not an Asian-American." Wow! Before I let the author explain herself, I am going to target this from so many different angles. First, being a Nigerian-American to me always makes me proud. It's like finding a buy one, get one free sale on your favorite cookies at BI-LO! But, maybe my situation is different because I was born here. Now, if you asked my father, who was born in Nigeria and had to "prove to the US government" like Mukherjee that he would be a law-abiding citizen, on any given day I believe he would claim his Nigerian identity. It makes him different. But in the presence of government forms, he is definitely an American (don't try and tell him he has an accent after living here 21+ years!). Secondly, being a Nigerian-American would classify me as an African-American, which in America is the friendlier version of black. But when I feel the need to be specially categorized, I prefer black over African-American, and I can't say that I have never chosen other and written in black while African-American was a choice. More on this later.
Who knew so much was going on in Iowa?
This "hierarchical, classification-obsessed society" is what I hear about all the time. From my parents, to my Asian friends back home. "A Hindu Indian's last name announced his or her forefathers' caste and place of origin." In most of the world, the last name tells it all. Watching basketball games with my parents and hearing names like Andre Iguodala would start a huge conversation. They start yelling what tribe his parents must be from and how much money they know his father has. It gets crazy. One's name and reputation are extremely valued. It must have been discouraging for the author knowing that "to remove oneself from Bengal was to dilute true culture". In Nigeria, everyone wants to escape to the US, but maybe this was not the case because they lived an "upper-middle-class life in Bengal". She was trying to "negotiate the no man's land between the country of [her] past and the continent of [her] present". Great symbolism! The paragraph stating "I am a naturalized U.S. citizen...not by simple accident of birth" rubs me the wrong way. I guess because my parents were "economic refugees" as she would call it. But, it's good that she loves America so much that she just happily left a good life in India to pursue a lifestyle here. But, part of me doesn't believe this paragraph. I do agree with the statements that come afterword.
Her opinions on the "phantom "us" against a demonized "them"' reminds me of one of the men that Chris Offutt caught a ride with. I think it's funny how globalization works. To me, America lacks culture. As for past decades, there was a tad bit of our own "sense of style", but now I think we are just made up of a little bit of everyone else's culture. While everyone wants to be like us, we are trying to be like them. I've had many discussions like this in my political science class. It's simply because the world comes to America and happens to leave its mark. I agree with her cautiousness of the "us" vs. "them" mentality. It has caused a lot of problems in not only American history, but world history.
One last point to hit: "Why is it that hyphenation is imposed only on nonwhite Americans?" Believe it or not this statement rocked Clemson's campus nearly two weeks ago. On Facebook, where most students get invited to any on-campus event, an open-ended invitation was sent out to everyone inviting them to the first Clemson Black Student Union mixer. The CBSU was not created to spite any non-black person and non-blacks were invited to the event. But, a student took it upon himself to create an event that stated "for every all black event, [he] would create an all white event". This started an uproar with threats and everything. I was shocked. He even mentioned things like retribution for slavery, and all the creators of the original event wanted to do was help students have a chance to come together at a predominately white university. Futhermore, he mentioned that there were no "true" African-Americans on campus, and that's when I had to express my feelings. He claims that African-Americans should drop the African hyphenation in order to fully embrace their American pride. So the question is: is it imposed on nonwhites or do nonwhites choose it? I think everyone has the ability to choose what they prefer. I like the fact that she stands up for what she believes she has "earned". And in America, she has the right to define herself in any way.
In "A Wife's Story", I cannot say I was not a fan of the immediate dislike of "Glengarry Glen Ross". Maybe her reaction was a little more exaggerated as far as writing the author, but I would take offense as well, especially if I was of the ethnicities mentioned in the play. I would not pay "eighteen dollars to be insulted" (26). I completely understand the ideas portrayed by the character and her pure malice towards "the tyranny of the American dream that scares [her]" (26). As an insider, it is easy to say "insult...is a kind of acceptance", but from the outsiders point of view, it makes them stick out more. On page 27 she describes herself: "My manners are exquisite, my feelings are delicate, my gestures refined, my moods undectable". Maybe that's why her and her husband's relationship seemed so distant. It's as if he is just wanting to see everything like an American tourist and not even caring how she lives or what it has taken to get so acquainted with the country. It seems at times as if he does not appreciate her or what she has accomplished when he simply asks her to come back to India.
I feel her pain, knowing "how both sides feel" (27). She simply just wants to hate one side in order to give all of her love to the other. The main character mentions generational limits that she has progressed through, her grandmother being illiterate. She addresses the American naiive mind that thinks "Indians eat monkey brains" and states how her oriental roommate had her eyes fixed--more globalization? Then on top of that, she states how in America she is "a model with high ambitions. In India, she'd be a flat-chested old maid" (30). Another example of the American dream and how it could change someone's life. An ironic juxtaposition is hidden in the story. Her husband sends her into the office to buy the tickets because "he has come to feel Americans don't understand his accent" (35) then later on when he picks up the phone he says "I am not understanding these Negro people's accents" (40). This just goes to show that anywhere, people will make fun of those that are different from themselves.
The wife is in a odd predicament. She is living in a world so different from the one she used to know, and a husband she barely knows wants her to come back to a world that she is no longer used to. I do not understand the ending of the story. I think she was unfaithful in the relationship, but I'm not positive. I can't wait until the class discussion on this one!
Here's another random poem, I threw it together a week ago and it almost relates to the story and the lack of real relationship but not from the same reasoning (read like a slam):
The hospital is might close to the club.
The club where a booty shakes like the ground in Haiti, where alcohol consumption consumes the minds of many.
The hospital where fighting in the ring against the red with the blood of Him is the only option. Unless you believe in luck. That’s where the ladybugs come in. They say they came in with the flowers, yet they never left. Don’t kill, just vacuum. Flowers die, ladybugs don't. The beeping is constant, always. Some machine or some body failing. Giving up, giving in to the darkness.
Struggle.
Fight.
Lose. But I hope you win.
If not, he’ll go back to that club. Where gin mixed with rum makes a bastard of Carolina. And that bastard keeps the door open until 7 in the morning to sit around with the addicts that don’t have families like his own. The next day he returns without a dollar to his name, yet he complains.
And she is still in the hospital fighting.
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Stone Reader: Part One-The First Stone
This movie definitely needs a name to pop up when different people are interviewed, because my spelling is awful. I'll try them phonetically. I never get the name of the guy that is on this quest, we'll just call him...
Robert.
Ok, so Robert was told somewhere that "The Stone Reader" was the milestone book of 1972. He probably read it in the non-front page New York times review by Professor Seally. Robert proclaims that reading keeps him sane and that the book is a place within a place. As his season as a campaign worker comes to a close, and he sees that his father is losing his leg to diabetes, Robert's journey begins. He wants to buy all the copies of "The Stone Reader", and, in that, talk to someone who has read the book about the book itself and the author, Dow Maussman, who only had that one novel published. The problem is that nobody else has read the book, except for the professor that wrote the original review.
All the people he interviewed were reminiscing about their childhood days and seeing if they could remember their first book. My notes are really not organized, but it says that someone named Puzo stated that "reading was not relevant". Furthering that, someone else states "because it is a great book, doesn't mean you have to like it"? I do not believe that reading is not relevant. It's relevant to the writer and maybe to the person reading, it is based upon life experiences and if you feel a connection with the author. Reading must be relevant in today's society. Only the best readers have the best vocabularies. But, I do agree with the latter phrase. I have heard some people talk about a book that is supposedly so great, and then when I read it I'm left standing there saying "Where was the great part"? It might be well written, but that does not mean that I like it as well--eye of the beholder, right?
I am actually worried about Robert, especially when he says the "voice behind the pages was a friend". I think he is a little obsessed. He is having people search for the author in different areas and trying to contact people that may know him for the simple fact that he only wrote one novel. While this is a big deal to him, it may have just been some feelings that the author needed to vent about, he could no longer care. It bothers me that he is so determined to find him. I think that Robert saw his life, or, at least, a glimpse of his life in this novel and is maybe looking for the continuation of his story.
I don't know if these were supposed to be longer. I didn't know what else to comment on.
Robert.
Ok, so Robert was told somewhere that "The Stone Reader" was the milestone book of 1972. He probably read it in the non-front page New York times review by Professor Seally. Robert proclaims that reading keeps him sane and that the book is a place within a place. As his season as a campaign worker comes to a close, and he sees that his father is losing his leg to diabetes, Robert's journey begins. He wants to buy all the copies of "The Stone Reader", and, in that, talk to someone who has read the book about the book itself and the author, Dow Maussman, who only had that one novel published. The problem is that nobody else has read the book, except for the professor that wrote the original review.
All the people he interviewed were reminiscing about their childhood days and seeing if they could remember their first book. My notes are really not organized, but it says that someone named Puzo stated that "reading was not relevant". Furthering that, someone else states "because it is a great book, doesn't mean you have to like it"? I do not believe that reading is not relevant. It's relevant to the writer and maybe to the person reading, it is based upon life experiences and if you feel a connection with the author. Reading must be relevant in today's society. Only the best readers have the best vocabularies. But, I do agree with the latter phrase. I have heard some people talk about a book that is supposedly so great, and then when I read it I'm left standing there saying "Where was the great part"? It might be well written, but that does not mean that I like it as well--eye of the beholder, right?
I am actually worried about Robert, especially when he says the "voice behind the pages was a friend". I think he is a little obsessed. He is having people search for the author in different areas and trying to contact people that may know him for the simple fact that he only wrote one novel. While this is a big deal to him, it may have just been some feelings that the author needed to vent about, he could no longer care. It bothers me that he is so determined to find him. I think that Robert saw his life, or, at least, a glimpse of his life in this novel and is maybe looking for the continuation of his story.
I don't know if these were supposed to be longer. I didn't know what else to comment on.
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Same River Twice: section three.
Is it just me or was this section boring?
I am easily bored with a story that does not progress. This section was easily the same as the last without the circus but add a lesbian couple. Chris in his former life is still not dating, he cannot keep a job, and he will not start writing. In his present life, he keeps resorting to nature with overly detailed descriptions of the woods.
In the first few pages, which is in the present, he starts speaking of humanity in comparison with animals. This is continued throughout the rest of the section. "As we lost our animal instincts, we replaced them with the veils of reason, love, superstition, and hope. No fox ever hoped for gender. Only humanity hopes, which makes us the most hopeless" (112). I like this quote. I think it refers to setting oneself up for disappoint when you have hopes. But, can animals hope? I don't think they have time for all that. They are more focused on self and how they will survive another day. But at the end of the passage, Offutt talks about dreams: "Trees dream about the death of an ax. The snowflake dreams of finding its twin" (114). I can't tell if this would be a counterargument to his first claim. I always thought hopes and dreams were paired together.
Shadrack is introduced in the past section that follows. I think he is a good friend for Offutt, and that he will ultimately get him on the right track with life. He calls them "inverted Siamese twins, connected at the intellect". That's quite clever, seeing as, Offutt "had quit painting to write, and he [Shadrack] was a poet who now painted" (115). I love their relationship described as the "knowing he either owed me money or would lend me some took the edge off hunger and despair.." (116). In fact, it reminds me of an old guy friend named Courtney. For some reason, everytime I needed money, he would spot me and vice versa. We never kept up with who owed whom what, but I knew that if I needed money for whatever reason, he would have my back. I don't speak to him anymore, have no clue what he is doing with his life, but I thoroughly enjoyed that...partnership? Shadrack also tried to hook Offutt up with the ladies. But to him and myself as well "the whole courtship dance seemed archaic, silly, and expensive" (117). After Shadrack took off with a woman for "Joseph's sake" which was quite hysterical, Offutt showed his alcholic side to the bartender. He order some drink that supposedly only the privileged drank. Knowing he was not of the elite, the next morning he woke up in a baseball field. Can someone say wild night? His younger, intellectual, professional brother decided to come pick him up for his wedding. They get in an argument "that lasted the next several years" (122). Isn't it crazy how when an argument starts that you never know how long you will stay upset? Or the next time you will speak to that person? I think it is one of the craziest things and that is when many people die, when an argument that was maybe petty had never been resolved. After the marriage of Dane to Ellen, Offutt states that "her family lost on all fronts" (126) which suggests how he truly feels about his family that they have nothing to bring to the table.
Jumping back to the present, Offutt is becoming increasingly selfish! He bluntly states at the bottom of page 129 when contemplating which is worse: losing his wife or raising a baby alone, "I want her alive to make life easier for me". This is furthered with him actually self-proclaiming his selfishness: "I become conscious of the self, which marks the fearing of death, our fatal flaw" (131).
Shadrack refuses to take him in and Offutt has to live in a rooming house. At this point, I stopped actively reading. But a few things still stood out enough for me to underline. He "exploits the oppressor" which I feel is a nice way of describing how hard it is to survive on one's own two feet. Not that I have had that experience, but I understand. Shadrack is such a good friend and wants to help Chris better in his hygiene as well as his work. He simply says " 'Now leave me alone...go write' " (145) and disappears. I love it.
In the last section of the day's reading, the only thing I underlined was "I have never owned a watch" (151). A simple sentence that says so much. If one is unable to keep track of time, he or she is bound to get lost within the calendar. What he thinks was yesterday might have been two weeks ago, and he continues to waste his life away. This reminds me of a quote that I live by: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". I always need a plan. A daily one that breaks down the hours of the day. If I am not doing something productive, time is wasted. I think Offutt has proven that he is not unable to work hard, but he just refuses to. He quits when things get tough and that is not a good life to live.
Will post edited version of in-class poem later :)
I am easily bored with a story that does not progress. This section was easily the same as the last without the circus but add a lesbian couple. Chris in his former life is still not dating, he cannot keep a job, and he will not start writing. In his present life, he keeps resorting to nature with overly detailed descriptions of the woods.
In the first few pages, which is in the present, he starts speaking of humanity in comparison with animals. This is continued throughout the rest of the section. "As we lost our animal instincts, we replaced them with the veils of reason, love, superstition, and hope. No fox ever hoped for gender. Only humanity hopes, which makes us the most hopeless" (112). I like this quote. I think it refers to setting oneself up for disappoint when you have hopes. But, can animals hope? I don't think they have time for all that. They are more focused on self and how they will survive another day. But at the end of the passage, Offutt talks about dreams: "Trees dream about the death of an ax. The snowflake dreams of finding its twin" (114). I can't tell if this would be a counterargument to his first claim. I always thought hopes and dreams were paired together.
Shadrack is introduced in the past section that follows. I think he is a good friend for Offutt, and that he will ultimately get him on the right track with life. He calls them "inverted Siamese twins, connected at the intellect". That's quite clever, seeing as, Offutt "had quit painting to write, and he [Shadrack] was a poet who now painted" (115). I love their relationship described as the "knowing he either owed me money or would lend me some took the edge off hunger and despair.." (116). In fact, it reminds me of an old guy friend named Courtney. For some reason, everytime I needed money, he would spot me and vice versa. We never kept up with who owed whom what, but I knew that if I needed money for whatever reason, he would have my back. I don't speak to him anymore, have no clue what he is doing with his life, but I thoroughly enjoyed that...partnership? Shadrack also tried to hook Offutt up with the ladies. But to him and myself as well "the whole courtship dance seemed archaic, silly, and expensive" (117). After Shadrack took off with a woman for "Joseph's sake" which was quite hysterical, Offutt showed his alcholic side to the bartender. He order some drink that supposedly only the privileged drank. Knowing he was not of the elite, the next morning he woke up in a baseball field. Can someone say wild night? His younger, intellectual, professional brother decided to come pick him up for his wedding. They get in an argument "that lasted the next several years" (122). Isn't it crazy how when an argument starts that you never know how long you will stay upset? Or the next time you will speak to that person? I think it is one of the craziest things and that is when many people die, when an argument that was maybe petty had never been resolved. After the marriage of Dane to Ellen, Offutt states that "her family lost on all fronts" (126) which suggests how he truly feels about his family that they have nothing to bring to the table.
Jumping back to the present, Offutt is becoming increasingly selfish! He bluntly states at the bottom of page 129 when contemplating which is worse: losing his wife or raising a baby alone, "I want her alive to make life easier for me". This is furthered with him actually self-proclaiming his selfishness: "I become conscious of the self, which marks the fearing of death, our fatal flaw" (131).
Shadrack refuses to take him in and Offutt has to live in a rooming house. At this point, I stopped actively reading. But a few things still stood out enough for me to underline. He "exploits the oppressor" which I feel is a nice way of describing how hard it is to survive on one's own two feet. Not that I have had that experience, but I understand. Shadrack is such a good friend and wants to help Chris better in his hygiene as well as his work. He simply says " 'Now leave me alone...go write' " (145) and disappears. I love it.
In the last section of the day's reading, the only thing I underlined was "I have never owned a watch" (151). A simple sentence that says so much. If one is unable to keep track of time, he or she is bound to get lost within the calendar. What he thinks was yesterday might have been two weeks ago, and he continues to waste his life away. This reminds me of a quote that I live by: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". I always need a plan. A daily one that breaks down the hours of the day. If I am not doing something productive, time is wasted. I think Offutt has proven that he is not unable to work hard, but he just refuses to. He quits when things get tough and that is not a good life to live.
Will post edited version of in-class poem later :)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Same River Twice: second section
Overall, this section of reading proved that Chris is steadily becoming more and more ready to start parenthood, while in the past he is still trying to find himself.
The first few pages starts in the present, revealing some of the meaning behind the title of the book. "Sediment drifts away and it occurs to me that you can't even step on the same bank twice. Each footstep alters the earth" (55). When I first heard the title of this book, I thought it was a journey of a man who spent his life travelling, but never visited the same river twice. But, I know everyone has had that feeling at the beach in which your feet become heavily buried in the sand beneath the water. Where does this sand drift to? Where does it land? The river would never again have the same composition. That is some deep thinking. I love it. I wonder if expectant fathers really do think about things like this: "If it turns out to be a terrorist, the fault will be environmental, not genetic" (58). Just the mere thought of your unborn child being a terrorist is a little far-fetched, but I assume that would be a natural worry as to what kind of social life your child would have when they are older. I didn't really understand the Oedipus analysis near the end of this section, but it was a play I enjoyed in high school.
"Lacking plan or destination, I was at last content" (59). It seems as though when people, especially me, make plans, they always fall through and then disappointment sets in. I have learned that in college, I do not need a plan or destination to be happy. I am simply appreciating life for what it is. There were a lot of witty lines throughout the flashback--things like: "[s]he raised us, but Dad controlled us", "[d]uring cold weather bums and birds headed south". I just like how Offutt could be so realistic with his choice of words. One particular line that caught my attention was the homosexual, black guy in Nebraska. He said this: "[my] single regret was being born black in the South" (66). I have heard this somewhere, not in this context, but those words triggered a vague memory. Another thought-provoking line was found on page 68. "From my vantage alone in the Rockies, centrality always seemed elsewhere". First, standing alone in a landform such as the Rockies is humbling all by itself. Secondly, everyone's perception in life is different. From different vantage points, we all have a different central life focus. We have one major life goal, and we get through each day just to see the reward of the major goal. Sometimes we lose sight of that goal, and "wonder if [we are] actually running away, not toward" (71). When living a life where your "brother and sister are also [your] cousins" (70) you might want to explore and live on the edge.
The biblical references from pages 72-76 are quite controversial. I do not know if I completely agree with them, especially in Offutt's choice of words here: "even God let his son die" (73). I do not like the use of the word "let". But, hey it's his book, and his opinion. I feel that he is disrespecting Christianity on page 75 when he says that "Jesus performed the dream of many men". This might affect how I view the rest of the memoir.
It's quite ironic how after the whole disregard to Christianity, he picks up Al. During this part of the memoir is when I asked myself if all of this truly happened or if it was an exaggeration like we talked about in class. Al said alot of important things, but the most important was " 'Don't trust men who smoke a pipe' " (80). And what does Chris do? Haha. More on that later. But, I also thought it was maybe a hint of foreshadowing when the purebred spider "crawl[ed] back into the safety of its glass chapel". Winner was the next guy that gave him a ride. Although, I am not sure if it was smoked in a pipe, he was still addicted to crystal Meth. Winner was a definite loser! He had "liberation pills" ready to take his life at any moment, was putting on some lie about a scooter for his mom, and was a racist. But, Chris is weary about Winner grouping them in the same category under one word: "us". This simple two letter word was "the most frightening word heard uttered in a lifetime of conversation with strangers" (84). Strangers, people that he did not know from Adam, were all of a sudden saying "us" as if they had been friends since the sandbox. Can you say awkward? I love the paragraph following this, though. It is beautifully written, especially: "Us implied a tem, and all thems were ripe for destruction". This must have been my favorite section, because I have more. Chris goes to the homeless shelter, where he states that: "all of us denied that we were truly homeless. Every converstation began with the past success, then skipped to the future. The present was never mentioned...Talk was defense" (85). This is something people do all the time! About relationships or finances or whatever have you. I'm glad someone has put this into words so honestly. "Morality was trivial" (86). Wow. That got my attention. After thinking someone was picking up his artwork to glorify it, then watching the man put it in the garbage, I would be down on life as well.
Barney didn't smoke tobacco, but he sure did chew it. What is up with Chris and these drug abusers? I personally think he should listen to Al even though he is a little radical. I am not a fan of this whole circus section with the Parrot Lady and male genitals. It was a bore. But, I did like the oxymoron dropped on page 94 "complex simplicity". I may have to use that one day. After quitting the job, Chris has accomplished nothing, because he is still searching for himself. He knows that he doesn't belong in any particular group, now all he has to do is find middle ground.
The first few pages starts in the present, revealing some of the meaning behind the title of the book. "Sediment drifts away and it occurs to me that you can't even step on the same bank twice. Each footstep alters the earth" (55). When I first heard the title of this book, I thought it was a journey of a man who spent his life travelling, but never visited the same river twice. But, I know everyone has had that feeling at the beach in which your feet become heavily buried in the sand beneath the water. Where does this sand drift to? Where does it land? The river would never again have the same composition. That is some deep thinking. I love it. I wonder if expectant fathers really do think about things like this: "If it turns out to be a terrorist, the fault will be environmental, not genetic" (58). Just the mere thought of your unborn child being a terrorist is a little far-fetched, but I assume that would be a natural worry as to what kind of social life your child would have when they are older. I didn't really understand the Oedipus analysis near the end of this section, but it was a play I enjoyed in high school.
"Lacking plan or destination, I was at last content" (59). It seems as though when people, especially me, make plans, they always fall through and then disappointment sets in. I have learned that in college, I do not need a plan or destination to be happy. I am simply appreciating life for what it is. There were a lot of witty lines throughout the flashback--things like: "[s]he raised us, but Dad controlled us", "[d]uring cold weather bums and birds headed south". I just like how Offutt could be so realistic with his choice of words. One particular line that caught my attention was the homosexual, black guy in Nebraska. He said this: "[my] single regret was being born black in the South" (66). I have heard this somewhere, not in this context, but those words triggered a vague memory. Another thought-provoking line was found on page 68. "From my vantage alone in the Rockies, centrality always seemed elsewhere". First, standing alone in a landform such as the Rockies is humbling all by itself. Secondly, everyone's perception in life is different. From different vantage points, we all have a different central life focus. We have one major life goal, and we get through each day just to see the reward of the major goal. Sometimes we lose sight of that goal, and "wonder if [we are] actually running away, not toward" (71). When living a life where your "brother and sister are also [your] cousins" (70) you might want to explore and live on the edge.
The biblical references from pages 72-76 are quite controversial. I do not know if I completely agree with them, especially in Offutt's choice of words here: "even God let his son die" (73). I do not like the use of the word "let". But, hey it's his book, and his opinion. I feel that he is disrespecting Christianity on page 75 when he says that "Jesus performed the dream of many men". This might affect how I view the rest of the memoir.
It's quite ironic how after the whole disregard to Christianity, he picks up Al. During this part of the memoir is when I asked myself if all of this truly happened or if it was an exaggeration like we talked about in class. Al said alot of important things, but the most important was " 'Don't trust men who smoke a pipe' " (80). And what does Chris do? Haha. More on that later. But, I also thought it was maybe a hint of foreshadowing when the purebred spider "crawl[ed] back into the safety of its glass chapel". Winner was the next guy that gave him a ride. Although, I am not sure if it was smoked in a pipe, he was still addicted to crystal Meth. Winner was a definite loser! He had "liberation pills" ready to take his life at any moment, was putting on some lie about a scooter for his mom, and was a racist. But, Chris is weary about Winner grouping them in the same category under one word: "us". This simple two letter word was "the most frightening word heard uttered in a lifetime of conversation with strangers" (84). Strangers, people that he did not know from Adam, were all of a sudden saying "us" as if they had been friends since the sandbox. Can you say awkward? I love the paragraph following this, though. It is beautifully written, especially: "Us implied a tem, and all thems were ripe for destruction". This must have been my favorite section, because I have more. Chris goes to the homeless shelter, where he states that: "all of us denied that we were truly homeless. Every converstation began with the past success, then skipped to the future. The present was never mentioned...Talk was defense" (85). This is something people do all the time! About relationships or finances or whatever have you. I'm glad someone has put this into words so honestly. "Morality was trivial" (86). Wow. That got my attention. After thinking someone was picking up his artwork to glorify it, then watching the man put it in the garbage, I would be down on life as well.
Barney didn't smoke tobacco, but he sure did chew it. What is up with Chris and these drug abusers? I personally think he should listen to Al even though he is a little radical. I am not a fan of this whole circus section with the Parrot Lady and male genitals. It was a bore. But, I did like the oxymoron dropped on page 94 "complex simplicity". I may have to use that one day. After quitting the job, Chris has accomplished nothing, because he is still searching for himself. He knows that he doesn't belong in any particular group, now all he has to do is find middle ground.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Glengarry Glen Ross Act One
If I had to pick a character to play in "Glengarry Glen Ross", I would definitley pick Shelly Levene.
Scene One starts off with Levene fighting to keep his job. The whole real estate jargon kind of threw me off guard, but it wasn't hard to catch up. Shelly Levene reminds me of my mother and how she would threaten to take someone's job that she thought was under performing. These words on page twenty-six could have possibly come out of her mouth: "wasn't long I could pick up the phone..and I'd have your job". I love this guy! He knows that two people will lose their jobs at the end of the month and there is no way he can get on the board by selling the crappy land he has been given, so he strikes a deal with his boss. After the office was broken into, Levene is celebratory in the fact that he sold eight units and wants to tell everyone the story of how he did it. Since everyone else is doing poorly, nobody really wants to hear it. But, Levene continues his story and tells of how he described the American Dream to the couple and got them to sign: "This is that thing that you've been dreaming of, you're going to find that suitcase on the train, the guy comes in the door, the bag that's full of money. This is it..." (p. 72). I love Levene and his persistant nature.
When people know that their financial security is at stake, they become selfish. This is what I see from Williamson. On page 23 he does not trust Levene enough to know he will sell and that he won't lose his job. I could definitely see this play happening in today's current economic situation. Even after they strike the deal, Williamson wants the money then and there, of which Shelly does not have.
Scene two provides the reader with two new characters. Moss comes across as rude, desperate, and controlling. While Aaronow seems confused and timid. Moss uses racial slurs that are quite offensive. He ultimately talks Aaronow in circles and gets him to commit the robbery. From what I know in the rest of the reading, I am not completely sure who eventually committed the crime. Aaronow and Moss have a very weird friendship. They either finish each other's sentences or repeat for clarification. This scene was very hard to read. The whole definition of the word "talking" is used in various ways throughout this scene (p. 39 in particular) that get Aaronow trapped. I guess since they are salesmen that they have ways with words, but Aaronow just could not "out-talk" Moss.
Scene three provides the same setting. Who knows if they were all there at the same time? I doubt it. Roma seems sketchy. He is very long-winded in his speaking parts. I think it is also crazy that he would be asking these crude things of someone he just met. I find it funny and ironic that Roma dismisses the idea of God protecting people from the day's worries, but pretty much sums up my favorite verses of the Bible, Matthew 6:34, "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today". He also wants the man to buy land in Glengarry Highlands, which for right now, I don't know if that is good or bad, but he tells him to have a couple more drinks which can't be good. The scene closes with him telling him to listen, but then nothing is said. That is what you call good suspense. (haha!)
In Act Two, all the characters finally meet together in the office. Their different personalities are hard to keep up with and remember what kind of person they were in the aforementioned act. But, Aaronow is really nervous and continues to mention insurance, which makes me think that he did it and has a guilty conscience, but he hopes everything can be restored. He asks Roma what he should tell the police, and Roma states something very important: "Always tell the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember" (p. 61). This doesn't match my previous notion of Roma being sketch. Oh, well.
Also, Moss was rude as usual. He was mad that the police were talking to him in such a way, but it was his conspiracy. Maybe he was acting out in order to not stand out. But, they would not have thought of questioning him so harshly had he not spoken to Roma about a robbery.
So far, it's great.
Scene One starts off with Levene fighting to keep his job. The whole real estate jargon kind of threw me off guard, but it wasn't hard to catch up. Shelly Levene reminds me of my mother and how she would threaten to take someone's job that she thought was under performing. These words on page twenty-six could have possibly come out of her mouth: "wasn't long I could pick up the phone..and I'd have your job". I love this guy! He knows that two people will lose their jobs at the end of the month and there is no way he can get on the board by selling the crappy land he has been given, so he strikes a deal with his boss. After the office was broken into, Levene is celebratory in the fact that he sold eight units and wants to tell everyone the story of how he did it. Since everyone else is doing poorly, nobody really wants to hear it. But, Levene continues his story and tells of how he described the American Dream to the couple and got them to sign: "This is that thing that you've been dreaming of, you're going to find that suitcase on the train, the guy comes in the door, the bag that's full of money. This is it..." (p. 72). I love Levene and his persistant nature.
When people know that their financial security is at stake, they become selfish. This is what I see from Williamson. On page 23 he does not trust Levene enough to know he will sell and that he won't lose his job. I could definitely see this play happening in today's current economic situation. Even after they strike the deal, Williamson wants the money then and there, of which Shelly does not have.
Scene two provides the reader with two new characters. Moss comes across as rude, desperate, and controlling. While Aaronow seems confused and timid. Moss uses racial slurs that are quite offensive. He ultimately talks Aaronow in circles and gets him to commit the robbery. From what I know in the rest of the reading, I am not completely sure who eventually committed the crime. Aaronow and Moss have a very weird friendship. They either finish each other's sentences or repeat for clarification. This scene was very hard to read. The whole definition of the word "talking" is used in various ways throughout this scene (p. 39 in particular) that get Aaronow trapped. I guess since they are salesmen that they have ways with words, but Aaronow just could not "out-talk" Moss.
Scene three provides the same setting. Who knows if they were all there at the same time? I doubt it. Roma seems sketchy. He is very long-winded in his speaking parts. I think it is also crazy that he would be asking these crude things of someone he just met. I find it funny and ironic that Roma dismisses the idea of God protecting people from the day's worries, but pretty much sums up my favorite verses of the Bible, Matthew 6:34, "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today". He also wants the man to buy land in Glengarry Highlands, which for right now, I don't know if that is good or bad, but he tells him to have a couple more drinks which can't be good. The scene closes with him telling him to listen, but then nothing is said. That is what you call good suspense. (haha!)
In Act Two, all the characters finally meet together in the office. Their different personalities are hard to keep up with and remember what kind of person they were in the aforementioned act. But, Aaronow is really nervous and continues to mention insurance, which makes me think that he did it and has a guilty conscience, but he hopes everything can be restored. He asks Roma what he should tell the police, and Roma states something very important: "Always tell the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember" (p. 61). This doesn't match my previous notion of Roma being sketch. Oh, well.
Also, Moss was rude as usual. He was mad that the police were talking to him in such a way, but it was his conspiracy. Maybe he was acting out in order to not stand out. But, they would not have thought of questioning him so harshly had he not spoken to Roma about a robbery.
So far, it's great.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
escape the "emergency room"? or go back "home"?
I love short stories like "Emergency Room"! I don't know where to start analyzing, so feel free to enjoy the ramble:
Georgie wasn't lying when he said "[he] save lives (285)". Isn't it crazy how the guy that is most tripped on LSD is the only one to save lives in the emergency room? Not only did he save the life of the patient by simply removing the knife in his only good eye, he took the life of one rabbit to save the lives of eight baby rabbits. Also, he plans on saving the life of Hardee so, it won't be lost in the war.
There is some underlying theme of sight mixed with real vs. hallucination. This is first exemplified with Georgie continually mopping the floor that is supposedly covered in blood, which after I continue to read realize that both him and the narrator are seeing things. Considering the narrator "worked two doubles with eight hours off in between" (278) it's no surprise that he is on LSD. The most obvious example is the patient, with one fake eye and another that has just been stabbed. Suddenly, they leave the emergency room and just start driving. Here, I got really confused. Ultimately, they get lost and end up at a fair, and here again Georgie does not see the rides. Then on the way back, they must stop because the car didn't have any headlights, so he could not see to drive. But it's obvious he was not seeing much anyway. Foreshadowing seems to present itself when the narrator imagines they were in a military graveyard, all the while it was a drive-in movie. The narrator is in need of help with his perception. Later he says something that is very interesting: that he understands "how a drowning man might suddenly feel a deep thirst being quenched. Or how the slave might become a friend to his master" (283). I believe he is stating that he comprehends the last will of people searching for an escape. Georgie mentions this need to escape earlier when he states that there is so much goop insdie of us, and "it all wants to get out" (274).
There is also a underlying religous theme and a time theme both with very light touches mentioned in the story. Georgie says he want to go to church to worship, but I find it ironic that they work at a Catholic hospital that plays the Lord's Prayer on a loudspeaker nightly. Throughout the story, the narrator gives the reader a constant update on how much time is left in the shift, expressing their burning desire to leave. It seems as though everyone in the emergency room is extremely selfish and has no care in the world about the patients. Sentences like "the eye man was on vacation or something" and "I've got my own life and the protection of my family to think of" (277) really worry me. Especially thinking about things that I have seen on television with multiple people dying while waiting for aid in emergency rooms.
Overall, great story about the daily lives we live--sometimes we get lost on purpose, only to return to our place of entrapment.
Speaking of entrapment--there is "Home". This reminds me of the many talks we have had in class about what to do after college when the dream job does not land on the doorstep. The narrator "ran out of money and [she] wasn't in love, so [she had] to [go] home to [her] mother" (410). Even at the flea market, she sees items that could belong to her past friends, maybe meaning that they are back home like she is. One statement found on 418 defines this story: "They wantto go home to die" (418).
The mother-daugther relationship in this story is one that resembles relationships across the world. When the narrator states that "[Their] telepathy always frightens [her]" (417), I definitely understand what she is saying. It's funny, because I do not completely understand the daughter's wild ways, but I know the way she feels towards her mom. It cannot really be described. The mother is truly hurt by her daughter's ways, but is stuck in her own. She does not give up knitting or the watching of television, but it is quite sad when the mother goes to church alone. There is alot of guilt in this household because of their different ways, and the mother takes it upon herself to harbor the guilt by paying for the daughter schooling, paying for her escape.
I loved the quote from Phillips in the interview when she said "scars can represent trauma, but they also represent healing"! That is probably the best thing I have ever heard. I definitely needed to hear that. I can relate to that in my life right now. Cancer is a huge source of pain in this story. The mother suffered from breast cancer, of which too much of her breast was removed in the surgery, and Daniel her past and present lover has pieces of shrapnel stuck in his arm from war that have started tumor growth. The interview was great.
Both stories were great and represented entrapment and escape in the workplace, household, and battlefield.
Georgie wasn't lying when he said "[he] save lives (285)". Isn't it crazy how the guy that is most tripped on LSD is the only one to save lives in the emergency room? Not only did he save the life of the patient by simply removing the knife in his only good eye, he took the life of one rabbit to save the lives of eight baby rabbits. Also, he plans on saving the life of Hardee so, it won't be lost in the war.
There is some underlying theme of sight mixed with real vs. hallucination. This is first exemplified with Georgie continually mopping the floor that is supposedly covered in blood, which after I continue to read realize that both him and the narrator are seeing things. Considering the narrator "worked two doubles with eight hours off in between" (278) it's no surprise that he is on LSD. The most obvious example is the patient, with one fake eye and another that has just been stabbed. Suddenly, they leave the emergency room and just start driving. Here, I got really confused. Ultimately, they get lost and end up at a fair, and here again Georgie does not see the rides. Then on the way back, they must stop because the car didn't have any headlights, so he could not see to drive. But it's obvious he was not seeing much anyway. Foreshadowing seems to present itself when the narrator imagines they were in a military graveyard, all the while it was a drive-in movie. The narrator is in need of help with his perception. Later he says something that is very interesting: that he understands "how a drowning man might suddenly feel a deep thirst being quenched. Or how the slave might become a friend to his master" (283). I believe he is stating that he comprehends the last will of people searching for an escape. Georgie mentions this need to escape earlier when he states that there is so much goop insdie of us, and "it all wants to get out" (274).
There is also a underlying religous theme and a time theme both with very light touches mentioned in the story. Georgie says he want to go to church to worship, but I find it ironic that they work at a Catholic hospital that plays the Lord's Prayer on a loudspeaker nightly. Throughout the story, the narrator gives the reader a constant update on how much time is left in the shift, expressing their burning desire to leave. It seems as though everyone in the emergency room is extremely selfish and has no care in the world about the patients. Sentences like "the eye man was on vacation or something" and "I've got my own life and the protection of my family to think of" (277) really worry me. Especially thinking about things that I have seen on television with multiple people dying while waiting for aid in emergency rooms.
Overall, great story about the daily lives we live--sometimes we get lost on purpose, only to return to our place of entrapment.
Speaking of entrapment--there is "Home". This reminds me of the many talks we have had in class about what to do after college when the dream job does not land on the doorstep. The narrator "ran out of money and [she] wasn't in love, so [she had] to [go] home to [her] mother" (410). Even at the flea market, she sees items that could belong to her past friends, maybe meaning that they are back home like she is. One statement found on 418 defines this story: "They wantto go home to die" (418).
The mother-daugther relationship in this story is one that resembles relationships across the world. When the narrator states that "[Their] telepathy always frightens [her]" (417), I definitely understand what she is saying. It's funny, because I do not completely understand the daughter's wild ways, but I know the way she feels towards her mom. It cannot really be described. The mother is truly hurt by her daughter's ways, but is stuck in her own. She does not give up knitting or the watching of television, but it is quite sad when the mother goes to church alone. There is alot of guilt in this household because of their different ways, and the mother takes it upon herself to harbor the guilt by paying for the daughter schooling, paying for her escape.
I loved the quote from Phillips in the interview when she said "scars can represent trauma, but they also represent healing"! That is probably the best thing I have ever heard. I definitely needed to hear that. I can relate to that in my life right now. Cancer is a huge source of pain in this story. The mother suffered from breast cancer, of which too much of her breast was removed in the surgery, and Daniel her past and present lover has pieces of shrapnel stuck in his arm from war that have started tumor growth. The interview was great.
Both stories were great and represented entrapment and escape in the workplace, household, and battlefield.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Lolita: Part Two
The very descriptive pages that begin part two are intimate tellings of motels around America, or what Humbert would call the "Functional Motel" (p. 145). It's funny to think that his description of a motel then is "a clean, neat, safe nook[ed] ideal place for sleep, argument, reconciliation, insatiable illicit love" (p. 145), but as I think of a motel I imagine a low priced, dirty, roach ridden Super 8. One of the funniest lines of this entire section is found on the second page of reading: "We avoided Tourist Homes, country cousins of Funeral [Homes]". I think that just goes to show how Humbert did not want to be seen, and if he did happen to be seen he could end up dead. I don't know, just a thought.
The concept of American movement in contrast to European inactivity is again illustrated when he mentions Lolita's immature ways that he was not prepared for: she had "fits of disorganized boredom, intense and vehement griping, her sprawling, droopy, dopey-eyed style, and what is called goofing off" (p. 148). Did Humbert forget this was a child? Don't children usually have unusal shorts spans of attention? No, he couldn't have forgetton. Especially when he looked for roadside signs that mentioned children under 14 were free as his "income was cracking under the strain of [thier] joy-ride" (p. 175). Oh, Humbert.
It annoys me to see Humbert "warn her she would dwell with [him] in exile for months and years if need be...unless her present attitude changed" (p. 149) and put scenarios in her mind of her going to an orphanage if she was to accuse him of rape. Was he not just saying how happy he was getting off without affecting her. His whole attitude has changed, and I do not like it. He puts up this facade of a "dream dad protecting his dream daughter" (p. 149) which is disturbing, and I can only imagine it gets worse as the story progresses.
From a literay point of view there is beautiful imagery as the two travel across the United States from motel to motel: "we glided over their glossy black dance floors", "mummy-necked farmer", and "sky losing its blue to the heat" are all wonderfully written phrases (p. 152-153).
Humbert is a very jealous man. He should be mad at himself. He has turned her into one of those promiscuous girls that are typically raised without a father and wander into the streets longing to belong to a man. "The men peered at her and me with malevolent curiosity. suddenly all dimples, she beamed sweetly at them, as she never did at my orchideous masculinity" (p. 171).
Also, Humbert mentions that although they went cross country, they never really saw anything. Maybe it's because he was too busy hiding himself from the rest of the world. He also states in the same thought that Lolita cries herself to sleep every night. Humbert takes a job at a school when the two finally settle and one phrase the headmistress states describes the life on the road for Humbert and Lolita and how he fed her childhood wants: "We live not only in a world of thoughts, but also in a world of things" (p. 178).
Not much happened in this section. Not that great. But, I also wanted to comment on the end of the section where his view of other girls is blocked by builders whom never return again on their work-- I just think it's fate.
The concept of American movement in contrast to European inactivity is again illustrated when he mentions Lolita's immature ways that he was not prepared for: she had "fits of disorganized boredom, intense and vehement griping, her sprawling, droopy, dopey-eyed style, and what is called goofing off" (p. 148). Did Humbert forget this was a child? Don't children usually have unusal shorts spans of attention? No, he couldn't have forgetton. Especially when he looked for roadside signs that mentioned children under 14 were free as his "income was cracking under the strain of [thier] joy-ride" (p. 175). Oh, Humbert.
It annoys me to see Humbert "warn her she would dwell with [him] in exile for months and years if need be...unless her present attitude changed" (p. 149) and put scenarios in her mind of her going to an orphanage if she was to accuse him of rape. Was he not just saying how happy he was getting off without affecting her. His whole attitude has changed, and I do not like it. He puts up this facade of a "dream dad protecting his dream daughter" (p. 149) which is disturbing, and I can only imagine it gets worse as the story progresses.
From a literay point of view there is beautiful imagery as the two travel across the United States from motel to motel: "we glided over their glossy black dance floors", "mummy-necked farmer", and "sky losing its blue to the heat" are all wonderfully written phrases (p. 152-153).
Humbert is a very jealous man. He should be mad at himself. He has turned her into one of those promiscuous girls that are typically raised without a father and wander into the streets longing to belong to a man. "The men peered at her and me with malevolent curiosity. suddenly all dimples, she beamed sweetly at them, as she never did at my orchideous masculinity" (p. 171).
Also, Humbert mentions that although they went cross country, they never really saw anything. Maybe it's because he was too busy hiding himself from the rest of the world. He also states in the same thought that Lolita cries herself to sleep every night. Humbert takes a job at a school when the two finally settle and one phrase the headmistress states describes the life on the road for Humbert and Lolita and how he fed her childhood wants: "We live not only in a world of thoughts, but also in a world of things" (p. 178).
Not much happened in this section. Not that great. But, I also wanted to comment on the end of the section where his view of other girls is blocked by builders whom never return again on their work-- I just think it's fate.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Lolita: Second Set of Readings
I didn't want to blog on the first set of pages, because I was still getting a feel for the main character. Now that I get what kind of person he is, it is easier for me to analyze him in my own personal way. It is now known to me that Humbert is a modern day peophile, and due to my attorney mentality and my many years of watching Law and Order: SVU, I was immediately disgusted. But, I guess it's always good to hear things from other people's views--even if you do not agree. Instead of blogging after reading all of the pages, I decided to blog while reading.
I pick up in section 14 where Humbert was gloating about how he got his personal high without Lolita even noticing: "Thus had I delicately constructed my ignoble, ardent, sinful dream; and still Lolita was safe--and I was safe" (p. 62). But it seems as though Humbert knows his lust for Lolita will not last forever since he says "I knew I had fallen in love with Lolita forever; but I also knew she would not be forever Lolita." This "pet" name that he has given her is her current, childish state, he knows soon she will mature and be a " 'college girl' --that horror of horrors" (p. 65). Being in my fourth year of learning the french language, I love the heavy emphasis Humbert makes on irrelevant lines; yet, criticizes everyone else's french as if they are of lower status than he (even though from my view he has the problems).
The passages are seeming to get longer, especially 15 when Lolita runs back into the house to kiss him before she takes off to the camp.
I love how the letter from Madame Haze is even printed as if it was word for word what she wrote, yet at the end of it he explains that he may have changed up some of her words, which leads me to believe that he is a classic unreliable narrator. About this letter, I found it funny tht he actually thought, had an ounce of hope to think that the "schoolgirl's scribble" (p. 67) could be that of his young love. She also has this way of being emphatic with her French. In this letter, from what the reader knows is her writing, she is uses alot of reverse psychology by simplying stating things like "I am nothing to you" and "do not even read this absurd note to the end" (p. 67) knowing he must continue to read since anything concerning M. Haze concerns Lolita as well. The note also throws strange hints that M. Haze might know of his love for her daughter when she claims he would be a "criminal--worse than a kidnapper who rapes a child" and alludes to her husband that was "twenty years [her] senior" (p. 68). I found the end of the letter a challenge or a test, basically telling Humbert to go to church and pray away his sin.
Humbert's idea of marrying M. Haze in order to get closer to Lolita is so far-fetched, but he seems like he has it all planned out: "killing her by placing five bichloride-of-mercury tablets in her preprandial sherry or anything like that" (p. 71). M. Haze starts becoming more social and keeps herself more decent when she realizes that she may be getting married. She constantly asks him about his past and Humbert admits to the reader that "never in his life had [he] confessed so much" (p. 80). He is starting to get used to her jealous nature, but he still dislikes her feelings towards Lolita and describes one of many episodes when M. Haze goes out of her way to make Lolita seem like a bad child.
My favorite description in the readings comes from section 20 when they go out to the lake. He wants to kill her! Seriously! I knew he was crazy and everything, but this pushed the envelope. They go out just far enough and Humbert's thinking is of that of a true murderer. He thinks, "[t]he setting was really perfect for a brisk bubbling murder" (p. 86). So chilling! I felt as if I started suddenly reading Agatha Christie. But there are two workers close by (they just had to ruin it!) "They were near enough to witness an accident and just far enough not to observe a crime" (p. 86).
It seems quite irrelevant, but it goes to mention that Humbert locked his love for Lolita in written love letters that he willingly admitted was hidden. Guess who finds them? M. Haze! She starts reading the mean things he wrote about her aloud, and he brushes it off while making her a drink claiming that he is writing a novel. By the time he makes the drinks, she's dead, a car hit her they say. I just want to add that this is not the way I wanted M. Haze to die! Ugh.
John and Jean are annoying, at least to me. Humbert was happy that M. Haze died. But, he wants the reader to at least see that he felt bad (for getting caught!) and directly addresses the audience by saying: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury--I wept" (p. 103). I don't know if this has any relevance to the shortest passage in the Bible which is also mentioned in "The Color of Water" a memoir by James McBride. (one of the greatest books ever!) Then out of nowhere, comes a kiss from Jean. This is getting out of hand!
He plans to take Lolita away and buys her all kinds of gifts including clothes. The weirdo even knows her measurements. Oh boy. In the last section, a little over one hundred pages, he realizes he isn't really going anywhere and asks the publisher to write her name out in order to fill a page.
One word:
strange.
I pick up in section 14 where Humbert was gloating about how he got his personal high without Lolita even noticing: "Thus had I delicately constructed my ignoble, ardent, sinful dream; and still Lolita was safe--and I was safe" (p. 62). But it seems as though Humbert knows his lust for Lolita will not last forever since he says "I knew I had fallen in love with Lolita forever; but I also knew she would not be forever Lolita." This "pet" name that he has given her is her current, childish state, he knows soon she will mature and be a " 'college girl' --that horror of horrors" (p. 65). Being in my fourth year of learning the french language, I love the heavy emphasis Humbert makes on irrelevant lines; yet, criticizes everyone else's french as if they are of lower status than he (even though from my view he has the problems).
The passages are seeming to get longer, especially 15 when Lolita runs back into the house to kiss him before she takes off to the camp.
I love how the letter from Madame Haze is even printed as if it was word for word what she wrote, yet at the end of it he explains that he may have changed up some of her words, which leads me to believe that he is a classic unreliable narrator. About this letter, I found it funny tht he actually thought, had an ounce of hope to think that the "schoolgirl's scribble" (p. 67) could be that of his young love. She also has this way of being emphatic with her French. In this letter, from what the reader knows is her writing, she is uses alot of reverse psychology by simplying stating things like "I am nothing to you" and "do not even read this absurd note to the end" (p. 67) knowing he must continue to read since anything concerning M. Haze concerns Lolita as well. The note also throws strange hints that M. Haze might know of his love for her daughter when she claims he would be a "criminal--worse than a kidnapper who rapes a child" and alludes to her husband that was "twenty years [her] senior" (p. 68). I found the end of the letter a challenge or a test, basically telling Humbert to go to church and pray away his sin.
Humbert's idea of marrying M. Haze in order to get closer to Lolita is so far-fetched, but he seems like he has it all planned out: "killing her by placing five bichloride-of-mercury tablets in her preprandial sherry or anything like that" (p. 71). M. Haze starts becoming more social and keeps herself more decent when she realizes that she may be getting married. She constantly asks him about his past and Humbert admits to the reader that "never in his life had [he] confessed so much" (p. 80). He is starting to get used to her jealous nature, but he still dislikes her feelings towards Lolita and describes one of many episodes when M. Haze goes out of her way to make Lolita seem like a bad child.
My favorite description in the readings comes from section 20 when they go out to the lake. He wants to kill her! Seriously! I knew he was crazy and everything, but this pushed the envelope. They go out just far enough and Humbert's thinking is of that of a true murderer. He thinks, "[t]he setting was really perfect for a brisk bubbling murder" (p. 86). So chilling! I felt as if I started suddenly reading Agatha Christie. But there are two workers close by (they just had to ruin it!) "They were near enough to witness an accident and just far enough not to observe a crime" (p. 86).
It seems quite irrelevant, but it goes to mention that Humbert locked his love for Lolita in written love letters that he willingly admitted was hidden. Guess who finds them? M. Haze! She starts reading the mean things he wrote about her aloud, and he brushes it off while making her a drink claiming that he is writing a novel. By the time he makes the drinks, she's dead, a car hit her they say. I just want to add that this is not the way I wanted M. Haze to die! Ugh.
John and Jean are annoying, at least to me. Humbert was happy that M. Haze died. But, he wants the reader to at least see that he felt bad (for getting caught!) and directly addresses the audience by saying: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury--I wept" (p. 103). I don't know if this has any relevance to the shortest passage in the Bible which is also mentioned in "The Color of Water" a memoir by James McBride. (one of the greatest books ever!) Then out of nowhere, comes a kiss from Jean. This is getting out of hand!
He plans to take Lolita away and buys her all kinds of gifts including clothes. The weirdo even knows her measurements. Oh boy. In the last section, a little over one hundred pages, he realizes he isn't really going anywhere and asks the publisher to write her name out in order to fill a page.
One word:
strange.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
"America" and "In the Baggage Room at Greyhound"
The poem "America" by Ginsberg sounds kind of like a list of demands or an ultimatium. Especially when Ginsberg states "I'm sick of your insane demands" (p. 39). Simply put, he is tired of the way America, maybe the government, citizens, or both have caused him to keep his ideas and emotions bottled up. This is a great expression of the times that Ginsberg was writing in. As the poem progresses, Ginsberg gets more and more extreme and tries to define America and the way of life. My favorite line is "Are you going to let your emotional life be run by Time Magazine? I'm obsessed by Time Magazine. I read it every week" (p. 40-41). A few lines before that he says "I refuse to give up my obsession" (p. 40). He is stating that one can still be a true American even though they do not agree with problems that are prevalent in America.
Not much else to say about this poem. I just feel that Ginsberg was tired of being his true self. Maybe he came about in the wrong era.
"In the Baggage Room at Greyhound" is beautifully written. I feel as if that was written yesterday. Not many understand the poverty stricken lifestyle of having to ride the Greyhound. It is not a pretty experience. I love how he describes people's lives by the look of their baggage. His description of the surrounding area is so real. One line really shook me. "nor this trembling old lady with a cane taking the last trip of her life" (p. 44). Many people do not think that when they take a trip it will be their last trip. Just a thought. Then he personifies the suitcases by stating that they were "full of tragedy rocking back and forth waiting to be opened" (p. 45). He mentions everyone struggle: "baggage that's lost, nor damaged handles, nameplates vanished, busted wires, and broken ropes, whole trunks exploding on the concrete floor" (p. 45), but then on the next page he mentions that "the racks were created to hange our possessions, to keep [them] together". I feel that Ginsberg wanted to do better and succeed in his life, and it ended perfectly with him saying "Farewell ye Greyhound" (p. 48).
Not much else to say about this poem. I just feel that Ginsberg was tired of being his true self. Maybe he came about in the wrong era.
"In the Baggage Room at Greyhound" is beautifully written. I feel as if that was written yesterday. Not many understand the poverty stricken lifestyle of having to ride the Greyhound. It is not a pretty experience. I love how he describes people's lives by the look of their baggage. His description of the surrounding area is so real. One line really shook me. "nor this trembling old lady with a cane taking the last trip of her life" (p. 44). Many people do not think that when they take a trip it will be their last trip. Just a thought. Then he personifies the suitcases by stating that they were "full of tragedy rocking back and forth waiting to be opened" (p. 45). He mentions everyone struggle: "baggage that's lost, nor damaged handles, nameplates vanished, busted wires, and broken ropes, whole trunks exploding on the concrete floor" (p. 45), but then on the next page he mentions that "the racks were created to hange our possessions, to keep [them] together". I feel that Ginsberg wanted to do better and succeed in his life, and it ended perfectly with him saying "Farewell ye Greyhound" (p. 48).
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
"Howl" && "A Supermarket in California"
"Howl and Other Poems" by Ginsberg is exactly what I thought 215 would be like. I love abstract writing because everyone has their own perspective as to what everything means.
Part I of Howl has got to be one of the most confusing, yet interesting things I have ever read. It starts by saying that "the best minds of [his] generation [were] destroyed" (pg. 9) and then continues to describe the people and exactly what they did to destroy their lives. The sentence structure for the majority of the poem is "who" referring to the best minds of the generation, followed by, for the most part, a negative connotated verb. The rest of the sentence goes on to describe some destination and some random act of acting out. Before I go on to explain some of the diction I noticed in my favorite parts of the poem, I want to talk about the title. Although everyone knows what howl means, I thought I'd look it up for accuracy. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word howl is defined as "a cry or wail, as of pain, rage, or protest". I believe these "best minds" were crying out in order for someone to hear their pain they were facing or maybe even just for attention.
Ginsberg's diction or word choice is quite hysterical. From his sexual references, both hetero and homosexual, to childhood words like "yacketayakking" (pg. 11), I believe he kept the reader's attention in a unique way. Also, he mentioned a huge amount of cities, and I was waiting for a South Carolina city to pop up, to my dissatisfaction one did not arrive. But I loved seeing the "best minds" travel, especially when they "disappeared into the volcanoes of Mexico" and then in then in the next paragraph they "reappeared on the West Coast" (pg. 12). Also on page twelve, they "lit cigarettes in boxcars boxcars boxcars". I loved this repetition. Not sure if this is right, but I think it was to create the illusion of a boxcar train that is connecteed. I don't know, my thought process may be too deep right there. Anyway, also on that page, he mentions that the people are hungry and lonesome and then mentions three things to fix two problems: "seeking jazz or sex or soup". I figured the hunger would be fed by the soup and the loneliness by sex, but the jazz reference?? I guess it is like an addiction like in Sonny's Blues. The next page is filled with sexual and biblical references, which I don't think should be mentioned on the same page, at least not in the way he portrayed it.
Part I also had alot of lines that were associated with vegetarianism versus carnivorism which I thought was quite strange. Lines like "dreaming of the pur vegetable kingdom" and "pluged themselves under meat trucks looking for an egg" (pg. 16) had me perplexed. That's all I wanted to say about that.
My two favorite parts of this poem are the "successively unsuccessfully" (pg. 16) cutting of wrists. I'm not suicidal or anything, but I thought it was perfectly worded. And the other part is on the next page when the author mentions that they "journeyed to Denver, who died in Denver, who came back to Denver & waited in vain, who watched over Denver & booded & loned in Denver and finally went awy to find out the Time". Time is always capitalized wherever it appears in this work. I think it must be very important to those "best minds".
There is a huge tone shift on page 18 when the sentence structure changes. On the next page, six asteriks appear, and I am clueless as to what word, if any, goes there.
Part II was so strange! I looked up the word "moloch" because it is mentioned twenty-one times on the first page. It means "anything that has the power to extract extreme sacrifice" and it is also another biblical reference. Unlike the first part of the poem that was a continuation of one thought full of commas, this part, on the other hand is comprised of full thoughts punctuated with an exclamation part. I cannot say that I completely understand this part as much as the first one, but I know it is filled with much more emotion.
Part III is my favorite and has inspired me to write a poem in this format which I will share at the end of this post. I think this part is just about understanding someone that has the same personality as yourself and feeling that person's pain of being far away ("I'm with you in Rockland") and of having to be locked up somewhere: "where you scream in a straightjacket" (pg. 25). This idea of straightjackets, shocks, and pingpong tables brings to mind "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Kesey. I enjoyed this part.
"A Supermarket in California" is on the same level as part III in "Howl". I feel that he relates to Whitman on a literary level, but who knows because he is also in his imagination being followed by the store detective. Anywho, I think Whitman is maybe a role model for him, because he asks him questions like: "Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?" (pg. 30). But, I find it weird when he says "poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys" (pg 29). If that was his role model, would he still make fun of him in such a homophobic way? But, I love the juxtaposition of "blue automobiles in driveways" to the "silent cottage" (pg 30). I think this simply means it becomes hard to have an imagination with such distractions of city life. This is well put.
Now, for my version of Part III with the exact opposite meaning of not wanting to be where that person is:
Lost in Birmingham
I'm not with you in Birmingham, the city that gave you life
I'm not with you in Birmingham, where you left to come find me
I'm not with you in Birmingham, where you want me to meet your mother who dislikes me
I'm not with you in Birmingham, where your ugly roots made you the person you are today
I'm not with you in Birmingham, where you committed that crime.
I'm not with you in Greenville, where you found me.
I'm not with you in Colorado, where you lost me.
I'm not with you in Florida, where I became a memory.
I'm not with you in Greenville, where you found me, again.
I'm not with you wherever you are now, and that, only you know why.
Can you find me? Or are you still lost in Birmingham?
Part I of Howl has got to be one of the most confusing, yet interesting things I have ever read. It starts by saying that "the best minds of [his] generation [were] destroyed" (pg. 9) and then continues to describe the people and exactly what they did to destroy their lives. The sentence structure for the majority of the poem is "who" referring to the best minds of the generation, followed by, for the most part, a negative connotated verb. The rest of the sentence goes on to describe some destination and some random act of acting out. Before I go on to explain some of the diction I noticed in my favorite parts of the poem, I want to talk about the title. Although everyone knows what howl means, I thought I'd look it up for accuracy. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word howl is defined as "a cry or wail, as of pain, rage, or protest". I believe these "best minds" were crying out in order for someone to hear their pain they were facing or maybe even just for attention.
Ginsberg's diction or word choice is quite hysterical. From his sexual references, both hetero and homosexual, to childhood words like "yacketayakking" (pg. 11), I believe he kept the reader's attention in a unique way. Also, he mentioned a huge amount of cities, and I was waiting for a South Carolina city to pop up, to my dissatisfaction one did not arrive. But I loved seeing the "best minds" travel, especially when they "disappeared into the volcanoes of Mexico" and then in then in the next paragraph they "reappeared on the West Coast" (pg. 12). Also on page twelve, they "lit cigarettes in boxcars boxcars boxcars". I loved this repetition. Not sure if this is right, but I think it was to create the illusion of a boxcar train that is connecteed. I don't know, my thought process may be too deep right there. Anyway, also on that page, he mentions that the people are hungry and lonesome and then mentions three things to fix two problems: "seeking jazz or sex or soup". I figured the hunger would be fed by the soup and the loneliness by sex, but the jazz reference?? I guess it is like an addiction like in Sonny's Blues. The next page is filled with sexual and biblical references, which I don't think should be mentioned on the same page, at least not in the way he portrayed it.
Part I also had alot of lines that were associated with vegetarianism versus carnivorism which I thought was quite strange. Lines like "dreaming of the pur vegetable kingdom" and "pluged themselves under meat trucks looking for an egg" (pg. 16) had me perplexed. That's all I wanted to say about that.
My two favorite parts of this poem are the "successively unsuccessfully" (pg. 16) cutting of wrists. I'm not suicidal or anything, but I thought it was perfectly worded. And the other part is on the next page when the author mentions that they "journeyed to Denver, who died in Denver, who came back to Denver & waited in vain, who watched over Denver & booded & loned in Denver and finally went awy to find out the Time". Time is always capitalized wherever it appears in this work. I think it must be very important to those "best minds".
There is a huge tone shift on page 18 when the sentence structure changes. On the next page, six asteriks appear, and I am clueless as to what word, if any, goes there.
Part II was so strange! I looked up the word "moloch" because it is mentioned twenty-one times on the first page. It means "anything that has the power to extract extreme sacrifice" and it is also another biblical reference. Unlike the first part of the poem that was a continuation of one thought full of commas, this part, on the other hand is comprised of full thoughts punctuated with an exclamation part. I cannot say that I completely understand this part as much as the first one, but I know it is filled with much more emotion.
Part III is my favorite and has inspired me to write a poem in this format which I will share at the end of this post. I think this part is just about understanding someone that has the same personality as yourself and feeling that person's pain of being far away ("I'm with you in Rockland") and of having to be locked up somewhere: "where you scream in a straightjacket" (pg. 25). This idea of straightjackets, shocks, and pingpong tables brings to mind "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Kesey. I enjoyed this part.
"A Supermarket in California" is on the same level as part III in "Howl". I feel that he relates to Whitman on a literary level, but who knows because he is also in his imagination being followed by the store detective. Anywho, I think Whitman is maybe a role model for him, because he asks him questions like: "Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?" (pg. 30). But, I find it weird when he says "poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys" (pg 29). If that was his role model, would he still make fun of him in such a homophobic way? But, I love the juxtaposition of "blue automobiles in driveways" to the "silent cottage" (pg 30). I think this simply means it becomes hard to have an imagination with such distractions of city life. This is well put.
Now, for my version of Part III with the exact opposite meaning of not wanting to be where that person is:
Lost in Birmingham
I'm not with you in Birmingham, the city that gave you life
I'm not with you in Birmingham, where you left to come find me
I'm not with you in Birmingham, where you want me to meet your mother who dislikes me
I'm not with you in Birmingham, where your ugly roots made you the person you are today
I'm not with you in Birmingham, where you committed that crime.
I'm not with you in Greenville, where you found me.
I'm not with you in Colorado, where you lost me.
I'm not with you in Florida, where I became a memory.
I'm not with you in Greenville, where you found me, again.
I'm not with you wherever you are now, and that, only you know why.
Can you find me? Or are you still lost in Birmingham?
-brenda adimora.
My favorite picture of the Birmingham, Alabama skyline. Courtesy of http://www.southernbyways.com/2007/05/more-things-to-see-in-birmingham-alabama/
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