Their Eyes Were Watching God - Extra

I actually did enjoy watching the movie that went along with this book. I thought that it was interesting to see how they portrayed Janie. I actually was looking forward to seeing the end of it. What I don't understand is how Oprah could say that this book was one of the most romantic books she had ever read. For me, romantic is not really the best describing word for Their Eyes Were Watching God. If anything, it was a very sad, sad story about how a woman tries to be her own woman, but is never able to because men keep coming along and marrying her. I could understand the first marriage, but the second one... In my eyes, she was purposefully using her sexuality because she was bored, she wanted excitement. I guess I just do not have patience for that kind of behavior. And the marriage with Tea Cake? What in the world was that all about? You have got to know that when something like that happens it is too good to be true and also it will NOT WORK OUT! How stupid can you be?

So anyhow, I don't know how Oprah can call a story where the ending is shooting the only man you have ever "loved" - not that I think Janie loved him, I think she lusted him. This whole story was mainly about lust and the conflicts one can get into with lust. I guess overall, this was not my favorite read. I just cannot like Janie. She is just too selfish and lustful for me.

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Extra

It was nice that this book incorporated a woman's perspective into the class. I know that we had Mrs. Dalloway, but I like that we get Janie's perspective. This book was difficult for me because there were parts that I did enjoy and parts that I did not enjoy. The storyline was very good I thought. It was different-I have not read this story before. I liked seeing this growing into womanhood throughout the story. I really don't think we have read any other books where a character grows so much in such a long period of time. I also liked Hurston's writing techniques. The way that she puts her words together is just beautiful-like poetry. She can describe a simple scene like no other. In a way, it sort of reminded me of Harry Potter just because there were so many details. Like in the beginning with the tree blossoming. Who comes up with stuff like that? Who could even think that a tree is erotic? Also, this is one of the few books that we have read where the setting is very well laid out for the reader, I enjoyed understanding where I was at in the story.

Okay, for the things that I did not like. I did not like Janie very much as a character. I think that she was very, very, very selfish. All she really cared about was herself and I HATE characters like that. Maybe it is because, most of the time they are portrayed as female characters. So anyway, I also think that Janie was kind of a skank... She used her good looks to get whatever she wanted. And whenever she finally found "love" she just became this puny woman who let her husband beat her. It just sort of upset me.

Maus I

Definitely the best read we have had so far this semester. I seriously loved this book, and actually wanted to read it to see what was going to happen next. Maybe I am a visual learner of something, but I just got this book. It was so real-just extraordinary. I am not a huge comic book fan, but the way that this story flowed, it just seemed like a poem...weird, I know.

Probably my favorite part of the book was the relationship that the father and son had. It was just so real-probably because it was real. It reminded me of the relationship that I have with my parents. A relationship that I think we all sort of have as young people, when we think we know more than our parents. The father telling his story is just so touching, and I think that as a reader, you cannot help to like the father. He sort of reminded me of my grandpa, the way he did things that were so odd and the son could not convince him otherwise.

The relationship that I found a little confusing was the father's relationship with his new wife, Mala and the one with his first wife Anja. I talked to a friend who has read the second book and she said that I'll find out more about it later. I guess I just don't understand why the father married Mala...

I also found it interesting that the father actually shared this story with his son. I think that if I had gone through this experience, I would never even want to think about it. Maybe that's why Anja killed herself-because she did just keep it all in. I can obviously see that the father is very strong. He is the strong and stable one throughout everything. I think that by sharing this story with his son, he is sort of releasing everything that happened.

What an awful thing. It's so sad at what happened to so many innocent people. Sometimes, if seems like it could just not be real. I think that this book very well makes it real.

Slaughterhouse Five

I read Slaughterhouse Five in high school and found absolutely no enjoyment out of it. Four years later I read it and I still find absolutely no enjoyment out of it. I understand that Vonnegut is creating this situation in which society/people can draw these huge questions out of this story and so that change can occur but why does it just have to be so weird? I have to give Vonnegut credit though; it is probably the most creative novel that I have ever read.

I guess that another reason why I really do not enjoy this novel is the way it is set up; going back and forth, from the present to the past and then jumping to the future and then back. I guess I am a pretty chronological person and I just do not like it nor do I understand it. Like the section we read for Tuesday about the British men coming out and singing. It was just so...weird, just out there in all ways possible.

In all of the stories that we have read, even if I do not really like the story, I can still say that the language and wording the author uses is brilliant or lovely. I really cannot say that about Vonnegut. His words are just so dry, plain, and straightforward. At least that's the way it seems.

I feel badly for Vonnegut that he had to live through the bombing of Dresden-which would mess anyone up- but why in the world did he have to start writing about it and convince readers that he was this brilliant man. Sadly, yet honestly, I think he was a nutcase - just my opinion.

Waiting for Godot

Okay... In a weird way, I liked the second act of this play a lot more than I liked the first act. Overall though, it is just a weird play and I really have no idea what it means. I understand the nothingness of it all and the waiting waiting waiting for in all honesty NOTHING. It seems like Estragon and Vladimir have no idea what is going on around them, very much like the reader because I have no idea what is going on in this play! I think I need a visual of this. I think that my favorite character in this play is the Boy. We don't even know who the Boy is, just that he is the Boy and he is the one who comes to tell Estragon and Vladimir that Godot is not coming. I really like the part:

"Boy: What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?
Vladimir: Tell him...(he hesitates)...tell him you saw me and that...(he hesitates)...that you saw me. (Pause. Vladimir advances, the Boy recoils. Vladimir halts, the Boy halts. With sudden violence.) You're sure you saw me, you won't come and tell me tomorrow that you never saw me! (Silence. Vladimir makes a sudden spring forward, the Boy avoids him and exit running. Silence. The sun sets, the moon rises. As in Act 1 Vladimir stands motionless and bowed. Estragon wakes, takes off his boots, gets up with one in each hand and goes and puts them down center front, then goes towards Vladimir.)"

It just almost seems like a puppet show! Actually, this whole play sort of reminded me of a type of clown show in some crazy mixed-up circus. They all just do not seem real.

Something that I really did not understand in the second act was that no one remembered anybody else. And yet, they still had this distant understanding of what had happened the day before. It is almost dream-like the way the talk to each other in the second act; like nothing had ever really happened the day before.

As I Lay Dying - Extra

This story is creepy... I just cannot get over the son building his mother's coffin right in front of this. It is weird to me that Faulkner continues to concentrate on the fact that Cash is this supposedly great carpenter. I guess it might be the irony of this son using his craft for his mother's coffin. Faulkner keeps going back to the fact that Cash is right outside his mother's window building her coffin. When Darl says, "A good carpenter Addie Bundren could not want a better one, a better box to lie in. It will give her confidence and comfort. I go on to the house, followed by the Chuck. Chuck. Chuck. of the adze" (4-5). It is just very strange to me that it seems like everyone in this family is so concentrated on the mother's death. Even Addie is "accepting" her own death and nothing is being done about it. It really makes me mad how the stupid son keeps continually reminding her of her own death. It will be interesting to see how they come to terms with the death.

Even though this is a very creepy book, the language that Faulkner uses is actually very well put together and very beautiful. The way he describes things gives the reader such a vivid visual. I love when Darl says, "I enter the hall, hearing the voices before I reach the door. Tilting a little down the hill, as our house does, a breeze draws through the hall all the time, upslanting. A feather dropped near the front door will rise and brush along the ceiling, slanting backward, until it reaches the down-turning current at the back door: so with voices. As you enter the hall, they sound as though they were speaking out of the air about your head" (20). Whenever I read this, it told me so much about the setting and the character and what was going on. The entire mood of this story is developed so well.

As I Lay Dying - Extra

What struck me first about As I Lay Dying is the format of the novel. It is interesting how Faulkner changes characters thoughts through different chapters. The way that he deliberately separates the characters and still intertwines the thoughts of the characters is amazing.

In the beginning of As I Lay Dying I was a little confused about what was going on because the characters changed so quickly. As I got into the story, I learned the characters and began to understand the way that they act. What I find fascinating about Faulkner is his uncanny ability to create the different characters with such distinct personalities. As I continued reading farther on, whenever I read the name at the beginning of the chapter, I immediately brought the character into my mind.

Faulkner also has that amazing ability to write at the surface but the reader knows that there is a ton more going on that what is being said on top. I think that his writing is very poetry-like. He tends to put a lot of understatement into his writing and he also puts such a huge meaning, concept, or emotion into just a few simple words. I think that his writing really draws the reader in.

Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway is definitely a very interesting read. I really have enjoyed the concept of it and how exact Virginia Woolf laid out her plot. I do not think that anyone can deny her brilliance in being able to completely map out an entire scene and deal with the different character in such a perfect and effective way. It is absolutely fascinating to me that Virginia Woolf is able to delve into the different minds of the characters and how she completely perfects their voices. As I have been reading, I see that every character has its own unique voice. Once I got to sort of know the characters, I was able to see where Woolf brought the different character's thoughts out in the novel.

The character of Mrs. Dalloway is very interesting to me because it shows how many older people look back at their lives and see that they have made mistakes. She is a very realistic character and yet there is an aspect to her that is very different. I love her voice in the novel. One of my favorite quotes is, "It all seemed useless-going on being in love; going on quarrelling; going on making it up..." (60). She is so realistic even though I think she does not want to be.

Even though Mrs. Dalloway is a very difficult book to read, the way she uses stream of conscientiousness is amazing. Also, the way that she uses her words are absolutely beautiful. I love when she is talking about time, and what it means to the different characters, "The word 'time' split its husk; poured its riches over him; and from his lips fell like shells, like shavings from a plane, without his making them, hard, white, imperishable words, and flew to attach themselves to their places in an ode to Time..." (69). Who else could ever come up with such a beautiful way of expressing a concept? It is just amazing to me!

Tradition and the Individual Talent

I was surprised about after reading this, that I actually understood it and found it somewhat interesting. It shocked me that the same man who wrote this also wrote The Wasteland, the world's most difficult piece to read.

I really liked how T.S. Eliot was saying that in writing, there is not really a "tradition". There is really no set standard on how to write, and the English language actually encourages uniqueness and individuality. Eliot says, "Every nation, every race, has not only its own creative, but its own critical turn of mind; and is even more oblivious of the shortcomings and limitations of its critical habits than of those of its creative genius". What I think Eliot is saying is that a writer is able to think and write critically and creatively; there are no limitations.

I also like whenever Eliot says, "To conform merely would be for the new work not really to conform at all; it would not be new, and would therefore not be a work of art." A writer or poet's central goal is to be different and to not conform to another writer. A writer should set their own standards of writing. If a writer can accomplish this difference in writing, then to me, that is what makes a great writer.

I also like how Eliot says that writing is no good unless it is critiqued and criticized. It is important for a writer to understand his shortcomings in order to improve. The writer should not be criticized but the writing.

There is one more quote that I found interesting. It says, "Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality". What I think this means is that poetry is a way for a person to escape their own lives and create a world in which one can say whatever they want without offending anyone.

The Wasteland

After reading and re-reading and re-reading T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea what Eliot is trying to say. On one hand, some of the language that T.S. Eliot uses is really very beautiful. When read aloud, I really love the way the words run so smoothly together. My favorite lines in the poem were in the beginning, "April is the cruellest month, breeding/ Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing/ Memory and despair, stirring/ Dull roots with spring rain/ Winter kept us warm, conveying/ Earth in forgetful snow, feeding/ A little life with dried tubers" (5). I love these lines and really the first entire stanza, but alas I really do not understand what he is trying to say. I could guess, but I feel like I would probably be very wrong.

Something else that I saw out of this poem that was very interesting to me were the different types of languages Eliot used throughout the poem. I never knew what any of it meant without looking at the footnotes or what language it even was. For some reason, I think that the way he uses the different languages is trying to show the world as a whole in some way. Really though, I am just confused about it.

I found the critical readings interesting and it began to sort of make me understand what The Wasteland was all about and where it came from. It was interesting to learn about why Eliot wrote about it and the background of it. It was also intriguing to see how it was published and how important it was for Eliot to make it the way it was. I can definitely see how European culture affected Eliot because of all the references he made throughout the poem.

Overall, I am very excited to learn about this poem in class. I just hope that someone understands it better than I did!

Four Plays by Eugene O'Neill

What I found most interesting about Eugene O'Neill's four plays is the degree of uniqueness each one had. Even though a person could see a similar underlying theme, O'Neill really did create different worlds, different characters, and even different societies in all of his plays. Something else that I found really amazing was the different types of dialogue used in the different plays. There was at least one character (and usually more) that the reader had to read the part out loud very slowly and then try and figure out what in the world he/she were saying. Something else that I really did find intriguing was all of the intricate stage details in the four different plays. It was almost like reading a novel, because O'Neill was so specific of what was happening on the stage in every single scene. I guess I am just used to reading Shakespeare where the reader really cannot even begin to visualize what is going on during the play. In Emperor Jones, there were times whenever there were just pages and pages of nothing but what was going on the stage.

Even though all four plays had great merit and a reader really could dive into the material and look at the characters in depth, the play that I enjoyed reading the most was Beyond the Horizon. I guess what I really enjoyed about the play was the way O'Neill created the different characters. To me, the characters in Beyond the Horizon were more relatable to today. I know that I have had regrets about not doing something that I have always wanted to do. There is always that hope that someday a person might be able to go "beyond the horizon" and achieve the desired things they want. What Beyond the Horizon truly shows though, is that most times, a person is not able to complete their life ambitions. There is happiness most of the time, like with Robert always being satisfied, but there is never that feeling of completeness.

Also, I just wanted to end with saying that I really did not like Ruth. She was fickle and petty and pretty much displayed every evil quality that a person can possess. Even though Robert was kind of rude to his uncle and really immature in his decisions, I do not think that he deserved to die knowing that his marriage was a joke. I guess this story just really goes to show how much a life can change by a certain decision made.

Was he really a bug?

Probably the question that everybody ever wonders whenever they read "The Metamorphosis" is, "Was Gregor Samsa really a huge cockroach"? Even though Kafka wants the reader to believe that he is a bug, the reader really has to wonder if Kafka is not making some incredible symbol out of Gregor Samsa.

There are many instances of Gregor Samsa actually being a gigantic bug. The first would have to be the famous first line of the story, "When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning, he found that he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug" (11). Kafka straight up tells the reader that Gregor Samsa is in fact a bug. And yet, Samsa's mind and the way he thinks through things are nothing like a bug. Throughout the story, even though Samsa's actions continually become more and more bug-like, his thoughts still grasp on to a human-like thought process. It was very interesting whenever Gregor Samsa went so far as to hold on to something from his human life.

It was also interesting the way his family reacted to having a bug in the household. What I found really interesting was whenever his mother and sister were debating about whether moving Gregor’s things out of the room. His sister was actually willing to accept Gregor’s new self, while his mother still held on to the hope that the Gregor, her son would return. She says, “I think it would be best if we tried to keep the room in exactly the same condition as before, so that when Gregor comes back to us again, he’ll find everything unchanged and it will be easier for him to forget what happened in between” (33). In the end, the real question of this story is, would Gregor’s father, mother, and sister accept Gregor and still love him. Unfortunately, the answer to that is a “no”.

Probably my favorite line in the entire story comes at the end of the story. Gregor’s family has pretty much moved on without Gregor and even started a new life. Gregor is left to listen at the door to his family quietly talking. One night, whenever Grete, Gregor’s sister, takes out her violin to play for the lodgers and her parents, Gregor becomes overwhelmed with the music. He asks himself, “Was he an animal if music stirred him that way” (45)? This is the point in the story whenever Gregor makes one last attempt to reconnect with his family and human-life. I believe that music is very powerful and its affect on Gregor proves to be one of the most beautiful and sad parts of the entire story.