So, sadly this is my last blog post at Black River as my High School experience is coming to a close. And while many of us seniors look forwards towards life at college and can't wait to get out, I am really going to miss High school.
While I can understand many people wanting to leave and experience adult life, I am more for high school, or in this case Black River. To start, I think that I'm too used to the idea of high school. I too used to always waking up and then seeing my family and then heading to school, do normal classes, and come home with no care in the world. However, now that I am moving on, I can no longer go back to the simple (if not average) life I'm used to.
Another thing that is really going to make me miss High school is the teachers. Be honest, even if you don't like Black River a lot you can at least admit that there are a few teachers here that were great and that you enjoyed a lot. And while I'm sure there will be more of those in college, I don't know how I can just say goodbye to my current teachers who have taught me well.
Finally, there is this idea that I finally have to start thinking about the future. I'm now going into college and have to think about what my life is going to be like which is really scary. I never had to put a lot of thought into in high school because I was only concerned with high school, going back to the simple life. I know that it can be fun, but it still scares me to think that I am now at this point in my life. Regardless of what happens in the future, my high school experience will be one that I will miss greatly.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Was this the Future at one Point? (CC)
So, after having read "Welcome to the Monkey House" which we had to do for Monday, I at first was a little lost for words. I don't really know how to react to a story where, basically, Billy justifies raping women as setting their minds free in a way. However, it was after the story that I began to draw a connection to it and George Orwell's 1984.
As we all have read it, I won't go into summary. However, I noticed a similarity to Orwell and Vonnegut's story. Particulary how in both worlds, the idea of sex is almost outlawed, with 1984 having the Junior Anti Sex League. However, when exposed to sex, as Winston and Nancy are, they begin to see past the rules of their own society and see how it is a dystopian. What's really strange is that they both present some sort of dystopian where sex is outlawed in a way. It really makes me think is that these stories were both published in a 20 year period and it makes me think whether a good number of people in the past believed that society would turn into a dystopia, as this seems to be an ongoing trend, especially with Brave New World.
It may be a bit of a stretch, but I think that the similarities are there and that many people back in the 40s and 50s thought that society would turn towards this dystopian society presenting itself as the perfect model for humanity. Regardless, I do think it is weird on the similarities of both Monkey House and 1984.
As we all have read it, I won't go into summary. However, I noticed a similarity to Orwell and Vonnegut's story. Particulary how in both worlds, the idea of sex is almost outlawed, with 1984 having the Junior Anti Sex League. However, when exposed to sex, as Winston and Nancy are, they begin to see past the rules of their own society and see how it is a dystopian. What's really strange is that they both present some sort of dystopian where sex is outlawed in a way. It really makes me think is that these stories were both published in a 20 year period and it makes me think whether a good number of people in the past believed that society would turn into a dystopia, as this seems to be an ongoing trend, especially with Brave New World.
It may be a bit of a stretch, but I think that the similarities are there and that many people back in the 40s and 50s thought that society would turn towards this dystopian society presenting itself as the perfect model for humanity. Regardless, I do think it is weird on the similarities of both Monkey House and 1984.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
The Correlation of Procrastination and Stress (FW)
So, as the end of the year approaches, I have come to what I would describe as one of the most stressful times in my life. Mainly due to the fact that my senior project presentation is in one week and in that time, I have two quizzes, two projects due on the same day, two papers due on the same day and I have to finish my reflection paper and presentation for my senior project along with my current homework. So yeah. If I somehow make it through the week without killing myself, I will become a symbol to everyone in the world in patience.
The sad thing is I knew that I had a lot to do over spring break and I had planned on working on some of these things during the break. Sadly, I continued to put it off day after day. A few days I was busy, but the rest of the time I openly ignored it even though I knew it would come back to bit me in the ass. This is not the first time that I have done this. In fact, during the summer I put off a good chunk of my Spanish homework to the last day and I regretted that.
For me, and probably a lot of people, whenever we are stressed out by a lot of work, it is usually put off for a while. However, it only leads to more stress about how to finish it and it could continue to repeat. I don't always mean to procrastinate on everything, but I usually do whenever it comes to something overwhelming and stressful. It is a very vicious cycle that is currently causing me a lot of stress and I hate it. I even procrastinated a little bit writing this blog post, showing that I can't stop. If I somehow make it through to graduation, it will be an accomplishment in and of itself.
The sad thing is I knew that I had a lot to do over spring break and I had planned on working on some of these things during the break. Sadly, I continued to put it off day after day. A few days I was busy, but the rest of the time I openly ignored it even though I knew it would come back to bit me in the ass. This is not the first time that I have done this. In fact, during the summer I put off a good chunk of my Spanish homework to the last day and I regretted that.
For me, and probably a lot of people, whenever we are stressed out by a lot of work, it is usually put off for a while. However, it only leads to more stress about how to finish it and it could continue to repeat. I don't always mean to procrastinate on everything, but I usually do whenever it comes to something overwhelming and stressful. It is a very vicious cycle that is currently causing me a lot of stress and I hate it. I even procrastinated a little bit writing this blog post, showing that I can't stop. If I somehow make it through to graduation, it will be an accomplishment in and of itself.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Pushing Away Stuff (IR)
So, due to YIG and my own school work (but mostly my procrastination) I have been behind on my Independent Reading book. I just kept pushing it away again and again, but that's on me. However, the parts of The Namesake that I have read have been very interesting and intriguing.
Really, my favorite thing from the book so far has been Gogol's rejection of his original name and then decides that he is going to reject both his parents and his pet name and be "independent" in a way. It makes him appear almost as a hypocrite and creates depth to his character. He was originally for having his name be Gogol, going as far as to come home with a note from school stating it. However, he then begins to rebel against his parents and his name which is what he associates with his parents. This is very typical with teens, especially when they decide to go all rebellious and not care.
Anyway, that's all I can really say as its been while since I last read the book. Hopefully I can get caught up over spring break and give a more insightful blog post. Sorry for the lack of depth everyone.
Really, my favorite thing from the book so far has been Gogol's rejection of his original name and then decides that he is going to reject both his parents and his pet name and be "independent" in a way. It makes him appear almost as a hypocrite and creates depth to his character. He was originally for having his name be Gogol, going as far as to come home with a note from school stating it. However, he then begins to rebel against his parents and his name which is what he associates with his parents. This is very typical with teens, especially when they decide to go all rebellious and not care.
Anyway, that's all I can really say as its been while since I last read the book. Hopefully I can get caught up over spring break and give a more insightful blog post. Sorry for the lack of depth everyone.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
For Namesake (IR)
So, I have returned to the writing of Jhumpa Lahiri with her novel The Namesake. This book takes a took at a family called the Ganguli's who try to fit in with American Society and culture.
One of the first things that I noticed while I read this book is that it was a change of pace from Interpreter of Maladies. This is one continuous story and it doesn't skip around to other stories. That was a complaint that I had with Interpreter of Maladies where I would get interested in a story and its characters and then they would be completely forgotten and never mentioned with mysteries still revolving around them. One thing that would have been really interesting (If not extremely difficult) would be if she could connect the stories together through small cameos. But, I digress.
So far the story is interesting, long, but interesting. Like I said it mainly centers around the Ganguli's and the first chapter definetly leaves a mark with a rather descriptive part about Ashima when her water breaks. It then vears off into her husband who has a random flashback to when he was in a train accident and in a hospital afterward. So yeah, that was some first impression.
So far, I have enjoyed this novel. It was really interesting to have the comparison with the father waiting in the hospital to his time in the hospital, showing his anxiety and desire for his child. The writing has also been very interesting, but it does give a lot of details and the chapters are really long, so I don't appreciate the massive amount I have to read at a time. I really can't give an honest review of it yet, but I'll see where it takes me.
One of the first things that I noticed while I read this book is that it was a change of pace from Interpreter of Maladies. This is one continuous story and it doesn't skip around to other stories. That was a complaint that I had with Interpreter of Maladies where I would get interested in a story and its characters and then they would be completely forgotten and never mentioned with mysteries still revolving around them. One thing that would have been really interesting (If not extremely difficult) would be if she could connect the stories together through small cameos. But, I digress.
So far the story is interesting, long, but interesting. Like I said it mainly centers around the Ganguli's and the first chapter definetly leaves a mark with a rather descriptive part about Ashima when her water breaks. It then vears off into her husband who has a random flashback to when he was in a train accident and in a hospital afterward. So yeah, that was some first impression.
So far, I have enjoyed this novel. It was really interesting to have the comparison with the father waiting in the hospital to his time in the hospital, showing his anxiety and desire for his child. The writing has also been very interesting, but it does give a lot of details and the chapters are really long, so I don't appreciate the massive amount I have to read at a time. I really can't give an honest review of it yet, but I'll see where it takes me.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
The Guilt (PR)
So for my poetry response post, I decided to look at some poems that might relate to imperialism as that's all we are doing in Lit and it makes sense to do so. I then came across a poem that I believed I encountered two years ago in AP US called "The White Man's Burden" by Rudyard Kipling.
Take up the White Man’s burden—Send forth the best ye breed—Go send your sons to exileTo serve your captives' needTo wait in heavy harnessOn fluttered folk and wild—Your new-caught, sullen peoples,Half devil and half childTake up the White Man’s burdenIn patience to abideTo veil the threat of terrorAnd check the show of pride;By open speech and simpleAn hundred times made plainTo seek another’s profitAnd work another’s gainTake up the White Man’s burden—And reap his old reward:The blame of those ye betterThe hate of those ye guard—The cry of hosts ye humour(Ah slowly) to the light:"Why brought ye us from bondage,“Our loved Egyptian night?”Take up the White Man’s burden-Have done with childish days-The lightly proffered laurel,The easy, ungrudged praise.Comes now, to search your manhoodThrough all the thankless years,Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,The judgment of your peers!
Said poem is basically written to America as a way to convince them into heading into the Philippines and take up the ideas of Imperialism and having an Empire as the other European countries have done with Africa and Indonesia. The poem itself is a way of to guilt the US into joining the idea of following along with imperialism using the idea of the "White Man's Burden" to modernize the world. It also blends well into the United States' own idea of bringing civilization to the Native Americans and (to quote Mr. Morse) "Cultivate that Land."
However, there is another reason that I chose to look at this poem as it relates to my thoughts on the final chapter of Things Fall Apart. For those of you who have to finish it, spoilers are below. You have been warned. So in the final chapter, Okonkwo decides to commit suicide rather than face judgement in court. The District Commissioner then has someone cut him down and thinks about writing a book about the good they had done in Africa. After reading this section, I then received a one-two slap of "White Guilt!!!!" (Quote by Josiah Rosin March 10th, 2015). It just made me feel so bad and so guilty of what happened to him and the shame for the actions the Europeans caused there. I associate this with White Man's Burden, as I, a white man, am now burdened with so much guilt about the atrocities committed in Africa and how sorry I am for everything that happened.
Take up the White Man’s burden—Send forth the best ye breed—Go send your sons to exileTo serve your captives' needTo wait in heavy harnessOn fluttered folk and wild—Your new-caught, sullen peoples,Half devil and half childTake up the White Man’s burdenIn patience to abideTo veil the threat of terrorAnd check the show of pride;By open speech and simpleAn hundred times made plainTo seek another’s profitAnd work another’s gainTake up the White Man’s burden—And reap his old reward:The blame of those ye betterThe hate of those ye guard—The cry of hosts ye humour(Ah slowly) to the light:"Why brought ye us from bondage,“Our loved Egyptian night?”Take up the White Man’s burden-Have done with childish days-The lightly proffered laurel,The easy, ungrudged praise.Comes now, to search your manhoodThrough all the thankless years,Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,The judgment of your peers!
Said poem is basically written to America as a way to convince them into heading into the Philippines and take up the ideas of Imperialism and having an Empire as the other European countries have done with Africa and Indonesia. The poem itself is a way of to guilt the US into joining the idea of following along with imperialism using the idea of the "White Man's Burden" to modernize the world. It also blends well into the United States' own idea of bringing civilization to the Native Americans and (to quote Mr. Morse) "Cultivate that Land."
However, there is another reason that I chose to look at this poem as it relates to my thoughts on the final chapter of Things Fall Apart. For those of you who have to finish it, spoilers are below. You have been warned. So in the final chapter, Okonkwo decides to commit suicide rather than face judgement in court. The District Commissioner then has someone cut him down and thinks about writing a book about the good they had done in Africa. After reading this section, I then received a one-two slap of "White Guilt!!!!" (Quote by Josiah Rosin March 10th, 2015). It just made me feel so bad and so guilty of what happened to him and the shame for the actions the Europeans caused there. I associate this with White Man's Burden, as I, a white man, am now burdened with so much guilt about the atrocities committed in Africa and how sorry I am for everything that happened.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
The Decision That is Hard to Make (CC)
So far reading Things Fall Apart has been interesting as the story is okay so far, I just keep getting distracted. Whenever there is nothing but pages talking about farming yams or tradition, I tend to zone out and not pay attention. I have nothing against it, I just don't want to read about farming. However, it was in Chapter 7 that something happened that really stuck with me. For those of you who are not caught up on the reading, spoilers.
So in Chapter 7, Okonkwo is told that Ikemefuna is to be taken back to his village and killed and that he must come with them. Eventually during the execution, he is forced to kill him. This scene was very shocking and it also reminded me of something that happened in a video game. It was called Telltales The Walking Dead and its a point and click game set in The Walking Dead universe. In this chapter, you take control of this girl and in one decision, you have to decide whether to kill your best friend or not for the betterment of the community.
The reason I bring this up is because it made me think of the idea of killing or doing something horrible in order to help the community. It really makes you question what lengths people are willing to go for in order to keep their life and family the way it is. Yes, Okonkwo did kill him, but he didn't have to. He could have run with the boy or killed the other people on the way to his home, but instead he chose to do it to keep his old life. Human nature is a very weird thing as we are brought to the edge, we show our true character and whether we would do something we don't like in order to keep our normal life. That alone has kept me thinking for a while, but it might just be a random thought that has nothing to do with anything. Either way, it is something to consider; how far would you be willing to go if given this situation?
So in Chapter 7, Okonkwo is told that Ikemefuna is to be taken back to his village and killed and that he must come with them. Eventually during the execution, he is forced to kill him. This scene was very shocking and it also reminded me of something that happened in a video game. It was called Telltales The Walking Dead and its a point and click game set in The Walking Dead universe. In this chapter, you take control of this girl and in one decision, you have to decide whether to kill your best friend or not for the betterment of the community.
The reason I bring this up is because it made me think of the idea of killing or doing something horrible in order to help the community. It really makes you question what lengths people are willing to go for in order to keep their life and family the way it is. Yes, Okonkwo did kill him, but he didn't have to. He could have run with the boy or killed the other people on the way to his home, but instead he chose to do it to keep his old life. Human nature is a very weird thing as we are brought to the edge, we show our true character and whether we would do something we don't like in order to keep our normal life. That alone has kept me thinking for a while, but it might just be a random thought that has nothing to do with anything. Either way, it is something to consider; how far would you be willing to go if given this situation?
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
The End of Small Font Books (IR)
So, as we just finished the very dense novel Heart of Darkness, I find it only fitting that I also finish my independent reading book The Scarlet Letter as its font and page length rival that of Conrad's. It was really difficult reading both those books at the same time as while the page amounts weren't small, the amount of words and details was at times very annoying.
The novel overall was okay, but personally I was very bored with it. That's not to say that it was bad, not at all. I just wasn't as interested in this book than my last independent reading book and found it a little boring. I don't know why, but for most of the book I was really disinterested and couldn't get into it. Now, there were some good things that came out of Scarlet Letter. I will admit that the story is a very interesting idea and I enjoyed learning a little more about the Puritan culture. For those of you unaware, The Scarlet Letter is the story of a woman, Hester Prynne, who lives in a Puritan Community and commits adultery with someone. She is then forced to wear a Red A on her clothes as a sign of shame and be shunned by the community. I also really enjoyed how this novel was written in a "modern" way. Since this book was written back in 1850, many would expect it to be very dense and a little hard to follow. Surprisingly, it's the opposite. The book was (for the most part) easy to follow and wasn't as dense as many people would imagine. Weirdly enough, this book was easier to follow than my post 20th century book (Sound and the Fury).
Really, I can't give an honest opinion on this book as it was an interesting story, I was just too uninterested to care about it or ever get into it. If this sounds like it would be an interesting story, by all means read it. Honestly, I think reading Heart of Darkness put me off of it as the font and page styles are very similar and it reminded me of the densest book ever.
The novel overall was okay, but personally I was very bored with it. That's not to say that it was bad, not at all. I just wasn't as interested in this book than my last independent reading book and found it a little boring. I don't know why, but for most of the book I was really disinterested and couldn't get into it. Now, there were some good things that came out of Scarlet Letter. I will admit that the story is a very interesting idea and I enjoyed learning a little more about the Puritan culture. For those of you unaware, The Scarlet Letter is the story of a woman, Hester Prynne, who lives in a Puritan Community and commits adultery with someone. She is then forced to wear a Red A on her clothes as a sign of shame and be shunned by the community. I also really enjoyed how this novel was written in a "modern" way. Since this book was written back in 1850, many would expect it to be very dense and a little hard to follow. Surprisingly, it's the opposite. The book was (for the most part) easy to follow and wasn't as dense as many people would imagine. Weirdly enough, this book was easier to follow than my post 20th century book (Sound and the Fury).
Really, I can't give an honest opinion on this book as it was an interesting story, I was just too uninterested to care about it or ever get into it. If this sounds like it would be an interesting story, by all means read it. Honestly, I think reading Heart of Darkness put me off of it as the font and page styles are very similar and it reminded me of the densest book ever.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Heart of Darkness and La Noche Boca Arriba (CC)
So, as we move forward into Heart of Darkness, I made a connection to this story and a short story that I read in AP Spanish Lit last semester called "La Noche Boca Arriba." It was a very weird story about a guy who gets in a motorcycle crash and is taken to a hospital. However, when he goes asleep, he has dreams that he is in a world where he is an Aztec being chased by other natives trying to kill him. As the story progresses, he beings to realize that he is loosing distinction between reality and imagination and is unsure which world is the true world, ending the story on a cliffhanger as to whether he died or not. It is a good story and for those of you who don't like Spanish, look it up in English as it is a good story.
As I read Heart of Darkness, I made the connection to "La Noche Boca Arriba" because of the contrast between the natives and the Europeans. The main character is sort of like Marlow, who sees both the worlds of the White people and the natives/Aztecs. There is a contrast between the worlds that begs the question which world is truly right. It was really weird when I made the connection as I realized that in both stories, both these worlds are contrasting against one another in front of the narrator and it makes for some very interesting imagery and storytelling.
Overall, there wasn't a whole lot that I could connect to, but the idea of the two different worlds coming together really got me thinking. It is something that really got me thinking and still intrigues me as I write this blog post.
As I read Heart of Darkness, I made the connection to "La Noche Boca Arriba" because of the contrast between the natives and the Europeans. The main character is sort of like Marlow, who sees both the worlds of the White people and the natives/Aztecs. There is a contrast between the worlds that begs the question which world is truly right. It was really weird when I made the connection as I realized that in both stories, both these worlds are contrasting against one another in front of the narrator and it makes for some very interesting imagery and storytelling.
Overall, there wasn't a whole lot that I could connect to, but the idea of the two different worlds coming together really got me thinking. It is something that really got me thinking and still intrigues me as I write this blog post.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Why Binge Watching is So Right and Wrong (FW)
So, I am currently doing a review blog for my senior project where I review both movies and television shows. So far it has been really fun, but there is one thing that both annoys and fills me with joy, binge watching.
For those of you unaware, binge watching is where someone watches episodes of a television show or multiple movies in a row continuously and not do anything. Now, I am not new to binge watching myself. I started doing it a lot back in late 2013 with Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, both of which are really great TV shows that everyone should watch. So far for my blog, I have binged on the entire second season and first half of the third season of the TV show Arrow and the first half of the spin off show The Flash (both of which are great). Really, I think binging is best summarized in this CollegeHumor video.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohtRFAat-WM
However, it has come to my attention that there is a certain element to binge watching that allows it to be both good and bad.
When binge watching (at least for me) one is trying to catch up on all the previous episodes so I can be up to date and will avoid spoilers or you just enjoy the show so much that you can't stop watching, which I have also done. The thing that annoys me with binge watching is that for a while I am so far behind everyone and have to watch all the episodes to catch up. Unfortunately, they are usually hour long episodes and it takes a long time. When I finally am all caught up I feel happy for a moment until I realize that I am depressed for many reasons, the main being that I now have to wait for more episodes which is annoying and the other being I now have a ton of free time. I experienced this when I first finished watching all of Breaking Bad. I was so happy to have finished, until I realized that I now had nothing to do and that made me depressed. So then I binged on the first two seasons of House of Cards and they were great. Then the cycle repeated itself. It seems that I am truly only happy when I am wasting through episodes one at a time and it annoys me that this is now the only way I can watch TV.
If you have any suggestions on really good TV shows to watch, please leave some in the comments. I have already watched Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Arrow, and The Flash.
For those of you unaware, binge watching is where someone watches episodes of a television show or multiple movies in a row continuously and not do anything. Now, I am not new to binge watching myself. I started doing it a lot back in late 2013 with Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, both of which are really great TV shows that everyone should watch. So far for my blog, I have binged on the entire second season and first half of the third season of the TV show Arrow and the first half of the spin off show The Flash (both of which are great). Really, I think binging is best summarized in this CollegeHumor video.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohtRFAat-WM
However, it has come to my attention that there is a certain element to binge watching that allows it to be both good and bad.
When binge watching (at least for me) one is trying to catch up on all the previous episodes so I can be up to date and will avoid spoilers or you just enjoy the show so much that you can't stop watching, which I have also done. The thing that annoys me with binge watching is that for a while I am so far behind everyone and have to watch all the episodes to catch up. Unfortunately, they are usually hour long episodes and it takes a long time. When I finally am all caught up I feel happy for a moment until I realize that I am depressed for many reasons, the main being that I now have to wait for more episodes which is annoying and the other being I now have a ton of free time. I experienced this when I first finished watching all of Breaking Bad. I was so happy to have finished, until I realized that I now had nothing to do and that made me depressed. So then I binged on the first two seasons of House of Cards and they were great. Then the cycle repeated itself. It seems that I am truly only happy when I am wasting through episodes one at a time and it annoys me that this is now the only way I can watch TV.
If you have any suggestions on really good TV shows to watch, please leave some in the comments. I have already watched Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Arrow, and The Flash.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
My take on The Scarlet Letter (IR)
So, for my Independent reading book, I have decided to take a look at a classic written way back when about an adulteress in a religious town. I am of course talking about The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story is about a woman, Hester Prynne, who is an adulteress and bore an illegitimate child. Because she lives in a Puritan Community, she is shunned and is made as an outcast by the whole town.
Now, I have some mixed feelings about the novel. So far the story is somewhat easy to follow as we explore how Hester deals with her life now that she is shunned by everyone, even her husband. You really sympathize with her as she is trying to make amends with the people in the town with her embroideries, but everyone pushes her away because of her actions. However, one thing that has got me on the side of disliking it is the first chapter. It is over thirty pages long and is completely pointless. Everyone in my book group even told me that it was completely pointless and that I should skip it. Any book that can drone on for thirty pages and not have a point is definitely pushing the boundaries for decent material. I even looked online to see what it was about and it said that was mainly about a door and the prison. Regardless of what kind of symbolism or message was trying to shown, thirty pages is a bit much.
But other than that the story is actually quite interesting as well as the characters. Pearl seems to be a driving force for Hester, causing her to go threw scorn and punishment in order to support her. Also, I completely hate her husband Chillingworth. He is willing to let his wife and half child suffer just so his reputation isn't hurt at all. I realize that back then this was acceptable as a reputation was everything but still, what a complete jerk.
Overall, all my complaints on the book are minor (at least so far) and its an interesting read. I don't think that I would recommend it to anyone, but if you read it, you might enjoy yourself.
Now, I have some mixed feelings about the novel. So far the story is somewhat easy to follow as we explore how Hester deals with her life now that she is shunned by everyone, even her husband. You really sympathize with her as she is trying to make amends with the people in the town with her embroideries, but everyone pushes her away because of her actions. However, one thing that has got me on the side of disliking it is the first chapter. It is over thirty pages long and is completely pointless. Everyone in my book group even told me that it was completely pointless and that I should skip it. Any book that can drone on for thirty pages and not have a point is definitely pushing the boundaries for decent material. I even looked online to see what it was about and it said that was mainly about a door and the prison. Regardless of what kind of symbolism or message was trying to shown, thirty pages is a bit much.
But other than that the story is actually quite interesting as well as the characters. Pearl seems to be a driving force for Hester, causing her to go threw scorn and punishment in order to support her. Also, I completely hate her husband Chillingworth. He is willing to let his wife and half child suffer just so his reputation isn't hurt at all. I realize that back then this was acceptable as a reputation was everything but still, what a complete jerk.
Overall, all my complaints on the book are minor (at least so far) and its an interesting read. I don't think that I would recommend it to anyone, but if you read it, you might enjoy yourself.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Jazzy Poetry (PR)
As someone who was never super interested in poetry, it was very hard to try and find a poem to analyze that I would like. Luckily however, I found this very interesting and somewhat musical poem while searching. The poem is called "Funeral Blues" by W.H. Auden.
The first thing that grabbed by attention when reading this poem was the flow. I normally read poems as they are with a slight beat in mind. However, when I was reading this, it felt like it was almost a song. It has a weird vibe to it that made me think of a dark song or even a poetry session at a coffee shop, with a bongo playing with some smooth jazz.
The vibe aside, the poem is also wonderfully written. As many of you can tell from the first stanza, this is not a happy poem. However, what I really like about it is all of the depression and anger. Rather than read it as someone who is solely in mourning for a guy but rather with someone who is just angry at the world. I personally like the final stanza, where you can almost feel the anger from the woman and hear her yelling at you to give up all hope. She is clearly angry and believes that there is no happiness left in the world, as many people do after the death of a loved one. The imagery ignited in this poem is also nice and fits the mood. I can almost see the planes circling overhead and the policemen wearing black gloves as a way of mourning.
Overall, this poem is very interesting and it incites some great emotions. While I am still not super excited for poetry, I do enjoy when I find very unique poems that just sound and feel amazing and this one is no exception. I highly recommend that you "poetry buffs" take a hard look at this poem because of all the emotion it pours out and the nice, jazzy feeling you get when you read it.
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message “He is Dead”.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
The first thing that grabbed by attention when reading this poem was the flow. I normally read poems as they are with a slight beat in mind. However, when I was reading this, it felt like it was almost a song. It has a weird vibe to it that made me think of a dark song or even a poetry session at a coffee shop, with a bongo playing with some smooth jazz.
The vibe aside, the poem is also wonderfully written. As many of you can tell from the first stanza, this is not a happy poem. However, what I really like about it is all of the depression and anger. Rather than read it as someone who is solely in mourning for a guy but rather with someone who is just angry at the world. I personally like the final stanza, where you can almost feel the anger from the woman and hear her yelling at you to give up all hope. She is clearly angry and believes that there is no happiness left in the world, as many people do after the death of a loved one. The imagery ignited in this poem is also nice and fits the mood. I can almost see the planes circling overhead and the policemen wearing black gloves as a way of mourning.
Overall, this poem is very interesting and it incites some great emotions. While I am still not super excited for poetry, I do enjoy when I find very unique poems that just sound and feel amazing and this one is no exception. I highly recommend that you "poetry buffs" take a hard look at this poem because of all the emotion it pours out and the nice, jazzy feeling you get when you read it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)