My Vote

I am actually torn between two of the books that were presented in class—My Sisters Keeper and The Road. I think that both of these novels would be good for this class to read and discuss because both of these books deal with issues of interest as well as discomfort. My Sisters Keeper would be a book that could start many different types of discussions. Such as, how far will a mother go to save her child? Are design babies ethical? Would you choose your own life over that of your sisters? The Road I think would also have a lot to add to discussion because apocalyptic themes, I feel, are rarely discussed. As a society we deny that fact that our world as we know it could come to an end. We think we will live forever and subconsciously ignore that we are mortal. Also, the father and son relationship would be an interesting topic to cover. You could discuss whether or not the 3 bullets he has in his gun should be used to put him and his son out of their misery. One could also look at the wife of the main character because some of the things that she has to say are very interesting in the sense of the fragility of life.

If I have to choose just one I suppose I would pick My Sisters Keeper only because I think that its twists and themes are ones that the whole class will find interesting despite sex of age.

IKEA--I Don't Need Ya

Several times throughout the movie Edward Norton’s character mentions that his stuff was his life. I think this is a very strong statement. To equate inanimate, material objects with your living life is very sad, and demonstrates the effect our media and consumer culture has on us. However, this depressing thought that our life’s worth is a result of our possessions is not necessarily an innate personal thought. This notion is force fed to us daily through our commercials, billboards, magazines, and shopping malls. Our countries advertisements constantly tell us ‘in order to be this, you must have this’, or ‘to be cool, buy this’, and ‘to live a happy full life, you’ve got to have one of these’. This current bombardment of material messages sooner or later, but inevitably seeps into our minds and we begin buying. We buy till our wallets our empty, our credit cards maxed out. We buy until we are so far in debt that once we die our kids and even grandkids will still be paying off our leather couches and Hummer cars.

Edward Norton’s character is no different from most of us. His constant search through the IKEA catalogues is just his unfulfilling search for himself. However, this method of finding himself will end without reward. He will never stop searching and buying because he is looking in the wrong place. Material objects have no effect on who we actually are. Think about your favorite object that you own—an expensive shirt, an autographed poster, your car—now imagine if that object disappeared. Would your personality be changed at all? Would life as you know it crumble and fall down around you because this item is no longer in existence? Would everybody in the world now hate you and never speak to you again? I would guess that the answer to all of thee questions is no. If that item was gone, you as a human being, a person, would not change. It is all a mental game that the media and our consumer culture play. They attempt to trick us so that we put our lives into the items we buy. They are only things—lifeless, meaningless things. The only meaning they receive is the one that we have allotted them. Thus, if we place no meaning on these objects except for possibly aesthetic value, perhaps we may free ourselves. Perhaps we may free our lives, their meanings, and hopefully do so without developing a second personality.

A Little Reading Never Hurt

The introduction done by Sufjan Stevens at the beginning of The Best American Nonrequired Reading makes one truly think about America’s education system. Within this introduction I believe subtle slashes are made against the way the educational institution conducts its teaching. I have heard of the Waldorf system before and in fact know some family members who are putting their kids into schools that use it. Much like the integrated math system I believe that the Waldorf system is a useless, confusing, and unnecessary way to impose learning. It says a lot about the system when someone gets to a certain grade and doesn’t know how to read. But hey, they know how to do a mosaic art piece, I'm sure that in life that will be much more helpful.

I think the introduction also says something when detailing how Stevens eventually learned to read. He learned through labels of grocery goods. I think that this may be making a comment towards are communistic nature. He didn’t learn by reading novels or articles, no, he learned through nutrition facts, ingredients, and food taglines. In this society, it is sad to say, but really for necessity purposes, that is enough of a reading education to get him by. Most people I know have never even finished a whole novel, excluding those they were required to read in class, and some people I know didn’t even read those. What we read today is labels on a number of different materialistic items instead--Clothes labels, food labels, household items labels.

I will admit that some reading is better than none. However if we as a literary society want to propel forward we must introduce some quality reading into the school systems that is intriguing enough so that every person will have at least read one novel in their lifetime.

Loneliness

I feel that the texts we have read so far in class represent being old as a sort of terrible, lonely, helpless, and dreaded part of life. Which, makes perfect sense when you think about it, but as a child I feel that you view it differently. As a child you always picture grandma and grandpa as these wonderfully happy and content people, who are always there for you and are always pleasant to be around. It isn’t until you get older that you realize, shit, being old really sucks. You can't go anywhere by yourself, do anything on your own, your weak and for the most part people hardly ever visit you.

To be honest before this class I rarely thought about what getting older would be like. I never realized the sense of loneliness that accompanies a heavy set of wrinkles and a walker. I think our characters that we have read about so far in class certainly feel this feeling of aloneness and also a definite sense of neglect. None of their family wants to come visit them and so they are left on their own. The scene from Water for Elephants when Jacob is left sitting alone in the lobby because his family forgot to come visit him was one of the saddest things I have ever read. It I hard for me to contemplate forgetting about someone like that and I hope I am never one to do that to someone. Also, hearing the old couple from Toga Party explain how their kids keep a steady distance from them and basically avoid them was equally depressing. In the end when the inevitably ended their lives it was hard for me to understand what could drive a person to the point where the accept killing themselves. I suppose loneliness does have an immense power over people and its emptiness could be enough to make people want to end it all. I wonder how the kids felt after the found out their parents did this. Did they feel guilty or relieved? I wonder.

Historical Fiction = A Fantastic Story

I think overall Sara Gruen did an excellent job with this novel and making it a representation of historical happenings. Before this novel, my knowledge of the circus was only as deep as a child’s understanding. I knew they had clowns, cotton candy, and horses, but that was basically it. I knew nothing about the behind the scenes action and all that goes into the life of a circus worker. Gruen opened my eyes and struck a chord of interest that makes me want to continue developing my knowledge on the Depression-era circus and all that revolves within it.

I think this novel did a very good job of showing the darker side of the circus. To an outsider the circus seems to be a joyous thing, filled with laughter and lighthearted entertainment. However, Gruen envelopes the reader and shows them things that they would not normally expect to accompany such a seemingly happy show. She shows them the dark side – the prostitution, the drinking, the violence, and the power struggle. It may seem like all these things are implanted in the book for pure entertainment value but as we discussed in class Gruen did her homework and thoroughly researched the circus, and all its parts, good or bad, and then presented them here in this novel.

This book and its time period feels like it happened a hundred years ago, when in fact the Depression was not all that long ago. Eventually our economy rose out of it but currently, today with our economic troubles we may be facing another one. It is not a far fetch to imagine our society being put into another depression-like scenario. If this did happen I might be tempted to run away with the circus. Sure, there are plenty of hardships to endure when working for the circus but in the end it would make for a fantastic story.

So Far, Not so Good

Call me uneducated, call my uncultured, or call me crazy, but so far I am not a fan of Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I find this book to be difficult to follow and one that you must read very slowly in order to not miss anything, which in turn makes the novel seem slow and uneventful. The Spanish that is embedded throughout each paragraph is left untranslated and therefore creates a gap between you and the characters within the story. I understand the involving the main characters language to add a realistic effect but, I feel that due to the lack of translation the realness trying to be conveyed is loss, mostly because I am left frustrated. It is a book, I read it, therefore what is happening the story should be explicitly spelled out for me. If this were a movie perhaps the language barrier would not be such a big deal since when watching a movie you can pick up on body language and facial expressions. However, within novels these expressions, movements, or postures must be detailed through words to you and in this novel they are not.

Additionally, one of the main characters Oscar, constantly makes different literary references throughout the book. Yes, I understand he is a smart boy and one who loves to read and relate to these works of literature. However, I am not as educated in the English realm and I would have to say that most of our country is not as well, considering that our major newspapers are written at an 8th grade level in the first place. Therefore, while he is going on about some novel or comic book, I am left sitting, bored, confused, and feeling a bit stupid. The more he relates to these writings the more distant I feel from Oscar. The more he talks about these different pieces I have never read, the more I want to turn the page a move on. I don’t get the many literary jokes, and I doubt that many others do as well.

As of now I am disappointed in this novel. It could be due in large part to the fact that in class we just read one of the best books ever, Water for Elephants, or it could be due to the fact that the language and knowledge barrier is getting in the way and causing my brain to overload and slowly shut down. Either way I am praying that this book changes its evil ways and turn into a novel and I can actually get through. I will make the promise to read on and keep and open mind and I will say that I hope this novel proves me wrong and turns out to be an excellent book.

A Great Film

Kite Runner has got to be one of the best movies I have seen in a while. It had depth, realistic emotions, moral questioning, and was a great view of the human condition. I think this movie really touches on what is right versus wrong and makes us wonder about what makes a person stand up for what they believe in versus just sitting back and doing nothing.

When the rape seen happened, most of us in the class were shocked that Amir would just sit back and watch it happen. We all questioned what made him hide and then afterward pretend like nothing had happened. Amir as a child is scared, fragile and a cowered. He stared at the sight of his best friend (and come to find out brother) and did nothing. During this scene I also wondered about what I would have done in that situation. Would I have stopped it, or would I have been just as afraid as Amir was and turned and ran? We all would like to think that we would do something about it but the truth of the matter is, is that you don’t know how you are going to react until you are actually personally experiencing the situation.

As Amir aged, his strength and courage grew with him. He traveled back to his home land and challenged everything to save his nephew. This film suggests, to me at least, that age could possibly correlate with ones ability to stand up against others and for what you believe in. I do believe it is true that as we age we become wiser and so with that perhaps comes inner strength. However, with this, one also knows that Hassan had much inner courage when he was only a little boy. He was able to stand up and protect Amir from the older boys even when Hassan was half their size.

Perhaps, the ability to rise up against the grain or stand up for what is right comes from many different things. Maybe it comes with age, genetics, upbringing, encouragement, or an internal and unexplainable personal strength. Whatever it is I found this film inspiring and thought it taught a good lesson. I think this film raises many questions and for a film to have the ability to make us question is one I believe is worth watching.

A Lesson from "JonFen"

“JonFen” explains that he saves all of his mementos so as not to forget anything, but part of me wonders if there is more to it then that. “JonFen” comes off as a very simple young man who seems to have accomplished very little in his life. At his age you would think he would be in college right now or just beginning his career. But what is he doing instead? Collecting. Therefore, I propose that maybe he collects so that his life has some form of meaning or purpose. Collecting gives him something to do, something to be known for doing by others. I am in no way saying that collecting is a bad way to spend your time I am merely just inferring that perhaps he collects for other reasons than to “just remember”.

If "JonFen" really is just collecting soley to remember then in truth I think that “JonFen” is somewhat of a genius. We all have had those moments we look back on and wish that we had a token from – a picture, a ticket, anything. “JonFen” is simply just taking the time that most of us don’t, to appreciate the moment for what it is a capture something from it in order to remember it fully forever. The things that he collects will remain with him and if ever he wants to reflect on where he has been, the plastic bag is only but a few feet away. I think we should all try and learn something from “JonFen”, I think we should learn that life goes quickly and that often times we can forget all that we have experienced. I think grabbing an item here of there is a practice that all should perform. For what it life if not just a constant reflection of things experienced.

Mixed Feeling About Doree

After reading Dimension by Alice Munro I must admit that I had some mixed feelings. I was most confused on the character Doree. She seemed to me to be fitting the typical stereotype of a woman who is being beaten but can't seem to get up enough courage to leave her abusive husband. This character mold always irritates me. I completely understand that a lot of times this situation of not leaving the husband seems to happen, but at the same time I would like to see a stronger woman presented in some of the novels telling a story like this. Where is the woman who hits back? Where is the woman who after the first slap immediately packs up and leaves? Why do we always tend to read about these frail women who stay and never get even?

Even though Doree did eventually leave him for good it was not by choice but by law. She left him due to the fact that she had to because her husband was insane and went to jail. And to make Doree seem even weaker the author chooses to make her character continually visit him fully knowing what he has done to her family.

Of course, there are some cases when fighting back may not be and option. However, this is fiction we are reading so I ask the authors to please, just make it up. Give me a women character with enough balls to leave and not stand for the abuse. Maybe if some authors would involve characters like that then it could inspire other real life women in the real life situation to follow after that character and leave.

Alternate Ending, Sort of

I actually like the ending of happiness. I think that Edwin leaving Jack on the mountain smiling an laughing is a perfect way to end. Simple and sweet. So, my new ending isn’t really an ending, it’s a middle part towards the end. It begins just after Jack had written How to be Miserable.


Edwin sat in his cubicle facing the empty walls. Still having not been promoted after all of this to an actual office, Edwin sat in his chair, a blank look on his face. He was thinking of Meg. Thinking of how he missed her, her lips, her essence…but mostly her lips. Since Jenni has left him he had been spending a lot more time at the office, or at the pub. No use in spending time in an empty house with a cat he didn’t even like. As of now though that cat was the only friend he had. May had quit her job at Panderic and moved across the country. She got another job, a promotion, and a new shade of lipstick.

Edwin was miserable. But this was okay because so was everyone else. The world again was the way it should be. Unhappy, full of addicts and consumers, and many who were just as unfulfilled as Edwin.

Mr. Mead called Edwin into his office. “Edwin, I have a new project for you to work on,” he huffed. His ponytail now long and thick, Mr. Mead presented Edwin with the new project. “Panderic, Edwin, is going to be heading in new direction. After the whole What I Learned on the Mountain debacle we have been looking for a new way to make as much money as that book. So I want you Edwin to start looking for the ultimate Children’s Book.”
“Children’s book sir,” said Edwin, an almost mystified look on his face. Edwin did not expect this. He was thinking the ultimate erotica novel, or home gardening book, but not this. “I don’t exactly think I am the one to be handling this new direction.”
“And why not?” huffed Mr. Mead.
“Well sir, with all do respect I don’t even like kids, let alone their books, so why would I be the one chosen to do this?”
“Just do it Edwin. Oh, and I am also going to be starting to work on my auto biography. I think everyone would be interested in hearing about what Woodstock was really like. And who better to tell them, right?”
“uh huh” exhaled Edwin.
“So I will also need your help with editing that.” And with that Mr. Mead motioned Edwin to leave.

Silently Edwin Stood up and returned to his cuticle. When he retuned he found a letter on his desk. The mailman must have just delivered it. Edwin immediately recognized the handwriting. Meg. He slid into his seat and opened it.

Dear Edwin,
How are you? I have been doing well myself, although I do sometimes miss getting coffee delivered to me every morning. I must say that you really surprised me with your wit to make Soiree write a book opposite of the original. Oh, Edwin, I honestly don’t even know why I am writing to you. If nothing else I just want you to know that I didn’t mean it when I said “Razbliuto”.

Meg
P.S. I saw Jenni the other day. She has gained quite a bit of weight actually, and looked a bit ragged.


Right after inserting this I would have the phone ring regarding Jack and Edwin would begin his journey to go and see him.

Self-help or Self-doubt?

Today it is almost impossible to escape walking through the self-help isles in our bookstores. The seemingly never ending lanes now dominate the stores floor and one can find anything, on any topic, from Its Not You, Its Me and Why Men Love Bitches to Shrink Yourself: the Ultimate Program to End Emotional Eating and The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. These so called “self-help” books are merely wolves draped in sheep’s clothing. They preach to help when nine times out of ten they tend to insight problems rather then cure them. Todays self-help books should be renamed self-doubt books. To illustrate this image yourself walking down one the like fourteen self help isles, just browsing, not really looking for anything in particular, and then you see it. A self-help book titled How to Have a Good Relationship with Your Parents. You pause, tilt your head a bit, and slowly pull the book from its shelf. Prior to seeing this book you never considered yourself to have a bad relationship with your parents but upon seeing this book it strikes. Doubt! Your start thinking that maybe your missing something, maybe your relationship isn’t as good as you think it is. You then read the back cover and discover that you and your folks show none of the “15 signs of a good relationship”. Oh no! Your relationship doesn’t embody one of the 15 signs (and of course there is only 15 possible signs because that’s how many the author says there are) and so that is telling you that you and your parents relationship is a poor one. Self-help books are doubt igniters, creating problems in our minds and lives that we would have never even thought of if we hadn’t of seen the book.

I think Edwin has got the right idea. Most self-help books are crappy, repeats of every other self-help book, whose purpose is more to entertain than to solve. Every person knows how to fix their problems and they don’t need a books help. We have become a nation of dependents. We depend on simple media to help us solve and construe our personal issues. I wait for the day when we will be able to look at ourselves through our own point of view and rely on our own intuition to solve our problems.