If I had to do a presentation in a film studies class, I would definitely pick the film Moulin Rouge! Not only is the story beautifully woven and interesting to discuss, but the way the film uses music to help portray the story helps it to move along and have a passion that can only be added when good music is present. Baz Lurhmann has a very unique way of presenting his stories. In this movie, he uses an abundance of gaudy colors, make-up and over-the-top sequences. It is almost as if you have stepped into a crazy, trippy, different kind of world when you watch this movie. The way it is presented separates it from reality, and yet the emotions presented are all too human.
This movie is worthy of academic study because it is not only interesting to watch on the surface, but the use of color and the way it was shot is fascinating to see. While some movies are shot in darker tones to present an air of solemnity, this movie focuses on light and dark. There are several scenes in which you see daylight, but this movie is about a writer (potentially light) and a courtesan—a woman of the night. As the story gets sadder, it becomes winter. There is a happy song in which the two main characters sing of their love and at one point in the song you see them walking outside where it is pretty. It is all symbolic. It would not make much sense to have a beautiful and warm love song happen in the rain with the characters looking miserable and shivering. It all works together to intensify what is happening with the characters and in the story.
At another point, Satine pushes Christian away and we see him yelling her name outside in the rain. It wouldn’t make much sense to have this scene happen in the sunshine; the stormy weather is a reflection of his heartbreak and sorrow.
The characters can be over the top and a bit silly, but I think that is part of what makes the story work. Of course two people cannot fall in love over the course of a song, but in this movie, you want to believe that they truly did. As you watch Christian and his willingness to give up everything (namely, the play he is writing) for Satine because he loves her, you cannot help but wish for a love like that.
Luhrmann also uses flashes of scenes to portray something, and the flashes do not entirely make sense until you have seen the entire movie. From what I remember, he uses a scene of Satine leaning her head back and in a pretty costume early in the movie and you realize later that he is foreshadowing how she dies. When Christian states in the very beginning of the movie that the woman he loved is dead, you know that when he falls in love with Satine that she is a goner. You don’t know, however, how she will die or when. When you see the flash of Satine leaning her head back at the end of the movie, you realize what Lurhmann was referring to by showing that clip early. I think he shows it several times before it happens for real. Instead of simply filming a movie and adding special effects only for action, he uses what he has at his disposal and makes an intensely artistic movie, which sets it in a world of its own.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Reflective Essay
During the course of this semester, I changed my major from English to English Education. I know that I love to read and that I am a decent writer, therefore, as I mentioned in my literacy narrative, going from thinking of pursuing a music degree to actively pursuing an English degree seemed like a good fit and a relatively easy choice. This change from English to English Education is simple as well. I never thought seriously about the prospect of becoming a teacher, but when I let the idea really sink in, all of a sudden it was something that I decided I wanted to do. What better way is there to use my passion for words, my crazy personality, and my love for working with kids? My goal as of now is to work with high school students. I have not definitively decided what grade in high school, but just having the idea of being a high school teacher is giving me such motivation to get through these semesters of college. I can do anything that I wanted to do with an English degree and more. While I love young children, I would really like the opportunity to be able to influence older kids and get them excited about English. Words are powerful and being able to use them well, in writing and in speaking, is an intensely useful skill. A lot of kids complain about English classes and how boring they are, but what if there was a way to get them excited about it? I would want them to be challenged, but to also eventually love being able to effectively put their ideas on paper and learn how to write well. Instead of dreading the next research paper, it would be amazing if they even somewhat looked forward to it as a way of getting their point across about a certain topic. Now this may not happen. I may become a teacher and realize I hate it. I do not think that will be the case, though. I will be able to be in an environment where I get to work with people. While I can be shy initially, I am very open, enthusiastic, and even a bit crazy when I get comfortable. I figure that will be useful in getting kids excited. With an English education degree, I can also teach junior high, but right now I feel like becoming a high school teacher is the direction I need to head. High school is an age where kids are finding out who they are. Some fall to peer-pressure and others learn to be strong. I would love to be a great influence on the kids that I teach and run across in the hallways. I would want to use my position of power as a teacher wisely, and not only get high schoolers excited about writing, but about reading and what they can learn from books as well.
We live in a very media-centered society and I think there are large amounts of young people who have never (or rarely) experienced the mystery of a good book. I would love to get them to read and enjoy reading, and also be able to express their ideas, whether good or bad about the content they have read. I find class discussions a great way to get kids to express their ideas and be invested in what they have read. If someone simply has to read something to take a test, they might read it to pass the test, but it will not mean nearly as much to them as if they had the opportunity to talk about and express their own ideas. Then, all of a sudden, they are invested in what they have read and might even see some of themselves in the characters they read about. They may even be able to learn something about life.
I definitely learn certain things about life through reading. In a book, you can experience different places, people, things and time periods. You get to live the adventure of the main character(s). You get to see how he/she/they handle conflict and what he/she/they do when road-blocks are thrown in her/his/their path of life. I am picky about the books I read because I think it is important to choose what you fill your mind with, although I am not perfect at keeping my mind as clean as I would like it to be.
I may write my own book one day. I currently write freehand poetry, and enjoy it as a recreational way of expressing myself and my feelings. I do not know if I have the patience to write a book, but we shall see.
In English classes, it is always interesting to see the types of books and readings the teacher picks out for the class to read. I love when the teacher takes the time to pick something interesting. Conversely, I cannot stand it when I am forced to read something boring. However, even if I do have to read something that I am not terribly fond of, it still exposes me to different forms of literature. If it is really boring, I can keep it in mind not to teach it. What if, though, I was able to take even the most boring piece of literature and make it somehow interesting for my future students? I have a couple more years left in college, and when I graduate I want to be well-equipped for my future job. The good thing about English and English studies, though, is that it does not have to be limited to a job. A person must learn to speak and write clearly and efficiently and be able to share his/her ideas in a clear and concise manner. That is a skill that can (and should) be used daily.
We live in a very media-centered society and I think there are large amounts of young people who have never (or rarely) experienced the mystery of a good book. I would love to get them to read and enjoy reading, and also be able to express their ideas, whether good or bad about the content they have read. I find class discussions a great way to get kids to express their ideas and be invested in what they have read. If someone simply has to read something to take a test, they might read it to pass the test, but it will not mean nearly as much to them as if they had the opportunity to talk about and express their own ideas. Then, all of a sudden, they are invested in what they have read and might even see some of themselves in the characters they read about. They may even be able to learn something about life.
I definitely learn certain things about life through reading. In a book, you can experience different places, people, things and time periods. You get to live the adventure of the main character(s). You get to see how he/she/they handle conflict and what he/she/they do when road-blocks are thrown in her/his/their path of life. I am picky about the books I read because I think it is important to choose what you fill your mind with, although I am not perfect at keeping my mind as clean as I would like it to be.
I may write my own book one day. I currently write freehand poetry, and enjoy it as a recreational way of expressing myself and my feelings. I do not know if I have the patience to write a book, but we shall see.
In English classes, it is always interesting to see the types of books and readings the teacher picks out for the class to read. I love when the teacher takes the time to pick something interesting. Conversely, I cannot stand it when I am forced to read something boring. However, even if I do have to read something that I am not terribly fond of, it still exposes me to different forms of literature. If it is really boring, I can keep it in mind not to teach it. What if, though, I was able to take even the most boring piece of literature and make it somehow interesting for my future students? I have a couple more years left in college, and when I graduate I want to be well-equipped for my future job. The good thing about English and English studies, though, is that it does not have to be limited to a job. A person must learn to speak and write clearly and efficiently and be able to share his/her ideas in a clear and concise manner. That is a skill that can (and should) be used daily.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Bishop's Geography
Elizabeth Bishop was a very displaced person. She lived with various family members and moved around quite a bit. Her poetry, in covert ways, is going to reflect her life. Maybe she pictured herself as part of three pieces of Geography. On the back cover, where it provides information about the author, it says that she lived in France, Brazil and the United States. Those are three completely distinct and separate places. Maybe this book of poetry reflects different aspects of her time in those three places and it is as if she is bringing it all together under one book of poetry.
I think she picked quotes from “First Lessons in Geography” to make a point. She highlights lesson 6 and then Lesson 10. Lesson six is very basic; it gives a very general and generic overview of geography and earth. Lesson ten, in a similar way, goes from general to specific. Instead of focusing on the world as a whole, it focuses on a map, which shows the world as a whole on a smaller scale. Then we look at directions. On the next page are questions about what certain things are and what is contained in each direction. Elizabeth seems to be wanting purpose, to make sense out of all she sees around her. It isn’t good enough that these things are here, she wants to know what they are and how she fits into the big picture.
This fits nicely with the idea that she comes to some degree of self-awareness in her poem “In the Waiting Room”. She is reading National Geographic and starts to see all these things outside her ken which she has never discovered or given real thought to before. As she looks at pictures of people and places that are so different than what she is used to, she finds her entire universe shifting. She has only known life to be one way and now she is discovering that there is so much more—there are different cultures and different ways of life, and she begins to wonder how she fits into this world. I think she is shocked to find that the date on the cover of the magazine is current, that all these things are happening in the same time period she was living in. By the end of the poem, her sense of the world is restored, but for a moment in time, everything she knew was in question. I find it interesting that with the title and the epigraph she chooses that she puts a poem in which she is reading National Geographic first.
In “Crusoe in England”, Elizabeth again looks at the world around her. She makes Crusoe the stand-in character for herself and has him look at the world around him. He looks at the island he is living on and finds it all very lonely indeed. Having it all to himself doesn’t make him happy. No matter how beautiful or impressive everything is, his loneliness overshadows it all. No matter where he is transported to, he still seems to face discontent with his place. He is lonely on the island save for Friday. Even though he is back in society at the end of the poem, he still reflects on Friday. Elizabeth, covertly, seems to be making a point that maybe there is only one special person in life that can alleviate loneliness.
“The Moose” is a poem about traveling on a bus. The narrator of the poem is looking out the window, observing the scenery as the bus passes by until it gets dark and then focuses more on conversations- be they real or imaginary. The narrator goes from studying the passing geography to thinking on conversations about loss. Everything changes, though, when a moose walks in front of the bus. For a moment in time, people are focused outside of themselves on the moose. The narrator is no exception, although she seems to understand that everyone feels the joy of seeing the moose; it is a personal experience as well as a communal one. Everything is passing by until the moose comes. For a moment in time there is focus and stability and the pure joy of just being in the moment.
“Poem” is about a painting—a moment in time captured in a simple scene. It makes the narrator nostalgic for something that once was but is no more. What is highlighted in this picture she describes is scenery, houses and animals: for a moment, it was all part of the geography of the area.
It seems Elizabeth Bishop’s entire life was spent in a state of transience and her poetry reflects that. Everything changes and moves too swiftly and by writing these poems, she can highlight the themes of transience, loneliness and loss, and she can also make life stop for a moment in time by forever cementing a moment or a series of moments into a poem.
The experience of reading Bishop’s poetry was mostly a good one. I enjoyed being able to talk about it and throw around ideas in class.
I think she picked quotes from “First Lessons in Geography” to make a point. She highlights lesson 6 and then Lesson 10. Lesson six is very basic; it gives a very general and generic overview of geography and earth. Lesson ten, in a similar way, goes from general to specific. Instead of focusing on the world as a whole, it focuses on a map, which shows the world as a whole on a smaller scale. Then we look at directions. On the next page are questions about what certain things are and what is contained in each direction. Elizabeth seems to be wanting purpose, to make sense out of all she sees around her. It isn’t good enough that these things are here, she wants to know what they are and how she fits into the big picture.
This fits nicely with the idea that she comes to some degree of self-awareness in her poem “In the Waiting Room”. She is reading National Geographic and starts to see all these things outside her ken which she has never discovered or given real thought to before. As she looks at pictures of people and places that are so different than what she is used to, she finds her entire universe shifting. She has only known life to be one way and now she is discovering that there is so much more—there are different cultures and different ways of life, and she begins to wonder how she fits into this world. I think she is shocked to find that the date on the cover of the magazine is current, that all these things are happening in the same time period she was living in. By the end of the poem, her sense of the world is restored, but for a moment in time, everything she knew was in question. I find it interesting that with the title and the epigraph she chooses that she puts a poem in which she is reading National Geographic first.
In “Crusoe in England”, Elizabeth again looks at the world around her. She makes Crusoe the stand-in character for herself and has him look at the world around him. He looks at the island he is living on and finds it all very lonely indeed. Having it all to himself doesn’t make him happy. No matter how beautiful or impressive everything is, his loneliness overshadows it all. No matter where he is transported to, he still seems to face discontent with his place. He is lonely on the island save for Friday. Even though he is back in society at the end of the poem, he still reflects on Friday. Elizabeth, covertly, seems to be making a point that maybe there is only one special person in life that can alleviate loneliness.
“The Moose” is a poem about traveling on a bus. The narrator of the poem is looking out the window, observing the scenery as the bus passes by until it gets dark and then focuses more on conversations- be they real or imaginary. The narrator goes from studying the passing geography to thinking on conversations about loss. Everything changes, though, when a moose walks in front of the bus. For a moment in time, people are focused outside of themselves on the moose. The narrator is no exception, although she seems to understand that everyone feels the joy of seeing the moose; it is a personal experience as well as a communal one. Everything is passing by until the moose comes. For a moment in time there is focus and stability and the pure joy of just being in the moment.
“Poem” is about a painting—a moment in time captured in a simple scene. It makes the narrator nostalgic for something that once was but is no more. What is highlighted in this picture she describes is scenery, houses and animals: for a moment, it was all part of the geography of the area.
It seems Elizabeth Bishop’s entire life was spent in a state of transience and her poetry reflects that. Everything changes and moves too swiftly and by writing these poems, she can highlight the themes of transience, loneliness and loss, and she can also make life stop for a moment in time by forever cementing a moment or a series of moments into a poem.
The experience of reading Bishop’s poetry was mostly a good one. I enjoyed being able to talk about it and throw around ideas in class.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Leads, Lingk, and Crumb Cake (Glengarry Glen Ross)
People can call Mamet whatever they want; the whole point of this play is men in a real-estate office. Mrs. Lingk wants Mr. Lingk to cancel the deal, but a specific reason doesn’t seem to be mentioned. He just tries to express the urgency in which he needs to do this because his wife said so. We, as the readers or audience of the play, have no idea what kind of financial place Mr. and Mrs. Lingk were in. Maybe they thought they could afford the property and then found out they couldn’t. Maybe they found out something about the company that they didn’t like and therefore wanted to pull out. Maybe they found another property that they liked better or maybe they just thought about their decision and decided they would rather not buy the property at this time. There are a multitude of reasons for their change of mind. And maybe it wasn’t all Mrs. Lingk’s doing. Maybe Mr. Lingk felt the same way, but felt silly saying so in front of these other tough men.
However, looking back to previous scenes we see that Roma and Lingk met in a restaurant and it could be said that when Roma shows Lingk the map of properties, he persuades him to buy a piece of land. When Lingk got home and told his wife about it, maybe she was able to set him straight and tell him that they didn’t need the piece of land. Or, if they bought the land together, maybe they had just been caught up in the excitement and then decided against it. There are multiple reasons why they could want to back out of the deal and get their money back—them wanting it back doesn’t necessarily mean that Mrs. Lingk is a bad person or even a negative character.
The other women mentioned in the play, be they exes or daughters or clients, all seem to be portrayed in a negative light. Is this because Mamet has had bad experiences with women in his own life and he therefore decides to portray them solely negatively in his play? Maybe the whole play is simply supposed to be negative. No one seems to be portrayed in a good light in this play. Everyone cusses, they all alternatively get frustrated with each other, and they all seem to be stuck in a job that isn’t going so well.
Harriet Nyborg seems to be a strange woman indeed. She serves crumb cake to these men and signs contracts with her husband, but for some reason they have absolutely no intention of paying and following through. How can you sign a contract and not follow through? Can’t legal action be taken if someone does that? Maybe her serving them crumb cake is a means of distracting them from the fact that she and her husband cannot afford any land. This couple had to realize, though, that, crumb cake or not, the real-estate guys were eventually going to find out the truth. Logically, them pulling a stunt like this (not once, but multiple times) makes them sound a bit crazy. She seems like a nice woman to bring food, but the fact is that it was she and her husband that signed the contracts— not just her. Therefore, can she really be portrayed in a more negative light than her husband if he is doing the same things? He might not have brought cake, but I think that’s the least of their worries if they are signing big contracts and not following through.
However, looking back to previous scenes we see that Roma and Lingk met in a restaurant and it could be said that when Roma shows Lingk the map of properties, he persuades him to buy a piece of land. When Lingk got home and told his wife about it, maybe she was able to set him straight and tell him that they didn’t need the piece of land. Or, if they bought the land together, maybe they had just been caught up in the excitement and then decided against it. There are multiple reasons why they could want to back out of the deal and get their money back—them wanting it back doesn’t necessarily mean that Mrs. Lingk is a bad person or even a negative character.
The other women mentioned in the play, be they exes or daughters or clients, all seem to be portrayed in a negative light. Is this because Mamet has had bad experiences with women in his own life and he therefore decides to portray them solely negatively in his play? Maybe the whole play is simply supposed to be negative. No one seems to be portrayed in a good light in this play. Everyone cusses, they all alternatively get frustrated with each other, and they all seem to be stuck in a job that isn’t going so well.
Harriet Nyborg seems to be a strange woman indeed. She serves crumb cake to these men and signs contracts with her husband, but for some reason they have absolutely no intention of paying and following through. How can you sign a contract and not follow through? Can’t legal action be taken if someone does that? Maybe her serving them crumb cake is a means of distracting them from the fact that she and her husband cannot afford any land. This couple had to realize, though, that, crumb cake or not, the real-estate guys were eventually going to find out the truth. Logically, them pulling a stunt like this (not once, but multiple times) makes them sound a bit crazy. She seems like a nice woman to bring food, but the fact is that it was she and her husband that signed the contracts— not just her. Therefore, can she really be portrayed in a more negative light than her husband if he is doing the same things? He might not have brought cake, but I think that’s the least of their worries if they are signing big contracts and not following through.
Monday, February 23, 2009
King Lear: Mothers and Tears
In King Lear, we have no idea what happened to the mother. We have no idea how long she has been gone or what her influence was when she was around. Because such a big deal is made about Edmund being an illegitimate son, I would assume that Lear was married at one point and that all of his daughters are legitimate. I cannot see him giving the kingdom to illegitimate daughters. However, because absolutely no background information is given about the mother, we can only speculate as to what happened to her.
While most women are taught to embrace and express their emotions in a healthy manner, most men are taught to essentially, “suck it up and be a man”. Instead of expressing sadness, they may express anger. Now, I am no expert in this subject and am merely making observations about how things seem to be. I beg that no one take offense at my ideas, but rather comment to the contrary if that is how you feel.
Lear is not only a man, but he is also a king. He has a ton of responsibility resting on his shoulders. Because he is taking care of so many people, he has had to learn how to keep it together. Maybe that is why Regan and Goneril are so set on taking the kingdom all for themselves. They will say whatever is necessary to gain control. Cordelia, on the other hand, is perfectly satisfied with truly loving her father in an appropriate way. She is understandably upset when he banishes her, but she does not feel the need to utter falsehoods about her feelings simply to gain more of the kingdom. She is content in where she rests in her father’s love and sees no need to make any more of it than there is. Goneril and Regan, on the other hand, do feel the need to be manipulative and to take advantage by stroking their father’s ego so they can gain more. Maybe this is where the wisdom of a wise mother would have come in handy. Having a busy father who is running the kingdom and no mother that we know of to bestow attention means that maybe these girls were truly only interested in having their father’s love and attention. I am not sure how it came to be that Cordelia was Lear’s favorite, but a parent having a favorite child only breeds jealousy and contempt within a household. For a while, maybe their father’s attention was all Goneril and Regan wanted. Maybe when they realized they would never have it like Cordelia did, they decided that the next best thing was to get as much of the kingdom as they could for themselves. They were under the impression that material goods would fill the empty space inside them that was craving their father’s love.
I do think that Lear loved his children. While he was a king quick to anger in his old age, he did seem like a father who loved his children. Cordelia did seem to be the favorite, but I wonder: was that only because she was the only one who didn’t try to manipulate her father? Did he at one point love all his children the same, and then chose Cordelia when it seemed his other children were too busy for him? Goneril and Regan are both married at the time this play begins and Cordelia is not. That would lead me to believe that she is still living at home with her dad. Maybe she chose to spend some time with him and they developed a close relationship because of the time spent together. Maybe Cordelia wasn’t the favorite, but just the one he was closest to and therefore it seemed like she was the favorite.
Lear is quick to anger during the first part of this play. He banishes both Kent and Cordelia in the first scene. Because he is king, I am not sure that he would have listened to his wife if she had been present and tried to pull him aside. However, a quick emotional reaction is far from rational behavior. If Lear had taken a moment to himself and had had a wife to talk things over with, maybe he would have calmed down and seen the error in his ways. Maybe having a wife in the room who spoke up on behalf of Cordelia could have helped Lear see things clearer.
I don’t know that I agree with the idea of Lear finding his feminine side. I think that he merely started to see his humanity and was humbled because of it. He decides to make amends with Cordelia, and does begin to cry, but I think that crying is healing for the soul. He has had the responsibility of being king for so long that maybe it is only when he doesn't have that responsibility anymore that he begins to embrace his humanity. No longer does he have to concern himself with an entire kingdom, but only with his own life and the lives of his daughters. He would not have been a very convincing strong-male type character if he had been weepy the entire play, but considering everything that happens in this play, a think some tears toward the end are ok. For him to realize that he can only do so much and that he was wrong in handling certain things the way he did actually makes him a better character than if he had died at the peak of his arrogance. Who is going to feel sorry for someone who doesn’t care what they did or who they hurt as long as they got their way?
While most women are taught to embrace and express their emotions in a healthy manner, most men are taught to essentially, “suck it up and be a man”. Instead of expressing sadness, they may express anger. Now, I am no expert in this subject and am merely making observations about how things seem to be. I beg that no one take offense at my ideas, but rather comment to the contrary if that is how you feel.
Lear is not only a man, but he is also a king. He has a ton of responsibility resting on his shoulders. Because he is taking care of so many people, he has had to learn how to keep it together. Maybe that is why Regan and Goneril are so set on taking the kingdom all for themselves. They will say whatever is necessary to gain control. Cordelia, on the other hand, is perfectly satisfied with truly loving her father in an appropriate way. She is understandably upset when he banishes her, but she does not feel the need to utter falsehoods about her feelings simply to gain more of the kingdom. She is content in where she rests in her father’s love and sees no need to make any more of it than there is. Goneril and Regan, on the other hand, do feel the need to be manipulative and to take advantage by stroking their father’s ego so they can gain more. Maybe this is where the wisdom of a wise mother would have come in handy. Having a busy father who is running the kingdom and no mother that we know of to bestow attention means that maybe these girls were truly only interested in having their father’s love and attention. I am not sure how it came to be that Cordelia was Lear’s favorite, but a parent having a favorite child only breeds jealousy and contempt within a household. For a while, maybe their father’s attention was all Goneril and Regan wanted. Maybe when they realized they would never have it like Cordelia did, they decided that the next best thing was to get as much of the kingdom as they could for themselves. They were under the impression that material goods would fill the empty space inside them that was craving their father’s love.
I do think that Lear loved his children. While he was a king quick to anger in his old age, he did seem like a father who loved his children. Cordelia did seem to be the favorite, but I wonder: was that only because she was the only one who didn’t try to manipulate her father? Did he at one point love all his children the same, and then chose Cordelia when it seemed his other children were too busy for him? Goneril and Regan are both married at the time this play begins and Cordelia is not. That would lead me to believe that she is still living at home with her dad. Maybe she chose to spend some time with him and they developed a close relationship because of the time spent together. Maybe Cordelia wasn’t the favorite, but just the one he was closest to and therefore it seemed like she was the favorite.
Lear is quick to anger during the first part of this play. He banishes both Kent and Cordelia in the first scene. Because he is king, I am not sure that he would have listened to his wife if she had been present and tried to pull him aside. However, a quick emotional reaction is far from rational behavior. If Lear had taken a moment to himself and had had a wife to talk things over with, maybe he would have calmed down and seen the error in his ways. Maybe having a wife in the room who spoke up on behalf of Cordelia could have helped Lear see things clearer.
I don’t know that I agree with the idea of Lear finding his feminine side. I think that he merely started to see his humanity and was humbled because of it. He decides to make amends with Cordelia, and does begin to cry, but I think that crying is healing for the soul. He has had the responsibility of being king for so long that maybe it is only when he doesn't have that responsibility anymore that he begins to embrace his humanity. No longer does he have to concern himself with an entire kingdom, but only with his own life and the lives of his daughters. He would not have been a very convincing strong-male type character if he had been weepy the entire play, but considering everything that happens in this play, a think some tears toward the end are ok. For him to realize that he can only do so much and that he was wrong in handling certain things the way he did actually makes him a better character than if he had died at the peak of his arrogance. Who is going to feel sorry for someone who doesn’t care what they did or who they hurt as long as they got their way?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Politics and Sentiment
In Marji’s mind, I believe that politics and sentiment do mix. Political beliefs are made on the basis of what a person believes in other areas of life. For instance, a person who is pro-life is going to support a candidate who is also pro-life; thus, their beliefs influence their politics. Marji’s political views in the beginning of the story are much the same as her parent’s. She wants to fight for the cause and trusts her parents implicitly in what they believe. They teach her why they believe what they do so that she will have a basis for standing up under it. I would argue that what you believe should be intelligent. Marji understood why she believed what she did because of the way her parents taught her. She was heavily influenced by their point of view. Her sentiment toward her parents mixed with her beliefs.
However, as she gets older she starts to see what is wrong in the current order for herself. She sees how boys get to essentially wear what they want while girls have to cover their hair. People she knows are killed. She cannot hold hands with a boy in public, but her parents were able to do so when they were her age. Marji begins to see the unfairness of it all for herself and wishes things were different. In the beginning of the book we see how Marji believes that she is the next prophet and she tells her grandma about the things she wants to change. Some things, like having the old not suffer, are nigh to impossible to accomplish simply because people get old and their bodies wear down. However, it is her love for her grandmother that prompts her to write such a thing. There are other things she longs to change as well. While she gives up the notion that she is meant to be the next prophet, we still see her emotion influence her decisions. Emotion is part of almost everything. People should base their beliefs on facts and not only feelings, however, emotion does play a part in the way we think and feel about the world and about the decisions we make. We make decisions about what kind of politics we have. Just because our emotions influence our decisions to a certain extent, though, does not mean we should let them run wild. Those who choose sides in politics are going to hold certain beliefs and those beliefs are definitely influenced by how a person feels and what they believe about a topic. Those in power should take facts into consideration and act accordingly. If someone in power simply feels that a woman’s hair is a turn on for a man and thus mandates the use of head coverings, their decision has little back-up. What evidence did this person base this assumption on? Where did this idea come from? Just because someone feels like women should be controlled and essentially oppressed does not make it right.
However, as she gets older she starts to see what is wrong in the current order for herself. She sees how boys get to essentially wear what they want while girls have to cover their hair. People she knows are killed. She cannot hold hands with a boy in public, but her parents were able to do so when they were her age. Marji begins to see the unfairness of it all for herself and wishes things were different. In the beginning of the book we see how Marji believes that she is the next prophet and she tells her grandma about the things she wants to change. Some things, like having the old not suffer, are nigh to impossible to accomplish simply because people get old and their bodies wear down. However, it is her love for her grandmother that prompts her to write such a thing. There are other things she longs to change as well. While she gives up the notion that she is meant to be the next prophet, we still see her emotion influence her decisions. Emotion is part of almost everything. People should base their beliefs on facts and not only feelings, however, emotion does play a part in the way we think and feel about the world and about the decisions we make. We make decisions about what kind of politics we have. Just because our emotions influence our decisions to a certain extent, though, does not mean we should let them run wild. Those who choose sides in politics are going to hold certain beliefs and those beliefs are definitely influenced by how a person feels and what they believe about a topic. Those in power should take facts into consideration and act accordingly. If someone in power simply feels that a woman’s hair is a turn on for a man and thus mandates the use of head coverings, their decision has little back-up. What evidence did this person base this assumption on? Where did this idea come from? Just because someone feels like women should be controlled and essentially oppressed does not make it right.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Moviegoer response
What began as a strange book about a man stuck inside his own head with his own ideas and a notion about a search ended as a book about real people finding that they did not have to emulate anyone in particular, but could simply live their own lives. Binx finally gets married to the girl he should have been with all along, the only one who ever meant anything to him. It took them choosing to break out of their commonplace existence for them to find some sort of peace about their lives. For both Binx and Kate, the best moments seemed to be found when something tragic occurred that broke people out of their regular existence. The catalyst to the final change is when Binx goes to Chicago and takes Kate with him. It is a time of discovery for them both and it scares Aunt Emily. After that experience, there seems to be a shift in all their lives. Binx is able to realize his love for Kate. Kate is able to confess her vulnerabilities and needs. For so long, Binx was trying to find a purpose for his life inside himself. His whole world shifted when he genuinely learned to care for someone else. Binx becomes real in the sense that he finally seems to realize that life is better lived serving others and not himself. Binx and Kate were not the only ones who became more real at the end. Aunt Emily gets mad and talks about her anger and fears in a way that makes sense. She wonders what made Binx turn out the way he did when she tried to give him the best upbringing she could. She wonders why it did not mean anything to him but he assures her that it did mean something; he simply sees the world differently and cannot express himself or the way he thinks about things as easily as she can. (p. 224-225). She berates him for not thinking of Kate’s mental health. She thinks that Kate needs to be protected. As real as she is for this time, when their conversation concludes, Aunt Emily dismisses Binx and begins to treat him as no more than a pleasant acquaintance coming to call. Maybe this is her way of coping with the fact that all of a sudden, things are no longer in her control. Binx and Kate are no longer children that she must take care of and guide their every step. Now they are a grown man and woman and they are capable of making their own decisions.Kate’s last request as Binx is leaving is that he wait for her. As he waits, his entire future is up in the air. When he despairs of her coming, he decides to try and get a hold of Sharon and ends up talking to her roommate Joyce instead. He comes to the conclusion that life is all about pursuing secretaries until he sees Kate pulling up in her car. Then everything changes. Life is no longer about shallow endeavors, but something greater. As soon as he sees her, he seems to realize that he really does love her and that maybe some of his purpose lies in loving her, marrying her, and taking care of her for the rest of their lives.Kate is the one who officially tells Aunt Emily that she and Binx are going to get married. It is Kate who finally cements this idea into reality. She wants to marry Binx. He is the only one who lets her be who she is and wants to be there for her and help her through life. He does not walk around pondering her illness. He simply accepts her for who she is, mental illness and all, and loves her anyway. Kate also loves Binx for all his idiosyncrasies. In her own way, she understands him as well. Their mutual understanding and love for each other fuels this new chapter in their lives. It is in this process of them finally realizing their love for each other that part of Binx’s search seems to have come to an end. He might find something else to search for, but for the moment, he is content with this knowledge, “There is only one thing I can do: listen to people, see how they stick themselves into the world, hand them along a ways in their dark journey and be handed along, and for good and selfish reasons”(p. 233). He seems to come to the conclusion that everyone is trying to find their way in this world and everyone has unique ways of doing so. He likes to watch and see how other people accomplish this and by doing so, he seems to be finding his own way as well.I do not think that he gave up completely on the search, however. I think a chapter of it may be closed to him now that he is able to see a little more outside of himself. In the epilogue, he talks about not having authority to talk about the search (p. 237). This seems to be a cop out. Maybe the broad search does not mean as much to him in this new phase of his life. Or maybe it means just as much and he is afraid to admit that even after all he has realized and all he has discovered, he will never know it all or have it all figured out. He will probably continue to search all his life, but for now, at least, he has started coming to the place where he realizes that life is about more than just his personal quest.
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