Finally

Before I started this class, I would read very seldom on my own, not because I don't like reading, but rather because I'm not a fan of reading multiple books at once, and I'm almost always reading a book for a required English class. Right now it's David Copperfield. I took this class because I wanted to become a better writer, and to become a virtuoso in the art of applying new vocabulary in a pragmatic way, whether it be on the SAT, or on this blog, or anywhere else. I wasn't so excited about the reading part of the class, at first, but I surprised myself by finding it rather easy to pick out books that interested me. I enjoyed all the books I picked, and didn't struggle with any of them, but I rarely went too far out beyond the 100 page quota, simply because I was busy with a lot of other things.

I would find myself reading in silence usually, I rarely play music while I read unless I can't find a silent place in my house that has adequate lighting to read. Then, sometimes, it is necessary to put on some tunes that will drown out what's around me. Usually some sort of instrumental music is ideal. Anyways, I usually read in the evening, generally after dinner, and usually in a room by myself. It takes me a few minutes to really get into a book, but once I do, I find that I effortlessly fly through the pages, often finishing half, or all, of my quota in one sitting.

After this class comes to a close, I will make an effort to read more, especially if a time shows up during which I don't have any required reading for other classes. If my friends have read books, I talk to them about some of the things I liked about it, generally about characters, or in simple allusions in conversation that makes other people feel left-out because they haven't read these books.

Agatha Christie Response

Although my last post was rather recent, I've read a bit more in Cards on The Table and the murder has taken place. There are four suspects, as the author said in her explanation, or I guess author's note, and they are all of different character. They include a doctor, a couple women of different age, and one other suspect who is not so definable. The murder took place during the bridge game, and so the reader has to go back and investigate the game itself, to look at the records of what was played during the game, and how that relates to when the murder took place. It's a pretty interesting idea. I'm intrigued thus far.

In The Mood For a Murder Mystery

The next book I have chosen to read is Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie. I read one of her books in middle school, And Then There Were None, and I remember really liking it. That forced me to read Murder on The Orient Express, because I was told that it was one of her best books. I really liked both of them, at least I think I did, I can't exactly remember what I thought when I was reading them. I know I read them both rather quickly. Anyways, I'm a few pages into Card on The Table. Christie says right up front that in this murder mystery there isn't as much of an element of surprise as in her other novels, because there are only 4 suspects. The book centers around the game of bridge, which I have always wanted to learn how to play, but have never had the time or the drive to do so. But I do know that in bridge, 4 people play, and you have a partner. I'm interested to see what happens, and how Agatha Christie will still incorporate suspense into the story with this limitation of the surprise element due to the characters.

Currently

Book: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Pages this week: 102
Pages last week: 121
Pages this semester: 1210

3 Favorite Sentences of the Past Two Weeks

1) "So it goes." Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

2) "Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt." Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

3) "Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time." Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Done

After finishing Slaughterhouse-Five this past week, and deciding to put together my book talk power point about it, I've come to realize more of Vonnegut's overall themes for the book. It was most definitely an anti-war book-- that was clear up front. But, even more so, Vonnegut spits out some huge themes about society, free will, and religion. Every single mention of death in the book, especially after the bombing of Dresden, was followed by the statement "So it goes." I think Vonnegut could have meant to convey one of two ideas. Either, (1) that people did not realize how much death really occurs in war and that war and death should not be taken lightly or (2) that all death is simply something that happens, and that it cannot be prevented by any means. Actually, now that I think about it, he might have been trying to say both. I'm not totally sure. But he does bring about an interesting concept of free will: that everything that happens is going to happen no matter what, and that choice is an illusion.

Also, I thought it was cool that Kurt Vonnegut was from Indiana, and says so quite a few times in the book.

Slaughterhouse-Three

The plot of Slaughterhouse-Five really took a turn towards WWII at the end, more so than the rest of the book. From this book, and from what I've heard about Cat's Cradle, I wouldn't consider Kurt Vonnegut a science fiction writer. The science fiction aspect of this book kind of dropped out in the middle, I don't think that it was his main focus to make that part of the book prevalent. As Vonnegut said in chapter 1 of the book, which is basically like an author's note, Slaughterhouse-Five was originally his great anti-war book detailing the bombing of Dresden, Germany in 1945. For a while, I sort of wondered when he would get into that more, but my questions were answered in the last 1/3 of the book, or about that amount. Vonnegut kept the same sarcastic tone, and there was still time travel for Billy, the main character, but it wasn't until about halfway through the novel that the title of the book was introduced. I thought that was interesting.

Close Reading Bingo

Sadness, Tears, and Broken Rules in Writing

Rule 6: In the exerpt from Cather in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, utilizes a use of simple, but complex vocabulary. http://barrellxc2012.blogspot.com/

Rule 1: On the subject of his parents, he says "they're touchy as hell." http://laughapalooza22.blogspot.com/

Rule 4: Also, the matter of fact way Baker describes the lobby makes the reader sense that this is somewhere to not be impressed with, its an everyday occurrence. http://skullandglossbones3.blogspot.com/

Rule 3: Although the language is simple in usage, it builds upon itself and becomes figuratively advanced. http://bookworm-days.blogspot.com/

I found that one of the best excerpts came from Intrusion of the Soul.

In this excerpt from his novel "Catcher in the Rye", J. D. Salinger's common and vulgar diction expresses the irksome discontent the protagonist has for the world. He excessively uses expletives and demonstrates the only implication of a simile is when something is compared to "as hell". This and his irritation of his current situation and Hollywood convey his resentful irritation of the artificiality which lies heavily in society. His employment of the hyperbole that his "parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything personal about them" underscore his hostile attitude toward their preoccupied parenting style and dark secrets they want kept hidden. The easily readable syntax invites the reader into Holden's world of aggravation. http://mallorymills94.blogspot.com/

Irksome is a great word.

Slaughterhouse-Two

The most repeated statement in the entire book is "so it goes." Vonnegut repeats it anytime death is mentioned. His themes are conveyed by his made up, highly stereotypical aliens, the Tralfamdorians. They have a different grasp of time than Billy Pilgrim and the rest of the inhabitants of Earth do. They see time as a human would see "the Rocky Mountains. It's all one big line." This is basically the idea that time cannot be changed, it is as set-in-stone as a mountain range is. To the Tralfamadorians, time is one big line, made up of various moments. Each moment has neither a cause nor an effect, but simply is. The question, "Why?" doesn't exist. I thought that was one of the most interesting parts of everything that's happening in this book. I think this sort of indifference and meaninglessness is Vonnegut's biggest theme too.

Slaughterhouse-One

This is my first response post concerning the book I'm currently reading, Slaughterhouse-Five. The title of the book has yet to be explained, and I'm almost halfway through the book. I've found it interesting and entertaining thus far. Humor is definitely a huge part of the book, but it's not laugh-out-loud funny. Vonnegut is a satirist, and he comments on everything from religion to authority to, most importantly, war and violence.

The main character's name alone is a comment I think. Billy Pilgrim's last name is typically defined as one on a religious journey of some sort. I suppose that means that by the end of this book, if Vonnegut's ironic style continues, Billy Pilgrim will have lost any sort of religion he ever had. So far, the book reminds me of Catch-22 a lot, but it's certainly not as painful to read. Catch-22 was a war book that didn't include time travel, and was made up entirely of contradictions that were supposed to be funny. I personally got tired of them very quickly. In Slaughterhouse-Five, however, the ironies are entertaining and the black humor stands out quite a bit from anything else I've ever read.

Practice Diction Analysis

J. D. Salinger's coarse and personal language in Catcher in the Rye creates an informal characterization of the narrator and his circumstances that is easy to relate to. The uncensored and colloquial words used in this excerpt are blunt and common in elevation. The narrator references David Copperfield by stating that his childhood was full of that "kind of crap," which underscores the idea that the narrator himself is part of the hoi polloi. The language most often has a negative connotation, including a phrase the describes certain characters as, "touchy as hell." The narrator's tone is resentful toward his own circumstances, of which he obviously has poor impressions. The language lacks any sort of mellifluous musicality, the sounds are dull and discordant. They too convey the narrator's "crumby" perspective on others' lives and successes.

New Zealand

Well, this is the first post I've ever made about New Zealand, and I thought it appropriate considering the title of my blog.

New Zealand won the Rugby World Cup yesterday! France lost 8-7 to this mighty island nation that once ruled over Oceania, but now holds the world in the palm of its highly skilled and athletic hand.

Currently

Week 1 Q2

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Pages this week: 101
Pages last week: 109
Pages this semester: 987

1) It is written like an infuriated tirade, with no hint of class. (A Scrap of Parchment)
2)Up Your Score on the other hand, speaks with a mixture of intricate words and slang pop-culture references that are very punctuated, straightforward at times, but somewhat suggestive, and often light. (Contemplations) 
3) Ron McLarthy's novel "the Memory of Running" is common and lacking picturesque, very bland and basic. (Case 1)
4) On the other hand, in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a more blunt and vulgar form of diction is used. (bill963)
5) This book takes place in the 1800's so naturally the diction and language is more formal and musical. (UNDERWATER)

Explanations

1. I really like this comparison. I'm not completely sure what's meant by an "infuriated trade," but it sort of makes sense.
2. The contrast explained in this sentence caught my attention. Intricate mix of words, but still a straightforward and light tone.
3. I think the way it's described as "lacking a picturesque nature" was innovative.
4. I can relate, I think this book is described well, seeing as I've also read it. I would agree.
5. I found it interesting that this blog related the sound of the language to the setting of the novel. I guess we don't talk or write as elegantly or as musically as people did in the 1800's.

Style Mapping

The three excerpts I will be comparing today are from Neil Gaiman's Stardust, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian and Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men. The language Gaiman uses in Stardust is not intricate or fancy, but rather plain. The writing is formal, descriptive, yet not eye-catching. A few adjectives could be categorized as elevated language, but as a whole, the passage falls in the middle of the gamut. Some predictable repetition of words occurs, creating neither a harsh, coarse sound, nor a melodious one. Thus, with this indifferent word choice, the passage is denotative; no suggestions are made about positive or negative meanings. Cormac McCarthy, on the other hand, has written various novels in various styles on various ends of the spectrum. Blood Meridian is written in ornate and unique language, and employs the use of several elevated adjectives and profoundly original nouns. It is much more connotative in language than Gaiman's selection, the words are used to portray either a negative image of the harsh effects of the elements of nature, or a positive, charismatic image of a simple country boy. The passage has a slight musicality to it, the words and the images they create are soothing in a way. However, a passage from one of McCarthy's other books, No Country For Old Men, is vastly different. The language is rough and coarse in order to portray the common colloquialisms of southern Texas. Often times, the words used by the narrator are denotative, as most of the opinions are given through character dialogue. In this piece, in contrast to the first two excerpts, the language gives a harsh, southern sound, because it fits the setting and the themes of the novel.

Kurt Vonnegut, The Man and The Song

I have now decided to read Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. It's a bit of a change of pace from my last book. I actually picked out this book in a unique way, no one recommended it to me. I've recently been listening to the band Born Ruffians, and one of my favorite songs by them is called "Kurt Vonnegut". When I saw this book on Mr. Hill's shelf, I did sort of a double take, because I had no idea he was an author up until that moment. How ignorant of me. I went home and googled Kurt Vonnegut, and found that he'd written a great many books. So, I've decided to read this book because if he's a good enough author to inspire that great of a song, which I recommend you all listen to, then I ought to at least try reading one of his books.

Back to Earth

I just finished reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven this morning. I thought it was pretty good. It was a happy ending, I mean, how can it not be? The whole book is set in heaven, kind of. It was interesting. Albom has a real imagination and an interesting perspective on possible lessons we'll all learn after we die. It's not super cheesy or philosophical or anything, there's a definite plot line to the story. There had to be for the author to keep the reader's attention. The main character learns that even though he messed up and killed an innocent little girl in WWII, he made up for it the rest of his life by keeping kids safe on amusement park rides. It works out, I guess. The big theme of the novel is that everything you do, and every person you meet affects you, and affects everyone else. It's all one big story. Life that is.

Quarterly

I have been pretty challenged so far in my reading for Etymology, just because sometimes I struggle to find time to read 100 pages a week. As a result, it's pretty important that I read something that catches my attention and is fairly easy to get through, just so it doesn't feel like another homework assignment that I should just get done with, and not worry about anymore. I try to pick books that aren't all that challenging to read, but at the same time, I don't like books that don't give me any sense of accomplishment. I like the feeling I get when I have learned something from a book, or when it made me think of something in a new way, instead of just feeling like I read a meaningless story. I find myself reading for this class most often between about 8 and 11 pm, about 2 or 3 times a week. It works pretty well for me. For the rest of the semester, I would like to pick books that have some sort of literary significance, just so that if they ever came up in conversation, or even on a test, I wouldn't be in the dark about them.

A Diner in the Forest

The third person in the story never met Eddie, but she tells him about his father. For some reason, the location in heaven appears to be a greasy spoon in the middle of a pristine, vast mountain range. I was sort of confused by that. Anyways, Eddie learns that he has wrongly hated his father for not speaking to him, and for dying when he did. He had always thought that his father died because he stumbled in drunk and soaking wet from falling in the sea one night, and as a result developed pneumonia. However, his father actually dove into the sea to save his friend from drowning. Nobody knew but a woman named Ruby, who tells Eddie all of this. He is sorry and forgives his father in the end. I still like how the reader finds things out at the same time the character does in the book. This book is pretty interesting, everything ties together, and it's a pretty easy read. I've only got about 50 pages left to read at this point.

Fire, Bullets, The Philippines, and Heaven

The second person Eddie, the main character, meets in heaven is his captain from the army in WWII. Eddie had a crippled leg after the war, that plagued him his whole life. In this, his second person and second lesson he learns in "heaven," which isn't paradise at all, but rather a learning experience for people about their lives on earth, Eddie learns that the captain was the one who shot his leg. The cool part about this book is that the reader learns things along with the main character. Dramatic irony is definitely not part of the story, the story follows Eddie's thoughts, and the reader discovers things with him. I'm not much for books where everything has a lesson, I've always thought that they were a bit cheesy, but this one isn't too bad so far. It reminds me of the plotline of Darles Chickens's A Christmas Carol. I've never actually read it, but everybody knows what it's about.

Eddie's captain shot his leg because Eddie was about to run into a burning building. He was under the impression that there was someone in the building that he needed to save. Eddie would have died in the fire had the captain not shot him in the leg. The lesson was sacrifice. The captain took his leg, but saved his life. Later, the reader also finds out that the captain dies because he stepped on a land mine while trying to help the others escape from an enemy camp in the Philippines.

Currently

Pages this week: 102
Pages last week: 110
Total Semester: 777

3 Favorite Sentences of the Quarter:

1) "The first rule about fight club is you don't talk about fight club."
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

2) "That left the police, who must think that he thought that they thought that he thought they were very dumb."
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

3) "There are no clean getaways."
No Country For Old Men movie poster

These have definitely been my favorite sentences. Without sentence number 1, the whole book of Fight Club would fall apart. Well, maybe not. But it would not be as memorable a story, or as fascinating a concept without that sentence. I'm confused as to why Palahniuk uses "about" instead of "of" in the sentence. Oh well. It makes it kind of different I suppose.

The second sentence, although it's tough, is actually possible to comprehend. It has taken me a long time and a good amount of read-throughs, but I think I understand it now. You really have to think about it for it to make sense. But it caught my attention

The third sentence just makes me think. It's the perfect movie caption for a movie poster. It makes you want to watch the movie and see what happens. I haven't seen the movie yet, and I guess it won't be as suspensful when I do because I've read the book, but I really want to.

Blue Men Die

In the first 57 pages of The Five People You Meet in Heaven, the main character meets a man in heaven that has blue skin because of something he took in to his body, given to him by a chemist. The main character, when he was a boy, indirectly caused the death of a blue circus freak by running out into the middle of the road to chase a ball. The man with blue skin had a heart attack after he almost ran Eddie down, and Eddie didn't even know it. So, that's the story so far. Apparently, each person chooses their own heaven, that corresponds to their favorite place on earth.

New Book Time!

Well, I just finished the ever popular and equally bloody book No Country For Old Men. And I didn't know what to pick up to finish off my last 40 pages this week, so I chose something that's been laying around my house for a long time. Quite a few of my family members have read it and they recommended it to me. It's called The Five People You Meet In Heaven, by Mitch Albom. I'm not too far in right now, but so far it's a pretty easy read, and it starts out with the main character dying, hence the title about heaven. I'm not sure what to expect so far. It's a bit different from the books I've read so far. This one is supposedly more inspirational, and less solemn and bloody than the last three books I've read.

Upon Finishing No Country For Old Men

A lot has taken place since my last post. Llewellyn Moss met a young, 15 year old girl who was hitchhiking along the highway. Unfortunately, as I realized, Moss's tragic flaw, kind of, is his pride. I wouldn't call Moss a tragic hero at all, so I guess it's more of a character flaw. Regardless, it's revealed in his conversations with his new acquaintance, the young girl, that he is overly confident and thinks more of his luck and experience as an outlaw than is really true. They check into a motel on the way to El Paso, and then the story jumps ahead to some time later. McCarthy reveals, in a manner that is not dramatic at all, that Llewellyn Moss and his new companion were shot in that motel by a random, nameless Mexican. I was surprised at this. I didn't know where the story would go from there, because I had been thinking that the protagonist was Moss.

The theme of the book really comes out after Moss dies. Part of the theme is presented by Anton Chigurh, the scary antagonist, and part of it is revealed through Sheriff Bell. Basically, what I got from it had to do with fate, and about regrets. Chigurh represents, sadly, someone who controls fate and has no regrets about what he has done. He literally kills almost everyone he comes into contact with. He kills them because they got in his way, or because they inconvenienced him, or because he promised someone that he would kill them. In that sense, Chigurh, an emotionless killer labeled by most as a psychopath is the only truly honest character in the book. I think that's part of the tragedy of the book. Chigurh really is untouchable, and unable to be caught by the law. He represents pure evil that will always exist in the world. He even kills Moss's wife because he told Moss that he would before he died. He killed her just for the sake of keeping his word to a dead man, who, if alive, would have wanted him to let her live.

After Moss and his wife died, I realized that the real protagonist is Ed Tom Bell, the sheriff, and that the theme of the novel, and the title of the book are derived from his conversations and thoughts. He is an old-fashioned sheriff who can do absolutely nothing to stop Chigurh and men of his kind. He talks with his uncle toward the end of the book about how all his life he has regretted a decision he made in the war. And that he feels dishonest with himself and his life because he knows that he didn't do something he should have. Chigurh, even though he is obviously a worse man, knows who he is because he regrets nothing and controls his own fate. At the end of the book, McCarthy presents a theme of defeat and hopelessness, as Sheriff Bell retires, having not caught Chigurh, and having nothing good to look forward to in his life. He and every other man he knows are completely ignorant and saddened by the state of the country, the state of life. No one cares about them, and everyone seems to die young now. Overall, the book turned into a somewhat depressing piece that got me thinking. I'm not quite sure what I'll read next. But, I definitely want to see the movie now.

Said the Whale Album Art

Said the Whale Close Reading Album Covers

I think these might be kind of tough to analyze, but oh well. I couldn't decide what band/genre I wanted to do, so I just chose something I've been listening to. Good stuff.

Taking Abalonia

Islands Disappear

Bear Bones EP

Currently

This week: 110 pages
Last week: 101 pages
Total Semester: 675

3 Favorite Sentences of the Week:

1) "That left the police, who must think that he thought that they thought that he thought they were very dumb."
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

2) "Even if you went to him and gave him the money, he would still kill you, just for having inconvenienced him."
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

3) "I'm goin to say that not only will she be able to have an abortion, she'll be able to have you put to sleep."
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

I read sentence 1 over and over again, but I just get lost. Normally I can follow that kind of stuff, but that's just one too many I think. Sentence 2 doesn't really require explanation, it's just an intriguing description of the antagonist.

Sentence 3 must be put into context. Sheriff Bell is talking to an old woman from Austin, TX, a much bigger city than his country town. The woman talks to him about "right-wing this and right-wing that," and the Sheriff really doesn't care. He says his people are common folk. The woman continues on and says something along the lines of, "I want my grand-daughter to be able to have an abortion." Bell responds by saying, that it's very likely that abortion will be perfectly legal in the future, and in a successful attempt to get the woman to shut up, follows up with sentence 3.

No Country For Old Men Speculation

At this point in the story, Llewellyn's wife Carla Jean and her mother, who has cancer, are on their way to El Paso, Texas. Llewellyn instructed his wife to leave Odessa because Chigurh knew she was there. However, I'm fairly certain that it doesn't really matter where anybody goes in this book, Chigurh will always be able to find them. I can't wait to finish this book because I really have no idea where the ending will go. I'm not sure if McCarthy prefers the happily ever after ending, or the total death and destruction ending, or somewhere in between. I'm curious to find out. I'm guessing, with the way the novel has progressed thus far, that it will be closer to the total death and destruction ending. But I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Goodbye Wells

Well, 30 pages after my last post, the interesting new character that had been introduced, Wells, is now dead. Chigurh, the scary guy, killed him. Not only killed him, but shot his face off. Literally. I'm not all that surprised.

The Plot Thickens

A new character has been introduced to the plot by the name of Wells. He seems to be a sort of hit man, or an unofficial detective, hired by a client to find his 2 million dollars, and perhaps to kill Chigurh, the scary guy. It's not quite clear at this point. Moss, the protagonist, is knocked out, and wakes up in a hospital, I believe, with Wells standing over him. Wells then tells Moss about Anton Chigurh, the man who has been chasing after him. This was one part of the story that really stood out to me. Wells's description of Chigurh is intriguing to say the least. "You can't make a deal with him. Let me say it again. Even if you gave him the money he'd still kill you. Just for having inconvenienced him." Incredulous and cocky, Moss denies that Chigurh could be that terrible, or that he would even be able to find him. Wells is persistent, and insists that men like Chigurh will stop at nothing to kill. He warns that Chigurh might go to Odessa to attempt to kill Moss's wife. Moss puts on a tough persona and continues to deny that any harm could come to him or his wife. "You might think you're cut out for this, but you're not," Wells says to Moss.

After this section of dialogue between Wells and Moss is over, another fascinating scene involving the character of Chigurh occurs. Chigurh had been shot in the leg, and drives away to a small town, spilling blood all over the car seats. When he gets there, he finds a store that sells basic supplies and he buys some cardboard, scissors, tape, and some cotton. He then proceeds to go to a drugstore in the same town, and, instead of going into the store and even just shoplifting, he decides to take the supplies he had just bought and use them as a means of lighting on fire the gastank of a random vehicle parked outside the drugstore. The car blows up as he limps in, and he is able to find a packet of syringes, a bottle of Hydrocodone tablets, and some other pain killers. No one payed him any mind, or even saw him, because of the flames outside and at the front of the building. I just really thought that characterized him perfectly as a sick, heartless killer who feels no guilt whatsoever over the destruction and death that he causes.


 

Currently

Pages this week: 101
Pages last week: 100
Pages this semester: 565

3 Favorite Sentences of the Month

1) "The first rule about fight club is you don't talk about fight club."
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

2) "There are no clean getaways."
No Country For Old Men movie poster

3) "I dated a guy once who was a split personality."
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

4) "We both use the same body, just at different times."
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

The way I knew that these were my favorite sentences was I didn't even have to go back and look for them. They've just been sitting in my head ever since I read them. All very interesting.

If No Country For Old Men was a Picture Book

If No Country For Old Men was a picture book, there would be a lot of red color. Everything is bloody in this book. Also, if this book were full of pictures, what would the characters look like? Well, I just looked up the characters from this book on google images, just to see how the picture I had in my head compared with the actors cast for the extremely popular movie based on this book. I've seen previews and movie posters for the movie and one of the characters always looked sort of scary to me. So, I guessed which one he would be based on the characters in the book, and I was right. Anton Chigurh is definitely the scary-looking guy played by Javier Bardem.

Anyways, on to a real response to the reading. The plot has definitely picked up now, and I will say that it's not quite as fun to read about action scenes with a lot of gunshots as it is to watch them in a movie or something. That's really one of the only aspects about reading that I can think of that isn't better than watching the movie. Not all the action sequences really make sense to me while I'm reading them, but maybe they're not supposed to make sense. Who knows. Regardless, I'm definitely going to watch the movie after I'm done reading this.

Although the plot itself hasn't made all that much sense to me thus far, the book has kept my attention, but more importantly, some interesting themes/statements have been presented. The main character, Moss, is running from everyone and everything at this point, trying to hold onto his life and his new found fortune. He thinks to himself that at some point, he's going to run out of luck. And he doesn't know what he's gonna do then. I think that the sheriff is turning into my favorite character. He says things like, "I think that when the lies are all told and forgot, the truth will be there yet." He also realizes the hopelessness of being the only symbol of law and order in his part of the country, but has some sort of sick drive to continue on with his job. He's to the point where unheard of violence no longer surprises him in any way. As things get worse and worse around him, all he can do is sigh and keep doing his job the same way that he's always done it.

No Country For Old Men Thoughts

At this point, I'm about 100 pages into No Country For Old Men. The plot has picked up quite a bit, and a lot of new characters have been introduced. Something I've found that I'm not sure if I really like is that McCarthy doesn't use a lot of conventional punctuation. I get the feeling that maybe this is just a contemporary authors thing, Chuck Palahniuk had a very similar style. There are no quote marks for the dialogue. This makes it hard to follow at some points. It takes me a while to get used to his style when I pick up the book for a sitting, but after a few minutes, I don't really notice the absence of certain conventions, and the book goes a lot faster.

One thing I've really liked about the book so far is the first person narrations by the sherriff at the beginning of each chapter. A lot of the themes of the novel are presented here, I think. He talks about how there is true evil in the world, especially the part of the world that this novel takes place in. There's no point in trying to govern bad people, it's impossible. Anybody who belongs on death row will never get there. I thought that these themes were all thought-provoking, or at the least, they made me want to read on.

5 Claims

Claims:


The professionalism, precision and characterization of Phantom Regiment allows for near-perfect execution of the show's wide range of emotional contrasts: from arrogance, showcased through forte, marcato music and condescending, violent choreography,  to romance, expressed through graceful movements and a lyrical ballad, to combativeness, conveyed through brassy hits, percussive rhythms and fast-paced, militaristic visuals, to lamentation, through quiet music and slow drill, finally to vengefulness, underscored in the musically and visually strong and powerful finale to the saga of Spartacus. - A Scrap of Parchment


In this contemporary dance, choreographed by Mia Michaels, the varied confusion of the movement, pain and romance shown through the emotion, the regret expressed through the dull costume choice, and the dominating and agressive use of space create a sense of lighthearted passion between the two dancers. - My Everyday Sticky Waffle


[In this scene from Nick Cannons film Drumline, the aggressive and alert style, quick, narrow movement, and percussive, thundering rhythm] expresses[an alive sense of energetic celebration and modest jubilation]. - Case 1


This picture of the U.S. flag being raised on Iwo Jima in February, 23, 1945, shows the soldiers powerful and famous movement, swift and serious actions create the famous moment. - bill963


This passionate picture shows a strong sturctured, elegant ballet dancer expressing her confident sharp body language, elegant attire, and complex poised position. -Eddie


Two claims that stuck out to me really did so because of the sheer amount of descriptive words that fit into one sentence. I thought the claim about the contemporary dance was very strong.


Here is a link to a blog I was impressed with: http://ascrapofparchment.blogspot.com/

Close Reading

I chose to do my close reading assignment by studying an album cover of one of my favorite bands, Titus Andronicus. This is their first album, and although it looks like just a picture with white text under it, the background is black and blends in with the background of the blog.

4 Elements of Genre

 1. Font
 2. Use of Space (On the cover)
 3. Use of Space (In the picture)
 4. Lighting (In the picture)

12 + adjectives

Commanding
Simple
Classic
Historical
Old-Fashioned
Cluttered
Alive
Colorful
Dark
Homely
Still
Busy
Nostalgic
Thought-Provoking
Purposeful
Self-Pitying

Claim: On the album cover of Titus Andronicus's "The Airing of Grievances," the commanding, classic font and layout of the cover, as well as the cluttered and colorful use of space in the photograph convey the band's homely practice environment and admiration for the old-fashioned symbols of history.    

The Airing of Grievances Album Art

3 Favorite Poems

My three favorite poems that we have read so far in this class, in no particular order, are as follows:

"It is not the fact that I will die that I mind" by Jim Moore
"Dust" by Dorianne Laux
"Crying Man" by Charles Douthat

I really enjoyed the first poem by Jim Moore. The first line of the poem lead me to believe that it was going to be philosophical or something, but as I read on, it describes a variety of things that are dear to the author. Oak trees, his family, his dog all are described in unique imagery. And it comes together at the end with the theme of the poem, that he is troubled because when he dies, no one will have known what it is to love them the way he did.

The second poem by Dorianne Laux is just sort of interesting. She was so tired that she isn't able to remember what exactly happened when someone spoke to her, spoke the truth. Instead of a sharp taste, it's only a fine powder in her memory. I don't really have much of an explanation to why I like this poem. I just do.

The third poem is definitely the saddest of the three, but the most intriguing. I enjoy soft imagery and descriptions in poems, but I really prefer a poem like this one. The author presents a theme that I think is designed to make us guilty. There is someone in need of real help, and the author himself, and everyone around him fails to do anything about it. I really liked this poem, more of a story.

Currently

Pages this week: 100
Pages last week: 100
Pages this semester: 464

Top 3 Sentences of the Week:

1) "There are no clean getaways."
No Country For Old Men movie poster

2) "You ain't worth a greased jack-pin to ram you into hell."
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck

3) "If you knew there was somebody out here afoot that had two million dollars of your money, at what point would you quit lookin for em?"
No Country For Old Men Cormac McCarthy

The number one sentence for this week I consider to be the perfect movie poster line to catch someone's attention. It's been in my head ever since I started No Country For Old Men. The number two setence is just sort of fun to say. I don't know what a greased jack-pin is. And the third sentence is just sort of thought provoking.

Upon Beginning No Country For Old Men

Well, I'm not too far in, only 37 pages, but I started No Country For Old Men and it's held my attention so far. It's very fast paced. Cormac McCarthy, the author, has a unique style that is almost like Mark Twain's, except not really. Now that I think about it, the only similarity is their heavy use of local color and language. I suppose that's a quasi-accurate comparison.

            The novel starts out with a first person narrative written in italics, like a journal. I picture it as like the opening narration in the movie, where someone with a deep, gravelly voice is giving an ominous foreshadowing of trouble to come. “Somewhere out there is a true and living prophet of destruction and I don’t want to confront him. I know he’s real and I have seen his work.” That was the section that stuck out to me. I had no idea what he was talking about, or who he is, but it made me want to read on and find out.

            After the first person narrative, the novel switches out of italic font and becomes a third person narration of an action scene involving a man named Chigurh. In the second paragraph, McCarthy uses the word Yessir three times. That immediately caught my attention. Generally I don’t really go for that sort of thing, bad grammar and all, but I read on and realized that it was just the author’s accurate portrayal of local language on the Texas-Mexico border. After the first 7 pages, Chigurh disappears. I’m only on page 37 now, but he hasn’t come up again after page 7. So I have to keep that passage in my head so I can connect the stories when the time comes.

            The main character is introduced on page 8, Llewellyn Moss. While hunting in the mountains, he somehow stumbles onto what appears to be a busted drug deal. There are three pickup trucks surrounded by dead men, and there are bags of powder in the backs of the trucks. There is also a case in one of the trucks. The case contains $2.4 million dollars. Llewellyn is all alone, and realizes the implications of something of this caliber, but takes the case anyway. He acts like nothing happened when he gets home to his trailer, then goes back out that night and trouble breaks loose. I’m not sure why he went back out to the site, but he did. Perhaps he went to return the money. But that didn’t happen. Regardless, it’s a fast, exciting read so far.

Before Starting No Country For Old Men

I'm about to start No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I've never actually seen the movie, and I decided to read the book because my good friend Bill told me that I would like it. After reading the back and the quotes at the beginning its seems like it's going to be a very violent, fast paced modern Western. It's set along the Texas-Mexico border, which I don't know much about. I don't think I've ever read a novel that's set in the southwest. The area has never been of much interest to me. But, maybe that will change after I read this.

Of Mice and Men finished

Of Mice and Men was a terriffic book. I feel so accomplished just because it is considered a classic, and I finished it in two sittings. It was only 107 pages, and a lot of dialouge. Not a very thick read at all. The plot line was somewhat predictable, yet it kept my attention to the very end. The ending was sad, as George had to kill Lennie, so he could die while he was happy. While he was thinking about the dream farm that George had always promised him. Steinbeck does a great job of creating dynamic and distinct characters in such a short book, I thought. I also learned about the what it would be like to be a worker on California ranges during the 1930's. I've always wanted to know. Maybe that's why I enjoyed this book so much.

Currently

Pages this week: 100
Pages last week: 161
Pages this semester: 364

Top 3 Sentences of the Week:

1. "We both use the same body, but at different times."
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk

2. "I dated a guy once who was a split personality."
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk

3. "Lets have different color rabbits, George."
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

The concept of having a split personality is really fascinating to me, if not a little scary. It almost gets you wondering if you are someone else when you sleep. And as far as the different color bunnies go, I don't really have an explanation for that.

Of Mice and Men Initial Reaction

            After I finished Fight Club, I picked up something I’ve been meaning to read for a while, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. It’s definitely a change of pace from Chuck Palahniuk. It’s a short book, and friends have told me that they liked it. Right now I’m about 1/3 of the way through the book. I like it so far. Steinbeck does a really good job with characterization. George and Lennie, the two main characters, are almost complete opposites, yet they are best friends. Lennie has a large, strong physique, but has the mind of a child. George is a smaller guy, but looks after Lennie because he is smarter, and has common sense. With all the background given on past problems that Lennie has caused, I can’t help but suspect that the main conflict in the book will be Lennie accidentally getting himself into trouble worse than ever before. I’m interested to see how the book will play out.  

Fight Club ending

            I just finished reading Fight Club on Monday. It was one of the most interesting and definitely the most thrilling book I’ve ever written. As Mr. Hill commented, it doesn’t really have a genre. Palahniuk uses a lot of short sentences, and he skips around a lot, to create a sort of confused feeling. In the end, it all makes sense, because the goal, I think, was to make the reader just as confused as the narrator was. Basically, the main character of the book, the enigma that is Tyler Durden, turns out to be the narrator himself, or rather his split personality. “We use the same body, just at different times.” This explains why the narrator is always so tired, explains his insomnia throughout the book, and explains why Tyler told the narrator not to talk to anyone about him. Although friends throughout the first part of the book, Tyler and the narrator become enemies in the latter half, even though they are the same person.

Having a split personality is a fascinating concept, and I feel like it’s used in literature a lot; Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde is the most well-known example. But, Palahniuk goes about writing about the subject in a new way. Instead of informing the reader early on and narrating the story from 3^rd person, Palahniuk lets the reader find out as the narrator finds out. In the end of the story, after the reader founds out that the narrator and Tyler are one, everything Tyler has said backfires on him, and causes the narrator to hate the other side of his personality. The novel ends with the narrator killing Tyler, and thus, killing himself as well, to protect the people he loves from getting hurt by his other personality.  

I’ll admit that I was very confused by the story’s plot and by Palahniuk’s style for the first half of the book, but I grew to enjoy his writing style. It’s strange, and very disturbing. It did hold my attention though, and I found Fight Club to be an easy read, not heavy in terms of the reading itself. However, because of Palahniuk’s style, he crams in as many action-packed sequences as possible into a short amount of words. So, after I would finish a five page chapter, the plot would change significantly, and my whole understanding of the book would change as well. I found myself just kind of sitting and thinking after I would finish a section of reading, because so much happened, and I read so fast without stopping that I failed to realize just how disturbing some of the images that Palahniuk creates really are.

Currently

Pages this week: 161
Pages last week: 103

Seeing as I'm reading Fight Club right now, I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't make these my top sentences of the week. Of course I suppose I shouldn't be posting this because I'm breaking the first two and most important rules. Oh well.

Top 3 Sentences of the Week:

1. "The first rule about fight club is you don't talk about fight club."
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk

2. "The second rule about fight club is you don't talk about fight club."
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk

3. "I am Joe's Inflamed Flaring Nostrils."
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk

Fonts

The fact that the last paragraph of the really long post I just wrote is in a different font for no reason annoys me. That's all.

The Art of Writing Disturbing Books

I read an author's note about Fight Club in the back of the book, and Palahniuk said that one of his main purposes in writing this book was to make it more disturbing than the book he published before Fight Club. To name all of the highly disturbing things in this book would be impossible, so I'll just name a few I guess. For one, the narrator/main character goes to cancer support groups every day of the week, even though he doesn’t have cancer. At these support groups, the afflicted and dying patients hug one another for comfort. The narrator attends these group sessions and pretends to have various cancers and diseases just to hug people for long periods of time, and to cry and lower himself to nothing. He does so to feel better about himself, and to really experience death, so that when he leaves he somehow feels much better. Ironically, the narrator meets Marla Singer, one of the main characters at one of these support groups. Marla was the only woman at the testicular cancer support group, “Remaining Men Together.” For some reason, no one says anything to her, and I found it humorous.

Death is a pretty big theme in this book. The narrator’s best friend, Tyler Durden, has a fear that he will die without a scar on his body, thus he and the narrator (who is unnamed) start a fight club, because Tyler wants to know what it feels like to be punched really hard.

Tyler Durden is undoubtedly the most dynamic, influential, and disturbing character in the book. He is employed as a movie projectionist, a soap-maker, and a waiter on different days of the week, and he takes none of these jobs seriously. Palahniuk perhaps created this aspect of the character simply to make the reader cringe. Tyler splices “inappropriate” film frames into kids’ movies while he is bored on the job. As a soap-maker, Tyler uses the chemical lye in the process of making his product, and one day he told the narrator about how lye and water react to produce the most painful burn imaginable. He then proceeds to kiss the narrator’s hand and pour lye on it. As a waiter (in a very expensive and esteemed hotel dining room), Tyler spends his down time on the job…relieving himself into the food. All of Tyler’s schemes are eventually found out and punished, but, in accordance with his strange philosophy, Tyler doesn’t care about the punishment. He laughs at it. He allows himself to “hit rock bottom” as a person, because he believes it is the only way to be saved, and to be built back up.

I’m about 2/3 of the way through the novel, and right now I feel as if some sort of plot twist is coming up soon. Throughout the book I’ve noticed that the narrator’s friend, Tyler, is never seen with Marla Singer (Tyler’s “love” interest). Just recently, the narrator and Tyler have been acting very similarly and the sentence, “I know this because Tyler knows this,” has been very common. The mystery behind this grows as I keep reading, and I’m very anxious to see what Palahniuk does with this in the end.    

Fight Club initial reaction

Upon the recommendation of a friend, I started reading Fight Club a few days ago. It's unlike any book I've ever read before and I'm really not sure if I like it or not yet. I'm extremely confused about the plot thus far. The name of the narrator hasn't been given yet. Also, I've noticed that Chuck Palahniuk uses a lot of short sentences. But somehow, the book still flows. It's really interesting, unlike anything I've read before.

Friday Test post

Although I am making this post on saturday, the subject of the post is the personality test I took yesterday. My personality type was ENJT, extraverted, intuitive, thinking, judging. The description was somewhat accurate, the site said that people with this personality like to have control and always see what needs to be done. "I don't care to sit by the window on an airplane. If I can't control it, why look?" I disagree with that statement, I very much enjoy looking out airplane windows. The site description described my personality to the extreme end of being a leader. My career description was business management, or something of the sort.

Currently

This week: 103 pages
all read from Founding Brothers

Each sentence in the previous post is from the book Founding Brothers. Sentence one was simply chosen because I enjoy the thought of an existing place that is known by the name Weehawken.

3 Favorite Sentences of the Week

1) It was the invitation for the "interview at Weehawken."

2) Lincoln once said that America was founded on a proposition that was written by Jefferson in 1776; we are really founded on an argument about what that means.

3) The required ten paces between contestants put them at the extreme ends of the ledge.

Weehawken is a Phenomal Word

The first three sections of this book are "The Generation," "The Duel," and "The Dinner." I found "The Duel" to be the most interesting. This chapter is an account of the legendary duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, in which Hamilton is fatally wounded. The duel was fought in a place called The Plains of Weehawken. I think that word alone caught my attention while I was reading this. It was a rather dramatic setting for a duel; Weehawken is actually a sort of cliff, measuring 40 x 10 feet, that juts out 20 feet above the Hudson River. Each man took 10 steps and then fired after the command of one of the two witnesses. The duel was executed in accordance with code duello, an accepted gentleman’s code for conducting duels. By state law, dueling was illegal, but it was considered a cowardly stain on one’s reputation to refuse the challenge of a duel. I don’t understand how dueling would ever be considered a practical or humane way of settling a personal problem, especially among “gentlemen.” The fact that there was an accepted code for the practice is intriguing, if not somewhat troubling to me.

I knew the story of this historical duel before reading this selection, however Ellis goes into much more elaborate detail about the causes and effects of the duel. Apparently, there has been controversy among historians as to whether Hamilton or Burr fired the first shot at Weehawken. Thus two vastly different accounts of the duel have been created as a result of circumstantial evidence, based on the testimonies of two witnesses to the event. I thought it interesting that Ellis presented both a Hamiltonian account of the event and an account through the eyes of Burr’s followers, and proceeded to make his own assumptions about what happened.

The preface to the book, a section entitled, “The Generation,” brought up one fascinating point about the founding of our nation. According to Ellis, our nation was founded on an ongoing argument that some of the founders realized would never stop. Both parties now claim that they are holding true to the American principles established by the Founding Fathers. In reality, the men that shaped our nation were quarrelling over the same issues and a few of them were smart enough to realize that American government simply needed to provide a framework for ongoing argument.

“The Dinner” tells the story of how two men compromised the location of our capital as well as the fate of the national banking system over a single meal. Called the Compromise of 1790, Jefferson agreed to Hamilton’s financial plan in return for the Nation’s capital to be moved to the south, along the Potomac River. This was arguably the most important lunch date in the course of United States history.     

Founding Brothers intro

I have decided to read a book called Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis. It is one that I have been meaning to read for a while, but I've never gotten around to it. Reading a non-fiction book about history would probably bore most people, especially a book that recounts events 230 years past. But, I find history interesting, and enjoy the learning about the early period of our country. Founding Brothers, as I understand from what I've heard about it, tells the story of our "founding fathers" in a narrative style, which deviates from the boring and uninteresting effect textbooks create for the reader. The book is split up into six sections, each of which describes in detail one historic event that helped to shape this country. Chapter 1 is entitled "The Duel." It's not too long of a book, some 250 pages. Still, it should be an interesting read.