Final Blog

I think studying literature is very important. Literature has been around since the first language was created, and even before telling stories with drawings. Literature is important, I think, because it teaches us so much about the person and the culture he/she was writing in. Literature is also the source of most of our history, and we would know a lot less about our past if it was not for literature. Literature can also be intended to entertain, and some of the world’s best stories have only been passed down due to literature. Also, I think literature is very important, especially to the writers of it, because they can express their ideas without speaking which sometimes gets in the way of someone trying to explain themselves and their ideas. The three main reasons to study literature are to experience, experiment and expand.
The main reason I enjoy reading literature is for the experience. Just by reading someone’s work you can learn about their gender, race, historical eras, social classes and state of mind. I think this helps us broaden our understanding of other people and, more importantly, life itself. When you read great writer’s literature it almost puts you into their world and you can feel what they are feeling and understand them. I loved the experience of reading “The Hobbit” this semester. Reading it almost put you in Middle Earth and Tolkien is so good at explaining this world that it is very easy to imagine it and experience it. Also reading the different selections for the literary salons, I think, was a great experience. It put us in the shoes of so many different personalities and different time frames and cultures. Also reading and writing poetry had the same affect.
I think experimenting is also a huge part of literature. I have never really had a lit class where we have experimenting with so many different forms of writing. We constructed short stories and poetry in unconventional ways I found very interesting. Doing this, I think, helped us understand what it’s like to go through writing all kinds of literature. Also the experience of performing our poems and plays was a very new experience. I’m not used to doing anything like that and I think it was a good experience for me. It put me in the shoes of actors and poets performing their work and gave me a new respect for the genius of a lot of these people and how easy it is to express themselves.

The last reason to study literature is to expand. I liked, especially with the book clubs, reading a piece of literature and everybody sharing their ideas on this piece of work. This was affective in expanding your understanding about the story and sometimes other things in your life. It’s great when the view or ideas of someone else change your mind or further your knowledge on a subject. I also loved expanding my knowledge on different writers and important pieces of work that we discussed in our literary salons.
There are many reasons why we read literature and it is important what we get out of it. I think literature can teach us a lot about other people and especially sometimes ourselves. I also think literature also bridges the gap between generations and helps them understand one another. This class changed my idea of literature and made me think of how important it is. Without literature many amazing stories would have been lost, and more importantly many genius ideas and views on subjects would have been lost and the world would not be nearly what it is today.

Outside Class July 23

One of my friends introduced me to one of the best songs I’ve ever heard with some of the cleverest lyrics I’ve ever read. I love hip-hop and this song is considered one of the best hip-hop songs of all time. I song is from the rapper Common who was known as Common Sense back then, and the song is “I Used to Love Her.” Here’s the first verse from the song.
I met this girl, when I was ten years old
And what I loved most she had so much soul
She was old school, when I was just a shorty
Never knew throughout my life she would be there for me
On the regular, not a church girl she was secular
Not about the money, no studs was mic checkin her
But I respected her, she hit me in the heart
A few new york niggaz, had did her in the park
But she was there for me, and I was there for her
Pull out a chair for her, turn on the air for her
And just cool out, cool out and listen to her
Sittin on a bone, wishin that I could do her
Eventually if it was meant to be, then it would be
Because we related, physically and mentally
And she was fun then, Id be geeked when shed come around
Slim was fresh yo, when she was underground
Original, pure untampered and down sister
Boy I tell ya, I miss her
The song is a showing how Common does not like the change that is going on in hip-hop. It turned from being a movement and an expression of African American views, and slowly turned into what is today. Today it is more about money, cars, “ice”, and trying to be the hardest rapper in the game. But the hip-hop I love is more pure and actually has something to say. In this song Common is comparing hip-hop to a girl. He speaks of how hip-hop went from afro-centricity and jazz based, to commercial based with people “stressin how hardcore and real she is.” This is a very important song in the history of hip-hop and I encourage anybody to listen to this. Even if you do not like hip-hop just listen to it as poetry. I also recommend Common to people who like this type of music. He is very smart and insightful and is considered one of the best lyricists in hip-hop history.

Inside Class July 23

For class we had to read literature from many literary periods for our Salon Project. When I picked up the Algonquin Roundtable I realized the time period was 1919-1929, and I thought it was going to be very confusing vocabulary and hard to read. This was not the case, and I found this very entertaining to read. First, I enjoyed the first poem called “Resume” by Dorothy Parker. I liked the dark side of this poem, and the ironic ending saying “Might as well live.” I think she’s talking about suicide is not worth it so you might as well live your life. Then, I really enjoyed “Full Fathom Five.” I was reading this story in my house alone and late at night and I love the fact that it gave me the creeps. I also love the footnote at the end of the story. It shows how much a story can change when it is passed down to people. The fact that the seaweed was supposedly seaweed that only grew in Australia and not on dead bodies was amusing. Also, that the supposed ghost was on his honeymoon and not kicked out by his father according to the story. I also enjoyed learning more about the authors in the literary salon in class. I found it amusing a group of people met every day in the same place for years to trade ideas and views on the work each other was doing. I also enjoyed the dark humor that some of these writers and personalities displayed liked George S. Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott.

Outside Class July 7

I am a frequent reader of “Sports Illustrated,” and there is a section on the back page every week called “Point After,” that is my favorite part to read. It is usually uplifting or amazing stories in the world of sports. This month’s was a story called “Last Round With Tuffy,” by Chris Ballard. The article starts off with Ballard explaining a larger-than life character named Rubin “Tuffy” Jordan. He speaks of stories that Tuffy climbed stairs on his palms, hopped five miles on one leg, bowled an 824 series, and could have been a major league short-stop if he hadn’t spent five years as an anti-artillery gunman in WWII. After setting this man up as unstoppable, the story turns more grim. On May 1 Tuffy found out he had cancer of the bladder, liver, and colon and was spreading day by day.
With Tuffy’s situation deteriorating his son’s friend suggested that the two take him out for one last round of golf. So the two decided to take him to a close by nine-hole course. The son and his friend had to pretty much hold up Tuffy on every swing to make sure he did not fall over or hurt himself. After two rounds of play the three sat on the ninth tee box. It was a par 3 140-yard hole with the green behind two sand traps. The son and his friend both hit decent shots on the green. Then Tuffy hit his ball, while falling off balance. The ball landed over the traps and rolled out of their sight, and he said “Now there’s the way you hit the ball.” The three expected to find a close shot when they reached the green, but instead they could only find two balls on the green. The third was in the hole and it was Tuffy’s. Tuffy died in his sleep four days later. His last golf shot was a hole-in-one at age 86 with cancer destroying his body. This is exactly why I read this section, for uplifting stories like this that make it seem like anything is possible. This section is extremely well written for journalism, and I suggest reading it to anybody that gets the chance.

Inside Class July 7

For class we were supposed to read “Introduction to Poetry” in our book. I read it and it really surprised me how much goes into poetry. I have never read much poetry in any class I’ve taken before so I did not know much of the language of poetry. So reading this, I learned a lot of new information that was very interesting to me. I took a lot of notes on the Figurative Language section, because I only was familiar with metaphors, similes, understatements, and oxymorons. I also thought it was amazing how many rhymes and verses there are, and it makes me feel sorry for Literature majors.
Before reading this article I did not think there was this much to poetry and anybody could do it well. But after reading this article and hearing everybody’s poems in class, I realized there is more to it than I thought. I gained a new respect for writers who do poetry. Reading the poems I realized they need a vast vocabulary, even to make the rhyme scheme work. I also poetry was generally less than a page long, but I quickly forgot that when looking for a poem that we liked in class. I also learned that poetry can actually bring up many feelings like my story “September Twelfth,” did in bringing up feelings from September 11, 2001. I think reading this article and reading poetry in class was a different and new experience, and I’m looking forward to writing our own poems in class and performing them.

Down and Dirty Poem Post

I chose “September Twelfth, 2001,” by X.J. Kennedy for my poem to read in class. It was a very powerful poem that took me back to the horrible memories of September 11, 2001. The poem uses blank verse that is arranged into three, four line verse paragraphs. It also uses a metaphor to compare Americans to bubbles bursting in a boiling pot, which I think very cleverly depicts what many Americans were feeling after this tragedy. The poem also uses very strong imagery when it portrays the people jumping from the buildings. It uses gustatory imagery when it talks about the couple waking up saying they are “tasting the air.”
I think this poem was spot on when describing what the American public felt after September 11. I think the couple felt very thankful for still being alive, but also had heavy hearts for the people that perished in the attacks. I think they also felt for the people that gave their lives trying to help the people in the building, and felt pitiful because they could not help. This was a very short but powerful poem that made this activity less painful than I thought.

Outside class July 2

I saw a very funny and interesting movie this week called “Year One.” It stars Jack Black, who is one of my favorite comedic actor, and Michael Cera, a very funny up and coming actor in his own right. The movie is about the two actors that are in a village in the time of Christ. Jack Black very humorously gets kicked out of the village and Michael Cera chooses to follow him. The two are on a journey to find what other parts of the world have to offer. They are on a mission to get over the mountains, where the village people, except for Jack Black, think the world ends. The story is set around the time of Christ and has references to stories that happen in a bible, which is the reason I’m writing this blog.
The movie very cleverly and humorously makes references to the Forbidden Fruit, Cain and Abel, and they also run across Abraham. Many people may think of these references as disrespectful, but I think if you have a sense of humor than you will find it enjoyable. First, Jack Black eats fruit off of a Forbidden tree that is near their village, which makes him think he has all of the knowledge in the world. After he eats it a snake shows up and very humorously wraps around Michael Cera. This act eventually gets Jack Black kicked out of the village which starts the journey. The first people the two run into on their journey are two brothers fighting in a field. One brother is jealous of the other brother and ends up killing the other in a very funny series of events I will not ruin for the readers. One of the last people they run into on their way to Sodom and Gomorra is a man about to sacrifice his own sun in the mountains. This man is Abraham who is to inherit the “Holy Land” as promised to him by God. In a series of events Black and Cera get scared of Abraham, eventually running away when Abraham starts talking about circumcising them. I recommend this movie if you have a good sense of humor toward religion. It is very clever in its references and keeps you entertained throughout.

Star Wars Response

There are many similarities between Star Wars and Western films. A first obvious is the bar scene with Luke and Obi-Wan. It’s almost exactly like other bar scenes in Westerns. First, they come in as the two outsiders with everyone in the bar looking at them strangely. Then, the character that comes up to Luke in the bar and tells him that he and his friend do not like him is almost a stock character from Westerns. Another situation is when Obi-Wan cut the man’s arm off and Han Solo shoots the character with his blaster and nobody reacts. This is very similar to an overreaction in a Western bar, when the people just drag the body out, and the shooter stays at the bar. Many Westerns also portray anti-heroes, which Star Wars does with Han Solo. Also, I think the space in Star Wars is almost like the desert in Westerns. It is a giant, expansive setting where it seems anything is possible.
I think Star Wars is phenomenally popular first of all because it is a great, epic story. There are such a wide range of characters, which watchers of the movie almost certainly have to relate to at least one of the characters. At times it has many suspenseful actions parts, but it also has many times of comic relief that gives a great balance. Also, I think a big part, similarly to “The Lord of the Rings,” is having the six movies that have come out over a long period of time. I think this kept people’s interest in the story, and every movie at the end leaves you wanting to find out what is next and makes you want to watch the next one in the installment.
I think one of the themes is that if you trust yourself good things will happen. This was evident when Luke was practicing with the blaster droid. He’s getting it so Obi-Wan pulls the blaster-shield over his eyes. At first, Luke misses a few blasts then he finally gets the hang of it, and says to Obi-Wan that he felt something.
A big symbol in Star Wars, I think, is the Death Star. I think the Death Star simply symbolizes evil power. It shows its awesome power when it almost effortlessly destroys planets, almost like evil can destroy anything in it’s’ path. Its turning point is when Luke, who symbolizes everything that is good, destroys the Death Star using the Force. This, I think, is a classic good destroys evil scene.

Outside class June 25

I watched “Gran Torino,” the other day and wasn’t sure how much I would like it. It starts off at Clint Eastwood’s character at his wife’s wedding. At once you could tell what a big part of the story was going to be. This was the contrast in the lifestyles of the younger generation to the older “War in Vietnam” generation. It shows some of his grandkids goofing off, even a child wearing a football jersey to the funeral, obviously angering Eastwood. Also, a big part of this story was racism towards Asian people that was very evident of soldiers in the Vietnam War. Eastwood actually lives in a neighborhood were mostly all of the White people moved out and has turned into an Asian community. To much of my surprise Eastwood actually realizes, through a series of events with his neighbors and other people in the community, that all of the kids from the younger generation aren’t as bad as he thought. Also, he ends up respecting their Asian neighbors’ traditions and lifestyle. He eventually ends up giving his life up to help the neighbor boy from a gang that has been harassing him and raped his sister.
I think this story is an excellent portrayal of some if not most of the soldiers that fought in this war. I’ve been at the local VFW and American Legion and seen the same characteristics as Eastwood in the beginning of this movie. It is nice to see such a drastic change in a character you think is going to be as static as possible, and I strongly recommend anyone who reads this to see this movie. I know I might have ruined it a little bit, but the fun part is seeing what events take place in order to change such a strong character.

In Class June 25

“Roman Fever,” by Edith Wharton was one of my favorite short stories we were to read for class. When I was reading this story I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. Some of the wording was confusing to me and it was sort of uneventful for the first five pages. But when Mrs. Slade brings up this letter she wrote acting as her fiancé, things started to spice up a little bit. I thought it portrayed the conniving ways that women or girls can sometimes act. Just the fact that a girl would take pleasure in knowing her best friend was standing around The Coliseum waiting for a guy all night seems cynical to me. The big twist was when Mrs. Ansley reveals that Mrs. Slade’s fiancée actually was there, because it turns out Mrs. Ansley actually responded to the letter, much to Mrs. Slade’s chagrin. I love how this was all thrown back in the face of Mrs. Slade. Especially, because the two have lived across each other for years and this had never been brought up. But the real zinger in this story is the very end. With Mrs. Slade acting very jealously to the news that her beloved husband actually met her that night, she is bashing Mrs. Ansley saying that she had him for “twenty-five years,” and Mrs. Ansley “…had nothing but that one letter that he didn’t write.” At that time Mrs. Ansley before walking away says, “I had Barbara.” This is, I think, the best ending in any of the short stories we read for class. Not only did Mrs. Ansley meet Mrs. Slade’s husband at The Coliseum that night, they actually had sex and Mrs. Ansley was pregnant with Barbara. This was a double-slam to Mrs. Slade, who the author portrays as a less than likeable character, especially because she was always jealous of Barbara and wished her own daughter had been more like her.

In Class June 18

In class we were assigned to read some short stories for our book clubs. One of these short stories was very disturbing for me to read. The short story was “A Party Down at the Square.” The story was written by an African-American man by the name of Ralph Ellison. He wrote the story in the prospective of a white child somewhere in the South. The story revolves around the burning of an African American man. We don’t know why he was being executed we just come into the story when the boy walks up to watch the burning. This story really shows the brutal actions of the White men that came before us, and made me embarrassed just reading the story. Even though the story is fiction, everybody knows that this kind of stuff happened frequently especially in the South where this story is set in. It just shows the savageness for a group of people to stand around and watch a man be killed in this brutal way. The African-American man even asks for someone to cut his throat so he won’t have to struggle, but the people aren’t even decent enough to grant him this wish. During the middle of the execution a loop is thrown into the story. A plane crashes in the middle of this town and starts up a panic. A white woman dies when hit with a live power line and it seems if there’s no reaction to her death. When the initial panic is over the people actually return to the man being burned, like nothing happened, and continue taunting him and watching the execution. This is all disturbing, showing the brutal nature of racist White people in the past and even today and makes me ashamed at some of my ancestry. At one point the black man asks if there aren’t any Christians there when he’s trying to get them to slit their throat. And the worst taunter of them all says, “No only Americans.” This disgusts me; because the only true Americans are Native Americans who we made flee their homelands and put them on Reservations. I think any kinds of people in America should be treated the same way. We all are from different countries and continents, but for some reason White people think they are the true Americans. This needs to change and I think it made great advancement with the election of Barack Obama, which will hopefully help change the minds of racist-backward thinking of some White people around the country and we can move on and be a stronger unified country especially in these hard times.

Outside class June18

I watched a show called “Outside the Lines” on ESPN the other night. It Is an Emmy-winning show that deals with mostly social issues in sports. They had a panel discussion on a very interesting subject.
Everyone knows how big an issue steroid use is in baseball. Due to the high profile convictions of our generation’s best players, any major league baseball player is subject to debate on whether he did or didn’t take steroids.
The issue at hand was that a writer for a small Midwest sports blog wrote a piece on a player named Raul Ibanez. He is a late thirties ball player that was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the offseason. His whole career he has been a solid player, but this year he had significantly higher numbers and producing with the likes of the best players in the game. This was not really the issue. The issue was that this blog writer was condemning Ibanez and accusing him of taking performance-enhancing drugs. In the past something written in a small blog would’ve never been made known to the public. But in these times with all of the media outlets this thing blew up, and Ibanez actually made a statement talking about how writers should be more responsible and be held more accountable for what they write, even if it is a small blog. I think he makes a great point. These days you can write anything in a blog just like I’m doing now, and not be held accountable for it, unless maybe it’s a national security threat.
With today’s mass media outlets writers, professional or unprofessional, have to be more careful about what they are writing, because these stories spread like wildfire. I do not think it is write for some sports fan to defame a player that has never tested positive or done anything wrong in his whole baseball career. The whole blog thing is a great way for people to interact and share information on any topic when used right. But when used wrong any random Joe can bash someone and totally affect that person’s reputation. Due to this reason I think there should be some way to censor some of these blogs or have regulations for posting, or eventually blogs will turn into people just bashing and defaming other people with no retributions.