Diving into the Wreck

I really enjoyed "Diving into the Wreck," especially since to me the treasure is knowledge. This goes back sort of to my reoccurring theme about discovering the truths of literature and that it really is to each their own, that everyone finds within it, their own treasure, kind of like diving into the wreck. The treasure is knowledge, gaining new information or insight. I make it my goal to learn at least one new thing a day, and I take a well rounded education seriously, I believe the more you know the more value you hold, this goes without saying you can't have the social skills of a fascist dictator, but certainly if you are a well rounded individual, knowledge is going to take up some percent of this well roundness. When you achieve knowledge, you achieve power, the ability to know. It is in itself a key that can unlock everything, you can use knowledge for prediction, to solve problems, or to even help as a defense. Knowledge, is what helps us evolve as a species, and to someone who is knowledgeable, or even those who are not, had they read this, if the decipher it will gain knowledge, it is also symbolic however for those who can't decipher it, to them, things are not as clear, it goes right back to seeing instead of looking. For these reasons, with it's beautiful dreamlike imagery, when finding the knowledge, it makes it that much more magical.

Cathedral-sight to the otherwise literary blind

The main idea of looking and seeking in "Cathedral" is one that when I read I thought applies to the overall idea of what is literature? We discussed what we thought literature was at the beginning of the semester and a lot of people listed authors and books and popular and classic stories, and I mentioned that I thought it could be anything, so long as it fulfills some need. A grocery list, a reciept, an agenda, they each have their own personal meaning (see more on this in my previous post) this is what it means to seek and not just look. When you look at something you see it as it exists, when you seek it, you look into it, and what it's existance means. This is a difficult concept to understand for some, but I think it potentially could also help others who don't understand some poetry or have difficulty understanding it.  When you seek the true meaning of the poem, then you understand it, the thing is, the meaning is not concrete to everyone it provides something new, it fulfills new needs, this is what makes it literature, and this is the difference between looking and seeking. When looking at a poem, you see it as lines, sometimes words that don't make sense, maybe they don't belong together. However, when you seek a poem, you seek to understand it, to look into it's eyes and know it's soul, and what it holds and hopes to provide to it's reader, and when you seek it you recieve this new sense, this new outlook and the poem is revealed to the reader, and you gain a connection with it, a new sight, you see, instead of look.

"Song of Myself"

I really enjoyed this poem, Walt Whitman is one of my favorite writers. I especially take this poem to heart because like any song I believe it is an expression, and it is about himself, and I feel as though when I read it, that it connects to me, it is a celebration of his life and how he feels in his prime and this is how i feel right now in my life, I am at a crossroads and this summer is an oppurtunity to cease what could be one of my last summers where I can just cease it and not worry about co-ops or full time jobs. This poem to me as an epic of one's self, and sometimes the best way to explore one's self or to even write poetry is to sit back and watch with the minds eye the comings and goings of thoughts like ships at sea, some quickly come and go, others linger, some are prominant, some are rare, these thoughts that run through one's mind and the writing of them allows for a deeper more natural poem almost as if the way we were meant to speak naturally was the way our mind speaks, but our tongues can not keep up with it so they have a hard time deciding what is important to say and what is better left unsaid, and when emotion takes over it can almost be impossible to find any words at all or to stop one's self from getting carried away with words. This poem, though most say a picture is worth a thousand words, paints images in itself and allows the reader, even those who may otherwise not be able to invision the imagery within the text, the trip through a colorful vivd world.

"Give me an "F"!"

http://youtu.be/nXspsfoPX50

This song to me that we played in class really got me going. Up until I heard this song I thought I took the side of most who were against the Vietnam war, mind you I still am, but this song sticks it straight to the man, which I dont mind, but i feel it's borderline offensive to those who have fought who decided not to runaway from the draft, those who ran away had balls too but mind you it is harder to live then it is to die, take that how you will it can have to meanings. Anyways the way that he says "Be the first one on your block to have your son come home in a box." makes my heart break for the ones who died and those who experienced loss. My grandfathers bestfriend died, and I think had I been in his situation if I heard him even singing sarcastically about glorifying the war I'd be down right perterbed and distraught. It's not like any of them wanted to die let alone see their loved ones die, it was a tough time those drafted were caught between a rock and a hard place, your "damned if you do it, damned if you don't." You were a coward if you followed the draft order, you were a coward if you ran. I agree however with the overall message of the song and the point he's getting a cross i'm just not sure personally how I feel about the lyrics, but i think it's because a loved one went through that, I think to those who had no idea and still have no idea, that message will put it very plainly to them in a way that they won't forget, it will have shock value.

Soundtrack to A Streetcar Named Desire

http://pl.st/p/23881200395

This is my playlist for A Street Car Named Desire, I decided to make a playlist of songs I though would mesh well with the story line.

The first song is "Feel Good Inc." by The Gorillaz, this song basically goes about singing about making ones self feel good despite whatever may be going on. to me this describes Blanche to a T. "Stairway to Heaven" I liked not only because it has a magical quality to it that reminded me of Blanches love of enchantment , but because even the first line seems to describe her "There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold, and she's buying a stairway to heaven." Blanche thinks that by telling something different from the truth that it can become reality, that by speaking about something glittery as being gold, it can be gold. Next "(I can't get no) Satisfaction" seems to describe everyones situation, Blanche can't make her lies reality, Stanley can't get rid of Blanche, Mitch was deceived, everyone starts to realize that the shortcomings of their lives no matter the amount of will can not seem to take a turn for the better. Next I chose "Drunk" because I think this can apply to almost any of the characters when they are down, but Blanche and her situation especially coincide with this song, she gets drunk to blur her reality, it's the physical coping method that she uses along with her lying to "change" her reality. "Love the Way you Lie" by Rihanna and Eminem I feel like applies very much to Stanley and Stella he loves her, but unfortunately he can't keep his hands to himself and he always snaps at Stella, and she still comes back and loves him, and I think sometimes this makes him feel guilty, not forever but I think it makes him devastated and when she is back in his arms it's like reset, he claims he won't ever do it again, but he forgets and his angry side gets the better of him, and she still loves him. The song "Try" by Pink sums up things for Mitch and Blanche I think, however I think in this case Mitch takes the role of Pink and he wants to try where as Blanche was in that role but she is no longer trying, and has turned into the very character the lyrics go on to describe. "I Only have eyes for You" is I thought a more romantic take on things between Stella and Stanley, Stella is so truly in love with Stanley and is blind to anyone else and can only see the good in him and only wants to please him and be with him. "It's only a Paper Moon" is not only a good song to some up Blanche's fantasies but it is also major symbolism and contributes largely to the theme of fantasy versus reality, the fact that the song even comes into the story through Blanche singing it provides irony and emphasis on her dreaming. "Try A little Tenderness" reminds me of Blanche, she is looking for that little bit of tenderness, and she acts as though she were a young girl needing to be loved, and I think that Blanche would say that this was a song that described exactly what she needed even though in reality she has the love of her sister and Mitch but it isn't enough and she keeps them waiting for the next time she has another mood switch-up. "A Kiss to build a Dream on" to me could have been played as the music to a montage of Mitch's and Blanche's date, feeling the magic of the moment, she is the object of his fancies and he just wants a kiss to get him through, something to express his feelings , something he can take home, to send him over the moon. "Lights", though a weird way to end the playlist I think sums up Blanche, it both contrasts how she feels and sums it up, she needs strength to move on, but she stays away from the light because it takes her back to her true self and the reality of her past, and she just wants to be this newer better person that people. "You show the lights that stop me turn to stone You shine it when I'm alone And so I tell myself that I'll be strong And dreaming when they're gone"

Thirteen ways of looking at "Thirteen ways of looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens

First, here is the peom:                                                        Second, thirteen ways of looking at the poem:

 I                                                                                        I
"Among twenty snowy mountains,                                        You can look at it from the perspective that
The only moving thing                                                         the blackbird is forever watchful, and so too
Was the eye of the blackbird.                                              is the eye of those you think aren't
                                                                                          watching, when the in fact, are.

II                                                                                      II
I was of three minds,                                                          It can be confusing having three different ideas Like a tree                                                                         or perspectives on the same thing, and deciding
In which there are three blackbirds.                                    which is most correct, or which takes priority.

III                                                                                    III
The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.                        Though so much around is changing, the It was a small part of the pantomime.                                             smallest action, though lost in fray, still contributes.

 IV                                                                                   IV
A man and a woman                                                         In a union everything becomes one, even
Are one.                                                                           non ideal things or baggage be it emotional,
A man and a woman and a blackbird                                 physical, or mental.
Are one.

 V                                                                                    V
I do not know which to prefer,                                         The comparison of the act its self or the results, The beauty of inflections                                                   which is better, the getting there,
Or the beauty of innuendoes,                                            or the destination?
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.

VI                                                                                   VI
Icicles filled the long window                                            Captivity is cold and the free blackbird flying to With barbaric glass.                                                         and fro is a mockery of the captivity of the The shadow of the blackbird                                                  narrator, why the bird does it , no one knows, but Crossed it, to and fro.                                                      the freedom of his flight is felt, and perhaps also The mood                                                                       desired by the narrator
Traced in the shadow
An indecipherable cause.

 VII                                                                                VII
O thin men of Haddam,                                                   Sometimes what people really want isn't what they Why do you imagine golden birds?                                  really wanted, or thought they wanted, and what Do you not see how the blackbird                                   they really wanted is something else, something Walks around the feet                                                     better, that's been right in front of them this whole Of the women about you?                                               time.

VIII                                                                              VIII 
I know noble accents                                                     Not everything is as it appears to be, even things And lucid, inescapable rhythms;                                      that seem to be so real can be something else. entirely beneath the surface.
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.

IX                                                                                IX                         
When the blackbird flew out of sight,                             Life is a cycle and we are all connected to
It marked the edge                                                        eachother and our paths all cross at one point or
Of one of many circles.                                                 another, and what seems to leave or be gone
                                                                                    is never gone for good, it will come back again,
                                                                                    though not always in a desirable way, it will come
                                                                                    back again.

 X                                                                                X
At the sight of blackbirds                                             Sometimes things go wrong when you least expect it, Flying in a green light,                                                  when something is seemingly peaceful, be prepared Even the bawds of euphony                                          for when it turns sour.
Would cry out sharply.

 XI                                                                              XI
He rode over Connecticut                                            When things seem apparently clear, even fear can In a glass coach.                                                              turn the most obvious or clear thing into something Once, a fear pierced him,                                             else in our minds eye, it can also make a hero a
In that he mistook                                                        weak coward. 
The shadow of his equipage
For blackbirds.

 XII                                                                            XII
The river is moving.                                                     Life goes on, if a tree falls in the forest it still makes a The blackbird must be flying.                                      sound regaurdless if anyone else is there to hear it, if
                                                                                  things are continuing normally, life must go on.

XIII                                                                           XIII
It was evening all afternoon.                                       Sometimes it is dark, and things may be difficult, and it It was snowing                                                          will probably get difficult again, but sometimes we just And it was going to snow.                                          have to find a way to get through it, our own cedar The blackbird sat                                                       branch, until things turn around for the best again
In the cedar-limbs."



*A man. A woman. and a Blackbird.

*Image courtesy of: http://www.joancolbert.com/gallery/prints/thirteenways/amawab.htm - There is a visual representation of each way if you'd like to check them out, I had a hard time picking which one to incorporate they were all so wonderful!

The Lost "Beautifulness"

“The Lost Beautifulness” to me is a story about identity. In this story a woman spends even her last penny that she has managed to save on top of what little she has, and buy enough paint to brighten up her kitchen in her dreary cramped flat. This woman is referred to as a “ghetto woman” and is by no means of wealth in this short story. She is known however by her ability to sway an audience, her love and affection, her “artistry” that she puts into anything she is doing, and the dedication and love she has toward her son Aby, and making everything the best for him.

Hanneh Hayyeh, a Russian immigrant, works very hard to make the best of things. She sees the good, and what can come out of something that is maybe less than decent. When it comes to her kitchen she envisions the modifications and DIY that can be done to improve her eatery with minimal cost. She dedicates her time when she isn’t working overtime at her job to researching paints and costs so that she can come out with a new kitchen at a minimal means. She also spends that time over working, because she saves her own money on top of the money she already scrapes together for food and rent. When it’s all said and done this woman has put herself into this project as much as she possibly could have. She works for it nurtures it, plans for it, puts her love into it, and builds it up and puts it back on its feet.  She goes to extra lengths by showing it off to her community and even is so proud of it that she mentions it to her rich employer, who supports every bit of it. However, when she shows it to the inconsiderate landlord, things take a turn for the worse.

Hanneh’s rent goes up, her husband reprimands her for her foolishness, and she is meant only by support of her landlord and charity from her employer whom she has placed upon a pedestal. Hanneh being a woman of pride tries to fight this, even taking it to court, but even though the rent has increased two times refuses help. So then, Hanneh gets desperate, if she can’t have her kitchen, her love, then no one can have her love, and she decides to destroy her hard work and in doing so destroys herself. She has become so one with the work she has put into this kitchen, that in destroying it, she has also destroyed herself, and her sanity. In a further twist of uncanny fate, her son comes home when she has been evicted to find her amongst her scattered dejected belongings that have been cast aside in the gutter. This sight one would think is one of earth shattering proportions, and probably has broken her son’s heart. Though he did not expect the kitchen his mother had spruced up, he certainly did not expect to find her that way.

Hanneh is a character whom I think I could hold near and dear to my heart. She is passionate, a dreamer, an artist, and dedicated to her cause. She has problems being her own person. She wants the kitchen like Mrs. Preston her rich employer, she wants to be well loved by her active duty son, the talk of the town, idolized like the woman she idolizes, Mrs. Preston. The problem with all that is, is Hanneh can’t express her true self, except when she is at work. The way she does things, despite her work worn hands, is with a certain delicacy, artistry to them, and is evidence of her true passionate self. She is dedicated and passionate about all that she does, but Hanneh does nothing for herself. She has gotten the paint for herself and painted, and breathed into life her vision of this wonderful kitchen, the only thing that is actually hers. The rest of the time she is trying to please everyone else. Had Hanneh been content with herself and not so eager to please, she would not have run into the problem with the landlord, would have been secure in herself to accept help from Mrs. Preston, and secure that she was a good mother and wife, and not felt the need to over extend herself. This is Hanneh’s fault, almost like a tragedy, she is so besought with her gift, which is the very ruin of her.

 

"That which we call rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

Literature is a very difficult thing to put a label on. Too many it means something inspiring, to others it may mean simply a published work. Then there are unspoken guidelines applied to these definitions. If it is inspiring, to whom is it inspiring and what does it inspire? On the other hand, a published work, work published by a well renowned author, or a book published by a well-known publisher? The possibilities are endless. To me, literature is communication.

Communication can be through many different means. Some use their hand to communicate, sign language, some use writing, or most primitively, speaking. In some circumstances people visiting the Americas in early times communicated with Indians through drawings in the dirt, since visuals were the only thing they seemed to be able to commonly communicate with. In my opinion, communication doesn’t specifically have to be about something very important at all. An example that has previously been brought up was a grocery list. A grocery list can communicate needs, wants, ideas, and even reveal details about a person’s life.

For example if a person has listed; eggs, milk, butter, bread, coffee, sugar, then they may be someone who only needs the basics, who comes to the grocery store mainly to replenish. It may also reveal that they budget, buy the necessary means, and other non-essential items at a better time. This list for example also communicates this person may be a coffee drinker, or a baker, or may enjoy toast, or perhaps like sugar in their coffee. The possibilities for communication are endless. Again, maybe they just wanted coffee, or they needed eggs and milk. Perhaps even they had a recipe in mind and these ingredients were for a new coffee cake they wanted to try out. Even though this list is unpublished and may not be inspiring to anyone, it is communicating to another person, anyone who read it would know what this person wanted or needed.

Inspiration alone does not have to make something literature, songs at one point were poems until somebody put music to them, and even without the music some poems still have that flowing rhythmic, musical quality about them. Literature is not the judgment of what makes writing good or bad, or how knowledgeable a person is, it is the communication of an idea or thought important to one person, or even communication alone.

Who me? - Introduction

This is my blog for reviewing, reflecting, and discussing various pieces of literature that will be assigned for reading over the course of the Spring 2013 semester. Though I may have an opinion I certainly don't expect others to necessarily agree. My hope is that these posts will be light and offer some other perspective. Stay hungry for a good book!(: