GinaBurgese

Make Criminals Accept Responsibilty

When I began sending out resumes, I was determined to stay as far away from Philadelphia as possible. I wanted to stay in the Pittsburgh/Greensburg area. I loved Philadelphia but living in Greensburg for four opened my eyes to many negative things that occur in Philadelphia, especially crime. Unfortunately, Philadelphia is a much bigger city than Pittsburgh and a lot easier to find employment. Now, that I am back in Philadelphia I am once again beginning to become numb to exactly how dangerous our city is and will continue to be for a very long time. I am not going to provide links in this blog because if you do a simple google search, all of my statements can be supported with articles that were published in the Philadelphia local newspapers.

Today, something very tragic happened in Philadelphia. A police officer was shot in the head and is currently listed in "extremely critical condition". During the year, Philly cops have shot and killed some people in the Philadelphia area and most of the suspects families blamed the cops. They claim, "He was just a boy, just a kid." Do they realize that is is those "kids" that are making our city dangerous? Do they know that that "boy" is not listening to the police when they tell him to pull over/drop the car/put down the knife?" Do they realize that it is those "kids" that is making the police officer feel that their lives and our lives are in danger everyday?

Our "GREAT" mayor, John Street, has no plan; he's the worst thing that ever happened to Philly. Listen to his new conferences, he continues to state the same thing: "there are too many guns, we need more gun laws." Street, get over it. Getting a law passed, is not helping! We need a plan NOW. There are other people, such as, Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton only comments on the crime in Philadelphia when it involves a white person harming a black person. He does not comment on the crime in Philly. He does not try to make the people of Philadelphia united, he continues to divide the community. Also, I would like to know, why black people claim that white people are the racists? The black community are the people that call for "10,000 black men to patrol the streets of Philly". If anything, it sounds like they are excluding whites from helping out or supported any project that they organize. I'm sure Al Sharpton is proud : )

Our murder rate is so high, our focus should be to stop ALL murders. Statistics in Philadelphia show that African American males (18-24) commit the most murders against other black males. It is not whites shooting blacks and vice versa. People need to quit making excuses and realize that our city is not safe, regardless of our color.

The bottom line is, Philadelphia murder rate is going to have many negative impacts on the city. For example, I am beginning to send resumes to other parts of the state; I want to get as far away from this corrupted, crime-filled, racist city that I can. I want to live in an environment where I can actually see the front of someone's house without it being surrounded by metal bars/cages. I want to be able to smile at the person walking down the street, without worrying about if he's going to try to mug/rape me. I want to enjoy life, not fear it.

One look at Philadelphia's high school drop-out rate will make people all over the world realize why Philadelphia is in a crime emergency. People are not educated; they don't realized the there is life outside of the city. They don't care if they die because they have nothing to live for. They do not respect themselves so I don't know why we expect they to respect others, especially authority. Don't you know...Cops are out to get them? The white cops want to shoot the black teenagers, isn't that right Rev. Sharpton? Ah...now I see clearly, Philadelphia's problem is racism, which is why 85% of the murders are blacks killing blacks. Sharpton, if you care so much about the black community, why don't you focus on all of the murders that they are commiting against their own race? Why don't you make them feel like their live is valuable?

Silly me, I understand you want to take the easy way out, who doesn't? Thanks Sharpton, your teaching US all a great lesson...Don't take responsibilty for your actions, blame it on someone else or some other underlining cause. I'm glad we had this conversation... Now, I have to go and make sure that all 3 of the locks on my doors and locked and the alarm is on... I love Philadelphia! Let's hope that I am, and the people I love, are the ones that make it out alive : )

B.P. Three

Overall, I think that Literary Criticism took me some time to understand. I think that the concepts and theories were difficult to comprehend. As the course is near completion, I do feel like I actually understand every theory that we have discussed and I understadn how it all ties in with how we study literature.

Apostrophe

Garson, 'Bodily Harm" Keats's Figures in the 'Ode on a Grecian Urn''' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"Apostrophe is an address to the absent as if present, the inanimate as if animate; a rhetorical question is one which no answer is expected. These are figures of power" (453).

Garson pays close attention to the grammer in Keats's poem. She takes all of the punctuation and somehow brings up a good argument. At times, she seems to both praise and negatively criticize Keat's poem. She also tried to claim that "the ode arouses two kinds of generic expectations..." I def. agree that the two she listed do exist but I feel the ode may arouse many more expectations...

Hidden Clues

Garson, 'Bodily Harm" Keats's Figures in the 'Ode on a Grecian Urn''' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"Apostrophe is an address to the absent as if present, the inanimate as if animate; a rhetorical question is one which no answer is expected. These are figures of power" (453).

Garson pays close attention to the grammer in Keats's poem. She takes all of the punctuation and somehow brings up a good argument. At times, she seems to both praise and negatively criticize Keat's poem. She also tried to claim that "the ode arouses two kinds of generic expectations..." I def. agree that the two she listed do exist but I feel the ode may arouse many more expectations...

History Has To Be Studied

Barker and Hulme, ''Nymphs and Reapers Heavily Vanish'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"Our essay too must engage in the discursive struggle that determines the history within which the Shakespearean texts will be located and red: it matters what kind of history that is" (449).

This quote was meaningful to me because Hulme and Barker's essay was based upon their study of The Tempest. I have spent much time studying The Tempest and I think their criticism of The Tempest . They had brought up many valid points and it is crucial to understand Shakespeare's time and the history of his culture because it will allow us to better understand our past and future history.

Ideal Viewers of Children's Cartoons

Term Project -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"Kids today are born into a media-saturated environment, so they're starting young with screen time"

Iser’s theory of the implied (ideal) reader “is a transcendental model which makes it possible for the structured effects of literary texts to be described” (Keesey 147). He goes on to claim that the “concept of the implies (ideal) reader offers a means of describing the process whereby textual structures are transmuted through ideational activities into personal experiences. So if we were to try and create an implied (ideal) viewer for children’s television where would one start. I imagine that the personal experiences would not come from the viewers themselves. There would not be enough prior knowledge for the viewer to try and understand in order to comprehend the material playing out before them. Instead, this idea would come from the creators of the shows. They would be this idea of an implied (ideal) viewer. They would have to use their own experiences to create the viewer themselves. This would be completely subconscious. There are times in all programming where the material seems to go over the heads of the child and fall into the lap of the adult. Through their use of intertextuality the material may seem beyond the intended viewer; though this may be a way to open the viewers mind to new topics. If the implied(ideal) viewer is infact the subconscious of the creators then of course there is going to that moment where the material may seem a bit mature, or too much for the actual audience, but that is just the reflection of the implied(ideal) viewer.

This idea of an ideal viewer would be proposed from the standpoint of the creatures of the programming. This leads us to a more mature adult standpoint, not the innocent point of view of a child. Which leads to the question then, is the ideal viewer really the ideal viewer for children’s programming. (We) state no. Look at the popular children’s shows of today - Blues clues: a grown man who talks to tables, salt and pepper and a dog. He is trying to figure out the clues by following the directions of the audience(children) but does a poor job of doing so, since it takes 2-3 times for him to finally understand what the children is saying.

Children cartoon creators are very well aware of the fact that adults and children are going to be watching their programs. They have a very hard job because they somehow have to keep both the parents and the children entertained. There is no doubt cartoons like, Tom and Jerry are targeted to young children, but they also included adult references that would go over a child’s head.

“So the various kinds of reader-response critics find much to argue about. But they agree on one main point: since the “poem” exists only when the reader (however defined) encounters the text, literary criticism must focus on that encounter” (Keesey 138). Since we are not reading literature, but rather watching it we will make the claim that: Children cartoon creators have the intention to keep both the child and the parent entertained. Should cartoon creators be held responsible for everything that they include in their episode? Are they teaching your children or are you? Children could only get so much out of what they are watching because they do not have the awareness that they need to make everything become understandable. Sometimes, parents and adults seem to get that confused because they are not looking at the cartoon through a child’s eyes. It is important to note that we can not protect our children from everything and we should prepare them for the future and alert them of some problems that they may become faced with during their childhood.

For example, in August 2006, Turner Broadcasting announced that they were reviewing thousands of old Hanna-Barbara cartoons, which include The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, the Jetsons, and Scooby-Doo, to delete any scene that glamorized smoking. We note that in, Tom and Jerry, smoking usually appears in a stylized manner and is frequently not condoned” (Riedemann). This seems a bit extreme because they are trying to erase history. Children need to also understand that people learn from their mistakes. Can companies like Turner Broadcasting censor out every violent act as they plan on doing to the scenes filled with smoking? We have to have a limit and realize that we can not protect our children from everything! If a cartoon has a sexual reference or a derogatory statement that they can not understand – maybe the cartoon creators put it in for the parents, so you do not get bored. “When watching Tom and Jerry, expect to be entertained. Dating from an era of active media censorship, the series is clever, daring, and filled with unlimited subliminal messages -- grown-up viewers will definitely enjoy looking back and finally grasping all the references they missed as kids” (Sheppard)

Examples of Today’s Cartoons:

Dora and Diego are young children left alone in the forest by themselves. They can not even figure out how to follow directions by looking at a map in front of them. These shows do have some positive aspects to them, but there overall structure should be a little alarming to the parents of the children who watch them. The fact that both the shows rely on the help of the audience can be both positive and negative. Positive in they allow the child viewing the program to feel apart of the show but negative because it doesn’t allow for wrong responses. It just assumes the child is responding correctly. There is no explanation as to why the answers are right or wrong.

Then looking at the Wonder Pets you get a show about animals that go out to help other(s) animals. The show stresses the importance of team work, cooper5ation, and problem solving. They do not rely on outside sources (the viewer) to help them, but they do explain why the make the decisions they make. The big difference between the 2 shows mentioned first and the 2 shows we mentioned last are the way the shows deliver their message. The first 2 don’t explain enough and they take their audience for granted. That is one of the problems with children’s shows period. The creators don’t take the audience into account enough. They assume too little or too much of the audience. Where the second 2 shows don’t take too much for granted, they open the door for further discussion between the audience (children) and their parents. These shows take their audience seriously enough to project smart entertaining material.

When you switch to shows like the Backyardagins and the Wonder Pets you get a more functional child program. You have 5 children who live next door, who go on grand explorations all over the world/galaxy/and time periods. But they do it through their own imagination; they never leave the protection of the families. They learn how to share and how to construct ideas with the help of one another. They do not allow the fact they some of their yards are fenced in to stop them from playing with one another. They do not talk to imaginary objects, or rely on the audience to pull them out of trouble. They tackle the task at hand. This show also opens the door to discuss new ideas with your child, Shakespeare.

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Miko's Ideas on The Tempest

Miko, ''Tempest'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

The meaning of Miko’s essay was to explore the interpretations that critics were able to draw upon using the words of the text in The Tempest. Miko acknowledges the interpretations and then goes on to say “the multiplicity and possible deliberate inconclusiveness of Shakespeare’s last plays.” The Tempest is a play that is “neither tragic, nor comic; it is skeptical, yet genial” (376).
Miko is going to give us his theory on what Shakespeare possibly did or did not intend to mean when he was writing his play. He believes that many critics fill the gaps in Shakespeare’s play with religious theories. They want to find the answers and at times, draw upon any moral or ethical references to support their ideas and answer the questions that have been raised.
Miko pays an awful lot of attention to the magic that the magician is using in order to create a “new world.” It may be possible that Shakespeare made the family’s location deliberate. He also claims that Shakespeare’s play can not be read as just a play because there are entirely too many symbolic references. Shakespeare meant, according to Miko, to experiment and demonstrate the limits of poetic justice, symbolic neatness, and “resolved” endings for plays.
Miko believes that The Tempest has loose ends, which is a valid argument. It seems to me that the reason why Miko finds examples of loose ends in the characters reflections or the characters call for help or forgiveness. When the reader is able to see deeper into the character is causes a slight contradiction of the character. Loose ends occurred because “the art and the magic of playmaking questions both its matter (the themes) and its own power, affirming only in understood, limited ways” (376). Miko states it is because nature wouldn’t is why it happens to be one of the plays loose ends.
Now, on to a new subject – Prospero. Prospero is in charge of this play. The magic behind Prospero is somewhat intriguing and disturbing. He uses his magic to manipulate the characters in the play itself and the people who are watching or reading The Tempest. He can control anything and everything except for the internal feelings of the other characters. With this being the case, Miko states that it leaves questions such as, What effect can Prospero’s external powers have on internal sates (moral and spiritual)” (377)? Miko believes that Prospero magic defines moral limits by illustrating physiological stubbornness, which occurs when Prospero refuses to leave his island.
Caliban is also another interesting character. Miko believes that he should be transformed from natural man to Us. He acknowledges that some of Caliban’s actions do not imitate us but for the most part we share similarities. Evil lives in all of us and in all of the characters in the play, which is why we all strive to rid the evil and become better people, which is something that most of the characters have felt and attempted to accomplish.
Shakespeare has one intent and that is to attempt to match words and things, wishes and realities, inevitably leave disjunctions, especially for those who insist on neatness, which is the exact opposite of what this play demonstrated. He explains life as we know it should indeed be messy because we are in control of it, not some inhuman person.

Cinema Study

Every television show or movie that you watch somehow is influenced by literature. Mitch and I are going to focus on literature and how it affects the children shows that are being produced.
We were aked to look at "cinema studies" and the reports that have been done on this topic. Although, Mitch and I are going to be focusing our project on children cartoons and we will be able to take information that experts have gathered on cinema studies and use the information to make our case.

Blog Portfolio 2

Coverage:

No Clue
Primitivism
Excuse Me?
More Theories
So What Do You Think?
Blade Runner
Chilling Thoughts
Honesty
Understanding Shakespeare
Another Way?
Meanings
Importance of Words
Feelings are Overrated
Together or Seperate?
All About the Women
Is It Always About Me?
Who Knew?
Information OverloadDissecting SentencesWriting Styles
Subconscious Thoughts

Depth:

Blade Runner
All About the Women
Is It Always About Me?
Who Knew?
Subconscious Thoughts

Timeliness:

So What Do You Think?
Together or Seperate?
More Theories
Feelings Are Overrated

Interaction:

Together or Seperate?
No Clue
All About The Women
Writing Styles

Discussions:

Is It Always About Me?
Subconscious Thoughts

Xenoblogging:

Comment Primo - Kevin's Blog "In A Ball Of Confusion Learning Who You Are"

The Meanings That Never End...They Just Go On & On My Friend....

Feldstein, ''Reader, Text, and Ambiguous Referentiality in 'The Yellow Wallpaper''' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

After reading yet another way to look at "The Yellow Wallpaper" I am exhausted! Yes, Feldstein allowed to reader to look at "The Yellow Wallpaper" in a different light, and i appreciated it but....

I wonder how all of these theories and different critcisms are supposed to make me felel?

I mean, if I seriously try to apply each criticism to one text, I would drive myself crazy and I don't really think any story or novel that I read would have any closure...

So then I thought....

Maybe this book is supposed to make me knowledgeable of the different criticisms and pick the theory that makes the most sense to me and I liked that idea...so I'm sticking to it...

Society Dictates Our Life

Eagleton, ''Literature and History'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"Moreover, men are not free to choose their social relations; they are constrained into them by material necessity- by the nature and stage of development of their mode aof economic production." (421)

I chose the passage above because I took a course about Shakespeare and Eagleton and my professors made me realize how much society shaped the ways Shakespeare composed his plays. He had to think about everything, the people, the places, the costumes....his plays had to meet the demands made by society, by the people as a whole.

Kessey, My Wise Friend

Keesey, Ch 7 (Introduction) -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Well, I was pretty impressed with the way Keesey acknowledged that most of the theories that he mentioned and explained, in some form were similar to each one he discussed. That fact that he realized the theories were similiar made me trust his opinions and it allowed me to open up to the other theories and ideas that he mentioned.

"This turn to history, then, includes, a large and diverse group of critics. But they share several concerns, and often the things that untie them are the things they have taken over from formalism, structuralism, and postructuralism...They agree that no text can offer a transparent window to historical fact." (410)

After reading Keesey's introduction, I felt that he somehow linked every theory that we have learned about and all tied them together, trying to explain that we can get a deeper understanding by learning and taking from the previous theories. And this is why, I finally learned to like Keesey because he finally made sense.

No Clue

Berger, Postmortem for a Postmodernist -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

I was very excited to be reading this book because I thought that it would be a light read, but it was anything but. I realize that this book is trying to explain postmodernism and the views of this theory, and Berger failed terribly at trying to reach this goal. Every character had a different theory and reasoning and each thought the others were foolish for following any other theory besides theirs.

Primitivism

Murfin and Ray, Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Primitivism - a doctrine postulating that, although humans are essentially good, they have been (and are still being) corrupted by 'civilization.'

Excuse Me?

Derrida, ''Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"Thus there are two interpretations of interpretation, of structure, of sign, of freeplay. The one seeks to decipher, dreams of deciphering, a truth or an orgin which is free from freeplay and from the order of the sign, and lives like an exile with the necessity of interpretation. The other, which is no longer turned toward the orgin, affirms freeplay and tries to pass beyond man and humanism, the name man being the name of that being who, throughout the history of metaphysics or of ontotheology- in other words, through the history of all the history - has dreamed of full presence, the reassuring foundation, the orgin and the end of game" (362).

Derrida, ''Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"There are thus two interpretations of interpretation, of structure, of sign, of freeplay. The one seeks to decipher, dreams of deciphering, a thruth or an orgin which is free from freeplay and from the order of the sign, and lives like an exile with the necessity of interpretation. The other, which is no longer turned toward the orgin, affirms freeplay and tries to pass beyond man and humanism, the name man being the name that being who, throughout the history of metaphysics or ontotheology --in other words, through the history of metaphysics or ontotheology- in other words, through the history of all his history -- has dreamed full presence, the reassuring foundation, the orgin and the end of the game" (362).

More Theories...

Keesey, Ch 6 (Introduction) -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Kessey addressed all of the previous arguments that he and the previous critics had made, including all of the theories. He then went on and examined each individual theory and noted the reasons why those theories work and do not work. For example, he would go into detail as to why the intertextual critics would disagree with something that he stated...he would say where they had valid points of skepticism and gave them credit when they proved a valid argument.

I also learned alot about Derrida, who is a French philosopher. The mention of Derrida was interesting because I was able to get a summary of who he was and what his beliefs were before I read his essay.

"By subjecting 'philosophical' texts to careful, formal analysis, Derrida seeks to show that there is no such language" (346).

So what do you think?

Wright, ''The New Psychoanalysis and Literary Criticism'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"People are hostile to psychoanalytic theory because they alreayd have theories on how families work and have learned to rely on the quotation use of such terms as father, mother and child" (399).

The passage above is when Wright stepped out of her essay and stated a simple, realistic fact. This is one of the few times in her essay that I felt she was not throwing around text from other stories and using other examples to back up her claims.

I finally was able to understand her argument when she changed her tone in the essay and no longer spoke like a critic, but rather a real person. Her claim is great, yes it is useful to look deeper in the text and try to see patterns which lie hidden underneath the text.

Blade Runner

Well first off, I thought that it was very interesting to see how the creators of Blade Runner imagined how the world would be in 2017. It was simply fascinating to watch because the year 2017 is right around the corner for people living in today's society.

Blade Runner was a very popular movie when it came out and I can understand the reason for it being so. I would have never choose this movie to watch, but I am glad that it was the movie chosen for this course. It tied in perfectly with Freud's theories and it held my attention throughout the whole movie.

Blade Runner's ending was a typical, normal happy ending with the viewer having very few questions at the end. One of those questions would be, "Did she ever die?" or "What happened to them once they left the house?"

The reason for us watching this movie was to compare it to Freud's essay "The Uncanny". And yes, I had experienced many, many uncanny feelings throughout this movie. I did not know why their were all of those Asians in LA and I did not know how Blade Runner knew the difference between humans and replicants. I also experienced uncanny feelings when Prue was invited into Sebastian's house because of the way that she acted.

And the list of uncanny moments in Blade Runner could go on forever...

Chilling Thoughts

Freud is an interesting person. His theory does makes sense to some degree, but falls apart when people in today's society question the validity of his theory because of the issues that are present in today's world, which were unheard of in the year of 1919. For example, two women raising a child. His theory pretty much falls apart and looses all credibility.

Honesty

Swann, ''Whodunnit? Or, Who Did What? 'Benito Cereno' and the Politics of Narrative Structure'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

I don't want to claim that this is an entirely original point, nor that calling, "Bentio Cereno" a mystery story in this semi-techincal sense offers a final solution to the difficultis of the tale. I do want to argue that a recognition og the importance of narrative form and literary genre will atleast improve our definitions of the complexities that confront the reader, and will help us to see how the story relates to the history and politics that t springs from and is so deeply about." (311)

Understanding Shakespeare

Frye, ''Shakespeare's The Tempest'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"In Sakespeare's day magic and science werevery imperfectly seperated, and today, in a postscienific age when they seem to be coming together again, the magus figure has revived into contemporary fiction, with much the same dreams attached to it. (305)

Another Way...

Culler, ''Structuralism and Literature'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"Yesterday I
Went into town and bought
A lamp.

The words remain the same, and if meanings change it is because we approach the poem with different expectations and interpretative operations" (290).

Meanings

Frye, ''The Critical Path'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"If we tire of the shadow-play explaining real poems by assumed mental states, we may be driven to realize that the ultimate source of a poem is not so much the individual poet as the social situation he springs, and of which he is the spokesman and the medium." (281)

Importance of Words

Keesey, Ch 5 (Introduction) -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"A poem is best read in the light of all the other poems ever written. We read A the better to read B (we have to start somewhere; we may get very little out of A). We read B the better to read C, C the better to read D, D the better to go back and get something out of A. Progress is not aim, but circulation. The thing is to get among the poems where tehy hold each other apart in their places as the stars do" (Selected Prose, New York, 1966, pp. 96-97).

Feelings are Overrated

Donovan, ''Beyond the Net: Feminist Criticism as a Moral Criticism'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Together or Seperate?

Brann, ''Pictures in Poetry: Keats's 'Ode on a Grecian Urn'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"Painting is poetry keeping silent; poetry is a talking picture"

I think this quote was the most helpful when I was trying to understand what Brann's argument was. I think that he was basically upset that critics no longer feel that poetry and paintings relate to another.

"Painting is poetry keeping silent; poetry is a talking picture"

I think this quote was the most helpful when I was trying to understand what Brann's argument was. I think that he was basically upset that critics no longer feel that poetry and paintings relate to another.

Crazy

Anonymous, ''Everyman'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

I have not yet watched this years play, but I have watched last years...it was excellent. Everyman is, at times, extreme but the storyline does focus on topics that do actually occur in people's lives.

Once I see the play, I will give you a much more deatiled response to how I feel about the play and its realism.

Caricature

Murfin and Ray, Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

caricature: an exaggeration or other distortion of an individual's prominant features or characteristics to the point of making that individual appear ridiculous.

example: a big head on a small body
a large nose

All About the Women

Gilbert and Gubar, ''The Yellow Wallpaper'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"As if to comment on the unity of all these points - on, that is, the anxiety-inducing conncections between what women writers tend to see as their parallel confinements in texts, housesm and maternal female bodies - Charolette Perkins Gilman brought them all together in 1890 .... "

Gilbert and Gubar brought up interesting connections between works of the 19th century writers and their gender. They pointed out the way that women tend to show their imprisionment and their
plan to escape. They also lightly brushed the way that men portray their need for freedom.

(the guys in our class, i can guarantee, will hate this essay)

Blog Carnival...

The critic that I had found most interesting would have to be Iser. Iser's essay Readers and the Concept of the Implied Reader had a different effect on me. I know that other critics have said the same thing as he did, but he somehow found a way to have an interesting essay! I liked the style that he wrote his essay in and I liked the tone that was steady throughout the whole article. Like I have said before this is quotes sums up Iser's idea of literature:

"It has been said of Boehme that his books are like a picnic to which the author brings the words and the reader the meaning." Northrop Frye

Portfolio

Coverage
Connecting the Dots
Stop Asking
Enjoy It
Listen to your Instincts
Existentalism
Who Writes the Rules
The Tempest
Get to the Point
Explanations
Read than Apply
Using Examples
Half-Rhyme

Depth
1.) Subconscious Thoughts
2.) Read than Apply

Interaction
1.) Writing Styles
2.) Connecting the Dots
3.) Stop Asking

Timeliness
1.) Enjoy it.
2.) Stop Asking

Discussions
1.) Tradition and the Individual Talent
2.) Are Poems Historical Acts

Blog Carnival
1.) Respond to a critic that we have read in class. I chose Wolfgang Iser.

Xenoblogging
1.) I think that I fulfilled the requirements of The Comment Informative on Tiffany's entry Going against the general thread. Although it was extremely wrong, it connected Tiffany and I because we both took the specified course with one another.
2.) I fulfilled the requirements of "Comment Primo" because I was the first to respond to Karissa's entry "Purposive and not likely to conform"

Wildcard
1.) Kind Acts

Who Knew?

Kolodny, '"A Map for Rereading: Or, Gender and the Interpretation of Literary Texts'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

I was so happy when Kolodny finally mentioned a story that I had read - " A Jury of Her Peers,"

"The recognition in itself, of course, a kind of punishment. With it comes, as well, another recognition. as Mrs. Peters revelas experiences in her own life of analogous isolation, desperate lonliness, and brutality at the hands of a male."

I finally could relate to an author in this Keesey book!! I have read "A Jury of Her Peers" and I remember my exact feelings of how I felt when I learned how Minnie was before she married her husband. I felt bad for her, I sympathized with her. I didn't want her to go to jail. I was happy when her neighbors tried to cover up her actions.

But, as Kolodny pointed out, I somehow was persuaded to feel bad for Minnie, maybe because I'ma woman, but overall, I forgot that she killed her husband. She killed him!! Why didn't she just leave?

I am actually laughing at my stupidity at this point, I can't believe that I felt bad for her. I mean she killed her husband, I feel silly for trying, at one time, to justify her actions. Kolodny did an excellent job getting his point across to me. Now if only every author in the Keesey book would make references to stories that I know, maybe I would learn more, instead of being confused and skipping over those references.

Information Overload

Keesey, Ch 3 (Introduction) -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

During the beginning, I understood what Keesey was saying, esp. about how poems outlive their authors and people can still relate to their work even if it was written decades ago, but then I start getting confused. He mention other peoples opinions like Richards and Iser and Holland and Rosenblatt, Bleich and Fish...I mean all of these people have different opinions and with so many opinions flying around it was very hard for me to take in all of the information that Kessey was throwing at me!

The bottom line is- every person is going to have a different interpretation of the same piece of work. When coming up with an idea of what the author is trying to say, you have to have supporting evidence to back up your claims and if you have that, noone can say you're wrong.

Haiku

Murfin and Ray, Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Haiku: A Japanese verse form consisting of three unrhymed lines that together contain a total of seventeen syllables.

1st line consits of 5 syllables
2nd line consists of 7syllables
3rd line consists of5 syllables

I recieved a gift (5)
that had a note attached from (7)
my love, my best friend (5)

Is it Always About Me?

O'Connell, ''Narrative Collusion and Occlusion in Melville's 'Benito Cereno''' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Well after reading Iser's essay, I should have known other people were going to say there were more types of writers, I mean it could not have been so simple. Anyways, lets turn our focus to O'Connell...

"Delano is unquestionably muddled and unable to give the reader useful direction. However, the narrative does not push readers to do their own interpreting; in fact it makes it very difficult for them to do so."

It is nice when you sit down and begin reading a book that is very structed and easy to follow, but as the story begins rolling, I would not like for the narrative to "guide" me into thinking a certain way. Yes, information (background,historical, etc.) is useful but with that information I want to make my won decsions. Melville chose to keep the reader in the dark, which is why the ending was spectacular.

I was somewhat confused about O'Connell and I did not totally buy her argument. Towards the end of her essay she talks about Delano and says that the reader may ask, "How is this about me?" I, as a reader, did not know that the text was supposed to relate to every individual reader, but unless I misinterpreted O'Connell's message, I think she's a bit strange for thinking that every reader feels like the story should be about them.

Dissecting Sentences

Kent, ''On the Third Stanza of Keats's 'Ode on a Grecian Urn''' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Kent points out that various people have focused on certain aspects of Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and although those focus on certain topics, (repition) no one seemed to pay attention to the lack of clauses that were absent in the third stanza. Also, Kent wants the reader to pay attention to the excessive use of apostrophes. Kent doesn't only want the reader to pay attention to the clauses, but he wants the reader to pay attention to the words surrounding the apostrophes. Kent's also wants the reader to look at the repition of specific words, such as, "happy and for ever."

I think Kent's meaning behind his essay is he wants the reader to pay closer attention to the words and style of the text, which then may help the reader to understand what Keats's message was in his writing "Ode on a Grecian Urn."

Writing Styles

McDonald, ''Reading The Tempest'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

McDonald's essay describes different ways to look at the text of The Tempest

"Moreover, the style and form of The Tempest engage the audience textually with the same issues of control and mastery- the problem of power-that are brought into sharp focus by considerations of historical content."

As I was reading McDonald's essay, I couldn't help but realize that Iser had said that there was a type of reader who focused on the real and the historical, which is similar to what McDonald is saying.

McDonald mainly focuses on the style of the text and the repitition which Shakespeare uses throughout The Tempest. He then tries to explain the signifigance of Shakespeare's style and how the reader should then apply it to the text.

Subconscious Thoughts

Iser, ''Readers and the Concept of the Implied Reader'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Iser could not have started his essay with a more relevant quote than this:

"It has been said of Behme that his books are like a picnic to which the author brings the words and the reader the meaning."

To start off, the quote mentioned above makes absolute sense and while I was reading his essay the quote kept repeating itself in the back of my head. I, previously, did not think much about how readers "read" so I was excited to learn the differences of the "three types of 'contemporary' readers, which are
1.) The real and historical
2.) Is constructed from social and historical knwoledge of time
3.) Is extrapolated from the reader's role laid dowm in the text.

Iser explains that the meaning that the reader gets out of the words comes from the experience and education of that individual reader. What soemone gets out the words that are written on the text is all based on that readers personal experiences and education.

While I was thinking about Iser's essay, I think he has a good argument. For example, think about one book that you absolutely love and then ask someone, who has read the book, their feelings about the same book. Since everyone processes information differently, it may be your experiences that control what the reader likes and dislikes.

Kind Acts

I’m from Philadelphia, which doesn’t have the best reputation, but regardless, I had a very good childhood. I have a lot of sisters and a many, many cousins, nephews, etc. I have always been very sheltered and provided for, I would not say spoiled, even though I’m sure my mom and dad would disagree : )
I do not handle change well. I mean I do not even handle “a change of plans” well. I get very stressed out very easily, but ok this is not about me… On to my story:
It was about 2 degrees (not exaggerating) outside and I had to go to work, so I’m walking and I finally get to my car and the locks are frozen so while trying to get the doors unlocked I bent my key, I start the car and go to work. When I get out of work I notice that the key was bent, which probably happened when I tried to open my trunk, which was also frozen shut.
So I try to start the car and the key doesn’t work. I try again and it doesn’t work, so of course, my next thought is to call my dad. I get upset and start crying and it’s so cold that the tears are freezing up on my face. Anyways, he’s telling me to turn the wheel one way and do all these other things and I feel like I’m going to faint. So it’s like 40 minutes that I’m trying to get this car to work, which doesn’t seem like it’s going to work.
As I’m sitting in the car crying, a man comes up to the window, in an extremely polite manner and asks if he could help. At this point, I can’t give him my keys fast enough : ) He assured me numerous times that I could trust him and his intentions weren’t bad. He allowed me to sit in his car, with the heat on, while he tried to get my car to work, which he eventually succeeded in doing : )
I don’t really write many personal blogs, but that guy has still been on my mind even after a week has past. I do not know his name, but I know that people from everywhere read blogs, so I just wanted to say thank you again, you literally saved me from the freezing cold : ) When I encounter people like him, I wonder why we all can’t be like that. If everyone just helped a little, the possibilities would be endless.

Read then Apply

Keesey, Ch 2 (Introduction) -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

If you read my blogs often, you would know that I hate looking too deep into words on paper, but as I flipped towards Chapter 2 I was once again being asked too. With this being the case, I decided to have an open mind (I can't say for sure I will do this again) and give it a shot.

At the beginning, it was helpful that Keesey provided exampls of the history that might have helped form Anglo-American criticism instead of just simply giveing us time frames, because I will be the first to admit, I do not know much about past history, especially dates.

"At the same time, it would be misleading to suggest that formal criticism represents a new or peculiary modern approach" (76).

I liked the statement above because he was being upfront and honest stating that the approaches that we use today are all influenced by the approaches that we used 50 years ago. It made me want to have an open-mind and trust him, so if that's what he intended, he succeeded.

"The speaker is a character who undergoes emotional changes as the "plot" of the poem moves from mood to mood, from statement to statement, from problem to solutions" (82).

""Poetic form and poetic meaning are inseperable, sre in fact, one and the same thing, and that all relevant criticism must start from this principle" (83).

I didn't know what statement I liked better so I chose both. Keesey did a pretty good job explaning a formalist point of view versus the historical point of view, but its all a matter of how each individual apllies the information. One way is not proven to be better than the other.

Explanations

Austin, ''Toward Resolving Keats's Grecian Urn Ode -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

At the beginning of this essay Austin says so himself that this poem has attracted hundreds of explicators, so I thought to myself, Well, why are you going to do the same thing? It was a perfect way to get me disinterested in his essay, but anyways, onto the intent of this essay:

I belive that Austin's intent was to make the reader understand how to read into Keats poem so the reader can figure out the hidden meanings in the poem. Throughout the whole essay, Austin basically gives us alternative meanings as to what Keats could have meant. For example,

"If Keats however, is referring to eternity, the Urn could be saying that in its world, which is an emblem of the world of eternity, beauty is truth" (51).

Austin definetly brings up some good suggestions, which he also does a good job of supporting, but it was not one that I enjoyed reading. Austin's essay was about as disspointing and boring as I had thought when I read the first few lines.

Get to the Point

Yachnin, ''Shakespare and the Idea of Obedience: Gonzalo in The Tempest -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

The Tempest

Shakespeare, The Tempest -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

I was fortunate enough, as some of my classmates, to actually dedicate a whole class to Shakespeare : ) Yes, I know.

Having learned so much about Shakespeare, it doesn't seem as fun to me to figure out what his intent was. His main intent was to create a storyline that would keep the crowds attention and bring in money. It was a convenience for Shakespeare to make women disuguise themselves as men based on the lack of props and actors (Shakespeare wasn't always rich).

Regardless of Shakespeare's financial intentions, he is a mastermind. Today, we are still recreating his stories. He had to have liked creating the stories and confusing the crowds because his stories all are pretty much the same (women dressing as men, playing two different rold, fighting, confusion, compliucations between family memebers, storms..etc.)

It was a great story to read, I can only imagine how fabulous it would be to watch.

Who Writes the Rules

Watson, ''Are Poems Historical Acts?'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

"But then nonsesne can be literature too, and csometimes is-a warning that, if there is a limit to be placed, it may be worth insisting that it should be placed at some remote point."

After discussing in class, the different credentials that one's work must meet to be classified as a particular type of work, this essay helps me to get an even better understanding of exactly how we should view anothers work.

The quote that I picked out caught my eye because Watson explained in simple words that someones nonsense may have a different effect on someone else. I'm sure everyone has heard of the cliche, "Every trashcan has it's lid."

Using Examples

Brooks, ''Irony as a Principle of Structure'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Brooks started his essay in a very strong tone of voice. He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone which made me really wonder if what he was saying would work. Is there a poet out there who didn't step out into the universe only by first going through the door of the particular?

Brooks on Shakespeare's song:
"At any rate, it is intresting to see what happens if we are aware of these overtones. We get a delightful richness, and we also get something very close to irony." (87)

Once Brooks used that example, I began to really understand what he was saying. Shakespear's song helped because Brooks began asking the questions as if he was a reader.

The he said, "Grace, I suppose, refers to grace of movement and some readers will insit that we leave it at that." (87) Since he begins talking about how to read the text, it relates to Eagleston's article, "What is Literature?" So after taking into account, everything that I read, I do think that Brooks had a pretty good argument. There are some readers who would read selected works one way, which would differ from a different reader. The bottom line is - Brooks prepeared me with the tools so I now have a better chance of finding hidden ironic messages, but he also makes me wonder if you should right poetry following the steps he gives.

Half-Rhyme

Murfin and Ray, Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

I was flipping through my book when I came across the defintion of "half-rhyme". Half-Ryme: A form of rhyme in which words contain similar sounds but do not rhyme perfectly.

For example: the words need to have a similar sound...time/pine

So if I were to write a few words of a poem it would have to sound like this:

I was looking at the time
when I stepped on a pine
which made me see a sign

haha that was pretty bad : ) but hopefully I got my point across.

Listen to your Instincts

Melville, ''Benito Cereno'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Connecting the Dots

Keesey, General Introduction -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

Stop Asking!

Eagleton, ''Introduction: What is Literature?'' -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)

This question is not supposed to be answered because of the consequences that will follow. The reason being because there is not one, concrete answer that everyone will agree on and approve. And along with people not agreeing, people get extremely defensive and sensitive when someone dares to say that their works, such as the Superman comic, is not Literature.

As the article states, "If literature is 'creative' or 'imaginative' writing, does that imply that history, philosophy and natural science are uncreative and unimaginable?" We have no right to judge or exclude some writings from get the title "Literature".

When I took the course, Videogamming, a similar question arose - why are videogames not accepted in the art/literature society?
It's an extremely sensitive subject and I think that we, as critics, have any right to downplay someone's works because they are not socially accepted. To me, it's unfair and unacceptable. If it was up to me, any work done, whether I agree or disagree, would be classified as "Literature".