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February 27, 2006
Gatsby: The Finale
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning—
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
In these last few pages Gatsby changes from a person to an epiphany, allowing Nick to make somme tough realizations about the nature of humanity as a whole. Everyone, he saw, wanted the good old American dream, and even if it didn't happen one day, well, they would try harder the next day until it was eventually achieved. What Nick finally realizes though, is that for most people, this dream either will never come to fruition, or already has, the dreamer merely being unawares. Because of this, the dreams become empty and meaningless as they did for Gatsby, eventually bringing only disillusionment and sadness. Because whether we never achieve our dream, or just don't realize when we do, it amounts to the same thing: A constant struggle to move our lives forwards, when in reality we may be doing just the opposite.
Posted by PaulCrossman at 01:49 AM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2006
Gatsby Part the Second
"So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end."
In my oppinion, this quote pretty much sums up the character of Gatsby, and, to a lesser extent, the majority of the human race as well.
Gatsby's past didn't live up to his expectations, and so he made a new one. He was no longer merely an imperfect human being, but The Great Gatsby: a perfect vision of himself that he valued above all else. It seems to me that most people do this, at least to some extent. We fib to make ourselves seem like better people, tell little white lies so they like us more. Perhaps Gatsby is merely a caricature of all of humanity.
Posted by PaulCrossman at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2006
Gatsby
What I found most interesting about this work was the complete absence of the stories namesake until chapter three. Sure, we saw him from far away, and heard other peoples thoughts on him, but we never come close to the real thing. For this reason, I thought it was especially well done when we finally do meet Gatsby, he is rather aloof and mysterious, staying apart from his boisterous party and guests.
It really raised alot of questions about the man himself. Nick tells us at the very beggining that Gatsby pretty much has every trait he himself dissaproves of, and yet once he finally gets invited to one of his parties, he spends the majority of the time searching him out. Though this seems a little odd, the character of Gatsby himself makes it slightly easier to understand. I mean, who wouldn't be curiously attracted to someone with a huge mansion who throws lavish parties, and yet does not partake in his own festivities. This very act makes Nick, and the reader, all the more curious as to Gatsby's real disposion and motives.
Posted by PaulCrossman at 12:31 AM | Comments (1)
February 15, 2006
Symbolism: Helpful or Hurtful to a Story?
Symbolism is a topic which is constantly hashed and rehashed in literature circles, usually coming up with loads of meanings that the author didn't even intend for his or her story. Though this isn't neccessarily bad, it is a case where there can be too much of a good thing.
Because of the nature of symbolism itself, you can read pretty much whatever you want into any object or place you happen to read about in a work of literature. The key to interpreting symbolism in a story is not only to read meaning into an object, but to give it a meaning which is condusive in carrying on the plot and theme of the work itself. You may have noticed in many of my earlier blog entries that I interpreted symbols in some amusings ways, and though this was good for a joke, it really didn't help the reading of the story at all.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that symbolism is a good thing to an extent, but when readers and critics try to over analyze every single piece of information in the story it gets tedious, and in effect, takes away from the overall story.
Posted by PaulCrossman at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
Poetry Slam Topic
For the in class poetry slam, I chose the work "Lunar Paraphrase," by Wallace Stevens. This was, in my mind, the best of the mediocre. None of the poems we had the option to do struck me as overly well done, and none were terribly bad. My basis for choosing this poem above the others was pretty much because I enjoy the aesthetic value of the line "The moon is the mother of pathos and pity."
Posted by PaulCrossman at 07:01 AM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2006
An All Too True American Caricature
"[in unison] That's it! Damn foreigners! Damn dagoes! Damn Catholics! Damn sheenies! Damn niggers! Jail 'em! Shoot 'em! Hang 'em! Lynch 'em! Burn 'em!"
"[Sing in unison] My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty!"
A scathing criticism of American society if I've ever seen one, this passage brings to light exactly what is wrong with today's culture. Liberty and Justice for all, right? Or maybe just for some. Presumably all middle class whites, the families feel that they have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they are model, hardworking citizens, and they love America. They just don't believe that people different than them are entitled to those same rights. Sound crazy? Well it shouldn't, it happens every day.
Elmer L. Rice is not only making a valid point here, but portraying it in such a way that even people who are guilty of the same thing will take notice. In most cases that we would see today, racism and bigoty are not nearly this pronounced (with a few notable exceptions), but just because they don't stand out as much doesn't mean they're not there. By taking a common occurence and making it so offensive that it makes many readers wonder if they even read the paragraph right, Rice is forcing people to sit up and take Subtlety today goes unnoticed by the majority of the population, and if you want to make a point you need to hit someone over the head with a brick. Maybe if he can get people to understand the point he is trying to make, it will then force them to see the more subtly influences racism has on their daily lives, and because of this, hopefully help put an end to them.
Posted by PaulCrossman at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2006
A Tale of Two Ages
"People over forty can seldom be permanently convinced of anything. At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide."
Having read this story every year for the past four years, it's getting rather difficult to come up with new material to talk about. That being said, I decided to focus on this passage, with little or no context to the story around it.
Have you ever tried to have a conversation convincing your mom, dad, or even grandmother or grandfather of something which they were previously opposed to? It's nearly impossible, and the above quote illustrates that perfectly. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald seems to be making the claim that it is easier to convince young people. This may be the case for children under the age of five, but for kids in high school and college? Forget about it.
If anyone's ever had a class with me they know I'm stubborn as hell, as are the majority of the other people in the room. Everyone has a different opinnion and no one is willing to compromise or accept explanations other than their own.
Bernice Bobs her Hair draws a definitive line here between "Children" and "adults," a line which refuses to acknowledge how similiar the two really are.
Posted by PaulCrossman at 01:50 PM | Comments (1)
February 01, 2006
Would you rather do a close reading or drink draino: an objective analysis
Ex 1-1a: Close Reading 1 -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)
Close reading
-takes forever
-mind numbingly boring
Draino
-relatively cheap
-cleans toilets
-only burns a little when swallowed
Objectively, draino wins by a landslide.
Posted by PaulCrossman at 08:38 PM | Comments (0)
A perfect way to end a poem
"In the east when you cross the Hudson
Into the city across the George Washington Bridge."
This entire poem was amazingly well done, from the images it conjectures to the feelings it stirs up. It captivates the way the American people come together after a tragedy, and how quickly something hated can become a symbol of love and freedom when it becomes threatened.
The last line of the poem, for me, was easily the best part. Not only does it bring the poem to an end, but it ties together the whole theme of freedom with the name George Washington. What better name with which to end a poem like this? When you mention that name to any American, Freedom is undoubtedly the first thing they will think of. By ending the poem this way, the author effectively makes the reader feel that Freedom, in all its forms, is still something worth fighting for.
Posted by PaulCrossman at 05:15 PM | Comments (0)
OK, I changed my mind, close reading just sucks.
I'll admit that Judith Oster makes several good points in her close reading of "Desert Places," but in general her essay is long winded, overly wordy, and inane.
"The "nothingness" that Frost fears is not the metaphysical void, it is the void he fears in himself. In relating this personal void to the spaces between stars, he suggests that a personal void can have—or seem to have—cosmic proportions, that it can seem at least as important, as vast and as frightening, as anything "out there."'
Looking for a way add bulk to your essay? Why not take the easy way out? Sure, oster gives a possible interpretation of the work, but there are so many others that the waters of literature quickly get muddied by theories, and the poem as a work of art is lost completely.
Fine, she thinks Frost fears an internal void? Well I think he was a closet homosexual, and the void in his sould would never be filled because society at the time frowned heavily on homosexuality. The unbroken snow represents society: heavy with perfection, and trying to cover anything different with its blanket of pure white. The woods which the speaker passes are fallic symbols representing the gay lovers and the lifestyle the he will never be a part of. Society forces him to continue on with his life, even though he is living a lie, and experiencing a void that will never be filled.
Don't like my interpretation? Too bad.
Posted by PaulCrossman at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)
Close Reading: an Author's Nightmare?
Close reading is no doubt a valuable form of literary interpretation, but it seems to me that at times this can be overdone. Do poets really mean to have every word of their poem pored over by scholistic wolves, all eager to tell their own version of what it might mean? Perhaps, but it seems to me that it is much more likely that they hope their poem to be enjoyed as a whole, for the images it conjures and the beauty of the way the words flow. I know this is how I feel when I write poetry, but then, maybe thats just me. Is it worth cheapening the overal quality of the work in order to "better understand" it?
Posted by PaulCrossman at 04:52 PM | Comments (0)