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January 25, 2006

Foster 19 and 20, Agenda Items and essay

"...when writers send characters south, it's so they can run amok." (171) How true!One of my favorite books, The Last Promiseby Richard Paul Evans has a character that moves to Tuscany to escape his past accusations of the murder of his brother and ends up falling in love with a woman trapped in a loveless marriage...you get the picture. Anyhow, the sensuality of the winery and Tuscany that he lives near has become a place that opens up his own sensuality and allows him to be free from all the distress of his past in the States. The beauty of Tuscany and the thought of intoxication via wine generally gives you that cheesy/good love buzz just reading it. Foster's right setting completely gives you an instant idea of how you think that plot will unfold and puts you in the mood. As for Ch. 20, the seasons are great for song writing because of all the intense emotions they convey. Notice no one writes much about being depressed in the summer, but there are more poems about dead leaves and death in the winter than anything. Fall makes me think of childhood. Playing in the leaves, sipping cider, even people beat up flannel shirts, and the smell of woodburning sparks this for me. Each season itself can set up a different chapter in our lives or in a book.

Posted by ErinWaite at 03:23 PM | Comments (2)

"Bernice Bobs Her Hair"

Agenda Item:"The womanly woman!" continued Marjorie. "Her whole early life is occupied in whining criticisms of girls like me who really do have a good time." I used to say that about girls who would sit and criticize other girls at lunch in high school. I always thought just because those girls didn't have a life didn't mean that they should criticize those of us that did. Now that I've grown up, I've realized that those are the girls who will end up successful later on in life because they are waiting for the right moment to become that social butterfly and once they do other girls will be jealous. I never had many boyfriends in highschool and I'm so glad I didn't because now I am dating a quality guy rather than relying on quantity. The most striking reference though, and this shall be my true agenda item, is the part about how Marjorie said Bernice might have been a victim of her Indian heritage and at the end Bernice "scalps" Marjorie. Whoever said "Nice guys finish last" was full of it. It may take longer for someone to get their social skills in order or even (referring back to Foster)finish their quest, but when they get there, they still manage to overthrow the bad guys (or girls, in the case of Marjorie). “Young boys too shy to talk are the very best conversational practice. Clumsy boys are the best dancing practice. If you can follow them and yet look graceful you can follow a baby tank across a barb-wire sky-scraper." I also liked this quote. I agree because I'm a talker thanks to shy guys, but I still try to lead every time I dance and step all over the poor guy's feet. Oh-well, I enjoyed this story anyhow.

Posted by ErinWaite at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2006

Sections 1-3, 5

"The real reason for a quest is always self knowledge (3)." Foster writes with humor and uses great examples to entertain the reader as well as explain how to view literature. The first section about quests made me realize that the simplest act of looking for missing socks could become a quest that really isn't about the socks but more about finding an answer to solving your problem of being disorganized. Foster seemed to want us to realize that there are subplots and unspoked driving forces that cause characters in literature to act, not always what's made obvious. This goes with analyzing.
"When those two finish swilling and slurping on drumsticks and sucking fingers and generally wallowing and moaning, the audience wants to lie back and smoke." (9) That was a great way of explaining how a word communion has more than one meaning to various groups of people. This showed the importance of understanding definitions and how words can be used to paint a more vivid picture and make the reader feel apart of the text. I love this guy already! He also explained how a story could be about one thing that was consterversial so writers would use a ghost or something else like eating to symbolize lust, which helps to know as you're reading something. We are vampires if we're feeling selfish, kids! In 5 I had deja vu just by reading about deja vu, because all books do usually have a plot that's similar to others in one way or another. Stories really do grow out of others. It reminds me of a drinking night with friends. One person starts telling a story and his spouse interupts him saying "No, it happened at 8," and barges in, adding to or even changing the story. Foster makes a good point when he says if you get clues about morals or mushrooms, you begin to see more. I am always shouting out lines or predicting the ends of movies with my friends and I think that it's "all one story."

Posted by ErinWaite at 03:07 PM | Comments (2)