I guess the Poetry Cover Slam was a really big hit last week. I regret not being able to make it to class that night, due to a tennis match. After reading a bunch of blogs entries on the subject, and talking to some classmates, I heard that Carla's presentation was really stellar. I was told that she memorized her poetry, and performed it to the class. I feel that that is an excellent way to interpret something, because whenever you are reading off of a piece of paper, you are restricting yourself to how you can come in contact with your classmates. You can put more emotion into it, make more eye contact with people, etc. I'm experienced with memorizing, being a music major, and have memorized various pieces for when I play piano for recitals, juries, and so on. Yeah, it might make you a little bit more nervous to get up there and have nothing to go on, but if you are really prepared, you can get into what you are doing so much more.
I think sharing poetry in class is rewarding expereince, since some people have an automatic bias against it and won't normally read it. Presenting it in front a class would allow people to realize that poetry can be fun, and not as hard to understand as some may think. I'm sorry that I missed it last week! :(
I think I have to disagree slightly with what Melinda posted in her blog entry...
Melinda states in her entry that Stanley (In "A Streetcar Named Desire") probably wasn't as abusive as we think he is because he probably loved Stella underneath. I think that if pushing her around, hitting her, and raping her sister is love, it's very twisted. Stanley and Stella both claim that Stanley gets a mean streak in him because he is frustrated that Blanche is there invading their privacy...however, I feel that the abusiveness was going on for a while, since their wedding night when he "smashed the lightbulbs with the heel of my (Stella's) slipper." Just because Blanche is there is no excuse to hit your pregnant wife. That's my take on the subject.
Two classmates are seeing eye-to-eye on something here....
According to both Heidi and Chelsie, Stella was absolutely crazy for staying with Stanely, and that she was being treated inhumanely. Chelsie thoughtfully stated that "Their relationship seemed to be based solely on lust which is a very weak bond"...and i totally have to agree with her. Probably the reason that Stanely had so much resentment might be due to the fact that there wasn't any feelings left between the two. Also, according to Heidi, Stella was stupid for wanting to still stay with Stanely, and eventually set herself up. Even though during that time period it was hard for women to be single mothers, there was probably still something she could do to get away from the abuse.
Both of these entries have many connections between them, and compliment the other by giving reasons and examples not stated by the other. good job ladies (they probably aren't even aware of what they did ;) )
So how do I feel about blogging...let's see.
I think it's a great tool to have access to in order to see how my classmates are reacting to the material we cover in class. Some people (such as myself) may not want to speak up much in class, so they have the option of typing it out on here and still get heard and commented on. So I think thats a great idea right there in itself. However, when it comes to just sitting down and typing out a blog, i find myself not doing so for my pleasure or for writing out thoughts and happenings in my day. I only really write in here whenever I am assigned to in class, or when i realize i have a blog portfolio due and i need some more blogs. But, occassionally, I think it's fun to comment on other people's opinions and ideas and to get some feedback on things that i say as well. So, yeah, it's a cool thing, whenever I have the time to do it :D
Ok, so no one is being tortured by any beings from a far-off planet (though Professor Jerz seems to think that they have implanted computer chips into some people's brains? lol) but this is how Lily tries to get her point across to her dad in a letter in The Secret Life of Bees. "If you were being tortured by Martians and the only thing that could save you was telling them my favorite color, you would die on the spot."(161.) Now this certainly sounds like how I would talk when i was about 14 years old, especially if I was bitter about my father. However, there are many instances in the book where the narrator (Lily) sounds a little older beyond her years. This was brought to my attention first in a comment Professor Jerz made in Chelsie Betz's blog, and then again in class tonight.
There are, indeed, some times when I had to stop and think while reading, "I don't think that I ever talked like this when I was her age."
"Every human being on the face of the earth has a steel plate in his head, but if you lie down now and then and get still as you can, it will slide open like elevator doors, letting in all the secret thoughts that have been standing around so patiently, pushing the button for a ride to the top. The real troubles in life happen when those hidden doors stay closed for too long." (170).
Ok, I don't really think I have ever had that deep of a thought whenever I was her age. Which leads me to believe that Lily was just wise beyond her years because of all she had to go through. She didn't have a mother, T. Ray obviously was never there for her when she needed someone; she was practically on her own. Also, she was a very intelligent girl, and had been told she could be a writer or an English professor. So this also tells me that she probably read alot of books (i.e. when she snuck books to the peach stand), and picked up a rather extensive vocabulary. Books were probably her way to escape the outside world, I know that's what happens to me when i read a book, so obviously Lily would want to read as much as she could. That's my take on the "voice" of the novel.