January 2009 Archives

"I said, 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.'" - Daisy, page 17.

It seems safe to say that the characters in this book seem to be leading somewhat meaningless lives. Nick speaks of how the men characters went to college and have accomplished great things, become rich, etc. The women in the book, Daisy, in particular, are described as graceful and pleasant, and nice to look at. I am in no way a feminist, but I must admit, as Nick speaks of the awkward interruption at dinner, and Miss Baker speaks of Tom's "other woman in New York," I was slightly disgusted, as Nick was. I will never understand how any women, especially the married ones, can stand by and watch their husbands "have other women." It seems very degrading to me. It seems to me that perhaps the materialism, having nice things, big houses, butlers, etc, seems to be extended into 'having women' for the men.  All I can think of is that Britney Spears song, "Womanizer." Hilarious, but relevant, I suppose. The way Daisy reacts to giving birth to a girl, to me, signifies that even women are being taught that women are basically worthless, and the best thing they can do in life is "be a fool." We know that's not true anymore, but people like the characters in this book, with materialistic natures, are empty inside, because they have not been taught differently. Everything in their world is based on riches, real estate, and fancy clothing. How can material possessions fill the void in one's life, if one does not know how to love and be loved?  

"After Apple Picking," by Robert Frost, immediately symbolizes some sort of regret or remorse, as if the speaker of the poem is dying. The speaker looks into heaven after a hard day's work, and realizes that "there's still a barrel I didn't fill," or rather, there are still things that the speaker wants to accomplish in his life before he passes on. From the little that I've learned of Robert Frost, I know he lost his family early, and I feel sympathy for him after reading this poem. There is a sort of tragedy that is occuring throughout the poem, as if the reader is saying, "I'm overtired of apple-picking" instead of saying "I'm tired of living." He talks about the dozens of apples that were bruised or defective, and how they were treated as if they were just waste, thrown into the cider apple heap. This could be symbolic of the many dreams and aspirations he had in his life, that he now cannot accomplish because he is too old and tired, or, he could be referring to the untimely death of his family, and how their lives were thrown away. All in all, the poem is very sad and makes one think about mortality, the future, and their own dreams and aspirations..

Robert Frost's poem, Fire and Ice, is one of my favorites, actually. I've heard it be analyzed in a thousand different ways. Some people believe that fire and ice are metaphors for religion vs, science, or passion vs hate, or good vs. evil. A lot of readers say that Frost's poetry, in it's time, was overlooked as being very literal, and just had a sing-songy quality, and that was what was so great about it, (as a music major, I have literally sung at least four of these poems as song text in choirs that I've performed in), that  no one ever truely saw the deeper, darker meaning of his poetry. As I was reading what the internet randomly gave me once I looked up more on this poem, I was a bit astonished to see how deep some readers can dive into these poems, trying to find meanings, while it all seems so simple to me.

Maybe it's just me being simple, but did anyone ever think that maybe Mr. Frost meant exactly what he said in Fire and Ice? That between two opposites, there are benefits of them both, and both are just as good as the other? He first makes the case for fire, then instantly changes and says that "ice will suffice"...well, which is it? As readers, we are dying to know which he thinks is better, but maybe that was his point, that neither are better. There is no lesser of two evils. Both cause pain. The latter can end the world just as easily as the first. They are one in the same. Can it really, really be that simple? I always thought of it as that simple. The only literary reference I know of this poem, is that Stephenie Meyer uses it in the preface of one of her novels, and the reader instantly relate the poem to a love triangle that is formed between three of the main characters. One boy represents fire, the other ice, and the girl is the poet. She is not sure which boy to choose, because they both have their faults, and the both have their benefits...

"...if you're breaking bread you're not breaking heads." (Foster, page 8)

The talk of the sharing of communion for characters in literature who are involved in meal scenes is one thing I could never have come up with on my own, but it makes perfect sense after reading chapter 2. Think back to any date you've ever had, were you ever nervous about eating in front of this new acquaintance? It's reasonable to say yes, I'm sure we've all been there. I'm taken back to Christmas Eve dinners with my family, where it could be the most comfortable situation, and there would still be some underlying feud, that would temporarily resolve itself for the meal. It's very interesting to think of meals as a distraction or a sort of communion or trust factor. Now, I feel as though I can see that way. Maybe I saw it that way before and just never thought about it...

"In order to remain undead, I must steal the life force of someone whose fate matters less to me than my own." (Foster, page 21)

Now that Foster has mention vampires, I, of course, am immediately reminded of the novel Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  Meyer's Vampire characters are not your "typical, run-of-the-mill" vampires, because they somehow manage to control their thoughts similar to the quote above. The reason why the other 'evil' (or normal, however you want to put it) vampires in this novel look at the Cullen vampires as if they are ridiculous, is because, as stated in the quote, selfishness and exploitation of others is expected and seen as normal for them, not only in their world but in the general literary world as well. It never made sense to me before why the character James couldn't just walk away and leave the Cullens and Bella alone. It's because in this novel, the Cullens are the 'freaks' of the vampire world, and James is doing what real vampires are supposed to do, trying to suck the life out of someone that matters less to him than he matters to himself.

And, a little side note, I don't know about anyone else, but this author had me laughing out loud with his little quotes and puns and such. He's very entertaining.

Learning how to write an entry.

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