After reading the first 53 pages of this book I am really enjoying it. This is because it is illustrating how Chris Offutt is finding out his role as a man.
To start out he is sharing his how he has just gotten married to Rita. On page 16 we find out that soon afterward they have some big news. “Two weeks later Rita called from the doctor’s office. She spoke fast, her voice husky with tears and glory. The test was positive. I went outside and lay down beside the river. …I was stationary while all existence was on the glide.
I never thought I’d be married, let alone mutate into a father. Such normal events had never seemed to have a place in my life. To mark the occasion, I bought an aluminum skiff with a six horse-power engine, and dubbed it Lily, Rita’s middle name. I moored it in the river twenty yards from the house and felt a little better prepared for fatherhood.” From his remark that he normally doesn’t follow the traditional roles of a man was very evident in the next pages. When he was old enough he went to New York to become an actor. Here he failed to become successful at acting. But he managed to meet a black girl named Jahi. I immediately didn’t like her. She began to teach him about New York life and he started to enjoy it and her. On page 36 we find that there are some things that remind him of Kentucky. “Tony led his motley posse along a dirt path through the park. The horses walked a lazy single file. Half an hour later they still strolled with heads down, performing their function like machines. I was embarrassed for the animals, domesticated to disgrace.” This event was when Jahi and Chris went horseback riding in the city park. Chris seems to miss the way that he grew up, in the country. He then proceeds to gallop his horse. Then another inexperienced rider is thrown from his horse and is killed. For some reason Jahi seems to think that having sex will make them forget this awful tragedy. I believe that it was at this point Chris realized that he doesn’t belong with her.
After moving on from her he plays some football with some others his age. He catches a pass but in the process he blows out his knee and has to have a cast put on it. He took his first airplane ride home and rested. But he didn’t stay long. As soon as the cast was off he left again.
Throughout this story he is looking back on his life. But at some points he comes back to the present where he is on the verge of becoming a father.
After having the cast removed he hitchhiked to Minnesota. There he became involved with a native American and a couple of Hispanic brothers. These three roommates were a strange bunch. They seemed to always stay intoxicated or high. There were some crazy events. The brothers were some type of gangsters and they were trying to force their cousin onto Chris. They wanted him to marry her so that she could stay in the country legally. On page 51 we see this conversation.
“Maria says she is in love with you.”-The brothers aunt
“What!”
“Because you will marry her.”
“I won’t.”
“You must”
“Why?”
“Because she is in love with you.”
I found this interesting. Maybe in other Hispanic cultures there is very little regard for the feelings of the children. Probably they just wanted have some type of connection so that they could stay in the US. Chris proceeds to take advantage of the situation by having sex with the cousin and then leaving town for good.
Vocabulary words:
Delineate (page 25): To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out.
Hutch (page 42): A pen or coop for small animals, especially rabbits
Sojourn (page 50): To reside temporarily
Sunday, February 28, 2010
"Same River Twice
After reading the first 53 pages of this book I am really enjoying it. This is because it is illustrating how Chris Offutt is finding out his role as a man.
To start out he is sharing his how he has just gotten married to Rita. On page 16 we find out that soon afterward they have some big news. “Two weeks later Rita called from the doctor’s office. She spoke fast, her voice husky with tears and glory. The test was positive. I went outside and lay down beside the river. …I was stationary while all existence was on the glide.
I never thought I’d be married, let alone mutate into a father. Such normal events had never seemed to have a place in my life. To mark the occasion, I bought an aluminum skiff with a six horse-power engine, and dubbed it Lily, Rita’s middle name. I moored it in the river twenty yards from the house and felt a little better prepared for fatherhood.” From his remark that he normally doesn’t follow the traditional roles of a man was very evident in the next pages. When he was old enough he went to New York to become an actor. Here he failed to become successful at acting. But he managed to meet a black girl named Jahi. I immediately didn’t like her. She began to teach him about New York life and he started to enjoy it and her. On page 36 we find that there are some things that remind him of Kentucky. “Tony led his motley posse along a dirt path through the park. The horses walked a lazy single file. Half an hour later they still strolled with heads down, performing their function like machines. I was embarrassed for the animals, domesticated to disgrace.” This event was when Jahi and Chris went horseback riding in the city park. Chris seems to miss the way that he grew up, in the country. He then proceeds to gallop his horse. Then another inexperienced rider is thrown from his horse and is killed. For some reason Jahi seems to think that having sex will make them forget this awful tragedy. I believe that it was at this point Chris realized that he doesn’t belong with her.
After moving on from her he plays some football with some others his age. He catches a pass but in the process he blows out his knee and has to have a cast put on it. He took his first airplane ride home and rested. But he didn’t stay long. As soon as the cast was off he left again.
Throughout this story he is looking back on his life. But at some points he comes back to the present where he is on the verge of becoming a father.
After having the cast removed he hitchhiked to Minnesota. There he became involved with a native American and a couple of Hispanic brothers. These three roommates were a strange bunch. They seemed to always stay intoxicated or high. There were some crazy events. The brothers were some type of gangsters and they were trying to force their cousin onto Chris. They wanted him to marry her so that she could stay in the country legally. On page 51 we see this conversation.
“Maria says she is in love with you.”-The brothers aunt
“What!”
“Because you will marry her.”
“I won’t.”
“You must”
“Why?”
“Because she is in love with you.”
I found this interesting. Maybe in other Hispanic cultures there is very little regard for the feelings of the children. Probably they just wanted have some type of connection so that they could stay in the US. Chris proceeds to take advantage of the situation by having sex with the cousin and then leaving town for good.
Vocabulary words:
Delineate (page 25): To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out.
Hutch (page 42): A pen or coop for small animals, especially rabbits
Sojourn (page 50): To reside temporarily
To start out he is sharing his how he has just gotten married to Rita. On page 16 we find out that soon afterward they have some big news. “Two weeks later Rita called from the doctor’s office. She spoke fast, her voice husky with tears and glory. The test was positive. I went outside and lay down beside the river. …I was stationary while all existence was on the glide.
I never thought I’d be married, let alone mutate into a father. Such normal events had never seemed to have a place in my life. To mark the occasion, I bought an aluminum skiff with a six horse-power engine, and dubbed it Lily, Rita’s middle name. I moored it in the river twenty yards from the house and felt a little better prepared for fatherhood.” From his remark that he normally doesn’t follow the traditional roles of a man was very evident in the next pages. When he was old enough he went to New York to become an actor. Here he failed to become successful at acting. But he managed to meet a black girl named Jahi. I immediately didn’t like her. She began to teach him about New York life and he started to enjoy it and her. On page 36 we find that there are some things that remind him of Kentucky. “Tony led his motley posse along a dirt path through the park. The horses walked a lazy single file. Half an hour later they still strolled with heads down, performing their function like machines. I was embarrassed for the animals, domesticated to disgrace.” This event was when Jahi and Chris went horseback riding in the city park. Chris seems to miss the way that he grew up, in the country. He then proceeds to gallop his horse. Then another inexperienced rider is thrown from his horse and is killed. For some reason Jahi seems to think that having sex will make them forget this awful tragedy. I believe that it was at this point Chris realized that he doesn’t belong with her.
After moving on from her he plays some football with some others his age. He catches a pass but in the process he blows out his knee and has to have a cast put on it. He took his first airplane ride home and rested. But he didn’t stay long. As soon as the cast was off he left again.
Throughout this story he is looking back on his life. But at some points he comes back to the present where he is on the verge of becoming a father.
After having the cast removed he hitchhiked to Minnesota. There he became involved with a native American and a couple of Hispanic brothers. These three roommates were a strange bunch. They seemed to always stay intoxicated or high. There were some crazy events. The brothers were some type of gangsters and they were trying to force their cousin onto Chris. They wanted him to marry her so that she could stay in the country legally. On page 51 we see this conversation.
“Maria says she is in love with you.”-The brothers aunt
“What!”
“Because you will marry her.”
“I won’t.”
“You must”
“Why?”
“Because she is in love with you.”
I found this interesting. Maybe in other Hispanic cultures there is very little regard for the feelings of the children. Probably they just wanted have some type of connection so that they could stay in the US. Chris proceeds to take advantage of the situation by having sex with the cousin and then leaving town for good.
Vocabulary words:
Delineate (page 25): To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out.
Hutch (page 42): A pen or coop for small animals, especially rabbits
Sojourn (page 50): To reside temporarily
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Stop/Go/Yield
GO (I like this):
I enjoyed the book we just finished, Glengarry Glen Ross. This is because it reminds me of how industry actually works in American. I have seen many of these aspects while I was working as an intern for an engineering company. It was kind of cool to see how the different people interact from the outside.
Another thing that I like is how you are willing to sometimes go onto tangents and discuss things that people bring up. This is very interesting at times and I like to hear your take on these situations. Additionally it is good for me that you eliminated the music of chance. I’m not sure what this book is about but it definitely lightens my load.
I like the way that the course is set up. It allows the better students to take advantage of their work ethic and get ahead.
YIELD (things we should do more often):
I like it when we get to read other students blogs. It really helps me to gauge my work against theirs and also gives me some feedback on my writing style. I would like to do this more often. It seems to be a very good use of class time. It makes us interact with each other and meet new people with different opinions than us.
Watching movies on the books we read also is good because it helps me to visualize some of the parts that were confusing to me. I would like to do this more. Just like how you have planned for before spring break.
STOP (please, no more!):
I sometimes get confused with what we are discussing in class, especially how it pertains to the reading that we are analyzing.
I didn’t like the book Lolita. I’m not sure what to recommend for reading. But I know that some other classes have not read Lolita. I’m not saying that this book is that bad. But it just doesn’t appeal to me. But that is only my opinion.
I enjoyed the book we just finished, Glengarry Glen Ross. This is because it reminds me of how industry actually works in American. I have seen many of these aspects while I was working as an intern for an engineering company. It was kind of cool to see how the different people interact from the outside.
Another thing that I like is how you are willing to sometimes go onto tangents and discuss things that people bring up. This is very interesting at times and I like to hear your take on these situations. Additionally it is good for me that you eliminated the music of chance. I’m not sure what this book is about but it definitely lightens my load.
I like the way that the course is set up. It allows the better students to take advantage of their work ethic and get ahead.
YIELD (things we should do more often):
I like it when we get to read other students blogs. It really helps me to gauge my work against theirs and also gives me some feedback on my writing style. I would like to do this more often. It seems to be a very good use of class time. It makes us interact with each other and meet new people with different opinions than us.
Watching movies on the books we read also is good because it helps me to visualize some of the parts that were confusing to me. I would like to do this more. Just like how you have planned for before spring break.
STOP (please, no more!):
I sometimes get confused with what we are discussing in class, especially how it pertains to the reading that we are analyzing.
I didn’t like the book Lolita. I’m not sure what to recommend for reading. But I know that some other classes have not read Lolita. I’m not saying that this book is that bad. But it just doesn’t appeal to me. But that is only my opinion.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
"Glenngary, Glen Ross" pp. 9-78
Reading "Glengary Glen Ross" by David Mamet I was relieved. This play was so much more appealing to me compared to the readings of the last couple of weeks. There was not a ton of sexual references. Also it seemed to be more real life to me.
The play starts out with Shelley "The Machine" Levene, a slumping salesman who doesn't seem to be able to close a real estate deal, and his boss Williamson talking about Shelley's recent performance. Most of their converstation consists of Shelley attempting to convince his boss that he can still sell real estate like in the old days all he needs is a chance. But Williamson is not intersted in this propposition. Levene tries everything he can to obtain some new leads to work on. On page 16 Levene is pleading with Williamson "...and what is that, John? What? Bad luck. That's all it is. I pray that in your life you will never find it runs in streaks. That's what it does, that's all it's doing. Streaks. I pray it misses you. That's all I want to say." Here Levene is trying to play on the sensitive side of his boss. Next he tries to even make his boss feel sorry for him because his daughter has bad health in an attempt to gain some type of sypathy from his manager. At the end he attempts to bribe his boss by claiming that if he is given some hot leads then he will certainly close the deals and that he will give some of his cut to his boss under the table. On page 23 we note the converstation between them about this bribe.
Levene: I can't close these leads, John. No one can. It's a joke. John, look, just give me a hot lead. Just give me two of the premium leads. As a "test," alright? As a "test" and I promise you...
Williamson: I can't do it shel.
Levene: I'll give you ten percent.
Williamson: Of what?
Levene: Of my end what I close.
Williamson: And what if you don't close.
Levene: I will close.
Williamson: What if you don't? Then I'm fucked. You see...? Then it's my job. That's what I'm telling you.
After reading this conversation I saw a lot of familiar things. For one everybody is only concerned with their own well being. Also I tried to put myself in Williamson's shoes. What would I do. Would I try to help a struggling older man and put my job at risk? At the end of their conversation Williamson actually agrees to turn over some leads if Levene can pay him some cash. He doesn't have this cash and so they leave.
The next scene is of two disgruteled salesmen who are sceming of ways to get back at the company. Escpecially Mitch and Murray the two ceo's I guess. Dave Moss is talking to George Aaronow. Moss is much more agressive than George and begins to lay out his plan of stealing all the big leads in the office and selling them to a competitor that he seems to know well. He tries to convice George that the acutall stealing of the leads is his part. This is becuase Moss will do the negociating with the competitor.
One part of the story that I didn't think was very important was when Ricky Roma the best salesman was having a converstation where he smooth talked a timid man into a realestate deal.
After this converstion we are in the office where there has been a bugglary. I attomatically asumed that this was done by the sceming Moss and Aaronow, but I'm not sure if Aaronow attually went through with the plan or not. A police officer is interigoating all the employees one at a time and George seems to be reall nervous. He asks for advice on page 61
Aaronow: "But what should I tell them (police)?"
Roma: "The truth, George. Always tell the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember."
This is great! The one man who just made a questionable sale based of of potential lies is telling his fellow worker to always tell the truth. We do this so much. We can always give advice but cant live it out. So sad!
Next Levene comes into the office to share that he finally has made a sale which his boss seems to think is not going to go through. Then the man who Roma had just made a sale to walked into the office.
The play starts out with Shelley "The Machine" Levene, a slumping salesman who doesn't seem to be able to close a real estate deal, and his boss Williamson talking about Shelley's recent performance. Most of their converstation consists of Shelley attempting to convince his boss that he can still sell real estate like in the old days all he needs is a chance. But Williamson is not intersted in this propposition. Levene tries everything he can to obtain some new leads to work on. On page 16 Levene is pleading with Williamson "...and what is that, John? What? Bad luck. That's all it is. I pray that in your life you will never find it runs in streaks. That's what it does, that's all it's doing. Streaks. I pray it misses you. That's all I want to say." Here Levene is trying to play on the sensitive side of his boss. Next he tries to even make his boss feel sorry for him because his daughter has bad health in an attempt to gain some type of sypathy from his manager. At the end he attempts to bribe his boss by claiming that if he is given some hot leads then he will certainly close the deals and that he will give some of his cut to his boss under the table. On page 23 we note the converstation between them about this bribe.
Levene: I can't close these leads, John. No one can. It's a joke. John, look, just give me a hot lead. Just give me two of the premium leads. As a "test," alright? As a "test" and I promise you...
Williamson: I can't do it shel.
Levene: I'll give you ten percent.
Williamson: Of what?
Levene: Of my end what I close.
Williamson: And what if you don't close.
Levene: I will close.
Williamson: What if you don't? Then I'm fucked. You see...? Then it's my job. That's what I'm telling you.
After reading this conversation I saw a lot of familiar things. For one everybody is only concerned with their own well being. Also I tried to put myself in Williamson's shoes. What would I do. Would I try to help a struggling older man and put my job at risk? At the end of their conversation Williamson actually agrees to turn over some leads if Levene can pay him some cash. He doesn't have this cash and so they leave.
The next scene is of two disgruteled salesmen who are sceming of ways to get back at the company. Escpecially Mitch and Murray the two ceo's I guess. Dave Moss is talking to George Aaronow. Moss is much more agressive than George and begins to lay out his plan of stealing all the big leads in the office and selling them to a competitor that he seems to know well. He tries to convice George that the acutall stealing of the leads is his part. This is becuase Moss will do the negociating with the competitor.
One part of the story that I didn't think was very important was when Ricky Roma the best salesman was having a converstation where he smooth talked a timid man into a realestate deal.
After this converstion we are in the office where there has been a bugglary. I attomatically asumed that this was done by the sceming Moss and Aaronow, but I'm not sure if Aaronow attually went through with the plan or not. A police officer is interigoating all the employees one at a time and George seems to be reall nervous. He asks for advice on page 61
Aaronow: "But what should I tell them (police)?"
Roma: "The truth, George. Always tell the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember."
This is great! The one man who just made a questionable sale based of of potential lies is telling his fellow worker to always tell the truth. We do this so much. We can always give advice but cant live it out. So sad!
Next Levene comes into the office to share that he finally has made a sale which his boss seems to think is not going to go through. Then the man who Roma had just made a sale to walked into the office.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
"River of Names" and "Cathedral"
Immediately after reading “River of Names” by Dorothy Allison I did some research on her background. This is because in the story there were mentions of places and things that I was familiar with. I found out that she was born in Greenville, SC. I am from there.
This story is about a lesbian lying in bed with her lover Jesse. She remembers all the horrible things that have happened in her past. She is from a very large family with lots of cousins, aunts and uncles. It seems to me that there are an exaggerated amount of things that have happened to her family. I picture her family as living in some really run down farm house out in the country. They are all drunks and always treating each other terribly. The parents do not take responsibility for instilling in kind of character into their children. It is a vicious cycle that cannot be broken. The narrator, the lesbian, has tried to get out and knows that her life choice will make no difference to her family. Being a lesbian is much better than what some of her relatives have turned out to be. We see this on page 5 “I come of an enormous family and I cannot tell half their stories. Somehow it was always made to seem they killed themselves: car wrecks, shotguns, dusty ropes, screaming, falling out of windows, things inside them. I am the point of the pyramid, sliding back under the weight of the ones who came after, and it does not matter that I am the lesbian, the one who will not have children.” To me it seems that the narrator is scared to have children. That if she gets married and has a normal relationship with a man that they will only continue the carnage that her family has started. From some research of Dorothy Allison I found that she was also a lesbian and I think that this story is very close to how her childhood went.
One thing that I wanted to comment on is that I come from a family of 6 children. And in no way does this story represent anything like my childhood. So I don’t think that there is a correlation between family size and dysfunction in the family. This failure in her family comes from lack of guidance and selfishness on the part of the parents.
“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver.
In this story the narrator’s wife has a blind friend that is coming to visit. The husband has never met this man before and is very unsettled about him coming to stay. Also he is unsure of his wife’s relationship to this blind man. To tell you the truth I kind of agree with this thinking. Not because of his blindness but because it is always weird to meet people from your significant other’s past that you know nothing about. On page 111 the narrator begins questioning his wife about this man. She becomes sort of defensive. “If you love me,” she said, “you can do this for me. If you don’t love me okay. But if you had a friend, any friend, and the friend came to visit, I’d make him feel comfortable.”
This shows that even before he has met him he already has a bad opinion about this man. This is something that I do sometimes. I make up my mind about someone and then later when I get to know them I actually enjoy being around them. That is what happened in this story. The husband and the blind man watch a television show about cathedrals. They have a moment where the narrator, husband, realizes that this blind man is very special is not someone to be scared of. They end up drawing a cathedral together as we find on page 122. “He (the blind man) found my hand, the hand with the pen. He closed his hand over my hand. “Go ahead, bub, draw,” he said. “Draw. You’ll see. I’ll follow along with you. It’ll be okay. Just begin now like I’m telling you. You’ll see. Draw,” the blind man said.” There is a real life lesson that we should learn to accept people different from us before we judge them without even knowing them.
Vocabulary:
“River of Names” page 10 hydrocephalic: A usually congenital condition in which an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the cerebral ventricles causes enlargement of the skull and compression of the brain, destroying much of the neural tissue.
“Cathedral” page 120 fresco: The art of painting on fresh, moist plaster with pigments dissolved in water.
“Cathedral” page 120 Lisbon: The capital and largest city of Portugal, in the western part of the country on the Tagus River estuary
This story is about a lesbian lying in bed with her lover Jesse. She remembers all the horrible things that have happened in her past. She is from a very large family with lots of cousins, aunts and uncles. It seems to me that there are an exaggerated amount of things that have happened to her family. I picture her family as living in some really run down farm house out in the country. They are all drunks and always treating each other terribly. The parents do not take responsibility for instilling in kind of character into their children. It is a vicious cycle that cannot be broken. The narrator, the lesbian, has tried to get out and knows that her life choice will make no difference to her family. Being a lesbian is much better than what some of her relatives have turned out to be. We see this on page 5 “I come of an enormous family and I cannot tell half their stories. Somehow it was always made to seem they killed themselves: car wrecks, shotguns, dusty ropes, screaming, falling out of windows, things inside them. I am the point of the pyramid, sliding back under the weight of the ones who came after, and it does not matter that I am the lesbian, the one who will not have children.” To me it seems that the narrator is scared to have children. That if she gets married and has a normal relationship with a man that they will only continue the carnage that her family has started. From some research of Dorothy Allison I found that she was also a lesbian and I think that this story is very close to how her childhood went.
One thing that I wanted to comment on is that I come from a family of 6 children. And in no way does this story represent anything like my childhood. So I don’t think that there is a correlation between family size and dysfunction in the family. This failure in her family comes from lack of guidance and selfishness on the part of the parents.
“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver.
In this story the narrator’s wife has a blind friend that is coming to visit. The husband has never met this man before and is very unsettled about him coming to stay. Also he is unsure of his wife’s relationship to this blind man. To tell you the truth I kind of agree with this thinking. Not because of his blindness but because it is always weird to meet people from your significant other’s past that you know nothing about. On page 111 the narrator begins questioning his wife about this man. She becomes sort of defensive. “If you love me,” she said, “you can do this for me. If you don’t love me okay. But if you had a friend, any friend, and the friend came to visit, I’d make him feel comfortable.”
This shows that even before he has met him he already has a bad opinion about this man. This is something that I do sometimes. I make up my mind about someone and then later when I get to know them I actually enjoy being around them. That is what happened in this story. The husband and the blind man watch a television show about cathedrals. They have a moment where the narrator, husband, realizes that this blind man is very special is not someone to be scared of. They end up drawing a cathedral together as we find on page 122. “He (the blind man) found my hand, the hand with the pen. He closed his hand over my hand. “Go ahead, bub, draw,” he said. “Draw. You’ll see. I’ll follow along with you. It’ll be okay. Just begin now like I’m telling you. You’ll see. Draw,” the blind man said.” There is a real life lesson that we should learn to accept people different from us before we judge them without even knowing them.
Vocabulary:
“River of Names” page 10 hydrocephalic: A usually congenital condition in which an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the cerebral ventricles causes enlargement of the skull and compression of the brain, destroying much of the neural tissue.
“Cathedral” page 120 fresco: The art of painting on fresh, moist plaster with pigments dissolved in water.
“Cathedral” page 120 Lisbon: The capital and largest city of Portugal, in the western part of the country on the Tagus River estuary
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
"Emergency" and "Home"
These are my thoughts on “Emergency” by Denis Johnson.
The story starts out in the emergency room of a hospital. The main character, the narrator, works alongside an orderly named Georgie. Georgie is addicted to drugs which he steals from the hospital. And I found out later the narrator also is addicted to these drugs.
When a man named Terrence Weber walks himself to the emergency room with a huge hunting knife in his eye everything get chaotic. The doctor present at that time doesn’t feel that he is able to perform the necessary duties to fix this mans problem. So he calls in several experts. But before anyone can arrive the drugged up orderly somehow manages to remove the knife and there are no complications with Weber. I found this very strange that the doctor felt incompetent in performing the operation while a high orderly did it with no fear and did it well.
After this ordeal the Georgie and the narrator, both high on acid or something, start driving about in a pick up truck. They hit a rabbit that Georgie then proceeds to clean and prepare for food. On page 279 we see just how crazy he is ‘”We’ll camp in the wilderness,” he said. “In the morning we’ll breakfast on its haunches.” He was waving Terrence Weber’s hunting knife around in what I was sure was a dangerous way.’ This scene was crazy because why did he still have the hunting knife? Also he must have no problem with blood because he seems to run into it everywhere he goes. I was sure at this point that something terrible was going to happen because they were driving high and with out headlights in the dark skinning rabbits. But then the story got worse. Georgie finds eight baby rabbits inside his “dinner”.
Both of them decided to take a break from driving and park a little ways from the interstate. On page 282 the narrator shares “We listened to the big rigs going from San Francisco to Pennsylvania along the interstate, like shudders down a long hacksaw blade, while the snow buried us.” Again they are referring to a blade. Probably while they were high these normal sound may have been enhanced and given them a sense of the world passing them by while they were caring for a bunch of baby rabbits. They then discover that the rabbits have been squashed and killed between the seat.
They then proceed to head back and pick up a hitchhiker that they knew. This person shares that he was drafted by now is running away. He wants to get to Canada. Georgie promises that he will take him to Canada. Which I don’t understand this because Georgie seems to have no control over anything can’t even keep some rabbits alive.
Here are my thoughts on “Home” by Jayne Anne Philips.
A twenty-three year old daughter has come home because she ran out of money and had no prospect of marriage. She lives with her older mother who basically does nothing but knit when she is home. The daughter shares how boring life is at home with only her mother and even reads the Reader’s Digest. She reads crazy stories of bear attacks and other things.
She receives a call from an ex-boyfriend, Daniel, he has been living with a new girlfriend out west. But he has returned east and his girlfriend with come east in a few weeks. She begins to recollect their relationship and remembers how Daniel was so scared physically and mentally from an incident in the military.
Daniel comes to stay with her. She wants him. As he sleeps she goes into his bedroom and seduces him into having sex with her. Her mother hears them. And the next morning her mother is very upset with her and ashamed.
The story starts out in the emergency room of a hospital. The main character, the narrator, works alongside an orderly named Georgie. Georgie is addicted to drugs which he steals from the hospital. And I found out later the narrator also is addicted to these drugs.
When a man named Terrence Weber walks himself to the emergency room with a huge hunting knife in his eye everything get chaotic. The doctor present at that time doesn’t feel that he is able to perform the necessary duties to fix this mans problem. So he calls in several experts. But before anyone can arrive the drugged up orderly somehow manages to remove the knife and there are no complications with Weber. I found this very strange that the doctor felt incompetent in performing the operation while a high orderly did it with no fear and did it well.
After this ordeal the Georgie and the narrator, both high on acid or something, start driving about in a pick up truck. They hit a rabbit that Georgie then proceeds to clean and prepare for food. On page 279 we see just how crazy he is ‘”We’ll camp in the wilderness,” he said. “In the morning we’ll breakfast on its haunches.” He was waving Terrence Weber’s hunting knife around in what I was sure was a dangerous way.’ This scene was crazy because why did he still have the hunting knife? Also he must have no problem with blood because he seems to run into it everywhere he goes. I was sure at this point that something terrible was going to happen because they were driving high and with out headlights in the dark skinning rabbits. But then the story got worse. Georgie finds eight baby rabbits inside his “dinner”.
Both of them decided to take a break from driving and park a little ways from the interstate. On page 282 the narrator shares “We listened to the big rigs going from San Francisco to Pennsylvania along the interstate, like shudders down a long hacksaw blade, while the snow buried us.” Again they are referring to a blade. Probably while they were high these normal sound may have been enhanced and given them a sense of the world passing them by while they were caring for a bunch of baby rabbits. They then discover that the rabbits have been squashed and killed between the seat.
They then proceed to head back and pick up a hitchhiker that they knew. This person shares that he was drafted by now is running away. He wants to get to Canada. Georgie promises that he will take him to Canada. Which I don’t understand this because Georgie seems to have no control over anything can’t even keep some rabbits alive.
Here are my thoughts on “Home” by Jayne Anne Philips.
A twenty-three year old daughter has come home because she ran out of money and had no prospect of marriage. She lives with her older mother who basically does nothing but knit when she is home. The daughter shares how boring life is at home with only her mother and even reads the Reader’s Digest. She reads crazy stories of bear attacks and other things.
She receives a call from an ex-boyfriend, Daniel, he has been living with a new girlfriend out west. But he has returned east and his girlfriend with come east in a few weeks. She begins to recollect their relationship and remembers how Daniel was so scared physically and mentally from an incident in the military.
Daniel comes to stay with her. She wants him. As he sleeps she goes into his bedroom and seduces him into having sex with her. Her mother hears them. And the next morning her mother is very upset with her and ashamed.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
"Lolita" pages 179-236
Wow! I am so glad that this is the last time I have to write about Lolita. This story has been very depressing. I am going to be honest, I felt like I got no good out of this book and never want to here it mentioned as long as I live! It makes me feel sick inside.
We pick this story up where Lolita has started to go back to school. On page 183 we find out how low their relationship has gone. “I am now faced with the distasteful task of recording a definite drop in Lolita’s morals. If her share in the ardors she kindled had never amounted to much, neither had pure lucre ever come to the fore. But I was weak, I was not wise, my schoolgirl nymphet had me in a thrall. With the human element dwindling, the passion, the tenderness, the torture only increased; and of this she took advantage. Her weekly allowance, paid to her under condition she fulfill her basic obligations, was twenty-one cents at the start of the Beardsley era-and went up to one dollar five before its end.” Lolita was now only a paid mistress to Humbert. She understood this and began to slip in her school work. She constantly blackmailed him by threatening to withhold sex if no more money was offered. Which Humbert had to pay to fulfill his sexual desires. To help relieve this situation Humbert allowed her to enter the school play. On page 185 Humbert states “but by that time I had brought prices down drastically by having her earn the hard and nauseous way permission to participate in the school’s theatrical program; because what I feared most was not that she might ruin me, but that she might accumulate sufficient cash to run away.”
Humbert took great lengths to find out if there were any boys that Lolita like or was spending time with. He even questions her friend about her interactions with other boys. He is much relived to find out that she basically pays no attention to other boys. I found it very crazy when while Humbert was talking to Lolita’s friend he felt like she was making a move on him. At this point he felt like possibly Lolita was recruiting other girls her age to partake in her lifestyle. This seems so far fetched to me.
But Lolita’s secret life was sort of coming out in school and her teachers new that something was wrong. They consulted Humbert why he would not let her partake in normal high school activities that other kids were. He finally confessed that he didn’t want her around other boys. At home Humbert notices that she is very different than she was two years ago. He tries to impose his will on her and they proceed to get into an argument that ends when Lolita runs away. But she doesn’t go very far. He finds her talking on the phone and she acts like everything is ok. I am wondering who she talked to on the phone that made her calm down.
They proceed to go on another one of their trips before she even performs in the play. As they depart on their way Lolita is acting sort of strange. On page 217 Humbert realizes that a certain car has been following them ever since they left. “Being a murderer with a sensational but incomplete and unorthodox memory, I cannot tell you, ladies and gentlemen, the exact day when I first knew with utter certainty that the red convertible was following us.” Humbert tends to think that this follower is someone after Lolita and even calls that person a second Humbert. Or possibly that he is a cop trying to find out what exactly is going on between them. Humbert even spies Lolita talking to the driver at one point and she, because of her acting classes, has become a very good liar and denies knowing anything about him. This driver even changes cars to avoid suspicion but Humbert still is aware of him following behind. It is obvious to me at several times in the story that Lolita is having some type of contact with whoever this person is. She even disappeared at one point and Humbert thought she was gone for good. But she turns up again and manages to talk her way once again out of whatever she had just done. By the end of the reading for today Humbert was still watching her very closely.
Some unfamiliar words I came across are listed below.
Vouchsafe on page 187: To condescend to grant or bestow
Tonalities on page 190: A system or an arrangement of seven tones built on a tonic key
Mauve on page 223: A moderate grayish violet to moderate reddish purple.
We pick this story up where Lolita has started to go back to school. On page 183 we find out how low their relationship has gone. “I am now faced with the distasteful task of recording a definite drop in Lolita’s morals. If her share in the ardors she kindled had never amounted to much, neither had pure lucre ever come to the fore. But I was weak, I was not wise, my schoolgirl nymphet had me in a thrall. With the human element dwindling, the passion, the tenderness, the torture only increased; and of this she took advantage. Her weekly allowance, paid to her under condition she fulfill her basic obligations, was twenty-one cents at the start of the Beardsley era-and went up to one dollar five before its end.” Lolita was now only a paid mistress to Humbert. She understood this and began to slip in her school work. She constantly blackmailed him by threatening to withhold sex if no more money was offered. Which Humbert had to pay to fulfill his sexual desires. To help relieve this situation Humbert allowed her to enter the school play. On page 185 Humbert states “but by that time I had brought prices down drastically by having her earn the hard and nauseous way permission to participate in the school’s theatrical program; because what I feared most was not that she might ruin me, but that she might accumulate sufficient cash to run away.”
Humbert took great lengths to find out if there were any boys that Lolita like or was spending time with. He even questions her friend about her interactions with other boys. He is much relived to find out that she basically pays no attention to other boys. I found it very crazy when while Humbert was talking to Lolita’s friend he felt like she was making a move on him. At this point he felt like possibly Lolita was recruiting other girls her age to partake in her lifestyle. This seems so far fetched to me.
But Lolita’s secret life was sort of coming out in school and her teachers new that something was wrong. They consulted Humbert why he would not let her partake in normal high school activities that other kids were. He finally confessed that he didn’t want her around other boys. At home Humbert notices that she is very different than she was two years ago. He tries to impose his will on her and they proceed to get into an argument that ends when Lolita runs away. But she doesn’t go very far. He finds her talking on the phone and she acts like everything is ok. I am wondering who she talked to on the phone that made her calm down.
They proceed to go on another one of their trips before she even performs in the play. As they depart on their way Lolita is acting sort of strange. On page 217 Humbert realizes that a certain car has been following them ever since they left. “Being a murderer with a sensational but incomplete and unorthodox memory, I cannot tell you, ladies and gentlemen, the exact day when I first knew with utter certainty that the red convertible was following us.” Humbert tends to think that this follower is someone after Lolita and even calls that person a second Humbert. Or possibly that he is a cop trying to find out what exactly is going on between them. Humbert even spies Lolita talking to the driver at one point and she, because of her acting classes, has become a very good liar and denies knowing anything about him. This driver even changes cars to avoid suspicion but Humbert still is aware of him following behind. It is obvious to me at several times in the story that Lolita is having some type of contact with whoever this person is. She even disappeared at one point and Humbert thought she was gone for good. But she turns up again and manages to talk her way once again out of whatever she had just done. By the end of the reading for today Humbert was still watching her very closely.
Some unfamiliar words I came across are listed below.
Vouchsafe on page 187: To condescend to grant or bestow
Tonalities on page 190: A system or an arrangement of seven tones built on a tonic key
Mauve on page 223: A moderate grayish violet to moderate reddish purple.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
"Lolita" pages 140-179
We pick back up with this story when Humbert has just told Lolita that her mother has died. Lolita seemed to have accepted this fact very quickly. Because the very next day her and Humbert began their travels all over the United States. They did this probably because it would seem weird to their neighbors if they lived together back home. People may get suspicious of their activities. Throughout their travels they avoided the upright places to stay and mostly stuck to the simple motor courts or motels I guess. Humbert’s lawry on page 153 gave him some advice, he “has suggested I give a clear, frank account of the itinerary we followed, and I suppose I have reached here a point where I cannot avoid that chore. Roughly, during that mad year (August 1947 to August 1948), our route began with a series of whorls in New England, then meandering south, up and down, east and west; dipped deep into ce qu’on appelle Dixieland, avoiding Florida because the Farlows (his lawyer) were there, veered west,” Also they avoided where Lolita was born even though she really want to go there. To me it seems like Humbert is trying to distract Lolita from reality. By taking her all these different and new places he is able to keep her to himself with none to answer to. It is very strange to me to think about this, because I am probably going to be married soon and I would like to take my children (whenever I have some) to see the US. I did this as a child and can only imagine what Lolita was going through. But throughout this entire trip Humbert was taking advantage of her. Page 158 shows that Lolita is becoming bored with this lifestyle. She asked “how long did I think we were going to live in stuffy cabins, doing filthy things together and never behaving like ordinary people.” Additionally on page 159 Humbert shows his extreme jealously towards any other males Lolita paid attention to. “Oh, I had to keep a very sharp eye on Lo, little limp Lo! Owing perhaps to constant amorous exercise, she radiated, despite her very childish appearance, some special languorous glow which threw garage fellows, hotel pages, vacationist, goons in luxurious cars, maroon morons near blued pools, into fits of concupiscence with might have tickled my pride, had it not incensed my jealousy. For little Lo was aware of that glow of hers, and I would often catch her conulant un regard in the direction of some amiable male, some grease monkey, with a sinewy golden-brown forearm and watch-braceleted wrist, and hardly had I turned my back to go and buy this very Lo a lollipop, that I would hear her and the fair mechanic burst into perfect love songs of wisecracks.” I think that this section really shows Humbert and Lo’s relationship for how it really is. Lo is so mixed up and confused that she actually sort of flaunts herself in front of other men. At an age of only 13 at this time this must seem really strange to all these adult men. But possibly this is only Humbert’s imagination. He is so possessive of her that even when she is just being like a normal little girl he becomes so jealous that he can’t stand it. In the last sentence he uses the word “love” to describe the interaction between Lo and these other men. Maybe this is because he wants love from Lo but can’t because she only has sex with him because he bribes her and basically pays her as a prostitute.
After a time Humbert decides to move back east. On page 173 we find what Humbert thinks of this decision. “I now think it was a great mistake to move east again and have her go to that private school in Beardsley, instead of somehow scrambling across the Mexican border while the scrambling was good so as to lie low for a couple of years in subtropical bliss until I could safely marry my little Creole for I must confess that depending on the condition of my glands and ganglia, I could switch in the course of the same day form one pole of insanity to the other-“ I don’t really understand why he would want to make her his wife. What would that change? It wouldn’t make her love him. But as we can see he thinks with his testicles instead of his head. On page 176 we find out what he intends to do, he will send Lo to a private all girls school. This is an attempt to keep her from boys her age. This quote shows how much he really doesn’t care about Lo “I really didn’t mind where to dwell provided I could lock my Lolita up somewhere;” She, outside her will had become his prisoner and in a way her was her prisoner too. He couldn’t live without her sex. So he had to keep her around no matter what.
After a time Humbert decides to move back east. On page 173 we find what Humbert thinks of this decision. “I now think it was a great mistake to move east again and have her go to that private school in Beardsley, instead of somehow scrambling across the Mexican border while the scrambling was good so as to lie low for a couple of years in subtropical bliss until I could safely marry my little Creole for I must confess that depending on the condition of my glands and ganglia, I could switch in the course of the same day form one pole of insanity to the other-“ I don’t really understand why he would want to make her his wife. What would that change? It wouldn’t make her love him. But as we can see he thinks with his testicles instead of his head. On page 176 we find out what he intends to do, he will send Lo to a private all girls school. This is an attempt to keep her from boys her age. This quote shows how much he really doesn’t care about Lo “I really didn’t mind where to dwell provided I could lock my Lolita up somewhere;” She, outside her will had become his prisoner and in a way her was her prisoner too. He couldn’t live without her sex. So he had to keep her around no matter what.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
"Lolita" pages 109-140
This blog covers pages 109-140 that we will discuss on Friday.
We pick back up with this weird story. Humbert had married Lolita’s mother in a pathetic attempt to stay close to Lolita. But when his wife found out that he had been writing in his dairy of his love for Lolita and his contempt for his wife they had a scrum. This ended when his wife ran out into the road and was immediately struck by a vehicle which killed her. Humbert is now driving to pick up Lolita from her camp, she doesn’t yet know that her mother is dead, only thinks that she is ill. This section covers where Humbert schemes to drug Lolita in an attempt to molest her in her sleep. On page 116 Humbert shows his true intent of giving her the drug. ‘“Oh, I want to see that picture. Let’s go right after dinner, Oh let’s!” Exclaims Lolita. “We might,” chanted Humbert-knowing perfectly well, the sly tumescent devil, that by nine, when his show began, she would be dead in his arms.’ I believe that this is showing that possibly Lolita’s soul may die that night, not her actual physical body. What Humbert wanted to do would effectively ruin her life.
I found it strange that when Humbert took her to the motel that she was at first somewhat surprised that they would be sleeping in the same room. She states ‘” Are we to sleep in one room?” said Lo, her features working in that dynamic way they did – not cross or disgusted (though plain on the brink of it) bu just dynamic – when she wanted to load a question with violent significance.
“I’ve asked them to put in a cot. Which I’ll use if you like.” – Humbert
“You are crazy,” said Lo
“Why, my darling?” – Humbert
“Because, my dahrling, when dahrlling Mother finds out she’ll divorce you and strangle me.” – Lolita
I felt that this is significant because Lolita was not actually saying that she disapproved of the arraignment but only that her mother and his wife would. This gives a clue to what happens the next morning. Humbert manages to sneak into bed with her. But when they wake up the next morning she actually seduces him. At this point they proceed to become lovers. Afterward Humbert finds out that he is not the first. She has had sex with a boy at camp to find out what it was all about. All of the sudden they start acting like any boyfriend and girlfriend that just spent the night together. There seems to be no mention of their age difference.
After leaving the hotel in very quiet way they begin the drive “home”. But the Lolita begins to complain of some pain and starts kind of joking or maybe serious talk with Humbert. On page 140 Humbert thinks about what they have done. “Cold spiders of panic crawled down my back. This was an orphan. This was a lone child, an absolute waif, with whom a heavy-limbed, foul-smelling adult had had strenuous intercourse three times that very morning.” Maybe Humbert is feeling some type of remorse at what he has done to her. I’m not sure. In my opinion he has raped her and now kidnapped her. If she decides to try and get away he may have to kill her. I would not put it past him. This is the end of the section I am to read.
Here are a few words that I looked up.
On page 116 the word tumescent was used, it means to become swollen.
On page 123 Humbert uses the word abysmal which means very profound; limitless.
Additionally I looked up hoary which was used on page 117. This means gray or white with or as if with age.
We pick back up with this weird story. Humbert had married Lolita’s mother in a pathetic attempt to stay close to Lolita. But when his wife found out that he had been writing in his dairy of his love for Lolita and his contempt for his wife they had a scrum. This ended when his wife ran out into the road and was immediately struck by a vehicle which killed her. Humbert is now driving to pick up Lolita from her camp, she doesn’t yet know that her mother is dead, only thinks that she is ill. This section covers where Humbert schemes to drug Lolita in an attempt to molest her in her sleep. On page 116 Humbert shows his true intent of giving her the drug. ‘“Oh, I want to see that picture. Let’s go right after dinner, Oh let’s!” Exclaims Lolita. “We might,” chanted Humbert-knowing perfectly well, the sly tumescent devil, that by nine, when his show began, she would be dead in his arms.’ I believe that this is showing that possibly Lolita’s soul may die that night, not her actual physical body. What Humbert wanted to do would effectively ruin her life.
I found it strange that when Humbert took her to the motel that she was at first somewhat surprised that they would be sleeping in the same room. She states ‘” Are we to sleep in one room?” said Lo, her features working in that dynamic way they did – not cross or disgusted (though plain on the brink of it) bu just dynamic – when she wanted to load a question with violent significance.
“I’ve asked them to put in a cot. Which I’ll use if you like.” – Humbert
“You are crazy,” said Lo
“Why, my darling?” – Humbert
“Because, my dahrling, when dahrlling Mother finds out she’ll divorce you and strangle me.” – Lolita
I felt that this is significant because Lolita was not actually saying that she disapproved of the arraignment but only that her mother and his wife would. This gives a clue to what happens the next morning. Humbert manages to sneak into bed with her. But when they wake up the next morning she actually seduces him. At this point they proceed to become lovers. Afterward Humbert finds out that he is not the first. She has had sex with a boy at camp to find out what it was all about. All of the sudden they start acting like any boyfriend and girlfriend that just spent the night together. There seems to be no mention of their age difference.
After leaving the hotel in very quiet way they begin the drive “home”. But the Lolita begins to complain of some pain and starts kind of joking or maybe serious talk with Humbert. On page 140 Humbert thinks about what they have done. “Cold spiders of panic crawled down my back. This was an orphan. This was a lone child, an absolute waif, with whom a heavy-limbed, foul-smelling adult had had strenuous intercourse three times that very morning.” Maybe Humbert is feeling some type of remorse at what he has done to her. I’m not sure. In my opinion he has raped her and now kidnapped her. If she decides to try and get away he may have to kill her. I would not put it past him. This is the end of the section I am to read.
Here are a few words that I looked up.
On page 116 the word tumescent was used, it means to become swollen.
On page 123 Humbert uses the word abysmal which means very profound; limitless.
Additionally I looked up hoary which was used on page 117. This means gray or white with or as if with age.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)