All literary works are connected in some way, be it story details, themes, character names, or style. Professors and other literature analysts call this continuing interaction and intertwining of works intertextuality. One example of intertextuality that has helped me in my reading is recognizing character similarities through different works. By recognizing certain situations that characters are involved in, several conclusions can be drawn. Take for instance Harry Potter and Aragorn, two completely dissimilar characters on the surface, yet strangely alike. Both have destinies set for them before they knew themselves; both have to lead diverse groups of people in difficult tasks to accomplish a main goal; both come into close contact with their gravest enemies (Voldemort and Sauron, respectively), both revealing themselves to their enemies and overcoming them in the end. By a younger author-J.K. Rowling- giving her main character traits of another, older author's-J.R.R. Tolkien- main character, she presents familiarity that allows the reader to both embrace the story as an old friend and also find enough new themes to keep the reader interested. By having the new and the old, a reader like me will both be intrigued by the new and comforted by the old, like a favorite book just in a new cover. One of an author's hardest jobs is to keep the reader entertained while pushing the envelope, and character allusions help to accomplish this.
Another example of intertextuality is author's reworking familiar stories into new stories, often with the same characters and situations just altered in clever ways. One of the most popular examples of this treatment to a work is the movie O, Brother Where Art Thou? The movie is a take on Homer's Odyssey, just set in early 1900's Mississippi. The main character is named Ulysses, he is on a quest to reach home before suitors steal his wife, and he is attacked by a very large man with one eye- a cyclops. Same story just cleverly tweaked. By reworking the situations to translate from a Greece-setting to a Mississippi setting, allowing both new comers to enjoy the movie without a knowledge of the Greek epic. As both a reader and a watcher, this reworking helps to accentuate parts of the epic that may have been looked over originally or to enlighten the reader to certain themes they missed the first time. By looking at how all texts are connected, the reader (myself) can understand what I am reading and foster a deeper appreciation for the literary work.
In Chapter 7, Foster discusses the common practice of authors alluding to the Bible in their works, a practice that Foster illustrates with examples such as East of Eden, Pulp Fiction (oddly enough), and Toni Morrison's Beloved. One of the most prominent examples of Biblical allusion in literature that was not mentioned in the chapter occurs in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. This allusion allows the reader to appreciate the text on a much deeper meaning than just the story itself conveys (which is excellent by the way). In the first book of the Narnia series, The Magician's Nephew, two children, Diggory and Polly, find a door to a strange land, full of animals and people, that they see created before their eyes by a massive lion, Aslan. After the creation- see the allusion?- an evil witch finds the children and attempts to convince them to aid the witch in overthrowing Aslan. The only difference between this tale and the story of creation in the Bible is that Diggory/Adam and Polly/Eve do not help the witch/serpent to counter God's/Aslan's wishes. Now if that is not enough allusion take The Last Battle, in which Narnia is in an uproar over a gorilla parading a donkey wearing a lion skin around as Aslan, causing the residents of Narnia to take sides on their beliefs and either join with the gorilla or become rebels who stay true to Aslan, risking their lives. This parallels nearly perfectly with the book of Revelation, giving the story a mystique and threatening edge that has interested readers for centuries. By alluding to the Bible, Lewis presents stories styled like those we have heard for years since we were young children, but also transformed enough to not be repetitive and keep our interest. These parallels affect our reading by allowing the readers to delve a deeper meaning from a work and to appreciate the author's writing. These parallels help me in reading the books to have a greater understanding of the story, almost like a guide to the story to reference when certain elements twist together and the book seems to be written in Latin. I also feel intelligent when I find the allusions and know how they impact the story.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
A Quest at Once Familiar Yet Different...
In all literature, there is one common occurrence that is older than literature itself, more than likely: the "Quest." Many of the greatest stories of all time are quests- The Odyssey, The Lord of the Rings, Of Mice and Men, and on, and on, and on until we become exhausted from listing so many titles. All quests are not obvious enough to really think of the stories as "quests", but all quests have five basic elements: a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials en route, and a real reason to go there. To prove this concept of how every story can be a quest, I will apply this process to one of the many books I have read recently: The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien.
a. The Quester- Turin, son of Hurin, who (as a child) was sent to the Elven country from his home in Dor-lomin to escape the wrath of the Northenlings that were invading after the capture of Hurin by Morgoth; he is young, does not know much about the world other than the world he experienced by his father's side.
b. A place to go- Turin was sent to the elven land of Doriath to plead for mercy and shelter from the elven King Thingol, an ally of Hurin's from previous wars. Turin arrives at Doriath but ends up travelling for a majority of his life all over Middle Earth, in order to discover his true purpose and to find his place in the world.
c. A stated reason to go there- His mother Morwen wanted to protect him from the invading Easterlings and to spare Turin the pain of becoming a slave. Because Hurin was imprisoned at Angband, the lair of Morgoth, Hurin could do nothing to help his family through this time, leaving Morwen to send Turin away to one day return and help free both his father and his home.
d. Challenges and trials- Turin faces hardship not long after arriving in Doriath; he is accepted into the city by King Thingol, and even accepted as Thingol's own son, but many of the elves resent him because they feel that he has not earned the right to bear this title. This starts Turin in a spiral of warfare, misunderstandings, banishment, the unintentional death of comrades and friends, reacceptance as the leader of a group of bandits, conflicts with the feared dragon Glaurung (also destroying his sister and mother in the process), leading a tribe of woodmen into battle, and ultimately ending in his death at his own hand.
e. The real reason to go on the quest- While Hurin was trapped at Angband, Morgoth cursed Hurin and his entire family and line, so they would meet their end while Hurin was helpless to prevent the tragedies from unfolding. Turin's main quest after reaching Doriath was the pursuit of a way out of this curse- running, disguising himself and his name, all to prevent his inevitable doom from falling down around his ears. By always moving, reinventing himself, fighting against the forces of Angband with any group that he came into contact with, Turin hoped to delay or eliminate the curse. Many times he seemed to have done just that when a new tragedy presented itself, destroying what Turin had worked so hard to accomplish. Turin's quest was a never ending affair, a road becoming longer each time he nearly reached the end of it. Turin finally realised this concept at the moment of his greatest despair, deciding to end the journey then and there with his sword.
This quest is just one of many in the hallowed halls of literature and lore, also one of the more straight forward quests. But it is a quest none the less, this one ending in tragedy, not triumph.
a. The Quester- Turin, son of Hurin, who (as a child) was sent to the Elven country from his home in Dor-lomin to escape the wrath of the Northenlings that were invading after the capture of Hurin by Morgoth; he is young, does not know much about the world other than the world he experienced by his father's side.
b. A place to go- Turin was sent to the elven land of Doriath to plead for mercy and shelter from the elven King Thingol, an ally of Hurin's from previous wars. Turin arrives at Doriath but ends up travelling for a majority of his life all over Middle Earth, in order to discover his true purpose and to find his place in the world.
c. A stated reason to go there- His mother Morwen wanted to protect him from the invading Easterlings and to spare Turin the pain of becoming a slave. Because Hurin was imprisoned at Angband, the lair of Morgoth, Hurin could do nothing to help his family through this time, leaving Morwen to send Turin away to one day return and help free both his father and his home.
d. Challenges and trials- Turin faces hardship not long after arriving in Doriath; he is accepted into the city by King Thingol, and even accepted as Thingol's own son, but many of the elves resent him because they feel that he has not earned the right to bear this title. This starts Turin in a spiral of warfare, misunderstandings, banishment, the unintentional death of comrades and friends, reacceptance as the leader of a group of bandits, conflicts with the feared dragon Glaurung (also destroying his sister and mother in the process), leading a tribe of woodmen into battle, and ultimately ending in his death at his own hand.
e. The real reason to go on the quest- While Hurin was trapped at Angband, Morgoth cursed Hurin and his entire family and line, so they would meet their end while Hurin was helpless to prevent the tragedies from unfolding. Turin's main quest after reaching Doriath was the pursuit of a way out of this curse- running, disguising himself and his name, all to prevent his inevitable doom from falling down around his ears. By always moving, reinventing himself, fighting against the forces of Angband with any group that he came into contact with, Turin hoped to delay or eliminate the curse. Many times he seemed to have done just that when a new tragedy presented itself, destroying what Turin had worked so hard to accomplish. Turin's quest was a never ending affair, a road becoming longer each time he nearly reached the end of it. Turin finally realised this concept at the moment of his greatest despair, deciding to end the journey then and there with his sword.
This quest is just one of many in the hallowed halls of literature and lore, also one of the more straight forward quests. But it is a quest none the less, this one ending in tragedy, not triumph.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Teacher Respect Argument
The United States today suffers greatly from a problem of enormous proportions, a problem rapidly disappearing in other countries in the world such as Japan, Finland, and Canada. This scourge not only puts many of the businesses and fields of today at risk, but also puts the American people at risk. This virulent epidemic is more of a deficiency but can still be deadly; I am discussing the lack of respect for teachers. While many experts all over the U.S. have given their two-cents on how to reverse this calamity, the view that I agreed with the most would have to be that of Zeke Vanderhoek, explaining his process to draw more talented teachers into the profession and keep them there for longer. Probably the one aspect of Vanderhoek's plan that would produce the greatest impact on societies views of teachers would be to pay teachers accordingly to the work that they accomplish. Today's society focuses more on money than just about every other aspect of a job before either pursuing the field or passing judgement on it. Doctors and lawyers receive more admiration from most Americans than teachers receive; One must then look at the salaries of the two fields compared, with the starting salary of a doctor and lawyer(the professionals in this case) being at least $100,000 per year, and with a teacher's being around $20,000-25,000. One of Vanderhoek's methods of raising a salary to a more appropriate level would be to limit the number of administrative employees in the school buildings to the few who are absolutely essential to the running of the school. This frees more money in the school's budget to give teachers a raise and reward them for good work. By allowing teachers to earn more money over time, a much greater number of students will desire to become to teachers, in turn increasing the likelihood of their actually being teachers present to teach the next generations of professionals. Without teachers to teach, the professionals will not possess the skills required for them to do their jobs properly and therefore can not make the salaries that they currently make. Professionals may be better trained than the teachers who teach them (and will also make a far greater amount of money over their lifetime), but the professionals can not get to this point unless they first learn the skills that are necessities for their fields; These skills, believe it or not, are taught by teachers, and without the teachers, the great number of professionals in the field today will soon dwindle to close to none, leaving America between a rock and a hard place. By increasing the pay of teachers, many teachers may also attempt to pursue higher education other than the basic requirement courses that are needed to teach at schools, therefore allowing a teacher, albeit one who knows their subject matter thoroughly, to plan lessons to keep students engaged and interested longer than they would be by just using a book and the school boards cookie-cutter lesson plans. The teachers that are creative and teach in different ways are often the most challenging teachers to pass a class from, but are also the favorite teachers among the students and often gain the respect and admiration that most teachers lack. While there are those who challenge this theory, bringing up arguments such as paying teachers better can detract from the overall functionality of the school as whole, with the money used to pay the new salaries restricting the ability for necessary resources of the school from being obtained, and also the argument that teachers will not teach better whether they make a larger salary or not. These arguments are completely valid, unfortunately in some situations quite true, but overall this will not be the case. With higher pay more people will want to become teachers, making the demand for teachers increase, allowing only the best of the best to become teachers, driving prospective teachers to gain as much education as they can to be selected for the jobs. This will increase the overall ability for teachers to teach their students, greatly improving their learning ability and their standardized test scores, which then results in more government funding for the school to continue operating efficiently and to continue teaching the students. So, whatever money is lost when the schools begin paying teachers with a higher salary will more than likely be gained back in the long run. While the plans look fantastic on paper and seem like such an easy solution, reality jumps to the forefront and shows the long, arduous road. Like life threatening illnesses, their is no simple, fix-all cure to eliminate all signs of the plague and destroy the source and immunize people. The process will take time and cooperation to fix the growing problem involving teachers. Let's all hope that the impossible can be accomplished.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Great Gatsby analysis
Fitzgerald's elusive, hopeless view of society and mankind reveals the struggles that the world undergoes to move forward and provide changes to the world, but also the inability to remain enthralled with unspoiled world around them, often ending in a worse situation in which they began.
In Fitzgerald's view of the shore, he notes the "inessential houses," and watches the "shadowy, moving glow" of the ferries on the river, all the while contemplating the "vast obscurity beyond the city." He uses language that gives a sense of transparency and an unrealistic tint to the objects that society has deemed necessary and essential for life, spinning the objects as mere illusions, detracting from the actually view of the world- the area "beyond the city", where society has not obtained and improved. Fitzgerald offers these thoughts as an explanation to the faults of society- namely the need to alter and change and buy "stuff"- that was very prevalent in the 1920s and continuing today, with our consumerism culture leaving all who participate with an unfulfilled sensation, showing how everything that we attempt to use to change the world is not fully the answer, how it is the ghost of what we truly want to do in the world.
Fitzgerald also discusses the short attention span of society, with "man...face to face for the last time something to commensurate to his capacity to wonder," with man always trying to "run faster, stretch out our arms farther" to something new, while the dream-what man actually wants- "was already behind him." These phrases give an unreachable sound, like the dream is always one step ahead and can not be attained, or so we think; Often times society places more interest on certain goals that we think we must have, when the actual goal may have already passed by, and we did not reach out to grasp it. By showing humanities lack of interest in the vast wonders of untainted society, the author demonstrates how society is always running for the newest object, like culture today, with new products being unveiled constantly, never to be satisfied with what they have-ultimately leading to a downward spiral back to the original and the past.
Fitzgerald paints a bleak picture of a world riddled by consumerism and dissatisfaction with the world surrounding them. If this general trend continues, the entire system may implode in on itself, and history will repeat itself; maybe not a situation as serious as the Great Depression, but before long, society will return to the unspoiled pleasures of the world. Once society terminates the habit of chasing after the manifestations of dreams, the world will right itself and recover the lost ground caused by the consumerist trends plaguing our nation.
In Fitzgerald's view of the shore, he notes the "inessential houses," and watches the "shadowy, moving glow" of the ferries on the river, all the while contemplating the "vast obscurity beyond the city." He uses language that gives a sense of transparency and an unrealistic tint to the objects that society has deemed necessary and essential for life, spinning the objects as mere illusions, detracting from the actually view of the world- the area "beyond the city", where society has not obtained and improved. Fitzgerald offers these thoughts as an explanation to the faults of society- namely the need to alter and change and buy "stuff"- that was very prevalent in the 1920s and continuing today, with our consumerism culture leaving all who participate with an unfulfilled sensation, showing how everything that we attempt to use to change the world is not fully the answer, how it is the ghost of what we truly want to do in the world.
Fitzgerald also discusses the short attention span of society, with "man...face to face for the last time something to commensurate to his capacity to wonder," with man always trying to "run faster, stretch out our arms farther" to something new, while the dream-what man actually wants- "was already behind him." These phrases give an unreachable sound, like the dream is always one step ahead and can not be attained, or so we think; Often times society places more interest on certain goals that we think we must have, when the actual goal may have already passed by, and we did not reach out to grasp it. By showing humanities lack of interest in the vast wonders of untainted society, the author demonstrates how society is always running for the newest object, like culture today, with new products being unveiled constantly, never to be satisfied with what they have-ultimately leading to a downward spiral back to the original and the past.
Fitzgerald paints a bleak picture of a world riddled by consumerism and dissatisfaction with the world surrounding them. If this general trend continues, the entire system may implode in on itself, and history will repeat itself; maybe not a situation as serious as the Great Depression, but before long, society will return to the unspoiled pleasures of the world. Once society terminates the habit of chasing after the manifestations of dreams, the world will right itself and recover the lost ground caused by the consumerist trends plaguing our nation.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Quotes on Consumerism
In society today, not a soul seems to be content with their current possessions. The general rule for this generation seems to be, "Give me this! Give me this! Give me this! Now I want that instead because that is newer!" Has anyone ever stopped to think about how maybe, just maybe, if we curtailed our spending habits, the entire infrastructure of the world economy may right itself?
Well my friends, as always, the answer to this minuscule problem is in the Bible, Proverbs 30: 8-9 to be exact. The very first line of this passage starts out with "Give me neither poverty nor riches/ Grant me only my share of bread to eat," which emphasizes the problems today. No one wants just their share; society screams to people to take their share, more than they can carry, and then some more. The reason a share is called a "share" is because that is the part that will allow the receiver to accomplish whatever needs to be done, be the task feeding a family or paying bills. Similar to the family in "But Will it Make You Happy," this passage tells the reader to live with only the bare essentials (the "share"), and more than likely you will become happier, most likely due to a simplification of finances, like the family in the article, who removed all of the items that were not absolutely necessary and became debt free. Also, by limiting possessions to only the most important and essential, a strong emotional attachment can develop to the items, making the owner less likely to trade in or buy a new product just because the product is newer.
The next line of the quote states, " for fear that surrounded by plenty, I should fall away/
and say, "Yahweh - who is Yahweh?"/ or else in destitution, take to stealing/ and profane the name of my God." These lines are fairly straight forward, meaning that a person surrounded by plenty will forget where the riches they possessed came from, and will forget about God. No matter what all of the disaster theorists say about why the world is falling apart, this is more than likely the reason. As the world began to prosper, fewer and fewer people kept going to church, until the percentage of Americans who actually regularly attend church is lower than it has been in over thirty years. And this economic downturn is a good indication of what this drop has caused. This entire economic situation may be a result of America- who was founded on Christian principles- "falling away from and profaning" God. This situation reminds me of a parent knowing their child is doing wrong and waiting for them to admit they did wrong and to come back, and, even more like the parent, eventually having to come and reprimand the child because they will not return willingly. This situation leaves a grim outlook for the future, with a new disaster on the horizon if the problem continues unchecked.
Well, this is my analysis for this consumerism quote. Hopefully the world can right itself before the rest of the economy comes crashing down around our society's ears.
Well my friends, as always, the answer to this minuscule problem is in the Bible, Proverbs 30: 8-9 to be exact. The very first line of this passage starts out with "Give me neither poverty nor riches/ Grant me only my share of bread to eat," which emphasizes the problems today. No one wants just their share; society screams to people to take their share, more than they can carry, and then some more. The reason a share is called a "share" is because that is the part that will allow the receiver to accomplish whatever needs to be done, be the task feeding a family or paying bills. Similar to the family in "But Will it Make You Happy," this passage tells the reader to live with only the bare essentials (the "share"), and more than likely you will become happier, most likely due to a simplification of finances, like the family in the article, who removed all of the items that were not absolutely necessary and became debt free. Also, by limiting possessions to only the most important and essential, a strong emotional attachment can develop to the items, making the owner less likely to trade in or buy a new product just because the product is newer.
The next line of the quote states, " for fear that surrounded by plenty, I should fall away/
and say, "Yahweh - who is Yahweh?"/ or else in destitution, take to stealing/ and profane the name of my God." These lines are fairly straight forward, meaning that a person surrounded by plenty will forget where the riches they possessed came from, and will forget about God. No matter what all of the disaster theorists say about why the world is falling apart, this is more than likely the reason. As the world began to prosper, fewer and fewer people kept going to church, until the percentage of Americans who actually regularly attend church is lower than it has been in over thirty years. And this economic downturn is a good indication of what this drop has caused. This entire economic situation may be a result of America- who was founded on Christian principles- "falling away from and profaning" God. This situation reminds me of a parent knowing their child is doing wrong and waiting for them to admit they did wrong and to come back, and, even more like the parent, eventually having to come and reprimand the child because they will not return willingly. This situation leaves a grim outlook for the future, with a new disaster on the horizon if the problem continues unchecked.
Well, this is my analysis for this consumerism quote. Hopefully the world can right itself before the rest of the economy comes crashing down around our society's ears.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
3rd Quarter Annotated Reading List
I read 3 books, the equivalent of 7 books.
Treasure Island tells the story of a young boy named Jim, whose encounter with pirates starts him on a quest for a legendary treasure, amassed by a notorious pirate named Captain Flint. After a group of parents attack the inn owned by Jim's parents, he discovers that they were after a map showing the location of Treasure Island; after sharing this information with the Doctor and the Squire, they decide to form an expedition team to travel to Treasure Island. The trip seems to be proceeding without a hitch, until Jim discovers a secret plot among the crew to mutiny and keep the treasure for themselves. With this revelation, Jim and the remaining, non-mutinous crew take flight to the island and set up defenses against the pirates, and also discovering a mysterious man with a secret that will change their views of the island.
One aspect that drew me to this book was the content. The book is full to the brim with all of the pirate cliches that have been in every pirate movie since the publication of this book (Pirates of the Carribean being just one example). References to the Dead Man's Chest, outlining the proper way to maroon a friend on a deserted island, and half-way explaining why pirates must have large amounts of rum present at all times (they just seem to prefer rum to every otherbeverage) are just a few of the topics revealed in the book. Plus, I have always enjoyed a good pirate story, with mutinies and songs and fights with muskets, showing how even pirates know how to create a fun and rewarding cruise vacation to a dangerous, treasure filled island.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print. (309 pages)
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, 2000. Print. (341 pages)
- Treasure Island- Robert L. Stevenson (134 pages)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone- J.K. Rowling (309 pages)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- J.K. Rowling (341 pages)
Treasure Island tells the story of a young boy named Jim, whose encounter with pirates starts him on a quest for a legendary treasure, amassed by a notorious pirate named Captain Flint. After a group of parents attack the inn owned by Jim's parents, he discovers that they were after a map showing the location of Treasure Island; after sharing this information with the Doctor and the Squire, they decide to form an expedition team to travel to Treasure Island. The trip seems to be proceeding without a hitch, until Jim discovers a secret plot among the crew to mutiny and keep the treasure for themselves. With this revelation, Jim and the remaining, non-mutinous crew take flight to the island and set up defenses against the pirates, and also discovering a mysterious man with a secret that will change their views of the island.
One aspect that drew me to this book was the content. The book is full to the brim with all of the pirate cliches that have been in every pirate movie since the publication of this book (Pirates of the Carribean being just one example). References to the Dead Man's Chest, outlining the proper way to maroon a friend on a deserted island, and half-way explaining why pirates must have large amounts of rum present at all times (they just seem to prefer rum to every otherbeverage) are just a few of the topics revealed in the book. Plus, I have always enjoyed a good pirate story, with mutinies and songs and fights with muskets, showing how even pirates know how to create a fun and rewarding cruise vacation to a dangerous, treasure filled island.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print. (309 pages)
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, 2000. Print. (341 pages)
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