Reflection on an Online Journal

So we've kept up this online journal for five months and for what I've put in I feel like I've gotten a good return for it. However remembering the journal amongst homework, college apps, and extra-curricular activities could be difficult. If these journals were to continue into next semester the more frequently we were reminded to post the better I think the journals would do. Even if you had a minimum number of posts acceptable in order to show students exactly what you were expecting from them would be excellent.

The one thing I'm sure of is that the online journals would be better than writing, it really pushed me to polish up my work knowing I was writing for more than just the teachers approval I could have discussions on my blog as well as other students and immerse myself in the books more outside of class. It also caused me to post more regularly than I would've in a reading journal allotting me more time to think about each book we read.

Car Rides & Family Dynamics

We discussed this in class a while ago and I typed a really confusing post I decided not publish, I hope this one makes a little bit of sense. But the themes of flight I had discussed prior once again seem to be cropping up as well as some pretty obvious issues within the Dead family.

A lot of these issues come out in their family drive. While reading the passage no one seemed to be particularly happy and the entire family was awkwardly sitting there trying to make idle conversation from time to time.  The longest conversation I can recall would be Macon shouting at Ruth when she reminds him to turn at the upcoming street corner. This family is set apart as distant and emotionally traumatizing by this car ride to me immediately. Making Macon's family although incredibly successful in a traditional sense, a failure in the end.

You see milkman observe shortly after the car ride that Pilate who is related to this big successful man  Macon Dead, is a failure in a traditional sense, but still enjoys herself more than the Dead family. Milkman notices this when he talks to her seeing that she isn't "dirty" . I feel as if this novel isn't particullarly about the upper crust living a void and empty life compared to the scum of society, but it is certainly theme I've begun to see crop up.

The insanity of flight

The Song of Solomon has quite an interesting opening with a suicide occuring as a black woman gives birth at the white hospital. The man who attempts to fly to me is easily the most fascinating part. There is so much symbolism you could interpret from this scene alone. But the one image I couldn't get over was that when I had to describe this man to friends I'd call him insane, the man is attempting to break his bounds to the earth and on a certain level humanity. He's trying to escape yet within the universe of the book his "escape" attempt isn't incredibly preposterous the universe so far has been unrealistic and unpredictable, but we still se him as mad. Is it a humans inherit reaction to try and bring down those who attempt to fly above the rest by dismissing them as mad or insane? Or is it just truly impossible to escape from this planet and your own humanity? Either way I began seeing this mans attempted flight as his dreams crashing down to earth in both a literal and figurative fashion. It will be really interesting to see how important the milkman will be throughout the rest of the book.

Shedding a tear for Mersault

Mersault in the stranger is quite an admirable man in  a sense, he's not tied down by any of the moral conventions we have and he's happy with the point his life is at. Yet we still seem to take pity on this man, especially after his harsh death sentence is dolled out I felt sad for him. His neutrality made me see the true bias of all humanity, especially in a system that's supposed to be as sterile as him like the justice system. Seeing his sterility treated with the death penalty is really disheartening to think that to function as a member of society you not only have to keep to yourself but conform to the standards set by others. Albiet this is offset a bit by Mersault's indifferent reaction to the sentencing, it's hard to pity a man who doesn't pity himself. But again Mersault isn't normal I haven't ever seen anyone in my normal life that has been as truly neutral as him. Meaning on a certain level I understand he has no emotions,  so I am not taking pity not only on his predicament but his emotional involvement he realizes he needs to be more emotionally involved but he cant change himself and this recognition of his so-called flaw. Gives Mersault a little bit of the wounded pit-bull aspect, yes he appears dangerous but he's got no bark condemning such a creature in my eyes is not an acceptable action yet the french justice system is at ease and pleased with themselves for removing Mersualt as a "threat".

Themes of improsonment within the metamorphises

So we finished the metamorphoses today, and there are a whole lot of things going on, but then end I really thought was intriguing. Gregor was happy to die happy to be let loose from his earthly responsibilities, almost as if he had been trapped within his current life by the debt his family had and the responsibility that gave him of now not only supporting himself but his entire family.  Then he's a cockroach and is unable to support them, and sees them grow and take on the responsibility themselves, freeing him from the responsibility that he felt was his. His parents and sister have a job and are on their way up, seemingly being previously hindered by Gregor's generosity. This growth at the end that he sees is really the reason he is so upbeat as he dies, he knows his life is no longer indebted to anyone, and that those around him will not be crippled by his passing.

Kafka writes books

I'm really enjoying the metamorphoses, and the intricacies of Kafka's writing especially the way in  which he brushes off the extra-ordinary. Sure Gregor's a cockroach but he has more important things to deal with, it really is quite unsettling yet fascinating at the same time. In-Fact my favorite part so far was the debate he had with himself on whether or not he could still sleep even after he realized he was no longer human. I look forward to continuing this surreal novel and enjoying more of Gregor's fascinating tale of transformation.

alcohol and escapism in Hemmingway

Throughout the course of reading The Sun also Rises it's fair to say there was quite a lot of drinking. However all but two incidences of drinking I can name off the top of my head were plot essential, and not merely an atmospheric touch. Namely the bus ride with the basques, and the final scene with Brett and Jake. These two scenes revolve around the drinking taking place. Granted there are quite a fair bit of scenes within a bar but they could have taken place within a 1920's apple-bees and while not exactly the same the plot would have still moved forward. This really intrigued me the more and more I read the book, how it seemed to be the idling activity of choice for most characters.

I originally was thinking this gave them a feeling of decadence a functioning member of society couldn't afford to be drunk 24/7, but as I read more and more of the book I began to think it made the characters feel like they were trying to escape the world around them. No-one really seems truly happy but Bill and even then he speaks with such /irony that you can't be sure. But Brett who is truly miserable, despite the front she may put on in public she is never really truly satisfied with her life, and easily one of the heaviest drinkers in the novel. Jake too, Jake is constantly drinking some type of alcohol, and usually not happy with the current state he is in, unless he is off in the country with bill away from all his problems the happiest we see him, I think, throughout the novel.

This escapism these characters pursued really intrigued me as well, especially with the blurb on the back of the book calling it the quintessential novel of the lost generation. Most of these characters truly do feel "lost". Take Brett, I am unable to name exactly what she wants to do at most points throughout the novel. Sure she wants to sleep with Romero, I get that, but she has no driving goal nothing that applies to more than one facet of her life.

The escapism I feel throughout the novel seems to drive a lot of my opinions in characters as well, I pity someone like Jake who can't find meaning in a life due to a condition that was forced upon him, yet Brett seems to have forced herself into he state we can find her throughout the novel.