Last Blog Post

This is the last blog post! These things went by fast. I think that forcing students to blog is a good way of getting the discussion desired by the instructor. I am reading Breakfast of Champions now, and I really enjoy the book. It is different from other Vonnegut novels, because it is funnier and includes his own humorous drawings. It is a good book to end the class on, because it is thought provoking, and demands attention to serious social flaws. I think that our class is all about taking into consideration the written messages and intent of various authors in varying time periods, and the effects their work had on the public. We learned of struggles, achievement, and purpose in this class. I now have more tolerance for poetry, and I can even take drama seriously. I am glad that the required reading opened our eyes to issues that may be taboo or almost forgotten. "A Party Down at the Square," for instance, will always haunt my mind. Literary works are capable of promoting change, causing revolution and changing mindsets. Thanks to Stephanie for allowing us to choose our one thousand pages. I happened to grab a few novels that enticed me to read for fun again. Breakfast for Champions is turning out to be a great story, but I don't want to dwell on another reading. Rather, I'd like to reflect on all the readings and say that the selections were so diverse everyone became a more well-rounded person as a result. Broadening our horizons with plays, slams, and what have you, enriched all members of the class. I may have scrawled a mildly inappropriate poem across the ICC walls, and wrote dirty short stories, and derogatory raps but hey, I learned from this class that sometimes you have got to mix it up a little bit.

Cultural Opportunity Three: Shakespeare

Cultural Opportunity that it was. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was aight. I thought the Ewing Manor was a cool place. My friend and I wanted to shoot some fireworks out the amphitheater but we restrained ourselves. The play itself was ok. I like the story, and the experience was great. However, I think that setting the story in the late 1800's/early 1900's and giving some characters Southern American accents, and others French accents may have taken the focus away from Shakespeare's words. I like that the interpretation was different from the norm, but I don't know how I feel about Greek language, jungle fairies, French actors, and Southern sounding aristocrats from Athens? I liked the end mainly due to the jovial character sitting behind me. I found it a good rule of thumb to laugh whenever that man chuckled roars of enthusiasm. I liked the use of Shakespeare's twisted language, and the silliness of the actors. I found myself scouting out the attractive females my age or close enough only about a third of the time, which is a good reflection of the play. I was either too confused, intrigued, or genuinely paying attention to give in to my rather short attention span. It was an enjoyable night, because I spent it with my classmates who really do make the class what it is. Good times at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival! Next time I may not attend such a far-fetched edition, but I am always down for something a little out of the ordinary. The play was a nice change-up to traditional Shakespeare.

Art

I feel like writing about art. All art. Art can be b.s. or amazing or in between, but it is always something, something to think about. I am reminded of Dave in "Nipple Jesus" but I like how society has encouraged creativity for the masses to ponder deeply. What the artist feels can be far different from what the viewer understands the piece to mean depending on his or her background. I am in no way an art connoisseur, but I definitely appreciate the beauty that humans can put on a canvas and share with others without having to explain every stroke or what the overall theme is. My favorite painting is "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Bosch in the 1500's. It is pretty crazy you should check it out. I also love a certain Bob Ross! That guy is the coolest afro-haired, peaceful, soft-spoken man to ever have a public broadcasted television show. I tend to appreciate things that cannot be duplicated by a machine or another person, no matter how good or bad it may be. I love that part of being human, no one can duplicate what we think/do/make that is ours and unique. Someone can try to replicate another person’s work, but it can never be as cool as the original. I like how art is rare, art is worth money, art is made famous, but no one can agree on whether or not a painting is good or not. Everyone can go and scratch their chin in silent contemplation and never get the same result as those next to them. I like that.

Boooooooooks

It was a pretty slow week at work, and I finished 3 novels. Slaughter-house-five and Deadeye Dick by Kurt Vonnegut and Early Autumn by Robert Parker. The Vonnegut books were great as usual, so I will spend more time talking about Early Autumn, which was a requirement for the lit. 111 class. I didn't take the time to purchase the book at the beginning of the semester, so I was lucky enough to get the last copy at the bookstore. Lit 111 is an online class and the professor has no idea what is going on. I asked him a question and he sent me an email saying he forgot that he was teaching the class. In addition to his complete disorder, I somehow received a seven out of ten on an assignment that I am convinced he did not read. I mean his comment was "treat it more." What the hell does treat it more mean? I better get an A even though this guy is no good. (It would be nice if I knew my current grade too considering he has only graded two things from the first week.) Ok enough venting on the easy, yet horrible online class where no one learns anything. The required reading was a nice change-up, because it was the typical detective novel with the good guy being witty, strong, smart, and good at everything. I liked the book, because it reminded me of all the fiction I used to read back in middle school. Personally, I liked the other two books I read better, because they were somewhat profound, but I write too many blogs on the one author.

Poem blog

Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est is a poem that really struck me do to the author’s life story. The poem is ironic, because Owen died in the war right before it ended. He was a scholar who was familiar with the Roman poet Horace’s work, yet he was forced into the life of a soldier. The poem itself contains irony, because the title and very last line, “Dulce et decoeum est pro patria mori.” Is translated to mean, “It is sweet and proper to die for one’s country.” The poem is about the horrors and destruction that a soldier saw in battle, and for what? For one’s country. It questions the whole ideal of war. A simile is used, “His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin” really strengthens the vivid visual imagery seen throughout. Auditory imagery is used, “If you could hear, at every jolt, blood Come gargling from the forth-corrupted lungs.” Personification is used when describing the German artillery shells. Owen says, “deaf even to the hoofs of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. The artillery shells are given the human characteristic of fatigue even though they are inanimate objects. Dulce et Decorum Est is a very grotesque account of war that hits all senses. I like it because it is a real story from a real man, trapped in a place he did not want to be, fighting for a cause he did not believe in. His friend Siegfried Sassoon actually became famous, while Wilfred Owen died in battle, even more ironic.

Non-textual Reading 4th Week

I had an epiphany today. I realized that I need to learn another language. I have taken 8 semesters of French and I do not know a lick of it. I also meddled with a little Italian, but only one semester of college worth. I feel like I, personally need to master a language and attain fluency. People all have certain necessities they must achieve to feel content in their intellectual standing. Right now I am lacking in the foreign language department. Having said this I enrolled in first semester French for next semester. Honestly, I don’t care how excruciating the class is I want to learn French. Some people have the drive to learn an instrument and some people like to be technologically aware, but everyone has something that they would like to improve upon. I play a lot of instruments and it would be nice to be better at each one, but for some reason that does not matter to me as much as learning a language. I play sports all the time, but again, I don’t want to put in the time, and devote years to getting slightly better. I play sports and music for my own enjoyment, so I am content with my ability levels. French is a whole different thing. I want to tie this into my non-textual reading, so food for thought: Do all people have one thing that they strive to master at all times? There are always things to improve upon, but do people all have a need to focus their energy on a specific topic? These secret desires could affect the way people act and think. I feel like the desire for personal improvement is a strong factor in guiding personalities and thought patterns.

The Sirens of Titan

I have finished my fourth novel and my 1,000 pages, but after reading Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan, I have thousands of pages more to read. The novel inspired me to continue reading the works of this particular author, because it is so interesting to be exposed to controversial topics that do not stay within the borders of conservative thought. The story was too complex and any attempt to summarize the book in a concise blog would not do justice to the theme, since the plot is very far-fetched. Vonnegut touches on moral, religious, and social issues in the book, and he makes a clear differentiation between luck and God. He says that God is ultimately indifferent, and luck is not a reflection of anyone’s standing in the good grace of God. Humor and endless wit or staples of any Vonnegut work, and The Sirens of Titan abounded with interesting characters symbolic of today’s world. The novel was written in 1959, but it is essentially timeless. I admire the fearless Vonnegut and his deep concern for humanity. The book explains that being used is something that is priceless. People being of use to other people are the foundation of a united world. In the story, Earthlings were recruited to a Martian Army in order to assault Earth. The mastermind behind the plan intended for the Martian Army to be destroyed by a world working as one, to create a sense of worldly harmony. This was the most basic part of the plot and the simplest idea to understand, the moral lessons grew more and more abstract from this point on. This is one of my favorite satires on society, because it shows how silly most things are.