Last night I attended Southeastern's production of The Imaginery Invalid and watched the entire play. The play told the story of Argan, a hypocondriac, who is convinced he is ill and basically on his deathbed. Argan selfishly attempts to force his daughter Angelique to marry a doctor so he can receive free healthcare. Angelique refuses because she is in love with another man. Her father gives her an ultimatum: if she does not consent to marry the doctor within four days, Argan will send her a convent. Now, it's up to the family maid Toinette and Beralde, Argan's brother, to change the man's mind and allow Angelique to marry the man she chose. Even though this production was a comedy and made use of a number of crazy antics, I noticed some very serious plot themes: greed, manipulation, and deception. Angelique's stepmother, Beline, pretended to be a compassionate wife
who cared for Argan, but near the end she revealed herself to be a shallow individual who only married Argan to get her hands on his money after he died. Argan isn't much better. He heartlessly tries to take advantage of his daughter in order to have his own way. Even though he eventually relents and allows Angelique to marry the man she loves, I doubt he would have done so if the uncle of her would-be fiancee
hadn't withdrawn his blessing of the marriage. Even the "good guys" of the story, Toinette and Beralde,
use trickery to save Angelique from the undesired marriage. However, I believe all these things, as wrong as
they are, made the play entertaining and engaging. When we read, watch tv programs, movies, and plays
and see one or more of the characters engage in some type of sin we shake our heads because we know that these things are not acceptable in stories anymore than they would be in real life. But if deception,
manipulation, and the like were completely removed from all stories, where would the plot be? The excitement? The suspense? How would the characters learn and grow without these unpleasant things?
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Guide to Blogging in this Class
The main connection I see between the blogging instructions and the class activities is that in every single class we engage the text in some fashion. While we were reading "A Grief Observed" we built card castles
to demonstrate how fragile our lives and personal belief systems can be. When we read "What We Talk about when We Talk about Love" we separated into our small groups and discussed how different people might view the concept of love and how love can be distorted and made into something it isn't. These activities and many others accomplished the purpose behind this class: learning how to engage texts on
a deeper and more meaningful level. Through this course I have learned that there is more to reading a text than just following the words on the page. True reading of texts also involves getting engaged with the text and attempting to think objectively about what is in front of you. You need to recognize as well as consider and/or discuss any themes, morals, or other important devices used in the text. Professor Corrigan offered us a number of suggestions through which we could do this on the blogging instructions guide. One of these suggestions was to "give an interpretation of the work and give details from the text that make the interpretation plausible." I used this method for at least one of my posts and found it to be very effective. The opportunity to interpret the text allowed me to refine my ideas about what I had read. For me, getting to blog
about the things we've read in class has been a great experience. It helps enhance the reading process because I have the opportunity to broascast my ideas about a text to other people and because I receive honest feedback that allows me to discover what different people think about my writing. Blogging has worked very well for me. At the beginning of the semester I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to write about the topics well or that I would consistently forget to post the next blog. But so far, the blogging has gone really well for me.
to demonstrate how fragile our lives and personal belief systems can be. When we read "What We Talk about when We Talk about Love" we separated into our small groups and discussed how different people might view the concept of love and how love can be distorted and made into something it isn't. These activities and many others accomplished the purpose behind this class: learning how to engage texts on
a deeper and more meaningful level. Through this course I have learned that there is more to reading a text than just following the words on the page. True reading of texts also involves getting engaged with the text and attempting to think objectively about what is in front of you. You need to recognize as well as consider and/or discuss any themes, morals, or other important devices used in the text. Professor Corrigan offered us a number of suggestions through which we could do this on the blogging instructions guide. One of these suggestions was to "give an interpretation of the work and give details from the text that make the interpretation plausible." I used this method for at least one of my posts and found it to be very effective. The opportunity to interpret the text allowed me to refine my ideas about what I had read. For me, getting to blog
about the things we've read in class has been a great experience. It helps enhance the reading process because I have the opportunity to broascast my ideas about a text to other people and because I receive honest feedback that allows me to discover what different people think about my writing. Blogging has worked very well for me. At the beginning of the semester I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to write about the topics well or that I would consistently forget to post the next blog. But so far, the blogging has gone really well for me.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
When Lylacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
The other day I read this poem by Walt Whitman expressing his feelings in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln's death. Whitman uses imagery which corporate nature, the horrors of the Civil War, and even
the journey Lincoln's body took from D.C. to its final restingplace in Springfield, Illinois. "Coffin that passes
through lanes and streets, through day and night with the great cloud darkening the land...with the waiting depot, the arriving coffin, and the sombre faces, with dirges through the night, with the thousand voices rising strong and solemn...here, coffin that slowly passes, I give you my sprig of lilac." The perceding quote from the poem truly epitomizes the focus of Whitman's text. He describes the eerie, unsettling scene of Lincoln's
coffin passing through some American city or town on its way to the train depot to be transported to the next
destination on its way to Springfield. Even as processions of mourners follow the coffin that holds the beloved president, Whitman talks poignantly of placing a lilac on the coffin. I enjoyed reading this poem because it used beautiful language and long phrases to speak of what was occuring in the scene. Though the phrasing was difficult to understand at times and I wasn't able to grasp the poem's whole meaning, it was put together in such a songlike manner I didn't mind that I wasn't able to completely comprehend it. Besides, some pieces of literature are just too in-depth to completely understand in one reading. In fact, some pieces of literature, particularly poems, can have a myriad of meanings. Even though the poem focuses on Whitman's grief following Lincoln's death, there are other things we can pull from this work. In section fifteen Whitman talks about the horrors of war and how those who died on the battlefield were the fortunate ones, to have escaped their world of suffering, while their mothers, children, and war comrades were forced to continue the suffering of this world still awhile longer. This seems to connect to the previous section where Whitman seems to be praising death: "Approach strong deliveress, when it is so, when thou hast taken them I joyously sing the dead, lost in the loving floating ocean of thee, laved in the flood of thy bliss O death."
the journey Lincoln's body took from D.C. to its final restingplace in Springfield, Illinois. "Coffin that passes
through lanes and streets, through day and night with the great cloud darkening the land...with the waiting depot, the arriving coffin, and the sombre faces, with dirges through the night, with the thousand voices rising strong and solemn...here, coffin that slowly passes, I give you my sprig of lilac." The perceding quote from the poem truly epitomizes the focus of Whitman's text. He describes the eerie, unsettling scene of Lincoln's
coffin passing through some American city or town on its way to the train depot to be transported to the next
destination on its way to Springfield. Even as processions of mourners follow the coffin that holds the beloved president, Whitman talks poignantly of placing a lilac on the coffin. I enjoyed reading this poem because it used beautiful language and long phrases to speak of what was occuring in the scene. Though the phrasing was difficult to understand at times and I wasn't able to grasp the poem's whole meaning, it was put together in such a songlike manner I didn't mind that I wasn't able to completely comprehend it. Besides, some pieces of literature are just too in-depth to completely understand in one reading. In fact, some pieces of literature, particularly poems, can have a myriad of meanings. Even though the poem focuses on Whitman's grief following Lincoln's death, there are other things we can pull from this work. In section fifteen Whitman talks about the horrors of war and how those who died on the battlefield were the fortunate ones, to have escaped their world of suffering, while their mothers, children, and war comrades were forced to continue the suffering of this world still awhile longer. This seems to connect to the previous section where Whitman seems to be praising death: "Approach strong deliveress, when it is so, when thou hast taken them I joyously sing the dead, lost in the loving floating ocean of thee, laved in the flood of thy bliss O death."
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Traveling Onion
"The Traveling Onion" is a poem written by Naomi Shihab Nye. On the surface, it appears that the speaker is merely comtemplating on how the onion adds flavor to foods we eat on a regular basis. But a closer look reveals something more. "And I would never scold the onion for causing tears. It is right that tears fall for
something small and forgotten." The preceding quote from the poem would be confusing if we viewed the onion as nothing more than a piece of food, a vegetable that adds flavor to soups and meat, something that is
an important ingredient in most foods, but has no significance outside of that context. But the speaker in the poem uses the onion as a representive for all things "small and forgotten." That is, those things or those people, which play an integral part in everyday life but whose value often goes unnoticed. Let's take your local garbagemen for example. We don't pay attention to them, don't think about them, and usually, don't have an opinion about them one way or another. But garbagemen are just as important in today's society as
doctors and lawyers. Garbagemen take upon themselves to take away and dispose of all the trash and refuse
that have been piling up in our homes all week long. If it weren't for them, we would have to transport our own trash to the local dump every week. There are other examples. Husbands/fathers who work all week providing for their families, knowing they will have to come home to face nagging wives and complaining children. Wives/mothers who cook, clean, and care for the children and are very much aware that they will
receive little or no gratitude in return. I believe all these things and more are illustrate the "small and forgotten"
of Nye's poem.
something small and forgotten." The preceding quote from the poem would be confusing if we viewed the onion as nothing more than a piece of food, a vegetable that adds flavor to soups and meat, something that is
an important ingredient in most foods, but has no significance outside of that context. But the speaker in the poem uses the onion as a representive for all things "small and forgotten." That is, those things or those people, which play an integral part in everyday life but whose value often goes unnoticed. Let's take your local garbagemen for example. We don't pay attention to them, don't think about them, and usually, don't have an opinion about them one way or another. But garbagemen are just as important in today's society as
doctors and lawyers. Garbagemen take upon themselves to take away and dispose of all the trash and refuse
that have been piling up in our homes all week long. If it weren't for them, we would have to transport our own trash to the local dump every week. There are other examples. Husbands/fathers who work all week providing for their families, knowing they will have to come home to face nagging wives and complaining children. Wives/mothers who cook, clean, and care for the children and are very much aware that they will
receive little or no gratitude in return. I believe all these things and more are illustrate the "small and forgotten"
of Nye's poem.
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Book of Joel
The Book of Joel is a very dynamic text that makes use of words to create lifelike images. Chapter one describes the nation of Israel as their land is devastated by locusts and drought. The chapter offers a wealth of visuals as it speaks of the nation's resources, such as its grain and water supply, being overtaken by natural disasters. But the reader can also hear grief and despair in the writing. "Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the bridegroom of her yourth...Be ashamed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers...rejoicing
dries up from the sons of men." These are the words used to describe Israel's overwhelming lamentation
for their ruined land. In chapter two, the reader senses the fear of an entire city as it is invaded by an enemy army. "When they burst through the defenses, they do not break ranks. They rush on the city, they run on the wall; They enter through the windows like a thief." Then, later in the same chapter, we are given a picture of hope as the Lord promises to provide deliverence for His people. At one spot in the chapter it says, "Then the Lord will be zealous for His land and will have pity on His people. Then later it adds, "And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls."
Though Israel has failed to be faithful to God over the last thousands of years up to this point and though the consequences of their actions are meted out through horrific judgements, He offers them the opportunity to repent of their transgressions and follow Him once more.
dries up from the sons of men." These are the words used to describe Israel's overwhelming lamentation
for their ruined land. In chapter two, the reader senses the fear of an entire city as it is invaded by an enemy army. "When they burst through the defenses, they do not break ranks. They rush on the city, they run on the wall; They enter through the windows like a thief." Then, later in the same chapter, we are given a picture of hope as the Lord promises to provide deliverence for His people. At one spot in the chapter it says, "Then the Lord will be zealous for His land and will have pity on His people. Then later it adds, "And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls."
Though Israel has failed to be faithful to God over the last thousands of years up to this point and though the consequences of their actions are meted out through horrific judgements, He offers them the opportunity to repent of their transgressions and follow Him once more.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
No Moral for "Little Red Riding Hood"
I found the discussion of Little Red Riding Hood from our textbook very interesting. The original version of the story was summed up in this simple moral: That girls and young ladies should be wary of men who come off as charming. But as the author of the chapter states, sometimes attempting to reduce a story to a single moral, theme, or a few cut-and-dried sentences takes away some of the power of the text. Morals, themes,
and the ability to identify them within the breadth of the text is certainly important, but one must remember that there is more to most texts than moral and theme. Let's take Little Red Riding Hood as an example.
Despite the obvious moral, there are other things the reader can draw from the familar story. The author,
Charles Perrault, seems to be comdemning all men as villians preying on defenseless, innocent women.
Of course, the average reader will know that not all men are heartless predators bent on seducing and manipulating women. What's more, not all women will blindly fall into a deceitful man's clutches as Little
Red Riding Hood does. It can be very easy and very convenient to attach a moral or a theme to texts we
read, probably because it gives us an excuse to avoid thinking about the more difficult aspects of the texts.
It would be easy, for example, to say the moral of The Things They Carried is "war is terrible," but we can't
The breadth and enormity of the story is too great to simplify into a single trite statement that means nothing, particularly to someone who has been through a war. As readers we must view any text from various angles
and attempt to pull different things from it, even if the author meant for the text to convey a specific moral or theme.
and the ability to identify them within the breadth of the text is certainly important, but one must remember that there is more to most texts than moral and theme. Let's take Little Red Riding Hood as an example.
Despite the obvious moral, there are other things the reader can draw from the familar story. The author,
Charles Perrault, seems to be comdemning all men as villians preying on defenseless, innocent women.
Of course, the average reader will know that not all men are heartless predators bent on seducing and manipulating women. What's more, not all women will blindly fall into a deceitful man's clutches as Little
Red Riding Hood does. It can be very easy and very convenient to attach a moral or a theme to texts we
read, probably because it gives us an excuse to avoid thinking about the more difficult aspects of the texts.
It would be easy, for example, to say the moral of The Things They Carried is "war is terrible," but we can't
The breadth and enormity of the story is too great to simplify into a single trite statement that means nothing, particularly to someone who has been through a war. As readers we must view any text from various angles
and attempt to pull different things from it, even if the author meant for the text to convey a specific moral or theme.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
"A Grief Observed": Card Castles
"My love for H. was of much the same quality as my faith in God. I won't exaggerate, though. Whether there was anything but imagination in the faith, or anything but egoism in the love, God knows. I don't There may have been a little more; especially in my love for H. But neither was the thing I thought it was. A good deal of the cardcastle about both (41, 42)." This quote is from C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed. Lewis reveals that he
had realized that his faith in God and his love for his wife were not what he thought they were. Yes, Lewis had faith in God but it was not until after his wife's death he realized that this faith was not strong enough to survive true difficulties. When God tore down his pseudo-faith by allowing H. to die, Lewis was left shocked
and bewildered, without an anchor to cling to. In order to learn what it truly meant to trust God Lewis had to
have everything he knew pulled out from under him so God could use His love and mercy to refine Lewis' faith. I think of the card castles we attempted to build in class on Monday. Everytime my group had the cards upright and beginning to resemble a structure, they fell down. Sometimes it fell because one of us accidently jostled it. Other times it came down of its own accord without any of us doing a thing to it. I think faith can be like that sometimes. The smallest thing can cause it to come crashing down. The slightest incident can cause us to question God and His promises. When ten of the twelve scouts sent to spy out the land of Caanan came back saying the Caananites were giants that they would not be able to defeat, the people immediately despired and became convinced they would not be able to conquer the land. God had promised Israel He would deliver Caanan into their hand and shown He had the ability to do so through the plagues in Egypt. Despite this, Israel didn't have the faith go into battle, trusting God to win them the day. Similarly, sometimes we don't have the faith to continue through our difficulties knowing that God is with us.
had realized that his faith in God and his love for his wife were not what he thought they were. Yes, Lewis had faith in God but it was not until after his wife's death he realized that this faith was not strong enough to survive true difficulties. When God tore down his pseudo-faith by allowing H. to die, Lewis was left shocked
and bewildered, without an anchor to cling to. In order to learn what it truly meant to trust God Lewis had to
have everything he knew pulled out from under him so God could use His love and mercy to refine Lewis' faith. I think of the card castles we attempted to build in class on Monday. Everytime my group had the cards upright and beginning to resemble a structure, they fell down. Sometimes it fell because one of us accidently jostled it. Other times it came down of its own accord without any of us doing a thing to it. I think faith can be like that sometimes. The smallest thing can cause it to come crashing down. The slightest incident can cause us to question God and His promises. When ten of the twelve scouts sent to spy out the land of Caanan came back saying the Caananites were giants that they would not be able to defeat, the people immediately despired and became convinced they would not be able to conquer the land. God had promised Israel He would deliver Caanan into their hand and shown He had the ability to do so through the plagues in Egypt. Despite this, Israel didn't have the faith go into battle, trusting God to win them the day. Similarly, sometimes we don't have the faith to continue through our difficulties knowing that God is with us.
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