alexlarsn

[alexlarsn]

Water vs. Alcohol

In The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, I find water to be a light in the darkness.  The darkness being alcohol.  I say this because alcohol is normally used to escape their everyday lives.  On the other hand, water is used to purify and simply enjoy life at that given moment.  One example of this was when Bill and Jake were on their fishing trip.  Instead of binge drinking alcohol, they calmly drank wine and water.  It was not in excessive quantities, but it was just right.  This can also reflect their actions.  The water represents peacefulness and almost a sort of innocence.  The innocence lies not within Jake, but it gives the situation a temporary innocence.  Water was definitely a factor within the book which played as the good guy when compared to alcohol.

[alexlarsn]

Pessimism in The Sun Also Rises

Now that I’m about done with this book, I have noticed the inherent negative feel of this book.  Most of the characters have a glass half empty kind of attitude and the only thing that they really look forward to in life is drinking liquor.  There’s no real Dorian Grey kind of character where there is initial purity which leads to loss of innocence, but rather it’s just downright pessimistic.  One of the quotes that I found that capitalizes on this idea is when Jake is casually talking about his friend Cohn.  He says, “Cohn had a wonderful quality of bringing out the worst in anybody.”  This really captures practically every character's attitude throughout this book.  Hemingway could be saying something about how we, as a human race, are naturally negative towards the world without knowing it.  I may be missing something here, but this is how I’ve felt about this book from page one.  Normally, when I’m reading a book, I will start to read the words and I just imagine a color to go with the story at any given time.  It’s a weird thing, but I guess I just do it without really thinking about it.  I have only really felt this book to have the colors black and red, and I don’t think that any of these colors display undying joy.

[alexlarsn]

Effect of War

A big aspect of my book, The Sun Also Rises, is the devastation that war can bring.  It especially focuses on the effects it has on Jake and his friends.  They drink too much, and they walk the streets aimlessly looking for something to make them feel alive.  They think that by traveling they can escape their depressive mindsets, but it is something that takes time to overcome.  By drinking, they can forget about their dull lives and the war.  They never get anything out drinking until 3 A.M. in the morning, but they do it so that they can stop feeling pain.  Because this theme is so prevalent, it really is a sad book.  This also kind of reminded me of The Things They Carried.

I say this because the men that are fighting have no purpose.  Their only hope lies in the things that they carry.  The physical objects give them hope and remind them who they are back home.  Without these things, they are like Jake and Brett.  Simply being alive with no real purpose.

[alexlarsn]

Important Quote

"Listen, Robert, going to another country doesn’t make any difference. I’ve tried all that. You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There’s nothing to that." There were many quotes that really stuck out to me while I was reading this book, but one that stuck out like none other to me was this one.

“You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.” 

I found this quote to be so impactful because most people can relate to this quote.  If you try to change your ways, physically or mentally, you will still be yourself.  This is the same for Jake.  No matter where he moves or travels, the differing locations will not change who he is as a person.  He will have the same morals.  The effect of such a move is temporary.

There is another quote that goes with this quote.

"Listen, Robert, going to another country doesn’t make any difference. I’ve tried all that. You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There’s nothing to that."

There are inherent behaviors ingrained in humans.  It is silly to believe that a certain amount of distance will affect a person internally.  There may be subtle external changes, but these are unimportant.  Jake reflects on his experience with attempting to escape himself.  He learned that no matter where he finds himself, he can’t change.

[alexlarsn]

Reading the Work #1

I have read a decent amount over break and the majority of my book within the last few days and so far I have noticed a few prominent things in my book.  There is a lot of dialogue which I like because it gives insight to each character’s personality.  The way someone talks gives a lot of indication to what that person is like.  I also noticed that they get caught up in drinking a lot.  This is something that takes up a majority of their time and it’s what they are always doing.  I’m pretty sure that all of Jake’s friends are alcoholics because they are always excessively drinking.  It’s never in reasonable quantities.  I like the book so far, but it’s been kind of bland up to this point

[alexlarsn]

The Tribe of Horse Carcasses

I would probably say that I am a part of tribe that will never be a part of a tribe. I will always be disconnected one way or another, and I think that this is because I distance myself intentionally and unintentionally.  It’s just who I am.  I have never really felt like I was a part of any real “group” because I’ve always been slightly on the outside one way or another. Honestly, for as long as I can remember this has been the case.  I think that this is due in part to the fact that I have no idea who I am really.  I know that sounds pretty basic, but I legitimately don’t know who I am.  I don’t know when I should be myself or when I should conform to what’s around me. 

 So, I guess you could say that I’m part of the tribe that knows that I will never be characterized by a single tribe.  But the thing is, I don’t really think that I need a tribe.  If you’ve ever seen the Revenant, you know that you only need a few individuals to stay alive.  In the case of Leonardo Dicaprio, those individuals were exiled Native Americans and dead horse carcasses.  There is always this looming feeling of disconnect, but I guess this is who I am: the one who doesn’t really fit in with any tribe because I’m not naturally a tribester.  Instead, I’m a lone revenant with a horse carcass and a few exiles, if you’re picking up what I’m laying down.

***I also apologize if you have never seen the Revenant because this reference will make no sense at all.   I also am sorry if you’ve never seen the revenant because you’re missing out on a pretty good movie.*** 

[alexlarsn]

For any Spanish folk out there, I looked querencia up because it seemed to have a close relation with the Spanish language. Sure enough, it is related to the word “querer.” This word means “to want.” What I got out of this was that a querencia isn’t necessarily always a place where you spend all of your time. It is very possible that your querencia is halfway across the world. I would say that my querencia is Teamspeak. Teamspeak is a program much like Skype, where you can talk to your friends literally 24/7. Andy Jiang and Adam Gongol can vouch for me as well that it is at least open on our computers for 12 hours of the day. It’s also a place where anyone is welcome. Just the other day, a former AP literature and composition student joined Teamspeak to have a quick chat. There can sometimes be as many as 10 people in Teamspeak at a given time. If you are starting to think that this is an ad, then you are partially right because you should join! But wait there's more! I'd say I feel so comfortable and content in Teamspeak because I can have a real conversation with my friends at any time of the day. It's not just sending meaningless words across the textosphere, but talking with words over the teamspeakosphere.

[alexlarsn]

Ceremony

After reading a bunch of other people’s posts, I’m happy to know that I’m not the only one that got bored out of my mind.  It seemed like everything in the book felt like it got mushed together because of the unnecessary extensive detail of nature. 

There were points in the book where I felt like I engaged with it, but after finishing it, I can’t say that I feel satisfied with it because there isn’t much that was really answered (A lot like the Handmaid’s Tale.)

[alexlarsn]

Tradition in Cermony

I think that it was really fascinating how tradition was used in this book.  In my opinion, I felt like it built a bridge between the old and young because of the different ways of thinking.  I also believe this to be true in today’s world and in my life.  It’s harder to connect to the elderly because they truly come from a different time.  There’s different  social standards which makes it hard for them to adopt the modern ways of life.  Tradition also tied back to his culture and I felt that when he broke away from this tradition, he also broke away from his roots which can also be true even today.

[alexlarsn]

Ceremony #2

So far, I have been quite bored by this book.  The only thing that has got me through it thus far is the peaceful music that I’ve been listening to in the background.  I found this book to be comparable to the movie Boyhood in a sense.  I say this, not because what they go through is silimar, but mostly due to the extensive dull moments of life.  Yes, he has gone through a lot but the majority of the book is just additional information which doesn’t intrigue me in the slightest.  At first, I thought the book was okay, but I’m starting to think that was because of the extraordinary playlist I was listening to.  All in all, reading this book is almost equivalent to watching grass grow.  If you like watching grass grow, though, you’ll love this book!

[alexlarsn]

Ceremony: Tayo

Now after reading a decent amount of Ceremony, I don’t exactly know if I like the book or not.  What I do know is that it’s very confusing because Leslie Marmon Silko never concentrates on a single frame in time.  Also, I found this book challenging to read because it isn’t broken up into chapters, but rather it feels continuous.  It almost seems like rambling ideas from Silko. 

I do like the character of Tayo.  He is an outcast because his father is a white man while his mother is Native American.  This has brought shame to their family, and his grandmother shows it.  It is expected of Tayo to stay home and maintain Native culture on the reservation, while Rocky is free to enlist in the army and travel the world.  This bothered me in particular because there is nothing that Tayo could do about this.  He is still left with the burden of being a “half-breed” which will forever haunt him.  He no longer feels like he’s a part of the community after returning from the war which is why he has become ill. He lost his connection with nature and this causes him to suffer.  Through this sickness, I think Silko is trying to say that it is necessary for humans to have this connection with nature to be content with life.

[alexlarsn]

If I could ask Mrs. Atwood a question, I would ask, “Why’d you end the Handmaid’s Tale like that?”  We don’t really know who was resistance or if Offred ended up getting out alive.  We are left with some historical notes which, although they seem like they’d give some clue to the ending, they do the opposite.  They say that they don’t even really know what happened to this woman.  This leaves me to believe that Atwood wanted us to think about all the possibilities of the ending to give it multiple meanings for each individual person.  This gives everyone closure, but also no one closure at the same time.  I can believe that she got saved without anything preventing me from believing that she went to the colonies, but this could also easily be false.  I ended up asking her on social media, so I’ll let you know what she says if she responds.

[alexlarsn]

Commander Wives

In class, I came to the realization, due in part to the extensive explanations, that the commander wives are essentially worthless.  They no longer have any sentimental value and they could basically be thrown away without having a real effect on anything.  The commander doesn’t love Serena Joy any more which is evident, and this is the reason that the wives resent the handmaids so much.  The commander continually has sex with these women while he hardly even looks at his wife.  They invoke fear into the handmaids because they fear that they are losing their characteristics which make them women.  They can no longer bear children or keep their husbands happy so this fear is translated into punishment of the handmaids.  They are given a false power which may temporarily keep them sane, but they all know deep down that they are comparable to trash.

[alexlarsn]

The Sun Also Rises

I have finally decided on the Sun Also Rises and I am about to order it.  I think that I should be able to get a good start on it this weekend because I have Amazon Prime.  I haven’t read any Ernest Hemingway before so I am hoping that I don’t hate it.  

Edit: Just kidding, I got it at Barnes and Nobles.  Looks like I know what I’m doing tonight.

[alexlarsn]

The Work

At the moment, I am in between a few books.  I’m looking at The Sun Also Rises, To the Lighthouse and The Grapes of Wrath.  For the most part, I want to make sure that the plot is easy enough to follow because I think that this important if I’m going to carefully analyze the book.  I also want to have a genuine interest in it, because I will be spending a hefty amount of time with it.

I have been warned of the confusion in the book To the Lighthouse, although this is the one I’ve been leaning toward.  I was immediately intrigued with The Sun Also Rises, but I know that Andy was also leaning toward that book.  We will see though.  I am planning on making my decision tomorrow, and I also want to come close to finishing it by the end of break.

[alexlarsn]

So today in Lit we talked about the Aunts and how it is essentially their duty to abuse the handmaid’s as long as they want to stay in power.  I really liked Danny’s analogy which explained the situation really well. He said, “If you have a lot of money, would you want to give all of it to poor people and then become a poor person?”  This shut people up for the most part.  Also, I want to throw in that a lot of you guys were attacking the Aunts today, but those weren’t necessarily their beliefs.  While they talked in character, we maintained our morals and ideals which is an unfair way of looking at things.  I think we should all maintain the persona of our characters to accurately discuss Atwood’s meaning.  It is beneficial to look at it with a moral stance, but it’s also important to look at how each group interpreted the actions of the Aunts.  Just throwing that out there, as I said before.

In my previous post, I mention how Atwood portrays females all in different categories of stereotypes throughout the book.  In the case of the Aunts, I think that she points out the strict side.  This is the side that women aren’t always perceived as.  Instead, this is a stereotype that men are more likely classified as.  I think Atwood wanted to point out how much differently an audience may react when it’s a woman beating another woman rather than a man beating a woman.  This incited questions such as:

Why doesn’t she just rise up with the other handmaids?

Why is she okay with corporal punishment?

I’m extremely curious about how we would perceive the Aunts if instead they were the Uncles.

I chose this picture because I believe that this is the state of the Aunts.  While it may be awful that they abuse the handmaids, it’s how they stay alive.  As long as they go on with life as the Gileadean government sees that it should go on, they will keep their “power.”  I say “power” because they don’t actually have any power at all.  As soon as they become lenient and allow the handmaids to rebel and do as they please, the Eyes notice and ship them off to the colonies.  So to answer your question, yes, the Aunts are as selfish as hell, but would you rather die?

[alexlarsn]

Handmaid.

In my eyes, the handmaids always carried the most important role.  If the Gileadean government’s focus is to repopulate the world, then the only way that they will accomplish this is through the women that birth children.  They are looked down upon by others, possibly, because they are seen as superior.  They also have the ability to carry out a job that only a select number of people can.  Jealousy is a theme that Atwood explores continuously because it is simply human nature.

I think that Atwood uses the handmaids to point out the overlooked phenomenon of motherhood.  The ability to create a human being inside of one’s self is taken for granted and Atwood points this out through the handmaids.  She also uses them to show the underappreciation and continual oppression of feminism which leads to such ideals.  At the current state of their society, the handmaids hold the single most important role, yet they are still looked down upon.  This is additionally relevant in our present world which is why Atwood uses the handmaids as such.