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Well despite not being able to watch the last THREEEEEEEEEE minutes, I thought the movie was good. Based on what Mrs. Clark said was in the last three minutes, the ending was probably more informative than the book. But I couldn’t tell you definitely. All I can tell you is that friggin Viggo...

bookslayerone

True, the movie was thoroughly enjoyable and I am glad I opted to stay for the, almost full showing. I don't know if you were able to catch the final three minutes elsewhere, if not, search the final scene on YouTube and you can watch it there. The cast and crew did a tremendous job in the production of this film, to spite the subtle differences in the book and movie. The cast included some of my favorite actors, Viggo Mortenson being high on my list. Hidalgo and G.I.Jane are a few of his movies that come to mind. He has the unique ability to play such a diverse range of characters. Robert Duval also made a cameo appearance as Eli, another superb actor with a wide array of movies under his belt. Last but certainly not least the beautiful Charlize Theron, I saw her for the first time in "The Italian job" with Marky Mark. All in all a entertaining movie.

The End

It's been an interesting "Road" traveled this semester, to say the least. The information and reading was not quite what I had envisioned. It was however, entertaining and somewhat enjoyable. The bizarre short stories and novels would not have been my first choice of reading material, but I can honestly say that I have been enlightened and my horizons broadened by the experience. Professor Clark and my fellow classmates have made my time invested in class worth while. Ya'll have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, ya hear.

Hope

The Road has several themes throughout the novel disguised through McCormick's hand. One of the most predominant being hope. The boy symbolizes hope in the midst of the dark and depressing outcome of an unknown disaster; leaving the world as a primal self sufficient environment. The boy makes his transition throughout the story as a helpless child, depending on his father for everything. He slowly becomes self assertive and aids his father in making ethical, humane decisions. He is conditioned to survive after the inevitable fate that awaits his father. The boy bares witness to all types atrocities generated by the dark side human nature. He never waivers from his innocence, generosity and civility. The boy represents the last chance for the survival and integrity of humanity.

Wrapped up "The Road" on Friday. The book was very dark and intense reading. The story of a post apocalyptic world, wrapped around the intriguing relationship of father and son trying to survive in a dismal and harsh environment. Cormic McCarthy has a very intense writing style that traverses back and forth from the story line to biblical scribes and references, from what I believe to be the Book of Revelation. Some of McCarthy's use of diction is written in ancient dialect. It's often difficult to interpret and I find myself having to go back and reread certain passages to have a better comprehension. At the very least, I expanded my repertoire by reading this book. The author's portrayal is brutal and graphic; but not so far fetched that his story is outside the realm of reality. By far my favorite piece required in this course.

its-ashree

You forget some things, don’t you? Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget. ~Pg. 12

its-ashree

It’s quite funny how we forget what we want to remember but remember what we want to forget. How true this quote is. All the things I want to remember from growing up...

bookslayerone

Selective memory or suppression is an interesting condition covered extensively in Psychology. It may be brought about due to a multitude of causes ranging from a traumatic event in childhood to diagnosed mental disorders. I have always been fascinated by the human psyche. Emotion is an important component of what we can remember and what we cannot. A fresh concept being examined is adrenalin. This may explain why we can remember the details of an exciting event for years after. An example may be like if you went para-sailing during vacation vs what you had for lunch a few days prior. You may notice it's hard to remember mundane daily events. The brain is fascinating subject and we have just begun to unlock it's secrets.

kathief4

Eleven

Avril Lavigne’s song, ‘Here’s to Never Growing Up’, is a great example of most of the main characters in “A Visit from the Goon Squad”. Lou used young girls to hold onto his youth. Bennie used gold flakes in his coffee to try and restore his youthful virility. The characters in this book are related to the music industry and music has always been a creative way to voice human emotion. The passagThte of time happens to those of us lucky enough to experience it, but time is not kind. We fight to hold onto our youth, but as long as we live, it is a losing battle. 11/8/13.

bookslayerone

The book was unpalatable for my personal taste, for reasons discussed in my last post. I did however notice that Jennifer Egan was able to correlate music and events that took place in different time periods; with the advancement of technology. I thought this technique was clever. During the seventies and eighties the music was raw and unscripted, computers and digital technology however, was in it's infancy stage. Chapters taking place in the nineties and after the millennium, included the characters using personal computers, high tech phones and social media. Historical events such as the attack on the World Trade Center run parallel with the authors time frame. The last chapter took the reader into the future and portrayed a realistic aspect of where society and culture are heading.

"I don't want to fade away, I want to flame away - I want my death to be an attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art." The infamous quote from "A Visit from the Goon Squad". The life style of sex, drugs and rock & roll is the premise on which this book is based. It is ironic that a highly intelligent, Pulitzer prize winning author like Jennifer Egan, would write a story that depicts people in such a negative light. All the characters are self destructive, pathetic - thieves, lairs and drug addicts. That may be what sells, but it sends the wrong type of message. The book is very confusing and difficult to stay focused. My brain is still throbbing inside my skull and want's to explode. Trying and keep track of who's who, whats going on and what time frame the stories are taking place, is like trying to catch a cheetah with an anchor tied to your ankle. The book reads like a chain of events that move the reader back and forth in time. The characters are tied to one another in random times and places in each's lives. To Jennifer Egan's credit, the book is well written and carries a sophistication level to keep the reader interested.

alysmith92-deactivated20141124

The red jacket expanded in his mind, the hoodie-strings flapping in the empty city wind, the body inside the jacket skipping home, a basket in one arm. It expanded until it was a bright sheet of red, a crimson cloak over his vision, and he wanted to howl with the agony of longing for the little...

bookslayerone

Ok Alysmith92, you hijacked my fairy-tail. Little Red Riding Hood has always been my favorite, that's because I'm hot for red heads. That being said you have written an interesting twist of the old Grimm fairy tail. You pulled it off well, I could visualize what both your characters were experiencing. I especially liked the ending with the cookies and milk, nice touch. It was similar to the ending in the story "In Cold Blood".

Little Red Riding Hood POMO style

Little Red awakens to what sounds like a hammer pounding on her door. Head on fire, eyes looking like a road map; last night's cocktails at Harry's was nothing but a vague, blurry memory. Red is a is a voluptuous wild child who enjoys the high life. Everyone calls her Red because of her scarlet red hair that flows across her back, which is appropriate due to the fact that it coincides with her personality. It's her mother and she needs Red to take grandma's prescription of Xanex to her house right away. Red reluctantly agrees. On the way she thought about slipping a few of grandma's pills into her pocket, but knew the pills were accounted for and fought off the temptation.

Red walked the streets of her neighborhood with caution, always vigilant. She lived on the rough side of town; there are always drive-by's, muggings and other types of violent crime happening. As she made her way towards grandma's, Red encountered a charismatic man with a devilish grin, folks called him Lobo. She new better than to stop and talk with Lobo, but she just couldn't resist his charm. He asked Red why she's wasting her time running trivial errands her her mommy, when she could be working for him. Every one knew Lobo peddled dope. People around town nicknamed him "Frankenstein". Red commented on the beautiful car he drove. Lobo responded, "All the better to drive around in style when I pick you up", Red laughed. She responded "you have a gorgeous smile, how did you get such perfect teeth?" Lobo replied, "All the better to devour you with- no, I'm just kidding, so tell me beautiful, what's it going to be? You'll work for me, right? You will have everything you can ever dream of- no worries." Red thought it over, it was a very attractive offer. She pondered a moment and then answered by flipping open her steely sharp blade, and plunging it deep into Lobo's throat and looking into his wide panicked eyes, saying "no, Mr. Wolf, the world is a better place without the likes of you". She then whistled a little tune as she made her way to grandma's little house in the woods

When I started this course I had a different interpretation of the meaning of post-modern literature. I envisioned a certain type of literature, be they short stories or novels, that take place in a contemporary time, setting and place; i.e (science fiction or modern day drama). In reality it turns out that post-modern literature has nothing to do with modern day culture. PO-MO is literature characterized by heavy reliance on writing styles and techniques to include playful irony, fragmentation, paradox and questionable narrators. I had it partially correct; these works were all completed after World War II. I'm not sure how big of a fan of this style of writing I am, but it has been interesting up to this point in the course. I have read numerous books and stories and have a new found respect for the talented authors who wrote them. Not my favorite style but post-modern literature certainly has a strong place in the writing style.

hellostephanymaurer

I think one of the most interesting parts of this book is the photos that are used throughout, not only because they take up a LOT of space, but also because the kind of give us a look at everything Oskar is seeing and experiencing so we can feel as though we are right there with him. The...

bookslayerone

Foer's clever use of pictures, images and the way he wrote word patterns in various parts of the book. I have to be honest, if it weren't for the images and pictures to keep me focused, I might have lost interest long before I finished. The author uses symbolism throughout his book; when I began reading the pictures just appeared random and meant little in regards to the story. As I got closer to end end the pictures started to make sense. I found myself flipping back to the beginning to see how they correlated to the story line. By the end of my reading and the in-class discussions, it was easy to decipher their true meaning.

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"; where to begin? As I remarked in class the other day, it was a difficult book for me to relate to. It starts off "Incredibly" slow and is "extremely" long winded- pun intended. I enjoy a good puzzle as much as the next person; however this book is one giant circle of dysfunction that spans generations. The relationship between the grandmother and Thomas, Sr. was "extremely" unhealthy and the consequences of their actions affected Thomas, Jr., and eventually trickled down to Oskar which is clear due to Oskar's OCD and neurotic behavior. This, intertwined with the death of Oskar's father, lead to the the plot of the story, a treasure hunt for the lock that belonged to a key found in his father's vase. It was a let down to find out the entire basis of the story was a mistake. The characters are finally able to resolve their issues surrounding the horrible tragedy and loss each had incurred. The author was very clever in that each character's misfortune, lead to each others resolve.

It dawned on me after today's discussion, something unique came from the tragedies that occurred after the bombings at Dresden, Germany in the final days of World War ll, and the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York. I was perusing pictures of Dresden and came across a photo of the city completely leveled, with the exception of one building. The building turned out to be a church that still stands to this day. After 9/11, I visited Ground Zero; St Paul’s Chapel is less than a block away from where the Towers fell. The church was unscathed and was a refuge for first responders. It is a place where survivors and family come to pray and remember. I’m not a believer of coincidences; whatever your religious or philosophical views may be, you have to stop and wonder why these two places of worship were the only ones spared the utter and total destruction.

25 September 2013

alyssarlp

9.20.13

Years ago relationships rarely ended and marriages stayed together because that was just how things were. Today on the other hand is quite different. The idea of marriage is weakening and divorce is way more prevalent. Not saying that this is always a negative thing but people are...

bookslayerone

You have a keen perception of the issue of failing marriages and relationships in general. Divorce has been ever more common in the recent decades; at the same time cohabitation is becoming commonplace in the U.S. Marriage is considered trivial and something disposable. In my opinion the lack of empathy and respect that people have for one another could be a major factor.

I think the marriage between Leroy and Norma Jean is self-serving for both of the characters. Leroy liked the idea of having a wife at home keeping the home fires burning, but Leroy was never there to enjoy the warmth. Leroy was in essence living a single life on the road. Norma Jean liked that Leroy was a provider, at the same time living life as though she was single. After his accident the two were forced to spend more time together than they were used to. In doing so, the couple realized they never really knew each other at all. The marriage began with Leroy being the dominant, bread winner, by the end of their marriage he was emasculated and Norma Jean wore the pants and kicked him to the curb.

22 September 2013

So, this weeks readings presented itself with a colorful array of completely different topics. They ranged from the hardships and sex lives of being a slave, to dark cartoons, followed by fragmented poetry written by a liberal hippy from the seventies. To be frank, I struggled to relate with any of these stories, they are not my type of literature. I now have a better understanding of the works after our class discussion. The story " Shiloh" is the one that was easiest to follow, or so I thought. After reading this, I understood the basis of the story to be a drama of a couple together since high school. The couple had been together for so long they begin to grow apart. Leroy's accident and having to spend so much time at home just reinforced the feelings that the couple had fallen out of love, or least for Norma Jean. Leroy's true colors shined through after his accident; after all he sat around day after day smoking dope and daydreaming about a reality that was never to be. I completely over looked the premise of the story to be a narrative camouflaged with gender reversal. I would have never caught this without the classroom discussion.

21 September 2013

I've completed "The Things They Carried"; and was left with a few questions. The author's writing is brilliant, and I had no problem following O'Brien's train of thought. He was able to keep the reader involved by introducing them to a cast of colorful brothers in arms. I was also kept entertained through his technique of taking the reader back and forth from the present to his past experiences in the war. I think this book was written as an outlet for O'Brien, so he could let go of all the pent-up emotions and feelings he carried with him from Vietnam. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not sure whether or not the author killed the VC soldier with the grenade, or just holds on to the guilt of his involvement. He flip-flopped several times throughout the book, maybe this is intentional. I do not understand the relevance of the comparison of the death of his childhood friend with that of his fallen comrades. I would never have choosen this book; that being said it is an excellent story, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

14 September 2013

"Don't raise your voice, improve your argument"

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