Gulf Coast State College Contemp Lit Blog

[kinpando]

12

The Road movie wasn't too far off from the book. Obviously, they left some things out, like the man who got struck by lightning. the boy didn't have the flute, and the marauders were left out of the movie. Some of the scenes were pretty intense, especially the scene where the father and son encounter the prisoners of the cannibals. Seeing it come to life was pretty scary but necessary to understand in regards to what the father and son have to live through. One thing that remained the same was how annoying the boy was. He wasn't that bad in the book, but it seems that he was more whiny in the movie. At times, I just wanted to be like suck it up and keep going! Nobody has time for you to be annoying and whiny while trying to survive.

[kinpando]

11

The Road was actually a pretty good book. I didn't think I would like it that much because of the language that is used and some of the things that the father and boy had to go through, but makes you think about the ethical and moral issues and what you would do if you were put in the same position.  One section that anyone can relate is when the son wants to hear a happy story, but the father wants to tell him about real life. The father says that real life is pretty bad, but the son says a lot of bad things have happened but we're still here. Even though life can be sucky at times, there is still hope that things will change for the better.

[ednasannicandro]

Post 12

So this weeks reading covered yet again another act of cannibalism. This is an act by people that have lost control of there souls and faith in God. So when I was listening to one of my absolute favorite bands Nine Inch Nails. The song *Head Like A Hole* reminded me how the father feels about resorting to the act of cannibalism.

-I’d rather die then give you control……Bow down before the one you serve..you’re going to get what you deserve.

The father and the boy are still alive. And although the world around them is dark physically and mentally…spiritually they still have God within them.

[kinpando]

The cannibalism part of the book was intense, especially the part with the baby. This song describes what those people deserve once they die. At least there are still good guys(the father and the son) in the world and would rather starve then resort to cannibalism to survive.

[kinpando]

The Road's imagery was hard to get into my head at first. Getting through the beginning was tough, but after a while, I started to get what was going on and what the author wanted to portray. Some scenes are pretty intense, especially the ones where the man and son come in contact with other people. I wanted the father to shoot the "bad men", but I realized he can't because they aren't zombies(Walking Dead!). One part that I liked that Professor Clark pointed out was, " All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes".  I have a slight idea of what the author is trying to say, but hopefully, I'll have a better understanding once I get further in the book.

[kinpando]

"Time's a goon right? Isn't that the expression?" -Bosco

I was curious about the purpose of the title, A Visit from the Goon Squad, so I looked up the meaning of the word goon. Goon: a violent thug; a person who is hired to threaten, beat up, or kill someone.  How the word goon ties in to the meaning of the title and a theme of the novel is that time robs the characters of who they really are and what they could have been. Bennie for example, when he was younger, he was all about the music and the purity of it. Now older, he has to deal with what life has thrown at him: A son who he barely has a connection with and a job that he has no desire to be in. Time steals the dreams and aspirations of the characters and they ignore the fact that time is taking its toll on them.

[tpalo24]

This week we started A visit from the goon squad. So far to be honest the book is really boring. I don’t know why it think its probably because of the structure of the book. Yet certain chapters are not that bad. I really enjoyed chapter 6, 7, and 8. Those were really interesting to read....

[kinpando]

I felt the same way about some of the chapters. Some were pretty intriguing, but some were kind of hard to stay focused on. I hope Bennie didn't cheat on his wife(he doesn't seem like the type), especially with someone who is the complete opposite of him and the kinds of things he's into.

[kinpando]

8

A Visit from the Goon Squad: what can you say about it? At first, I didn't think I would like it because of some the raunchy scenes and language, but as I kept reading, I wanted to know more about the characters, their back story, and how their lives intertwine with each other. I like how the characters have that IDGAF attitude on the outside, but internally, have some many problems going on, it makes them more human to the reader.  

[kinpando]

#7

I enjoyed reading "Generation X" and how the author included the element of fairy tale in the story. I liked how he twisted it around and made that element more dark and realistic. Love is not all about sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns. Sometimes, people go all in and it turns out to be not what they expected. For example, Serena is the rebound girl and she thinks she's "The One" for Buck, but in reality, Buck is just using her to cure his space poisoning and probably doesn't even love her. Not all stories have happy endings and having that dose of reality in the story is what makes this a pretty good read.

[thisgirlcalledashley]

This book was amazing! The last quarter of the book was the best part for me. I do feel like Oskar finally did get his closure even though the key meant nothing to him. He was able to sit and tell him mom how he was feeling at the end and get all of his emotions out. Being able to talk about an...

[kinpando]

Totally agree! At first, I thought the mom was distant and dealing with her loss in her own way and not trying to help Oskar deal with his emotions. But at the end, we see that she was looking out for him and trying to find closure for her son. It was sad to read that at the end, the father called her to let her know he was ok, but she knew in her heart that he was going to die.

[kinpando]

Post 6

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close was an up and down read for me. Some parts, I was not wanting to put the book down and just keep reading all night. Other times, it seemed like the writing was at a lull and I had to force myself to get through a chapter. One part that got me thinking was the chapter, "Why I'm Not Where You Are 9/11/03".  The grandfather goes to the art supply store to buy some clay. He says, " I tested every sample, I wrote my name in blue pen and in green oil stick, in orange crayon and in charcoal, it felt like I was signing the contract of my life."  In the chapter "Googolplex" on page 49, the name Thomas Schell is written in red ink. What if instead of Oskar's father writing his name, it was actually the grandfather that wrote it? It's small things like this that made me want to understand the book a little better.

[brittneykenney]

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is breaking my heart so far! It kills me that Oskar can’t even say exactly what happened to his dad to the readers, he just refers to it as “the worst day”. Also, that he is only 9 years old and dealing with the stress of losing his best friend, his mentor, his...

[kinpando]

It's hard to read what Oskar is going through. As a 9 year old, how he deals with it is very sad, especially what he says to his mom in the chapter Heavier Boots. Hopefully he can work through his grief and try to find some happiness through all of this.

[kinpando]

Post 5

"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" is such a great read! My favorite chapters are MY FEELINGS. I'm intrigued by the relationship between the grandmother and grandfather. The way the chapters are written and the way the words are spaced out in the chapters is very interesting and I want to know why she wrote it this way.  One line I liked from those chapters is on page 184 where it says, " I pointed at, There's nothing wrong with not understanding yourself." Not having everything figured out or understood is what everybody goes through at least once in their life. It would be kind of boring if we knew everything about ourselves. There would be no inner discovery, creating new memories, and not finding out what we can accomplish if we step out of our comfort zone.

[jpeterso9-deactivated20141221]

During this our great reads this week, Shiloh by Bobbie Mason, really captured my attention.

Throughout the short-story Norma Jean undergoes a “metamorphosis”. She goes from your typical housewife supplying meals and clean dishes, to attending night college, getting physically fit, and...

[kinpando]

  I felt kind of bad for Leroy because he wanted to try to reconnect with his wife, but coming from Norma Jean's perspective, it's difficult to feel that love and connection with someone that you haven't seen and talked to in years.  People change,good or bad, but we have to accept it and move on with our lives, even if it hurts. 

[kinpando]

I really liked reading Lynda Barry's comics and how she incorporated her life and imagination to her comics. This one in particular, I believe anyone can relate to. We as humans, want to find that special connection with someone and want to feel like we belong.  We want to find the right person that understands us, understands the good and bad side of our personality, and at the end of the day, still love us no matter what. We also want to find the right home to feel safe and loved.  Animal or human, we want to feel loved and protected and finding the right home with the right person or persons is what people long for in their lives.

[tpalo24]

This book was actually interesting. Normally when I read war books I get extremely bored with them. Yet Tim O’Brien kept me intrigued all the way through. The way he described how each character died made me feel for them, even though some of it wasn’t even true. I’m glad he made some of it up...

[kinpando]

I felt the same way about the characters, especially when Kiowa died and the way he died. I was kind of disappointed that some of the writing was made up, but that's how some Po-Mo writing is. After reading the book, I have a better understanding of how the soldiers felt during and after the war and have a deeper respect for the soldiers.

[kinpando]

Tres

I found a pretty cool interview that Tim O'Brien gave and it talks about lying versus truth-telling. He said, " One doesn't lie for the sake of lying; one does not invent merely for the sake of inventing. One does it for a particular purpose and that purpose always is to arrive at some kind of spiritual truth that one can't discover simply by recording the world-as-it-is. We're inventing and using imagination for sublime reasons-to get at the essence of things, not merely the surface."  I think this pretty much sums up what The Things They Carried or any Po-Mo writing is pretty much about. As readers, we shouldn't take things at face value but want to find a deeper meaning and understanding of what the author is trying to convey through their writing. We all may come to different conclusions and understandings of the writing, but as long as we know that it is meaningful to us, then that's all that matters.

[hopejerkins]

As I began to read the book “The Things They Carried” I realized that it was much more than just the physical things they carried. Sure the physical equipment and personal belongings weighed down on them. However, it was not much of a burden as was all of the emotions they had running through...

[kinpando]

I agree with you that book doesn't just deal with the physical things they carried, but the emotional and mental things they carried as well. I couldn't imagine being a 19-year-old kid and dealing with all the scars that come with being involved in a war. The most emotionally scarring chapter that I've read so far is The Man I Killed. Knowing that you killed an unarmed kid and that you destroyed a future would be a horrible memory to have for the rest of your life.