Matthew Wommack

[notericclapton-blog]

Finishing out the semester

I think that we can all relate to how Spongebob feels in this picture. Sometimes it’s not even the content of the finals persay, however, it is the fact that they weigh so much that give us the anxiety around them. Fortunately I didn’t go into the Lit final like this, between the discussions in class and reading everyone’s posts on here and my own interpretation of the books, I felt fairly prepared. Hopefully I can attain the same amount of confidence in my other finals that I still have to take. 

Anyways, thanks everyone, I really enjoyed this class. I feel like we had a pretty good class. I know that I won’t dread having another class with any one of you. ;-) Have a great Summer guys!

[lolollit-blog]

We made it!

Another year complete. I hope everyone has a lovely summer, and for those of you that work in the tourism industry, I hope we make tons of money this season! I’m really glad I took this class, and I really enjoyed learning how to dissect and critically interpret modern literature. To be honest, I didn’t even know what dystopia was before taking this course. I feel more educated now, and it was actually fun. Professor Clark, your class was perfect; don’t change a thing! You seem really happy and successful and I hope to become as passionate about my career when I get there as you are.

[notericclapton-blog]

I feel the same way about this class. DON’T CHANGE A THING. To be honest, I wasn’t REALLY looking forward to a literature class, but I took Ms. Clark for 1102 and I knew that she would make it bearable. Well, I was very surprised about how much I really did enjoy this class and the books we read. Even though it is “Contemporary Literature”, I had a feeling we were going to be reading some modern day Shakespeare equivalent, and boy was I wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the class and if I am to ever take another Lit/Writing class I am definitely choosing Ms. Clark again as my teacher. (No, this isn’t an attempt to get on your good side Ms. Clark. ;-) )  

[currently-with-camera]

Movie: The Road

The film did a really good job at sticking to the book. For some reason I imagined the boy to be much younger, but I guess the director wanted to go with a older boy for obvious reasons. The world I pictured when reading the book was exactly a match when watching the movie. The movie didn’t show the man that was struck by lightning and they added a part in the movie where a crowd of people killed the mom and child on the ice. The thief scene was really a tear jerker and the director did a nice job at sticking to what the book said. For most part the movie was really good and the director did a good job at choosing the actors.

[notericclapton-blog]

I feel the same exact way, I think the director did a great job as well. I thought that the boy was a little younger than the movie portrayed him to be, but like you said, I think it was done for some obvious reasons like just being more realistic. I wonder how the director(s) interpreted the other movies we read in class. I know 1984 had a film adaptation, but I’m unsure about the others. I may have to check them out over the summer. 

[notericclapton-blog]

The Road: Book vs. Film

I thoroughly enjoyed both the book and the movie adaptation of the “The Road”. I feel like the director did an excellent job with interpreting the book into film. There are of course added and deleted scenes and certain distinctions that can be made between the two, but overall I feel the movie complements the book very well. The only thing I wish the director would have added was the final conversation between the man and the boy before the man died. 

[notericclapton-blog]

Paper on “The Road”

I never thought that I would “enjoy” writing a paper for a class, but this paper has proved me wrong. I really enjoyed this book and it is actually fun and interesting to look back on all the key concepts of this book and really analyze what the author was trying to say and portray. 

One of the things I have been thinking about is when Professor Clark said that not everyone was impressed with the ending. Well, I like to link this back to one of the speakers that we saw in New Orleans. I can’t remember the author’s name, but he was talking about having “happy endings” (for lack of a better term) in your books pretty much for the author’s own “well being”. No one wants to write about a terrible event or tragedy and then also have it end poorly, it would just make you depressed. 

Also, another reason I think the ending is the way it is, is because it gives us hope. One of the key components of this book is the determination of the human spirit. There needs to be some sort of payoff for it. If there is no pay off, then what would be the reason for pushing onward at all. Think about “Shawshank Redemption” for a minute. Can you imagine if Andy would have gotten out of Shawshank and then been captured after he escaped? It would have completely destroyed the whole theme of holding on to hope. It was the entire reason that the book was written. I see the ending of both of these books as necessary and not much of a way around it. 

[jeffery-williams]

The Boy is safe -

I believe the Kid is safe with the group.  This group seems to have had more resources and more people compared to the son and his father and we know that the group was following them, watching them.  This really reminds me of the Walking Dead with the “recruiter” finding and watching groups.  The truth is, it seems like this group could have attacked them and killed them but the chose not to.  Also, if they have a dog and other children then we know that they are not child eaters nor dog eaters.  Nerveless, I believe how the book ends is not important but the struggle between ones morals and survival.  That being said, I guess it does not really matter what happens after the book ends…

[notericclapton-blog]

You are right, the ending doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but I like to think the same way about it as you do. I think this group of people will are the “good guys”. There are several reasons to make us believe this, like you said, just the fact that they didn’t kill the boy and his dad is one of the biggest things. But other things I thought were even more powerful indicators, like the guy wrapping the kid’s dad in the blanket and leaving it with him. The man is dead, and the people could almost definitely make more use of it than him, however, the new guy left the kid’s father wrapped in it as per her wish. That, to me, speaks volumes towards the character of this new man and towards the  new group as a whole.  

[gabyjones2013-blog]

Movie Monday

I’m very curious to see how much alike or how different the movie is from the book of the road. Most of the time,the book be way different than the movie and you end up liking the book better. But it can really be vice versa depending on what is. I never watched a movie where it was the exact same as the book. There’s always something different. I’m excited about watching it, I hope the baby over the fire isn’t gonna be in it because that would hurt my little heart. I do wonder if the boy is gonna talk a little more and how his father and him are portrayed in the movie. Anyways I can’t waittttttt!!!! #4-16-16

[notericclapton-blog]

I’m also extremely excited to watch this movie, well, watch it again. I watched it a few years ago, and I thought it was pretty decent, but found it very boring at the time. However, I had not read the book back then, so I hope to find a better appreciation of the movie now that I have read the book. Even though I thought it was a boring movie, I do remember liking it. One of my biggest problems with the movie was there wasn’t very much action. After reading the book I understand why there was not much action, because not a whole lot of action actually happened in the book. 

[jeffery-williams]

The Road

The Road is a very interesting book to me and is a nice change of pace from our other books.  The book does in some ways remind me of The Walking Dead in the way of a father trying to protect his sons innocence and also Mad Max before everything was just desert.  My favorite thing about this book is the basis of the story, just a father and son against the world.  This is something that I can relate to as my father was the one that raised me and also felt like it was us two against the world.  

[notericclapton-blog]

I enjoyed the book for a few similar reasons. I couldn’t help thinking about “The Walking Dead” every 10 pages or so, but the story itself is really similar to a series of books I read by Stephen King called “Dark Tower”. It’s about a band of a few people travelling through the world after it has suffered some crazy event too. The themes differ between these stories, but the overall setting is very similar. I think “The Road” has been my favorite book that we have read in class so far, just because it’s a totally different change of pace from the other stories we have read. 

[notericclapton-blog]

“The Road”, a tale of gray ash.

I really enjoyed this book. Now, it may be because I watched the movie a few years back and always wondered what the movie left out. I have to admit, the book was anticlimactic in the traditional sense, but I think it was intentional. The way I like to look at the book is the climax happened before the book starts. So, whatever cataclysm that brought on the ash and set the world in peril and destruction was the climax of the book. The rest of the book is falling action and the resolution. Like Professor Clark stated in class, the apocalypse or whatever you would call it, was left out so that way it would not be the main focus of the book. The story was written so the questions of humanity would be the main focus and not the environmental factors. I believe McCarthy wanted us to ponder things like how there could still be “good guys”, the lengths at which someone would go to protect someone they love, or even how someone being raised in a world where compassion and empathy will almost certainly get you killed and yet compassion is the only thing they know. It doesn’t matter whether it was nuclear fallout, volcanic eruptions, or a comet striking the Earth, McCarthy wanted the reader to focus on humans and their interactions with one another after such an event. 

[notericclapton-blog]

Midterms

Just one more week of pain and agony... Then one whole glorious week off for Spring Break. Don’t worry everyone, you will make it through these exams. “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. So, unless you are the first person to die from studying too hard, you should make it out of midterms alive and healthy. Just think of all the fun things that you have for Spring Break... Unless your joy is like mine and you are looking forward to the lack thereof plans and obligations. 

[jeffery-williams]

Lecture

So I went to the lecture yesterday and to be honest it was a lot better than I thought it would be.  The only issue is now I really do not know who to vote for.  It seems no matter how much research one does you can never find out all the crazy facts about candidates…. It’s crazy how many people we have in high positions of powers such as our senate that do not believe in science and believes instead of superstition.  Anyways, if anyone missed out on the lecture you truly missed out on a good one, very informative!  

[juliestudent0809-blog]

I agree with you, the lecture was very good. And like you, I do not know who to vote for at all. I feel as though I could spend a full year researching the Candidates and still not know who to vote for. But as for the science part Im not entirely surprised that they do not believe in it. In my opinion, they only want to spit out what people want to hear and people want to hear people who agree with their opinion and ignore anything that contradicts it (science.) But anyway it was a very good lecture, I wish I could remember more of the facts but i cant, maybe i should have taken notes I feel that it would probably been worth the note taking even though I hate taking notes. 

[notericclapton-blog]

Yeah, I’m right there with you guys. I find it so hard to get into politics because like you said, candidates just “spit out what people want to hear” so that they can get elected. The more I watch shows like “Game of Thrones” or “House of Cards” the more I feel like politics are just here so another person can have the illusion of power. However, I attempt to stay mildly interested because even though I think it’s all a big game for politicians, I don’t want to look back on a failed society and say “I wish I would have tried to stop this”.

[notericclapton-blog]

Looking back at “Fahrenheit 451″

Ah! Good old “Fahrenheit 451″! While looking back at this book while I am finishing up my paper (Yes, I am a procrastinator), I find more hidden gems written in there. One of the things I keep finding more and more fascinating is this idea of technology taking over, and human interaction dwindling little by little. It truly amazes me how Bradbury predicts these things when, to my knowledge, the technology had not  come out for these things to happen. 

Another thing that sticks out, is this idea of not stopping to “smell the roses”. It’s such a sad thing that we forget there is so much natural beauty around us in literally everything. Whether it be trees, flowers, the sky or just letting the rain fall on our faces. 

There is so much wisdom packed into this book, and I really appreciate that we were assigned to read this in class. Otherwise, I may have never picked it up. I hope to find myself rereading it often, that way I find myself acting like Clarisse, instead of ending up like Mildred. 

[currently-with-camera]

Fahrenheit 451

When writing my paper about Fahrenheit 451, I could help but think about how Mildred was so obsessed with technology. Mildred called the parlor tvs and seashells her family. She let her marriage fail, because of her obsession. Isn’t that what you see today? Many couples are so worried about updating their page or status that they don’t even pay attention to one that their married too. Technology has ruined a lot of relationships, if people could date their phone they probably would.

[notericclapton-blog]

You are right. We constantly see this in our society. It’s very sad. I’ve actually been thinking lately about limiting myself on social media i.e. Facebook, to just certain times a week. It’s very easy to get sucked into all of the technology that is around us, and forget about all of the “tangible” world and people that go along with it. I find it incredible that Bradbury made these “predictions” before the technology was around to really do this. Sure, they had TV and radio back then, but people in his time never would have dreamed of a little device in your pocket that could send you into a black hole of cat videos or funny pictures with captions (memes). I find it ironic that all of the technology we have can help connect us together, but most of the time it just drives us further apart. 

[notericclapton-blog]

You have no idea how happy I am to hear that 1984 was such a hard read for a lot of you, because it sure was for me too. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the dystopian genre, just this book seemed really dry. I do appreciate the message though, the few who rule will continue to rule unless the many being oppressed unify and rise against the oppressor. Every book or story that we read, I draw similarities to the Hunger Games. 

I haven’t read the books (I’m sure they are awesome), but the movies are fantastic and not hard to swallow like 1984. However, they convey the same message. 

Wouldn’t in it be an excellent extra credit opportunity to discuss the similarities and differences between dystopian literature now versus post WWII era literature we have been reading in class, @professorclark? *Wink wink

[gayliegirlfempower-blog]

This Book… I can’t remember for a long time a book quite so scary as 1984. It’s genius in so many ways. I think I could spend months studying the words and ideas written on every page. I’m so glad we had the opportunity to read this for our lit class. 💜💜

[notericclapton-blog]

I think that would be the best way for me to really appreciate this book. Maybe over the next few months analyze specific parts and really dig into what Orwell is trying to tell us. I found it very hard to stay focused on the book trying to read it straight through. However, now that I know what the book entails, maybe going back and re-reading certain sections just one piece at a time will give me a better appreciation for it. 

[christopherthewinsomer-blog]

Big Brother is ALWAYS Watching You

We often mock those individuals with eccentric ideals as conspiracy theorists, but can we truly say that they are the crazy ones? In 1984, we see the change in Winston Smith, as he pushes away the ideals of the totalitarian government that he is forcibly repressed by. However, the paranoia of his rebellion appears to mirror to that of a conspiracy theorist. Now, in no way am I stating that every person who screams that the government is in cahoots with an alien overlord is in their right mind, but that we should also be aware of how much we have entrusted into our government, because we may very well see our selves as repressed as Winston once was, surrounded by monochromatic sheep that were once people.

[jeffery-williams]

This is very true. I would like to break this down into a smaller picture by using the company I used to work for. I was uper management, meaning I had managers under me who had employees under them. I was specifically taught the art of gaining employees trust, while not looking at the employees as people but as numbers. I was taught not to get close to people and the only thing that mattered was getting what I wanted out of them until they were all used up and could be replaced with fresh blood. We lied every day to our employees trying to keep their trust, and we had different motives behind our actions, our own agenda. We used and manipulated our employees. Our favorite trick was tricking them into the belief that their voice mattered. Lets say we had an issue, “x”, and had a solution of “b”. We would go to some of the employees and ask for their help with this issue and gently guide them towards our solution of “b” until they came to it themselves. We would then roll this out as their idea as people always will follow what they believe is their idea over being forcefully told what to do. The bottom line is people trusted us when if they knew the facts they wouldn’t have, and sadly this is how corporate America runs. I was tired of being a fireman burning books and rebelled becoming everything I was taught not to be. I started caring, I grew my hair and beard out, and stopped wearing suits. Eventually I left this life but the machine is still turning today like clockwork. Everyone needs to look further than face value at what is going on for everything, and as my boss taught me, do not trust anyone.

[notericclapton-blog]

Wow! That’s crazy! With me being as naive as I am, I never would have thought that people would do something like that. I agree with you both, that is why books such as “1984″ and “Fahrenheit 451″ are so important. Those who don’t question what is going on around them can end up being slaves to either their government, cooperation, group, religion or whatever and never realize what is happening to them. That is very intense, and I am glad you could share that with us Jeff, because the books we have read so far have only dealt with the government side of this issue, so I haven’t even considered that things like this could be happening in other entities such as a business.  

[notericclapton-blog]

“Big Brother is Watching You”

From the little bit I’ve read of George Orwell’s “1984″, I have been drawing some connections to the TV show “Person of Interest”. In the book there are “telescreens” watching their every move. In POI, every camera on every device from cell phones to traffic signal cameras feed back to a machine that monitors everything to detect potential threats of terrorism. I understand that in “1984″ the people are being watched so the government can punish people for terrible crimes such as writing in a diary (blatant sarcasm), but the right to privacy is still same. The big question in POI is, is it better to have no privacy but have the potential to eliminate all acts of terrorism? Or is it better to have all privacy and have less detection of threats of terrorism? Is there a happy medium? The answer to that question varies from person to person, but it is something to think about.