Thideas

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work. -Unknown-

[samablam-deactivated20160223]

I can’t believe finals are next week!! Then graduation!! Whoot!! No class today because of this nasty weather, so before work tonight, I will be reviewing the study guide. Me and Kristen finished the Goon Squad part of the review in class Monday, all I have left is the questions for The Road....

[sarahreno]

Thanks for the reminder. I was unsure of the date. I too took 1102 with Ms. Clark and loved it. I was pleased to find she was taking this class. Wished she taught all of my humanities classes! I enjoyed the atmosphere of our class as it was relaxed and low key. I believe it is this kind environment and Ms Clarks vibe that made contemporary lit a joy to take.

[sarahreno]

Excited!

One more week and we are done for the semester!! I am happy that I am finally done with all of my electives. As with many of us, university life hangs in the balance, more homework, harder subjects, increased stressed...not looking forward to that! However, I am excited to be that much closer to my bachelor's degree, seems as if it has taken FOREVER. Someday we will become successful people and college will seem like a necessary evil that we all had to endure. Contemp Lit, was a thought provoking class, a lot of the books we read had hidden meanings that I would never have pegged out just reading for pleasure. I enjoyed this class and I have learned that literature is a fascinating subject. Good luck to all of you in your future endeavors!

[sarahreno]

Finished the Road

What a depressing book! Holy %&#@ these two never seemed to catch a break. I think i figured the theme out though. I noticed that during the depths of their despair, like the darkest moments where death was imminent, they found hope, they found something to keep them going. Such is life. Sometimes in life we find ourselves in dark places, where the light never seems to shine. Where the days are always gray and filled with regret, anxiety, whatever your dark nuisance is, and then the light just seems to magically appear. Like there is someone else looking out for you other than yourself. And it is at those moments that we reiterate our faith, hope in life and future and humanity is restored . That is what I got out of this book and out of all the books we read, this one was my favorite. It was a little easier to follow,and as I stated in last weeks posts, I love the poetic tone of the authors words.

[jvanste]

This represents almost every story we read.  I learned more about sex than I will ever need to know. Living in a wheelchair doesn’t exactly bring women and sex to my lap. Never knew what I was missing until I read these stories. I have truly been inspired. But seriously, I have enjoyed most of the stories.  I am not sure post modernism is my thing, but I did enjoy the class. I truly prefer stories with one plot that can carried throughout the story.  My favorites were Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Road. Time to move on to upper classes.

[sarahreno]

How cute are you!!! Yes these books had some raunchy scenes but movies do as well. I think books are a bit more graphic though. Don't you ever worry about being in a wheel chair, the women will eventually come. Strong willed and intelligent fellas such as yourself are surely a catch and sometimes it takes a while to find the right one, :) As for the books, I didn't find post modern books to be my favorite either. The Road was probably my favorite as it was easier to follow and the characters were generally concrete. Good luck to you in all your endeavors, keep your head up and never let anyone tell you you incapable or less than, they are just jealous because your are.

[sarahreno]

Ze Road

Love, love, love this book. The author uses tons of similes and metaphors that make you really ponder what he really is saying. For example, the father was talking about how his memories and mind have betrayed him. The father states, "Phantoms not heard from in a thousand years rousing slowly from their sleep." It reminded me of the deep dark thoughts we have that we try to stuff away and how they rise suddenly without warning. Or when the father speaks of the memories of his late wife, he states. "What you alter in the remembering has yet a reality, known or not". I think this is pertaining to the memories we have and how the older the memory the more we question it's validity. How perfect of a quote is that? I wish this book were a series! I could read McCarthy' s words all day long!

[nichole-haire]

I will just start and say that this is the only book that I was 100% interested in reading in this course. I cracked it open and as I knew already, the vocabulary used in the book is somewhat challenging, which means I sat with my dictionary app opened on my phone. I love a book that us

There is also a lot of man Vs. self with all of the suicides or talk of suicides. The rest sound interesting and I have not thought in those terms. This book is slow to start, but after about 30 minutesof reading it leaves the reader wanting to know what’s next. I agree with the statement about the hard vocabulary and I did the exact same thing. Although, somewhat annoying having to look up a word every few pages or so, I found it quite nice to learn new words and find that I do hear some of them in every day life, in conversations, on TV, ect.., I just choose to subconsciously ignore them.

[sarahreno]

I have struggled with the vocabulary as well. It's kind of like reading poetry. At first it was hard to read but after a while I got the hang of the authors verbage. I really wish I could figure out what happened to the world. Why they have found themselves in such dire surroundings? In any case the life the son and father live is treacherous. Simple daily luxuries that we take for granted are life's greatest gifts to these two poor souls. I am in love with this book and can't wait to read more!

[sarahefstathiou]

How I feel when I get behind on Tumblr posts for this class…but anyways kind of glad we finished “A Visit From The Goon Squad” today. I hated how the book didn’t offer a resolution in Ch. 13. Jennifer Egan really just left us hanging out to dry. Ch. 12 was definitely unique, with it being a PowerPoint written by Allison. Allison writes this journal entry, describing her family life, and their relationships with each other. This structure definitely contributes to the book being Po-mo.

[jvanste]

I agree with all of the points you made in this post.  I found that with every new story I wanted to know more about those particular characters and especially the kleptomaniac and why she stole.  In chapter twelve the power point was a strange way to describe your family life and relationships.  Most people write in a journal or diary in paragraph form. How many people do you know that relate/share their personal thoughts in power point format?  I think I will write my memoirs in power point form with lots of pictures and caricatures included.

[sarahreno]

I too agree with your interpretation of the Goon Squad. I despised this book. I found the power point hard to read as well. I know that there is a hidden meaning behind the entire book but am not sure what exactly it is. I do think that this books touches on the personal aspects of peoples lives that most choose not to speak of. Egans depiction of her characters is harsh at points but I think she does this to make the characters raw and easy to relate to.

[sarahreno]

Finale of the Goon Squad

This book provided many examples of post modernism. The points of view change sporadically, it never falls within the realms of chronological order nor does it provide a well rounded definition of it's many characters. I had a hard time with this book. Initially, I was interested. However, as the novel unraveled I found the changes in points of view and the lack of order made the concept hard to grasp. Egan is an eloquent writer is spite of my interpretation of her novel. She uses symbolism quite a bit. I did not enjoy this novel and found reading it became a chore. But, how else are we supposed to learn if we only read books of our liking?

[sarahreno]

First Chapters of Goon Squad

The first few chapters of this book were great. I had a good definition of all characters and then BAM, put in the following chapters and now there is a ton. I like Sasha's character but find myself feeling really bad for her. She clearly has some unresolved emotional issues that surely are the cause for her current clepto dilemma. The fact that she steals emotionally driven and sentimental items makes me feel as if she is lacking somewhere in that area. The value of said items quickly diminish once she takes them and I believe that the bond between the owner and their item is really what she it toying with here. She is angry for a reason and  I cant wait until her character evolves so I can figure out what her deal is.

[samablam-deactivated20160223]

Most like the rest of the class, my favorite chapter so far is the one where Scotty brings Bennie the dead bass. I like how people in the class described it as a symbol of their dead friendship. I feel like Scotty’s intentions were good. Another chapter I thought was crazy/interesting was the one...

[sarahreno]

The party chapter was crazy. As a matter of fact, I think I had to read it twice. I was able to picture the chaos of the party scene perfectly in my head but do not remember people actually wanting to burn themselves. If indeed this is true, thats morbid. I found it odd that Dolly was doing business with a foreign leader that is known for being cruel, but Egan portrays this as like any other situation. I also was surprised that the relationship with her daughter was so rocky. In the beginning of the chapter I thought that they were closely knit but towards the end Dolly speaks of how embarrassed her daughter is of her because of the party. I thought this to be very heartbreaking.

[rachellivingston21]

Treading through this novel so far? It’s not that it is necessarily boring, I just feel like I am having a hard time getting completely into it. I feel like I’m pretty behind as far as the reading goes, and I think it’s because I have to keep going back and checking on which characters are which….

[doylecasey]

I am completely with you! I have never read so many chapters over before! I am running behind, but the book isn’t that bad. I look forward to the class discussions because I always tend to miss out on something of some sort. I keep wondering then when we switch point of views, are the time frames all over lapping in some way or are we changeling views as time continues to move through the future. Which is your favorite chapter so far? Everyone seems to be having an interest in different chapters. #reblog032814

[natashabailey910]

I am behind too and no matter how hard I try to keep up or catch up it is impossible! My favorite chapter so far would be chapter 6 where Scotty brings Bennie the dead fish. For some reason I can’t get over how funny it is especially after I realized the east river wasn’t even a river us would think about eating from. And the chapter I disliked the most was the safari chapter, there was way too much going on in that chapter

[sarahreno]

I also find it hard keeping up with the "happenings" of these books. Especially with this one. ELIC jumped around a bit but there were fewer characters. This one has five billion and it's hard to keep up with who is who. I do like the content of the Goon Squad though. Seems to resonate with a younger generation in my opinion. There is conceivable drama that most can relate to

[sarahreno]

Goon Squad

I am a huge fan of this book, but I must say that I MISS books that go in chronological order and have a single narrator. I have found that this book, along with previous ones we have read, are difficult to read. There are so many things happening with so many people that it is hard to keep my bearings. However, I feel  the Goon Squad hits close to home on many subjects and can definitely see why they call it post-modern. All the atrocities that can befall us all seem to happen in this book. I find the emotional state of many to be faltering or gearing that way. Touchy subjects are the norm and the author speaks of them fluidly. Great book so far though.

[rachellivingston21]

I will be finishing up Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close this weekend, and I honestly cannot wait to see what the ending is. I have become a little more fond of this novel as I continue to read, and I am truly enjoying reading the chapters involving Oskar’s Grandfather. I know that many people...

[sarahreno]

Like you, I also like the story of the grandfather. I feel sorry for him and cannot imagine the pain and guilt he feels for all the mistakes he has made. I was a little angry with him at first, when he came back and wanted to be a part of everyone's life again. How dare him, he choose to not be there and deserved no right to become a part of his families life. However, I realized that his decisions were not made out of pure option. I believe he had deep rooted pain from the bombings that were never addressed. The fear he held within himself to never allow love into his heart again is the reason for the heartache he caused internally and externally. I think towards the end he overcame his past and was finally able to be at peace.

[sarahreno]

This book captivated my heart. It was a viscerally aching yet comical story. Oskar's feelings are blatantly portrayed in a sorrowful light, yet his inner self is what is so comical. I don't think he truly understands at which state he currently is in throughout the entire book. For a therapist to say that his mental state is dire enough to require institutionalization is pretty serious. Thankfully though, his mother is a little closer to his pain than we once thought in the beginning. I remember thinking about how a mother of a seven year old boy would just let him walk around without any supervision was crazy. I have an almost eleven year old daughter and I don;t even allow her to walk to the bus stop, which is a half block away, by herself. But, to my surprise, and happily so, she has paving the way for his expedition. I loved this story, it was a bit confusing but, in the end it all made sense. It captivated love in all genres, portrayed pain that could be felt by the reader on many occasions, and it subtly taught us as the readers some valuable lessons.

[kkesther]

In this past week I have begun to read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and to tell the truth, I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. I definitely understand how one would find this boring or untasteful due to the character of Oskar, but I for one find him fascinating.

As I said in class, I have a developmentally delayed brother, and I have found one of the most intriguing things about him, is learning how he thinks. Getting inside that brain of his and figuring out how it functions the way it does. How socially awkward he is while yearning for human contact at the same time. Why he gets attached to certain (what we would think of as irrelevant) subjects and learns all he can about them, but yet he cannot tie his shoe or ride a bike. How he has the mind of a 7 year old (or less depending on the day), and yet his vocabulary exceeds mine at times. (and he understand what the word means!). How little things in his routine, like getting the Sunday Paper every week just for the comics, become the most important thing to him. When you live with an Autistic child you really understand how fascinating it is.

A lot of what I have read of Oskar thus far shows signs of him being developmentally delayed in some fashion. He is socially awkward in the limo but yearns for the drivers attention all at the same time. His logic is intriguing on jewelry and inventing, but giving a stranger the key to his house makes perfect sense to him. His actions at times shows his age and at other times exceeds or diminishes his true age through simple things like crude jokes or advanced vocabulary. He refuses to wear any color except for white, and that is extremely important to him. 

All that being said, this book has already hit home with me and I’m only a few chapters in. I cannot wait to figure out the whole story line behind his family, and Oskar himself. :) 

[kristenhmckay]

I really like the picture you used of the characteristics of a person with autism. I have worked with autism children at an elementary school before and I was able to learn how they think and interact with other people. Like you said how your brother is, these kids were very smart but had trouble with daily task such as tying their shoes. Having the previous experience with children that have autism, as I am reading the book I can understand Oskar a little better and how he does not  act like the normal nine year old. Just like you said I cannot wait to read more to find out more about Oskar and his family.    #02232014  reblog

[sarahreno]

One of the telling factors for me was his relationships with other people. Oskar lacks a clear understanding of the boundaries of any relationship. He seems extremely emotionally detached from others except for his father. Maybe his father also suffered from some form of autism which made him more understanding towards Oskar. He seems to lack a filter of any sort, in part I think this is due to age but I think his disability adds to it. From what I have learned, (several classes of psych), Oskar clearly meets some criteria to be considered autistic. Maybe Aspergers?

[sarahreno]

Extremley Loud

I am currently in love with this book! I have found to be very humorous and yet so heartbreaking at times. I was pleased to hear in class that there are people who think Oskar falls within the autism spectrum. He is such an intelligent boy, with such deep rooted pain. I would say he is in dire need of some therapy to help him deal with such a traumatic event. I think this book gives the reader a raw view into the lives of people who were affected by 9/11. Most of us witnessed the terrible attack on television and it didnt have a direct effect. For the victims and their families, they lived with it in their face everyday after, and still do today.I have seen the movie but cannot remember what happened. I do think the book portrays Oskar in a more distinctive light.

[samablam-deactivated20160223]

Finally, a story I actually liked and could understand completely! :P I enjoyed reading “Shiloh” more than “The Things They Carried.” I thought that the whole gender role switch was an example of post-modernism. For Norma Jean to be going to college, having a job, working out, and doing what we…

[kristenhmckay]

I agree with you that Shiloh was much easier to read and understand than most stories we have read so far. I also agree that Leroy was worthless throughout the whole story. Even though he had the idea of wanting to build a log cabin for Norma Jean, all he ever did was lie on the couch and smoke pot. Norma Jean and Leroy’s relationship was different than most and having tension between both of them because of their baby dying so soon led to them going their separate ways even though it was the first time in a long time that they had been together since Leroy was always gone.          # reblog 02162014

[sarahreno]

I found this story to be a breath of fresh air. Our previous readings have been really hard to understand, Initially, I thought I understood this story, but then in class when we are discussing it, I realized I completely missed important parts of it. I find in hard to think that people really write things in hidden messages. Like in the story Shiloh, when their roles are spoken of, I would have never caught on to the gender role reversal. When we discuss these readings in class, I gain a vast amount of knowledge and it makes me appreciate literature much more.