Getting all the kids on and off the bus was a difficult task but it helped to have the some parents volunteering that Thursday morning. Melissa was leading the class to the museum when she remembered that there was still a few paintings that she was going to point out but had no idea what they were about. She thought to herself, “I should have read more about this museum rather than sitting online talking to Andrew last night on the computer. What was I thinking?” The truth is Molly spent far too much time on the computer than was necessary. Andrew lived in a different state so it was hard to talk to him that often and even more hard to see him. This long-distance relationship stuff was way harder than she thought it was going to be. After being together for two years, she never imagined he would have to be transferred for his job, and Molly was actually a little surprised he had not invited her to go with him. On the other hand, her family, friends, and work was here. She had to stop worrying about her relationship at this point in her life and start focusing more on work. The kids gasping with glee, whispering to one another, were extremely excited and wanted to know what was going on in the painting.
Once arriving at the first painting she wanted to talk about, one of her kids said, “I don’t get it. Why is the painting so dark and scary? Mrs. Marks, why is the lady holding her heart?” With a long breath in and then an exhale out, Melissa looked at the painting and then at her kids, she shamed herself for not preparing better for this field trip, and then quickly thought of an explanation for the painting. She was breaking into a sweat because she had all eyes on her, including the parents full attention, and she had absolutely no idea what this would be about. Then, an idea hit her and she went with it.
“Good question Patrick, are any of you other kids wondering the same thing?” With an overwhelming shaking of the heads, Melissa begun her interpretation of the painting. “Let’s start with question one, about the painting being so dark. One reason is because this painting was created so long ago that they did not have as bright of colors as you see today. Color, back in the olden days, was extremely expensive, so artists would only use it on the most important characters in the painting. Another reason why the painting was so dark is because painting usually was done at night because painters did not make enough money, so most artists had to have a day job as well, to support their family. Therefore, they could only see by candlelight which created the sense of night time in the picture as well.” The parents looked confused for a minute but after glancing at the picture and then back at her, they all started to shake their head in agreement. Melissa thought, wow this was easier than I thought, for not even taking one quarter of art class did not seem to hurt her thus far. She not only had the kids fooled, but the parents as well.
One of the mothers asked, “So what is going on between the characters in this painting?” Without knowing who the characters were or what the painting was trying to convey, Melissa again took another shot in the dark.
“Well, as you notice on the left we have an angel sent from heaven to earth, and I can remember my father telling me this story when I was a little girl, probably in the first grade just like all of you. My father always had many art books around because it fascinated him. I liked to listen while he would tell me stories when I was young. This angel, Stanley, was sent down from heaven because God assigned Stanley to be Sarah’s guardian angel. Sarah is the woman on the right; Sarah is in her late twenties and has had a rough life so far. Her mom died when she was young due to a strenuous pregnancy. Sarah had always felt bad because of it and her father would always blame her for her mother’s death. Not to mention, that he dad was never at home and when he was he was yelling at Sarah for some reason or another. Sarah had to grow up very fast and was extremely lonely because of the fact that she had no other brothers or sisters and her dad would rarely let her go play outside with the other kids. Stanley took Sarah underneath his wing and was determined to not let anything happen to her ever again.
Stanley has lots of people to look after, but every night before he goes to sleep and every morning when he wakes up, he looks down on Sarah because deep down he finds her very beautiful and full of life. Once in a while, he will fly into her bedroom just to watch her sleep peacefully. One night, after she had been sleeping for quite some time, Sarah started to stir about in her bed. She must have been having a bad dream because she quickly woke up and saw Stanley for a quick second before he flew out the window. It was the strangest feeling because she had seen this angel man before, many times, in her dreams. So instead of being scared that he was in her bedroom, she felt more relieved and at peace. Sarah secretly hoped that she would see Stanley again someday and she wondered what kind of person he would be. He was so breathtakingly gorgeous, it amazed her. To be so real in her dreams and then see him in the middle of the night, she knew there was something magical about him and she was determined to find out what it was like.
“Did she know he was an angel Mrs. Marks, or did she think it was still a dream.” Cari was so intrigued at the story and all eyes were fully intent on hearing the rest of the fictional story, Melissa felt sure she was on the right track.
“Oh, Sarah was sure he was an angel because only angels could be that handsome and only angels could fly away so gracefully, without a word. Wait, come back, she thought, but before her eyes could be fully adjusted to the night time light he was gone. Just thinking about him, she fell quietly back to sleep. When Stanley arrived back at the heavenly gates, God was there to greet him. Stanley, I saw what just happened, and that’s not the first time you’ve been caught by Sarah. You are lucky she did not freak out, most people would, what you did is not professional. Your job is to look after her to make sure she is okay, but not to spy on her at night. Stanley thought to himself, I’m not spying, I just love to watch her sleep so peacefully. She is such a unique and special girl, I wish I could be with her all the time.”
“Then what happens Mrs. Marks, is that why he goes back to talk to her?” Little Lilly, the shortest of the first graders, was standing on her tippy toes, so anxious to hear the rest of the story. Lilly was always the first to guess the ending. Every Tuesday, we would have sharing time and every kid would draw a picture and make a story to go with it. Lilly was always the one that would interrupt the story teller, but only because she got so excited she could not help herself. It was her favorite time of the week. Sometimes she would draw two pictures, one that she told, and one that she had the other kids guess what was going to happen at the end. Mrs. Marks admired Lilly because she was always in good spirits and always firing up the other kids and getting them excited to chime in on every game.
“Well, Lilly, I’m going to get to that. Stanley became so obsessed with Sarah, that he forgot about all the rest of the people he was supposed to look after and only would watch Sarah, day in and day out. Finally, God gave him an ultimatum. He said, ‘You can either go down and confess your love for this girl but if she refuses you must have someone else be her guardian angel, and you will never see her again.’ At the sounds of the words Stanley was instantly sick in his stomach. Never see her again, he mumbled, I would be devastated. I care to much for Sarah. But God gave him the catch is if you ask her to come back to heaven with you and she agrees to, she will never get to see her father or friends again. She will remain in heaven and only be able to watch from above. You must convince her to come with you, but if she refuses as I said before you will never be able to watch over her or see her again.”
Continuing, Sarah said, “Torn between the decision he had to make, Stanley decided Sarah was worth trying to convince because he had slowly been falling in love with her. Everyday he watched her was another day he liked everything she did even more and more. If he did not try he would always regret it. The night before he went down there, Stanley again watched over Sarah, and while he did he wrote a poem he was to read to her the following day. All night he worked on this poem, and he was sure she would fall madly in love with him as soon as the words flowed out of his mouth.” All the kids oohed and awed. “The following day, Stanley dressed in his best and mentally prepared to make his visit to win Sarah over and of course brought her flowers.”
Sarah was just getting ready for bed, like any other night, but she was thinking about the dream she had the night before. The angel man had appeared in her dream but every time she went to talk to him, he disappeared. Almost every night for the last couple months, Sarah’s dreams included this handsome figure, too good to be true. She was extremely curious what his name would be and his personality. She only imagined him the truest of men and the most gentle, kind sir she had ever met. All of a sudden her dreams became reality.
Pointing to the painting, Sarah announced that this was the scene when Stanley makes his appearance and Sarah is shockingly surprised to see him outside of her dreams.
“What happens next Mrs. Marks? Do they live happily ever after, does she go up to heaven with him, or does she stay down on earth?”
“Well kids, we don’t know the ending to the story because the artist wanted to let the viewer decide what Sarah’s decision would be.”
“Not fair, I want to know what happens.” Little Lilly was thoroughly disappointed in the ending. After listening intently to her teacher for the whole story, she thought for sure the ending would be just as in the movies and books that she was previously aware of.
“Well, that is the best part of the story. Use your imagination do decide what you think Sarah’s decision would be. You can have the end of the story be however you would like.” With a sigh of relief, Sara knew she had pulled it off. The words just kept flowing and they all seemed to make quite a bit of sense. The kids loved the story and it kept their minds wandering as to what would the ending be. She felt confident in her story but still a little guilty that this was not the correct story that went along with the painting. She would be sure to look this one up later just out of curiosity. Most likely when she was messages Andrew on the computer that night. Mrs. Marks wondered what he was up to right now and gave a little chuckle at her performance, she was sure Andrew would get a kick out of it.
After touring the rest of the museum, one of the parents came up to Melissa and said, “Huh, I heard a different version of the story, but I really like the one that you told to the class. How interesting.”
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
Reading Journal
In which time period is Louise Gluck’s Averno set? What is the tone of this book? Describe the narrator(s) and what is of value to them? What kind of relationship does the Persephone narrator have with the earth in Gluck’s work? Cite at least one passage to back up your argument. To what does the final verse on page 16 refer? Cite a passage in the text where the narrator second guesses her own voice by reconsidering the way in which to describe something. Why would an author show such a thing? What are some key differences between Part I and II of the book; how is Persephone the Wander figured differently in each? How do you understand the ancient myth differently after reading Gluck’s interpretation?
I believe the Averno is set in modern times because some of the passages refer to things in the 1900’s such as subways. The tone of the book is more like a life lesson to learn from and grow because it is a retelling of a story from one woman’s point of view. The narrator is a woman who has been robbed on her innocence and childhood because she is a victim of a rape. She also is telling the story of Persephone in the third person point of view. The type of relationship that Persephone narrator has is with earth is almost like a love/hate relationship. She loves it for its beauty and the innocence it possesses but she hates it because it is where her childish body was forced to become a woman. “The sun seems, in the water, very close. That’s my uncle spying again, she thinks—everything in nature is in some way her relative. I am never alone, she thinks, turning the thought into a prayer. Then death appears, like the answer to a prayer.” I think the final verse on page 16 refers to Persephone being stained with the red juice meaning that she is soaked with her own blood and suffering from the rape. I believe the “red juice” is both mental and physical pain and scarring from the rape.
An example in the text that the author second guesses herself is on page 35, “I was the man because I was taller. But I wasn’t tall—didn’t I ever look in a mirror.” I believe that she would show such a thing because she wants the reader to understand the character is learning and thinking about their life as if they are living it in present times. As if the character is going through these hard times at the same time as the reader is reading about them. It gives a stronger emotional attachment to the character.
There are quite a few key differences between Part I and Part II of the book. In part I it is telling the story of Persephone’s rape but debating what happened and the reasons for it. It focuses more on how nature played a key role in the actions of Persephone. In part II, it is the story of Persephone’s mother telling her story about her child from a different angle because the daughter is now dead.
I think this book really helped me understand the myth in a different light and I really like the modern interpretation Louise Gluck wrote about. I think it was easier to understand and I could relate it to current issues happening today.
I believe the Averno is set in modern times because some of the passages refer to things in the 1900’s such as subways. The tone of the book is more like a life lesson to learn from and grow because it is a retelling of a story from one woman’s point of view. The narrator is a woman who has been robbed on her innocence and childhood because she is a victim of a rape. She also is telling the story of Persephone in the third person point of view. The type of relationship that Persephone narrator has is with earth is almost like a love/hate relationship. She loves it for its beauty and the innocence it possesses but she hates it because it is where her childish body was forced to become a woman. “The sun seems, in the water, very close. That’s my uncle spying again, she thinks—everything in nature is in some way her relative. I am never alone, she thinks, turning the thought into a prayer. Then death appears, like the answer to a prayer.” I think the final verse on page 16 refers to Persephone being stained with the red juice meaning that she is soaked with her own blood and suffering from the rape. I believe the “red juice” is both mental and physical pain and scarring from the rape.
An example in the text that the author second guesses herself is on page 35, “I was the man because I was taller. But I wasn’t tall—didn’t I ever look in a mirror.” I believe that she would show such a thing because she wants the reader to understand the character is learning and thinking about their life as if they are living it in present times. As if the character is going through these hard times at the same time as the reader is reading about them. It gives a stronger emotional attachment to the character.
There are quite a few key differences between Part I and Part II of the book. In part I it is telling the story of Persephone’s rape but debating what happened and the reasons for it. It focuses more on how nature played a key role in the actions of Persephone. In part II, it is the story of Persephone’s mother telling her story about her child from a different angle because the daughter is now dead.
I think this book really helped me understand the myth in a different light and I really like the modern interpretation Louise Gluck wrote about. I think it was easier to understand and I could relate it to current issues happening today.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Writing Assignment 8
History Repeats Itself Once Again
On the outside, I try to be strong,
Oh, how I long to for normalcy again.
On the outside, I appear dangerous to others,
In reality I am the same person I have always been.
I never thought it would be me,
Me, the one who was mistreated.
It is in these times one must believe in righteousness,
Believe in justice, and believe in morality.
On the outside, I walk with my head held high,
The pain and sorrow burning inside.
On the outside, I am a hard outer shell, tough and sturdy,
For I know things will be normal again someday once and for all.
Evil stares, no eye contact from my peers, and awkward whispering and pointing abruptly stop when I enter the room. It was only a little over two months ago that my life was normal, I was treated like all the other students, and the beginning of my Junior year was getting off to a great start. Then one day my life was turned upside down and I am treated like a criminal.
Just last week as I was walking home, a boy in the eighth grade asked me, “So did your family have anything to do with the plane crashes? I’ve seen pictures on television that say it was all planned out.” I was utterly stunned and amazed at the question, the first time it was asked, but now I had almost grown accustomed to similar questions. All I could do or say is shake my head and keep walking. When I arrived home I told my mom what the boy had said to me and she said “Rhagda, over and over again in history, we can see when there is a crisis people become paranoid and start accusing anyone and everyone that could be at fault. It is going to be tough for a while but we must remain strong and hold our dignity up high.”
As I sat in history class the next day, my memory was filled of accounts when people had become panic-stricken and because of this many people were mistreated and even killed. I remembered learning about the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. In the town of Salem, Massachusetts the Witch-hunt resulted in the executions of 20 people and the imprisonment of between 175 and 200 people. Wow, this was in 1692 and people thought others were witches so they killed them?!?! It sounds ridiculously silly now but at the time it was a very serious issue.
As my teacher continued to talk but my mind raced to another point in history. The crazy number of 110,000 stood out in my head. That is how many Japanese and Japanese Americans from the West Coast alone were sent to camps known as “War Relocation Centers” for which President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized this Executive Order 9066. This was in 1944 that the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the exclusion, removal, and detention, arguing that it is permissible to curtail the civil rights of a racial group when there is a “pressing public necessity.” The government apologized and justified their actions by saying that is was based on “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.”
That night after dinner, I wrote in my journal about another critical point in United States history when people were overcome with hysteria is during the 1940’s and continuing until the late 1950’s the scare of communism was on the rise. Thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before the government committees and agencies. Those targeted I remembered were usually employees of the government, those in the entertainment industry, and educators. These people lost their jobs, destruction of their credibility, and even imprisonment. Most all of the trial verdicts were later overturned and declared illegal.
After thinking about all the previous accounts of individual’s rights violated over and over again, I suddenly was struck with fear myself and started panicking. Will my family lose their jobs or be imprisoned for decisions that others have made. Will we have to suffer consequences due to the fact that who flew the planes into the buildings were from our ancestral country, the country for which I have never stepped foot in, and my parents have not even visited. The suicide attacks made by the Hijacking of the aircrafts by the al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, has not only taken nearly 3,000 lives but also put fear and anger into all civilians of the United States.
I heard my mom talking to her brother, who lives in California with his family. After over hearing parts of the conversation I could not help but ask her what had happened by her reaction on the phone. She said he could not really talk about it much to him on the phone but she had received a letter written by him, the first letter she had remembered receiving in years. He said that his phones had been tapped and that the police came to his door asking questions about the attacks. They even bothered him at his jewelry shop interrogating him about any information he had about the attacks. He responded honestly because they told him they had record of him talking about the attacks after September 11th. He said of course he would talk about the attacks because he had some friends that had worked in the World Trade Center and his entire family was devastated. He told the police that the entire country was devastated and how could he be blamed for simply talking about what had happened. The police had questioned him three times that week and threatened his business license if he did not provide more information. My mom informed me that our aunt and cousins were terrified and refused to leave the house.
Now we not only have to be intimidated to go out in public but also scared to talk on the phone freely about politics and current events to our own family. We have to watch our emails because the government is now free to track that as well. Because of September 11th, people have given up some of their rights due to the fact that they think the government should have the right to be able to have open access to our private conversations. Targeting a certain group seems so ancient because we live in such a diverse society, but yet again the cycle continues.
I discussed with my mom the other student’s reactions to me after September 11th, it was now a nightly discussion topic. My friends, or my so-called friends, the people I ate lunch with just a few months ago have excluded me from their table. I now bypass lunch and instead sit in the library reading articles that pertain to the attacks. Lately, what has perked my attention is reading about the U.S. Patriot Act, which was passed a little less than two weeks ago on October 26th. This bill passed by an overwhelming 98 to 1 in the Senate, and 357 to 66 vote in the House. Due to the terrorist attacks, this bill was passed to dramatically expand the authority of American law enforcement, and can be used to detect and prosecute other alleged potential crimes. There are many frightening elements regarding the Patriot Act. First being that most Federal courts declared it unconstitutional because it interferes with civil liberties. Secondly, articles say that only a few of the hundreds of people who voted for the Patriot Act actually read the text. This is how they are justifying interrogating my uncle and his family.
Everyday when I come to school I wish I did not have to be here because I am treated differently from those around me. My family is treated differently at the airport, in the grocery store and even at work. One would think that after so many cases of people mistreating others, our society would learn by the accounts of history, but that is not the case. History seems to forever be repeating itself, no matter how many times similar situations arise. My uncles family continues to live in fear and are punished because of choices other have made but they are suffering the consequences. When will the judgments stop, will life ever become normal again? Will people stop judging me because of my religion or the characteristics I possess? How can this stop if the government is encouraging it and even participating in the irrational behavior?
Writing Journal
What are the implications of designing a piece which joins the imaginary (characterization) and the real (current event)? Have you read any authors who do this regularly in their writing? If so, which authors? As a reader, how can one determine how reliable the depictions are in a piece of literature which presents itself as autobiographical? Are there more “reliable” forms for depicting/communicating real historical events, especially to future generations, than the personal account? If so, what might they be? If not, why not? What impression did the writings on the walls of the Museo Storico della Liberazione di Roma have on you? Why did you choose to write about the event you did for this piece?
I think the implications of designing a piece which joins the imaginary and the real event are to make it very believable and realistic. It is easier to show emotion in a real scenario because one can be very specific to the catastrophic event. There is no formal way of determining how reliable the depictions are in a piece of literature which presents itself as autobiographical, but based on historical facts one can make their own judgments from what they have learned or if they decided to do more research. The impression that the writings on the walls of the Museo Storico della Liberazione di Roma had on me is sadness and sorrow. After learning about interment camps in history classes it still felt so foreign, but after visiting the museum it because reel and extremely depressing. I chose to write about this specific event because I researched a lot about the Patriot Act and was very disturbed when this was passed. Also, by choosing this event I could add in other historical events that tied in with the points I was trying to make.
On the outside, I try to be strong,
Oh, how I long to for normalcy again.
On the outside, I appear dangerous to others,
In reality I am the same person I have always been.
I never thought it would be me,
Me, the one who was mistreated.
It is in these times one must believe in righteousness,
Believe in justice, and believe in morality.
On the outside, I walk with my head held high,
The pain and sorrow burning inside.
On the outside, I am a hard outer shell, tough and sturdy,
For I know things will be normal again someday once and for all.
Evil stares, no eye contact from my peers, and awkward whispering and pointing abruptly stop when I enter the room. It was only a little over two months ago that my life was normal, I was treated like all the other students, and the beginning of my Junior year was getting off to a great start. Then one day my life was turned upside down and I am treated like a criminal.
Just last week as I was walking home, a boy in the eighth grade asked me, “So did your family have anything to do with the plane crashes? I’ve seen pictures on television that say it was all planned out.” I was utterly stunned and amazed at the question, the first time it was asked, but now I had almost grown accustomed to similar questions. All I could do or say is shake my head and keep walking. When I arrived home I told my mom what the boy had said to me and she said “Rhagda, over and over again in history, we can see when there is a crisis people become paranoid and start accusing anyone and everyone that could be at fault. It is going to be tough for a while but we must remain strong and hold our dignity up high.”
As I sat in history class the next day, my memory was filled of accounts when people had become panic-stricken and because of this many people were mistreated and even killed. I remembered learning about the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. In the town of Salem, Massachusetts the Witch-hunt resulted in the executions of 20 people and the imprisonment of between 175 and 200 people. Wow, this was in 1692 and people thought others were witches so they killed them?!?! It sounds ridiculously silly now but at the time it was a very serious issue.
As my teacher continued to talk but my mind raced to another point in history. The crazy number of 110,000 stood out in my head. That is how many Japanese and Japanese Americans from the West Coast alone were sent to camps known as “War Relocation Centers” for which President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized this Executive Order 9066. This was in 1944 that the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the exclusion, removal, and detention, arguing that it is permissible to curtail the civil rights of a racial group when there is a “pressing public necessity.” The government apologized and justified their actions by saying that is was based on “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.”
That night after dinner, I wrote in my journal about another critical point in United States history when people were overcome with hysteria is during the 1940’s and continuing until the late 1950’s the scare of communism was on the rise. Thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before the government committees and agencies. Those targeted I remembered were usually employees of the government, those in the entertainment industry, and educators. These people lost their jobs, destruction of their credibility, and even imprisonment. Most all of the trial verdicts were later overturned and declared illegal.
After thinking about all the previous accounts of individual’s rights violated over and over again, I suddenly was struck with fear myself and started panicking. Will my family lose their jobs or be imprisoned for decisions that others have made. Will we have to suffer consequences due to the fact that who flew the planes into the buildings were from our ancestral country, the country for which I have never stepped foot in, and my parents have not even visited. The suicide attacks made by the Hijacking of the aircrafts by the al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, has not only taken nearly 3,000 lives but also put fear and anger into all civilians of the United States.
I heard my mom talking to her brother, who lives in California with his family. After over hearing parts of the conversation I could not help but ask her what had happened by her reaction on the phone. She said he could not really talk about it much to him on the phone but she had received a letter written by him, the first letter she had remembered receiving in years. He said that his phones had been tapped and that the police came to his door asking questions about the attacks. They even bothered him at his jewelry shop interrogating him about any information he had about the attacks. He responded honestly because they told him they had record of him talking about the attacks after September 11th. He said of course he would talk about the attacks because he had some friends that had worked in the World Trade Center and his entire family was devastated. He told the police that the entire country was devastated and how could he be blamed for simply talking about what had happened. The police had questioned him three times that week and threatened his business license if he did not provide more information. My mom informed me that our aunt and cousins were terrified and refused to leave the house.
Now we not only have to be intimidated to go out in public but also scared to talk on the phone freely about politics and current events to our own family. We have to watch our emails because the government is now free to track that as well. Because of September 11th, people have given up some of their rights due to the fact that they think the government should have the right to be able to have open access to our private conversations. Targeting a certain group seems so ancient because we live in such a diverse society, but yet again the cycle continues.
I discussed with my mom the other student’s reactions to me after September 11th, it was now a nightly discussion topic. My friends, or my so-called friends, the people I ate lunch with just a few months ago have excluded me from their table. I now bypass lunch and instead sit in the library reading articles that pertain to the attacks. Lately, what has perked my attention is reading about the U.S. Patriot Act, which was passed a little less than two weeks ago on October 26th. This bill passed by an overwhelming 98 to 1 in the Senate, and 357 to 66 vote in the House. Due to the terrorist attacks, this bill was passed to dramatically expand the authority of American law enforcement, and can be used to detect and prosecute other alleged potential crimes. There are many frightening elements regarding the Patriot Act. First being that most Federal courts declared it unconstitutional because it interferes with civil liberties. Secondly, articles say that only a few of the hundreds of people who voted for the Patriot Act actually read the text. This is how they are justifying interrogating my uncle and his family.
Everyday when I come to school I wish I did not have to be here because I am treated differently from those around me. My family is treated differently at the airport, in the grocery store and even at work. One would think that after so many cases of people mistreating others, our society would learn by the accounts of history, but that is not the case. History seems to forever be repeating itself, no matter how many times similar situations arise. My uncles family continues to live in fear and are punished because of choices other have made but they are suffering the consequences. When will the judgments stop, will life ever become normal again? Will people stop judging me because of my religion or the characteristics I possess? How can this stop if the government is encouraging it and even participating in the irrational behavior?
Writing Journal
What are the implications of designing a piece which joins the imaginary (characterization) and the real (current event)? Have you read any authors who do this regularly in their writing? If so, which authors? As a reader, how can one determine how reliable the depictions are in a piece of literature which presents itself as autobiographical? Are there more “reliable” forms for depicting/communicating real historical events, especially to future generations, than the personal account? If so, what might they be? If not, why not? What impression did the writings on the walls of the Museo Storico della Liberazione di Roma have on you? Why did you choose to write about the event you did for this piece?
I think the implications of designing a piece which joins the imaginary and the real event are to make it very believable and realistic. It is easier to show emotion in a real scenario because one can be very specific to the catastrophic event. There is no formal way of determining how reliable the depictions are in a piece of literature which presents itself as autobiographical, but based on historical facts one can make their own judgments from what they have learned or if they decided to do more research. The impression that the writings on the walls of the Museo Storico della Liberazione di Roma had on me is sadness and sorrow. After learning about interment camps in history classes it still felt so foreign, but after visiting the museum it because reel and extremely depressing. I chose to write about this specific event because I researched a lot about the Patriot Act and was very disturbed when this was passed. Also, by choosing this event I could add in other historical events that tied in with the points I was trying to make.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Reading Response
How does the poem opening Primo Levi’s work affect how you read the main body of the text?
I think by starting with the poem, Levi is setting the tone for the story to come. He sums up his story by writing this poem, and then goes into much greater detail in his book. The poem is a great device to allow the reader to become fully engaged in the text prior to the book.
Sum up what the poem is saying in one sentence.
Don’t take anything for granite, cherish your loved ones, and be thankful to those around you.
What are the key characteristics of the narrator which Levi chooses to present in this work; how would you describe the narrator?
I would describe the narrator as an honest man who is trapped in the most horrible circumstance imaginable. He is not trying to have people take pity on him, but simply stating what he went through and how torturous the living conditions were.
Does this add to or take away from your ability to sympathize with the narrator?
I think this adds to the ability to sympathize with the narrator for several reasons. One being that because we do not feel like he is asking for sympathy, but because he is stating the conditions and terms of his internment camp, one understands the grueling pains he must have been presented with and had to go through.
Which moment(s) in the text stand out or make the strongest impact on you? Why?
“Four men with razors, soap brushes, and clippers burst in; they have trousers and jackets with stripes, with a number sewn on the front; perhaps they are the same sort as those others of this evening (this evening or yesterday evening?); but these are robust and flourishing. We ask many questions but they catch hold of us and in a moment we find ourselves shave and sheared. What comic faces we have without hair.” Page 29.
“This is hell. Today, in our times, hell must be like this. A huge, empty room: we are tired, standing on our feet, with a tap which drips while we cannot drink the water, and we wait for something which will certainly be terrible, and nothing happens and nothing continues to happen. What can one think about? One cannot think any more, it is like being already dead. Someone sits down on the ground. The time passes drop by drop.”
I think that these passage stand out because they are so vividly clear with description. I can actually imagine this happening to the poor man and my heart is saddened because of the unfortunate events that occurred in his life. The story of being in the internment camp is one of the most depressing and sad events in the history of this country and knowing exactly some of the events that took place is even more sickening.
I think by starting with the poem, Levi is setting the tone for the story to come. He sums up his story by writing this poem, and then goes into much greater detail in his book. The poem is a great device to allow the reader to become fully engaged in the text prior to the book.
Sum up what the poem is saying in one sentence.
Don’t take anything for granite, cherish your loved ones, and be thankful to those around you.
What are the key characteristics of the narrator which Levi chooses to present in this work; how would you describe the narrator?
I would describe the narrator as an honest man who is trapped in the most horrible circumstance imaginable. He is not trying to have people take pity on him, but simply stating what he went through and how torturous the living conditions were.
Does this add to or take away from your ability to sympathize with the narrator?
I think this adds to the ability to sympathize with the narrator for several reasons. One being that because we do not feel like he is asking for sympathy, but because he is stating the conditions and terms of his internment camp, one understands the grueling pains he must have been presented with and had to go through.
Which moment(s) in the text stand out or make the strongest impact on you? Why?
“Four men with razors, soap brushes, and clippers burst in; they have trousers and jackets with stripes, with a number sewn on the front; perhaps they are the same sort as those others of this evening (this evening or yesterday evening?); but these are robust and flourishing. We ask many questions but they catch hold of us and in a moment we find ourselves shave and sheared. What comic faces we have without hair.” Page 29.
“This is hell. Today, in our times, hell must be like this. A huge, empty room: we are tired, standing on our feet, with a tap which drips while we cannot drink the water, and we wait for something which will certainly be terrible, and nothing happens and nothing continues to happen. What can one think about? One cannot think any more, it is like being already dead. Someone sits down on the ground. The time passes drop by drop.”
I think that these passage stand out because they are so vividly clear with description. I can actually imagine this happening to the poor man and my heart is saddened because of the unfortunate events that occurred in his life. The story of being in the internment camp is one of the most depressing and sad events in the history of this country and knowing exactly some of the events that took place is even more sickening.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Writing Response
What is the reason you chose the option (a, b, or c) you did? What is challenging about writing dialogue, especially when you are reliant on it for character development? Do visual works add to or detract from your ability to be imaginative in your writing and why? What are some of the most notable differences between the cities of Rome and Naples; do you think place has an effect on how you write? If yes, how so, and if not, why do you think it is irrelevant?
I chose to write about the Annunciation because I did not know that much about the painting and found the description very interesting when we were learning about it in class. The challenging part of writing a dialogue was making the story a “showing” instead of “telling” aspect. I think visual adds to the ability to be imaginative because before knowing the piece, one can imagine what is taking place. The most notable differences between the cities of Rome and Naples are the loud noises in the streets, the danger one feels when walking at night, and the reasonably priced food in Naples . I do not think that my piece would be that much different if I saw the exact same painting in a museum in Rome , but it is always great to see other cities and explore their differences in culture.
I chose to write about the Annunciation because I did not know that much about the painting and found the description very interesting when we were learning about it in class. The challenging part of writing a dialogue was making the story a “showing” instead of “telling” aspect. I think visual adds to the ability to be imaginative because before knowing the piece, one can imagine what is taking place. The most notable differences between the cities of Rome and Naples are the loud noises in the streets, the danger one feels when walking at night, and the reasonably priced food in Naples . I do not think that my piece would be that much different if I saw the exact same painting in a museum in Rome , but it is always great to see other cities and explore their differences in culture.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
My Dialog
Getting all the kids on and off the bus was a difficult task but it helped to have the some parents volunteering that Thursday morning. Melissa was leading the class to the museum when she remembered that there was still a few paintings that she was going to point out but had no idea what they were about. The kids gasping with glee, whispering to one another, were extremely excited and wanted to know what was going on in the painting.
Once arriving at the first painting she wanted to talk about, one of her kids said, “I don’t get it. Why is the painting so dark and scary? Mrs. Marks, why is the lady holding her heart?” With a long breath in and then an exhale out, Melissa looked at the painting and then at her kids, she shamed herself for not preparing better for this field trip, and then quickly thought of an explanation for the painting.
“Good question Patrick, are any of you other kids wondering the same thing?” With a overwhelming shaking of the heads, Melissa begun her interpretation of the painting. “Let’s start with question one, about the painting being so dark. One reason is because this painting was created so long ago that they did not have as bright of colors as you see today. Color, back in the olden days, was extremely expensive, so artists would only use it on the most important characters in the painting. Another reason why the painting was so dark is because painting usually was done at night because painters did not make enough money, so most artists had to have a day job as well, to support their family. Therefore, they could only see by candlelight which created the sense of night time in the picture as well.” The parents looked confused for a minute but after glancing at the picture and then back at her, they all started to shake their head in agreement. Melissa thought, wow this was easier than I thought, not taking a quarter of art class did not seem to hurt her so far. She not only had the kids fooled, but the parents as well.
One of the mothers asked, “So what is going on between the characters in this painting?” Without knowing who the characters were or what the painting was trying to convey, Melissa again took a shot in the dark.
“Well, as you notice on the left we have an angel sent from heaven to earth, and I can remember my father telling me this story when I was a little girl, probably in the first grade just like all of you. This angel, Stanley, was sent down from heaven because God assigned Stanley to be Sarah’s guardian angel. Sarah is the woman on the right, Sarah is in her late twenties and has had a rough life so far. Stanley has lots of people to look after, but every night before he goes to sleep and every morning when he wakes up, he looks down on Sarah because deep down he finds her very beautiful and full of life. Once in a while, he will fly into her bedroom just to watch her sleep peacefully. One night, after she had been sleeping for quite some time, Sarah started to stir about in her bed. She must have been having a bad dream because she quickly woke up and saw Stanley for a quick second before he flew out the window. It was the strangest feeling because she had seen this angel man before, many times, in her dreams. So instead of being scared that he was in her bedroom, she felt more relieved and at peace.”
“Did she know he was an angel Mrs. Marks, or did she think it was still a dream.” Cari was so intrigued at the story and all eyes were fully intent on hearing the rest of the fictional story, Melissa felt sure she was on the right track.
“Oh, Sarah was sure he was an angel because only angels could be that handsome and only angels could fly away so gracefully, without a word. Wait, come back, she thought, but before her eyes could be fully adjusted to the night time light he was gone. Just thinking about him, she fell quietly back to sleep. When Stanley arrived back at the heavenly gates, God was there to greet him. Stanley, I saw what just happened, and that’s not the first time you’ve been caught by Sarah. You are lucky she did not freak out, most people would, what you did is not professional. Your job is to look after her to make sure she is okay, but not to spy on her at night. Stanley thought to himself, I’m not spying, I just love to watch her sleep so peacefully. She is such a unique and special girl, I wish I could be with her all the time.”
“Then what happens Mrs. Marks, is that why he goes back to talk to her?” Little Lilly, the shortest of the first graders, was standing on her tippy toes, so anxious to hear the rest of the story.
“Well, Lilly, I’m going to get to that. Stanley became so obsessed with Sarah, that he forgot about all the rest of the people he was supposed to look after and only would watch Sarah day in and day out. Finally, God gave him an ultimatum. He said, “You can either go down and confess your love for this girl but if she refuses you must have someone else be her guardian angel, and you will never see her again. But the catch is if you ask her to come back to heaven with you, she will never get to see her family or friends again. She will remain in heaven and only be able to watch from above. You must convince her to come with you, but if she refuses as I said before you will never be able to watch over her or see her again.”
Continuing, Sarah said, “Torn between the decision he had to make, Stanley decided Sarah was worth trying to convince. If he did not try he would always regret it. The night before he went down there, Stanley again watched over Sarah, and while he did he wrote a poem he was to read to her the following day. All night he worked on this poem, and he was sure she would fall madly in love with her as soon as the words flowed out of his mouth.” All the kids oohed and awed. “The following day, Stanley dressed in his best and mentally prepared to make his visit to win Sarah over and of course brought her flowers.”
Pointing to the painting, Sarah announced that this was the scene when Stanley makes his appearance and Sarah is shockingly surprised to see him outside of her dreams.
“What happens next Mrs. Marks? Do they live happily ever after, does she go up to heaven with him, or does she stay down on earth?”
“Well kids, we don’t know the ending to the story because the artist wanted to let the viewer decide what Sarah’s decision would be.”
“Not fair, I want to know what happens.” Little Lilly was thoroughly disappointed in the ending.
“Well, that is the best part of the story. Use your imagination do decide what you think Sarah’s decision would be. You can have the end of the story be however you would like.”
After touring the rest of the museum, one of the parents came up to Melissa and said, “Huh, I heard a different version of the story, but I really like the one that you told to the class. How interesting.”
Once arriving at the first painting she wanted to talk about, one of her kids said, “I don’t get it. Why is the painting so dark and scary? Mrs. Marks, why is the lady holding her heart?” With a long breath in and then an exhale out, Melissa looked at the painting and then at her kids, she shamed herself for not preparing better for this field trip, and then quickly thought of an explanation for the painting.
“Good question Patrick, are any of you other kids wondering the same thing?” With a overwhelming shaking of the heads, Melissa begun her interpretation of the painting. “Let’s start with question one, about the painting being so dark. One reason is because this painting was created so long ago that they did not have as bright of colors as you see today. Color, back in the olden days, was extremely expensive, so artists would only use it on the most important characters in the painting. Another reason why the painting was so dark is because painting usually was done at night because painters did not make enough money, so most artists had to have a day job as well, to support their family. Therefore, they could only see by candlelight which created the sense of night time in the picture as well.” The parents looked confused for a minute but after glancing at the picture and then back at her, they all started to shake their head in agreement. Melissa thought, wow this was easier than I thought, not taking a quarter of art class did not seem to hurt her so far. She not only had the kids fooled, but the parents as well.
One of the mothers asked, “So what is going on between the characters in this painting?” Without knowing who the characters were or what the painting was trying to convey, Melissa again took a shot in the dark.
“Well, as you notice on the left we have an angel sent from heaven to earth, and I can remember my father telling me this story when I was a little girl, probably in the first grade just like all of you. This angel, Stanley, was sent down from heaven because God assigned Stanley to be Sarah’s guardian angel. Sarah is the woman on the right, Sarah is in her late twenties and has had a rough life so far. Stanley has lots of people to look after, but every night before he goes to sleep and every morning when he wakes up, he looks down on Sarah because deep down he finds her very beautiful and full of life. Once in a while, he will fly into her bedroom just to watch her sleep peacefully. One night, after she had been sleeping for quite some time, Sarah started to stir about in her bed. She must have been having a bad dream because she quickly woke up and saw Stanley for a quick second before he flew out the window. It was the strangest feeling because she had seen this angel man before, many times, in her dreams. So instead of being scared that he was in her bedroom, she felt more relieved and at peace.”
“Did she know he was an angel Mrs. Marks, or did she think it was still a dream.” Cari was so intrigued at the story and all eyes were fully intent on hearing the rest of the fictional story, Melissa felt sure she was on the right track.
“Oh, Sarah was sure he was an angel because only angels could be that handsome and only angels could fly away so gracefully, without a word. Wait, come back, she thought, but before her eyes could be fully adjusted to the night time light he was gone. Just thinking about him, she fell quietly back to sleep. When Stanley arrived back at the heavenly gates, God was there to greet him. Stanley, I saw what just happened, and that’s not the first time you’ve been caught by Sarah. You are lucky she did not freak out, most people would, what you did is not professional. Your job is to look after her to make sure she is okay, but not to spy on her at night. Stanley thought to himself, I’m not spying, I just love to watch her sleep so peacefully. She is such a unique and special girl, I wish I could be with her all the time.”
“Then what happens Mrs. Marks, is that why he goes back to talk to her?” Little Lilly, the shortest of the first graders, was standing on her tippy toes, so anxious to hear the rest of the story.
“Well, Lilly, I’m going to get to that. Stanley became so obsessed with Sarah, that he forgot about all the rest of the people he was supposed to look after and only would watch Sarah day in and day out. Finally, God gave him an ultimatum. He said, “You can either go down and confess your love for this girl but if she refuses you must have someone else be her guardian angel, and you will never see her again. But the catch is if you ask her to come back to heaven with you, she will never get to see her family or friends again. She will remain in heaven and only be able to watch from above. You must convince her to come with you, but if she refuses as I said before you will never be able to watch over her or see her again.”
Continuing, Sarah said, “Torn between the decision he had to make, Stanley decided Sarah was worth trying to convince. If he did not try he would always regret it. The night before he went down there, Stanley again watched over Sarah, and while he did he wrote a poem he was to read to her the following day. All night he worked on this poem, and he was sure she would fall madly in love with her as soon as the words flowed out of his mouth.” All the kids oohed and awed. “The following day, Stanley dressed in his best and mentally prepared to make his visit to win Sarah over and of course brought her flowers.”
Pointing to the painting, Sarah announced that this was the scene when Stanley makes his appearance and Sarah is shockingly surprised to see him outside of her dreams.
“What happens next Mrs. Marks? Do they live happily ever after, does she go up to heaven with him, or does she stay down on earth?”
“Well kids, we don’t know the ending to the story because the artist wanted to let the viewer decide what Sarah’s decision would be.”
“Not fair, I want to know what happens.” Little Lilly was thoroughly disappointed in the ending.
“Well, that is the best part of the story. Use your imagination do decide what you think Sarah’s decision would be. You can have the end of the story be however you would like.”
After touring the rest of the museum, one of the parents came up to Melissa and said, “Huh, I heard a different version of the story, but I really like the one that you told to the class. How interesting.”
My Dialog
Getting all the kids on and off the bus was a difficult task but it helped to have the some parents volunteering that Thursday morning. Melissa was leading the class to the museum when she remembered that there was still a few paintings that she was going to point out but had no idea what they were about. The kids gasping with glee, whispering to one another, were extremely excited and wanted to know what was going on in the painting.
Once arriving at the first painting she wanted to talk about, one of her kids said, “I don’t get it. Why is the painting so dark and scary? Mrs. Marks, why is the lady holding her heart?” With a long breath in and then an exhale out, Melissa looked at the painting and then at her kids, she shamed herself for not preparing better for this field trip, and then quickly thought of an explanation for the painting.
“Good question Patrick, are any of you other kids wondering the same thing?” With a overwhelming shaking of the heads, Melissa begun her interpretation of the painting. “Let’s start with question one, about the painting being so dark. One reason is because this painting was created so long ago that they did not have as bright of colors as you see today. Color, back in the olden days, was extremely expensive, so artists would only use it on the most important characters in the painting. Another reason why the painting was so dark is because painting usually was done at night because painters did not make enough money, so most artists had to have a day job as well, to support their family. Therefore, they could only see by candlelight which created the sense of night time in the picture as well.” The parents looked confused for a minute but after glancing at the picture and then back at her, they all started to shake their head in agreement. Melissa thought, wow this was easier than I thought, not taking a quarter of art class did not seem to hurt her so far. She not only had the kids fooled, but the parents as well.
One of the mothers asked, “So what is going on between the characters in this painting?” Without knowing who the characters were or what the painting was trying to convey, Melissa again took a shot in the dark.
“Well, as you notice on the left we have an angel sent from heaven to earth, and I can remember my father telling me this story when I was a little girl, probably in the first grade just like all of you. This angel, Stanley, was sent down from heaven because God assigned Stanley to be Sarah’s guardian angel. Sarah is the woman on the right, Sarah is in her late twenties and has had a rough life so far. Stanley has lots of people to look after, but every night before he goes to sleep and every morning when he wakes up, he looks down on Sarah because deep down he finds her very beautiful and full of life. Once in a while, he will fly into her bedroom just to watch her sleep peacefully. One night, after she had been sleeping for quite some time, Sarah started to stir about in her bed. She must have been having a bad dream because she quickly woke up and saw Stanley for a quick second before he flew out the window. It was the strangest feeling because she had seen this angel man before, many times, in her dreams. So instead of being scared that he was in her bedroom, she felt more relieved and at peace.”
“Did she know he was an angel Mrs. Marks, or did she think it was still a dream.” Cari was so intrigued at the story and all eyes were fully intent on hearing the rest of the fictional story, Melissa felt sure she was on the right track.
“Oh, Sarah was sure he was an angel because only angels could be that handsome and only angels could fly away so gracefully, without a word. Wait, come back, she thought, but before her eyes could be fully adjusted to the night time light he was gone. Just thinking about him, she fell quietly back to sleep. When Stanley arrived back at the heavenly gates, God was there to greet him. Stanley, I saw what just happened, and that’s not the first time you’ve been caught by Sarah. You are lucky she did not freak out, most people would, what you did is not professional. Your job is to look after her to make sure she is okay, but not to spy on her at night. Stanley thought to himself, I’m not spying, I just love to watch her sleep so peacefully. She is such a unique and special girl, I wish I could be with her all the time.”
“Then what happens Mrs. Marks, is that why he goes back to talk to her?” Little Lilly, the shortest of the first graders, was standing on her tippy toes, so anxious to hear the rest of the story.
“Well, Lilly, I’m going to get to that. Stanley became so obsessed with Sarah, that he forgot about all the rest of the people he was supposed to look after and only would watch Sarah day in and day out. Finally, God gave him an ultimatum. He said, “You can either go down and confess your love for this girl but if she refuses you must have someone else be her guardian angel, and you will never see her again. But the catch is if you ask her to come back to heaven with you, she will never get to see her family or friends again. She will remain in heaven and only be able to watch from above. You must convince her to come with you, but if she refuses as I said before you will never be able to watch over her or see her again.”
Continuing, Sarah said, “Torn between the decision he had to make, Stanley decided Sarah was worth trying to convince. If he did not try he would always regret it. The night before he went down there, Stanley again watched over Sarah, and while he did he wrote a poem he was to read to her the following day. All night he worked on this poem, and he was sure she would fall madly in love with her as soon as the words flowed out of his mouth.” All the kids oohed and awed. “The following day, Stanley dressed in his best and mentally prepared to make his visit to win Sarah over and of course brought her flowers.”
Pointing to the painting, Sarah announced that this was the scene when Stanley makes his appearance and Sarah is shockingly surprised to see him outside of her dreams.
“What happens next Mrs. Marks? Do they live happily ever after, does she go up to heaven with him, or does she stay down on earth?”
“Well kids, we don’t know the ending to the story because the artist wanted to let the viewer decide what Sarah’s decision would be.”
“Not fair, I want to know what happens.” Little Lilly was thoroughly disappointed in the ending.
“Well, that is the best part of the story. Use your imagination do decide what you think Sarah’s decision would be. You can have the end of the story be however you would like.”
After touring the rest of the museum, one of the parents came up to Melissa and said, “Huh, I heard a different version of the story, but I really like the one that you told to the class. How interesting.”
Once arriving at the first painting she wanted to talk about, one of her kids said, “I don’t get it. Why is the painting so dark and scary? Mrs. Marks, why is the lady holding her heart?” With a long breath in and then an exhale out, Melissa looked at the painting and then at her kids, she shamed herself for not preparing better for this field trip, and then quickly thought of an explanation for the painting.
“Good question Patrick, are any of you other kids wondering the same thing?” With a overwhelming shaking of the heads, Melissa begun her interpretation of the painting. “Let’s start with question one, about the painting being so dark. One reason is because this painting was created so long ago that they did not have as bright of colors as you see today. Color, back in the olden days, was extremely expensive, so artists would only use it on the most important characters in the painting. Another reason why the painting was so dark is because painting usually was done at night because painters did not make enough money, so most artists had to have a day job as well, to support their family. Therefore, they could only see by candlelight which created the sense of night time in the picture as well.” The parents looked confused for a minute but after glancing at the picture and then back at her, they all started to shake their head in agreement. Melissa thought, wow this was easier than I thought, not taking a quarter of art class did not seem to hurt her so far. She not only had the kids fooled, but the parents as well.
One of the mothers asked, “So what is going on between the characters in this painting?” Without knowing who the characters were or what the painting was trying to convey, Melissa again took a shot in the dark.
“Well, as you notice on the left we have an angel sent from heaven to earth, and I can remember my father telling me this story when I was a little girl, probably in the first grade just like all of you. This angel, Stanley, was sent down from heaven because God assigned Stanley to be Sarah’s guardian angel. Sarah is the woman on the right, Sarah is in her late twenties and has had a rough life so far. Stanley has lots of people to look after, but every night before he goes to sleep and every morning when he wakes up, he looks down on Sarah because deep down he finds her very beautiful and full of life. Once in a while, he will fly into her bedroom just to watch her sleep peacefully. One night, after she had been sleeping for quite some time, Sarah started to stir about in her bed. She must have been having a bad dream because she quickly woke up and saw Stanley for a quick second before he flew out the window. It was the strangest feeling because she had seen this angel man before, many times, in her dreams. So instead of being scared that he was in her bedroom, she felt more relieved and at peace.”
“Did she know he was an angel Mrs. Marks, or did she think it was still a dream.” Cari was so intrigued at the story and all eyes were fully intent on hearing the rest of the fictional story, Melissa felt sure she was on the right track.
“Oh, Sarah was sure he was an angel because only angels could be that handsome and only angels could fly away so gracefully, without a word. Wait, come back, she thought, but before her eyes could be fully adjusted to the night time light he was gone. Just thinking about him, she fell quietly back to sleep. When Stanley arrived back at the heavenly gates, God was there to greet him. Stanley, I saw what just happened, and that’s not the first time you’ve been caught by Sarah. You are lucky she did not freak out, most people would, what you did is not professional. Your job is to look after her to make sure she is okay, but not to spy on her at night. Stanley thought to himself, I’m not spying, I just love to watch her sleep so peacefully. She is such a unique and special girl, I wish I could be with her all the time.”
“Then what happens Mrs. Marks, is that why he goes back to talk to her?” Little Lilly, the shortest of the first graders, was standing on her tippy toes, so anxious to hear the rest of the story.
“Well, Lilly, I’m going to get to that. Stanley became so obsessed with Sarah, that he forgot about all the rest of the people he was supposed to look after and only would watch Sarah day in and day out. Finally, God gave him an ultimatum. He said, “You can either go down and confess your love for this girl but if she refuses you must have someone else be her guardian angel, and you will never see her again. But the catch is if you ask her to come back to heaven with you, she will never get to see her family or friends again. She will remain in heaven and only be able to watch from above. You must convince her to come with you, but if she refuses as I said before you will never be able to watch over her or see her again.”
Continuing, Sarah said, “Torn between the decision he had to make, Stanley decided Sarah was worth trying to convince. If he did not try he would always regret it. The night before he went down there, Stanley again watched over Sarah, and while he did he wrote a poem he was to read to her the following day. All night he worked on this poem, and he was sure she would fall madly in love with her as soon as the words flowed out of his mouth.” All the kids oohed and awed. “The following day, Stanley dressed in his best and mentally prepared to make his visit to win Sarah over and of course brought her flowers.”
Pointing to the painting, Sarah announced that this was the scene when Stanley makes his appearance and Sarah is shockingly surprised to see him outside of her dreams.
“What happens next Mrs. Marks? Do they live happily ever after, does she go up to heaven with him, or does she stay down on earth?”
“Well kids, we don’t know the ending to the story because the artist wanted to let the viewer decide what Sarah’s decision would be.”
“Not fair, I want to know what happens.” Little Lilly was thoroughly disappointed in the ending.
“Well, that is the best part of the story. Use your imagination do decide what you think Sarah’s decision would be. You can have the end of the story be however you would like.”
After touring the rest of the museum, one of the parents came up to Melissa and said, “Huh, I heard a different version of the story, but I really like the one that you told to the class. How interesting.”
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Journal Entry #7
How is the concept of wealth developed in Juvenal’s satires? How is this different or similar to that of Twain’s development of the same subject in Innocents Abroad? What role does hypocrisy play in relation to these concepts of wealth in both authors’ satirical works?
Juvenal’s satires depict the concept of wealth tremendously different than Twain. In Juvenal’s satires wealth is developed as leading to hypocrisy, a power trip of the rich, and the fact that they disregard any care for the poor. Due to this fact, this kind of society is most likely going to lead to corruption and wrongdoing. This is different that Twain because Twain portrays how spending more money on churches is hurting the society and the government is not doing anything to help its people get off the streets. Although both authors describe wealth as leading to hypocrisy, the reasoning and motives for their decisions differ. Twain believes the church is constructing these beautiful buildings and spending their money on the churches because they want to be the best and not necessarily thinking bad about the poor but just not realizes what their responsibility to the people might be. Juvenal, on the other hand, describes the people realizing that money is corrupt and they are purposely being harmful to the poor individuals.
How are the themes of sedition and free speech in Juvenal similar/different to those in Twain’s satire?
In Twain’s satire, because he has free speech rights, I don’t think he quite understands why the Italian’s do not do something about their predicament they are in. The fact that they do not have the rights is another way he satirizes because when they do say something nothing ever gets done. Juvenal, on the other hand, almost admits that nobody ever says anything worthwhile, or intelligent enough to matter, so free speech rights are almost non existent, for the lack of intellect.
How are artists, poets, and patrons of the arts depicted similarly/differently by the two authors?
Juvenal seems to be satirizing both the artists, poets, and the patrons. He makes fun of the creators for catering too closely to what the people wish to see instead of what the artist actually feels and having their own style. Twain, again, is astonished at the work that is being completed in the churches, but at the same time thinks it is ridiculously overdone.
What is “noble” according to Juvenal’s narrator?
“Nobel” is Juvenal’s words is basically the qualities of what a good person with a high standard of good morals would possess. This would include: not being selfish, respecting the law, loving and providing for their family, respecting the Senate, stand up for what they believe in, and respecting freedom and the power of God.
Cite a passage from each of the four satires by Juvenal which amused you and say why. What literary mechanisms or rhetorical devices did Juvenal use for each?
First: “Hence come sudden deaths, too sudden for old men to make wills. What a good laugh for the town at all of the dinner tables! Hear the disgruntled friends cheer at the funeral service!” mockery
Fifth: “He soaks his fish in the best olive oil; you get some pale coleslaw Reeking of stuff that would smell very fine if used in a lantern, Grease that has ridden the Nile in the meanest African lighters.” juxtaposition
Seventh: “If a man’s going to law, the first thing he has to consider is, do you have eight slaves, a littler, companions in togas walking ahead as you go?” hyperbole
Eighth: “The chests of his forebears were hairy; look at him, though, with his butt all smoothed by Catanian pumice!” burlesque.
Eighth: The Eighth Satire: “The chests of his forebears were hairy; look at him, though, with his butt all smoothed by Catanian pumice!” burlesque.
Juvenal’s satires depict the concept of wealth tremendously different than Twain. In Juvenal’s satires wealth is developed as leading to hypocrisy, a power trip of the rich, and the fact that they disregard any care for the poor. Due to this fact, this kind of society is most likely going to lead to corruption and wrongdoing. This is different that Twain because Twain portrays how spending more money on churches is hurting the society and the government is not doing anything to help its people get off the streets. Although both authors describe wealth as leading to hypocrisy, the reasoning and motives for their decisions differ. Twain believes the church is constructing these beautiful buildings and spending their money on the churches because they want to be the best and not necessarily thinking bad about the poor but just not realizes what their responsibility to the people might be. Juvenal, on the other hand, describes the people realizing that money is corrupt and they are purposely being harmful to the poor individuals.
How are the themes of sedition and free speech in Juvenal similar/different to those in Twain’s satire?
In Twain’s satire, because he has free speech rights, I don’t think he quite understands why the Italian’s do not do something about their predicament they are in. The fact that they do not have the rights is another way he satirizes because when they do say something nothing ever gets done. Juvenal, on the other hand, almost admits that nobody ever says anything worthwhile, or intelligent enough to matter, so free speech rights are almost non existent, for the lack of intellect.
How are artists, poets, and patrons of the arts depicted similarly/differently by the two authors?
Juvenal seems to be satirizing both the artists, poets, and the patrons. He makes fun of the creators for catering too closely to what the people wish to see instead of what the artist actually feels and having their own style. Twain, again, is astonished at the work that is being completed in the churches, but at the same time thinks it is ridiculously overdone.
What is “noble” according to Juvenal’s narrator?
“Nobel” is Juvenal’s words is basically the qualities of what a good person with a high standard of good morals would possess. This would include: not being selfish, respecting the law, loving and providing for their family, respecting the Senate, stand up for what they believe in, and respecting freedom and the power of God.
Cite a passage from each of the four satires by Juvenal which amused you and say why. What literary mechanisms or rhetorical devices did Juvenal use for each?
First: “Hence come sudden deaths, too sudden for old men to make wills. What a good laugh for the town at all of the dinner tables! Hear the disgruntled friends cheer at the funeral service!” mockery
Fifth: “He soaks his fish in the best olive oil; you get some pale coleslaw Reeking of stuff that would smell very fine if used in a lantern, Grease that has ridden the Nile in the meanest African lighters.” juxtaposition
Seventh: “If a man’s going to law, the first thing he has to consider is, do you have eight slaves, a littler, companions in togas walking ahead as you go?” hyperbole
Eighth: “The chests of his forebears were hairy; look at him, though, with his butt all smoothed by Catanian pumice!” burlesque.
Eighth: The Eighth Satire: “The chests of his forebears were hairy; look at him, though, with his butt all smoothed by Catanian pumice!” burlesque.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Satirical Piece and Journal Entry
Greg the Magnificent!
“We’ll be right with you.” Sundays are definitely our busiest mornings and a flow of non-stop customers barge the doorway. All I have to do is drop the bottle of ketchup off at table twelve, refill table fours coffee, and set up a table of three. “Rita, would you mind taking over the till and seating chart for five minutes, I’m dying for a smoke.” It had been almost five hours since my six o’clock shift had started and I was starving for some breakfast and a chance to relax my feet. “I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do than let you have a break.” After all he had strolled in around nine, started commanding orders as usual, and then been in the back reading the newspaper at the break table. He does not take his responsibilities lightly.
“Is he going for another cigarette?” Kathleen asked as she rolled her eyes and dropped off the food at the counter. With a nod and the closing of the cash drawer, she could see the look on my face. It had been two weeks since Big John had been transferred to the store on Aurora and two weeks of torturous agony from the grand idiot. Previously, Greg, or Greg the Magnificent as we now call him, had worked at Kinko’s as a manager for the last five years since he graduated high school. For some intelligent reason, our district manager decided to higher him to fulfill his power trip enjoyment at our restaurant. With no prior experience, he thoroughly enjoyed barging in and telling the experienced server of 15 years how to better provide the customers, whom came in every weekend and specifically asked to sit at table number 5 in Geraldine’s section.
After a short half an hour break and a plate full of scrambled eggs and fresh fruit, I was really to roll again on the play field. The door was still full of hungry guests, as I checked my average sell-ons per customer, I could here table 3 asking for attention. “Hi How can I help you this morning?” After speaking to the couple for a little over a minute, I felt their anger and hunger growing by the second. “I’ll go talk to my manager and cooks and see what the deal is.” To the workers in the back I shouted, “Where is table threes food? They have been waiting for over 35 minutes.” As I explained the scenario to Greg, who was yet again taking another cigarette break out the back door, his suggestion was to apologize and give them a free cinnamon roll. As I was worried about losing valuable customers I responded, “Well, they seem pretty angry, after all they had to wait for over twenty minutes to get a table, a few minutes to get coffee, and now an unreasonable amount of time to receive there food. But I’m sure one cinnamon roll will be just the trick to get them to return next weekend.”
I shut the back door and retreated to the table. “My manager sends his apologies, he is extremely busy in the back, and wishes to give you a cinnamon roll while you wait for the rest of your food to appear.” After learning that the elderly couple both have low blood sugar and cannot have sugar, I was forced to reply the news to Greg. His suggestion was to offer them a sugar free pie to take home and he returned to his online black jack game. Big John would have immediately went to talk to the unhappy table and taken care of the guests as expected from a manager, but Greg the Magnificent was too preoccupied at work to take care of the customers, hosts and servers.
“A pie might not fulfill the bad experience they had at our restaurant today, but maybe a visit from the expert might cheer them up.” The suggestion to Greg was not what he had in mind, but after a few minutes he left his computer and went to greet the unhappy visitors. By this time they had received there food but the eggs were scrambled instead of over-easy and the lady order bacon and received ham. The couples told him the circumstances and were extremely upset. Greg apologized for their experience and gave them each a free coffee cup card. He offered to send the food back but the two were too frustrated and did not accept the invitation.
When the bill was dropped at the table, the couple was surprised to see both meals were still on the table. Greg said he was not taking the meal off because they did not want to send it back and they still consumed it. I was in shock, but he is the manager, so he knows best. At the register, the Magnificent and table three were arguing over the bill situation and the customers left in more of a tiffy-fit than they were in at the table. I overheard Greg say that he dared them to come back again because they were sure to get a better experience, if not the meal was on us.
As I watched them head out the door and knowing it was likely never to see them again, Greg mentioned how some people have their panties in a wad and they need to take a chill pill. The only thing I could do was laugh and say, “Well I’m sure you charmed them with your immense social skills and helpfulness, I’m sure they will join us for breakfast next Sunday.”
Why did you choose the character(s) you did for this assignment? What was the most challenging part of writing a satirical piece? Is your character “round” or “flat”? Did you return to Twain’s excerpt while developing your own satirical piece?
I chose this character for my assignment because I remembered a manager I had while working at Shari’s that absolutely drove me nuts. He was a know-it-all but actually knew nothing about the business and about the importance of customers relationships. The most challenging part of this assignment was knowing how to start it and making it sound satirical without “telling” too much. I would say my character is more on the flat side because he doen’t have too many good characteristics it’s mostly portrayed in a negative way. I did not return to Twain’s excerpt while developing my own satirical piece, but I did return to our assignment journal to refresh on some the characteristics Mark Twain used when constructing his satirical piece.
“We’ll be right with you.” Sundays are definitely our busiest mornings and a flow of non-stop customers barge the doorway. All I have to do is drop the bottle of ketchup off at table twelve, refill table fours coffee, and set up a table of three. “Rita, would you mind taking over the till and seating chart for five minutes, I’m dying for a smoke.” It had been almost five hours since my six o’clock shift had started and I was starving for some breakfast and a chance to relax my feet. “I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do than let you have a break.” After all he had strolled in around nine, started commanding orders as usual, and then been in the back reading the newspaper at the break table. He does not take his responsibilities lightly.
“Is he going for another cigarette?” Kathleen asked as she rolled her eyes and dropped off the food at the counter. With a nod and the closing of the cash drawer, she could see the look on my face. It had been two weeks since Big John had been transferred to the store on Aurora and two weeks of torturous agony from the grand idiot. Previously, Greg, or Greg the Magnificent as we now call him, had worked at Kinko’s as a manager for the last five years since he graduated high school. For some intelligent reason, our district manager decided to higher him to fulfill his power trip enjoyment at our restaurant. With no prior experience, he thoroughly enjoyed barging in and telling the experienced server of 15 years how to better provide the customers, whom came in every weekend and specifically asked to sit at table number 5 in Geraldine’s section.
After a short half an hour break and a plate full of scrambled eggs and fresh fruit, I was really to roll again on the play field. The door was still full of hungry guests, as I checked my average sell-ons per customer, I could here table 3 asking for attention. “Hi How can I help you this morning?” After speaking to the couple for a little over a minute, I felt their anger and hunger growing by the second. “I’ll go talk to my manager and cooks and see what the deal is.” To the workers in the back I shouted, “Where is table threes food? They have been waiting for over 35 minutes.” As I explained the scenario to Greg, who was yet again taking another cigarette break out the back door, his suggestion was to apologize and give them a free cinnamon roll. As I was worried about losing valuable customers I responded, “Well, they seem pretty angry, after all they had to wait for over twenty minutes to get a table, a few minutes to get coffee, and now an unreasonable amount of time to receive there food. But I’m sure one cinnamon roll will be just the trick to get them to return next weekend.”
I shut the back door and retreated to the table. “My manager sends his apologies, he is extremely busy in the back, and wishes to give you a cinnamon roll while you wait for the rest of your food to appear.” After learning that the elderly couple both have low blood sugar and cannot have sugar, I was forced to reply the news to Greg. His suggestion was to offer them a sugar free pie to take home and he returned to his online black jack game. Big John would have immediately went to talk to the unhappy table and taken care of the guests as expected from a manager, but Greg the Magnificent was too preoccupied at work to take care of the customers, hosts and servers.
“A pie might not fulfill the bad experience they had at our restaurant today, but maybe a visit from the expert might cheer them up.” The suggestion to Greg was not what he had in mind, but after a few minutes he left his computer and went to greet the unhappy visitors. By this time they had received there food but the eggs were scrambled instead of over-easy and the lady order bacon and received ham. The couples told him the circumstances and were extremely upset. Greg apologized for their experience and gave them each a free coffee cup card. He offered to send the food back but the two were too frustrated and did not accept the invitation.
When the bill was dropped at the table, the couple was surprised to see both meals were still on the table. Greg said he was not taking the meal off because they did not want to send it back and they still consumed it. I was in shock, but he is the manager, so he knows best. At the register, the Magnificent and table three were arguing over the bill situation and the customers left in more of a tiffy-fit than they were in at the table. I overheard Greg say that he dared them to come back again because they were sure to get a better experience, if not the meal was on us.
As I watched them head out the door and knowing it was likely never to see them again, Greg mentioned how some people have their panties in a wad and they need to take a chill pill. The only thing I could do was laugh and say, “Well I’m sure you charmed them with your immense social skills and helpfulness, I’m sure they will join us for breakfast next Sunday.”
Why did you choose the character(s) you did for this assignment? What was the most challenging part of writing a satirical piece? Is your character “round” or “flat”? Did you return to Twain’s excerpt while developing your own satirical piece?
I chose this character for my assignment because I remembered a manager I had while working at Shari’s that absolutely drove me nuts. He was a know-it-all but actually knew nothing about the business and about the importance of customers relationships. The most challenging part of this assignment was knowing how to start it and making it sound satirical without “telling” too much. I would say my character is more on the flat side because he doen’t have too many good characteristics it’s mostly portrayed in a negative way. I did not return to Twain’s excerpt while developing my own satirical piece, but I did return to our assignment journal to refresh on some the characteristics Mark Twain used when constructing his satirical piece.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Mark Twain Writing Assignment
List all the institutions and figures satirized in Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad excerpt on travels in Rome. How is each depicted by Twain? (ie. Italian clergymen: hypocritical, having penchant for violence, miserly, exploitative of public goods and Italian people).
Italian government: worthless, no good, powerless, no control, poor
The Churches: no responsibility to the government, powerful, economically smart, ridiculously out of control, overdone
Duomo in Florence: Too fancy for its own good, useless to the people who need it most
Filthy beggars:
Medicis: cursed Florence with their presence, tombs are wasted space
Mausoleum: not used for what it was intended, wasted precious material
Dominican friars: suffering inside, partier
Civitavecchia: Smelly, cramped, worthless, slackers, talentless, dirty people, too hot to handle
Discovery in Rome: Non-existent, nothing to be found, boring, already discovered
Nobles in Rome: born into power, often undeserving, ignorant, uneducated compared to Americans
Rich men in America: spend it while they live, hold powers because of power, smart with tools, wanting to strive to be more intelligent than ancestors, strange clothing
St. Peters Basilic: astonishing, incredible, wildly humungous
St. Peters impressions: unreal, unattainable to prove, not impressive
The solution to American convicts: beneficial to society, contributing to the state, useful in many ways
Coliseum: used to kill Christians cruely, intended to be the largest theater of the world, show of status (seats)
40-mile long desert: exhausting, unbearable, dead animals all around, extremely
dangerous
Michelangelo: sickening how much he designed, pretty much created the art in Italy
Guides: confusing, couldn’t understand them if you wanted to, always tell the same stories, looking for astonishing remarks by new comers.
The Catacombs: dark, mysterious, never ending, hidden passages, tombs
Cite six moments in the text where Twain’s word choice creates humor; identify which word(s) in each of these citations provokes amusement or “surprise” in the reader. What are the devices Twain is employing to achieve this effect? (ie. “. . . then by nipping their flesh with pincers – red-hot ones, because they are the most comfortable in cold weather; then by skinning them alive a little . . .”).
1. “O sons of classic Italy, is the spirit of enterprise, of self-reliance, of noble endeavor, utterly dead within ye? Curse your indolent worthlessness, why don’t you rob your church?”
-Twain uses these words “why don’t you rob you church” because the church is rich is art and incredibly expensive collections and people are begging and starving on the street. By saying this it is more posed for the government to take action and start caring for the people instead of using the money to make the churches appear worthier in value.
2. “if a grandly gifted man may drag his pride and his manhood in the dirt for bread rather than starve with the nobility that is in him untainted, the excuse is a valid one. It would excuse theft in Washingtons and Wellingtons, and unchasity in women as well.”
-To say it would “excuse the unchasity in women as well” is a dramatic statement because the chasity in women is valued so highly that this must be an important issue for Twain to compare to the sacredness of a woman’s chasity. He compares the two by stating what is going on between the men in the town and the governments actions being taken. He exclaims that people are dying and starving because the government does not care about the people at all.
3. “And now—However, another beggar approaches. I will go out and destroy him and then come back and write another chapter of vituperation.”
-Twain is stressing the fact that there are so many beggars on the street that he can’t even write a chapter without having them be a part of his life. Now he is not really going out just to see the beggar while he breaks on writing, but this is dramatically interpreted that the given situation will arise.
4. “Having eaten the friendless orphan—having driven away his comrades—having grown calm and reflective at length—I now feel in a kindlier mood.”
-This sarcastic tone Twain uses “having eaten the friendless orphan” is an example of him creating a scene for the reader of how many orphans are left on the street abandoned and everywhere you look, another appears and you feel for them but yet there is nothing that compels him to help them because their own government won’t even help them.
5. “It is well the alleys are not wider, because they hold as much smell now as a person can stand, and of course if they were wider they would hold more, and then the people would die.”
-“Then the people would die” is a dramatic sarcasm that Twain enforces because he is stressing how pungent the smell is and how horrific it would be is it got any worse.
6. Uh, is he dead?
-This is the joke that Twain and his doctor friend use on guides while they are seemingly unimpressed because they want to find out the guides reaction. They say this after seeing something others think ordinarily amazing. It’s a sarcastic remark that allows the reader to understand why the guard is so confused and dislikes them.
Italian government: worthless, no good, powerless, no control, poor
The Churches: no responsibility to the government, powerful, economically smart, ridiculously out of control, overdone
Duomo in Florence: Too fancy for its own good, useless to the people who need it most
Filthy beggars:
Medicis: cursed Florence with their presence, tombs are wasted space
Mausoleum: not used for what it was intended, wasted precious material
Dominican friars: suffering inside, partier
Civitavecchia: Smelly, cramped, worthless, slackers, talentless, dirty people, too hot to handle
Discovery in Rome: Non-existent, nothing to be found, boring, already discovered
Nobles in Rome: born into power, often undeserving, ignorant, uneducated compared to Americans
Rich men in America: spend it while they live, hold powers because of power, smart with tools, wanting to strive to be more intelligent than ancestors, strange clothing
St. Peters Basilic: astonishing, incredible, wildly humungous
St. Peters impressions: unreal, unattainable to prove, not impressive
The solution to American convicts: beneficial to society, contributing to the state, useful in many ways
Coliseum: used to kill Christians cruely, intended to be the largest theater of the world, show of status (seats)
40-mile long desert: exhausting, unbearable, dead animals all around, extremely
dangerous
Michelangelo: sickening how much he designed, pretty much created the art in Italy
Guides: confusing, couldn’t understand them if you wanted to, always tell the same stories, looking for astonishing remarks by new comers.
The Catacombs: dark, mysterious, never ending, hidden passages, tombs
Cite six moments in the text where Twain’s word choice creates humor; identify which word(s) in each of these citations provokes amusement or “surprise” in the reader. What are the devices Twain is employing to achieve this effect? (ie. “. . . then by nipping their flesh with pincers – red-hot ones, because they are the most comfortable in cold weather; then by skinning them alive a little . . .”).
1. “O sons of classic Italy, is the spirit of enterprise, of self-reliance, of noble endeavor, utterly dead within ye? Curse your indolent worthlessness, why don’t you rob your church?”
-Twain uses these words “why don’t you rob you church” because the church is rich is art and incredibly expensive collections and people are begging and starving on the street. By saying this it is more posed for the government to take action and start caring for the people instead of using the money to make the churches appear worthier in value.
2. “if a grandly gifted man may drag his pride and his manhood in the dirt for bread rather than starve with the nobility that is in him untainted, the excuse is a valid one. It would excuse theft in Washingtons and Wellingtons, and unchasity in women as well.”
-To say it would “excuse the unchasity in women as well” is a dramatic statement because the chasity in women is valued so highly that this must be an important issue for Twain to compare to the sacredness of a woman’s chasity. He compares the two by stating what is going on between the men in the town and the governments actions being taken. He exclaims that people are dying and starving because the government does not care about the people at all.
3. “And now—However, another beggar approaches. I will go out and destroy him and then come back and write another chapter of vituperation.”
-Twain is stressing the fact that there are so many beggars on the street that he can’t even write a chapter without having them be a part of his life. Now he is not really going out just to see the beggar while he breaks on writing, but this is dramatically interpreted that the given situation will arise.
4. “Having eaten the friendless orphan—having driven away his comrades—having grown calm and reflective at length—I now feel in a kindlier mood.”
-This sarcastic tone Twain uses “having eaten the friendless orphan” is an example of him creating a scene for the reader of how many orphans are left on the street abandoned and everywhere you look, another appears and you feel for them but yet there is nothing that compels him to help them because their own government won’t even help them.
5. “It is well the alleys are not wider, because they hold as much smell now as a person can stand, and of course if they were wider they would hold more, and then the people would die.”
-“Then the people would die” is a dramatic sarcasm that Twain enforces because he is stressing how pungent the smell is and how horrific it would be is it got any worse.
6. Uh, is he dead?
-This is the joke that Twain and his doctor friend use on guides while they are seemingly unimpressed because they want to find out the guides reaction. They say this after seeing something others think ordinarily amazing. It’s a sarcastic remark that allows the reader to understand why the guard is so confused and dislikes them.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Character Building and Journal Entry
Gazing out the window with the palm trees blowing in the wind and the sun shining brightly through the trees, Gabby could only imagine the next summer to come and worried about this one rapidly coming to an end. Flying into Kono in June, seemed like just yesterday, and the school year was about to start with September being just around the corner. Her shipment from the states had just arrived the previous week so to ease her stress in the slightest bit. Everything was coming together in the classroom nicely; she had repainted the room, hung up posters, and created individual cubbies for her students to store their belongings. The classroom was coming together but it was Gabby who was falling apart. She desperately longed for her parents, her brothers and sister, nieces and nephews back home. Moving to Hawaii had been a dream of hers since she could remember, but now she worried about missing out on everything at home.
Before she knew it, the first day of school rolled around and she was rushing about trying to get everything ready for the kids first day arrival. One by one, the students trickled in some with the parents and some came in brave and alone. It did not take long for them to arrive because she only had twelve students total but the grades ranged from kindergarten to fourth. The first day was full of thrills and surprises; they baked cookies, played games outside in the beautiful weather and met the older kids in the next classroom. Gabby loved her school because there was only one other teacher and almost all the kids attended the Seventh Day Adventist church on Saturdays. Growing up in a similar church, Gabby felt so comfortable and at home very shortly after she settled into her new life style.
When the kids went out to play at recess, Gabby had remembered the young man about her age who had sat next to her last Saturday during Sabbath. She remembered his name was Patrick and was tickled when he had sat next to her because the previous week she had noticed him but was too shy to introduce herself. After church, he invited her out to lunch and they enjoyed a quiet and delicious Mexican restaurant. After learning his life story about growing up in Hawaii and going to college here, Gabby felt comfortable and relaxed and began to tell him her life narrative. She mentioned being lonely for her family and friends, what Patrick noticed most of all is that she clearly did not mention missing a boyfriend or husband. After lunch ended, it was the first time she noticed feeling happy and carefree again since she had left Auburn .
The daydreaming ended as soon as the students came running in to tell their teacher about the games they played and who won during recess. The rest of the day flew by and before Gabby knew it she was strategically planning out her grocery shopping for dinner and the rest of the week. Crossing-off each item and she strolled down the isle; she kept wondering if she would run into Patrick. It was a small enough town that it would not be a rare occasion, but for some reason he kept popping into her thoughts.
After preparing and enjoying a delicious dinner, Gabby enjoyed a hot bath and went out onto the balcony over looking the ocean. She just loved the sound of the crashing waves and sun setting. It was just then when she heard the song of her new ring tone she had downloaded. It was her sister who was calling, the time difference was three hours, so it was just before 4 in the afternoon Sarah’s time. Extreme excitement overwhelmed Gabby when her sister told her the breaking news of her pregnancy. After a half hour of shrills and giggles, the sisters hung up but it was just then that the sadness began to creep into her heart once again. The sadness for her family, the sadness of not being with her sister through her pregnancy, and the sadness of not being with Sarah’s kids throughout the school year. A constant ache in her heart wondered if she had done the right thing by signing the contract for a year.
Just after brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed, the phone rang one again. This time it was a random number and she hesitated on whether she was going to answer it or not. It rang four times before she said hello. To her surprise and amazement, it was Patrick on the other end. Something about him made her feel extremely different than any man in her past. Before she knew it he was telling her he would pick her up tomorrow for an early dinner and then had a few surprises planned out for her. The feelings of romance was lingering in the air and all she dreamt about was the following evening.
Another day flew by with her twelve little adorable students. The happiness overwhelmed her thoughts and emotions. By the time she arrived home it was time to freshen up and get ready for dinner. The night began with another great dinner, followed by a romantic movie, and then observing the sunset while sharing an ice cream sundae. This was just the first night of many in the next month that Gabby felt swept off her feet. It had been weeks before she realized that the sadness of missing her family had faded away shortly after Patrick had stepped into her life. With him she felt complete and happy. They began to spend every day together after work and things were as perfect as she could have ever imagined.
Months went by before she realized it was that time again to sign a contract for the following year. Originally, Gabby thought one year in Hawaii would be perfect and she would be ready to come home again and be with her family. It was so much harder after establishing a life on her own, making new friends, and then meeting the man of her dreams, to then pick up and leave her new found “home”. After talking to her mom and sister, who desperately wanted her home for the next year and especially the summer, Gabby knew it was only her who could make her own decision. Her sister had already established a life at an early age, started having children and had been happily married for nine years. Gabby realized she wanted share those special moments in life with the one she loved and it was time to make a decision. Day in and day out for two weeks straight, her mind and emotions were on a rollercoaster. Patrick, of course being the gentleman that he is, put in his thoughts on her staying and promised a happy life together but also was willing to move to her own state if that changed the situation at all. Gabby was completely and utterly happy with Patrick and living in Hawaii , so she felt for the next year at least, her life would resume in Hawaii . Her family was disappointed she was staying another year but excited for her accomplishments. She promised she would come home in the summer and during the holidays. This was someone Gabby felt she had to do for herself and she was glad with her decision.
Journal Entry
Why did you choose the character you did for your piece? What are some of the challenges you found in creating a convincing, complex character? When designing your character, did you attempt to offer the reader something familiar, unsettling/unusual, or a combination of the two? Why did you make this choice and what mechanisms did you employ to achieve this goal?
I chose this specific character for my piece because I just found out that my cousin is going to be staying in Hawaii for the next year and she had some decisions she had to make and thought it would fit this situation perfectly. I found it was hard to show instead of tell in a third person mannerism. I kept feeling like I was telling the story but had to think real creatively to come up with more ways to show how her emotions and decisions were affecting the character. I feel like I attempted to offer the reader something familiar, such as the description of palm trees and sun sets and such. I made this choice so the audience could relate to the situation and almost feel themselves in similar situations.
Before she knew it, the first day of school rolled around and she was rushing about trying to get everything ready for the kids first day arrival. One by one, the students trickled in some with the parents and some came in brave and alone. It did not take long for them to arrive because she only had twelve students total but the grades ranged from kindergarten to fourth. The first day was full of thrills and surprises; they baked cookies, played games outside in the beautiful weather and met the older kids in the next classroom. Gabby loved her school because there was only one other teacher and almost all the kids attended the Seventh Day Adventist church on Saturdays. Growing up in a similar church, Gabby felt so comfortable and at home very shortly after she settled into her new life style.
When the kids went out to play at recess, Gabby had remembered the young man about her age who had sat next to her last Saturday during Sabbath. She remembered his name was Patrick and was tickled when he had sat next to her because the previous week she had noticed him but was too shy to introduce herself. After church, he invited her out to lunch and they enjoyed a quiet and delicious Mexican restaurant. After learning his life story about growing up in Hawaii and going to college here, Gabby felt comfortable and relaxed and began to tell him her life narrative. She mentioned being lonely for her family and friends, what Patrick noticed most of all is that she clearly did not mention missing a boyfriend or husband. After lunch ended, it was the first time she noticed feeling happy and carefree again since she had left Auburn .
The daydreaming ended as soon as the students came running in to tell their teacher about the games they played and who won during recess. The rest of the day flew by and before Gabby knew it she was strategically planning out her grocery shopping for dinner and the rest of the week. Crossing-off each item and she strolled down the isle; she kept wondering if she would run into Patrick. It was a small enough town that it would not be a rare occasion, but for some reason he kept popping into her thoughts.
After preparing and enjoying a delicious dinner, Gabby enjoyed a hot bath and went out onto the balcony over looking the ocean. She just loved the sound of the crashing waves and sun setting. It was just then when she heard the song of her new ring tone she had downloaded. It was her sister who was calling, the time difference was three hours, so it was just before 4 in the afternoon Sarah’s time. Extreme excitement overwhelmed Gabby when her sister told her the breaking news of her pregnancy. After a half hour of shrills and giggles, the sisters hung up but it was just then that the sadness began to creep into her heart once again. The sadness for her family, the sadness of not being with her sister through her pregnancy, and the sadness of not being with Sarah’s kids throughout the school year. A constant ache in her heart wondered if she had done the right thing by signing the contract for a year.
Just after brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed, the phone rang one again. This time it was a random number and she hesitated on whether she was going to answer it or not. It rang four times before she said hello. To her surprise and amazement, it was Patrick on the other end. Something about him made her feel extremely different than any man in her past. Before she knew it he was telling her he would pick her up tomorrow for an early dinner and then had a few surprises planned out for her. The feelings of romance was lingering in the air and all she dreamt about was the following evening.
Another day flew by with her twelve little adorable students. The happiness overwhelmed her thoughts and emotions. By the time she arrived home it was time to freshen up and get ready for dinner. The night began with another great dinner, followed by a romantic movie, and then observing the sunset while sharing an ice cream sundae. This was just the first night of many in the next month that Gabby felt swept off her feet. It had been weeks before she realized that the sadness of missing her family had faded away shortly after Patrick had stepped into her life. With him she felt complete and happy. They began to spend every day together after work and things were as perfect as she could have ever imagined.
Months went by before she realized it was that time again to sign a contract for the following year. Originally, Gabby thought one year in Hawaii would be perfect and she would be ready to come home again and be with her family. It was so much harder after establishing a life on her own, making new friends, and then meeting the man of her dreams, to then pick up and leave her new found “home”. After talking to her mom and sister, who desperately wanted her home for the next year and especially the summer, Gabby knew it was only her who could make her own decision. Her sister had already established a life at an early age, started having children and had been happily married for nine years. Gabby realized she wanted share those special moments in life with the one she loved and it was time to make a decision. Day in and day out for two weeks straight, her mind and emotions were on a rollercoaster. Patrick, of course being the gentleman that he is, put in his thoughts on her staying and promised a happy life together but also was willing to move to her own state if that changed the situation at all. Gabby was completely and utterly happy with Patrick and living in Hawaii , so she felt for the next year at least, her life would resume in Hawaii . Her family was disappointed she was staying another year but excited for her accomplishments. She promised she would come home in the summer and during the holidays. This was someone Gabby felt she had to do for herself and she was glad with her decision.
Journal Entry
Why did you choose the character you did for your piece? What are some of the challenges you found in creating a convincing, complex character? When designing your character, did you attempt to offer the reader something familiar, unsettling/unusual, or a combination of the two? Why did you make this choice and what mechanisms did you employ to achieve this goal?
I chose this specific character for my piece because I just found out that my cousin is going to be staying in Hawaii for the next year and she had some decisions she had to make and thought it would fit this situation perfectly. I found it was hard to show instead of tell in a third person mannerism. I kept feeling like I was telling the story but had to think real creatively to come up with more ways to show how her emotions and decisions were affecting the character. I feel like I attempted to offer the reader something familiar, such as the description of palm trees and sun sets and such. I made this choice so the audience could relate to the situation and almost feel themselves in similar situations.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Middlemarch
Dorothea: wholesome, rhetorical, trapped, dedicated, unsure.
“I am very glad that my presence has made any difference to you.” Pg. 187
“Actually, you pay little attention to me and I may as not even be here because you do not notice my presence.”
Mr. Casaubon: isolated, knowledgeable, distant, prim and proper, perceptive.
“It had been easy for me to gain a temporary effect by a mirage of baseless opinion; but it is ever the trial of the scrupulous explorer to be saluted with the impatient scorn of chatterers who attempt only the smallest achievements, being indeed equipped for no other. And it were well if all such could be admonished to discriminate judgments of which the true subject matter lies entirely beyond their reach, from those of which the elements may be compassed by a narrow and superficial survey.” Pg. 189.
“The works, in this case, are too simplistic to analyze. The have no real importance to my life and are better to not even be thought of again.”
Will Ladislaw: high strung, civil, sharp, hestitatant, calm.
“I suspected you of knowing so much, that you knew how to say just what was most cutting. You said—I dare say you don’t remember it as I do—that the relation of my sketch to nature was quite hidden from you. At least, you implied that.” Pg. 193.
“How could you forget that memory we shared, it stands out so vividly in my mind.”
In Eliot’s opinion (found in On Realism), what are some of the author’s most important responsibilities when designing characters for fiction? Do you think she “practices what she preaches” in Middlemarch? Why or why not?
I think the author’s most important responsibilities when designing the characters for fiction is to create characters that seem realistic enough to be emotionally tied to them while reading but at the same time dramatized as to not bore the reader. The characters in this story portray real emotions, actions, and consequences we see in movies, books, and life in general. The characters are believable and the author does a great job at representing how you have the power to change or influence your future. I do believe she practices what she preaches because I think she believes in the motto “what comes around goes around.” The characters are really personal and we get to know them really well by their actions and emotions.
“I am very glad that my presence has made any difference to you.” Pg. 187
“Actually, you pay little attention to me and I may as not even be here because you do not notice my presence.”
Mr. Casaubon: isolated, knowledgeable, distant, prim and proper, perceptive.
“It had been easy for me to gain a temporary effect by a mirage of baseless opinion; but it is ever the trial of the scrupulous explorer to be saluted with the impatient scorn of chatterers who attempt only the smallest achievements, being indeed equipped for no other. And it were well if all such could be admonished to discriminate judgments of which the true subject matter lies entirely beyond their reach, from those of which the elements may be compassed by a narrow and superficial survey.” Pg. 189.
“The works, in this case, are too simplistic to analyze. The have no real importance to my life and are better to not even be thought of again.”
Will Ladislaw: high strung, civil, sharp, hestitatant, calm.
“I suspected you of knowing so much, that you knew how to say just what was most cutting. You said—I dare say you don’t remember it as I do—that the relation of my sketch to nature was quite hidden from you. At least, you implied that.” Pg. 193.
“How could you forget that memory we shared, it stands out so vividly in my mind.”
In Eliot’s opinion (found in On Realism), what are some of the author’s most important responsibilities when designing characters for fiction? Do you think she “practices what she preaches” in Middlemarch? Why or why not?
I think the author’s most important responsibilities when designing the characters for fiction is to create characters that seem realistic enough to be emotionally tied to them while reading but at the same time dramatized as to not bore the reader. The characters in this story portray real emotions, actions, and consequences we see in movies, books, and life in general. The characters are believable and the author does a great job at representing how you have the power to change or influence your future. I do believe she practices what she preaches because I think she believes in the motto “what comes around goes around.” The characters are really personal and we get to know them really well by their actions and emotions.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
January 29th
It was our first real adventure, traveling on our own, booking train tickets, making hotel accommodations, and venturing out into the great unknown. We had arrived in the foreign city, Pisa, the night before and checked in, went out for a real authentic dinner, had some wine at a local bar, and met a few nice Italians who gave us some tips on where to go when we arrived in Lucca, our next destination. After a relaxing Saturday afternoon, Alice and I headed back to the train station on the LAM BLU bus. After only a few minutes, we were buying our tickets to Lucca and managed to squeeze McDonald’s French fries, which shamefully tasted disgustingly delicious.
While boarding the train, I asked an official in lousy Italian if this train was going to Lucca, he replied, “You don’t speak Italian? Why not…you are in Italy now…hahaha.” He was a very funny and nice man and made sure when it was time to get off, we knew it was our stop. After searching the station for a restroom unsuccessfully, Alice and I decided jump in the first taxi that was available. We looked through the guide book for restaurants that sounded appealing and asked the taxi driver to drop us off there. It was a short ride, for the city of Lucca is very small and manageable, but extremely unique and breathtaking at the same time. We entered the restaurant but to our surprise we did not have a chance to wine and dine because it was reservations only. So with no map and no sense of direction, we turned the corner and found just what we needed, a hotel. I said to Alice, “I bet we can get a map in there.” The man at the front desk was very helpful and showed us how to get to the next restaurant on our list.
The restaurant was easy to find and as soon as we stepped in we knew it was perfect for the evening. It was family owned, pictures hanging, and extremely busy. We asked if they had any openings and they said no. We were so disappointed. But after a long pause, the hostess said we can get you in at ten. We agreed and left for the hour to explore more of the town. We first ordered a cappuccino, bought a few post cards, and found some teenagers singing at a talent show.
Dinner was so delicious, we first ordered a pasta dish, and then had a secondi which had meat and potatoes. One of the best meals since we arrived in Rome, and the olive oil is to die for. By the time we were done with dinner it was almost time to catch our train back to Pisa for the night. We had no idea what direction the train station was, so we decided to go back to the hotel to ask the nice man if he would mind calling us a cab. When we arrived he seemed a little surprised to see us but said he was willing to call the cab. He dialed a few numbers but neither one answered. Then he reached someone and spoke Italian, so Alice and I did not know exactly what was said. A few minutes later, two guys arrive at the front of the lobby. I asked if that was for the cab and the front desk guy said no, those are my friends. We thought that was somewhat strange but did not think too much about it. The friends soon were asking us if we wanted to go dancing that night, we said no we had a train to catch, by the way when is the taxi coming? The man replied five minutes, five minutes every time we asked. The train was at 12:34 and it was almost 12:15 by this time.
All of a sudden, a big black van pulls up in front of the hotel. I asked if that was the taxi and the man replied yes. After taking a look at the van and the man driving it, I suddenly got creeped out. The van had no taxi sign, no meter, and the entire scenerio seemed a little fishy. Alice and I looked at each other and motioned to go. I asked why there was no taxi sign and no meter, but all the man could say was 7 euro get in. It was then that we knew what we had to do…run and run very fast. With no idea what direction the station was in, Alice and I took off in a full fledge sprint, stopping once to only ask in a loss a breath where the station was, with a point of a finger we kept on truckin’. Alice had hurt her foot the night before so she was limping but it was a sure fact that we would miss our train if we did not keep running…only a minute to go before departure. We managed to make it on the train but not a minute to soon, as soon as we sat down we started moving. We both were very thankful on the way home that we did not get in the big black van and safely made it home for the night ready for our next adventure to start in a few short hours.
Journal Entry
While writing this piece I learned a few things. First, I had to remember to talk in first person because I have a tendency to want to talk in third person and would often catch myself in the act of writing in third person. Secondly, I have forgotten how long it has been since I wrote detail by detail to describe a certain event. It was fun for a change.
Reading Response
The two authors portray themselves quite differently in their writings. Benvenuto writes in a more ancient sounding time with deep descriptions of his family and past. Acimen writes with ease about things he sees, daily occurrences the reader can relate better with. I feel like Acimen is more conscious of the reader in that he wants his piece to be an easier flowing autobiography, whereas Benvenuto wants to astonish the reader with all his fancy wording and descriptions. I feel like Acimen is more believable because it seems more everyday, real life situations that many individuals can relate to. It is easy to picture Acimen’s descriptions as something you might come across in Rome.
While boarding the train, I asked an official in lousy Italian if this train was going to Lucca, he replied, “You don’t speak Italian? Why not…you are in Italy now…hahaha.” He was a very funny and nice man and made sure when it was time to get off, we knew it was our stop. After searching the station for a restroom unsuccessfully, Alice and I decided jump in the first taxi that was available. We looked through the guide book for restaurants that sounded appealing and asked the taxi driver to drop us off there. It was a short ride, for the city of Lucca is very small and manageable, but extremely unique and breathtaking at the same time. We entered the restaurant but to our surprise we did not have a chance to wine and dine because it was reservations only. So with no map and no sense of direction, we turned the corner and found just what we needed, a hotel. I said to Alice, “I bet we can get a map in there.” The man at the front desk was very helpful and showed us how to get to the next restaurant on our list.
The restaurant was easy to find and as soon as we stepped in we knew it was perfect for the evening. It was family owned, pictures hanging, and extremely busy. We asked if they had any openings and they said no. We were so disappointed. But after a long pause, the hostess said we can get you in at ten. We agreed and left for the hour to explore more of the town. We first ordered a cappuccino, bought a few post cards, and found some teenagers singing at a talent show.
Dinner was so delicious, we first ordered a pasta dish, and then had a secondi which had meat and potatoes. One of the best meals since we arrived in Rome, and the olive oil is to die for. By the time we were done with dinner it was almost time to catch our train back to Pisa for the night. We had no idea what direction the train station was, so we decided to go back to the hotel to ask the nice man if he would mind calling us a cab. When we arrived he seemed a little surprised to see us but said he was willing to call the cab. He dialed a few numbers but neither one answered. Then he reached someone and spoke Italian, so Alice and I did not know exactly what was said. A few minutes later, two guys arrive at the front of the lobby. I asked if that was for the cab and the front desk guy said no, those are my friends. We thought that was somewhat strange but did not think too much about it. The friends soon were asking us if we wanted to go dancing that night, we said no we had a train to catch, by the way when is the taxi coming? The man replied five minutes, five minutes every time we asked. The train was at 12:34 and it was almost 12:15 by this time.
All of a sudden, a big black van pulls up in front of the hotel. I asked if that was the taxi and the man replied yes. After taking a look at the van and the man driving it, I suddenly got creeped out. The van had no taxi sign, no meter, and the entire scenerio seemed a little fishy. Alice and I looked at each other and motioned to go. I asked why there was no taxi sign and no meter, but all the man could say was 7 euro get in. It was then that we knew what we had to do…run and run very fast. With no idea what direction the station was in, Alice and I took off in a full fledge sprint, stopping once to only ask in a loss a breath where the station was, with a point of a finger we kept on truckin’. Alice had hurt her foot the night before so she was limping but it was a sure fact that we would miss our train if we did not keep running…only a minute to go before departure. We managed to make it on the train but not a minute to soon, as soon as we sat down we started moving. We both were very thankful on the way home that we did not get in the big black van and safely made it home for the night ready for our next adventure to start in a few short hours.
Journal Entry
While writing this piece I learned a few things. First, I had to remember to talk in first person because I have a tendency to want to talk in third person and would often catch myself in the act of writing in third person. Secondly, I have forgotten how long it has been since I wrote detail by detail to describe a certain event. It was fun for a change.
Reading Response
The two authors portray themselves quite differently in their writings. Benvenuto writes in a more ancient sounding time with deep descriptions of his family and past. Acimen writes with ease about things he sees, daily occurrences the reader can relate better with. I feel like Acimen is more conscious of the reader in that he wants his piece to be an easier flowing autobiography, whereas Benvenuto wants to astonish the reader with all his fancy wording and descriptions. I feel like Acimen is more believable because it seems more everyday, real life situations that many individuals can relate to. It is easy to picture Acimen’s descriptions as something you might come across in Rome.
Monday, January 22, 2007
My Journal Entry
When constructing my fable, I first thought about what I wanted the moral to be and how I was going to construct a story based on that moral. The resolution is positive because the two brothers work together and live long, happy lives. The moral is that being honest and a hard worker is the key to success and happiness. I think the surprise to the reader is that the brother converts from being dishonest and participating in illegal acts to becoming a loving, honest brother again. I would say that would be pretty surprising. I did not refer back to Machiavelli’s fable, I mostly used the Standard Fable Form that was handed out in class to make sure I was following the guidelines. The most challenging part of the piece was to wrap up the scenario and to have a good ending that would really reel the audience into the fable. I feel this was a warm up to a stronger story and the next story will be more detailed and better because of this assignment.
My Fable
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there were two identical twin mice, who lived lives similar to you and I. They lived in a mansion mouse house in between the wall of a little cottage located out in the heart of a great big city. Every morning the two mice would wake up and go out scavenger hunting and see who could bring back the biggest and best treasures. Then they would sort through their new found fortunes and decide who would earn the point for a day. This was a little game they had been playing for years. The only catch was that they were not supposed to take items that had not been thrown away because that would be stealing and their mother always told them not to steal. She warned them that bad things would come to those who were dishonest and took advantage of other people. Bruno, always wanting to do the right thing and please his mother, only looked for goods in trash cans and often found great treasures and good dinner items. But Roger, on the other hand, always wanted to be the best and have the most to bring home, so often he would return with new items he had taken from the house which had not been thrown away. Bruno had a suspicion this was occurring but Roger never confessed to his dishonesty. Years went by and Bruno’s points were much, much lower than Rogers.
Because Roger found it so easy to steal from others and lie about it, the crime started to escalade. Stealing small things, turned into stealing a great deal of bigger items. With these items, he would sell them to other mice on the “cheese market”. The cheese market was how mice traded and sold illegal stolen goods to one another, and rarely got caught by the big cats. Bruno, had a distrust in his brother because often times Roger leave a lot later than Roger and return many hours earlier with goods Bruno knew would never have been thrown away. Bruno decides he needs to take initiative and find out by Roger is becoming so distant and losing his morals and promises to his family. Bruno plans for the next morning to follow Roger to find out what he is up to.
Bruno left the house before Roger, just as he had for the past couple of months, but on this special day he hid by the garbage can until his brother left. He kept his small little beady eyes on Roger, scurrying behind him far enough away as to not let Roger catch on that he had a follower. As soon as Roger turned down Mafia Blvd., Bruno knew his brother was in deep with the “cheese market.” Bruno followed him into the underground warehouse and kept his eyes on his twin. Roger did his trading for the day and left the warehouse. He left just in time, because not a moment after he scampered away, he heard the dreaded cats come into the warehouse. He knew he would not be seeing some of his trading partners again tomorrow. That’s how it went one day everything was normal, but in an instant your life could be taken away. Bruno, was not as lucky, for he witnessed the whole scenario. The goods his brother had just traded were taken by the awful cats and the lives of three of the mice were taken as well. Bruno felt horrible but also thankful that it was not his brother he had been killed.
When Bruno arrived home with nothing because he had been watching his brother all day, Roger knew something had happened. He questioned Bruno and his brother refused to give details of his day. Bruno asked Roger questions about how he got all his goods and again Roger lied. But then next day Roger was not so lucky, now the cats knew where the “cheese market” was located and the trades were never safe again. When Roger went to trade his goods, one of the cats caught him and held him hostage until he gave out all the other names of his fellow trading mice. The cats soon found all the mice and took all their goods and ruined their family’s lives as well. With the help of Bruno and some friends, Roger managed to escape from the cats trap. From that day forward, Roger decided that no amount of goods was worth ruining his family or taking his own life. Roger and Bruno, from then on, went out everyday together to look for food supplies and goods, only that had been thrown away and lived happy long lives because they were honest and had family on the top of their priorities.
Because Roger found it so easy to steal from others and lie about it, the crime started to escalade. Stealing small things, turned into stealing a great deal of bigger items. With these items, he would sell them to other mice on the “cheese market”. The cheese market was how mice traded and sold illegal stolen goods to one another, and rarely got caught by the big cats. Bruno, had a distrust in his brother because often times Roger leave a lot later than Roger and return many hours earlier with goods Bruno knew would never have been thrown away. Bruno decides he needs to take initiative and find out by Roger is becoming so distant and losing his morals and promises to his family. Bruno plans for the next morning to follow Roger to find out what he is up to.
Bruno left the house before Roger, just as he had for the past couple of months, but on this special day he hid by the garbage can until his brother left. He kept his small little beady eyes on Roger, scurrying behind him far enough away as to not let Roger catch on that he had a follower. As soon as Roger turned down Mafia Blvd., Bruno knew his brother was in deep with the “cheese market.” Bruno followed him into the underground warehouse and kept his eyes on his twin. Roger did his trading for the day and left the warehouse. He left just in time, because not a moment after he scampered away, he heard the dreaded cats come into the warehouse. He knew he would not be seeing some of his trading partners again tomorrow. That’s how it went one day everything was normal, but in an instant your life could be taken away. Bruno, was not as lucky, for he witnessed the whole scenario. The goods his brother had just traded were taken by the awful cats and the lives of three of the mice were taken as well. Bruno felt horrible but also thankful that it was not his brother he had been killed.
When Bruno arrived home with nothing because he had been watching his brother all day, Roger knew something had happened. He questioned Bruno and his brother refused to give details of his day. Bruno asked Roger questions about how he got all his goods and again Roger lied. But then next day Roger was not so lucky, now the cats knew where the “cheese market” was located and the trades were never safe again. When Roger went to trade his goods, one of the cats caught him and held him hostage until he gave out all the other names of his fellow trading mice. The cats soon found all the mice and took all their goods and ruined their family’s lives as well. With the help of Bruno and some friends, Roger managed to escape from the cats trap. From that day forward, Roger decided that no amount of goods was worth ruining his family or taking his own life. Roger and Bruno, from then on, went out everyday together to look for food supplies and goods, only that had been thrown away and lived happy long lives because they were honest and had family on the top of their priorities.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Journal Entry
The context in Belfagor is set in the standard European “three context elements”. The three contexts begins with explaining who the man is, such as “a holy man, whose life was well known to those who lived at that time”, explaining what the mission is the main character is to do. He explains this with that each prince wanted to know how to live free from scandal and the plan was to send someone to the human realm to figure out how to accomplish this struggle. The turning point in the story is when decide to send the chosen one, who would then, “with this money he was to go into the world and, disguised in the body of a man, he was to take a wife and to live with her for ten years. Befagor was the chosen one and he soon changes his name to Roderigo. He finds a wife to marry, but the turning point comes when the wife, Onesta, tries to dominate Roderigo in everyway. Since he loved her very much, he is patient and forgiving. The actions of the main character is that he is pushed over by his wife and does not stand up for himself. He is struggling because he loves his wife, but she is corrupt and ruins his life. Roderigo becomes bankrupt and servants refuse to stay with the house for more than a few days. He has to go into hiding and becomes a devilish individual. The moral of the story that money can not make you happy and is often times corrupt or makes people corrupt. In the beginning we get the idea that the wife is the problem because she keeps spending all the money, but by the end we realize is Roderigo’s fault just as much because instead of being part of the solution, he further escalades the problem because he never draws the line for his wife. One of the reversals in the story is when the peasant comes to save the girl, Roderigo does not this he has any importance because he has no money but in fact he is able to cure the sick young lady. The reversal is that Roderigo flews aways because he would rather live in Hell than return to tell his story because he was so ashamed of his actions. The resolution is that life is not about how much money you make that makes a difference, it is more about who you are and how you contribute to make this world better. The part of the story that I liked most was the moral, yes money can buy nice expensive things, but that’s not what life is about. Life is about caring about other people, what goes around comes around.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Myth Assignment
On December 28 a new baby was born. This baby looked like any other baby, precious and innocent. It was from that point forward that Penelope promised herself, for her baby’s sake, that she would be the model of the loyal and prudent wife. Penelope was extremely concerned about what others would think of her raising her baby son by herself, so she was determined to have the perfect son in the world, for whom she named Narcissus.
Penelope developed an itinerary that Narcissus would follow everyday and he begun to be a little prince charming. Narcissus’ day usually consisted of getting up, eating breakfast, reading in the morning for a few hours, only books that would increase his intelligence, doing schoolwork in his den with his personal teacher, having lunch, reading some more, and then finishing up with some dinner and an early bedtime. The other strange habit at this point in his life was that throughout the day, his mother would catch him staring at himself in the mirror and talking to himself as if there was an imaginary friend in the mirror who carried the exact replica of himself. Penelope was afraid to let her boy go outside and play with all the other kids because she thought his mind would be corrupted, but secretly another reason she had this deep down horror that Narcissus would run off and fall in love, just as she did when she was very young. She thought be keeping him inside and cut off from the outside world, she was doing him a favor and keeping herself at a low risk of losing her son.
Narcissus did not even notice that he did not have any friends or enemies until he was around the age of 13, at this point he had his house cleaner sneak some other novels into the house for fun and enjoyment. Penelope would not even allow him to watch television for fear his mind would be soiled with crime and corruption. It was the day that the house cleaner snuck in a Teen Magazine that Narcissus knew something was missing. He flipped over the pages for the first time in amazement. Looking at everyone looking back at him, he did not know what to think, except pure and utter disgust and threw the magazine away.
Because Narcissus did not know any better and secluded from the outside world, began to hate anyone and everyone except himself. At this point, he still had an obsession with staring at himself in the mirror but now it had escaladed to the point that this started taking over the better half of his day. Narcissus became so infatuated with his own image he even began to dispise his own mother. The day came when he refused to talk to anyone and remained in his own lonesome side of the house. His love for himself was overpowering and he was officially refusing to share his love with anyone else so he fell in love with his own image.
It is now understood why Narcissus lived a long life empty without friendships and strong family love. His mother babied him and sheltered his so much that Narcissus did not learn how to love another individual and all he was left with was himself. This is often the case if one is not exposed early as a child how to get along with other kids, share toys, run around on the playground, and build strong bond together. The bond of many is far stronger than an individual alone.
I chose Narcissus and Penelope as my two modern day characters because they are almost opposing in there view points and strategies on life. Penelope is trying to be the almighty mother, painting the perfect picture for her son, but in reality ends up sheltering him and he turns against her in the end. Narcissus he yet to be exposed to a normal life and therefore ends up hating everyone he comes to look at except himself, he actually begins to fall in love with him own image at an early age. I found the employment of a metaphor a little challenging because the story did not really fall into place until I started writing it. I chose my point of view to be in third person because it felt easiest to tell the story. I feel this would be quite an easy and understandable read for almost any age. I did not chose to include dialogue because I felt this was more looking in on a family, telling a story that is almost imaginative, instead of up close and personal. The most challenging part of the assignment was trying to figure out what my myth was going to revolve around and what characters I wanted to use and who would fit well together.
Penelope developed an itinerary that Narcissus would follow everyday and he begun to be a little prince charming. Narcissus’ day usually consisted of getting up, eating breakfast, reading in the morning for a few hours, only books that would increase his intelligence, doing schoolwork in his den with his personal teacher, having lunch, reading some more, and then finishing up with some dinner and an early bedtime. The other strange habit at this point in his life was that throughout the day, his mother would catch him staring at himself in the mirror and talking to himself as if there was an imaginary friend in the mirror who carried the exact replica of himself. Penelope was afraid to let her boy go outside and play with all the other kids because she thought his mind would be corrupted, but secretly another reason she had this deep down horror that Narcissus would run off and fall in love, just as she did when she was very young. She thought be keeping him inside and cut off from the outside world, she was doing him a favor and keeping herself at a low risk of losing her son.
Narcissus did not even notice that he did not have any friends or enemies until he was around the age of 13, at this point he had his house cleaner sneak some other novels into the house for fun and enjoyment. Penelope would not even allow him to watch television for fear his mind would be soiled with crime and corruption. It was the day that the house cleaner snuck in a Teen Magazine that Narcissus knew something was missing. He flipped over the pages for the first time in amazement. Looking at everyone looking back at him, he did not know what to think, except pure and utter disgust and threw the magazine away.
Because Narcissus did not know any better and secluded from the outside world, began to hate anyone and everyone except himself. At this point, he still had an obsession with staring at himself in the mirror but now it had escaladed to the point that this started taking over the better half of his day. Narcissus became so infatuated with his own image he even began to dispise his own mother. The day came when he refused to talk to anyone and remained in his own lonesome side of the house. His love for himself was overpowering and he was officially refusing to share his love with anyone else so he fell in love with his own image.
It is now understood why Narcissus lived a long life empty without friendships and strong family love. His mother babied him and sheltered his so much that Narcissus did not learn how to love another individual and all he was left with was himself. This is often the case if one is not exposed early as a child how to get along with other kids, share toys, run around on the playground, and build strong bond together. The bond of many is far stronger than an individual alone.
I chose Narcissus and Penelope as my two modern day characters because they are almost opposing in there view points and strategies on life. Penelope is trying to be the almighty mother, painting the perfect picture for her son, but in reality ends up sheltering him and he turns against her in the end. Narcissus he yet to be exposed to a normal life and therefore ends up hating everyone he comes to look at except himself, he actually begins to fall in love with him own image at an early age. I found the employment of a metaphor a little challenging because the story did not really fall into place until I started writing it. I chose my point of view to be in third person because it felt easiest to tell the story. I feel this would be quite an easy and understandable read for almost any age. I did not chose to include dialogue because I felt this was more looking in on a family, telling a story that is almost imaginative, instead of up close and personal. The most challenging part of the assignment was trying to figure out what my myth was going to revolve around and what characters I wanted to use and who would fit well together.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Demeter and Pomegranate Seeds
The most obvious and distinct difference between the two writings is that Demeter is a poem and the Pomegranate Seedes is a prose. The two also distinguish the characters differently. The Demeter story holds the characters at a higher virtue, with more pride and value, whereas, in the Pomegranate Seeds, it is told more as a child's tale. A third determining factor of the difference between the two stories is that they have the same characters but the roles portrayed are different. For instance, in Pomegranate Seeds, they refer to one character as King Pluto, but in the Demeter story they do not assign him a name.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Metamorphases and Invisible Cities
When comparing the two stories, Metamorphases and Invisible Cities, the theme of transformation is both apparent and used in extremely different ways. When first reading Calvino and throughout the book, the reader is lost in imaginary situations but can see the transformation because he uses the contrast of positive and negative imagery in his writings. This creates a intangible scenarios within his cities. Metamorphases on the other hand, uses a more unembellished and factual transformation when creating his story or theories on life. Some similarities between the two writers are the use of language within the text. Both authors create this fantasy setting the reader is left to dwell on. The language leaves the reader feeling complete and satisfied with the scenerios and is easy to comprehend in a make-believe scenery. In Ovids work, there is definitely a correlation between the gods and humans. There is a battle between the two and it is apparent throughout his work. One example is the passage that says, “the gods move toward the palace of the Thunderer, his royal halls, and, right and left, the dwellings of other gods are open, and guests come thronging. The lesser gods live in a meaner section, an area not reserved, as this one is, for the illustrations Great Wheels of Heaven.” Even within the Gods, there is a struggle of who has more authority all the way down to humans. It does not seem like this work seems that similar to that of another myth, but possibly that is because I am not that familiar with that many other myths of my knowledge. The tone that Ovid takes in this work is that of a narrator it seems. It is as if he is a person looking in on a certain story and retelling it as he interpreted it without letting his feelings have a tremendous impact on changing the story.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Questions
I think the theme that was easiest to use is today is soon tomorrow. This is probably because this week has went by really fast and all the days seem to be running together. I feel like it was easier to write the descriptions with a theme because I felt I had a better idea of what I was going to say before I started writing. This is probably because the descriptions with the themes gave me an idea of what I wanted to write by reading the passages I read in the book. The most difficult part of the assignment was thinking of my own theme and trying to capture the proper image in my writing the way I thought of it in my head. I think the use of Calvino’s language did appeal to me because I had never read anything quite like this and the imaginary cities all were quite the same but extremely different at the same time. It kept me intrigued while reading and allowed for a sense of imagination. I believe using the same themes did borrow some sense of direction for our descriptions but only in the most beneficial sense to our papers. I do not feel as though my descriptions sound like Calvino’s but mostly gave me a path to start from. I think Rome could seem like an imaginary city because it is all so new and different from where we have ever been. If I had to chose a theme for Rome I think it would be quite similar to one of the themes I already chose for my descriptions because in the back of my mind I think I had Rome in mind while writing these stories.
City #1: Zoe, Nothing but doubts, unattainable belief
Walking into this dark, confusing, lifeless city, one would imagine no city at all. But instead nothing but doubts fill your head because there are no signs of interaction, no lights leading to important city landmarks, and no form of communication among the city people. This city is the city of Zamri. Walking around this city is like trying to get out of a closed in maze. Everywhere you turn only takes you back to where you began your journey. One step in the other direction is only one step closer to your starting spot. While you walk around and around trying to figure out what would lead you to one familiar thing that you have left behind, somehow you feel farther and farther away. Every building you walk by only looks more and more similar to the one you just left. With the doors barricaded off and the locks surely secure, the life on the street is extremely shut down and unconscious.
Then finally the sun begins to shine and familiar places and things begin to appear as if you were in a never ending dream. Markets begin to fill with fresh fruit and daily baked goods, shops begin to swing the doors open and cafés begin to brew coffee. And somehow you feel familiarly at home. The sense of direction is attainable now and you are ready for the day ahead. For some reason the lost sense of nothingness is filled with excitement and dominance to take on the world. Every which way you turn people are fulfilling their own self profound prophecies. There are bakers, shop keepers, butchers, and fruit vendors working hard everyday to make a living and to provide goods to the people of the city. Now it seems as though the city is alive and well, whereas just a few hours earlier it felt lifeless and lonely.
City #2: Zemrude, following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before, today is soon tomorrow.
Entering this city with exhaustion and confusion still controlling the body, only to endure more exhaustion and confusion. This would be the city of Zambio. The body is ordered to complete attainable daily tasks where normally a second thought would not cross the mind. But for some reason this city has some uncontrolled power of time loss and mystification that the body has a hard time adjusting. Following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before. No day is separated by the next, but instead the days seem to run together like a forever running river. Taking the same streets with the same thoughts running over and over in the mind only further complicates the issues of distinguishing the days apart. It is as though the body is lost in a time machine only to be thrown back on the same day over and over again. The thought of the next day is only a blink away, but the memory of the last day has never left today. With the busyness of the day and the things left undone, exhaustion takes over the body to the point of deprivation.
It is only after the body has shut down, that one truly feels alive and well again. Ready for the inviting but fatiguing cycle to start again, you start the day out feeling like any other day but better prepared and ready for achievement. It is only now after preparing the mind and body that the days are more pronounced and the nights are more well rested. Life begins to slow down again and sooner rather than later the strategy of planning the occasion is taken as a whole day by day instead of instant by instant.
City #3: Chloe, eyes lock for a second, then dart away. All the same but totally different.
In this city of Kivee, everything is familiar yet very far from home at the same time. When walking around the city the people, places and things are ringing with awareness to the mind but nothing seems to be as it is. Passing people on the street seems very foreign. Eyes lock for a second, then dart away. It is as if the mind is very similar but the body language and style is extremely unique and exotic. Along the side streets, there are numerous men wanting you to stop and look at their priceless possessions. Where normally, these inexpensive souvenirs would be sold as extremely expensive in the foreign land, here they are all over in every direction. To the eye they look the same on the outside, but strangely they are not as they appear.
One man comes along with a cigar in his mouth and a cane in his hand. He stops to chat with a friend on the street. On the other side, a woman is taking her dog out for the morning stroll. Ahead of her, children are chasing each other on the sidewalk in front of their grandmother. Stores are opening and the fresh air is blowing in your face.
Other people are oddly familiar; yet seem so distant as well. One woman could be standing next to you in a bakery, looking at your face, but the communication level between the two are extremely low. There is music in the distance, laughter in the crowds, people joining others for dinners and desserts, and young crowds later rejoining each other to mingle later in the evening. Even in a similar city, with seemingly similar people, and seemingly a similar setting, one feels more distant than ever before and the thoughts and feelings that most comfort them has vanished. It is only after one settles down into this unfamiliar setting that one starts to become this setting.
City #4:
In the city of Armiki, one never loses the sense of icicle confusion. Everywhere you look it appears to have a reflection of yourself for some strange reason. Walking in the streets your own reflection is reflected back to you threw puddles of mud. Looking out the window you again see a glimpse of yourself. During a dinner conversation with a friend you have yet again caught your own mirror image in the wine glass on the table. You can not escape it, no matter how much you want to get away from it, you just end up looking right back in your own eyes.
The thought that replays over and over again is that you are in a world strictly to serve your own best interest. No matter how much you want to escape it, it is you who must be knowingly aware of what you are encountering and how you perceive this wonderful image called life.
It is only then that you can stop seeing yourself in the reflections surrounding you and start seeing others take over and start looking out for their best interest. This city is allowing you to be knowledgeable about yourself so you can be better prepared to take care of others. In this respect, this city opens your eyes to how you would like to be treated and requires that treatment upon other individuals. By looking into the confusing icicle images, it is then that the whole picture is more clear. These images portray vivid descriptions of ones self not otherwise acknowledged or known unless thought of in this light.
Walking into this dark, confusing, lifeless city, one would imagine no city at all. But instead nothing but doubts fill your head because there are no signs of interaction, no lights leading to important city landmarks, and no form of communication among the city people. This city is the city of Zamri. Walking around this city is like trying to get out of a closed in maze. Everywhere you turn only takes you back to where you began your journey. One step in the other direction is only one step closer to your starting spot. While you walk around and around trying to figure out what would lead you to one familiar thing that you have left behind, somehow you feel farther and farther away. Every building you walk by only looks more and more similar to the one you just left. With the doors barricaded off and the locks surely secure, the life on the street is extremely shut down and unconscious.
Then finally the sun begins to shine and familiar places and things begin to appear as if you were in a never ending dream. Markets begin to fill with fresh fruit and daily baked goods, shops begin to swing the doors open and cafés begin to brew coffee. And somehow you feel familiarly at home. The sense of direction is attainable now and you are ready for the day ahead. For some reason the lost sense of nothingness is filled with excitement and dominance to take on the world. Every which way you turn people are fulfilling their own self profound prophecies. There are bakers, shop keepers, butchers, and fruit vendors working hard everyday to make a living and to provide goods to the people of the city. Now it seems as though the city is alive and well, whereas just a few hours earlier it felt lifeless and lonely.
City #2: Zemrude, following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before, today is soon tomorrow.
Entering this city with exhaustion and confusion still controlling the body, only to endure more exhaustion and confusion. This would be the city of Zambio. The body is ordered to complete attainable daily tasks where normally a second thought would not cross the mind. But for some reason this city has some uncontrolled power of time loss and mystification that the body has a hard time adjusting. Following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before. No day is separated by the next, but instead the days seem to run together like a forever running river. Taking the same streets with the same thoughts running over and over in the mind only further complicates the issues of distinguishing the days apart. It is as though the body is lost in a time machine only to be thrown back on the same day over and over again. The thought of the next day is only a blink away, but the memory of the last day has never left today. With the busyness of the day and the things left undone, exhaustion takes over the body to the point of deprivation.
It is only after the body has shut down, that one truly feels alive and well again. Ready for the inviting but fatiguing cycle to start again, you start the day out feeling like any other day but better prepared and ready for achievement. It is only now after preparing the mind and body that the days are more pronounced and the nights are more well rested. Life begins to slow down again and sooner rather than later the strategy of planning the occasion is taken as a whole day by day instead of instant by instant.
City #3: Chloe, eyes lock for a second, then dart away. All the same but totally different.
In this city of Kivee, everything is familiar yet very far from home at the same time. When walking around the city the people, places and things are ringing with awareness to the mind but nothing seems to be as it is. Passing people on the street seems very foreign. Eyes lock for a second, then dart away. It is as if the mind is very similar but the body language and style is extremely unique and exotic. Along the side streets, there are numerous men wanting you to stop and look at their priceless possessions. Where normally, these inexpensive souvenirs would be sold as extremely expensive in the foreign land, here they are all over in every direction. To the eye they look the same on the outside, but strangely they are not as they appear.
One man comes along with a cigar in his mouth and a cane in his hand. He stops to chat with a friend on the street. On the other side, a woman is taking her dog out for the morning stroll. Ahead of her, children are chasing each other on the sidewalk in front of their grandmother. Stores are opening and the fresh air is blowing in your face.
Other people are oddly familiar; yet seem so distant as well. One woman could be standing next to you in a bakery, looking at your face, but the communication level between the two are extremely low. There is music in the distance, laughter in the crowds, people joining others for dinners and desserts, and young crowds later rejoining each other to mingle later in the evening. Even in a similar city, with seemingly similar people, and seemingly a similar setting, one feels more distant than ever before and the thoughts and feelings that most comfort them has vanished. It is only after one settles down into this unfamiliar setting that one starts to become this setting.
City #4:
In the city of Armiki, one never loses the sense of icicle confusion. Everywhere you look it appears to have a reflection of yourself for some strange reason. Walking in the streets your own reflection is reflected back to you threw puddles of mud. Looking out the window you again see a glimpse of yourself. During a dinner conversation with a friend you have yet again caught your own mirror image in the wine glass on the table. You can not escape it, no matter how much you want to get away from it, you just end up looking right back in your own eyes.
The thought that replays over and over again is that you are in a world strictly to serve your own best interest. No matter how much you want to escape it, it is you who must be knowingly aware of what you are encountering and how you perceive this wonderful image called life.
It is only then that you can stop seeing yourself in the reflections surrounding you and start seeing others take over and start looking out for their best interest. This city is allowing you to be knowledgeable about yourself so you can be better prepared to take care of others. In this respect, this city opens your eyes to how you would like to be treated and requires that treatment upon other individuals. By looking into the confusing icicle images, it is then that the whole picture is more clear. These images portray vivid descriptions of ones self not otherwise acknowledged or known unless thought of in this light.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Diomira. Bronze statues of all the gods. Peaceful and unique.
Isidora. City of his Dreams. Childs imagination.
Dorothea. The city in the past, present, and future. Futuristic.
Zaira. Lines of a hand. Tale telling and predictable.
Anastasia. The treacherous city. Dangerous and unknowing.
Tamara. Burning relatives’ corpses. Dirty city.
Zora. Musical score where not a note can be altered or displayed. Dreamy wonderland.
Despina. He thinks of ships. Nothing is as it seems.
Zirma. It repeats itself so that something will stick in the mind. Same thing over and over.
Isaura. City of the thousand wells. Luscious with water.
Maurilia. One saw absolutely nothing graceful and would see it even less today. Not always as it appears.
Fedora. The ideal city. Picture perfect.
Zoe. Nothing but doubts. Unattainable belief.
Zenobia. With its pilings and suspended staircases. Prim and proper.
Euphemia. “hidden treasures”. Hunger Raves, hunger settles.
Zobeide. This ugly city. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Hypatia. Crabs were biting the eyes of the suicides. Misleading cities.
Armilla. Abandoned before ore after it was inhabited. Disappearing city.
Chloe. Eyes lock for a second, then dart away. All the same but totally different.
Valdrada. Sees two cities: one erect above the lake, and the other reflected, upside down. Mirror image.
Olivia. Inhabitants’ industry. Extremely dirty work.
Sophronia. They uproot it, dismantle it, and take it off. Yearly fair, removable.
Eutropia. All these cities together. The melting pot.
Zemrude. Following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before. Today is soon tomorrow.
Aglaura. But what was bizarre has become usual. Everything is as it seems.
Octavia. Little wooden ties, careful not to set your foot in the open spaces. Booby trapped city.
Ersilia. They rebuild Ersilia elsewhere. The good-bad city.
Baucis. With spyglasses and telescopes aimed downward they never tire of examining it. Perfectly pictured.
Leandra. They belong to the house, and when the family that has lived there goes away, they remain with the new tenants; perhaps they were already there before the house existed. Hidden treasures.
Melania. Even if none of them keeps the same eyes and voice he had in the previous scene. Changing places.
Esmeralda. Marked in different colored inks, all these routes, solid and liquid, evident and hidden. Not easily discovered.
Phyllis. Which elude the gaze of all, except the man who catches them by surprise. You never quite know what you might be looking for.
Pyrrha. Given it a name that means something entirely different. Nothing is as it seems.
Adelma. He had disappeared down an alley. Life after death and life during death.
Eudoxia. Symmetrical motives whose patterns are repeated along straight and circular lines. Memorable mathematical patterns.
Moriana. Alabaster gates transparent in the sunlight. Angelic white angels.
Clarice. It was all there, merely arranged in a different order, no less appropriate to the inhabitants’ needs than it had been before. Honestly mistaken.
Eusapia. Identical copy of their city, underground. The mystical hidden city.
Beersheda. Silver locks and diamond gates, a jewel city, all inset and inlaid. The majestic jewels.
Leonia. The things that each day are thrown out to make room for the new. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Irene. A name for a city in the distance, and if you approach, it changes. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Argia. The place is deserted. A ghost town.
Thekla. The city may begin to crumble and fall to pieces, they add hastily, in a whisper. A delicate dessert.
Trude. But you will arrive at another Trude, absolutely the same, detail by detail. An intricate trinket.
Olinda. And then if becomes a full-size city, enclosed within the earlier city. Look deeper and you might see what is not already there.
Laudomia. The dead, the cemetery. Life before death, life after death.
Perinthia. Reflect harmony. One big happy family.
Procopia. I saw the ditch vanish, the tree, the bramble patch. Over population.
Raissa. City of sadness. A river of sadness.
Andria. The days on earth and the nights in the sky reflect each other. Mirror image of astronomy.
Cecilia. Ask me the names of the grazing lands: I know them all. Fortune teller.
Marozia. Consists of two cities, the rat’s and the swallows’s; both change with time but their relationship does not change. Consistent inconsistency.
Penthesilia. You advance for hours and it is not clear to you whether you are already in the city’s midst or still outside it. The never ending story.
Theodora. One by one the species incompatible to the city had to succumb and were extinguished. A forest fire.
Berenice. Meat-grinding machines. Slavery.
The narrator in Calvino’s work is Marco Polo. The historical significance of this book is that the author is explaining one specific city in great detail, examining every aspect of the personality of the people, city, and atmosphere. The author would make such a choice in contemporary times because so often people forget what this unique city started as and where is it is today. The author begins his tales in the first person and then later in the book he changes to third person. I think this changes because he detaches himself as the author and begins to see the bigger picture of the city and imagines himself part of the city rather than touring the city.
Isidora. City of his Dreams. Childs imagination.
Dorothea. The city in the past, present, and future. Futuristic.
Zaira. Lines of a hand. Tale telling and predictable.
Anastasia. The treacherous city. Dangerous and unknowing.
Tamara. Burning relatives’ corpses. Dirty city.
Zora. Musical score where not a note can be altered or displayed. Dreamy wonderland.
Despina. He thinks of ships. Nothing is as it seems.
Zirma. It repeats itself so that something will stick in the mind. Same thing over and over.
Isaura. City of the thousand wells. Luscious with water.
Maurilia. One saw absolutely nothing graceful and would see it even less today. Not always as it appears.
Fedora. The ideal city. Picture perfect.
Zoe. Nothing but doubts. Unattainable belief.
Zenobia. With its pilings and suspended staircases. Prim and proper.
Euphemia. “hidden treasures”. Hunger Raves, hunger settles.
Zobeide. This ugly city. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Hypatia. Crabs were biting the eyes of the suicides. Misleading cities.
Armilla. Abandoned before ore after it was inhabited. Disappearing city.
Chloe. Eyes lock for a second, then dart away. All the same but totally different.
Valdrada. Sees two cities: one erect above the lake, and the other reflected, upside down. Mirror image.
Olivia. Inhabitants’ industry. Extremely dirty work.
Sophronia. They uproot it, dismantle it, and take it off. Yearly fair, removable.
Eutropia. All these cities together. The melting pot.
Zemrude. Following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before. Today is soon tomorrow.
Aglaura. But what was bizarre has become usual. Everything is as it seems.
Octavia. Little wooden ties, careful not to set your foot in the open spaces. Booby trapped city.
Ersilia. They rebuild Ersilia elsewhere. The good-bad city.
Baucis. With spyglasses and telescopes aimed downward they never tire of examining it. Perfectly pictured.
Leandra. They belong to the house, and when the family that has lived there goes away, they remain with the new tenants; perhaps they were already there before the house existed. Hidden treasures.
Melania. Even if none of them keeps the same eyes and voice he had in the previous scene. Changing places.
Esmeralda. Marked in different colored inks, all these routes, solid and liquid, evident and hidden. Not easily discovered.
Phyllis. Which elude the gaze of all, except the man who catches them by surprise. You never quite know what you might be looking for.
Pyrrha. Given it a name that means something entirely different. Nothing is as it seems.
Adelma. He had disappeared down an alley. Life after death and life during death.
Eudoxia. Symmetrical motives whose patterns are repeated along straight and circular lines. Memorable mathematical patterns.
Moriana. Alabaster gates transparent in the sunlight. Angelic white angels.
Clarice. It was all there, merely arranged in a different order, no less appropriate to the inhabitants’ needs than it had been before. Honestly mistaken.
Eusapia. Identical copy of their city, underground. The mystical hidden city.
Beersheda. Silver locks and diamond gates, a jewel city, all inset and inlaid. The majestic jewels.
Leonia. The things that each day are thrown out to make room for the new. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Irene. A name for a city in the distance, and if you approach, it changes. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Argia. The place is deserted. A ghost town.
Thekla. The city may begin to crumble and fall to pieces, they add hastily, in a whisper. A delicate dessert.
Trude. But you will arrive at another Trude, absolutely the same, detail by detail. An intricate trinket.
Olinda. And then if becomes a full-size city, enclosed within the earlier city. Look deeper and you might see what is not already there.
Laudomia. The dead, the cemetery. Life before death, life after death.
Perinthia. Reflect harmony. One big happy family.
Procopia. I saw the ditch vanish, the tree, the bramble patch. Over population.
Raissa. City of sadness. A river of sadness.
Andria. The days on earth and the nights in the sky reflect each other. Mirror image of astronomy.
Cecilia. Ask me the names of the grazing lands: I know them all. Fortune teller.
Marozia. Consists of two cities, the rat’s and the swallows’s; both change with time but their relationship does not change. Consistent inconsistency.
Penthesilia. You advance for hours and it is not clear to you whether you are already in the city’s midst or still outside it. The never ending story.
Theodora. One by one the species incompatible to the city had to succumb and were extinguished. A forest fire.
Berenice. Meat-grinding machines. Slavery.
The narrator in Calvino’s work is Marco Polo. The historical significance of this book is that the author is explaining one specific city in great detail, examining every aspect of the personality of the people, city, and atmosphere. The author would make such a choice in contemporary times because so often people forget what this unique city started as and where is it is today. The author begins his tales in the first person and then later in the book he changes to third person. I think this changes because he detaches himself as the author and begins to see the bigger picture of the city and imagines himself part of the city rather than touring the city.
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