THE END

WOW! The semester is already over. It has gone by fast…too fast. It seems like it was just yesterday when we started our ELIC novels and now I sit here writing my last blog entry. Looking back, I can see how much my writing has grown over the semester. It all started off with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. First off, I have to say that this is was my favorite book we read. It was so different from all the other books out there and I really enjoyed the change in writing style, it was refreshing. It was really cool how Jonathan Safran Foer was able to write so well a fictional story around September 11th because usually I shy away from things about 9/11. But none the less I was entertained throughout the duration of the novel. When it came time to turn in our papers on ELIC, I thought I turned in a decent one. I was a little drawn back when they were returned back to us because I got a C on it. When it came time to write our PowerBook essays though, I went to your office hours and everything changed. On the first essay, I thought I could do it on my own and that my writing skills were adequate enough. Luckily, I did get a C on that paper because it motivated me to come in and talk to you in order to try and help correct what I was doing wrong. Within the 30 minute time slot I learned so much. I can’t really put it into words how the transformation actually happened but I do know that when I left the room I knew how to better analyze a novel and to support a well formulated thesis. Before, I didn’t have a strong perception of what a good thesis really was. The tips of the “do’s and dont’s” that we went over in class really helped me immensely. Also, I think class discussions were very helpful. The novels we read were awesome, but they were also very challenging. Having an open discussion brought in new ideas and aided in analyzing the text from multiple angles. This was especially true for The PowerBook. The PowerBook was ridiculously difficult to understand at first. Luckily, I had to do my oral presentation on the inner and outer frames of the novel. By doing so, I got a firm grasp of what was actually going on. It was fun to teach the class for the day but I got a new appreciation of what it’s like to be a teacher… it’s not as easy as it looks. The PowerBook was cool because it was edgy. It defiantly followed the class motto of “RISK” which I felt was an awesome theme. Finally, there was The Bloody Chamber. This was another unique novel selection. I really liked how fairy tails were challenged and it made for an interesting writing prompt. I do have to say it was difficult to do, but it was fun. Working in pairs wasn’t that easiest thing in the world either, mainly because of the time constraint though. It lightened the load of the project and helped promote teamwork. Overall, I think this class helped me better prepare myself for the future. As a Zoo major with a Pre-Med focus, the writing skills learned in ENG 112 will help me go a long way when it comes time that I find myself writing med school applications. Due to my progress through the writing promps, I have became more efficient and more effective in my writing. Not only this, but I like the fact that I now have a grown interest towards the types of novels that we read in class. I don’t exactly know what type you would classify them but they were different and I liked it. Here at the end, I am sad to see this class end. It has been a fun class and I enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoyed it so much in fact that I think I only missed one class. The class was fun, the reading selections were fun, and I learned so much. I have to say thank you Kirstyn, you were an awesome teacher. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to be in your class again. Till then, thanks for everything.

Sincerely,

AJ

Natasha Tretheway

I was in attendance during the Natasha Tretheway Poetry reading. It was not what I expected but, none the less, it was a unique opportunity to see a Pulitzer Prize winning poet in action. This was especially true because Miami has never had one at the University before. My vision going into the auditorium was that she would use her voice to tell the story, allowing her pitch in voice and speed of reading to give sensation and meaning to her words. I though she would emphasize significant passages and embody the voice in order to give the poem life. But she did none of this. Instead, she used a very monotone voice with an unchanging pace. Why did she do this?; I thought as I sat there listening passage after passage. But then it hit me, Natasha didn’t want her reading to tell the stories within the poems, she wanted the words within the text to do it for her. The meaning behind her message didn’t need to be glamored in order to get the point across. The comprehension of the poems were not challenging at all, they didn’t make you sit and think for hours the way Williams Shakespeare does. But her message was loud and clear. Her poem each told part of the overall story behind the hardships and oppression that African Americans have faced over the years. Many of her poems were actually personal experiences associated with her life. This is why she read the poems like she did. Even so, at times I found it hard to follow, dozing off for a moment or two. My attention was  always rejuvenated by her elegant diction and clever metaphors though. Maybe is some of the reason why I found myself dozing, in a way her poems were soothing. Another unique aspect that Natasha brought was her connection to Ohio. Many times she mention that coming here was like coming home. If I remember it correctly, her parents legally married here in Ohio because it was illegal for African Americans to get married in Mississippi. This is yet another hardship that her family has faced and many other families still face today. Several of her poems reflect this. I guess most importantly Natasha’s poems were very informative and enlightening. I found out many tings that I didn’t before. I had no idea that African Americans can’t get married in Mississippi, and I am curious if it still is in effect today.  Still, I think this is what Natasha wanted to do, invoke the listeners to think, and overall she did a good job of it. I defiantly thought this was a cool experience and I defiantly won’t forget it.

Intertexuality or Intersexuality

Blog over pages 71-74 on The PowerBook (3/11)

Lol ok so I had to use that as my title because it is true, the novel is loaded with sexuality. But the important thing is, it actually goes hand-in-hand with the intertexuality of the novel. “Ali”, the writer in the outer frame, creates elaborate love stories (the inner frame) about love between two females. She not only does that, but she also goes on pretty vividly and in detail about what is going on between her lovers. I guess you would have to in order to explain how you are able to use a tulip as a phallus in intercourse. It was a little scary in the beginning but once you figure out Winterson’s style, you are able to understand the inner and outer framework she uses. The intertextuality is different but the intersexuality is the same. The intertexuality consists of Ali writing communicating via emails to her client and the inner frame is the search for true love. The funny thing is, Ali is not able to successfully satisfy her clients view of romance because even she herself doesn’t know what true love is. So her stories within the inner frame are her trial and error pursuit of understanding. This is a very unique narrative tragedy and I found it very interesting to read, even as hard as it was at times.

The PowerBook: What the?

Reflection over the PowerBook’s first 2 chapters (3/11)

The prompt asked to ask a thoughtful question. Well Oskar (from ELIC) has already came up with one for me: What the? This works because i had absolutely no idea what was going on the first time I read those two chapters. How does a tulip and phallus correlate? They are only alike in the biological sense that both are anatomically reproductive organs of their owner. The phallus to a human and the flower to a plant.  Now looking back, I can see that Jeanette Winterson is embodying the tulip  because they are more beautiful, and because the story is just  so  ridiculously  out there. But I liked the book. In my paper, I wrote about how love is portrayed in the book. In the first two chapters, Winterson poses the ultimate question: what is freedom for one night? This is the driving force behind the action of the book. The innertexuality is demonstrated between the  writer in the outer frame creating love stories that make up the  inner frame.  At many times these stories  bleed together.  The stories that the writer creates aren’t just  stories, but are  actually her attempt to find what true love really is. I think Winterson’s style was the most unique I had ever read. It was fun, challenging, and  refreshing.  I really enjoyed this book even though it confused the hell out of me, especially the first two chapters.

Anything Relevant

Blog on ELIC from February 2/28

I did a lot of my rewrite on Oskar. A great deal pertained to how Oskar affected the mood of the book. In this, Jonathan Safran Foer was able to make the book lighthearted and uplifting. September 11th is always a tough discussion topic due to the severity of the tragedy. But with having a nine-year-old narrator, Foer is able to manipulate the story from being sad to inspiring. From the reader’s standpoint, it makes a much lighter read and also an entertaining story due to the humor and inappropriateness of his character. Also, Foer implanted pictures to break up the reading, slow down the pace, and stimulate emotion. Obviously it is nice to have a break in the middle of a twenty page chapter, but the real importance is in that every picture holds a certain significance. Each holds a certain piece in Oskar’s life. The picture that is repeated the most is that of the falling man. In it we see a man falling from the World Trade Centers. In the back of the book their is actually a flip-book, giving life to the scene. The importance of this is that Oskar reverses the order so that instead of crashing to the ground, the man is actually floating up. This gives a happy ending and lasting visual of optimism.

The Erl-King

The story of The Erl-King follows a young woman as she wonders through very deep and mysterious woods. The woods in fact are very spooky as she is warned of the Erl-King. The Erl-King lives alone in the woods. He only eats what he can catch out in the woods and funny enough, the animals all seem to follow him willingly. A while later, the woman meets the Erl-King. He shows her the forest and they end up having sex together. Obediently returning to the birdcall, she arrives only to make love with him again. This time though, he bites her on the neck making her completely powerless to his will. In doing this, she will be like the other birds in the cages who are really other women that he has captured and caged. Of realizing this, she schemes a plot to kill the Erl-King in order to save herself and all the other birds as well which will transform them back to women. The fiddle throughout the story symbolizes power. Since it is stringless only its master can play it. But in the end, the woman is able to play it with the hair of the Erl-King.

Mr. Lyon

The Courtship of Mr Lyon. This story follows the general, and I mean general, outline of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The Bloody Chamber in it entirety takes children’s fairy tails and transforms them into the adults version. Figurative language is bountiful throughout the novel as familiar tales are twisted into clever and deceitful untold tales that hold, for the most part, reality. If I were to do the same, I would set the story in a college scene where two fraternity boys are fighting for the heart of the best girl on campus. One of the men represents a respected and gentlemanly fraternity while the other represents a masculinely macho fraternity. The two go out it until one has triumphed. I like this possible twist because it gives a very modern transformation to the tale. The major question at hand is, what wins over a woman’s heart?

Essay Problems

I think my biggest problem is fluidity. My paper has some good points in it but I don’t know if it flows well. I think at times what I have written has been a little forced and that I have to b s my way to get length. I hope that I can organize my paper in a way that I can meet the length requirement yet still have solid quotes and evidence that support my thesis. I think I need to work on the most with how to connect my sub-story with other sub-stories and the outer frame. That is where I kind of struggled writing my rough draft and I feel this is where my paper really loses its flow. So hopefully I can work these problems out and get a solid final draft.

Preliminary Outline

Sub-story:  Paris Lovers. Two individuals start off walking together in Paris. They spend the day together as parts of their lives unravel as they. As the day continues risk amounts. The night ends with the ultimate risk, sleeping with a stranger who is currently married.

“We were not lovers.” (p 35)

“A stranger is a safe place. You can tell a stranger anything.” (p 43)

“I get reckless. I risk more than I should.” (44)

“This is a bad idea…You are married to one person, in Paris with another, and we’re late for supper.” (p 48)

“The next morning I woke late and turned over to kiss her. She had gone.” (p 69)

Thesis: I agrue that risking a one night stand with a married person is a risk not worth taking.

Freedom for a Night

Freedom for a night. There are many ways in which this sentence can be interpreted. For ages, mankind has fought over freedom and what it means. To me, freedom for a night is much different than freedom itself. Freedom for a night is an opportunity to break loose and have a night where you can do anything without any remorse. In other words, it is a night where there are no restrictions. In the novel, this means that you can go out and have sexual encounters as freely as you want without worrying about the consequences. This is not how I interpret freedom for a night, but none the less I believe it entails risk. If given the opportunity to have freedom for a night, I would think most people would engage in risky behavior. This is why we do not have complete freedom. If we did who knows what the world would be like. But still, I think taking a chance is fundamentally good and is crucial to living. A little risk here and there never hurt anyone, and hey we are free to do so why not go out and live a little.