make-up class

It's almost midnight, I have just gotten home to find out I didn't miss class today after all. Either day is ok with me as long as I can ok changing my lunch hour with my supervisor at work.

final paper proposal

For my final paper, I think I would like to look at the pieces (maybe all if I can get to them, if not, most) that we have covered in this class. I would like to try to determine if each author had a purpose, or message in each writing; were there numerous messages; or were the messages too obscure to be noticed; and were the messages conveyed to the reader?

Tuesday it is.

We'll meet in the virtual classroom, Tuesday, at our usual time. There will be no penalty if you can't make the class, but I want everyone to have the opportunity to ask questions and talk about the final paper and closing out the semester. See you then.

T. F.

(edited for clarity)

final paper proposal

I will show how authors in different genres of literature are telling readers something different. The authors and styles of writing have changed, but the messages from the authors of these genres have stayed the same. There are two many different types of modern literature for it to be classified into one all-encompassing category as literaure in the past has been.

Final Paper Proposal

We study modern/contemporary literature to gain insight and to acquire knowledge. Modern/contemporary literature has many things to say about our culture and way of life. I would like to discuss how society is reflected in literature. I will discuss some of the references to literature in pop culture as well as how fictional works affect viewpoints on critical issues.

Also, modern/contemporary literature is very reality based. Authors like Capote, Updike, Morrison, and Atwood all had different purposes in their writing therefore we get something different from each novel. Same with the films - they each had a different purpose and people get something different from each. I would like to discuss the different genres and their purposes as well as affects on readers.

make up session

I would prefer tomorrow because I have to work on wednesday.

Final Paper Proposal

For my final paper I'd like to look into the progression of literature over time. For example comparing the style and subject of writing of Shakespeare in the 1500's to the style and subjects of authors of today. We ask why we study literature and what we get out of it, well if you posed this question to students reading books back in the 1800's when Bronte, for example, was writing, we most likely would get completely different answers. The subject matter has changed over time as society has changed. Naturally there will be differences and I think it would be interesting to look into how society affects literature which would affect our study of literature in a sense.

Final Paper Proposal

For the final paper I'm not quite sure what I want to write about. I'd like to discuss the appeal of modern literature as opposed to classic literature. I'll move over the different genres of modern literature that we've covered, such as in Oryx and Crake and the short stories science fiction type stories all the way to the current topics like those of Rabbit, Run and In Cold Blood. Of course, this being an argumentative paper, it's going to come from my opinion and hopefully I can control my rambling/ranting that I used in my other papers.

I'm going to attempt to answer the questions asked of the paper in defining what the appeals of modern literature are compared to what classic literature gives. Any criticisms and/or ideas would be greatly appreciated and most likely utilized.

Make-up session

Either day would work for me but I'd rather do it tomorrow just so we can get it over with.

Week 4, Post #1

We study literature because it is another form of art. People love to lose themselves in a great story – whether they are the author or the reader. Literature has been studied for centuries. Most people want to be viewed as intelligent and studying literature can open up the world to a reader. There is literature available on every subject you can imagine. Studying literature can expand a person’s mind and experiences. By reading literature you can learn about different cultures, history, customs, events, etc. Literature can take you to a different time and place. I also think that literature helps people to get another perspective either of themselves or of someone else; literature tends to put you in someone else’s shoes. Literature can help people work out their problems if they can relate to characters with similar struggles.

New Plan

Unfortunately, the server was down today so the virtual classroom would not work. (That's the very first time I've had that happen in *years* of online teaching.)

If you would, please let me know (here) which would be better for you for a make-up class--tomorrow or Wednesday. We have a lot to talk about so I want us to meet if we can. Thanks, and sorry for the inconvenience.

T. F.

Science Fiction

Personally I can't stand reading science fiction. I don't like having to put myself into what seems like another world. I think it can be fun for writers though because they can create their own world. It can also be more challenging because they have to convence their audience that the world they are creating can exist. Oryx and Crake and "All You Zombies-" are fun science fiction reads, but challenge the reader's imagination. The reader must put themselves in the world that the author has created.

week 4 post 1

people study literature to take them away from the daily grind of our lives. if you find a good book you can place yourself in the place of one of the characters and your life problems and worries vanish for the time that you are reading. it also allows us to see what life was like in different times or places. if we study shakespeare we can see what it was like to live in his time or if we study hemminway we can see what it was like around WWI in places that were affected by war. so we study literature to get away and learn about different times and places.

Week 4, Post #1

We study literature because it allows a person to immerse themselves in another world. Whether a book is fact or fiction, the reader is able to live vicariously through the characters of a book. Studying literature allows a reader to learn about things they haven't seen. It allows a person to gain knowledge about secrets of history or it may enlighten that same person to ideas about friendship, problem-solving, or anything else.
We study literature to gain knowledge.

paper 2

James Crawford
English 215
July 29, 2006


John Updike’s Rabbit Run is a sad story about a young man who is tired of his miserable life. He has an alcoholic wife, a preschool child, and another baby on the way. At one time, he was an excellent basketball player, and he seems to draw much of his self-worth from that. He talks about it often and is very proud of his achievements in that area. However, all of the happiness that basketball brought him has faded now, and he is living a miserable life with his alcoholic wife and their child.
In this story, Updike uses a one family to symbolize a community. In the story, Eccles is the pastor that helps the family in need. He represents the churches in the community that help the families and groups that need help. Eccles takes Rabbit under his wing in an attempt to guide him back to his family. He uses settings other than church to show Rabbit that Janice and the children need him. The churches everywhere that try to mend broken marriages and families parallel this. For example, Edwards Road Baptist Church in Greenville, SC, invites children from the community to come play basketball. While the children are playing basketball, the parents have a chance to interact with church members who can counsel and help them with their family life. They also have marriage counseling and seminars as well as marriage retreats where couples go somewhere for the weekend and do activities designed to strengthen relationships. In addition to that, there are after school programs for troubled youth and children who are in need of guidance and teaching. Unfortunately, however, the church is often marked by isolated events that tarnish its reputation. A recent example of this is the child molestation scandal in the Catholic Church. The actions of a few men marked the good that millions of believers were doing. In Rabbit Run, Eccles does everything in his power to be the glue that holds the family together. He is there every time Rabbit leaves. He is there when Janice that drowns the baby. He is the epitome of what the church should be and strives to be in communities.
Rabbit can represent the parents or members of society that “go astray”. These are people that act in ways that socially unacceptable. These are the people that leave their families, use drugs, are alcoholics etc. Rabbit leaves his family and ends up living with a prostitute. Anyone could understand why he wants to leave. He has an alcoholic wife, an undisciplined son, and two meddling in-laws. All of this, however, does not excuse his behavior. His irresponsibility indirectly leads to the destructions of more than one life. He is alone, jobless, homeless, and spending money faster than he is making it. His actions affected everyone around him. Janice now has to live with the fact that she murdered her own child. If he had paid attention to her when the problems started, maybe they never would have gone to this extreme. There is a possibility that she could have overcome her addictions and been a mother to her children. As it is now, she leaves Nelson with in-laws more than she keeps him, and she drinks while pregnant, thereby putting their unborn child in danger, and eventually drowns her newborn baby. Nelson now has a broken home with an alcoholic mother and an absent father. Rabbit’s actions were selfish and bordering on cruel to his child. Nelson will never know what it is like to have a normal family with two parents who love and care for him. His life will now consist of being passed from grandparent to grandparent. He will always have the stigma of someone who is the child of a murderer. The grandparents are supposed to be living a carefree retirement. Instead, they are caring for an unstable daughter, a neglected grandchild, and the death of another grandchild. Rabbit’s actions indirectly caused them pain and suffering at a time when they should have been enjoying the spoils of their hard work.
In the community, Janice represents the overworked and underappreciated mothers who spend too much time worrying about outside problems and not enough time caring for their children. They are so concerned with keeping up appearances that they let the things that really matter slip. She finds it more important to get drunk than to take care of her family, Rabbit and Nelson. Mothers in today’s society work full time jobs and take much better care of their families than Janice does and she stays at home during the day. While she does have a lot of responsibility, she handles it in the worst way possible. She is the perfect example of how to NOT be a good mother. Most of this is not Rabbit’s fault, but he does make it worse by his insensitivity and distance emotionally.
Nelson represents the children who are the unfortunate victims of these situations. Nelson is hardly mentioned in the book, further symbolizing how these children are neglected and left to fend for themselves. They are the true victims of stories like this one. Rabbit brings his punishments on himself. Janice lets herself be controlled by alcohol and self-pity, but Nelson is thrust into this situation with no control and no way out.
Unfortunately, there are many examples of men leaving their families to chase dreams of freedom or of being single again. One such example is Perry Smith’s father in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. John “Tex” Smith, his wife Flo, and their children traveled all over the country doing rodeo shows. Tex’s rodeo riding could be compared to Rabbit’s basketball playing. It was something in which he excelled, and much of his self-image was wrapped up in being good at it. The comparisons between John “Tex” Smith and Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom do not stop there. They both had dreams that were almost unattainable. For Tex, it was the dream of being getting rich quickly. He traveled all over the country and lived in his van chasing this dream. He even built a hunting lodge that failed miserably. For Rabbit, it was the dream of having no responsibility. He dreamed of having no problems and wandering through life doing whatever he wished. For this reason, he left his wife and child. He moved in with a prostitute, quit his job, and made all new friends. He seems to have an almost childlike mentality. Any rational adult could figure out that any happiness he gets from doing those things is only temporary. Once the last paycheck runs out, he is going to be destitute, with no job, no car, and no friends. Also, the way he interacts with Ruth, and the reasons he has for his actions are almost childlike. He seems to treat her like he has no understanding of their relationship. He moves in after knowing her for one night, he begs her not to use contraceptives, and he tells her he loves her. He seems to think that their relationship is much more personal than business. Ruth seems to be slightly annoyed if not intrigued by this unstable man. Much in the same way, Tex’s dream was childlike. Most rational people know that there is no get rich quick scheme, and that there is no way of just walking away from your responsibilities. Case in point, Rabbit thought he was free until he got the call that Janice had gone into labor. No matter how much he wanted to be free of the worries of a family, he needed to be present for the birth of his child.
In a way, one must give Rabbit credit for trying to make it work when he went back. In the end though, it was still his selfishness that brought the end. Janice gave the marriage a half-hearted effort when Rabbit went back the first time. In a way, she figured that it was his mess to clean up and that he needed to take the initiative of mending their broken relationship. The problem was that Rabbit did not want to be there in the first place. He had no interest in making their relationship work. The only thing he cared about was his own happiness. Therefore, when Janice wouldn’t perform the same sexual acts as the prostitute, he walked out again. This time, the only thing that brought him back was a tragedy.
In an alcoholic stupor, Janice drowned their newborn child. This is the ultimate example of irresponsibility, abuse and neglect. What happened to this infant represents the terrible things that happen in every community. There is abuse, neglect, and cruelty in every society that victimizes the innocent. Rabbit’s actions ultimately led to the death of an innocent child. Eccles is once again called in to help in this time of tragedy, and the grandparents are again called to comfort and help Janice.
In the end, Rabbit finally leaves for good. He leaves his in-laws to care for their wreck of a daughter, leaves his son to fend for himself, and leaves Eccles to clean up the mess that he left. He, once again, chooses the easy route with no responsibility.
This story is a sad example of many families and even many communities today. The different characters represent factions of the community and the problems they must deal with. It is unfortunate that people like Eccles stay so busy, but fortunate that they are there. Their kindness and generosity keep stories like this from being much more routine than they are.

Science Fiction

Personally, I'm up in the air as far as science fiction goes, I do like some science fiction but not when it gets to be incredibly unbelievable. I think that science fiction is a double-edged sword. The author is not bound by any conventional means that apply to other fiction writers, he or she can create any world and write in any frame of reference or time. The other side of the sword is that when a writer creates this alternate world, they must convince the reader of it and ground it to make it somewhat believable. I haven't finished Oryx & Crake yet, I didn't receive the book in the mail until Thursday, but I have enjoyed it thus far, and I also enjoyed the short story "All You Zombies". I feel like both of the authors do a good job of staying within the realm of understanding and do a good job of convincing the reader of what they are writing.

Also, I'm still on the hunt for Good Bye Lenin so if anyone comes across it in the movie store or anything, let me know, I'm gonna try the Easley library if I have time after work, we'll se how it goes.

Post #4

Though I've never been a huge fan of Science Fiction I really enjoyed Oryx and Crake and didn't mind the All you Zombies. Obviously the advantage of writing Science fiction is the ability to be creative. You can make anything, create your ideal world or something that fascinates you. It also gives the author the ability to not be limited by what is real. Authors have the freedom to create a time machines, creatures, or company that don't exist. And there is no need to be limited by what is possible. The beauty of scifi is the that nothing is impossible.

I think that the main reason that scifi is so exciting to people is being able to escape everyday life or even the world. Imagining decreases as you get older, its something that children are able to do all the time. Being able to use your imagination while reading is exciting and stimulating. Another advantage is being able to allow the reader to envision what you create in their own way. Why you can do that in other genres like thinking about what the house looks like or a character, being able to do it with something that doesn't exist (like a rakunk) allows for the reader to become engaged in the reading, making the story how they want it to be. It allows the writer to feel like a kid again. It allows them to be a creater of the world.

I found it!

I finally got a hold of the book. I had to order it online from Barnes and Noble. It should be here within the next day or two. As soon as I get it I will read the three stories that have been assigned and post ASAP. will this hurt my grade a lot?

Science Fiction Post #4

I personally enjoy the genre in both Oryx and Crake and All You Zombies. Typically I'm not a huge science fiction fan in mediums like TV, but Oryx and Crake really captivated my attention. It allows readers to wonder about what the future may bring and especially in something like Oryx and Crake where genetic alterations and work are in their budding stages, allows the readers to wonder what might become of something that is beginning now. The genre can also allow you to create without many ties to present day or the past. An author can create wars, diseases, inventions or anything else they want to in order to tell a story.

Wk 4 Post 1

I believe we study literature for many reasons. Literature is a great medium to connect to other people and other times. We get to see into someone else's life in a way that we never would have been able to. We read books about the past that give us insight into how people lived back then and at the same time give us a piece of history. It is an escape from our everyday world for many. Some people read books about other people in other walks of life and just imagine what it would be to be like in their situation. For some, it is a stress relief. For others, it could just be a pasttime. Literature is always a great way to adress the present or past issues in society like war, racism, money, sexuality, anything.

Post # 4 - Science Fiction

Science fiction offers up the option of both fantasy fiction and speculative fiction. All that is written can be completely bogus or it can have some real roots in the world around us. On one end, stories like “All You Zombies” incorporate the unlimited possibilities of the sci-fi genre. With this type you can create as little or as much as the story needs without the worries of creating a paradox, unless that was the intention. These types of stories test the limits of imagination and are usually an exciting and whimsical tromp through another reality.

With Oryx and Crake the book is based off of facts and tells of a world that very well could end up being. Arthur C. Clake is famous for this allusion to the future of humanity and technology. Perhaps this is the most disturbing part of this style of science fiction writing because it can cause uncertainties by merely offering up the possibilities. I know that after reading Oryx and Crake I have thought a lot more about how future events may play out.

This genre hails all sorts of fans as well. Due to its plethora of possibilities, novels are as popular as the harlequin romance type. It’s no wonder why too. There seems to be a little bit of everything in this genre and an endless amount of stories that can be told through it.

Mrs. Fishman, I followed the link on your syllabus page and it says that the item is no longer available.

oryx and crake

science fiction allows the author to write about whatever they would like to write about. as long as the author supplies enough details about the characters and the setting so that the reader understands the situation they can write about any topic that they choose. the stories can be only a couple pages long like the story from the anthology or they can be several hundred or they can be a long running series with thousands of pages like the Star Wars series. as long as the author keeps the reader interested it can go on as long as the writer likes.

Final Paper Topic

For my final paper I want to focus on the question what will current literature be called in the future? Much like art styles writing goes through its periods of styles and I want to connect the two. I think Junebug would be a good start of and tie between the two because of the plot but I want to include Love, The Handmaid's Tail and one of the other books we have read in the course. I would like to put my paper in a different form to connect the art and literature so I was thinking about making an art museum guide but instead of paintings and sculptures having the exhibits be of modern literature and past literature. I might possibly make a mini website for this instead.

Science Fiction-post #4

The biggest advantage in writing science fiction is that there are no limits. Whatever the imagination can come up, goes because sci-fi may or may not be believable. I think it is more fun for the reader though if the story is something they can relate to.

In Oryx and Crate for example, much of the research mentioned in the story is stuff tha we hear in the news or read about now, although the creation of another form of life-being is a little out there. It does make me wonder though, if scientist and researchers have an ulterior motive in some of their studies, other than finding cures for diseases-like maybe perfecting the "humanoid"...which leads us to "Robot Dreams", if you haven't read it yet.

Why Do We study Literature?

Literature helps us learn about other peoples lives. We learn how other people live and how they deal with different situations. We can compare our own lives with those of the characters of books and make conclusions about our own lifestyles from these books.
Some people read as an added sense of security, if they read about other peoples lives even if they are not real lives sometimes their life seems great and even better then they thought it was in the first place and this makes them feel better about themselves. Other people read to gain knowledge about other areas of the world and other lifestyles because they are unable to travel to these places and meet these types of people. For science fiction fans you can escape to an imaginary world and forget about the real world while you are reading which is a great escape from reality.

Science Fiction

Science fiction is a genre that can include many different kinds of stories. I always assumed science fiction to be about aliens and space ships and just more like Star Wars. All You Zombies and Oryx and Crake were definitely science fiction but they were not the kind of stories I expected. Science fiction comes purely from the imagination. Reading or watching science fiction is truly an escape from reality; and I think that is why some people enjoy this genre so much. I think a unique advantage to this genre is that almost anything goes. Stories can include time travel like in All You Zombies or be set in the future like in Oryx and Crake. Science fiction has a variety to offer that I don’t think exists in other genres.

Oryx and Crake was really interesting because it went back in forth between the “present” (Snowman’s life) and “past” (Jimmy’s life). It was a little confusing at first but after awhile I got used to the terminology. Science fiction elements were evident all throughout the novel. The experiments, the technology, the events, and the “Crakers” all contributed to make this book a sci-fi novel. Oryx and Crake really brought in elements from the imagination.

All You Zombies was I think a little more stereotypical to the science fiction genre because it had time travel in it. Also, it was interesting because it was written in 1959. Science fiction has become much more developed since that time to include the variety of stories it contains today.

Science Fiction

Previous to reading both Oryx and Crake and "All You Zombies" I had a preconceived notion that all science fiction books were based on some far off planet with humans attacking it or on earth with aliens coming to take over the earth or just intermix unnoticed into society. These two stories are far from that and I think it is important for them to be. Being their own type of science fiction makes them more successful in the selling realm.
"All You Zombies," does play with time travel but I like the fact that the main character has many different personalities and lives throughout the short story. It sort of is an exaggerated version of a person with multiple personalities in one body. I think that this makes the story science fiction because scientifically it would be impossible to be your own mother and your own father.
Oryx and Crake was a little more confusing b ut it was obviously science fiction. I think this book had an interesting way of being science fiction as well because at the beginning of science fiction his life could actually be considered believable...I mean I don't know if people actually live in bubbles anywhere but the use of animals like pigs for the health of humans is a topic that has come up a lot in recent medical areas.

paper #2

Maggie Rauck

Hopping Down The Bunny Trail

After reading John Updike’s “Rabbit Run” a Shakespearian quote inspired by Socrates comes to mind that encompasses the lesson behind the story, “To thine own self be true, for it must follow as dost the night the day, that canst not then be false to any man”. This quote is important in life because in essence its all you have, people will not always agree or accept your point of view, but you must own up to what you determine is right and wrong. In other words you must see yourself and accept it for who you are and shape it to who you want to be otherwise you are simply a product of what others make you and place you. To be comfortable in your own skin and have integrity and the ability to decide things for yourself is a simple concept, but for so many not a reality. This story is based on a character that was too weak in many ways to say no to his temptation and made bad decisions that forced him to loose sight of what was ultimately important in life choosing a path that involved running, like a rabbit from his problems. Not owning up to your responsibilities and running from your problems will only create more problems. Taking the high road and addressing those problems will temporarily be trivial, but wiping the slate clean with loved ones and yourself will create new beginnings and a fresh start.

The main character Rabbit Angstrom is in every way playing the part and motions of a man, but in every way still is trapped (like a rabbit) in a child’s mindset. You see this from the very start of the book with simple examples of how Rabbit takes the easy road and doesn’t take responsibility and then that lack of responsibility carries over to larger decisions that have greater consequences as the book progresses. The book opens with Rabbit returning from a day at the office and it describes him observing a few small boys playing basketball. A contrast is made between the boy’s simple game of basketball and the image of Rabbit watching from the sidelines. Rabbit an old athlete at heart watching and relives vicariously through the dreams of these boys. The contrast is in the informal game and the boy’s keds (shoes) and the entertainment they have at this game. Rabbit is dressed in a “double-breasted cocoa suit” (5) and is smoking a cigarette. At some point the ball comes towards Rabbit and he takes a shot, makes the basket and at the point like a kid in a candy store it is reiterated that things will naturally work out. Rabbit drops his schedule to play with these young boys and this is the start of the cycle of Rabbit’s life, he regains hope like the innocence of children, but is too weak when the going gets tough to rise above and be true to him.

On the way home he throws out his cigarettes and honestly thinks he will give it up, he returns to his reality. He arrives to a broken family that involves an alcoholic, pregnant wife who has dropped their other son at her mother’s, doesn’t have dinner ready, and is smoking and drinking a lot while being pregnant. Not only does wife Janice kill Rabbit’s innocence that things will be different for the future and between them as a couple almost immediately with arguing incessantly he doesn’t stand up for what is right and still goes to get their kid and her cigarettes, being scared of the frail woman and wanting only to please. At that point you realize Rabbit lacks a backbone to stand up for his unborn child’s health, the neglect of the first born, his pregnant, alcoholic wife’s health, or his own because earlier he had decided to quit smoking. This is a small example of the problems Rabbit avoids that accumulate and deteriorate being true to the people he loves and himself.

The message I believe Updike wants us to gain is to own up to responsibility and take care of your problems. Updike has a crafty way of using simple details to illustrate how Rabbit acts similarly to an actual rabbit. A rabbit is fickle in mannerisms and relationships like the main character. A rabbit lives a very simple, blissful, life enjoying the fruits of life, unthreatening to others, while constantly fearing a predator. The only defense a rabbit has is running to a burrow, which ironically is the way the main character Rabbit chooses to live his life. Later on in the book Rabbit starts running and leaves his hometown, wife, and family. Eventually Rabbit decides to turn around and at least be back in his own surroundings. In ways I believe that is more cowardly because it isn’t where you go, but what you do when you get there. Rabbit doesn’t own up to responsibility that he left he just ignores it and although he literally isn’t fleeing never stops running from the problems. When talking with Eccles, a minister who processes many human-type flaws, but is good-hearted and sympathetic Rabbit talks about his lifestyle and says “I don’t really have a plan. I’m sort of playing it by ear”(90).

This statement makes his mentality of childlike immaturity, lack of responsibilities, and desire to only get through life day to day without long term goals and ambitions evident. A rabbit’s only concern is to go with the flow eating when hungry, running when frightened, and mating when necessary. This shows Rabbit’s lack of control over himself or situations and although you do sympathize with these people the truth is that they have lazy, work ethic to clean up their own mess.

Rabbit picks up another woman because it is easier for him. She isn’t attractive, but is an easy target for Rabbit and goes along with what he says because in ways she too is trapped wanting attention and love in any direction. Her crime is home wrecking, even if Rabbit’s family was already broken. The two women in Rabbit’s life need him for different reasons and he is unfit for both, using them for his own selfish desires. This is a further way he is like a rabbit trapped and scared, still running. When it was convenient for him to need a job from Janice’s (wife) dad he took that. But when he needed a place to stay when he left his wife he invited himself to Ruth’s place. Ruth again plays into the childlike dream of what Rabbit sees in the future. He describes to Eccles his relationship with Janice as second-rate and when Rabbit asks Ruth why she likes him, she comments, “Cause you haven’t given up. In your stupid way you’re still fighting,”(80). Rabbit likes this because the confusion behind his life that is because he is making things harder running and burrowing without purpose is justified. Rabbit feels that in the confusion someday his life will work out.

Rabbit’s life still is basically a constant balancing beam where he weighs out decisions and the ifs, buts, and possibilities of luck and what could happen had he made a better decision. In one part of the book he goes home to his old house to gather some things to move in with Ruth, he leaves Ruth with the dishes and then thinks on the way of how Ruth is a better cook than Janice. Rabbit is happy at this point when he is alone packing his things because he is able to grab his belongings and return with a hop, skip, and a jump away from his reality to Ruth’s without the stress of his family or wife. On his way out though Eccles is waiting and offers him a ride to chat about his wife.

This to me is the climax in many ways to the story, Rabbit displaces the responsibility and after this moment is forever a broken record of running from problems escaping reality. Rabbit describes the feel of Eccle’s handshake, “for an instant Rabbit fears he will never let go. He feels caught, foresees explanations, embarrassments, prayers, reconciliations rising up like dank walls; his skin prickles in desperation”(88). Rabbit until this point is pleasantly surprised at how easy it has been to coast through the unpleasant times in life, leaving a path full of destruction for someone else to pick up. Rabbit in this sense feels caught and trapped being forced to at least delve into some of his past and those he has hurt until now. It is now that Rabbit chooses to talk with Eccles and opens up to why he came back from running from his family, but does not wish to rekindle things with Janice. He then agrees to chat again on the golf course. Progressively Eccles although a smoker, and hardly a saint tries to not change, but improve Rabbit’s view on life. Eccle’s does this by simply saying, “ You’re a coward…you worry nothing except your own worst instincts” (115).

Eccles through a series of chats progressively pushes Rabbit to God. Everyone in Rabbit’s life has seemed to do this, but never in a non-perfect, all excepting way such as Eccles. Eccles’s pushes Rabbit to own up to at least himself and that although at the end of the day you can’t always be a crowd pleaser, possibly the most important crowd could be the relationship and acceptance of yourself. Rabbit struggles with this concept he realizes because of Eccles that it is hard to be vulnerable to love someone. Eventually his imperfect behavior dwindles and although he still enjoys a smoke, returns to Janice, but still doesn’t stop her drinking and face up to their broken home. Janice is upset at the end because she can’t feed her newborn, Rabbit looks to the easy route again, “Have a drink. Have a drink” (209). Rabbit is still smoking and at times doing not what’s right, but what is easy for the moment. Ruth is still heartbroken looking for love in the worst places, trapped in her past and future. Janice is still a victim to alcoholism and burnt out on trying to believe that Rabbit won’t ever leave because she knows that it is the nature of him to run from her, the problem, and the solution. Janice is bruised from the lack of having companionship from her husband and by the end of the novel it is Rabbit running again. Rabbit describes illusion of reality as “the block of brick three-stories is just like the one he left, something in it makes him happy”(264).

Rabbit is forever a coward for feelings, emotion, or depth from people determined to luckily fall into place. He shys away from small responsibilities such as daily chores, as well complexities and difficulties that come in life. Sooner rather than later he is living a path that he hasn’t chosen, but is so accustomed to the nomadic style of living ashamed, trapped, and running he can’t correct the past, own the blame, and improve the future. The laundry list of accountability overwhelms him and the blame from not addressing the blame, guilt, and neglect only is temporarily silenced when he runs. Rabbit is only temporarily engaged in anything and the truth is that if he were happy he wouldn’t be running, but would linger proudly and unashamed. So I guess Socrates was right, “To thy own self be true”.

Oryx and Crake

This book was both confusing and interesting at the same time. It took me a long time to realize that Jimmy and Snowman were the same person. Or, maybe I'm still confused about that. Anyways I think that this whole Science Fiction genre is extremely creative, all the wolvogs and pigoons were pretty wierd. I usually think of Star Treck or aliens and outer space when I think of Science fiction, not the kind of stuff that I read in this book. I still haven't been able to get a hold of the Anthology so I haven't read All You Zombie's but I'm sure it will be as interesting and creative as Oryx and Crake.

Candace-actually I found it in the Seneca Library, but I would think most any county library would have it, or could get it for you.

Thanks Jana!

Thanks for the advice, I'll check into the Easley library first thing monday...also...does anyone know if grades for the first paper have been posted, just wondering so i know how well I need to do on this one!

Thanks Jana for that help... Are you talking about the Clemson library?
Even so, I am not in Clemson right now so it wouldn't do me that much good :(

Good Bye, Lenin!

In Lenin perspective is key. It is everything, both to Alex and his mother. In order to keep everything stress free Alex creates a lie that begins to grow exponentially. Though such a thing is impossible to keep going, he nonetheless keeps trying and eventually begins to see his lie as the truth. He rewrites history and creates the ending he thought it needed. His mother’s perspective is of an invalid who knows only of the world through her children and the “current” news on television. With ever suspicious notion she has, she is met with a convenient reason only a day later. This movie was somewhat vexing to me, but I began to enjoy it more than halfway through. It reminded me much of European narrated movies; casual and sometimes jarring with a subtle comical flare.

To Brad-

All the stores that I checked in Clemson and Seneca (and one in West Union) not only didn't have the movie, they didn't carry it at all. The Central-Clemson Library said that the Easley Library had it, but I didn't have time to go get it-you may be closer...

To Candace-

I found the anthology at the public library, although the title is a bit different than listed in the syllabus: Masterpieces-The Best Science Fiction of the Century (not 20th century)

Hope this helps.

I can't find the Anthology

Mrs. Fishman,
I am having a lot of trouble finding the Science Fiction Anthology. I have looked at the Books A Million in Anderson, the school bookstore, the greenville B&N, the B&N in Charleston, and I have looked online. Nobody seems to have it or if they do it is not available/in stock. Considering the fact that we are beginning to start reading these stories I am in a slight bind. What do you want me to do?

Goodbye Lenin

Unlike everyone else, I don't have anything interesting to post about Goodbye Lenin b/c when Blockbuster both in Clemson and Seneca is out of the movie, so it looks like I'm not the only one taking this class in Clemson this summer ;-) I'm going to try to go back tomorrow and see if it's there so I can watch it and make a post, I hope this is okay.

Goodbye, Lenin

The story was told from Alex who was altering the perspective of everyone around him. He did away with 8 months of history so that his mother wouldn't have to life with it. It's interesting to see how the different people are affected by his actions. His mother's perspective is sad as she is confined to a bed for most of the movie after being such a prominent figure. Ariane put up with it at first but never truly wanted to do what Alex had in mind. Lara tried her hardest to put up with it but she too disagreed with it. It really illustrates the importance of change and acceptance.

To be honest, it was my first completely subtitled movie I've ever seen. I must say it was an excellent film that I enjoyed a lot. I found the concept to be original and very moving. Perspective is an interesting theism to discuss in this movie because it was controlled in the movie. Alex was controlling the perspective his mom had on the state of East Germany. He used film out of context and created the meaning of the film that Denis put together for his mom. It was interesting how using the film from other moments in history could be put together and keep his mother believing things hadn't changed. The mother at the end also put on a smile and did not let her son know she knew the truth, she was protecting him.

Perspective is interesting in how you base your life on what you've been told and rarely question it. Alex and his sister believed that their father was the bad guy and had abandon them. In the end they see that it was their mother that kept them away from their father, and she seemed to do it in away to protect them and keep them from being taken from her.

This movie makes you realize that your life and things you believe are based on how you see them, and more importantly, how they're shown and told to you. Especially when younger, I don't remember questioning much of what my parents told me. This happened with the children and with the mom who after awakening from the coma was back in a child state, having to be tended too.

Goodbye Lenin was a movie about a the socialist movement in Germany. Christiane was an advocate for East Germany when she loses her husband and then falls into a coma. When she wakes up the Berlin wall has fallen and slowly East and West Germany begin good relations. Before the coma the family was very disconnected, but after Alex for awhile shields his mother from the changes in history. Alex and his sister bicker about the way he protects his mother, but in part Alex feels guilty for his mother's coma and that everything she has worked for has changed. One day Alex's mom goes on a walk and figures out that a lot has changed. The family finally embraces these changes and allows Alex's mother to know this then unites the family sort of like the new state of Germany. There are many complexities to both the family state and the state of the countries. The family goes through rough patches (coma, divorce, etc.) and then stabilizes eventually. The country goes through rough patches and then temporarily stabilizes. the irony to the situation is that in many ways Alex wanted to be out of the loop like his mother, but couldn't because he already knew of everthing that was going on. He almost lived vicariously through her, another irony is that of socialism. The Germans wanted this so called life and they dreamed and made strides in a positive direction, but the truth is there are always divisions in society so total equality is a dream. In the last part of the movie Alex's mother is playing with her daughter's baby the new hope and generation. Alex's mom and her grandaughter are both experiencing this new place for the first time, the transition. In the end Alex's mother dies and in a way it is symbolistic of the dead life that was before the new world before the fall of the Berlin wall.

googbye lenin

i had never seen this movie before. i had never even really heard of this movie before i signed up for this class. i watched it the other afternoon and i enjoyed it greatly. i wondered why i had never spent the time to sit down and watch it before. the story was told and seen through the eyes of alex. i think it is interesting to see a story told from one persons perspective because you get to see how the person lived and grew up. you get to see what their homelife was like and you get to see why they made the decisions in life that they made. it also makes the movie more personal, like you know the character.

Goodbye Lenin

I have to say once again I enjoyed the movie we had to watch. Goodbye Lenin, I had not seen before because I thought it would be mush more violent. I thought the way the story was told was interesting. You could see why he choose to keep the changes in their society from his mother to protect her but at the same time you could see why his sister and Lara chose to disagree with how he was handling the situation. I liked that you could see what was going on in her little world and the real world outside. I think his fantasy world of the socialist society is much like how all socialists dreamed of their life being but it never was.

Morrison's Writing

I think Morrison's style of writing is very similar to that of Capote. I think their styles are similar become both authors seem to have a personal relationship with the characters in the book. They are both able to depict perfect images of all their characters through descriptions and motions.
I also think this is why I enjoyed Morrison's book the most. I could easily picture in my mind all three of the women and can imagine their day to day activities. While I could do this with Capote's book, I just do not enjoy reading about murder and death because I can not stand blood one bit.

Goodbye Lenin

The movie Goodbye Lenin was presented from the perspective of Alex. The story was completely from his point of view. It is very interesting to see his view on things – growing up, events, his family, etc. Alex cares deeply for his mother and does everything he can to protect her from discovering to truth he was desperately covering up. I think that the story told by Alex was a result of what he perceived. People may experience the same events at the same times but each have a different perception and therefore and different representation of what actually happened. As an audience, we are supposed to believe that what we saw according to Alex was how the story went. However, we do not know his sister’s exact take on the events. Her perspective may have been different and she may have had different things to say about what happened to her, her country, and her mother. The perspective of Alex played a huge role in this film. Overall, this film was enjoyable. It was very interesting to see all the history in the film.

Goodbye Lenin

Goodbye Lenin was definitely told from the perspective of the boy, Alex. He grows up in very hard circumstances; his father left his family, the world around him is in constant turmoil, his mother's activities vs his preferences... Nothing in his life seems to stabilize. We see that Alex, probably because of the way he spent his childhood, deeply cares for his mother and would be willing to do anything to ensure that she is cared for and watched after while she is ill. He went to such great lengths to recreate the world that she knew before her coma and adds so much stress to his own life so that she will not have to suffer. If we were to see the movie through his sister's view, we probably would have seen more of the social life of where they were. Even though she loved her mother, she did not seem nearly as concerned as Alex did. we probably would have seen a lot more of her relationship with her boyfriend, her job at Burger King, in general, things that did not deal with her home life. If we saw it from the mother's perspective we definitely would have seen more into her depression and a lot about what she did with the government. Obviously each character would have a different story to tell even though in the bigger scheme, they all are telling the same story (if that makes sense). I liked that fact that I got to see how it was for people living during that time. With all the freedom that we enjoy now in America, I couldn't possibly imagine how I would be able to live there during that time.

Post #2

I think that Morrison was much more intimate with her characters, just as Capote was, and much more so than Updike. I didn't feel like she related to an individual person in the book like Capote did with Perry, but that she seemed to know them all very well as if she could relate to similar events or feelings in her life.
Even though I felt that Updike may have written from some personal knowledge, he didn't allow the intimacy of his knowledge to become evident in his writing. Capote was very evident that he had become personally involved.

Goodbye Lenin

I have not been able to find the movie Goodbye Lenin. This week, I have been to 3 video stores and have called 3. Only one of them had it, but it was out. So until I can locate the movie, I will not be able to discuss it...Sorry

Update on papers

Hello all,

The papers are taking me a little longer than I anticipated, but I'm enjoying reading them. I hoped to have them graded by the end of my working day today, but I'm about to admit defeat. I'll try to have them by the end of the day tomorrow.

T. F.

Goodbye Lenin!

While I am not sure what you mean by "notion of perspective," Goodbye Lenin is told from the oldest son's point of view. He seems to be a very caring man, but at the same time I don't think lying is the best way to help someone. He fabricated his and his mother's ideal way that their country should end up.While it made his mother very happy, what would have happened if she had actually found out? She confesed to her children of how she kept them from their father for fear of trying to leave the country. Could he not confess to her what he had done at that time too? This story gives the audience no clue as to what is going on in the back of all the characters minds. I am left puzzled about how Lara really felt about the situation. The audience can see the sister's and her boyfriend's initial reaction to having to lie to their mother, but after that one is left looking at their body language and depending upon what they say in the movie. One has no ideas as to how the mother is really feeling; part of the time it seems like she questions what she is watching as to if she believes it, but then the other part she seems pleased with what is going on in the world around her. So maybe it wasn't all that bad that her son had lied to her, but there would always be that worry of, "what if she finds out?"

Week 3 Post 2

I believe I would have to compare Morrison and Capote in relation to their treatment with their characters. Along the lines of sympathy, I think Capote goes with a more desprate attempt to make the reader feel sorry about them. Morrison does this to an extent but even though Perry and Dick were cold blooded murders, I felt more sympathy for them than Morrison's characters.
However, Morrison in my opinion is more intamite in relation to her characters. She expresses their feelings more openly than Capote. It seems that Capote is more desciptive with his character's feelings, the same way he describes their past. I think the reason for this of course is that women are more expressive about intimacy, feelings and things of that nature.

I would compare Morrison's writing to Capote both have to be passionate and personal to their writing. Although Updike is somewhat I don't think what he writes about is always as challenging if there was a scale of extreme-ordinary I think that Morrison and Capote would score higher on the extreme end. I tend to like the conflict associated with these novels a little more they not only hold your attention better, but are often leave a lasting impression more so than Updike or Junebug did. I like Love so far I have gotten a lot of comments reading it on the metro every morning/afternoon it apparently is very well known. The distance is shorter for Capote and Morrison they pick passionate topics to which they can relate where Updike possibly picks topics that are a challenge in a different way because he often writes about characters he isn't like, ex:Rabbit.

week 3 post 2

both Morrison and Updike describe their characters very well but they do not lead you to make a conclusion about them. you must make your conclusion about the characters on your own, you are not directed toward any decision about them. with several of the characters in Love and Rabbit Run the authors do want you to feel sympathetic but whether or not you feel that way is up to you. both authors are very descriptive about the surroundings of the characters with morrison taking the lead on the depth of detail.

Week 3 Post 2

Morrison is very descriptive in the writing but not as much about her characters. While you know learn their background and get a better understanding of them in some respects, she seems to be more focused on details. Capote in my mind did the same, being more focused on details then the most of the characters. While he did induldge in a few characters, mainly Dick and Perry and a little with members of the Clutter family, it was limited. Morrison while giving you information of most of the characters, it was in a selective fashion. I think thats were Capote and Morrison differ from Updike. In Rabbit, Run the characters seemed to be more developed and I could understand them better. It might have been the Updike had a more limited cast of main characters, but this allows the reader to connect with them better.

Morrison vs. Capote

There are both some similarities and extreme differences in the ways that Morrison and Capote choose to display and develop their characters throughout their respective texts. First off, both authors are selective when choosing which characters they choose to extensively devel0p. In Capote's case, he went into an insane amount of detail with Dick and especially Perry while little was known about the Clutter family or other characters in the novel. Likewise, Morrison delves deeply into Junior and the Cosey women while little is known about the Gibbons family. I believe the authors pick and choose like this to establish a closeness with the characters that the authors find most appealing and therefore empathize with the most. Capote obviously seems very close and sympathetic to the murderers in In Cold Blood while his distance shows little care for the Clutter family, the "victims" at first glance. I think the fact that both authors only explore a few characters intimately allow you to form opinions and ideas that you might not have been able to do if all the characters were discussed equally, for example, the sympathy for Dick and Perry and the understanding of the Heed/Christine battle.

Love Post #2

Morrison did not give any of her characters preferential treament. Despite their class, what they have or have not accomplished, Morrison treated each character as the same. A lot of this book is about hatred and about equality and the author treats each of her characters with equality. Morrison shows a lot of her characters' past and present histories to give us a bit of insight to their personalities. On the same note, I think that Capote treated his characters much in the same way. He gives his readers a lot of information about his characters yet gives none of them any more attention than the other. I think that both Morrison and Capote gave their characters the same kind of sympathy and showed no more attention to any one person than another.

Week 3 Post #2

The authors Morrison and Updike portray their characters similarly. They both supply just enough information in hopes that readers will come to their own conclusion about the characters. Both novels seem very real. Morrison is descriptive of some characters but not all of them. Mr. Cosey is not described in as much detail as Heed and Christine. Morrison only gets intimate with a few of the characters. Both authors want the reader to feel sympathy for their characters, especially Rabbit, Heed, and Christine. There are also some differences in the portrayal of characters by Morrison and Updike. Rabbit, Run has a lot more details surrounding the characters. However, Updike is less intimate and more distant from the characters in comparison to Morrison. Morrison and Updike want the reader to see into the lives of the characters, understand their hardships, feel for the characters, and then finally reach a conclusion with the details given.

Love Post #2

Morrison treated her characters a little differently. She showed a fair amount of background on each one of them but nothing too intimate. I'd say she was close to Rabbit, Run in the way she treated her characters. Updike also showed some background to his characters, but nothing substantial that would have the reader treat them any different than the characters' present actions. Morrison did roughly the same thing. She displayed Romen as having a conscience as soon as he helped out the girl who was being raped. Aside from that you only really knew about his home life, but not much else from his past. Almost the same way that Updike had shown Eccles to be a helpful man, but not too much from his past. What I mean to say is that neither Updike nor Morrison were that intimate with their characters.
However I do think that Updike was actually closer to his characters than Morrison. She did not really have a main character. All of her characters played their own part to the story and they all played an important role. Updike focused centrally on Rabbit with support from who Rabbit encountered. Characters would come and go while he was closest to Rabbit.

Love vs. Rabbit, Run

In Love, Morrison doesn't give much detail about the characters. The audience feels sympathy for almost all the characters, except for Mr. Cosey. In Rabbit, Run, Updike makes his audience feel all kinds of different ways towards the characters. Morrison doesn't give enough detail about what the characters are thinking so that the audience can react to them. Updike wants the audience to react with passion.

Week 3 Post # 2

Morrison pulls us into the lives of her characters and their personal affairs and intimate details. We are given the history of them, not just the stand-alone-present-day life they lead. Instead she opens their world to us, giving us a chance to form our opinions of them. We get other attitudes from various characters yet there are never any undertones of a feeling for them. This is something we must create alone.

So too does Updike portray Rabbit and the characters around him. We come in contact with this man, unknowing what we are about to get into. Yet through the development of the story we are forced to make up our own minds from the opinionated viewpoints we receive throughout the novel. We learn some of his past, his inner thoughts, and his psychological needs that never seem to be met. We wonder why he is the way he is, and in any other light we would peg him as a scoundrel. Updike, like Morrison, manages to bring Rabbit to life and forces us to risk our opinion on him.

Both authors excel in a sense of realness that translates to both their characters and their environments. We come to understand them; picking them apart and assembling them back together. Because of this we begin to relate to them and accept them in our world as someone we know.

Week 3 Post # 1

It seems as though Morrison is hell bent on reminding us that reality is far different than what our ideas of it are. Throughout the novel we are given glimpses into the world of all these characters and their idiosyncrasies. We would like to believe that everyone can get along, that marriages are sacred, and that everyone does right by their own children and choices. This, however, is made ever more bogus as we learn that relationships are hard and often involve conflict (and little resolution). We learn that people battle with what’s right or wrong and often times lose out to their least moral sides either because of peer pressure or simply because they want it so bad that they are willing to sacrifice everything for it. In the end, there is some hope. Morrison shows us that there is chance for reconciliation and triumph over our past. Though this may not stand up against the years of wrong it is nonetheless a step in the right direction.

Reminder

Greetings everyone,

I was going through your recent posts and wanted to remind you that for these entries, you should consider the questions posed about the book rather than focusing on whether you liked it. (It's really tempting to do more of a review, but I'm looking for your analysis rather than judgement.) If you need to revise, you can do that before the final evaluation takes place during the final week. Thank you.

Love Post #1

I like Love more than the first two books we have read. However, it is not one of my favorites in general. It's an interesting story and a good change from the depressing mood of In Cold Blood and Rabbit, Run. Morrison's way of writing was unique and she hits on a lot of issues. There is a lot if references to what is and what should be, dealing with all the characters. Heed and Cosey's marraige, Christine and Heed's friendship, and the relationship between, Junior and Romen. Overall, the book is very enjoyable, even though it jumps around a lot, I can connect with it on some levels.

Love, 1st post

Love was enjoyable and easy to read, but I was halfway through the book before I figured out the characters and their relationships to each other. Even then, some of the musings were lost on me, particularly those of L.
Maybe Morrison's "is" was the fact that Cosey had developed this fine resort for blacks because due to segegration, there weren't nice places like that for them to go. There was nothing wrong with that "in and of itself". Cosey helped the needy and did good works and had been built up as a saint.
The rest of the "is" was that Cosey, his staff, and the people who frequented the resort, segregated themselves from the rest of the community because they thought they were better. The "should be" was that the resort should have been helping the whole community, not just catering to the wealthy blacks from outside the community.

Love Post #1

I really had no ties to this book and didn't really like it. As far as Morrison illustrating her views on the difference between what "is" and what "should be", I'm honestly not even sure I understand the question. The only thing I can really think of is that Morrison tells you about the marriage between Heed and Mr. Cosey before mentioning that the bride was only 11. She tells you the sort of fairytale idea of Mr. Cosey finding a new bride and then breaks the "should be" to show the "is" of how he was much older and she was not even a teenager.

love post 1

Love, in Morrison's story has quite different trappings than the traditional emotions associated with it. Compassion, honesty and forgiveness are the warm positive aspects of love that should be prevailant, but instead jeolousy and bitterness are the emotions manifested in this story. Morrison shows what is numerous times throughout the novel, the marriage between two people of such disproportionate age, bitter feuding. But at the end of Morrison's story some of the softer parts of love shine through, which gives every reader hope, which is of course the hallmark of a love story.

love #1

I think that Love was a good book. It has a lot of details concerning the way things are and the way things should be. First of all Heed should have never married Mr. Cosey. He should have never even touched the girl. The way he came between two friends was also not right. As the saying is supposed to go, "chicks before dicks." They definitely didn't follow that rule. Mr. Cosey would try to show Heed that she was being bad by pulling her on his lap and giving her a not too hard spank on the bottom. I feel that that was uncalled for infront of his children because Heed probably never really learned much from it.
I didn't think it was right for a fourteen year old boy to be having sex, much less with a twenty year old girl.
I could not understand why Christine and Heed were living together when they did not seem to get along at all. It seemed so unlikely that they would sit in the old hotel and seem to all of the sudden become friends again, by remembering their childhood together.

Love post #1

I liked Love more than the other two books. It was much more interesting and I liked how it seemed like Morrison put a lot of separate stories together to make her book. It was not as drawn out and meticulously detailed as In Cold Blood and not as depressing as Rabbit, Run. Even though Love isn't quite a book about happy things, I don't quite feel as sad while reading this book as I did while reading the other two. I haven't finished the whole book yet; I still have about 50 pages left, but I am definitely enjoying it much more. I wish we were writing a paper on this book rather than Rabbit, Run.

Love Post #1

Love has been my favorite read for this class so far. When going back and thinking about what it "is" and what it "should be." There is one part of the book that particularly stands out. Heed is 11 when she gets married. Not only is she 11 but she marries her best friends grandfather. Morrison only points out in passing the age different in their relationship, the what it "is" of the story. She chooses to emphasis the importance of love and support of their relationship the what it "should be."
I think this is very interesting how she chooses to do this. The alarming fact that she was only 11 when she was married seems less important when you weigh in all the other aspects to their relationship.

About the Papers

I just saw that a couple of you have posted your whole papers. You don't have to do that (but can if you'd like.) If you'd like me to remove them, let me know.

T. F.

Paper # 2

My apologies for this being late, I was waiting to finish Love in hopes of finding a topic I could right about because i really enjoyed the book. But i wasn't able to think of anything definitive yet. So I was going to write about Rabbit, Run but look at the support that Rabbit gets from Eccles and Tothero and see how that effects Rabbit. I think that it shows that people need support from others at times and the way that these two people effect Rabbit is interesting. I was also going to look to see if by helping Rabbit they were helping themselves in way.

Considerations for final paper

For your final paper, I'd like you to consider this question (which is really lots of other questions: Why do we study modern/contemporary literature? What does it have to say to us? What purposes do authors have in writing it and what do we get out of reading it? What makes something "contemporary" or "modern" literature? How is it different from other kinds of literature and does that difference represent an evolution or just a change? After we've moved on to another time period, what might this one be called, and what will be its hallmarks?

As always, you should make your arguments or points using specific evidence from the texts. (You can use outside texts but your points should be made *primarily* with texts from the course.)

Remember that for your last paper, if you'd like to make it more creative (like an HTML text, a movie, or some other genre) you can, so long as it retains comparable depth and rigor to a paper of 8 - 12 pages). If you have any questions please post them here.

love post 1

i am kind of suprised but i really liked the book. after i read the back cover i thought this was going to be a book that i would have to struggle through but i read it in less than 2 hours. Morrison uses Vida and her husband to show the reader what should be and the rest of the characters for what is. there are a few places in the novel where the tone the other characters use shows what should be but mostly they are used for what is.

Love Post #1

First off, I found Love about as hard to follow as Rabbit, Run. Once I figured out who the characters even were and how they interacted with eachother, I was intrigued. I found it interesting how you would think that the wealthy older characters in the book would be the most enlightened and intelligent, but it was interesting how Junior, an 18 from the projects, seemed the most street-smart and intelligent. Another thing I liked about how Morrison speaks of what "is" and what "should be" is her ability to take away the easiness and pleasantries so often portrayed in modern day culture and strip it down the basic foundation...conflict and reconciliation. Love is not an easy thing, as most of us can speak from experience, and I like how she portrayed that.

Love Post #1

Love was another interesting read. The story was somewhat entertaining. There were almost several stories going on at once yet they were definitely intertwined. I think the author’s tone lets the reader know the difference between what “is” and what “should be.” For example, when discussing the 52 year old grandfather, Mr. Cosey, marrying his granddaughter’s 11 year old friend, Heed, the author uses a tone to describe what “is.” Also, throughout the novel the author uses a tone through Vida and her husband Sandler to describe what “should be.”

Paper 1

Maggie Rauck

Summer English Class

In Cold Blood

Paper #1

The Irony Between Beauty and the Beast

Truman Capote’s book “In Cold Blood,” is a novel that explores and embellishes on the real events that occurred in a real life murder case in Holcomb, Kansas. In both the book and in real life there is such an irony that occurs when the value of a life is at stake. The value is in the irony of a criminal who is to society garbage taking the life of a beautiful, youthful, and nurturing life. Capote’s idea is to cast life behind the victims in the murder and show sharp contrasts between the criminals and the ordinary, but upstanding citizens. Capote also makes an effort to show not only the difference in lifestyles and values between the victims and criminals, but also how closely our world is connected and the close parallels that exist between what is considered beautiful and horrid.

Capote makes these contrasts through a variety of ways with comparisons and examples. Capote was writing this novel in hindsight of the investigation, trial, and aftermath. To make this novel interesting to those that had been following the case through the news he had to go into great detail to provide more depth and insight into the lives of those that were affected by this tragedy. Capote chose carefully the tone and structure of the book to enhance the murder trial and expel certain details to make the reader feel a certain way and direct a level of compassion for the victims and criminals. Capote is writing about the Clutter family from Kansas that are violently robbed and murdered, how the case evolves, the criminals are caught, and eventually the town and citizens return to their normal lives, but never forgetting. Capote’s style is to break the book up into short sections that read like a movie, which is a contemporary style that many Americans enjoy because, it is thrilling and suspenseful not like the ordinary structure of many novels.

Although Capote is elaborating a real life event there is a comparison and relation that can be made too many other murder cases that is identified by the reader. Truman Capote’s book can be compared in many ways to real life crime and the headlines that appear daily in our newspapers, and nightly news. I will attempt to show and develop some of the differences by comparing and contrasting the book with two current murder cases, the Tiffany Souer’s case and the Georgetown murders. I also think that this book is appealing because of the way Capote was able to be so compassionate about the characters. Capote actually met with the criminals and established a relationship that allowed him to gain perspective outside his imagination and insight into both sides of the story from the point of view of the victim and criminal.

The first comparison can be made in regards to location. Capote’s book is based in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. When comparing Capote's “In Cold Blood” to everyday life there are many circumstances of say Tiffany Souers and the Clemson community from which comparisons can be made. Beginning with the comparison of Holcomb, Kansas and Clemson, SC the two towns are both quiet, small, very rural places where people are friendly, hardworking, and the sole focus or attraction is the school. Certainly everyone has either lived in or driven through a small town so there is a connection easily associated with Capote’s description, “The village of Holcomb stands on the height wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call ‘out there’ (In Cold Blood, 1). Clemson is a small town a lot like Holcomb in that it houses 17,000 students during the school year and remarkably less during the summer and holidays. Clemson is described on the official website as “18,000 acres of university farms and woodlands”. A third comparison can be made to the Georgetown murders although Washington, D.C. is a densely populated place the Georgetown area is considered by many a safe area. As the investigation progresses this violent attack has been possibly linked to a series of attacks on the very touristy national mall area. Both areas are thought of as safe areas until recently.

Another smaller comparison is that both Holcomb and Clemson there is a reference made to the importance of the school as the center of the community. Holcomb School is described as “Unless you include, as one must, the Holcomb School, a good looking establishment, which reveals a circumstance that the appearance of the community otherwise camouflages,” (In Cold Blood, 4). Clemson is most certainly identified because of its successful football program or academic standing. Until either crime in Holcomb or Clemson life was simple and both places quietly existed without fear. After the death of Tiffany Souers the town was shaken, like Holcomb. After both murders in Kansas and South Carolina life changed and was unlocked and the trust that was in both places and within the people was gone. The town was in a desperate situation of questions as to why, who, and when their lives would return to the normal peaceful state. Across the nation everyone learned of the sleepy, small towns quickly, and notoriously. The towns quickly began a quest to question neighbors figuring the murderer must be a friend, but also worrying that it may be a total stranger, everyone was a suspect and with the thought that in either scenario the killer(s) could still be in the area made the manhunt that more desperate and hectic.

Capote throughout “In Cold Blood” is giving descriptions and details that are more personal than basic news coverage of the family of victims (Clutters) and the criminals (Perry and Dick). The first part of Capote’s book talks about the last time the Clutters would do things and builds up to how unsuspecting they all were before their violent fate occurred. The descriptions help gain empathy for some of the characters and the first section is titled “The Last to See Them Alive”. Capote begins the day before the family are robbed and killed and goes back and forth setting the stage between the families activities and those of the approaching murderers.

Capote describes the Clutter family as typical upstanding citizens and goes into detail about certain characters more than other to distinguish the rough edged criminals and the wholesome family they robbed. Capote strategically picks out qualities in both Mr. Clutter and Nancy his daughter. The leader of the home Mr. Clutter who he describes as “Always certain what he wanted from the world, had in large measure obtained it” (In Cold Blood, 6). Mr. Clutter is continuing his last day on earth as usual, “touching the brim of his cap, he headed for home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last” (In Cold Blood, 13). Capote also foreshadows more about how truly desolate both the town of Holcomb is and the Clutter property by saying, “Mr. Clutter seldom encountered trespassers on his property; a mile and a half from the highway, and arrived at by obscure roads, it was not a place that strangers came upon by chance” (In Cold Blood, 13). There is a similarity in that typically Clemson doesn’t have trespassers. The theme of the last to be seen is also discussed in any news story that is also the beginning of the investigation usually, trying to get an account of events that lead to the murder. Tiffany Souers was dropped off at her apartment around 11pm on a Thursday and discovered by a roommate who had been out of town for the weekend. What a story doesn’t detail is the usual activities in detail of the Tiffany’s life. Capote tries to capture this to further illustrate the value of life in the characters.

Capote describes the family of Clutters to be great examples within the community, a big family full of promise. In many ways the Clutters are part of the American dream. This dream is later shattered when travesty hits and readers feel empathy for this poor, hardworking family’s fate. This same dream turns into a nightmare in each of the three murder cases in Clemson, Holcomb, and Georgetown. A next character Capote explores is Nancy Clutter, described as “the town darling” (In Cold Blood, 7). There is a strong comparison that can be made about Nancy Clutter and Tiffany Souers. Nancy Clutter is a home-maker, who is in every way a role model for young girls to aspire to be like. Nancy is a good student, who prepares dinner nightly and makes up for the short comings of her mother and balances housework with a personal life and does so with a smile. Nancy is sort of a diamond in the rough, who burns the candle at both ends. Nancy is described as being “a straight-A student, the president of her class, a leader in the 4-H program and the Young Methodists League, a skilled rider, an excellent musician,” etc. (In Cold Blood, 18). Likewise Tiffany Souers is described as “a 20-year-old civil engineering student,” (Souers) and was later identified as a leader on campus to a variety of groups, with a lot of friends. President of Clemson, James Barker remarked of Tiffany as promising and bright. Capote describes in detail Nancy’s character strategically as a woman to show innocence and beauty in society and how horrible it is when that is taken away.

Another strong comparison can be made between Mr. Clutter and Alan Senitt who was a Jewish activist killed in Georgetown. Both men are modestly achieving the American dream and because of cruel, heartless criminals had that taken away. Alan Senitt was in Georgetown with a female companion and robbed and then killed violently. Senitt was a Jewish activist dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, who recently moved to Washington to volunteer for former Virginia Governor Mark Warner's possible presidential campaign. “a Jewish activist dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, who recently moved to Washington to volunteer for former Virginia Governor Mark Warner's possible presidential campaign” (Ass. Press). This incident is heartbreaking because this man had so much of a future ahead and it all was whisked away on being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Capote uses the details of the victims not only to create sympathy for them and their fate, but also to contrast the activities of the criminals until the murder. Mr. Clutter is described as being perfectly fit and a very health conscious individual. This is symbolism in that both Dick and Perry are described as not so physically fit and definitely not health conscious. These physical attributes convey them within in the book. The comparison is seen in this quote, “Like Mr. Clutter man breakfasting in a café called the Little Jewel never drank coffee. He preferred root beer. Three aspirin, cold root beer, and a chain of Pall Mall cigarettes-this was his notion of chow down” (In Cold Blood, 14). Dick and Perry are also described as not only abusing their bodies with cigarettes internally, but externally with a lot of tattoos. Tattoos are sometimes seen as trashy by some and I think it is put in the book on purpose by the author. Tiffany Souer’s murdered was also described as having “tattoos all over his body including a tattoo all over his back, a skull on his left chest, a skull pentagram on his left hand, a skull dagger on his left leg, a bat on his neck, a skull dragon and cross in memory of brother on his right arm, a skull on his right hand, and a female with a gun on his stomach,” (Souers). I think this was highlighted in real life to prove a certain stereotype that some associate with bad seats. Either way Capote uses all these stereotypes to show the bad moral character of Dick and Perry against the pure innocence seen in the victims of each of these murders.

The next section of the book is dedicated to the causes behind the murder of the Clutters and the manhunt and trial of the killers until their death. Capote was able to capture the thoughts and motives of the killers because he was able to meet with them. Capote develops a closer relationship with Perry, but has a personal relationship with both Perry and Dick that allows him to not only gain their point of view, but also feel sorry for them causing some readers to do so as well. Capote tells both of the criminals story, Perry wanted to do the right thing, but didn’t know better both criminals had bad childhoods that caused them to make poor decisions. One comment from Perry sort of illustrates his desire to make the right decision, but his lack of willpower that leads to the wrong decision, “But I didn’t mean it. I meant to call his bluff, make him talk me out of it, make him admit he was a phony and a coward,” (In Cold Blood, 244). This scene is when Perry confesses to actually being the killer, later he reveals that he would not let Dick rape Nancy, but still he is still guilty and wrong. This scenario reminds me of a John Mayer song “Daughters” where the artist describes in the lyrics how daughters will learn from their mothers, so fathers are good to your mothers, etc. Background does contribute to your fate and final product, but doesn’t go unpunished because society has what is expected and one does and is positively or negatively reinforced at a very young age the difference between right and wrong. Wrong should not go unpunished. This example shows the overall theme of how beauty and beastly behavior are connected and live together. Claims in the Tiffany Souer’s case say that although the convicted did have a series of crimes and offenses under his record there was evidence that this was his first murder, but either way the behavior or outcome cannot go unpunished.

This book reminds the public that although murder and mayhem are part of our everyday lives those people killed are not only numbers or statistics, but real people who touch others lives causing us to relate our lives to their fates. In small ways this cycle of panic, blame, and then guilt-free quality after either the killer has been caught or enough time has elapsed that people resume the normal quality of life is a microcosm of the cycle that occurs when a close family member dies. People choose to handle death and violence in their own way. For instance not everyone knew Tiffany Souers, but now we know about her and can relate her to a sister, friend, daughter etc. People relate and compare her to a loved one and sympathize with how unfair and how easily this tragedy could have happened to them. The same applies to the Georgetown murder of a man working in politics for Governor Mark Warner. I work in politics here like many people earning a living in Washington so it is easy to relate and place you in the situation for a number of reasons. Examples are that many of us go to Georgetown like this couple did and a similar fate could have occurred.

Like the readers who sympathize with the victims, Capote not only had sympathy for the Clutters, but also Perry and Dick. One last symbol is seen between the actual personal relationship between Perry and the contrast of Capote’s life to Perry. Capote has a different background and has created a different more ideal life, but is forced to think about the choices, influence and shortcoming of Perry and Dick’s lives. The actual passion and empathy Capote felt firsthand is in every page urging the reader to feel and question where to place the blame and guilt. The relationship could be described as beauty and the beast. The beast (Perry) is often misunderstood according to Capote, still dangerous, but misunderstood. Capote’s empathy and others who feel the same way towards letting criminals have second chances is risky, just like playing with fire you may get burned. This relationship with the manipulator the writer (Capote) allows us to gain insight into the minds of those who are different that us.

Although there are many similarities between all these murders they are all tragedies that Capote reminds us are real. Horrible things happen and although it is never good to dwell on the past, it is also valuable to never forget the danger that lurks everywhere is a reality. Capote’s goal in the piece I believe is to capture for audiences a very real, honest account of the Holcomb case. What Capote set out to do originally and the final product were different because the amount of passion Capote saw firsthand after meeting the criminals opened his eyes to how close disaster is to accomplishment. Just like Mr. Clutter built his house and life it can all fall so quickly and that is a symbol of the overall message and correlation between the American dream and nightmare that Capote tries to open the reader up to.

paper 1

James Crawford
English 215
July 23, 2006

Any newspaper, magazine or news program today will, at any given time, have debate about capital punishment. The media is torn on this issue perhaps more than any other. In Truman, Capote’s In Cold Blood, the two main characters are executed. While they did commit four heinous murders, Capote’s writing almost makes you sympathize with them and the struggles they endured throughout their lives. America as a whole has gotten much more sympathetic toward criminals as knowledge of psychology and psychological disorders has become more widespread. For example, the 2006 blockbuster movie Munich tells the story of the Israeli athletes who were brutally murdered for political reasons during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Israel and its surrounding countries have been warring for centuries. However, the Olympics was a peaceful venue. The terrorist group who murdered those athletes ripped the families of innocent men apart. They were not soldiers or even political representatives of the nation of Israel. Instead, they were athletes who were representing their country at an event that was designed to bring all nations together. Not too long ago, American society as a whole would have disapproved of a movie in which the terrorists were humanized. In this particular movie, the terrorists were almost portrayed as having no choice. They were just unfortunate enough to have been born into a culture where they were taught to hate Jews and Israelis. It seemed almost as if they were not in a position to question the orders to brutally torture and kill these athletes.
Much in the same way, Capote portrays Dick and Perry as two lost souls who never really had a chance. Perry was born into an extremely dysfunctional family with an alcoholic for a mother and a wanderer for a father. They were malnourished and not cared for. His mother had men in and out constantly and was drunk more than sober. His father lived out of a modified van and wandered the country looking for work. At one point, Perry was in an orphanage where the nuns abused him physically and mentally. He had weak kidneys from being malnourished as a child, and, while in the orphanage, he wet the bed nightly. The nuns beat him mercilessly after he wet the bed and threw him into a bath of ice water to clean him off. They rubbed painful ointments on his skin in an attempt to get him to stop the bed-wetting. He spent a lot of his life hungry and dirty. He quit school after the third grade.
Dick was a troubled child who was below normal intelligence. The only thing he was ever good at was swindling and thievery. He was sexually perverted, and often molested little girls. His family was poor lower class. Also, he was in a horrific car accident as a young person and sustained severe head injuries. These head injuries caused episodes where he blacked out and lost control of his consciousness. His father used extremely severe methods of punishment on him as a little boy.
In the book, Capote uses an astounding amount of detail and description when writing about the two killers. On page 48, he quotes Perry singing the old gospel hymn “Just A Little Talk With Jesus.” The way he makes Dick and Perry seem human and pitiful is similar to the way that the writers of the movie Munich make the terrorists seem like pitiful soldiers who have no choice but to carry out their evil orders. Many comparisons can be drawn between these terrorists and the two killers. Perry and Dick grew up with nothing. They are uneducated, have no money, have no skills, and have no family or friends to support them. They are both eccentric loners who have no capacity for friendship or human interaction. They have no social skills. It does seem, however, that they want to be successful members of society. They dream of finding treasure in Mexico, starting a deep sea fishing tours business, and traveling the world. They have hopes and dreams just like the rest of us.
Another modern day case with many comparisons is the Andrea Yates case. Ms. Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub. All of the children were under the age of 7. She claims that she killed them to save them from hell. She suffered from severe post partum psychosis. She believed that Satan wanted her to drown her children in the bathtub. She admits that she knew at the time of the killings that what she was doing was wrong. She had a history of mental illness, and had attempted suicide before the killings took place. Prosecution can prove that the insanity, if any, lasted for a good while. She drowned the five children separately by holding them down in the bathtub until they stopped breathing. This would have taken several minutes per child. The reason that there is sympathy for Andrea Yates is her history of mental illness. There is extensive evidence that she has been unstable for many years. She has been under the treatment of many psychiatrists and has undergone many different types of treatments and therapies. She claims to believe that killing her children would also kill Satan.
In the same vein, Capote seems to believe that Dick and Perry had some sort of mental illness. Although clearly not as psychotic, the pair seems to have a loose grip on reality at best. Perry kept worthless items as if they were treasure, and went to great lengths to have them preserved. On death row, he was more concerned about the menu served when he had a visitor in jail than the outcome of his capital trial. He believed that a treasure map would lead him to buried treasure in Mexico, and that a yellow bird that showed up in his dreams was Jesus. He never had remorse or pity even after the brutality of the murders of the Clutter family. He seemed to miss the big picture that would have been obvious to a normal person and concentrate on trivial details.
Dick was superstitious and almost childlike. He was a hardened criminal who had committed heinous crimes, and, at the same time, concerned about hurting his mother and father by his actions. He had religious tattoos and a respect for nuns. He, like Perry, had trouble with relationships and fitting into society.
Yet a third modern day example of sympathy for a less that reputable bunch is the movie Syriana this is the story of oil cartels in the Middle East. The movie almost portrays them as businessmen doing whatever is necessary to support their families. They don’t show the violence and bloodshed associated with their business. In the same way, Dick and Perry steal because that is what is necessary for them to survive. They have no education, and no chance to get one. They are unable to adjust because of their dysfunctional backgrounds. For these and other reasons, they are forced to steal to exist.
These are just a few of the examples in the media and entertainment industry today where the criminals are humanized. They are sympathized with and almost excused for their horrific acts. While the murder of the Clutter family was atrocious and vicious, the murderers don’t seem to be those things. While no inference is made that the killings were not wrong, by the end of the book, the reader almost hates to see the killers punished. This just proves that there is rarely a black and white case. There are countless factors that can be used to determine why humans do anything. The more horrible the crime, the more we try to find out what those factors are.