The Quest For a Great Thesis

Hello Everyone! I am scrambling to choose the right thesis for my paper, and I would really love your help! As I wrote a blog post reflecting on the topics that have interested me the most from English class, I narrowed them down to claiming that nonfiction should be formally considered as a genre of literature and arguing that there is a limit to which poetry should be analyzed before you actually lose its theme. I framed these in different formats as shown below:

Winnie the Pooh in 5 thesis statements

Alright folks, I'll keep this short and to the point. I'm writing an English paper and I would LOVE some feedback on which of these thesis statements seems to work out best.

You could also tell me that none of them work but I'd really appreciate a why so I can figure out what to do to fix them. Also if you think I need to rethink my whole paper premise, that opinion would also be greatly appreciated if expounded upon.

I wrote 5 different types of statements.

The Last Lecture (comments please?)

I originally reviewed The Last Lecture for reading purposes, but I think it's going to be the subject of my paper for a lit class. I've asked my roommates and friends for their feedback, and would love your opinions

Thesis of Bond's generation and our generation.

This post will be dedicated to five different thesis statements based on the content and the claims I made in one of  my earlier blog posts. It would be helpful to review that blog post before reading this as it references some of the background information used to come up with my thesis statements and it connects them to the Bond novels. The purpose of posting these thesis statements is to help me prepare for writing a paper for my Literature Interpretation class. So feedback would be much appreciated.

New Media with the Meisenbachs

It's an average night when I get a text message involving a cat picture from my brother-in-law. The long-running groupchat between me, my sister, and him is a source of laughter for the three of us as we exchange jokes and check in with each other. This form of media, moving past basic texting to the somewhat more open format of the groupchat has given me the opportunity to communicate with my sister and her husband in a way that feels like what we would be doing in real life if we weren't seven hundred miles away from each other.

New media can feel overwhelming and pervasive at times, but I think the active user will find that the benefits and downfalls all stem from how one chooses to use what is available to them. The active blogger will of course see the benefits of writing to an audience, the active facebooker will see the benefits of communicating with long distance friends and family, and so on.

In a family unit, new media will hurt or help in whichever ways it is allowed to. If a family wishes to communicate with the benefits of technology and new media, they can choose to do so. If they don't want that, they can choose to avoid it. I know many families whose communication is enhanced by their children's use of blogging and other social media methods. My sister recently started a blog about life as a newlywed, and it has allowed extended family members of both her and her husband to easily keep up with their life.

Naturally, new media can be detrimental to families when individual members use it as a way of isolating themselves from the rest of the family.
Ever heard the phrase "when life gives you lemons..."?
Well, when life gives you new media, you get to choose how to use it.

Travel, Family, and The Internet

I have been reading up on some travel blogs lately, mostly the ones that deal with Taiwan as I am going there  in about a month for a study abroad. Topics such as food, hotels, hot springs, Chinese operas, language guides etc. make for interesting reading. I felt that the ones that had family or personal experiences to be the most interesting and helpful. Hearing first hand accounts of language barriers, getting lost, and trying exotic food just gets me more excited about the trip I will take. One big thing that I have been considering since taking my Literature Appreciation class is to make a blog on my own travel experiences in Taiwan. I had never done blogging before this class but now I realize that it is an easy and fulfilling experience.

Grandpa's generation vs. Our's

James Bond, the quintessential 60's man

As I have reflected over my readings of the James Bond novels and my blog posts one of the biggest things I have noticed is the difference between my generation and his. James Bond novels were written in the 50's and 60's, and the movies have been released continually since 1962. Reading a novel from this era is like stepping into a completely different world, one that is run by men. The only women mentioned are secretaries and the girls that Bond seduces. Most often the women are damsel in distress like figures. Bond is the man in charge always and he always gets the job done without much help from his female sidekicks. Even minor characters give their say about the importance of male dominance in society throughout the novels.

Thoughts on Creative Non-Fiction

This week, I reviewed Dr. Burton's post on creative non-fiction and started thinking about things I don't like about non-fiction. I had the fortune/misfortune to read a short memoir called "from Heaven and Earth in Jest" by Annie Dillard. It's a creepy story about this bug who latches onto frogs, injects them with "the most painful insect bite known" and poison that melts their organs and bones into a goo, and then sucks the goo out of their body, leaving "a frog skin bag" to float away. Feeling nauseous? Me too!

Social Circles: A Political Discourse

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, some may attribute this to technology. Why haven't we talked to our friends in months? Is it a result of Facebook? Or is modern technology the reason we keep our friendships alive?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and this is especially clear in the modern age of technology. Gone are the days when men would wait at the airport for hours on end. These days, everyone owns cell phones. A simple "I'm here" and "on my way" have saved many hurt feelings and impatient hearts. Technology destroying us? Never! I say technology sets us free!

In search of a claim

In an attempt to figure out what interests me as far as topics to discuss in a paper, I have been reviewing some of my previous work. This has not been an easy task. It appears as though my interests are sort of across the board.

So to categorize, I used the criteria outlined by my English professor in his post here.

Behold, this new and social media

And behold, I say unto you my brethren, how else may a student studying at a university that is choice above all other universities but even still situated across many lands from his family effectively converse  with them if not by new and social media?

Behold I say unto you, nay. A man hath no form of communication and connection to the will of his heart with distant family were it not for facebook, youtube, instagram and blogger.

The Red Dirt Bride

I am truly amazed at how many subgenres there are in nonfiction. So many that I didn't realize a lot of what I enjoy reading is nonfiction. It usually falls under the ever expanding category of blog posts. Especially as a soon-to-be mom, I love me some mommy blogs!

But what I also didn't realize is that I write nonfiction for a living. How did I not know that, right?

Let me explain. I am a freelance writer for a blog called, The Red Dirt Bride. I write two types of posts. One type is advice in a series called Between the Rings which is everything a bride needs to know to plan her wedding from engagement to "I Do." I'm not entirely sure how to categorize the second type. It's a mix of sort of biography, journalism, and just plain old blog post. These posts are called Real Weddings. I get photo submissions from wedding photographers and then write a post about the wedding based on the photos. (Click on the Real Weddings link above to see what I mean.)

An Afternoon When I Was Seventeen

It's 4:00 pm. My bus drops me off about one block away from my house. It's another sunny, warm afternoon in Florida. Not too warm though. There is a breeze that is cooling off the day, and making the palms do a dazzling dance. Not that I would notice, though. I am on my new Galaxy Android, a birthday present from my parents (whom I forgot to call to ask if I could stay in school for longer.) Not to worry though, neither of them should be home yet.

What Has Struck Me

As I have looked back at the posts I have made in this blog, all the works that I have discussed and all the genres that I have explored, I have pinned down certain topics that have caught my interest (which have also appeared in posts from our English class bubble) and which I would like to further explore:

The Crack-Up

As part of my personal learning plan for nonfiction, I've begun reading The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I'm a huge Fitzgerald fan and I think his life is absolutely fascinating. The Crack-Up is a compilation of some of his best essays, along with his notebooks, and personal letters to and from his friends and family. This makes it the perfect way to not only experience nonfiction but also to delve into Fitzgerald's personal life.
Fitzgerald's essays are remarkable in their perspective and depth. In "Echoes of the Jazz Age," published in 1931, he analyzes the culture of the 1920s and how everything from media to financial success affected behavior. In "My Lost City," published in 1932, Fitzgerald tells the tale of falling in and out of love with New York City over the years. One of my favorite parts -

"As the ship glided up the river, the city burst thunderously upon us in the early dusk - the white glacier of lower New York swooping down like a strand of a bridge to rise into uptown New York, a miracle of foamy light suspended by the stars. A band started to play on deck, but the majesty of the city made the march trivial and tinkling. From that moment I knew that New York, however often I might leave it, was home."

I love this passage because of its connection to ordinary fiction. The imagery in this piece could make anyone see what he saw that day. This is also why I love all of Fitzgerald's nonfiction - he still treats the subject matter as a story that needs to be told to the reader, which helps us connect with his words the same way we would with his novels.

Engaging Literature Socially

Part of my efforts for engaging literature socially have happened online. I've had a Tumblr blog for about two years now and have been able to communicate with a lot of different people through the site. Lately I've been able to have some pretty cool discussions about poetry with people who follow me. For those who are unfamiliar with how Tumblr works, you can personally message other bloggers in a simplistic email-like format.

Over the last few weeks one of my followers who knew I love spoken word poetry messaged me to ask for recommendations of who he should listen to. I told him my favorites, much as I have in previous blog posts, and we agreed to discuss it again after he had watched some. The next day we had a really cool conversation about poetry and our likes and dislikes in regard to some of the poets. It was really awesome to be able to connect with someone based simply on our interest in one sub-genre of poetry, and it reminded me of how literature helps people relate to one another and see each other more complexly.

Today he messaged me this video of an eighteen year old girl reading Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe in a toddler voice. It's definitely an interesting addition to the consideration of how the delivery of a poem can affect the way you view it. 

What do you think?

Exploring Different Genres of Drama

As a way working on LO #2 I explored some different genres as a part of drama week for my personal study. I read some new works and revisited older ones. Here is a summary of what I checked out!

• Tragedy: Hamlet. An all time favorite! I Personally think it's Shakespeare's best. I loved this work so much in high school that I tried to memorize one of Hamlets soliloquies (but failed miserably.) 
• Observed Literary Element: Why, Hamlet's soliloquies of course. These are important facets of the play because they give the audience peaks into the main character's thoughts, something that without this could be hard to achieve in a drama.

• Greek Tragedy: Antigone. After having read Oedipus Rex, I became very interested in the other Theban plays. Though I have not finished Antigone, I did very much enjoy this continuation of the story as far as I read it. I specially love that Antigone attempts to defy the male-ruled world in which she lives in. I must say, though, it is indeed quite tragic. 
• Observed Literary Element: The chorus. At first I did not understand what the purpose of the chorus was, and then I noticed that it is mostly to emphasize the theme of the play, which is an important role and one that helps the audience to connect that to the actions in the play.

• Comedy: Cyrano de Bergerac. This is also a work that I revisited. I love this play so much! It is easier for me to read than some of the others, and it's overall lightheartedness really makes it stand out from my other favorite works of drama which are mostly tragedies. 
• Observed Literary Element: The symbolism behind Cyrano's nose, which stands for the vanity of the society of the time.

 What is your favorite genre of drama?

Whatever You Imagine

I got back from my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints last august and honestly one of things I looked forward to when I got back the most was reading books again. During our missions we are only allowed to read church materials and don't get me wrong I love reading the scriptures and I still do as much as I can, but I missed the escape found only in the world of fiction. I missed being transported to another land in travel writing. I missed reading and commenting on movie reviews. It was a part of me before my mission and it has really come back with my literary interpretation class this spring semester. We have had the time to read our own literature for analysis in the class which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Reading has been a big influence in my life. It has helped me understand life's hardest challenges through stories of triumph and determination like Walt Disney's biography or coming of age stories like A Separate Peace. It has helped me find excitement and intrigue in the James Bond novels or in science fiction like Ender's Game and Dune. These are the things that make us read. Reading can give us as the readers something called Catharsis which is a dramatic term for purging, purification, or intellectual clarification. It is a cleansing process giving us a sound mind and opportunity for introspection. It is something that all of us should do more often. In today's world of messages that are force fed through television, movies, and music we would do well to take some quiet time and curl up with a good book. Sure messages are definitely strong in literature as well, but I believe that literature offers the advantage of being able to really meditate and ponder on the words. It helps us analyze more thoughtfully because we have the power to go back over the words on the page and in our minds. We gain a connection to the characters and even the author of the piece because we are allowed deeper access into what they are thinking. Literature literally comes alive in the stage of our mind. I found this music video from one the beloved films of my childhood called The Pagemaster. Its the story of a young boy who is literally transported into the worlds of different books.  It sums up literature perfectly for me, its "whatever you imagine":

The many possibilities of nonfiction!

I was excited to think that as a part of nonfiction week I would get to talk about something I love to spend countless hours procrastinating on: travel blogs. 

I really cannot begin to describe how addicted I am to travel blogs and how much I've come to view them as actual literary pieces as we've talked about social media in English class. What I love about travel blogging is the accessibility of it. The bloggers are able to instantly share their experiences pretty much as they are happening, and the readers are able to embark on journeys with them sometimes seeing real-time pictures of places that are thousands of miles away.

Of course, there is also the literary component of them. I have noticed that the blogs that I love most are those which are crafted in a way that reels me in, through the literary elements they employ to convey how they feel about their travels to their readers. One of my favorite travel blogs is Anywhere But Home:

"How can I even describe why? Maybe it’s the look of the city – beautiful, ornate buildings crumbling in the old town, towering blocky church towers, secret courtyard gardens and grape vines hanging off every house. 

Maybe it’s the friendliness of the people I’ve met – the family who spent 15 minutes bartering with taxi drivers on my behalf at the airport, the monk who blessed me in the metro station and enlisted passers-by to translate so we could talk, the women in the market who break into smiles when I attempt Georgian, or even my adorable new roommates."

A device, for instance, that is seen being used here is anaphora, the repetition of the phrase "Maybe it's the..." The blogger uses this device to create a sense of an enumeration of the countless things that one can find in Tbilisi, Georgia to love.

Do you follow any travel blogs you think I should also check out?  

Why did I write it?

This was the question that Elie Wiesel asked himself about his memoir Night, which recounts the story of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp as a young boy. This haunting and impacting piece was my introduction to a genre of non-fiction in high school. Prior to having read this, I mostly enjoyed
literature in the form of fiction and drama. I perceived these hypothetical and imagined stories to be a defining element of literature. I felt comfort in being able to escape in these crafted works and would have dreaded the thought of reading something more connected to reality.

I experienced a BIG change of mind when I read Night, nonetheless.

“Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of madness?”

The Last Lecture

This is the beginning of the introduction for The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. The author has now passed away, but he wrote this book as his final testament. Pausch was a Computer Science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He passed away in 2008 from pancreatic cancer, but gave a last lecture entitled "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." Below is the video of the original lecture.

The lecture was turned into a book, and I've really enjoyed it so far. He writes in a very candid, honest way. He's blunt at times, but seems to mostly be at peace with the fact that he's dying. It really makes me think. If I was dying, what would be my last words? What would I want to say, and to whom?



The Italian Dish

The Italian Dish is a great cooking blog for exactly what its name suggests - Italian food! In this blog, I like the way she uses onomatopoeia for all the sounds you'd find in the kitchen - the crunch, cackle, pop - to create great imagery. I also like reading this blog for all the great photography. She writes in an easy, accessible way, which I think is great for a blog. All images below @TheItalianDish.

"Saving Punjab" Response

I read the article "Saving Punjab" from Smithsonian and was captivated by the author's love for and discussion of India. The author creates this great image:

No one gawks here. No one demands money. Everyone seems content simply to be present in this holiest of places. The pilgrims make their slow, reverent clockwise way around the marble platform that edges the pool, past an old man with a white beard reaching nearly to his waist who gently lifts his infant grandson in and out of the sacred waters; a young mother on her knees patiently teaching her little girl the proper way to prostrate herself; a cleanshaven American Sikh, his head covered with a stars-and-stripes handkerchief, praying alongside his brand-new bride, her wrists hidden by bright red bridal bangles.

The description gives you a great sense of the ironies of that life - the "American Sikh." He also talks about the violence and oppression many of these people have experienced, causing me to reflect on the luxuries we experience here that we take for granted. Things like our religious freedom and freedom of speech. As Americans, most of us have never been yanked out of our homes in the middle of the night by a mob or had to flee to another country.

Everyman

I recently read a play entitled Everyman for my drama history course. Its a medieval play and I was expecting that it was going to be archaic and inapplicable to life today, but I actually found it very moving and  relevant. It is the story of a man appropriately called Everyman going to his death and death is actually represented as a character here along with many other things which most people consider to be just "ideas". They turned good deeds, knowledge, strength, material goods, beauty, discretion, and the five senses into people who actually interact with Everyman. Though this play is an in your face moral lesson I believe that is what makes it so great and it was so refreshing to read something like this after reading a lot of the veiled modern literature today sometimes with no moral lesson at all. Then I started to think of my what media could be considered morally strong from recent times.

So Its A Wonderful Life is necessarily recent, but it is far more recent than Everyman. I have seen this movie billions of times as it is on of my favorite films, but it was so fun comparing these two works because of their subject matter. In Everyman only his Good Deeds could follow him to the end. That was what mattered most. All of the other things faded throughout the play refusing to go with him. In Its A Wonderful Life George Bailey gets to see what life would be like for others if he was never born. After seeing the effect his life has had on friends and family he realizes how important he is to them. He may not have had much prestige or material wealth, but he had what really mattered. I love the line his brother says in his toast at the end "To my brother George, the richest man in town". He wasn't the richest man in town because of money, he was the richest man because of all of his friends and the good deeds that made them his friends.

Some old books....

So I went to California this past weekend for a friend's wedding reception. Going back home is always interesting. You get to see people you haven't seen for a long time, but then shortly after you leave again. Always a bittersweet experience. I tried to spend some quality time with my parents this weekend and while we were looking for a wedding card for my friend I noticed that there was a used book store next door. I decided to go look inside and see what I could find. Whenever I enter a bookstore I always think of the endless choices and possibilities. As I wandered looking through the old, tattered books I noticed I was in the Intrigue and Suspense section. Then I thought I wonder if.... I scanned the shelves... Then there they were. The entire collection of James Bond novels right in front of me. Many of them were printed during the 60's, but they had prints from all different eras there. This is what winning the lottery must feel like. The books were all reasonably priced around $3 a piece and I bought what was missing in my collection. The experience of buying books is one of my favorite parts of appreciating literature and these used books really made it fun for me. Now I own all of the Bond books for a fraction of the price and the books have their own history to them as well. Inside the covers are the names of their former owners. Then I kind of thought f the books as old friends that I hadn't seen in a while just like my friends and family back home. Now I'll get to read the books and know them better, but soon I'll be done reading them and I won't pick them up again for quite some time.

It Runs in the Family

Yeah that's me, in a fat suit sitting down on the left.

After acting out the same brief scene from Death of a Salesman in our English class on Thursday, we got to talking about how you have to immerse yourself in a role and really become that character you're trying to portray. This can have positive effects on you and help you learn more about yourself. Or it can have negative effects on you depending on the type of character you have to portray.

Acting is such an interesting thing because you get to be someone else and that's a lot of fun. You get to step outside of any problems, stresses, or anxieties in your life and become someone who is the epitome of not you. It's fun to not care what people think of you on stage because you aren't you.

I've been in a lot of plays and musicals but by far my favorite was in high school when I played Matron in It Runs in the Family. I got to be the complete and total opposite of myself. I wore a fat suit for goodness sakes! I talked with a fake cigarette in my mouth and modeled my voice and attitude after Roz, the slug in Monster's Inc. It was the most fun I've ever had in theater. I had to learn how an overweight person acts physically (slower movements). I had to channel something that I would never be and I loved it. The best part was that after one of our shows, I tried to talk to a friend of mine who had just seen the show and she didn't recognize that I was me.

If you ever get the chance to see It Runs in the Family, I highly recommend it! It's a classic comedy of errors. The characteristics of which are a series of mistaken identity and in this play it's in a hospital no less. Just imagine: the wrong people getting shots and going loopy and of course you have your old man whose mind is going and add a long lost son to that. It's hilarious!

The truth is rarely pure and never simple part 2

So in part one of this post it wasn't until the end of the post that I realized how true the title of the post was. I randomly chose the title from a quote from the play, The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde, that I really liked.

But when you pull that quote out of the play itself and compare it to the play as a whole, it almost makes a better title than The Importance of Being Ernest (almost).

For those of you who haven't read the whole play or ever seen the movie, here is a brief summary. But SPOILER ALERT, just in case you want to be surprised if you plan on reading/watching it.

I man named Jack lives in the country and under the guise of visiting his useless brother, Ernest, he visits the city. Ernest doesn't actually exist but to keep up the rouse, Jack tells his friends in the city that his name is Ernest. Under this rouse he meets a woman, Gwendolyn, and falls in love with her and proposes, but she thinks his name is Ernest and shows much pride in the name and even says she wouldn't marry anyone else. However, since Jack was an orphan, Gwendolyn's mother refuses to approve of the marriage.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple

In my personal learning plan, I had planned on reading The Importance of Being Earnest. I really like other things I've read by Oscar Wilde and I've seen the movie so it seemed like the next step would be to read the actual play. The assignment in my English class to read the first scene gave me the motivation I needed to just go ahead and read the rest of the play.

Unfortunately between my other class and work and well, having a life, I haven't had time to finish the whole play yet (in the one day we had between the assignment and today), but I do plan to finish it this weekend.

Once I finish reading the play, I plan on re-watching the movie to compare it. Obviously it would be ideal to watch the play itself, but it will be equally as interesting to compare the movie adaption and see how closely they kept to the play.

I'm loving the play so far. Oscar Wilde is so clever and I am continually underlining quotes from the script that are just hilarious!

The one character so far that I'm really looking forward to analyzing a little more is Lane and his relationship with Algernon. In the rendition I'm reading a footnote stated that Lane's sarcasm shows that his relationship with Algernon is very complex. I found this intriguing.

I think that often, supporting characters like Lane can have a significant impact on the story. I guess we'll see as I read further and re-watch the movie.

Have any of you compared the play the Importance of Being Earnest to the movie? Or any other plays to the movie for that matter?

**On a side note, knowing the story of The Importance of Being Earnest, I think the quote I chose for the title of this post from act one is particularly telling, don't you?**

Good Old Oscar Wilde

I read The Importance of Being Earnest for AP Literature last year and loved it. Oscar Wilde is a fabulous satirist and never fails to make me laugh when I read his comedies. So when I saw that we were reading a scene from Earnest I was excited to revisit a work I had loved the first time around. It definitely didn't disappoint.

One of the big motifs of Earnest is the hypocrisy and deception found in society,which allows for hilarious instances of hypocrisy among the characters. Wilde really had a talent for displaying the ridiculousness of society during his time. There's so much fantastic word play to be found in this story and so many great lines to laugh at.
Like Algernon's interaction with his butler, for example -

Algernon. Good heavens! Is marriage so demoralising as that?
Lane. I believe it IS a very pleasant state, sir. I have had very little experience of it myself up to the present. I have only been married once. That was in consequence of a misunderstanding between myself and a young person.

I love how they dumb marriage down as being simply "a misunderstanding." Hello understatement of the year!

And let's talk about the cucumber sandwiches -

Algernon. [Picking up empty plate in horror.] Good heavens! Lane! Why are there no cucumber sandwiches? I ordered them specially.
Lane. [Gravely.] There were no cucumbers in the market this morning, sir. I went down twice.
Algernon. No cucumbers!
Lane. No, sir. Not even for ready money.

Lane going along with Algernon's deception makes me smile every time - he's clearly well-versed in the habits of his employer and not at all surprised by his hypocrisy in this situation. Even the stage direction [Gravely] makes me laugh. I can just picture the stone-faced butler delivering the "serious" news to the man he knows actually polished off the sandwiches just moments ago. 

And then of course there's Algernon's Aunt Augusta, who has probably gotten the Bunbury excuse so many times she's no longer fooled by it, so she gives the most wonderfully awful speech about "health."

Lady Bracknell. Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die. This shilly-shallying with the question is absurd. Nor do I in any way approve of the modern sympathy with invalids. I consider it morbid. Illness of any kind is hardly a thing to be encouraged in others. Health is the primary duty of life. [...] I should be much obliged if you would ask Mr. Bunbury, from me, to be kind enough not to have a relapse on Saturday, for I rely on you to arrange my music for me.

We all know you can't just ask someone to be healthy on any given date, so is Lady Bracknell being serious here or is she telling Algernon that he can't excuse himself out of Saturday's activities? I would say both, considering that she attacks "the modern sympathy with invalids" (serious) but also suggests that Bunbury should just up and die already. 

If you guys haven't read the whole play, I highly recommend it. It's short enough to read in a day or two and the ending will have you applauding Oscar Wilde for his cleverness. 

Harry Potter the Musical Review

For those of you who have seen A Very Potter Musical, hopefully you've been able to have a few good laughs. If not, the full 2 hour play is on YouTube from StarKid Productions and University of Michigan. Darren Criss wrote most of the play and music and plays Harry Potter (that's what's up, Glee fans).

The play is largely informal, with very little stage direction or scenery. In fact, the proscenium stage is mostly dark with black floors and walls. The lack of formality of the parody draws attention to the comedy aspect of it - ridiculous songs, exaggerated wigs, Malfoy being played by a girl. There are few props, and the ones that are used are often made of cardboard. To me, the low-budget feel of it only adds to the comedic appeal.

The only problem I have with this play is the vulgarity of it. There are moments when the comedy relies largely on shock value, and I think it would have been better if they had used wit instead of surprising the audience with sexual innuendos.

Act 1, Part 4

Death of a Salesman Analysis

I enjoyed reading this scene from Death of a Salesman. Having never read the full play, I want to use this post to analyze this scene and the relationship between Willy and Biff.

This flashback reveals a deterioration in Willy and Biff's relationship as Biff catches his father having an affair. It's unclear what age Biff is at this time, but he refers to his mother as "mama" and promptly bursts into tears because he's so hurt by his father's actions. His father tries to console him, telling Biff that he was "lonely, terribly lonely," but Biff refuses to listen and walks away from him, calling his father a liar.

The stage direction moves forward out of the flashback and reveals Linda, Willy's wife, as being extremely protective of Willy. It's unclear whether she is aware of what happened between Biff and Willy, but she and her sons appear to have a somewhat hostile relationship. It's clear that Biff feels he has disappointed and is disappointed by both his parents in some way.

The Death of a Salesman

Over three years ago I was studying at Brigham Young University Idaho. I took an "intro to theater" class that opened my eyes to a new art form. Sure I had seen some plays before, but by taking this class I was taught how to analyze the plays and see how the themes in them applied to my own life. During the course of the term we read many plays, but very few really stood out to me. One of those plays was The Death of a Salesman. I was able to relate to the play because it portrays the story of an average man who despite his best intentions and wishes falls short. I think there is a little bit of the main character "Willy" in all of us. We all try, we don't always get there. We all have hopes and dreams, some of they may not be accomplished in our lifetimes. These things were enough to drive Willy into a depression. After reading a piece of this play again in my literary analysis class it reminded of the feelings I had when I read it over three years ago and I found that this theme of the American dream and the desire to change and be better is still found in much of our media today.

I watch a show called Mad Men that I love. It often deals with the themes of the American Dream and society in the 60's.  In the show we learn that Don Draper has a shadowy past, one that he tries to run away from and has done so successfully, well at least in his professional life. This clip however shows a younger version of the main character Don Draper and a man who may have had an influence on him. This man is a drifter who tells him "We all wish we were from some place else". That was Willy's wish, to escape his circumstances. That was Don Draper's wish. That I think is a hope we all share.

I know that poetry week is over BUT

Our study of poetry has come and gone, but not for me! This is because my personal learning plan centers around poetry, and in an effort to work on it during this drama week, I found some very interesting cross-overs between it and poetry. Having talked about Hamlet in my last post, I couldn't help but delve into some other works of Shakespeare. I chose another one of my favorites, Othello, The Moore of Venice. 

Othello and Iago

Although not of all the play is written in poetic form, I found many instances where Shakespeare used iambic pentameter:

"Thus do I ever make my fool my purse:
For I mine own gain'd knowledge should profane,  
If I would time expend with such a snipe.
But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor:"

I began to wonder why Shakespeare would structure parts of the play in this way. Then, as I was reading, I noticed that the shifts between meter and no meter often correlated  with who the character is speaking to and what they were speaking about. For instance, in the excerpt above Iago is first commenting on his use of Roderigo (where there is iambic pentameter,) but then there is a transition to a sort of rant about his hatred for Othello (which is followed by prose.) In other words, Iago is at first more calm, paralleled by his structured language, but as his emotions grab a hold of him he begins to speak more freely.

I though that this was an interesting thing to point out, because it shows that an element usually associated with poetry can also have an effect when used in other genres, such as drama in this case.  This also helped me in that I:

•  recognized poetic elements portrayed in unusual means---->
•  which is helping me better understand how they work to have an effect on the literature they are presented in ---->
• In turn, this relationship will help me to make claims about the intentions authors have in using these elements to create a theme or make a point. 

Have you observed any crossovers like this?

O that this too too frail post won't fail!

... and resolve itself into a horrible description of my love for the play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, which I am sure most of you are very familiar with. I have not read it in a long time, and I probably won't be able to clearly explain why I love it so much. This was the first actual play that I read in its entirety, and it was really one of my inspirations to explore genres of literature aside from fiction. Many claim that Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in the English language, and while I lack depth to join in this claim, I would certainly point to this play as a support of that statement.

Here is an element of the play that I will help you agree:

The Language

 "To be, or not to be,that is the question: 
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer 
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. 
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep-..." 

Yes, it's one of the most famous soliloquies in the English language, and a believe it is so for a reason. Whenever I read those lines I do not simply think of Hamlet being there depressed and thinking: "Should I kill myself?" No. I think of the struggle, his mind wrestling the thoughts that plague him about the complexities of existence and the implications of suicide. I picture the piercing arrows of calamity that often wound our lives. I picture the brave sailor who despite the ongoing storm persists and endures, and the one that gives in to the consuming waves. The imagery woven throughout this excerpt connects me to this issue, as I feel it describes perfectly how in times of despondency I  have also wondered the same thing.

What is your favorite Shakespeare play?

I'm Hooked

From Russia With Love is the first Bond novel I have read since my high school days and honestly I could not stop reading it. Every chapter had literary hooks at the end which made it so I couldn't put the book down. If I did I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen next. There was a time today where I just sat down at a bench on campus and read till the end of the book, it was that good. And I know I've seen the movies a billion times, but the books stray enough from the plot to keep me interested. Bond gets hurt in these books. He isn't the superhero shown in films. He bleeds, he gets shot, he is nearly beaten to death. You actually fear for his life. Almost every chapter in this book seemed to raise my fears about what would happen to Bond. Especially these two sentences at the end of the chapter entitled "The Killing Bottle": "The bullet, homing on Bond's heart, flashed over its two quiet yards. Bond pitched forward on to the floor and lay sprawled under the funeral violet light." Even the end of the book has a HUGE hook. Big enough that I am now buying the next Bond book to find out how Bond will get out the situation he is in. Reading this book has truly helped me to understand how a great author can use plot and language to produce something very entertaining to read. Five out of five stars James.

I think Oedipus Rex would be boring to watch.

Woah! What? How dare I say something so bold about such a great work of drama. Give me a second of your time and I'll clarify this.

For those of you readers who have been living under a rock, Oedipus is a story about a king who is told his son will murder him and marry the queen. So he tries to have his son killed but a kind servant spares him and the son grows up and well wouldn't you know it, he ends up killing his father and marrying his mother. This son is Oedipus Rex.

"Wow, that sounds like a super interesting story. Why would you think the play would be boring?"

RENT

In preparation for drama week, I've been thinking about my personal experiences with drama. Probably my favorite memory in regards to drama was last summer, when I was in New York and got to see Rent performed off-Broadway. It was spectacular. I had never seen Rent before (the movie or otherwise) so I got to view it entirely new right in front of me.
I loved the story, the music, and the actors. Even though I've now watched the movie numerous times, the cast I saw in New York are who I think of as the characters. Seeing it performed made the story so real to me, which is why I love watching drama. By the end of the play, I had laughed and sobbed right along with the characters and the rest of the audience.
Drama is one of the reasons I love New York, and one of the reasons I want to go back! I think I could be completely content just seeing a new play every night.

A Midsummer Night

I saw A Midsummer Night's Dream in the park and was very pleased with the performance. I often have a difficult time when it comes to reading Shakespeare - it's hard for me to battle through the tough language and become invested in the story when I'm doing it on my own. But having others performing in front of me makes it way easier! I know the actors care about the story, and their hard work makes me want to care about it too. Not to mention things like body language, vocal intonation, and facial expressions bring Shakespeare's sometimes difficult words to life.
I also love being part of an audience and sharing the viewing experience with the people around me. Laughing with the rest of the audience through A Midsummer Night's Dream definitely added to the fun of the comedy.
All in all, I would almost always rather watch a piece of drama than read it, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to do so with this particular work.

Love's Labour's Lost (Act 5, Scene 2)

I had the privilege to watch Love's Labour's Lost by Shakespeare. There are certain advantages to watching Shakespeare being performed as opposed to just reading it. You are able to overcome the limitations of written literature, such as a lack of gestures and facial expressions. I was able to see the look of anguish on Ferdinand's face when he says "the sudden hand of death close up mine eye!" There were times when I thought their facial expressions were a little too dramatic, but somehow that adds to the appeal of Shakespeare. I always had a hard time understanding plays like "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet" in high school, but watching Love's Labour's Lost made me realize something - this is the way Shakespeare intended for his work to be seen. He wanted it to be performed and set it up to be that way. He wanted the costumes, the gestures, the scenery, the facial expressions. It actually made me wonder about the scriptures - what if we performed Alma like Love's Labour's Lost?

"His gun spoke twice from the hip".

I have mentioned before how much I love Ian Fleming's use of language to describe settings and characters in a novel. But this last chapter I read in From Russia With Love really helped me to see the skill he had in building tension. The chapter started with James Bond being invited to dinner with a gypsy tribe. The scene intensified when it was announced that two gypsy girls were to fight it out to the death over a man. As if the declaration of their fight wasn't terrifying enough, the author was able to provide us with a description of the two fighters that seemed almost like they were being introduced into a boxing ring. The actual fight was violent and harsh, no gory detail was spared. The fight was building to a climax when an explosion rang out. The gypsy tribe was being attacked by a rival gang of Bulgars. During the skirmish Bond is almost killed. Then the fight ends with the Bulgars retreating from the gypsy camp. Things slow down and Bond is left to reflect on what has just happened. Exposition, rising action, climax, and denouement all tightly packed in one chapter.

A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Park

I'll admit that before going to this play I had some some misgivings. It was A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, one of the classics. I tried to imagine what it be like with no setting, no formal stage, but hey it was free. When I arrived I saw just a handful of people and some of them dressed in half modern half Shakespearean clothing. For a few minutes I thought maybe some of my misgivings might come true. The performance got under way and began with a lone narrator introducing the cast and the normal guidelines for their performances. He announced that much of the performance would be interactive. I wondered how that would be possible with an old school play by Shakespeare. I was proven to be wrong. The fact that the performance was outside, with no stage, allowed them to be among us while performing. There was even a point where one the characters started throwing chunks of grass out at the audience during one her key scenes. This was theater at its bare bones and I loved it. Pure acting. Surrounded by nature with no distractions. I felt a connection with the performers and because they were enabled to interact with us I felt their love for acting. These were dedicated performers. They spent their some of their nights a week performing for free in front of those who appreciate their art. The thing that impressed me the most however was that they prayed before each performance. It showed me that drama can be and should be a spiritual experience along with any other art form.

The Little Mermaid

Last weekend I went to see a community theater production of The Little Mermaid in Durango, Colorado. Durango is where my husband grew up and his little sisters were in the play.

The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney movies and Ariel is my favorite Disney princess. For some reason the story has always held a special place in my heart. That is why it was so difficult for me to see the show butchered.

Maybe it's because I grew up doing theater and have maintained such a high standard for performance or maybe it's because I love The Little Mermaid so much, but either way I don't have many good things to say about the performance (except that my husband's little sisters were adorable).

Before we even get into the acting, the technical side of the performance left much to be desired. Some actors had their microphones up much to high and there was a lot of feedback every time they spoke or sang. Some actors had their microphones down to low and their lines and songs couldn't be heard. Worst of all were the actors who didn't have microphones who should have because entire conversations and harmonies were missed because the music over powered them.

Next, the set, props and costumes. For the most part, the set was actually done very well. Ariel's grotto could be turned to be used as the shore. They built an entire ship off the stage for Prince Eric. It was well done. Most of the props were done well. My main complaint was that out of all the props to skimp money on, they had the crew on the ship using plastic handled mops. It took away the whole illusion. Parts of the costumes continued to take away from the illusion. The costumes themselves were very impressive. All the 'fish' wore big fish hats so there was no guess as to what they were supposed to be. The mermaids had lovely fins that still allowed them to walk since actors have legs. The problem was the shoes. Every character from the fish, to the prince, to the mermaids, to the princesses, wore tennis shoes. I'm not sure if it was in an effort to make them all look uniform, but what it really did was took away from the expensive costumes and made the production look cheap.

And now, the acting and singing. Flounder was adorable. Ariel was fair. Sebastian was the star of the show. The rest of the actors with actual roles (i.e. not the ensemble) were abysmal. From Ursula's extreme and awkward over acting to King Tritan's absence of acting, the characters were uncomfortable to watch. At some points I felt bad for the actor because they seemed embarrassed and uncomfortable on stage. At other points I was unable to watch the actor's awkward behaviors because it made me feel uncomfortable. Thankfully, despite the sound problems, the singing was fine and I didn't find my ears bleeding.

Overall, I was happy to see my husband's sisters (who were both in the ensemble) but had it not been for them, I would have never gone to see the show nor paid a whole $18 to do it.

Where Do I Stand Now? Personal Reflection

Well the time has come for me to evaluate my progress and learning experience for ENG 251 up to this point! I will begin by outlining the Learning Outcomes for the course:

1. Know the basic literary terms and methods
2. Know the basic literary genres and representative texts
3. Write Literary Arguments
4. Engage in literature creatively and socially
5. Use emerging communication tools and pedagogical methods

My goal from the beginning of the term was to fulfill these. Furthermore, after having identified in my personal learning plan my weakness in poetry, I have placed learning focus in the literary genre. Here was what I mapped out on my plan (PO):

1) Becoming acquainted with the different types of poetry
      - I will attempt to do this by studying samples of each type (LO #2)

2) Acquiring skills that will aid me in understanding and analyzing poetry (LO#1 and #3)

3) Develop a work of my own from a chosen genre after gaining enough understanding of it (LO#4)

4) And finally, learn to really appreciate this form of literature (through sharing with my experiences with people in social media and learning from others) (LO#5)

Along the way I tailored my plan to match whatever we were focusing on in class. So how have I done so far? Let's examine (as categorized by learning outcomes):

When half-gods go/ The gods arrive

I do not enjoy studying. However, it's one of those things you just gotta do, unless you are an uber freak who just memorizes everything instantly. If that's you, go away, I don't like you.

In an effort to study for my test, I decided to analyze a poem (which I'm horrible at) using poetry terms that I studied (blech).

I chose Give All to Love by Ralph Waldo Emerson, which is a poem I had planned to read for my personal learning plan.

GIVE all to love;
Obey thy heart;
Friends, kindred, days,
Estate, good fame,
Plans, credit, and the Muse—	5
Nothing refuse.

Sidewalk Art

I've been trying to come up with a way to share with you guys something I think is awesome and somehow make it relevant to our class blog. When it doubt, do a haiku.

Sidewalk art by chalk

the path is up for debate

see what we can draw 

Sidewalk art is something artists are creating more and more on everyday walks to work or the store. They're meant to make you stare. Or, in some cases, people get creative and talk awesome pictures.

Personal Learning Update

It's strange to think that our term is almost over when it's barely even started. I wrote my original personal learning plan with the main goal in mind of reading a few books that I've also wanted to and was able to incorporate them into our class learning outcomes.

1. Know basic literary terms and methods for analyzing and writing about fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction. I wrote a post about the basic elements of plot and dove further into poetry terms with this post about an Oasis song by analyzing the lyrics as poetry.
2. Know basic literary genres and representative texts in fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction. I wrote about Greasy Lake, which is a great representation of a short story. I wrote about contemporary poetry also, which was probably one of my favorite assignments of the whole semester. And I loved this drama, which is a film that has stayed with me in many ways.
3. Write literary arguments. I wrote about how poetry appeals to different styles of learners with its visual appeal, and was happy to see that Jocelyn agreed. I also made a claim that the best kinds of literature make you squirm, which got some discussion going :)
4. Engage literature creatively and socially. I created a Goodreads profile and talked about ways to make poetry interesting visually through methods like concrete poetry and played with color and form in my personal literary narrative analysis.
5. Use emerging communication tools and pedagogical methods. I talked about YouTube as a channel for poetry that appeals to the visual side and interpretation for visual and audio learners. And dang it, I've tried to join our class group on Goodreads like 6 times and it always says "page not found." 

I've talked about updates to my reading plan with my post about The Secret Life of Bees and The House on Mango Street, which so far I've really enjoyed reading. I've really enjoyed conversations with my group and others on my posts. The first was about Neil Gaiman. I loved Danielle's comments and suggestions about Gaiman and his unique writing style. I also appreciated Lindsey's comments on my post about The Secret Life of Bees, and Jocelyn's comments on New Media and Poetry. It's great to be able to speak with people honestly about their opinions on literature.

For the next part of our class, I want to focus on finishing the books on my reading plan and making more thoughtful and honest comments on other people's posts.

 

Progress!

My very first post on this blog was my original learning plan for this term, which I added to when planning my personal reading during our poetry unit.

I've definitely been able to get a good handle on one of my goals in my personal learning plan, which was to get reacquainted with all those literary terms and genres I've forgotten. I'd say I'm doing pretty well, and I've been able to analyze works both in class and on my own utilizing that knowledge. This can be seen in my personal literary narrative detailing aspects of the poem "Tulipomania."
Another of my goals was to absorb more literature on my own, and I've done pretty well with this. I finished a great novel and read a few volumes of poetry in correlation with our units, and I've been able to view each with a critical eye based on our learning. I also planned the personal reading I'll do for our nonfiction section.

I've also been able to critically examine poetry and the way it has evolved through the use of new media, and how it can evolve even within what might seem like an already set sub-genre. I've also been able to share the way traditional poetry has been marketed using new media.

One of the best things I've done this term has been taking new leaps with my interaction regarding literature on social media. I've had a Goodreads account for a while, but I was never brave enough to post a review until a couple of weeks ago. I felt that I was under-qualified to give reviews and self-conscious about who might read them. But after posting my first review, I was almost immediately rewarded! One of my friends texted me and said that she thought my review was "lovely" which was really encouraging. I plan to continue posting reviews and interacting more fully.

While interacting on the blog, I've really appreciated some of the comments on my posts. On my first spoken word post, I especially appreciated Briggs', Sined's, and Richard's comments, because they helped me feel that I was showing them something or someone new that they could be interested in. This was especially meaningful since spoken word is something I am really passionate about. I also really appreciated the comment from Kirsten on my second post about spoken word, in which she encouraged me to look at one of her blog posts, and we were able to have a brief discussion in the comments about the emotional aspects of performance poetry. It was really great to be able to find similar likes in another member of our class.

My Reflections on My Progress

For my first post I made a personal learning plan which gave an outline of how I was going to accomplish the five learning outcomes of our Literature class:


1. Know basic literary terms and methods
2. Know basic literary genres and representative texts
3. Write literary arguments
4. Engage literature creatively and socially
5. Use emerging communication tools and pedagogical methods

When making my plan I identified where I was weak in my understanding and application of the learning outcomes. I decided that each week I would track my progress by logging my reading time in my posts and also by the content of those posts. I believe that my posts show how I accomplished the learning outcomes listed:

1. Know basic literary terms and methods

I made a post about symbolism called The Things I Carry 

In The Second Circle I talk about how important it is to define terms so that we can understand poetry. I also talk about how I spent a few hours reading about poetry in our textbook showing my efforts to understand poetic methods and terms and improve upon my weaknesses in that area which goes along with my learning plan. This post was my Personal Literary Narrative for the class.

In "Do not go Gentle" I talk about how was able to identify themes by using poetic methods.

2.Know basic literary genres and representative texts

In my posts involving Short Story, Invictus, The Inferno, Drama and Novel I was able to show my understanding of literary genre by breaking down the readings and their meanings. I also provided appropriate representative texts.

3. Write Literary Arguments

In "Do not go Gentle" I make an argument about the possible meaning of the repeated chants in the poem.

With The Second Circle I made an argument for how the author's use of language set the tone for the work and the importance of understanding that knowledge so that we could gain a better grasp of it.

In "A Labour of Love" I was able to argue the importance of detailed language in fiction.

The Things I Carry  made an argument about the importance of symbolism in literature and in our very own lives.

4. Engage Literature Creatively and Socially

In my post on Invictus I loved Dr. Burton's post on delivery and rhetoric because they gave me greater insight into how I could interpret poetry based on how it is delivered.

"A Labour of Love" included comments by Dr. Burton, Jocelyn, and Briggs. All were very complimentary and they talked about the use of Imagery in fiction. I especially liked Briggs' comment on how reading literature could be a spiritual experience.

Charly's comments on my post about The Little Clay Cart helped me understand the connections the play had to other cultural spheres such as Shakespeare and Medieval Europe's social system.

Also I was able to further connect with others creatively and socially through my goodreads profile.

5. Using Emerging Communication Tools and Pedagogy

My poetry adaptation analysis showed connections between poetry and film. It used new media in the form of video.

My post on the differences between the original novel and film From Russia With Love also uses video.

All of my posts have included at least one picture in them.