special blogpost interpretation

For my interpretation I decided to chose “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children” by Garcia Marquez for a two reasons. The first reason would be that the entire story from beginning to end held my interest. The second reason I chose this piece of literature is because it affected me in a variety of ways; it influenced me to really reflect and challenge myself among other things. Marquez’s work is also well written painting intriguing images and containing a plot that can make the reader continue to reflect after finishing the literature.

A synopsis of any kind would take away from the intelligence of the literature but I will do my best. The story begins by setting a very gloomy and dark scene, the world was dark and stench filled on a “sea and sky” bound beach. A character by the name of Pelayo was ridding his house of dead crabs when he came across a very old man with enormous wings who was collapsed upon the sand of the beach. After trying to speak to him he responded in “an incomprehensible dialect with a strong sailor’s voice” they put him up in their chicken coop. As soon as word got out it seemed that the whole city was outside the chicken coop watching the old man with wings like he was some sort of carnival attraction. Then the local priest arrived, Father Gonzaga, who said that the man is not an angel because he is too worn down and doesn’t “understand the language of God”, which is apparently Latin. As the story continued it seemed more and more people kept coming to see the old man; people even came for healing by rubbing with the feathers of the man. The crowds became so many that Pelayo’s wife Elisenda began to charge admission to see the captive man. The crowd finally begins to dwindle when a spider woman came to town apart of a carnival attraction. She gained popularity and people soon forgot their oddly performing miracle angel. The owners of the house used the money they received from their attraction to upgrade their property: a mansion, gardens everything except the chicken coop that contained the forgotten angel. The angel stays with the family in the coop for several years when the weather finally caused the chicken coop to collapse. From then on he wondered around the house and property much to the annoyance of Elisenda. The angel’s health seemed to continue withering when he actually began to gain strength and new feathers. He attempted and failed to fly until he finally flies off into the horizon becoming an “imaginary dot” over the sea. Instead of regretting or missing the angel she feels relieved of the annoyance. This concludes the story.

At first this story may come across odd or weird that contains no true meaning, but after one dives into the literature and rereads the piece many meanings and ideas can become apparent. An interpretation of the meaning of, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” would be that our world and culture is not very accepting of ideas of people who are different or weak. Sometime’s when people come up with new ideas or a different view than what has been held before our world can be all too ignorant and immediately turn them away and shun them away from our culture which in a way locks down people’s differences and creativity that God has blessed all of us with. This can be seen in the story where the angel was different; no one had seen anything like him before so they observed him. The world observed him, but observed through a cage protecting themselves from his different ways. Peleyo and Elisenda milked money out of him like he was a sideshow creature. This can be seen all throughout our world today, where creative and different people are noticed and people are genuinely interested, but instead of letting a person who is different be themselves they lock them in restrictions and world views and get what they can out of the person, whether it is money or fame as soon as the world grows tired that different person is casted aside, becoming old news. An example of this in our long history of out casting new or different people can be seen in the trial of Socrates the great philosopher. Socrates had many different ideas that challenged the society and their views that would eventually bring upon a change within the society. Though he can be seen in history as a great mind and contributor to society, when he was alive he wasn’t accepted. Instead he was tried for polluting the minds of the youth with false doctrine and ideas that were against the government and he was put to death.

Unlike Socrates the angel was eventually able to fly away into the horizon and be himself without any restrictions; hopefully we can learn from this story. We can learn that when new people or ideas come along we shouldn’t restrict them with our own simpleton views but let people be themselves and they as the different can make a difference. Jesus Christ was seen as different because of his ideas that challenged the society to a new level and he was crucified. I am not saying that we crucify people with new ideas because they’re different but in a way we crucify their ideas. It is time that we grow and open our minds and know what we believe in but at the same time do not punish people for a different view because for all we know that different person can have an idea that could change the society and world.

A Very Old Man with ENormous WIngs

"My old Man w/Wings"

I painted this image because number one, I had painting supplies left over from the first time we painted and I wanted to use them again. The second reason I painted this is because, this piece of literature seemed to flood my mind full of images and I had to pour at least one of them out.

This painting was an abstract view of the image I had in my mind of the fallen angel. He had great ability and experience but was chained down by the ignorant ways of our world. So many times our world has great visionaries and leaders but because of our preconceived views and opinions we constrict people of their fullest abilities. The Old man with wings was captured and made a show and couldn't reach his fullest ability until he was allowed to walk around and try to fly. I believe once we are set free from our "chicken coups" we will be able to find our full potential; we shouldn't worry about what may not be normal but instead discover what we were born to do... and FLY.

Polk Art Museum Adventure

I found the trip to the Polk Art Museum very interesting and quite entertaining; it was also slightly educational. I must admit that I felt a little odd reading my poems in the museum, but I followed the assignment. I loved the art showcased in the museum; I honestly expected there to be a little more exhibits but I enjoyed what they had. This was not my first art museum to visit; a couple of years ago I went to one in Atlanta GA which was huge, which might be the reason why I expected more art at the Polk Art Museum. Though I expected more I thoroughly enjoyed the artwork; I was able to truly observe the time, thought and passion the artists put into their work.

I loved most of the artwork I think my favorite out of it all was the 3d stuff. I thought all of the artwork was excellent; I mean who can truly judge art work as bad art? Who are we to judge? An artist has no boundary or guideline he or she can put his passion and thoughts into art, which can be a positive element to society. In the museum I heard a young couple say, "This picture the worst one here." Hearing that frustrated me; someone poured their time, thoughts and passion into that painting but an ignorant couple refused to see the beauty.

As I was observing the art; I tried asking myself, "what was this artist thinking?"....honestly most of the time I had no idea, but personally I believe that is a positive aspect of art.. sometimes there is no need for a reason... it is just art.

Relating to Reading Transformation

I really related a lot personally to the reading assigned, "Reading For Transformation through Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins." There were many ideas and topics that the author discussed that really related to me personally.

He really started right off relating to me by talking about the fact that something may sound great but not have the clearest meaning for one to grasp. I find myself read poetry and notice the magnificent word usage within the poem but still have no idea what the poet was talking about or explaining. His use of lectio devina for poetry made me wonder why I had never used it before when reading poetry. I remember using it for literature in class once or twice but since then it completely slipped my mind. Maybe it's because I just accepted the idea of me not being able to find out the true meaning of the poetry, but truly if I dug deeper and possibly used lectio devina as a tool and not just a devotional I could unlock all sorts or ideas and meanings within poetry that I have never discovered.

The author brought up another process to use in reading that was very familiar to me personally. It was the process of discovering the world of the text, the world behind the text and before the text. As the author mentioned many preachers use this method when preparing messaged; as a college student preparing to be a minister I personally have used this method when preparing my messages or when I am breaking down the meaning and context of the scripture.

I very much enjoyed the author's breakdown of how knowing the world's of the text help bring us closer to the true meanings of the text and poetry. How much more awesome will the readings of poetry be? If we can truly breakdown the text we can truly learn the poets meanings.

Darkness....

At first I somewhat struggled with this reading assignment; I did not struggle with the "reading level" or writing quality, but instead the theories and ideas. There were many ideas that I agreed with but there were also a few ideas that I did not completely agree with. Which in my mind is fine, I believe that we as people of the world do not have to agree on everything because if we did, we would all be robots.. which would be somewhat interesting but extremely BORING.

One of the ideas that I agreed with was that "darkness" is everywhere in life. I couldn't agree more with that statement. Everywhere we look there is darkness, darkness in our homes, in the streets, in the media, it is even in our lives. I also believe darkness can bring out good. It can bring out the good in people who decide to grow from and stand against darkness in a very saddening world.

I also believe that like hinted at in the reading, poetry and darkness are very much tied together. I believe literature in general is tied into darkness. I believe literature can provide an image of a place without darkness that people can find refuge; I also believe it can provide situations of darkness where the audience can relate so that they feel as if they can make it through the dark and pain. Literature and darkness in my mind are almost one in one.

The one idea I was not completely into at first was wrestling with despair with God, but the more I pondered and reflected somewhat agree.

"Darkness"... what a startling word. When I think about that word many images come to mind. Images such as war, gangs, drugs, sin, hell, evil just come to my mind. Like previously stated I believe darkness plagues our world, but we as vessels of Christ should be light to our dark world. We should be able to show love and life of Christ that can hopefully help and brighten people's lives when they are struggling through times of darkness.

lake bony & nature

I enjoyed my trip to the park, I had been there before with friends at previous occasions; it was good to get back and revisit the park with open eyes and an open mind.

Here is my first poem:

"The birds fly low and high,

they swoop down like bombers from the sky.

They search and scrounge for dinner to eat,

they turn and look at me in my seat.

My attention turns to the wind in the air,

which cause aggravation with my brushed hair.

I glance to the grass and beautiful green blades,

it has thickness of south Florida's everglades.

An ant tickled and climbed up my toe,

but instead of shooing I watched the show.

He went in circles and up and down,

when finally I flicked him to the ground.

Whether it was in ants or other creatures,

this land has so many amazing features."

This is my second poem:

"Just as the wind blows far and strong,

so does life in all of its ways,

Just as the trees are thick and many,

so are the relationships that pack our lives,

Just as the clouds in the sky

all things just keep floatin on by"

The park was beautiful when I was there, but it wasn't the park that made it beautiful. Nature made the park beautiful, it was amazing to observe God's grace and beauty. Nature brightens everything in my life, it sweetens it all. If someone questions God's existence they should look to an easy answer and admire the beauty out in the nature. The beauty in nature could not just happen by accident, but by a greater creation and being. I enjoyed this blog and assignment.

poems and blogs

I very much enjoyed the poems that were assigned to us for the reading on Friday. I am usually not a huge fan of poetry but I really was captivated by these poems written by Mary Oliver. Maybe the way she used language to disguise a hidden meaning within one of her poems is what caught my interest. I also loved her use of spiritual ideas as well as nature themes throughout her poems. My favorite poem was probably the shortest one and originally that aspect is why it caught my attention but their is really a lot of meaning behind it in my opinion.

"The Uses of Sorrow

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me

a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand

that this, too, was a gift."

I love what is written between the parenthesis. It makes me wonder, why do I not write my dreams down on paper, because I seriously have some crazy dreams that no one in the world will ever know except me and the few friends that I tell. Anyways back to the poem, I feel like she was saying that sorrow brings grief and struggles but one can easily learn and grow and reap rewards from death and sorrow. It may seem like a "box full of darkness" but in it is a gift that may be even greater then the original thing that we lost. I believe this poem holds ideas about death as well as life lessons in general. Many times it seems that life can bring a gift along that does not look appealing but ends up being the greatest gift of all.

THis Blessed House

I decided to use some of the different ways to blog in the guide to blog, and the one I am choosing is to take a quote and discuss it in depth.

"She shrugged. 'No, we're not Christian. We're good little Hindus." She planted a kiss on top of Christ's head, then placed the stature on top of the fireplace mantel, which needed, Sanjeev observed, to be dusted."

This phrase really caught my attention and somewhat made me compare the Hindu couples to Christians. In the story Sanjeev and Twinkle are not very welcoming to the Christian faith and relics that they found in their house. I wonder how would a Christian couple react or how would I react if in my brand new house I found a bunch of Hindu relics. Would I throw them away? Would I keep them in the attic? Would I set them around the house? And would my actions be disrespectful in any way?

If I found a bunch of Hindu relics I think I would definitely take all of them out of the attic. I would probably observe them and their beauty because they are art and millions of people worship them. I would definitely not throw them away because I feel like that would be extremely disrespectful to their religion; because I would not someone to disrespect a cross or a nativity scene. I believe if we disrespected someone elses religion how could they respect what we believe in. I know we shouldn't honor idols and fake gods but I do believe we should show respect for the people so that hopefully we can be a better witness to the lost.

Would I set them around the house? No. I would most likely donate them to a Hindu family or a Hindu meeting place so that they could put them in use.

I feel like when it comes to people's religion and relics people can be easily offended and many arguments could arise. Many wars have been started because of religion.

I personally believe we don't need more religion but more God, Christ and Love.

character post

“Come on guys, you can pull through this!” he yelled from the seat of his leather couch, while the television was blasting images and sounds from a college football game. I could tell he was not at ease that tightly fitted shirt covering a muscular body of an ex pro athlete. You could see in those dark eyes that he truly wished he were back on the field in his natural habitat. I had seen film of him back in his prime chasing down football players like a cheetah preceding him pouncing on them like they were his prey. Now, he traveled around as a motivational speaker telling his story, a true story that was about his life change that would hopefully change others.

My eyes drifted back to that huge High Definition television when I heard, “Hey man do you want something to drink? I’ve got coke, sweet tea and water.”

I responded, “If it’s not much of a trouble, coke would be fine.”

As he left the room and went into the kitchen I could see that he was still in peak athletic form, by the way he played out in his yard earlier with his son it seemed that this former athlete could easily step back into his love and play football for a number of NFL teams.

The athlete came back in and sat next to me on the couch and handed me my drink. I could smell the crisp fragrance of his high priced cologne that was radiating off of his dark tough skin. Once again as I was observing him he just did not look natural in his new modern style house, he seemed as if he needed to live on the turf of the green blades of grass that was being shown on the television screen. I then began to turn and observe his nice house, it was brand new he had it custom built for him and his family, which included him, his wife, a son and daughter and not to forget his dog “Bear”. It is no coincidence that the name of the dog is the same name of his college football coach Bear Bryant, who to many people in the state of Alabama including the man next to me Jeremiah Steele believed he was a god in human form after coaching their beloved football team to several championships and wins. I continued to scan the room where I noticed pictures of him in his “glory days” pictures of his family and one particular picture that caught my attention. It was a painting of a man on both knees bowed down in a dark room with only enough light to illuminate the man’s body in the painting. I decided to ask him about it since I heard the television say it was half time. He had been a pretty good friend of mine for a couple of months we met at church, played golf once or twice and had our families out to dinner several times.

“Hey Jeremiah what is that painting about?” I asked.

He took a breath and pondered and then poured out a message that seemed to be one of his motivational speeches, “That man is me. That man was me fifteen years ago; I had lived the life, I rubbed shoulders with some of the most famous people in America,” he said in his southern accent.

“I partied with the rich and the famous, well hek, I was the rich and the famous and I lived like it. I would go out with some friends on a Friday afternoon and not make it back home till Sunday morning. We would party for 2 days straight and I would come home, lay in my bed alone, and feel empty. I had nobody. I lost my family years before I had even went to college, so really it was just the world and I. I was making millions then the injury happened. Instead of training and rehabbing myself I just continued to party and when I returned to football I was unwanted, I was out of shape and had an attitude. I don’t blame a soul.”

I could see in those dark eyes that water began to appear slowly like a tide rising on a beach and his face seemed tense as he explained his story. His testimony. His life.

He continued to unfold his life novel and explained that it wasn’t until he was arrested for drug charges that he realized he needed to change.

“I was all alone in my room crying out to somebody just to be with me, to listen, to feel and to hurt like I was hurting.” His eyes lit up, “then, as I was alone in my room I remembered 20 years before when I would go visit my auntie in the summers and she would take me to church where I learned how to pray. So I did my best and prayed. I prayed and talked to the air and then I felt this overwhelming comfort, like someone was in the room but it was just me and my story all alone.”

I knew the rest of the story from church when I heard him preach his testimony. He got his self together and gained a family and life out of it. He started a non-charity organization for young men in urban areas that struggled much like him. He provided a home for the lost and alone like himself. He traveled and spoke to high schools and told his life and his story.

As he continued his story his facial expressions showed his thoughts, he loved life and he loved his family and he loved his story. He hated what he went through but it got him where he was today and he was proud. His smile showing those bleached white teeth told me he would not go back into sports or drugs, his new drug was his life. He had everything he “wanted in the world back in his “glory days” I thought” he said, “but now I know, I had nothing but now I have it all.”

The second half of the game started back up and our attention drifted back to the television and all was normal. I was sitting to Jeremiah Steele a man who had lived life and loved life more than I had ever seen. I took a lesson from it all, even though our past may not be very exemplifying of a “good person” we should learn and grow and be proud of what we came from.

BAK to BLOGGIN

As weird as this may sound, I have been ready to get back to blogging. I have been in such of a habit of blogging that Sunday night I was trying to figure out our blogging assignment when I realized we didn't have any but I must admit that gave me joy.

The poem, My Tea with Madame Descartes was a very interesting read to open back up the semester after our break. At first glance I was wondering because of the title if it had any relation to the philosopher of Descartes, but I did not see much relation within the poem. I thought the author's descriptions of the scene of having tea was very descriptive and very interesting. I thought the images painted a picture for me to see and imagine much like some of the authors we have previously read. One quote that really painted an image for that I liked was,

"Yet her beauty was singular,

Volcanic, viscous... as inevitable as lava moving slowly

Toward you."

This line was so descriptive, I could see this beautiful woman just chilling in the cafe. I also thought the dialogue definitely helped progress the poem and build a small story line. Overall it was a pretty decent movie. I just realized this post was 2 minutes post and I hope Prof. Corrigan will have some mercy.

Sonny's Blues

Sonny's Blues was a very well written and interesting piece of literature. It contained many dramatic characteristics including death, separation and many emotional attaching elements. James Baldwin found a way to portray all of the characters in a way where I personally felt an emotional attachment. As I read I found myself truly caring for Sonny and the others and what would happen next to them. I felt the pain and emotions of the narrator seeing his brother Sonny struggle in life; this struck home with me, because about a year ago my sister was struggling with some personal issues and it was a rough time period for my whole family. Basically, I could put myself in the narrators shoes and somewhat understand his pain and sorrow for wanting what was best for his brother.

I found it interesting that there was a Bible reference in the story. In the last sentence was, "For me, then, as they began to play again, it glowed and shook above my brother's head like the very cup of trembling." The phrase "cup of trembling" is a reference from Isaiah 51:17 KJV, where it was used as a symbol and figure of the fear and sufferings that had plagued the people. The same way it was used in the Bible it was kind of used within the story. In my opinion it seemed to be a reminder of all of the sufferings Sonny had been through. I thought it was very interesting that the author tied the Biblical reference into his story.

On the topic of biblical ideas I thought the lectio divina was very interesting in use towards secular literature. I had done lectio divina previously with scriptures, but had never thought it relevant to other pieces of literature. Do I think I will use all of the elements of lectio divina when I read literature? No, but I do believe I will use some of the elements. I will definitely begin to reread passages instead of being a "one and done" reader.

Overall I thought, Sonny's Blues was a great piece of literature that really caught my eye when it used a strong symbol from the Bible that carried a strong meaning. I also thought lectio divina in class was a GREAT experience!

"I attended Southeastern's production of The Imaginary Invalid and watched the entire play."

I attended Southeastern's production of The Imaginary Invalid and watched the entire play and loved it! It was great entertainment and a wonderful piece of art. I came away feeling that I most definitely got my moneys worth out of the play.

To be honest, I really was not expecting the play to be that interesting or great at all. I sat towards the back of the chapel and was there only because it was apart of the assignment. As the play went on I became more and more intrigued and after the intermission I changed seats to get closer to the stage. Once I was in my new seat it seemed that I was now watching the play in High Definition; I could see facial expressions and notice details of the actors. In my new seat I was captivated by the play and story line.

There were so many elements that I really interested me about the play. The element that really drew me in was the elaborate costumes and stage. The vibrant colors and interesting stage design was so amazing to me, at one point I sat kind of awe struck by all that was taking place on the stage. Another element that I loved was the variety within the play. I personally felt that I could not possibly become bored with the play, because the play held my attention with many aspects. The characters carried the play with their dialogue and actions, but I also loved the random interjection of song and dance within the play, it was comical and artistic. I also loved the interesting character/girls who were invisible to the story line but obvious to the audience. The only down fall of the invisible character/girls or "dancers" (according to the bulletin) was at times they could be a little distracting to the story line, but I do believe they definitely added to the play by keeping my interest and attention with their comical expressions and actions.

I have seen quite a few plays performed by the theatre department here, but this one stands out as my complete favorite.

Overall I loved the play and if I would've had extra money I would have went and saw it twice, but I didn't so I will just have to enjoy the mental images that I captured from the play on Friday night. I believe the play was well worth the seven dollars I payed and a great experience I will not forget anytime soon.

hmmm

hmmm I'm not sure if we are supposed to blog tonight, and I looked at like 7 different peoples blogs earlier and saw no blogs.. so if there is i guess this is my pass.

ONLY positive!

Connections between the blogging project and the activities that take place in class come to my mind clearly and in quantity. There are many reasons why the project and activities correlate with each other. The main idea that I see both elements share is the tendency to promote further discussion which then hopefully leads to more thought provoking conversation on the text or ideas being covered. Both seem to attempt to engage the student further into the text or topic by making him or her dive deeper in to the content and not be complacent and only read the assignment but instead ponder it as well.

The blogging assignments definitely extend the reading process in many ways; it requires one to further engage, it requires one to absorb the text and ignites one's interest (well mine) to further discover the context and background of the text and author. In my opinion there are all positives towards blogging, such as extending the reading process and requiring one to further their writing skills because of the need of quality blog assignments.

I believe the blogging process and assignments have truly helped me further engage with the text than I usually would in a literature course. It makes me think about what I have previously read, reflect upon it and then write and discuss my ideas. I believe it has formed me into a better reader than I was before coming into the course and helped me progress my writing skills. Even though I enjoy blogging about our reading assignments at one point during the previous weeks I became a little complacent with fully engaging within my blogs and discussions. Although this is true, I came to the realization that I was missing out on the learning experience and immediately jumped back to work and have been doing my best to engage and learn more through the reading process and blog discussions. I now have nothing but positive feelings towards Blogs and discussions!

WHen Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd PART DEUX

Once again, Walt Whitman is a very interesting writer. The lilac is used so much throughout the poem and as I read I so want to break the rules of "how to read a poem". I want to try to break the code, and figure out what the lilac symbolizes when instead I truly should just read and take in and admire the poem. How many of us started assuming all many different meanings for the lilac? I think many of us are guilty, I know everyone in my group started wondering what it truly meant. I know the rules say we should not try to read too much into the poem and I agree. Who is to say that the Whitman was not writing about a flower that he truly loved and that he happened to take notice of everywhere he went? Im not saying he didn't do that but I am saying that he must be a very interesting person to write about a flower in so much detail, but hey we all have our hobbies.

The literature reminds me of Job in some sort, I believe it is because of the poetic writing style as well as the images. I believe if you took a phrase or stanza from any point in this poem, one could paint a picture out of it, because of the supreme detail and imagery.

One of my favorite images and more gruesome lines from the poem is,

"I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them,

And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them,

I saw the debris and debris of all the slain soldiers of the war,

But I was they were not as was thought,

They themselves were fully at rest, they suffer'd not,"

I can just see a painting including all of these images portraying young men suffering at war for a cause, pride possibly?

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd 1-9

I thought this was a very interesting read, and a great peace of poetry. I have read Walt Whitman before when I was in high school, so I knew it would be a classic peace of literature when I saw he was assigned. Anyways, I noticed some very interesting things about the "lilacs"; it seemed that the lilac was everywhere such as the dooryard, farm-houses and not to mention the very gloomy areas, a procession, and I believe also in a swamp. It seemed that the lilac had very optimistic traits, it brightened all that it was around or it could be avery generic flower usable for any occasion, but I lean towards the first option.

My favorite quote of the assigned readings,

"Here, coffin that slowly passes,

I give you my sprig of lilac."

Of this quote, in my mind I picture Whitman looking into the darkness of death and the world and saying, "here take some love and life of lilac."

After reading the assignment I looked up a picture of a lilac.

It gave me the wish that I had a sprig of lilac to go around and brighten my day as well as others in this dark gloomy world filled with processions, dim-lit churches, swamps and old hermits.

I think we could all use some lilac in our lives, even if it is figurative, I believe there are certain things in life that can put a smile on a persons face within miliseconds, maybe thats what lilacs truly are, things that brighten lives.

Joel: apocalyptic and a DaVinci painting of the future

I had read Joel before, but I never took the time to admire the beauty of all of the descriptive images portrayed within the interesting Old Testament book of the Bible. It was both prophetic and current to the time and a call for a change.

The images covered by the book of Joel are unbelievable, as I read them I felt like I was looking at an actual painting. The more I read, the book was painting an image in my mind, that much like the word usage was beautiful. One image that really painted an image in my mind was,

"With a noise as of chariots

They leap on the tops of the mountains,

Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble,

Like a mighty people arranged for battle.

Before them the people are in anguish;

All faces turn pale.

They run like mighty men,

they climb the wall like soldiers;"

I can just see a whole field of men prepared for battle, then surging towards another rushing down a mountain. Though this is a mighty image, I do not believe that is what the author was attempting to portray but instead it seemed he was using metaphorical language.

There are so many images in this book of Joel that could be used as a painting that could be thought of a classic, a work to rival DaVinci himself.

Theme and Red Riding Hood

Wow... the writings on Little Red Riding Hood were very interesting to say the least. I never really thought of nursery rhymes and stories to be turned into stories like I read. They were pretty gruesome, and then some were quite entertaining, but as I was reading them a question came to thought, "I wonder how a kid would react if we read these versions of the stories?"

Imagine if we told children the first story by Charles Perrault, they would be very frightened I imagine. I feel like if grandmother ever caught a cold there would be no little children paying them visits anymore. I also believe it would probably give kids nightmares about the forest; I know if I was a child I would definitely be freaked out by a story of scary wolves.

Now, imagine if we told children the second story, The Girl and the Wolf, I feel like it would make a kid laugh. I personally know that my little cousins who are very young tend to love humor of people getting hurt (including BIG BAD WOLVES). Speaking of that type of humor how much different are we than children and their humor? I feel like we still have not grown out of seeing someone getting bopped in the head or falling off of a latter. I know I still love slap stick humor and the "Three Stooges."

Tying all of this blog into the idea of themes may seem odd, but work with me. Basically themes are underlining messages and ideas in a story that play very important pieces to the puzzle of a great piece of literature, well I think we should stepback and look at themes in everything, whether its in The Little Red Riding Hood or a sitcom on television, I believe there are themes behind them all.

Imagine if we knew the themes and intent of an authors literature.

Hopefully some of this made a little sense.

The THINGS They Carried

The Things They Carried was a very interesting read and seemed very different from our previous reads. Even though it seemed different, there was also the same theme of grief and tragedy all compiled together in an odd short story. Unlike some earlier reads, in my opinion it was filled with raw emotion and description that made me the audience feel as if I were one of the soldiers.

As I read the story it was hard for me to distinguish exactly what message the author was trying to convey to the audience in a message if any. I noticed the very descriptive narrating, especially when author Tim O'Brien was describing the soldiers and their gear. As I continued to read I realized that there really was a message or moral to the story. In my opinion I felt like like O'Brien was trying to capture the essence and reality of war, the grief, the unsure, the hate and the love were all things portrayed in the story.

Personally, as I read this it made my thoughts turn to the men and women who are serving in the "War on Terror" in the Middle East. Do they have these same characters? Men who are unsure what is next or what purpose they serve or if the woman they love truly loves back, I believe there are soldiers over seas dying everyday, just like Ted Lavender. I feel like this story relates very well to today, there is so much tragedy and grief carried because of war. Just like the characters in the story struggled to get accustomed to their battle lifestyles, I imagine so do our soldiers today. It really makes me feel for those men and women along with their families, they live out The Things They Carried.

Chapter 4 A Grief Observed

As I concluded the book I had no doubt in my mind that CS Lewis was one of my favorite authors, if not my favorite. He has so many aspects to his literature that make them classics. He may not be my favorite author, but in my opinion he is definitely the best author at imagery that I personally have read.

On the topics of images and imagery, Lewis covered both in chapter four. At one point he discussed the danger of images; even though they have importance I felt like he was saying that our images of reality cannot capture the absoluteness of everything, including the idea of God. I agree with the idea of God being unimaginable. I believe we can grasp some aspects of God but we as humans will never be able to see the full image of God in its entirety.

Just like in class when I believe it was Prof. Corrigan who discussed the idea of when God showed Moses his back because he would not be able to handle the greatness.

Back to the topic of Grief Observed, I was definitely intrigued by Lewis's description of grief being a long valley and hows it kept winding. I believe this is a very interesting image and the way he described it, it was fairly accurate.

I believe my favorite quote of this chapter would have to be, "Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process." I feel like he was saying that sorrow is just a phase not something one has to work through, but instead just wait it out. I somewhat agree, maybe we do not have to try to work through sorrow but instead... give in to sorrow and feel the grief. I'm not sure if that is what he is trying to get across, but that is how I took the idea of sorrow being a state. Though, the idea of sorrow being a process has a strong argument as well. I believe sorrow has to do with personal perspective.

A Grief observed, the first reading...

When I first picked up this book for the class, I had no idea what I was going to be reading about. I love reading C.S. Lewis, but oddly enough, I had never heard of this book. As I began to read the forward, I realized that A Grief Observed was going to be a very interesting read, and so far it has proven itself as a personal classic.

As I made it to the first chapter I understood that this was about C.S. Lewis's personal grieving over his wife. I understand the feeling of losing a loved one. I remember when my grandfather passed away it was very hard for me to understand why he was taken away from my life so quickly and I questioned God's motives somewhat like Lewis. I now realize that everything has a purpose in life but it does not make grieving over a love one any easier.

Chapter one really captivated my interest and I am excited to read the rest of this book throughout the course. My favorite quote of this first chapter was in the second paragraph, "There is a sort of invisible blanket between the world and me." I thought this was a great description of how separated he felt between himself and the world. As I continued to read the chapter I felt myself grieving with Lewis, it brings me back to emotions that I felt when I personally lost a love one. This book seems to be a direct link to the true Clive Staples Lewis and his raw emotions; I think I will learn a lot about his personal views on life from this book.

What We Talk about When We Talk about Love

I thought that What We Talk about When We Talk about Love, was a very interesting and well-written piece of literature. It contained intriguing dialogue which captured and painted a picture of several different things amongst the story. The dialogue of Mel strengthened the idea of his drunkenness, as he was noticeably getting off topic among other things portraying his drunkenness. Mel's dialogue also carried the entire story, everything revolved around his voice; I thought it quite interesting that he was the key speaker and since the narrator, Nick, narrated so very little.

Among the many things Mel played apart of in the literature was that he brought up and carried the main thought and point of the story; the point being that everyone has a different view and opinion on the idea of "love". There were many examples given that portrays this idea. The characters referenced past loves that loved "too much" and others that were "honeymoon" lovers, the list goes on. I think this idea of everyone having their own opinion or view on love is very interesting and very true. I really believe that every person in the world has a slightly different view on love than anybody else. Maybe it is because of cultural differences, age differences, or different lifestyles that everyone views love differently. One thing is true though, everyone has a want, a need for love. Some people try to find love through sex, some people try to find love through money and some people try to find it through friendships and others try many other options; the main idea though is to find love or attempt to fill the void that love leaves in one's life.

Love is an emotion that has control and a bind on people's lives like no other; it makes people feel on top of the world and then for some like the character of Ed it drives them crazy to the point of death. In the end, everyone has a long for love in their life and probably a different view of the idea of love than the person beside them.

Literary Profile

I have many memories that pertain to literature, they exist from early childhood to my present memory. Some of the earliest memories I have of literature are from when I would read Dr Seuss books as a child; my parents tell me that I enjoyed reading very much along with a love for the interesting pictures. I also remember reading my picture bible with my mom and dad almost every night before I went to bed. As it can be seen, I have always had a love for reading things that interested me whether it is from a Sports Illustrated magazine or a book on Pentecostal theology, I still enjoy reading. More currently I have been reading all sorts of genres of literature including books that help me grow as a believer in Christ, non-fiction stories. My favorite book belongs to the series of Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, the The Last Battle. I believe literature is a very important role to our culture today and has served a very important role all through out history. Literature among many things helps capture ideas and paint pictures for readers to understand in their own way what an author was intending.