Election was one of those books that, minus the sex scenes, I could see my 15 year old sister reading and loving. Unfortunately, the satire in this book was almost completely lost to me. I mean, once you see the movie (which was worlds better) the satire pops right out. But that's the thing...I shouldn't have to see something in film form in order to get it. At first, I thought I was stupid for not picking up on it. And then I started to realize that it was because the book was written in such a way that the satire wasn't obvious. In other words, Perrotta didn't do a great job.
Like we all said, the movie was way better. I wholeheartedly agree. I liked Election for being a fast read and an interesting book, but so much more could have been done with the narrative. Perrotta could have written a different tone for each character, making each character more distinct, but for some reason he didn't. He also could have put a bit more time into explaining each character. But the worst part, was the ending. He really copped out there. It ended too abruptly, and to weirdly.
All in all, Election was a good idea. It just wasn't executed well.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Slaughterhouse-Five
-We've talked plenty about stereotypes this semester. How are stereotypes used in this novel? Are they used? How are the Germans portrayed? The Russians? The English? The Americans?
I've always loved Vonnegut. I have, in fact, read this book prior to this class. It's one of my favorites.
Stereotypes in this book are certainly prevalent. Once Vonnegut gives someone from a certain country an identity, he keeps that identity for all other characters in the book who are from that country (unless they're a main character, that is)
For instance, Germans are generally portrayed as brutal, ugly and insensitive. Russians all look the same; they're faces like radium clocks, he said, and they wander about like wisps of human beings. The English are all robust and loud, full of life and rosy cheeked, ready to welcome anyone, though they do seem to be in their own little world. And then there are the Americans. Most of the Americans are lumped together as a quiet, sad, lonely, not well equipped group. However, the Americans that stick out, other than Pilgrim, are often portrayed as loud and stupid, fat and ugly, and generally unlikeable characters.
All in all, Vonnegut has a very unkind view of the human race. I remember watching that interview with him in class where he said we should all stop reproducing. I think that's why nobody in the book is written very pleasantly.
Day of the Locust
I love anything about old Hollywood, so I was really excited when I started reading "The Day of the Locust". However, excitement soon turned to boredom. I have respect for this writing style, I just can never get 'into' it.
The character that spoke to me the most in this book was Faye Greener. I'm not entirely sure why...I think it was her apparent sadness. I'm not the happiest of people, so I can always relate to distraught characters. Granted, she was a complete bitch. She wouldn't even give Tod a chance, simply because he lacked money and good lucks. In that way, I do not relate to her.
Out of the whole book, the only scene I really remember that well is the first one. The old men sitting outside talking. I think this stuck with me so much because they seemed to have lived their lives, they seemed done. I find that the most interesting place to be in, in life.
The character that spoke to me the most in this book was Faye Greener. I'm not entirely sure why...I think it was her apparent sadness. I'm not the happiest of people, so I can always relate to distraught characters. Granted, she was a complete bitch. She wouldn't even give Tod a chance, simply because he lacked money and good lucks. In that way, I do not relate to her.
Out of the whole book, the only scene I really remember that well is the first one. The old men sitting outside talking. I think this stuck with me so much because they seemed to have lived their lives, they seemed done. I find that the most interesting place to be in, in life.
The Importance of Being Earnest
I enjoy anything that pokes fun at people who are better off than me. I suppose that part of it is that I resent them for having more money than I do, but another part is certainly that most of them are incredibly stupid, and don't know it. Pieces like this point that out, and, for those of us who are not as well off, it's quite funny.
Jack and Algernon and the picture perfect aristocratic team. Money, women, and multiple identities. They've gotten so caught up in these things that they've forgotten who they are. They're lost, like most people in their situation. When everything is handed to you, there's no point in doing any work. Especially not to find yourself, as most of us end up having to do.
The end of the play caught me off guard a bit. Things ended too happily and it all came together too well. There was irony, sure, but not enough to make me think 'wow...that was an unexpected ending'.
Jack and Algernon and the picture perfect aristocratic team. Money, women, and multiple identities. They've gotten so caught up in these things that they've forgotten who they are. They're lost, like most people in their situation. When everything is handed to you, there's no point in doing any work. Especially not to find yourself, as most of us end up having to do.
The end of the play caught me off guard a bit. Things ended too happily and it all came together too well. There was irony, sure, but not enough to make me think 'wow...that was an unexpected ending'.
A Modest Proposal
I first read this piece my junior year of High School. My teacher, very cleverly, decided not to tell us that it was satirical. As a result, most of us thought it was a real proposal. I was incensed until I realized how ridiculous it was. As I read, I started laughing, aloud, in class. Most of my classmates still thought it was real...so they thought I was nuts.
I think the line that made me realize that Swift wasn't being serious was "They shall, on the contrary, contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing of many thousands." There was no way he was seriously suggesting that we wear things made of baby skin. Once we reached the part about where Swift listed the various ways a child could be cooked ("stewed, roasted, baked or boiled") the whole class was in on it.
To me, the most interesting part of this essay is the fact that Swift, while being extremely funny, also addresses a serious issue. Comedy that deals with social issues is my favorite kind; it's funny, but it makes you think. This made me think. There really was a problem with hunger back in Swift's time, and nothing was being done about it. Why not eat babies? What else were they going to do? I think that was his point, 'we're stuck. we've got to resort to ludicrous solutions if they government doesn't do something to help us'.
I think the line that made me realize that Swift wasn't being serious was "They shall, on the contrary, contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing of many thousands." There was no way he was seriously suggesting that we wear things made of baby skin. Once we reached the part about where Swift listed the various ways a child could be cooked ("stewed, roasted, baked or boiled") the whole class was in on it.
To me, the most interesting part of this essay is the fact that Swift, while being extremely funny, also addresses a serious issue. Comedy that deals with social issues is my favorite kind; it's funny, but it makes you think. This made me think. There really was a problem with hunger back in Swift's time, and nothing was being done about it. Why not eat babies? What else were they going to do? I think that was his point, 'we're stuck. we've got to resort to ludicrous solutions if they government doesn't do something to help us'.
Monday, October 15, 2007
"Homie, is it supposed to glow like that?"
"E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)
1105 AABF19
Original Airdate: 11/07/99
"Homer begins challenging everyone around him to duels after he sees a Zorro film at the Googoplex. Most people back down, until Homer meets an old-fashioned Colonel who takes him up on his dare. Unable to get out of the contest with the Colonel, Homer and his family flee to the country, where they become farmers. Farm life is difficult until Homer creates a new crop called tomacco--tomatoes crossed with tobacco. The new fruit is disgusting to eat, but incredibly addictive. Selling barrel upon barrel of tomacco, Homer attracts the attention of some tobacco industry executives who want to capitalize on his new crop. Will Homer sell his cash crop for a pile of cash? Why are all the animals who ate tomacco suddenly going berserk? Would it really have been so bad to duel that Colonel after all?"
alright...figured I'd just use the websites synopsis and spend my time typing to analyze the episode.
So we start with the Zorro film, which greatly parodies Pygmalion and all other 'Pygmalion-esque' situations for a while. The girl in the movie, a plain, 'unattractive girl', is suddenly made over into a smokin' hot salsa dancer. The process is as simple as removing her glasses, letting her hair down, and unbuttoning her shirt. Then there's the whole duel thing which the rest of the episode is based off of.
Homer, blatantly mimicking old southerners, begins challenging people to duels with a leather glove. Ironically, the only one to accept the challenge is an old southerner.
Like the synopsis says, the Simpson's then flee their home and go to Homer's family farm and attempt to be farmers. In parody of the farming way of life, they begin wearing overalls and chewing wheat, and other similar activities.
The show parodies the tobacco companies outlook on selling to kids when several stereotypically insensitive tobacco company executives show up in a limo outside Homer's Tomacco stand. They ask Homer to take a ride with them and, greasily, suggest that Tomacco would make millions because it hadn't been outlawed for kids and they'd be able to target children as a market for it.
1105 AABF19
Original Airdate: 11/07/99
"Homer begins challenging everyone around him to duels after he sees a Zorro film at the Googoplex. Most people back down, until Homer meets an old-fashioned Colonel who takes him up on his dare. Unable to get out of the contest with the Colonel, Homer and his family flee to the country, where they become farmers. Farm life is difficult until Homer creates a new crop called tomacco--tomatoes crossed with tobacco. The new fruit is disgusting to eat, but incredibly addictive. Selling barrel upon barrel of tomacco, Homer attracts the attention of some tobacco industry executives who want to capitalize on his new crop. Will Homer sell his cash crop for a pile of cash? Why are all the animals who ate tomacco suddenly going berserk? Would it really have been so bad to duel that Colonel after all?"
alright...figured I'd just use the websites synopsis and spend my time typing to analyze the episode.
So we start with the Zorro film, which greatly parodies Pygmalion and all other 'Pygmalion-esque' situations for a while. The girl in the movie, a plain, 'unattractive girl', is suddenly made over into a smokin' hot salsa dancer. The process is as simple as removing her glasses, letting her hair down, and unbuttoning her shirt. Then there's the whole duel thing which the rest of the episode is based off of.
Homer, blatantly mimicking old southerners, begins challenging people to duels with a leather glove. Ironically, the only one to accept the challenge is an old southerner.
Like the synopsis says, the Simpson's then flee their home and go to Homer's family farm and attempt to be farmers. In parody of the farming way of life, they begin wearing overalls and chewing wheat, and other similar activities.
The show parodies the tobacco companies outlook on selling to kids when several stereotypically insensitive tobacco company executives show up in a limo outside Homer's Tomacco stand. They ask Homer to take a ride with them and, greasily, suggest that Tomacco would make millions because it hadn't been outlawed for kids and they'd be able to target children as a market for it.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Pygmalion
Having never really sat down and read a play before, I was a bit concerned when it came to this particular reading assignment. I became even more concerned when I started reading the preface to the play. I prayed the the rest would not be written like that. Thankfully, Shaw is a much better playwright than he is novelist.
The idea of the changing character, the molded clay that was Liza Doolittle, was something that hit rather close to home with me. I'm a very different person now than I was 5 years ago, as most 19 year olds are. Watching Higgins sculpt Liza into the 'perfect' woman reminded me of how I tried so very hard to do the same to myself. I realized, much like Liza, that I had put myself in rather an awkward situation, though mine was nowhere as extreme as Liza's. I ended up in the middle of 2 'social classes' in high school, the 'druggie-musicians' and the 'nerds'. Awkward to say the least. On a much more drastic scale, Liza found herself between the working poor and the aristocrats, with no place to live and no one to go to. She ended up with Freddie, who was kind of in the middle of things.
So, for me, the most important part of this play was watching Liza change...and sadly, we didn't get to see much of the process. We saw the drastic differences in the character from beginning to middle to end, but beyond that we lost a lot. I wish there had been more of the process involved.
Other than Liza, I think my favorite character is Higgins...mainly because he's an asshole and he has a bit of God complex. Exactly the kind of guy I go for...
Anyway, Higgins stuck with me most because of his relationship with his mother. It is reminiscent of my relationship with my mother. Mom tries very hard to be proper, she tried very hard to raise my sister and I to be proper as well, and she tries everyday to make my father more proper (Dad is the sole reason I turned out as 'unproper' as I did). My sister ended up being the more proper of the two of us, though lord knows she still needs a lot of work. I, on the other hand, am the (stereotypical) son my mother never had. I burp out loud at every possible chance (and sometimes compete with Dad), leave dirty things all over the place, eat a ton and don't clean up afterward, and always forget to say please and thank you and push in my chair. My mother's efforts worked on my sister, but not on me. in regards to trying to make us more proper, my mother is a little bit like Henry...but that's not the point of this rant.
The point of this rant, is that Mrs. Higgins and my mom are similar. Mrs. Higgins has to put up with a lot of shit from Henry which she pretends to yell at him for...my mom has to do the same thing with me (only her 'yelling' is a lot more convincing than Mrs. Higgins'.) Henry is a total pig at home, and everywhere, but mostly at home. I'm kind of the same way. Henry sits on the furniture that he's not supposed to sit on, speaks rudely in front of guests, and has no social skills whatsoever...and I'm exactly the same way. So now I've realized that Higgins and I have a lot in common...but also, the way my mother acts toward me when i do these things is comparable to the way Mrs. Higgins acts toward Henry.
I would like to apologize for how confusing that got, but I hope you all got the point(s) of it.
Sarah
The idea of the changing character, the molded clay that was Liza Doolittle, was something that hit rather close to home with me. I'm a very different person now than I was 5 years ago, as most 19 year olds are. Watching Higgins sculpt Liza into the 'perfect' woman reminded me of how I tried so very hard to do the same to myself. I realized, much like Liza, that I had put myself in rather an awkward situation, though mine was nowhere as extreme as Liza's. I ended up in the middle of 2 'social classes' in high school, the 'druggie-musicians' and the 'nerds'. Awkward to say the least. On a much more drastic scale, Liza found herself between the working poor and the aristocrats, with no place to live and no one to go to. She ended up with Freddie, who was kind of in the middle of things.
So, for me, the most important part of this play was watching Liza change...and sadly, we didn't get to see much of the process. We saw the drastic differences in the character from beginning to middle to end, but beyond that we lost a lot. I wish there had been more of the process involved.
Other than Liza, I think my favorite character is Higgins...mainly because he's an asshole and he has a bit of God complex. Exactly the kind of guy I go for...
Anyway, Higgins stuck with me most because of his relationship with his mother. It is reminiscent of my relationship with my mother. Mom tries very hard to be proper, she tried very hard to raise my sister and I to be proper as well, and she tries everyday to make my father more proper (Dad is the sole reason I turned out as 'unproper' as I did). My sister ended up being the more proper of the two of us, though lord knows she still needs a lot of work. I, on the other hand, am the (stereotypical) son my mother never had. I burp out loud at every possible chance (and sometimes compete with Dad), leave dirty things all over the place, eat a ton and don't clean up afterward, and always forget to say please and thank you and push in my chair. My mother's efforts worked on my sister, but not on me. in regards to trying to make us more proper, my mother is a little bit like Henry...but that's not the point of this rant.
The point of this rant, is that Mrs. Higgins and my mom are similar. Mrs. Higgins has to put up with a lot of shit from Henry which she pretends to yell at him for...my mom has to do the same thing with me (only her 'yelling' is a lot more convincing than Mrs. Higgins'.) Henry is a total pig at home, and everywhere, but mostly at home. I'm kind of the same way. Henry sits on the furniture that he's not supposed to sit on, speaks rudely in front of guests, and has no social skills whatsoever...and I'm exactly the same way. So now I've realized that Higgins and I have a lot in common...but also, the way my mother acts toward me when i do these things is comparable to the way Mrs. Higgins acts toward Henry.
I would like to apologize for how confusing that got, but I hope you all got the point(s) of it.
Sarah
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