Response to "I Am a Sinner"

I found it interesting how this group chose to analyze a movie clip.  It's a breath of fresh air from all the written texts we've been covering in class.  That being said, I was not expecting to view a clip as emotional and serious as the YouTube clip, "I Am a Sinner."  This clip really focused in on the question of religion.  Is there a superior religion?  Should the human race conform to one religion?  In addition, the portion of the clip wherein the man was forced to admit he had "abandoned his child" was very realistic in that I, as the viewer, was hooked, and wanted him to scream this confession at the top of his lungs.  This part was particularly suspense-building and eventually lead up to a major catharsis, followed by an unexpected reaction from the congregation.  Their reaction was rather odd; I would have expected them to be rather silent and somber, rather, they were lively and jubilant.  Definitely an obscure scene from "I Am a Sinner."

Escaping Society: A Response to Krakauer's "Into the Wild"

The commencing anecdote to Krakauer's "Into the Wild" defines wilderness as an "escape from society."  I can't help but to question why, in most of our readings, the main characters have felt the urge to escape from society, into the wild.  In regarding "Into the Wild" and Kipling's "The Jungle Book," I've boiled this universal longing to escape society to one main cause: structure within many aspects of society.

It is evident that Chris in "Into the Wild," yearns to escape education's structure.  He has the option to continue into law school free of charge, however he feels the need to shatter education's structure to pursue a more liberating existence "west of Atlanta," to "invent an utterly new life for himself... free to wallow in unfiltered experience, [to be] master of his own destiny."  Evidently, Chris regards education as a very filtered experience, thus he seeks to break away from this institution and into the unknown.

Mowgli, in "The Jungle Book," seeks to escape two fairly opposite, yet structured societies: the "Man-Pack" and the "Wolf-Pack."  Each of these societies has a defined way of operating, subsequently resulting in inevitable structure.  Mowgli becomes an outcast as a result of rigid structure within both societies, and consequently escapes into the wild, claiming "Man-Pack and Wolf-Pack have cast me out.  Now I will hunt alone in the Jungle."

There you have it.  Society is inevitably structured.  Those who can't handle the structure choose the path of least resistance: they escape to the wild.  You know what they say... if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.  Chris and Mowgli obviously can't stand the heat...

Emotional Roller Coaster Ride: A Response to Bellow's "Henderson the Rain King"

While reading this chapter from Bellow's "Henderson the Rain King," I was greatly affected by Gene, the protagonist's, many displays of emotion.  It was as if I was riding on an emotional roller coaster with him during his journey.  First, there were several times throughout the text wherein I questioned Gene's sanity.  He sounds completely illogical while on the plane to Africa when he says, "and I dreamed down at the clouds, and thought that when I was a kid I had dreamed up at them, and having dreamed at the clouds from both sides as no other generation of men has done, one should be able to accept his death very easily."  This phrase just does not sound coherent; Gene sounds schizophrenic talking about clouds and death in the same sentence.  I also questioned Gene's sanity when he decided to burn a bush to amuse children;  it doesn't seem sane to attempt to compensate not having a gift by destructing nature.

Now, for Gene's emotions.  It is clear that Gene pities himself.  He feels detached from the world and expresses that "the world was glad to lose track of [him] too for a while."  Gene also blames himself for circumstances that do not even concern him.  When a young woman, reminiscent of his daughter, begins to cry in front of him, Gene immediately and unthinkingly attributes her sorrow to his doing.  He goes as far as to say "[I shall] run back into the desert and stay there until the devil has passed out of me and I am fit to meet human kind again without driving it to despair at the first look."  This is a little excessive and dramatic...  Gene completely misconstrues others' emotions.  Gene also possesses an air of self-defeat.  As a result of his perceived detachment from society as well as his tendency to constantly blame himself, it is the path of least resistance for him to simply give up.  He displays self-defeat after the episode of the young girl bursting into tears when he expressed, "I was still not ready for society.  Society is what beats me."  Self-pity, self-blame, and self-defeat; definitely an emotional roller coaster ride with Gene Henderson.

A Response to 'Let the Right One In'

I have never been one to jump at the opportunity to watch a horror film.  After watching "Let the Right One In," my preference to avoid horror films remains steadfast.  I found myself constantly cringing in fright at the gory scenes, as well as questioning the educational institution Oskar attended.  Why would the school inform innocent children about house fires, murders, and drugs.  It is clear that as a result of being surrounded by murder and violence, Oskar, himself, is a violent soul.  It is not often that a 12-year old boy is emphatically obsessed with murder and knives to the point where he constantly carries a knife with him in his pocket.  He is so preoccupied with violence, in fact, that he keeps somewhat of a diary to document murders and weaponry.  Odd.  I found it especially surprising that Oskar was not initially able to stand up for himself in the face of the ruthless school bullies, given his inclination toward violence.  When he does eventually defend himself from the bullies, albeit a violent episode, Oskar demonstrated unwavering strength that had been boiling in his coveted blood.  This sudden spurt of confidence can be attributed to one entity: his vampire love interest, Eli.       

I did notice a resemblance between "Let the Right One In" and the 2008 vampire flick, "Twilight."  Both films incorporated a storyline of romance that provided a rather tender outlet apart from the more horrifying film aspects.  One scene I found particularly sweet and innocent was that in which Oskar gave Eli his Rubix Cube.  A Rubix Cube symbolizes innocence in it that it is a childhood toy and in that it is colorful, rather than bleak and gray.  Although Eli represents the furthest thing from innocence, this moment is arguably one of the only scenes throughout the movie that displays qualities uncharacteristic of horror films.  

A Novel Thought Process: A Response to Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"

When I read a given text, I focus so diligently on each word, that I consequently inhibit my mind from exploring beyond the paper.  Cormac McCarthy's concise writing style presented me the rare occasion to transcend the boundaries of the black ink into another sphere of thought: where in the world was McCarthy when he composed this chapter?

In contemplating the answer to this question, I consulted McCarthy's choice of diction and imagery.  "Dark… thin and filthy as street addicts… the noon sky black as the cellars of hell… sullen haze hung over earth and sky alike… bleak dawn in the east… everything was covered in ash."  These phrases emerged from the text and revealed a plausible explanation to my inquisition.  Perhaps, 4 years ago, McCarthy situated himself in a dry, desolate location to gain inspiration for this chapter.  I envision him sitting, Indian style, with a pen in hand and notepad on his lap in a desert or mountain range.  The clouds cast a gloomy shadow over McCarthy, as the wind's breeze transports tiny particles of sand and dust around his being.  I imagine him utilizing his senses to extract nature's visual, aromatic, and tactile offerings to produce not only the words in front of me, but also the thought process I never imagined possible prior to reading this text.

Nick Takes a "Walk" :A Response to Hemmingway's "Big Two-Hearted River"

After reading the works of both Thoreau and Hemmingway, I cannot help but to draw a comparison between excerpts from Hemmingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River” and Thoreau’s “Walking.”  Hemmingway depicts the main character, Nick, as he sets forth on a journey through nature after parting ways with the “burned-over” town of Seney, his hometown.  After a period of watching trout in a stream, Nick “felt he had left everything behind, the need for thinking, the need to write, other needs.  It was all back of him (164).”  At this point, Nick turns his back on the destructed town of Seney and recollects himself to step onto an unknown path and set off on a fresh passage through nature, one that cleanses his mind, body, and soul from the destruction he recently witnessed. 

This moment in “Big Two-Hearted River” significantly relates to the moment in “Walking” wherein Thoreau describes the prime condition for a walk: “We should go forth on the shortest walk, perchance, in the spirit of undying adventure, never to return; prepared to send back our embalmed hearts only, as relics to our desolate kingdoms… if you have paid your debts, and made your will, and settled all your affairs, and are a free man; then you are ready for a walk.”  Nick will never return to Seney, for the Seney he knew and loved no longer exists; it is a “desolate kingdom”.  At the stream, Nick, in essence, becomes a “free man” in that he physically and mentally parts ways with Seney.  Now, Nick, according to Thoreau, is finally “ready for a walk.”

Blindness – A Blessing in Disguise: A Response to Dillard’s “Seeing”

“I see what I expect,” (18) Dillard expresses.  One cannot, however, hold such expectations regarding vision if one’s vision does not exist.  A blind person cannot expect a bullfrog to be green, a penny to be round, or a mass of fog to be a murky, atmospheric entity.  These items are simply words to a blind individual, who, with time, thought, and experience, will come to know and appreciate these objects on a more profound level than do those who possess vision. 

Blind individuals must constantly activate their imaginations to develop perceptions about the world, and, more specifically, about their surroundings.  I sometimes ponder the way in which I would navigate, interact, and perceive the world if I were blind.  I would certainly not possess expectations of the visual aspect of my surroundings and I would not hold personal standards of beauty and perfection.  My senses – hearing, taste, smell, and touch – would be amplified as a result of my blindness and my imaginative horizons would significantly broaden.

Dillard, on several occasions, discusses light versus darkness.  She claims that “darkness appalls and light dazzles” (23).  Blindness, in Dillard's perspective, can be related to a form of darkness, whereas vision is a form of light.  I, however, believe that blindness is more a form of light than darkness.  There are more positive qualities – an increased awareness of the other four senses, a more expansive imagination, and fewer expectations – associated with blindness than negative drawbacks, making this disability a true blessing in disguise.

Ignorance is Bliss: A Response to Thoreau's "Walking"

“A man’s ignorance sometimes is not only useful, but beautiful – while his knowledge, so called, is oftentimes worse than useless, besides being ugly.”

After ‘sauntering’ through this short excerpt, I decided to break it down into two chunks in effort to better comprehend its complexity.  Thoreau primarily states that ignorance is useful and beautiful.  Ignorance, by definition, is a lack of knowledge or information.  He then expresses that knowledge, on the contrary, is useless and ugly. 

Thoreau finds the two qualities of ignorance – usefulness and beauty – in Nature.  Nature is useful in that it facilitates the very act of sauntering Thoreau craves on a daily basis.  Nature is beautiful in that, in its simplest form, it rests untouched by man and westward expansion.  The Nature that Thoreau holds so sacred is ignorant where civilization ceases to exist.  There is no human knowledge or information, no industrialization, no ugliness, and no trace of mankind in this special form of Nature.

Furthermore, Thoreau possesses a distinct kinship with Nature; he finds solace in “the ocean, the desert, [and] the wilderness,” values the sacredness of swamps, and cherishes Nature’s “subtle magnetism.”  He derives “leisure, freedom, and independence” from his numerous walks in Nature’s arena.  The underlying connection Thoreau possesses with Nature, or, symbolically speaking, with Ignorance, is one of “perfect happiness and great joy,” one of sheer bliss.