Free Rein on a Blog Post! What to Write About? How About Music.

     Music is something that holds importance in almost every human being's life.  Every country, culture, region, era and person has its or their own music.  Music is something that transcends time and language.  In the modern and uber techonoligcal times that we live in, music is more accessible than ever.  A simple tap of a finger or a mouse can send wonderful sounds through speakers or headphones to entertain us whenever we desire.  While music is commonly used for entertainment, it can be used for so many more things.  It can be used to relax, reset and focus.  It can be used to help oneself fall asleep or wake up.  It can be used socially and it can be used for private moments.  It can trigger a wave of emotions and actions in a person.  It can make a person dance and sing and be happy.  In the realm of students, music is commonly used as a backdrop to studying.  Depending on the level of difficulty of the assignment or material, the music can be adjusted to fit the needs of the listener.  Depending on the student, their deep studying music and and light homework assignment music can be incredibly varied.  That is the great thing about music, it can help define us as a person.  There are so many artists and genres of music to explore that everyone has their own set or playlist.  While everyone's playlist is unique, there is often overlap between playlists helping to start and strengthen friendships and spur conversation.  Music has been around since almost the dawn of human kind.  There is something about a rythm, notes, instruments and vocals that appeals to the human ear and mind.  Music is a defining characteristic of humanity and it will continue to be as such so as long as humans journey through life on this earth.

The Train Wreck of Pilkings and Jane

     Oh, what to say about Pilkings and Jane.  Well, there isn't much redeeming about them.  They are careless, insensitive, racist and are generally bumbling idiots.  Pilkings is often rude to his wife and she is either submissive or she fires right back at him with more rudeness.  They certainly don't understand African culture and they don't seem to respect it either.  They look down upon Amusa, Joesph and Olunde and Pilkings is attempting to disrupt an important cultural event just because he thinks finds issue with it and because it is illegal in the government that his people have imposed in a country that isn't really theirs.  Pilkings describes the tradition as barbaric and unsettling, which is a fair assessment of the tradition.  Killing oneself is certainly an unsettling thing and Pilkings is certainly allowed and is probably expected to have this view of the ritual.  However, that certainly doesn't give him the authority to intervene.  He can have whatever opinion he wants about the tradition, but he should absolutely leave it be.  He is being insensitive to the culture of the people who he is trying to oppress and he isn't seeing the ritual from their angle.  To the Yoruba people, this event holds incredible significance. To them, this event determines the future success of the tribe and they are well within their right to be unhappy with Pilkings attempts to intervene.  It is equivalent to people from another country and religion going to Pilkings town to mess with Christmas or Easter or some other day that holds incredible significance to Pilkings and his people.  Pilkings wouldn't be okay with that and the people attempting to harass during Christmas or Easter would be out of line. Unfortunetly, Pilkings doesn't realize this and believes that he is doing something that is morally right and that he is just doing his job for Her Majesty's Government.

The Old Man and the Sea Intrigues Me

     I've always been intrigued about Hemingway's writing.  I visited his house in Key West when my father and I took a trip there when I was younger.  I didn't know why the house was important when I visited all those years ago, but I do remember it having an air about it.  It definetly seemed important to my young brain, but I didn't know why.  Now I know he is known as one of the greatest writers in American Literature and is known for his incredibly concise writing.  I also know that he wrote a lot of things about the depressing nature of WWI as he served in the war.  Another thing that I know about Hemingway was that he was an avid fisherman.  Obviously, we would have gotten along well.  Of all of his work that I hear about, the name that is said the most is The Old Man and the Sea.  I know that it is about fishing at some capacity, so I would enjoy it in that respect, but I imagine it would offer much more.  Glancing through his Wikipedia page (Ooh Wikipedia!  How rebellious I am.), it appears that Hemingway had four spouses, lived in many places including Cuba, served in WWI, went on safari in Africa and eventually killed himself while living in Idaho.  He obviously had a troubled life and saw and thought about a lot of things allowing him to offer up a lot of wisdom.  I'm sure that there are many wonderful nuggets of insight into life, human nature and all those other things that we read literature to find, tucked away in The Old Man and the Sea.  So, of all the authors and books that I could think of off the top of my head, Hemingway and The Old Man and the Sea is certainly the book that I would like to read and will make sure I do at some point.

Shakespeare's Goodbye

          The one idea about the Tempest that was brought up in class that made me think the most was the idea that Shakepeare is saying goodbye through Prospero.  All people who become famous and liked in the public eye must say goodbye to their fans and put down the tools of their profession eventually.  Examples abound in actors, athletes and authors and Shakespeare is no different.  Shakespeare is certainly bidding his fans farewell during Prospero's ending epilogue.  The similarities between Prospero and Shakespeare are quite striking.  Each has a power that could be described as magical as Prospero bids Ariel to do as he pleases and Shakespeare has the power and magic to entertain and influence an audience through his marvelous play writing.  Both were getting up there in age and had acquired a lot of wisdom and had accomplished many things throughout their life.  Despite accomplishing many things, they both felt they needed to do something more.  Prospero felt that he needed to find a suitable mate for his beloved daughter and he felt the need to free his slaves and forgive those who had wronged him.  Shakespeare felt the need to write his final play and share more messages to the world about society and human nature.  At the end of the story, both Prospero and Shakespeare are able to be free as each laid their burdens behind them and hung responsiblity up on the coat rack for the last time.  They had both accomplished what they wanted to do with their lives and they said goodbye to those they had influenced and those they had touched over the years.  While the Tempest isn't Shakespeare's most famous or best work, his ability to say goodbye through his character Prospero is one of the greatest and sneakiest endings to a literary career in history.

Book vs. Movie

          The book versus movie debate is one that has abounded through English classes.  Which came first?  Which was better?  Did the one that came second stick to the original story or did it expand to be better or worse?  These are some of the questions that define this debate.  In the case of the Tempest, the book or play is certainly better than the movie.  While the movie has a few talented actors, the huge leap to make Prospero a woman and call her Prospera, is too much of a change and detracts from some of the things Shakespeare was originally commenting on.  Usually when a movie makes a change from the book, it doesn't work out well for the movie and the Tempest is no exception.
          Prospero being a male character is important as it makes it more believeable that he is super protective of his daughter and also treats his daughter as a possession that should be hard to get for suitors.  Also, Prospero's controlling and powerful nature makes more since if he is male as society at the time told women to be submissive and to go about their daily lives of child rearing.  I appreciate the movie's attempt at being progressive, but in this case, it detracts from Shakespeare painting a picture of what he saw in society and letting people decide for themselves what to think.  I think that was one of Shakespeare's large motivations in writing the Tempest.  He had an incredibly large audience, saw issues in society and wanted to expose these issues to his audience.  As we have discussed in class, he never really seems to take a certain side in issues as he acts more to display them.  In the case of the movie, its changes serve to change what Shakespeare was displaying about society, which is not a good thing.

Bullies Abound In The Tempest

          There are two main sets of bullies in The Tempest.  First, there is the crew that harasses Gonzalo including Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio.  They poke fun at the old man Gonzalo and his positive outlook on life and positive outlook on their situation on the island.  Gonzalo describes, "Here is everything beneficial to life" (29).  The others aren't having it, however.  They think that they are in a hopeless and dismal situation and reprimand Gonzalo for his ideas.  Antonio and Sebastian send a barrage of criticism about the island describing it as a dump and putting Gonzalo down for thinking the island a lush place.  Gonzalo continues his arguement for the island describing how he would rule over it with amazing righteousness.  The others write him off as a confused old fool.  While reading this section, one can't help but feeling sad for Gonzalo as he seems to have so much goodness in his heart that is simply beat down by the bullies that surround him.
          The second set of bullies is Stephano and Trinculo.  They focus their bullying efforts on Caliban.  They manipulate Caliban who is in a desperate situation into treating them as lords.  They then force Caliban to escort them to Prospero's lair so they can steal clothes and other items.  The issue is, Caliban was on his epic revenge trip to kill Prospero who made Caliban the way he was.  Caliban thought that Stephano and Trinculo were on his side, but he quickly realizes they fooled him.  Stephano and Trinculo selfishily try to make Caliban help them in their theft, which ultimately costs Caliban his opportunity to enact revenge upon Prospero as he is driven from the cave.
          In creating these bully characters, Shakespeare is commenting on some of the ugly aspects of human nature.  He is displaying some people's propensity to be selfish and controlling.  He is also commenting on the dog eat dog nature of the world and how those who are bullied struggle to get ahead.

Prospero Enjoys Power

          Power and prestige are driving factors for many people's actions.  This offers a person a certain control of people that can be valuable and beneficial to all, but also can be abused.  Prospero is evidently an individual who enjoys being in control.  This is easily seen through two simple examples.  First, he controls his daughter's marriage to Ferdinand, providing hoops for Ferdinand to jump through.  He is attempting to make his daughter hard to get as he wants to make sure Ferdinand really loves her.  He notices how Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love at first sight and he wants to make sure that they truly understand their feelings for each other and test whether those feelings can endure.  He is acting as many fathers of teenage daughters act, being controlling of their daughter as they feel apprehensive about any relationship they are in while masking their happiness and proudness.  I think Prospero walks this tight rope with his daughter Miranda and it demonstrates his enjoyment of control.
          The second example that displays Prospero's hankering for control is his situation with Caliban.  Caliban is hell bent on revenge against Propsero as Prospero has controlled him his whole life.  Caliban is heading to Prospero's lair to kill him, but Prospero is unnerved.  He comments to his spirit servant Ariel, "A devil, a born devil on whose nature nurture can never stick, on whom my pains, humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost.  And as with age his body uglier grows, so his mind cankers.  I will plague them all, even to roaring" (74).  Here, Prospero condemns Caliban further saying that he will stop his advances with ease and Caliban will be left to suffer with his ugly self.  When Caliban arrives, Prospero and Ariel unleash a band of hunting spirits that drive Caliban and his posse out of the cave leaving Prospero in control where he enjoys being.

Addie Bundren's Philosophy on Life

          Several sentences in this novel have stuck out to me.  The one that has stuck out the most, however, has got to be one uttered by Addie Bundren.  It seems to essentially be her philosophy on life and it is depressing as it gets.  She says, "I could just remember how my father used to say that the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time" (169).  I mean, geez.  That is horrible. I don't know how anyone can get to that point in their life.  The only way that I can fathom someone having this philosophy is if their parents drilled this into their young and impressionable mind.  This appears to be what happened to Addie as she directly references this having come from her father.  Regardless, it is a horrible philosophy to have on life and in its miserable state, fits perfectly with the depressing tone of the novel.
          In the chapter where Addie says this, much is revealed about her character.  It is revealed that she is essentially an awful person and an even worse mother.  She mentions being a schoolteacher and looking forward to beating the kids when they misbehaved or messed up.  This is quite a sadist thing to think.  If she took this approach to rearing her own children, it may offer an explanation as to why their family is so dysfunctional.  While Addie seems to be an awful person, I'm not entirely convinced that she chose to be this person.  I think her behavior can be attributed to her upbringing.  Any parent that tells their kid what Addie's father told her about life, is someone who is unfit to be a parent.  I think that Addie must have heard her father's life philosophy from a young age and took it to heart.  While no mention is made of any other abusive things that her parents did to her, where there is smoke there is fire.  If I had to guess, Addie's parents were abusive to her in other ways than a horrible life philosophy.  Despite Addie's horribleness, I almost feel bad for her as she may not have had much choice in who she was.
          The last question that this sentence brings to mind is why Faulkner wrote this.  Does Faulkner really believe this philosophy?  Is he commenting on the hopelessness that an impoverished life in the south brought?  I'm not exactly sure what Faulkner really believes in relation to this life philosophy.  Regardless, he wrote that sentence and wrote a book that is largely depressing, so I would guess that at times he too felt depressed.  While I overall didn't enjoy this novel, I recognize its profound conversation on life and human nature.  Faulkner is clearly interested in philosophy and he offers many points to its discussion through this novel.  As I put this novel down, I am left to question life and consider its meaning, which is an effect that I think Faulkner intended.

Faulkner Visits Severn

          I'm a goin' to school.  We work there.  There are a lot of kids there.  Mewel says that we work there.  I get there.  I go to class.  I don't like class.  We work there.  My teacher gives me work.  We work all class.  I go to another class.  We work there.  The other kids work there.  I don't like the other kids.  I only like my brother.  His name is Carl.  He is older.  He goes to other classes.  I go to lunch.  I like lunch.  We eat there.  After lunch, I got to go to another class.  This teacher is weird.  I don't like this teacher.  My teacher is a fish.  I think Mewel's teacher is a horse.  My teacher is a fish.  Only this teacher is a fish.  This teacher really makes me work.  I leave school.  I go home.  I do my work.  I do a lot of work.  I don't like my work.  The fish gave it to me.  I see my mother at home.  I see that my mother is a fish.  I don't know how to do my work.  My mother helps me.  My teacher is a fish.  My mother is a fish.  School is the pond.  We are the fish.  I am a fish.  I don't like a goin' to school.  There are too many fish there.

Faulkner's Language

          William Faulkner uses various interesting types of language as he weaves the tale of As I Lay Dying.  He has an amazing ability to switch character and thus switch voice as he proceeds from short chapter to short chapter.  Some of his language is formal, some is slightly less formal and some is down right southern slang.  While this variance in voice may be annoying to some readers and hard to follow for others, I enjoy it.  I think it is one of the main reason's why this novel is lauded as a masterpiece.  Faulkner has an incredible ability to implant the reader into the scene in this novel and I think that this can largely be attributed to his use of different voices.  Faulkner is at his best when he is writing the chapters narrated by Jewel, Dewey Dell and the other less educated characters.  I think these chapters must have been more difficult for him to write than the chapters narrated by Darl.  My guess is that Darl and Faulkner share a similar level of education, so finding Darl's voice was probably easy.  I think it would have been more difficult for Faulkner to write the chapters narrated by the less educated characters as Faulkner would have to write not in the way he spoke or thought.  He would almost have to transform himself while he wrote these chapters.  Being from Mississippi, it is apparent that he has a good grasp on how his breathern spoke.  He was probably surrounded by people like Jewel and Anse when he was growing up, so that may have made it easier for him.  All in all, Faulkner's use of different voices adds great depth to the novel and has the ability to transport the reader to depression era Mississippi.

The Dysfunctional Bundrens

          Wow!  What to say about this family.  They have a dying mother, a lazy father and rambunctious fueding siblings.  They live in poverty surrounded by neighbors that are nosy and judgmental.  To say the least, it is a rough situation.  There are several fascinating examples of dysfunction throughout the beginning section of the novel.  The first is Addie Bundren, condemned to death, surrounded by nosy neighbors, a husband that has driven her to this state while being forced to watch her own casket being built.  The best word to describe this is horrible.  It is simply horrible, that Ms. Bundren has to die this way.  One point that was brought up in class that her death feels rushed by the other family members, almost like they are happy to see her go.  I do find it a bit strange that her casket is being hastily built before her death by her own family.  I don't know that customs of the south of the depression era, but this seems a bit abnormal.  Even if it is normal, it still is insensitive of the family to treat life and death in such a casual, haphazard manner.  One would expect some compassion to be shown by the family to their mother or husband in Anse's case, but this seems relatively absent.  The lack of compassion is best seen in the fact that the sons don't even seem to go into the room where she is lying.  That is reserved for Dewey Dell who is fanning her mother and the smattering of nosy neighbors.  Addie's situation is quite unfortunate and is a perfect example that defines the dysfunctionality of the Bundren family.

          A second example of dysfunctionality is Jewel's apparent hatred for most of his family.  The only person he seems to care for is his mother.  At least he seems to have some compassion for her, unlike the rest of the family.  He certainly has a problem with Cash as he has vehement commentary about his casket building in front of his mother's window.  He dislikes Dewey Dell as he disapproves of her haphazard fanning of their mother.  He and Darl seem to be in a fued over who is the most loved by their mother and also seem to be locked in a typical battle of similarly aged brothers.  Anse, well, no one seems to like him and Jewel is no exception.  The lazy Anse has forced Jewel to do a lot of work over the years and Jewel seems to hate him for that.  If one member of the family hates all the other members except one, bingo!  Red flag! That is a dysfunctional family.

The Case of Norman Bowker

          I found the story Speaking of Courage a fascinating examination of a soldier that feels that his life is empty and worthless after the war.  It juxtaposes well against Field Trip, the story where O'brein returns to the field where Kiowa died to bring closure to his war.  Norman Bowker is incapable of closing his war story.  He just keeps driving in circles, around the same lake, seeing the same sights and thinking many of the same thoughts.  O'Brein writes the chapter in a way to parallel Bowker's wandering mind.  The writing jumps around from one topic to another as Bowker's severely bored mind drags him deeper into depression.  Bowker's thoughts go from remembering the war to observing a woman fishing along the lake's shore.  Bowker has a strange conversation with a fast food worker over the intercom as Bowker wants to vent a war story to him, but then decides against it.  At the end, when Bowker wades into the lake, it seems as if he might be trying to be at peace and is trying to readjust to civilian life.  However, as it is revelead at the beginning of the next chapter, Bowker commits suicide as he can't deal with the damage that the war did to him.  It is clear throughout the chapter that Bowker is spiraling into insanity and a deep depression.  At the first hints of Bowker's strange behaviors and jumbled thoughts, I thought that he was going to commit suicide.  I think O'Brein did a fantastic job of foreshadowing this as he builds upon it throughout the chapter.  While I enjoyed the chapter and thought it was very well written, it is a sad and all too true story of a soldier driven to depression and eventually suicide by the war.

Tim and Kathleen on a Field Trip

          I enjoyed the story Field Trip in O'brien's Vietnam war collection.  I found it a fascinating take on how soliders are affected by the war and how they deal with the war many years after its conclusion.  Compared with Norman Bowker, it seems that O'Brien is beginning to cope with the war well.  He decides to make peace with his experience along the Song Tra Bong river by wading out to where Kiowa went under.  The place that had brought him so much pain, horror and bad memories had suddenly become a place of peace.  It became a place where O'Brien could wade into the water and just sit in the warm stinking mud and not be bothered by it.  He recognizes that the war is over.  Not only does he recognize that the war is over, but he recognizes that his internal war, at least with Kiowa's death, is over.

          The second powerful moment in this chapter is when O'Brien wades out of the water and an old  Vietnamese man is looking at him.  Kathleen says, "He looks mad."  Despite Kathleen's evaluation, O'Brien says that he isn't mad and reassures Kathleen that everything is okay.  He finishes the chapter with a powerful line saying, "No, all that's finished."  O'Brien is saying that the war is over between him and that man and symbolical between America and the Vietnamese.  He is laying the war to rest once and for all for himself and his country.  This moment was a powerful one as it explores how long it takes for a solider to lay the war to rest and how it takes returning to a place filled with bad memories to finally bring closure.

Elroy Is Such A Great Guy

          My favorite story thus far has undoubtedly been On the Rainy River.  No, it is not just my favorite story because it has fishing in it, although that doesn't hurt its standings in my mind.  My favorite character thus far has been Elroy, coincidentally featured in my favorite story.  Elroy is my favorite character for many reasons.  First off, I can't get over how nice this guy is.  Without asking questions, he took in this young man who he immediately identified was distraught and needed help.  Also without asking, he helped that young man get what he needed, which was to think over his life and have a wise voice helping him think over his life.  One of the most valuble things that Elroy gave O'brien was actually nothing at all.  Elroy would give O'brien his silence.  Whenever O'brien needed to be alone in his own thoughts or needed to just talk things out, Elroy would listen or act like he didnt even notice O'brien's presence.  Elroy was nurturing when he needed to be and let O'brien alone and let O'brien grow up, be a man and figure things out for himself when he needed to.  Elroy must have the highest emotional intelligence of all people for the way that he managed O'brien's stay.  Elroy always knew what to do and what to say in every situation.  The thing that capped of Elroy's amazingness was by giving O'brien money after his stay.  O'brien really owed Elroy for not only room and board but for everything that Elroy helped him with, but Elroy insisted that O'brien had earned the money for the work that he had done for the lodge.  Elroy's kindness is not a normal level of kindness, it is an extraordinary level of kindness.

          The second reason that I like Elroy is becuase he reminds me of my Granddad.  They are both old.  They both like the outdoors and like to fish.  They both hail from a northern state that starts with "M", my Granddad is from Maine.  Most of all, they have similar personality traits.  My Granddad is a very kind and selfless person, characteristics that Elroy displays many times.  They both display a level of caring for a young man in their life, a caring that I thank my Granddad for and a caring that O'brien thanked Elroy for by leaving him $200.  They both are good listeners as my Granddad could listen to me for hours prattle on about fishing or any other topic and Elroy listened to O'brien's issues about his getting drafted.  Finally, they both are good role models as my Granddad is certainly someone who I look up to and I think that to a degree O'brien looked up to Elroy.  Elroy certainly is a great guy and his similarities to my Granddad only helped his standings in my mind.  

First Impressions on The Things They Carried

          Thus far, The Things They Carried has been very good.  O'brien's writing style is certainly unique, with his almost excessive use of lists, allowing him to describe war in a way other authors haven't before.  I think that O'brien's depiction of the war in Vietnam is powerful and compelling.  He is not afraid to show the brutal things in war and he really delves deep into the emotional toll that the war took on the soldiers.  His stories of the horrible dehumanizing acts that the soldiers pulled, Jimmy Cross' obsession with Martha and a host of other things provide great examples of the emotional baggage that the soldiers carry and some of the vices they use to try and combat it.
         
          Another thing that I like about the book is that the short stories are linked a lot more so than the short stories were linked in The Thing Around Your Neck.  For example, the characters are the same from story to story and there is a sense of the passage of time as opposed to the random snapshots found in The Thing Around Your Neck that were linked merely by theme.  This makes the overall collection more enjoyable, for me, and it also makes the characters and storylines more memorable and easier to follow.

          A third thing that I am enjoying about the novel is that it is written from the perspective of a character who is a Vietnam veteran and writer named Tim Obrien.  I find it very interesting that the real life author O'brien chose this character as his narrorator.  I think this makes the stories more powerful as while they may not be true, they seem all the more believable because the author almost seems to be writing an autobiography.  I think it is very important to the collection and to the credibility of the stories being at least very plausible that O'brein, the real life author, is a veteran of Vietnam.  This allows him to give the real story of the war and not a story from an outsider or even an outsider who interviewed several veterans.  Things can be lost in assumptions and translation in those two scenarios and O'brien is able to give the raw truth.

If Only She Had Written More

One thing that I disliked about The Thing Around Your Neck was the fact that none of the stories had a concrete ending.  Many of them had abrupt and awkward endings.  I assume Adichie's intention was to provide brief snapshots into her characters lives and she did a very good job of this.  However, I was always looking for more at the end of each story.  None of them provided me with closure.  I think in future writing, Adichie should expand upon the ideas of some of the short stories.  For example, she could continue the story The Thing Around Your Neck.  It would be interesting to see where the woman went next.  Whether she would continue to send money home, whether she would pursue a new relationship, whether she would just go home to Africa.  These are just a few of the questions left in my head after reading that story.  If she expanded upon these and made a longer story with a concrete ending that provided closure, I think it would be a fantastic novel that examined even closer what African immigrants experience when coming to America.

The Thing Around Your Neck After Class Discussions

Now that we have had some class discussions regarding The Thing Around Your Neck, I have a slightly different view on the book.  I didn't like it much before, but I like it better now.  I think that this happens with most books that we discuss in school as discussion and insights that classmates give, enhance our understanding of the book and subsequently our enjoyment of the book.  Our discussion on the short story The Thing Around Your Neck was especially informative as we brought up several ideas that I didn't initially think of.  The main thing was the examination of how much of Adichie seemed to care about this story.  She truly seemed to care the most about this story as she seemed to express how she feels about the challenges African immigrants face when they come to America.  Her passion came through in a critical tone and this story was the only one I recall that had such a critical tone.  If had to rate the book on a five point scale, initially I would have given it a 2 out of 5.  After our class discussions I would rate the book 3.5-4 out of 5 as the things we discussed that Adichie wrote about added more depth to her stories.

Summary of A Summer of Reading

     This summer I read four books, three for this class and one for the all school read.  Of the three AP Lit. books, I enjoyed How To Read Literature Like A Professor the most.  I found it entertaining and funny at times which was certainly needed as the topic could have been made incredibly boring very easily.  My second favorite of the AP Lit. books was Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.  I thought it was okay as the writing was very dense and wordy but also at times brilliantly descriptive.  The story was decent and at times compelled me to read onward.  My least favorite of the AP Lit. books was The Thing Around Your Neck.  My reasons for this are extensive but in short, it lacked cliff hangers, it was disjointed and the characters and stories weren't memorable.

     While I didn't read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson for AP Lit. I thought I would share my thoughts on it to wrap up my summer of reading.  Of the four books I read this summer, A Walk in the Woods was by far my favorite.  This is for several reasons.  First off, it is about the outdoors, a topic that I thoroughly enjoy.  Second, the book had many comical moments which made the book even more enjoyable.  Third, it was non-fiction which always adds enjoyment for me as I enjoy hearing stories that actually happened.  Fourth, it was well researched as Bryson didn't simply recount his journey along the Appalachian Trail.  He added in historical facts about the towns he passed and the trail itself.  He also added hilarious commentary about some of the people in the towns he passed and the sad state of some of the towns.  Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I'm glad it was a part of my summer of reading.

I Didn't Like The Thing Around Your Neck

     As the title indicates, I truly didn't like this book.  I had several problems with it.  First off, the short stories didn't have a good ending.  It seemed that every single story had a random, abrupt ending that didn't bring closure to the story.  If this effect of brief snapshots with abrupt endings was the authors intent, then she did a good job at it but I didn't enjoy it.

     My second problem with the book was the fact that it was short stories.  I don't dislike short stories but this collection didn't do it for me.  They didn't have much of a connection to each other and at times were difficult to follow.  They also weren't very memorable to me as I can only recall one or two of the stories and only a few character names despite having read the book recently.

     Something that I and I think many readers enjoy is a cliffhanger at the end of each chapter that makes the reader hungry for more and encourages the reader to continue reading.  This book lacked cliff hangers that would be answered in the next chapter because the next chapter was a new story with new characters.  This effect made the book difficult to read towards the middle and the end because I wasn't encouraged to read onward.

     Another enjoyable aspect to literature that this book lacked was getting to know the charterers.  At the end of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, one of my favorite books, I felt that I knew Cheif Bromden, McMurphy, Cheswick, Nurse Ratched, Harding and all the rest of the characters very well. I could relate to them on many levels and this made the novel very enjoyable.  In The Thing Around Your Neck, I wasn't able to relate or get to know any of the characters as they were on a constant ferries wheel of change and weren't written all that memorably to begin with.

     Despite my bashing of this book, I don't think Adichie is a bad author.  In fact, she writes very well in flashes throughout The Thing Around Your Neck.  I think if she expanded on the idea of one of her short stories and made it into a novel that had a coherent beginning, middle and end, with cliff hangers and relatable memorable characters, then she would write a fantastic novel.  I had the opportunity to talk with some of my classmates on the senior retreat about this book and I found my response to the book to be a common response amongst the five or so people I spoke with about the book.

How To Read Literature Like A Professor So Far

I am well into Thomas C. Foster's book about reading literature smarter and like a professor and thus far I have enjoyed it.  When I first picked up the book and read the title I thought it would be the worst thing I had ever read.  I assumed it to be a long boring examination of reading techniques and other fancy, old-fashioned garbage written by some old geezer.  I was wrong however as the book has been enjoyable as Foster gives readers enough humor to keep them going through a subject that could be made excruciatingly boring very quickly.  In addition to his humor, Foster's ideas and thoughts about reading literature have been interesting to me.  I have found myself relating to his writing on many levels whether it be through his mention of a work I have read or an idea about said work that I too thought of or discussed in a previous English class.  I still have a bit to go in his "lively and entertaining guide" and I hope it continues to be as enjoyable as it has been.

End of Heart of Darkness

I have now finished Heart of Darkness and I have a few thoughts about the book as a whole.  First, as I mentioned in my first post, the imagery was fantastic and continued to be so throughout the entire book.  Second, the storyline was slightly challenging to follow.  I'm not sure if it was because the book was written around the turn of the century or if it was because Marlow was speaking to an unknown "narrator" who was then relaying the story on to the reader, but I found the storyline a bit hazy.  After I completed the book I read the sparknotes and shmoop summaries and found that I had followed the storyline fairly well but things still seem a bit hazy.  My final thought is about Mr. Kurtz.  The aura surrounding Mr. Kurtz was a fascinating thing to read.  While this aura being set up by Conrad may have contributed to the confusingness of the book, I think it worked beautifully to portray Mr. Kurtz as this god-like, evil and secretive figure.  The appearance of Mr. Kurtz in the last third or so of the novel made the novel much easier to complete as I felt it dragged a touch in the middle.  The one thing I found the most fascinating about Mr. Kurtz is how the aura surrounding him convinced his fiancée that he was a good man despite this being the contrary.  This was incredibly apparent when she came to see Marlow a year after Kurtz's death and still was mourning the loss of a "great" man.

Beginning of Heart of Darkness

I have read the first 16 pages of Heart of Darkness and I have taken away one major thing from Conrad's work.  His imagery thus far has been fantastic.  His description of the Thames, Marlow making his way to find the Belgian company and Marlow's first experience climbing the hill and meeting the accountant in the Congo are fantastic.  Conrad's imagery does an exemplary job of implanting the reader into the seen.  He describes every bit of every thing in the scene.  For example, when Marlow first arrives in the Congo, Conrad describes how all the natives looked and delved deeper than their physical appearance to Marlow's observations of how they seemed to feel mentally about thier state.  This writing allows the reader to feel present in the events of the novel and engages the reader making the reader want more.