House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits is by far the best book I have read this semester. I feel Allende portrayed her characters in such detail that the reader could not help but feel as if they had known them themselves. I felt Clara and Blanca were gernerally very honest and loveable, and of course Esteban was almost always a sort of tyrannical racist. I suppose what I found myself enjoying the most about this novel is that the subtle, but driving postive forces throughout the book are lead by insightful women. I also thought Allende's depictions of class struggle, (peasants vs. aristocracy), genealogy, and fate were done in an incredible manner. The way she used the journals to tie in the lives of entire families is innovative and, I believe, gives the whole novel an appeal on a more personal basis.

Invisible Man

I believe Ralph Emerson's The Invisible Man is an apt depiction of a time in history when it was difficult for a black person to view himself as an entity. Many white people seemed to have taken a stance in which they acknowledged a black person's physical existence as they would an animal, but they rarely seemed to acknowledge their mental capabilities. In reading this book I became well aware of how ridiculously frustrating that must have been. To have a brilliant mind, and to have few people to appreciate his thoughts must have bee incredibly diheartneing. The narrorator's approach to bettering his race is admirable in that he is often able to maintain a sense of humor about how wrong many whites were in stereotyping blacks. The best part of this novel, I believe, is that is covers such a time span as to show when race meant different things to the narrarator. It seemed to have begun as a difficulty that he needed to learn to accept, then progressed to an all encompassing life-changing struggle to better race relations when he joined the Brotherhood. He eventually decided he was a pon in the white man's game, and finally took the advice of his grandfather and became a "yes man" to the white people outwardly and a traitor inwardly.

Gregorio Cortez

I enjoyed reading the different variants of the story of Gregorio Cortez. Reading the legends gave me some new concepts to think about. For example, I found myself thinking about the way music and pure literature differ in their affects on the reader. I also thought reading folklore and giving thought to historical contexts was interesting. I can easily understand why the variants continue to be widely known. An inspirational hero to represent the "little guy" and bring justice upon those who act unfairly will always be timeless. Racial biases of course play a large part in the variants, representing the Mexican people as just and noble, while allowing "gringos" to be seen as corrupt aids to the story's inspirational qualities.

House of the Spirits ideology

"Nana suggested cutting off his tail to make him more refined, but Clara had a tantrum that degenerated into an asthma attack and no one ever mentioned it again."

This particular quote jumped out at me when I read it. Years ago I volunteered at the SPCA (the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals) and I have very strong feelings against making animals suffer unnecessarily. The logic of cutting off an animals appendages to make it look better, or even to keep it from knocking things over, seems horribly wrong to me. My ideals are clearly different than Nana's, and also other people in the book who chose to treat animals cruelly.

Poetry Question

Do you ever find yourself in a creative slump? And if so, how do you find your way out of it?

Antigone

I enjoyed reading Anigone more than any other piece of literature thus far this semester. Antigone's moral causes and ambitions cause her to be a strong and lovable character. Her dedication to her family values and her unwillingness to yield to an unjust ruler's wishes are more than admirable. Although knowingly disobeying Kreon's rules and essentially forfeiting her life may seem absurd to some, I feel her convictions are noble and just. She knew that there was more wrong with Kreon then the rule which did not allow her to bury her brother, she knew the entire system was on its way to collapse. Although Hamon and Antigone's deaths are tragic it becomes apparent that their lives would have been ruined by the war, perhaps they made the best decision by choosing to die in a way which allowed them to remain steadfast in their principles.

Lorca's Blood Wedding

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Lorca's Blood Wedding. Part of me wants to appreciate the innovative use of foreshadowing and insightfullness, but the hopeless romantic in me craves a happy ending. I find myself wondering what Lorca's real intention was when writing this. Is he trying to prove that ignoring love and conforming to social norms can only lead to misery? Or is he trying to show that being realistic and adapting a sort of pascifism to withstand lifes difficulties is best? Perhaps the first woodcutter stated the story's intentions "Better dead with the blood drained away than alive with it rotting". I suppose this would lead me to believe Lorca is a romantic himself and feels that a life without love is worthless. As many people noted the ending of this story left us saying "what about happily ever after?" I suppose this piece allows people to note some of the extremes of the human condition, desperation, love, and misery. In this, Lorca is quite successful.

The Awakening

Although the hopeless romantic in me was disappointed at the way Chopin's The Awakening concluded, I still enjoyed reading the book. I feel as though we all have points in our lives when disappointment runs rampant, and things seem too difficult to bare. In Edna's case, she found herself in a loveless marriage, with children she didn't really care about. Although she loved another man, she realized the obstacles that faced her. Robert was just an example of what she would spend the rest of her life not having. Edna realized that once her mind had been opened and she could take in the world around her, she could no longer feel anything but despair because she could never really live the life she wanted. Killing herself became a way out of the mental anguish that overpowered her. Many would see this as a selfish act because she had a family and friends that cared about her, but she realized few would understand her new perspectives, forever being an outsider. She would be so miserable that she would not be capable of bettering the lives of those around her.