Serendipity

I just finished reading Room and I liked the book a lot. A lot.  Not wanting to leave the world of Ma and Jack yet, I decided to look up the movie trailer as I plan on watching it during break. In the trailer, there’s a song playing in the background, I couldn’t really hear the words all too well but I really liked what I heard so I looked it up.  The song is called “All the Things Lost” by MS MR and it fits the emotions I imagine Ma feeling so well.   Here’s the link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKYGp6Pt2Dw and the trailer (the songs starts at around 1:30 in): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_Ci-pAL4eE and here are the lyrics for your reference:    No matter how sweet the salt We push so hard we finally broke Oh, no more apologies need be exchange Oh, no words could ever help relieve this pain All our silence could not excuse Disappoint or further prove Anything other than what we already know Easier to live a...

I was opening up the pantry door to get an ingredient for my mom. As I reached in, the strong smell of cardamom flooded my nose. I was instantly brought back to my grandmother’s house and memories of me as a young child fiddling around while she laughed and crushed cardamom to make chai. They say that different visuals, smells, and feelings can bring back a plethora of memories, and throughout watching the second part of Persepolis , I couldn’t help but feel like similar things had happened before. Upon further investigation, I realized that the first and second journey, though different, followed a rather similar pattern. The first part, illustrates the trauma Marji faced as a young child in Iran, as well as a struggle to figure out what she believed and who she wanted to be. She went from wanting to be a prophet to hating God, from considering imprisoned rebels, “heroes”, to wishing her Uncle was still alive. She is constantly unsure of where she stands on issues and feels lost (th...

I've really enjoyed Persepolis so far. It's really different from what I've read in the past. Prior to this, I've always thought graphic novels wouldn't be able to tell a complex story. Reading Persepolis has   completely erased that notion. I would argue that it actually adds depth to a narrative and enables a lot more creative expression. In Persepolis, there are many stories going on (Marji's growth as a character through religion and books, the overall historical events happening that relate to the story, the local issues going on, etc.) but through the graphics, Satrapi really effectively ties these threads together. One of the things I've found most interesting in the story and in discussion is Marji as a character. In the first part of the story she is rather young, but her reflection and goals do not mirror that of normal children her age. She has an insatiable curiosity; she's always asking questions and trying to understand what is going on ...

So far I’ve really enjoyed A Lesson Before Dying . I thought I wouldn’t be able to relate to it at all, but in a way I do. Though Grant is a college graduate, he seems to be as uncertain about what his role is in this world is. Granted (see what I did there), he is dealing with a long cycle of injustice, while I’m just a teenager trying to figure out what I want to major in.  Grant has a desire to make a change, he studies and works hard to get an education so he can help others do the same and end the cycle of being considered inferior. Yet he feels hopeless. When he goes to Henri Pichot’s home to request visitation, he is still referred to as a “boy”. When he tries to ask for new materials for his students, he is essentially told to deal with it. Finally, when he receives wood from his former classmates he feels as though his work is futile. There is a cycle that he alone couldn’t break.  Then he recalls his own teacher saying, “What do I know about life? I stayed...

Throughout As I Lay Dying , I’ve found the entire Burden family to be rather non-cohesive. They don’t confide in each other, they seem to show no sense of camaraderie whatsoever, and anytime they do interact, they seem to be in some sort of argument. I thought each child was equally as distant from the family as the others but throughout the reading it seemed as though Jewel was the exception. Jewel narrates only one chapter in the entire story, thus I originally thought he would be a rather minor character, especially since he seemed emotionally detached from other humans. During the journey to bury Addie he rides separately from the rest of the family, he doesn’t talk to anyone unless it is vital.  As the narrative went on though, more and more often Jewel was brought up; thus indicating his importance to the story. Though Darl refers to him as “wooden and solid”, Jewel seems like the thread that keeps the family tethered to Addie and the goal of their trip. Though Jewel is ...

“My mother is a fish” -Vardaman (Faulkner 84) Just when I thought As I Lay Dying couldn’t get any stranger, I read this. At first I ignored it and passed it off as another one of Vardaman’s weird claims.  Upon further contemplation I thought it was worth revisiting. Right after the death of Addie, the children suddenly start talking about animals. Vardaman says “I can feel where the fish was in the dust. It is cut up into pieces of not-fish now, not-blood on my hands and overalls. Then it wasn't so. It hadn't happened then. And now she is getting so far ahead I cannot catch her.” thus relating the death of his mother to the death of his fish (Faulkner 53). Aside from Vardaman, Darl declares that Jewel’s mother is his horse (Faulkner 95). Dewey Dell also has a scene with an animal when she goes outside and thinks about her pregnancy in the presence of the family cow. To me, it seems like the animals are used to help the characters reflect and cope, especially after th...

Immortal vs Mortal Revenge As we’ve already established, the Greek Gods use humans as pawns to fulfill their agendas, use them as entertainment, and use them to take out their frustration. Their attitudes are human-like, they succumb to feelings of lust, they feel envy, and of course, anger. They also know how to hold a grudge (*cough* Poseidon). One of the first examples to illustrate this was Poseidon’s anger over Odysseus blinding his son, Polyphemus. From the moment Odysseus did this, Poseidon made his life very difficult, though he knew that he couldn’t change the fact the Odysseus would eventually return home. The part that irked me the most was when Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca with the aid of the Phoenicians. Poseidon is outraged; he knows he can’t hurt Odysseus so instead he channels his anger at the Phoenicians. When he asks Zeus about what to do, Zeus responds quickly without really taking much time to think (to be quite honest their exchange sounded like elemen...

What type of hero is Smithy? In class, we've talked a lot about Smithy being a hero. Clearly he is one based on his kind actions and humble temperament, but we haven't talked much about what type of hero Smithy is and when he becomes one. In my mind, the term hero is subjective and varies from person to person and situation to situation. In general, it's a person that puts good out in the world no matter what. Smithy definitely does this, from being hit by a truck and still helping Carl despite his injuries. He rescues a child from a storm and faces allegations of molestation without being confrontational. To the people who meet him on his journey, he is definitely a hero, impacting them in huge ways. To these individuals, Smithy may seem almost like an epic hero, swooping in to help them when they need edit most. But, to those who hear about him and his actions through word of mouth and media he is a local hero, because he hasn't directly impacted them so ...