I hate romance.
Yes, I know, I may sound like a bad person. Go ahead, call me a heartless jerk.
Done yet? Good.
I'm sorry, but romance always seems to ruin a good story. And when the entire story is a bunch of romance... Blech. But here I am, so I guess I have to talk about Romeo and Juliet.
This story was actually not that hard to read, contrary to the popular opinion. I found it to be a little bit clunky and such at some parts, but for most of the story, I could understand it pretty well. There were a few parts where I thought it was really stupid, like when it said "This love feel I, that feel no love in this." Silly Shakespeare and his backwards sentences. I was also a little confused at the beginning. After they all bit their thumbs at each other, (New favorite insult? I think so.) they randomly started arguing and fighting. A bunch more people came, and they too jumped into the fray. Why? Why are they fighting? Why did everyone jump in? Why didn't anyone stop them or run for help? These are things I shouldn't be wondering while I'm reading... but maybe Shakespeare wanted that?
I was surprised to find Shakespeare to be quite the dry-humored fellow, and even found myself laughing a couple of times. For example, when Romeo is talking to Benvolio, Romeo says, "In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman." Benvolio sarcastically retorts, "I aim'd so near, when I supposed you loved."
Wow. That sounded a lot less funny when I put it down. I assure you, it was humorous at the time... *sigh
Finally, Romeo is so annoying. All he does is go on and on about how, "I love her!" and, "We can't be together!" and, "O, woe is me!" and whatnot. It's obnoxious. I understand it would kind of suck to love someone who is related to your mortal enemy, but come on, it doesn't have to take over your flipping life!
Anyways. Enough ranting. I found this to be a surprisingly enjoyable book, despite its bad reputation among most people. I'd like to see how it ends- oh... wait.
Book- The Fellowship of the Ring- J.R.R Tolkien (I honestly haven't read this yet, and after watching the movies, you know...)
Video Game- Call of Duty: World At War
Music- Losing You- Dead By April
Classical Music- Mahler's Symphony No. 1 "Titan"
Have a great week, and see you on Wednesday!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Error 404- Failure to Stay in Jail
Hidey-ho, bloggerinos!
I have finished The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail (in case you hadn't guessed) and found the ending to be surprisingly satisfying. From how the book was going, I thought it would have some really stupid ending that no one liked, but it wasn't all too bad. And for once, I can actually say my reading has taught me something...
After much perusing of the play, I finally got a couple of examples of irony. I think it's ironic how Henry tried so hard to 'rebel' against the system, but in the end, his Aunt Louisa got him out of jail. All his work, his night spent in jail, was foiled by his Aunt's blunt regard for Henry. It was also somewhat ironic how Henry was seen by people as some sort of 'crazy' guy who just wanted to stir the people up. However, in the end, he seemed to be smarter and more passionate about what he cared about than anyone else.
Adding to this, in the end of the story, I don't think Henry's protest proved successful. The whole point was to do whatever it took to not support the Mexican war by paying taxes. While at first, he ended up in jail and it was seemingly working, he was just bailed out by Aunt Louisa. He was forced to re-enter society, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted to accomplish with his protest.
And before we go any further, I'm afraid to say I am absolutely clueless as to what to say for the actors and whatnot. Like, I can barely think of any actor's names, let alone which ones would make good characters. My three important characters were Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Thoreau, if that helps any, but I can't think of any actors at all to play these people...
I apologize.
I have finished The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail (in case you hadn't guessed) and found the ending to be surprisingly satisfying. From how the book was going, I thought it would have some really stupid ending that no one liked, but it wasn't all too bad. And for once, I can actually say my reading has taught me something...
After much perusing of the play, I finally got a couple of examples of irony. I think it's ironic how Henry tried so hard to 'rebel' against the system, but in the end, his Aunt Louisa got him out of jail. All his work, his night spent in jail, was foiled by his Aunt's blunt regard for Henry. It was also somewhat ironic how Henry was seen by people as some sort of 'crazy' guy who just wanted to stir the people up. However, in the end, he seemed to be smarter and more passionate about what he cared about than anyone else.
Adding to this, in the end of the story, I don't think Henry's protest proved successful. The whole point was to do whatever it took to not support the Mexican war by paying taxes. While at first, he ended up in jail and it was seemingly working, he was just bailed out by Aunt Louisa. He was forced to re-enter society, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted to accomplish with his protest.
And before we go any further, I'm afraid to say I am absolutely clueless as to what to say for the actors and whatnot. Like, I can barely think of any actor's names, let alone which ones would make good characters. My three important characters were Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Thoreau, if that helps any, but I can't think of any actors at all to play these people...
I apologize.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
A Perfect Night Spent For Thoreau in the Bananafish Jail
Hello, all! It's been a while, but it's kind of hard to blog when you've got nothing to talk about except, "Yeah, I did some reading and stuff, and it was kind of cool and stuff. So, like, reading and stuff. Yeah." But, anyways. We had lots of reading to do this week. First up is J.D. Salinger's short story, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish."
Well then.
That was a story I had to re-read a couple of times. I'm still not totally sure what happened. But, I still have to compare the characters to those in The Catcher in the Rye, and so I shall do that. I would say Seymour Glass was most similar to Holden Caulfield. They both don't really care what others think, and mostly want to be unique. Both seem to go out of their way to annoy others, but seem to do it in a joking manner. However, Holden is a little less... unstable.
The girl in the room, Muriel, reminded me of Sally. Both are more focused on themselves, and seem to care about their image. They both seem somewhat annoyed by the 'Holden' in their lives, but both still care about him.
The last main character, Sybil, reminded me, in part, of Phoebe. Both have childish attitudes, but both still hold a special place in their heart for those they care about. However, Sybil struck me as a little annoying, which is a stark contrast to Phoebe's caring nature.
So, it's easy to see some of the similarities between this story and The Catcher in the Rye. Except, you know, the crazy ending. That was just weird.
Our other reading was from "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. This was surprisingly enjoyable literature, though I was slowed down by the format. It was actually harder for me to figure out who was talking and doing what than in regular reading. But, I suppose it's all another part of active reading.
Anyways, we were supposed to take a quote, and describe how it fits Transcendentalist thought. I chose the quote, "Our own school, John. No buildings. Break out of the classroom prison. All we need is the sky!" This is a good representation of Transcendentalist ideals, as it embodies the whole idea of freedom that I associate with Transcendentalism. They try to be free-thinking people, who aren't held down by earthly chains and needs. Henry encourages his students to ask questions and really think about their learning, and I feel a prison-like classroom could hinder his goals. He ultimately wishes for a free, unrestricted school where kids will not only live, but also be.
On a somewhat related note, I found the descriptions of actions and emotions in the play to be... bemusing. For example, on page 60, it says in parentheses, "Now all the molten outrage within Henry David Thoreau bursts out like lava from a live volcano."
Aw, darn, I hate when my molten outrage bursts out like that. But thankfully, I'm taking medicine to fix that problem XD
Book- Skeleton Crew- Stephen King (For you horror people out there)
Video Game- Halo: Reach
Music- Stare at the Sun- Thrice
Classical Music- Beethoven's 7th Symphony
Well, that's about it. It's been nice ranting to you. Hope you have a good week!
Well then.
That was a story I had to re-read a couple of times. I'm still not totally sure what happened. But, I still have to compare the characters to those in The Catcher in the Rye, and so I shall do that. I would say Seymour Glass was most similar to Holden Caulfield. They both don't really care what others think, and mostly want to be unique. Both seem to go out of their way to annoy others, but seem to do it in a joking manner. However, Holden is a little less... unstable.
The girl in the room, Muriel, reminded me of Sally. Both are more focused on themselves, and seem to care about their image. They both seem somewhat annoyed by the 'Holden' in their lives, but both still care about him.
The last main character, Sybil, reminded me, in part, of Phoebe. Both have childish attitudes, but both still hold a special place in their heart for those they care about. However, Sybil struck me as a little annoying, which is a stark contrast to Phoebe's caring nature.
So, it's easy to see some of the similarities between this story and The Catcher in the Rye. Except, you know, the crazy ending. That was just weird.
Our other reading was from "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. This was surprisingly enjoyable literature, though I was slowed down by the format. It was actually harder for me to figure out who was talking and doing what than in regular reading. But, I suppose it's all another part of active reading.
Anyways, we were supposed to take a quote, and describe how it fits Transcendentalist thought. I chose the quote, "Our own school, John. No buildings. Break out of the classroom prison. All we need is the sky!" This is a good representation of Transcendentalist ideals, as it embodies the whole idea of freedom that I associate with Transcendentalism. They try to be free-thinking people, who aren't held down by earthly chains and needs. Henry encourages his students to ask questions and really think about their learning, and I feel a prison-like classroom could hinder his goals. He ultimately wishes for a free, unrestricted school where kids will not only live, but also be.
On a somewhat related note, I found the descriptions of actions and emotions in the play to be... bemusing. For example, on page 60, it says in parentheses, "Now all the molten outrage within Henry David Thoreau bursts out like lava from a live volcano."
Aw, darn, I hate when my molten outrage bursts out like that. But thankfully, I'm taking medicine to fix that problem XD
Book- Skeleton Crew- Stephen King (For you horror people out there)
Video Game- Halo: Reach
Music- Stare at the Sun- Thrice
Classical Music- Beethoven's 7th Symphony
Well, that's about it. It's been nice ranting to you. Hope you have a good week!
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