In Fight Club, although we don’t know the name of the author we seem to know everything else about him. At this point we know that the narrator has an alter ego that he has developed throughout his life. There is no evidence as to why he creates this alter ego but it is obvious that this other person is a sadistic version of the narrator. Fight club is the narrators struggle to gain masculinity. This lack of masculinity comes from his father neglecting to take care of him as he grew up.
Instead of defining himself as a man he defined himself through the things that he owned. When he loses his apartment he says that he lost himself he lost all of his belonging s and without them he would not be himself because they are him. “You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.” (Palahniuk 44). In this quote not only is he saying that he misses the things that he owns but he has to learn to be content without them. At this point his apartment has been blown to pieces and he turns to Tyler for a way out. On page 46, is when we really learn that the narrator is an irrational person and he looks to Tyler for the answers to everything. He is obsessed with what Tyler can do for him. He says, “Deliver me Tyler form being perfect and complete” He now makes it obvious that what he has or have had is no longer good enough for him. He is looking for a way out and Tyler will deliver it.
The lack of a father figure affects him to the extent that he befriends the nihilistic Tyler Durden. Tyler helps him to gain the masculinity that he lacks in his life. Tyler helps him to gain confidence and self esteem. After a few nights in Fight Club he is a different person, “Who guys are in fight club is not who they are in the real world.” (page 49) When he is fighting in Fight Club he believes he is not himself
The question is does being a man really constitute whether or not you can throw a punch? The narrator also seems to struggle with this question. This is the reason why he creates an alter ego. Due to the fact that he lacks a father figure he feels that he did not grow up to be the perfect man.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Even Angels Have Morals! Blog#4
After reading the first 62 pages of this play one can’t help but think about how individual morals play an important part in the lives of the characters. Kushner tries to explain the national issues that many people fail to speak about. He includes sex, homosexuality, drug addiction, politics, corruption, AIDS, power, religion and much more to get his point across about the different issues that Americans face nationally. So far, in the novel we have learned of two individuals Prior and Roy, who don’t know each other but they both have something in common, they have AIDS. We learn about how they cope with their disease as it progresses and their different perspectives on having AIDs in society. Then there is another couple, Harper and Joe who are Mormons, they are married but Joe is gay and cannot admit to anyone that he is. Prior and Louis are the last couple that this play revolves around, in the beginning of the play we discover that Prior has AIDS and Louis has no clue how to deal with it. The central idea in this play is whether or not any of the actions that these characters are taking are moral.
The characters represent America. They represent issues of heterosexual and homosexual Americans in their everyday lives. America is in chaos, everyone has a different political point of view, drugs are used as an escape rather than a cure, relationships split and the other half is supposed to figure out their own way of picking up the pieces.
Joe and Harper have an awkward relationship. Joe is unsure as to whether he is gay or not and therefore he stays with Harper. What it really seems the be is that Joe is too scared to admit that he is gay due to the fact that the Mormon church will not accept him. While Harper has a dream scene with Prior she speaks of things that she is subconsciously thinking. She tells Prior, “In my church we don’t believe in homosexuals.” They eventually talk about Joe; the mystery of this scene is whether or not the dream belongs to Harper or to Prior. There are things mentioned in the scene that Harper feels, for example that she is not supposed to take Valium because her religion forbids her to be addicted to anything and Prior telling her that, “Your husband’s a homo.” At first she doesn’t believe it but then she tries to make connections and compares his actions. Subconsciously she knows its true but cannot accuse him unless she knows for certain. She obviously wants more form life and by her taking valium on a consistent basis she is crying for someone to help her to stop. Mainly she wants her husband to help her but he constantly leaves her lonely. Morally, Joe cannot leave his wife because the only reason he would leave his wife is to be with a man. He finds it hard to do that because he is Mormon and wants to continue to be Mormon; he knows that by being gay he would have to disassociate himself with his religion. What will his family think? What will his wife think? To Joe, morally it is the wrong thing to do.
Louis and Prior have a normal relationship until he is diagnosed with AIDS. Louis is not afraid of the disease he is afraid to spend the rest of his life without Prior. He decides that but just cutting out the middle and just leaving the relationship it would be less heartbreaking for him. It is the only way to get out and not get hurt. He really doesn’t think about how much Prior needs him to be there or emotionally how much it will affect him. However, morally he is faced with the issue of whether or not leaving Prior is the right thing to do. He suffers with the question of: How can you leave someone that you love when they need you the most? This is not just an issue for this gay couple it is an issue that anyone can relate to. It can even be compared to Harper and Joe: Why would Joe leave Harper especially when he knows that she is an addict? He should help her feel better before he leaves her behind.
Then lastly there is Roy, an attorney in New York with political power. Roy is homophobic and the ironic this is, that he is actually gay himself. For him being gay will take away from the masculinity that he is supposed to show in his career. We learn that he has AIDs but because he believes that he is not gay he will not admit that he has it. Roy doesn’t tell us that he is gay we find out during the scene when he meets with Henry and we are told that he has been treated for numerous bacteria’s that he could only have gotten by having sex with men. Roy prove many times that he has no morals, he sleeps with prostitutes, he curses swears and there is no evidence that he believes in god or follows any religion: therefore leaving the reader to think that he has no morals.
The characters represent America. They represent issues of heterosexual and homosexual Americans in their everyday lives. America is in chaos, everyone has a different political point of view, drugs are used as an escape rather than a cure, relationships split and the other half is supposed to figure out their own way of picking up the pieces.
Joe and Harper have an awkward relationship. Joe is unsure as to whether he is gay or not and therefore he stays with Harper. What it really seems the be is that Joe is too scared to admit that he is gay due to the fact that the Mormon church will not accept him. While Harper has a dream scene with Prior she speaks of things that she is subconsciously thinking. She tells Prior, “In my church we don’t believe in homosexuals.” They eventually talk about Joe; the mystery of this scene is whether or not the dream belongs to Harper or to Prior. There are things mentioned in the scene that Harper feels, for example that she is not supposed to take Valium because her religion forbids her to be addicted to anything and Prior telling her that, “Your husband’s a homo.” At first she doesn’t believe it but then she tries to make connections and compares his actions. Subconsciously she knows its true but cannot accuse him unless she knows for certain. She obviously wants more form life and by her taking valium on a consistent basis she is crying for someone to help her to stop. Mainly she wants her husband to help her but he constantly leaves her lonely. Morally, Joe cannot leave his wife because the only reason he would leave his wife is to be with a man. He finds it hard to do that because he is Mormon and wants to continue to be Mormon; he knows that by being gay he would have to disassociate himself with his religion. What will his family think? What will his wife think? To Joe, morally it is the wrong thing to do.
Louis and Prior have a normal relationship until he is diagnosed with AIDS. Louis is not afraid of the disease he is afraid to spend the rest of his life without Prior. He decides that but just cutting out the middle and just leaving the relationship it would be less heartbreaking for him. It is the only way to get out and not get hurt. He really doesn’t think about how much Prior needs him to be there or emotionally how much it will affect him. However, morally he is faced with the issue of whether or not leaving Prior is the right thing to do. He suffers with the question of: How can you leave someone that you love when they need you the most? This is not just an issue for this gay couple it is an issue that anyone can relate to. It can even be compared to Harper and Joe: Why would Joe leave Harper especially when he knows that she is an addict? He should help her feel better before he leaves her behind.
Then lastly there is Roy, an attorney in New York with political power. Roy is homophobic and the ironic this is, that he is actually gay himself. For him being gay will take away from the masculinity that he is supposed to show in his career. We learn that he has AIDs but because he believes that he is not gay he will not admit that he has it. Roy doesn’t tell us that he is gay we find out during the scene when he meets with Henry and we are told that he has been treated for numerous bacteria’s that he could only have gotten by having sex with men. Roy prove many times that he has no morals, he sleeps with prostitutes, he curses swears and there is no evidence that he believes in god or follows any religion: therefore leaving the reader to think that he has no morals.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Blog #2 A Fiesta in the Bronx !!!!
Fiesta is a short story of a boy who is thinking about all of the negativity in his life in one night that is supposed to be a joyful one. The narrator, Yunior gives his viewpoint on the night that his family leaves their home in New Jersey to go to the Bronx to a relatives’ new apartment .Diaz creates beautiful imagery about that night when he includes intricate details of the events that take place throughout the night.
In such a short story Diaz manages to mention many things that go wrong or can go wrong in that one night; he gets sick every time he is in the car, he is afraid of his father, his father is having an affair, his tia is nosy, he is threatened and not allowed to eat and lastly, he thinks about the Puerto Rican women constantly. Not only does this story focus on infidelity but it also focuses on a Latino male dominant family. Without actually saying it we know that Yunior is not Puerto Rican because he constantly calls the women that his father is having an affair with “Puerto Rican”. He always says, the Puerto Rican woman with such negativity. It seems he is afraid that his mother will find out about it. He seems to be more afraid that his mother finds out because he is afraid of the disappointment that she will feel when she finds out that he knew and didn’t tell her.
He was so consumed with the issue of infidelity and the affect that it would have on his mother. He was worried about the things that she did before she met his father and he thought about how she would be without him when he decided to finally leave her for his, “Puerto Rican sucio.” Although he is afraid of his father he makes it obvious that he would not want his parents to ever be apart. At the end of the story he says, “I saw that Papi had a hand on Mami’s knee and that the two of them were quiet and still.” There is so much tranquility in this sentence. It is “the calm after the storm” Yunior gets every child’s wish when he sees his father making contact with his mother in a peaceful way. His father, a verbally and physically abusive man doesn’t seem like he has it in him to be a gentle soul but he proves it when he has a hand on his wife’s knee.
Yunior is able to depict his father in a good and bad light, especially when Yunior describes the many different faces of his father. When we first meet Yunior and his family he refers to his father as, “my father the torturer” and then he goes on to talk about him being calm and cracking jokes in the car. Yunior is a typical child where he hates him father one minute and dislikes him the next; particularly when his father threatens him not to eat at the fiesta he tells his cousin, “he’s a dick.” Diaz creates Yunior as a relatable character. He has a love hate relationship with his father something that most children have with their parents, especially when they disagree with something. Yunior calls his father a “dick” only because he couldn’t get his way I don’t think that he meant what he said because in a way he respects his father because when his tia pulls him aside to question the dealings in his household he doesn’t tell her anything. He thinks to himself, “ Don’t get me wrong, I loved my tia, but something told me to keep my mouth shut” He had loyalty to his family and thought that their household dealings should be their own.
Diaz portrays Yunior as an innocent young boy that anyone can relate to in some way. He focuses on his how much his father’s infidelity to his mother is affecting him and his everyday life. Hs relation with his father is not as close as it should be because the father is constantly fighting with the family. Diaz uses an enormous amount of description to help the reader better understand this family.
In such a short story Diaz manages to mention many things that go wrong or can go wrong in that one night; he gets sick every time he is in the car, he is afraid of his father, his father is having an affair, his tia is nosy, he is threatened and not allowed to eat and lastly, he thinks about the Puerto Rican women constantly. Not only does this story focus on infidelity but it also focuses on a Latino male dominant family. Without actually saying it we know that Yunior is not Puerto Rican because he constantly calls the women that his father is having an affair with “Puerto Rican”. He always says, the Puerto Rican woman with such negativity. It seems he is afraid that his mother will find out about it. He seems to be more afraid that his mother finds out because he is afraid of the disappointment that she will feel when she finds out that he knew and didn’t tell her.
He was so consumed with the issue of infidelity and the affect that it would have on his mother. He was worried about the things that she did before she met his father and he thought about how she would be without him when he decided to finally leave her for his, “Puerto Rican sucio.” Although he is afraid of his father he makes it obvious that he would not want his parents to ever be apart. At the end of the story he says, “I saw that Papi had a hand on Mami’s knee and that the two of them were quiet and still.” There is so much tranquility in this sentence. It is “the calm after the storm” Yunior gets every child’s wish when he sees his father making contact with his mother in a peaceful way. His father, a verbally and physically abusive man doesn’t seem like he has it in him to be a gentle soul but he proves it when he has a hand on his wife’s knee.
Yunior is able to depict his father in a good and bad light, especially when Yunior describes the many different faces of his father. When we first meet Yunior and his family he refers to his father as, “my father the torturer” and then he goes on to talk about him being calm and cracking jokes in the car. Yunior is a typical child where he hates him father one minute and dislikes him the next; particularly when his father threatens him not to eat at the fiesta he tells his cousin, “he’s a dick.” Diaz creates Yunior as a relatable character. He has a love hate relationship with his father something that most children have with their parents, especially when they disagree with something. Yunior calls his father a “dick” only because he couldn’t get his way I don’t think that he meant what he said because in a way he respects his father because when his tia pulls him aside to question the dealings in his household he doesn’t tell her anything. He thinks to himself, “ Don’t get me wrong, I loved my tia, but something told me to keep my mouth shut” He had loyalty to his family and thought that their household dealings should be their own.
Diaz portrays Yunior as an innocent young boy that anyone can relate to in some way. He focuses on his how much his father’s infidelity to his mother is affecting him and his everyday life. Hs relation with his father is not as close as it should be because the father is constantly fighting with the family. Diaz uses an enormous amount of description to help the reader better understand this family.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Capote (revised)
In the final chapters of this novel the death penalty is a topic of concern. Capote makes sure to include that these two men were appointed lawyers after they confessed to the crimes. The lawyers that they had were appointed by the courts and they were not at all helpful to the case. What Capote seemed to have wanted was that they be given lawyers that were able to manipulate the law in such a way for them the get an innocent verdict out of the jury. However, the only way that the lawyers were able to do such a thing would have been if they could have brought a better case forward. They needed to push that these men were mentally insane.
Capote makes this novel a true account of the murders, but the main point is to tell us how things occur through his own style of storytelling. He tries his best throughout the novel to show us that the killers were not mentally stable. This seems to be the reason why he focuses on Perry Smith as much as he did. He shows much more compassion for Perry when he makes it his duty to allow the readers to know that Perry was abused and mistreated as a child. Due to this mistreatment he is scarred; this could be the reason why he was pushed into the violent murders. Capote is also upset that during the trial such information is not mentioned. The decision to have disturbed individuals on death row is a controversial issue for the author. He feels that these individuals should be able to depend on doctors to be the judge on whether or not they are sick enough to be helped. The men are not able to win over the court and they are sent to death row.
“In Cold Blood” is full of details about everything down to the emotions o each character. But, when it comes to how the Clutter family murders actually occur. That is, until the end of the book the readers get every detail on the executions. Why would he save all of this for the end? Part of the reason why there is so much opinion, details, and sarcasm in this part of the book is that the author is ultimately negative towards the decisions that were made by the court. On page 337, when we hear about the day of the execution, “The hangman, an anonymous, leathery gentleman who had been imported from Missouri for the event...” Capote uses words such as “imported” and “event.” The words give the sense of sarcasm. The execution is far from an event but he is really talking about the people that are there. They are not affected by the death of these men. One of the other men called it, “festivities.” Capote obviously does not appreciate that they call it “festivities.” He makes sure that the readers know he is not happy with the decision of death. Andy is the first man to get hanged. The readers are able to experience the full account in depth. From the time he is hung to how long it took for his heart to stop beating. Here, you can tell that the author is entirely against how inhumane the hanging of a man is. At the very last pages of the novel Dewey seems like he hasn’t received the closure that he expected when the last man, Perry is hung. This recollection of the hanging is extremely visual. “Dewey now opened his eyes, and that is what he saw: the same childish feet, dangling.” All throughout the book Capote was able to leave out his opinion and view but when it came to the end he made it obvious that the death penalty is an issue that he needed to include his own thoughts on.
Capote makes this novel a true account of the murders, but the main point is to tell us how things occur through his own style of storytelling. He tries his best throughout the novel to show us that the killers were not mentally stable. This seems to be the reason why he focuses on Perry Smith as much as he did. He shows much more compassion for Perry when he makes it his duty to allow the readers to know that Perry was abused and mistreated as a child. Due to this mistreatment he is scarred; this could be the reason why he was pushed into the violent murders. Capote is also upset that during the trial such information is not mentioned. The decision to have disturbed individuals on death row is a controversial issue for the author. He feels that these individuals should be able to depend on doctors to be the judge on whether or not they are sick enough to be helped. The men are not able to win over the court and they are sent to death row.
“In Cold Blood” is full of details about everything down to the emotions o each character. But, when it comes to how the Clutter family murders actually occur. That is, until the end of the book the readers get every detail on the executions. Why would he save all of this for the end? Part of the reason why there is so much opinion, details, and sarcasm in this part of the book is that the author is ultimately negative towards the decisions that were made by the court. On page 337, when we hear about the day of the execution, “The hangman, an anonymous, leathery gentleman who had been imported from Missouri for the event...” Capote uses words such as “imported” and “event.” The words give the sense of sarcasm. The execution is far from an event but he is really talking about the people that are there. They are not affected by the death of these men. One of the other men called it, “festivities.” Capote obviously does not appreciate that they call it “festivities.” He makes sure that the readers know he is not happy with the decision of death. Andy is the first man to get hanged. The readers are able to experience the full account in depth. From the time he is hung to how long it took for his heart to stop beating. Here, you can tell that the author is entirely against how inhumane the hanging of a man is. At the very last pages of the novel Dewey seems like he hasn’t received the closure that he expected when the last man, Perry is hung. This recollection of the hanging is extremely visual. “Dewey now opened his eyes, and that is what he saw: the same childish feet, dangling.” All throughout the book Capote was able to leave out his opinion and view but when it came to the end he made it obvious that the death penalty is an issue that he needed to include his own thoughts on.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Capote tried his best not to include his opinion. Blog #1
In the final chapters of this novel the death penalty seems to be a topic of concern. Capote makes sure to include that these two men were appointed lawyers after they confessed to the crimes. The lawyers that they had were appointed by the courts and they were not at all helpful to the case. What Capote seemed to have wanted for these men were that they be given lawyers that were able to manipulate the law in such a way for them the get an innocent verdict out of the jury. However, the only way that the lawyers were able to do such a thing would have been if they could have brought a better case forward. They needed to push that these men were mentally insane.
Capote makes this novel a true account of the murders but, the main point is to tell us how things happen and occur throughout his storytelling. He tries his best throughout the novel to show us that the killers were not mentally stable. This seems to be the reason why he focuses on Perry Smith as much as he did. He shows much more compassion for Perry when he makes it his duty to allows the readers to know that Perry was abused and mistreated as a child. Due to this mistreatment he is scarred; this could be the reason why he was pushed into the violent murders. He is also upset that during the trial such information is not mentioned. The decision to have disturbed individuals on death row is controversial. These individuals should be able to depend on doctors to be the judge on whether or not they are sick enough to be helped. The men are not able to win over the court and they are sent to death row.
The novel is full of information but no real details of anything, especially on how the murders actually occur. That is, until the end of the book the readers get every detail on the executions. Why would he save all of this for the end? Part of the reason why there is so much opinion, details, and sarcasm in this part of the book is that the author is ultimately negative towards the decisions that were made by the court. On page 337, when we hear about the day of the execution, “The hangman, an anonymous, leathery gentleman who had been imported from Missouri for the event...” Capote uses words such as “imported” and “event”. The words give the sense of sarcasm. The execution is far from an event but he is really talking about the people that are there. They are not affected by the death of these men. One of the other men called it, “festivities”. Capote obviously does not appreciate that they call it festivities. He makes sure that the readers know he is not happy with the decision of death. Andy is the first man to get hanged. The readers are able to experience the full account in depth. From the time he is hung to how long it took for his heart to stop beating. Here, you can tell that the author is entirely against how inhumane the hanging of a man is. At the very last pages of the novel Dewey seems like he hasn’t received the closure that he expected when the last man, Perry is hung. This recollection of the hanging is extremely visual. “Dewey now opened his eyes, and that is what he saw: the same childish feet, dangling.” All through out the book Capote was able to leave out his opinion and view but when it came to the end he made it obvious that the death penalty is an issue that he needed to include his own thoughts on.
Capote makes this novel a true account of the murders but, the main point is to tell us how things happen and occur throughout his storytelling. He tries his best throughout the novel to show us that the killers were not mentally stable. This seems to be the reason why he focuses on Perry Smith as much as he did. He shows much more compassion for Perry when he makes it his duty to allows the readers to know that Perry was abused and mistreated as a child. Due to this mistreatment he is scarred; this could be the reason why he was pushed into the violent murders. He is also upset that during the trial such information is not mentioned. The decision to have disturbed individuals on death row is controversial. These individuals should be able to depend on doctors to be the judge on whether or not they are sick enough to be helped. The men are not able to win over the court and they are sent to death row.
The novel is full of information but no real details of anything, especially on how the murders actually occur. That is, until the end of the book the readers get every detail on the executions. Why would he save all of this for the end? Part of the reason why there is so much opinion, details, and sarcasm in this part of the book is that the author is ultimately negative towards the decisions that were made by the court. On page 337, when we hear about the day of the execution, “The hangman, an anonymous, leathery gentleman who had been imported from Missouri for the event...” Capote uses words such as “imported” and “event”. The words give the sense of sarcasm. The execution is far from an event but he is really talking about the people that are there. They are not affected by the death of these men. One of the other men called it, “festivities”. Capote obviously does not appreciate that they call it festivities. He makes sure that the readers know he is not happy with the decision of death. Andy is the first man to get hanged. The readers are able to experience the full account in depth. From the time he is hung to how long it took for his heart to stop beating. Here, you can tell that the author is entirely against how inhumane the hanging of a man is. At the very last pages of the novel Dewey seems like he hasn’t received the closure that he expected when the last man, Perry is hung. This recollection of the hanging is extremely visual. “Dewey now opened his eyes, and that is what he saw: the same childish feet, dangling.” All through out the book Capote was able to leave out his opinion and view but when it came to the end he made it obvious that the death penalty is an issue that he needed to include his own thoughts on.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Hi, I'm Devi
So this is the first time I am blogging. I know some of you are probably experts at this. I couldn't even figure out how to set it up at first. I am not facing any problems with the blogging.
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