erikmichon-blog

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reading the work 2 michon

I am beginning to see reoccurring themes and motifs now that I'm further into the book. One theme is a clear distinction between darkness and light, while at the same time mcCarthy maintains a foggy line dividing good from evil. I guess that is because light and darkness are neither good nor evil themselves but rather more "setting-like" or suggestive. I don't quite know how to describe it but darkness and light are clear repeated themes. Men, the desert, their leader, the steer carcass, and just about everything on the journey is either dark or light. In addition it is evident McCarthy uses a very vivid description rather than a narration like in The Road. A narration makes the story seem just that: a story. A description makes the book all the more realistic (and it is historical fiction) while at the same time making the literature seem allegorical. An allegory of what I've yet to find out.

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reading the work

The more I read, the more I realize how similar Blood Meridian is to The Road. Now the road is a recent novel - less than a decade old - and it was clearly influenced by Blood Meridian. They also share many similar themes such as the significance of names, a foggy separation between good and bad, and an overall feeling that fate is constantly at the heels of the travelers.

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Picking the Work 3

After a surprisingly short amount of digging I found the perfect book for this research project. The human capacity for violence has always been an interesting subject for me. It was the subject of my research essay in AP Lang last year and was the essay I submitted with my Honors College application to Grand Valley. That is the first reason why Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy is the perfect book for me. In addition, Cormac McCarthy is the author of The Road, a short book our class read over the summer which means I will be familiar with McCarthy’s literary techniques and style. Now my only concerns were how popular (and thus if criticisms were readily available) the book was and how I would be able to obtain it and start reading it over break. The first was easily answered. Blood Meridian appears to be one of McCarthy’s most popular books and I found two pieces of criticism online within five minutes (one by Harold Bloom who is apparently “ one of the most towering figures in American literary theory and criticism”). The second was the deal sealer for me. Albeit illegal, I torrented a full .PDF version of Blood Meridian and printed out the first fifty pages to get me started while the book shipped to me from Amazon. I just finished the first ten pages before typing this and I am already very pleased with my choice.

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Picking the Work 2

For a while I thought I was in luck. I found a book at home titled tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. The book got incredible reviews and I even found a critic who raved about how insightful the book was. Just to be sure I checked with my sister since she had already read it. While she said it was a terrific book that I should read, she emphasized that it probably would not have enough content for the project. Thus the search continues...

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Picking the Work 1

I originally planned on doing Laughter in the Dark by Valdimir Nobakov simply because it met the requirements and was on the shelf at home. It turns out, however, that that’s the very book she did her research paper on two years ago. She said it was fine but told me to look for something else. From what it sounded like, finding criticisms seems to be one of the most difficult parts of this project. She recommended many of the popular books that others are already doing so I knew I was on my own for finding another book. I know there’s a book out there that will be the perfect choice, it’s just a matter of finding it. I was really hoping I could do a book I already have at home but that does not look like a possibility any more.

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The Things I Carry

  Memories - The weight of my memories sometimes lifts me up and at other times brings me down. Remembrance of past times is a bittersweet relationship: bad memories we want to forget but cannot and memories of great times we want to cling to.

Shooting - My hobbies sadly are a burden I've carried all my life because not everyone understands it or society regards it as dangerous, irresponsible or distasteful. This not only weighs me down but is also painful. Everyone enjoys talking about their passions, yet that is one luxury I cannot express. It has changed me to keep to myself more in a feeble attempt to go with the crowd, which is an expectation of high school students: uniformity and equality. 

Family - I regard family as a welcomed burden: it is not an easy thing to carry yet I could not imagine a life without it. With a family comes so much stress and expectations but at the same time it comes with love which lightens the load.

College - Most high school seniors today carry the weight of college which is hundreds of pounds. The transition from living with parents, free food, free schooling, and a very structured lifestyle to college is a drastic change that happens so quickly. While it may not worry some, it certainly worries me. The choices I make this year will directly impact, if not control, the rest of my life until retirement. 

Expectations - My expectations are probably my heaviest burden I carry, as it is for many high school students who just want to fit in and  My parents expect me to get certain grades. Colleges expect to see  a well-rounded individual. Peers expect to see certain behaviors. 

Responsibility - Something we all carry heavily, some more than others. Responsibility is one of those weights that cannot be set down or readjusted. It must be carried and dealt with because responsibility is my duty to myself and others around me. 

iPod - While it only weighs a few ounces, my ipod is a heavy weight on how I spent my time. It’s symbolic of a human characteristic we all share: the need to feel connected. 

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Anti War Media

While Saving Private Ryan seems to glorify war and show how much honor can be obtained in it, there are anti-war undertones throughout the film. For example, the life of the the captain (Tom Hanks) shows how pointless war is. The captain says he will do anything that gets him out of the war and back home quickest. That happens to be letting a German prisoner run away with his life and searching for Private Ryan. Ironically, he dies, putting him farther from home than anything else. In addition, the entire movie is based on a primary objective to save one man which ends up costing the lives of many other men. This shows how enlisted men carry the burden of war while the high ranking officers can sit back and throw orders about as if no one's lives are attached. The ending of the film wraps up the pointlessness of war by showing how there are no true winners, that even the "victors" have still lost in so many ways

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r8zgU7wE8w&feature=related

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Favorite Poem

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by,

  And that has made all the difference. 

I love how this poem describes the dilemmas life has in such a simple metaphor. 

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Sullivan - Personal Growth Experience

Until my trip to Puerto Rico, I believed myself to not fit the “American stereotype”.  This is a personal growth story, but one that was not enjoyable. I lived a life of modesty – or so I thought. My clothing always has been modest, my belongings are not fancy, I saved the little money I earned, my parents worked modest jobs and we all live below our means. There was no way I could be categorized as a rich, lazy, spoiled American teenager.  

                This epiphany happened on the first day we arrived and progressed as our time there progressed. The scariest part was that Puerto Rico is considered a part of the United States; however, it felt like I had just gone to a different country thousands of miles away. The cars. That was the first thing I realized. Almost all of them seemed to be held together by duct tape and made from wood. And the driving was horrible! The side mirrors on most cars were missing because they were ripped off by on-coming traffic since the roads were only 6 feet wide. I realized that anywhere we traveled we were in danger:  to church, to the grocery store, to the market. Moreover, I realized how lucky I am that I don’t even consider these things each day I wake up. But for Puerto Ricans it is.

                The poverty level was also shocking. We learned in World History class that in less-developed nations there exists a larger gap between the rich and the poor. This was very prevalent in Puerto Rico with beggars next to five star hotels, which are next to cruise ships, which are next to wooden fishing trowels. Literally a stone’s throw away from where we stayed was a section of San Juan known as La Perla, or the slums. Police refuse to patrol that area because it is so dangerous. We stayed clear of that area and we were fine but this just goes to show the irony of how such a touristy city in an American territory can resemble what Americans would regard as disgusting, dangerous and underdeveloped.

These were all passive experiences though.  One night, at about eleven o’clock, when just my sister and I were walking back to our home we were approached by a man with a bottle in his hand who was clearly drunk. He asked us what time it was. As I tried to remember how to respond in Spanish he began to curse and swear. With our home 100 yards away I told the man I don’t want any trouble and we passed him on the opposite side of the street. We hustled back to our apartment and lucky he didn’t follow.

Until my trip to Puerto Rico I considered myself an average person. Now I see that I am one of the most privileged people on the planet. 

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My Inner Voice

The voice inside my head tells me who I am by becoming an intangible being thy controls my physical being. The voice inside my head is a collage of past events, mistakes, teachings, and memories that come together to guide what I will do in the future. Experience is the greatest teacher of all and it is these experiences and the direction our inner voice takes us which defines who we are.

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Tannen2 Assertion

I agree with Tannen's assertion in the final paragraphs of No Unmarked Woman. I believe that the markings society puts upon women does indeed make women less free than men. I believe women are marked to more of a degree than men, thus women are still less free than men. However, I feel the need to show that men are marked by their appearance. An obvious example is Staples' essay. 

As a side note, "No Unmarked Woman" was originally titled "Marked Women, Unmarked Men". I am glad Tannen changed the title. Otherwise the piece would sound more like complaining or a rant rather than a legitimate series of observations. Furthermore, I believe the original title ironically marks Tannen as a feminist because she is comparing men to women in favor of women. 

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Fashion

Fashion creates roles by giving people a way to be judged that is easily identifiable and visual. Skin color and gender are two realms in which judgments are made almost immediately. Fashion is yet another. Fashion in itself is its own form of nonverbal communication. Women showing their belly buttons in public "says" a message just as Staples' actions "said" a message to the woman in front of him, even though these messages (because they are nonverbal) are sometimes mistaken for others or incorrect. Although it is not a regular occurrence, I have felt confined by the dictates of fashion. Just yesterday I attended my cousin's confirmation. Of course it would be considered inappropriate if I showed up in a T-shirt, tennis shoes and jeans. However, society dictates that I should wear something nice to show my appreciation for the event I am attending. Other than formalities such as this, I generally do not feel confined by the dictates of fashion. Jeans, a clean shirt and combed hair make for an outfit that is within the confines of fashion and I have no desire to stray from those confines. 

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Altering Public Space

Race, culture and gender all have roles that society created and then enforces. One way they are forced is by the alteration of public space as a result of the prejudices of race, culture or gender. However, I believe this is a much more case-by-case ordeal and not always the same. For example, Staples would probably have less opportunity to alter public space if he lived in Detroit with a 80% African American population. While being a young, built African American has its prejudices, they are less likely to alter space if one is surrounded by that race, culture or gender. Also, we discussed in class that another way in which those prejudices are defeated is done through getting to know the person who is being stereotyped. Race culture as gender are not the only aspects that can alter public space. I remember my third grade teacher telling me a story how she met a Detroit red wings player at a grocery store, politely said hi, and then went on with her shopping as the poor fellow was swarmed by a mob of people wanting to talk with him. Thus, fame, or character as Joe pointed out, is another aspect of stereotyping. The one difference that sets this apart from race, culture or gender is that an individual has control over his/her character or fame much more that his/her culture, race or gender.

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Best Idea

The best idea of the millennium is this modern era of mass communication. That's exactly what drives the human race forward. Sure there were systems of writing in 1000 A.D., but nothing that can compare to this modern era. The mass communication of cultures and ideas leads to new technological advancements around every corner. Society is constantly improving because there is a constant flow of ideas. It is similar to the Facebook example Mr. Kreinbring used in class to explain the liberalism of knowledge: anyone with an idea has a medium in which he or she can express it to the world. A millennium ago, it would take days to deliver a message to a neighboring city. Now it takes seconds to deliver a message to the other side of the world. This ease of access and speed make modern mass communication so incredibly revolutionary. Without mass communication, civilizations would remain isolated and would lack so many innovations that make our world what is it today. 

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High Art

Illusionism is an undisputable example of high art because it requires incredible skill and flawless execution. To begin, this argument relies heavily on the definition of high art. That definition is: high art is any artistic form highly regarded by a culture with respect and admiration. I firmly believe this definition addresses the criteria necessary to establish Illusionism as a high art. This respect and admiration comes from the value people place on the incredible skill and flawless execution of the art. For example, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling clearly demonstrates the resulting beauty from flawless execution of an incredible skill into an artistic form. On the other hand, low art is art not highly esteemed by society because it lacks these qualities of skill and flawless execution. For those who are the more visual type, here's a video for you. Just take a look at this clip and how it displays an incredible art form that amazes everyone.

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Why We Fight

In Why We Fight the central question remains true during the entire documentary; however, the answer is dynamic and constantly changes. In the beginning the reason we fight is for peace - or at least that's what the american public believes. As the movie progresses so does the answer. Next, it is stated that we fight to maintain a one-superpower world. Even further the movie describes how we fight for money and oil. The movie appears to reveal the reason why the fight, only to replace that reason with another, getting layer by layer deeper into the roots of why we actually fight. 

I'm picturing this as a pyramid with the Peace/Freedom reason at the top and the smallest section. That smallest section is the surface that the general public sees. It is also the smallest because it has the least amount of truth behind it. As you move down the pyramid the amount of truth behind each reason increases. At the bottom of the pyramid is that ultimate reason for why we fight. I believe the ultimate reason for why we fight has not been revealed yet. If I had to take a guess I would say something about fighting being at the very heart of human nature. 

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Lesson Learned in Elementary School

It was in art class at Woodland Elementary when I learned that ignorance is an essential part of life. I was a big, all-grown-up fourth grader and we were making paper mache sculptures. The paper mache material our teacher gave us was strips of newspapers. I don't remember what I made - I only remember showing my final project to my teacher. On the front of my sculpture there was an obscene (though I didn't know it at the time) advertisement for a Gentleman's Club. My teacher told me to cover my sculpture with another layer of paper mache. I became frustrated because I already did three layers and did not understand why I had to do more than everyone else. This experience has parallels to my life today. Although I may think I know what's best for me, sometimes it is the adults in my life who truly know what's best for me.