It's over, but it ain't the end...

The end is near, and I hate goodbyes...


Looking back over my blog archive, I could definitely see some strong and weak points in my writing.


The Top 3 Strongest Blogs:


1) Chopin's, The Storm - A short blog on some possible themes of Kate Chopin's The Storm. Looking back, I think it was one of my better posts.


2) Booker T. VS. Du Bois   - This post examines the similarities and differences between Booker T. and WEB Du Bois. I think I actually had some good points.


3) "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" - I did the most research on this text and I think it shows in this blog. I was pressed for time on this post, but I had fun with this story.


I guess the obvious reason for selecting these posts is simply, tone. My tone is these three blogs was more open and less critical. I don't necessarily think that they are my best work, but they will do. My best work was done less on writing and more on just thinking. Thinking about poems, or stories, and trying to understand the meaning. In retrospect, I probably could have done better writing.


I was honestly scared to take a literature course because it sounds so official, like you need a degree to get in. But what I found out is that it's really the opposite of that. Literature can be open for interpretation. Literature, can make you a better person. Literature, is people, writing for a cause. Literature can make you laugh, cry, smile, all in the same story. This is nothing to fear. My ideas about Literature have changed. I'm really happy that I decided to take this class, it was a challenge.


What Have I learned?


I like reading Walt Whitman.
Just because Alanis Morissette says it is, doesn't mean it is Ironic (even if I am a die hard fan).
Losing some things, will not cause disaster (no matter how much I think it will!) 


Also, I am smart enough to read and interpret literature.  Not everything has one singular meaning. There are multitudes and contradictions and trickster figures, all over the place. It's best to read, re-read, and then maybe read it again, before making a solid analysis. And if I have done all I possibly can and I fail, it can be done gracefully. 


Strengths and Weaknesses


Well, to re-iterate, I was scared to take this class because I thought it would be really analytical, but I ended up loving it. I think my weakness is something that holds me back in most areas of life, and that is just being afraid to fail. I feel like I could have contributed so much more, but held back in fear. I realize this is supposed to be a simple question, but I don't think I can give a simple answer. All I know, is that I interpret in my head; I say things that I wish I could say out loud. My strengths, I believe, are just having the tenacity to keep reading, or keep questioning, after I wanted to give up. Like with our mid-term essay, I lost sleep seriously trying to push myself to find the puzzle pieces to make it work. I feel like being overly passionate is a curse, but maybe it's the only thing keeping me going. I think without weaknesses, we would all be perfect, and no one will ever be that. I challenge myself to learn from this and hopefully find a way to speak my mind. 


In conclusion...


I never really check my grades throughout the semester. I just work my hardest and hope for the best. Judging by how tired I am and mentally exhausted, I think I earned an A. If it weren't for a flat tire, I would of had perfect attendance, I tried to put thought into my blogs, and I did the best I could, with the given circumstances. I think it's about what you learn, and I have learned so much from this class and previous classes, and I really hate to go, but I think I have exhausted my resources at CWI, so to speak. So 'goodnight and goodluck,' but never goodbye.


~Witney Ryan

So maybe I was too hard in my last post on The Crying of Lot 49, and maybe I do like it more than I think I do. As we were discussing it in class, I kept on thinking about how much I did understand what was going on, well, except for Trystero, which I still don't have a clue.


 This book reminds me of a cool dream, one that you want so badly to remember in the morning, but can't. Then like a week later, out of no where, you remember the dream, and you're like Totally! Yeah, that's this book in a nutshell. 


So I might not understand what exactly I'm reading at the time, but something will click later. And that's the thing with Pynchon I think, you're not supposed to know the whole story. It goes back to the decode VS. detangle example - and I think with Pynchon, it's more about detangling the clues. 


I found that I do have more in common with Oedipa than I thought. Well except for the young republican thing, but I'm all over the tupperware party! I see her character differently when you take in to context that  this was written in the 60's. Oedipa suddenly becomes a bold woman, who doesn't let anything stand in her way. 


I'm curious why Pynchon decided to call her Oedipa, and is she going to kill her father and sleep with her mother? Is Pierce her father??? Ok, that's going a little too far, but there has to be something about a name like that.
I hope it reveals itself in the next two chapters, which I can't wait to read!

The Crying Of Lot 49???

So I made it through the first 79 pages and that is an understatement. I believe I only comprehended 30-38 pages give or take a few. I feel like I have a love/hate relationship with this book and I also believe that Thomas Pynchon may be completely out of his mind. 

I like to give books a fair read before I decide if I like them or not, and I'm definitely keeping my mind open to this book, I think my main problem with it so far is all of the obscure references. huh? 


I guess my big question is just why is this book important? 


It must serve some purpose or be the answer to some quest for the Holy Grail? Maybe? 
I suppose it's important to always read new things and keep your mind sharp...oh that's totally it! I think the purpose of The Crying Of Lot 49, is to make the reader think! 








This is not some calm, smooth, uneventful story we're dealing with. You drift off for a second and you miss everything. I found myself enjoying chapter 2 and 3 the most, because I could actually follow what was happening. After I read the first 9 pages, I thought I was a goner! But then I remembered the blog on how to read Pynchon, and I gave it another attempt.


I guess my main question is...What the hell is going on? 


I was fine up until Oedipa and Metzsger left the hotel room with the Paranoids, then I just got completely and utterly lost. I've been keeping my eye out for the references to lots, and wondering what Lot 49 is? 
I think at this point it has something to do with the WASTE symbol, but I could be completely wrong. 


Someone Please Enlighten this girl! (I usually read nothing but non-fiction)

Follow up for "A Good Man"

First of all, I must say that I thought the small group discussions were harder than I imagined. I think mainly because of the formality of it. It didn't feel like a class discussion, it felt more like a competition. That was just my initial reaction and maybe it's just because I get extremely nervous in leader type situations (I'm a failed Leo) but that was hard. The other thing is that I had quite a bit to say and I feel like I didn't say any of it. I think in a group discussion, one should be open to respond when they have something to say, and when someone is keeping track of that, it makes you more aware of what you're saying and all of a sudden, it's like you question when or if you should speak or save it for later. I don't know, maybe thats a good thing?

Anyways, I did prepare differently for this discussion than a normal class discussion and I'm not sure if it helped me? I started by reading the story on Friday and letting it sink in. Then I started doing research for scholarly journals about the story and other interesting articles. I started reading through the sources and tried to see if I could analyze the material. For the most part, the added resources helped me understand the characters in a better way. Then after I went through all the supporting evidence, I re-read the story and looked for specific examples of irony, foreshadow, "The good," and colors. The second time I read it, it seemed less shocking and more of a moral conviction.

My normal preparation for class is usually just reading and thinking about what I read, without any outside analysis. I think that is probably the norm for most people. I found it really helpful to find outside research on this story.

Three things I learned:

1) Having resources is always better than not having resources.
2) The risk of public humiliation is always motivating.
3) No matter how far-fetched it seems, someone will always come up with a conspiracy theory. 


For serious, I thought this was an interesting approach to a group discussion and I felt better prepared to discuss the text than I normally do, however I was really nervous. It did teach me a lesson about preparation though, and I think I need to step up my game on a regular basis.

~Witney Ryan

"A Good Man IS Hard To Find" if you ain't lookin....

WOW! I love this story. Flannery O' Connor really created a masterpiece when she wrote the short story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find." 


There really are many ways to analyze this story and I think it helps if you know a little background in the Catholic religion, as did O'Connor. 


The story gave me the HeeBee GeeBee's for sure! But also, I compared the story to Welty's "A Worn Path," immediately after reading it. The main reasons were that both stories were set in the South and both had a ton of symbols. Another reason was that they both struggled with some form of internal conflict. The Grandmother in Welty's story has to struggle with racism but also her grandsons condition. The Grandmother in O'Connors story struggles with finding grace, although she doesn't know it until it is too late. 


I guess both of these stories are classified as "Southern Gothic," which I would have to agree with. SG is its own sub genre of American Lit. that deals directly with issues of the South. It also uses irony, supernatural events, and unusual events. SG also tends to use racial tension and gun violence. 


One critical analysis I found on EPSCO said that the entire timing of the story added up exactly on a real U.S. map. All of the driving and landmarks were really on the map, except Timothy. When the family stops at the town of Timothy to eat at Red Sammy's, that is the only town that O'Connor made up (unless it is so small it can't be located with a map). Critics say that she chose the name Timothy specifically for the book of Timothy in the New Testament of the Bible. The verses in this book apparently deal with "how to be a good person and Christian", according to the article I read. 


(Source: Bryant, Hallman B. "Reading the map in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find.")


O'Connor uses irony, foreshadow, and biblical references to really underline the idea of the "Good." 

Villanelles make me curse....There really is nothing worse!

Just a fair warning.....

This is bad...bad...poetry.

But for the sake of the blog....here ya go. I might also add that after two hours, and 17 refrains later, I opted for using a Norah Jones lyric as my first refrain. So this poem is inspired by Norah Jones new album, which I highly recommend!

I Gotta Get Ya Out Of My Head

I gotta get ya out of my head-

can't sleep, can't eat

But remember the words you said.

I wasn't mad, I just went to bed

I didn't think it was sweet,

I gotta get ya out of my head.

You didn't read what I read,

practice deceit,

and remember the words you said.

What an awful ground to tread

'pick up the pace feet'

I have to get you out of my head.

I'm sorry if you were misled,

I didn't cheat,

I remembered the words you said.

After all no one's dead,

just hit delete,

So I can get ya out of my head,

and stop remembering the words you said. 

~Witney Ryan

Thursday Again...

I just keep telling myself if I can write this blog, I can have the Dublin Mudslide Ben & Jerry's in the freezer....Come on....


I've been sittin in this chair for hours...and can't come up with a worthy question, although there are many questions in my head.




What do all of these poets have in common?


It seems like they are all writing about life and their surroundings. I'm sure that is a common theme in poetry already, but these four poets, (Roethke, Bishop, Lowell, Brooks) do it in a very natural way. 


Two of my all time favorite Villanelles are by Roethke and Bishop.


~ The Waking by Theodore Roethke and One Art by Elizabeth Bishop ~


In The Waking, Roethke uses a masterful rhetoric to illustrate the tragic and beautiful cycle of life. Or at least that's how I read it. We sleep to wake, and wake to sleep, and it all happens very fast. I love how the words in this poem resonate and flow off each other to the very end.


In One Art, Bishop seems to poke fun at loss, which can be a hard thing to deal with, but it's no "disaster." I like to think of this poem as my mantra, because I struggle with loss on a daily basis (I'm sure we all do), and the more I can learn that it isn't the end of the world, the easier it is to deal with. She too uses rhetoric to make the reader think hard about the meaning. I think the second to last stanza is a good example of that. She doesn't literally lose 2 cities, 2 rivers and a continent, but if she did..it would not be a disaster. 


What is it about the human condition, that compels us to write about pain? 
.........