I love you Jennnnnaaaayy.

So, how many of you guys can relate to the way that Dave felt in this story. I know I can, I always felt I was more mature than I really was. Though I never killed my employers mule, I know I did some dumb stuff back in the day. Dave felt that he was ready to become a man, and hold some power that a man would hold. Like any BOY would do, he misjudged what he could handle. Then he decides to run away, which, will never lead him anywhere different than where he is at currently. Not acknowledgeding that he was still a boy will lead to him never actually maturing. Its like the old saying, we learn from our mistakes, its what makes us better, what helps us grow into more mature individuals. But I would have to say, in many ways many of us can relate to this story, maybe not the settings, but the main plot behind it all seems to be universal.

Lastly, I would like to say that I really enjoyed listening to the poetry from Maya Angelou, the way she presented it was different than anyway I had ever recieved poetry. The words that were once confusing made complete sense, and I feel that this will help me when reading more poetry. Have a good week everyone, theres only a few left!

Passing on with life?

Alright, I haven't blogged in awhile. The midterm was a doozie of writing, and I forgot to tack on some blogs while I was working out hand cramps. But never the less, here we are, its currently spring break. Its snowing outside, which I  do not appreciate because its about to be April. Anyways, lets talk about some literature. The Passing, I really actually enjoyed this story, I really never have taken the time to look at how people act and see underlying things that they are hiding to be seen by society the way they are. But actually, we all do, even though we don't notice it. In our relationships with people, we talk of someone being fake, which in fact is passing. Which is quite interesting, we all know who we really are on the inside, yet sometimes when we go to say something we may stop ourselves because we feel that others may not see it as fitting or socially acceptable. I know I've caught myself doing this before, and I'm sure many of you have. Why do we do this, why do we all pass as something we are not? Why can't we just be satified with who we are, and how we act? In The Passing it is obvious that people pass because of the race barrier, but is this the only guideline for someone to be passing? I think not my friends. Race itself is a losely defined term, in which its literal definition does not incase what we as society use it as today. More and more these days we say that we are more excepting of others, and in some ways we are. But like I said earlier, we all call out to our friends when someone is being fake, even though we are also fake as well. So are we all insiders in a society which shuns the other? Or are we all outsiders in some fashion, because we really know who we are, and still mask the fact that we are different. Be yourself:

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." 

Theodore Rosevelt 1910

Love that quote!

Against the Grain

After our last story I have realized that many of our readings deal with people that, "Go against the grain." Or at least it is dealing with something about two different ends of a spectrum or society. In this story we see the aspects of tradition and religon come into play with the small South African villages that are portrayed in this story. The people are fighting colonization, fighting to keep their culture and religon, yet they seem to fight a loosing battle.  When I was reading this story I kept putting myself in a similar setting. I feel that if I was O-Dawg, I would be acting the same exact way. Just to use it as an example, if the US was taken over by a country in Europe or Asia and I was surrounded by people with more physical power over me, and watching my friends and family be made to conform to their ways and beliefs, I would not know how to deal with it or what I would do with myself. Would I be driven to take my own life because I could not bear to live out my life in a way that was not mine? Could any of you be able to just conform to something that was not yourself? I feel that I would find each day to be very unbearable. I would get up knowing that I would be doing things that I do not believe in and saying things I don't mean... ect. ect. I would also watch my friends and family doing the same thing, and I would feel that they were in the same pain I am in. This story really made me ponder on the past and what some people have done to other people, it really opened up a different view point for me.

Look sexy, smile with your eyes.

Mixed Readings

Well... I enjoyed both sets of readings. Particurally the Butler readings, they got pretty twisted, and it was fun to see the meaning behind it all at the end. Yet I realize why the Butler readings would have been grouped with Diaries of a Madman. Not just because they are from Asia, but more because of the fact that there is a well defined point to the twisted aspect of the story.

Sorry this is late... I was eating human liver

First, my appologies for this one being a bit late. Second, awesome story this week. I think that it really shows the beauty of the human mind. At my job I deal with people that have mental orders such as delusions, and paranoia. So I have seen a person like this first hand. Our minds are a vast connection of neurons, millions and millions of tiny electrical connections that piece together the understanding we have of our world today. Not every person is connected the same. To this man the thought that people were eating other people and even he had done so, could be totaly logical to him. Basically to sum things up, while we may understand parts of people, our own minds are the only true thing that we can not conquer.

Iago... Cage Fight

Well... Thats it for Shakespear's Othello. And I was skimming my latest posts thing and I saw someone comparing it to a soap. You are on the money. No joke, like only in this story or a soap, would someone get away with all this like Iago did. I mean, granted some characters pull out a butter knife and cut another character... but really, I've seen kindergartners get more intense. Well, maybe not, but just trying to have some fun. But on to the point of my title... If someone rewrote Shakespear in today-speak, it would be so much cooler. Like Othello at the end could've just simply challenged Iago to a cage fight to the death... Thats intense. Or Cassio, Othello, Iago, and Rodergio could all cage fight just for fun. Last person standing gets to drink with the clown and the minstrels from the second part of Othello we read. Watch it, the clown gets saucy. 

Shakespear- Understanding

Lateley we have been reading about people turning on one another. Actually that seems to be the theme of what we have been reading lately. This later part of the week we have been reading about a respectable fair General that has been outcast by some of his close friends. While he is in love with a senators daughter,  others are stabbing him in the back. Really when you look at this story, we've all seen it. It happens all the time within groups of friends, one friend has something against another and proceeds to ruining what makes the other friend happy. Along the way he picks up some followers by igniting some of the smallest dislikes others have for the friend. And I sat there asking myself, Will we ever grow up? I came to the conclusion that we won't. We've been at these petty games for over 400 years. So screw it, go stab your friends in the back! Jump on the bandwagon, everyone does it.