Jamie's Blog

Poem Readings: Day 1

jrm033 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:43:03 +0000

I liked the Naming it poem the most. I dont know exactly why especially when I did not completely understand it. I think it was the fact that to me this is a very relateable poem. The woman that he keeps talking can not be directly identified or described. He does not understand her and almost everything he says contradicts his before statement or adds to the confusion of her. Women are extremely confusing people especially when they want to be. The different comparisons are cool too. The Judas girl, Eve girl, and the descriptions like the black veil make her out to be a very shady and untrustable woman.

My discussion question is: Who is the narrator?

I think it seems to be someone on the outside looking in. I think it could be a sort of God figure who is naming things and sees the good and the bad and cannot make up his mind about what to think about her. My other idea is that it is Adam. He is viewing a woman for the first time and does not see himself as the same as her and decides she is human. It does not make sense to me though about how he/she is naming it human for the first time but knows about Judas and Eve. The question may never be answered.

Sperm and the Egg

jrm033 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:46:18 +0000

I dont think this is an extremely biased reading in my opinion and I think even for a woman’s point of view this is still very biased. As a male I have never had derogatory thoughts or stereotypes about the egg at all. If anything I think the fact that males make almost uncountable amounts of sperm makes males the inferior reproducers. The egg does all the work and is the one that has the limited amount. Throughout history and today, the things that are rare are more expensive or valuable. This means that because women run out of eggs around the age of 40 that the eggs are in the more rare or scarce category and therefore are more valuable. I think the argument was based on a few comments of a few people who too were a little too blinded by bias.

Discussion Question

What would drive her to write something so biased like this?

There are several possibilities for the author’s seemingly biased article. Either this is truly her point of view and she has been taught from a young age that women are inferior and that stands true for the reproductive process and objects too. She could have read a couple articles of a few people who either did faulty research or are just as biased as she is. She also could be trying to show the other side of an arguement that no one really points out. Not that I took an official poll or anything but I talked to a couple people in the dorm about this subject and they agreed with me about how the egg would seemingly be the superior object of the two.

Fires in the Mirror: Part 1

jrm033 — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:24:24 +0000

The intro to this was extremely confusing and I still dont really understand after reading exactly what was happening. I reread it too and I still am confuseed. There was a part though continued in the reading about identity and dalmations and how the black sticks out significantly afainst the white of the restof the dog. The next section Mirrors and talks about distortion and how mirrors make you believe things that might not necessarily be true. The next is called Hair. Al Sharpton is mentioned in this one and is talks about how hair reflects race and how hair has to do with the race that the characters talk about in the Crown Heights high school. The next is called Race and it talks about the contribution of women and blacks in the US. The final section, Rythym, talks about rap music and todays society. The main subject is about women.

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof: Part 1

jrm033 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:56:35 +0000

Reading Notes

The beginning of the play was a little slow but once the story progresses it was easier to read and follow. At the beginning there is a lot of arguing between Brick and Maggie about their relationship and pretty much how Maggie is in love with Brick and never coudl dream of loving someone else while Brick really doesn’t care at all. Brick drinks alot. Mae and Gooper are married. Pretty much everyone is being very greedy and self centered because Big Daddy is about to die and they all want his fortune. Then in Act II it is Big Daddy’s birthday and instead of being happy that he is alive and probably not going to die of cancer soon he is angry and just wants to talk to Brick. He keeps asking Brick why he is drinking and brings up Skipper. Brick keeps trying to get up to go get more to drink and Big Daddy keeps getting angry and telling him to sit down. They have talks because Big Daddy feels like he is behind on father son chats. They awkwardly talk and several people come in and Big Daddy sends them all away.

Cloud 9: Part 3

jrm033 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:41:10 +0000

In this section I dont know what to think about Edward. He is dating a guy named Gerry. Edward says he likes the femenine role and tells Victoria he wishes he were a girl. And then that he is a lesbian. Betty gets a divorce from Clive. She talks alot about trying to get a house with Victoria, Cathy, Edward, and Lin. Victoria, Edward, and Lin are drunk and go to the park once. Martin finds them. Edward and Gerry break up but kind of get back together at the end. Betty tries to pick up Gerry but he tells Betty that he and Edward are gay. She doesnt act shocked. Then Clive comes and talks about Africa being communist and leaves. Then the Betty from Act 1 and Act 2 hug.

Discussion Question

Why do the Betty’s hug?

I think it has something to do with the Betty in the first Act combining with or acknowledging the Betty from the second Act. What the two differences are I dont know. I can say that she was much more independent and self-reliant in the second act but other than that I dont really know that answer to this.

Cloud 9: Part 2

jrm033 — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:49:58 +0000

After reading this section I learned a lot more about the characters and there was more action in this section of reading. Edward is a very stubborn character who likes Harry alot and professes this love, but Harry does not respond much to this. Edward is scared of his father and his image as his father sees him. Ellen is still in love with Betty. Clive talks to Harry about his affair with Betty but he talks about how that cannot ruin their friendship. Women are of the weaker sex. Harry makes a move on Clive and Clive pulls away. Clive makes Harry propose to Mrs. Saunders and Ellen. Mrs. Saunders says no, and Ellen never really says yes but they are going to. Clive kisses Mrs. Saunders when she says she is leaving and then she and Betty get in a fight and Harry is flattered. Lin invites Victoria to a movie. Lin is a lesbian and Victoria is in a bad marriage. Lin later confronts Edward about if he is gay and he gets mad. He said someone might have heard. Lin asks Victoria to have sex with her and they dont.

Discussion Question

Why is Cathy played by a man?

I really dont know the answer to this. It just doesnt make sense to me.

Cloud 9: Part 1

jrm033 — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:01:01 +0000

This play is confusing and really weird so far. Im not really sure what to think about a lot of it and there are several parts that I am not sure if I am reading correctly but apparently I am because they keep happening. Harry seems to just be out to do whatever with anyone of any sex. He just seems like a overly sexual person. There is also a part where Betty and Ellen kiss but one of them likes it and the other one is thinking about Harry. Clive is also very sexual and his encounter with Mrs. Saunders was a little odd. Overall I understand this to be about all of these people and a sort of war or fighting is occuring between tribes of natives. But Clive was making sure that they were being punished appropriately so Im not sure exaclty what is happening about that.

Discussion Question

Are the bisexual or homosexual decisions of the characters suppossed to be telling us something right now or are they just happenings that might make sense later?

Right now Im not sure what to think or how to take it. Harry has proven to do anything with anyone. Clive is cheating on his wife and she is cheating on him. Ellen and Betty have kissed but Ellen has kissed Harry before too and liked it. Edward is having early signs of liking dolls and Clive is scared when he throws a ball badly. I am either not understanding a theme or we have not learned enough yet to know why all of this is happening.

The Matrix Philosophies, Alice and Wonderland, and The Matrix Comparison

jrm033 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:15:54 +0000

After reading the Matrix philosophies and rethinking about the different symbols and happenings in the movie; explains a lot of what was confusing. The comparisons and use of Socrates’ and Plato’s works are much more evident now. The Alegory of the Cave and how the mind believes certain things it is trained to believe. This is the same as the explanation for the Matrix. It said in the reading that the worst way to have it would be to have your mind trapped and not know it is trapped, so that you have no urge to be free. This is exactly what all the people in the Matrix are experiencing because they have no idea what is going on outside or even that there is an outside.

The only similarities I can see between all of the texts we have read in Sequence II is that the characters have identity struggles. It said in the philosophy reading that not knowing yourself was a theme and how Neo learns more about himself as he talks to the Oracle and finds out his powers. As I Lay Dying is a book full of identity problems and almost every character has to find out who they are as the move through the story.

Alice and Wonderland / Matrix Comparison

jrm033 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:33:20 +0000

There were many similarities between the Matrix and the chapter out of Alice and Wonderland. The most obvious would have to be the decision to eat the liquid or not to and to take the blue or red pills. The future for both instances are unknown and the characters make decisions based upon what they believe and/or want to happen. Neo wants to know what the matrix is and Alice just wants to go run around in the flowers. Also the constant falling for Alice could be compared to Neo’s reborn adventure where he comes out with the correct hardware to access the real world. Both of them do not know what is going on, do not know the future, and are not sure what to expect when they get to the end.

A closer look into the movie the Matrix shows a religious correlation. Some of the characters could be compared to well known religious figures such as:

Neo- Jesus, the savior, or “the chosen one”
Trinity- first off her name is religious, and she is a sort of John the Baptist who converts Jesus and helps him to believe fully and better
Morpheus- i think he portrays a god-like figure because he is the ultimate leader, the decision maker, and the one who they all look to for answers

More possible religious references are the goo that Neo wakes up in to be a sort of Baptism or cleansing so he is ready for the new world. Also the jumping over the building can be compared to a “leap of faith” where he has to believe or he will not be saved.

As I Lay Dying: Part 6

jrm033 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:08:38 +0000

Reading Notes

This is the last part of the book to read
Darl has been deemed mentally incapacitated and is sent to a mental ward
The people who own the barn were going to sue them in a way
The make it to Jefferson
Cash wont go see the doctor until after Addie is buried
Anse goes and takes a long time to borrow a shovel
He takes Dewey Dell’s 10 dollars she was going to use to get an abortion
She gets tricked by a teenager into taking two different probably wrong medicines and was gone for a while in a room with him which makes me think they had sex
Cash finally gets taken care of and the doctor reprimands Anse for his lack of care for his relatives
Cash might never walk again but best case scenario is walking with a limp
Anse takes the shovel back and comes back with a new pair of teeth and a wife

Discussion Question

What does the wife have to do with anything?

Did Anse know her before and was just waiting for Addie to die? Was taking her part of the bargain for getting the new teeth? Did Anse really ever care about Addie that much? Does he not care about what his kids think at all?