ups and downs of interpretation

Hello all,

I know this boy and he loves rollercoaster’s, and I mean LOVE. Today when we were talking about interpretation this is who I thought of. He has such a love for the ride, and the thrill of it, he will literally go on the ride over and over and over again. However, if he were to interpret the rollercoaster and the ride I think his experience would be lessened. Therefore, some things are just not meant to be interpreted. (I know we interpret living things, but just go with me here). When you are on a rollercoaster you are enjoying the ride; the speed, the thrill, the ups and downs. It’s pure enjoyment or pure terror for some. Now, if you started to interpret the coaster; things like why it made you feel like it did, how it works, what does the ride mean to you, the pure thrill/joy is lost. This drastically changes your rollercoaster experience and it would cause the boy I’m thinking of to go on another ride.

I’m not against interpretation; I think that for some things it creates more enjoyment. That it gives you more than you would have gotten at face value. However, I think some things in life are like rollercoaster’s and the interpretation would just be a kill-joy.

I could be off my rocker here, but it was just a thought I had to get out.

just another thought...

The young housewife (William Carlos Williams)

To go along with the stealth idea that was being batted around class, I couldn’t help but think that another representation of this poem could be that she was a prostitute and this was her client or a passerby. In the second verse it is stated she is “standing on a corner”, which normally has the implication that the woman in question is a prostitute. Also the house wife, being in her “negligee”, supports the idea of a sexual encounter. Then there is her calling out to other men, the ice-man, fish-man etc. Could that be her calling out to other prospects?

Subsequently, there is the comparison of her to a leaf and then the car crushes the leaves. This comparison followed by a violent action could be viewed as, Dr. Pound suggested, as the killing of her, or it could be viewed as male domination over her and the crushing of her spirit (which I guess is kind of the same thing). Also, she was not only compared to a leaf, but to a “fallen leaf”, which could be exchanged for a fallen woman. As for the car, it got away noiselessly which goes hand-in-hand with the idea of soliciting being a taboo subject. Finally, in regards to the husband, it never states he’s home, and if he wasn’t he would not be in the way of her prostitution.

Just another thought:)

what's next?

hello all!

During or discussion in class on Thursday there was one point that really stood out for me. Religion was what held society together. It kept the lower and middle classes in line, provided a moral code, and created a sense of nationality. However, with the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution the focus became on more secular things. Religion was once the glue that held a nation together and it was drying up. Then came literature, it also kept the bourgeoisies and proletariat in line, provided a moral code and a sense of nationalism. There was one thing Literature had that Religion didn’t and that was a strong tie to the secular world. As we have discussed in class, studying literature became the study of all things human, and humans were very real. But like Religion, Literature soon lost its appeal and we are left with what? This is my question, what, in our time, it the equivalent of this national glue?

It is not that literature and religion are not important in today’s society. There are many communities were they are both very prominent things. However, neither invoke a sense of nationalism, or offer a code that everyone could live by. I feel a little let down knowing there isn’t this grand force that could hold a nation together. But the more I thought about it the more I think I have decided that communication and the mass media is our glue.

The accessibility of email, facebook, texting, phone calls, video calls etc is literally at our fingertips. This ability to connect with anyone is holding friends and families together, which in turn is holding friends and families together, and so on and so forth. In a sense or nation is connected by the connections of individuals. This connection forces everyone to be under a kind of microscope of social expectations and moral standards. As we communicate we are being watched and judged and wondered about by other people and this knowledge that people are thinking about us in this sense forces us to follow a moral code. The mass media also plays a part in providing a moral code. Through the media societal norms are created and broadcasted. This twinning of communication and mass media are keeping society in line.

I may be totally off on the wrong point here, but I think there has to be something holding us together, like religion and literature did. In our modern age I think it is quite possible that glue comes in the form of technology.

getting started

Hello there!!

I don't know about you guys, but I never thought that keeping a blog would be incorporated into my academic studies. Orignally I didn't quite know what to make of it. I think some weeks the writing may come a little slower then others however, I am looking forward to these weekly entries.

I'm sure many of you have read the Chronicles of Narnia or at least seen the movies. I love them! I think it is the idea of a separate world that entertains me so much. When I was little my mom read the series to me, and ever since then the lamppost has become a focal point. It was the lamppost that enabled the four siblings to find this new world and at the same time it brought them back to reality. In a sense it was the key that opened the doorway between two worlds. I hope this course and for me, at least, this blog helps to find that key to the other side of the lamppost, to a broader understanding of theory.

Well I guess that's all for now, good luck to everyone!