class evaluation

Which texts had the most relevance to me? The "Maus" series was incredible in the way that it told a horrific story, but was readable because of the carefree illustrations. Everyone knows basic facts about the holocaust, but these two stories, told from the survivor's son, was a different perspective and worth contemplating.
I don't know that I made personal connections with any of the texts. That's not to say that I couldn't appreciate the stories, but most were so dark....
I was probably most impacted by the books on the holocaust. I don't think it's possible to become desensitized to that horror. It was disturbing to realize the evil that we humans are capable of, but rewarding to see, in the face of that horror, what we can overcome.

I am not a fan of graphic novels, but can certainly appreciate the creativity and brilliance of the author/illustrator. My issue with this particular class was that this genre was overused. I would have appreciated a broader range of literature. It was worthwhile to have it introduced, and to learn how to study the visuals as well as the text, but over half of the books we read were graphic novels! Enough already!

I feel the primary way that I grew as a reader and interpreter of literature was learning to close read. This idea was somewhat new to me because I have a habit of reading very fast and "skimming" the text. I actually enjoyed the process of slowing down and discovering the meaning of each individual word. I will use this technique, not only in other classes, but for personal reading as well.

The text that I found to be most challenging personally was "Blankets". I think there was a combination of reasons: I don't enjoy graphic novels, reading about winter in the dark of winter, and especially the way it brought back memories of my own adolescence. Also, having teenagers of my own, It made me want to protect them from certain hurts.
Ironically, the paper that I am most proud of writing centered around this novel. Perhaps because it was a cathartic measure and brought closure to my issues with this book.

Titania and Oberon

Titania and Oberon are a unique pair in the play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream".  They seem to have a love relationship, and yet bicker at the same time.

Titania's language seems dreamy and flowery, some of the most beautiful in the play:

 "Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms.  O, how I love thee!  How I dote on thee!"

Oberon's language, too, seems that of a lovesick boy are times:

"Now my Titania, wake you, my sweet queen."

graphic novel - Romeo and Juliet

I've chosen "No Fear Shakespeare" to explore the Romeo and Juliet story.  Page 43 details the meeting of the two young lovers at a masquerade ball.  The illustrations are black, white and gray and the characters are drawn as homely people, not beautiful as one would envision teens in love.

The focal point on this page is the large drawing of Juliet outside of any panel.  Her face has a sweet expression, and yet the pen and ink illustrations give a rough edge to the drawing.  Romeo is illustrated with a mask, and is made to look more like Pinnochio with his long nose.  The text is completely edited from the original work.

As a whole, I found it to barely resemble Shakespeare.  The illustrations and text did nothing to draw me in or make me want to explore Shakespeare further.  In my opinion, the name of Shakespeare shouldn't even be in on the cover.

"playing" with Shakespeare

I would argue that it is ok to revise and edit traditional works of Shakespeare for the purpose of gaining an understanding, and also for pure entertainment.  Since his work can be difficult to decipher, contemporary versions make it relatable and relevant.  Also, his plays were originally meant to entertain an audience, so if "remakes" of his work do the same, then the spirit of Shakespeare isn't lost.

Contemporary versions of Shakespeare find an audience that the traditional works might not.

Fun Facts

research paper supports

"Through his 'artistic creativity' man appears more than ever 'in the image of God,' and he accomplishes this task above all in shaping the wondrous 'material' of his own humanity and then exercising creative dominion over the universe which surrounds him.  With loving regard, the divine artist passes on to the human artist a spark of his own surpassing wisdom, calling him to share in his creative power"  (John Paul II qtd. in Art, wonder and the Religious Dimension of the Child 1).

I will be using the above quote to give another perspective to Thompson's  perceived lack of support from his church for his artistic endeavors.  I would like to show that, while he certainly encountered people who were obstacles to his creativity, they don't necessarily represent the church, and  certainly not God Himself, the ultimate creator. 

"...religious adolescents report consistently higher numbers of developmental assets associated with increased restraint and decreased risk behavior. Furrow and Wagener join a long list of scholars who have found an association between religious perception and religious participation and reduced engagement in risk behaviors ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to juvenile delinquency." 

I will probably use the above quote when presenting Thompson's experience at church camp when many of his peers were participating in drug use.  Again, certainly adolescents participate in risky behaviors, but statistics show that religious involvement lowers this risk dramatically. 

I think "Blankets" did a great job of showing the negative outcomes of feeling oppressed by religion, but it is certainly not the whole picture.  Thompson may not even be aware of the positive effects his Christianity has had on his life.

"Disengagement does not imply conflict with the family, but a normal process of developmental growth and response to opportunities and "pulls" for adolescent experiences outside the family.  This is an age of testing one's identity  and experimenting with boundaries.  Yet, many young adults have and probably will continue to come back to religion."

I will use parts or all of this quote when addressing the end of Thompson's book, when he reaches young adulthood and decides that he can no longer embrace his parent's religion.  I will present that this "distancing" yourself from your parents is a normal process of growing up.  Also, most people brought up religiously return to some sort of spirituality as adults.

Notes to self:

**Include interesting information from Wiki on the term "coming of age".  (define the age, and the process)

discuss risk factors:  smoking, alcohol use, truancy, sexual activity, depression.

Maus II

In "Maus II", Spiegelman makes it apparent that his father, Vladek, has trouble dealing with even the smallest issues of life.  On page 90, the second panel shows Art and his wife discussing Vladek's survival of the Holocaust:  "It's a miracle he survived.....In some ways he didn't survive."  The author almost questions the purposefulness of living through the Holocaust if your life is hell afterwards.

I find it also interesting that the first panel on page 90 has Lucia saying "I'd rather kill myself than live through all that".  When in fact, Art's mother DID kill herself!  She physically survived the Holocaust, but mentally, died in the concentration camps.  Is the author questioning what it means to "survive"?  

"Maus" article

After viewing the many "Maus" related sites, I was especially moved by one showing a timeline of events in Europe during the 1930's.  Slowly but surely, everything was taken from the Jews.  First, their entertainment, then their education, their ability to create art and music, their housing, their food, and eventually, their lives.  This particular web site was powerful in the way it gave the viewer insight into the desperation the jews must have felt.

Maus I

After reading Art Spiegelman's "Maus", I questioned why the author would include so much personal information about his relationship with his father. At times, it seemed to be the central narrative, even more than the Holocaust story itself. This seemed especially thought provoking since Spiegelman made it apparent that his father didn't necessarily approve of the public knowing so many intimate details. (".....it has nothing to do with Hitler, with the Holocaust!" p.23)
From the first pages of the book, Spiegelman makes the tension between him and his father very apparent: "I hadn't seen him in a long time - we weren't that close" (p.11). The beginning text and panels immediately tell us about the author's strained relationship with his father, Vladek, about his mother's suicide, and the tension between Vladek and his new wife, Mala. Why does Spiegelman include so much personal information that seems to have nothing to do with the central narrative of Vladek's survival of the Holocaust?
After reading the book in its entirety, I realize that one story cannot be told without the other. They are completely woven together by the influence that the Holocaust had on Vladek, his family, his relationships, and even the next generation.

Research paper

I will be writing a traditional research paper for this class by default. I love the idea of the multi-genre project, but I don't possess the computer skills to make that happen.
I'm exploring the possibility of using Oranges and Blankets as my text, and discussing how religion can play a roll in the "coming of age" process. I'll be investigating how one's religion can positively and/or negatively affect a person during their journey to adulthood and beyond.

Blankets

I've chosen pages 13 and 16 of Blankets to do a close read of. On page 13, we finally meet Craig and Phil's father. As seen through a child's eyes, the author does an excellent job of making him look and sound intimidating. The fourth panel on page 13 portrays the father as disproportionately larger than the boys, leering over them, while they perspire with fear. And what the Dad says, "Don't question your parent's authority!", is written larger and darker then any other text on the page, making the reader a bit fearful of this character.
The single panel on page 16 conveys a child's imagination of what's in the "cubby", along with the reality of a stark room with a mattress. Thompson does a superior job with subtley using drawings of skelaton-like figures on the borders of the panels to convey what Phil is imagining. Also, the teeth drawn on the mattress, the overly large eyes of Phil, the huge hands of the father, the spider suspended from the ceiling, all make the reader understand the young boys fear. Interestingly, there is not text in this panel because words are not needed. Thompson was able to communicate effectively without words.
Craig's relationship with his father changes as he gets older. Thompson portrays this on pages 572-577 by drawing the father with gentle strokes and proportionately in line with the other characters. The father seems kind, calm. Craig no longer fears his father, but instead, is courageous enough to disagree with his religious views. The author seems to have made peace with his parents and that is shown by the happy drawings of family on the last pages of the novel.

close reading - oranges

The chapter titled "Joshua" in Winterson's novel is interesting in its comparison to the Garden of Eden. The passage starts by mentioning the "banks of the Euphrates" and the secret garden that is there. In the Biblical book of Genesis, the Garden of Eden is said to have the Euphrates flow through it. Also similar is the mention of a fruit tree at its center. Although, in Winterson's novel it is an orange tree, and Biblically, the type of fruit is not mentioned but commonly thought to be the apple. The author mentions plants that grow in a circular fashion. This reminds me of a coil. Not unlike a coiled serpent in Genesis.
I especially find one particular sentence intriguing: "This fruit had tripped up athletes while others have healed their wounds". If Winterson is comparing the fruit to religion or theology, perhaps the analogy is being made to the way some people find comfort and solace in religion, while others find it to be a lesson in frustration, always grappling, always questioning.
Winterson also speaks of the split fruit pouring out blood. This compares to the death of Jesus and his necessary blood shed found in the Gospels. Also, the fruit being a "full bowl for travellers and pilgrims" reminds me of someone on a journey, perhaps eluding to a spiritual journey.

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

My personal beliefs are grounded in Judeo-Christian teachings. I was raised by Christian parents, attended church weekly, and raise my own family in a similar fashion.
Many people shaped my belief system: parents, friends, teachers. However, most profoundly, my mother and father, though not always for the better. As I grew from child to adult, I found their beliefs didn't always fit with my interpretation of truth or even Christianity. My early childhood was very legalistic and stifling. It took many years to "undo" that type of upbringing, to sift the good from the not-so-good.
In Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, the beliefs that are upheld only vaguely resemble Christianity. Mostly, it is a warped interpretation of the religion that is twisted and hateful. The predominant belief that is challenged is that homosexuality is a sin. In the chapter of "Numbers", the author explores the notion of never marrying because all men are pigs! And not matter who she talks to about the subject, she's told that she'll eventually get used to it. Although her mother's belief system could not handle homosexuality, Jeannette dares to entertain the idea in her head, and eventually literally with Melanie.
The "Exodus" that Jeanette takes from home to school foreshadows the ideological separation from her mother that is to come. Her world is broadened, if only for a short time, by the relationships with others her age and her teacher. However, the way Jeanette becomes a cast-off at school also foreshadows the way she will not be accepted as a homosexual. Foreshadowing aso takes place in the chapter of "Leviticus" by the way the author disagrees with Pastor's theology of a "perfect person". Instead of always being aligned with her mother's belief system, she starts to develop her own.
Obviously, struggles still exist for Jeanette as they exist for us all. Primarily the struggles will be with relationships, whether her mother or God himself!

common themes

The common theme between American Born Chinese and The Bluest Eye is the struggle for self acceptance.  Yang's characters of Jin Wang and the Monkey King, and Morrison's character of Pecola, all struggle to fit in with their peers.  The noticeable difference is that American Born Chinese ends with the characters coming to terms with who they really are, while The Bluest Eye ends with Pecola being driven mad by seemingly relentless affirmations of her worthlessness.

The experience of reading Morrison's novel, as well as viewing the doll video, left me with a knot in my stomach.  At times I feel embarrassed to be white.  Have I ever, unknowingly, done something to promote our society's view that white skin is somehow superior to black?  My response to this literature about culture and identity is to become more aware of the prejudice that people deal with and the impact it has on their lives as well as our culture as a whole.

While I've  never been knowingly discriminated against because of my skin color, I can relate to being treated as inferior based on my gender.  This knowledge gives me compassion to others who suffer because of not fitting in based on something that is out of their control.

One passage that I found to be particularly powerful was Morrison's account of Pecola at the local sundries shop.  She encounters Mr. Yacobowski, the owner, and "at some fixed point in time and space he senses that he need not waste the effort of a glance.  He does not see her, because for him there is nothing to see"  (48).  This passage bothered me so much because I cannot imagine treating a child as though they were worthless, and yet I know that this kind of behavior goes on every day.  I wanted so badly for the character of Pecola to receive some form of love throughout the book:  a hug, a word of encouragement, a new dress or an ice cream.  But the story reads like a stoning, pelting the character to death.

Another passage I found to be especially difficult was the rape of Pecola by her father.  Morrison does such a wonderful job of forming  Cholly's character that the reader doesn't want him to perform the act, not just for Pecola's sake, but for his as well.  I felt sorry for Cholly, for his life was also difficult.  But the thought of a little, innocent girl being raped by her own father was almost more than I could take.  Maybe because I have two daughters of my own.  Since I am a mother myself, the fact that Pecola's mother didn't come to her defense made the passage challenging to digest.

While I enjoyed my first experience with a graphic novel, American Born Chinese didn't influence me the way that The Bluest Eye has.  One only has to pick up the newspaper or turn on the local news to hear similar stories of people on the fringe of society being victims of or performing heinous acts.  In other words,  Morrison's work of fiction could very well be someone's biography, and that's what makes her story so haunting.

American Born Chinese

My initial impression of Yang's book American Born Chinese, was that it was an interesting story of self-acceptance with underlying themes of Chinese stereotypes and racial identity. Since I am not familiar with reading graphic novels, it was not an easy experience. Having to slow down and study the frames became enjoyable by the end of the book, but was frustrating at first.
The ideas expressed were many and layered: Chinese culture and American culture, cultural stereotypes, self-acceptance, relationships between characters, the relationship between the separate stories, and spiritual/moral themes woven throughout.
My comfort level with reading a graphic novel began to rise by the time the character of Tze-yo-tzuh was introduced. The way he resembled the God of Christianity brought familiarity for me to the text. On page 80, he speaks so self -assuredly of his virtues: "I am Tze-yo-tzuh. I was, I am and I shall forever be. I have searched your soul, little monkey. I know your most hidden thoughts. I know when you sit and when you stand, when you journey and when you rest. Even before a word is upon your tongue, I have known it. My eyes have seen all your days. I am the heights of heaven and the depths of the underworld. Even at the end of all that is, my hand is there, holding you fast. It was I who formed your inmost being. I who knit you together in the womb of that rock. I made you with awe and wonder, for wonderful are all of my works."
The monkey king has his mouth open resembling a shocked, speechless response, but the great sage speaks with calmness and certainty. He is illustrated as being old and wise. The monkey appears to be questioning, the sage appears to be all-knowing.
Yang did an impressive job of introducing this character. Not just with words, but with visuals as well.

multimodality, multisemiotics and multiliteracies

The terms multimodality, multisemiotics and multiliteracies are defined by Williamson as "the many ways and contexts in which people experience communication and come to develop understandings".   Multimodality particularly describes the multiple ways we experience everyday life through the senses.  Multisemiotics is a term used to define the many meanings that are suggested by these modes, and the different connotations we assign to them.  Multiliteracies refers to the ability to understand media and also to produce through it.  While these theories may be new, they do not describe new ideas.

Whay everyday situations might one encounter multimodality and multiliteracies?  It's hard not to!  Everything from film, to comics, to the internet, to video games, to music offer literature in its various forms and is understood according to one's own culture, personal experiences and histories.

McCloud's text does an excellent job of combining linguistic, visual, spatial, gestural and audio modes of communication.  The linguistic and visual modes  are obvious components of a cartoon (words and pictures).  Spatial qualities are evident in how the cartoon is laid out on the page, how the illustrator balances words with pictures, and even by the area between frames.  Gestural characteristics are displayed by the way ideas or sentiments are emphasized, either by words or through the drawings.  The audio mode would refer to the running voice in one's head from reading or simply analyzing the cartoon.

While these ideas are not necessarily new, it's interesting to study them as it pertains to our texts.

review of McCloud

I have held the belief that "real" literature is words with meaning, not pictures or art. McCloud's book challenges my thinking.

My prejudices against comics is that they're not intellectual enough. I picture someone creating them that enjoys playing more than learning. McCloud managed to change my thinking in this regard. However, I'm still confused about his definition of what a comic is. Shouldn't there be an element of humor or satire in them?

Honestly, it took effort to read this book. Parts of it were interesting, but I had to fight boredom to make it through. I've never enjoyed comics, so reading a book in "frames" was frustrating.

visual literacy

Molly Bang's theory of visual literacy is displayed in the American Gothic picture. The upper half of the picture is happy looking because of the lighter colors and the way the roof points to the sky. (even the window is rounded and also points toward the heavens.) The center of the picture is the man and woman's faces which appear sad and strained. Their eyebrows and corners of their mouths point slightly down. The lower part of the picture is heavy with dark color. The pointed pitch fork gives a bit of a frightening feel.

The contrast in color of the man and woman's clothing help draw the eye toward the center of the page. The woman's sloping shoulders brings the eye down on the page, over toward the lighter bibs of the man, and back up to their faces.

The man's facial expression appears indignant (or maybe it's the way he's holding the pitchfork), and the woman's appears fearful.

What is an American?

An American is a legal citizen of the United States of America. I would say the term also involves being patriotic toward our country. In other words, wanting America to prosper and not wishing harm to the land or its people. Some of the most patriotic people I know of are immigrants searching for a better way of life. They seem to appreciate what our nation has to offer more than someone who doesn't know any different. Of course, to be patriotic also means following the laws of the land, including applying for U.S. citizenship when moving from another country.

literary theory response

I am intrigued by the idea of the New Historicist approach to understanding literature.  I would agree that traditional curriculum and dry textbooks give a very narrow view into an author's world.  By researching information that is pertinent to a particular time period, the literature being studied becomes well rounded and interesting.  Anything that comes alive to a student is remembered more than rote memorization of facts.  I also like the way that learning history and literature together overlap one another in this process.  I have previously homeschooled my children, and found that nearly EVERY subject could be taught by using good literature.  Separating subjects is not just unnecessary, it can be debilitative to the learning process.  Students need to see how things and ideas fit together. I'm anxious to learn more about this theory.

I am also interested in  the Cultural Studies literary theory.  I like the idea of comparing literary works as a way to better understand people and their cultures, thus bringing the area of anthropology into play.

In my children's High School, they are required to perform a certain number of community service hours per year.  According to the definition of Cultural Studies, students can authentically become socially aware and active within their community by being prompted to interact with certain curriculum.  I like this idea better than demanding "volunteer" efforts.

Some final questions:  Does analyzing literature distract from the story itself?  Is it possible to overanalyze?  Where is that line drawn?