Semester Review

Of all the reading we have indulged in this semester, I must say Atonement and Watchmen are by far my favorites. I really enjoyed Atonement but honestly could not tell you why. I did see the movie when it came out so maybe I enjoyed it because the movie made the novel easier to comprehend. As far as the Watchmen is concerned, the graphic novel was a new and interesting experience for me. Comprehension has always been my problem, and the pictures really helped me in following everything that happened. It also had a good story line and interested me in how similar the events in the novel seem to real-life events today.

Sula was hands down my least favorite novel, probably of all time. The story line just seemed all mushed together and there were so many characters intertwined that it was really difficult for me to follow; not to mention I found it just plain boring.

Obviously from the previous paragraph, Sula is the novel I would choose to leave off the list. I think a good idea would be to include a biography of an author we read; such as an Ian McEwan. I understand biographies are nonfiction but it would be interesting to understand the life of an author of contemporary literature. This could also help grasp the idea behind this category of literature better as well.

The Watchmen

I think my experience reading The Watchmen was probably the stark opposite of this author. The author seems to maintain anxiety about reading a comic book, like it is some document that is not meant to be read. Going in to the book, I was actually looking forward to it. I have never really been a big reader, mainly because I do not have the patience to sit down and read, but also because I have never read a book that really interested me; not to mention I have never read a comic book. So going in to The Watchmen I was optimistic that I would find a piece of literature I enjoyed, and what do you know, I came out with a new perspective on reading. I never really looked in to the deeper meaning of literature, but after realizing how much underlying meaning The Watchmen contained, I developed a whole new opinion on reading. Overall I feel the author that wrote the personal assessment and myself both came away rather surprised of our new outlook on comic books, but I was definitely more optimistic going in to the process.

Atonement

Atonement was a very interesting novel. Throughout the plot everyone is searching for atonement but only a couple find it in my opinion; Cecilia and Robbie. However, even though they reached atonement, it is difficult to say whether it is complete atonement due to it being achieved after death. Once Robbie died, the truth came out about him not being the rapist he was known for. This, along with being reunited with Cecilia (in Heaven), gave the couple complete atonement. I think this is interesting they were the only two to find atonement because they seemed to be the most innocent people throughout the novel in my opinion, and they were rewarded for being good people. The reward being atonement.

Of the characters that never reach atonement, I think Marshall should be the most noted. He had to live his entire life knowing another man was suffering for a crime he committed. Briony never achieved atonement due to guilt for a false accusation. If she would have been positive of her accusation, she could have lived in atonement forever. Lola also deserves a generous amount of guilt. She never came close to atonement due to knowing the true rapist the entire time but not having the courage to step forward and prosecute him.

As far as Briony is concerned, I do have sympathy for her. She was a young girl at the time and just wanted attention, which is something I feel we can all relate to at some point in our lives. We all want to feel important. One decision Briony made I have a problem with was the amount of time it took her to confess the truth. If she would not have waited so long to confess the truth, Robbie and Cecilia would have achieved atonement much sooner. All in all though I give Briony a free pass on her mistake, but she could have handled it different once she matured.

Reflection

The most work I found most interesting so far is "The Indian Uprising" by Barthelme. Most people could easily mis-interpret his work or think he was a madman, but I think he really was a genius. He did such a good job of portraying someone recovering from effects of war. The way he described the events that happened was exactly how I pictured someone of the character's position would describe them. So to most people he was crazy, but in the end I think Barthelme is the most interesting author we have read this semester.

Crabbin'

The clamps were huge. Lil T was going crazy. He ran when the soldiers approached. Scared of what tactic they would bring against us next. We wondered of what the red flame would bring. The red flame just continued to appear. Hopefully promise was in the future. The enemy grew and grew. Bringing back more and more troops. However; we were prepared for their attack. We had a player on shrooms that monitored their every move with detail. He was scared of their wrath; as were the rest of us, but we were victorious in our battle.

Crabbin' was fun.

Blanche's Theme Song

After thinking of all the characters so far, I feel that "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake is a great fit for Blanche. Blanche felt like she was left on her own once her family lost the plantation. This resulted in Blanche truly ending up back on her own. She felt she needed comfort and family to be okay and that's why she went to live with Stella. "Here I Go Again" tells the story of being out on your own and having to survive by yourself, which relates directly back to Blanche's feelings. She felt like she was on the same path again, just like the song says.

Blanche

After viewing both clips, I feel Vivien Leigh portrays Blanche better than Jessica Lange. Leigh is the ideal Blanche. She's dressed up all fancy and acts exactly how you would picture Blanche from reading A Streetcar Named Desire. I feel the main reason Leigh acts as a better Blanche is due to the time period of the release of her movie. Growing up in the time period around when the story was produced should have given her a better grasp on how to portray Blanche.

"I have found it easier to identify with the characters who verge upon hysteria, who were frightened of life, who were desperate to reach out to another person. But these seemingly fragile people are the strong people really."

This quote by Tennessee Williams fits Blanche perfectly. Hysterical describes Blanche to a tee. Blanche seems fragile throughout the plot but you can pick up on the hint that she is actually stronger than the others. In the clip Blanche just seemed to have unreasonable expectations of what to expect, which in a sense led to hysteria and proof of her being fragile. But all in all I feel Vivien Leigh is a better actress as far as relating to Blanche, and she did a great job in filling her shoes.