INterpretation of Sonn's BLues

1.       Sonny at this point in the story has been released from prison and has dragged his brother to the small café where he played over a year ago.  Even though this may cause Sonny harm, he goes to his piano anyway.  This quotation is near the end of the story of Sonny’s Blues.  This is the narrator’s reaction to Sonny’s and his band playing the blues.  It talks about how emotional he felt and the real reason for blues in the first place.  “He and his boys up there were keeping it new, al the risk of ruin, destruction, madness, and death, in order to find new ways to make us listen.  For, while the tale of how we suffer and how we are delighted, and how we triumph is never new, it always must be heard.  There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.” 

2.       I feel that initially this is a passage that comes across quite easy to understand and connect with the rest of the story but yet as one looks closer, relating it more to personal life, it is easy to see that more questions than answers may arise from the text.  Questions such as, “In what ways do I suffer?” or “Is the way I’m living my life causing people to stop and want to listen?” or even

3.       I take this as being a way of trying to justify what Sonny went through in life.  A way to explain his ordeal to make it so that even if he wishes his life to be better, he makes the best of it by helping others listen to his pain.  The emotions described in the quote: suffering, delight, and triumph are all feelings that make us human.   They are what link us and cause us to long for each other, another person just to be there and to understand.  Even though all our pain and joy’s  are not the same we still feel the brokenness or the leaps in another person.  It is more like a cycle.  When he was suffering, Sonny found his comfort in family and music.  In turn, Sonny uses the blues as a way to express his pain to extend comfort to others.  The saddest, maybe hardest part to grasp is that the suffering does not necessarily end.  Even when   This does not always come as easy as it seems though.  It takes many years as the story depicts to get to this point.  “He and his boys up there were keeping it new, al the risk of ruin, destruction, madness, and death, in order to find new ways to make us listen.” This quotation is good to remember because, even though they are helping people, they have not been taken out of the suffering and hard times themselves, they are just making the best of it. Sonny himself puts himself through the gravest danger, at the risk of trying drugs again and going back to prison from where he felt so trapped and like a slave.  A lot of times, especially as Christians we expect the hard times to stop before we can move on and make a real difference.  Truth is, the hard times never stop, but the one thing we can hold onto is that which we build our lives around and make them worth living for.  This can relate to the phrase, “There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.”  This shows that despite the heartache and pain, in the end it is the only thing that really makes life worth living.  Everything else is shallow and fleeting away.  MY favorite quote to support this would be “And he was giving it back, as everything must be given back, so that, passing through death, it can live forever.”  Just the thought of his music and the difference he is making live in infamy even after he passes is enough I think to help him keep going and continue playing. 

4.       There are many example I can find to support my theory.  On the same page, a little farther down, it talks about how Sonny’s playing “filled the air with life.” At some point in the story it describes Sonny as a “caged bird” trying to escape the effects that prison has had on him.  It also continues to explain how that life, with his music, contained so many other lives there with him.   In the same paragraph it further talks about how freedom was present when Sonny played.  His laying down of burdens through music allowed others to do the same. 

5.       It is when one stops and really applies this passage to his or her life that they can see the complexity but also the relation to themselves as well.   By asking such questions we discover ourselves more but also find ways to reach out to others through our own suffering, which is exactly what Sonny did.  Also if one wants to take it even farther, this is what Christ called us to do.  Take our burdens of life and use them to make us into who we are so that we may help others out along the journey of life.  It is about finding one’s testimony and living it out in everyday life whether through art, or maybe work, or even Relating this to “it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness” this can relate to the binding of relationships that one’s testimony can bring about.  That maybe even though the bad times were hard and rough this element of life makes it worth it. 

Temple of the Holy Ghost

There is a lot of good imagery and quotes throughout this story that apply to our faith and beliefs today. 

The child, little girl, throughout the story seems prideful and almost insecure in away around the other girls.  The perspective she gives makes her sound like she is trying to be older than she is so of course she would be “better” than Joanne and Suzie.  The reason she views them as stupid is because they are into boys and it seems nothing else but it might be good to remember that the child was too young to understand the emotions that she could feel or want.  In a way I think she wanted to be accepted by the girls but her pride acted as a facade to hide her insecurity.  This plays into the forgiveness that she experiences at the end of the story where she gives up all these malice thoughts towards the girl’s. 

The hermaphrodite was an interesting twist almost to the story.  It fits but it is the last thing you’re expecting to come out of the text.  I feel that the way we view such a person would be as crude and disturbing and that’s why such a figure appeared at the fair, because he knew that it would draw attention.  The word’s he says though are challenging the people not to laugh or freak out because he to is a “Temple of the Holy Spirit.” Again we see the theme of misjudging people for what’s on the outside.  Is it safe to say that God didn’t intend us to be in such an awkward state, sure, but what the hermaphrodite represents is the intention and plan God has for us nonetheless. 

The whole of the story overall is the spiritual journey of the child.  Though it seems her family is religious and spiritual those words from the man, though considered a “freak show” are what showed her a sense of true salvation and repentance.    

The One's who walk from Omela

So this story seems pretty easy to understand the meaning behind, at least the simple main concept the author wishes us readers to grasp.  The author describes this amazing place to live, almost a utopia, and how the life that these people live is so festive, free, and joyous.  Although all this is brought to the table, the author then describes that all of this beautiful paradise has to come at a price.  That somehow this child, not even able to tell the sex of it, is the key or ransom that comes with allowing these people to live this way.  Even though they see the terrible and horrid conditions that it lives in, they care too much about the lives they are living to put a stop to any of it.  The last paragraph’s, I feel, talk about how  those that can’t seem to stand the guilt and shame of watching the child suffer like that leave.  Though it takes a lot to turn their back on everything they know, they are the brave ones that can walk away from Omelas.  One question that comes to mind is why does one automatically default to leaving instead of trying to rescue this poor soul? Maybe it is because they feel  like he is already too far gone. It seems like no one is in a place to jump in all rebelious like and be the hero.   I know the story talks some about their pleasure being slavery and maybe they felt that there was no escape but to leave and turn their back on this society.  This can also relate and be a way to alert and inform people how many turn their back on the suffering.  This brings up another point.  What if since the story talks about how the society is guilt free that the people who leave are almost out cast because they are not able to live with themselves.  They get so caught up in their life that they feel that maybe it is another person’s duty.  Possibly they feel so ashamed to be a part of it to begin with so they just leave.  Another reason could be simply that the life they are living seems more important and worth living than that one little child.  This is totally against the teachings of God.  He teaches that we are all made equal and through countless stories he proves this: such as leaving the 99 or how he recounts all the scriptures on being selfless and a servant.  This really caused me to think what I would do in the situation if I was put up to it and how we treat suffering people on an everyday basis. 

Angel or Man

There are a lot of themes in this story that all seem to connect, I’m sure if I totally understand it but I’ll try to explain here.  I felt there was a strong tie between the child and the so called angel.  The part in the story where it talks about the boy got chicken pox and likewise so did the angel.  Something interesting I took is that the townspeople got tired of this magnificent creature.  The problem was, it was not as magnificent as they had always dreamed or hoped.  It shows just like a lot things in life how we cannot appreciate the subtle or even worse, the ugly, but everything we need has to be entertaining, great, and spectacular.  The only reason the family took notice of such an angel was really because it gained them such a profit and yet at the end of the story when the angel finally flew away it talks about how it was not such a burden to her anymore.  This almost seems like maybe he was a blessing in disguise.  The way that it describes how the angel was no more than an image on the horizon, maybe the angel was meant to be just that.  An image that we are meant to leave to our imagination so that we continue to appreciate what the angel stands for.  This reminds me of the story in the bible where it talks about treat even the least of these people with respect because in some way you are serving the Father up in heaven.  It’s hard to say whether the way the angel is depicted has any further significance, such as his age, health, that he was patient, ect.  If anything, this matters as to push us to want to gain an understanding of the unseen. 

A Tree So Small

Standing where once was a seed
I'm presented with a beautiful tree
Beautiful, graceful,
Tough, and Strong
with leaves green and branches long.
Breaking through to first ray's light
So young and so vulneralbe
to the harshness of nature's
natural cold frost and bitter
unfair natural selection.
How the children run
oblivious to you now
yet there your family hovers;
the ones who spewed that little seed into the ground
With aspirations that they will look at you one day
and climb high through its foilage
so as to gasp in awe
at the beautiful world that now seems
tiny as can be.
All this from the tree that stands proudly tall
with leaves green and branches long.

A view on Poetry

I feel poetry is always hard to get into at first.  Usually there is no attention getter right off at the beginning but one must take the time to read and find further connections.  This is why a lot of people hate poetry so much but these poems were pretty good I thought.  I almost thought that my favorite was the Messenger or the Uses of Sorrow poems.  The Uses of Sorrow was so short but made you think about how thoughtful just a few lines could actually be.  The Messenger had really good imagery in it especially the line, “telling them all how it is we live forever.” I thought it showed how even the creatures of the world scream and worship for God and just how the world is missing this big critical aspect of peace and harmony with nature and with each other.  The essay talks about how our love for God should in return give us a passion for his creation.  This not only means with other humans but with nature and the outdoors as well.  I also really wanna stress the importance of having that connection with God and the world and how it effects us  producing,good fruit.  See, it almost feels that when we write and appreciate poetry and literature we are taking in other people’s fruits. This not only allows us to grow spiritually and test our faith but help develop our fruits as well.  I feel that this is where many Christians get stuck, is that they know they are going to heaven so they don’t see any reason to try and further the kingdom and so they lack the fruits and power that God has given them.  Honestly they are cutting themselves short, I fell, because they are not being the best person that they can be without spreading or sharing God’s love with someone.  One thing I liked about the essay is how he described it as a tension and that we’re supposed to build it up.   

First off, I was not able to have acces to a computer this weekend but I thought I would just mention that I really enjoyed the trip to Circle B.  It was alot of fun and I plan on going their again just to visit and walk around. 

On Thursday night I did attend the showing of Othello.  It was hard to get into at first but by the end i thought it was pretty interesting, kinda cliche as far as Shakespeare's tragedy's go almost. 

 "I went to Lake Bonny Park for this field trip, and I stayed there for at least 45 minutes."

State of the Planet

Reading this to me, was easy to understand individually but as a whole story, it was hard to piece together what the meaning exactly was.  There were a few passages that I chose to comment on though. One of the passages that I quite enjoyed but had trouble deciphering was “The book will say that climate is complicated, that we may be doing this and if we are, it may explain that this was something we’ve done quite accidentally, which she can understand, not having meant that morning to have spilled the milk.  She’s one of those who’s only hungry metaphorically. 

It’s easy to decipher some of the beginning as it is a continuation of the discussion on how the earth’s resources are misused and almost talking about the idea of how humans and their technologies have polluted the earth.  When it says the book I’m unsure what that refers to.  I wanna say that the relationship between the accidentally having caused the earth to bepolluted by all of our cars and waste is related to the analogy of we have a glass of milk and it looks perfectly fine but of course in the long run we didn’t mean to spill our milk. 

“In the years since, we’ve gotten even better at relentless simplification, but it’s taken until our time for it to crowd out, savagely the rest of life.”

I feel this describes the way we as humans today almost settle into our everyday lives.  The poem talks about philosophers and poets and how they taught the world to love and enlightened them to new and better things.  Today we are too consumed it says with “curiosity and greed”.  To make a change though and see a difference in this one has to get rid of, I like the term “savagely” take care of these issues.  These are maybe blocks that stand in the way of fixing the problems that we have created that now harm and endanger our planet and the technology and things we have now blind us and leave us in comfort.  That is what I took from this. 

AFI Trip and Response

I really enjoyed going to AFI this past Tuesday.  I thought it was a lot of fun and totally different then what I initially expected.  In relation to the play and essay it was pretty cool.  Of course it the field trip made it come alive in a way, and I think it definitely showed how close to the truth both texts portray such an issue.  An example of this would be how in the play, most the characters have something quirky that they “have” such as Norman and his keys.  A person I talked to at AFI had boxes, that’s what he worked on and he was proud of it.  Just made me realize how simple they can think but though also as well it is not like they are incapable of having a conversation.  In one sense, I think that reading these texts before hand gave us something to expect when we went on our visit, though I think experience was the only true way of figuring this out.  A way that this helped me better relate to the essay by Professor Fetke was just seeing that these are real people and when given the chance they can do something that we deem “normal” in society.  Sure its low class and something no one else wants to do but for them it’s the world and I feel we should have no less respect for them now than anyone else.  The last thing we sorta discussed in class was the disabled in relation to our idea of the Image of God.  At first one struggles with the idea that, wow, us and them are equal just because I feel our culture has degraded and abused them so much.  I can definitely see more clearly that everyone of them is as described in the article, specially marked, and that their lives, often times, is more humble then ours ever could be.   

views of disability

Reading this article enlightened me and caused me to have to struggle with some very important issues. This article really shows the blindness to everyone’s gifts and abilities.  The passage that most stood out to me were “this is also the work of the Spirit and not God’s mistake or the product of human sin or demonic activity.”  This caused me to really stop and think and stretched me a great deal because I started to think of situations back in my home town. Honestly, back home I always felt that is how I was taught to treat such people with disabilities.  To shut them away because there is no hope and that people would only be wasting their time giving them opportunities where they could succeed and worse yet I’ve heard people in the church often intervene to tell parents their child was useless and to check their lives because a child such as this could only be the product of sinners. Besides they would be much happier right? While I always tried to escape this mindset I think there is a view that everyone almost can’t help but see, that we “normal people are almost better than them.  Today’s culture, the way we make fun of and abuse the disabled does not help the cause any.  People, even when they go out of their way to help such people at school I believe, though they mean well, do it more out of pity then having a sense of equalness to that person.   It is also really a stretch for me to think about many such people being able to minister but when you think about it, the way they live their lives is such a testimony and they can still be a blessing.  I had always heard the word charismatic growing up but never knew what it meant.  It is, like I said before, even though we may not even realize it, we single the disabled out immediately.  While they are not exactly like us, it does not mean that they have been “marked” as mentioned throughout the article.  God made all creation perfect and good and thus it is almost a false mindset and illusion we have built up it seems regarding such issues. 

The Boys Next Door: Response 2

I think there are two different themes throughout the first and second acts.  In the first act one can sense more lightheartedness and almost a joy from the characters, almost as if celebrating who they are.  The second act though, gives a more broken and darker side into each characters life.  It is definitely a more realistic view to the lives of people with these disabilities.  Reading the story one can legitimately feel bad knowing that a lot of people in the real world exactly like these depicted in the story are abandoned simply because they are written off as useless or the people that try to do good get burnt out and need a break. Either way it feels like they don’t have any stability in their lives, which could do them probably the most good.  Almost the best thing to take away from reading this piece is the fact that one can be changed by these such people just as much as one can change their lives.  While many people with such disabilities are usually stubborn and stuck in their ways one can always just be there for them.  On the other hand, we could learn a thing or two about the simplicity and innocence that people such as these live in.  They help us remember what life is really about, relationships and one another, not status or how well you’re liked.  Love between them, such as with Sheila and Norman is so simple and they appreciate the most smallest of gifts.  While Jack is leaving to work another job, I think a part of him still really loves the boys.  Even though he needs a break, I think the story portrays that he would never be able to abandon them and that he probably cares the most about them out of anyone else in the world. 

Boys Next Door: First Response

Initially when I started reading this first part of the play I was pretty confused, just because it was hard to keep up with the randomness of each person’s comments.  The way it was written made it seem really realistic though.  It was easy to imagine all the characters running around on a stage with funny voices and goofy clothes as the audience is laughing at all there remarks.  And actually this almost reminded me of the movie, the Ringer. 

This story is meant to entertain but also convey in a very sobering way the practical dilemmas in which real life people like this go through.  One specific example is how Lucien P. Smith goes through the ordeal of losing his money and benefits, claiming him fit to live in an outside community, which as the story portrays he is clearly not.  Another is the issue seen between Barry and his father who he has not seen for many years because he basically disowned him for being what he was.  The last thing they need is more rejection.  More practical though is just the everyday personalities that each character portrays.  While somewhat hindered in some areas one can clearly see that they have everyday lives such as jobs and have relationships outside the walls where they live.  Some would probably view them as too weird, but honestly, they are more unique then just different and its not like you can just shut them up, away from the world, that would not be fair to anyone. 

My first thoughts about the story was why didn’t Jack get mad or feat up with all of them.  He later did at the end of the first Act though.  It makes you wonder would anyone else really take the time to do this job instead of him though?

Sonny's BLues

Sonny’s Blues was a pretty good story and I liked it a lot.  Some of the themes are not as hidden as other stories we have read but still really meaningful I think.  The first is the constant theme of darkness and light throughout the whole story.  A lot of the story location itself is dark in the way it comes across with drugs and all other kinds of issues. Also it sounds as if Harlem, where the two brothers grew up was almost a prison.  Sonny, by doing whatever it took to break out took the harder road, though it had cost him.  The narrator in the story is almost still trapped in Harlem it feels, having never left and now raising children of his own there. I think another theme that shines through is that of the two brothers, the narrator who is older and watches out for Sonny.  It almost in a way comes across as Cain and Abel in the way that the mother asks the narrator to be his “brothers keeper.”  I think this could be religiously themed as well because it was said in the biography that the author depicted this kind of issues such as religion in his stories.  IN the end it turns out that Sonny is a very talented musician despite all of his hardships.  In a way, I think this almost represents how one can use your situation to better others.  The story is very sad in the way that it never talks about a happy time, always of death, or sorrow, or goodbyes.  Sonny has gone through even worse and yet he still is able to move people with his “blues” even though the drugs he is on are dwindling his mental health all the time.  It shows how we can turn our situation into something that can be used to strengthen or move someone else in a hard time and possibly bless them with freedom in the way that for Sonny music was the freedom.    

A Grief Observed: Chapters 3-4

The rest of the book is a continuation of the first two chapters though they do take a few different turns and talk about different themes.  One analogy I like in these readings were the concept of the house of cards.  "Your bid will not be serious if nothing much is staked on it."This is talking about how with one blow his whole world, if based on the house of cards can come crashing.  It makes one stop to think, is it really worth rebuilding when, in reality, it could be knocked down in the same way again. 
Another thing I take away from this reading is the way he justifies his questioning of God and whether he is so called "good."  I like the quote where he describes the anguish and pain that he expresses towards God as merely the "pleasure of hitting back." 
Probably my favorite part of the piece is when he starts talking about the pain from not his perspective but hers.  This is something I honestly had not thought about in great detail ever.  The fact that she could still be in pain at the moment and there was no immediate departure to what we would think of as paradise or heaven.  Then he talks about how much greater his pain would increase if he was to have his wishes of her returning to life fulfilled.  The process of dying twice would be unthinkable and how he makes the point of not knowing if she is better of here, as almost it is a selfish inquiry of him. 
Lastly I think Lewis finds a bit of closure in the matter of her death when he talks about the reason for her death stating that God had taken H away because their relationship had reached its "proper perfection." 

I went to the Lakeview, Roselawn and Tiger Flowers cemetery complex for this fieldtrip, and I stayed there for at least 40 minutes.

Response to A Grief Observed: 1-2

The first two chapters on A Grief Observed are really fascinating and deal with some important issues.  These would be of death, God, and love.  The initial story and reason C.S. Lewis is writing this is very sad considering he just lost his wife and the way he is so real and portrays the sorrow, grief, anger, and confusion because of this really is amazing.  I like the way it is written in a way that almost seems that the text was being written in a more real setting than having been a story and edited.  Along with the pain he is feeling, he talks about the love him and his wife, “H”, as he called her, shared.   A good quote to describe this is when he describes their love as “no cranny of heart or body remained unsatisfied.” This shows that though their marriage was cut short, they made the most of it and were still really happy. 

A story that we have read this semester that could be applied to this piece is that of “What Do We Talk about When We Talk about Love?” by Raymond Carver. When looking at the two different couples from the story in relation to the couple of Lewis and H one would see on the surface that they would be most similar to that of Nick and Laura.  This is because their love for each other comes across as strong and somewhat flirtatious as C. S. Lewis somewhat describes his  marriage with jokes such as “how many bubbles of mine she pricked.”  Another comparison could be made to the couple in the story that was happy and died of old age.  Now while Lewis and H did not receive the same happy ending, it is a good example of how Lewis almost yearns for her and wishes her the best even when she is gone.  All the old man in the story could worry about was his wife and that he could not see her.  It just shows the kind of strong love that both couples shared. 

The last thing to take away from these chapters is the references to God and religion.  These are not the sugar coated or watered down references to it was “God’s will”, or “He knows better so let it be” but more of a where is god and the emptiness of having the door shut in one’s face. This is a really neat thing that has been incorporated in the text because it shows Lewis’s true weakness.  He is supposed to be an advocate for Christ and an apologist yet he still shows the reality of having denial and doubt and how it can only be used to strengthen our spiritual lives. 

Joel--pieces of imagery

The thing that stands out the most in the book of Joel is chapter 2.  I like the way that the Day of the Lord and His army is described.  “The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them.” I like the way this is written because one can feel the darkness and anger God feels toward the people.  Also the way the soldiers themselves are described.   “With the appearance of horses,” puts the image of someone tall and great and very swift with their motions.  When the passage says the sun and moon grow dark and the stars lose their brightness it gives the image that there is almost no light upon the earth, which would be a pretty scary scenario when you think about it. 

Another phrase that I think provides a lot of imagery is”even the beasts of the field pant for You.” I like the way this shows how much God wants his people to realize they need Him.  Notice it says for God not necessarily water.  This would be because I guess the beasts have the instinct that God is the ultimate provider or maybe because God can sometimes be describes as Living Water. 

The last phrase I thought was very impactful was the one where God says “And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged.” This is cool in the way that God promises ultimate justice for those who persecuted Israel and Jerusalem.  The way God uses the word vengeance describes that as long as they are faithful they will never be defenseless.  It’s weird because the Israelites do not really deserve to be avenged and yet God is still faithful and shows just how much He loves them through this act. 

Job: beautiful words

There are a few passages that stick out to me in this reading.  The first is found at the end of the book where God talks about the blessing of Judah.  Here it states the mountains with drip sweet wine, the hills flow with milk, and the rivers with water.  I just like the imagery that is used to describe the way God is going to bring forth abundance for His people because they were faithful. 

Another passage that is also near the end is that where God is describing the “valley of decision” as He calls it, and how He protects His people amidst the dark.  The contrast between “roaring” from Zion to then merely “uttering” words from Jerusalem, which ultimately cause the heavens and earth to tremble, shows how powerful God is and the many different ways He can work.  Also even though He is the one bringing the judgment He promises safety and to be a refuge for His people. 

Something that I thought sounded really beautiful the way it was written was the way the Day of the Lord is described.  How it talks about the wonders that will appear in the sky and earth stating that the moon will turn to blood.  My favorite part about this passage is that it shows the way God is just in that He is passing His punishment, but then at the end He still talks about the grace and mercy that can be had of those that cry out to Him.  It seems to be a common theme and shows how forgiving God really is if we are willing to accept it. 

The last passage I thought had some significance was in the passage where God promises deliverance.  “I will make up to you for the years of locusts.  That, to me, seems like a pretty crazy thing to say.  Even though Israel was in the wrong and God used the locusts to destroy the crops and fields, He makes it up to them, almost giving them a better supply and abundance than before.  This can be seen as it says the “Lord has given you the early rain for you vindication.  I like that word vindication.  It’s a pretty strong word to show how Israel is now justified and again, spoken for, by God. 

The Colonel and A Story about the Body

When I first read the assigned stories, I took both, “The Colonel” and “A Story about the Body” to be really confusing and hard to gather any significance or meaning.  It was like one of those stories that was almost frustrating to read because the meaning was so eluding, sometimes questioning if there was even a deeper meaning or if I was totally overthinking the point.  After reading a few times though I began to see some connecting themes.  Even though I’m not sure if this is exactly what the author intended this is what I got from each story.
In “The Colonel” one can easily see that the setting is located in another country, probably during a time of war or struggle within the government.  This is seen as the colonel states how hard the country had become to govern.  Another important point is the statement “as for the rights of anyone.” The most important part of the story that the author wants to convey is that of the human ears in relation to the opening statement, “WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD is true.” The story is trying to be informative about a certain issue dealing with people’s rights and how we choose to listen, representing the ears that have fallen up on the ground, or how we have ignored the cry of those in need, the ears that have fallen pressed to the ground. 

This story was a lot easier to decipher for me.  The main connection that can be made is that of the Japanese painter and the bowl left on the man’s door step.  The way the man treats her in the story is representative of the contents of the bowl.  The bowl itself represents the woman, and the rose petals, her outer beauty that he thought she had before finding the truth about her breasts.  The dead bees are a harsh reminder of how worthless and dead she now feels.  It brings up the question of morally was it right to act in the way that the man did.  It is hard to justify his actions because it almost feels shallow but also I think one should look at the fact that he looked her in the eyes before he walked off, showing a sense of dignity and maybe remorse.   

Short story--Until We Meet Again

“Slow down!” thought Dave to himself as he passed the Highway Patrolman pumping his breaks while not trying to make his speed decrease from ninety to the speed limit of 65 too obvious.  When the patrol car made no attempt to follow them he breathed a sigh of relief, “phew.”

Dave combed the surrounding landscape looking for anything remotely familiar to him.  He had driven this road probably a million times growing up and back then could take each winding turn without any hesitation or regard for the speed limit.  Dave, now almost forty years of age, was having to anticipate the movement of the car across the terrain of the road and yet he still saw no landmarks that he could recall but figured that he would end up there eventually. 

As the time passed Dave was left to think.  It had been just over twenty years since he had been back to the town where he had grown up.  Dave himself sometimes wondered why he had never returned.  This always ended in painful thoughts and the reliving of once buried memories always bringing Dave back to the realization that he never had any intention of returning. Although there were times where he felt guilty, there was nothing drawing him back to the once quaint and quiet town. 

Where most people his age had parents still alive, he had been orphaned when he was just a baby. No other family around to care for him, he was put in the local home for run away or stray children. It is here that he met Steve Philips.  Not a day goes by when Dave does not wake up to the thought of his friend.  Growing up together they shared almost every moment they had with each other simply because they had no one else. Whenever one came up in conversation, the other was always thought of, almost as if they were synonymous with each other. This continued till the two turned seventeen and Dave decided he wanted to enlist in the army. Steve on the other hand saw no life outside of his home.  It was here they departed. 

Dave went on to survive the war but a changed man.  Growing up in a small town, one does not see the world as clearly as they think. More innocent and naïve about life he was not fully prepared for the rough and gritty lifestyle that was required of a soldier. There were times when a superior would get in his face and he wanted to break down right there, but he had set out on this mission and he was determined to make it through.  After the war Dave never made contact with anyone from his hometown, not even Steve.  He didn’t know what they thought happened to him, and he didn’t care.  He had a different outlook on his childhood now.  At one time thinking he was lucky, he now felt that living in such a place was more of a hindrance to a person, even feeling sorry that Steve could have no vision of any other life.

This idea had been planted deep within Dave.  Any sense of guilt that he had was buried, deeper still, becoming but a mere prick that he had learned to ignore.  Eventually he went on to start his own successful business in which he marketed vitamins and protein supplements. Eventually he found the love of his life, a beautiful woman named Dianna.  Dave had all he had ever dreamed of.  Although sadly Dianna was not able to bear any children, the paperwork to adopt an Asian baby from China was already approved. Things seemed to be perfect until Dianna was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was his worst nightmare come true the night she died. He tried everything but there was no amount of money social status that could save her. Even prayer, which he had given up on for many years, felt useless. 

Dave snapped back to reality now as he saw that the town was the next exit on his right.  Although the exit was getting closer the speedometer needle slowly started to rise as the pure emotion of being so close started to flow through him.  As he took the exit he rounded the turn and could see the top of the chapel that Mrs. Withels, the caretaker at the orphanage, took him to every Sunday.  Going over the hill, on his left he saw the baseball field that him and Steve used to play on till it would get late into the evening.  Back then the field was brown and rocks took the place of sand in the infield compared now as the field looked green and a golden brown all the way across.   Continuing down the main road he ended up in what would be similar to a city’s downtown area filled with little shops and home town restaurants. 

This was all very different,  magnificent though to Dave, having expected the town to be run down and empty.  In fact there seemed to be more people bustling about than whenever he was there.  It was time to find what he had come for, the little orphanage in which he had spent so very long in.   He was pretty sure it was the next left and a little ways down the street from there.  Before he could proceed though he noticed what seemed to be a big cement structure to his right.  Immediately parking the car he burst over to it.  It was a memorial to commemorate a man who had died in the war that seemed so very long ago.  As he ran his fingers across the raised metal grooves that spelled his name he started to breakdown.  As his eyes moved across the slab they caught another name, Steve Philips—In loving memory. 

Looking up he saw that he was in front of an industrial shop that read Phillips Tools and Supply.  Thinking there could only be one man with that name in a town this size he entered the store.  A short young man with blonde hair down to his shoulders was standing at the counter.  Turning to face Dave he saw that his name tag read Steve Phillips, but this could not be the boy he had grown up with. 
“Can I help you with something sir?” the boy asked.

Dave, without hesitation, asked who if his father was the one on the plaque outside the door.  The boy replied with a nod. 

Dave didn’t feel like hanging around any longer.  So he went back to his car and started to drive. Where, he did not know or care.  Everything he had ever known had been ripped from him, or he had given it up so easily to the point of having nothing left.  He did not belong here in this world where they thought he was a mere ghost and he felt no reason to try and live in the cold place where he once called home. As he drove he realized it was not the town itself that he hated, but his old life that he dreaded coming to terms with. He fell in love with that which causes every man to fall and it has ended up leaving him alone. 

Sanjeev Character Analysis

Sanjeev is not directly described in the story but it does state that he is from India so I would assume that he is very tall with dark skin color and black hair and brown eyes.  Being single and in his late thirty’s he has acquired quite a savings.  He works as an engineer at a firm in Hartford, Connecticut, recently finding out he could be promoted to vice president.  Sanjeev was recently married to Twinkle after knowing her only four or five months.  Sanjeev appears to be very smart in two ways.  The kind of music he listens to, being classical, shows a taste that is of high class and stature.  The other way is in the story where it states that he graduated from MIT.  Sanjeev has a very methodical and unique personality.  He is outgoing but enjoys his time alone as well.  He definitely is almost OCD about how things are organized and being neat and tidy.  The way he lives and decisions he makes are very thought out, not very free, or whimsical.  He also is not a fan of change.  Once he sees something as such, he almost expects it to be that way from here on out.  I think the things that influence Sanjeev are his Indian culture.  The food he enjoys and cooks, as well as the status he tries to achieve in society and his belief in Hinduism are all examples of this.  IN the beginning of the story he was very confident in who he was, as his life made more sense and seemed to be going smooth.  As it progresses though Sanjeev slowly starts to question key elements in his life such as the love that him and Twinkle supposedly has, wondering if he even had any love to begin with.  One important thing is that he likes making a good impression to all his coworkers and bosses even though he states he never felt like he was noticed or a real part of their group.  Sanjeev wants a steady and long lasting relationship with possible future in the future but it almost seems as Twinkle is just on the rebound or using him as long as his money lasts though she does care for him. 

Response to "This Blessed House"

To fully understand the thoughts behind “This Blessed House” one must look at the differences between Sanjeev and Twinkle, the two characters in the story. 

 Sanjeev’s and Twinkle’s personalities are very different.   This is easily seen throughout the story.  Sanjeev is very meticulous and neat about how he lives.  Going as far as how he organizes his books in alphabetical order to the way he listens to music, there is always a method or an order to the way he does things.  It is easy to gather that he is a very smart man, the story stating that he had attended MIT, as well as logical and full of reason.  While Twinkle herself is smart, she is more whimsical and not so methodical in her way of living, able to find meaning in things, such as the vast Christian paraphernalia that she discovers in the house.  Having just been married, and being that it was arranged by their parents, the two did not know each other that long or very well.   Their differences are revealed throughout the story as Twinkle embraces the idea of keeping all the Christian relics and is as Sanjeev puts it, “charmed.”  Sanjeev not only rejects this, but is “puzzled that each relic, in its own way, was so silly and clearly lacked a sense of sacredness.” Furthermore the tension heightens as Twinkle remains unconcerned her actions of dropping cigarette ash on the carpet and wearing whatever was in front of her closet.  All the while as the struggle continues, Sanjeev expresses his thoughts of being married to Twinkle, and his doubts about their future. 

What I took from this story is the idea of conflict.  Sanjeev and Twinkle are forced into a marriage where their personalities clash.  This is ultimately represented in the conflicting theme of Hinduism and Christianity.  Although Sanjeev is against the idea of the Christian relics in their home, Twinkle keeps them anyway.  Either way it offers an example of the conflict between forcing two differing personalities to live with each other. 

Reading Literature to Transform

After reading the essays as part of the assignment, one can see that there is a common theme throughout them.  This is the concept of reading for transformation.

 “Why Read Literature” starts as an introduction to this idea stating that “we are not merely empty receptacles ready to be filled with information, but living beings who are inspired by literary encounters to explore and transform ourselves.”  Literature lets us live in a way that we have always dreamed of but were never able to achieve or gives us a new perspective on life that allows us to feel more connected to the world.  I like the quote that is used by C.S. Lewis--“We want to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to fell with other hearts, as well as with our own.”  I think this shows how personal literature can become in one’s life and how impacted and inspired it allows us to be.   

The next essay, “Reading for Transformation…,” introduces poetry and literature as a more “spiritual practice.”  It is explained, by exemplifying Francis X. McAloon’s method of deciphering poetry, or his “lectio,” that one’s interaction with text becomes deeper as well as one’s connection with self and God.  I like the aspect of the essay that discusses the “three-fold blessing.” This discusses how the reading of literature or poetry can “offer us: words that give voice to previously unspoken thoughts and feelings, worlds of new possibility, and the invitation to greater and deeper self-awareness.  It’s pretty cool to see how something such as literature, which is apart from the Bible, can present a new method of daily renewal and deeper relationship with God while also “enriching the world” through our perspective as well as our relationships.  It makes me think in what other ways can we learn to grow through tasks that we pass off as informative or participate in just for the fun of it? I think by reading these essays one can see how important transformation through literature can be.  

What is Love?

I believe the essay "What Do We Talk about When We Talk about Love" is meant as a way for us as readers to think of the way we really love.  Throughout the story it is easy to see how each character and story is related to the aspects of love in its many different forms and in different ways.  For example the characters of Nick and Laura represent a young couple still in the beginning lover’s stage where everything seems new and a sense of selflessness for one another still exists.  Mel and Terri show marriage a few years down the line and how love can become wary and tolerant.  Another aspect of love that is shown is in the story of the old couple that was seriously injured.  This shows the eternal love that never runs out and lasts forever.  Unfortunately one can see that this is often times merely a dream and that the love for a person can change when Mel is describing how he no longer has the same feelings for his ex-wife and the way that all the characters have been remarried.  By introducing all these scenarios throughout the story it is hard not to be left wondering what is love really? I think Mel says it best when he says that “What do any of us really know about love? It seems to me we’re just beginners at love.”

Although it is easy to see the theme of love in this story, there are also some underlying themes as well.  I think the way the author writes and the traits that are given to the characters are reflective of the author himself.  A common reference in the story was that of drinking gin.   As the story goes on, more and more alcohol is consumed, especially by Mel.  As a result of Mel’s drinking, he gets more and more consumed with the topic of love.  I think that Raymond Carver, being a recovering alcoholic and knowing the pains of love and loss wrote the story as an interpretation of his own struggles in life. 

Actively Reading

Looking at the quote "what you get out of your reading depends on how you read," one can suppose to be taught an effective process of reading as well as to be challenged in other areas.  Not a challenge in terms of difficulty but a measure of how much time and effort one is willing to put into their work.  This is where the processes of annotation, asking questions, and commentating with the piece of reading come into play.  After reading the assigned chapter I think its easy to make a distinction between "actively reading" and "passively reading" and to see the steps to take to properly understand a text.  One can not merely read a passage and always fully understand.  Sometimes it takes a bit of deciphering or breaking down of the text through analyzation of the author's "language" and the way he writes or possibly looking for points of "repetition."  Even when a passage is easily understood, one can find further meaning by relating the story to their own experiences or events in their life.  This is insightful in the way that no matter what were reading we should always go in with the goal of "actively reading" so as to get the most out of not just this class, but everything we read.  I like this because it pushes us as students and helps us gain more from the class then just literature, but things we can apply outside the classroom in our everyday lives as well. 

 I think that this is a concept that I can relate to. When their is a text I want to understand, I take the time to fully read it and "analyze" it.   In the event that I have to read something that I feel is boring I usually will try to do it just to get it over with.  Now I see that this is a method that is only cheating myself and that I should try to fully understand any text that comes my way.

Literary Profile

Reading is an activity that I enjoyed a great deal when I was little.  Some of my first memories of literature was when my mom taught me how to read.  Through this I experienced classics such as Clifford: The Big Red Dog, Curious George, and Paddington Bear.  I also remember having family devotions every night as a way to learn Bible stories. 

 For awhile, I strayed away from reading, mostly because I did not want to and didn't feel the need to make time for it.  Being at college has changed this though as most of my recent readings have come from classes such as English Composition, Western Civilization, and various Bible classes, which are some of my favorite. Outside of class I also enjoy books by Ted Decker and Frank Peretti, recently having read House, as well as Sir John Fielding mysteries by Bruce Alexander. 

The most significant and impactful book to me is the Bible simply because of the stories it holds and the truths that act as a guide.  It is a book that I strive to read and interact with on a daily basis. 

After reading Professor Corrigan's essay "Literature Is a Thing You Do as Part of Life" I have a better understanding of what to expect from this class and what it will take to effectively participate. The two parts that stuck out to me were the emphasis on the students and their responsibilities and the fact that literature is defined as an action.   As described throughout the essay, I definitly like the fact that we get to "do" literature.  The interaction and outside of class activities makes class more fun and interesting compared to the normal lecture setting all the time.  I think that there is alot to be learned this semester from this class  and that I will leave with a better knowledge of not only literature, but reading and writing in general.