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.