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"Soma" // 11.15.12

hey look, I know that this can be made into pretty much anything to support anything at all, but here it goes. 

[1]the strokes wanted the listener to think about not just soma in the literal sense, but the idea of 'soma' and what is might be in real life. soma isn't just a thing, it's an idea. for example: 

     [2]"soma is what they would take when hard times opened up their eyes." 

[3]simply, the song talks about a possible escape. but in the second verse,

      [4]"and and then he walks out, somehow he was trying too hard to be like them."

[5]he sees his fiends and the people around him, affected by the equivalent of soma and he wants to be away from it. 

      "but I'm not listening no more." 

[6]somewhat like the other songs that we have heard, this has become a statement of resistance  the song provides a perspective that claims to be different: above the influence of the drugs that society keeps pushing. 

1. states the main argument and the purpose of the paragraph

2. first example taken from the lyrics

3. explanation of that example

4. the main idea is expanded through the addition of another quote

5. explanation of the example

6. connection to the other songs, concludes by explaining the viewpoint of the narrator

2 + 2 = 5 // 9.11.12

what is this narrative even?

why yes, it is a narrative. I take several lines in the song to mean that things in the world that the speaker sees have become what we might call illogical, wrong. hence the title, '2+2=5.' in the first lines, "are you such a dreamer, to put the world to rights", it's as if someone has changed the world to the state that it is now. the person believed that these changes might have been right, but they weren't. then, throughout the song, there are more of the illogical examples..."January has April showers...two and two make five...hail to the thief." not only have the people become complacent, they've been around these things that they've become ignorant. there might be innocence in not understanding the evils that are right under your nose, but that doesn't always make it better. "you weren't...paying attention."
in the beginning of the song, the speaker could have been fighting what he saw, and was seen as the rebel. but towards the end, you can see how the tone changes slightly. "go and tell the king that the sky is falling in...but it's not...maybe not..." these things that the speaker sees, it's as if the sky is falling, but after so long of trying to resist, he's come to accept it, at least somewhat.

also: twisted logic

Journal // 10.22.12

What is going on in this song? Explain the two separate interpretations of the same situation. How is it possible that two people can have such different takes on the same situation? Give an example from you own life. 

in the song, "don't you want me?" there are two different points of view. the guy wants to be with this girl after she left him, and he believes that she owes it to him because he helped her earlier. on the other hand, the girl wants to be on her own and live her own life. two people can have different interpretations of a situation because of their different backgrounds or motives, in which their experiences influence their views. this effect can also be caused by personality. just because two people lived the same events and experiences, doesn't mean that they will see the same things. 

and can I just pick another song? fine.

'Mirrors and Smoke' by Jars Of Clay - here, once again, we have a duet in which two people argue about the meaning and the purpose of love. one person keeps thinking that love isn't all that he thought it would be, but the other is trying to convince him that he sees it all wrong. but that's just how I interpret it. 

Blackbird // The Beatles

three symbols:
    -broken wings
    -sunken eyes / learning to see
    -night, darkness

The symbols could be interpreted to tell how the song is about the civil rights movement and the struggle for freedom and expression during the period. 'Broken wings', while not literal, could refer to oppression that people faced at the time. 'Sunken eyes' and 'learn to see' represents the hope for all people to be seen as equals. The reference to night could represent the future that lies ahead: for many people, the years around 1968 were uncertain, but through the lyrics 'you were only waiting for this moment to be free,' it's hoped that an opportunity is coming soon.

Shame // The Avett Brothers

The subject of the song is a relationship that ended badly, and the tome is remorseful. The word 'blame' in the song conjures up the image of more than one person being involved in a situation and that someone was a fault for what happened. It's obvious that the author feels bad, but how bad? The author speaks of 'boatloads of shame', which is a more elaborate way to say 'a lot.' Also, the author talks about his personality and his heart, which was 'posing to be as warm as yours.' This also adds to the tone of the piece, telling how he was colder than her, but in a figurative sense. The differences might have been what caused the relationship to end, but he wishes it wasn't that way.

"Love Language" - what is the purpose if the film? is it effective? what feeling are you left with and why? 

the main purpose is to raise awareness and portray how people with conditions like deafness are still human, just like the people who are watching the film. by involving the audience and getting the viewer to focus more on the exchanges and communication between the two characters. there are a few hints that the woman is deaf, but the audience might not notice. when it is finally revealed, the audience is convinced: someone with a disability is pretty much the same as everyone else and should be treated as such. one of the main things that I see is the idea of unconditional love and acceptance of a person, something that more people really need to understand. also, what if the two ended up together? what would the inside of their house look like? sticky notes everywhere? 

opener // 9.5.12

Harry Nilsson: Good Old Desk

S- a song about a desk that the narrator likes very much. the desk could be a symbol for something else, because it seems silly to write a song about a desk and have it be just that.

N- the writer of the song, who might be inclined to prefer the familiarity of his own desk over any other one. which most people can relate to. 

A- the people listening to the song. the audience might take the symbolism of the desk literally, or they may have their own views about the song and it's meaning. for some, it's a person, or an activity.

P- Nilsson, as the writer of the song, might have wanted to just say what he thought, without having high school students pick it apart. the audience can follow his lead by finding their own meaning and identifying with the idea that the song presents.

so what it if is about god? (three lyric examples)

-'keeping my hopes alive' - refers to how people find hope in religion

-'never seen it tease, always there to please me' - refers to how god is seen as fair, kind

-'isn't picturesque' - god might not be seen, but the narrator has faith in what he can't see

opener // 9.4.12

painting: 'the pinch of poverty'

S- poverty and family. there is a mother and her three children on a street corner selling flowers in the rain.

N- the artist (narrator) shows the people in the painting as looking unhappy and tired, mainly because of their  situation. the bright flowers show, however, that the artist believes that even in poverty, there are a few bright  things in life. (more on that later)

A- the audience would be anyone who sees the painting, but mainly the upper class, as they are the most likely to be patrons of the arts.

P- based on the audience and the subject matter, maybe the painter was meaning to make poverty more visible and understood in high society.

2 elements:

• color- the mostly neutral color palette and the way that the people blend into the background contrasts with the bight flowers that the girl is holding. this contrast could have been used to illustrate that the poor do have some things in common with most people: they enjoy and value the small sparks of color in life, and that their life isn't always bad.
• spacing- the way  that the girl is stepping forward, away from the rest of her family could represent how she has responsibility and independence to sell flowers and to help support her family. 

opener // 8.20.12

how do you define culture? what makes up a person's culture? is it intrinsic or extrinsic? explain.

culture is a person's viewpoint and interpretation of not just their personal life, but the world around them. this includes family relationships, arts, media and entertainment (or what they do in their free time), communication styles, morals and how people behave in the presence of others. a person might be born with the capacity or tendency towards one aspect of culture, just as people have their own style and personality, but culture is mostly learned from others.

opener // 8.17.12

three facts and three claims about the painting "Runaways" by Norman Rockwell:

• the paining is painted by Norman Rockwell.
• in the painting, there is a police officer, a young boy, and a man behind the counter.
• thee is a chalkboard displaying the specials behind the counter.

***

• the painting depicts a different time period, mostly indicated by the clothes that the subjects are wearing and the decorations of the shop that they are in. today, the painting could be viewed as how times have changed. in our time, a kid that age would never be out, running away on their own, at least without getting very far.
• the man behind the counter works there. this one is simple. yes, he might be smoking a cigarette, but the way he is dressed closely resembles a kitchen worker. 
• some would say that the police officer is scolding the child for running away, but it could also be viewed that the police officer and the kid both ended up at the lunch counter because they are both taking a moment to run away from their own responsibilities. it all depends on your point of view and how you choose to interpret the title and the work together.

Pygmalion // part two

From act II to act III, most of Eliza's training is going on behind the scenes and skipped over in order to get to her presentation as a member of high society. I guess it would have mad a hundred-page play much longer and somewhat boring to include this part. the reader understands much of the process, and the jump from one time to the next is probably  meant to illustrate a large and sudden shift.

The party that all of this is leading up to is certainly a very odd scene. while Higgins' first student, identified as Whiskers, seems interesting, how he misinterprets Eliza to be of French or Austrian descent is just another example of a motif that I keep seeing: people make assumptions about small details of someone's personality, and these people are usually wrong. Things and people are not always what they seem. Everything seems to be going well at the party, but when Eliza, Higgins and Pickering get home, Eliza flips out, because she has been reduced to being less than human and more of a mission accomplished. And I think her anger is justified.

Another main point of the story seems to have something to do with expectations; part of Eliza's success and quick learning had to do with the expectations others had for her and the focus that she had. These expectations can take a person very far, but not everything about style, grace and personality can be taught. To force these things on a person and expect them to learn to be a more desirable person somewhat reduces them to less than they were in the beginning. Like I said in the beginning, a person cannot be reduced to to the way they speak or where they came from. The more you get to know them, the more one will realize that everyone has their own vision, expectations and dreams.

[act III - end of act V]

A little note, but if anyone has any questions or needs help with Blogger, I am willing to help. I've been here a few times.

Pygmalion // part one

The story begins in the rain, which you could have guessed, given the setting. The reader, having read the back of the book, is probably eager to meet this new protagonist, but it is not apparent at first that she is present in the opening scene. It is not until later than her name, or the fact that she has a name and is not some faceless stand-in, is revealed. The same goes for the two Higgins and Pickering, and the fact that they just happened to run into each other when one was looking to find the other. It seems very coincidental. My observation is that people and characters often drastically change and become more complex the more time you spend around them. As the play goes on, names and backgrounds are slowly revealed.

Second (I'm jumping around here), Mr. Doolittle's erratic behavior seems off to me. Eliza, seeming to be about 17-20(ish), never mentioned that she had much of a family, and she is living on her own, which I guess is uncommon for the time. When Mr. Doolittle shows up, first demanding to take her back and then later allowing her to stay, it indicates to me that there is more something more to him.

The story, at first, reminds me of Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey (published long before there were fifty, thankyouverymuch), where everyone is colorblind to a certain extent, and social standing are determined by how much and what color a person can see. In Pygmalion, more realistically, how a person speaks determines how others see them and indicates where they came from. While eloquence may make communication clearer and more polite, people often make too big a deal of it. I think that exaggeration of one thing like color or speech as part of a literary work serves to illustrate how society puts too much emphasis on small differences that can't completely define a person.

[my copy only has 102 full pages, so this is to the end of act II]

The Pearl // part two

I can see how the pearl could have been seen as unique, if not odd, but 'a monstrosity' is not something that I saw coming. I guess the rejection by the pearl buyers foreshadows the coming events leading up to the end of the story. For now, Kino and Juana are on their way to the capital to find a better offer for the pearl.

One thing that sticks in my mind is how the attackers the Kino fights off multiple times during the nights are never described or revealed at all. A struggle, cuts and scrapes, but never a face or a name for the reader. In the beginning of the story, few could have seen the real cost of the pearl, and how little wealth it would really bring. Funny how when everything is good, it's difficult to seriously consider all of the thing that could go wrong. These things are cloaked in the shadows of foresight, much like the attackers in the night that can never be truly known.

It's still tough to explain, but I would connect the ending to John Green's Looking For Alaska, where it is often asked [spoiler alert] for the sake of the story, did Alaska really have to die? While this story is much simper, the question is still the same: did Coyotito really have to die in the end, even if by totally unforeseen circumstances? is it fate, sealed when Kino discovered the pearl?

Simply put, I see two main points to the story: First, riches and fortune will always come at a high (and often unforeseen) cost. Second, in hindsight, the loss of a family is far greater and more deeply mourned than that of a fortune.

Well, there goes my night.

[pages 47-101]

The Pearl // part one

Chapter one begins, as with most stories, with establishing the setting, explaining the situation and letting the reader know what is going on. A quick portrait of an average day...I'm taking notes as I read, but something about the scorpion biting Coyotito seems more like foreshadowing of something to me.

When Kino finds the pearl, word spreads quickly, as it would in almost any small setting like this one, but the comparison to the nervous system of the human body is very accurate. Often, messages and events are transmitted faster than we can consciously know. Also, almost constantly throughout the story, the mood is conveyed through an ever-changing 'song' that has become a collective form of communication. I believe it to be a connection to the tradition of oral history which was probably very common in a rural village in Mexico, for not everyone knew how to read and write. Though not used as much today, I would compare it to how some people (myself included) often associate a song or sound with a memory or feeling.

Finally, the doctor seems to be a personification of how wealth changes not only the person who posses it, but the people around him or her. While the priest is extremely condescending to the people of the village, the doctor actually despises them, as if their lack of money makes them less than human. ("what am I, a veterinarian?") That is, until he hears that the man that was too poor to be seen is now wealthy beyond belief. (also, wealth has changed the pearl buyers, who have become clever, trying to get away with paying less to the divers.) It's obvious that the capsule that the doctor gave to Coyotito was not a cure, but a way for the doctor to get some of the money that Kino was soon to have. Perhaps the person that you would trust with your life has become less ethical than a poor fisherman. But perhaps the reason that I feel the most contempt for the doctor is his supper of chocolate and sweet cakes. With which he is discontent.

[pages 1-46]