Final Post: The Soloist

Finally, I have reached the end of this wonderful novel. Being that this is one of the top most inspirational books I have ever read, I feel almost compelled to write to Mr. Lopez himself for updates on how Nathaniel is doing. Of all the evils that are inflicted upon so many good people daily, there is nothing more joyous then to establish some sort of faith in this world: the life of music. In addition, stories like this bring hope to those who don't have any. Although Nathaniel Ayers was living in a hell on earth, life was still able to turn around for him again. Of course he will never fully recover, but he now lives in an apartment, has his own music studio, and has many opportunities to hear and meet some of his favorite artists. 

How many people in life can get a second chance? Isn't it nice to be able to look at stories like this and think of how much power it has? It can make people realize that no matter what happens to you in life, if you're a good person with a good heart, then there has to be something out there for you made to save you. That's what Steve Lopez was for Nathaniel, a savior. There has never been a musician like Nathaniel, a story such as this, and it has touched so many hearts. Nathaniel truly is the soloist. Now there are new beginnings for Nathaniel, a much deserved second chance for him to be able to catch up some on things he has missed out on. I believe that no matter what types of conflicts come upon them both, that their friendship will prevail all evils. 

Patience and Friendship

As Steve Lopez proceeds his mission to cure Nathaniel, his commitment to Nathaniel slowly grows into an honest love for his new friend. Following the new and odd friendship, are changes in Nathaniel's chemistry. These changes result in consistently happier days for Nathaniel as his overall attire improves, he gets invited back to go see the Philharmonic Orchestra, and he maintains a permanent residence at Lamp. Nathaniel even has the opportunity to have his own music studio to visit. 

However, with every great day follows a grim day. Days where Nathaniel is found at war with himself howling, or at war with the other residents at Lamp. Days where his hyper-race-conscious defenses are followed by obsessive compulsion. 

I feel that Steve needs to learn to be more patience with Nathaniel because as scary as the schizophrenic -paranoid side of Nathaniel is, it is still there inside of him. 

This being said doesn't cancel out all of the good Steve is doing. He isn't in it for the publicity and fame. It is a sincere obligation to help out a friend, something Steve hasn't really had in a long time being his profession only did allow so much intimacy in the past. Steve finds the truest form of a friend in Nathaniel: a friend who challenges and inspires you; someone who sends you out on a journey to find the truest form of yourself. I believe that Steve needed someone like Nathaniel because he had spent so many years writing the stories of others, that he forgot his own story.

Part Two of The Soloist

As Steve Lopez continues his journey to help Nathaniel Ayers, he takes an up-close and personal look at what Nathaniel is up against: his own so-called home, Skid Row. Skid Row can be described as a bombardment of drugs and mental illness. A complete catastrophe of heroin addicts and mercenary muggers, the whole image of a man productively playing a violin in the middle of all of the police/ambulance sirens would surprise and yet frighten you.

While reading, you can't help but wonder why Lopez would go through so much trouble in order to help out Nathaniel. This whole story on the progression of a street instrumentalist is no longer a job to Lopez, but a commitment. As committed as some people might be to their jobs, I doubt many people would stay the night within the mayhem of Skid Row just to help out someone who refuses to seek much dependency on medications, and with a flip of a switch could flip off of the wall. Maybe we'll come to find that as much as Nathaniel needs Lopez, Lopez needs Nathaniel a little more.

I support what Steve is doing in every way possible. However, after careful comparison and observation, I am worried about the outcome of the situation. I compared the curiosities of protagonist Lopez with protagonist Nick, from The Great Gatsby. Both Nick and Lopez took interest in someone they didn't know much about, and sought to find out more about these mysterious characters (Nathaniel and Gatsby). However, the outcome of Nick's obligations towards Gatsby resulted in is neighbor's demise. Will the efforts of Lopez result in Nathaniel's decline? If not a total decline, how will Nathaniel redeem himself?

The Soloist by Steve Lopez

After reading the first six chapters of The Soloist, I've become very enthusiastic about finishing it because the musical allusions and psychological elements appeal to me. I've come across many subtle details that amuse me and can't wait to continue alongside Steve Lopez in his journey to help cure Nathaniel Ayers' mental state of being.

In the beginning, we find Lopez as a hardworking columnist who recently discovered the grubby and mysterious musician, Nathaniel Ayers. Although this man was playing a rusty, old violin with only two strings, he immediately recognized that there was some form of musical professionalism in his stature. The alluring aura of the busking Ayers convinces Lopez that he may just have something on this man. After a short time, Lopez discovers not only Ayer's passion for the arts, but that this man had once attended Julliard until a mental breakdown.

The reason why I find so much appeal to this novel is because I can relate to state of mind that Ayer's is in when he picks up his instrument; you're a million miles away from everything and everyone, time ceases to exist, and all you can hear are the vibrations of your instrument. Following this trance, all you want to do is perfect the piece you're playing because each time you repeat it, it sounds all the more beautiful.  This is the kind of emotional protocol that takes place between every musician in the world. The desire for that feeling and the connection to the aspiring people around you and before you (who may of even composed the music you're playing) is what keeps people like Ayer's and myself practicing. Music is the spiritual connection between the people of this world.

In particular, there are two parts that I found entertaining. For example, when Lopez found the names, such as Babe Ruth, scribbled on the pavement near Ayers. After Lopez asks whose names they were, Ayer's merely commented that those were just some of his classmates at Juilliard. The idea that he was friends with worldwide famous characters is both compelling and hard to wrap my mind around. Or, the part where Ayer's comments that although he doesn't know where everyone he once knew ended up, he hears "a kid named yo-yo ma" is doing pretty well for himself. I have no words. 

In summary, this book, for someone like me that is, ought to be pretty interesting. It seems like a pretty heart warming book and I can't wait to see how Lopez treats Ayers, and not his disease. I would also like to see how Lopez winds up after his much-needed and profound change as well.

*As far as commenting goes, any mechanical corrections are welcome. As far as agreement or disagreement, I welcome either. I want to see what everyone thinks about this blog.

The Catcher In The Rye

Throughout nearly everyones’ life, particularly during adolescence, there comes a time when one longs to discover their identity and purpose. This search for meaning and identity is a universal issue that crosses the boarders of class and social status, culture, race, and gender. Whether we are aware of it or not, everyone is connected by this will to understand their relevance in life. In a popular, classic novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, this urge to discover identity is portrayed through the struggles of fictional character, Holden Caulfield. Salinger writes about Holden’s life following his expulsion from a prestigious prepatory school, Pencey Academy.
After a brief, yet captivating introduction, the plot unfolds during one frigid Saturday before Holden is forced to leave this upscale boarding school that has become his home. After a visit with a disappointed history teacher, Mr. Spencer, Holden becomes embarrassed and ashamed of his less than savory behavior. He becomes overwhelmed with the feeling of self-loathing. The disappointment his teacher and mentor, Mr. Spencer expresses causes shines a light on Holden’s shortcomings and failures that he brought upon himself.
Later that night, Holden is overcome by a strong desire to leave the academy. This desire is essentially triggered by his unhygienic neighbor and hot-shot roommate, Stradlater. Holden refuses to stay his last couple nights in the same dormitory as Stradlater. As a result, Holden decides to leave the academy early and stay at the Edmont Hotel in New York City, in an effort to avoid facing his family and revealing his failures as a student. Within the next two days, he becomes involved in wreckless and thoughtless behavior. He meets with less than savory people from his past. The journey that follows and the compromising situations he places himself in, soon leads him home to reunite with his younger sister, Phoebe.
During this journey of self discovery, I found Holden’s psychological state fascinating. yet incredibly depressing. Salinger’s portrayal of the teenage psyche creates a timeless versatility
that many teenagers today can relate to. This book has an element of emotional ups and downs. Holden encounters phases of depression, nervous breakdowns, irrational and erotic behavior, in addition to compulsive and out of control spending.
Salinger’s novel enables modern day teenagers to relate their personal issues to those of Holden. For example, Holden believes he is an extremely perceptive individual, which in reality he is anything but perceptive. He fails to realize his judgmental traits and lapse in perception by constantly finding flaws in others, but never recognizing his own shortcomings. Holden’s juvenile and naive behavior is characteristic of many young people today. Often it is easier for one to place judgment on others and neglect identifying and correcting their own flaws.
Clearly, Salinger has a strong understanding of the universal issue that often face many teenagers. He thoughtfully demonstrates these issues through the demise of Holden’s life. The novel is a timeless classic that has the ability to teach young people life’s values. Salinger’s message is sent to the reader through many interesting metaphors. While, his main points may be difficult to identify, they are important and of great value to those who are struggle with issues of identity, self-worth, and meaning in life.

Blog About Death of a Salesman

Throughout Arthur Miller’s novel, Death of a Salesman, are many profound subtexts. For this week’s blog entry, I am going to take an analytical approach on a few of these subtexts that I came across during the plot's progression. I am also going to take some partial focus on Willy’s psychological function that seemed to have some correlation with these subtexts.
When first reading the play, the author starts to describe the setting of the Lomans’ house. When this house was first bought, we can infer the surrounding area was all open space, containing potential to be anything, such as Willy’s dreams when he was younger. Notice how the author describes the house to be presently hemmed in by apartment buildings on all sides, where sunlight probably doesn’t touch often. Now that the house is besieged by apartment buildings, coincidentally, so are Willy’s dreams. Although there are a few silver linings and rays of sunlight, with the passing of time, the play’s gloomy outcome proves it to be a little too late for Willy to start over and so to speak, break through those apartment buildings. Even  the movie depicts the house itself to look as though it aged too drastically to make any room for improvement. Also notice, how later on, when we find Willy talking to his wife Linda about how they should to the country, towards more open space. In other words, he subconsciously wanted to move on to find more potential.
While on the subject of Willy’s dreams, I’ve found that he is probably a better dreamer then a salesman. He doesn’t exactly dream of selling big, either. At least not directly. Willy thinks that being “well-liked” has some positive correlation to success because he demonstrates a constant trend to shoot after a good reputation then actual success in his business through fidelity. But, do you ever find out what Willy exactly sells, or even the name of The Woman? No, because Willy finds these details irrelevant. Willy uses the woman as a tool to feel “well-liked” because she regards herself as a means for Willy to get buyers more efficiently.
In addition, because of his presently somber situation, his “episodes” function as an escape from his current distress. However, his flashbacks don’t truly illustrate the past because he seems to edit his past and look for his mistakes regarding his relationship with Biff and trying to figure out how exactly Biff ruined his future. As for Biff, his father never gives him the discipline that every parent should give their child. While he continues to contradict himself about Biff’s laziness (meanwhile he asks Linda why he is “always being contradicted”), he showers Biff with praise about his natural talent for football. I would guess that the reason psychologically for that is, that Willy probably just didn’t want to hurt Biff’s ego because of how insecure he is himself, and just wanted his son to like him. Willy also seemed to thrive and function off of Biff’s high school success and popularity through affiliation.
Currently, we find Willy now trying to reiterate his dreams through his son, contradicting Biff’s real ambitions and natural inclinations. Biff wants to be nothing like his father, and would be happier outside of the city working in a ranch out in the west. Even so, you find that Willy’s wistful fantasy of living in Alaska shows he chose the wrong profession anyway. He also compared the professional and private aspects of his life with those people of false prosperity. Ben’s success was merely a blind stroke of luck while he completely missed the fact that Singleman was still working until the age of 84 and died on the job. His funeral was also accompanied by the people who just happened to be there while he died.
In summary, Willy just falls to notice anything. He is too old to start over. He can’t possibly become an overnight success, and neither can his son. Meanwhile, his other son’s success, Happy, is barely taken note of. Instead of looking at his family’s reputation, he should of looked at the bigger picture, that being, what the future held for the family. Instead of worrying about everyone else, he should of diverted that amount of attention towards his family. Willy failed to see the love Linda and his son’s held for him. He failed to be able to draw he line between himself as a salesman and himself as a husband/father.

Blogging About Blogger

For the past several weeks, my 11th grade class has been using blogspot.com to express our thoughts about the stories or poems we have been reading. I enjoy being able to express my ideas on this website and having access to my fellow classmates’ websites to read about their ideas too.
In addition, blogging really helped me with my writing. It's become a lot easier for me in terms of clarification and expressing my thoughts and opinions quicker. Not to mention this method of expressing our individual thoughts is probably convenient for most of us in the class because we all go on the computer daily, anyway.
However, I didn't enjoy blogging at first. I was actually really intimidated. Having all of your writing out on display for people to see really puts you under a little pressure if you're someone like me, who, use to never really speak in class. I am also not use to having anyone but the teacher read my work. But, in spite of all the intimidation, this started to bring out the best in my writing because I would write knowing others were going to read my entries. And by observing other people’s perspectives, it makes it easier for me to form opinions based off of their point of view, especially if I am having trouble expressing what I want to say or if I don’t know what Mr. Fiorini wants out of this assignment.
By reading my classmates’ blogs, I have also discovered that they are all really good writers as well. They form interesting opinions and mention details about stories that I often overlook.
Thinking back on last year, I have to say I like this English class a lot better. Unlike last year, this class has taught me how to take analytical approaches on simple pieces of writing.
Last year, it was always only about the technical elements of writing, such as identifying personification and learning how to use proper grammar in your writing. But to me, that all means nothing if you don’t understand what you are reading about.
In summary, even though making a website in order to be graded on blogging and having to blog every weekend didn’t really appeal to me at first, I have found that it had positive effects on my writing in the long run.

The Great Gatsby: My Conclusions and Opinions

The Great Gatsby is by far one of the most profound and confusing books I have ever read, full of twists, triangles, and random situations. Here are just some analytical aspects I have come up with while reading this book.

1. The weather in this book often corresponds with events in the book. For example, the day Gatsby and Daisy are reunited, it is raining. At the end of the book, you find Gatsby's dreams (Daisy and wealth) have died after all, so this meeting wasn't intended to have a bright ending, but rather a gloomy, cold, and cloudy outcome, such as that day. In addition, that day, Daisy often cries when she is with Gatsby, such as when Nick walked back in on them after warning then with noises from the kitchen that he is coming in. 

Another example would be the confrontation between Tom and Gatsby, which took place on the hottest day of the year, where the sun is most intense, like their situation. Then, after we find out that Daisy is going to stay with Tom, the weather turns cold, much like Gatsby's anticipated dream, which is now dead. The change in seasons also represents that it is time to move on. The question is, can Gatsby move on?

2. We find in one of the final chapters, that Gatsby started to tell Nick of him and Daisy's past. I believe he did it to try and keep his dream of being with Daisy alive. Sometimes, people often do these type of things because psychologically, it gives them hope, even if it is only a little. If they can talk about it and feel real feelings about the way they do, it must be true, right?

3. I discovered this next analytical depiction from when Nick was contemplating Gatsby's death. The thing is that with people, people often base on what is "meant to be" by means of obvious symbols they notice while living a normal day. However, I myself believe that symbols are created by the mind as Nick does. They don't have any meaning, it's just people invest in their meaning to please themselves. Again, it is to keep their ambitions alive. If you think about it, if that so-called "sign" were to pop up without you feeling the way you do, would you notice them? Probably not.

4. Birds of a feather flock together. Tom, Daisy, Mrs. Wilson, were all had a get together beginning of a book. And, if you can recall, the event had a horrible outcome. A chunk of this book bases it's plot off of their fidelity. However, if you notice, Nick and Mr. Wilson leave the party early. 

5. I have always thought the American dream was to achieve riches because the more you achieve, the better your children will have it. A survival of the fittest sort of thing. At least, I was conditioned to believe this. But, the American dream is the pursuit of happiness of course. I mean, duh. I feel so dumb. Why didn't I notice this before, it says it right in our Declaration. The American dream was originally the pursuit of happiness, but has been reduced to something as superficial gaining as many dollar bills as you can. But, if it's the pursuit of happiness, who can tell me I'm not living the American dream?

Speaking of the survival of the fittest, I've also realized how the people in this book who have originally came from the West can't adapt to their new environment. They went to New York because of some facade that was embedded into them when they were young, only to find out that the East isn't as morally focused as the West. Therefore, the characters couldn't adapt. They were doomed from the start.

6. Last, how do you deal with your past when trying to build your future? After all, your past is your foundation to a successful future. For example, how do we Americans expect to prevail from our economic and social conflicts when our country's foundation was built upon greed, slavery, radicalization, and bloodshed?

The Great Gatsby Chapters 1-3

For my blog, I would like to comment on and question both quotes and events that happened during my reading of the first three chapters of The Great Gatsby.

“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.”

Let me start by saying that this quote stuck out to me because this is something that my mother had mentioned to me a number of years ago. I, of course, never really understood what it meant when I was younger because she didn’t exactly word it that blatantly. I don’t remember exactly how she said it, but I remember looking at her like she had ten heads because I was too stubborn to try and decipher her advice. I didn’t understand quite where my mom was getting at until maybe a year or two ago.
I realized many things. One, that people have advantages over me just as I have over them. We use these advantages to get what we want out of life. And most of the time, people have the same dream. But, it isn’t always about spiteful competition and stressing over what that person has over you, and therefore wasting energy trying to tear them down and undermine their talents. It’s about putting all of that energy into perfecting what you have over them because chances are, they stress over that little thing that makes anything you create, you, a.k.a. your uniqueness.
Or, more specifically, plain and simple, just mind your own business and let people do what they want in whatever it is that they are doing. Really, what people should do is know how to give constructive criticism when they really feel like commenting on something.

“Personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures.”

I picked this quote because I like it. It’s so true. I’ve never read anything that defined personality. I always though persona was something that some people had, and some people lacked.
This quote made me think, “how exactly do people gain personality?”. How do you get to know you? I kind of think I lack one. I don’t always play the same card when I react to certain situations. I try someone new everyday...not to sound bipolar or anything I am pretty much normal. (Whatever normal is...people pretty much have their own opinions on what normal is.) What I’m trying to say is I try a different me every day. It kind of narrows it down to who I am each day, but it’s still hard.
And what exactly is a successful gesture? Not everyone likes everyone. How do you know how beautiful your personality is?

Tom: “I’ve gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things.” Daisy: “You see I think every thing’s terrible anyhow.”

I would like to comment on what a terrible impact Tom has on Daisy’s character. His cheating has caused a negative effect on Daisy’s psychological state, and I think that it’s time Daisy divorced him because even though they’re in a time where divorce is a rarity, it comes down to this question: What does she care more about, her reputation and status from marrying a rich man, or her and her baby’s happiness and mental health?

In my opinion, Tom is trying too hard to be an intellectual. He seems too malleable to be able to form any type of “credible” opinion on a profound subject, and is probably only trying to improve his reputation, because he didn’t come off to me exactly as an intellectual thinker. He is probably only doing this because he has too much time on his hands and to make him feel better about himself. In high school he was basically the stud, the star, the epitome of masculinity. But, now that he no longer has anyone to pick on, harass, or undermine, now what? Now, he just tortures his wife to feel superior? Poor Daisy.

“...I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands.” I didn’t get this at all. Once Mr. McKee and Nick left all of the commotion of their small get together, this is where the scene took us. I don’t know, it was just weird and strange sounding. I would also like to comment on how comical it was that Mr. McKee just woke up from a drunken nap at the party, started to walk, turned around, looked at his wife (who was in complete distress because her friend and Tom’s mistress, Mrs. Wilson, had just gotten punched in the face by Tom) turned back around, and headed for the door, leaving her to survive the drunken drama all by herself.

“Every one suspects himself at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”

This quote is kind of trippy. Only you know how honest you are, but how do you know other’s are? Sometimes you only get the virtue of knowing one other person has ever been completely honest to you.

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An American Poet: Anne Sexton

http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/annesexton/635


1) Anne Sexton lived a complex and overall depressing life. Although she was living comfortably, her life was completely different behind the doors of her Newton, Massachusetts home. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother’s literary aspirations often were distracted because of affairs at home. Anne often felt her parents were hostile toward her and feared that they would abandon her. She found refuge from this drama through her Nana.
Her later life was followed by fame, infidelity in her husbands absence, therapy, medication, the death of her Nana, the birth of two children, the unexpected death of her parents, several attempts at suicide, and finally, a divorce. During her struggles, the only road to stability seemed to be through her poetry, art, friends, and affairs. She died due to asphyxiation of carbon monoxide in her Boston home.
In her poem, she wished to die among the stars. In other words, to exceed fame and escape her profound lifestyle. With all of her drama, she probably had to fight everyday to succeed in separating her life as a celebrity from her complicated life at home. Reading her biography, her life sounded really exhausting. The way she described the stars that night gave some insight into her faith that when she dies she hopes to be at peace.

2.) Anne Sexton’s imagery is the main rhetorical aspect that contributed to my reading of her poem/ She uses colorful adjectives and suggestive verbs that really create a source of vivid imagination within the reader’s mind. Some examples are “the night boils”, “the moon bulges in its orange irons”, and “the old unseen serpent swallows up the stars”. In my opinion, the arbitrary actions she describes are what kept the poem moving for me.

http://www.poemhunter.com/anne-sexton/
In her poems, it is often difficult to decipher what she is trying to depict in her writing. At least, the first time around. However, in her poems, Sexton has a lot of emotion and expression. She often describes a scene, and then warps it in some way. If she were an artist, I would guess she was a post impressionist. Well, actually, she was an artist, and even quoted Vincent Van Gogh in her poem (another post impressionist), so maybe she was. In that case, I think she is amazing to have the same affects in her writing as a post impressionist has in their paintings.

4) What makes Sexton’s writings distinctively American is the fact that she writes about whatever she wants, and expresses herself in the best way that she can. The fact that she is a poet is also distinctively American because in her life, she wanted to live it the best way she would, and the best way she thought she should live her life was through expression. She isn’t just an idle day dreamer coming up with crazy scenarios and metaphors, she made her imagination a profession.

Part Two....Realism vs. Romanticism

2) In Cather's story A Wagner Matinee, she was probably trying to communicate two main themes: never to waste time and to never let someone take away what you love the most because sometimes you can't get it back. In this story, Aunt Georgina (as mentioned in my last blog), didn't necessarily waste her time, but more let it pass her by because she lived such a constant routine doing chores. So basically, you can say by just always trying to do her chores and pelase her husband by doing so and never allowing her to do what she loved for her own pleasure, she wasted her time. It's like writing, you can writefive pages and say nothing. It's meaningless text. So, all of her hard work on her homestead is meaningless work. She accomplished nothing in the long run. However, if she would of just allowed herself to practice for five minutes each day and go for listens and plays monthly, she would acocmplished a lot more for her mental and physical health. She would of turned out different. Instead, she has authoritis in her fingers and can never really play piano again.
Which leads to the second theme. She let her passion be taken away from ehr by moving to a homestead with a younger man, and now she seems to ahve no depth to her mind and doesn't seem to percieve much.
A social theme that is communicated through her writing is the issue of aging. This women is also dealing with the afct that not only did she waste her life away, but she can't get it back. It isn't like she is a young women either. It is just harder to start over when you are so old.
In Conseqences, it is hard to say what Cather is trying to communicate. Maybe it is to work hard a little more then we play. In this story, Eastman has a friend named Cavenaugh who was a big social butterfly, while Eastman would prefer to get done his work. In the long run, Cavenaugh kills himself, as good as his life was. But, we don't know if Cavenaugh killed himself because the stalker that was driving Cavenaugh crazy was there, apparently. But, did this stalker even exist? No one has ever seen him really. This story is confusing.

3)In a Wagner Matinee, Cather could be writing for a family member (or anyone really) that went through the same trauma as Aunt Georgina, communing that she feels bad. Who knows, maybe Cather has an Aunt Goergina. Anyways, in a Wagner Matinee, she is communing to young artists to never let go of their passion for anything because they posess something most people can't even touch.
In Consequences, maybe it is a memorial for someone she knows who went through the same thing. AS far as she is writing to, hard to say. She could be writing to young people who live in apartments to caution them about stalkers and playing mroe then you work.

4) A Wagner Matinee holds a lot of relevence to my feelings for two feelings. Number one, I always would rather draw or play something when I'm doing what I'm suppose to be doing. In addition, I can connect to Aunt Georgina's feelings. She let something be taken away from her and didn't even realize how much she missed it until later because she repressed it so much for so long. This is how I started feeling about playing violin this year. I never cared, and then I saw how good people were getting at playing whatever they play and how I could of been like that if I would of practiced. I wasted a lot of time. Now I have to make up for it. The only difference if that I have more time to make up for it.
Consequences was just fun to read. It didn't hold a lot of relevence like A Wagner Matinee did. It did make me mroe cautious though.

5) A Wagner Matinee drew me right away because I knew it was about music, and how sometimes people would rather be doing other things then what they are suppose to be doing, such as practicing music. This is how I feel when it comes to homework, like right now. Anyway, it was fun to read because I knew basically all of the musical references.
I liked Consequences because it was a big mystery. You knew something weird was going to happen because Cavenaugh's life seemed too perfect. The ending was alittle predictable, but I love it when a story such as this one leaves you with questions.
For example:
Was the stalker real?
Why did Eastman think of his work as a delightful place at the end?

Romanticism vs. Realism

For my blog, I have read the following two stories by Willa Cather: A Wagner Matinee and Consequences. A Wagner Matinee is a story about a boy who takes his aging Aunt Georgina to a concert, and her reaction to the music after so many years of living in a constant routine and sheltered life. Consequences depicts the story of man named Eastman, whose neighbor Cavenaugh is stalked by a mysterious man.
As far as Consequences goes, American literature has made a vast change from Romanticism into Realism. This story isn’t one whose narrator reached enlightenment through a walk in the woods, talked about nonviolent resistance, or was approached by some shady demon with an axe. It instead focuses on a frightening but real world issue of how people are sought out not by shady demons, but by shady characters instead, as they are obsessively shadowed and in the end are pushed over the edge. However, (I just realized), the stories of Eastman’s neighbor and Tom Walker have interesting similarities. Both characters become friends with an unlikely being in a strange place (both Walker and Cavenaugh met their “friends” in a woodsy type place), and drive themselves mental after spending so much time under the influence of these “characters”. For example, Cavenaugh cracked and committed suicide while Tom Walker , as he got older, tried to routinely go to church and pray really loud, not to mention the obsession he had with carrying around bibles with him all the time. There are only a few differences, such as of narration (Tom Walker is narrated by the author and Consequences is narrated by Eastman), how they met their “friends” (Tom Walker happened to stumble upon the demon while Eastman was stumbled upon on by his “friend”), and how you define suicide (it is assumed Cavenaugh killed himself and technically Tom Walker killed himself by saying “the devil take me” however sarcastic that was).
And, thinking about it, A Wagner Matinee has realistic and romantic aspects about it. American Realism depicts that humanity's freedom of choice is limited by the power of outside forces. In A Wagner Matinee, Aunt Georgina is limited by her environment. She lived in Nebraska on a homestead, where instead of going to see orchestra’s and practice her scales, she had to attend to chores and limit herself to the hymns of her Methodist church. Methodists themselves are rigid. Her life was reduced to a boring routine. And her ability to turn her life around is limited by her age. She is too old to start completely over.
Romanticism is an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature. It also stresses strong emotion through experience. In A Wagner Matinee, it stresses the vast emotions of Aunt Georgina watching an orchestra as they come pouring out through every bow stoke of a violin strong. In her experience, she suddenly comes to terms with her passion, and decides that she doesn’t want to face her reality.
In synopsis, I don’t think there is much of a change. Realism just doesn’t focus so much on demons and mythology. Both of these different genres of writing (Consequences and the Tom Walker Story, that is) focus on the same story lines and morals. In addition, a Wagner Matinee contains elements of both romanticism and realism.

If writing didn't have the power to enact social change, then why do people write books? Why do politicians create documents that can do anything from declare independence to enforce laws? Why do historical figures write about their experiences and leave them behind for us? Why are millions upon millions of newspapers printed each day? Why do websites such as myspace, facebook, xanga, and even blogspot exist? If writing can't procure social metamorphosis, then why write at all? Plain and simple, this is done because writing does indeed enact change, period. It has done it plenty of times in history, over and over again.

Nearly 4, 000 years ago, King Hammerabi of Babylon inscribed 282 laws on a large stone monument for all to see, basing his rules on the Law of Retaliation philosophy.

In the late 1500s, five of the nations in western New York- the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk- formed an alliance known as the Iroquois League.

Sometime after Hernan Cortes arrived in Tenochtilan in 1519, both Cortes himself and an Aztec inscribed their views of the events that took place on the turning point of Cortes's invasion on paper and left their views to the world.

In January, 1776, Thomas Paine published a lively and persuasive pamphlet called Common Sense for his fellow Patriots.

Between June 11 and June 28, 1776, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence, our nation's most cherished symbol of liberty.

And what exactly was the aftermath of these situations? Hammerabi enforced those laws because the preface of the stele the laws were written on suggest that he was chosen by the gods install some discipline into his people, moreover based off of codes he agreed upon being moral. And these morals were exactly what people followed. The Iroquois League existed in hopes of establishing peace between the Five Nations. And, at least for a while, that is exactly what The Constitution of the Five Nations did. Cortes and an the unknown Aztec wrote about their perspectives about the battle in Tenochtitlan to defend their honor and persuade the people of tomorrow to believe in their story. Thomas Paine published Common Sense to ease public opinion about whether or not the colonists were still loyal to the British king. Believe or not, the colonists’ views about being loyal the the king soon changed after. Jefferson and the rest of the committee that drafted the declaration did so because they wanted to express the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. And before they knew it, they were fighting in the famous American Revolution.

Long and short of it all, these documents did exactly what they had hoped to do. In the long run, they make the people of today look back at the story of yesterday, and still install some form of opinion into modern day society. And I know that one day, someone just might look back at this blog, and shape their perspective upon my opinion.

What Defines Your Character?

Growing up, everyone goes through the same dilemma: what defines who I am? What we fail to realize, however, is that the answer is right in our faces, whether it be in the kitchen, in the garage, in the master bedroom, or even sitting beside you in the living room. The answer is our own flesh and blood: our parents. Our parents are the basic outline of who we are. Unfortunately, in some cases, people don’t always want this to be true.
Throughout the book The Price of a Child, you meet a family known as the Quicks, who helped free protagonist Mercer Gray from her brutal master, Jackson Pryor. In this family, you are specifically introduced to a man named Tyree Quick. As far as first impressions go, he seems to be a hardworking, honest, and trustworthy man. He works hard to support the rest of the Quicks, especially since his father, Emmanuel Quick, had a stoke and now doesn’t seem to function as well as he use to. In addition, Tyree dedicates a good chunk of his time to the Vigilance Committee, a determined group of individuals who are devoted to freeing enslaved African Americans from their cruel and unjust masters. What a well-respected man. Kind of like his father, who still works even though some days he is condemned to a wooden chair, trying to find his strength again. The Quicks, with “Manny” and Tyree as what we can refer to as the “alpha males” of the Quick Clan, seem to be quite the tight, functional unit.
Later on, we start to find out a few dirty secrets about Tyree and Manny. Tyree married his brother Roland’s widow. But, he married her because of his yearning sexual desires for her. Apparently, both him and his wife, Blanche, are incredibly unhappy. As for Manny, he must of married his wife, Della, for the same appalling reason because after a few subtle hints have been dropped, we find out that he has a mistress by the name of Rachel, who he attempts to see whenever he can, often forcing his sister known throughout the book as Aunt Bea, who has an incredulous liking to alcohol, to carry messages between the two. In addition, he has a history of abusing his wife. And it gets better: a huge sum of the family’s money went to Rachel’s brand new house.
Now, what does his father’s lying cheating have to do with Tyree himself? Well, since Tyree first saw Mercer Gray at the docks, he fell for her, quite hard. In the meantime, he builds up a particular disgust toward his father. For not only giving someone who isn’t even blood related a better life then they have with their money, but through it all, after years of his mother, father and himself slaving away, where is all of the money? The whole family has been working like dogs for years, and his father never showed20a genuine concern for the family’s financial issues? Throughout the book, you witness Tyree telling his father and himself that he will never be like his father, never beat or cheat his wife or cheat the family out of their money. In the end, he cheated his wife with Mercer.
In synopsis, the more Tyree fought, the more Tyree became his father. Even Aunt Bea said to Tyree at one point in the book “You are the new Manny”. But, becoming what we truly are isn’t something we can fight. The more he fought, the more inevitable it became as poisons of his parent’s mistakes started to overtake him. I’m not saying that we are always condemned to repeat our parent’s faults and turn into our parents per say because everyone is their own person. But it’s either you accept them for what they are, or your bitterness and resentment towards them will turn their faults into who you are.