Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

I have to admit when I first began to read Song of Solomon I was very confused. I had no idea what was happening. When it talked of a man flying from "Mercy" across Lake Superior I thought it meant literally and i was "wow this is cool, this must be an exciting book about adventure and action"...Needless to say I was a bit off from my original trajectory. The first part was a tiny bit underwhelming mixed in with a solid seasoning of confusion but Part 2 is where it's at.

Milkman is on a mission to prove to not only Guitar but his father and sisters that he is his own person. He has been a follower his whole life and a bystander, just letting things happen and being nonchalant about everything. His father's reputation casts a big shadow over  milkman and gives everybody in his town a impression on him before they even meet him. So when Milkman finally made a decision for himself to fly to Pennsylvania on his own to find Pilate's bag of gold. While it is his father who wants it this was the first step in Milkman's journey of finding himself. 

Yes, that's what I believe this whole journey is about. Milkman wants a name, not one that was made up, one that is truly his. As he enters this small town in rural PA, he finds out more about his family, he finds out good things bad things, but the most importantly he finds out he has roots. He learns that his family has history before his grandfather and father. He finds out that they touched lives in a positive way rather than the negative impact back in Michigan. As Milkman finds out more about himself and his family he also starts to lose the weight of luxury and takes his first steps away from his father. While he's been living his whole life trying to be the opposite of his father, while he was not walking directly behind his dad he was walking next to him in a parallel line. Now he's starting to diverge and go his own way. After he finds out that the gold isn't in the cave like his father said it might be he heads south to Virginia. 

The funny thing about rainbows is that technically they never end, you may see it ark down and kiss the horizon but if you were to walk there it would turn out to end in another place. Milkman might soon find this out, and he may never find the gold at the end of the rainbow or maybe he's finding it bit by bit...just not in a literal sense. Thoughts?

Love Potion

"‘I went to see Christophine,’ she said.
‘I will tell you anything you wish to know, but in a few words because words are no use, I know that now.’ ‘Why did you go to see her?’
 ‘I went to ask her to do something for me.’
 ‘And did she do it?’ 
‘Yes.’ "

This passage is a conversation between Rochester and Antoinette when Rochester asks where she was. What Antoinette didn't tell Rochester was that she went to Christophine's to get a "love potion" to make him love her.  Love potions are a common trope in books and movies to make a character fall in love with another (against their will). The definition is: "a magical potion believed to arouse love or sexual passion toward a specified person, especially the person offering" The problem however is this potion makes the person do things against their own free will. So the real question here is how ethical is using a potion for love? 

I believe it is wrong and a form of drugging to use a love potion. In the book Antoinette uses the love because she feels that she isn't loved by Rochester. This is how the scene went down:

"She poured wine into two glasses and handed me one but I swear it was before I drank that I longed to bury my face in her hair as I used to do...She need not have done what she did to me. I will always swear that, she need not have done it... I remember putting out the candles on the table near the bed and that is all I remember. All I will remember of the night..."

In this scene Antoinette hands Rochester a drink and soon after he drinks he blacks out and doesn't remember the rest of the night. What happend after he doesn't know but he awakes next Antoinette under the covers of her bed. If what happend happend then technically Antoinette sexually assaulted Rochester. Which is when a person conducts sexual advances on a person without their consent. Although if we look at the second part of the quote when Rochester says "She need not have done what she did to me" it infers that had he not been drugged he would have consented but since he was he couldn't say yes or stop her from doing what she wanted to do. 

What do you think went down this night? Do you agree? Other thoughts.

Who shot first?

There's an age old question when it comes to Star Wars is whether Han Solo shot first, and this can be applied to our dear friend Meusault. The real question is who shot first Meusault or the man on beach. Yes, this may be confusing because the man on the beach did not happen to have a gun but he could have shot first.  Before Meusault shot his gun 5 times (which is a bit excessive). The reason he shot first was because he took out his knife which reflected the suns rays into Meursault's eyes. Causing him feel the sensation of being shot and releases trigger a few times.

Who is the real culprit here? Meursalt, the guy, or the sun. Before you start rioting let me explain myself. Have you evver been blinded by the sun when trying to to a simple task? Have you ever been driving and the visor on the top of the car doesn't quite shade your eyes? Have you ever looked into a body of water during the day and instead got a big eyeful of sun? If you said yes to any of this you may understand the point. Statistically speaking the sun kills over 60,000 people a year (according to BBC News). Why should this be any different? The glare from the sun has caused hundreds of car crashes a year, yet would you blame the driver for the accidents? Yes you can, but you can't say the sun didn't have a significant part to it. When Meursault was on the beach he was blinded by the sun, and in that moment of heat and sweat a shot went off. After a pause and silence another 4 went off. While the sun might not be to blame for the second round of shooting the whole reason it started was the sun.

Do you have any ideas? Does my argument make a feasible point? Let me know in the comments below.

The Shell of a Man

Originally for my Panel presentation my group and I were going to talk about Gregor on a Physical basis. His looks in particular. What sort of bug is Gregor? Is he a beetle or a cockroach? These are all questions that have been floating in my head as I read this book. Although there are moments in the book that specifically say "cockroach" but i feel like that isn't true. Gregor isn't a cockroach. Have you ever just sat down with someone and assigned inanimate objects to people (you know who you are :))? For example saying if someone was a fruit what kind of fruit you are? What color they would be if they were a color, well I feel like Gregor is not a cockroach.

I read an article that talked about what Gregor could be but its main point is you shouldn't draw out Gregor and that he isn't any specific insect rather he is a mix of insects but imaginary, like a unicorn. I disagree, i feel as the reader we should draw out Gregor. Draw out his wings, his thorax, head, mandibles, and other insect parts. Maybe he has a horn, maybe he has spikes on his back, what it he's just a big lady bug. The only limitation is your imagination. Personally i always imagined Gregor as a rhinoceros  beetle. A rhinoceros beetle is one of those big black beetles with a big horn coming from the top of their head.

What kind of insect do you think Gregor is? Should he be drawn or much like the lochness monster, big foot, or other mystical beasts be left to the imagination?

Tip of the Iceberg

On the surface Jake seems like a normal person for his time. He's living life in Paris working for a local paper, partying in the evenings, and just enjoying the whole vibe. His life isn't all fine champagne and baguettes however, much like your everyday Joe there is a lot of drama in his life. Whether it is his friends being annoying or the love of his life being with other men. He's had to sacrifice a lot in his life in order to get nothing. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense but emotionally Jake is stretched, rolled, and full of holes. He doesn't come off as this when you he tells you about his life or the stories that are going on at the given moment, but who would want to admit that to a crowd of strangers?

The reason I say this is because Jake is obviously in a lot of pain. He doesn't show it on the surface but more subtly. The way he reacts to things, the backhanded compliments, snide comments, passive aggressive motivations. It is easy to see how Brett makes him feel when they talk. Personally I feel like I'm thrusted into Jake's mindset. I can feel the way his heart beat picks up when he talks to her. The way his cheeks flush when they touch. He doesn't narrate these feelings because he feels them and needs not repeat them. Every time he hears or talks to Brett about her escapades his heart drops a little. But the reason why i doesn't break over and over and over............and over again is because he knows that the other men have no chance of winning her "love" and she is just looking for a good time. However with Cohn it is a little different. Jake doesn't explain his situation with friends, but from what I can tell it sort of seemed like Cohn was on of his few friends. One of the few he trusted that was. He never told Cohn how he felt about Brett so he wasn't all too mad at him they went off to San Santiago but Brett knew their friendship, yet still went with him.

Sorry I started rambling into nothingness, but the point is that Jake loves Brett with all his heart and that's why he helps her with other men. He wants her to be happy because he knows he can't be that happiness she needs. Although he's sacrificing so much more then he is giving it gives him a reason to get up in the morning. Ignoring whether this is healthy or him, or if Brett is "using" him, it's at least a little sweet. And in the end he is happy for the most part.

Skeptimus Septimus

Have you ever heard of the "Butterfly Effect"? The theory stating that the soft beat of a butterfly in the southern tip of Mexico can cause a tidal wave or tropical storm somewhere in the Indian Ocean. In other words it's just a theory that says something small and insignificant (much like a beat of a butterfly's wings) can lead to something much bigger (hence the storm). As I was reading about Septimus I thought of this Effect. While Septimus' story itself had no relation or "real" connection with Clarissa or her party, it did have an importance. 

The readers were first introduced to Septimus, in the first few parts of novel, when Clarissa went flower shopping. He just appeared to be a random person who had a strange air about him. One that makes someone want to walk by them quickly and try to forget about them. As we delved into the mind of Septiumus we found out that his mind worked much differently then those around him. A prime example (as explained in a panel presentation on the 13th) was when the car was driving down the road. Everyone around Septimus was intrigued by the sleek car and was in wonder as to who might be seated behind the dark windows, while he was thinking cloudier thoughts mainly focused on the war. Septimus hasn't an easy life, he came to England as a bright and intellectual soul. Finding amazement in life and the simple objects around him (much like our good ole friend Howie). He wanted to be the next big writer much like his idol "William Shakespeare". Little did he know the very place he came to find happiness and prosperity will end up being the place full of dread and ultimately death. Going to war to change who he was to end up just a shell of a man. Functional physically but mentally empty.

Of course as previously stated no one knew that about Septimus the morning the car drove by or when the plane flew over head. Later that day none of them will know that the ambiance of the road would be shattered with the cry of an ambulance carrying the man who could not think. Yet after that moment news got around and soon the creepy man next to the road had a name, Septimus. Suddenly the doctor believed him, wanted to help, the people understood. It made people appreciate their lives more and think about the times they wanted it to all end. Alas the loudest cry for help that was listened to was the one that was silent.

How did the story of Septimus make you feel? Did you see it coming (or if you read the back did you imagine it happening in this way? Any other random thoughts?

A Mind in the Wind

Nicholson Baker's novel The Mezzanine remind me a lot about myself. His character "Howie" sees the world through a microscope and focusing on the finite details of life that one might miss on their day to day life. This is something I relate to because often I find myself wondering about the small things and ignoring the big picture that most people tend to look at.

The first time I really noticed this after reading the book was when I was in 5th period English class and the fan was twirling clockwise while the one next to it went counter clockwise, like what was up with that? Did the turning of the fans maxamize the amount of air flow in the room? Did it make everyone cooler or feel more refreshed and comfortable? Also it was making this weird clicking noise much like the tick off a clock but distinct. Tick...tick...tick...the fan went. Every 2 seconds, it just ticked. I didn't notice it at first but once I did I couldn't stop hearing it. The sound trying to penetrate into my head much like a woodpecker to a soft barked tree in the early morning.

This is the way my mind works throughout the day which really drew me to Baker's character. Especially the way he talked about the shoe laces and how using them correctly (like correcr knots) was slowly wearing them out. In my mind I started to go one a rant about how life is like a shoe lace and in th end even if we are healthy and live correctly we will break in the end. I know it's dark but it really got my mind going. I'm going to end this post by asking a few questions: Have you ever found your mind wondering like Howie's? What's something small no one noticed?