Reflections on the class, and the canon

It all seems apparent now that the reason that we would build on our canons, for the sake of just knowing what it is. However, when coming into the class, it seemed odd to disect it, termed ‘breaking’ the canon. Now I know why we did that.

 There are a bunch of respectible writers out there that are not put onto this prestigious honorable list, but now I got to ask myself- who cares? I mean, a few of the books on there because they were meant to be there… they’re good! However, some books just seem like hackneyed repeats on the same themes and established writing that we had went over several times within the class.

 For example, I was reading through Sula and I had several people tell me, “I hope you’re reading that for a class!” I think a book should be honored for it’s popularity amongst people who like to read, instead of the professors and ‘distincted’ professionals who want to see ‘if they have relevance to our present day American lives.’ Phooey.

 I want to read things that will catch my attention, hold onto me until I’ve turned through every page. I’ve noticed that the book that I read which was non-canonical- H.P. Lovecrafts At the Mountains of Madness- was the most interesting book that I have been read in my entire first year of college! What does that have to say about the other books which are ‘canonical?’

 So, I have this class to thank for my new interpretation of the ‘classics’ list, and a respect for some of the books that I have familiarized myself with. Other books I will only reflect on with this- it’s a good thing that they got onto this canon list. Just think about it.

Native Speaker- Going to be quite honest with this one.

Maybe the canon means ‘repetition’, because reading through Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee was like reading through any of the other books that we have encountered throughout the semester. I wouldn’t be so hard on this book, but even with Toni Morrison’s Sula, it seems like these books were only inducted into the American canon because they are different ethnic people in similar circumstances. Yea, I went there.

 I can take Henry and put him into any other situation in any other book, just change his skin tone and he’d be in almost the same boat as lets say, Nick from The Great Gatsby. I’m not trying to knock Chang-Rae Lee, he worked hard to write the book and his work has already been shown the recognition that it deserves. Canonical though? I guess, because it has similar themes to those in other stories. One thing that irks me, and I guess I can see clearly now, is that these themes are so similar that it just sometimes doesn’t seem original.

My teacher Wandia Njoya told me though that nothing is original, that imitation is inevitable. If it is, than the canon will be filled with books that are basically knock offs of eachother? Damn, The Mountains of Madness should be on that list, just because it’s the most interesting book I’ve read in this class all semester. It’s much more entertaining, anyways.

Sula

Reading Sula was actually like reading the other stories that we have encountered this semester that would be considered ‘canon.’ Maybe then that is why whenever I have the book on my person, people are like ‘are you reading that for a class, or just on your own?’ and then make a grimace. It makes me laugh.

 Anyways, it happened to be a little bit more interesting along the lines that the focus is more geared towards a female role (even though the title character Sula is not as cultured and a bit more…promiscuous?) and it seems to be a bit more action paced, with violence and sex and all that.

 What really struck me was how Sula and Nel dealt with the death of Chicken Little, in their later years they were more grief stricken but it wasn’t like it was a huge deal to them. Also, I liked Shadrack because he was just an entertaining, deep character.

 One thing that offset me about the book was that nearly everybody dies all at once. That is a wrath of God situation, and was just weird.

 That’s all folks

WIKIPEDIA. BLAH

Damn, I really don’t like this assignment! Maybe it’s because I don’t like anything computer related, but this one seems to enjoy pushing my buttons. Wikipedia isn’t all that great to begin with, and it’s a bit faulty in some areas. For example, I wrote a Plot Summary page for ‘At the Mountains of Madness.’ and when I tried to save it, it erased on me and told me there was an error. You could’ve told me that three paragraphs ago.

Everybody in the group is on task, but just the whole process of making a ‘Wiki’ seems confusing in itself. In my honest opinion, since there is already a wiki page on H.P. Lovecraft AND At the Mountains of Madness, this seems like a big waste of time. I don’t know, it angers me.

-Tony

The Invisible Man Long Post

Reading all of that was a doozy! So, generally I like Invisible Man but that’s because I enjoy African American literature, and it seems to be a new twist on it as well. Reading other novels such as Raisins in the Sun and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings showed the side of female African American protagonists. Invisible Man, on the other hand, shows a male protagonist who goes through some aggressive circumstances, and the book seems much more chauvinistic than I had intended. For example, we’ve already gone over the stripper after the violent boxing match. Now, in the new reading, the Narrator (still unnamed, I’ll get into that later) sleeps with a married woman! What is that showing you about the females in this novel? Even though the novel really doesn’t say alot for anybody, her husband hardly even recognizes the Narrator as he is allowed to slink out of the house, but I think woman in Invisible Man take a real bad rap.

Also, when the Narrator is knocked unconscious from an explosion, following a fight with Mr. Brockway, he can not give his name to the doctors working on him. What is that? I think maybe  Ellison wrote himself into a loop, and had to go about without revealing who the Narrator really was. It was a nice twist to put that he couldn’t even remember his mother’s name, but it still felt like a gimmick, and a rather bad one at that! Also, why so much tension over the unions? They do take jobs away from independent workers, but people really resort to drastic violence when approached with this ordeal. The Narrator has had several run ins now, I think he should actually avoid all of this trouble! Is it all really necessary?

Here is another thing that Ellison seems to focus on- the color white. Yea, it’s intentional that the color white is used so often- The Narrator works with white paint all the time, and recieves real recognition when he wears white overalls… I think the matter of fact is that people like the color white. It definately is a metaphor, but when it is used so frequently, it kind of seems redundant, don’t you agree? The Narrator keeps focusing on this, and focuses on other events in his past… while many events he takes in stride during the present. Only moments of real violence and aggression do we see a more ‘take charge’ Narrator, but other times he just takes the blows and keeps it all inside, which isn’t healthy! Maybe that’s why he focuses so much on the past, he can’t let it go.

Overall, I think the book is alright so far. It’s not exactly my favorite, but there are certain points which are interesting and what the hell, it’s something different. Very different, from other African American literature I have seen thus far. It really isn’t all that exciting, except for certain moments where he bursts with sexual or aggrevated emotion. He really does seem invisible, sometimes.

Invisible Man

Maybe this was the intention of the class, but is it weird that the new parts of canonical literature seem to be much more excitable, easier reading? ‘Invisible Man’ seemed like it was going to be another one of those ‘Sound and the Fury’ kind of head trips, but it really is much more interesting. You feel for the Narrator because he speaks to the reader through a first person narrative, and not unbelievable. Also I enjoy African American literature much more, as it is more modern and closer to our own history, that it all just doesn’t seem like some story.

Ofcourse, its upsetting at the current time how all of the other characters, Bledsoe mostly, treat the Narrator. I hope things work out for him as I tackle these 200 pages for the next blog. I’ll have more to say by then as well.

Another Post about TSATF

I don’t know what else to say about ‘The Sound and the Fury’… It was a very peculiar and sad book. One thing that struck me was at the end of our discussion, we talked about the influence of the title. Taken from Macbeth and one of the monologues… I do feel like it was alot of idiots making sounds over nothing. The entire story just seemed to be a family making nonsense over their every day life… I’m sure if anybody had their history written as controversally as this novel it would’ve been just as big a hit as ‘The Sound and the Fury.’ The exception is that it was written, and it chronicles the life of one family. Nothing extremely out of the ordinary happens, in America alot of families have to deal with the same issues that the Compson family had to deal with.

It is said that the Compson’s were put in these circumstances, but it wasn’t anything new that I haven’t read about before. Maybe because it was perhaps something that was new in the era that it was written, that it gained such a gathering. It is a good story, in a normal perspective. It was very much like an episode of Jerry Springer… and that’s sad, aint it?

Another.

    Once a bitch always a bitch (You get the idea that he had problems with women before.), what I say. I says you’re lucky if her playing out of school is all that worries you (Insinuations? What does Jason know that others dont?). I says she ought to be down there in that kitchen right now (Chauvinism), , instead of up there in her room, gobbing paint on her face (disrespectful.) and waiting for six niggers (Shows that he thinks that she wants to be waited on hand on foot) that cant even stand up out of a chair unless they’ve got a pan full of bread and meat to balance them (racism, sounds like an old racist joke.), to fix breakfast for her.

I get a sense of jealousy out of this from Jason. When other people are jealous, they tend to talk down about people and their endeavours (such as her gobbing paint on her face.) He talks alot of garbage about other people, yet can’t take a joke himself. He’s very envious of everybody, which is a fault for him. He’s always trying to better himself, but always looking down on others in the process.

 

 

  Through the fence (possibly the sense of entrapment? looking through the hour glass?), between the curling flower spaces (benjy has an attention for detail even though he’s an ‘idiot’) , I could see them hitting. They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence (others were playing, while benjy only got to watch. sounds like a jail scene.). Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree. They took the flag out, and they were hitting. Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit. Then they went on, and I went along the fence. (repetitive notion) Luster came away from the flower tree and we went through the fence and they stopped and we stopped and I looked through the fence while Luster was hunting in the grass (what was Luster hunting for? shows a sense of aggression. also more repetition).

 

What i get from this passage is that Benjy, even though mentally retarded, has a real attention for detail that other characters in the story seem to lack. He’s more innocent, even though he is ‘trapped’ by the Compson curse, and into a really twisted ordeal.

 

Benjy watches, while others act on their will. Also the repetitive notion seems to show what really imprints into what Benjy sees, and what the reader should be focusing on. Although, Benjy isn’t a reliable narrative, he could be paying attention to what Caddy smells like while she’s having sex. Odd.

 

 

Passage from ‘The Sound and the Fury’

Page 152, one of the pages discussed in class

‘I held the point of the knight at her throat

it wont take but a second just a second then i can do mine i can do min then

all right can you do yours by yourself

yes the blades long enough benys in bed by now

yes…’

and the next couple of pages, it really intrigued me how much more deep this argument is. Read in context, you know what’s going on… but out of context and read outloud, it sounds much more sensual. Alot of this family wanton love goes around, even from Benjy’s chapter. Caddy must know how her brother’s feel about her, right?

I learned from this passage that there is something going on that is very taboo in the Compson family. It hasn’t reared it’s head yet, but evidence is pointing towards some explicit acting. What an odd little book.