Labyriths and Macondo

October 30, 2008

Jim Schulz

Our discussion in class regarding Labyrinths, what they remind us of, and how they relate to Macondo was quite interesting and informative for me. First, I never really knew what a labyrinth was, now things are quite clear. Even more, I found it interesting how one can relate a labyrinth with the text, especially the city of Macondo. As I read, there seems to be a lot going on and with everything that is going on, there seems to be a lot of confusion. What happens when a person is in a labyrinth or maze? There is confusion. As discussed, Macondo seems secluded, self contained, with a lush environment, where there is no death or time. When one thinks about this, there is a definite connection. When a person is in a labyrinth or maze what happens? You are secluded, self contained, you're in a lush environment if the labyrinth is made of tall hedges, and you can lose a sense of time. The only thing I can't connect is death. The more I think about it many of the characters seem like they are caught is a labyrinth or maze in which they don't know how to exit.

Garcia Marquez History

October 23, 2008

Jim Schulz

The presentation in class regarding Gabriel Garcia Marquez's life and family background seem to make a statement about his work. Many of the facts and history regarding Garcia Marquez I see in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Although, there is a lot more to read, there has been a lot of emphasis so far on life, family, and war. The presentation looked at Post Colonial Background, Civil War, Family, and Politics, all features that seemed to be present in this mythical town. Regarding family, there is strong family ties. Grandparents are mentioned in the story, which may relate to his being brought up by his grandparents. There are many war issues in One Hundred Years of Solitude which seem to be politically motivated. With Garcia Marquez being a left wing, liberal person, who associated with Castro and the communists, and who was barred from places, seem to play a big part in how he wrote the story. Garcia Marquez seems to want to make a statement and One Hundred Years of Solitude seems to be doing a good job.

Magical Realism

October 16, 2008

Jim Schulz

The discussions in class today varied from Roy's "The God of Small Things," to Garcia Marquez's
"One Hundred Years of Solitude," to Magical Realism. Because of the wide variety of things talked about and no class on Tuesday it's hard to choose what to write about. The discussion on magical realism was quite interesting and I want to learn more about this. This of course isn't the first time I heard of magical realism but I don't seem to have a full understanding of it. We discussed how magical realism is written in a very mundane way and how it's not what you might think it is. My perspective of magical realism was basically the opposite. Yet, we talked about how the "Wizard of Oz" would be considered magical realism. I'm not sure I ever felt that the "Wizard of Oz" was mundane. I realize we will be discussing this further in upcoming classes and I'm sure I will get a better handle on this topic.

Midterm Blog

Jim Schulz
Dr. Paul Gleason
English 303
October 6, 2008
URL: jim4204a.blogspot.com

Midterm Blog

This essay will examine what stage of reading development I was at before the beginning of the semester, what stage I’m at now, and look at how I can move into the next stage.

To be very honest, I can truly say that my reading development in Non-Western literature was as low as it could possibly go. I would say I was at the very beginning stage of reading development in Non-Western literature. I really didn’t have any knowledge regarding this type of work and I couldn’t tell you anything about it. To be honest, I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I took the class.

I guess I really shouldn't say I didn’t know anything about Non-Western writing, as I did hear about Bollywood before the class started. I wouldn’t have even known that much if my wife and I didn’t know a couple who just visited there. I actually didn’t know what to expect when I would read or view Non-Western work. To show you how little I knew I thought that Non-Western work would be strange and hard to follow. My first blog entry dated August 28th reflects this; I stated that I felt Non-Western work, “would be boring, hard to follow, with English sub-titles or English dubbed in.” To my surprise the first movie we viewed, “Bride & Prejudice” reminded me very much of an American made movie. In fact, in the same blog, I compared “Bride & Prejudice” to “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” as both movies dealt with cultures and how the families wanted their daughters to marry within that culture.

After six weeks of class, I can say the stage of my reading development has improved. Far from an expert but I’m looking at things much differently. Exactly what stage I’m at is hard to say, but I feel I’m at least in the lower to middle developing stage of reading development. Our class discussions have helped to clear up a lot but there are still areas I have a little trouble understanding. My blog entry dated October 2nd regarding “language” is a good example of this. I realize that many perspectives on language were discussed; I’m just not sure if I fully understand everything that is being passed along. For this reason I feel I’m at the lower end of the developing stage.

On the other hand, I understand terms like intertextuality, which shapes the meaning of a text by other texts. My blog entry dated August 28th regarding the “Bride & Prejudice” and how it reminded me of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is good example of this. How both movies put much emphasis on culture, and how one movie may have influenced the other.

I’m also learning to read stories and view various movies in more depth and look for things like stereotypes and racism. As mentioned in my blog dated September 25th, I stated that I would have never connected stereotypes or racism in “Indiana Jones – Temple of Doom.” When I watch a movie I tend to view it for enjoyment and never really look further then that. Our discussion in class brought this to my attention and I was able to see that stereotyping and racism did indeed play a part in the movie. Because of the last two examples, it gives me hope that I might be entering the middle area of the developing stage.

I would say that the next stage of reading development I will enter is possibly the upper end of the developing stage. It is really hard to say just how I will enter this but I feel I need to put more depth into what I read or view and try to examine things in different ways. I need to think out of the box. When viewing a movie for example, I need to look at it as more than just enjoyment. I need to spend the time examining what I’m watching and look beyond the enjoyment. I need to take the time to see if I can pick out things such as stereotypes and racism. I may have to start reading and rereading material if I don’t quite understand what is being presented or ask more questions in class. I might also have to resort to other sources such as the Internet to view various websites or use Wikipedia to see if I can get a better understanding of concepts, stories, terms, and words.

In conclusion, over the past six weeks I feel I have made good progress in my reading development in Non-Western literature. I may only be at the lower to middle end of the developing stage but I feel that’s good progress considering I really had no prior knowledge of Non-Western writing.

Language

October 2, 2008

Jim Schulz

The handout on "language" gives a person various perspectives on language, perspectives I would never have even thought of. Our discussion in class was quite interesting but there was a lot to absorb and I'm not sure I quite understood everything. I think I understand how language can control certain things, how language identifies reality or even how English makes government easier to understand. Basically I feel it is a way of communicating a point, how else would a person know about something. On the other hand is English the only language that can make government easier to communicate? It was also mentioned that English doesn't have limitations and that English is used as a way of control. I'm not sure I quite grasp what is meant with these thoughts and I will need to do some more reading in this area to understand better.