My Presentation Vote

Although many of the books that were presented as possibilities for next semester’s English 110 class I believe the novel My Sister’s Keeper is the best one for next semester. The main reason that I chose this novel is because it sounds very controversial. It sounds like it would be the type of novel that would invoke strong feelings which would intern spark up conversations in the classroom. Based on the presentation I got the feeling that the strong feelings people might have for some of the characters or situations in this book could be equivalent to the days when our class talked about “John” in My Year of Meats. I don’t say this because I think everyone is going to develop strong negative feelings I just think that the feelings or thoughts that people do form about all the controversies are going to be just as strong as everyone’s hatred for “John.” And we should all remember how much people wanted to express their hatred.

I also picked My Sister’s Keeper because it sounded very interesting. The fact that one child was created with the sole purpose of donating pieces of herself to save her sister instantly pulls and my heartstrings while making me want to learn more. I just wonder what this family is like, how the second sister is treated and how it has shaped her personality. I couldn’t imagine knowing you are only there because your parents wanted to save your sister, not necessarily because they wanted another child. The psychological trauma of that fact alone has to be huge! Basically, the whole idea behind the novel intrigues me. (It didn’t hurt that I think books with twist endings are more fascinating.)

The Many Symbols of My Most Excellent Year

When I was brain storming for my part of the presentation on My Most Excellent Year, I was quite surprised by the number of symbols that could be found in this seemingly simple text. So, I have decided to create this blog entry solely about the symbols that I did find within the text.

*Mary Poppins: She symbolized hope and innocence. When Hucky first started watching Mary Poppins he saw her as his hope for love and family, a hope for someone that would care for him, and his hope for there to be more to life than all the disappointment he had received. She also represented innocence because each character that was touched by Mary Poppins began believing that with enough hard work, even the impossible could become possible. The best example of this is when Ale switches the person she addresses her diary entries to from Jacqueline Kennedy to Mary Poppins. This switch happens after she meets Hucky and when she switches to her former cynical, rigid self to believing in her own dreams and her ability to make a difference (which is something she once thought impossible.) This demonstrates innocence because as innocence is lost people tend to doubt their ability to make the impossible a possibility.

* Baseball: (I haven’t quite figured out what this symbolizes yet but it is so well incorporated into the novel that it has to symbolize something. Perhaps it is dedication, but I’m not sure)

*Deafness: In the novel this represents social unawareness. I say this because in the beginning of the novel Ale, Augie and T.C. were the center of their own little worlds. And when each of the characters first met Hucky, none of them were able to communicate with him, because they did not know sign language and he was deaf. But as the novel progressed each character began caring more about the lives of others and the language barrier between Hucky and everyone else began to break down. Until T.C., Augie and Ale had a big enough sing language vocabulary that the reader almost forgets Hucky is even deaf.



WARNING: spoiler written below

*Orphan: This is the last symbol that I noticed and it represents feeling lost. At the beginning of the novel each significant character, including many of the supporting ones, were feeling a bit lost. And in the case of the four main characters (Ale, Augie, T.C. and Hucky), each one was sort of searching for their place in life. But as the novel progressed each character began discovering their talents and following their dreams and Hucky began feeling like he had a family. By the end of the novel each character discovered their place in the world, becoming more sure of themselves and Hucky was adopted by Pop (T.C.’s dad.)

Cultural Criticism of Society's View of Deafness

One thing that I found really interesting about the book My Most Excellent Year is that, unlike many novels or movies I have heard of, is that Hucky (a Deaf orphan that one of the main characters, T.C., befriends) is not displayed as a character that should be pitied because of this deafness. Sure, the reader wants to pity the young child, but this is mainly because he is an Orphan who was abandoned by his mother. As Hucky breaks out of his shell and becomes comfortable with the other characters in the book, he is displayed as a smart, independent child who has a perfectly normal vocabulary range. This is contradictory to the stereotype that many Deaf community members are forced to deal with; the sad stereotype is that Deaf individuals are dumb, isolated human beings with a limited vocabulary because they were not able to receive a proper schooling because of their “disability.” (The Deaf community does not see deafness as a disability. The only see it as a part of them.)

Steve Kluger, the author of the novel, even went as far as to include a criticism of the way ignorant people from the hearing community, who may have never met a Deaf person, react to a child with Deafness. This criticism was briefly introduced when Hucky and T.C. traveled to New York to find Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins to Hucky. In one instance when a woman found out Hucky was deaf, she began shouting at him as if that would help (Hucky was completely deaf, not just hard of hearing.) Another example is when the New York cab driver saw T.C. signing to Hucky with the reflection off of his rear view mirror, he quickly offered the two a free tour of the city simply because he pitied Hucky. While this worked out quite well for the boys, such acts can result in negative consequences in other instances.

He's a Man; He's a Mouse: He's....One Confused Character

One thing that I noticed about Art Spiegelman’s comic pages about 9-11 and post 9-11 America was that he constantly changed the way his character was represented. I mean, in one section of the graphic novel he was a scruffy, scraggly looking guy and then the next thing you know he is a mouse! Although after looking at the historic strips I understand where he got the inspiration for his third character representation in “Marital Blitz” since the main character is fairly similar o the main character in “Bringing Up Father” (Plate VII.) At that point he appears to have chosen to represent himself in that particular way because it fit the mood and allowed him to over dramatize a little (much in the same way movies occasionally flip to black and white reels mocking the overly perfect Cleaver type family.) I still don’t quite understand the symbolism behind occasionally representing himself as a mouse though. I think it has something to do with fear (the kind driven by hysteria) but I can’t quite figure it out past that. Perhaps it has something to do with his graphic novel Mouse that I have heard some talk about in class. All I know is that his strip entitled “Weapons of Mass Displacement” is probably the biggest clue behind his reasonings since he starts out with his usual human character but as emotions become more heated the comic strip becomes more chaotic until the last box depicts the main character as a mouse (or a human with a mouse head to be more exact.) Now if I could just figure out the clue I would be set.

If anyone has a clue why, please fill me in!

Ikea Fever

In the beginning of the movie Fight Club, nothing truly matted to Edward except obtaining the next great Ikea item. He became a product of their products so to speak. Edward didn’t appear to have any family or friends (with the exception of the “small serving” friends he made on his frequent trips) and he did not seem to have any aspirations to build such relationships. Like many people, Edward had become more attached to his inanimate possessions than the people he interacted with. In fact, he measured his life by his possessions. Edward believed that if he had a complete set of Ikea products that would, in turn, make him complete somehow. It seemed as if Edward was looking for some purpose and meaning in his isolated and dull life but instead of forming a connection or trying something new, he turned to shopping. Instead of creating something new (through a hobby or by forming a relationship) Edward takes what others have made (which in my opinion fits his selfish, passive-aggressive personality.) This act of measuring oneself by what we own, not who we are is a personality trait that is a symptom of American consumer culture. It is a cold fact that many Americans (if not people of other cultures as well) judge others on how they look; which includes the kind of clothes and jewelry that person possess (their material things). Many Americans also place great weight on these first impressions. This is a well known fact in American culture and therefore we, as Americans and consumers, become driven to obtain items that will hopefully produce good impressions. This in turn pushes us, the consumers, to continually go out and buy the latest and greatest things, which is exactly what Edward did. Through this whole process of buying to impress it becomes easy to forget that these objects do not define us, they merely have the potential to express an aspect of our personality. Perhaps this is one reason why America is considered a nation of consumers rather than producers, because we have become more obsessed with the possessions we feel must be obtained than we do with the things we feel we should create. And in turn, we have become a symptom of consumer culture, just like Edward, rather than its creators.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading

I recently finished the first section of The Best American Nonrequired Reading and I wasn’t very impressed with it. Some of the lists were funny I will admit (especially the list of worst racehorse names) but I would have preferred to read a story or two instead. With lists, I didn’t feel like there was enough length to enjoy. I love getting wrapped up in stories and connecting with characters. When it came to reading lists I felt like it was disconnected and I did not feel that it had a good flow. I will admit that the reading did go by quite fast. And I can see how it would be easier to get a high school student to read something they can just pick up whenever they have five spare minutes, but at the same time, I think that when I was a high school student I would have enjoyed a short story a little more. Maybe if there weren’t eleven lists but instead just a couple short ones, I would have enjoyed it more. Or perhaps some of the humor incorporated in the lists was just wasted on me (I found it funny but not funny enough to make up for reading so many lists in a row.) Whatever the reason, I would have to say that out of everything we have read in this class, I enjoyed this section the least.

I must admit though, this section does bring more meaning to the grocery store anecdote.

On the bright side:


Things Worse than Reading 29 Pages Worth of Lists

Having your teeth drilled by the dentist before you’re fully numb,
Falling off a cliff with sharp, pointy rocks awaiting you below,
Discovering that nightmare involving underwear, school, and 1,000 peers was not a dream,
The computer crashing two seconds after you typed the last word of your 20 page essay,
Drinking a little too much and retching on your crush’s new Nikes,
Remembering said alcoholic accident the next morning (or should I say afternoon),
The day after a night shift at the CUB (complete with 9 am classes),
Receiving a pop quiz after said night shift at the CUB,
Watching cougar football (yet another touchdown for the opposing team),
And last but not least,
Reading THIRTY pages worth of lists

Nursing Home Blues

While reading this novel, Water for Elephants, I found the similarities between old Jacob at the beginning of the novel and my grandma when she was in the nursing home. In fact, seeing the nursing home through Jacob’s eyes provided a new perspective on what my grandma had experienced. Both Jacob and my grandmother are strong willed people and they are accustomed to taking care of themselves. When moving into a nursing home it seems that both people have trouble adjusting from leading a life of independence to a life of almost complete dependence. This fact alone bothered my grandma quite a bit and resulted in a lack of patience when she had to wait on the nurses to help her. She also became irritated with the way the nurses treated her. It wasn’t as if the nurses treated her badly or without respect, instead the thing that really bothered her was that the nurses did not treat her like an adult equal to them. With the exception of Rosemary, Jacob seems to have this exact same problem. In the nursing home he is treated as if he is no longer able to make any good decisions and in some instances he is treated more like a child than a 90 year old adult.

Another similarity is their experiences with the food. On several occasions my grandmother flat out refused to force down a few bites of the stuff because it was so terrible. The nursing home even put some powder in her water to thicken it up and make sure she wouldn’t choke which only resulted in her refusal to drink it of course. So, having seen the food that nursing homes serve and hearing my own grandmother’s complaints, I completely understand Jacob’s rant about the pock marked jello and the tasteless food. In fact, I don’t blame him for wanting to toss that garbage on the floor, even if he didn’t mean to.

On the other hand, seeing what nurses have to deal with in a nursing home I also understand their perspective. This fact makes me like Rosemary even more because she doesn’t see Jacob as just another patient, she sees him as an intelligent person. I think it really shows her character if she can work at a place as depressing as a nursing home and still maintain her encouraging, personable and up-beat spirit.

The Kite Runner - The Movie Version

Let me start off saying that I thoroughly enjoyed “The Kite Runner.” I wasn’t sure how I felt after the first day because that was intense and Amir just ran away, despite the fact that his friend was being hurt defending him. Then he tried to have the family fired! I wanted to hate Amir but at the same time you know he’s just a scared little kid that didn’t know what to do. And when he wanted to fire the friend he was just acting out because he didn’t know how to deal with the guilt. He just wanted to remove all reminders of the horrifying incident.

What made it even worse was when Hassan died while still remaining loyal to Amir before Amir could make amends. It didn’t help that you find out Hassan is Amir’s brother. But in the end, Amir does the right thing and the fixes everything as best as he can by helping Hassan’s son escape the harsh land.

When Amir met the man who was in charge of Kabol I expected there to be a connection between his past and that man, but I have to admit that I did not expect the connection to be with the ruler’s right hand man.

I thought it was kind of ironic that at the climax of the movie Hassan’s son saved Amir with the sling shot like Hassan did so many other times when Amir was a kid. After everything, Amir is still being saved, but at least he was also saving the kid at the same time. I think that by the end of this movie Amir has redeemed himself.

My Year of Meats

I have to admit that I really enjoyed the discussion on My Year of Meats that we had in class on Friday. My Year of Meats is definitely a novel with a message and one that makes me thankful that most of the beef I consume comes from a pasteurized animal. However, I did have a few problems with way Ozeki ended the novel. Especially the way she ended things with Jane and the Comissioner. I liked how the author described their meeting after his concert, but I don’t exactly like where she ended it after that night. It seemed like both characters continued on with their busy lives without letting the reader know fully what their relationship would be like after that point. I’m sure that was the author’s goal, to leave it up to the reader’s imagination, but I for one would have appreciated an extra clue. A hint as to what might happen next.

Actually, the whole ending itself seemed kind of abrupt. I’m not saying that I wanted the author to describe every mundane detail leading up to the conclusion because even explaining most of those details would just cause the story to drag on, but each piece of the wrap up seemed short and quick. Here I had been following each character throughout the whole book (filled with really long chapters I might add), becoming emotionally invested in each one and then every problem seemed to reach a conclusion in what seemed like one of the shorter chapters within this novel. I just feel like Ozeki needed to elaborate on most of the conclusions. The only one that I didn’t feel like she rushed a lot was Akiko’s story. The only part of that story I felt was rushed was the transition from when Akiko first arrived in the US and when she finally met the couple that had helped to inspired her to leave “John.” What I want to know about this is what happened while Akiko stayed at Jane’s apartment? Here the two characters where the voices of the whole book and when they finally meet the reader learns nothing of their interaction.

Despite all my complaints I really did enjoy the book but the ending left me wanting just little bit more information.

An Alternative to Happiness

How to be Miserable was released and bombed. Marketing reported only 10 copies sold. How they were even printed let alone sold was still a mystery to Edward since the printing office was filled with “Gone Fishing” signs. Not to mention the bookstores town had systematically started boarding up their doors and replacing the usual “Closed/Open” sign with signs containing everyone’s favorite Tupak Soiree phrase, “Gone Fishing,” written in bold, black Sharpe marker on the back of old pizza boxes (Pizza Hut seemed to be the preferred brand.) It seemed that after What I learned on the Mountain, the general population’s IQ had increased and few people wanted to be unhappy, therefore they decided that a How to be Miserable was not the book for them even if it was written by Tupak Soiree.

Edwin had given up hope that unhappiness would spread and restore the world back to its dull, depressing self. At least Mr. Mead is gone, thought Edward. A while ago, the man in charge of Panderic, Joseph Darrow, had decided to offer Mr. Mead the “option” to retire after almost killing someone who had told him to “Live, love, and learn.” Upon Mr. Mead’s acceptance of early retirement Mr. Darrow decided to offer some helpful advice. “Just hang a gone fishing sign on your door and go to someplace warm,” (Mr. Darrow never did read thoroughly) Mr. Mead’s face became an odd shade of Magenta at this point and his eyes began to bulge, “Remember, Live, love, and learn.” Mr. Darrow finally awoke from his coma left the hospital a few months later.


Edwin was on his way out the door of his new office, formally Mr. Mead’s office, and on his way to the elevator when he heard the familiar thin plaintive squeak of a janitorial cart, an odd event since all janitorial staff had left Panderic long ago. Curiosity getting the best of him, Edwin rushed after the cart. He cut through the silent copy room, out the side hall and past the deserted staff room. Edwin was a flash, a burst of energy, lightning unleashed.

Edwin heard the squeak grown louder and louder as he closed the gap between himself and the mysterious janitor. Then, as he bolted around the corridor he saw a heel just as it disappeared into a freight elevator, its doors closing faster then Edwin could sprint.

Down the stairs and around the corner he flew trying desperately to catch up to the janitor. Down the stairs and around the corner, down the stairs and around the corner, down the stairs and around the corner . . . By the time he reached the eighth floor, Edwin’s head was spinning, his knees had gone wobbly and he couldn’t figure out why it was so important to catch up to the unknown janitor, Edwin only knew that he had to. Edwin walked down to one more landing, then unable to travel down the stairs and around the corner one more time Edwin walked out onto the eighth floor and pushed the down button for the elevator.


As the elevator made its slow decent, Edwin could hear the medieval creak and moan of chain and pulley. Down, down he went into the darkest sub-basements of the building. When the elevator had descended to the very end of its tether Edwin stepped out, walked directly to Waste Management Room #3 and much to his surprise there stood Rory.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Edwin asked in astonishment.

Suddenly Rory lunged out, stabbing Edwin’s right ankle with a sharp fork.

“OW! WHAT THE HELL?” Shouted Edwin, swiftly trying to kick Rory away.


Edwin’s eyes shot open but Rory was no where to be seen, neither was Waste Management Room #3 for that matter. Instead of a dark dreary basement, Edwin found himself in the poorly lit kitchen of his own home. Looking down at his right leg it had 4 pinprick marks of blood on it, spaced much like the claws of a cat. Edwin looked across the room and sure enough there was the cat. It had been flung across the floor and into a wall when Edwin had kicked his leg but the evil feline still had a vengeful look in its eye.

“Fucking cat,” Edwin muttered. He then proceeded to stand up, walk over to the vicious cat and give it a hard kick to remember him by.

Returning to the table, Edwin noticed that is littered with papers (a couple covered in drool) and Swirl magazines. Upon closer inspection Edwin discovered the papers from his own pathetic attempt to write a how-to book. This caused Edwin to scratch his head because he had thrown all of those out long ago.

Then it dawned on him, the light bulb flickered on, and the heavens parted. “It was all a dream,” he whispered, dumbfounded. “It was all a dream…IT WAS ALL A DREAM!” The last statement was shouted at the top of his lungs in jubilation.

“May, there’s still a chance.” Leaving all papers and thoughts of Tupak Soiree behind Edwin made a mad dash for the door.

“What are you shouting about?” Jenni had wondered out of their bedroom but Edward would not let it distract him.

“I’m going out Hun.” And just like that he was out the door, leaving Jenni both literally and figuratively in the dark.


Edwin ran all the way to May’s place, afraid to take time to catch a cab, afraid of missing May and screwing this up again. When May opened the door, Edwin, disregarding all fear and social rules, kissed May’s Crayola lips (a red stain had been left behind after years of wearing the same bold lipstick.) Taken aback May said nothing. Edwin paid no heed to her stunned silence and continued with his mission. Edwin finally said what he always felt but never had the courage to say, and he finally said exactly what May always wanted to hear.


The divorce was finalized two months later and the wedding followed shortly thereafter.