Hypertext Blog Reflection

As a writer, I enjoyed the opportunity to explore this medium. Though I have always wanted to try my hand at blogging, various circumstances prevented me from doing so in the past. Therefore, once we received the assignment sheet, I looked forward to the chance to build a blog and gain experience with this internet writing. I found it interesting how this medium felt very casual, which I think, allowed me a space to almost brainstorm and consider certain topics either directly or indirectly in the text. In a similar way, it provided an easy way to consider how these discussion topics from the text relate to me and my community.  

 
I especially enjoyed the openness of the post topics. Many students prefer overtly structured questions and prompts. However, I much prefer vague instructions that allow me to explore topics and formats that I am particularly drawn to. For this reason, I did not particularly enjoy writing posts like “Close Reading for 'The Yellow Wallpaper'” in which the directions felt limiting. Nonetheless, I recognize the purpose for these posts as learning how to break down the particulars of a certain text and ensure that we, as students, are aware of the details necessary to compile sufficient interpretation of a certain work. 

On the other hand, I most enjoyed post assignments with flexible and open instructions. I felt that could bring my personality and interests into these. Some of these included “Mountains: To the Heights”,”Permanence Versus Temporary”, and “Favorite Place: Assisi”. Though I found ways to weave my voice throughout many of the posts throughout the semester, these examples really allowed me the freedom to explore      

Some weeks I enjoyed engaging very directly with the text/work, like “Girl Interrupted: A Patchwork Interpretation” and “Examining Authority and Authenticity in Circling My Mother”, and expanding discussions we had during class or pointing out places in the text/work which particularly struck me. Other weeks, I enjoyed using the blog as a way to examine time and setting. For example, in “An Interpretation of 'This is a Family in Harlem' by Jacob Lawrence", I mimicked the process we went through in class the previous day and examined Harlem Renaissance art. Though this post did not pertain directly to the text we were then reading, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, this post spoke to the time period and culture of the day. In the case of this particular post, I really saw how the blog can offer a way for us, as students, to get a comprehensive look at both the text and time period. These posts that engaged either very directly or indirectly with the text/work turned out to be some of my most well-organized and detailed posts.

There were weeks, however, during which I found it difficult to formulate a cohesive and comprehensive post. As most people, whether working or studying, can attest to, we find ourselves bombarded with many deadlines and, oftentimes, it can feel as though we might not have the time to finish our workloads. During these weeks, I found the blog to be a challenge. Although I completed all the assigned posts, I would have liked to have spent more time on a couple of them. Especially posts, like "Mountains: 'To the Heights'" (mentioned above), I felt connected to and would have liked to expand this post with more solid grounding and clear connections to "Servants of the Map" (the text we were working with at the time). Similarly, I would have also liked to read other students' blog posts and comment on them more often. 

All in all, I did truly enjoy the blog as a space to develop thoughts and interpretations. Writing via this medium for the first time provided me with a helpful opportunity and showed me various characteristics of blogging that I had not noticed before. The freedom to write without restriction motivates me want to write and work harder to create better work. I found this to be the primary challenge, that is finding the time to devote to this writing. Nevertheless, I am happy to have explored this medium for the first time and hope to find opportunities to blog.

Temporary versus Permanent

As we discussed in class the other day, the characters in the novel, Power, each hold varying opinions on whether or not he/she should hold onto the traditional roots and, if so, how to go about this. During this discussion, for me the concept of permanence versus temporary unfolded in my mind. What is permanent? Is anything permanent? In writing, here is what I have come up with. In no way is they a fully conclusive answer. However, it begins to scratch the surfaces of these questions:

Permanence. As humans, we can never fully comprehend the meaning of this because no earthly object, situation, or person is permanent. Earth is not permanence. Rather, earth is a temporary environment. Each day, our lives shift. We become different with each passing second. We always change. Our minds constantly transform, perhaps for the better and sometimes for the worse. No, as humans, we cannot completely understand the meaning of permanence. We cannot relate to it. We can empathize with this feeling, but nothing here on earth will last. 

Temporary. This is what we know. In the moments that this becomes starkly apparent, that nothing can be permanent, a kind of fear can build in our chests, making us desperate for the permanent, for the eternal. But we have been given permanence. As a Catholic Christian, I believe the permanence lies in God and the promise of eternal life. Yet, for now, on earth, we are temporary. We know only temporary. The temporary makes us fear, but we must have hope because we have already been promised Permanence.  

Mountains: "To the Heights"

"The hills are alive with the sound of music"-- mountains seem to fill us with a sense of solitude and peace. They allow us to see all that sits below, providing us with the perfect vantage point. But at the same time, the mountains leave us awestruck, as if we cannot and do not want to think at all. The majesty and grandeur clear us thought. Once arrived at the top (or near the top or even just in the midst) of the mountain, we find ourselves changed. We are different from the way we were. Why is this? Why do the mountains supply our minds with this growth, this maturity? We are most likely at the top for just a moment, but still our souls feel as if it has spent eternity in peace. Perhaps this is not the sensation you feel in the presence of mountains. However, it is for me and has been since the first time I found myself surrounded by the Swiss Alps and eventually closer to the tops. It brings on the feeling that you are disconnected from the earth and the problems below. The mountains allow us to escape, allow our minds to float, freeing them from burden. You feel untouchable, invincible.

Blessed Pier Giorgi found particular spiritual solace amidst the mountains. His famous words "Verso l'alto" or in English "To the Heights" captures his love for the mountains.

http://catholicexchange.com/11-reasons-love-bl-pier-giorgio-frassati

Sarah in the opening of "Translations"

Sarah's speech impediment and inability to speak directly relate to this tale of miscommunication and turbulence between the Irish and the English. This play hinges on the Irish and English characters' acceptance and/or rejection of the opposite culture's language. Sarah, an Irish woman, cannot speak. She is barred from doing so because of her speech impediment. In the opening scene, she says little and other characters often assume her opinion or move her one way or the other. Other than Manus, who assists her in overcoming this speech impediment, the opening scene does not focus on her.
In a sense, she seems caught in the middle between this disagreement of language. Sarah remains dependent on the teachers to show her and coach her into speaking. Thus, amidst the argument over whether or not to learn English, Sarah must depend on the others.

Film Response to Persepolis

As I watched the film version of Persepolis, the masterful use of color struck me and impacted my understanding of the theme. The very first scene of the film Marjane, now a young adult, waits in the airport. This scene is shown in color. Soon, the narration begins and Marjane tells the audience of her past as a young girl growing up in Iran during the revolution. This portion of the story is told with black and white images. Later on in the tale, when she reaches the moment of her sitting in the airport, the black and white becomes color images once again.

This transition from black and white to color images not only operates as an effective time marker, but also, I believe, has a distancing effect, wherein Marjane, as well as the audience, seems to present a disconnect between the tumultuous and violent environment in Iran during her childhood and what Iran has become once she has returned as a young adult. Like Marjane, we see this Iran as a new place. We, like the narrator, do not know what to expect.  

In the moments characterized in black and white, the artist's ability to visually tell this story using various shades of gray, black, and white and, while doing so, capture the power and gravity of the situation of Iran during the revolution. It seemed that perhaps the author's meaning came across more pointedly using black and white images here. The audience was not distracted by the colorful terrors of revolution (i.e. blood, guts, etc.) and could really focus in on the events and their significance.

Censorship of "Persepolis": A Discussion

Marjane Satrapi's collection of graphic novels recounts her experiences as a young girl growing up in Iran during the 1980's. During this time, the Iranian Revolution and war with Iraq both occurred. It seems to me to be the story of a girl discovering her identity, as an Iranian, but also as a woman and human being. Why then did the CPS ban this book from 7th grade classrooms? Perhaps this decision came from the perspective that the novel and its subject matter is much more heavy  than it appears. In many ways, though this is a graphic novel, "The Complete Collection of Persepolis," contains several adult themes. It tells the story of war and various tragic events that happen to Marjane, the protagonist. Perhaps those who made this decision are also concerned that the teaching of this novel might be taken as a truth, rather than as one person's experience.

I have not decided whether or not I agree with CPS's decision. However, I can say that this novel did not scream "uplifting" to me. Yes, by the end of the novel, Marjane has come to understand herself and maintains her Iranian pride- both good conclusions. Nonetheless, the scenes in the novel are certainly heavy and I am not sure that the ending sentiment outweighs the sentiment throughout.  

Examining Authority and Authenticity in "Circling My Mother"

Mary Gordon utilizes this novel as a way to understand and unpack her relationship with her mother. Thus, the piece itself addresses her authority and authenticity in telling this novel.

The authority of Gordon's voice and her handle on this become clear as the novel goes on. The honesty of her voice gives allows the reader to know exactly what Gordon is thinking or feeling. Her writing is raw, so she even questions her authority in being able to tell this story and her experiences. Occasionally, she questions whether or not she has the right to talk about her mother and tell her story. For example, she says, "How is it possible to speak of a mother's body? Possible, that is, without betrayal... How can a daughter talk about a mother's body?" (215). By questioning these, she seems to questions her authority at times.

Given the nature of the story, her mother's struggle with polio and the excessive way Gordon details the effects of her disease, Gordon's honesty seems to speak to her authenticity in telling this story. She is not holding any specifics back. This could possibly mean that she uses this excessive detail as a way to forgo addressing the heart of the matter. However, I do not believe this is the case. She writes honestly, as if she writes in order to comprehend her relationship with her mother and even Gordon herself.