Gidget

For my community event I decided to go down to the Raven and take in a classic movie. There were a few other things that I would have rather done for this paper but my schedule along with my kids schedule didn’t coincide very well. So here I am in the Raven sitting with a pint waiting for the flick to start. I have never seen the whole movie but I have had the chance to catch a few scenes on cable from time to time, and honestly I am a little worried that I won’t be able to find a way to tie Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale to this girl power movie of the 1950’s. We shall find out after, see you then. It’s a shame there is no popcorn.
Gidget is a young girl with plenty of determination and a booming personality. She goes to the beach with some older girls to sunbathe and try to pick up on boys. That is when I noticed the first attribute that resembles The Handmaid’s tale. While the girls are at the beach the boys that are there completely ignore Gidget and the rest of the girls. Just like in The Handmaid’s tale: the men hardly pay attention to the women unless they want or need something. Yet every time the women have their back turned the men are usually looking them up and down; still living somewhat like they used to, only inside their minds now.
The way that the men act towards Gidget and the other girls is in a very sexist and superior way, just as in The Handmaid’s Tale. Although the way that they treat her resembles the way that they act in the movie rather than that of the book of The Handmaid’s Tale, but being that this is a movie I hope that it is ok to compare both a little. Another similarity is how the boys named her Gidget, combining the words girl and midget. This is not unlike Atwood’s book and how they gave all the handmaid’s combined names like Of-Fred, Offred.
Gidget just like Offred is willing to do whatever she needs to do to get what she wants. From playing the boys against each other to try and land the one she wants or begging her parents for the money to buy her surfboard. Of course this is not like Offred and using her body to stay alive and out of the colonies, but it has the same principals behind the idea.
One more thing that I noticed, and while being complete speculation on my part I couldn’t stop letting the thought cross my mind: Is Gidget’s best friend who I don’t think was ever named gay just like Moira. Of course in the 1950's even if she was gay and was supposed to be in the movie, they would have never insinuated that in that back then. Although you look at the way she is so butch and rough and tough. Always dressed tomboyish and usually not doing anything feminine when we see her. It might have been a strong insinuation back then.
All in all it was a decent movie. It was probably much better in 1956 and of the best quality then, but for this day and age it wasn’t the best. Yet that is what made it a challenge. I had to look past all of the bad acting, fake scenery, and old film to find the story behind the movie. I am glad that I came to watch this flick and I hope that I tied it together enough with The Handmaid’s tale for your liking. This definitely wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but I think it turned out well.



For some reason no matter how many times I try to insert a link it will not insert it! So once again here is the URL

For more on Gidget: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gidget

Source Evaluation

http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.yc.edu/pqdweb?index=5&did=1648856911&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1279928542&clientId=1407



I have been trying all morning to access the Proquest site so that I could cite the article that I am using for my paper. The site is down because of technical difficulties until this afternoon and I have to work at noon, so that is why I just posted the link above instead of the correct citation. This article is about a woman that is a huge fan of Atwood and believes her to be a kind of psychic that can predict certain things in the future. The article is her account of what happened and how she felt about the experience. When I first stumbled across this article I had to read it twice to make sure that I was actually right in thinking that this article tied my thesis together perfectly. So thank you Atwood. My paper is about how I think that Atwood could have been writing more of a warning of things to come than just trying to make an interesting book.


Martin, Rick. "The Most Powerful Man In The World? THE "BLACK" POPE." Spectrum Magazine 4/15/2000: n. pag. Web. 25 Jul 2010. .


The second site is an interview from Spectrum magazine in April of 2000 in which Rick Martin (Editor and Owner of Spectrum) interviews Eric Jon Phelps who is a historian and an American conspiracy theorist. Who concentrates his studies on the Roman Catholic Church, the Black Pope, and the Knights of Malta. All of which he believes are a part of a new world order that is secretly running every aspect or our world from the inside: From our economic crisis to the wars in the middle east, to the assassination of many top officials in history, including JKF and President Lincoln. The reason that I chose this interview is because it covers the time period in which Atwood wrote her book in.
Whether Spectrum magazine can be considered reputable or not is of some question. Being that with any religion or government, and the conspiracies that lie within, there is always some suspicion and even the smartest and most knowledgeable historians and scientists can’t tell what is real and what isn’t.
The article has quite a few citations at the end to confirm what was stated in the interview: Some of which are from the books that Eric Phelps wrote. Others are religious documents. While the statements in the interview seem very logical it is once again up to personal beliefs and open to ridicule. The information on the internet is overwhelming when it comes to these events and discussions.
While the copy of this article was pulled from a religious website it can be found in numerous places on the net. This one was the easiest to read and also has the creepy picture of The Black Pope. The website is just the article, no advertisements or pop-ups. Strictly information and that’s the way I prefer it.

Reading back on what I have wrote I understand that it may seem far fetched and full of speculation. Yet isn’t some of the best history seemingly unbelievable at certain points? I hope that you agree with me in that the world should be questioned. I mean why not? Doesn’t the world constantly question us?

For even more conspiracies: (once again it will not link the url) http://www.vaticanassassins.org

Book VS Movie The Handmaid's Tale

Well let me start by saying I was right. If you have read any of my previous papers you know that I am a firm believer in watching the movie before I read the book. While I am not too fond of reading, this is not why I believe that you should watch the movie first. The reason why, is this: the book is usually better than the movie ever could be. Not for lack of effort but because a movie just can’t convey the same detail and feeling in two hours that a book can in several hundred pages. So if you read the amazing book chances are the movie will suck. Even if everyone thinks it is the best movie of the year. I don’t want to have movies ruined for me; I would rather have a movie improved upon by the book.
`This would have been the case with The Handmaid’s Tale. The movie while not great was not horrible either; that is how I would have viewed it if I had not read the book first. While the overall idea was the same, the way that it was perceived through the movie is drastically different than the book. I assume that they felt the need to liven it up a bit and that is why they made the characters interact with each other considerably more than in the book. The Handmaid’s especially. I couldn’t believe that they didn’t have their wings as in the book and was highly disappointed as a result. Although I guess what is the point when you can almost freely talk to one another. Of course like any movie some things are added and some things are changed. Take Nick for example, he is much older than mid-twenties like the book portrays. He is also much more forward than the quiet polite man in the novel. Offred and Moira as well, they do not know each other from before, Offred helps Moira escape, and Offred also has a name: Kate. The first time that Offred (Kate) goes downstairs to meet the Commander Nick escorts her downstairs; in the book she goes alone.
One thing that truly surprised me was that the doctor had his gloves on. This seemed to be such a defining factor in the book that I didn’t think they would leave it out of the movie. I was also shocked that in the movie they added the scene where Offred goes to the Red Center to check in, record the dates of their ceremony and compare them to the dates of her cycle. I assume they did this to help establish a timeline for the movie. Obviously they had to move things along a little quicker than in the book. This is also why I was not surprised that they shot Luke in the very beginning to get him out of the way. She spent a lot of time in the book wondering and talking about him and their failed escape. So much time that if they would have kept the wonder of him alive they would have had to make a sequel or a prequel depending on which way they told the story just to fit him in. I assume this is also why they rearranged the story into more of a constant timeline than jumping around from memory to memory as if she were telling a story to a friend like in the book.
I could go on and on about all the little details that were changed erased or added to the movie but I figured putting some thought and feeling into the paper was better than making a never ending list of differences. However, a few things that I still cannot get over are as follows: the explosion scene, which I thought wasn’t very necessary except to mention the possibility of murdering the Commander. Also, the way that they hung the handmaid at the Salvaging with the rope that was supposed to be sticky with tar and encircling them. This made no sense to me, and it didn’t add anything to the story. It was just as dramatic in the book. Finally, the last thing that completely drove me nuts about the movie was the fact that she killed the Commander in the end, with a dull knife and in a horrible display of acting no less. I don’t understand why they had to completely ruin the movie at the end. It would have ended with the same feeling and reaction that the book did if they just left it alone.
Like I said, I would rather watch the movie first that way the book doesn’t ruin a decent movie for me. However, I must thank the professor for the change in how things were viewed. Even though I hope to not do it again, I thank her for the experience in frustration and disappointment.

For more on The Handmaid's tale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale

The Handmaid's Proposal

How do religion and its conspiracy’s of control fit into The Handmaid’s Tale? Have they really been trying to brainwash us forever, and do they control the world like some say they do? Is The Handmaid’s Tale a warning of things to come if humanity doesn’t get back on track?
Honestly I have more questions about this book than I have time to answer. When I first saw the cover of the book this story was the last thing that I had expected. I had never heard of it before, and was thoroughly intrigued once I started getting into it. The way that they stripped them of all of their freedom, and even took away their names was almost heart wrenching. It was also originally what made me think of religion and how some of the Muslim members change their names. It also made me think of the way that their women have to cover their entire bodies. The fact that they conformed to the new society in The Handmaid’s Tale so quickly really makes me question how much religion has changed people unwillingly without people noticing in our society. How are we controlled by what people think is the right way of doing things? Is this why it has taken so long for the women in our day and age to gain some power and equality?
These are a few of the many questions that I have about The Handmaid’s Tale, and even though I am not sure exactly how I will construct this paper or what the outcome will be; I can say that I am eager to dive in a little deeper and see if I can get the bottom of some of my questions and concern.

For more on religious control and spiritual abuse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_abuse

Handmade Thesis on The Handmaid's Tale

The beginning of the book was very intriguing and not at all what I expected. It feels nice to get away from the war stories. The people in this book’s past were so free and proud, like we as a nation are today. I can’t imagine them letting that go for a supposed greater good. However, I can imagine someone writing a book with such a horrifying future for women and young girls alike that it might scare them out of getting an abortion or even having sex in the first place. This book is just another means of birth control by fear.
Things have gotten so horrible for women in this book, that even after reading it, the memory of it will follow a female around. Especially a young one who is just coming into her sexuality and is easily scared by stories that are not real. Being reduced to a baby vending machine in your mind is enough to scare anyone away from a good time. In the book even the doctors that had performed abortions were executed, could you imagine being one of the girls that actually received one? Living in constant fear is what it was all about. Just like most people want girls to live now. Fear sex, fear society, and most of all fear men. That is what The Handmaid’s Tale is all about.

WEAK

1. A -is the weaker statement. It is too broad. There is nothing that can be argued about that statement because it is true
2. A -is the weaker statement. While you could argue the statement you shouldn’t. This seems like more of a common sense statement to me.
3. B -is the weaker statement. This statement is way too open. All jean companies do not only target young -adults, they have to target everyone as a whole.
4. A -is the weaker statement. Everyone who picks up a program or reads a review knows that’s what it’s about.
5. A -is the weaker statement. It sounds more like an overview of the band and their music. Not an opinion by one person.

Dear Prof. Darrow

Dear Prof. Darrow,

First I would like to thank you for the wonderful job that you are doing this semester. Your class is definitely different than my 101 class was, and I appreciate the change of pace. Although I was more tuned towards the free writing of my 101 class I am thoroughly enjoying yours as well. I didn’t expect to be reading and watching such horrifying, yet intriguing stories in my English class. That stuff is usually saved for history classes, which I don’t plan on taking a lot of so thank you for the mixture. Reading the books by O’Brien and Huze was certainly an interesting and emotional experience. I knew that war was horrible and that people died. I also knew that a lot of soldiers never recover from war. But I had never read firsthand accounts of stories that actually took place and the truly gruesome tragedies they lived through. It gave me a greater respect for our soldiers than I already had, and more frustration and anger towards our government than ever before. War; while sometimes necessary, it seems it is usually just a play for power and dollar signs.

The hardest part of this semester for me has been the literary analysis, yet I hope it doesn’t show too much. I sway more towards how the words make you feel and where the story wants to carry your mind. Not how the story got you there or why things are written the way they are. Although I do seem to do this more with poetry, but only after I read the poem two or three times so that I can truly feel it. Besides analyzing a piece of work doesn’t make you right, it’s nothing more than another opinion. No one except the writer knows why certain words, phrases, and punctuation were used. Yet, a certain amount of analysis is definitely necessary depending on our major. Industrial Design not so much, but for the students that are going into law, English, or Psychology it will play a huge role in their line of work. Just like I am sure that it does for you every day while you sit and grade paper after paper.

For the second half of the semester I want to focus on time management for myself. Normally I am quite organized with my scheduling of school vs. everything else, but life has been very hectic lately. Between my kiddos, work, moving, and taking three online classes’ things have proved a little crazy. So I just hope to slow things down a bit. That way I can give my classes the time and dedication that they and I deserve. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and have a great day.

Sincerely,

Jesse Duran

When I first Googled The Hurt Locker and saw the photo I figured it would be the typical war movie. Huge explosions (which it did have), unreal action scenes that no one could survive, a stupid plot line that would never happen in real life, and maybe a love interest. What I watched was nothing of the sort besides the huge explosions, but that was to be expected considering they were and EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) unit in the Army. There was no stupid plot to try and follow, and actually small parts of the movie were quite dry and uninteresting with little entertainment value. Yet they had huge plot value. I would like to say that this movie was all a true story but it wasn’t. Mark Boal, a freelance writer wrote the screenplay after he rode with the US bomb squad in Iraq. I would love to summarize the movie and tell you all the interesting things I saw during the flick, all I will say though is watch it.

I love movies and everything about them. From how they were made, to who is in them, to where they were filmed. I especially love movies that are based on true stories and while this one is not, it is close enough. This movie did not disappoint by any means. It was intense from the beginning to the end. Even during the slow parts that I mentioned earlier you’re just waiting for something to happen. Just like in O’Brien’s book, it sucks you in and holds you there just waiting for what is next. Just like in The Things They Carried and The Sand Storm, you can barely believe what you are reading or watching. The horrid things that they encounter and recall are truly unbelievable. There is a scene where there is an Iraqi civilian that has had a bomb strapped to him and is sent to a US checkpoint to blow them up. The man does not want to die and is terrified for his life, but with the language barrier the EOD squad does not trust him to approach so they almost shoot him. By the time the translator calms things down the Bomb tech does not have enough time to save the man. He is in tears apologizing to him as he turns to run away barley clearing the blast zone to save himself as the man disappears into a cloud of smoke. Just as in the short stories and the screenplay of O’Brien and Huze it takes your breath away.

The way that I felt when I read the short stories of O’Brien and the monologues by Huze was the same feeling that stirred inside me while I watched The Hurt Locker. The movie was harder to watch than the stories were to read for me though. I am a visual person, and like I have stated before I am not much of a reader. So watching the movie was a nice change of pace. I also appreciated the way that it was depicted form a literal standpoint. It wasn’t some fantasyland where anything was possible and could be completed by a one-man army with no help. These were what seemed to be real soldiers that were captured on film, not actors that were trying to make a movie look real. Once again like mentioned in both The Things They Carried and The Sand Storm, they are not always sure why they are there or what good they are doing. The line between right and wrong seems to fog some when people get on their nerves. One of the bomb techs contemplates killing one of the other EOD men just like some of the soldiers did in O’Brien’s book.

What I was expecting from this movie was not even close to what I received. It was captivating and educational. It showed me, and hopefully you, that movies could be just as good as books. Just as you cannot judge a book by its cover, you cannot judge a movie by its poster. I know that this movie was not based off of a book but why not make the movie into a book? I know it does not happen often, but why not? It is definitely strong enough and I know that when it was over I was not. I wanted another thirty minutes out of it. As a matter of fact I am going to see if I can track down the directors cut so I can get some more.

Overall as I am sure you can tell, I thought it was an amazing movie that I will most definitely watch again. Same goes for it’s like-minded counter parts: The Sandstorm and The Things They Carried. I am sure that this will not be the last time that I pick up those two wonderful reads just to stroll through the pages and remind myself what a wonderfully jaded world we live in here in the great US of A. Where the news is fabricated and the reasons were are at war have nothing to do with dollar signs and power. Where we wake up in the morning and forget that there is a place that resembles Hell just half way around the world that our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and sons are dying for our supposed freedom and the freedom of others. I know that after watching The Hurt Locker and reading The Things They Carried and The Sand Storm, I wake up feeling lucky and blessed, and you should too.

For more info on The Hurt Locker: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hurt_Locker

The Things They Carried Response

The Ghost Soldiers

For this Summary and analyzation I chose “The Ghost Soldiers” written by Tim O’Brien. This story is about two different instances where in Tim was shot. The first time he was hit on the side and was lucky enough to land in his friends lap who also happened to be the medic. He talks about what it feels like to think that you may be dying and the things that randomly pass through your mind as he laid there. He recalls how amazing it was that his friend kept checking on him and caring for him, even though he had to risk his own life to make his way over to him each time. Tim then writes how his friend and comrade almost seemed to hug him as he put him in the chopper to send him off to the hospital. He recalls that there was almost no pain, and he remembers how thankful he was to have a friend like that.

After recovering in the hospital for a short time, Tim gets sent back to the front lines to rejoin his company. He finds out that his friend had been shot and was off recovering same as he had been. So when Tim was shot the second time a new kid was the medic. He was terrified and took forever to get over to him. Even then, the kid was so scared that he botched the repair job on his wound and almost let him die of shock. The wound became infected and wouldn’t seem to heal. Tim had to be put on the back lines away from the fighting and away from his friends. He hated the kid for not caring for him correctly and swore he would get him back. And when the time came he did just that.

When his old company came in for downtime he hatched a plan to mess with the kid and scare him half to death. Most didn’t agree but he found one that would help. They set up sound devices and flares to scare him while he was on watch duty. All in all, in the end they didn’t trick him and he didn’t get too scared. Tim felt bad about what he had done to try and get back at him and they ended up becoming friends.

This entire story is about trust and earning it. He completely trusts the friend that he had been fighting along side with for who knows how long, and was ok with him leaving him there all bloody to go fight. He knew that he could trust him and his decisions. However he didn’t even get a chance to know the new guy before he had no choice but to leave his life in his hands. So when the guy is so scared from being new that he screws up and almost lets him die, Tim decided to hate him forever. If it was his friend that he had fought along side with he, wouldn’t have been mad or resentful. He would have died peacefully and thankful for the help that his friend tried to give him. It was simply because he didn’t know him or trust him yet that he decided to hate him.

For more on Tim O’Brien: www.timobrien.net

http://www.utexas.edu/news/images/2007/research/2576_hrc_obrien_tim.jpg

Sam Hamill Response

Some readings that we have to do in school are boring and un-interesting to say the least. This however, was a nice change of pace. I am a person that has always questioned everything in the world just for the shear sake of challenging the truth. Just because someone says that this is the way it is or that this is how things are supposed to be doesn’t make them right. It simply makes them human just like you and I. We all get things wrong from time to time and usually more than we would like to admit. But as a culture we refuse to accept the fact that as a society we have failed each other. It is a very long chain of issues that we started screwing up a very long time ago. Most people grow up to act like their parents did, and their grandparents before that. It takes a special person to grow up to be different from the ones that they are raised by.

Sam speaks about rape and how we don’t talk about it or teach our kids enough to be weary of everyone they meet. How we shadow them from a dirty murderous history that somehow we have justified in most peoples minds. How people are embarrassed by feelings and showing them. How one crying poet can make a whole room uncomfortable. We have been desensitized to feeling and emotion. I remember as child being told that men don’t cry and to toughen up. I’ll be the first to admit, I still cry to this day and it’s a good thing. To be able release that emotion when it needs to be let out is important. It is when you hold all that emotion in and suppress it that you end up blowing up. That is how violence is created and wars begin.

Maybe it was because I was mostly raised by my mother or maybe I am just different than most, but I crave touch. Sam talks about how most men don’t even know how to show affection and I think that is sad. There are men out there that are uncomfortable hugging their own mothers I’ve seen it. I can’t imagine not being able to show love and affection to the very human that gave you life. Like the men out there that cannot say I love you. Why not? Do you no longer feel love? Have you forgotten what love is? Is there no one in the world to show you love? Is that the problem? I do not understand how a feeling so great, perhaps the best feeling in the world can be pushed away and not wanted nor needed by some. The simple feeling of human touch may be the greatest sensory stimulant there is. Nothing feels like touching the skin of someone else or the feeling of being touched by someone you care for and love. I cannot imagine being one of the children that you hear about that their parents never picked them up or hugged them or showed them love. Children that are in the way, an inconvenience to the ones that are supposed to care for them the most.

What it comes down to is people need to open their eyes! As a society we walk around with our heads down not watching the world around us. We watch fabricated news and believe that it is the truth. Like we actually went to Iraq to help them? Please, the only reason that we even set foot there is for the black stuff that currently makes our world rotate. Our government sends supposed “Aide” to other countries to help, when in reality it is just to get everyone focused on something else than the terrible things that we are doing to other people. I think it is time that we worry about what is going on as a human race. Look at us; we are selfish, unjust, uncompassionate, and cruel. We need to wake up and look at the big picture. The one in which our world is failing and we are failing our world. Our kids will be lucky if this earth is half as beautiful as the day they were born. Change needs to start now.

For more on Sam Hamill: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/733

Response to Powers

For my second response I chose “Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting” (Powers). I like that the title is almost longer than the poem. I love short poems, not because I am lazy but because being able to convey something so serious and heartfelt in something so short is truly amazing. I have never been to war nor do I plan on going. I would defend my country any day but I will not defend our stupid government that runs it. I have no personal way to relate to this poem besides the fact that it captivated me from the first line. I cannot imagine trying to write a love letter or a poem during war. Sitting in a trench waiting for a mortar to come raining down on you to end everything. Not knowing if these were the last words that you would ever send home. Knowing that the last time you saw your loved ones eyes could have been your last. Wondering what you are even doing there besides killing people because you’re told to.

How the reader compares his love for what I assume is his wife to ten minutes of sleep or to not killing is amazing. It shows just how tired and mentally worn the soldiers are. Either way you look at it that is a lot of love. I guess almost everyone loves not to kill, but until you are forced to you cannot truly appreciate it. The way that he describes how the letter will stink of his surroundings and of what the letter says, almost puts you there with him. I can’t imagine being surrounded by death and violence. Yet trying to think of home and the ones you love so that you can write a letter that will not make them worry any more than they already do. I think that is why most soldiers do not talk about what happens over there. They don’t want to expose our innocent minds to the horror that they have been exposed to. We have it in our heads that everything is ok simply because we are not in the middle of it. Ignorance is bliss.

Works Cited

Powers, Kevin C. “Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting” (Feb, 2009) Poetry

https://1bb.yc.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?content_id=_1134902_1&displayName=Kevin+Powers,+Letter+Composed+During+a+Lull+in+the+Fighting&course_id=_21831_1&navItem=content&href=http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html%3Fid%3D182821

For more on Powers: https://1bb.yc.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?content_id=_1134902_1&displayName=Kevin+Powers,+Letter+Composed+During+a+Lull+in+the+Fighting&course_id=_21831_1&navItem=content&href=http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html%3Fid%3D182821

Response to Baca

I decided to respond to the poem titled “Immigrants in Our Own Land” (Baca).

At first when I started to stroll through the words I thought he might be talking about arriving at the pearly gates, but I thought it kind of strange that they were receiving overalls. Only after reading further did I realize that the reader is talking about going to prison. This struck a personal nerve with me because my father was in prison until the time I was nine. The reader talks about how they dream of a better life and are promised a new start in this world when their time is through. Yet when they arrive he realizes it is all a lie or at least the opportunities they say they had are not as his location. The prisoners are discouraged that they cannot better themselves like they were told they would be able to. They realize that things are no different in prison than they are on the outside. All the same problems are just contained in a smaller area.

I feel that the true message of this poem is to convey the frustration within the prison system at this point in time. They all have been put away to conform and reset their minds to the way the world thinks they should be. Yet when they arrive and throughout their stay the chance to change is all but taken away. They are restricted in their cell when they should be sitting in school. Instead of schooling or training they send them to work in fields or wash dishes, like that is going to help? I don’t even know anyone on the outside that enjoys those things. Don’t get me wrong I understand that punishment is in order and needed, but how do you expect people to get better if they don’t have the chance. If you read the poem you will feel the frustration and anger in the underlying tones. Can we really expect people to change when we are feeding their anger and frustrations? Can you really better someone by breaking their spirit and stuffing them in a hole? I think not. I say kill off the ones that deserve it and concentrate on the ones that can make a difference.

Works Cited

Baca, Jimmy Santiago. “Immigrants in Our Own land.” (1977) New Directions Publishing www.ndpublishing.com

https://1bb.yc.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/launcher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_21831_1%26url%3D

For more on Jimmy Baca: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81867

Let me introduce myself

Good Readers and Good Writers

Good Readers and Good Writers

Nabokov said that a good reader should have a dictionary, a decent memory, some artistic sense, and plenty of imagination. You also need the perfect balance between art and science to keep things even as you read and gather the information that is laid out in front of you as you turn the pages. If you don’t chances are you’re not much of reader. Well as far as Nabokov was concerned. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov

I agree with Nabokov when it comes to great pieces of literature and amazing authors. Yet anyone can pick up a Harry Potter book and have an idea of what is going to happen and still have a great time reading it. I think if the reader enjoys the book and the experience of reading it, they are a good reader. That’s what matters when I read. As far as I’m concerned, as long as you understand what you are reading and you like it enough to pick it up and read it cover to cover you’re a good reader. Who cares what other people say.

I guess if I read more I would consider myself a good reader. I have enjoyed some great books here and there but never anything that I couldn’t put down to go do something outside. It’s not that I don’t enjoy great books I just like doing other things more. That and if it’s a really good book, they will make a really good movie. If the movie is only so-so the book probably isn’t much better. I am sure there are a few exceptions but most is good enough for me.