"That cheered me up. I started to think that if I couldn't work things so that one day she and I would be together in a room with no dying men in it at all, then my name isn't James Finchman.
Which, of course, it isn't." (18, Laurie)
The Gun Seller is an obvious parody of spy novels, which begins with a quirky narration of the main character's arm getting broken, which results in him killing his assailant. Hugh Laurie bounces inbetween a serious spy to a comedic one whose thoughts seem just like a normal person's rather than those of a character out of James Bond. I like how this passage shows the balance between the two voices. "then my name isn't James Finchman. Which, of course, it isn't.". This powerful passage here really showed the sharp turn that Laurie made between the voices, so sharp that it came as a shock to the reader.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
7: The Bell Jar 180-238
"A bad dream.
I remember everything.
I remembered the cadavers and Doreen and the story of the fig tree and Marco's diamond and the sailor on the Common and Doctor Gordon's wall-eyed nurse and the broken thermometers and the Negro with his two kinds of beans and the twenty pounds I gained on insulin and the rock that bulged between sky and sea like a gray skull.
Maybe forgetfulness, like a kind snow, should numb and cover them.
But they were a part of me. They were my landscape." (237, Plath)
On a plane ride home, I watched the movie The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. It is one of my favorite movies to date. It is about a procedure a person undergoes to erase the memory of ever knowing someone.
This quote reminds me much of my own life and of that movie. If you were given the chance to erase a memory of one person, or any memory for that matter, would you do it? The clear answer would be, yes. Erase the bad memories. Erase the bad thoughts that haunt my mind. But here, in the quote, Plath explains that the bad memories are what shapes us. "But they were a part of me. They were my landscape." (237) . We simply would not be the same person without our past experiences.
Esther has underwent hell on earth. After many failed suicide attempts, one electroshock therapy treatment that she remained awake and in immense pain for, Esther is now in a rehabilitation center where she is slowly regaining sanity. Her thoughts and actions now swirl around her. They do not seem real. "A bad dream.
I remember everything." (237) Her insanity resembles a bad, hazy nightmare. Some of the memories I have are so bad, but now that I have gotten past them, they are in a haze, yet I still remember them in my mind.
I remember everything.
I remembered the cadavers and Doreen and the story of the fig tree and Marco's diamond and the sailor on the Common and Doctor Gordon's wall-eyed nurse and the broken thermometers and the Negro with his two kinds of beans and the twenty pounds I gained on insulin and the rock that bulged between sky and sea like a gray skull.
Maybe forgetfulness, like a kind snow, should numb and cover them.
But they were a part of me. They were my landscape." (237, Plath)
On a plane ride home, I watched the movie The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. It is one of my favorite movies to date. It is about a procedure a person undergoes to erase the memory of ever knowing someone.
This quote reminds me much of my own life and of that movie. If you were given the chance to erase a memory of one person, or any memory for that matter, would you do it? The clear answer would be, yes. Erase the bad memories. Erase the bad thoughts that haunt my mind. But here, in the quote, Plath explains that the bad memories are what shapes us. "But they were a part of me. They were my landscape." (237) . We simply would not be the same person without our past experiences.
Esther has underwent hell on earth. After many failed suicide attempts, one electroshock therapy treatment that she remained awake and in immense pain for, Esther is now in a rehabilitation center where she is slowly regaining sanity. Her thoughts and actions now swirl around her. They do not seem real. "A bad dream.
I remember everything." (237) Her insanity resembles a bad, hazy nightmare. Some of the memories I have are so bad, but now that I have gotten past them, they are in a haze, yet I still remember them in my mind.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
6: The Bell Jar 1-180
"Neurotic, ha!" I let out a scornful laugh. "If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I'm neurotic as hell. I'll be flying back and forth between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my days."
Buddy put his hand on mine.
"Let me fly with you." (94, Plath.)
The Bell Jar is a novel that seems normal the first 100 pages as Esther (the protagonist) dips her feet into her dreams. But suddenly, the reader finds themselves inside of Esther's suicidal, crazed brain. Plath writes the novel though in simple, calm words. As Esther describes her various ways to kill herself, Plath writes them in a tone the same as when describing a dinner. This technique of writing really allows yourself to get inside the head of the writer as well.
This excerpt interested me the most because it shows Esther's personality slowly beginning to change from appearing to be "normal" to showing her true, neurotic side. "If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I'm neurotic as hell." (94) The reader is offered insight into her mind that doesn't come from Esther's first person point of view narration, but rather from her dialogue.
This excerpt also interests me because it really shows Buddy's emotions for Esther. Esther describes Buddy as this horrible person who has hurt her deeply, who has led her on only to hurt her. However, this excerpt made me feel for Buddy, someone who truly seemed to adore Esther and perhaps was pushed out not by his own personality, but by Esther's mental defects. "Let me fly with you." (94) The previous quote shows how accepting and willing Buddy is to stay with Esther.
Buddy put his hand on mine.
"Let me fly with you." (94, Plath.)
The Bell Jar is a novel that seems normal the first 100 pages as Esther (the protagonist) dips her feet into her dreams. But suddenly, the reader finds themselves inside of Esther's suicidal, crazed brain. Plath writes the novel though in simple, calm words. As Esther describes her various ways to kill herself, Plath writes them in a tone the same as when describing a dinner. This technique of writing really allows yourself to get inside the head of the writer as well.
This excerpt interested me the most because it shows Esther's personality slowly beginning to change from appearing to be "normal" to showing her true, neurotic side. "If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I'm neurotic as hell." (94) The reader is offered insight into her mind that doesn't come from Esther's first person point of view narration, but rather from her dialogue.
This excerpt also interests me because it really shows Buddy's emotions for Esther. Esther describes Buddy as this horrible person who has hurt her deeply, who has led her on only to hurt her. However, this excerpt made me feel for Buddy, someone who truly seemed to adore Esther and perhaps was pushed out not by his own personality, but by Esther's mental defects. "Let me fly with you." (94) The previous quote shows how accepting and willing Buddy is to stay with Esther.
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