Wednesday, February 4, 2004

Text for the Day #2 Response

I found it interesting that our knowledge was described as only a "dim text," that "brightens as we express it." I agree with this statement, and think of our knowledge as a seed. This seed is continuously fed by more and more texts and knowledge, causing us to bloom into very different forms of expression. We then in turn take these types of expressions and organize them into new texts or new or forms of expression. Then someone else would take those thoughts and ponder upon them and write and express their own means into more texts. The process would go on and on and on in a circular-type pattern. Expression is a beautiful thing, whether it is in dance, prose, poetry or in art. It is interesting because one could derive all of these different forms of expression from one text, and although the art forms are very different, they can still provoke the similar responses to the original text. Posted by Kimiko Yama on 2/4/04; 10:45:58 PM from the dept. Discuss

The Yogurt Model-Elbow (1-04)

Most of the classes I am in seem to follow this "movie" model system. In a way, it is sort of sad. By the end of twelve weeks, when you start to form relationships or get to know others better, it suddenly gets cut short and all the people you seemed to know are gone; off doing something else. Then you are placed new classes with more unfamiliar faces and the cycle repeats itself. This sort of system bothers me, because there is nothing or no one familiar to fall back onto anymore when change comes around. I have to admit, that the honors program is like "yogurt" in a sense to me. Some of the honors students have been in previous classes of mine, and it is nice to have familiar faces move on to the next class with, even though classes, teachers and other things can be different. Posted by Kimiko Yama on 2/4/04; 10:42:03 PM from the dept. Discuss

Silence and Hemingway (1-04)

I found it interesting when Mr. Lovas remarked that silence in Hemingway's stories was there for a reason. For example, in "Three Day Blow," Nick and his friend Bill have a good time talking and drinking until a sensitive topic comes up. Bill keeps speaking of the sensitive issue while Nick says nothing. I learned that this is not because Nick has no opinion or feeling, but that there is some kind of profound thought stirring within. It is funny because in a sense I see silence as an abscence of feeling, but now I can understand its complexity. After Mr. Lovas' remark, I began to become more aware of silence and myself, and how often times I am quite silent when I am most serious. I find it quite interesting that silence can sometimes mean more than a thousand words. Posted by Kimiko Yama on 2/4/04; 10:39:37 PM from the dept. Discuss

Hemingway and Women

Today in class, Lily commented on Hemingway's portrayal of women in his stories. In the short storys our class has read, most of the women are shown as weak, feeble-minded beings who nag and whine about "silly" things. For instance in "Cat in the Rain," a grown woman's behavior is that of a childs. She complains and whines about wanting a cat, wanting her hair long and wanting new clothes. In "A Soldier's Home," an awkward mother-son relationship is present. The mother seems as if she is annoying and nagging and bothersome to her son. I believe that the women in Hemingway's stories are a direct reflection on the women that have been in his life in the past. I believe his bad relationship with his mother is a main reason why he portrays women so poorly in his writings. I find it interesting that most of the women are not main characters but are just seen as sort of "there." I believe it is quite shallow, but after listening to a letter written to Hemingway from his mother I can understand why it would desire him to write in this manner. Posted by Kimiko Yama on 2/4/04; 10:36:22 PM from the dept. Discuss

Soldier's Home Response

"He did not want any consequences. He did not want any consequences ever again. He wanted to live along without consequences (71.)" In, "A Soldier's Home," Krebs is portrayed as an apathetic and lazy individual, unsure of his future and unsure of his life decisions regarding girls. He is evidently afraid of the consequences that go with these sorts of future actions. For instance, he does not want a girl because he would have to talk to her and actually establish a relationship with her. He does not want the "whole package," only the bits that don't take much effort. I found this quote intriguing not only because of it's repetition but because of how strongly Krebs felt about not wanting to live with having constant costs. In my opinion, consequences in general are not something us as humans can control. Although we can choose or decide between good and bad consequences, the fact that there are consequences will not ever change. There have been times where I have wished there were no consequences to tough choices I have made, and these thoughts are usually prompted by feelings of guilt or shame I may have had in the past. However, wherever there is an action there is a consequence. In a way, I feel bad for Krebs in his hopeless situation. Posted by Kimiko Yama on 2/4/04; 10:33:49 PM from the dept. Discuss

Class Debate Response

I found today's class activites had both positive and negative effects. I felt that the debate was not truly a back and forth debate type of thing, however I think it was interesting to hear and understand both affirmative and negative sides of the statement. I thought that this may have been more effective and more engaging for students if both sides were able to have more than just opening and closing statements.It seems as though all we did was state facts from the book to support our opinions without having an informal, ongoing conversation about out differences in between. It is sort of like an incomplete story, we had out beginning statements, then the closing, but nothing engaging to talk about in the middle. Athough the debate was not my "favorite" activity, I did find the activity for "Never Marry A Mexican" interesting. (Each group represented a character in the story, and they would take turns asking one another questions and respond as we thought the character would.) I thought this was a unique exercise and it seemed as though I had a better "feel" of the character's afterward. Aside from some long pauses, I thought that the role playing helped me understand the characters not only as individuals, but their relationships to one another. Posted by Kimiko Yama on 2/4/04; 3:12:31 PM from the dept. Discuss

"Essay" Response

Payne states, "An essay does not merely record facts or recount experiences; it registers the author's opinion of these facts and experiences." I find this interesting because often times many of my essays use these "facts" whenever I am lacking an opinion, or am unsure what to say. I remember Mr. Lovas saying that the amateur writers are the ones who write down or copy the facts that are already stated in front of them. It takes practice to step out of this kind of writing style and put forth your feelings and expression, and it is then that the writer can truly call it an "essay." I have never really looked at an essay this way before. I always thought of an essay as a factual and analytical paper. In high school, I was taught not to put feeling or your own expression into a paper, and it wasn't until college that I have experimented by putting feeling and opinion into a formal structure. Posted by Kimiko Yama on 2/4/04; 2:47:34 PM from the dept. Discuss