White Noise end of p1

Ch. 13 What is the deal with the Adele woman who is apparently psychic? Does she symbolize some sort of though on the unknown?

Ch. 15 What is the significance of Jack's not being scared of death when he is in a "crowd?" And what does it signify when it says that "death was strictly a professional matter here?" 

Ch. 17 What is the significance of the odd questions and answers that the family are always saying? For example, one child answers that the population of bolivia is "bolivians." It also says that the "family is the cradle of the world's misinformation."

Ch. 19 Why does the family suddenly feel like everything they do needs "explaining" as soon as Bee comes for a visit? Do all families feel this way when they have guests? What could it represent?

Blevins?? :'(

Well, this novel was going nice and steadily, with some nice romance and other things, until the boys were kidnapped and made prisoners! It doesn't seem right that a character like Blevins, young and full of life, should have to be tortured and have his feet mangled. But to have him killed? I know that he killed a man when he was trying to escape, which was wrong of him, but he was not the killer and theif that he was accused of being. And now John Grady and Rawlins, who took no part in Blevin's actions, have to bear some punishment and accusion themselves. Perhaps the death of Blevins symbolizes the end of the Western hero, and perhaps John Grady will now have to change to adjust to his changing, more modern world.

Thoughts on stuff

Here are some quotes that I really like:

"Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it."
Max Frisch
"The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers."  ~Sydney J. Harris

“I am convinced all of humanity is born with more gifts than we know. Most are born geniuses and just get de-geniused rapidly.” - Richard Fuller

     “To sin is a human business, to justify sins is a devilish business.”

Response to: “The Obligation to Be Happy” by Linda Pastan

            The metaphorical imagery of struggling in “The Obligation to Be Happy” by Linda Pastan highlights the speaker’s fated attempts to achieve happiness. The speaker, who seems to be a woman because of the references to “housework” and “narrow shoulders,” notes how “onerous” it is for her to be happy, even more so than maintaining her “beauty” and “love.” She talks about how it is “expected” of her, even when the conditions are not ideal. And because of these expectations, she smiles to please others, “as if [her] own fidelity to sadness were a hidden vice,” revealing her constant connection with sadness, as if it were binding and degrading her.  The speaker continues trying to achieve happiness again, trying “to hoist it on [her] narrow shoulders again.” She compares her plight to carrying a “knapsack heavy with gold coins,” and “stumbling” through the house and through life.

Listen to Blog list

Love in the air (APH)

I have to say I like where this book is going. I enjoy reading the simplistic style of life that these boys get to live. They are exposed to open country and beautiful horses on a daily basis. And this novel seems different from others I have read because of its plot. It is not very complicated. One does not have to worry about every little thing mentioned and try to read between the lines, because most of what the novel is portraying is spelled out flatly in the novel. I also like the fact that it is turning into a romance novel. The romance may be cliche in a way, because of the love-at-first-sight feeling that seems to be what drives John Grady towards Alejandra, but it is still wonderful to read. I can't wait to see where this novel goes next.

20 Q about those pretty horsies

1. How does the continuous description of the beautiful scenery affect the feel of the story?
2. What is the effect of Blevins being both quiet and awkward in some ways but heroic in others?
3. How could the boy's run away with so little worries?
4. What does the lack of many in depth conversations between the characters have on their development?
5. What did the men want to buy Blevins for?
6. Why do the boys think of Blevins as a nuisance?
7. Has there been any support so far that John G may be a Christ figure?
8. Is anything learned about Blevins when he is drunk and suddenly talks a lot?
9. How does this novel follow the 'Western Myth' so far?
10. How does the style of the novel, with its constant use of 'they' as in "they rode," "they ate," and "they watched, affect the flow of the story?
11. In what ways is John Grady more of a Western Hero character than Rawlins or Blevins?
12. Where did Blevins even get that horse in the first place?
14. Even though they are runaways, in what ways can these boys be considered heroic?
15. How do Rawlins and Grady act differently toward Blevins?
16. Although they do not get along, in what ways are Blevins and Rawlins alike?
17. Why do JG and Rawlins doubt that 'Blevins' is his real name?
18. What is the point of not using any quotation marks?
19. What happened to Blevins? Did he escape?
20. How will the girl rider be important in the future?