Size isn't Everything

The image above seems to be a good representation of what is currently happening in Gulliver’s Travels. It shows a giant hand being carried by four smaller men. The hand, as you can imagine, is a representation of Gulliver’s power in the book. By using the rule of odds, you can see that it is the center and largest object in the painting. This shows just how important Gulliver is in the story. He is, after all, not only the main character but the narrator. 

The four men represent the power of the small people from LIlliput. The hand is obviously bigger than them. It is also a body part which signifies power and authorization. They are, however, carrying it, showing that they are in control of the situation. The hand neither seems threatening, or violent. Instead, it almost seems cooperative with the people. This is exactly the case in Gulliver’s Travels. In spite of his size, Guliver succumbs to the power of his small enemies. 

The hand in the painting is green, making it stand out from the rest of the objects. It is the only unusual color, for all others seem to be in place. Once again, it is another distinction between Gulliver and the people from Lilliput. One major difference between the two that really got in the way of a descent interaction, was language. This has been major topic in the  story so far, which Swift often brings up.  

Captured

Response to op-ed article

Article: One Husband, Two Kids, Three Deployments

Author: Melissa Seligman

The article I read had a lot to do with the fact that today is memorial day in the United States. This holiday honors those soldiers who fought and died for their country. Melissa Seligman (author of article) is the wife of a american who has been deployed three times. The entire article revolves around the struggle between this couple over the lack of proper communication. It was mostly a message to all the wives who are awaiting for the arrival of their husbands from war, showing them that it is possible to keep a marriage alive in spite of being in two different continents, worrying about one another. The author had a web-cam based relationship with her loved one, which she could not handle. She finally learned that letters were actually the best way to keep the flame going, stating that they let them “regain control” of their marriage

The article has an abundant use of pathos. Evidently, Seligman wanted to reach people’s emotions, specially on such an emotional day for America. Over the past century, war, terrorism, and global conflict, has affected affected millions of families and idividuals around the globe. It has become a very popular topic to write about because of its emotional impact. Seligman has done a lot of literary work concerning the matter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/opinion/25seligman.html?ref=opinion

Painting Analysis 1

The first subject that my eyes are drawn to in this painting is the red circle. Not only is it the only circular object in the painting, but the red makes it stand out a lot as well. There are more red areas in the image, but their shape and size are not too attracting. It is easy to see that the artist decided only to use shapes in his work, therefore creating several straight lines. Many of these lines point straight to the red circle.

Another technique being applied is the rule of thirds. The canvas could be easily divided into a top, middle, and bottom section, as well as a left, center, and right section. The red circle, for example, would be in the top center. The objects that look like buildings would take the entire left and right sections.

The moods of this painting can be determined by the colors. As you can see, there are very bright and visual colors, which usually give the viewer an enthusiastic and overwhelming sensation. This picture though, was given some sort of a gloomy effect. Several colors were shaded with black, or weren`t strongly painted in the first place. Parts of the canvas can still be seen.

A word to describe the tone of this picture would be nostalgic. It almost seems like the artist brought back a faded memory, or feeling, which once had a much stronger significance.

Alone with the World

By now, I am already quite familiarized with Carver`s style. He is probably the one author which I can identify myself with the most. His descriptions are not as elaborate as Bellow`s or Flaubert`s, nor is as outgoing and humoristic as Pynchon. Carver writes in the first and third person, unlike many of the authors I have just mentioned, and his characters usually have typical family or relationship problems (from the stories I have read). If reading his work were like looking at a picture, it would be a bit dark and empty, lacking vivacity. Even the cover of the book Cathedral fits these descriptions. There is a lonely man with a smoke in one hand and a drink in another. He is sitting alone at his table with only the television light illuminating the room. Although the TV is on, he is not looking at it. Instead, he seems to be thinking to himself, worrying about life. In the second story that I read, The Compartment, Carver has created a character very similar the one I have just described. He is alone though, in the compartment of a train, awaiting for an encounter with his son which hadn`t seen in several years. After a couple of hours of thinking on the train, he cowards out and decides not to go through with it. As soon as the train stops at the correct station, he stays in it and continues to the next. This is an example of what I assume is the typical Carver character, lonely and yet afraid of the world. A person who ends up getting lost in his or her own thoughts.

The Love House

The first Carver story that I read was called Chef`s House. The story was well written, describing the rebirth of a couple`s love which had been lost. I like how Carver leaves out some specific details from the context of the story, giving you the chance to put it into your own context, or relate it to a past experience. The characters` situation has happened millions of couples around the world. Basically, they were happily married, until their relationship ended due to alcohol. Years later, when their kids were all grown up, Wes, the husband, asks his wife to spend a summer with him at his friend Chef`s house. The reason why this house seemed so surreal to them, was because it strengthened their relation. Alcohol had brought the two apart, and not one drop of it was consumed there. It recreated all the best moments from when they were together. In their minds, it was as if their relationship would only work if they were at Chef`s house. It is for this reason that as soon as Chef kicks them out, they begin to worry. I like the fact that Carver never fully describes exactly what went on in the characters` heads right at that moment. He does, though, carefully illustrate their expressions, so that the reader can somehow guess their feelings. I assumed that the two eventually will have developed a tighter bond, but as soon as they leave the house, Wes would begin to drink again. It was that look on his face at the end of the story, that Carver so carefully describes, and which his wife was very familiar with, that made suspect such a thing would happen.

The Holy Parrot

Overall, A Simple Soul turned out to be quite a nice and entertaining story. Although the general tone of the tale is very sad and full of deaths, there are several parts which simply made me laugh. In the final scene, for example, when Felicite is about to die, Flaubert explains how the last thing that she sees is a giant parrot. I was honestly expecting something more glorious to appear, such as God, rather than a big colorful bird. Of course, this had to mean something. Throughout an entire section, the story seemed to make a big emphasis on Loulou, Felicite`s pet parrot. The relationship that she developed with this bird at a literal level grew very deep. Loulou represented the loved ones that she had either had and lost, or never had at all. If we took it beyond this aspect, then we could see how the parrot begins to resemble Christ. In chapter 4, there is a very clear resemblance between the two. Flaubert writes, “In church, she always gazed at the Holy Ghost, and noticed that there was something about it that resembled a parrot. The likeness appeared even more striking on a coloured picture by Espinal, representing the baptism of our Saviour. With his scarlet wings and emerald body, it was really the image of Loulou.” This quotation specifically explains how the Holy Ghost resembled the parrot. In another part of this same chapter, The author mentions that Felicite goes deaf, and the only voice that she could here is Loulou`s. Obviously, this voice is coming to her in a sanctified and ghostly way, like that of the Christ, or the holy ghost. This symbolism, which Flaubert begins to carry out during second half of the story, is basically a mockery of the church and Catholicism. By comparing a parrot with the savior of an entire religion, Flaubert is openly making fun of this concept. His atheistic mentality turned a sad and unfortunate story, into one big joke.

The Poem

“Look then right before thee.
Open thine eyes and see.
At the foot of Mt. Serenity
Is thy cradle to eternity.” (pg. 71)

This is the last stanza of the poem that Mr. Tamkin showed Wilhelm in the fourth chapter. At first, Tommy is confused and doesn’t know what to say of it. This feeling then turns into furry towards the old man for having shown him such nonsense in the first place. The passage is really directed towards him, and I believe it is also related to the title of the book. The first two lines say that there is something, something that Wilhelm is looking for, right in front of him. This implies that he had been searching for answers in all but the most obvious places. The third line says that it is “At the foot of Mt. Serenity”, meaning that serenity should be viewed as a mountain, or something hard to conquer. The last line says that this thing that Tommy is looking for is the “cradle to eternity.” This, on the other hand, is at the foot of the mountain, making it an object much easier to capture. What confuses me though, is what this cradle represents. A cradle is known as a support or structure where you keep a baby. But why would speaker use the word “to” instead of the word of? Maybe eternity shouldn`t be viewed as a baby, but as the prize you attain after nourishing or taking care of the hypothetical baby.

With all the things in Wilhelm`s mind at the time, he doesn´t have the patience to think about the meaning of this poem. It also made me realize what type of character Mr. Tamkin is playing. He is obviously very wise, and is going to serve as Tommy`s mentor throughout the rest of the novel.

Revelation

Chapter three was an extremely crucial part for the development of the story, because it is when Tommy finally lets his father know what he is feeling. Bellow describes a specific moment in the following way, “… “What do you want from me? What do you expect?” “What do I expect?” said Wilhelm. He felt as though he were unable to recover something. Like a ball in the surf, washed beyond reach, his self control was going out. “I expect help!” The words escaped him in a loud, wild, frantic cry and startled the old man, and two or three breakfasters within hearing glanced their way.”(pg. 50). In the beginning of the quotation, Dr. Alder asks the question that Wilhelm was waiting for him to ask for years, “What do you want from me?” It was Tommy`s chance to finally let it all out. Bellow describes this feeling with a ball being washed away in the beach, “beyond reach”. That ball represented the power he had over every frustrated thought or feeling, which were always kept to himself. The reader can practically feel this resentment finally reaching its limit, and how it all explodes in one single phrase, “I expect help!” The tone of these three words is strongly felt, mostly because of the exclamation mark, and the italicizing the word “help”. It was so sudden and out of place, that you could feel the awkward silence in the instant that followed. This was probably just the first step in Tommy`s evolution, or regeneration process.