The Crying of Lot 49

This novel raises the question, "What is the real plot line?" Has Oedipa uncovered a national mail conspiracy, or are all the occurrences a practical joke of her ex-lover? Better yet, is Oedipa just on one large LSD trip? I think that the majority of the occurrences are a dream-like sequence with the help of some serious drugs. While Oedipa is experiencing many of the "conspiracy" moments, she also suffers physical symptoms that seem to relate to LSD usage. The following are symptoms pulled off of a LSD addiction website:
dilated pupils higher body temperature increased heart rate and blood pressure sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness dry mouth tremors

diminished control over thought processes, resulting in recent or long-forgotten memories resurfacing and blending with current experience, or in insignificant thought or objects taking on deep meaning.

To me, with that in mind, it seems as though Oedipa is actually under the influence of drugs, and might be mixing reality with flashbacks.

Ellison and Morrison

For our class assignment we had to read Ellison's Invisible Man. I was amazed, after I finished reading it, how many thematic similarities it has with Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Both focus on the significance of sight, being able to "see." and eyes in relation to the African American culture. Both make references to the act of incest in their culture. And both make a reference to dolls as symbols of some greater cultural struggle. I think that this might help format my paper for this class. Anyone who has any interesting insights for either one of these novels, or both, please feel free to comment. I welcome everyone's viewpoints!

Stretched Too Thin

This week has been so crazy, it has been one of the few that makes me feel like I am pushing the limits with my time management this summer. I am taking two summer classes, working full time, and planning a wedding to boot. I have had such a hard time keeping up that the stress has been so bad this past week! I have been looking forward to a nice vacation at the end of July, but it just seems so far away. I just have to try to keep things in perspective....
My fiance has been helping me with my one project, which has been a huge help.
My wedding plans have been going without a flaw, which is a big relief.
I have already taken Dr. Carrell's class before, so I know what I'm in for.

I just need to take a big breath...one summer class almost down, just one more to go! :)

The Pretty Little Liars

Since I am going to be an English teacher for high school, I try to keep up to date on what types of books teenagers are reading. For the most part, this "assignment" of reading has been pretty fun...reading Harry Potter and the Twilight series with a good excuse, that is! :) There is a series, however, that has done really well that I chose to read, and was quite suprised by its topics. The Pretty Little Liars series deals with four girls that are being stalked by someone posing as thier friend, Ali, who disappeared years before. The stalker is terrorizing them with her knowledge of all their unsavory secrets, like sleeping with a teacher, the knowledge of a parent's infidelity, cheating, bulimia, and other topics. I was concerned with the things this book was presenting, a life that teenage girls supposedly lead, but I was more concerned with how addicting these books were! I waited for months just to find out who "A" (the stalker) really was. Sometimes it's good to know what students are reading, so that you can ask them what they think about the material. Even though I don't necessarily agree with the books, at least they served a good purpose in my learning curve, as well as a little entertainment, in a weird sort of way.

Different Class, Same Girl!

Hello Advanced Composition students! I used this blog for my English Literature since 1800 class with Dr. Hochenauer, and just thought I'd continue on, rather than starting a whole new blog. Feel free to read past entries, and look for more current postings to come! :)

The Final Countdown

Usually my blogs have a theme, but I have a feeling that this one is going to be comprised of various ramblings. This course is over, and I must say that is has by far been one of the most enjoyable "survey" courses that I have had to take! I was sad that we ran out of time and didn't get to discuss Mrs. Dalloway though. I read that book months ago for the class, and it was my favorite by far! I loved how each character analyzed life and how it should be lived....it was a book that made you think about your own mortality, your own purpose in life, and what all you have accomplished so far. Reading it was a challenge, with its lack of chapters, but after a while I realized that Woolf's writing style helped make it that much better...all of those deep perspective a day!

I have taken a lot away from this class, more than I think a student would get if this class was in an actual classroom. Presenting your thoughts online seems a lot less daunting, and I think it opens people up more. The projects in here were fun, and I liked the fact that the professor was more interested in out personal thoughts and discussions, rather than driving paper-writing into our brains, a normal stipend of any English Lit. class. Overall, this class was a fun class to take, and the information that I take away is both useful and applicable to my course of study, a rare find sometimes! :)

Running for Eliot and Yeats

This past week, we had some really great poems that spoke a lot about the way one should live their life. Yeats and Eliot both suggested to readers through their works that we should slow down and enjoy all that life has to give to us, but not to slow to the point of over-thinking things and missing out on the real meaning. Today, I got the perfect application for that principle. Today I ran the the OKC Bombing Memorial Marathon, on the 5K relay team. This should be the point where I also mention that I am not by any means athletic, and I didn't train prior to the event (smart, I know). At 5 AM, when I got downtown, it was freezing cold (esp. in my pink shorts), and it was raining out. My bus got stopped on our way to the checkpoint, got lost, and almost didn't make it in time for me to catch our first runner and make the exchange, and then I had 3.1 miles ahead of me, wind in my face, and hill like crazy....and yet it was SO much fun!! For the past two years I have done this event, not because running is my thing, but because I love what I take away from it. I run beside nearly 1,500 different strangers, and you befriend people along the way. I had such a blast joking with perfect strangers about bad bus schedules, angry steroid-crazy runners, and the crappy weather that after awhile, you forget about being cold and uncomfortable and really focus on the good parts of the race. Making it into a positive experience, and finding that meaning in such special events is, I think, what these authors were striving to present. The best part of all today? I ran my leg in about 34-36 minutes, which is under my time from last year. Good times.