The “C” Word

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Overall, I have very much enjoyed this novel. It has been the first novel I have actually read for school since my sophomore year of high school. One thing that I particularly like about it is the cast of strong female characters, regardless of the fact that the story is told from a male’s point of view. However, I find that the male’s point of view serves as a commentary as to how difficult and crazy men can actually be. Before anyone takes offense, let me elaborate.

In today’s society, it is very common for a woman to be labeled as ‘crazy.’ In fact, lots of men typically like to use this word to describe an ex-girlfriend, ex-wife, or otherwise problematic female (ex: my father). This typically is a word that will ‘put women in their place’ and has in fact worked on me in the past. It has worked so much so that I often will not express myself to a significant other when a situation makes me upset to avoid looking like I’m being ‘crazy,’ even though what is bothering me may be completely rational and backed by solid feelings. Instead, I live with the discomfort of the situation which is ultimately completely unfair to both parties. I’ve had friends come to me asking whether or not their valid emotions are ‘crazy’ and whether or not they have a right to be upset. Now logical me says, “Of course you can be upset! One cannot control whether something has caused them to be upset or not.” However, actual me has yet to put this into practice…

Okay that got slightly off topic, but bringing it back to this really good book. While we have a cast of strong, independent, eccentric females, I can’t help but think that Esteban is the crazy one. All the way from the beginning, he pretty much stalked Rosa, felt entitled to her, has crazy tantrums and fits of rage, was a serial rapist for a period of time, somehow has an affinity for becoming obsessed with women who show indifference towards him, and just happens to really go ultimately bonkers by the end of chapter four. He’s hung up on this idea that Clara owes him love and affection and attention but he’s really done not much to earn it. I mean, what does he really even like about Clara? He finds her psychic abilities a nuisance and worries about what the neighbors would say, he thinks she’s ungrateful for all that he’s done for her, he doesn’t like her meetings with her clairvoyant friends, and he hates that she’s indifferent.  Ultimately, I think Esteban is in love with the idea of chasing love, and that his life would be pretty empty without it. In his mind, Clara is dismissed as the problem for not being attentive enough to his fragile ego, which is sometimes a common theme in relationships today, as seen above.

 


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Pan’s Labyrinth

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This movie was a strong comparison between Ofelia’s reality, and what she wanted her reality to be. She created the love for what Faun had told her, and the ideas of fantasies due to the trauma she felt and dealt with. Even though in the end she had to face her reality for what it truly was, she struggled to deal with her surrounding environment. Her step father, who showed no compassion, and he mother who was very wrapped up in her problematical pregnancy. Guillermo del Toro, did a wonderful job in making us question Ofelia’s reality, or in a bigger sense, our reception of her reality. In all the movie was to show the harsher side of what an imagination can do to a child.


Glare of Disdain

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I was perusing the New York Times Book section this morning, and I came across a marvelous comic, “Glare of Disdain,” by Gene Luen Yang, an American writer of comics and graphic novels. I think the issues it raises are perfect for our course. It focuses on the power of stories in books to act as windows into people from other cultures.  Let me know what you think in the comments. Can you see any connection to our course? What do you think about the writer’s point?

Glair of disdain

That Awkward Moment When an Atheist Goes to Church

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Can we talk about that scene where the del Valle family has to run out of mass because of Clara (7)? Specifically, I found it interesting how Allende alluded to a biblical reference in describing the situation. Of course, I am talking about Lot’s wife. If you are unfamiliar with the story, it is basically about this crappy city that God decides needs to be destroyed because of its overall sinfulness and Lot’s family is allowed to escape under one condition: no one is allowed to turn around and look at the city being torn apart. As you may guess, Lot’s wife ends up looking back and is turned into a pillar of salt in an instant.

So why did Allende use this reference? Looking at both of the stories superficially, I find it interesting that the del Valle family is the one fleeing from the scene when the leader of their household is atheist because in the Bible. And in this situation Father Restrepo is similar to Sodom, the city that was destroyed, even though he is a representative of the church.

I found this part interesting, and maybe I am looking to hard at it, but I decided to blog about it any way. It originally caught my attention because I read a poem about Lot’s wife in a previous English class and it made me think about the meaning of the poem, as well.


Zero is the best!

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Today we fought the Battle of C/I Kickball.

In the post-tourney photo, the professors of the four participating first-year seminars–Duffey, Flemming, Hoops, and Findley–held up fingers to indicate their groups placement on the Olympic podium of honor.

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As is evident, Flemming holds up a single finger, Hoops two, Findley three, and your humble servant, Professor Duffey, I am holding up no fingers at all. My clenched fist, with no fingers raised, signifies zero.

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Lorenz Oken (1779-1851)

I want to argue here that we should take great pride in our ZERO.

All hail to ZERO, I would say, or even…

Hail, the conquering…ZERO….

 

Harvard mathematician Robert Kaplan, in his excellent 1999 study (Oxford UP), The Nothing that Is: A Natural History of Zero, states that “If you look at zero you see nothing; but look through it and you will see the world” (1). Kaplan presents a fascinating, multifaceted paean to the power and unique majesty of ZERO, a power and majesty that has been celebrated by the greatest minds through the ages. Samuel Beckett asked, “Better than nothing? How can that be?” (Kaplan, 195) Lorenz Oken (1779-1851), German naturalist, botanist, biologist, and ornithologist, positively rhapsodized about zero: “Zero is the primary and eternal act, endlessly positing itself….God is zero, and zero is infinite intensity” (201). In fact, philosopher Jacob Needleman, author of The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders (Putnam, 2002) believes that “America is the land of zero….Start from zero, we start from nothing. That is the idea of America” (Kaplan, 202).

In Kickball, then, were are, my Duffey mentees, zero.  But let us take pride in our zero-ness.

Let us lift high the banner of zero and give zero its rightful place of honor and praise, higher certainly than more pedestrian integers such as “one,” “two,” and “three.”

Good job on the kickball tournament.  It was super fun!!

A Creepy but Powerful Film

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After reading a couple criticisms about Pan’s Labyrinth, I did not want to wait another minute before watching the film. It sounded like a movie that was made specifically for people like me. It had the kind of creepy, creative element of monsters and mythical creatures. It contained commentary about government and justice. It also blurred the line between reality and imaginary and the significance of each. I also am a big fan of literature and films from different countries, so I knew this movie was going to be good from the get go.

However, upon watching this movie, the way it portrayed these themes was a bit cliché. The evil step parent – in this case a step father – was harsh and unforgiving. He was also the leader of the fascist regime, symbolizing that the fascist regime in this movie was just as harsh and unforgiving. While this message is still important and crucial to the film, I find it a bit simplistic.

What was most interesting to me was the way the Mexican director, Guillermo del Torro, blurred the line between real and imaginary. Throughout the film. the watcher is wondering “Is all this fantasy stuff real or is it just the little girl’s imagination?” There are many moments that make us question. For example, when the bug turned into a fairy, when she opens the book the faun gave her and the pages are blank at first, and lastly when she’s running away from her step father and he doesn’t see the faun like the little girl does. On the flip side, all of the little girls interactions with the faun and other mythical creatures seem very realistic. The lack of clarity on this issue is key to the film’s meaning.

Another thing I liked about the film was how realistic it was. It didn’t necessarily have a happy ending and everything played out as it most likely would have in real life. In American movies, this isn’t always the case. For example, the little girl wasn’t able to defeat her much larger and armed step father. *Spoiler Alert* She died, which was most likely going to happen as after her mother died, the step father sees no more responsibility for her. The mother also died in childbirth which was likely due to the fact of such an uncomfortable and problematic pregnancy. I actually really liked the ending of the film and how everything played out because it really shows the audience how tragic reality can be sometimes.

Lastly, the meaning of the film had a big impact on me as well. Thought it displayed multiple different themes, I thought the film as a whole was about innocence and goodness. The audience finds this out at the very end when the faun asks the little girl for her baby brother as a sacrifice, but she refuses, sacrificing herself instead. I mean this little baby was the reason her mother is dead, and she still vows to protect him because she knows it’s the right thing to do. In the end, it earns her entrance into the kingdom the faun has been telling her about. Symbolizing that this innocence and goodness is the way to riches in the world.


Amber

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First, I want to explain the whole ‘stratus thoughts’ thing and what that means to me. I’ve been on tumblr since middle school, and it’s always been cool to have either a super edgy or simplistic user name. All the good simplistic ones were taken, so I went with edgy and came up with ‘stratusthoughts.’ However, I do believe that this phrase has something to do with my personality. I consider myself a writer, even though it’s been years since I’ve actually written something that I take pride in owning. When it comes to writing my thoughts down, I feel as if I can never get it just right. I never believe that what I’ve written is good enough or makes sense – I make up every excuse not to put it out into the world. It’s not that I think that my thoughts are bad. I believe I am a very thoughtful person that has quality ideas that could improve the world around me. However, it’s been a long time since any of those thoughts have been published. Therefore, most of my thoughts kind of float around in my head like clouds. Thus, the birth of stratus thoughts.


Pan’s Labryinth

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Pan’s Labryinth portrays a young girl’s descent into a magical realm following the move of her and her mother to the countryside where Ofelia, the young girl, must deal with the cruelty and belittlement of her stepfather and the passivity of her mother. When Ofelia first meets the Faun, she asks Mercedes, a mother figure for Ofelia, if she believes in fairies. Mercedes’ response is “No, but I did when I was your age.”

As Mercedes struggles with secretly supporting rebels aiming to overthrow the regime The Captain, Ofelia’s cruel stepfather, works for; Ofelia struggles to complete the Faun’s tasks.Through this, Director Guillermo del Toro portrays the real world and magical world side-by-side. The ambiguous ending continues this pattern, as Ofelia is shown as a princess in her magical world, while Mercedes cries over Ofelia’s dead body in her real world.

Arguably, Ofelia’s magical fantasy is only a figment of imagination, inspired by her love of fairytales and persuaded by the horrors she has witnessed. Additionally, Franco was unable to see Faun when Ofelia held a conversation with him. However, because Franco has committed evil crimes, it is possible that he is unable to see Faun not because Faun doesn’t exist outside of Ofelia’s mind; but because there is no good within Franco.

 


El Laberinto del Fauno

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Pan’s Labyrinth, a mystical and fairytale-esque film written and directed by genius Guillermo del Toro Gomez, won several awards and critically acclaimed reviews, and rightfully so. When one finishes the movie, the first thought one generally ponders on is whether Ofelia made a fantasy to cope with her dynamic struggles or whether the mysterious land is indeed true. However, Pan’s Labyrinth should instead be focused on the point of view that Guillermo del Toro directed his cameras to: Ofelia, the young, innocent girl. As a person watches the movie through little Ofelia’s eyes (except the one scene in the viewpoint of Vidal), they are exposed to various situations where morals and ethics are heavily taken into consideration. With this in mind, the central message behind Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece is that one should always be in touch with one’s inner morals. Gomez accomplishes this by creating a world only those (like Ofelia) who are innocent and not yet corrupted by things like greed and bloodlust can see. By including the scene where Vidal is not included or aware of Ofelia’s magical world, Gomez actually juxtaposes the two character’s levels of  their moral mentality. However, the beauty of Pan’s Labyrinth mainly rests on Guillermo del Toro’s generosity to induce the viewer to contemplate what they think is the true underlying meaning behind the ending, and furthermore, movie as a whole. Instead of slapping the spectator in the face with a revealing ending he desired, Guillermo del Toro instead permits the watcher to figure the true significance of the movie for themselves.

Pan’s Labyrinth

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Pan’s Labyrinth, by Guillermo Del Toro, intermixed reality and a fantasy world created by a child in order to cope with the severity of her reality. While there is debate regarding the existence of the ‘fairy’ reality that Ofelia creates, there is little doubt that at least to her, the reality is as real as the one the adults were in. A notable attribute to the movie is how the director manages to leave room for interpretation, so that it is possible for viewers to make the story their own in a sense.

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