The Otherside?

I really enjoyed the first half of Sputnik Sweetheart. I thought that author had created an interesting cast of characters who each their own flaws and held a little bit of mystery. Intertwining these characters was an unique plot that got to the heart of discovering and pursuing relationships in a real modern way. The story took a turn in a different direction when Sumire goes missing. I feel that the author took what was a good plot and turned it into a attempt to create modern, mystified, transcendental work. It's just unbelievable and me as the reader had a hard time comprehending it. I wish it had an alternate ending.

Products in Writing

I feel that good writing comes from an author's attention to detail, and the way that they phrase it. Sometimes a subtle description and choosing the "just right" words and phrasing can make the difference between an airport novel and a timeless classic. However, sometimes author's can take detail too far. In the case of Sputnik Sweetheart, I feel that the author abused certain material aspects in two different instances. I do not understand why the author feels it is necessary to use "Powerbook" instead of laptop. This name dropping is unnecessary and takes away from the novel. It dates the novel in a way that 20 or 30 years from now, readers probably won't know what a powerbook is, thus confusing the reader on what I think is a pointless use of specific detail. Another name dropping incident occurs when K goes to grab an Amstel from the fridge. Now I know that a majority of readers will know that Amstel is a type of beer. However, I feel that by naming a specific brand to the beverage, it has taken away from what is really important at that point in the story.

I have never been a fan of brand names in books. In a world filled with advertisements, i know that at least while I am reading I will not be bombarded by commercialism.

Cages

In class on Wednesday we were talking about "cages", and how people can put themselves in them. I do not believe that it is a bad thing to put yourself in a specific cage. Some claim that by putting yourself in a cage you limit yourself to the other things in this world. I disagree. Because human beings are social beings it is imperative that they identify themselves with other people. Thus it is necessary to put yourself in a "cage" with these other people. What we must decide is what cage we find ourselves most comfortable in. In a broader sense, I do not believe that we are limited to just one cage. The more cages we can either associate with or understand, the more connected we as humanity can be.

Key Women Figures

The other day in class we were talking about what women should aspire to be. We discussed women's roles in the household versus women's roles in the working world. What I have found through my reading of Adrienne Rich is that throughout her life she has not really been able to establish her identity as a woman in this world. This might sound a little bizarre. I am not denying any part of her womanhood, but rather that Adrienne Rich found it difficult to relate to the traditional key figures of women before her. In her poem "The Phenomenology of Anger" mentions Venus, a beautiful Roman goddess, Judith, a strong character of womanhood from the Old Testament, and Kali, a Hindu goddess. For thousands of years, examples like these have been at the forefront for what women aspire to be. Adrienne Rich, being so different from these characters, found it difficult to see her unique womanhood in these characters. This is why she struggled so much through her life and lots of her poems, this one in particular, discuss her strife. It seems that throughout the twentieth century and today more and more key woman figures are in the public eye and are redefining what womanhood can be. Women like Madeline Albright, Oprah, and Ellen Degenerous have all contributed to the evolution of what womanhood can be. I believe that Adrienne Rich has also contributed as one of these key women figures.

Iago the Devil?

After much thinking, I have decided that if i were to produce the play Othello, I would adapt the play so that Iago would be the devil. He is a unique villain in Shakespeare's plays. He does not have any real reason for his diabolical actions. It's pure evil. In addition, Iago does not do any direct actions of evil. He merely uses others around him as his pawns, to do his evil work for him by means of inducing temptation and suggestive speeches. This is historically accurate to traits the devil has shown both in the Bible and other works. I think that this would be an interesting take on the play.

Racism Towards Othello

Again, I am coming back to the theme of racism as it is portrayed. I wondered, what type of racial tendancies the audiences of Shakespeare's time, maybe this would give insight to racism in Othello. After doing some research, I saw that William Shakespeare was raised Catholic. Although this religion was looked down upon by English, it was practiced in private amongst devout worshipers. During Shakespeare's time, their was a huge Anti-Islam movement throughout Europe, specifically from the Catholic rulings of Spain and France. I am trying to reason whether this is why Shakespeare chose for Othello to be a Moor, a Muslim. Anyways, if this is not the reason, I still find it to be an interesting coincidence.

How to Read Othello.

In class on monday we discussed how to read Shakespeare's plays. They should be spoken and performed, not merely read from a page in the library at 1 in the morning. In high school i always found it helpful to get the CD of the play and listen to the CD as i read along with the dialogue. This has proven to be a rather effective way for me to better comprehend Shakespeare's writing and makes it a whole lot more enjoyable. When I was in high school, the first Shakespeare play that i read was Macbeth, which happens to be my favorite. We were reading it over one of our school breaks. During the break my family decided to visit my sister at college. I brought my book and CD with me just in case i had some downtime to read. Of course I had great luck and my flight was delayed 4 hours getting back to NJ. So as i sat there at the gate, i tuned out the crying babies and the complaining passengers and listened to Macbeth straight through. Made my waiting experience actually rather enjoyable. More recently with Othello, I simply got the audiobook of the play on iTunes and transfered it to my iPod. It makes reading Othello alot more conveinient,

Racism as a secondary factor in Othello

In class on monday, we had a brief discussion on whether race was the primary reason for why people disapproved of Othello. Our guest on monday, whose name i have unfortunately forgotten, thought his Moor background as a secondary reason for why people looked on Othello with such hatred. After taking a closer look, I disagree. I believe it is the primary reason for their hatred. If it was not for Othello's background, I do not believe that the tragic events of this play would have occured. Surely some might look upon Othello with disapproval, but it is the race driven hatred that is at the heart of this tragedy.