Blogging

I remember when we set our blogs, I was a little tentative about managing my own blog. HOwever, now I have come to realize the importance of having a blog. Through my blog I was better able to express ideas that I might have had in class, but wasn't able to fully explicate or if I had an idea outside of class that I just needed to get written down before I could forget. I feel that with my blog I had the freedom to write about whatever I wanted. I feel that I will continue with my blog. Recently I have begun taking breaks from studying and have been doing a lot of creative writing. I feel that posting my new work will be a good idea. As of now I am working on a new line of themed poetry and a short screenplay. I don't know how good any of it is, but maybe by managing my blog I can write better. We'll see how this goes but I feel that this will be a good experiment.

Real World Profanity

I feel that the use of profanity is often an overlooked concept in writing. Whatever the medium, book, television, or film, profanity can have a powerful impact on the viewer. Some critics believe that using profanity is an unnecessary use of expression and is simply a means of "copping out" rather than writing something original. However, I believe that there is a time and place for using profanity in writing. Sometimes the acts and emotions a character experiences and feels are too overwhelming or graphic to go into detail to. These words embody those acts and emotions simply because the are too much for the characters to deal with. This attests to the humanity of the characters and makes them more believable. In Persepolis, we do not see a major use of profanity until page 74, the scene where the mother has been attacked and threatened. The use of profanity here makes the situation all the more real. In addition, the use of profanity clearly embodies the horrific act described. This also attest the decreasing innocence we see of the narrator.

The Duality of Love

From the readings of Freud I have come to realize the duality of love. The first type of love is the pure physical and chemical love that our animal instincts crave. It is this type of love that leads to procreation not only for humans but all creatures. Then there is other type of love, a family love, " the positive feelings between parents and children"(Freud 58) We have seen people's struggle for both these type of love in our the novels we have read: Sputnik Sweetheart, Age of Iron, and, most recently, Giovanni's Room. Interestingly, in Giovanni's room we see the narrator's struggle between these two types of love. David's family love, has totally been skewed due to the unfulfilled relationship with his father and the lack of a relationship with his deceased mother. On the other hand, David's physical love is directed towards men. However, throughout many instances in the novel, David clearly rejects his seemingly instinctual inclination to be homosexual. I believe that it is the lack of a mother's love as a child resulting in a unfulfilled family love that is the crux of David's confusion. He cannot distinguish between these two types of love as well as not knowing which one he should pursue. It is this conflict that is the foundation of the plot throughout this novel, however their is no clear resolution which is extremely frustrating. Personally, I thought the entire novel was frustrating. If David had read Freud I think he would have been able to make a decision rather than living in guilt.