The Problem Revealed

I don't even know where to begin...so why not at the end...?

"My life was at once something more simple and more complicated than that: for ten of my twenty years, half of my life, I had been mourning the end of a love affair; perhaps the only true love in my whole life I would ever know" (Kincaid, 132). This quote finally reveals what I have suspected throughout the whole book! If you were to go back and see everywhere Lucy recalled "mother" in her present experiences, you get the feeling that no matter how hard she wants to, her past will always be a part of who she is...even if it something she is trying to change/challenge...

Lucy is no longer the cold hearted, miserable person I permanently stamped for her...somehow, in realizing that her mother was not able to connect with her the way she wanted, she becomes an inspiration and very intelligent individual...but she just doesn't know how to deal with it...the story Lucy recalls to Mariah explains so much more than what we have seen about her personality...this girl, at ten, understood that there has to be more than what she is having wished for her...being raised in an environment where we have been taught to be strong, ambitious and adventurous is the norm, and Lucy secretly feels these too...to feel rejected and betrayed by your mother at such an influential age can be a life changing experience...her desire to break the mold and severe relations with those feelings is not only very hard, but for her, is virtually impossible...

the society she had dreamed of since she was little quickly changes and seems unimportant...what's important is her mother and the woman she is and how she is present in Lucy...

does the last bit of reading today change anyone else's persception of Lucy?

understanding this child

this poor girl! she is so torn between different worlds and does not know where to go or what to do! One the one hand, she longed to get away from the place she resented the most, but she seems to just go to a place she feels the same toward...

as I read, I got the feeling that she was homesick, obviously...and she completely resents it...her stubborn character and personality make her think of returning to, or having a connection with a past was a sign of weakness...for her, this isn't just a personal thing; she thinks everyone should disconnect from their past as they move into the future...this is demonstrated on pages 33-34, "...I thought Mariah should have long separated the person Gus standing in front of her in the present from all things he had meant to her in the past"...I don't think she has come to realize yet that your previous experience make you who you are in the present...this may be the reason why she resents her mother so much now, but cannot explain why....

another thing I am confused about was the last two pages of the assigned reading...her unwillingness to even hug Mariah after opening up to her is a prime example of her feelings toward her own culture and the culture she is trying to fit into...I don't think she really means to be so mean to Mariah, but I feel so bad for her either way...as she tries to seperate herself from what she is used to, she is blocking possible connections to others...

j

The reading, "This Blessed House" was interesting on many different levels. I enjoyed reading and anyalyzing the relationship between Twinkle and Sanjeev. Throughout the story, we see Sanjeev's reactions climax to the point where he cannot stand the religious items Twinkle keeps finding. At this part in the story, he confesses that "he did not know if he loved her" (147). His constant questioning and inability or lack of ambition to say something makes me wonder about his character. Though he his older and more mature in a business setting, is he really as emotionally and intellectually mature as Twinkle? Also, he seems torn between what "should" be found in a wife and what he thinks loves/loved about Twinkle and their first encounters. For him, I think Twinkle is the squiggle for his square. He may get so frustrated and annoyed with her, but, like in the end, he is compelled to stay quiet and let her have her way...

Then the discussion today...looking back at it, I feel like we discussed so much, but got no where...I don't mean it in a bad way, but the notion of connection and how you connect and with whom you feel compelled to connect to is, in a way, overwhelming...As a class, we felt Sanjeev appeared to be more connected to his Indian heritage, not necessarily the culture...Twinkle appears to f Lo A T and innocently enjoy the beauty
around her. I know we talked about Twinkle and Sanjeev and how they may or may not have had trouble identifying with either the American or Indian culture/heritage, but what about this: the author put them together for a reason...instead of looking at the characters individually, why do you think Lahiri chose to place these two different personalities together?

PROCRASTINATION!

anyone else trying hard to study for this exam and feeling like this? haha...

I'm not thinking this should be SO bad. . . I would THINK that if you read the material it shouldn't be that bad. . .

any one have any tips?

j

"O" --continued and changed

I've been thinking about the movie a lot and there are some things that are just sticking in my head that I want to throw out there...

I think that, in the movie, Desi has had her death scene...in both the play and the movie, Desi represents innocence...and that was definitely taken already in the movie...and the interpretation of the killing was much like the murder in the play...

O was completely out of it when he did what he did to Desi...and the same is true for the play...in both interpretations he's completely torn between two feelings; love and jealousy...

I didn't like that Desi had to "die" that way, but it was interesting to see how the director interpreted that act in the play...

but now I feel the movie is going to appear different from the play...I don't think that Oden can/will actually kill Desi...something more modern has to happen...Oden and Mike may go at it, but I can't see him killing him either...

Hugo, of course, better get caught and somehow punished for his actions...but it's weird because I also want the relationship between him and his dad to improve, although that seems impossible...especially if his evil plot is revealed to everyone....

I'm excited for the last part of the film!!!! MY MID-TERMS ARE OVER AND I CAN FINALLY RELAX!!!! :)

"O"

not gonna lie, I'm lovin this movie! I liked how it was interpreted by the director and how he made Shakespeare not seem boring (which I think is a big problem in getting students motivated to read him). Making the movie appear in a more modern and relateable setting helps the viewers to understand what is going on...

I also liked our discussion in class...it made me think about what someone said (I can't remember if it was here or actually in class) about Shakespeare's works being universal and infinite...this movie definitely proved it! the underlying story is Shakespeare but the message is relied in so many different ways...each interpretation gives more insight to what Shakespeare may have meant...I think Shakespeare may have done this intentionally...by making his works so open for interpretation, he is allowing himself to be present and discussed in modern literary and entertainment works for centuries to come!

I'm excited to see how the rest of the movie plays out... :)

j