Maps to Anywhere Second Half Response

This half of Maps To Anywhere was arguably more effective in conveying Bernard Cooper emotions surrounding his life events.  It was interesting to see how he progressed through the essay compilation and how he associated various concepts with his life events.  From personal experience, Cooper is better able to portray a message through emotion and various imagery.  Cooper continues to prove the power of this medium through essays like "Leaving" and "Bringing Down the House".  Cooper is better able to display his emotions surrounding certain topics and concepts due to his life experience with them.

In "Leaving", Cooper tells of the "typical" American family on an infographic.  He describes the father, mother, and specifically, the 2.5 kids.  I see this as perhaps a commentary on the lifestyle that we glorify that is so inherently damaging at the same time.  The ".5" child is perhaps the child we ignore so that the rest of the family on the surface can survive without bother or difficulty.  We ignore the suffering statistic so that the rest of the world can feel okay about themselves as a result of not thinking about world issues.  We have this conceived image of society that fits our schemas, and when they don't fit, we simply reject them.  I enjoyed this essay because even though it said very little, the concept spoke volumes.

The essay, "Futurism" caught my eye as well, as it spoke of the damaging world view that is constantly changing with technology.  We pass the landmarks by so quickly on the highway because we do not have to appreciate the natural earth, and instead we glorify man-made structures.  Perhaps this essay is not a commentary on technology that revolutionizes society as a whole, but the technology that streamlines daily life that makes the aesthetic beauty of the world irrelevant.  This essay was interesting because it effectively summarized the plight in which society is the ignorant victim, as we support technology that makes our lives easier as opposed to the technology that helps others or fixes problems.  We seek to make life go faster without appreciating what makes it important.

Maps to Anywhere First Half Response

These essays, though seemingly convoluted, provide concise and articulate descriptions of events that prove to be much more than stories.  This compilation reveals the purpose of an essay, which is not only to retell an event, but also provide commentary and intertwine personal meaning.  In this compilation we get insight on aspects and various points in Bernard Cooper's life.  Though no theme ties the works together indefinitely, the various essays include different points about the beginning topic within the few pages in which the work resides.  These writings are very diverse and recounts Cooper's lessons and important stages in his youth and throughout his life.

In the beginning of the compilation, he talks about the central theme of names, be they the aesthetic of the word itself, or the identity that surrounds it.  In daily life, we attribute a collection of sounds and symbols to objects, animals, and more importantly, people.  Cooper relates the importance of one's name to one's demeanor or identity, conveying the importance, or lack thereof naming in accordance with identity.  Cooper tells us of a book that his mother used to name him, listing off personality traits of a "Bernard" "Far from the bearish obstinance and earthiness it said to imply, it held for me connotations of myopia, introversion, and bookishness that my destiny has borne out (Cooper, 4)."  The author states that one might instead choose their own combination of symbols and sounds to name their child as opposed to choosing a list from a book to name your spawn.  

In the story, "How to Draw", Cooper recounts the art of his late brother, and how Cooper views his works.  Cooper starts out by saying that he often enjoys amateur art more than that of professionals, which could occur a number of different reasons.  In his brother's case, Cooper might enjoy the art because of a nostalgic or emotional attachment to the works not only because it was done by his brother, but also because they serve to be a window into his brother's mind.  It is difficult to perceive what an artist might be going through in daily life through a work of art that means nothing, but when someone is in pain or is in a dire situation, one's art may speak more and convey more emotion.  Cooper's brother's art was not only a window to his emotions, but also serve as snapshots, as they might prove to show changing thoughts throughout his condition at various points in time. 

Essay Packet #1 Response

As opposed to all other works of writing we were exposed to this year, the essay format is perhaps the most straightforward, given that deeper meanings and messages are outright described.  These works are indeed more lacking in poetic and concrete language than the poems and short stories, however this is not what makes this an essay compilation.  The essays are brief synopses of thoughts from the authors point of view, and while they may include somewhat of a story, this is likely not the main point in which the writer is attempting to convey.  These essays often came in a first-person point of view, and usually include a personal experience from the author, giving the work a more personal attachment.  The essays are straightforward, but this medium of writing can be very diverse as well, despite their usual use throughout the literary world.

The first essay that came to mind in this compilation was Red: An Invocation, as the instance in which the personal story was told was a very brief, yet it included a great deal of description about the sighting.  The story itself.  The essay dealt with the aesthetic beauty of the fox and the captivation that followed the sighting of the animals.  Red: An Invocation, is likely speaking to the emotion that is invoked upon seeing the animals and their respective attributes that captivated the author in this way.  This essay proved the diverse nature of the essay, and what an essay entails; the story was indeed short, yet it provided this plethora of sensory information and emotion.

The Mint Snowball was perhaps my favorite essay within the compilation, as the beginning are polar opposites in their tones and descriptions.  At first, the author seeks to regale the audience with feelings of nostalgia as she tells of the drug store and all of the sensory information associated with this place.  Later on, however it is revealed that the recipe for their famous "Mint Snowball" syrup was sold, and later the Mint Snowball altogether, which effectively transitions the tale into a more somber tone.  The author then relates the loss of their Mint Snowball to another emotion, as the meaning of the senses relating to this flavor now invoke sadness and other negative emotions.  In a way, this story establishes the boundaries by which an essay can go, as one thinks of essays as purely expository, they can also be poetic and invoke emotion within the audience to a great extent.

Fiction Packet #3 Response

I found the contents of this packet to be the most enjoyable out of the readings this year.  One of the more interesting stories was The Fifth Story by Clarice Lispector, as they all followed the same narrative, however they were given a different direction.  They all had the same style of writing, yet gave different perspectives on the same mundane situation.  Each time the story was told, the writer added new information or insight on the situation of killing cockroaches inside the apartment, however the final story simply gives a one statement summary of the situation "I was complaining about the Cockroaches", which is essentially the literal plot of the story line.

August 25th 1983 by Jorge Luis Borges was a very interesting tale as well, as it conveyed a normally impossible event that may or may not have been a dream.  It not only questioned the validity of Borges' reality, but also told of Borges' potential future and what he think it will hold.  Borges' "future self" tells him about his writing feats in the years to come, however Borges is skeptical, thinking that he will not change so much.  The work demonstrated the path of time and how it does not move to your will; Borges' future self did not turn out as he had intended.  The story begs the question: Will Borges' life change now that he knows he will kill himself (assuming Borges isn't simply dreaming)?

These stories demonstrated a trite and effective method of storytelling that utilized elements of a clear and effective plot.  Apart from the beginning stories by Peter Markos, each story had a clear-cut narrative and linear plot line.  The beginning stories were indeed abstract, yet their styles were unique and vague in their storytelling.  They sought to describe a concept in an ambiguous and meaningful manner, evoking thought within the audience.  The stories used the bare structure of a story, utilizing nameless characters and vague descriptions of the actions.

The Black Automaton and Unexplained Presence

The Black Automaton was almost poetic in its structure, yet were not held together in any sort of specific scheme.  Kearney used plenty of sensory and concrete language to evoke emotions possibly relating to black struggle and problems associated with this society and black people.  I enjoyed the erratic scheme of this collection of poems, and they were very effective in conveying each of their messages.  Though they were trite in length, they were powerful in that each poem had a different theme, idea, and layout.  The poems that caught my eye the most were "From Voltron", and "Tallahatchie Lullaby, Baby", due to their unique layouts.  "Tallahatchie Lullaby", Baby interested me with its use of rhyming as well as alliteration, while "From Voltron" used an odd and erratic layout that was aesthetically pleasing.

Unexplained Presence used a short story style of narrative in its collection, yet was very descriptive in nature and very powerful as well.  This collection also deals with the strife of black people and deals with the black character as a whole in each story.  The description at the beginning that served as an intro stated that: "Black figures in Eurocentric literature, film, and visual art are rarely presented without being given a distinct, racialized function (Bryant 1)".  This is shown throughout each story, as the African American protagonists are all distinctly racialized in their language, habits as well as their issues.  This collection of stories effectively conveys the role of African Americans in all types of media and explores their role in storytelling and how adding race can affect the narrative.

I enjoyed both of these collections of poems and short stories due to their messages and their styles of narrative and structure.  I enjoyed The Black Automaton the most because I was captivated by the use of language and the aesthetic beauty that was associated with it.  It proved the effectiveness of the African American style of writing, and while it was somewhat confusing, the message throughout the collection was consistent.

Juice by Renee Gladman

These stories are interesting in its narrative direction, in that you must decide what is occurring in each story.  Each instance seems to follow a different person entirely, and they are seemingly unrelated.  They seem to follow a direct "stream of consciousness" style of narrative, and the events seem to attempt to sum up the underlying feelings and actions relating to the loneliness of the narrator.  There is no real rhyme or reason to the narrator's method of storytelling, however it all seems to flow together within each instance in an archaic and stylized manner.  The stories are intentionally vague, and in that the story becomes more mysterious and subtle, making it more interesting to the reader.

Apart from the loneliness described at the beginning, another theme I happened upon was not being able to fit in.  "People tend to have faith that the juice they drink in the morning is the same juice they have always drunk.  And the apples take their shape naturally.  The guy, whose name escapes me now, taught me to look  upon others' concerns as mine to make at home [...] When my friends came by- they liked to suddenly show up with all kinds of breads in their hands, thinking they knew what I needed and planned to force in on me - I had to tell them I was busy with my juice"(Gladman 22).  This might mean that the narrator was comfortable with his/her own ways (her juice) and did not want to adopt other people's ideals, thus making her lonely though they are surrounded by others.  In the beginning of the story, the narrator outlines being lonely because no one else is around.  The narrator states that the town "... is still vibrant though I have not seen anyone in years.  I am not in jail - they have just gone"(Gladman 10).  The narrator appears to be in denial about the town even returning, saying that the narrator is not imprisoned, yet she is all alone in this desolate town that the narrator considers "vibrant".  However, he seems to see the desolation as positive and he might be making the best out of a bad situation.

I enjoyed this novella for its style and method of story progression; it acts more as a collection of short stories than a cohesive story altogether because of the different instances that each chapter presents.  The author leaves many details up to the reader, such as the gender of the protagonist as well as the situation they are in.  This makes the reader wish to keep going, as if they are hungry for more details about the story, though they will be usually be meager and vague intentionally.  The author goes off of her own thoughts in a non-linear fashion, as if the book were inside the protagonist's direct thoughts.  At first, the story does not even make it clear whether the each division is together, or whether they are separate stories of their own.  Once one continues, however, the divisions imply that there is no correlation between the novels, thus demonstrating the slow feeding of information that this novella follows.

More Fiction Packet #2

My first impression of the story, "People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water" in the second fiction packet was that it dealt in a great deal of exposition and plenty of build up.  This story was interesting, because it consisted of a large amount of concrete details and specific imagery.  The poetic language was very effective in conveying the story to the reader and was very aesthetically pleasing.  The story effectively paints a picture of the setting and what is occurring between characters, even though not much happens at the beginning of the tale.

This story was thoroughly entertaining, as it powerfully illustrated hardships in the west between various families in the early 20th century.  One of the more interesting aspects of the story is how the author is able to fluidly switch from one family's perspective to another.  The sensory language within the story definitely pulls you in at the beginning, as the language is harsh and emotionally charged.  At first, it is unclear where the setting truly takes place, as it uses modern places and attributes to describe the setting: "Fences, cattle, roads, refineries, mines, gravel pits, traffic lights, graffiti’d celebration of athletic victory on bridge overpass, crust of blood on the Wal-Mart loading dock, the sun-faded wreaths of plastic flowers marking death on the highway are ephemeral."  It appears, though, that this text serves as some sort of intro or foreword, acting as some sort of message before the actual story.  The transition is confusing, however the rest of the story seems to follow uniformity following the Dunmires and the Tinsleys.  

What occurs within the story is also very emotionally-charged, given the obstacles placed in front of either family during the harsh seasons in the west.  This story is interesting because it brings to light many brutal and grating issues they face and the decisions they face.  I was notably shaken by the actions of the Tinsleys, such as when Mrs. Tinsley throws her child in the water, thus committing murder.  I enjoyed this story a great deal, as it emulated the effectiveness of a brief tale as opposed to an extensively long one.