CM1135 Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf #2

Okay so I thought I did both posts for this book already, but it turns out I only did one. I'm really thanking myself for taking the time to look back over my posts and realize one was missing! I was sure I already did this second post, but oh well. I guess I imagined it or something.
Anyway, Mrs. Dalloway wasn't such a bad book I suppose. It was hard to get through and picking up the rhythm of the way it was written was hard at first, but once you get used to it it flows pretty well. It also helps to read it out loud and add in some punctuation, that way you don't get lost so easily. Overall, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book when it was done. I was kind of sad when Septimus killed himself because I really thought he was getting better, he was talking to his wife and they were spending time with each other like they used to. Even she noticed that he was being more like his old self, and it made me sad that he killed himself just when things started to be getting back to normal. I did like the ending of the book though, and I'm glad Clarissa finally realized how fake she had been being for all that time. Sometimes it takes someone else's tragedy to make you realize your own life. Clarissa looked at Septimus' death as a comment on her life, and she finally realized her own mortality. She was in her fifties and it took her all those years to finally realize who she really was. It's sad, really. I don't want to look back on my life and regret the things that I've done. I don't want to wish things were different, and I'm glad I know who I am. I don't have everything I want in life yet, but I'm still young and there's lots of time to live life to the fullest. I hereby vow to never "trifle" my life away.

CM1135 Research Paper #2

I think the best thing about research papers is getting to learn more about your topic. For example, I had no idea Ted Hughes cheated on Sylvia Plath until I looked it up. I didn't know she had kids, and I also didn't know that she admired Virginia Woolf. It's funny, but this semester I've really grown to love a couple authors I didn't even know existed before. The Bell Jar is full of heavy material, but it's one of the best books I've ever read. I don't care about books full of sparkling vampires or hunky werewolves, I love reading stuff that's significant to someone's life and has great themes. It's the whole reason I liked Animal Farm when we studied it in high school, it had historical significance. If you knew nothing about the Russian Revolution it would have just looked like a bunch of animals fighting and making their "society" worse.
In the same way, The Bell Jar shows the reader how hard living back then was for women who weren't stereotypically feminine. If you didn't want to settle down with the first man who asked you to marry him, what did you do? Sure, some women were independent and happy, but what about the others? Others like Esther who had trouble with the fact that she didn't want things society told her she should. They had the hardest time, of course, because being indecisive might have been one of the hardest things in your life. When Esther says she doesn't want to marry Buddy he calls her crazy. He doesn't understand why she would pass up an opportunity to be with someone who would eventually be a successful doctor and make buckets of money. But that's just not what she wants. Men like Buddy think they can just chain a woman down solely based on the fact that they're easy on the eyes and they make money. But the fact is, if it's just not the life you want to live then there's nothing anyone can do. Esther didn't want that kind of life, so she turned him down. She couldn't live the way she wanted to, and eventually it took a major toll on her psychological well-being. I can't help but wonder, if Esther were to live in this day and age, would she still have suffered her breakdown? I really don't think so.

CM1145 #14 Psychological Analysis

In class right now we're working on our last essay, and I decided to do a psychological analysis. I'm torn between Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath because they both went through mental illness and ended up committing suicide because of it. Virginia Woolf stuffed her pockets with rocks and then proceeded to drown herself in a lake. Sylvia Plath stuck her head in an oven and turned on the gas... I can't decide which is worse. At least nobody got hit by a train in any of the stories this semester.

CM1145 #13 To Tell, or Not To Tell?

I read this essay in class about whether doctors should withhold information about a serious illness to a patient. Would going easy on them, and not letting them know the seriousness of their condition, really benefit them? If they don't know their tumor is inoperable, would they be more inclined to keep their hopes up? Maybe. But in the end this could come with some serious disappointment, so it raises the question: to tell, or not to tell?
In my opinion, if you trust a doctor enough to examine you in the first place, you should be able to trust them to tell you if something is wrong. If you're going on a family vacation, should they withhold the information until you get back? In some cases, waiting could mean the difference between life or death. I mean, sure people are sometimes more optimistic if they know there's a shred of hope, but what would they do if they knew there wasn't? Why, they would get things ready for when they're gone, of course. If someone is dying they have a right to know. They should have time to write a will and maybe even do some last minute things before they kick the bucket. The could reclaim a friendship, rebuild some bridges that have been burned, even pay off some of their loans so their kids don't have to deal with it when they're gone. Likewise, if you knew you were dying would you just sit there and take it? Or would you rise up and fight whatever it is that's trying to take your life? Most people would fight until they had absolutely nothing left, and they wouldn't give up very easily. The fact of the matter is, you can't try to fight something off unless you know you have it. Trust should be one thing that's between you and your doctor.

CM1135 Research Paper #1

Choosing a topic for my research paper was definitely hard to do this semester. No matter how bad they were while I was reading them, I did actually end up enjoying every book we studied so the choices were very broad. In the end I decided to do my independent project on comparing and contrasting The Bell Jar with Sylvia Plath's life, and what I found out was pretty shocking. All the events in the novel actually did happen to Plath in some way or another, with the names changed of course, and that explains why the novel is such an amazing read. Sure, I knew it was semi-autobiographical but not to the extent that it actually is. It turns out that Sylvia Plath actually wrote for Seventeen Magazine and won a contest just like Esther Greenwood did. She also threw her clothes off the roof of the hotel as it's described in the book... She later had to go borrow an outfit from a friend because of it, and that's how readers know it actually happened. I just thought it was so interesting to read about Sylvia Plath's life and connect it to Esther because once you read the novel and Plath's biography, it almost seems like one in the same. It's crazy (no pun intended).
Another thing I found interesting was that the character Marco was based on Sylvia's ex-husband Ted Hughes. He was apparently a womanizer type, just like Marco, and when Sylvia refused to kiss him he forced himself on her and she actually bit his cheek. He ended up ripping out her earrings in anger, and yet she still found herself attracted to him. It shows how much of an unhealthy relationship she has with men, I guess.
Another thing is the part of the novel when Esther loses her virginity and she ends up hemorrhaging and bleeding everything. Apparently this happened to Plath, too. She supposedly had an odd relationship with an older man, and he ended up raping her and she almost died from blood loss because of the hemorrhage. If you were to read the novel and Plath's biography you would swear her and Esther were the same person.

CM1145 #12 Why We Crave Horror Movies

I read this essay in class the other day and I loved it. It's Stephen King explaining why people love horror movies, and he's absolutely right! He says that "the horror film has become the modern version of the public lynching", which is exactly right. In the old days people were executed in public, and it's crazy how many people actually went out to watch these things. Better yet, it's insane how many of them actually enjoyed such a spectacle. Insane? No, not really. Killing and violence is human nature, and it has been for thousands of years. The fact that we've enjoyed seeing other people in pain shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, mostly because of how much we still enjoy it. It's like watching a car wreck or a train derailment... Sure you feel bad for the people involved, but boy is it interesting. You just can't look away, even if someone is lying on the ground next to their own severed head. That's why horror movies are great: you can watch people get killed in ridiculous ways from the comfort and safety of your couch. You can even enjoy some snacks in the process, I mean it doesn't get any better than that.

CM1145 #11 Nine Beginnings

In class the other day we had to read an essay and answer some questions on it, and one of the essays I chose was by Margaret Atwood. She's a fantastic writer, and some of the things she said in the essay really stuck out to me. The first thing was that she said writing requires abdicating self-consciousness and I fully agree with her on that one. She says she can't remember the writing process when she thinks back to it, and that's because she doesn't pay attention to it. When you're writing something really good you just let yourself go and get sucked into that world you're creating. You don't pay attention to what you're doing, it just flows naturally. I know exactly what she's talking about, and I guess that's why it made so much sense to me when I read it. She's brilliant.
Something else she said really stuck out, and that was the fact that writing and reading helps you learn to write. Absolutely! I literally can't count how many books I've read, and that's probably what helps my writing so much. It teaches you different styles, how to make characters memorable, and how to create amazing worlds to get lost in for hours. Having trouble with your writing? Read a book!

CM1145 #10 Pet Peeves

I had to do this post, I could not resist. There are some people in this world who disregard the importance of grammar completely and it drives me absolutely insane. I realize I'm not perfect when it comes to the subject, but I try my best and that's what counts. Here's a list of things that make me want to throw my computer when I read them:
1) People who shorten words that are already short. "Hey wot u doin 2nite" is not a proper way to ask someone a question. Please watch out for flying dictionaries that might be coming from my direction.
2) People who think they know grammar, but unfortunately they don't. "It's your and you're. Get it right, your in college". Yes, this is an actual post. It makes me very sad.
3) People who don't know the difference between "their", "they're", and "there". THEY'RE over THERE getting THEIR things together. Please know the difference, or you will be forced to return to middle school immediately.
4) People Who Capitalize Every First Letter In A Sentence. No... Just, no.
5) PeOpLe WhO tYpE lIkE tHiS. When did this start being appropriate? Seriously, people. Come on.
6) People who use numbers in their sentences. "Omg th4t5 s0 c00l"... No, it is most certainly not cool!
7) People who refuse to use question marks. How am I supposed to know it's a question if you don't use the mark? That's what it's there for!
8) People who don't use any punctuation in their sentences at all and they just let them run on forever even when there's a question like why are people so mean but they don't include anything at all they just keep going and magically expect you to know which sentences are separate they assume you know exactly what they are talking about when really you're just sitting there wanting to throw things
9) People who use the abbreviation "bbg". This one is self explanatory. Just don't do it.
10) People who edit their pictures with song quotes on them, and they spell things wrong. I laugh out loud, but really I'm crying on the inside.

CM1145 #9 Blogging

The inevitable has happened... I'm writing a blog on blogging. I knew it would happen sooner or later because honestly I'm running out of ideas here. It's hard to keep track of everything we do in class then later write it in an entry, but I'm doing my best! I mean, it's not so bad once you get the hang of it. Actually, this is my first blog. Ever. I've written things otherwise, and I do, of course, have a journal, but this is entirely different. It's cool to think that something I've written had been put into the public sphere.
At the beginning of the semester last year we had to do a blog, and after a couple entries I really started to like it. Giving my opinions on things like poetry and short stories is a really great learning experience, and doing a blog is a very good idea for an English course. Props to whoever's idea it was! I'm really enjoying it.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath #2

What I really liked about this book was that it was super easy to read, and it was interesting. I started reading it at work one night cause, well, I was bored. And before I knew it, I was a hundred pages through. It took me two and a half shifts at work to read it, and I'm so happy I did. It was a great book.
The second half of the novel was a lot different than the first part. I'd like to point out that before I started reading this novel I didn't know what a bell jar was. Thankfully I looked it up before I got to the point where it actually mentions it in the book and I knew what it was talking about. If I were ever to get stuck inside a bell jar and feel disconnected to the world, I'm really not sure what I would do. It seems like a terrible place to be, and returning from that place isn't easy. The thing that shocked me the most was when I learned that the book was parallel to Plath's own life, and it mimicked her decent into madness as well as Esther's. She committed suicide just months after the book was published, and the reason this book is probably so powerful because it was written with some truth behind it. The book actually contains many references to real people in Plath's life, of course with their names changed and things like that.
Esther is a really messed up girl, and she just keeps getting worse and worse as the novel progresses. The part of the book that got to me the most was when she said she just wanted to lose her virginity so she could get even with Buddy, the guy she had been dating off and on. It didn't seem like something any girl who was in her right mind would do. I don't know, I think that was one of the indications that let me know she wasn't all there. Also, how she keeps trying over and over to lose it and when she finally does she ends up bleeding all over the place. Being a girl, it just wasn't something that was very pleasant to read. I can't imagine one of my friends showing up on my doorstep with a bloody towel hanging from between her legs because she lost her virginity to some guy she just met and ended up hemorrhaging.
This novel was very easy to read, but it was also full of some very heavy stuff. Especially in the end when Esther's friend commits suicide and gets found in a tree outside the hospital she's admitted to. It caught me by surprise because she seemed genuinely happy, but apparently not. I guess you can't really judge anyone by what you see on the outside. Because after all, you never really know what's going on inside someone's head.

CM1145 #8 Causal Arguments

This week in class we learned how to do causal arguments, and I'm kind of excited to do an assignment on it. I've decided to do mine on how The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time changed video games forever. It's one of my favorite games of all time, and despite beating it like ten times I still love playing it. It revolutionized the gaming world, and call me a nerd if you wish but I love The Legend of Zelda. It was the first video game to be bought before it was released or could be played. How did they do this, you ask? Well, a pre-order of course! That's right, the game to give birth to the business of pre-orders. Cool, right? Well, I thought so. I guess I should probably leave the rest of this stuff for my paper.

(Fun fact: I actually have a Legend of Zelda tattoo... Forever a nerd)

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath #1

I have to say, I really enjoyed this novel. Esther was a very memorable character, and even in the beginning I was compelled to keep reading. It starts out kid of slow, but it gets better fast. It's about Esther, a girl who goes to New York for a month, and her spiral into a breakdown. Throughout the novel she gets crazier and crazier, but from the very beginning you can see that she isn't completely there. The way she thinks about things makes you realize that something isn't right with her, even from the start. She leaves her friend, who is obviously not well because she vomits on the floor, outside her room in the hotel. She just leaves here there in the hallway, doesn't even let her in to sleep on the floor even. I'm pretty sure any normal person would have let her in, given the condition she was in (and even if you were annoyed), but Esther just leaves her to fend for herself. I think that was my first indication something wasn't right with her. Throughout the novel Esther tries killing herself a number of times, and they are very frail attempts at first. She is too scared to cut her wrist, so she cuts her leg. She tries to drown herself, but she floats back up. Then finally she decides she's had enough... She gets a bottle of pills, leaves her mother a note saying she's going for a walk, then she goes down to the cellar and tries to overdose. To her dismay, she's found and brought to the hospital and is admitted to an asylum shortly after.
I also really liked this novel because it reminded me of a book we studied in high school, Catcher in the Rye. She reminded me a lot of Holden Caulfield at certain points, and they do have a number of similarities. They both look normal on the outside, and try to act normal, but their actions and thoughts depict something far from normal. Even if Esther was crazy, she was a very memorable character and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

CM1145 #7 Rhetorical Analysis

Right now in class we're working on a rhetorical analysis on an editorial, and it's actually quite interesting. I'm doing mine on an article that argues how text messaging is negatively impacting language skills. I have to say that I agree, to a degree, that this claim is true. Kids these days don't realize how easy they have it, I mean all their phones are equipped with spell-check and their grammar is still terrible. It's sad, really. I hate going on Facebook and seeing "omg lol ttc bbg". Like come on now, that's just horrible. Are people really so lazy that they can't even spell out full words anymore?
Yes, I am guilty of texting a lot but at least I have the decency to fully spell words. The word "you" should not be reduced to "u". It's two extra letters! Come on people, it's not that hard!