Thursday, July 21, 2011

school of scandal...people are not what they seem

The play The School of Scandal comes with the moral that people are not what they seen and that most people are wearing masks, literal and metaphorical ones. This is seen through the major characters of this plays Joesph Surface, Lady Sneerwell, and Mrs. Candour and snake. These characters spend most of the play talking about how they don't like to gossip while spreading slander about others through out the newspapers. Mrs. Candour is ironically supposed to be someone who is honest but she spends the first two acts gossiping about other aristocratic women and men and their love lives. Lady Sneerwell and Snake take the act of slander farther by providing the papers with gossip and lies about people they know in London. I am still pretty certain that it is due to these two that gossip about Sir Peter and Lady Teazle is spread to the local papers after the screen scene. While, Joseph surface is able to parade around to others as a man of sentiment when he has more to hide than anyone else and rarely likes to show his true colors. He is not sentimental and only cares about maintaining the lifestyle that he has become accustomed to in London. (spoiler alert)
The flaws of these characters are revealed through the plots as Lady Teazle Sir Peters wife seems to be contemplating an affair with Joseph Surface. While Joseph is in love with Maria who is in love with Charles. This plot becomes further complicated because Lady Sneerwell is in love with Charles. Another wrench in this whole picture is that Lady Teazle and Sir Peter are not as one would describe as happily married, because she has become an aristocratic London women bent on spending all of Peter's money. This marriage also faces difficulties because Lady Teazle and Sir Peter have a May-December romance.
However, I think that their is a point to all these plot complications is that it exposes the follies of aristocratic women in the 1770's. I say this because in an ironic way these women spend most of the play gossiping about other women. This to me lower their class stature because they have become like the common folk that want to gossip about those that are rich and famous. So in the process in trying to lower themselves, they lower others in the process. These women continue to degrade themselves through their shallow values of caring about which coach they are riding in, attending certain events and wanting to be seen as people that are not lacking in morals. Also, it is the people who do not care about these things and are open and honest who end up with happy endings. Charles and Maria care more about being together than status. Lady Teazle and Peter in the end just want to be together after their foibles in the screen scene. Finally, Sir Oliver is able to learn what his nephew Charles really thinks of him.
Additionally, these play shows the merits of honest because the lying and deceit of these characters reminds me of Gossip Girl, Ugly Betty or the beginnings of a really bad soap opera. I think it because of the perks of being honest that I like this play so much enough to read it more than once. I have been one of those people who has had to hide what I am really thinking or flat out lie. I do not like it as I prefer to be straight with people. Also, I have known others who have engaged in the behavior of 18th century aristocrats and this does not thrill me. But this is a behavior that no one can control and I give Sheridan props for spending a whole play exposing it. I think that due to Sheridan's exposure of gossip and bad behavior that is able to combine both lessons and laughter through out this play.

a bad day, a very bad day....

I know that the point of this blog was to post about books, through literary analysis and books reviews. But I have spent most of my life comparing my life to books, because frankly books or plays tend to make more sense than people or the events that occur in my daily life. As of lately my life has begun to feel like a tragic novel or play, in which I am dealing with the witches from Macbeth, the red queen, or being chased from count olaf from a series of unfortunate events. Now I know that I might be acting dramatic (just a tad) but this has been one of those days where nothing is going my way, and it is through these novels and plays that I can make sense of everything. (now on to reality)
This past summer I have had to deal with health issues that have been hard on both me and my best friend aka my bf. Additionally, it is due to these issues that I have not been as social this summer as I would have liked to recover from graduate school kicking my ass this year. On top of which I am trying to accomplish the crazy goal of completing my thesis within a 3 to 4 month period while hopefully working at least 20 hours a week, and my last full time job was years ago, so I don't know how me, or my body could deal with this potential schedule. Along with somewhere in there spending time with my bf and having some down time.
On top of health issues and thesis issues as I am behind on it and have at least 5 good sections I need to write after an in-depth outline. Furthermore, I am dealing with financial aid issues also as my savings is slowly depreciating and I am going to have to pay full tuition at least tell Spring 2012, god willing I will graduate then. This just seems like too much to take on, so I get to spend this next summer and semester trying to find work, finish my thesis, and somehow keep up with this blog, which has turned into a nice escape from everything else. I unfortunately do not have the luxury to go down the rabbit hole, and escaping from it all. But since this is not a possibility I am going to have live with my own form of escapism through writing for this blog, and reading books and discussing literature through books reviews , and when I have more time making connections to pop culture, education, and life.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

chocolate war...a battle over more than chocolate

I just finished the novel The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier and I have to say I am not sure I understand why it is has been banned in some libraries. I noticed that their were some implicit sexual references or the extensive violence in some scenes but I am sure that most kids have seen worse on television compared to this book. Also I think that this book had a good lesson once one gets passed the manipulation and the politics within the school. The lesson being I guess that one person can make a difference or have a impact on others just by speaking up against those who want them to sell chocolates. The only problem with this lesson is that speaking up comes at a price (spoiler alert) which is shown when Jerry almost dies by the end of the novel .However, I think even the politics of the vigils and administrator and the manipulating of others is realistic with the focus on who has the power and who does not is probably seen through out high schools and colleges.
But even with this battle of wills and power I think that Jerry shows us the every man. He like everybody surrounding him is just trying to get by and survive. Also he wants to see if his life has any meaning or if he will have any effect on people. I think this something most adults or teenagers are dealing with at some point in their life. He just wants to know that he has made a difference. I think that the reader faces the opposite problem with Archie. Archie always knows how to have an effect on someone else.
Archie gives us an in-depth look into the high school version of Machiavelli who always seems to knows his opponents next move and how to control them. He manipulates Emile with a fake photograph of him jacking off, he has others taunt Jerry through calling his house constantly, and he makes Goober feel terrible for unscrewing the desks and chairs in a instructors room. He is able to psychological toy with all of these men, with no consequence to him at all other than occasional feelings on ennui that he might not be able to come up with an assignment to initiate new teenagers to go through this pain to join the Vigils. I would feel bad for him but I think at this point that is like asking me to feel bad about the wicked witch of the west. Also Archie and Leon in way sort of symbolize in way how the world works those that the have the power can control others and their lives and those that don't just have to work hard and hope to move up in the world. I am sure their are exceptions to this generalization, Archie just does not give a reader much hope.
Also on a tangential note I can relate with how Jerry feels not know if you are ever making a difference at all. Never sure if you are being manipulated or who you should trust and call a "friend". I think we all need people like Goober in our lives who will stick with you through the good and bad in your life.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

I am thinking about leaving fb....not related to books...but will get me to read more of them

I have been thinking about leaving facebook for a while. I am not as into the applications as before and I don't get to chat with people as often as I would like. I like it because it has helped maintain some friendships but it also gets rid of privacy along with losing the face to face communication. In the words of Carrie - "you can hear everybody's everything" which is not always a good thing. Also I am with Brendan from my boys that "sometimes it makes the world a smaller place and that is not necessarily a good thing". My main use for facebook currently is to connect with friends and get to know acquaintances that I never get to see. Also I am hoping through leaving facebook I will be able to focus on more important things in my life like catching up on my reading, working on my thesis and getting into shape so I can run a 5k or half marathon for charity, and to get a part time job, and spend more time with friends and my bf. This all I have to say on leaving facebook for now , I will post my book review on The Chocolate war when I finish the book.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

The lack of female roles in stardust

I recently finished reading Stardust a couple weeks ago and I noticed that the females in this novel are lacking in notice and attention. I state this because in the beginning of the book their is very little mention of Dunstan's wife or Tristan's sister. Furthermore when Tristan leaves Wall these characters are never mentioned again. This is shown also with Una who is just used to procreate with Tristan and is not able to gain a strong female role until the end of the book. Additionally, women face further stigmatization through the three old witches in the book that remind me of the witches from Macbeth. These women show a portrayal of women that do not want to be old and are wanting to achieve societies standards of youth and beauty. This motif is also seen through Yvaine who is literally captured by Tristan to do as he pleases to bring her back to Victoria.
(spoiler alert) While, I know in the end that Una and Yvaine end up being Queens of stormhold to make up for their lack of power earlier in the novel, I am not sure that it justifies Una being a slave worker and Yvaine being dragged everywhere by Tristan. I know that the point of this novel is for Tristan to find himself and become a man, I just that these women were not left out in the process. Also Yvaine and Una face further stigmatization being in the land of Fraerie and a sort of racism since there seems to be some prejudice towards the people of Faerie this shown as during the fall the people from wall will never by their goods from a market fair. I do not think this fair as there should be mutual trading and benefits between the people of wall and the land of Faerie.