Extra Credit- Last Blog!

As ENGL 489 comes to the end with the final week class, my thoughts on taking this course has changed immensely. Being that the course was named Our Others, Our Selves, I had no idea what to expect from this class. The first day of class opened with going to hear Kelly Wisecup speak about the topic of Obeah, which I had never heard until she spoke of it. Learning that the theme of the class was Identity, I knew this was going to be an interesting class. Reading the first novel for the class entitled Slave Moth, was a good introduction of the course and it tied nicely into Kelly Wisecup’s discussion. I like reading novels that expand culturally and gain a perspective from a view that I had never seen before. The next novel Another Country by James Baldwin was by far my favorite book! It was tremendously written and the characters in the story were equally interesting to analyze and how their identities really defined them and the struggles they had to conquer to find themselves. I really did not care for the novel Drown, but liked how it was a collection of stories. Some of the parts of the story were confusing and I really did not get into it. Blu’s Hanging was another novel I enjoyed reading. This book was filled with emotion and my heart really went out to Ivah because she was the caretaker of her other sister and brother after her mother passed away. Their father drank a lot and worked several jobs to support the family. He was not a very nice man and blamed Ivah for her younger brothers rape incident with their uncle. Ivah had to grow up and take responsibility at such a young age that she did not have time to be a kid. I really felt bad for her character. The book The Heartsong of Charging Elk was a more slow paced novel and it took time for me to get into it. This book has a lot of nostalgia with Charging Elk remembering his past and holding on to the “plains” culture while adapting to another lifestyle and culture shock in France. He was never fully assimilated. He was homesick and was forced to learn another language if he wanted to survive. While in France he fell in love with a woman who was a prostitute. Charging Elk plans to marry her but, Bretueil “blackmails Marie into betraying him.” Charging Elk ends up killing him. This book was really long and filled with a lot of information. The Book of Salt, The Powerbook, and The Autobiography of Red to me represents the whole persona of what it means to find the true essence of your identity and experience it in a way that transpires through you. The title Book of Salt in itself explains how Binh dealt with the issues he did. The salt represents many things inclucing in the kitchen where he was taken in by two ladies who were also lovers. The salt also represents the sea where he travels after he is banished from his home. The painful memories he has from his father beating him and calling him names. The salt is rubbed in his wounds of the past. I really got into this story and liked it a lot. Overall this course has been inspiring not only reading these intriguing novels but also getting a chance to write on a topic that interested us. I also enjoyed blogging and getting a chance to view what other’s had to say. I am glad I took this class because I have learned a great deal!

Blog # 7

The book Autobiography of Red by Anne Carlson was certainly an interesting novel. It is much different than the novels we have read so far. Although still sticking with the theme of identity, the story of a young boy who is also a “red winged creature” captures the reader’s attention right away. I liked this book because it is “magical” and filled with “fantasy” in a way. Geryon, the little boy, also struggles with his sexuality and by the end comes out and is open about his sexuality being recognized as a homosexual. The story is about the two boys who go visit a volcano with Herakles. The mother wants her sons to return right away. The two must leave only to find out later in the story that Gerygon and him meet in Argentina to pick up where they left off. This book was broken up differently in that the chapters were much shorter and it was more of an easier read. The layout of the pages was also different in that it read more like a poem than a regular page in a book. This book also had some strong symbols in it referencing to the front cover of the book which has a volcano on it. The volcano represents the passion and destruction of the relationship between Geryon and Herakles. They had to part for awhile not knowing the future but soon to realize that they would be reunited. The use of color in this book is also interesting to note. The hot red fiery lava that slowly turns black represents death. He also refers to his mother as the color red and his father is the color gold. Over the novel, he contrasts the image of a volcano to certain things. One scene in the story depicting this is when Geryon returns to the volcano and reunites with his ex lover, who is with someone else. I also liked this story because it had some mythology to it. It played on the mortal and immortal feel to Hercules, the son of Zeus. This story was also full of emotion from all characters. Through taking pictures he also finds a way to connect more with in himself. He discovers that “the only way to remain immortal is to capture life on camera.” I really enjoyed reading this book a lot. I actually read it over twice because the first time I read it, I had some questions. After the second time, all the answers seemed to be clearer. I thought the characters in the story fit and the dialogue was good. I really liked the symbol of the volcano and thought it worked really well with the story. I also thought the quote by Emily Dickenson at the beginning was intriguing. It really made me think as to what this novel was going to in tale and made me really want to read it. Overall this was a fantastic book that fit our theme of identity and mixed with it was some mythology and fantasy. It was a really well written book!