I thought “Recitatif” was really well done – Toni Morrison did an incredible job leaving the audience questioning which woman is of which race, and how it matters that we want to know. That was what stayed with me about this piece: both that I wanted to know, and that I couldn’t really put my finger on why it matters to the story who is who, which is very skillfully done by Morrison as a writer.
It felt as if a lot of the readings this week didn’t have a clear point to the story, as if the author was just writing things to share. I’m unused to reading fiction that isn’t centered around a strong and obvious central theme, so it was very interesting to read pieces where the reader has to go deep-diving for its meaning. It’s made me realize I can write about the mundane because it’s also worthy of being put into words, and that not everything has to be big and grand.
I liked reading “What we talk about when we talk about love” because I felt many emotions throughout the story. I could feel the love between the characters, but also fear. I felt curiosity from the characters, but also the awkwardness. I also liked how the author portrayed the two relationships and didn’t make it all rainbows and sunshine. He showed the tension between the main couple and how there were delicate and unpleasant moments between them. Where else, the other couple were still in the early stages of their relationship and so that made a sad contrast. Overall, I liked the pacing of the story and meaning behind it.
“Eveline,” by James Joyce, is the first piece of literature I’ve had to look up an analysis for since the beginning of this class. The first few pages were slow and rather boring; the type of prose I find it very difficult to get through, despite the simplicity of the words themselves. I was honestly bothered by the overload of exposition in the beginning, which I’m not usually sensitive to. I understand why Joyce chose to do this, to let the readers know her internal conflict, family relationships, the promise to her deceased mother, and ultimately how all of that influences her decision at the very end. I can’t put my finger on why I feel this way, and that itself bothers me. I’ll have to do a bit more investigating to figure out why I’m not a fan. Despite that, I do think the themes of this story are striking. A young woman, idealizing her life abroad with a lover, feels such strong guilt and duty that she cannot leave a rather miserable life. I felt sympathy for Eveline, and even though the end isn’t very satisfying, I think it is a proper fit.
“Tall Takes From the Mekong Delta” left me with a strange feeling—an uncomfortable and disturbing one. We were brought into the mind of a person who had suffered an addiction in the past and is now facing temptation. I was at first confused as to whether the man was a symbol of her desire/craving for substances or an actual person. Yet, the meaning was still passed down because regardless, it is an uncomfortable situation to be in. It was vivid and I saw how a feeling could be personified into a character without much context and using dialogue.
I thought “Recitatif” was really well done – Toni Morrison did an incredible job leaving the audience questioning which woman is of which race, and how it matters that we want to know. That was what stayed with me about this piece: both that I wanted to know, and that I couldn’t really put my finger on why it matters to the story who is who, which is very skillfully done by Morrison as a writer.
It felt as if a lot of the readings this week didn’t have a clear point to the story, as if the author was just writing things to share. I’m unused to reading fiction that isn’t centered around a strong and obvious central theme, so it was very interesting to read pieces where the reader has to go deep-diving for its meaning. It’s made me realize I can write about the mundane because it’s also worthy of being put into words, and that not everything has to be big and grand.
I liked reading “What we talk about when we talk about love” because I felt many emotions throughout the story. I could feel the love between the characters, but also fear. I felt curiosity from the characters, but also the awkwardness. I also liked how the author portrayed the two relationships and didn’t make it all rainbows and sunshine. He showed the tension between the main couple and how there were delicate and unpleasant moments between them. Where else, the other couple were still in the early stages of their relationship and so that made a sad contrast. Overall, I liked the pacing of the story and meaning behind it.
“Eveline,” by James Joyce, is the first piece of literature I’ve had to look up an analysis for since the beginning of this class. The first few pages were slow and rather boring; the type of prose I find it very difficult to get through, despite the simplicity of the words themselves. I was honestly bothered by the overload of exposition in the beginning, which I’m not usually sensitive to. I understand why Joyce chose to do this, to let the readers know her internal conflict, family relationships, the promise to her deceased mother, and ultimately how all of that influences her decision at the very end. I can’t put my finger on why I feel this way, and that itself bothers me. I’ll have to do a bit more investigating to figure out why I’m not a fan. Despite that, I do think the themes of this story are striking. A young woman, idealizing her life abroad with a lover, feels such strong guilt and duty that she cannot leave a rather miserable life. I felt sympathy for Eveline, and even though the end isn’t very satisfying, I think it is a proper fit.
“Tall Takes From the Mekong Delta” left me with a strange feeling—an uncomfortable and disturbing one. We were brought into the mind of a person who had suffered an addiction in the past and is now facing temptation. I was at first confused as to whether the man was a symbol of her desire/craving for substances or an actual person. Yet, the meaning was still passed down because regardless, it is an uncomfortable situation to be in. It was vivid and I saw how a feeling could be personified into a character without much context and using dialogue.