Interpretation

1.     A Temple of The Holy Ghost, by Flannery O’Connor, is a short story told in the point of view of a unnamed 12 year old girl.  Her second cousins, Susan and Joanne, come visit from their Catholic convent, Mt. Scholastica, for the weekend.  The girls are both fourteen years old, two years older than the child, and boy crazy. The child’s mother is at a loss of what to do with them so asked her child for help. The child suggested the two, Church of God farm boys, Wendell and Cory, to entertain the girls. The boys come over for dinner and sing to the girls and old hymn in response the girls then begin singing a song in Latin for them. Since the boys were not Catholic they did not recognize the Latin and conclude that it “must be a Jew singing.” After the four children eat dinner, they go to the fair and the child daydreams about becoming a saint or a martyr. The child then lays down for bed and says her prayers. Before falling asleep she thanks God she is not in The Church of God. The child is awoken by the return of Susan and Joanne, and she asks them about what they saw at the fair. They tell her that some things they can't explain to her because she is too young, but she eventually convinces them to tell her. They begin to tell he about the “freak” in the tent and how the tent was separated down the middle, men and women on different sides.  The “freak” showed them its body by lifting up its skirt, saying, "God made me thisaway... and I ain't disputing His way." The child doesn't understand exactly what the freak showed the crowd, but she falls asleep imagining the freak repeating, "I am a temple of the Holy Ghost, Amen." The next morning the child and her mother take the girls back to the convent and stay for the chapel service. While the child enters in an ugly mood she soon realizes she was in the presence of God and repents, asking God to help her not to be so mean and sassy.  After she let her mind get quiet she began to think about the tent at the fair that had the freak in it. “The freak was saying, ‘ I don’t dispute hit. This is the way He wanted me to be.” On their way back home, Alonzo informs them that some of the preachers from town had gone up to the fair and shut it down. 

2. I chose this story because I feel like it is “deceptively simple”. I feel like O’ Connor has hidden a deeper meaning within the story and intended for the reader to understand.

3. A Temple Of The Holy Ghost by Flannery O’ Connor is a short story about a little girl full of pride, sass, and arrogance on her way to discovering the true meaning of being a Temple of The Holy Spirit. This story is about the acceptance of God’s will for us and our lives. It is about not questioning but, accepting the life that God has given us and trying to touch others with our story.

4. Flannery O’Connor was born with Lupus, which not only paralyzed her and was the cause of her death. Having Lupus made her somewhat of a “freak” herself.  Flannery O’ Connor was also a Catholic woman which gives her first hand experience on the faith and on what the life of a “freak” would be like. First, we can tell that this story is going to have an emphasis on the body by just looking at the title, A Temple of The Holy Ghost. Then throughout the story the child points an emphasis of describing everyone’s appearance. Throughout the story we see many examples of the child’s pride and arrogance  “The child decided, after observing them for a few hours, that they were practically morons and she was glad to think that they were only second cousins”, because her cousins were obsessed with looks and boys she found them to be lower than her.

            Although the child is prideful she has a lot of profound thoughts within the story. The first was when the girls were explaining what Sister Perpetua had told them to say to boys if they tried anything. The child thought to herself that she was a Temple of the Holy Ghost and it pleased her because she thought that someone had given her a gift. The child recognized in that moment that her body was gift and was happy.   

            I noticed that when the child talks about the two Wilkinses boys she refers to them as numerous animals and I have come to the conclusion that she doesn’t like them or the Church of God very much. She says that they are just farm boys who want to be Church of God preachers because you don’t have to know anything to be one. But, she also describes them as monkeys sitting on the banister, giving a dog-like look towards the girls, and screams “You big dumb ox” at them. I am not quite sure why she has such negative feelings towards the Church of God. But the child even thanks God for not having her in The Church of God.  Perhaps, O’Connor had negative feelings towards the Church of God. She brings in quite the contrast in her story with the Church of God and Catholic faiths.

            The part that sticks out to me the most is the part with the “freak”. This part is prominent because it brings the whole meaning of the story together. The hermaphrodite has completely accepted the body and life God has given them. “God done this to me and I praise Him.” The child imagines him saying “Raise yourself up. A temple of the Holy Ghost. You! You are God’s temple, don’t you now? Don’t you know? God’s Spirit has a dwelling in you, don’t you know?” The person in the tent has put such an impact on the child and her way of thinking.

            When they go to the chapel service at the convent the next day she has a revelation of faith, acceptance of love, and repentance. She realizes through her ugly thoughts that she was in the presence of God.  While her thoughts go quiet she beings to think of the freak saying, “I don’t dispute hit. This is the way He wanted me to be.”  God made him that way and still praised him. It is almost like a very weird and deep sermon.

            At the very end of the story when she imagines the Host drenched in blood, O’Connor could have been trying to symbolize Jesus’ body, which is what the Host is a religious symbol of.

5. I think that the interpretation of this story is a very important thing. Flannery O’Connor, throughout this story, wanted the readers to open their hearts and minds and begin to except and love the freak. Perhaps, not only the freak of this story but to take this story out into the world and to love people who may be different from us. To extend God’s loving grace unto everyone. 

A Temple Of The Holy Ghost

I get a sense of ignorance from this story or, at least in the beginning. Perhaps, that is the wrong word so let me describe what I mean. These two girls, Susan and Joanne, are boy crazy. They want to look beautiful and put on bright lipstick and strut in the front of the mirror. Which I suppose is like every young girl. The comments about to be a Church of God Pastor you don't need to know much or when the girls are singing they immediately jump to say it "must be a Jew singing".

I feel as Christians we sometimes pray like how the child prays. We forget and when we remember it is sometimes like a routine. We say our thank you’s, ask for a couple things, and then make sure we pray that if we were to die in our sleep we would make it to Heaven. I think that everyone who is a Christian can honestly say that they have had a season where prayer hasn't been their best. 

All I truly get out of this story, aside from my miniature tangents, is they are children. They remind me so much of just my nieces and nephews and how they act and tell stories. I suppose the "freak" at the circus could have been real. However, the girls could have just made him up. But, if they did see him it could bring up the lesson of how we should love even the "ugly", because in God's eyes no one is ugly, everyone deserves love. (or at least a chance at love)

Did the preachers shut down the fair because of this “freak”? Was he a false teacher? Was he a threat to “religion”?

Perhaps I am not getting everything I should out of this story like I should. I almost feel like I am looking too much into it, when the meaning could be right out in the open.

I am excited to read it again and discuss it in class to further my understanding. 

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

When I first started to read, "The One Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Leguin, I wanted to be in Omelas. This town seemed to be so wonderful and perfect. Daily stresses and worries, they don't even bother these people. They seem to have a pure form of happiness, untainted by mindless extravagent things. We ,as people, can't be happy with the simple anymore. We need bigger,better, we need the newest technology, the biggest house, and  the best car to give us happiness. 

But as I keep reading, I realized that this story has a lot of turns. "If an orgy would help, don't hesitate." Is the author trying to state that we as a human race can't have a "pure", if that is even the right word, society? Do we have to assume that they do something quote on quote wrong? Or do the people in Omelas really do this?

When it askes "Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy?", it makes me wonder who wouldn't?! This place sounded wonderful but, I suppose it seems unrealistic. Sure not everything in this world is awful but, the awful and ugly is what we look for. We figure that to find such a place like Omelas, we need to dream. This place seems like such a delight.

But, then you reach the part about the small child locked in the room and the story takes a turn for the worst. This part makes me very angry. To say that the happiness of one is not worth, perhaps, upsetting some, just ticks me off. Everyone is special, beautiful, and perfectly made. Their flaws and things that make them "weird" are the things that we as people should love and cherish the most.  However, that would be a perfect world and we will never be able to truly see only the beauty in people, which is saddening. 

I am not sure I completely understand this story, but I do understand that it is significant. The words jump off the pages at me and I want so badly to understand what Leguin wanted to me to get out of it. I want to run and help this child and hug him and let them know that they no longer have to be afraid, that they can find true happiness it just takes one person to take a stand. 

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings

 Gabriel Garcia Marquez's story was an odd one. I can definitely see that his grandmother had an influence on his stories and it makes me wonder if his grandmother's stories were as outlandish has this one. 

I have many, I don’t want to say problems but, issues with this story. 

First, why the crabs? I feel like, because they were brought up so much in the story that they hold some significance. They had crabs in the house when they found the angel and the crabs were mentioned again when the spider had finally taken the fame away from him. 

Secondly, if I was walking outside, when it was raining, in the dark and I saw a man with wings lying on the ground I would call the police. I would have not been like Pelayo and gotten closer to see what he/it was. Pelayo is definitely a lot braver than I am or ever will be. However, this brings me to my next few questions, is this really an angel and if it's an angel where is it from? This family has this angel held up in a chicken coop for years, I would assume because the child grows up and tries to play around it. So why in a chicken coop? I guess there is nowhere else to hold him but still, a chicken coop? I live on a farm and we have a chicken coop and it is one of the most disgusting places. But when I think about the chicken coop it makes me wonder why they are even keeping this "angel" captive. I know that he was providing a way for them to receive money, but still I am not quite sure I'd want a creature that I couldn't even communicate with kept locked up on my land. 

But what I don’t understand the most is how the angel remains so patient. These people keep him locked up like an animal, throw food at him, burn him, laugh at him, and just treat him like he is a circus act. Yet, he never loses his patience. This angel never freaks out and shakes the cage; he just sits and allows these people to gawk at him. 

Overall, this story is just plain interesting. I am not sure I get it, or even that I will ever get it. I have a feeling patience is a key factor, but I am not sure it is the moral of the whole story.

Lake Bonny/ Mary Oliver

I went to Lake Bonny Park for this field trip, and I stayed there for at least 45 minutes.

One thing I don’t usually voice to people is how much I enjoy nature. Since I was little I have been surrounded with it and I have always wanted nothing more than to work with animals and plants. To not only be surrounded by God’s creations but to also be able to work with them on a daily basis will be a dream come true. I actually just changed my and just being surrounded by God’s beauty.  I just changed my major, actually, to biology, which is incredibly exciting.  I think that being a zookeeper or park ranger or even an environmental educator would be absolutely fantastic.

However on the note of poetry, it is definitely not my strong suit. Now I realize that when I say that I could get in the argument of how the Bible is full of poetry. We could even get into how music could be considered poetry. But when we just look at poetry, like Emily Dickinson, I just don’t understand or like it. Many people can just sit back and read a poem over and over and get all of this meaning out of it and I can’t. To be honest I don’t even remember what makes a poem a poem. I do remember it has something to do with rhythm and lines. I also know that many people associate poetry with things that rhythm.

Although, in saying all of this I didn’t enjoy Mary Oliver. Perhaps not specifically for her poetry, because to be honest I didn’t understand some of it, but for what it was about. For example in her poem Messenger, I could picture everything that she was talking about and I enjoyed that.

The second line specifically sunflowers and hummingbirds. These are two of my mother and my favorite things. (Which is kind of ironic)  We grow sunflowers every year and with hummingbirds every time we could see one my mom would get so excited. Talk about how beautiful they were. They are definitely two things that I hold dear to my heart, so this poem stuck out to me because of that.

“One cannot truly love and be present to God without being led back to loving the world. And one cannot truly love and be present to the world without being mortally disappointed” This really stuck out to me, all I could think of was how we shouldn’t be apart of the world and there are even times when I have had people tell me that there is nothing good in the world. But then you have to begin to think about what God intended this world to be. How he wanted us to enjoy the things that surround us, however there

are obvious things we should not enjoy. ( I don’t really think I need to go into all of that. )

The Uses of Sorrow is definitely an example of poetry I don’t like. Granted, it is a deep poem, which is probably, what people love about it, but I just don’t understand what is the darkness and why is it a gift?

When I think about the trees

I wonder how long they have been here and

If anyone appericiates their beauty.

I wonder how they got to be here.

Did they happen to be a small seed

that traveled in the fur of a bear 

from a different state?

Or maybe they floated through 

the wind.

Has anyone deemed this tree 

their tree?

Kissed the one the love dearly under it?

Maybe they carved their names

into the bark when they first met.

When I think about the trees

I wonder how much oxygen it has produced 

so we may live.

I wonder how much shade and comfort 

they have provided for us. 

I wonder, has anyone apperciated their beauty.

Circle B

This trip to the reserve was absolutely perfect. It reminded me so much of my childhood. From the time I was 5 to when I was 13 I was in girl scouts. My mom just happened to be the leader of our troop and insisted that we spend as much time outside as possible. We took camping trips one weekend out of every month and every week we would go on a hike or just a walk at some wildlife part around our house in Ohio. We went searching for salamanders and searched for rare flowers. Some people may not think of this as a normal childhood, but to me this was my entire childhood. I couldn't imagine spending my time in any other way. Not only was there girl scouts but also my mom and I would have a mother/daughter date every week after school where we would bird watch or just walk down to the park and sit. These memories are ones I hope to make with my family to. 

Now after moving to Florida, we live on 10 acres of land that is surrounded by 100's of acres of woods and pastures. I often find it very enlightening to go lay out under the trees to pray and soak up the sunshine. Nature is a wonderful example of God's beauty and power. A good example would be the tornado on Thursday. 

I absolutely loved this trip, even if it was a little gloomy outside. I have always wanted to do something with environmental studies but I could never decide for sure. However, I think that doing something our tour guides would be very enjoyable. I am still not sure exactly how I feel about the poem, but just because it is poetry and I have never truly been able to completely enjoy it. However, I know for a fact that I truly enjoyed this whole experience with nature and I am very excited to go to Lake Bonny. 

State Of The Planet

I decided to take each part of this poem and sort of dissect the pieces I don't quite understand, so that I may understand what Robert Hass had to say a little better.
1. My first question for Hass is, why are you so intriqued for this girl? Is she just a girl that you have seen for the first time today or is this a girl that you like and have seen often? Or is the girl really a girl at all or is she just a representation of something?
2. " its natural idioms of ardor and revulsions, ... As the Latin of Lucretius," I have no idea what he meant by this entire sentence. So, I decided to look up a view words and look up who Lucretius may have been.
Its natural expressions of eagerness and disgust, so this makes a little more sense. Lucretius was a Roman philospher who tried to explain scientific explation of the universe.
3. Did an artist really ask to make glow and the dark dogs?!  I tried looking this up, but I couldn't find anything specific.
4. I think that this may be my favorite section for one reason, the reality of his words. Nature is so beautiful. From the bright colors of the flowers to the grey of the rocks. Us as humans take advantage of nature. We pigments for makeup and feathers for earrings but we never think twice about where they came from.
5.----
6. Is he referring to evolution now, we he talks about cells being divided and then then the essential miracle?
7.It is crazy to think about all of the unseen creatures in this world. All of the beauty that people look over and don't stop to appericate. It's sad how we just don't care and let ourselves pollute as much as we do. " To the sureface where gouts of the oil that burns inside The engine of the car I'm driving oozes from the banks."
8.----
9.----
10."What is to be done with our species? Because We know we're going to die, to be submitted to that tingling dance of atoms once again,"I don't know how I exactly feel about this line, but it sticks out to me more than the rest, I really like it.  In this last section, I learned that little girl really was only a girl, which I suppose I should have known. I just suppose I tried to make more out of something very simple.

Over all I really enjoyed this poem. There wasn't to much about this poem I didn't understand after analying it and serching up terms I didn't know. I am actually quite excited for the nature poetry and working more with this poem.

AFI

If I am being honest, I was very hesitant about this field trip. I was ashamed that I was so nervous. I was afraid it would be an uncomfortable experience. I thought I would have to fight to find things to say and i never thought that they would be so talkative and open to conversation. But it was exciting when they all wanted us to sit next to them and talk to them. It opened my eyes to see that these aren't abnormal people. They all have goals and dreams for their lives. They have things that they love to do, for example one of the woman I was talking to loved to sew and just wished she could do it everyday. There was another woman that just wanted to be married to the man that she loved. For us to deem these people as abnormal is very ignorant of us.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed myself. It just broke my heart how much some of this building needed done. Or, how they are very low on funding yet they keep their organization going strong.
I think that after reading The Boys Next Door, it informed me of what my AFI experience may have been like. While I didn't experience anyone specifically like Arnold or Lucien, nervous ticks or random conversations. However, all the men in this story have dreams for their lives, like Arnold wanting to go to Russia.
One thing that really kind of sparked in me, was I really wish we could do something for them. I am hoping that perhaps SEU can do something for them. Whether, it is just a day of volunteering. (painting, ect.) Or, even have a week of chapel where to offering goes to them so they can continue doing this.

The Spirit of God Hovered

"I cannot pretend to be a detached and impartial scholar scientifically researching a particular issue for presentations and publication." The only thought that came to mind when I first read this sentence was , what? It immediately made me want to stop reading because I almost felt like I wouldn't be able to understand this article at all. However, I continued. I have also noticed in my church that while we have a small ministry to the mentally and physically challenged, we don't put a great enough emphasis on it like we should. Which then begins causing the believers in the church to become ignorant and almost uneasy when it comes to that form of ministry.
To be honest I am not sure how I would feel if I had a child with a disability, granted I wouldn't love them any less than a normal child but, how would I feel. Would I question why God created them this way? Or would I accept it? For example my aunt has 3 young and handsome boys, all with Autism. I couldn't imagine being her, hoping for a "normal" child and receiving what society deems "abnormal". I have never talked to her about her thoughts when she found out with each son, but this article almost makes me want to call her.
I also would like to try and understand what goes through a disabled man or woman's mind on a daily basis. They are real people, which I think people tend to forget, who know in some ways they are different.  I liked the part in this article that  says if we viewed the disabled through the lens of Jesus, would the way they view themselves differently. Why should we as "normal" humans sit back and judge the "abnormal" when they truly are no different then us? They love one another, they want jobs, they get hungry, and yet we sit back and almost think of them as "aliens" or children because they may not think the same way they do.
I liked this article, it made me more excited for our field trip tomorrow because I realized that I to have say back and not put an emphasis on this ministry. I haven't just looked through Jesus' "glasses" if you will.

The Boys Next Door: Act 2

 So I am still not crazy about this play. Perhaps, I need to read it more throughly. Since I have to admit, I haven't read the play throughly. My first initial thought to the play was, Wow, I don't think I could ever do what Jack does.  I would never have the patience, which, to someone, may sound awful. Although, I really just don't think that I would be able to. I don't mean to sound harsh or judgemental but I think it takes  a lot for someone to work with the challenged.
However, the one thing that really stuck out and bothered me about this piece of literature was the part when Barry and Mr. Klemper have a conversation. The way Mr. Klemper acts towards his son, was so terrifingly real.  Some of the parents who have mentally challenged children, can't be bothered with their children. They don't want to take care of them, or are even disappointed that this happened. The children's parents lose their patience, becasue their children's minds are that of five year olds and aren't at the level they should be.  It just makes me very angry that they can't angle their angry towards something else. I'm not even sure that all made much sense.
This whole story is full of random conversations. I don't think I can take it, maybe if I read through the play a little more throughly. Overall, I am not quite sure I liked The Boys Next Door. However, I am open to studying it a little more.

The Boys Next Door

In the beginning on Act 1, I was confused. Arnold was a strange character. Not only was Arnold strange but also the actual story was making no sense. I was almost angry that this was a required piece of literature for this class. Arnold and Lucien’s conversation in the beginning made me angry. I couldn’t understand why he bought such random things at the super market. I also couldn’t take the annoying talk about a bunny. 

Then in the story we meet Jack and I immediately felt bad. I almost felt like I should have expected that this would have happened. However, I truly enjoyed the conversation between Barry and Mr. Hedges.  I found myself actually laughing out loud.  Then I got angry that the reason the manager took advantage of Arnold.

I will be honest I wasn’t able to read the entire assignment, so I don’t have much to say. Other than I enjoyed the parts I got to read. 

Sonny's Blues

This first thing that comes to mind when I read this story is actually a story from my life.

My brother was once addicted to drugs and I remember how weird it was for my family for a little while. He would come to the house high and my mom would make me hide in the stair well. At my young age I never could understand why.  It was weird having to see him go through a withdraw stage and how no one believed he would ever get better. My mother would always blame it on her ex-husband. It is something that I have thought a lot about since then. I have studied a lot and would almost want to work

The example about Sonny and his Dad and my brother and his dad is similar as well. So, this story has actually brought back tons of memories and only in the first couple pages.

Although there is a part of me that likes Sonny, a little bit anyways. He is irresponsible, free spirited and he has dreams. Granted, I think he is dumb for the drugs, but I suppose people mess up. Perhaps, I am more lenient on those types of things, because of my family. (Not that I think that drugs are in any way right)

“Sonny’s Blues” is a story I have actually read before in my English Comp class. Reading it a second time has actually made me appreciate it a little more than I did before.

I would like to know if there was any significance of the little girl dying and then him talking to his brother, or if it was just added in to make a more dramatic story.  I am also confused on whether or not Sonny quits drinking or if this is the start of his fall. 

A Grief Observed Prt. 2

This book bothers me. I have never read a book by C.S Lewis and everytime I say that, people at this school just stare at me. I don't find it that amazing that I haven't. However, one thing that I have learned from reading this book is, his writing can be a little hard to understand. Perhaps not to all, but for me I had to read the book three to four times to extract any meaning from these pages.  I can't relate to death, I have never had anyone close to me die.     ( But, I have had family and friends die.) Death has never been unsettling to me. I am sure one day it will though. This book made me a little nervous for my husband, or even myself, when I die, or when he dies. I would never want anyone to experience such pain. The more I read through the book, the more I began to apperciate the story and the narrator's struggle. I began to enjoy his thought process. How he goes from desperate to somewhat hopeful. I will most likely read this story again, to try and understand it more. 

I went to the Lakeview, Roselawn and Tiger Flowers cemetery complex for this fieldtrip, and I stayed there for at least 40 minutes. While I was there I noticed a few things that didn't necessarily disturb me, but they just intrigued me. The first, the graves were in bad shape. Not all of course, but some of the graves had large cracks and holes in the cement lids. Secondly, the some of the graves were old and unnamed. This disturbed me a little bit. It disturbed me because, I felt like these people were just forgotten. There were no names, no dates, nothing to remember these people except for the cement lid that covered their grave. 

A Grief Observed.

I found that while"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" by Raymond Carver and "A Grief Observed" by C.S. Lewis aren't exactly similar, they come to mind when I think about one or the other. 

 I have read over the first two chapers of "A Grief Observed" three times, trying to extract everything that I could. I wanted to feel the same way they narrator does. At pointst I found that I could easily sympathize for him and in others I couldn't and won't ( at least for a long time). The narrator is lost and depressed without his loved one. He is questioning God and wether God is who he has always thought he was. The narrator is questioning love and what he had. He is scared of even losing who she really is and was. 

I think the reason I think about these two stories together is because of their quest to find love, know love, and because of the general theme, grief for lost love.

Granted, the two stories are very different. Lewis' story deals with a grieving husband, who's wife just died of cancer. He begins questioning life and over all happiness. While, Carver's story deals with a couple who both were in pervious relationships. Neither of their realtionships worked out and they now have a false perception on what true love actually is. 

All the characters from the two stories, however, think that they know what true love was and is and are all hurting. They all have unanswered question that eat away at them on a daily basis, that just ends up driving them more and more mad.

So while these stories don't go hand and hand they have similar qualities. You can feel the characters pain and their broken hearts stick out especially. They both have lost hope, are heartbroken, and are on the constant look out for the answers. 

joel

Proclaiming this book outside really inspired me to read the book and try to see the deeper meanings. The images in this poem started to come alive and become way beautiful. The first part of the poem I found striking is in Joel 1:4. This is where he talks about the locust coming and eating everything there is in the land. I can just imagine the devastation from the first swarm coming and people panic. Then the second and third, each time the devastation just getting worse. The nation around is panicked and depressed wishing for deliverance. However, the deliverance they won’t be coming for a while.

The second image I find truly moving starts in Joel 2:28-3:21. Where the Lord just calls out his deliverance.

“And afterward I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams; your young men will see visions.” I just love this, in the first part his Spirit will be poured out on ALL people. Everyone, God wants to pour out his love on everyone.  

Joel

              I have read Joel a few times before this assignment. It is a book I have found problems with before. I tend to read it literally and I can't understand the figurative language. It is something that my Pastor and I have talked about on many occassions. I would like to sit down and understand and see all the meaning behind the words, but I can't. 

               However, there are a few things in this book, or  poem,  that even taken literally are beautiful. The first is on page two, in Starvation and Drought. "How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle wander aimlessly...For the water brooks are dried up And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness." It sticks out to me because I can just imagine where I live. The green grass and just beautiful pastures with cows and pigs roaming every where. Then I can just see the cows starting to lose weight and the grass a certrain shade of brown, instead of vivid green.  I just recently had a huge brush fire in our yard, so it doesn't take much to imagine what a pasture would look like after a fire. 

                The next part I found beautiful was on page three, where the deliverance is promised. I can just imagine God coming down and helping replant everything that was destroyed. Giving food to the hungry and clothes to the naked. To me its just beautiful because I can see the Lord's love. 

            This whole book shows God's anger and judgement. It shows us why we should fear the Lord,although, it also shows us how much the Lord loves us. That even though we mess up he will come back to deliver us.  " It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;"

The Colonel / A Story about the Body.

I didn't find anything very deep in either of these stories. When reading "The Colonel" a few parts stuck out to me more than others. The first is in like first couple of lines, the family seems so normal. The daughter doing her nails and his son out for the night. But then it hits you, "broken bottles were embedded in the walls...".What? Why are there broken bottles embedded in the walls? Where is the narrator? The story just took a turn. The family seems incredibly rich, which makes me think that the father is an important person, obviously the colonel. This is when he brings out a bag of human ears. Human ears, really? I am not getting this story, to me it is just a story. Why does this man have ears? Why is he throwing them around? He put an ear in his drink? All I have to say to that question is gross, why would you even want to play with an ear?

It makes me wonder are these ears like trophies to this man. All the people he has killed or are they just people he has tortured? I have many questions from this story but not very many answers. 

When reading "A Story About the Body" I was a bit angered. It kind of shows me that the love this man had for this woman wasn't love but a form of lust and obsession. If he couldn't love her because of her condition who could he love and could his love be true towards anyone. The one thing that truly confuses me about this story is the last few lines. "the rest of the bowl ...  was full of bees." Why bees and were the roses from the man? Was is to show that beauty wasn't just on the outside of things but to look deeper into a person before deciding who they are?

short story

            It’s hard to believe we were actually talking to each other. I stood outside his “All American” pink-brown house, cute little porch and two-car garage. I look at the grass, thick and green, and the big oak tree that provides shade over the majority of the yard. I loved this house, so many memories. I sat in my car nervous, afraid that this was a mistake. I knew inside that this was nothing but a harmless visit, but it scared the crap out of me.

            When I finally decide to get out of my car and walk to the front door, my heart starts racing. “This is stupid, just stop freaking yourself out!”, I quickly reminded myself.

            As I walk in, it is like nothing had changed. It’s hard to believe its been over a year. The TV still sat in the same corner and the same beat up brown leather couches hadn’t moved from their original spot. His parents greeted me, eyes bright and wide with excitement. His father round and jolly and mother tall and slender, cute couple actually always laughing never seeming stressed.

            Then I see him leaning on the wall, white button up shirt, bright red hair, dark wide eyes, tall and bone thin. But when you take an extra look you can tell that the bags under his eyes are a little darker than they used to be.  He won’t make eye contact, but rather looks around the room rapidly; he shrugs his shoulders, rather than standing up straight. His voice sounds the same, a little arrogant but that’s not how he really is.  He still remains sarcastic and cracks jokes, straying away from a serious conversation. I never understood that.

            The conversation remains small and light, full of joy. Questions about school and classes, my job, my family, nothing to deep. His family begins to discuss the church service and how it impacted them this morning. He and I don’t speak he just stares, blank and wide, you can sense the sadness in his eyes, almost smelling it in the air.

He had told me the day before how he hasn’t slept or ate. “I made a mistake a year ago”, but it was the past how it couldn’t be changed. It can’t be changed. I don’t want it to change. 

An hour passes and his father leaves, so we retreat to his room in the back of his house. I don’t know why, it just seemed like the thing to do. That’s where he began to talk. It started out as small talk. He began to show me his new room and the new set up. He showed me all of his new gifts but never looking me in the eye. He looked so uncomfortable. I kept thinking, “Is it me? Do I stink? Do I have just a rotten look on my face?”. I didn’t understand.

 “Sit down, please”, he said, “How do you like the new set up?”

“I guess its okay?”, All I could think was, what do you even say to that question?

“Nice flag” I said and laughed. A Canadian flag, why in the world did he have that. He always was the comical one of our group of friends.

He remained with the small talk, but I could tell he wanted to talk about what had happened. So I asked, to others it may have seemed rude to be so blunt. But, to Luke, bluntness was an endearing quality

“Tell me, what happened. “, I asked.

“ It’s just over, she is going to school, I am staying here…I am ruining her family life.”

That was it, heartbreak, this story seemed all too familiar, and perhaps that is why I could sympathize with him. I was going to school, I was taking away family time, so I was kicked out the door. I needed to change the subject; I didn’t want to get this deep with him, not now, not anymore.

“Hey, you remember when we used to play flags?” I asked, “You cheated. I remember that much, you always cheated.”

“Sure, if that’s what you call it. Maybe you should have just worn your glasses.” He replied. 

We both sat down and laughed. This game was never ending; every time we saw an American flag no matter where we were we would just yell it out. I am not even sure how we kept score.  I wanted to keep his mind off the hurt, so I asked him to tell me something he remembered. We had known each other for 5 years, there must be something.

He began, “Remember when we went to the mountains with my family?”

“Yes, very well.” I replied.

“ We were so young and happy then. Nothing could have bothered us. “ I could tell he was starting to get upset. I could smell the sadness in the air.

“You know it gets better, right?” I wish I could have just stopped talking, but I couldn’t, “ It hurts right now, but perhaps this is for the better. I promise it gets better. “ I knew it would take a long time, but something in me wanted to make everything better. My insides were screaming, I didn’t want to care. “Why am I caring?!” I just kept talking, not even fully aware of what I was saying. But part of me knew it most likely wasn’t making sense.  But, I wanted to. I wanted to make everything all right, but there was nothing that could be done, was there?  I laid back on the bed in silence; I kept thinking that maybe all he needed was someone to be around. Loneliness and heartbreak are very nasty, they are something I wouldn’t even want my worst enemy to have to go through.

“I should leave.” I knew that I had said those words, but I didn’t mean them.  I didn’t want to leave. So, we just sat in silence, letting the darkness fade in.

Sanjeev and Twinkle

I decided to go with Twinkle. She is such a free spirit; it is hard not to like her.  It starts in the beginning of the story when you begin to see her curiousness. She is so excited to find the porcelain effigy of Christ and vinegar and while her husband finds no value in either, she insists that both have value.  Her husband is 33 so I would assume that Twinkle is also in her early 30’s maybe late 20’s.Twinkle finds some importance in these items and wants to keep them safe. When Sanjeev makes a comment towards her she just brushes it off. Twinkle just seems so carefree and happy, like nothing in the world could go wrong. With each item that is found she becomes obsessed with finding the next. Twinkle drinks and smokes and just wants to have fun at any possible moment.  I think that Twinkle is slightly taller than average and I would picture her to be thin, dark, and has long dark hair. I would think of Twinkle as being what people would typically call beautiful.

I don’t think she thinks very much about the consequences of her actions, such as talking on the found when long distance rates are at their highest, she is just very carefree. She just lets life happen and accepts it for what it is. I like the line on page 142; “She was life that, excited and delighted by little things, crossing her fingers before any remotely unpredictable event.” I just think that this sentence sums up her character perfectly.

            The others find Twinkle to be lovely, charming, and just fun. They immediately join her in her treasure hunt, which probably gets Twinkle even more excited about finding a new item.

            I guess my conclusion to this would just be that Twinkle is very likeable and a very relatable character.  I love how witty and free spirited she is. I love that you can just tell she lives life day by day, not worrying about what will happen tomorrow.

This Blessed House.

Lately, I have found out asking as many questions as possible helps me to develop ideas more clearly. My first observation about the story and the author is the fact that she lived in India. She was used to Hinduism, which makes me wonder if the character, Twinkle, is a reflection of her. Did Lahiri ever have a wonder what it would be like to not be Hindu? Sanjeev seems very strict and I am not quite sure how I feel about him. He talked about how he wasn't even sure if he loved Twinkle, but told her he did anyways. I didn't like that but I suppose he is in a different situation. He seems very closed minded. Twinkle is so free spirited and is excited with the new Christian items, but they anger Sanjeev. 

If it significant that Twinkle has a nickname and Sanjeev does not? Why is she so enthralled with the painting, if she is just a "good little Hindu".  What is the significance of placing all the items that they found on the mantel or, the items themselves? A painting, the Virgin Mary statue, and bust of Christ, theses are just silly little items but she placed so much emphasis on the three. The painting she wanted to hang up in the office. She is completely in love with the statue of Mary and wants to keep it in the yard and the bust of Christ was the very last thing that they found. 

I really didn't understand this story, but this what I have gotten out of "The Blessed House". Twinkle is a free spirited woman, young with beautiful features and Sanjeev is a hard and strict man. He is almost critical of what Twinkle does and says.  The things that she finds hidden throughout the house thrill Twinkle.  Yet, he just wishes they would just go away.  I didn’t get a deep message out of this story but I enjoyed it. Maybe in time with reading it again I may see the true meaning the author would like to get threw to the reader. However, as of right now I am just going to leave it as such.

4th post

After reading “Reading for Transformations through the Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins” it encouraged me to try lectio divine with all my reading. I have tried it once or twice with my daily devotions and truly enjoyed it. However, it never stuck in my routine. Perhaps involving this in my literature reading, not only in my devotions,  can help me understand what I am reading. However that was my only thought on this article. For some reason I found it hard to read and I didn’t get much out of the article.

Although, I did find Darkness, Questions, Poetry, and Spiritual hope intriguing. The question “Where is God when the word is falling to pieces?” is one I get asked almost on a daily basis at work. It is also a question I find very difficult to answer. The truth is I don’t know. I know that God is in Heaven and I know that when I am going through something I am always told God has never left me. Perhaps that is true but I am not sure how I could explain that to a nonbeliever, being that I am a “baby” believer myself. However reading through this article opened my eyes to the darkness of this world. I realized that maybe I had been looking at it the wrong way. Instead of just being confused in the darkness I should have hope.

“Jesus Promises, ‘I will never leave you.’ The presence of God with us in the dark makes it possible for us to sit with the question of darkness without being destroyed by madness. “ I really liked this quote and it is something that I have written down to keep. Seeing it explained like this makes sense in a weird way. I still find the concept hard to explain, yet I know I have the answer I was looking for.

Raymond Carver

I decided to approach this assignment like the same way we approached the poem in class. After reading it the first time I noticed that Mel and Terri are very interesting. I haven’t decided how I feel about them. Their views on love seem distorted. Terri can’t stop talking about how much her abusive ex-husband loved her. He “loved” her so much he was willing to kill for her. Mel talks about his ex-wife and how he knew he once loved her and wondered where that love went. The other couple, Nick and Laura, seems to be peaceful and know what love is and are comfortable where they are. They don’t question what they have and what they had in the past.

            The author, Raymond Carver, was an alcoholic and even after he sobered up his marriage was damaged and ended in divorce. He later got married to a different woman. Perhaps this is relevant. Maybe he is like, Terri and Mel, he had a marriage where he thought it was true love and later it was slaughtered and was irreparably damaged. They later go married to a different spouse but couldn’t stop thinking about what happened to ruin what they had.

The second time I read through this story I didn’t get much else. I noticed that the position of the sun was constantly brought up. Mel seems very confused and unhappy about his love in the past and now. He says on page 58 he’ll be glad to tell us what real love is and then later says, “What do any of us really know about love?” He doesn’t even know and I think this may make him angry. He talks about how he wishes he had been a knight because the armor keeps them from getting hurt so easily. He also says if he wasn’t with Terri and if Nick weren’t his best friend he’d be with Laura. Mel’s character bothers me. I haven’t figured out everything about him and what exactly gets me upset, but he doesn’t know what he wants. Perhaps that is where Carver was, lost. 

What you get out of what you read is determined by how you read.

     There are a few things about this chapter that will stick with me and are things I had never thought of before.
What you get out of what you read depends on how you read. Do I take notes, reread lines, and pay attention to details? To be honest, not often. It is something I would like to work on though. 
     When I read for a class I often just read through the book as fast as I can retaining little to no information, or only retaining the information long enough for the test. However, having to sit and work with the information I have read it is a completely different story. Which I suppose, this was the main purpose of this chapter. Although, I find that if I am interested in a book,I am rereading more intently, taking notes, and paying attention to every detail to learn more.
     Perhaps, I do need to start not only reading but getting more involved in my reading. Get more involved with the author, learning about their past and culture. I  had never thought about how important and relevant that truly could be. For example, going back to one of my favorite books, A Million Little Pieces. Though the author made up the story, he used his personal experiences throughout the story to make it more realistic. The pain he felt you could feel, just by understanding his story and paying attention to the small details he makes throughout the dialouge. When listening to your favorite songs listening to the words can help you understand the artist better. You can feel their emotions, good or bad. Before reading this chapter I had never even thought about how this could be helpful to understanding the piece of work and fully appericating it for what it was. There are numerous expamples I could make. 
     But I am learning that paying attention to lanuage,culture, and history could make a literary work much less confusing and easier to read and understand.

Literary Profile.

My earliest memory of literature is a book my Dad would read to me daily, "Two Cool Cows". It was about two cows, Milly and Maude, who wore sunglasses. I am not really sure why I enjoyed this story so much but, we wore out many copies of it. I also remember the obvious classics like Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Bears, and my second all time favorite, Franklin.

           Some of my recent memories of literature include, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Jesus For President, A Million Little Pieces, and sadly Twilight.( Also, I obviously read my Bible and any textbooks required for class.) I don't read often and when I do I mostly just read the same books repeatedly. It is hard for me to sit down and read even for a little while, it is hard to keep my attention on that one thing. However, A Million Little Pieces by James Frey is one of my favorite books. Perhaps it is not the best book, very vulgar, but I love how raw the dialect is. There in nothing in the book that is fabricated to make you feel warm inside, its just the "truth". 

            I think I am really going enjoy this class. The fact that this class is so nontraditional is really exciting. It is a breathe of fresh air. The article, "Literature Is a Thing You Do as Part of Life" just makes me even more excited to see what is in store for this semester. I am really looking forward to the painting day and I look forward to being able to read and appreciate literature more. I have always enjoyed reading but have never done it much. I am just excited to have a new fresh outlook on reading and literature itself.