Hemon's "A Coin" appears to be a set of letters (and perhaps thoughts) between the narrator and a woman in Sarajevo named, Aida. This writing employs a narrative style which, I believe, would be characterized as collage; where the author submits scenes in a nonlinear fashion, juxtaposes them, and therefore pulls the reader through a series of moments that continue to fill in a larger, more significant picture. Writing this way allows Hemon to continually jump back and forth through time, moving seamlessly through scenes that would otherwise seem unrelated or at the very least, an abrupt transition. I noticed that, on Robert's blog, he compared this style of that of what we see in film, and I definitely agree with that. The author utilizes "fade outs" and "fade ins", fast forwarding and rewinding, each paragraph transporting us somewhere else in the narrators mind, effectively keeping the reader actively involved and, in my opinion, effectively building and maintaining tension.
You could also say that the mosaic, sort of randomness of this piece reflects the actually story, itself. It could reflect the chaotic world of the story, the fear and uncertainty that leads to the racing thoughts; untethered and unable to be controlled. It doesn't read particularly like letters for the most part, but more so like the scenes are unfolding at that very instant. It's not merely a "this happened, then this happened" type of narrative. It certainly brings the reader into the moment, and I don't know about you, but I definitely felt the fear and anxiety, the immense rush of adrenaline, and the "overload of senses" associated with the perilous journey to Point B. I know this is considered to be experimental, but I feel like that without this "mosaic" sort of exposition, this story would certainly lose its effect...
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Milk Mug-shots
Carlson's Milk was an interesting story. Written in 1st person narrative, it tells the story of fatherhood. We get insight in the father's love for his children and also his insecurities. The story immediately dives into the plot, beginning with what is plaguing the father's mind; fingerprinting his children. However, it is obviously not the fingerprinting itself that he is against but the idea of having to face what would happen if they ever needed to use them; he finally would exlaim to his wife that it was because "they were used to identify dead bodies."
Carlson took his father character through several scenes and aspects of life in order to portray more and more of the father's inner fear of his children being missing. The title, "Milk," alludes to the milk carton in the family's refrigerator, which had photos of missing children on the back. The father's reaction to these pictures gives us a sense of how the whole situation is really affecting him, that it's not something trivial but something deeper going on within him. He begins to see "missing persons" everywhere, and since the story is in 1st person, we, as reader, are permitted to hear his thoughts and begin to understand how it is haunting him and empathize with his struggle. If Carlson would have written it any other way, it would not have had nearly the same effect.
When he takes the twins at the end, without telling his wife or his mother, and the whole scene about "Namma" and the Lion King song, really portrays the love he has for his children, and how that love can lead to a crippling, unrelentless fear of losing them..
Carlson took his father character through several scenes and aspects of life in order to portray more and more of the father's inner fear of his children being missing. The title, "Milk," alludes to the milk carton in the family's refrigerator, which had photos of missing children on the back. The father's reaction to these pictures gives us a sense of how the whole situation is really affecting him, that it's not something trivial but something deeper going on within him. He begins to see "missing persons" everywhere, and since the story is in 1st person, we, as reader, are permitted to hear his thoughts and begin to understand how it is haunting him and empathize with his struggle. If Carlson would have written it any other way, it would not have had nearly the same effect.
When he takes the twins at the end, without telling his wife or his mother, and the whole scene about "Namma" and the Lion King song, really portrays the love he has for his children, and how that love can lead to a crippling, unrelentless fear of losing them..
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Girl
First off, I'm really struggling with this stuff. I'm actually a writer myself, but I find it difficult to read these stories and appreciate them because it just doesn't feel like good writing to me. I feel like "Cold-Hearted" and "Fiesta" seemed more like personal essays or journal entries than well-written stories that involved the reader with some sense of plot and tension. I mean there's certainly tension between the characters but the reader is left out of that tension. I understand a lot of people enjoy these stories and I can respect that. I guess it's just not my thing...
Anyways, that was my inital response. My analysis is on Kincaid's Girl, which is an interesting piece of writing. It seems like it should have been written as a poem, because it doesn't really read like a story. Regardless, it appears to be a mother's conversation with her daughter. The mother is attempting to impart in her daughter a sense of classiness and respect for herself. She tells her how to wash clothes, how to wear them, how to cook, how to eat, how to walk, etc; all the qualities she feels like a "lady" should possess. She tells her how to do several other household things, how to treat people, even how to make homemade birthcontrol, which I thought was interesting. The whole issue with the "slut you are so bent on becoming" phrase is up for interpretation. I not exactly sure if she really expects her to become a "slut" but more so the "type of woman the baker won't let near the bread;" A woman who has little respect for herself, little respect for others, little respect for nature ("don't throw stones at blackbirds, pick other people's flowers), etc. I think it's about respect and "the slut you are so bent on becoming" is the mother worrying that her daughter will not heed her warnings for respect and will grow up without it...
Anyways, that was my inital response. My analysis is on Kincaid's Girl, which is an interesting piece of writing. It seems like it should have been written as a poem, because it doesn't really read like a story. Regardless, it appears to be a mother's conversation with her daughter. The mother is attempting to impart in her daughter a sense of classiness and respect for herself. She tells her how to wash clothes, how to wear them, how to cook, how to eat, how to walk, etc; all the qualities she feels like a "lady" should possess. She tells her how to do several other household things, how to treat people, even how to make homemade birthcontrol, which I thought was interesting. The whole issue with the "slut you are so bent on becoming" phrase is up for interpretation. I not exactly sure if she really expects her to become a "slut" but more so the "type of woman the baker won't let near the bread;" A woman who has little respect for herself, little respect for others, little respect for nature ("don't throw stones at blackbirds, pick other people's flowers), etc. I think it's about respect and "the slut you are so bent on becoming" is the mother worrying that her daughter will not heed her warnings for respect and will grow up without it...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Catastrophe
Ok, I know I was supposed to get something from watching this and from reading the script. But "Theatre of the Absurd" seems to be a fitting title because it really made absolutely no sense to me. It sounds harsh, but I equate this with the artist who draws a square on a piece of paper and people marvel at the ingenuity. Absurd.
But we're not supposed to be critiquing it, I guess, only elaborating on differences so I'll stick with that. The most obvious differences were as follows:
-A is not annoyed or "at a loss" with D in the movie, though in the script she is several times
-D does not have a cigar. When he says "Light", he is signaling to A to pull out a flashlight so he can read from his notepad
-A suggests to point the finger in the movie. In the script, it is putting the hands together
-There is no armchair in the movie, though the script makes significant mention of one
-The applause at the end is supplied by A in the movie, rather than the "distant storm of applause" as the script called for
So why the differences? I really have no idea. I don't understand the purpose of the initial script and the changes made in the movie didn't make it any better or any more significant so to me, it really didn't seem to matter. I guess I'm missing something...
But we're not supposed to be critiquing it, I guess, only elaborating on differences so I'll stick with that. The most obvious differences were as follows:
-A is not annoyed or "at a loss" with D in the movie, though in the script she is several times
-D does not have a cigar. When he says "Light", he is signaling to A to pull out a flashlight so he can read from his notepad
-A suggests to point the finger in the movie. In the script, it is putting the hands together
-There is no armchair in the movie, though the script makes significant mention of one
-The applause at the end is supplied by A in the movie, rather than the "distant storm of applause" as the script called for
So why the differences? I really have no idea. I don't understand the purpose of the initial script and the changes made in the movie didn't make it any better or any more significant so to me, it really didn't seem to matter. I guess I'm missing something...
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