Final Blog...

I believe that my favorite reading was Atonement, but I actually also enjoyed The Obsolete Man. I enjoyed Atonement because of its mystery and suspense. I also enjoyed The Obsolete Man because of its ability to relate to everyday life even though it was based on a story a long time ago. The story was one in which many people can relate. I honestly was not crazy about Sula, I really didnt get anything from it. Although the story had many deep meanings I didnt find the characters to be interesting or giving me drive to follow the story line. If I couldve added a book to read I probably would have included The Shack, it is a contemporary Christian based book. I believe it is a very interesting novel that has a great story line and would be a good read for discussion or for an essay topic.

Atonement

Atonement is the process of forgiving or pardoning a wrong-doing. I don't believe anyone truely recieves atonement. I think that Briony is the only one to come close to achieveing atonement, and that is only a personal aspect. Briony in true life never seems to attain atonement but it is only in her ficticous novel. I feel this way because throughout the novel from the beginning Briony never truely unvails her wrong-doing, so therefore it is something she is left to live with, and it is only when she begins to speak the truth through her own writing that she may achieve, what I believe is a "false" sense of atonement.

I believe the setting of the book contributes to who doesnt achieve atonement, because during the period of time and the status of the family leads to the prosecution of Robbie, because Robbie is only the son of hired help he is not even questioned before he is carted away. The atonement could have been reach, but it was the avoiding of confrontation that forced Briony to live her life without fully achieving atonement.

Barthelme: My Story

The street is crowded, cold and raining. He walks to catch the bus bumping into people, but none of which he wants to see. He gets to the bus stop, but there's no bus to be found. It's all a blur. He wonders if the bus even comes anymore. His mind is a fog. He continues to wait.

He stands in the rain waiting, hearing and seeing many people go by, and everything eventually starts to run together. It's noise, but not the noise he wants to hear. He begins to look around to see if he could find her, but she wasn't there.

He didn't know what to do. Just as before, he was alone with people all around. He waits a while longer, but he eventually realizes that it's not going to happen. He's fighting a losing battle. While drenched and confused, he yells one last time then continues to walk.

Waiting on An Angel

I chose the song "waiting on an angel" by Ben Harper to describe Romney Wordsworth. After Romney chooses his death he decides to hide his fear and as a God fearing man, he decides to sit in his room awaiting death with his Bible in hand. This song describes Romney in a way that he knows his death is only a few moments away, and he sit patiently waiting for an angel to take him home.


couldn't get the video so heres the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4Me5btoCJ0

Lyrics:

Waiting on an angel
One to carry me home
Hope you come an' see me soon
'Cause I don't want to go alone
I don't want to go alone

Now angel wont you come by me?
Angel hear my plea
So that I can fly with thee
So that I can fly with thee

And I'm waiting on an angel
And I know it wont be long
To find myself a resting place
In my angel's arms
In my angel's arms, arms

So speak kind to a stranger
'Cause you'll never know
It just might be an angel come
Knockin at your door
Knockin at your door

And I'm waiting on an angel
And I know it wont be long
To find myself a resting place
In my angel's arms
In my angel's arms, arms

Waiting on an angel
One to carry me home
Hope you come an' see me soon
'Cause I dont want to go alone
I dont want to go alone

Dont want to go
I dont want to go alone

Streetcar Named Desire

In my opinion Vivian Leigh did a better job bringing Blanche alive from the pages to the big screen. Her performance was more believable as she seemed to become Blanche more than the 1995 actress did. I believe that one factor that could have played into Leigh's better performance could be the time period in which the movie was made. It was closer to the time period in the book, and I feel that the 1995 version was more of a modern interpretation that did not capture the full effect of what Tennessee Williams essentially had in mind. Leigh used her naturally born talent to convince the viewers that she was Blanche, and not any other character she had played in the past. Her ability to seem calm in the beginning of the scene, and then becoming hysterical towards the end really showed her true talent. Although she had a totally different performance in Streetcar Named Desire, I believe that her previous experience as an actor was reflected in her portrayal of Blanche. For example, in Gone With The Wind, she played Scarlett O'Hara, a strong, stubborn, "Southern Belle" from Georgia. Her love of the land on which she was born (Tara) was deep in her heart, and when anything tried to come in between her life at Tara or her dreams, she did everything in her power to change that. In some of the scenes in Gone With the Wind, Leigh shows her versability by acting hysterical or acting sweet and pretty.
All in all, I believe that Vivian Leigh did a better job portraying Blanche because of the timing in which the movie was made, her acting ability, her experience on the big screen, and her versability as an actor. I believe that even though Blanche seemed fragile, in reality she was a strong woman who acted hysterical sometimes, and I believe that Vivian Leigh did Tennesse Williams' Blanche justice.

Modernism vs. Postmodernism

The characters in each of these stories have many similarities but also have many differences. Each of these stories shows that the characters were going through similar situations that forced them to rely solely on their own backgrounds and beliefs to handle their situations. It was these backgrounds and beliefs that influenced them to make their overall decisions that inevitably made the characters differ from one another. The characters that help me best understand the differences between Modernism and Postmodernism are the Chancellor from “The Obsolete Man”, and Yolanda from “The Rudy Elmenhurst Story”. I believe the Chancellor is a great example of Modernism, because of his inability to accept anything different. In “The Obsolete Man”, during the trial, he explains to Wordsworth how there is no religion or any books because the states declared that there were no books after they destroyed them. He also exemplifies Modernism when he explains that not everyone has a purpose according to the state, and if a person’s purpose is not “useful” to the state you would be declared obsolete. As far as Postmodernism, I believe Yolanda from “The Rudy Elmenhurst Story” is a great example. Although Yolanda comes from a strict upbringing, she still displays a Postmodernism perspective because of her ability to think for herself and not resort to peer-pressure. By being open to her surroundings, not allowing Rudy to take advantage of her, and overall making her own decisions, is a great example of Postmodern behavior.

ABOUT ME:

Hey, my name is Daniel Webber, and I'm from Anderson, SC. I attended to T.L. Hanna High School, and went on to play basketball at Anderson University. As a son of two Clemson graduates, I decided that I wanted to continue the family tradition and transfer to Clemson. My dad was a Clemson football letterman, and my great-grandfather also played football at Clemson (he graduated in 1918). Many of my family members graduated from here, but I'm the only kid out of 5 to go to Clemson. I'm a Business Management major, and after graduating I plan to someday own/create my own business. I play basketball along with many other sports, I like to workout, and you can usually find me with my friends and my girlfriend hanging out.