R2D2

1. Discuss how the trauma that Art Speigelman's father experienced in the Holocaust trickled down into Art's life as the son of a Holocaust survivor.

Considering that Art's father beautifully fit the Jewish sterotype, it was no wonder that Art seemed to encompass the exact opposite of the stereotype. Art seems to have analyzed his father's ways and decided to never possess those traits for himself. As a result, he is nothing like his father and yet, somewhat similar. Both of them possess that same stubbornness and passion, but they direct towards different things. They both complain a lot, but about different things. Perhaps this could be said of most humans, but I am not sure. Both Art and his father maintain simple lives. Art lives a simple life, and he seems to value that because of his father's experiences. He is grateful for having food, a bed to sleep in, and a person to share his life with but not to the extreme his father does. I think that part of why Art chose to pursue a career in art was not just because of his father but because he saw how trivial material things are and how short life is so he decided to pursue what made him happy even if it didn't bring him that great of a paycheck.

Illustrations .vs. Text: Maus

1. Art Spiegelman has chosen to tell a very sad and serious story in a form that is not often associated with this kind of story telling (illustration). Do you think the use of illustration as opposed to just written text is an effective way of delivering this story? Why or why not?

 I think the illustrations provide a comic relief that would be unattainable to the reader if the book had been expressed purely with words. Had Spiegelman chosen to write this tale of his father's life in words, he wouldn't be able to control the images in our mind to the extent he does and the seemingly unbearable sadness that would trace every word. The illustrations and the horrific events balance each other out and Spiegelman from here is able to tip the scale to play with our emotions however he wants. It's brilliant, actually, but kind of scary.

Symbolism (And Other Pretty Things)

I wonder what I am supposed to whisper to myself before I go to sleep to make the voices go away.

“It's going to be okay,” I'll say, but I'm not so sure. I don't know what comforting quote to recite over and over again. It reminds me of the first couple lines of my memoir that I wrote a couple months ago.

“What’s the point? At the end of the day, I’m still under the covers clutching my polar bear sheets with supposedly iron fists but truth be told, I’m just a butterfly pinned to some pretty piece of paper in an overpriced glass case waiting for someone to set me free but that’s never going to happen and I’m still sitting here, smiling.”

No one interpreted it right. It reminds me of the rain droplets staining my window, their beauty the cause of the endless conjectures of symbolism.

“It's just rain,” I'll mutter to myself, turning to yet another TV screen for a way to block out reality.

But, every once in a while something like The Alchemist comes along and I'll wonder what if symbolism isn't just pretty bullshit but something real, something I can grip with my hands? What if symbolism isn't just another idea that gives people like me a thousand potential realities to contemplate? I wonder.

The Mysterious Case of the Universal Language

 I believe that the Universal Language is the connection between all things. InThe Alchemist, there is a suggestion that there is more than one universal language as seen on page 64, “...maybe he was also learning the universal language that deals with the past and present of all people.” On page 121, it states that “...my horse knows the language of life.” While in this case the word universal was not used before it, the book still suggested two languages that could potentially build up along with others to create the Universal Language. “The world speaks many languages, the boy thought (89). The King of Salem stated that, “All things are one.” Perhaps each of the, respectfully, less significant languages combined are the Universal Language, the unspoken understanding of the threads that links this world together stitch by stitch. Santiago said that people used the Universal Language to communicate but were not aware that they were doing it (49). This suggests that the Universal Language was not something we brought into existence but something eternal, perhaps originating from the remnants of the Soul of the World within every thing and everyone (101). On page 82, The Alchemist states that, “But there was one idea that seemed to repeat itself throughout the books: all things are the manifestation of one thing only.” Clearly, the Universal Language has an origin, but I don't believe it to be only within the Soul of the World because that was suggested to be where men become one with the afterlife (101). As seen with Santiago, the Englishman, and the alchemist, being aware of the Universal Language is something a living person can do. The book also suggested that since Santiago knew the Soul of the World, it allowed him to learn to speak the Universal Language(109).

The idea of having a Universal Language that connects everyone reminds me much of Buddhism because Buddhists, among other things, seek to become one with the world. There is an energy that lives both within us and outside of us that is one and yet, we regard them as separate entities. Personally, I believe that space is much like a puzzle within a puzzle that contains yet another underlying puzzle. Each puzzle piece contains a puzzle in itself and so on and so forth. If this confuses anyone, I will add an image that could help ease your understanding. This combined with the Universal Language to me pointed towards the Universal Language being the expression of unity. I am not sure what omens are yet. I found it interesting when the Englishman said on page 72 that, “Everything in life is an omen.” Perhaps omens are everything and everyone since we are all reactions off of one another whether it be a person or a thing.

Just A Bit Too Personal

1. What is a Personal Legend, and why do you think this will be important in the rest of the book?

Our Personal Legends are the stories of our lives, the intricate tale whose foundations were built upon the threads that stitch our lives together memory be memory, kiss by kiss, tear by tear, thought by thought, love by love. We have these dreams that we either pursue or cast away like useless nothings. Each human being who has lived, lives, or will live will have a life, and it is the story of this life that is their Personal Legend. A person's Personal Legend is their pursuit of themselves. It is how they identify their own beliefs and loves. This is important because this book is a Personal Legend. The Alchemist is how a boy finds himself, and without a Personal Legend, it would never be conveyed properly.

What I Want To Learn (Teach Me How To Write Nonfiction Creatively)

       There's a certain kind of curiosity that comes with learning something that most assume to be already known- their own language. We speak English every day and yet, we don't really know. We don't know every crack and crevice of English nor the history of it. Language is an art form, much like clay or paint. You can mold it to create a masterpiece, a disaster, or something in between. I wish to hone the skill of creative writing in an analytical way.

Nonfiction has fascinated me ever since the day I read my first biography in second grade on Duke Ellington. I've always longed to write but, well, everything I write is over exaggerated and my wording can be a bit pretentious at times despite being unintentional. I want to write in a way that expresses what I mean concisely yet manages to snag all of those secretly craved details. The problem with this is that there is a very fine line between just enough and too much. I would like to learn how to write creative nonfiction in a way that allows me for to keep my writing style but gets to the point.

Writing analytically has never been my strong point considering my tendency to be excessive with adjectives and to make everything philosophical. If unbiased writing is possible to attain, then I wish to attain it. There is a distinct separation in my thoughts and emotions and yet, I struggle with finding it. This reflects in my writing. I think that I need to sort this out in my mind first and yet, maybe writing without emotion could aid me in my goal towards being able to control my emotions. Poetry is also another genre I seek to write better.

I hope we can write and read more poetry. There is a place in my heart reserved for poetry and yet I don't have much knowledge on it. While I do research it outside of school, I would like to learn about it in school too. Plus, you're funny and intelligent. You make me want to learn even more then I do already. Basically, I'd like to write true things in a creative way.

A Reflection On A (Very) Emotional Book.

Wool by Hugh Howey is the kind of book every author should aspire to write like. Not only is it written with flawless grammatical skill, the context also keeps the reader completely entangled. Vivid imagery allowed me to see through the author's eyes and become these characters while somehow managing to stay as myself. The author carefully balanced the connections forged between reader and character just Enoch to where it could still maintain my own perception while also seeing the characters. Each character is very well developed whether they are a side character or a protagonist. The author forced me to be deeply empathetic of these characters. Their pain was my pain. Their struggle was my struggle. Their joy was my joy. Despite the book taking place in an entirely different society, I could relate to at least one of these characters and even if I couldn't relate, I understood how and why they thought the way they did. That is a pretty remarkable achievement.

I cannot say that I connected to a single character because that is not true. I connected to every character whether it was Bernard who wanted to sentence an entire category of people to death or Juliette who just wanted to know what it meant to be alive because some days she wasn't sure if she was really even breathing. Each character had deep, personal struggle that was not revealed in plain sight. You had to think, and think, and think some more until that final epiphany came and everyone heard me say, "Oh!" With Lucas, I truly connected to his struggle to stay true to who he was despite not knowing who he was but only knowing he wasn't who people wanted him to be. He felt like he wasn't the right person in my opinion. Juliette was able to help him see who he was because for me, she symbolizes life. She told him that this was his life and it was who he was. His memories, his thoughts, his emotions, his pain, his joy, his dreams...they are who he is. This book is filled with struggles woven into deeper struggles woven into even deeper struggles until there is nothing left to see but darkness or light. There is either life or death, joy or anger, happiness or sadness. Wool made me question my fundamental beliefs not only in myself but in the world around me and that is why I love this novel.