White Noise Part 1. Five Questions!

1. Why do you think that Jack has had so many ex-wives?

2. Do you think each of Jack's children are foils of himself?

3. What does Murray represent?

4. What does Hitler represent in Jack's life?

5. Do you think Wilder's crying is foreshadowing of some event?

White Noise Discussin Response.

` Does the fact that the children at the elementary school are evacuated due to their “headaches and eye irritations, tasting metals in their mouths” foreshadow that an overall greater event is about to happen? Simply yes it does. It is common knowledge due to the various horror movies that the public watches that when something is evacuated, especially an elementary school, it is never a good sign. If I had no idea what the rest of the novel entails I would guess that a dangerous zombie outbreak is about to happen. Unfortunately that isn’t true. We would never read a book that awesome in school…. 

Quarter Rose: Why would any mother in their right mind force their children to spend their Friday night free-time watching television that upsetted them?
I agree that it is extremely odd for a mother to force their kids to do that. In the greater spectrum it makes sense in a way. Perhaps the mother wanted to introduce their kids and harden them up to the world. I believe that there is a much greater foreshadowing in this event similar to the first question. The first twenty or so chapters so far have seem to be pure introduction for characters and foreshadowing for the later events of the novel. It is evident that something major will happen at some point. Excellent question though. It is the same as how some history classes are required to watch videos on the Holocaust and other great catastrophes in the world. It is just extremely odd that a mother would do such a thing.

Describe the contrast of Murray's thrill of white packaging and keen obsession with smell. -Whatcha No Bout Me?

Murray thrill associated with white packaging and his smell is simply because he is a very simple man. He just enjoys the simple things in life. It is very satirical that he can point out different kinds of food just because of their smell. I believe that this unique ability could possibly become useful in the event of the inevitable disaster that we all know will take place in the novel. Overall Murray is an extremely interesting character who has a lot of potential to perhaps save a group from starvation with his sense of smell.

Discussion Questions for WN, Odd.

1. Do you think Delillo actually enjoys working at the college?

3. Is there some sort of irony regarding the main character's odd title on campus?

5. How does the sudden short syntax attribute to the characterization of the novel?

7. Do you think Jack's question of "who will die first" is foreshadowing something?

9. Who exactly is Baba and do you think that awe will see her again?

11. What importance does Murray have to Jack? How do you think their relationship will effect the events throughout the novel?

Hamlet 1.5

1. This scene where the action in the play really starts to take off. We have seen the ghost before but now it is actually talking and giving instructions! Hamlet's father explains that Hamlet's Uncle killed him in order to become king. He then seduced Hamlet's mother into marrying him. He explains that he is stuck in purgatory due to the fact that he died with all of his life sins with him. Hamlet's father wants him to redeem his death my murdering his killer. One very important point that Hamlet's father brings up is that he does not want his old wife harmed in any way at all. He believes that she will have her final judgment once she dies.

5. I thought that overall this scene was extremely cool. I mean this is turning into be such an awesome play. I am glad that Horatio is going to support Hamlet through all that is in front of him. BTW I thought the video added a lot to this scene. It is much better then the MacBeth video that we had to watch.

7. Holy Crap, I can't believe that my Uncle killed my father. Seriously what is wrong with him. I do admit that I did have suspicion that something was up when he married my mother so quick to become queen. This is just ridiculous. I should act crazy so my uncle will never see his death coming!

Hamlet 1.3

1. In this scene opens with Ophelia, Hamlet's love, being warned by her brother Laertes about her relationship with Hamlet. He claims that eventually he will have to marry someone of higher social status and that she might as well move on. They go into their father Polinious' home where she is only told exactly the same thing by her father. At the end of the scene he condemns her from having anything else to do with Hamlet.

3. I really don't understand why it was such a big deal that Hamlet and Ophelia were together. Hamlet had just lost his father and you would think that Polonious would be more sensitive towards what exactly he was going through. My other question is what kind of role will Ophelia and her family play in the story?

7. I really do hate my father right now. I mean Hamlet just lost his father and now I have to tell him that he can't see me anymore. He is just so unhappy that his mother is already marrying his Uncle. I mean in my opinion that is just kind of creepy. I guess I understand what my brother was saying about Hamlet having to marry someone of higher status but I thought possibly things could be different between us.

Hamlet Act uno scene uno

3. A few question that I have is:
Where does Hamlet tie into this scene?
When will we first see Hamlet?
Why exactly is there a ghost?
Is this scene necessary?

1. Pretty much this scene opens with a few manly gentlemen keeping watch over something. They are just kind of minding their own business keeping watch until a ghost appears that resembles the dead King Hamlet. Now this isn't the first time that they have seen the ghost before. They encourage their main man Horatio to speak to it. Eventually the rooster crows and *poof* he is gone.

5. My first reaction of Horatio is that he was some what important. It was just his presence. Once the subject of the ghost is brought up, he is the only rational person at the scene. When the ghost actually appears he is the first person to be brave enough to talk directly to it. According to Mr. Hill and my own intuition, Horatio will be a major character in this play.

Question Reponse.

How would the boys' adventure differ if John Grady was not bilingual. - Hot KOOLAID

The story would be much different if John Grady did not speak spanish. Many times throughout the novel he communicated with the native Mexicans about important things in spanish. If there were a language barrier, many important tasks throughout the novel, especially his interactions with the ranch, would not have been able to happen. If Grady did not know spanish he possibly would not have had a relationship with Alejandra which would have made his life-saving relationship with Alfonsa possible. He probably would have ended up just dying in jail or possibly, he would not have went to jail at all.

All the Pretty Horses Response 3

I really enjoyed this part of the reading. I think that it was very interesting that McCarthy chose this moment to introduce Alejandra into the novel. It has brought more variety in the novel by bringing a female character into the mix that is actually nice to John Grady. I know I have compared the novel to The Road a lot so this is very interesting to have some sort of romance because The Road didn't have any aspect of romance whatsoever. The new tension between John Grady and Rowlins is very interesting. Throughout the novel it can be inferred that they have known each other for an extremely long time so it is kind of odd that there would be conflict now. If the main characters were female then there would be nonstop tension throughout the novel. :) just kidding.

"Hope" is the Thing with Feathers Analysis

POEM = http://poetryoutloud.org/poems/poem.html?id=171619

I very much enjoyed this poem. I'm not sure if it's because I heard it so many times or what but it just has a very beautiful rhythmic feel to it. The personification of "hope" to that of a bird gives the feeling that "hope" is free and can travel anywhere that it pleases. The second stanza of the poem has a violent falre to it due to the line ,"That could abash the little Bird." In the third stanza the tone changes from to very mysterious. The shift from third person to first person enhances the personification of "hope" as a bird.

All the Pretty Horses 20?

How has John shown to be a Christ figure so far?
Why did John not like the trade conditions from Blevins?
Why would Blevins expect to get his horse back?
How do you think the horse will come back?
In your opinion, why is John Grady different from the rest of the boys?
Do you think the story would be greatly different if it took place in a more modern setting?
Do you feel that John has some sort of fascination with cowboys and western living?
Why does John want to save the ranch?
Do you feel that John truly loves his mother?
Do you feel that the novel is following the true western story line?
How has it strayed from the true western story line?
Who do you feel is most important to John out of his family?
Do you think it was wrong for John to "spy" on his mother at the beginning of the novel?
What effect did his discoveries have on the story and John's motives?
Why exactly is John heading to Mexico?
What year does this novel take place in, and where does it fall into the time line of the wild west?
Do you think the tension between Rowlins and Blevins is from jealousy?
Why do you think Blevins is staying with the boys?
How does McCarty's style effect the narration?
What effect does the espanol dialogue have on the narration?
How much wood could woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
What is the meaning of life?

so, i think this is cool

All the Pretty Ponies Second

I feel that the novel is finally starting to take off and becoming and interesting western story. As always , McCarthy is a master at painting the picture of perfect imagery whether it be a western setting or an apocalyptic America setting. I have recently started to enjoy comic relief that the characters have started to provide. I guess I didn't expect much since "The Road" did not have any comic relief whatsoever. I am happy that McCarthy decided to include this because otherwise I feel like I would be pretty bored with this novel. A few questions I have is what roles exactly do each character play in the novel and has John appeared to be a Christ figure so far?

All The Pretty Horses pages 1-30

I felt right at home at reading "All the Pretty Horses." As a huge fan of "The Road," McCarthy's odd use of grammer, especially his lack of quotation marks, was no surprise as I read through the first thirty pages of the novel. I must admit though, it is rather odd to experience this style in a non-apocalyptic setting. "The Road" really used the grammer to help build a connection of emotion in a unique way. I have not been able to tell if "All the Pretty Horses" will do the same thing yet. Anyways, I feel that I will really enjoy the novel due to the fact that I really enjoy the western setting in movies and video games. Immediately, one of the most apparent themes in the novel is the conflict between modernization and keeping the old ways of the west. A few questions that I have about the reading so far is; when exactly does the novel take place, and does the fact that the story takes place in the "wild west" have a significant effect on the story. In other words, how would the story be different in a more modern theme? Well, thanks for reading I look forward to reading your own blog posts.