Weekly Reflection on Raymond Carver's "Cathedral"

My first impression of the narrator in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" was pure ignorance. Not only was the narrator ignorant when it came to his perception of a blind man, but he was also extremely sarcastic when describing his perceptions. Ultimately, the narrator and the blind man, Robert, became friends in the end and the narrator's opinion of the blind man drastically changed.

"Beulah! That's a name for a colored woman." (Page 111)

• This line from the short story not only ties in to his ignorance but also helps the reader distinguish when this story was written. Obviously there was still racial discrimination going on throughout society and the narrator bluntly gives away his views. It is also extremely ignorant of the narrator to comment on the color of the blind man's wife, because it is very clear he could not have seen the color of his wife whether it would have mattered to him or not.
• After the narrator said this about the blind man's wife it made me think about relationships the blind have with others in society. I never really thought about how important or relatively unimportant looks were in relationships among the blind and how we, society, make our looks and appearance extremely important in everyday life.

"But I heard nothing of the sort. More talk of Robert. Robert had done a little of everything, it seemed, a regular blind jack-of-all-trades." (Page 115)

• I feel as if the narrator was not only ignorant but also jealous. In the opening of the short story, the narrator expresses to his wife that he feels uncomfortable with the blind man, Robert, coming to visit because of the close friendship that his wife and Robert had, in the past, when she worked for him. Then as soon as Robert arrives they all sit down to catch up, however, it is more like the narrator's wife and Robert are catching up and the narrator is jealous of their interaction. The narrator is not giving himself a chance to get to know Robert, instead, he is sticking with his ignorant perception and is not going to change the way he feels.
• This situation is very much relate-able to real life situations. Although many of us do not want to admit that we have negative perceptions of different types of people, whether it has to do with religious values, sexuality, race, personality traits, etc. most of us will have some sort of perception on some type of person some time in our life. This short story helps us realize that we just have to be open to meeting different types of people and to not "judge a book by its cover".

 "My eyes were still closed. It was in my house. I knew that. But I didn't  feel like I was inside anything." (Page 124)

• Finally, after all of the crude and sarcastic comments, and judgmental and ignorant perceptions, the narrator got a glimpse of what Robert feels. This line from the short story is so powerful because it not only represents what the narrator has overcome but it opens up the reader to feel what Robert feels on a daily basis. It took a lot of time and frustration for the narrator to describe verbally to Robert what a cathedral looked like, but then Robert saved the narrator a lot of time by showing the narrator how he truly understands things without seeing them, by drawing them. 
• This line is not only powerful in the context of the story but also in the entire perception of society. If we all took time to show someone the way we think and go about our days, everyone would understand each other and have a little bit more patience and understanding.

Weekly Reflection of an Overview of Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49" and Chapter 6

Well, so far "The Crying of Lot 49" has gone in a totally different direction then I imagined it to when first reading Chapters 1-2. Ironically, the story has not really focused on what Oedipa plans to do with Pierce's estate, since she is the executor. Instead, the story has become some sort of a mystery with Oedipa playing detective. After Oedipa discovers a secretive mail system, she wants to know more about the system, how to get involved, and why it relates back to Pierce. Finally, Oedipa follows one of the mail carriers and discovers how the mail system works also while noticing different clues such as WASTE and DEATH and the muted horn and the deaf dancers.

When reflecting back on all of the Chapters (1-5), thus far, there is a lot of information to sort through. The main points that have stood out to me are obviously how the death of Pierce affected not only Oedipa but the entire community, the alcohol and drug abuse by most of the characters, the muted horn and its correlation to the secret mail system, and the masculine dominance in Oedipa's life. There are probably many other points, but like I said, there is a lot of information to sort through that has built on itself throughout the entire story. 

Right at the beginning of Chapter 6, Oedipa runs into the same band "The Paranoids" at the hotel where she finds out Metzger has ran away with the Serge's ex-girlfriend, "Why did they run around, why did she put me down," (Page 147). Serge has written a song and sings it to Oedipa to elaborate on the situation and express his feelings. In the line, "...they are stripping away, one by one, my men." (Page 152-153) Oedipa obviously is upset by Metzger's actions and feels as if they are all leaving her. First Pierce passed away leaving her everything, second Mucho has started abusing drugs and has "checked out", and finally Metzger has ran away to marry somebody else. Perhaps Oedipa's actions of adultery are finally catching up to her. Personally, I do not think that Oedipa can be upset about Metzger running away because she basically did the same thing to her husband, even before he started abusing drugs.

Oedpia then goes to meet with Emory Bortz to talk more about the secret mail system and where it rooted from. When Bortz goes into the history of the "Trystero" he dates back to many many years ago, "Robert Scurvham had founded, during the reign of Charles I, a sect of most pure Puritans." This not only highlights the accountability of the secret mail system but also the fact it was based off of religious values by the Puritans. Ironic to me, is that some of the acronyms for the mail system are DEATH and WASTE, which clearly are negatively connotative words. Also, after realizing that the Trystero dates back to many, many years ago it is evident that Pierce was not responsible for this secret mail system, just possibly kept it alive within his investments.

After speaking with Bortz, Oedipa goes back to The Scope and runs into Mike Fallopian, who has a much different look. Fallopian invited Oedipa to sit with him and discuss the discoveries she has made, but then adds a twist. '"Has it ever occured to you, Oedipa, that somebody's putting you on? That this is all a hoax, maybe something Inverarity set up before he died?"' (Page 167) Basically making everything questionable that Oedipa has discovered and I, the reader, have tried to discover myself about the entire context of the story. Soon after Oedipa was questioned and perhaps doubted in her discoveries, she finds out that Pierce has relations to most, if not all, of the connections Oedipa has made to the Trystero. She then starts to doubt herself, and believe that maybe Fallopian was right and Pierce set this entire thing up to: "Or loyal, for free, for fun, to some grandiose practical joke he'd cooked up, all for her embarrassment, or terrorizing, or moral improvement?"

I feel that if Pierce really did set this entire system up to "embarrass or terrorize" Oedipa there would not be as many historical references that relate back to the beginning of the Trystero. Then again, if Pierce had as much control over his area that it seems by the amount of money and investments he has, he could have possibly pulled a "joke" like this off. When thinking about the fact that Oedipa put all of her time into discovering what the secret mail system was all about it makes me think of real life situations. Specifically in my major, Mechanical Engineering, people may put so much time into one design approach or project that they truly believe it is the most functional, innovative idea. Then, they find out that the project has already been thought of or their project is not as functional or innovative as they thought and someone can come up with something better. However, like in engineering, Oedipa may have opened up an entire "can of worms" or "idea" coming from an engineering prospective that could lead to many other discoveries. If Pierce really did in fact make this entire Trystero up, he may be hiding something, that Oedipa may discover easier because she now knows the way Pierce thinks.

Weekly Reflection on Chapter 2 in Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49"

• enigmatic: resembling an enigma; perplexing; mysterious

• plinth: 1. a slablike member beneath the base of a column or pier 2. a square base or a lower block, as of a pedestal

Page 24: "But if there was any vital difference between it and the rest of Southern California, it was invisible on first glance."

This quote struck me by surprise because as Oedipa arrives in the city that Pierce had a lot of money invested in the narrator describes the city is "invisible". Originally I believed that Pierce invested in big corporations in popular, populated cities but instead the way Oedipa makes it seem at first is that the city really is not much of anything to brag about. 

• centrifugal: 1. moving or directed outward from the center

• Yoyodyne is a fictional defense contractor. Described in the latter book as "a giant oft he aerospace industry", founded by World War II veteran Clayton "Bloody" Chiclitz. The company has a large manufacturing plant in the fictional town of San Narciso, California.

Page 26: "Barbed wire again gave way to the familiar parade of more beige, prefab, cinderblock office machine distributors, sealant makers, bottled gas works, fastener factories, warehouses, and whatever."

Again, this quote also struck me by surprise because you imagine these buildings surrounding Pierce's investments would be tall, elaborate, well-designed buildings but instead she describes cinderblock offices surrounded by barbed wire. This puts a poor image in the my, the reader's, mind imagining a poorly built and maintained city. Or perhaps this describes a little bit of how Oedipa's personality is portrayed, high-class and judgmental.

• nymph: 1. any of the minor divinities of nature in classical mythology represented as beautiful maidens dwelling in the mountains, forests, trees, and waters 2. girl

• lambent: 2. softly bright or radiant 3. marked by lightness or brilliance especially of expression

• kasher: ("fit," or "proper"), in Judaism, the fitness of an object for ritual purposes.

• zither: a musical instrument, consisting of a flat sounding box with numerous strings stretched over it, that is placed on a horizontal surface and played with a plectrum and the fingertips.

• ringleted: 1. a curled lock of hair 2. a small ring or circle

Page 35: "She wondered then if this were really happening in the same way as, say, her first time in bed with Pierce, the dead man."

This quote definitely suggests Oedipa's promiscuous habits. Although I have read the entire chapter before reflecting on this quote, this is definitely a foreshadowing of the events to come. It also makes me wonder if Oedipa had relations with Pierce before or after her marriage to Macho, her current husband. This chapter reflects Oedipa's true personality: high-class, judgmental, promiscuous, etc.

Page 41: "So it went: the succession of film fragments on the tube, the progressive removal of clothing that seemed to bring her no nearer nudity, the boozing, the tireless shivaree of voices and guitars from out by the pool."

Again not only her promiscuity is recognized but also her drinking habits. In Chapter 1, the theme of alcohol and drunkenness was introduced. Now, in Chapter 2, Oedipa is drinking again and it is now leading her to do much worse things than leave a Tupperware party. 

• crescendo: 1. music 2. a steady increase in force or intensity 3. the climatic point or moment in such an increase; peak

Page 43: '"What did Inveratiry tell you about me," she asked finally. "That You wouldn't be easy." She began to cry."'

This final page of Chapter 2 sums up everything. Metzger tells Oedipa that Pierce said she would not be easy, when obviously Pierce was wrong because Oedipa slept with Metzger the first night they met. Perhaps Metzger took what Pierce told him as a challenge and got Oedipa to drink so that he could say he slept with her on the first night. Oedipa's guilt is recognized when the narrator says she began to cry. Now Oedipa has to not only deal with Pierce's estate and will, but also the awkwardness between her and Metzger and having the guilty conscious that she cheated on her husband. 

Ultimately, Chapter 2 leads me to believe that "The Crying of Lot 49" is not going to be all about handling Pierce's estate and will, but also the drama that Oedipa has in her life and how she handles it. Perhaps Metzger slept with Oedipa so that he received more power and input on how to disperse Pierce's estate and will and to receive more control over Oedipa's decisions. Oedipa's decision to sleep with Metzger can either help or hurt her and I suppose the next few chapters will reveal whether it truly did. The drama in Chapter 2 has definitely caught my interest and I am now excited to read more and find out what happens in the chapters to come.

Collaborated Weekly Reflection on Various Works of Allen Ginsberg

Although I have already completed a blog for the week, I have decided to reflect on some of the assigned readings we are expected to discuss in class on Friday, since I will not be able to attend.

A SUPERMARKET IN CALIFORNIA

 "What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman..." (Page 29)

The definition of Walt Whitman from www.dictionary.com is as follows:

• noun United Sates poet who celebrated the greatness of America

However, when looking up Walt Whitman on a website, such as Wikipedia, it mentions that "Whitman's sexuality is often discussed alongside his poetry. Though biographers continue to debate his sexuality, he is usually described as either homosexual or bisexual in his feelings and attractions." Which makes the short story poem "A Supermarket in California" make a lot more sense to me, even though I may not agree with the context in which his name is used. When reading it through the first time, I wondered who Whitman was and why the narrator made such ignorant remarks towards him, but then after looking up the definition it was clear that Whitman's sexuality made the narrator uncomfortable.

• enumerations: 1. to mention separately as if in counting; name one by one; specify, as in a list

• penumbras: 2. a shadowy, indefinite, or marginal area

"-and you, Garcia Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?" (Page 29)

Clearly, the narrator is uncomfortable with both of the men's sexualities that he mentions throughout the short story poem.  He seems very curious as to what Whitman is doing throughout the "grocery store" or perhaps referencing Whitman's life and what he is doing with that. The one thing I noticed throughout the entire short story poem is that the narrator used a lot of detail and imagery to allow the reader to imagine where the actual setting took place. Those minor details made the story appeal to me and kept me reading. The narrator also stated a lot of, obviously, rhetorical questions. The rhetorical questions also kept me reading because I wanted to see if the narrator answered his own rhetorical questions by stating what Whitman would do next.

A theme I have noticed throughout Ginsberg's short story poems thus far is that he references America and religion many times throughout his works. In "A Supermarket in California" he mentions Angels and America twice and in "Howl" he mentions Heaven and politics and America many times.

AMERICA

Before I even began to read America, I noticed the same theme that I mentioned in my last reflection: America. Except in this short story poem I finally realized the narrator's take on America: that it is awful. The narrator has absolutely nothing positive to say, which also reflects the date mentioned in the second line, January 17, 1956, recognizing the harsh times that the narrator had to live through during this time period. It then becomes extremely obvious as to why the narrator does not agree with any of the ways of America in the line, "America I used to be a communist when I was a kid I'm not sorry." (Page 40) This line is extremely harsh and almost makes me want to tell the narrator to go back to where he came from if he does not like the ways of America!

Another point that the narrator elaborates a lot throughout the short story poem is marijuana. It strikes me by surprise that some things really never change. Marijuana is such a "touchy" subject in America today and clearly was back then because he talks about smoking it almost to get back at the government and their rules and regulations. It seems as if some people love testing out the waters, pushing their limits, and going to the extreme, just to see how far they can really go. This relates back to many subjects in life- most teenagers rebel because their parents try to confine them and keep them away from all the negativity the world has to offer, but in reality most of those teens that deal with confinement in their homes are the ones that want to rebel even more than your average teen.

The narrator also brings politics into this short story poem in the line, "My ambition is to be President despite the fact that I'm a Catholic." (Page 41) Well, times have definitely changed now since we have an African American President in office and a Mormon leading the 2012 Election Campaign. But obviously back then it was not as easy to be elected if you were a specific religion, race, and to this day gender. Although we are a free country and people come here for freedom, there are still so many restrictions so many people live by each day and do not even realize they're living that way. Many people are prejudice and do not realize it because that is all they know and are surrounded by. That is probably why the narrator has such a strong opinion about America and it's judicial system, along with many other things.