What's Wong?

For my mentor poet, I chose Kimiko Hahn. I checked out her work pretty much arbitrarily, but a certain poem caught my eye, "The Ashes" . Even now, I have to say that I don't completely understand the poem. If you want to read it, just be aware that it is 80 lines across 14 stanzas. Not terribly long, but there is some pretty high diction ("reticent", "apoplectic", "intransigent,") which is not what I would consider a casual read. After my first read through, I felt that chunking would not be the best approach. There was plenty of vivid imagery, but deeper meaning started to form when I began to relate lines from separate stanzas together. For example, take a look at the eighth stanza: I tucked away our baby’s pink layette in circumspect mothballs for a christening that never took place. As well, a doll that Auntie crocheted. More than anything, I love tidal pools.  On its own, to me, this largely read as just a scene, although the third line...

     So, I recently read Siddhartha, and I didn't like it all that much. However, it did get me thinking about the concept of the self, and what self discovery looks like. I am certainly no expert on the topic though, since I don't really know myself all that much. What I do know, though, is that social pressures most definitely do not help the process of defining that inner self.  Oooooooh, it's a visual metaphor     I, as a person, tend to try to please people. I'm sure that everyone deals with this to some extent, and I think we can agree that we may act differently in front of other people. There might be people who do this that have a really good idea of themselves, but in my experience, I certainly do not know in detail who I am (at least that I care to share). Anyway, I have found that compromising parts of your personality tends to obscure the self.   Social pressure? I guess?      As an example, if you still remember m...

Earlier this year, I read Toni Morrison’s Recitatif. It’s interesting in the fact that it never makes any statement about the race of the two main characters, or any of the characters for that matter. All that there is is some class coding and the fact that one is black and the other is white. But what is “coding” anyway, in a literary sense? Well, it’s the usage of the characteristics or stereotypes surrounding a group of people (in terms of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) to imply that a character is a part of that group. Coded language is the usage of phrases or slang that is popular within groups. In a similar vein is subtext, which is an allegorical reading of a text. With this in mind, the usage of coded language and subtext is often indicative of the societal context in which a text is written. What is said explicitly and what is left between the lines speaks volumes about what one could say at the time. Racial coding can often reveal more about the reader than ...

 Every once in a while, I find myself joking to avoid having to put effort into a conversation. Now having lived for an extremely long 18 years, I am definitely the most qualified to give the goodest guide to types of humor (provided there are no comedians or literature majors nearby). Anyway, here we go! Most of the comedy I am familiar with is observational, because it’s quick and easy to do decently. Personally, I split these into several sub-categories: It's Funny Because It's Relatable Often, pointing out a shared experience, especially ones that go unnoticed, can be funny. Finding a bit of irony in how we can’t fall asleep easily, but also want to get out of bed is a common example.   Finding some amusement in the everyday is a fairly common way to craft a joke. The way we aren’t used to the normal lights being on in the classroom, or rushing the conclusion of an in class essay, as long as it is said in an interesting way, can be pretty funny. Similes and metaphors come ...

"Should we be laugh or cry in the face of despair?" Democritus, the philosopher guy I can't quite pin down why, but that question sticks in my mind, even three weeks after we watched that video. In the video, Democritus claims that the disappointment that the world brings can be taken as a baseline, so anything above that is a highlight, something to be celebrated. I do have some issues with this philosophy, such as the inherent complacency of the philosophy that doesn't drive change, or how it is far easier to say from a place of privilege and security (Democritus was a party guy, after all). Despite this, we are still left with the initial question. So, how should we get through life?  Do we ignore what's wrong?  Work to make it better?  Live in despair? Personally, gratitude is the way to go. Now, before you groan at this often cliche statement (with it being thanksgiving break and all), hear me out. Just finding small reasons to be thankful or happy or to laug...

I’m sure that all of us have heard the phrase, “ignorance is bliss,” at least once, the idea that sometimes, we’re just better off not knowing. The phrase itself originated in the poem Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College written by Thomas Gray in 1742. The general sentiment goes even further back, even being mentioned in the Bible, with Ecclesiastes 1:18 stating the logical inverse: “ He who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” But is there merit to this idea? Are there times when we are simply better off not knowing?  Real image of me when I was ignorant to the fact we had this assignment. Life is often simpler the less information you know. Think back to your elementary school years; you’d mostly be worried about grades, friends, and your parents. Not much else had to be processed in those days. I’m quite sure that we miss those times every once in a while, but now we’re here, applying for college. At the start of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun , Klara is in a simil...

Over the past few weeks I have been reading Boy Erased by Garrard Conley, a memoir about his experience as the son of a pastor, in a gay conversion program, as well as his family and friends. Having finished it recently, I can say that it is a very powerful story, and is a great insight to how damaging the Ex-gay movement was at the time (2004). It’s very moving, as a result of how vivid and visceral his descriptions are. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is even vaguely interested in this sort of thing. Moving on to the bento box! The Bible was an ever present part of Conley’s life, both physically and mentally, as he was well versed in it. Throughout the text, there are many time in which the Bible (or parts of it) is an important part of a scene. For example, early on in his life, he fails to lead a Bible study and is embarrassed. Later on, a fellow member of the program brags about memorizing all of the clobber verses (7 verses that are often pointed to support the claim t...