Ramblings of a DVD

     Black Swan Green  by David Mitchell is a coming of age novel. So if Jason Taylor is a child at the beginning of the book, and by the end of the book Jason Taylor has come of age; then what does it mean to come of age in  Black Swan Green ? I believe that coming of age involves disappointment and disillusionment.      Throughout the book Jason Taylor finds that things aren't as cracked up as they're supposed to be. He sees his dad, Micheal Taylor, being a massive suck-up to his boss, Craig Salt. Craig Salt elbows Jason in the face, and falsely asserts that the ammonite is not an ammonite, but a trilobite. Dad, being the spineless yes-man he suddenly transformed to, scolds Jason for something that was not his fault and changed his mind on what the fossil is, which he knew, in order to agree with Craig Salt (Mitchell 182-184). You can tell that Jason will never look at his father the same way ever again. During the incident Jason notices th...

     "He used his skillful artifice not to make things, but to make things appear to be what they are not." (Bechdel, 16) That is the line that sticks with me when it comes to Bruce and his work in architecture. Aside from its relation to the rest of the Bruce's secrets.  The house was originally built in 1867, and Alison's Parents bought the house 95 years later in 1962. The house was incredibly dilapidated and in a state of incredible disrepair when they got it. Bruce put a lot of effort into repairing the house. As is described as being able to turn trash into treasure when it comes to the materials (Bechdel, 5-9). The house is amazing on the surface, then what it is it really?      This house is not some house in the past, its a house in the same town he was born in, lived in, died in, and was buried in (Bechdel, 140). In the town where the rest of his family had done quite the same (Bechdel, 30-32,125-127). Perhaps the house helped ease that ...

       Throughout the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Buddy Willard acts duplicitous and treats Esther Greenwood's decision to never marry as something that he can change her mind on. Buddy also does these seemingly manipulative things. But is Buddy Willard manipulative? I would say yes, because Buddy doesn't need to be some sinister mastermind with a grand plan in order to be manipulative. Buddy Willard is trying to make Esther change her mind on something he has already been told is final, and tries to do some things that seem pretty manipulative.        When we examine when Esther first tells Buddy, it seems as though Buddy views Esther not wanting to marry as a setback to overcome, and not the rejection it most obviously is. He isn't even bothered by it.      "'I think I should tell you something, Buddy.'      'I know,' Buddy said stiffly. 'You've met someone.'      'No, it's not that.'    ...

       Through out the book Holden repeatedly gets himself into messes and disasters of a social interaction, but why? I would say it's because the next thing he does after a disastrous social interaction is to go find another one. Checking back at my notes he considered calling someone a minimum of 4 times, and at least 4 times did call someone. He considered calling Phoebe and Jane Gallagher multiple times, and will either call no one or someone else. Some examples include, "I damn near gave my kid sister Phoebe a buzz," (Salinger 87) or "I started toying with the idea, while I kept standing there, of giving old Jane a buzz —" (Salinger 82). But the two main reasons he goes from disastrous interaction to disastrous interaction is that he hasn't grown up and doesn't want to have nor know how to have a grown up conversation. And the second reason is because he does not want to be alone so he keeps trying to seek out a connection and someone who 'gets...

  Beloved by Toni Morrison has many themes and messages throughout the book. There are many characters that represent many different things. I feel that Paul D represents the future and moving forward with life. Paul D represents the possibility of healing from the traumas of the past. Beloved represents the past, actively moving backwards into the past. She is the opposite of Paul D. She represents unhealed trauma. Both Paul D and Beloved influence Setha with their opposite views of the past, the future, and the trauma of their history.   Paul D has had a very hard life. He was a slave at Sweet Home with Sethe. Even though he has had a terrible past he believes in the possibility of a better life. Paul D doesn’t dwell on the mistreatment and horrors of his past. The past is like a block preventing him from the chance of a happy and peaceful future. He tries to forget the trauma of his past. He looks forward to the future. He has hope for the future. One of Paul D’s main ...

  Meursault accepts how things are. Things are just facts. Meursault doesn’t really display any emotions. He is portrayed as a person who just is, just exists. He seems to be kind of detached from the people and events around him. Meursault seems to accept things at face value. As the narrator and protagonist of the book, you would expect more insight into what Meursault is thinking and feeling. There is none of this, however. Throughout the book there is example after example of situations that we would be upset over or show great emotion. Meursault just is. Meursault just accepts that his mother has died. He does not show emotions. He does not cry at her funeral. He doesn’t even seem to care enough to get the details surrounding her death. She is dead and this is enough information for him. It seems like his mother has been “gone” since she moved to the old folks home three years ago. He doesn’t change how he uses the rooms in their apartment. He still doesn’t use her rooms. ...

  Cohn is an outsider to the group for many reasons. First, he is the only Jewish person in the group. This is nothing new for Cohn. Being a Jew, he has felt like an outsider for most of his life. At Princeton he took up boxing to try and make himself less of an outsider. Now he is an outsider because he did not fight in the war. Everyone else in their group, even Brett, experienced the war. The war changed everyone. They saw and were part of horrible things, like any war. It is like they have all moved on and developed new and different thoughts and ideas. Being part of the war is a shared experience, a way to bond. They understand each other. Cohen has some innocence to him.   He is still stuck in the pre-war mentality where things are good and have a happy ending. He is not jaded by the horrors of the war. Everyone else is jaded. They saw that bad things could happen to good people and the war was not fair. They know there is not always a happy ending. Count Mippipopolo...