Presentations, etc.

Today some of us presented to the class our topics for our research papers. We talked about what our issue was, what piece of work we chose to reflect it, and why. In my opinion, it was great that us students got to finally interact AWAY from the computers and directly with each other. I finally got to hear other students speak and I got perspective into what they are like and what their point of views on issues were. I was the first to volunteer to speak about Teen Pregnancy and break the ice. Every one in the class had already heard of the piece of art, Juno. Then later the topics switched to the War and other issues affecting America. There was this girl that spoke about a movie I saw in Psychology class my first year of high school. It was Sybil, the story of a woman with multiple personalities.

Twilight

I first heard of the twilight series this previous summer. My old friend, Christy was counting down the months, days, hours for the premiere of a movie rendering of her favorite romantic novel. She was not the girliest girl, so to see her so engrossed in a love story intrigued me. Then she told me it was about vampires and I lost interest since I read a vampire story in 8th grade. Then i read this quote from the main vampire:

Next, my boyfriend'd little sister bought the last of the series, AND a Twiligt sweater

and. . . Then when school started in the fall I began to hear more girls obssessed by the Twilight series.

Now I am about to borrow thw book from a friend because I refuse to watch the movie without reading the book first. I bet I won't even like the movie as much as the novel. That's how it always is because you imagine the characters and everything a certain way and then you're disappointed when it doesnt coinicide with the actual movie.

This semester. . .

Wow, the semester is over soon! I can't believe the semester is coming to a close. This was my first semester at this campus and I must say, I liked it. The holiday season is almost here!
Not to mention. . . FINALS. One of my teachers already gave us the date and time for his class' Final: December 16.
So this also means that we are currently working on our research papers for our ENC 1102 course. The topic is basically about how Art reflects life. Which is pretty much what I was stating in my previous blog! We could choose any work of art, so I decided on a motion picture instead of an actual novel or poetry. Since our choice of subject had to deal with ONE current issue that exist in our society today . . . I chose Teen Pregnancy.
Juno, the motion picture about a teenage girl dealing with an unplanned pregancy is my example.

Art, etc.

One thing I noticed is how universal every aspect of art can be. Everytime I read a piece of literature I can somehow relate it to what I am feeling or experiencing. It does not matter if it was a poem our teacher reads to us in class, or a movie I am watching, or a painting I am analyzing. THAT is one of the wonders of art. It can touch anyone and everyone in numerous ways. I love it that I can turn on the radio and feel the lyrics because they remind me of something I am currently experiencing or an even that happened long ago. ART has that power. It also reminds me of the Kantian Philosphy we learned about in HUManities class. A group of people can look at one piece of art and each single person has their own unique perception of it.
:-)

The Thief and the Dogs; CH 14 & 15

Chapter 14 is the one in which Said leaves late at night in his "uniform." Excited and energized, he boats all the way to Rauf Ilwan's. Said's mentality is that as long as he 'punishes' Rauf, Ilish's escape from being murdered would not have been a total loss. To him, Rauf was the embodiment of absolute treachery. It was his own form of bloody protest. When Said is headed to murder Rauf, it seems like for the first time he's actually a little more careful than usual... he analyzes the journey there. He aims at the driveway as Rauf is gettign out his car and then he is distracted when someone from the garden apparently tries to shhot him and barely misses. Instantly he calls out Rauf's name and hastily shoots twice, maybe three times. An adrenaline rush allowed Said to flee the scene and he jumps into a taxi. The pain he felt was nothing in comparison to the relief of safely making it out alive. He consoles himself physically (the bullet just barely grazed his leg) and mentally, by telling himself that he for sure shot Rauf-- since Said Mahran never misses a target, right? Nur worries when she returns tired from work, seeing blood on his leg. She makes a very important statement to him:

"You don't know good from bad."

Which is true, his mind is so wound up on revenge he can not even think straight. And she tells him also that he'd rather destroy himself than just leave with her ♥
Chapter 15 makes Said a star. All the headlines are swarmign with news about him: Rauf Ilwan once again was stirring up controversy saying that Said was a madman and . . . . once again, Said murdered an innocent, this time it was his doorman. The chapter foreshadows that SAID will be the last "innocent" victim. He still justifies himself, or at least tries to:

'Whoever kills me will be killing the millions. I am the hope and the dream... And the declaration that I'm mad must encompass the loving.'

Nur seems to be losing the ability to take it anymore. She appears to be losing trust in him. I feel for her. :-/

He kisses her, and means it.

The Thief and the Dogs; CH 13

Tarzan acts as Said's informant when he tells Said that one of them 'finally turned up.' It turns out he was referring to Bayaza, who used to be a partner of Illish & Said.
Poor, unsuspecting Bayaza gets threatened into revealing info of Ilish's whereabouts to the point that Said begins to physiclly hit him. He begs for mercy as his life is at stake. Said takes 10 pounds of money from him, but no exact address. He claims Ilish Sidra is scot-free but that he would have lived in vain if Rauf continues to live.

The Thief and the Dogs; CH 12

The 12th chapter begins with Said trying on the uniform and Nur admiring his work. The next night she finds out that Said is wanted for murder. Nur gives him one last chance to flee his troubles: "You don't love me. I know that. But at least we could have lived together until you did love me!" He makes her alll these promises, that they'd run away and live together forever.
Said visits Tarzan at the coffeehouse only to be told that it is not even afe there anymore. He returned to his lonely dark hideout at Nur's. He was angry and frustrated, because he knew it was rauf's fault that Said's story had been blown up-- by one newspaper in particular. Rauf was not giving up in stirring up more controversy against Said. Said feels that his life will have loss all meaning, unless he kills the ones who have betrayed him. He starts to look back before "time brought terrible changes" to Rauf Ilwan. He even claims that his former mentor possessed within the same power that Said could not even find in the Sheikh. He even remembers all Rauf taught him, like his love of reading or self-respect in being a thief. Said was transforned into a Robin Hood of more modern times. He is in shock of how much Rauf has flipped in philosophy, "You too, want to kill me, to murder your conscience and past as well."
There seems to be some foreshadowing when Nur returns. He kisses her more enthusiiastically, "knowing her now to be the person closes to him for as long as he might live." She told Said about how he's all they talk about, he is a hot topic... "as if you were some story book hero. But they don't have any idea what torture we go through." <--- it sounds like every one else has a positive view when they are on the outside looking IN.
On page 115, Said then brings up the term DOGS again, with a negative connotation. He then reveals to the readers that he does not use this term literally, at all. I was confused at the end of this chapter because.... it seems to me that Said implies that Nur associates with Rauf, when Said calls her a liar.

Ch. eleven; The Thief and the Dogs.

The first half of this chapter is all somewhat of a flashback. Said is recalling how his father, Amm Mahran, was a concierge of the student's hostel before he died. It is revealed that thanks to Rauf , Said was able to take over his father's job.
Amm Mahran's piety made him happy, and the students had respected him. His pilgrimage to Sheikh Ali's home was his only source for entertainment. He would encourage Said to join him, "It'll give you a sense of peace and contentment, the finest thing you can enjoy in life." It was obvious that Amm would talk about Said to the Sheikh, and when SheikhAli met him he said his heart was spotless (meaning PURE) and that there was 'a lot of intelligence in his eyes.' Both statements about his innocence as a child are very ironic, Said grows up to be a thief, who does not plan out his deeds despite how educated he is.
The Sheikh gives the young Said some advice, he recalls. Then, as the chapter goes on, Said is remembering how his father died when he was a child and how Rauf Ilwan was a young law student who helped him and his mother at the time. He took on these responsibilities as a child, and then his mother died of a disease. She had suffered for an entire month before death. In which he [symbolicly ? ] stole for the first time. Rauf there for him, as a very influential and important male figure in his life. And you begin to see how he first took him under his wing and "trianed" him to think it was justified to steal. Irony: Said says in his flashback, "Where have all your principles gone now, Rauf?" Now that their relationship has changed. He seems to remembering, however, in a more positive mood.... better days perhaps: 'times when sorrows could be forgotten, wounds could be healed, and hope could bring forth fruit from adversity.'
Then the chapter takes a twist back into present time. Said gets the urge to leave Nur's flat and take a walk, finding himslef back in his old seat next to Tarzan in the cofeehouse. Both Tarzan ( and old criminal friend of his) and an arms smuggler, give him advice since Said is now a fugitive. Tarzan suddenly gets up to look out the window because he believes he saw a face staring in at them... leading me to wonder if this is foreshadowing or if Tarzan is just paranoid. The waiter went outside to investigate, but Said didn't stay around. Said is very aware of his own fear. He sees the light in Nur's window on, and he is pleased. When he sees her he wants to caress her ( a sign that he seems to be liking her a whole lot more than earlier in the novel) but her eyes are red and he sees her cry for the first time in his life. He was deeply moved. It turns out her young customers BEAT her! "The DOGS!" exclaimed Said.
And still, she was sweet enough to remember to get him a fabric he requested from her so he could make a uniform. On page 108, she then tells him of a fortune-teller who said 'there'd be security; peace of mind.' Page 108 is full of references to human beings as DOGS. Very symbolic. You can tell Nur had a horrible day, since she is pessimistic to the point that it depresses the protagonist. She finally shows a glimmer of hope in the last sentence when she says, "That day will really come!" <--- referring to the safety and peace she wants promised to her.

This week:

In class we turned in our Essay 2 on Friday. The requirement was to write about two poems that we chose, comparing them. My first instinct was to pick one American or Shakespearean poem and a modern song to compare it to. Songs are considered poetry too.
The song I chose was easy because I decided to go with what came to me first, a Beatles song! I chose "Hey Jude," The song was initially written by Paul McCartney to comfort John Lennon's son named Julian {aka Jules} after his parents divorced. I didn't know this until I researched it for this essay. I had made my own analysis of the song before. I deciphered it as a love song. I even let my friend that attends UCF read what I had to say about the classic. This is an excerpt of my essay:

Perhaps it’s the romantic in me that sees it as a love song. It’s almost advising Jude not to be afraid of Love. Love heals and makes the world a better place. The song says:
“…to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

Hey Jude, don’t be afraid.
You were made to go out and get her.
The minute you let her under your skin,
Then you begin to make it better.”

As soon as he begins to love again, everything around Jude improves, he just has to let her in and not push her away. When we get hurt by people of our past, sometimes we don’t realize that it effects our current relationships. We walk around with a tight hold of our hearts, afraid to feel again, paranoid of getting hurt. Jude is meant to be with this new girl, so there’s no way that things can go wrong this time around. So Jude needs to take this sad song he had before and make it better and more optimistic. He’s found her and so he shouldn’t let the pain of the past lovers make the “ world a little colder” by him playing cool with the new girl who rightfully belongs to him. He needs to open up his heart, to this warm and loving relationship that is coming. He shouldn’t blow it by holding back out of fear.

The Thief & the Dogs; CH 10

oh the irony: his hideout has a view of a cemetery? I loved how it was described. The one place where criminal & cop can"lie side by side in peace for the first and last time."
Said continues by contemplating that, the graves "remind us that death cheats the living." A rather interesting, thought-provoking idea.
He reminisces about his first meeting with Nabawiyya, and even though the teacher convinced us otherwise, his memories made me think of how beautiful young love is. She was this seemingly unattainable young woman that he chased. Page 94 is important, because he refers to himself as a lion and wonders how could she trade him for a dog like Ilish.
The backstabber, Rauf, makes Said's news a cover story, to get everyone against him.
There's an evidence of inner conflict. Said's feelings tend to conflict one another.
"No easy victory can everr make one forgeta bloody defeat"
Nur gave the best advice, "The truth is, that to live at all we've got to be afraid.

The Thief & the Dogs; CH 9

Perhaps all the odd-numbered chapters begin with the P.O.V. from the protagonist's mind.
Said's alone in Nur's flat. And he's thinking of revenge and how great his revolver is.
When Nur finally arrives, you can tell she was so excited to discover him there.
She's so in love with him.
"Stay here all your life, if you like." She says.

I like this line that the narrator states afterward:
"... she'll only find that a locked heart becomes increasingly difficult to unlock."
On page 87, the reader gais some more Character development on the main character. He seems to have a lot of pride. he even says to BEWARE of SYMPATHY.
Nur is all Said has right now. He seems to be leading her on.

The Thief & the Dogs; CH 8

Chapter 8, unlike the previous one, begins with the narrator. I found it very IRONIC that of all places, Said Mahran finds the holiest of palces as his safe hiding places from the crimes he has commited. The reader gains a little more development of his character, it was the point in the book right BEFORE he finds out that he had not murdered Ilish... so when he thinks back on the shooting he is glad that he had not heard his daughter scream. In reality Sana hadn't screamed because she had not heard him there. athe protagonist also seems to admit that he is NOT fully aware of your own self. I really enjoyed the figurative language describing how Said loves the morning. For the first time ever he seems optimistic and alive. He has a very important nightmare, which may or may not be his ex-wife's fault. An imperative fact is revealed: Rauf Ilwan had beeb bominated for the post of Supreme Sheikh.

The Thief & the Dogs; continued.

The 6th chapter of Mahfouz's novel is the one in which Nur, the prostitute, conspires with our main character in order to steal a car from one of her clients. I loved the juxtaposition of: "... he could hear through the silence the sounds of love being made in whispers." :} Said recalls how his mentor, Rauf used to justify their stealing by saying that the INTENTIONS were 'good.' I found it ironic that Said called the prostitute Kindhearted, almost reminescent of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Said is incredibly sarcastic with Nur, even though she risks herself to help him. He is aware of the sincerity of her affection but wants none of it and so she refers to him as heartless.
Chapter 7 of The Thief & the Dogs is one of the kinds that begin in the mind of the protagonist. He admits to himself that he acts on impulse a lot. He's actually conscious that it isn't always correct to act without thinking. What disturbed me was when he told himself it 'better would be to settle with Rauf instead of killing both Ilish & Nabawiyya. Why better? As if the betrayal the two committed was not as huge or personal.
For the first time ever, Said considers sparing his ex-wife's life in order for her to look after their beloved daughter, Sana. Finally, the thief shows some sort of thought process. He still remains vindictive:

It was not right that Ilish Sidra should stay alive for even one day while Said Mahran was a free man.

Said is plotting, a little. He tries to break into the Sidra home and shoots the first figure he sees and Said flees at the sound of a woman's screams. He assumes it was his ex-wife and that he had shot Ilish in front of her... only to read it in the paper the next day that the man he murdered was a stranger.
I found the stylistic symbolism at the end, in which Nur [whose name signifies LIGHT] is the one he avoids as a safe place to hide out because he knew she'd be some one the police would likey investigate. The chapter ironically ends:

"Darkness must extend from now on to all eternity."

The Thief & the Dogs: CH 3, 4 & 5

Chapter 3 of Mahfouz's novel begins with said rummaging through the newspaper, Al-Zahra. It turns out he's familiar with one of the writers. Said has found that the columns are not as meaningful, now they're full of miscellaneous materialistic subjects. He refers to Rauf Ilwan's former, more significant literature about freedom and other demands.
The protagonist still remains in his vindictive tone throughout.
He realizes that Rauf, too, may have changed a lot due to his successes. He shows up at Rauf's home because he was sure it'd be uncomfortable to reunite with him at the workplace.
The tone gets nostalgic as he recalls that Rauf Ilwan was his mentor, and now... quite possibly the only human being that can aid him with a job.
On pg 37, he refers to Ilish as "that dog!' Which gives the readers insight on the title, huh? :)
Foreshadowing? : Said keeps eyeing the pieces of art in his former mentors home.
There seems to be a slight hint of envy when the narrator describes Rauf as "blue-blooded", but the readers don't have enough info to judge yet, do they?
The two of them toast to the main characters new freedom. And as the conversation continues it seems to me that the rich former mentor is way more positive-thinking. He has that, "this too, shall pass"- type of philosophy about all Said has gone through. He appreciates the freedom Said has been restored. He seems to see the bright side that Said can't see yet. It got a little awkward and intense when it seemed that they said a rude comment to one another. The Said takes it as forgiveness and accepts his advice, too. He turns down Said for the journalist job; and it ends with Said saying: " May God increase your good fortune."
Chapter 4 begins with Said's thoughts on how the real Rauf that he knew had DISAPPEARED, the way that his ex-wife's love had and... his former best friend's loyalty had. He seems to me like he's playing the victim role and I'm actually not buying it.
It's revealed finally that Ilish did in fact snitch on Said, but also that his wife had been somewhat his former accomplice. said sneaks into his former teachers palace to steal!! And I find it intriguing how he relies more on skill than equipment. However, Rauf knows him so incredibly well that he KNEW he'd be trespassing and CATCHES him in the act. He doesn't turn him in to the police, but unfortunately he does tell Said to return the $ he gave him
IRONY: he ends up with less than he came in with.
Ch 5 bored me. He meets with old allies that imply that Said was not the only one to go arrested, but the FIRST to be released. One of the men presents him with a free revolver. Said doesn't seem to trust any one on Earth. It comes off as just plain paranoia. To himself, it seems like he tries to justify stealing later in the chapter. Nur, is a new character introduced. She's a coveted prostitute who actually has feelings for Said, but HE does not reciprocate them. It seems like she's going to help him later on in the story.

The Thief & the Dogs: first 2 chapters

I was rather reluctant to open Nuguib Mahfouz's novel, The Thief and the Dogs because I usually dread assigned reads. Good thing reading the back cover lightened my mood about this story. I felt like being a total dork, so I began reading the Introduction, which no one ever does. It caught my attention that he was Arab because so is my mom :} And it was ironic too, that it took place in Egypt, because it reminded me of this woman in her thirties I have in my Speech 1026.
Anyhow, I really liked how the novel began. Mahfouz successfully kept my attention when I was reading the first page. I liked when the protagonist, later introduced as Said Mahran, said to himself he would "strike like Fate" when referring to his 2 traitors. It made me think of those events in life that are inevitable. The way that death of the body is deemed inescapable by all. Still on the same page, my favorite part was when Sana was first mentioned. How "as the thought oh her crossed his mind, the heat and the dust, the hatred and pain all disappeared, leaving only love to glow across a soul as clear as a rain-washed sky." It made me think of how Love is so unconquerable, and strong that it is capable of healing everything. Nothing can encompass Love's strength. Love made the less than positive aspects of his life, disappear into thin air. Nothing could overcome his love for his daughter. He hadn't seen her in 4 years, but not once was she erased from her mind. He imagined a place where luck, such love, joy and triumph all coincided, and I realized he might learn to forgive the past there, though he refuses to FORGET.
One couldn't help but notice the hypocrisy among him and the other men in the city. For a protagonist, he seems very vengeful. Vindictive, even. Which I hope is one of the traits that improves as the character develops.
I like this quote by his foe, "I have commited no crime. It was partly Fate and circumstances, partly my sense of duty & decency that drove me to do what I did..." It kind of described how I felt earlier today. Sometimes people judge with out getting the whole picture. I felt this afternoon like my decision on somehthing couldn't be deemed wrong, since i felt like everything has its reasons.
Let's see what happens.
By the way, i was totally crushed when the daughter treated Said like some scary stranger.
Chapter two confused me because at first i thought the Sheikf was his father. I loved how the spiritual master spoke in code sometimes. Just so that Said can answer the questions for himself. The chapter ends with a brief description of the main character's first night as a free man after 4 whole years of imprisonment for stealing.

My Reflections on Invisible Cities

We read excerpts from Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. The initial reaction I had was, Whoa, these cities are odd. They seem to be straight out of a Tim Burton movie. I'm usually intrigued by the oddities of life, but none of these really interested me.
Ironically, the only one I liked was the one coincidentally assigned to our group. Ersilia's citizens emphasized their relationships using strings in black and white and grays, hanging them from building to building. When the city would become SO overwhelmed with the strings that the inhabitants could not see nor even walk through, they would abandon the area and make a new Ersilia, continuing the string process. However, it'd be impossible for the weaving of strings to match the last one perfectly. The builidings in the abandoned Ersilias would collapse in time, but the evidence of their connections to others would remain.
When first reading the story, you find it ridiculous. You must read it again o capture its true meaning. The symbolism becomes obvious almost. It goes to show that a CITY is never defined by mere architectural structures. A city consists of people socializing and connecting with each other. It's much more than meets the eye, so the citizens of Ersilia tried to make it more visible.
The physical evidence of their emotional ties remained in tact. The homes and businesses did not. It makes me think of how material things do not last, feelings do.

How LOVE withstands the test of time; yet even stone gets weathered down.

Upon my third time reading, my analysis reached a deeper, more spiritual level. It made me think of life after death. How the physical part of humankind withers and dies but the soul lives on forever.
Interesting, don't you think? :)

♥