Watch this.

This video reminds me of a discussion we had in
class earlier this year. One of my favorite
comedians, Brian Regan.

The Real Deal

I sat down in the middle of the garden, where snakes could scarcely approach unseen, and leaned my back against a warm yellow pumpkin. There were some ground-cherry bushes growing along the furrows, full of fruit. I turned back the papery trianglular sheaths that protected the berries and ate a few. All about me giant grasshoppers, twice as big as any I had ever seen, were doing acrobatic feats among the dried vines. The gophers scurried up and down the ploughed ground. There in the sheltered draw-bottom the wind did not blow very hard, but I could hear in singing its humming tune up on the level, and I could see the tall grasses wave. The earth was warm under me, and warm as I crumbled it through my fingers. Queer little red bugs came out and moved in slow squandrons around me. Their backs were polished vermilion, with black spots. I kept as still as I could. Nothing happened. I did not expect anything to happen. I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become apart of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep. 

Today I started My Antonia and just a few pages in is this passage. It captured my attention immediately and I decided to read it over a second time. It is interesting because of the narrator's perception and outlook on life at that immediate moment and location. Living in the moment is where it's at. Very few Americans today, especially the older generations (and by older I mean not mine), relate to Jim Burden's childhood consciousness. What's even more fascinating about Jim Burden in this scene is his exceptional awakening, or enlightenment, for his age (10). The sensory language is also quite stunning, yet simple. Normally, a ten year old child could not describe a scene with such intricacy, but because the story is being told by an older Jim Burden, he is able to revisit his childhood and pull apart distinct memories and combine them with elegant details. Not only does Jim understand life's true state of tranquility and freedom, but he envies those past memories of being worry-free... Something that only a child can really achieve on a regular basis (that is not to say that children don't stress out). Jim meets his first lady bug, and accepts it for what it is without fear. Anyway, I thought this passage was pretty cool; not many 10 year old kids meditate and accept life in such a spiritual way. 

The Search for Motive: Crime and Punishment

Raskolnikov battles between his belief that murder is acceptable in certain situations versus Russian, and even international, societal beliefs. This puts him in a position where he himself questions whether or not his actions were indeed just. The thought of his actions makes him sick, as he experiences hallucinations and an overload of stress. When questioned by Porfiry Petrovich, Roskolnikov is asked about an essay that he had written about murder, in which he states that there are certain exceptions in some cases. The founding of this, along with the contrasting beliefs of Petrovich, insures Raskolnikov that he is indeed a suspect. The motive of the crime, Raskolnikov determines, for killing Alyona Ivanovna, is to establish his theorized superiority, which would then grant him the social allowance to commit murder. Yet, his search for motive is still undetermined to himself because of the environment around him.

Lazy or Busy?

This is sad. I'm going to be posting 3 blogs tomorrow, I have been sooooooo overloaded with school work and adjusting to this new house. I just got internet today so I will be trying to put it to good use. 

This week in AP-Lit has been pretty exciting, especially our discussion on Allen Ginsberg. I can't wait to publish a post tomorrow all about it. But it's 12:36 A.M. and I'm getting sleepy.