I know this is late, but just for funnies....

I am always leaving, never satisfied.

Blog Reflection

My blogging experience I believe is an atypical experience. I began the semester with strong blogs as seen in “A Place of My Own”, “Close Reading- Mary Cassatt”, “ ‘Young Mother Sewing’ 1900”, “Girl, Interrupted: A Patchwork of a Life”, “Closure for The Complete Persepolis”, and “The Beloved Uncle Anoosh” and ended the semester with little to nothing to say.

My first blog, A Place of My Own, began the semester in a tone with exploring the theme of place and how it can transform a person. I executed this through explaining how the scenery of an otherwise normal summer camp had come to transform me. Later in the course I was able to move from analyzing my life experiences to analyzing other subject matter such as Girl, Interrupted in my blog Girl, Interrupted: A Patchwork of a Life.  I was able to use details of a scene and connect the parallels between the movie plot and the props in the movie. In this example it was the connections between the lives of the women at Claymoore and the book one of the patients was reading, The Patchwork Girl of Oz.

As the semester continued, I continued this style with my blog Closure for The Complete Persepolis. I continued to analyze individual parts of the book with the techniques explained by Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson’s “Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives”. I was able to grasp the end of the The Complete Persepolis through a close reading and analysis of both text included in the blog.

In the beginning of the semester I would not have changed how I blogged. I think as the semester progressed, I found it more difficult to write about topics and I should have changed my process. For example In the Thing Around Your Neck, I had difficulty finding substance to use. I should have reverted back to the techniques taught in Close Reading-Mary Cassatt, “Young Mother Sewing” 1900. Those techniques of reading for comprehension, observing, explaining observations, and finally formulating conclusions would have helped created more substance to my blog. Also including direct quotes from the book would help create a closer and more accurate connection to the blog.

My favorite blog post, Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter, although it is only extra credit, I really enjoyed attending the event and blogging about the program. The entire piece made me step out of my comfort zone, analyze the discussion between Black Lives and All Lives Matter, and finally finding how it all applies to me. I showed this through explaining the foundation of the movement, both sides of the movement, and finally how it applied to my Catholic life. I believe that as a Humanistic Studies major or even from just completing this entry level course being able to perform those functions is what a HUST course is teaching.

Overall, using the blogs on a weekly basis was helpful for this class. It made the students keep up with the readings and focus on certain aspects. It honed our close reading skills that are very important for college as first year students and beyond. 

Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter

I decided to attend the Black Lives Matter speech given by Professor George Trey, because of recent events in the political and social world of the US. This topic of Black Lives Matter is a very isolated world for me. I am not affected by it, nor are any of my close family and friends affected by the movement. I hoped to understand the current Black Lives Matter movement, the rhetoric behind it, and what past events brought it about.

Trey explained that Immanuel Kant was the intellectual father of the human rights movement. That the human rights movements derives their thought process from the idea that ever human is valued because they are innately human. Trey then continued to explain the rhetoric behind Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter. it was explained that the issue was not with All Lives but rather the Black Lives that are being persecuted by others in particular the police. The Black Lives Matter movement was not just concerned with the police brutality that they experienced, but also the judicial system's inability to prosecute those who commit these transgressions.

With all of this explained to me, I wondered how does this fit in and affect my Catholic, conservative, southern, white, middle class life?

As a Catholic the philosophy behind the Civil Rights movement and the Black Lives Matter movement as explained to me today, are very Catholic movements. The philosophy of Catholic Social Thought and human dignity are founded deep within those movements.

As a conservative, do I put aside my political beliefs? Can I actually separate my beliefs on social, political, foreign, and economical politics? When I do separate them, no political party actually a lines with my beliefs. How do I respond to that?

Bringing it back to the facts, Black Lives Matter, police brutality does happen, and they are not held accountable for their actions. What is my response to all of this? In the words of my favorite childhood book Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr, Seus, "Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in"?

Map of 1718 French Territory

Carte de la Louisiane et du cours de Mississipi dressee sur un grand nombre de memoires entrautres sur ceux de Mr. le Maire, par Guillme. de Lisle- Map- c.1718 map of French Colonial Louisan by cartographer G.

This is a map of the French Colonial Louisiana property from 1718. It also maps part of the US that was under British or Spanish rule. The map focusses on water ways and ports. There is a lot of detail put into the rivers like the Mississippi and its tributaries. Also, the other rivers that enter the Gulf of Mexico are very well detailed. The ports along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean are very detailed and may ports are included. 

This map acknowledges that the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains are present but beside that very little detail is given. The map does show some hilly or mountainous region in central US. 

This map values rivers and ports. It is logical for a 1718 map to value these, because rivers and ports allowed for people to access that land.

"The Thing Around Your Neck"

Simplification and Numbness

In Adichie's novel, the chapter "The Thing Around Your Neck" has a very distant, cold, and numb feeling to it. This is emphasized through Adichie's use of the second person "you" to tell her story. This emphasizes her distance from her live during the experience and the reader. It seems as if Adichie wasn't experiencing these events but rather an unknown "you". Adichie also emphases these feeling through writing shorter, less complicated sentences. She takes a difficult time for herself and simplifies it through easy to read and understand sentences. 

Adichie's use of these two writing mechanism helps the reader understand how she felt while living in America. It helps us understand the distance she felt from her family and the inability to effectively connect to those around her.

The Beloved Uncle Anoosh

From Persepolis the movie

This is the most heart-wrenching scene for me in both forms of Persepolis the book and movie. In the movie, this scene was well drawn to show the dramatic event that was taking place. The film uses the technical affect of black and white contrast on the walls, floor, light coming through the window onto Marji and Uncle Anoosh. It is interesting that in the Uncle Anoosh is pictured in a white shirt and Marji in a black. I associate Uncle Anoosh wearing white as him being the light for Marji in this time of war. And Marji wearing a black dress to show her sadness in this experience.

Another technical characteristic of this scene is the distance of the camera from the scene. This helps evokes several different emotions, such as this being a private experience for them and the isolation that they would soon feel.

One point of interest I have not yet comprehended is the importance of the swan. He made the bread-swan in this scene while in jail. It is very possible that he used a very substantial portion of the food he received to make this swan. It is a act of self-sacrificial love. In the movie and the book Uncle Anoosh says, "I made you another bread-swan. It's the uncle of the first one." I believe that this means Uncle Anoosh is saying he will always be with Marji.

Overall, this scene was carried over very well from the book into movie format. My only critique that the movie did not emphasize Anoosh and Marji's relationship as much as the book. Making this scene in the movie less emotional than in the book.

Closure for The Complete Persepolis

Closure

In Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson's "Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives", one of their elements of a life narrative is closure. They state, "Does the ending seem to bring the narrative to a tide closure, and if so, how? Does it seem to be a permanent closure?" (Smith and Watson 13). Marjane Satrapi absolutely applies closure to her book, The Complete Persepolis, through the panel below. 

Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel is about a girl growing up in revolutionary Iran. The panel provides much closure for the novel, because it shows Marjane's triumph over her trials during childhood. Here she is waving goodbye to her parents as she begins her new adult life in the west. She states, "There was no longer a war, I was no longer a child, my mother didn't faint and my Grandma was there, happily...". After her family's experience with the revolution, her experience in Austria and in Iran post-war, her family was still together and supportive of her decision to leave Iran. 

The other aspect of closure is the death of Marjane's grandmother. Marjane writes, "She died January 4, 1996 ... Freedom had a price...". She seems to be saying that even though her story ended well, her Grandmother suffered from Iran's past, 

Overall with Marjane's future in Europe and the death of her Grandmother, she seems to say people must move on, but not forget what was given up. This closure echo's Marjane Satrapi's introduction to The Complete Persepolis, "One can forgive but one should never forget". 

Girl, Interrupted: A Patchwork of a Life

Susanna enters her new room at Claymoore to meet her roommate Georgina. Georgina is seating on her bed surround by books. She has a short haircut and a sweet, childlike demeanor. After Valeria introduces Georgina and Susanna she leaves the two girls alone. Susanna and Georgina start conversing about Susanna’s cigarette box that Susanna believes is the type of cigarettes smoked by the French resistance. Georgina also speaks about the book she is reading, The Patchwork Girl of Oz. I find that Georgina reading the child’s book The Patchwork Girl of Oz as a very interesting detail of this scene. These two women are in the psychiatric program at Claymoore presumably needing some patching up in their lives.

But, could it be that all of the women at Claymoore are just patchwork? Composed of different events that have created them into the pieces of art that each of the women are. They are held together by thread and some patches are coming a little lose. I think that not only are the women of Claymoore like the patchwork girl, but the rest of us too. We are all composed of the different events in our lives and some of us are just better at staying patched together than others.

Close Reading—Mary Cassatt, “Young Mother Sewing” 1900

"Young Mother Sewing" Mary Cassatt

Step One: Read for comprehension

A mother is sewing in a chair by a window with a little girl leaning against her. The little girl is making eye contact with the audience. There is a vase of orange-ish flowers on a side table next to the mother.

Step Two: Reread and notice things

The little girl gives the expression and body position that would make a great poster child for a number of causes such as child abuse, and child hungry. The mother seems to be completely enthralled with her work; she does not seem to even notice the weight of the child on her lap. The mother seems to be sewing a very light fabric almost like a wedding veil fabric. "Young Mother Sewing"seems to be an impressionist painting.

Step Three: Explain your observations

The child’s sad/bored look is achieved through her eyes and body language. The mother’s complete attention to the fabric is portrayed through her hand being titled down towards it, her hands working with the fabric, and her body tilted towards the fabric.

Step Four: Formulate some conclusions and develop your ideas

This artwork portrays two lessons to me. The first is the child may not be interested in what the mother/family wants her to participate in. The mother is very intently, calmly, and pleasantly working with a fabric mending or sewing something. Meanwhile, the child couldn't care less about what her mother was doing. She looks bored, sad, and almost intrigued by the audience. The second lesson is the mother needs to remember to be attentive to the child. The mother is very engaged in her mending and she does not even seem to notice the child. The child looks sad and bored possibly because of the lack of attention the mother is showing her. 

A Place of my Own

You turn onto a steep windy road covered on both sides by tall thick pine trees. You quickly roll down the windows and everyone sticks their heads out to breathe in the cool sweet mountain air. Then your car hits a gravel road, everyone’s attend turns to the gates ahead that slowly open into the greatest place on earth: Camp Kahdalea. As your car slows to a stop you notice all of the charming red cabins up on hill tops overlooking the green grassy fields and the stream that runs through the base of camp. As you step out of the car you are welcomed once again with the fresh smell of mountain area and the sound of the Kahdalea stream running steadily to the forest below camp. 

Camp Kahdalea is the place I grew up. I may have only attended camp for four summers, but those summers converted me into who I am. It is partly the breath taking scenery that attributes to this, but mostly the wonderfully faith filled campers, counselors, and camp directors. There is seemingly nothing extraordinary about Kahdalea just the normal structure of a summer camp: cabins, a dining hall, tennis courts, archery fields, and swimming hole. But it is in these ordinary places that the extraordinary takes place.  The extraordinary acts of kindness, love, and faith. It was in this valley that I learned how to love, be kind, and be a Catholic. Even though I have not been to Kahdalea in three summers, along with hundreds of other girls we call it a place of our own.