Psyche kind of bothered me in this story. She is a complete idiot. Although she is a good person and does not harbor much hate in her heart, I still found myself annoyed by her about ninety percent of the time. First of all, she tries to kill herself several times but absolutely cannot suceed. "Oh shit, I screwed up. Well, better kill myself and my unborn child"; yeah, thats a great idea Psyche- bravo. She can't stem her curiosity no matter what she is threatened with. "Curiosity confounded the Psyche." Sounds pretty accurate doesn't it? I guess I can't blame her for having to see her husband after being beguiled by her evil sisters. The only good thing she did in the story was trick the bitches into killing themselves. The part that really bothered me was that she just couldn't stand it and had to look in the box Venus sent her to get. She knows Cupid thinks she is beautiful, so how can she possibly think it intelligent to disobey Venus when she is finally getting a second chance at love? Wow, Psyche, you stun me with your brilliance.
My rant is over. I have been thoroughly annoyed but now that I have written it down I can forget it :).
Thursday, April 30, 2009
A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud.
I have never truly had my heart broken. I have had it maimed a fair amount, but I have never lost my faith in love. This story made me think about what love really is. If I have never truly been hurt, then how can I understand this old man's "science"?
In truth, the beginning of this story made me slightly uneasy. Some random old man telling a young boy he loves him? Seems like its going to go somewhere inappropriate. This is the first thing I thought of:
For those of you who don't know, that is the old man that has a creepy infatuation with Chris who is, in fact, a paper boy.
After reading further, I realized that this essay was actually a moving piece. I thought about how one could possibly love something like a rock or a tree and at first thought I wasn't capable of something so seemingly ridiculous. I then thought about the items I possess that I really do love. I found that I am irrationally attached to many invaluable items, such as my ratty old couch and a few holey shirts. I am not sure if these attachments are due to love or simply a need for familiarity. When I look at something from childhood that I have forgotten about, I feel a flood of feelings that is quite similar to what I know to be love. I am extremely sensitive to change so I think that may definitely have something to do with why I love my current possessions. I am one of the most emotional and over dramatic people I know so it is quite possible that I can fall in love with inanimate objects.
This essay could help me change the way I look at the world. I will make a conscious effort to love whatever I come across and hopefully by the time I am as old as the man in the story, I will have figured it out.
Group Presentations II
After witnessing Monday's presentations, I really didn't think Wednesday's could measure up. I was quite wrong. Group 5's presentation showed us some impressive acting. Chloe actually had my somewhat upset. I don't know how she performed flipping out with a straight face. The two men in the group did an excellent job as Hades and Zeus and Maggie impressed me with her acting as well.
Group 6's presentation was my favorite of all. The whole Ted Hughes/Velociraptor thing was so absurd and hilarious that it had me literally in tears. I really wish I wouldn't have screwed up on getting into a group because I could certainly tell that everyone had a lot of fun with it.
Great job everyone!!
Group 6's presentation was my favorite of all. The whole Ted Hughes/Velociraptor thing was so absurd and hilarious that it had me literally in tears. I really wish I wouldn't have screwed up on getting into a group because I could certainly tell that everyone had a lot of fun with it.
Great job everyone!!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Second day of presentations
I missed the first day of presentations, but luckily I was able to witness the performances for the second day. I greatly enjoyed watching group 3 do their "sparagmos dance" and I also thought their plays were extremely entertaining. I was impressed with everyone's complete participation. It definitely seemed like everyone had a part in group three's presentation.
Group four's presentation was nothing short of hilarious. I was impressed with the technology they used and the time they obviously put into it. Although possibly more entertaining than group 3, group 4 did not seem to utilize the group members as evenly. This may be straying somewhat from the assignment, but it is easier to get into a video if everyone isn't a main character.
Great job everyone! I can't wait for Wednesday.
Group four's presentation was nothing short of hilarious. I was impressed with the technology they used and the time they obviously put into it. Although possibly more entertaining than group 3, group 4 did not seem to utilize the group members as evenly. This may be straying somewhat from the assignment, but it is easier to get into a video if everyone isn't a main character.
Great job everyone! I can't wait for Wednesday.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Presentations
I have now listened to the presentations of every person in Classical Literature. I must say I was thoroughly impressed and intrigued by each one. My favorite presentation from the first day was Katie Potter's. Her story about the men who hang out and Kagy Corner was hilarious. She truly engaged the material from the literature we have read by finding a present-day chorus.
My favorite presentation from the second day was Zach's presentation about remembering his childhood. His presentation got me thinking about my own childhood and it helped me to better understand anamnesis. When I rediscover something from childhood, I get a wonderful feeling and I feel like I am becoming a kid again.
Today we got to see the last of the presentations. I liked a couple of these quite a bit. I thought Deborah's presentation about phallocracy (spelling?) was interesting. She really made good points about her claim and made me agree with her. The other presentation I enjoyed was Nick's. It made me laugh. I don't know if it was because the presentation was so great or just because he is funny, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
My favorite presentation from the second day was Zach's presentation about remembering his childhood. His presentation got me thinking about my own childhood and it helped me to better understand anamnesis. When I rediscover something from childhood, I get a wonderful feeling and I feel like I am becoming a kid again.
Today we got to see the last of the presentations. I liked a couple of these quite a bit. I thought Deborah's presentation about phallocracy (spelling?) was interesting. She really made good points about her claim and made me agree with her. The other presentation I enjoyed was Nick's. It made me laugh. I don't know if it was because the presentation was so great or just because he is funny, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Death is the mother of beauty
I really like the saying "Death is the mother of beauty" and I believe it wholeheartedly. Although it may be difficult to understand, death really is beautiful. I am able to believe this more so because of my belief in God and Heaven. I believe that death is the mother of beauty because it leads to the beauty of the afterlife. This may not be the interpretation many would come up with. I can also interpret this statement differently. Death may also be considered the mother of beauty because without death we would know no true sorrow; and without sorrow we cannot know true joy. You never realize how much you loved someone until that person is gone for good. We were told that it will take twenty years for us to fully understand this statement. As my first interpretation is my favorite, I believe that we cannot fully understand this statement until we die and see the beauty of the afterlife.
Monday, April 20, 2009
My paper- "The Death of Pure Love"
The death of a child is the most heart-wrenching, pain-invoking element of tragedy ever known. The loss of a child is the loss of an innocent soul who has had no time to fully develop his or her own identity. Until recently, I never realized the most basic reason of why this statement is so true, but now I understand. The death of a child is the death of the pure love only a child can possess.
Children are incredibly important to the world. Though it may seem obvious to consider the need for children to be purely to keep the human race going, there is a much deeper need for children in life. People need to be able to recognize the true and unmarred form of love that only children can possess. When children hit puberty, this pure love they possessed when they were younger begins to fade. The discovery of sex turns this love into lust. Teenagers will learn that they cannot trust everyone, but must be careful about who they become close to. As they age, people learn more and more about the vagaries of human nature and how it can harm them. One will become hardened from bad experiences and mistakes made. Many people are incapable of trusting someone who has hurt them. Children are capable of not only trusting someone who has hurt them, but they are also able to love such a person.
In my last blog post, I wrote about a woman from my hometown who murdered her two young children. I have always realized how horrible this occurrence was, but, until know, I have never quite understood the gravity of what this woman did. These two children loved their mother unconditionally. Too young to know any better, they thought that their mother’s unstable behavior and extreme distrust for absolutely everyone was normal. The only person they trusted was their mother, as she had taught them to invest faith in no one but her. The thought I cannot get out of my head is about when they realized what was going to happen to them. She shot one child first. Did the first child to die realize what was happening and immediately lose the love and trust for this woman or did he or she see the mother as a protector until the final moment? Did the second child, seeing his or her sibling die, lose the love for his or her mother in those last painful moments of realization and try to escape? The pure love of a child is nearly untouchable, but how long can a child possess such feelings for someone who is about to commit such an unspeakable crime? No one will ever know what thoughts were flying through those children’s heads in their last moments. Their mother may have known, but she shot herself immediately after murdering her children. I pray that the two children never realized what was coming and felt the pure and unadulterated love they had always felt for their mother until the very end. The little boy was about seven when it happened and the little girl was five. These two children were old enough to realize that they wanted to live, but too young to have done so. Their pure souls had not yet been marred by lust and corruption. When Patty Walling killed her children, she killed one of the only truly pure things that are present in this world.
Maybe Patty saw and recognized the unconditional love her children held for her. Maybe she never wanted to see that love turn into anything less. Patty was schizophrenic so it is not easy for one to understand what she was thinking when she shot her children. Patty probably considered herself unfit to protect her children from the evil of the outside world and thought the best way to protect them was to take that world away from them. The one thing I do know for sure about Patty Walling is that she believed in God. In her eyes, the love that she saw emanating from her children could only be reciprocated by a pure and infallible being like God. It is possible that she wanted to send them to a better place where they could never feel pain or sorrow. One could not possibly commend a woman’s act of killing her children, but those who were around Patty the most could only see her intense adoration for those two kids so it is hard to believe that this crime stemmed from malice.
The killing of the two Walling kids is the most devastating thing that has ever happened to the small town of Winifred, MT. In such a tight-knit community, someone would have taken care of the children if Patty felt unfit to do so. It is impossible to justify Patty’s motives and forgive her completely for what she did. No one could have seen it coming and saved them, and that may be the most tragic element of the whole incident. These children were killed by their mother, the person who was supposed to protect them and preserve that pure and clean love they possessed for as long as possible. I guess she preserved that love for eternity.
There is absolutely nothing more heartbreaking than the death of a child. It may be painful to watch children grow up to lose the pure love they hold, but there is nothing worse than that experience being taken away from them. At such a young age, children have yet to make their imprint on the world. They have not yet felt true pain so they have yet to find out about true joy. They have not yet been able to experience loss so they cannot wholly appreciate what they have. We have not yet seen them grow and acquire an identity that will be theirs for adulthood. These children have only been able to show us what we wish we still were capable of as adults: pure and untainted love.
Children are incredibly important to the world. Though it may seem obvious to consider the need for children to be purely to keep the human race going, there is a much deeper need for children in life. People need to be able to recognize the true and unmarred form of love that only children can possess. When children hit puberty, this pure love they possessed when they were younger begins to fade. The discovery of sex turns this love into lust. Teenagers will learn that they cannot trust everyone, but must be careful about who they become close to. As they age, people learn more and more about the vagaries of human nature and how it can harm them. One will become hardened from bad experiences and mistakes made. Many people are incapable of trusting someone who has hurt them. Children are capable of not only trusting someone who has hurt them, but they are also able to love such a person.
In my last blog post, I wrote about a woman from my hometown who murdered her two young children. I have always realized how horrible this occurrence was, but, until know, I have never quite understood the gravity of what this woman did. These two children loved their mother unconditionally. Too young to know any better, they thought that their mother’s unstable behavior and extreme distrust for absolutely everyone was normal. The only person they trusted was their mother, as she had taught them to invest faith in no one but her. The thought I cannot get out of my head is about when they realized what was going to happen to them. She shot one child first. Did the first child to die realize what was happening and immediately lose the love and trust for this woman or did he or she see the mother as a protector until the final moment? Did the second child, seeing his or her sibling die, lose the love for his or her mother in those last painful moments of realization and try to escape? The pure love of a child is nearly untouchable, but how long can a child possess such feelings for someone who is about to commit such an unspeakable crime? No one will ever know what thoughts were flying through those children’s heads in their last moments. Their mother may have known, but she shot herself immediately after murdering her children. I pray that the two children never realized what was coming and felt the pure and unadulterated love they had always felt for their mother until the very end. The little boy was about seven when it happened and the little girl was five. These two children were old enough to realize that they wanted to live, but too young to have done so. Their pure souls had not yet been marred by lust and corruption. When Patty Walling killed her children, she killed one of the only truly pure things that are present in this world.
Maybe Patty saw and recognized the unconditional love her children held for her. Maybe she never wanted to see that love turn into anything less. Patty was schizophrenic so it is not easy for one to understand what she was thinking when she shot her children. Patty probably considered herself unfit to protect her children from the evil of the outside world and thought the best way to protect them was to take that world away from them. The one thing I do know for sure about Patty Walling is that she believed in God. In her eyes, the love that she saw emanating from her children could only be reciprocated by a pure and infallible being like God. It is possible that she wanted to send them to a better place where they could never feel pain or sorrow. One could not possibly commend a woman’s act of killing her children, but those who were around Patty the most could only see her intense adoration for those two kids so it is hard to believe that this crime stemmed from malice.
The killing of the two Walling kids is the most devastating thing that has ever happened to the small town of Winifred, MT. In such a tight-knit community, someone would have taken care of the children if Patty felt unfit to do so. It is impossible to justify Patty’s motives and forgive her completely for what she did. No one could have seen it coming and saved them, and that may be the most tragic element of the whole incident. These children were killed by their mother, the person who was supposed to protect them and preserve that pure and clean love they possessed for as long as possible. I guess she preserved that love for eternity.
There is absolutely nothing more heartbreaking than the death of a child. It may be painful to watch children grow up to lose the pure love they hold, but there is nothing worse than that experience being taken away from them. At such a young age, children have yet to make their imprint on the world. They have not yet felt true pain so they have yet to find out about true joy. They have not yet been able to experience loss so they cannot wholly appreciate what they have. We have not yet seen them grow and acquire an identity that will be theirs for adulthood. These children have only been able to show us what we wish we still were capable of as adults: pure and untainted love.
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