In the stairwell section, the stairwell begins to expand. Becoming longer and with it, taking Reston Creating a greater distance from the others. In Johnny Stituation he talks about how the walls and time continue to change. It is in these two sections one could draw parrellels between the two.
In both their sections the length at which the text is written is expanded. In Reston's section the text takes up a bunch of pages to explain this. In Johnny's the text is close together and small which takes up space and time as well.
Another interesting thing is that both characters are being dragged away from the world. It's in Johnny section that an abstract item is holding backa and keeping him from his friends. In Reston's event it was the staircase itself that did the pulling away taking Reston before. Both lost their connection to the ouside world.Both got pulled into this idea whether or not they agree with it.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Crying of Lot 49
In Oedipa's experience with the Demon Machine, she trys to communicate with it. She watches through the corner of her eye for the piston to move. There is a moment where she feels it move, but plays it up to an illusion. It is through this illusion that we understand how the machine and reading this book relate; both make fun of the reader.
In the book people go there to tell whether or not they are sensitive. They sit there for hours trying to talk to this machine whose purpose is to make fun of them. Same goes for the reader of this book. When reading the book we think we are sensitive to it. We feel we understand what it's trying to say, but we don't. We read way to much into everything the author gives us. To understand the book we must understand that we aren't sensitive to it.
After Oedipa trys for hours the scientist tells her to come watch T.V. and have sex with him. The only other purpose that machine is for is to help the old man fuck women. The only purpose of this book is to fuck the reader.
In the book people go there to tell whether or not they are sensitive. They sit there for hours trying to talk to this machine whose purpose is to make fun of them. Same goes for the reader of this book. When reading the book we think we are sensitive to it. We feel we understand what it's trying to say, but we don't. We read way to much into everything the author gives us. To understand the book we must understand that we aren't sensitive to it.
After Oedipa trys for hours the scientist tells her to come watch T.V. and have sex with him. The only other purpose that machine is for is to help the old man fuck women. The only purpose of this book is to fuck the reader.
Mollory
Two movies that deal well with the inward journey a character takes are Identity and The Uninvited. Both deal with characters that aren't the typical characters. Both their characters start off crazy and then end crazy. The characters behave like Mollory.
In Identity, the main character is a man on death row. Then the movie switches scenes and perspective to eleven different characters. Each has their own back story, but each are trapped in this hotel. At the hotel people start to die. Now as this story is going on you have the story about the man on death row. Only later in the movie do you find out that those eleven people and the man on death ow are the same. The man has multiply personality disorder and those other people are his personalities. The arguement was made in class that Mollory and the other guy were the same people. That Mollory part should go second. Well this moive plays with the different perspectives and later tells you that they are all the same person.
In The Univited, the main character is in an insane house we don't know why or when. She is released from the hospital and is sent home. There she is forced to remember what happened to her in the past. As she searches for the truth, the crazier she gets. The character's mind starts to play tricks on her by summoning her dead mother, boyfriend, and sister. It is only in the end that we realize the truth. By that time she has gone completely insane again. This movie reminds me of the second portion of Mollory more than the first. She starts off normal, like the man. As both get closer to the truth their minds play tricks on them. By the end both are crazy and making no sense.
Both these movies have similar aspects of the book within them. Both using different parts as well. I thought it was a nice representation of what we were talking about.
In Identity, the main character is a man on death row. Then the movie switches scenes and perspective to eleven different characters. Each has their own back story, but each are trapped in this hotel. At the hotel people start to die. Now as this story is going on you have the story about the man on death row. Only later in the movie do you find out that those eleven people and the man on death ow are the same. The man has multiply personality disorder and those other people are his personalities. The arguement was made in class that Mollory and the other guy were the same people. That Mollory part should go second. Well this moive plays with the different perspectives and later tells you that they are all the same person.
In The Univited, the main character is in an insane house we don't know why or when. She is released from the hospital and is sent home. There she is forced to remember what happened to her in the past. As she searches for the truth, the crazier she gets. The character's mind starts to play tricks on her by summoning her dead mother, boyfriend, and sister. It is only in the end that we realize the truth. By that time she has gone completely insane again. This movie reminds me of the second portion of Mollory more than the first. She starts off normal, like the man. As both get closer to the truth their minds play tricks on them. By the end both are crazy and making no sense.
Both these movies have similar aspects of the book within them. Both using different parts as well. I thought it was a nice representation of what we were talking about.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Johnny 'Truant'
Something I hadn't really noticed until I finished reading all of Pelafina's letters is that Johnny's last name is Truant. Pelafina's last name is Leivre, or something similar. While he would probably take on the last name of any of his adopted families I don't remember Johnny ever actually mentioning doing so. His last name is often not mentioned or spaced out entirely in letters to him from the institute.
The letters made this more apparent when I reached the one that mentioned Pelafina receiving notices saying JOHNNY IS TRUANT. Truant means to be intentionally absenst from school without permission. Basically ditching classes. So his last name is a word that possibly suggests he is not where he belongs, or a humorous take on his constantly being kicked out of school. Is it possible there are other reasons for this? Why is it that his last name happens to be a word that only appears in Pelafina's letters?
The letters made this more apparent when I reached the one that mentioned Pelafina receiving notices saying JOHNNY IS TRUANT. Truant means to be intentionally absenst from school without permission. Basically ditching classes. So his last name is a word that possibly suggests he is not where he belongs, or a humorous take on his constantly being kicked out of school. Is it possible there are other reasons for this? Why is it that his last name happens to be a word that only appears in Pelafina's letters?
Doll Face
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl6hNj1uOkY
Over the course we learned about simulacra, an image based on nothing that is treated as reality, is very present in our culture. There are idols on TV who are not themselves but personas that really only exist as images. To meet the person in real life would not be the same as meeting the persona because they are not a pure image anymore. But so long as they remain as images they are more believable.
Often people will emulate the images they see in media, especially on TV. The video, Doll Face, comments on this imitation and with an unpleasant result. As one attempts to meet the image a person can lose sense of the differences between the image and limitations of reality. Although the video suggests attempting to push the limits of reality can be dangerous, is it?
What other messages could this video be trying to get across?
Over the course we learned about simulacra, an image based on nothing that is treated as reality, is very present in our culture. There are idols on TV who are not themselves but personas that really only exist as images. To meet the person in real life would not be the same as meeting the persona because they are not a pure image anymore. But so long as they remain as images they are more believable.
Often people will emulate the images they see in media, especially on TV. The video, Doll Face, comments on this imitation and with an unpleasant result. As one attempts to meet the image a person can lose sense of the differences between the image and limitations of reality. Although the video suggests attempting to push the limits of reality can be dangerous, is it?
What other messages could this video be trying to get across?
Violence of the Beast
After referring to the monster lurking within the house I remembered an animation I watched in high school called "The Cathedral" which involves a man exploring through an abandoned cathedral in space where faces a part of the structure. When he comes to the edge of the cathedral, the land becomes violent and takes over the man and he becomes one with the cathedral.
I felt like this was relevant to House of Leaves especially when the monster becomes violent and kills. "Navy said it felt like he was running into the jaws of some big beast about to chomp down...and as you saw later on, that's- that's exactly what that ugly fucker finally did" (341). In The Cathedral the man enters the belly of the beast so to speak, the building chomps down more or less making him a part of it.
-Josh K
I felt like this was relevant to House of Leaves especially when the monster becomes violent and kills. "Navy said it felt like he was running into the jaws of some big beast about to chomp down...and as you saw later on, that's- that's exactly what that ugly fucker finally did" (341). In The Cathedral the man enters the belly of the beast so to speak, the building chomps down more or less making him a part of it.
-Josh K
Second In-Class Writing
When the stairwell stretches the text becomes stretched out and shifted around the page. This forces the reader to slow down and emphasize each word as they go, sometimes each letter. This scene really ends with Navidson by himself as the bottom of the stairs. His text is at the bottom of the page in a clump while, on the next page, Reston's text is at the top of the page.
Johnny comments on the part where the rope snaps with a story about his trip to Tex's that he'd forgotten. Tex tells a story about sinking ships and then Johnny loses himself to the image. At first things are fine, but soon the ship is aflame and the crew lets water into the boat to put out the fire. But they let too much water in and the boat starts to sink. It kills the crew. But one man locked himself in an air pocket, a room within the ship. As the ship falls to the bottom of the ocean the darkness, cold, and pressure close in on the solitary man. There is nothing to see so he drops the flashlight, letting it break, and waits to die.
Both of the stories are about a seperation of impossible magnitude. Somebody is left all alone in the dark at the bottom. What makes these two stories matter is that Johnny , the old him, is the person who was left behind in the dark. He could not remember Ashley because he was eighteen when he met her at Tex's and by the time she found him again he was already gone. Did he leave the old him behind or was it out of his hands, or an unfortunate accident like in the stories? The person he is now is locking himself within the air pocket of his mind and slowly drifting downward as the darkness, cold, and pressure close in on him.
Johnny comments on the part where the rope snaps with a story about his trip to Tex's that he'd forgotten. Tex tells a story about sinking ships and then Johnny loses himself to the image. At first things are fine, but soon the ship is aflame and the crew lets water into the boat to put out the fire. But they let too much water in and the boat starts to sink. It kills the crew. But one man locked himself in an air pocket, a room within the ship. As the ship falls to the bottom of the ocean the darkness, cold, and pressure close in on the solitary man. There is nothing to see so he drops the flashlight, letting it break, and waits to die.
Both of the stories are about a seperation of impossible magnitude. Somebody is left all alone in the dark at the bottom. What makes these two stories matter is that Johnny , the old him, is the person who was left behind in the dark. He could not remember Ashley because he was eighteen when he met her at Tex's and by the time she found him again he was already gone. Did he leave the old him behind or was it out of his hands, or an unfortunate accident like in the stories? The person he is now is locking himself within the air pocket of his mind and slowly drifting downward as the darkness, cold, and pressure close in on him.
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