The Little Colonel

Another novel that I had to read for my Children and Culture class, The Little Colonel was actually pretty fun to read. My mother is very interested in the Civil War so reading a book that is set in the South not too long after the war and dealing in part with its aftermath was more interesting to me sue to the fact that I had background knowledge. 

The plot revolves are The Old Colonel who lost his son Tom and his right arm in the war fighting for the South. In the first chapter a small child and dog sneak into the old Colonel's strawberry garden and starts eating his crop. He soon finds out that this child is his own granddaughter, named Lloyd after him, but called the Little Colonel do to her temperament. Lloyd is the child of his only other child, Elizabeth, who the Old Colonel disowned for marrying a man from the North. You soon find out that Mr. Sherman, the Little Colonel's father lost all of his fortune and went out West to make more money while Elizabeth fell back on her inheritance from her mother, a cottage not far from Locust, the Old Colonel's estate. Through her own stubbornness and child like faith the Little Colonel heals her Grandfather's bitter heart as well as the family as a whole.   

Now in class we talked about the racism issue that surrounds the book. The African Americans are referred to in derogatory terms and speak in a dialect that is very stereotypical. I hate to admit that I really wouldn't have thought about it that closely if I had read the book on its own. I mean I would have seen how racist it is, but thinking about how it would effect children reading it never crossed my mind. Sometimes reading books in class doesn't ruin them completely, but makes you think more closely about the messages they convey whether they are positive. negative, conscious, or unconsciously made. 

For a kids book it isn't so bad, but I don't think it is anything that I would read to my child out of choice. I think a 3.2 out of 5 is what I would rate it. I am always struck about how sophisticated children's books in history. I mean this book wasn't extremely dense, but I could see upper elementary school kids reading it, not the age that I believe it was printed for.   

The Secret Garden

I had to read this novel for me Children and Culture class and it happens to be the first time that I have read this book.

The plot of the novel focuses around Mary Lennox and her adventures in The Secret Garden. Mary's parents are killed in India from cholera and Mary is sent to live with her Uncle in London. Mary is a bratty and spoiled child and gets along poorly in London at first until she is told the story of the secret garden that her Uncle, Master Craven and his late wife tended together. After his wife's death Master Craven locked up the garden and buried the key. Mary, with the help of her robin friend, the first friend she had made in her ten years of life, finds the secret garden. Soon she enlists the help of Dickon, a younger brother to one of the maids of the house who has a way with animals, to help her tend to the garden. Mary also learns that she has a cousin part way through the novel. He never lets anyone see him because he is sickly and since he was born everyone has told him that he is going to be a hunchback and die young. His father won't look at him because his eyes are like his mother's but so sad. The Magic of the secret garden helps Colin realize that he is not as weak as everyone thinks he is and helps him get better. Both Colin and Mary at the end of the novel have also worked out their bratty tendencies a little though there is room for improvement. 

I was not a fan of the novel at all until the Dickon and Colin showed up. It might have been because Mary was isolated most of the time or the fact that she had an awful personality before then, but I almost couldn't stand the book until they were introduced. Especially Dickon, I loved his character, but near the end of the book when it was just description after endless description of the garden I just wanted it to be done. It also bothered me that none of the characters really changed except Mary and Collin. It can be said that they were the only characters that really needed to change, but all the other characters just felt so flat to me that it was hard to get into the story. I know that this is supposed to be a children's novel so a lot of complex characters isn't really what you are going for, but I still think that as a child the repetition would have bored me. 

Overall it was cute, but it isn't going to become my favorite children book. I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Spring Semester

So I have gone to all my classes except a recitation and a lecture and I think this semester is going to be really fun, a lot of reading and writing to do, but fun.

Introduction to Film - it is at 9 in the morning, which is a bummer, but I am going to watch and talk about movies so it isn't too bad. It is not a writing intensive course, which is marvelous since I have three this semester already. I don't really have an opinion on the professor yet, she doesn't seem horrible or really fun, just average. We watched a silent film the first day, Sherlock Jr., and I am really starting to love them. They are so light hearted and fun and the actors really put a lot of effort into portraying their characters.

Advanced Fiction - Well is it mostly the same class from last semester plus a few others who took the night intermediate fiction class (one of these people being the boy I thought was cute in Intro to fiction) We are allowed to do novel excerpts in this class, which makes me a little more at ease since I am more of a novel writer then a short story person, though I have gotten better due to these classes. I just am a little leery about others reading them, but then again I always am

Research Methods - The material is going to be boring as all hell, but my professor is adorable. She is from Russia and still has a wonderful accent as well as being a really cool person. She is a Grad student so she is really relaxed and chill, which for a two and a half hour class is really nice. Even though I think I am going to dislike the material I think the lecture is going to be fun.

Russian Short Stories in Context - I had no idea it was just Russian short stories until I got to class this morning, but I like Russian literature for the most part so it shouldn't be too bad. Russian Fairy Tales was pretty fun and I can take a good dose of depressing when the occasion calls for it. Though there does seem to be a lot of reading, which with all my other classes is going to be difficult, but I'll manage. My professor is also a Grad student and she also has an accent, though she didn't tell us what nationality she was.

Children and Culture - I have only had recitation for this class so far, but my TA is so sweet. She is South African and has an amazing accent (can you tell I love accents?). She is also very smart and easy to talk to and the class is really laid back so I feel comfortable talking. It should be really helpful when we actually get into material, though I basically have to run from my earlier class to get there on time since it is almost totally across campus.

So that's about it. I wanted to give you all a heads up so when I start bitching you will know what it's all about XD


 

Another Semester, another set of grades

Hello!
I hope you all had a fabulous holiday and are getting ready for New Years. I know I haven't been posting much, but I have been spending the break relaxing and playing the Sims 3 so nothing really to report. I did look at my grades and it was a pretty impressive semester

Statistics: A
Abnormal Psychology: -A
Japanese Art History: -A
Intermediate Fiction: -A
World Literature in English: -A

Let's just hope this can keep up until next semester!

Purple Hibiscus

If I had to put my feelings about this book into one word it would be this, rage. Pure and unbridled rage.

The story is centered around Kambili and her brother Jaja. Both children live in a strict catholic family with a father who is not only overbearing, but also abusive. When Kambili and Jaja visit their aunt they are opened to a new world of love and openness that they have never experienced before. While Jaja takes to this new environment right away, Kambili is shy and timid and it takes the provocation of her cousin Amaka and the friendship of the local priest, Father Amadi, for Kambili to finally come out of her shell. When the siblings return to their father's house it is far from a easy transition and soon everything starts to become difficult. 

Why does this novel make me so angry? Because the father is abusive and uses religion to try and justify his horrible actions. He causes his wife to have two miscarriages, breaks his sons finger, burns his daughters feet, beats her until she ends up in the hospital, and yet says it was because of love he does these things. In class some people tried to use the fact that he was an upstanding man in the community to say he wasn't a monster, but I had a hard time the whole novel. ** spoiler alert** When I found out that the mother has poisoned him I might have cheered a little. I don;t care what he did for the community, he brutalized his family and that is unacceptable. 

Overall, I am sure you have guessed, I despised this book and I doubt I will ever pick it up again unless I am forced to for another class. It had nothing to do with the writing of the novel, the imagery was beautiful, but the content. It gets a 1 out of 5

Nervous Conditions

I will get caught up on all these books so help me! Alright the next book I had to read for World Literature in English was Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga.

We finally left India and are now focusing on Africa. This brought on a map quiz of Africa in a literature class, which I wasn't overly happy about, but I think I did alright on it. The novel itself focuses on Tambudzai, referred to as Tambu, and her journey to achieve education. She is born to a lazy father and a poor family, however her Uncle is well educated and wealthy from being taught by the missionaries. Tambu's brother is taken by Babamukuru to the mission and educated, however he dies of an illness while at the mission. Because of this Tambu is given the opportunity to further her education at the mission.

This story isn't just about getting to go to school and learning, it deals with colonization, feminism, religion, and many other complex and difficult issues. Tambu's cousin Nyasha is kind of a teacher that teaches Tambu not to just follow others blindly, but to think for herself. However Nyasha, who lived for five years in England, can not fit into the mold of a proper African girl that Babamukuru wants her to which leads to much hardship for Nyasha.

I rather liked this novel and even though at parts it seemed repeating the same thing and annoying, it had a good message and still interesting. Tambu was a character that you could easily identify with even if you had never been in her situation. It is easy for the reader to get angry with Tambu about how the men at the homestead do nothing, yet they blame everything on lack of money. Overall I will give this novel a 3 out of 5. I wouldn't have picked it up if not for this class, but I am not opposed to reading it again.    

Rich Like Us

Once again I am falling behind in my posting, but I am going to try my best to keep up. Alright so for the most aggravating class this semester, as known as World Literature in English, I have recently had to read Rich Like Us by Nayantara Sahgal.

The novel is told in two point of views, first person when we are following Sonali, and third person when we are with Rose. Rose is and English woman who was taken from her life if hard work in the lower classes for England to India by Ram, who already had a wife. When the reader is following Rose's story we see that though Rose is English she is much more Indian then her own husband and wins the love of both Ram's father, who hates everything English, as well as ram's first wife Mona. However Mona's son Dev, who Rose now lives with due to Ram's stroke, hates Rose. She does not hold her tongue when she sees Dev working with the corrupt government to set up a factory. This brings Sonali into the story who losses her job because she does not approve the factory being brought in from England. Sonali's part of the novel focuses more on current problems in India, such as the Emergency. By intertwining the two characters stories we see both the past and the present easily.

I really don't have much to say about this novel. I didn't hate it, but I didn't exactly like it either. It was an easy read and talked about important issues, yet I couldn't really get into Sonali's part of the narrative, I was much more interested in Rose. This might be because I knew about what Rose was talking about, England and WWII, where as I have little knowledge about the Emergency. If you are interested in India or the Emergency in general I think it is worth a read, but otherwise I don't recommend it. Overall it gets a 2.5 out of 5.

Procrastination at its finest

I have so much I have to do before next Tuesday, yet here I am talking to all of you. I have a midterm in my Intermediate Fiction class that I need to start writing, a book to finish for World Literature in English, and a chapter to finish and then study for History of Japanese Art since my test is on Tuesday. The only class that isn't having me do back flips Tuesday is Abnormal Psychology. This is just normal college bitching and I should be happy that I am here and furthering my education, but sometimes I just want a weekend where I don't have to do anything. 


Now that I written this I feel stupid and whiny. I have no right to complain. Just the motivation I need to get this stuff done. 

World Literature In English = UGH!

Alright so I took this class to fulfill a requirement for something, a major or general education I can't remember, and I really am starting to wish I hadn't. I hate the books we are reading, the professor is a nice lady but I hate her teaching style, and I am pulling a solid B- in the class because I never have any idea what she wants us to write about in our papers which is the only thing we are graded on. I am just so frustrated with it and yet there is nothing I can do. I can't talk to her because she seems very set in her thinking and refuses to bend not to mention she kind of annoys me. It isn't a hard class, but I am going to get a mediocre grade in it because of the unclear nature of the essays. People have even asked her to clarify, but it doesn't make any more sense. *sigh* that's college I guess.

A Hundred Years of Solitude

This book has to be the most entertaining I have read for World Literature in English as well as the most bizarre. The story follows a family line who were the founders of the imaginary town of Maconco. This novel is written in the style of magical realism so everyday things are paired with the fantastical, such as washing laundry and then being taken by the wind up to heaven. When reading the novel you really just need to go with the flow and not stop to think about how weird or gross some of the events are or you are never going to get through the entire novel. There is a lot of incest, sex with random women, illegitimate children all over the place, and just plain odd stuff.  

I enjoyed the ending of the novel. It came full circle, like Ursula had has been saying the whole novel, back to the gypsies and the scrolls. To be honest at this point and time I was just happy that the book was over, 417 pages of all that nonsense was a little much, but looking back it was a good way to end the novel. I also enjoyed the fact that the thing Ursula feared the most, the dreaded pig tail, was on the child that would have saved the line if he had lived. We talked a lot in class that all the mental instability in the family was actually the pig tail and the child born with the actual tail would have been sane. However you never find out since the father totally abandons the child after the mother's death and the child is eaten by ant (yes you read that right, ants) 

Now the most confusing thing about this novel was that every male in the novel had almost the same name or at least a name close to that of his father. In the first couple of generations it wasn't a huge issue, but with all the children, grand children, and onward it was extremely difficult to remember who belonged to who and which geberation the person belonged to. By the fourth generation I just gave up and kept reading thinking that I would get a marker somewhere to know which person it was. 

Overall it was fun to read, but I don't think I will read it again for a long time. Maybe over the summer if I am truly bored I will go back and take my time reading through it. Rating wise I give it a 3.5 out of 5 due to confusing parts, names, and overall just being much too long. If you are interested in Latin America or magical realism give it a read, but allow yourself time and don't get too frustrated. After a while it will either start making sense or you will just go with the flow. 

What is this?

Dear Pittsburgh,
I hate to inform you that you are supposed to be a city that has four season, one of which is fall. I know that you are very excited for winter with the snow and watching all the college students bundle up like Eskimos to get to class, but please show a little restraint. It is not even Halloween yet so I would like to not be wearing a coat and have it threatening to snow. I am sure being as reasonable as you are you see how unfair this is for us who like wearing a sweater and not a coat for these few months before the cold of winter hits. I would ask you to refrain from this cold and rather unpleasant weather for a few more months when it would be normal for you to freeze us all the moment we step out of houses or dorms.
Thank you,
Me

American Short Fiction

This is a journal for, as the title suggests, short fiction and I had to read for a project for my Intermediate Fiction class. I happened to come across that 51 Issue and I am really glad that this was the issue our bookstore had because it was absolutely amazing.

When they said that they only accept the best I thought they were just saying that, but after reading all these stories I am convinced that they really meant it. All five stories were amazing, but the two that really stuck out to me were Marie Tells All by Ann Claycomb and The Wrong Chemicals by Matthew Baker.

Marie Tells All takes the fascination America seems to have with celebrity dating shows and puts us inside the head of one of the girls that lived it. The story starts after the show is over and Marie is telling us this story because we never watched the reality show so it was okay to tell us. It is not told in a linear matter, but through out the story we are told about Marie's experiences on the show as well as what got her there. Her sister, Teena, convinces her to go on the show after their father dies of cancer so they both can get some money and forget there fathers slow decline. Marie was the one who stayed with their dad and took care of him, but after finding out that their father cut Teena out of the life insurance Marie agrees to go onto the show. Though a lot of the story is told in the context of the show, by they end we learn it was never about Jesse or the show, but about Marie getting rid of her memories about her father and separating herself from her twin.

The Wrong Chemicals was rather slow and confusing to start with, but after I got into the story and understood what was going on it became really interesting. The narrator is depressed, but we don't understand why. Time in this piece is a big factor as it runs backwards and we see a man in his deep depression before we even learn what made him that way. However at the end of the story we learn that he witnessed the World Trade Center get hit as he worked in one of the towers, but was out for coffee, and that his children were killed inside and their bodies were never found. By the end of the piece we feel so much for the narrator who is rather annoying that the beginning of the story. It was an extremely moving piece and I suggest everyone at least gives it a read. 

The Shadow Lines

I have finished yet another book for World Literature in English "The Shadow Lines". I enjoyed this book a lot more then I did "The Untouchables" even though the writing style was a bit confusing. The narrator doesn't tell the story in chronological order, which I enjoyed, but he jumped both time and place multiple times within a page if not a paragraph without breaks or warnings.

The narrator relates almost his entire life, and some before his life, mostly focusing on the partition in India as well as the differences in English and Indian culture. We also learn a lot about him life and why he has such a wonderful imagination because of his Uncle Tridib. As the book progresses and we also become introduced to the Price Family,  family friends who live in England, we see just how much two families miles apart can be intertwined. 

The reason I liked this story was because it was written in a more entertaining fashion was well as also having to deal with events that I knew something about, WWII for instance, that it was a lot easier for me to ground myself in what time period it was. I don't really know what else to write about it because if the round about writing style. It was entertaining and I would have never picked it up on my own, but I also don't think I will read it again. I rate it about a 4.5 out of 5.

World Literature In English

I could tell from the very beginning of the first day that this was going to be one of "those" classes. You know the ones that are frustrating to no end, yet you feel as if  you are learning nothing. Then it comes time to write a paper and you are looking at the blank document completely lost about what you are supposed to write about. Yeah it is totally one of those. The professor seems nice enough, but she is scatter brained as well as unorganized and I feel as if she spends half the class repeating herself, yet not making it so we can understand. She has a strict absent policy so it isn't even like I can save myself the headache some days and not go. Sometimes I do get some great information about the book, but most of the time it is the Professor talking in circles. There is no or little eye candy either so it really is a depressing prospect to go to that class everyday. Good thing it is a requirement for General Studies or I would really think about dropping it. I also spent way too much money on books to drop the dumb course.

Intermediate Ficition

Once again I am trying my hand at the art of writing. I walked into class and soon almost my entire Introduction to Fiction class came in after me (minus the very cute boy who I really liked get figure). The Professor (or lecturer since she isn't actually a professor) is rather pregnant, but not due until after this semester. She is a lot more outgoing and easy to talk to then my previous professor, but she is also a little intimidating. As always I am really nervous to share my work with others, usually I just write for myself or friends, but if I want to so anything on a larger scale I am going to have to get use to this as well as rejection when they don't understand my works of genius. Either way it is going to be a fun, difficult, interesting class that hopefully I get a good grade in since I want to major in Fiction English Writing.

Untouchable

I know I still have a bunch of posts to catch up on, but keeping in the theme of reviewing a book right after I finish it I am going to do things a little out of order. I promise I will make a post about Dragon*Con as well as first day reactions to my other two classes very soon.

This story follows the life if a sweeper-boy, Bakha, through a day in his life. It is set in India during British occupation and the influence of the British has a strong influence on Bakha who has adapted their clothing. As a sweeper Bakha cleans the latrines and the streets of excrement that the upper-caste members leave. However this job makes him seen as unclean by the other members of the Hindu religion and he is no allowed in their homes, to touch them, and a number of other actions without the member interacted with being purified. This of course leads to a lot of conflict and shame in Bakha's life. The story ends with words from a Christian missoriany, Ganhdi, and a poet who all have different ideas about how the Untouchables can raise above their fate. 

I personally found the story interesting in subject matter, but boring in the way it is written. I know little to nothing about India besides that it was a colony of the British Empire for quite some time so it was interesting to get a look into the culture. However following one character mostly for just one day was rather boring and after a while I found myself uninteresting in what was going on. I also felt that the entire meaning of the story was crammed into the last ten pages or so. I would have much rather we start or have a small  lead up to the three ways to escape untouchable status and then see what Bakha does with this knowledge. The style was rather slow and even the action sequences were not all that exciting to read. 

If you are interested in Indian culture and way of life I recommend you read this, it is a little dated obviously since there is no toilets in the town where Bakha lives, but still an interesting incite into the culture. If you aren't interested in that sort of thing, well, it would be a good idea to leave this book alone. Maybe it is just me, but if I didn't have to read this for World Literature in English I would have felt like I wasted my time reading the 156 or so pages. I found the preface more interesting then the actual book. It gets a 1.5 out of 5. 

Art of Japan

Of course the only class I don't have in the same building is the only class I have fifteen minutes to get to. Honestly it is going to be a bitch in the winter. However the building that the class is housed in is extremely beautiful. with a garden in the center and paintings all over the place. However my room was hidden and I had to take this shady back stairwell to the second floor which wasn't nearly as nice.

I was really surprised by how many males there were in the class. I think that it might be the only class I have ever had were the is more or an equal amount of males to females. I totally wasn't expecting that at all, especially in an art class. I was in class early so I watched a lot of them walk in and there are a few that are rather nice looking. One was an adorable Asian guy who sat in the front row, there was also a tall blonde that decided shoes were not needed for class and a few others. There was also a lot of guys wearing loafers which I found rather odd. I guess I am not up to date with male foot wear.

The class itself looks as if it is going to take a lot of my time, but it will be interesting. The professor reminds me of two teachers I had in high school mixed together. She seems nice enough, but is very stringent on us coming to lecture, which doesn't really matter since I always go to class, but there aren't a lot of points and there is a lot of memorization. Also for a girl that can hardly spell her own name in her own language it is going to be extremely difficult for me to remember the Japanese words. I will figure it out somehow though and if nothing else at least there is nice things to look at in lecture.  

Abnormal Psychology

Seeing as I want to double psychology and English writing this is a course that I should not only be interested in, but I have to do well in since it will pertain to my major. I don't see why I would have any difficulty with it since as with any psych class it will just be reading and remembering terms and such, and the subject matter is at least interesting. My professor is a little...I don't even know the word. She seems extremely nice, but her voice reminds me of a little girls which makes it very difficult for me to take her seriously as well as it being a bit annoying. She showed us all the places she worked and what her research is pertaining to, but her voice! *sigh* You can't then all I guess and as long as the class is easy I can put up with the voice issue. The first class didn't give me much hope of my lecture being entertaining, but I could be wrong. If not I will just have to take a mountain dew to class to insure I stay awake.

Statistics

So I had my first Statistics lecture today, which was oddly enough in the same lecture hall I had my Vampire class, and the verdict is still out. The Professor seems pretty cool, actually I would probably be a lot like him if I was a professor, and it is either his first year with the University or his first year as a professor. I couldn't really make out which. Either way he seems really cool and down to earth and if I do have problems, unlike with my Trig professor, I feel like I can go and talk to him. I mean when he uses the phrase gobbledygook to describe something how bad can he be? He wants us to call him Jason, but I always find it weird calling my professors by their first name so if I ever talk to him hopefully names are not necessary.

Since I basically took this course in high school (AP Stats whoop whoop) I am not overly worried about this course, but there does seem to be a lot of work so I hope I can keep up. I am worried because I am missing one lecture because I am going to Dragon*Con again this year, but it is the beginning of the year so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. The kid who sat in front of me had really pretty blue eyes, but his hair was gelled to look like he just got out of bed, but he was still cute. I also chatted with a boy named Ben who lives on the 10th floor of my building in the elevator.

Plans for the rest of the day are to get everything ready for tomorrow, go get my work study papers, have lunch with my brother, and then do something productive like go get those last few books I need to read ahead in Stats.

Move in - Complete

Well I have made it back to Pittsburgh all in one piece, which would so much more impressive if you have ever driven with my father. He falls asleep when he sit for more then like 3 minutes so you can imagine how terrifying driving with him is. My mom literally saves my life every time we drive with him, yes he says he doesn't have a problem

Anyway the day started as they always do, I was woken up before I could get into the bathroom so there was no point in waking me up at all, my dad swore at every object he tried to pack into the car, and we left a half an hour after my mom wanted to. After we got on the road (after the above mentioned near death experience) the trip was alright until we got to the university. Then my dad couldn't find anywhere to park, which was of course my mothers and my fault, and ended up in a parking garage. After that it went pretty smooth. The dinning hall was twelve sorts of packed, but I got food and didn't stab a freshman so it is all good. 

The new roommate seems really cool. She sent a request for us to get a new fridge because it smelled like something died in the one we had. I had brought mine so as of right now we have two fridges in our room and until they tell me we can't it is going to stay that way. It is under my bed so it is super nice since I am super lazy. We talked for a bit and I think even if we don't become friends we will be able to live together. 

I also set up my printer, however I haven't tried to print anything yet so we will see if that worked out as it is supposed to soon. I then spent a good hour trying to get connected to the Internet with my Ethernet cable because we don't have wireless in the dorms. I was so frustrated, but I obviously succeeded. I think that is everything that has happened so far, well worth talking about anyway, so I will leave you for now