The actions that V took in this part of the graphic novel indicate that revolution is achieved by following anarchy and resisting against liars and justice; the truth had to be unveiled. V resisted against the Batch 5 (he didn't have physical deformities) he received from authority and against the prison he was in; it shows resisting is the only way to be free and not a slave. He was trying to make people who had great authority see for themselves how wrong they were for following certain rules and expectations; and maybe revenge too. He made Lewis Prothero go insane since he decided for V to receive the Batch 5, by burning what he loved in the ovens so he could feel how it feels to lose something/one important. V induced a cyanotic communion wafer to bishop Lilliman, since he would preach words he never followed, being a hypocrite. By eating that poisonous wafer, it’s as if he swallows his sins and dies. In a way V’s statement that anarchy equals freedom is too vague and inapplicable to everyone. Having rules and authority allows people to have a reason/excuse and comfort to do something, even if it’s wrong. And without authority, people would have a hard time making decisions and society would be more out of order; with no direction whatsoever.


There were many passages that got my attention but these were the most memorable:


-The passages where there are posters that keep subliminally suggesting to us to have a lot faith.


-Also, when V was about to enter the bishops house through the window, what the bishop was preaching to 
Evy coordinated with V’s actions (pg. 50). It just implies more strongly that the bishop was a true believer of his words, he would've seen V coming, or death coming.


-Last but not least, the passage where V shows Delia Surridge his face for the last time, the way the artist juxtaposes the images evokes peaceful emotion, especially ironic when she says in tears that his face is beautiful. (pg. 75).

Trees and Future

The benefit of seeing literature this way is that you have evidence of the changes and trends happening in the literature world. If someone were to ask why these fluctuating changes were happening, one could refer to these charts to explain possible coincidences and correlations. The drawback is that the way this article is written tends to be too dense and wordy at some points, making it hard for readers to stay focused. In my opinion, though, this way of looking at literature is too superficial and factual. I believe most people who are submerged in literature are interested in the entertainment and lessons a book has to offer, instead of whether the book is trendy or written by a male or female. Of course all the factual information allows the reader to understand more about the state of literature in that time period like whether a certain genre is popular or if a book is bestselling which could help in deciding on reading a book.

If other projects are being done, combining literature with computer tools and what not, I would suggest making the article explaining the findings, more elaborate and containing more visual examples to make the material more understandable.

Another way we can approach SSTLS is to see where it fits in with other futuristic fictional novels. Once it is seen whether that demand for that genre is high or low, one can create a survey which can be given prioritized in middle and high schools (but also given to everyone else) asking questions about what could happen in the future and compare it to opinions from previous years. From this we could see how radically different our perception of the future is compared to past ones. If the results are bad, it could be a signal to novelists and scientists to inform society more about what could happen in the future, and possible solutions to calm down concerns. 

Super Sad TRUE Love Story

First of the movie portrays how a person can love a person of the same gender; unconditional love. But this exact theme isn’t portrayed in SSTLS so far; in this case Lenny and Eunice are aware of their incompatibilities and are willing to make their relationship work. In both story and the movie the females are mostly Asian.  Personally, I wouldn’t date a person of my same gender for natural reasons, so I can’t understand what the motivation of man of the movie was or what he felt.

In the story, Lenny a Caucasian is in love with Eunice, a troubled lady from Korean descent whole in the movie the Caucasian is in love with a supposed lady that was really an Asian male. This shows how sometimes women who are emotionally scarred are seen as better partners by men, since they give the man someone to protect. In both stories both the ladies lie to the men to please them. Eunice lies to Lenny by continuing telling him she loves him, while the Asian male tells the Caucasian guy that he is pregnant. I really don’t like lies or liars, because if someone lies, he or she probably won’t have a healthy relationship with the person he or she lied to. Lies are hard to remember for chronic liars, and they make the person lied to assume different things than what reality is.

Also, in both stories, there is a lot of politics involved. In the movie, the womanly dressed man is in charge of giving information to China about USA plans but in the process accidentally falls in love with the Caucasian man. While in the SSTLS, Eunice is politically naïve and Lenny is involved in political affairs through his boss, Joshie. Also, in both stories, revolts and wars are occurring between the US and Asia but the in SSTLS the problem is overspending and major debts. In SSTLS’s case, overspending is a problem today; we are in great debt.  The way the author writes the book, gives emphasis to the fact that materials do not make us happy, but people we love do; materials only blind us from reality i.e. how Eunice and other media people are consumed into the Aparat.

 Eunice and her family were dysfunctional since the woman was inferior to man; her father believed hurting them was fine, as long as he prayed before he did it. In the movie, the Asian women were also inferior to the men. The horrible fact was that the women accepted it. The ironic thing is that, right now 2010, even though people say women are equal as men, it doesn’t seem like it. Subconsciously men are more likely to get better jobs and paid better than females.

The major difference is that the movie is based in a past, non technological time, while SSTLS is settled in an advanced futuristic world.  Their major similarities during different eras, implies that bad times and situations can happen at any time, like a cycle.

SSTLS Online and Diary Synthesis

In the era of Super Sad True Love Story, the literature in the online social network and handwritten diaries complement each other very well to allow the reader to see through two perspectives.

For example, in page 144, in the second paragraph, Eunice mentions “And I don’t mean scanning a text like we did in euro Classics…I mean seriously READING…and watched him for like HALF AN HOUR…” Based on what Eunice said, it can be noticed that in the recent era reading a textbook is a very unpopular custom.  All news and information is distributed electronically through the aparati. Society is heavily dependent of online social networks. Precious Pony is talking about Lenny to Eunice, “It’s not like he’s some superstar Media guy or VP at LandOLakes. So he REALLY, REALLY READS instead of scans.” By Precious Pony also agreeing, it can be assumed that it is a worldwide custom to not read from actual books. These were told electronically via GlobalTeens which shows online social peoples’ perspective.

The GlobalTeen entries also expose us to the modern woman mentality in the future world. In Eunice’s chat with Lenny, we see how she keeps insisting in making him clean the bathtub, “I asked you to clean the bathtub. This apartment is DISGUSTINGLY DIRTY…I don’t like living in a pig-sty …I just want a nice, clean apartment, Lenny…I got to run the laundry…” By this passage, one can tell that the modern woman is concerned with how things appear. Their views differ: Eunice, the online savvy lady, wants everything tidy and clean, while Lenny (the man who would rather outdoor activities over online activities) doesn’t mind filth.

On the other hand, the protagonist, Lenny keeps a diary which he writes by hand and not electronically.  Through this text, we see only through Lenny’s perspective which is helpful in judging his character. An example of his thoughts would be when he was describing an elephant which most people wouldn’t think twice about. He mentioned, “I locked eyes with the elephant…A lonely elephant, the only one the zoo had at the moment, removed from his compatriots and possibility of love…” We can see that Lenny is a very thoughtful man who observes his surrounding very well. Without Lenny’s diary entries, we would just think he’s a prevented old man and would concentrate only on Eunice and her family, when the synthesis of both compose the novel on whole.

Thoughts about All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace by Richard Brautigan

~First, write 1-2 paragraphs assembling evidence to argue that this poem has an anti-technology tone and message. 

This poem seems to have an anti-technology tone and message because he seems to give the speaker a sarcastic and an uncertain feel in the poem. He is being sarcastic by giving us a sense of uncertainty. He starts off by saying that he likes to think “(the sooner the better!)” of a “cybernetic meadow”, then he likes to think “(right now, please!)” of a “cybernetic forest” and ends up by saying “(it has to be!)” a “cybernetic ecology”. This is implying that the speaker wishes for nature and technology to coexist by the repetitive use of “I like to think”, but after some though he/she realizes that technology will take over humans/nature, and there never will be a mutual coexistence. The more technology, the worse.

~Second, write 1-2 paragraphs assembling evidence to argue that this poem has a pro-technology tone and 

message.

This poem has a pro-technology tone and message because the poet compares computers to beautiful flowers when says that he likes to think of a cybernetic forest where “deer stroll peacefully” past computers as if they were “flowers with spinning blossoms” . The poem ends by mentioning that if humans joined back with their “mammal brothers and sisters” and are watched over by “machines of loving grace”, humans will be freed of all “labors”. This means that having a lot of technology n the future will benefit us.

~Finally, write 1-2 paragraphs explaining which reading you think is more convincing and explain WHY.

I think this poem is criticizing technology, implying that in the future technology will dominant and dependant on, like a god watching over us with “loving grace” and that mutualism between nature and technology is impossible. There is a lot of sarcasm, and uncertainty in this poem, and the informal format just makes the sarcastic supposition that nature and technology will coexist in the future, simply not believable. If thought about logically, if humans “returned to our mammal brothers and sisters”  while technology and machines of “loving grace” would watch us over us like a god would be a contradiction/paradox. There would be almost no possibility for technology to remain while humans joined back to their” mammal brothers and sisters”  meaning stopping being civilized and joining back to being natural animals because the only reason technology evolved was because humans evolved mentally and physically. Both cannot benefit from each other, one has to suffers for  the other to gain something.

Casabianca by Felicia Hemans, Interpretation of Imagery

Imagery:

1.       Boy (gallant/proud child-like form)

2.       Burning deck/ship

3.       Flames/wreathing fires

4.       Father

5.       Voice / word / speak

6.       Death/perished

7.       Brave despair

8.       Shouting

9.       Thunder sound

10.   Sea

11.   Youth faithful heart

Through the use of sounds and imagery, Hemans amplifies the child’s devotion to his father.

The poem starts off by presenting the image of a lonely boy standing on a flaming deck which was over perished people. He stood proudly, brightly and beautifully, as if he could “rule the storm”. He seemed to be a “creature of heroic blood” because everyone had fled, except him; the boy with a child-like form. One can conclude that these images portray the boy as an innocent child who has seen these people die, is literally surrounded by flames, able to escape, but has the heart to remain put. There is something he is hoping for, before the fire consumes him.

Later in the poem,  it is mentioned that the boy would not go without hearing his father’s  consent through “voice” and “words”. At one point, the boy shouted and cried out, “Speak, father!”  By Hemans using positive connotation to explain that the child heard only “voice” and words” from his father and not shouts or commands, shows his father to be contained. The child saw no harshness in his father. But by the boy shouting and crying out to his father, implies that the child’s has incredible faith in his father’s life. Also, it can be interpreted that the boy does not know, or doesn’t want to accept the fact that his father has perished. He has strong faith that his father has not died.

At the end of the poem, a thunder sound was heard. Hemans writes, “The boy–oh! where was he?”. Then, she adds an image of wind carrying “fragments” across the “sea.” And concludes the poem by mentioning that the noblest thing that perished there was a faithful heart. The image of “fragments” in the wind “strewing” the “sea” implies that the ship has blown up. The wind has carried the debris of the destroyed ship and gallant child across the “sea”. By using the word “sea,” Hemans portrays the image of how strong the child’s faith was. Also, the  boom of the explosion amplifies the significance of the child’s respect and faith for his father’s existence, possibly putting his father before any god. All he probably had in his life was the respect of his father, and without his father everything perished, specially his faithful heart.

FlaxyRunescape

RuneScape is a medieval-based role-playing game, which fortunately is set up so that if you want to advance in the game, you have to read a lot through quests which also contain many riddles/puzzles.

I was about thirteen years old when I began playing RuneScape, and played it for about four years, on and off. I got the nickname Flax because in RuneScape, I used to always "pick" flax, make it into bow strings and sell them for RuneScape gold. And every time a friend would ask, what I was doing?" I'd usually respond back, "Oh, just picking flax". From then on a friend kept calling me Flaxy. I've kept the nickname with me because the name reminds me of my childhood.

Honestly, the strange thing was that in school (and still now), the vocabulary used in the game always came in handy, and teachers would always ask how I amazingly knew the vocabulary used in certain new books we read. I never answered the question from embarrassment. 

Then one day a friend came over while I was playing that game, and asked what the name of the game was called, and I said RuneScape (a landscape of magical rune essences) and he repeated, "Run Escape?" I'd never had that perspective of the name like that. I then realized that that was what I was doing all along, using the game as an escape from the real world. Runescape helped me in English class but disconnected me from my surroundings for a moment in life.