It's That Time of Year...

As my title states, "it's that time of year" and I am not talking about Christmas time but Finals time!! I guess I wanted to Blog on the final for class talk about the "review" day before the final. I really liked when we did this for the midterm/quiz because it covered a good span of time and alot of information. I liked the way we got into groups and came up with possible vocab words and short answer and essay questions. The final will probably be a little longer than the midterm since it is a 2 hour exam rather than the 50 minutes we were allowed for the midterm. If we do decide to have this review, we should dedicate most of the class time towards brainstorming for ideas about the final.
I like reviews because they give you a chance to recall details of stories that were read weeks ago. And I know for me this is sometimes hard because I have all English classes and I am usually literally reading four different books and authors that are completely unrelated to one another! Reviews are also good because its nice to have the professor give his or her ideas on where to focus your attention when studying, rather than leaving you with a ton of information and not really having a good feel on what the final is going to focus on.

Lastly, I just wanted to give a few good tips on studying for big tests like midterms and finals. I usually do really well on these kinds of exams because the study habits I have developed over the years. A few pointers include:

• Do not wait until the night before to study! If you do this, you are only hurting yourself! Take the time to at least review the material (browsing over it and your notes) two or three days before you study.
• If it helps, study with a friend. Sometimes you learn more from another person's notes, opinions on material or from simply just talking about the stories and reviewing the things we discussed in class.
• Write notes in the book you are reading as you go along. Even if this just includes writing out the plot as it develops. Trust me, this will aid you immensely when you want or need to go back in the text to find certain information. Also, if we discuss certain passages or page numbers in class, you could mark it, star it, write the page number in your notes and a quick note on why its important or do whatever you have to do to remember it. This is very helpful especially when it is the professor who has directed your attention to this idea, sentence, quote, chapter or page--9 times out of 10 it will be important enough to appear on an exam!
• Try rewriting your notes. People think I am crazy for this but I swear this helps!! For the midterm, I literally went back and browsed over every piece we had read and also looked at my notes concerning those essay/stories. I then typed up a nice long study sheet. Yes, it does consume a lot of time but you will be thankful in the end! Typing or rewriting important ideas discussed in the text or class will not only refresh your memory, but it will also help when you are writing that essay. Also, you will have everything of importance organized and in your hands on a couple sheets of paper rather than having to drag around a ton of books and a huge notebook full of notes.
• Another good thing about studying earlier than the day before the exam is that it gives you time to ask questions that may come up while you study. Instead of not knowing the answer or having to wait until right before the exam to ask the professor, you will have time to email him or her and/or talk to them about your confusion.
• Lastly, and again in reference to rewriting notes, it will help you to develop a much more concise, focused and detailed essay. Sure you might not have that thesaurus there to help you plug in some big intelligent words to spice up your idea(s), but you will have concrete details from your notes and the text to back up your points.

I know everyone studies differently, but if anyone wants to consider and use some of these pointers I hope they help you!!!

Power reading schedule

Your reading schedule for our last novel, Power, is listed below. Please notice that you only have fifteen or so additional pages due for Wednesday, but then you are expected to read 75+ pages by Friday. In other words, while we'll only cover the specified chapters for that day, it is always to your advantage to read ahead.

Monday, Dec. 1: Ch. 1-3 (pp. 1-81)
Wednesday, Dec. 3: Ch. 4 (pp. 83-97)
Friday, Dec. 5: Ch. 5-6 (pp. 99-176)
Monday, Dec. 8: Ch. 7-9 (pp. 177-235)

Reading Questions (optional):
In what ways does Omishto feel torn between different worlds? How does she describe these worlds?
How would you characterize her relationship to place?
How are her ties to other people/characters distinct from her ties to animals and nature?
What kind of a narrator is she?
Why is the novel titled "Power"? What different kinds of power are at work here?

The Power of Names

We just finished Translations and I find myself discovering commonalties between the works of Linda Hogan and Brian Friel. In the novel Power Omishto states, "everything, our words, our intentions, travels by air." Her words have the strength to call out the powers of the mysterious animal watching her from the woods, and the names of Ireland's cities and streets have the power to maintain the history of their country and heritage. In Translations we are presented with the story that comes from the name of a crossroads, and in Power there is a story behind the spring of Immortality. In both cases the importance of these stories lie in the power behind the names of a particular place. It is from the history of these names that Omishto and Owen are able to relate to their land and home. Both characters are aware of their culture, but they each represent a transformation from the old ways to the new. For example, Owen left home and returned six years later as an employee of Britain whose job was to rename the cities and landmarks of Ireland. Omishto contrasts her beliefs to those of Ama and states "I don't believe in magic...This is what separates me from Aunt Ama...she still swears by old time beliefs, she believes in all the taiga stories, that they are true, that they are real." Owen and Omishto represent an evolution from the new to old. Change is inevitable despite the positive or negative effects it has on a particular culture or country. It seems that in Power the culture and land of the Taiga people is in jeopardy, and in Translations it was the history, heritage, and language of Ireland.

Beautiful Clouds

I have started to read Power by Linda Hogan and in the first and second chapters, I have noticed how Omishto has described the clouds. She talks about the clouds being born for the water. We all know that clouds are made of water but I never really thought of it as them being born for it. This twist in thinking really caught my attention. Then Omishto goes on to contemplate the clouds making a sound as they move so quickly and full of water, but she notices the peace and quite of the morning. This statement facinated me. We all know that clouds don't make a sound, so for someone to wonder why they don't interested me. It's one of those things that you just accept without ever needing an explanation.

The way Omishto notices the littlest things and points out the obvious but never considered facts told me of her love for nature. I sometimes wish that I could go sleep in a boat adne wake up to the peaceful sounds of nature. Just stay out on the lake all morning listening to the birds cherp and possible try to hear the clouds move. But life just gets too complicated to be able to do something like that on a regular basis if ever at all.

Significance of Language

"the old language is a barrier to modern progress"

"the images of the past embodied in language [shape us.]"

I found it hard to choose between these two quotes in class yesterday. I could not help but agree with both of the quotes, but perhaps leaning towards favoring the second one more. I definitely think that language is an important factor when trying to make progress in one's society. Having a common language for a community is essential or else nothing can be communicated, and considering communication is a central factor in building a community, without it, success and progress can not be achieved. Therefore, if that community wants to make progress and move forward with other communities, communication between the many societies is also important. In the case of Translations, Ireland still uses its old language, while England speaks English, therefore providing a somewhat more difficult task of modernizing Ireland. However, speaking from experience with a foreign exchange student, language is not everything. People can form relationships and get across ideas without the help of a common language; it is just more difficult.

I find myself agreeing with both quotes in the way that I think only knowing the old language prevents progress and modernization. But just because you learn a new language, it does not mean you forget about the one you used to speak. Why can't people know both? I mentioned this in class as well, but I do not believe this only applies to the Irish people, in the case of Translations. If the Irish learn English, I think it is just as important for the English to learn Irish, or at least any English people that are going to live in Ireland.

History

Yesterday in class we discussed the possibility of our past history making who we are today, and the more I thought about it, the more I agreed with this statement. Just think about it this way, without our past, we would be a totally different country. The Brittish still might be ruling us and we might not have our freedoms. We would not be outspoken or standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves. We know what it is like to be bullied, as a country, we have been there. So I fully think that without our history, we would be the same people today. I also think this of our personal history. I know if I had not gone through certain occurrences in my life, I would not be the girl I am today. I'm not quite sure if I would agree with the other quote that we discussed about the dead languages being a barrier to progress. I think that these two quotes are linked. The dead languages are apart of our history, and they would not have lead to newer languages. I don't think you need to lose your language to lose your history. Some of it might be forgotten, but everyone loses memories of their past as well.

The Invisible Twins

Yesterday in class we talked about the ending of Translations. One of the most important subjects we talked about, relating to the book was the story of the Donnelly twins. They were twins with no lines, with no visible part in the play, but their presence was a major part of the book. The question that we contemplated in class was, "What was the importance of the twins?" After the class there was more that I thought about that could give meaning to the twins. It is known that these twins were invisible in the sense that no one really knew what they were up to. Many English soliders treated the Irish as if they did not matter. I think the Donnelly twins used this to their advantage. Many of the soliders barely thought of the Irish as citizens, much less retaliators. The twins exploited this feeling of invisibility to their advantage, by using it to attack the soliders. If they were going to treated as if they were nothing, they were going to use that as their alibi when they wanted to retaliate. Also, it was important to include the twins because it shows that not everyone in Ireland stood around while the English changed everything. Many of the main characters were flabbergasted by the soliders and often helped them, but the twins acted differently. While, they think that they were doing a good thing, they attacked the wrong solider. Yolland was a solider who was changing the names, but in the end he realized how wrong that was of him. Maybe the author put this aspect in the book to show the readers that violence will not get a person very far. They took a solider that was willing to help them, but when he went missing the other soliders, who did not like the Irish, were going to burn down the town. While the Donnelly twins are invisible and use that to retaliate, they retaliated against the wrong man. If they went a different course instead of violence, their town might have been saved.

The Donnelly Twins

The Donnelly twins. I couldn't help but like them (after all, two of my best friends from home actually are twins, with the last name Donnelly). Although they had no lines and no physical presence in the play, even the mention of their name added quite a dynamic to the play.
The Donnelly twins represented Ireland. As the English were coming into their land, killing their people then later coming back to change the names, Irish pride was on the rise. In the play the characters seemed to have some type of reliance on the twins. The twins always seemed to know what to do in any situation and had the power to protect themselves.
It was almost as if they were something to be feared. I got the impression that the Donnelly twins held courage, power, and strength. The English probably didn't know about them, but they should have. The Donnelly twins were not about to let their homeland be taken over.
I liked the Donnelly twins so much because they represented loyalty. They were not shown or heard in the play because they were not two specific characaters, they were a group of people. The Donnelly twins were really all of the quiet Irish nationalists. I admire their pride and courage.
I guess it's not really that I like the Donnelly twins, I like the Irish nationalists.

Who do the English think they are?

Today in class we talked about why Hugh may be so restant to change. His idea that the past of a person is embodied in a language, and his nationalism both contribute to this resistance. For me, though, his resistance could be even more simple. I put myself in Hugh's position, or the position of the Irish people for that matter. I cannot imagine some authority figure, who I have been taught is "evil" (i.e. the British in the eyes of the Irish), coming in and just changing my language. That in itself would be enough for me to resist the change, even if I did not have an intense love of my country like that of Hugh. Even if I was not involved in a revolutionary movement, or felt a connection to the past through my language, the mere fact that some outsider was coming in and changing my language would be enough for me to resist the change. Who were the English to come in and think that they could just change a language? It was pretty ambitious of the British to believe that they could do such a thing without meeting any resistance, and they Irish who complacently let the change occur obviously were not thinking what they were doing. If the British could come in and change a language, what else could they do?

An Open Mind

As I wrote Parts I-III of the creative interpretation assignment, I was influenced by an aspect of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's style. Writing from the point of view of a journal is very valuable and advantageous for both the narrator and for the audience of a story. For my creative interpretation I chose to write "The Yellow Wallpaper" from the point of view of John's sister, Jennie. I decided to write it, similar to the narrator, in the form of a journal for many reasons. As we witnessed in "The Yellow Wallpaper" the narrator develops an obsession with the wallpaper in her room and this leads her to pure insanity. If it weren't for the fact that she narrated the story from her journal, her progression of obsession with the wallpaper would not make sense to the audience. I chose to write from Jennie's point of view because I felt her character was underdeveloped in the story, and revealing her point of view from a journal allowed for further background and development of her character. It allowed her to gain: a voice/tone, personality, perspective on the narrator and her obsession, and personal thoughts about what was going on with the narrator throughout the story. Journals are of advantage to the narrator and the audience because they are an inside look at what the narrator is experiencing and thinking. Journals are blank pages that allow you to declare freely your thoughts about anything and everything. By reading a story from a journal's perspective, we the audience, gain an inside look at a person's honest emotions and a recollection of their experiences first-hand. A journal is valuable to the narrator of the story also because it allows them to speak freely, without any reservations. Another benefit of a journal, compared to a story whose narrator speaks solely from the first-person point of view, is that journals are current reflections of what has happened. Typically a narrator of a story is only able recall things that happened in the past and their feelings of current. A narrator who narrates from a journal is able to reflect on what happened as it happened and their feelings of current. There are several advantages to writing a story from the narrator's journal's perspective and I came to understand these and admire Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" even more from this creative writing experience.

Funny Grammar Tips

For a great (& hilarious) shortcut to understanding common grammar errors, check out this list of reminders compiled by some teachers at Harvard University. My personal favorites:

#3: Use the semicolon properly, always where it is appropriate; and never where it is not.
#33: Always be avoided by the passive voice.
#35: Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague: seek viable alternatives.

Manus as Mother

As I was finishing up Translations by Brian Friel, I could not help but notice the way Manus is almost like a mother figure to his father, Hugh. Early in the story we see Manus giving Hugh his daily needs; his milk, tea and bread. Like a mother, Manus provides Hugh with milk but by the end of the play, he declares now that he is leaving, Hugh will "need only half the amount of milk now . . . Even less than half--he usually takes his tea black" (71). This seems like a simple and basic statement by Manus, but I saw Manus like a mother who is going away and leaving a child behind. Manus directs Owen with all the precautions and special instructions for Hugh. Mother's usually have a schedule and emergency numbers laid out for the babysitter and here Manus is the mother and Owen is the babysitter for Hugh. Manus also informs us he has ironed and hung up Hugh's dress shirts and put away his socks. I wonder how the characters will get along without Manus and whether Hugh will ever be able to "grow up" without relying on the help of others.

Translation of Names

Sometimes authors use meanings of names to define a character, and I was curious to see if this is what Friel did in Translations. Using the website, Babynamesworld attempted to find out these meanings.

George-Earth worker Sarah- Hebrew for Princess
Manus- Latin for great Owen- Gaelic for well born
Marie- Hebrew for bitter Hugh-Germanic for mind, heart, or spirit
Jimmy Jack- Hebrew for sub planter and Hebrew for god is gracious
Doalty- was not found under firts or last names Bridget-Gaelic for the exalted one
Lancey- French for soldier who was skilled

I found most of these interesting. One can see the characters and their meanings linked in some possible ways. Owen is strong and has more of a dominating personality then his brother Manus. Marie is upset in the book about not being able to understand George. George find Ireland beautiful and would much rather work in the fields and stay then be a solider. Lancey, for the obvious he is a Captain. Hugh, his spirit is in helping those who want to learn, and I believe he has a brilliant mind. However, it isn't shown because he is protrayed as an alcoholic. Manus, I think the way Friel might have linked this is the fact that he is always there for those who need his help. He helps with Sarah and keeps an eye out for his dad. Jimmy Jack, linkage between how he always speaks the "dead languages." It seems as if he were to be real and speak in those tongues, it would flow nicely and sound catching to the ear. I can't really find a linkage between Sarah and Bridget.

Even if Friel did not research the meanings of names that he gave his characters, it is interesting how they can be linked.

"Something is being Eroded"

Sometimes it is easy to take unique gifts, or other attributes for granted. Often over look the little things that make our town or our home unique. Act II presented several different themes, but one idea that really interested me was the connection that Yolland was beginning to feel to this Irish community, where he was an outsider. He was intrigued by the very names of the places that he and owen were renaming. He was intrigued by the very language that he was, in some ways, trying to eradicate. He was intrigued by the people who were being renamed. To me, Yancey represented innocence of a subordinate. He was doing his job by renaming the towns and people, but he even stated at the end of the act, "something is being eroded." Yolland, perhaps more than Owen, understands the richness of this community and my taking character out of people and places, the truly is "something eroded." Owen does not seem to appreciate his past, and has taken the little things for granted. Although Yolland does not have a past in Dun na gall, he already feels that it is a special place. I am curious, as the play continues, if name changes will continue as Yolland is feeling deeper connections to the town and the people.

Lend Me a Tenor

I'm sure you all have seen the signs around campus and the fliers in the napkin holders in the dining hall advertising the play "Lend Me a Tenor". First off, I would like to clear some things up. One thing that always confused me was what a tenor was, so for anyone who doesn't know I have included a link to a cite that explains it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenor. Now that that is cleared up, I can start in on my point. This past Thursday, I went to see this play. I didn't know what to expect since I had no idea what the play was about. But as the play started, I began to notice very subtle references to Othello. I began to pick up that the plot line entailed a theater program putting on the play Othello and the manger had this huge Italian actor lined up to play the part of Othello. But disaster strikes when the manager and his handy man find the famous actor "dead" is his hotel room. To avoid upsetting the audience, the manager strikes up a brilliant plan to dress his handy man up in the actor's costume and pretend to be the famous actor playing Othello. The plan worked out brilliantly in the respect that everyone believed the handy man was the famous actor. But a new twist arises when the actor wakes up from a very sound sleep and tries to break into the theater under his own name. But he is rejected by the guards as an impostor. Back in the hotel after the play, the handy man impersonating the actor and the actor himself, both still dressed as Othello, cross paths with the other characters but never at the same time to realize that they are seeing double. Once the truth comes out, the play ends with at happy departure of the actor and his wife back to France. At the very end, before the final bows, the characters preform a really fast, two minute recreation of what happened in the play. I cant remember what they are called but they are done after may modern recreations of Shakespeare's plays. It is when the play is done with no dialog and at a very fast pace of a quick overview of what had happened in the play. I found it kind of ironic that they chose to add this on to the end when technically it wasn't a Shakespeare play but made reference to one.

Is It Actually Love?

While I read Act two scene 2 of Translations, I was reminded of a scene from the movie "Love Actually." This movie explores the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during the weeks before Christmas in London, England. One of the eight relationships follows a man named Jamie who finds out his girlfriend has been cheating on him with his brother. He breaks up with her, moves away, and enlists the help of a Portuguese woman, Aurelia, who becomes his assistant and helper around the house. Eventually the two fall in love, but the strange thing is that neither of them speak one another's language. They find themselves trying to speak to each other through hand motions (and even a kiss eventually), but most of the time they end up speaking in their respective languages with absolutely no idea what each other is saying. This results in some pretty humorous moments when the two are together, repeating everything each other is saying and having no idea that they are doing so. Just like Jamie and Aurelia, Yolland and Maire find themselves in the same situation. They don't speak the same language nor do either of them know each other's respective language. They also find themselves speaking through motion whether it be holding the other's hand, Maire "turn[ing] away from him and moving slowly across the stage", or through a kiss at the end of Act two (65). Also like Jamie and Aurelia, Yolland and Maire find themselves in situations where their speech causes humorous frustration. When Maire is telling Owen to tell Yolland about the dance it gets a little out of hand in the end with Maire asking Owen, "what does he say?" and Yolland asking him, "what is she saying?" (61). Eventually Owen just gives up and refuses to translate any further. I found that scene quite hilarious.

In the end of "Love Actually" Jamie and Aurelia end up learning one another's languages without each other knowing. Jamie proposes to Aurelia and they become engaged. So this leads me to wonder, do Yolland and Maire have the potential to do the same? Can they be together despite the language barrier? Can you love someone you've never really spoken to? Judging from Sarah's reaction of, "Manus...Manus!" when she finds them kissing at the end of Act two, we can anticipate some drama in their circle of friends as a result of this (67). Although Jamie and Aurelia and Yolland and Maire's relationships appear similar, I have a feeling Yolland and Maire's relationship will not end up as "dream come true" as Jamie and Aurelia's. I wonder, considering Maire and Yolland, will the language barrier be enough to keep them from being together? Is their relationship superficial since they cannot really speak to one another? Does Yolland and Maire's "relationship" have potential to be actually love?

"Becoming a Model Community"

Dr. Jamillah Karim's lecture titled "Becoming a Model Community" was very insightful. She gave a brief summary of the basic beliefs of the Islamic religion, focused on Muslims in America and their goal as a religious community. One aspect of her lecture that I was surprised to hear about was how many Muslims have immigrated to the United States over the years. She said, "

three to six million Muslims live in the United States from 75 different countries." As a result of this, many Americans have converted to Islam; "20,000 conversions occur per year" from various religious and ethnic backgrounds. Dr. Karim also informed us that, "Islam has become indigenized as a popular religion in the United States and American Muslims have “found acceptance in the U.S. regardless of religion.” How astonishing! It is great to see that so many religions, including Islam, have found prosperity in the United States.

Another idea that Dr. Karim focused on was how Muslims are determined to become a "model community." She said that their vision in America and other countries is to “emerge as a community that surpasses racial divides.” According to Dr. Karim, there are many ways in which Muslims have already started to change communities around the world. In southern Spain “Muslims are associated with intelligence and higher learning, while in Africa, Muslims were the first literate class in oral civilization,” Karim explained. Muslims have also become involved in politics and charitable organizations and see America as a land of opportunity. Many Muslims registered to vote in the 2008 election, several American Muslims have supported donations to non-Muslim charities, and countless Muslims have taken on jobs in the U.S. Also, Muslim-founded organizations and groups like UMMAH and EMAN are focused on transcending "racial boundaries to accept all people" and becoming involved in their community by way of providing interaction between many races and religions. I think it is admirable to see Muslims striving to make the world more accepting of all people and they have the determination to transform world communities for the better by becoming a "model community." Like Karim said, "a bright future remains in the hands of Muslims and non-Muslims” for America and the Islamic religion, and I believe that the goals they want to accomplish are both attainable and will shape religious and non-religious communities around the world into involved and religiously and culturally aware societies.