For once, I feel like the writing gods have smiled upon me.
Or at least they sent me Westworld (and its brilliant soundtrack) to fuel my inspiration/creativity.
Bless.
I'm about 1,000 words in and feeling good.
I had my boyfriend read what I've written so far and he sure had some great insight into how I should proceed...he even got me thinking about things I haven't even thought of yet. He's so smart.
And totally getting a big shout out when this book comes to fruition!
Anyways, these posts make me feel accountable/like I actually might be making process even though no one probably reads them...eh, who cares.
Hopefully someday when this book is published and I'm a roaring success in the realm of YA, I can look back on these and smile.
It's been an EMBARRASSINGLY long time since I've updated on this whole book-writing process. My apologies.
The lack of updating would be due to the fact that I haven't written anything since July.
While that's extremely sad, I have great news!
I've been making headway with my book in the last few days (and by headway I mean pondering while driving/showering and planning things out in my head) and better yet, I'm taking Fiction Workshop this semester so I'll be forced to write for class.
Yay for being held accountable!
Alright, I'm going back to my Spotify playlist full of Western soundtracks and preliminary/necessary Wikipedia research.
If you've been here for a long time, first of all a "thank you" is definitely in order. I don't know why you've stuck around or so long, to be honest, but I'm glad you're still here.
My blog has gone through countless incarnations (beauty to fashion to academic, so on and so forth) but it has always been my personal space to write about that which I want to share with all of you.
And right now, it's serving as a form of procrastination.
I told myself that on July 1st, 2016 I would start writing my first book.
It is now technically (on the East Coast) July 2nd, 2016 and I have written zero words. Nada. Nothing,
They always say that starting anything is the hardest part. I would absolutely agree with that statement.
I've loved writing for as long as I can remember and I've always wanted to write books in some capacity.
Perhaps turning 22 has made me hyper-aware of the fact that:
a) I will be graduating from college in a year with my English degree
b) I will soon be out of school with loans to pay off
c) I've been telling people for years that I want to be an author and have yet to start writing books
d) I'm not getting any younger and I should probably start writing this book sooner rather than later so that the picture on the dust jacket is a half-decent one, preferably in which I don't have wrinkles
Okay, I could go on forever but bottom line is...I'm starting this process and I'm scared to death.
What if no one wants to read it? What if my ideas are completely idiotic? What if I can't get my book published?
Most importantly: What if I can't even finish it?
This quote really stuck with me: "Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
It kind of embodies how I'm feeling at this moment, at the beginning of this journey. I'm nervous but I have the make the leap sometime.
This specific blog post is for Currents in Brit Lit 2.
If you are still here from last semester, welcome back! If you're new here...hi!
They say that the eyes are the window to the soul, but when it comes to literary characters names are the written equivalent. Perhaps nowadays in a world where most celebrities have unknowingly entered themselves into a "weirdest baby name" competition, names have taken on a different purpose and reasoning.
The modern state of naming, whether it be in the literary sense or not, is questionable. However back in the days of yore (for the sake of this post the Restoration period), names in literary works had a multitude of wonderful functions.
William Wycherley's The Country Wife is a standout example when it comes to the multi-functionality of character names. These character's names perform two major functions:
1. to illuminate the character's true nature
2. to inspire humor within the reader
One of the main characters (he might even be our antagonist...that's up for debate), Mr. Horner, is one of the most obvious illustrations of these functions. His surname is explicitly tied to his inclination towards debauchery, as the main plot point for the play is Horner's rumor-fueled quest to conquer every one of his friend's wives. As Martha Fletcher Bellinger writes in her article on Restoration drama,
"The heroes of the Restoration comedies were lively gentlemen of the city, profligates and loose livers, with a strong tendency to make love to their neighbors' wives." In plain terms, our main character is a rakish man who is "horny" and certainly potent, though his male counterparts are led to believe otherwise. So, Horner's name performs both of the functions we defined; it illustrates his intentions in an obvious way and that in itself fulfills the second function. The blunt nature of his name is what contributes to the humor surrounding it, as despite the repetition of his surname by the various characters he interacts with (combined with his questionable actions), they all remain more or less oblivious. Horner makes his intentions towards women very clear from the beginning. In Act I, Scene I he tells the quack, "Doctor, a good name is seldom got by giving it one's self, and Women no more than honor are compassed by bragging." In other words, Horner is a by-product of his reputation just as women are. Yes, his surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from those who make musical instruments, but in Wycherley's play Horner is Horner because it is, simply put, his nature. The Restoration period is defined by its obsession with wit and nature (of the human variety), and Wycherley harnesses both of these concepts within The Country Wife. Another possibility regarding the significance of Horner's name is that it is a reference to the devil himself. Considering that Restoration literature is a rebellion against the staunch restrictions imposed by Puritan rule, Wycherley naming one of his main characters after Satan is an ironic throwback to more pious days. Horner...horny...horned? No need to leap very far to get to that one! Another character from Wycherley's comedy of manners is Pinchwife, and boy is his name full of sad, sad truth. Pinchwife is newly married to Margery, an "innocent" country girl, and he fears that his friends will steal her away from him therefore rendering him a lowly cuckold.
Pinchwife's attitude towards his wife (really, just women in general) and his tendency towards violence is hidden within his surname. This exchange between Horner and Pinchwife in Act I, Scene I speaks to his unsavory and undesirable nature:
Horner: But tell me, has Marriage cured thee of whoring?
Pinchwife: Well, Gentlemen, you may laugh at me, but I know the Town.
Horner: But prithee, was not the way you were in better than Marriage?
Pinchwife: A Pox on it, the Jades would jilt me. I could never keep a Whore to myself.
Pinchwife's name denotes two possible interpretations, both wholly valid and telling. The first is that as a bachelor he cannot keep a whore and he can barely even "pinch" a wife, taking to the country to find an innocent girl who will marry him. The dialogue between Horner and Pinchwife is dripping with sarcasm, as Pinchwife is not in any way a "lady's man" like his male counterpart. Horner uses this as ammunition and fires metaphorically at Pinchwife knowing that it will only bother him further.
Another way to construe the name Pinchwife is as a reference to his violent nature. Though his name is quite lighthearted and even humorous, his empty threats point towards darker realities. One of these many empty threats can be found in Act IV, Scene II:
Pinchwife: Write as I bid you, or I will write “Whore”with this knife in your Face.
These numerous empty threats made by Pinchwife, while not fulfilled, also reveal what it was life was like for women during this period. Women were practically powerless and what power they did wield was gifted to them in the form of reputation. Pinchwife threatening to carve "whore" into Margery's face is 17th century domestic violence coupled with the possibility of crippling his spouse's livelihood. And any hope she might have of marrying someone who actually loves her and doesn't try to mutilate her.
As previously mentioned, the two major functions of naming are to illuminate a character's true nature and to inspire humor within the reader. As far as Pinchwife is concerned, the first function is absolutely met however the second function is not as successful as with Horner. Sure, Pinchwife's sad-sack status with women is comical in conjunction with the banter of the other men however the emphasis is less on humor in his case.
With the Restoration author's obsession with the classics in mind, it only makes sense that the names of the characters within their works would be meaningful and complimentary to the themes and motifs of the play. Horner and Pinchwife's names are much more than something to call them, they are a brilliant device utilized by Wycherley to embody these themes and motifs in a literal sense. Horner and Pinchwife, with their qualms about women and marriage, are called Horner and Pinchwife to illustrate their complex relationship with these ideas. Wycherley's The Country Wife is a bawdy representation of life during the Restoration period and the characters that dwell within play a major role in portraying how human nature is flawed and in turn humorous.
Hi everybody! Today I just wanted to quickly review an awesome tool called Hypothesis that I've been using all semester for two of my English classes (Currents in American Lit and Critical Theory).
As an extension of your web browser (I use Chrome...does anyone not use Chrome?), Hypothesis lets individuals highlight and annotate any online text of their choosing. By allowing (encouraging it, I daresay) people to comment on texts, a sort of community is born and it's truly neat to be involved in.
The two classes I am in this semester are among the first classes to use Hypothesis in the classroom, and it has been exciting to test this tool, find bugs or problems, and watch the tool itself grow and improve. Though, that is to say that for the most part Hypothesis has proved to be quite user friendly and well programmed.
Personally, I struggle with reading online. I'm a "hold the book in my hand" kind of gal. When I say "reading online", I mean reading a text and actually comprehending it. Anyone can read online, but to get something out of a text that is not physically in front of you can be a challenge. However, I think Hypothesis has helped me to improve my competency and critical thinking skills.
I like to think of Hypothesis as a literary Facebook, if you will, as my classmates and I not only comment our own thoughts but also reply to each others. Far too often when I am reading a challenging text for class I can't stop dwelling on these questions: "Does anyone actually understand this? Am I crazy for thinking this means ___?" This brilliant tool lets me know that I'm not alone in feeling this way when I can see my classmates commenting in a similar fashion. It's quite comforting. Being able to reply to classmate's comments (with a range of media, no less...gifs anybody?) makes for some pretty entertaining online banter as well. I've laughed hysterically too many times to count whilst reading my classmate's comments (especially when we read Freud...man, that was a comedic goldmine) and I must say it increases the enjoyment I get out of doing my homework. And that's saying something.
At this point in the game, it is safe to say that technology has gradually wiggled its way into the sphere of education and changed it for the better. People were skeptical at first to shy away from traditional modes of teaching and learning, but technology in the classroom has not taken away from the process of teaching, rather enriched it profusely. Tools like Hypothesis contribute positively to the experience of learning, as they promote discussion and help build a community that functions as a collective pool of knowledge and possibility. I like to think I'm apart of that pool now!
Tools like Hypothesis are the future of education.
And I can't wait to see what else the future holds for students and teachers alike.
Hey everybody! We recently covered Sigmund Freud in Critical Theory and we touched on some of the weird, traditional concepts like penis envy, the castration complex, and of course the Oedipus complex.
The "Oedipus complex" is inspired by the play Oedipus Rex by Greek playwright Sophocles. The main character murders his father, has sex with his mother, and then proceeds to gouge his eyes out and go blind.
Worst day ever?
As the hilarious comedian/singer-songwriter Bo Burnham says in one of his songs:
"Gay dads blow pops, another sucker,
Oedipus was the first motherfucker"
Freud named his concept after Oedipus because he embodies the violent tension between child and same sex parent and the sexual tension between child and opposite sex parent.
Being the lover of popular culture (TV in this case) that I am, I couldn't help but think of a really awesome example of the Oedipus complex from American Horror Story. None other than Dr. Oliver Thredson from the second season, Asylum.
Played by Zachary Quinto, Thredson epitomizes the Oedipus complex. He is, quite literally, a living testament to Freud's theory. Which is pretty damn ironic considering the fact that Thredson is a psychiatrist.
Disclaimer: I am not a psychoanalyst, therefore my views on Thredson are merely speculation and open to interpretation and criticism. My professor told us we needed to say this before we went around saying crazy stuff about people, fictional or not.
Now Thredson's version of the complex is pretty interesting, considering the fact that his mother was absent from his life from a young age and his father's whereabouts are questionable. Because his mother was absent and therefore neither physically or emotionally present, his desperate need for motherly love morphed into something sinister and also sexual. The Oedipus complex is usually resolved in children when they cease their harboring of negative feelings towards their same sex parent, but clearly Thredson's absent father makes that resolution quite difficult.
Thredson first discovered his sexual feelings towards motherly figures when he was in medical school, more specifically in his anatomy class. The cadaver that the class examines, and Thredson later on is alone with, is a thirty three year old woman, the exact age of Thredson's mother when she abandoned him. In his deluded mind, Thredson believes that the cadaver is his mother.
viewer discretion advised: if rape scenes make you uncomfortable, i would say skip the video
At one point in the season, Thredson kidnaps Lana Winters from the asylum. Lana is a reporter who visits the asylum with the intention of exposing the horrors that occur there, however she herself ends up experiencing those horrors for herself. Thredson tricks Lana into thinking that he is helping her escape the monstrous asylum but little does she know that the home of her accomplice holds much more terrifying secrets.
As the video shows, Thredson claims that Lana is "the one", the motherly figure that he has searched for his entire life. He breastfeeds from Lana against her will and proceeds to rape her while she is in a catatonic state.
Clearly this an extreme case of the Oedipus complex. According to Freud, the Oedipus complex is usually resolved with minimal internal conflict and life goes on without a hitch. The origin of Thredson's neuroses is almost definitely rooted in his unresolved Oedipus complex, however that's not to say that his instability isn't influenced by psychopathy.
I suppose it's only fitting, if not ironic, that he went on to become someone who makes a living telling other people everything that is wrong with them.
