Another day, another four hour block devoted to literature. Monday, in reality, should not be spent any other way, especially when economics is threatening to suck the life out of you. Are not my parents the luckiest of souls that I allow them to pay my tuition this quarter? My favorite line from Greasy Lake comes when the character Digby is described as wearing a gold star in his right ear and allowing his father to pay his tuition at Cornell. Author T.C. Boyle appears to understand what it is like to be young and rebellious. He also does not seem to be afraid of poking fun at the hubris of youth. He over dramatizes and hyperbolizes imagery throughout the narrative. "My jaw ached, me knee throbbed, my coccyx was on fire. I contemplated suicide..." (193). "I waded deeper, stealthy, hunted, the ooze sucking at my sneakers." (192). The narrator must be slightly older at least to the point that he realizes he made a mistake, but not quite old enough to fully understand the lesson he was taught. I wonder what turn the story might have taken had Al sauntered forth from the woods as the girls called his name?
Monday, May 6, 2013
Young Youth and Manhood
Another day, another four hour block devoted to literature. Monday, in reality, should not be spent any other way, especially when economics is threatening to suck the life out of you. Are not my parents the luckiest of souls that I allow them to pay my tuition this quarter? My favorite line from Greasy Lake comes when the character Digby is described as wearing a gold star in his right ear and allowing his father to pay his tuition at Cornell. Author T.C. Boyle appears to understand what it is like to be young and rebellious. He also does not seem to be afraid of poking fun at the hubris of youth. He over dramatizes and hyperbolizes imagery throughout the narrative. "My jaw ached, me knee throbbed, my coccyx was on fire. I contemplated suicide..." (193). "I waded deeper, stealthy, hunted, the ooze sucking at my sneakers." (192). The narrator must be slightly older at least to the point that he realizes he made a mistake, but not quite old enough to fully understand the lesson he was taught. I wonder what turn the story might have taken had Al sauntered forth from the woods as the girls called his name?
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Yeah at this age it is easier to think the world revolves around you. As George Bernard Shaw says, "Youth is wasted on the young." This stage of energetic freedom, which could be a time of extreme productivity and change, is instead often given to people like me who don't have their minds made up yet!
ReplyDeleteNice focus on imagery and tying this to characterizing youth. Be sure you give a context to what you are interpreting. Introduce the literature you've been reading to all those who are not in our class.
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