Sir Leigh Teabing

Sir Leigh Teabing was the twist I never thought of. I had right from the beginning associated him with the good guys. He was that sweet old elderly man who acted like a grandfather figure for me. I still can’t believe that he ended up being the mastermind behind the whole thing. It’s rather unfeasible for me. I thought of him as one would think of as a friend’s grandfather. He was helpful, always giving Robert and Sophie advice. Always offering them help like when he had taken them to London in his plane even though he could have gotten arrested for helping a fugitive escape. And sometimes he would make a joke here and there, being that good old comic relief to a serious situation. Overall he was just an adorable old man. I felt feelings for him as I would for my own grandfather. He was just a lovable old (some what kooky) man.

And then BOOM. It hits me like a big fat red rubber ball when you accidently get stuck in a game of dodge ball. Somehow I never saw it coming. He ended up being evil. Well maybe not evil but the bad guy. Even after a few chapters that still haven’t registered in with me yet. I still see him as a sweet old elderly man whose obsession for the Holy Grail makes him do crazy things. I can make up excuses for him murdering people. Somehow I can justify his acts as his last wishes before he dies. But I know it’s wrong. Yet, I can’t help but not hate him. The feeling is very strange. It’s like you brain tells you to dislike that person but your heart is still unwillingly to accept that the person is actually truly bad. You still want to believe that it’s all a scam. And that the person is actually good. It’s like you’re in denial. And I truly was. I couldn’t accept the fact that he was bad because I wanted so much to believe that he was good. He had seemed so good! Even now I want to believe he is still good. That someone else is the true mastermind. I wonder why? Is it because I had so long before accepted him being good that now all of a sudden him being bad is just unthinkable? Or do I just love elderly people too much? (I always feel pity for them for some reason. I see them as adorable.)

Ergggg. It just irks me that he turns out to be bad. It was really a twist I never saw coming.

Sophie Neveu

At first her appearance came off as rather arrogant to me. She had that confident air around her that made her seem almost snobbish to a point. It was as if she was saying to the world “Look! I’m better than you are!” And it’s mostly because she had seemed so sure of herself and her actions in the first few chapters. Sophie knew how to handle people and she definitely knew how to handle Robert Langdon. She didn’t hesitate to tell Robert Langdon what he should do and shouldn’t do. She pretty much just ordered him around when they were trapped in the Louvre and trying to escape. She had to have everything her way. She had to be the one in power. It was like she needed that dominance over other people. Right then and there I decided that she was just another brat.

But after a few chapters, I finally begin to understand her as a deeper character than I had previously thought. She wasn’t arrogant. She was just a strong woman who disliked showing her weakness to the world. She desperately tried to hide being weak in front of other people especially males that she seemed so confidant while in fact she was truly fragile. She had been so mentally disturbed by her grandfather’s action a few years back in the book that she (to me) seems to have developed a mental block against all males. She doesn’t want to trust them since she was afraid they would go and do something that she would deem as inappropriate. She was afraid of being hurt by them that she had tried to show to everyone that she was strong. She tried to put up an illusion of always being sure of her self, of always being confident. That she didn’t need any male’s help. She could do it on her own. She didn’t want to be hurt.
However, that makes her the person she is. Without being strong she isn’t Sophie Neveu. It was thanks to those traits that the book even went on like it did. And I have to say I really liked those traits in her. It made her the unique woman in the book. And she had on numerous of occasions been the leader and the one to solve the mystery which would even perplex the great Robert Langdon. She had been the one to solve find the clue hidden in “The Madonna of the Rocks”. She even figured out the combination of her grandfather’s safe box.

Also I felt that she had changed as well. In the beginning of the book, Sophie had seemed distant. She was cold to everyone and had acted in that professional manner that was polite but never friendly. She was the type of person you can talk to but would never be friends with. And that was what she portrays to everybody. However during the course of the book, she begins to be more open. She loses her “professionalism” and drops whatever façade she had put up to save her self from getting hurt. She wasn’t just the Strong Woman she was before. She had fiannly begin to open up. She starts revealing herself more to Robert Langdon and even begins to trust him as a close friend. She tells him of her past and even the events that led to her estrangement with her grandfather. A fact of detail she had never told anybody else before she proves to the readers how close to he two has become and how much Sophie truly trusts Robert. And due to that bond and whatever else that made Sophie more open she even forgives her grandfather, something she hasn’t been able to do for ten long years.

Overall, I really fell in love with her character. She was a type of person who I can look up to as an idol. She was strong. She was smart. And she is friendly as well. She wasn’t just a brat, she was like a “Princess”.

Holy Grail, First Impressions

Religion is always a touchy subject for me. I feel as though in any stance or position that I take, I will always undoubtedly offend someone- of course I don’t absolutely mean to. It’s just that religion is one of those topics where attaining perfect harmony with anybody is unfeasible. It’s like trying to sing in unison but there’s always one person 3 beats ahead. Or somebody who is just horribly off tune. However, the topic of the Holy Grail is too provoking for me to resist.

Before I had ever discovered this novel, I had only known the Holy Grail as a chalice. Nothing more, nothing less. Although the reason behind this attitude of mine towards one of the world’s most intriguing artifact was mainly because I had no real fancy for it. It was interesting but that was all. It was nothing more to me than a cup. I probably cared more about my own ice cream cup than I did for the “chalice”. I couldn’t understand the addicting power it had possessed on so many. However now I can’t help but wonder if there is any more to this myth.

The Da Vinci Code (in my perspective) points to the assumption that the Holy Grail was truly the blood line of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. And not as the cup that Jesus had drank from at the Last Supper as many would have liked to believe. Even though I have heard of these speculations before on numerous of occasions, this time there was just so much facts that I couldn’t ignore. There were too many coincidences that the idea became credible in my mind. It was plausible, likely, feasible. So why not? I couldn’t help but think: Why not? And so there the seed was lodged deep into my conscience. The idea stuck to me like flies to fly paper. But of course I had doubts. A lot of them to be exact. Nevertheless, as I dug deeper into the book, the more I came to firmly believe in the bloodline. Too many coincidences. Still...

Is it just a cup? Or is it more? Is it really Jesus’ bloodline? Or just the chalice that held his blood? So many questions rage war inside my head as I desperately try to pin together the pieces of the puzzle. But with a blindfold on and some pieces missing. It seemed like a task even more strenuous than labor. And so I spent many endless nights, with a fervent fever, my mind in hysteria for the knowledge I craved to know yet cursed to be ignorant. (I wonder do all Histologists feel this way too).The idea of a conspiracy was just so addicting, the theories like a siren’s song seducing me into its realm, constantly teasing me with soothing whispers of cures to the disease. I can’t wait but to find out more...

First Impressions

To be honest, I absolutely adore mystery and adventure novels where the main characters go on some sort of “quest” so I was initially thrilled with the prospect of The Da Vinci Code where, the main characters Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu would go on a hunt for the lost Holy Grail, rumored to be the chalice that Christ had drank from at the Last Supper, the night before his Crucifixion. Although I do tend to stay away from books that deal with religion since there always seem to be too much propaganda or what I call “religion marketing”, the idea of the quest seemed too intriguing that I felt a need to read that book to satisfied my thirsty curiosity- that coupled with the fact that I had heard a great many number of good reviews pertaining to the novel as well- I decided to go ahead and relieved myself from the parched land of inquisitiveness. Upon examining the first few chapters, I immediately fell into the hypnotic spell that seemed to be cast on any and all who choose to open the volume. I was immersed in such a well crafted world, that I could almost feel the cold Paris air, hear the sirens in the distant, and I was entranced to say the least. The details are above average, not really amazingly spectacular but it was vivid and well developed enough for me to be possibly enthralled. And I must say that Dan Brown has a wonderful ability to paint a scene into his reader’s mind so ingeniously that it pulls the reader from their reality into the one Brown had expertly sculpted. But what kept me most entertained was my own inquisitive nature. There were infinitely too many questions I had to have the answers to that it was all but impossible to put the book down. My mind was always repeating the same excuse: “Just one more page”. I always felt pressed that I didn’t know solution and that kept me awake for so long beneath the covers of my bed, too angered at my own ignorance. Even though I had only gotten through the first few chapters, it was an excitingly thrilling experience that had me beseeching into the late hours of midnight for more

Robert Langdon, Chapter 3-7

He still seems to be that semi-anti-hero type, but now I get a sense of his intelligence. He is very adept at deciphering the minds of the people around him even if he doesn’t seem to know them well. His perceptiveness is very intriguing as through his perception we can read other’s minds as well. For instance when he was talking to the French driver and agent, he noted the hidden agenda behind their questions to delve into his nature or rather the American nature and from this we get a taste of their thought process. (But this can also be seen as a generalization on his part for stating what one Frenchmen’s opinion to the rest so he may indeed be a slight tad biased to foreigners than to his fellow Americans.) However though, he seems to be unable to read Captain’s Fache. And as I had pointed out earlier, Robert Langdon seems to be a very “smart” person. Rather he is the knowledgeable type, like the person who always seems to know everything. You admire them for their intelligence, but sometimes you get annoy that they know so much which may make you feel belittled compare to them. And I also see this as a bit of possible foreshadowing. Perhaps later on, there’ll be a situation in which Robert Langdon can’t use his intelligence or maybe he doesn’t know everything, particular what he needs to know. Or maybe his intelligence is going to be his downfall? Perhaps by being too smart he puts himself in jeopardy. But from these chapters, I can safely conclude that Mr. Langdon is by far the one with the most superior knowledge as of the novel so far. Although Fache is also “smart” as well but he strikes me as the “street savvy” person more: the type who is guile, cunning, and crafty but not exactly the bookworm. He seems to know a lot more often than not, he should be the type who misunderstands what he thinks he knows. And maybe this is foreshadowing too. Perhaps he thinks he is right when in fact in that situation he was wrong

Robert Langdon, Chapter 1 & 2

So far, as I can tell from the novel (or from the first two chapter anyway), Robert Langdon seems to be the typical semi-anti-hero. He will be the person “who saves them all” but had not wanted to be the player of the role in the first place and shows resentment for position but then his feelings will change and he’ll embrace the hero within. He'll probably doen't want anything to do with what he "has" to do and even tries to ignore the position. But fate will be a cruel mistress and no matter how hard he'll run, fate just keeps coming back. That’s my prediction: a very, very typical character. Nevertheless I’m intrigued by how he’ll eventually be the savor of the day- (trust me he will!)

Houyhnhnms

I have never really thought of humans as the ultimate creature on Earth. I guess I always just “knew” that we were. And I never really doubted that thinking. And there was not one thought I ever had that was relevant to horses being the dominant creature. But in Gulliver’s 4th voyage, it’s the creatures that rule us, not the other way around.
The Houyhnhnms are so far the most morally and ideally advance of all the beings Gulliver has encountered. They show kindness and benevolence to one another and they have a strong bond between them. They are deemed virtuous and they all work towards the betterment of the community as whole instead of just bettering themselves. Gulliver sees them as the most perfect ideal type of creature and idolizes them so much and to a point where he deludes himself into thinking that he is in fact one of them.
For me, I can’t see it Gulliver’s way. They are kind. They are benevolent. They are ideally the best. But they’re not human. And it’s not just about appearances as to why they aren’t human but it’s the way they are too perfect. Humans all have flaws. None of us are perfect and neither can we claim to be that way. We all are greedy at some point. There’s bound to be something we want and our selfishness will push us into getting it. There are times when we put ourselves in before others. There are times we lied. Times we did something hurtful to somebody. Or times we thought of doing something that’s not morally right. And we can’t deny that because that’s the way humans just are. We are controlled mainly by our emotions and we do act upon them so we can never do what is deemed right all the time.
The Houyhnhnms society is great. But it’s great for the Houyhnhnms. And of course I wish that at times I can be just as morally outstanding as they are but then I know that some of the things I’ll do just to be “good” will go against my own desire and conscience. (Besides what’s right isn’t always right for somebody else.) I’m fine with living in this world of flaws. Because within the flaws, there’s always some perfection and that perfection will always seem brighter, better, greater then if everything is perfect all the time. And that would just be too dull anyway. Humans need to have some fun in their lives!

Yahoos

Yahoos. The first thing that will always come to my mine is my email. But of course the ugly beast like creature that Gulliver despises comes a close second. Gulliver’s first run in with the Yahoos was after he was washed up (again!) on an unknown shore after his crew mutinied against him. Then at distant he sees a strange looking creature that has long hair, goat-like beards, and extremely sharps claws. Gulliver’s first impression of these creatures’ appearance is that it’s very unattractive and almost repulsive. He then tries to explore the island and wonders if there are any inhabitants of this one as well. But as he then encounters one of the unsightly creatures from before and proceeds to take out his sword and hit the animal. But as he manages to do so the creature let out a holler and a whole other group of them try to attack Gulliver although he does manages to hide him self. But then Gulliver is saved when the unknown beings scurry off at the sight of a horse. Clearly Gulliver’s first encounter of Yahoos was not a very pleasant one.
Yahoos in my opinion are only a more feral side of human beings. As Gulliver describes I always compare them with cavemen due to there unruly appearance and animalistic manners. For one instance when one of the Houyhnhnms had placed a piece of flesh in front on the Yahoos, they had nearly gone ballistic and tore at the bloody meat. Soon we can see that Gulliver’s wish be more like the Houyhnhnms cost him to hold much contempt for the Yahoos. He sees them as malevolent creatures that care for none but themselves. To him, they are just cowardly worthless beings.
I find that Gulliver’s views on the Yahoos are too harsh. The Houyhnhnms never gave the Yahoos a chance to change and they never made an attempt to help them learn any better so how can they hold such hatred for beings who are the way they are because that was the way they have always been? They do not really know any better than to behave the way they see other of their kind behave. And I can’t find a valid enough reason to just have such distain for a race that is to me almost like little toddlers. They can think for them selves but they repeat what the normally see. And just as I have enough ability to forgive small kids for their mistakes than why shouldn’t I be able to forgive the Yahoos for being so primitive? Yes, I will admit that I do feel some sense of almost arrogance over them because I’m more “advanced” but I can’t feel hatred as deep as Gulliver’s.

Laputa

Sometimes I think Gulliver never learns. Having voyaging twice and both times landing on a foreign land and almost getting killed by the natives there, you would think that any one in their right minds would vow to leave home again. I would. I mean almost getting pricked to death by tiny needles and almost having yours eyes gouged out would really put a damper on any future voyages. Not to mention the fact that he almost got trampled on by giants, enslaved, almost killed by a mothering monkey and jealous dwarf. Those would not be things that would make me go “Yes! Let us venture out once more!” But Gulliver being restless as he was’ he took off and this time was left to die out at sea. But then - maybe luckily- spots an island and inhabits it. Then like the rest of his voyages the most unexpected things happen. Gulliver spots a floating island above his own and so he calls out to the people above. They hear him and lower a chain to which they later use to pull him up. And thus is the beginning of Gulliver’s adventure in Laputa.

When Gulliver first sees the island’s inhabitants, he is at first very mystified by their appearances. The Laputians all have their heads tilted to one side, either to the left or right, and have one eye turned inward and the other turned up. They wear clothing adorned with illustrations of celestial masses and musical instruments such as fiddles, flutes, harps, etc. (pg. 82) These people were also quite the daydreamer and had trouble with focusing their thoughts to one particular subject. Their mind digresses so much that there was a need to employ some of them just to tap on the others ears or mouths with sticks with a pouch tied at the end called flappers. Gulliver also comes to learn that the Laputian’s culture is heavily based on mathematics and music. A humorous example would be when Gulliver had his first dinner with them. The first course was a shoulder of mutton that was shaped into an equilateral triangle while the beef was separated into rhombuses and the pudding put in a cycloid shape. The second course had more music inspired dishes than the first. Two ducks were placed as to that they would have a semblance of fiddles, the sausages and pudding were flute-like, and the cut of veil had a strong harp look. Even the bread was divided into mathematical figures.

From my first impression I see Laputa as much more strange or foreign than the other two nations. Lilliput and Brobdingnag had a lot more similarities to our world than I can ever imagine Laputa having. Yes, the Lilliputians were tiny and the Brobdingnagians were huge but their differences from our own come mostly from their physical appearance. And even then the Laputians still in my mind trumps them. Well, because I have seen really small people and really large people as well but maybe not as extreme as those Gulliver encounter but I have never seen anyone who remotely resembles Laputians. And another of the strangest things I’ve ever heard of –other then starting a war over how to break eggs- is there over all culture.

The Laputians are the most far off from “human” so far of any of the characters depicted. They seem to have the focus mainly on math, science, and music leaving little space for anything else to occupy their minds with. And I can’t help but compare them to “aliens”. For one thing they have the Unidentified Flying Object part covered! And it’s just that somehow they feel distant. It’s the way that they are so submerged within their own realm of thinking that they rarely give any thought to other matters. It’s as though nothing matter to them except for what’s currently occupying their minds. They don’t seem to care for very much anything else but for their mathematics and science and music. They are even so clueless of their surroundings that they must actually have people hit them with flappers just so that they won’t unknowingly walk off the edge of the island or run into a ditch. And I absolutely find that humorous yet very ridiculous at the same time. But to say the truth I wouldn’t be able to like them very much. I feel as though they are the type of people who unconsciously ignore everything that’s right in front them. And I wonder if they never care to think of anything else or care for anything else than how do they love? I know that’s corny but I really believe that living a life like would be a waste. They have their entire life to live and yet they don’t care! So how in the world do they even have the ability to let love get in the way of their scientific thinking?!?!?!?!?

Brobdingnag

Gulliver’s travels really always involve the strangest twists. First he had arrived in nation where he was a giant, which meant that every Lilliputian were about one-twelfth his size. And now he is once again washed up ashore in a deserted bizarre new land. Except instead of waking up to minuscule humanoids strapping him down he is almost decapitated by a scythe. A very large one at that! For you see this time Gulliver has found himself in the wondrous new world known as Brobdingnag. When Gulliver had finally had enough of the torment of waiting for a very large foot to come down he had screamed as loudly as he could. One of the giants working in the corn field finally takes note of Gulliver and proceeds to pick him up. Though now Gulliver having “shrunk” and within the presence of giants even the smallest pressure can inflict pain. (pg. 42) This is a very amusing turn of events since now it seems that Gulliver’s position has changed. He was first the once high and mighty giant to the Lilliputians but now he is nothing more than a mere toy to these Brobdingnagians.
Gulliver’s initial stay in Brobdingnag turns out to be a virtually horrid experience. He’s nearly trampled on in the beginning and then later on he is degraded into a lowly position for the greed of one giant. He is made into a nothing less of a “freak” on display for people to jeer at and to be made the object of scorn and ridicule. This goes to prove how much size (and not just physically but also in position) is a matter of importance within Gulliver’s world. When Gulliver had lived within Lilliput his giant size had made him into almost deity-like within the eyes of the Lilliputians. He was rewarded with awe and respectful wonderment whereas within Brobdingnag he is showered with only curious glances for the enjoyment of his spectators. As if he was nothing better than a caged animal useful with only the purpose of making his master rich. Another seemingly ironic situation given that after Gulliver had returned from Lilliput he had smuggled away a few farm animals From Blefuscu to be put on display for the sake of the gold which he could earn for presenting such rare oddities (pg. 40).
Though soon after Gulliver is forced into performing “tricks” to entertain his viewers he begins to seriously fall ill due to the all emotional and physical strain demanded upon him from having to travel and presented so frequently. His health deteriorates to the point that he becomes extremely fragile and thin because of losing so much weight. And yet like with any other toy, the owner only regrets the losing of his fun or prosperity rather than for the object itself. Gulliver’s “master” hardly shows any remorse at being the cause of Gulliver’s ill health. Instead he only regrets losing the money that Gulliver could bring in for him if he were to live much longer and thus determines to use Gulliver to all of his ability before the time of death would occur (pg. 51). And during the whole trial of reading these passages I couldn’t help but feel deep disgust for such a morally-lacking character. I had with all my will for that whole 3 hours greatly detested the cruel treatment of which any “humans” –term used vaguely- would treat another with even if that other person be tiny or insignificant. It reminded me of how selfish one could really be when they do not or can not view another as an equal but as a person of lesser value than their own. That person then could only put themselves ahead of everybody else for which they deemed “unworthy” or basically trash. And that just makes my blood boil by the fact that any person could see some else as insignificantly as did this farmer with Gulliver, and especially with a life at stake. I can’t help but be angered that a life was considered to be of less important that something as trivial as money. (And even though I know that many times reality is much the same as is depicted fictiously albeit a little more exaggerated, I can’t help the fact of wanting to deny that claim. I have already known of numerous of instances where money and maybe even less trivial objects are greatly adored above a life. Take any robbery for example that would have ended fatal. Or any kidnappings. Even war.)
Fortunately though for Gulliver, the queen of Brobdingnag had taken such a fancy with him that she had bought him from the farmer using a thousand gold pieces. And so he comes to live within the palace bringing with him Glumdalclitch who was the farmer’s daughter and one of the few persons to show him compassion during his “enslavement”. The queen grows quite attached to him and but he finds her instead as somewhat repulsive. In fact when he is invited over to the housings of the ladies at the court he often finds them to be unattractive stating that “their skins appeared so coarse and uneven” and he could also hardly bear their stench, “wherewith I was much disgusted because, to say the truth, a very offensive smell came from their skins” (pg. 60). But he also concludes that it was due to his tiny stature that every blemish or imperfection was made vividly acute. He as well notes that if he was in the same proportions as they were he would have found them as lovely as any fine English woman. Although most of his distaste for these ladies are due to the way that they treat him. They treat him as a mere toy, playing with him and using him as a source of amusement. Here I find much of the same problem as I did earlier. There was little to no respect at all for Gulliver. Also the details of how Gulliver finds the ladies of the court to be quite appalling showed how many things that may be perfect to one of the same group- in this case the Brobdingnagians- may not be as attractive to another. He explained that he would have found them as agreeable as any other well pampered ladies if he were to be in the same position as any Brobdingnagian male but he wasn’t and therefore he was able to see more of their flaws then they would have otherwise seen in each other. This kind of explains how one would see another differently than they would see someone of their own. You’re always more quick to see someone else’s flaws when that person is someone unlike you. Mainly because you (unconsciously or not) don’t want to point out someone’s imperfections that you your self may exhibit.

Lilliput and their traditions

Lilliputians have another thing to add to their resume: being extremely dogged especially to tradition. These people will not give in to anything! I for one find them frustratingly stubborn. For example how they will net get over their differences of heel height! A millimeter or so is not that much of a difference even if it is to an incredibly small human such as the Lilliputians. Also they cannot even negotiate on whether or not which side of an egg they should break first. I think it’s rather easy to say “you crack your egg one way, I’ll do it the other!” and be over with it. Must they not compromise on such a silly tradition and lose thousands of lives in the process?

Eggs and Heels. Are they really something to wage war over?

As I read Gulliver’s travel more and more, I find that some concepts are amazingly idiotic especially the two conflicts which threaten Lilliput.
First of all is the constant struggle between two parties, Tramecksan and Slamecksan, whose greatest difference is in the height of their heels. Gulliver is told that high heels are more acceptable for Lilliput’s ancient traditions but the King had only employed low heeled Slamecksans for his office. Even his majesty himself chooses to wear low heels. And so that biasness on the king’s part creates tension between these two “radically” different groups. This is where I am completely and utterly stunned at how stubborn or maybe even foolish Lilliputians can be. They will not let go of their one difference in tradition to accept each other and become one unifying group. Somehow it’s quite hard for me to believe how two groups of people can say that they are different from one another just for how high or low their heels are. It’s just mind boggling how possibly less than one millimeter of a difference in height could bring such extremities in the different views of the two groups.(pg 21). For in our society now who really distinguishes themselves from the rest of the world just for their shoes or more specifically their heels? I for one have worn both low heels, high heels, and no heels. Does that make me different from other humans? I exceedingly hope not!

Another conflict that is beyond stupidity for a cause for war is eggs. Yes eggs. I for one have never heard of any cause for hostilities as ridiculous as eggs. Actually it’s not just eggs but the way that one breaks them. Reldresal, a government official who had also explained the Tramecksan and Slamecksan, enlightens Gulliver on the history of the continuous confrontations from Lilliput and Blefuscu which is and island nation that is the other “Great Empire of the Universe” (Pg. 22). Before a large quantity of Lilliputians had revolted against Lilliput, the one singular nation and its inhabitants would always- as tradition allowed them to- break their eggs by the larger end. That was until Lilliput’s current emperor’s grandfather had cut one of his fingers- when he was still a young boy- while breaking the egg by the larger end. Following that, his father, the current emperor’s great-grandfather passed a law that made it illegal for anyone to break their egg by the larger end and must now revert to breaking it by the other end. (This law by itself it completely ridiculous!) But of course, there were some who resented the new law and rebelled. The monarchs of Blefuscu had encouraged these rebellions and when they were over the rebels all flocked over to the other nation to seek freedom for their old egg-breaking tradition. More so, during these hostile times the Blefuscu government had indicted that Lilliput was breaking an aged old religious doctrine of their prophet, Lustrog, which implied that all should break their eggs at the larger end. Though the Lilliputians argued that the doctrine had actually stated “that all true believers break their eggs at the convenient end” and in this case it was the smaller end. And ever since war has raged between these two might nations.
Just as I finished reading those paragraphs I almost bursted out laughing at the sheer ludicrous thoughts. I could in no way believe why eleven thousand people had chose to die rather than just breaking their eggs at the smaller end. Had they really believed in their traditions so seriously that they would risk their life to rebel? If I was in their shoes I would have just broken my egg the way the emperor had decreed. I am in no way suicidal enough to die for some reason I find as ridiculous and unreasonable as this although I might rebel against the fact that there actually was in existence a law that told me how to break my egg. But I would only fight it because it was idiotic. (Why would there need to be a law that tell me how to do that? Can’t I choose the way I want to break my egg? It is my egg after all.) Not because I don’t want to break my egg that way. In truth I really don’t care how I break my egg, I just eat it. Is there really a point to breaking in egg at the smaller end or the larger end?

Afterthought:
After thinking it through I found a deeper meaning in these passages than just an excuse for humor. Even though I have never experienced any conflict due to how I break my eggs or the height of my heels I can still somehow find a way to relate this. I have argued with someone before for a completely ridiculous reason but right then I was utterly serious about it. And I’m pretty sure that this has happened to many other people as well. It’s weird how you can never really understand how ridiculous any situation or reason is until you approach with neutrality and a sense of humor.

Gulliver's Travels- Lilliput

I find that the Lilliputians area quite civilized society. They are not too impertinent as to kill Gulliver when he first arrived in which Gulliver relates as being imprudent if they were to since they would have mostly likely instigate his wrath and that would have allowed him to be free of the bonds in which the used to tie him. But they aren’t so naïve as to immediately free Gulliver with him being so large enough that he could destroy their home if he had wished although they had been hospitable enough to provide Gulliver with a home, food, water, and they even made a bed for him (made from 600 beds brought by horse carriages. 150 were sewn together and stacked 4 high- I find it amazing that they would be willing to go to such lengths for someone who was almost a complete stranger.) Also the Lilliputians are quite pleasant (to me) apart from the few who had gone up to Gulliver and tried to attack him. The officers though put an end to that fairly quickly and even let Gulliver decide their fate, seeing it fit that the one who they attacked would be the one to punish them although Gulliver ended up freeing them instead. And when the council had heard about Gulliver’s good deed they felt gratified to provide him every morning with 6 beeves, 40 sheep, and generous amounts of bread and wine. The emperor even assigned 300 of the best tailors to make Gulliver a new outfit and 6 of his best scholars to teach him of their language. From all of this we can tell that the Lilliputians are those who repay kindness with their own kindness and are not injudicious in their actions (well most of them…) -since them even allowed Gulliver to punish the 6 men who tried to hurt him (they are not biased to their own kind as well). In the end they even let Gulliver free of his bonds as long as he swears to go by their contract.
The Lilliputians culture is rather different from ours now. But their culture could have also been much different from Gulliver’s as well though I’m pretty sure that it was more similar to his than ours. For one thing, the Lilliputians have their whole entire different dialect (they do not know French, Spanish, Latin, Dutch, Italian, or Lingua Franca; Gulliver tried speaking to them in all of these). [Ex. quinbus flestrin= Man- mountain] Their way of dress though I believe is quite similar to Gulliver’s culture since he was able to recognize it as European and Asiatic although I am very sure that it must be much different from what we would consider normal clothes today. Also they have a different way of governing then we have in America, instead of democracy they have a dictatorship but from what I could infer so far in story the emperor does seem to be an agreeable man (he had been the one to award Gulliver for his benevolence toward his harassers). Then another point, their advancement in technology is far from ours and even behind Gulliver’s time. When Gulliver had to be searched by two guards he took out a watch in which they described later described as: “We directed him to draw out whatever was at the end of that chain; which appeared to be a globe, half silver, and half of some transparent metal; for, on the transparent side, we saw certain strange figures circularly drawn, and thought we could touch them, till we found our fingers stopped by the lucid substance. He put this engine into our ears, which made an incessant noise, like that of a water-mill: and we conjecture it is either some unknown animal, or the god that he worships; but we are more inclined to the latter opinion, because he assured us, (if we understood him right, for he expressed himself very imperfectly) that he seldom did any thing without consulting it. He called it his oracle, and said, it pointed out the time for every action of his life.” (pg. 14) Here I could tell that the Lilliputians were probably not very advance in terms of technology since they had not even been able to deduce out time (well, our meaning of time anyway. They even go so far as to think that the clock is Gulliver’s god although I can’t blame since they had probably never seen anything like that before which means they had now prior knowledge whatsoever to expect of this contraption). But make no mistake; they are extremely capable in the areas of math since they had been able to figure out that Gulliver eats about the equivalent of 1724 Lilliputians by figuring that Gulliver was 12 to 1 in proportion of his body to theirs. And so by that similarity that his body must contain 1724 of their which means he would need 1724 times the amount of food to sustain him. (I couldn’t really follow how they got the number 1724 by a ratio of 12 to 1 though. But Gulliver had stated that they were ingenious when it came to that and for now I’ll take his words on it since I still don’t know enough about his character to deduce correctly if he is lying or not. Besides he gave me no reason so far to suspect he is lying and if we can’t trust him then what can we trust about the story anyway?)
[And for some reason Lilliput reminds of the Romans. I don’t really know why but I always picture them parallel to the Romans. I think that it’s perhaps mostly because of the Emperor. Instead of calling him the king, monarch, etc. he is called by emperor which is very reminiscent of the Romans (to me anyway). Also the Lilliputians are quite well off given that they are able to afford Gulliver’s diet which by their calculations would be 1724 times theirs. That “superior” form of economy is very similar to the Romans who at one time was the wealthiest empire in the world. ]

Gulliver's Travels, Chapter 2 -thoughts and commentaries

Within these next few chapters I found the story getting wholly amusing and rather conflicting for me. The second chapter started off with a topic that I find highly controversial in the current human society. The narrator is greatly pressed by “urgent matters” of nature and so he “relieves” himself in his home. Reading the passage felt exceedingly awkward, but you feel as though you are jerked back into the whole reality of life and human nature. The narrator blatantly tells us about his “needs” and how he satisfies them without “sugar coating” it as would normal text that would not stoop to such crass. The author shows us just how genuine life is and how while we would love to just blow it off and rather not dwell on the matter, the reality of it is still there. We would adore not having to think on all the bad of society and everything that is “wrong” but just stuff all the “unpleasantries” of everyday life into the back of our minds. It brings humans into light of the point that we would just love to fool ourselves with a perfect illusion of life so that we may feel better about the truth. We like to deny the fact that life is not perfect and as nice or as “clean” as we would like for it to be. Because even for me, as I’m writing this I would rather not think about it as well. I feel considerably awkward addressing the matter and I came very, very close to not even attending to this subject. But then I realized that if I didn’t include this then I would have done exactly as what I had described humanity of wanting to do. To just ignore it and that did definitely not bode too well with me. But even as I was writing down my views, a war was raging in my head. When I had first introduced the concept of how the society wants to view the world as a better place in my head, a side of me asked “What’s so wrong about wanting to see everything a little bit better? Isn’t that something we always do? Something we ought to do, looking on the brighter side of things?” And then suddenly I felt as though my previous views might have been too harsh. And then the cynical side of me kicked in. “Thinking that life will always get better is a hope. It might happen and it might not happen. Thinking that life is better than it truly is, is nothing short of lying to your self. You know how bad it really is and yet you run away from the truth indulging yourself into a fantasy of what everything should be like and not what it truly is. And that is nothing short of puerile. Yes, looking to the brighter side of everything is good but that does not mean for us to blind ourselves into seeing everything as being oh so happy and wonderful.” After that my “nicer” side (softer / not as scornful/ less skeptical?) retorted by saying that not the all think so imprudently and that it wasn’t to an extent of idealizing a world “full of rainbows and unicorns!!!” . It was exactly as if two miniature versions of me were on each side of my computer screaming at each other and calling the other idiots. (I have to admit though the thought is amusing). In the end I came upon a (happy?) medium and decided such:
“Perhaps the world does like to view everything bathe in light but we only go as far as masking the world in this veil only as much for us to be able to feel contented with what we currently see.”

Gulliver's Travels, Chapter 1

It took me quite a while to actually settle my nerves and open this book. Although I knew the phrase "Never judge a book by its cover" intimately well, I couldn't help but feel slightly unease by the book. I was truthfully very intimidated by it. I was in all earnest afraid that the book was to be much too beyond my comprehension level which was somewhat ironic since I am reading for the whole point of strengthening this area and therefore that was the last push that decided for me to start on the first chapter. And I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. The book was not easy to comprehend but I read on and that was what matters.

When reading the first chapter I had taken an immediate interest in the narrator, Gulliver. Though he was at first presumably a tad cliché since being described as a normal protagonist who grew up as the middle child of a large family sent to college at a young age, 14, and living by on by scanty allowances. When I had read that description for some reason I immediately related Gulliver to Edgar Allan Poe who was also sent to college by his father and living by on meager funds, although Gulliver was more fortunate enough to have been appointed as an apprentice to a renowned surgeon, Mr. James Bate and was also given small sums of money every now and then by his father. Gulliver spent most of his time and money devoted into studying anything and everything with the intentions of travelling. Reading on that sense of dedication to one’s future goal I promptly grew an admiration for Gulliver who had spent close to a decade of his life to promote his vision. It made me feel that I should be able to be more dedicated in my own goal and all at once I found myself reading the story with a renew genuine earnest.

Most of Gulliver’s life following that had been rather cliché since I have encountered numerous of stories, books, etc. with the same principal lifestyle for its characters. They would study, gather knowledge of their world, take an occupation, meet interesting people, marry by advice or “swoons and falls in love”, and then once finding themselves bored with this monotonous lifestyle they attempt to find rejuvenation through some “quest” or “journey” or by some other form of enjoyment –give or take a steps and not defined to just this order. I had found the general gist of the premise within Pride and Prejudice albeit more detailed and stretched out and also within Sense and Sensibility so therefore I established that for the most part, Gulliver’s early life seemed some what redundant.

Gulliver then finds himself on his “journey” after he takes a job offer from Captain William Prichard. The whole first part of their journey was never fully written out but it was told that near the end they had encountered a horrid storm and ended up with 12 crew mates dead from spoiled food and too much toll of labor. Everybody else was in weak condition. I noticed that I felt as though the situation was quite rushed (compared to the first 3 pages) by the author not including in the details of the voyage although I do understand that it would just be inserting in not-very-important information. Yet I can’t help but wonder, “…Would it kill you to add in a bit of information!?!?!?!?” –for lack of a better expression. I’ not really sure but I guess that just like to “know”. I really feel uncomfortable with the feeling that I don’t know something even if it’s not important because I can’t help but feel somewhat incompetent at my lack of knowledge. Also I feel as though the author is trying a bit too hard for the readers to feel engaged in the story by just “slamming” the whole scene in our faces. The author just seems hasty in writing the scene where Gulliver’s vessel crashes into a rock and so forth that once the scene is over, everything just feels a bit anticlimactic. And so I felt as though that whole passage was too much “telling” and very little showing of what transpired. This part could have been clearly written better in my point of view.

After all that Gulliver ends up on an island which he perceives to be deserted. After Gulliver takes a nap he wakes up finding himself immobile, being tied up by miniature ropes and with tiny creatures upon him. I could only imagine how confused Gulliver must be right now. The ship he was just on was scattered among rocks, his crew was nowhere to be found, and now after a tiring day he finds himself paralyzed by some unseen force in a supposedly deserted island. After all the physical strain of being through a storm and shipwrecked and then the mental strain of trying to figure where you were I would not think any less of Gulliver if he were to question his sanity at the very moment. And then afterwards to have to receive the shock of seeing miniature 6 inch tall human beings, the mental tension on him must be great. I know for sure that if I was to be in his position the most likely probability that I could come up with would be that I was hallucinating due to inadequate psychological care. I mean who wouldn’t feel that way? You don’t see 6 inch tall people anywhere! The possibility of that just seems ridiculous on many, many levels. I also somewhat admire his relative calm to the whole situation. Because apart from an astonish yell and jerk he show little other physical evidence of being unnerved. But then again he may be still recovering from shock. Not only that but I do feel sympathy for Gulliver when he was attacked with a volley of arrows. I am dubious that the arrows offered great injuries but still the feeling of getting pricked by a needle is never pleasant. Then afterwards near nighttime the miniature people had managed to build a stage in which a person that Gulliver had inferred to be of somewhat high rank stood upon and held a speech in which Gulliver manage to not understand at all. Gulliver then proceeded to point to his mouth several times to ask for food since he had indeed been famished. The lord of the people understood the gesture and ordered in many types of meet which Gulliver quickly disposed of. I think that it had been quite a show of hospitality from these people by offering their food and hogshead so readily even though Gulliver probably consumed more food than all of them could eat combined. That shows that while many people are different with appearance and tongue we still manage to show some form of kindness to each other. Although when Gulliver wanted to be liberated, the king had told him that he was still a prisoner and therefore he would be carried to the land like a prisoner. And then the tiny group of people had applied some kind of ointment to the blistered man’s face to help ease the redness. Afterwards Gulliver drifted to sleep knowing that then had probably put in a sleeping potion in with the wine. All in all even though the tiny people did drugged Gulliver in the end I felt as though they had been the most giving and understandable of people I have ever read about. Even to a complete stranger like Gulliver then didn’t hesitate to give him food and water when he requested having already decided to have plenty of food and drinks prepared for him. Also the attack of arrows from before was more as a defense rather than offence and I seem to feel that they had not really wanted to use force against their stranger. Besides in the end they had even treated Gulliver’s blisters from the arrows. Also Gulliver at one point seemed a bit ungrateful since he had stated his temptation of seizing the 40-50 something bodies that scampered around him. Even when they had fed him, he still retains thoughts of hurting them. Yet somehow I do somewhat understand his feeling of apprehension towards them. Because nobody can really actually ever fully trust a complete stranger at first. Even the hospital inhabitants did not fully trust Gulliver enough to let him free of his bonds rather having to go through the expenses of building a contraption of carrying the giant to their city.

Overall I found the interaction between the beast and the minuscule natives rather amusing. Especially how they had been so bold as to mount Gulliver and even sticking a spear into one of his nostrils by their curiosity.

So.... this is my first blog so don't really expect anything out of it...its just gonna be some random drabbles about books i like and don't like. First of all i love Jane Austen works. I've only read two of her books but i'm in love with her already (I've read Sense and Sensability and Pride and Prejudice- twice!!). Her style of writing though at times may be hard to comprehend but nonetheless spectacular. Not only that but i'm also in love with her characters. Elizabeth Bennet to me is like a role model though i do somewhat find her a bit dogged since she had only allowed herself to see from what her first impressions shows and would not change her views on the matter until at the very end, well maybe not the very end but you get what i mean. And on Sense and Senseability I can' really say much about that since i read like 3 years ago but i do remember that i had so much trouble following the events but i still somehow manage to get through till the very last page. But i think by the time i finished all the events that took place just imediately flew out the window. i mean i think i loved it... though i realllllllly do love Pride and Prejudice.
Another books or actually series i like is the Wheel of Time series by James Jordan. It follows the adventure of Rand al'Thor who is the "Dragon Reborn" or the reincarnation of Lews Therin who was dubbed the "Dragon" (the guy also kind... of went insane and killed his whole family) Also in the book there are some women know as Aes Sedai who can "channel" the one power. It's kinda like magic but not... Also there aren't any male who can channel the one power since they had all gone insane like Lews Therin-- he could also "channel". Well so on Rand lives in a place called the "Two rivers". Well he his two friends, Perrin Aybara and Mat Cauthon, are then entangled with an Aes Sedai who was at the Two Rivers at that time, Moraine. Moraine was there to find the "dragon reborn" but she couldn't tell which of the three it was so she took all three of time out of the two rivers after telling them that their village would be attck by Trollocs again if they didn't leave after there was an attack by Trollocs. And the three guys with the Aes Sedai with her Warder (kind like a bodyguard but there is a special bond or link between a warder and an Aes Sedai), Lan Mandragon, and including a travelling gleeman (an enternainer?), Thom Merrilin, and Ewgene al'Vere, Rand's childhood sweetheart. They are later follow by Nynaeve al'Meara who was the Edmond Field's (a place near/in? Two Rivers) "wisdom". hehehhe this is a really starting to be a long drabble so i'm just gonna cut it short, i'm not even 1/5 of the way done and this is just the first book..
Basically they are then pursue by the Trollocs and they make it to a city called Baerlon and there they meet a girl named Min farshaw. The trio of guys gets these nightmares about a guy named Ba'alzamon. Then this is where they meet Nynaeve who tries to get them back but fails and in the end comes with them. After they leave the city they are again chased by trollocs and have to fight their way out and then they come into a place call Shadar Logoth. Rand and his friends explore the place and they meet a guy name Mordeth. The guy tried to kill them after he learns that they're travelling with an Aes Sedai. But then suddenly the trollocs and beings called myrddaal storm in and as continued bad luck the evil of Shadar Logoth makes its appearance and the whole group of Rand, Perrin, Mat, Moraine, and etc. gets separated from each other. Still a really long way to go.....
I'm gonna cut it short here. Theres like way too much to write and im no where near finish if im gonna have to continue. If you guys wanna know what's next just read the book either that or google it. The series is again called the wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and the whole thingy that i just babbled on and on about at the top there was in the first book which is called the Eye of the World. Hhehehehe My summary is like only about a third of the book so far i think or maybe not even that so just a little warning: Don't read it if you hate long series because the whole series is like 12 books although only 11 are out now but also each book is like 700+ pages which means its extremely loooooonnnnngggg. I only read till like the tenth book since I couldn't find the 11th one in my library. Ughh why does everything in there has to be so hard to find???!!! Whoops going of topic here. Well anyway the series is a great read especially if you're into fantasy and stuff like that. I know I loved it. I was Majorly obsessed with it for 5 months straight but then it cooled down a bit now since I haven't been able to find the 11th book. Darn Library!! Anyway be sure to check it out. I would've also shared some other books but my hands are seriously cramping here so i'm just gonna end it here. Sorry about the total randomness here and there and also about the ridiculously long post.

Bye bye.