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.”
The Eye of The World
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, August 21, 2009
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.
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.
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