I just thought of something I wanted to share with the class that I had forgotten about until now. Last year my Fiancé studied in Europe. For one of her trips she went to Delphi and spent a few nights there. Normally she does not remember her dreams very well, she knows she had a dream, but does not know what is was about. When she was in Delphi she remembered her dreams like they were a movie. She said they are crystal clear. I find this very interesting, maybe the oracle was not a stoned teenage girl who was snuffing natural gas that came out of the rocks. There might be something special about the land there that causes people to have better dreams. I dunno it is just interesting to wonder about.
I really liked the importance of being Earnest. When I read it I felt like I ad watched some shitty sitcom on TV like Friends, the people in it were so fake, and the story was pretty cheese. Yet there was so much more to it than that. There were some pretty deep meanings to the story, like the importance of identity, and finding one’s self. Reading this and some of the other books from the class, and reading about Alice I really started thinking about the question the Caterpillar asked Alice, “Who are you?” And I don’t have a good answer to this. I don’t think any one really has a good answer, for me I might say “Jason” yet there are millions of Jasons in the world. I know two or three here in Bozeman, and there were four of us in my grade school class. So then I might say “I am a Air Force ROTC student, who is studying Premed and wants to be a doctor in the Air Force.” But again this is not a good answer, this answers the question of “What do you do?” The only answer I can come up with that might get close to answering this question is “I am me.” No it does not really answer the question very well, but it is better than the alternative answers. I think the reason stories like the Importance of being Earnest, Oedipus Rex, Great Expectations, and Mr. Pip are written is to help people come to terms with this unanswerable question. If we can read about people who are going through similar struggles of trying to find their identity then it helps us come to term with the question. Me, I’m happy not knowing who I am. It makes life much more interesting, and every day I discover something about my self and this world we live in and that’s what makes me happy to be ignorant. As the say ignorance is bliss. How I see it is I have my set personal values that I live by and every day is a new adventure that I get to experience. And any ways no matter how bad I have it someone has it worse. Like right now some of my friends are at basic training for ROTC. Or Matilda’s mom was fed to pigs, or my favorite, I’m not about to marry someone so superficous they can only marry a person named Earnest. (I think that is the biggest tragedy in any of the books we read in this class.)
Friday, August 8, 2008
I enjoyed this class. A few things that have changed in my life since the beginning of this class is, I know how long it takes me to read a book, and it is not as long as I thought it was before. I have bought a new bookshelf in my bedroom so I can buy more books. And I have met a bunch of people and learned about their lives, and their stories. I have also learned how important a story is in ones life. For example last night at work there was not much to do, we had a very slow night. If it had not been for the Mad Hatter I would have fallen asleep on the job, or gone crazy. As I sit here writing this blog I can really only think about how I wish I were reading about the Queen who wants the chop off everyone’s head, and find out what this world is that Alice is stuck in. six weeks ago I would be writing this blog thinking about how I want to play Gears of War on my Xbox. So yes this class has changed how I look at books, and I know how wonderful they are. If only more people would read there might not be as many problems in this world. If people had a way to escape they would not turn to drugs and other bad things like that. How I see it is if you wan to have a mind altering experience just go down the rabbit hole with Alice and it is pretty much the same as doing something like Acid. That first day of class when Prof Sexson came into the room and said, “I called my self Pip and came to be called Pip” I knew this class was going to be like no class I have ever taken in my life. And I was right. It was an exciting adventure and I feel like I learned more about life and myself in the last six weeks than I have in any of my other classes. I think stories have an amazing power on people and they can help people when they are on hard times. They show you that you are not the only one going through a problem. If any one has seen the movie Bucket List my grandfather was a lot like the rich old man. My grandfather also died of cancer. I think he would have done the exact same things the man in the movies did if he had more money before he died. When I went to this movie I went to the late showing, and on my way home at about 12:00 I had to call my mom and share this movie with her. Yes I woke her up but it did not matter, I had found a person like my grandfather who has been dead for about 4 years now, and was able to see him again. It was wonderful.
Thanks for a great class.
Thanks for a great class.
In class on Monday we talked about comedy and tragedy. And the differences and similarities between the two of them. Here is what I think about the two. First the Comedy is much more important then the tragedy. In the tragedy there are always outlandish characters that do outlandish things. Comedy also has these same characters, and they do the same thing. The only differences between the two are in comedy they do not take them selves seriously. In a tragedy they are taking them selves very seriously. So because of this I think the comedies are much more important in life because they can teach you more and are more relevant to our lives.
When we were talking about the papers on Wednesday some one said that Mr. Watts would do what ever he needed to do, when they needed a teacher they got a teacher when they needed some one to die he died. (I think it might have been a quote from the book, but I’m not sure) the first thing I thought of when I herd this was the new Batman movie. Batman does this in the movie; he becomes what Gotham needs. And that was when I realized that Mr. Watts was a super hero in this novel. No he did not wear a cape or anything like that, but he was still the outcast that is not apreacheated by the people, but he still saves the day when the day needs saving. And that comes back to one of the main themes of the class. Every story is a retelling of another story. Yet each book is a new collection of words on the page that makes a wonderful experiences.
When we were talking about the papers on Wednesday some one said that Mr. Watts would do what ever he needed to do, when they needed a teacher they got a teacher when they needed some one to die he died. (I think it might have been a quote from the book, but I’m not sure) the first thing I thought of when I herd this was the new Batman movie. Batman does this in the movie; he becomes what Gotham needs. And that was when I realized that Mr. Watts was a super hero in this novel. No he did not wear a cape or anything like that, but he was still the outcast that is not apreacheated by the people, but he still saves the day when the day needs saving. And that comes back to one of the main themes of the class. Every story is a retelling of another story. Yet each book is a new collection of words on the page that makes a wonderful experiences.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Term Paper
The Savior of Matilda,
Her Mom, Mr. Watts a Story
Jason Burchett
Fiction and reality are important aspects of a person’s life; a well-rounded person must understand both reality and fiction. Lloyd Jones uses reality and fiction in his novel Mister Pip to shape a young girl, Matilda, who lives on a war torn island in the southern Pacific in the 1990’s. She learns how important stories are in her life through two people, her Mom and her teacher Mr. Watts. As the story progresses there is a “battle” between Matilda’s mom and Mr. Watts over the idea of fiction and reality that teaches Matilda about hope and in the end saves her life.
Mr. Watts is the only white man left on the island after the war starts. He takes on the responsibility of teaching the children on the island. He has two methods of teaching the children: the first is bringing adults from the island to tell stories or explain practical skills to the students; the second is by reading Great Expectations by Mr. Dickens. Mr. Watts teaches the students about a fictional story and Pip in 19th century England. He teaches the children the importance of having an imagination and the importance of literature. He shows Matilda she can escape into a world of fiction even despite the horrible things are happening around her. “At some point I felt myself enter the story… I wasn’t identifiable on the page, but I was there, I was definitely there.” (46-47) Mr. Watts teaches Matilda that there is a way to escape reality imagination and literature. This helps her keep her sanity through the blockade and the war, as well as gives her a place to go. Stories also give her a way to survive the mundane days and fear filled days she is living on the island.
When the Red Skin Soldiers come to their village and destroy all of the villagers items, Mr. Watts teaches the children an important lesson about imagination. Since Matilda had written Pip’s name in the sand, they think Pip is a real person on the island, which they cannot find. This causes them to get angry and burn all the villager’s property and houses. After this the children go back to school where they are taught an important lesson by Mr. Watts about imagination and fiction. Mr. Watts says: “We have all lost our possessions and many of our homes,’ he said. ‘But theses losses, severe though they may seem, remind us of what not person can take away, and that is our minds and imaginations.” (123) Mr. Watts shows Matilda that even thought all her property was lost and destroyed, she still had something, and it was more important than her property. This gave Matilda hope for a better time, and helped her survive her time on the island.
Mr. Watts teaches Matilda how to save herself when things in life seem bleak. He is able to give her a friend, and another world she can escape to. He also shows her how to hope for better times. “What did I hope for? Just hope itself, really but in a particular way. I knew things could change better because they had for Pip.” (51) The story of Great Expectations gave her hope on the island, the courage to survive the ordeal, and become a better person.
Matilda’s Mom is the opposite of Mr. Watts. She believes real things are important, and there is no reason to look to fiction. When she finds out that the children are learning about a “fake” person (Pip) she becomes hostile towards Mr. Watts and Pip. To counter Mr. Watts she tries to teach Matilda about her family tree, and makes her write the names of her ancestors in the sand. Matilda does this next to where she had written Pip’s name in the sand. When her mother finds this she becomes livid. “What was the point of sticking the name of a make-believe person next to her kin?” (76) Matilda’s mom believes there is no reason to look to fiction; and does not understand the point of reading a story that does not teach you a practical skill.
Matilda’s Mom goes to the class to tell the students there are things more important in life than fiction. She tells them about real things like her faith, and how to predict the weather by looking at crab holes. When she is done, “…she gave him (Mr. Watts) an unfriendly nod to show she was finished with us, and swept out of the class into the afternoon furnace…” (45)
When the Red Skin Soldiers come to the village and see Pip’s name in the sand, they think Pip is a real person. When the children tell them he is a character from a book they want to see the book as proof. The book cannot be found because Matilda’s mom stole it. The soldiers burn all the property and houses of everyone in the village. Matilda realizes she is stuck in the battle her Mom created and knows she will have to choose between reality and fiction. “I knew that orphaned white kid and that small, fragile place he squeezed into between his awful sister and lovable Joe Gargery, because the same space exist between Mr. Watts and my mum. And I knew I would have to choose between the two.” (47)
Matilda finds out she will be taken off the island with her Mom and Mr. Watts. She is scared her Mom will not want to come and she will have to make a choice. But the night before she is supposed to leave the Red Skin Solders come back to the village. Mr. Watts had called himself Pip and they thought he was lying to them earlier, so they kill him in a gruesome manner. When they ask if anyone saw the murder no one at first replies because they know what will happen to them. Then Matilda’s mom speaks up and says, “Sir. I saw your men chop up the white man. He was a good man. I am here as God’s witness.” (205) When Matilda’s mom says this she is able to save Mr. Watts dignity and after they try to rape Matilda she sacrifices herself to save her daughter.
The next day Matilda is caught in a flash flood. She is swept away by the river. She grabs a log and starts calling it Mr. Jaggers, because Mr. Jaggers saved Pip, and the log was saving her. “Better to cling to the worldliness of Mr. Jaggers than the slimy skin of a water soaked log. I couldn’t talk to a log. But I could talk to Mr. Jaggers.”(216) Yet the log was not really her savior. She had two saviors, Mr. Watts and her Mom. Mr. Watts was able to save her from her own mind and the boredom and fear that comes when one is stuck on an island during a war. Her mom was able to literally save her from the Red Skin soldiers when they threatened to rape Matilda.
Mr. Watts and Matilda’s Mom both say similar things, and have the same goal; they just do it in different ways. Matilda’s Mom says: “Stories have a job to do. They can’t just lie around like lazybone dogs. They have to teach you something.” (86) Mr. Watts and Matilda’s mom believed the same thing, but they both looked at it differently. They both understood the importance of a story. Mr. Watts understood that a fictional story could save you from the reality you are in and give you hope. Matilda’s Mom looked at this idea more literally. She believed a story needed to have an obvious point or lesson. She knew the importance of things being real, and in then end was able to save Matilda where Pip had failed.
Her Mom, Mr. Watts a Story
Jason Burchett
Fiction and reality are important aspects of a person’s life; a well-rounded person must understand both reality and fiction. Lloyd Jones uses reality and fiction in his novel Mister Pip to shape a young girl, Matilda, who lives on a war torn island in the southern Pacific in the 1990’s. She learns how important stories are in her life through two people, her Mom and her teacher Mr. Watts. As the story progresses there is a “battle” between Matilda’s mom and Mr. Watts over the idea of fiction and reality that teaches Matilda about hope and in the end saves her life.
Mr. Watts is the only white man left on the island after the war starts. He takes on the responsibility of teaching the children on the island. He has two methods of teaching the children: the first is bringing adults from the island to tell stories or explain practical skills to the students; the second is by reading Great Expectations by Mr. Dickens. Mr. Watts teaches the students about a fictional story and Pip in 19th century England. He teaches the children the importance of having an imagination and the importance of literature. He shows Matilda she can escape into a world of fiction even despite the horrible things are happening around her. “At some point I felt myself enter the story… I wasn’t identifiable on the page, but I was there, I was definitely there.” (46-47) Mr. Watts teaches Matilda that there is a way to escape reality imagination and literature. This helps her keep her sanity through the blockade and the war, as well as gives her a place to go. Stories also give her a way to survive the mundane days and fear filled days she is living on the island.
When the Red Skin Soldiers come to their village and destroy all of the villagers items, Mr. Watts teaches the children an important lesson about imagination. Since Matilda had written Pip’s name in the sand, they think Pip is a real person on the island, which they cannot find. This causes them to get angry and burn all the villager’s property and houses. After this the children go back to school where they are taught an important lesson by Mr. Watts about imagination and fiction. Mr. Watts says: “We have all lost our possessions and many of our homes,’ he said. ‘But theses losses, severe though they may seem, remind us of what not person can take away, and that is our minds and imaginations.” (123) Mr. Watts shows Matilda that even thought all her property was lost and destroyed, she still had something, and it was more important than her property. This gave Matilda hope for a better time, and helped her survive her time on the island.
Mr. Watts teaches Matilda how to save herself when things in life seem bleak. He is able to give her a friend, and another world she can escape to. He also shows her how to hope for better times. “What did I hope for? Just hope itself, really but in a particular way. I knew things could change better because they had for Pip.” (51) The story of Great Expectations gave her hope on the island, the courage to survive the ordeal, and become a better person.
Matilda’s Mom is the opposite of Mr. Watts. She believes real things are important, and there is no reason to look to fiction. When she finds out that the children are learning about a “fake” person (Pip) she becomes hostile towards Mr. Watts and Pip. To counter Mr. Watts she tries to teach Matilda about her family tree, and makes her write the names of her ancestors in the sand. Matilda does this next to where she had written Pip’s name in the sand. When her mother finds this she becomes livid. “What was the point of sticking the name of a make-believe person next to her kin?” (76) Matilda’s mom believes there is no reason to look to fiction; and does not understand the point of reading a story that does not teach you a practical skill.
Matilda’s Mom goes to the class to tell the students there are things more important in life than fiction. She tells them about real things like her faith, and how to predict the weather by looking at crab holes. When she is done, “…she gave him (Mr. Watts) an unfriendly nod to show she was finished with us, and swept out of the class into the afternoon furnace…” (45)
When the Red Skin Soldiers come to the village and see Pip’s name in the sand, they think Pip is a real person. When the children tell them he is a character from a book they want to see the book as proof. The book cannot be found because Matilda’s mom stole it. The soldiers burn all the property and houses of everyone in the village. Matilda realizes she is stuck in the battle her Mom created and knows she will have to choose between reality and fiction. “I knew that orphaned white kid and that small, fragile place he squeezed into between his awful sister and lovable Joe Gargery, because the same space exist between Mr. Watts and my mum. And I knew I would have to choose between the two.” (47)
Matilda finds out she will be taken off the island with her Mom and Mr. Watts. She is scared her Mom will not want to come and she will have to make a choice. But the night before she is supposed to leave the Red Skin Solders come back to the village. Mr. Watts had called himself Pip and they thought he was lying to them earlier, so they kill him in a gruesome manner. When they ask if anyone saw the murder no one at first replies because they know what will happen to them. Then Matilda’s mom speaks up and says, “Sir. I saw your men chop up the white man. He was a good man. I am here as God’s witness.” (205) When Matilda’s mom says this she is able to save Mr. Watts dignity and after they try to rape Matilda she sacrifices herself to save her daughter.
The next day Matilda is caught in a flash flood. She is swept away by the river. She grabs a log and starts calling it Mr. Jaggers, because Mr. Jaggers saved Pip, and the log was saving her. “Better to cling to the worldliness of Mr. Jaggers than the slimy skin of a water soaked log. I couldn’t talk to a log. But I could talk to Mr. Jaggers.”(216) Yet the log was not really her savior. She had two saviors, Mr. Watts and her Mom. Mr. Watts was able to save her from her own mind and the boredom and fear that comes when one is stuck on an island during a war. Her mom was able to literally save her from the Red Skin soldiers when they threatened to rape Matilda.
Mr. Watts and Matilda’s Mom both say similar things, and have the same goal; they just do it in different ways. Matilda’s Mom says: “Stories have a job to do. They can’t just lie around like lazybone dogs. They have to teach you something.” (86) Mr. Watts and Matilda’s mom believed the same thing, but they both looked at it differently. They both understood the importance of a story. Mr. Watts understood that a fictional story could save you from the reality you are in and give you hope. Matilda’s Mom looked at this idea more literally. She believed a story needed to have an obvious point or lesson. She knew the importance of things being real, and in then end was able to save Matilda where Pip had failed.
Monday, August 4, 2008
The ATV story gets better.
So as you may or may not know I work up at the hospital, I have a s story that ties well into this class about something that happened to me up there this weekend. The names of people have been changed so I do not loose my job. We had a patient come in on Saturday when I was working named Jon. Jon is an elderly gentleman who has pancreatic cancer, and because of this has dementia. He was brought in because he was found driving his car through a park, I’m sorry to say I do not know which park it was. Well Jon knew he was at the hospital, but did not think he needed to be there, so he decided it was time to leave. The hospital has a legal responsibility to protect people, and if a person is not in a proper state of mind then we are responsible to keep the person there. So we knew we needed to keep him in the hospital long enough to treat the problems he had and find an assisted living option. The nurses asked me to try and stall Jon from leaving wail they grabbed a shot of something that would calm him down. So I went into his room when he was changing and stared to talk to him. I decide to give prof Sexson’s story idea a try to see if I could get him to slow down wail I waited for the nurses. So I told him the story about the ATV crash. I made sure to put in all the details I could think of to keep him around. He was immured by the story. He did not relies the nurses were coming into the room and gave him a shot. Before he knew it he was back in bed.
So as you may or may not know I work up at the hospital, I have a s story that ties well into this class about something that happened to me up there this weekend. The names of people have been changed so I do not loose my job. We had a patient come in on Saturday when I was working named Jon. Jon is an elderly gentleman who has pancreatic cancer, and because of this has dementia. He was brought in because he was found driving his car through a park, I’m sorry to say I do not know which park it was. Well Jon knew he was at the hospital, but did not think he needed to be there, so he decided it was time to leave. The hospital has a legal responsibility to protect people, and if a person is not in a proper state of mind then we are responsible to keep the person there. So we knew we needed to keep him in the hospital long enough to treat the problems he had and find an assisted living option. The nurses asked me to try and stall Jon from leaving wail they grabbed a shot of something that would calm him down. So I went into his room when he was changing and stared to talk to him. I decide to give prof Sexson’s story idea a try to see if I could get him to slow down wail I waited for the nurses. So I told him the story about the ATV crash. I made sure to put in all the details I could think of to keep him around. He was immured by the story. He did not relies the nurses were coming into the room and gave him a shot. Before he knew it he was back in bed.
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