Those wonderful books you find by complete accident...

We have a reading day in Creative and Critical once a cycle and on the first one I forgot to get a book. Fearing that I would get into trouble for not having a book ready I quickly ran to Mrs. Healey's room to find something quick. I had little time but saw a book with Margaraet Atwood's name on the spine and I grabbed it. I didn't even read the name but later found it was The Penelopiad. I was excited because one of my favorite books is written by Atwood as well. Atwood is a feminist writer and emphasizes the importance of women in all aspects of all. In the book I'm currently reading she is shifting the view of the Illyiad to Odeseus' wife's view. His wife Penelope is recanting her life story as the wife of he famous hero and her point of view. Few authors go back and choose to write an Ancient Greek myth from the point of view of a woman. Atwood uses her own personal beliefs in the equality of women throughout her books. As a reader, I see her strong feminist approach and love the focus she keeps on strictly the women characters. So far, I'm loving the book and when I'm done I'll return it to you and hopefully find another one of Atwood's brilliant novels!

Remembering Stevie

Reading The Secret Agent I was immediately moved by Stevie's character. His disabilities have left himto the  care of his older sister, Winnie. It's not that she treats him poorly or neglects him but he isn't given the respect he deserves. My heart reaches out to Stevie. As the story progresses and the readers see into the dull life of Stevie I felt so bad for his character. Maybe it's just because I'm a girl and have emotions coming out of my ears, but reading and following the character of Stevie was very sad. His purpose in the story is debateable. Is he that important? Or does he serve as a symbol or stock character who serves as contrast to the evil in the story? He could be both but for this post I want to talk about his innocence and how it applies to the story and overall theme of the novel. He is this innocent, child-like character who has to be told to do everything but when to go to the bathroom. Stevie doesn't know what the outside world is and I have to think his emerging place in the outside world could only lead to disaster. I liked Stevie, as a a character he represented the innocence the other characters lacked. The irony though that the child-like character set off the bomb is almost too much. Perhaps my sympathy is clouding how I view Stevie but it was a loss and tragic event that he died. Whether it was out of irony, parallesim or anoth reason, Stevie's character was really important.

It's too far stretched

Today we discussed The Secret Agent and whether we viewed it as a comedy or as a tragedy. I honestly, find this novel to be a comedy. Aside from the terrible events leading up to Stevie's death, I don't see much else that is tragic. Verloc isn't a character I disliked but his presence was monotonous and didn't add much to the entirety of the book. And Winnie, a darling and caring sister and reasonably good character, had no real tie on my heart. Before the end, when the murder and deaths begin I was just annoyed with the writing and how little plot was developing. When I reached the end I was waiting for the end. It was all too planned, too expected. It was almost too much to have the story end with all of the characters dying. I wasn't a fan of the end of King Lear and in my mind the endings of the two pieces are the same. I couldn't feel sadness for anyone but Stevie and once the murder of Verloc and suicide of Winnie came about I wasn't impressed. There is also comical situations and dialogue throughout the book. In combination with the comical tone set throughout the book I couldn't take the end too harshly. It was just too much. I classified it as a comedy but understand why people believe its a tragedy. Feel free to respond if you have a different take.

Decisions

It's Sunday night and things aren't going too well. I'm incredibly caught up in the stresses of senior year. College applications, work load, and adjusting to everything that's going on with day to day life. In my world of reading I haven't been indulging in many works that have any quality worth my time or attention span. I just wanted to write a quick post about my essay on Ethan Frome. I admit I read this novel a few years back but I still love the importance of stream of consciousness throughout the story. Ethan is in his own head, constantly and beating himself up over whether or not he should pursue his infatuation with Mattie and run away with her. Everyone has an internal voice or stream of consciousness that is constantly playing. We are faced with options and decisions that need to be made. But, they all become too much sometimes and lead us to a place that is far worse than where we started. For Ethan and Mattie, the rest of their lives will be spent being cared for by Ethan's wife and for me, who knows. I'm just hoping the consequences of my choices are good and move me forward rather than hold me back.