I've noticed that in many of the stories my author wrote the main character is in constant struggle with something. They go through internal struggle as well as trying to fight for their own individuality usually because they're different in some way. There is also a reoccurring mention of comic books or comic book characters. This may be due to the authors own preference to them and the books mimic his childhood or it has a deeper meaning. I thought that the main characters try to relate themselves to these comic books because they are so ridiculed and different that they long to be a 'super hero.' Super hero's are different as well but everyone loves them.
I just finished the book of 12 short stories and now going into my third and final book.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Pages 172-292
I have not noticed any symbols in my book yet. I have noticed that the style of the book is very different from any I have ever read. In a way it's a typical murder mystery except the author has chosen to make the main character have tourette's. We read from first person and read Lionel's random shouting and tics he has and what he does to control them or keep going despite them. The book relies completely on language specifically what Minna tells Linoel right before he dies, and with Linoel constantly twisting words around more obvious connections become entangled with random outbursts in Linoel's head or while he's talking. When in fact those 'random' words may have more meaning to more of the plot line. Yet, as we read about how Linoel struggles and his urge to tap, count, rearrange, ect we can see past him being just a human freak show and see that his intentions are good.
The only theme which could also go as a symbol is Tourette's just because it's compared to the city and technology so often. Tourette's could symbolize a constant flux of information and impulses which force their way through the human brain. Many people do not understand Lionel and just bypass him like he is invisible or call him a freak. Ironically a typical lifestyle is just that; rush of information and a lot of commotion coming at you all at once. People just take it for granted but when a person reacts in the same way we label them a freak.
Lionel has been going back and forth between people trying to figure out what is going on. We last left him at The Clients which were Minna's bosses. They want Lionel to find out where Minna's wife ran off too, we also find out that Tony has been sleeping with Minna's wife. When Lionel leaves Tony is waiting for him in a car, Tony is very hostile and pulls a gun on Linoel. Tony wants him to stop investigation and tells him that he knows too much. A homicide detective which had questioned Linoel before comes in time to save Lionel and we leave. Linoel goes back to the Zen retreat where Minna had went too before he died. He knocks on the door and meets with a young girl he saw before. Linoel then learns that Minna's brother is the main Buddhist teacher there and goes by the name Rashi. While they are all sitting in meditation the giant which had killed Minna arrives and so do the boys that kidnapped Linoel. Overcome with nervousness Linoel breaks the silence with his tics and the giant beats him up outside. When Lionel recovers conciseness he goes back to L&L where he sees the giant staking the place out, Linoel takes cover and watches both the giant and Tony inside. He calls Tony to warn him while Tony starts to threaten to kill him. Linoel waits in a car when Tony drives away followed by the giant. Linoel follows them both to Maine.
I have noticed that the theme growth has come up again. Lionel is growing in himself or searching for his own identity. While on his investigation the girl from the zen meditation place asks Linoel why he feels so guilty about Minna's death. She explains that most people mourn over their loss not obsess of finding the killer. Linoel is at loss because Minna was like his father and now he is gone he realizes that the other guys, "minna men", have no real connections to each other. When ever Lionel says his name his tic repeats it with very different sayings such as: Liable Guesscog, Laughing Gassrog, Confessdog, Freakshow, Valiant Daffodil, Alibi Diffident, Final Escrow, and ronic Pissclaim. These names show how Lionel sees himself. While going through his investigation he is on his own and desperately trying to find his own identity while still holding on to his past life.
The only theme which could also go as a symbol is Tourette's just because it's compared to the city and technology so often. Tourette's could symbolize a constant flux of information and impulses which force their way through the human brain. Many people do not understand Lionel and just bypass him like he is invisible or call him a freak. Ironically a typical lifestyle is just that; rush of information and a lot of commotion coming at you all at once. People just take it for granted but when a person reacts in the same way we label them a freak.
Lionel has been going back and forth between people trying to figure out what is going on. We last left him at The Clients which were Minna's bosses. They want Lionel to find out where Minna's wife ran off too, we also find out that Tony has been sleeping with Minna's wife. When Lionel leaves Tony is waiting for him in a car, Tony is very hostile and pulls a gun on Linoel. Tony wants him to stop investigation and tells him that he knows too much. A homicide detective which had questioned Linoel before comes in time to save Lionel and we leave. Linoel goes back to the Zen retreat where Minna had went too before he died. He knocks on the door and meets with a young girl he saw before. Linoel then learns that Minna's brother is the main Buddhist teacher there and goes by the name Rashi. While they are all sitting in meditation the giant which had killed Minna arrives and so do the boys that kidnapped Linoel. Overcome with nervousness Linoel breaks the silence with his tics and the giant beats him up outside. When Lionel recovers conciseness he goes back to L&L where he sees the giant staking the place out, Linoel takes cover and watches both the giant and Tony inside. He calls Tony to warn him while Tony starts to threaten to kill him. Linoel waits in a car when Tony drives away followed by the giant. Linoel follows them both to Maine.
I have noticed that the theme growth has come up again. Lionel is growing in himself or searching for his own identity. While on his investigation the girl from the zen meditation place asks Linoel why he feels so guilty about Minna's death. She explains that most people mourn over their loss not obsess of finding the killer. Linoel is at loss because Minna was like his father and now he is gone he realizes that the other guys, "minna men", have no real connections to each other. When ever Lionel says his name his tic repeats it with very different sayings such as: Liable Guesscog, Laughing Gassrog, Confessdog, Freakshow, Valiant Daffodil, Alibi Diffident, Final Escrow, and ronic Pissclaim. These names show how Lionel sees himself. While going through his investigation he is on his own and desperately trying to find his own identity while still holding on to his past life.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Pages 74-172
Minna arrives at the boys' school one day with his brother Gerard. He tells the boys that he is leaving and doesn't know when he is coming back. Before going Minna gives Linoel a book on tourette's syndrome and this is the first time he's heard of it. Once Minna is gone the boys barely speak to each other. Lionel tries to a few medications for his tourette's but the side effects are worse then his actual disease. Linoel and the other boys attend High school and Linoel becomes a nobody, an 'invisible man' despite his tourette's. Three years go by before Minna comes back again, yet he has changed completely. He now has a wife and is more hardened. Minna doesn't have time for explanations and doesn't look at the world in a humorous way like he used too. Minna tells the boys to drop out of school in their senior year, and they start working for him. They are a detective agency yet their cover is L&L car services. The book goes back into present time where Linoel starts to investigate Minna's murder. Linoel is wary of the rest of the group and hesitant to what he is told although Tony is trying to become the new Minna.
So far I have seen growth or change as a constant theme. The obvious change is in Minna when he comes back much different than he left. The most important change I think is in Linoel. Once Minna died he broke from the 'stupid' stereotype and is now taking things into his own hands. He becomes more tough and represses his urge to shout out words more.
I have also noticed that the tourette's syndrome is being referenced a lot in many other aspects. The city itself is said to have some compulsive tendencies that can be called a 'tic.' Linoel notices some tics in people, such as when he waves at a man and he waves back seemingly involuntary. The most recent event where this is mentioned is on page 162 when Linoel takes a phone call in a restaurant. A man sitting by explains to him that he has been to all these fancy resturants the past week where people have been yaking on their phones. The man is upset because he thought that he could enjoy a hot dog without hearing people yak on their phones. He ends the conversation by yelling out "Fucking people talking to themselves in a public place like they got some kind of illness!"
Another important factor I found is that Linoel specifically says he has five hot dogs. He mentions that he has dropped the number 6 possibly because his tic was subtracting a digit for Frank. Yet, he realizes that he should be at four since him, tony, Gilbert, and Danny minus Frank came to four. On page 135 he says "I had an extra aboard, but who? Maybe it was Bailey. Or Irving." Baily is referring to a name that he picked up somewhere as a kid and has become a constant tic he goes back too. Irving is the name of the joke Minna mentions.
So far I have seen growth or change as a constant theme. The obvious change is in Minna when he comes back much different than he left. The most important change I think is in Linoel. Once Minna died he broke from the 'stupid' stereotype and is now taking things into his own hands. He becomes more tough and represses his urge to shout out words more.
I have also noticed that the tourette's syndrome is being referenced a lot in many other aspects. The city itself is said to have some compulsive tendencies that can be called a 'tic.' Linoel notices some tics in people, such as when he waves at a man and he waves back seemingly involuntary. The most recent event where this is mentioned is on page 162 when Linoel takes a phone call in a restaurant. A man sitting by explains to him that he has been to all these fancy resturants the past week where people have been yaking on their phones. The man is upset because he thought that he could enjoy a hot dog without hearing people yak on their phones. He ends the conversation by yelling out "Fucking people talking to themselves in a public place like they got some kind of illness!"
Another important factor I found is that Linoel specifically says he has five hot dogs. He mentions that he has dropped the number 6 possibly because his tic was subtracting a digit for Frank. Yet, he realizes that he should be at four since him, tony, Gilbert, and Danny minus Frank came to four. On page 135 he says "I had an extra aboard, but who? Maybe it was Bailey. Or Irving." Baily is referring to a name that he picked up somewhere as a kid and has become a constant tic he goes back too. Irving is the name of the joke Minna mentions.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Pages 1-74
The book starts with an intense introduction which I think is my favorite so far. We begin with the main character, Linoel, describing his tourette's syndrome:
"My Adam's apple bobbing, jaw muscle beating like a miniature heart under my cheek, the noise suppressed, the words escaping silently, mere ghosts of themselves, husks empty of breath and tone. In this diminished form the words rush out of the cornucopia of my brain to course over the surface of the world, tickling reality like fingers on piano keys."
Lethem has written vividly throughout the story so far and really creates the scene inside your head. I've noticed that Lethem presents the characters tourette's as a disability but also a blessing. In the very first passage of the book Lethem uses both negative and positive words to describe his tourette's. Lethem describes the words Lionel speaks due to his tourette's as mere ghosts of words, empty and suppressed. Yet, when they reach the worlds surface they tickle reality like the fingers on piano keys.
The book begins with the main character Linoel and his partner Gilbert in a stake out in front of a hotel. They do not know what they're looking for , just that they're looking. They sit inside their Lincoln waiting for their boss Minna while eating food. While they're waiting we get an understanding on how Linoel deals with his Tourette's such as crying out words and tapping consistently. Soon Minna shows up and goes inside the hotel. When Minna leaves Gilbert and Linoel have been told to follow Minna in the car. In heavy Brooklyn traffic Gilbert loses Minna and after searching they find him in a trash can badly stabbed. The first chapter ends with Linoel and Gilbert hearing that Minna didn't make it. The only clue as to who did it was the punchline of a joke and the name Irving.
The next chapter goes back into time when Linoel was 13 and living in St. Vincents Home for Boys and did not know of his condition yet. Linoel meets Minna when he calls for four white boys to help him in his business. The others were Tony, Gilbert, and Danny. The boys do a series of small moving jobs for Minna and get paid 20 bucks and some beer. The boys don't form a very tight relationship but respect each other and look out for each other. As Linoel goes through puberty he starts to realize this he can no longer control his tics and begins to be called the 'human freak show.'
Linoel and the other boys do not know who their parents are and Minna continually gives off hints that he knows and could "present" them too the boys at any time. This thought is more of a threat to the boys than a gift, because their parents could not be what the other boys hoped for. The oldest, Tony, has this idea that his Italian family will one day pick him up and drive him away. Minna instead tells him that he looks Greek or Puerto Rican and says that any of the unwed teenage girls could be his mother. This scares most of the boys. Minna tells Linoal that Essrog is such a rare name that Linoel should look it up in the phone book, he does and finds three listings.
I feel that Linoel is ashamed of his tourette's yet he believes that his disease shows him a lot about other people. On page 43 Linoel describes "Tourette's teaches you what people will ignore and forget, teaches you to see the reality-knitting mechanism people employ to tuck away and the intolerable, the incongruous, the disruptive - it teaches you this because you're the one lobbing the intolerable, incongruous, and disruptive their way."
"My Adam's apple bobbing, jaw muscle beating like a miniature heart under my cheek, the noise suppressed, the words escaping silently, mere ghosts of themselves, husks empty of breath and tone. In this diminished form the words rush out of the cornucopia of my brain to course over the surface of the world, tickling reality like fingers on piano keys."
Lethem has written vividly throughout the story so far and really creates the scene inside your head. I've noticed that Lethem presents the characters tourette's as a disability but also a blessing. In the very first passage of the book Lethem uses both negative and positive words to describe his tourette's. Lethem describes the words Lionel speaks due to his tourette's as mere ghosts of words, empty and suppressed. Yet, when they reach the worlds surface they tickle reality like the fingers on piano keys.
The book begins with the main character Linoel and his partner Gilbert in a stake out in front of a hotel. They do not know what they're looking for , just that they're looking. They sit inside their Lincoln waiting for their boss Minna while eating food. While they're waiting we get an understanding on how Linoel deals with his Tourette's such as crying out words and tapping consistently. Soon Minna shows up and goes inside the hotel. When Minna leaves Gilbert and Linoel have been told to follow Minna in the car. In heavy Brooklyn traffic Gilbert loses Minna and after searching they find him in a trash can badly stabbed. The first chapter ends with Linoel and Gilbert hearing that Minna didn't make it. The only clue as to who did it was the punchline of a joke and the name Irving.
The next chapter goes back into time when Linoel was 13 and living in St. Vincents Home for Boys and did not know of his condition yet. Linoel meets Minna when he calls for four white boys to help him in his business. The others were Tony, Gilbert, and Danny. The boys do a series of small moving jobs for Minna and get paid 20 bucks and some beer. The boys don't form a very tight relationship but respect each other and look out for each other. As Linoel goes through puberty he starts to realize this he can no longer control his tics and begins to be called the 'human freak show.'
Linoel and the other boys do not know who their parents are and Minna continually gives off hints that he knows and could "present" them too the boys at any time. This thought is more of a threat to the boys than a gift, because their parents could not be what the other boys hoped for. The oldest, Tony, has this idea that his Italian family will one day pick him up and drive him away. Minna instead tells him that he looks Greek or Puerto Rican and says that any of the unwed teenage girls could be his mother. This scares most of the boys. Minna tells Linoal that Essrog is such a rare name that Linoel should look it up in the phone book, he does and finds three listings.
I feel that Linoel is ashamed of his tourette's yet he believes that his disease shows him a lot about other people. On page 43 Linoel describes "Tourette's teaches you what people will ignore and forget, teaches you to see the reality-knitting mechanism people employ to tuck away and the intolerable, the incongruous, the disruptive - it teaches you this because you're the one lobbing the intolerable, incongruous, and disruptive their way."
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Change in Author
Now I have gotten about half way through Naked Lunch and wached the movie to help me understand what was going on. I am still completly lost as to what is going on in Naked Lunch. The movie seems to be losely based off the book and more about going over what happened in William Burroughs life at the time. I haven't been able to post any blogs because I honsetly do not understand a thing that I have read except for a portion of the book which was a few chapters about an intense orgy. I didn't want to give up on William Burroughs but this is a battle I cannot win. I decided to change my author on Friday of last week and went to the book store yesterday. I looked around and found John Stienbeck. I really admire his work and found a few books that I would definetly be intersted in. I thought that I would keep him as a fall back author if I couldn't find any others. I looked around some more and found three huge novels by Susan Straight. I read the first few pages and was intrigued, but I reasoned that the books were pretty thick and I don't have much time left. I continued down to check out Alen Ginsberg but on the way stumbled on Jonathon Lethem. The cover of the book caught my attention first. It was called "Cartoons and Men" and was decorated with cartoon characters on the cover. I read the first few pages and was instantly hooked. There was a huge row of his books and I kept picking them up and being hooked by the first few pages. I went home and looked him up and re-read what I had read before and still loved it. Jonathon Lethem grew up in Brooklyn around the 1970's and lived in a poor urban neighborhood. A lot of his writing his based off of how he grew up as a poor white kid in a mostly black neighborhood. It brings in elements such as musical influence and culture which is also an intersting element.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Chapter 1-9 Pages 3-69
Since I couldn't find any books other than Naked Lunch I am reading this book first while I find the others. So far I am on chapter 9 and have no idea on what the book is about. It is very wild writing and very confusing at times. I understand that it seems to be about different junkies living in this totalitarian government, I'm not really sure. The only chapter I really understood was 4 when it talked about this man being shown this psyche ward were junkies were kept and being tested on. A few chapters are just blurbs of someone shooting up or explaining what each drug does to the brain to make the person addicted. Its a pretty over whelming book and I can only read a little bit at a time because when I end a chapter I realize that I don't know what is going on, and have to re-read everything. The chapter I am on currently is all about gay sex with young boys and I am confused on the point of it. I think to understand what it is going on I am going to have to research the book and try to find someone analyzing each chapter.
William S Burroughs
I would like to do my American author paper on William S. Burroughs. Burroughs was born in Missouri and traveled around across the United States throughout his life time. Burroughs was a main part of the Beat Generation and was friends with famous writers such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. I am interested in this writer because of his ability to write about things which had effected his life such as being a heroin addict. I am most interested in his experimental writing fueled on politics and science fiction.
Burroughs collaborated with Kerouac on writing a novel loosely based off of the murder of a homosexual which Kerouac and their friend Lucian Carr were involved in. A few years later after accidentally shooting his wife to death Burroughs was inspired to continue writing. Once Burroughs stated, “I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would have never become a writer but for Joan’s Death.“ Burroughs is known as one of the most influential American authors of the 20th century due to his obscene experiential writing on subjects such as drug addiction, sexuality, and paranoia.
Burroughs writing went against the standard convention of language and is known to be “fragmentary and abstract.” He influenced many science fiction authors like J.G Ballard and Michael Moorcock. Burroughs’ many abstract and controversial writing will give me a lot of reference to base a literary argument. Burroughs anarchistic writing inspired many counterculture movements such as the beats, hippie, and even punks. I would like to see what his ideas are and see the similarity in the viewpoints of the punk rock movement. I would like to read a book from each other Burroughs writing period, to see how he changed and matured as a writer. The books I am considering are: Junkie, Naked Lunch, and The Wild Boys. I plan to read these books in the order of earliest to latest in order to see the difference in his writing and change in themes (if any).
I have never read any books from the Beatnik generation and would really like too, because in a sense these are the people which lead to revolutionary movements which I am interested in like the hippie generation and punk movement. William Burroughs sounds like a very interesting character and since he has been through a rough life I anticipate his writing to be really raw and in your face. This raw writing is what intrigues me the most, and I am really excited to start on this project.
Burroughs collaborated with Kerouac on writing a novel loosely based off of the murder of a homosexual which Kerouac and their friend Lucian Carr were involved in. A few years later after accidentally shooting his wife to death Burroughs was inspired to continue writing. Once Burroughs stated, “I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would have never become a writer but for Joan’s Death.“ Burroughs is known as one of the most influential American authors of the 20th century due to his obscene experiential writing on subjects such as drug addiction, sexuality, and paranoia.
Burroughs writing went against the standard convention of language and is known to be “fragmentary and abstract.” He influenced many science fiction authors like J.G Ballard and Michael Moorcock. Burroughs’ many abstract and controversial writing will give me a lot of reference to base a literary argument. Burroughs anarchistic writing inspired many counterculture movements such as the beats, hippie, and even punks. I would like to see what his ideas are and see the similarity in the viewpoints of the punk rock movement. I would like to read a book from each other Burroughs writing period, to see how he changed and matured as a writer. The books I am considering are: Junkie, Naked Lunch, and The Wild Boys. I plan to read these books in the order of earliest to latest in order to see the difference in his writing and change in themes (if any).
I have never read any books from the Beatnik generation and would really like too, because in a sense these are the people which lead to revolutionary movements which I am interested in like the hippie generation and punk movement. William Burroughs sounds like a very interesting character and since he has been through a rough life I anticipate his writing to be really raw and in your face. This raw writing is what intrigues me the most, and I am really excited to start on this project.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)