Special post #2 :Interpretation

“Special Post” Interpretation

1.      ARNOLD: Jack, you shouldn’t be quitting us.

JACK: I have to, Arnold.

ARNOLD: If you quit, Jack, I’ll hate you.

JACK: I hope not.

ARNOLD: I will.

JACK: I really hope not.

ARNOLD: I will. Are you still quitting us?

JACK: Yes.

ARNOLD: Then fine. I hate you. Curtain up. End of subject. Can we eat something? I’m very undernourished tonight.

JACK: We’ll stop somewhere.

ARNOLD: Thanks, Jack. But I don’t want to go anyplace where you have to eat a la carte. I don’t like a la carte.

JACK: No a la carte.

ARNOLD: You’re gonna be a travel agent now, huh Jack?

JACK: Yeah.

ARNOLD: That’s nice.

JACK: Yeah.

ARNOLD: Jack, and I emphasize this, you’ve got better behavior patterns than a lot of, I repeat, people.

JACK: Thanks, Arnold.You too.

2.      I feel that this section of the play, The Boys Next Door, is very simplistic on the outside when you first read it. But as I read it over a second time I noticed some things that seemed to be disguised. It was almost as if the author was beating around the bush to tell us how both characters were really feeling at that moment. As I was reading I could feel the tension and the unsettling feeling they were giving by their awkward silences and one word responses by Jack. This last couple of lines at the end of the play seemed so significant especially the way it ended. I felt like the ending of this was a rather sad change than a happy change for the characters.

3.      These last couple of lines at the end of the play The Boys Next Door, deals with Jack and Arnold heading to the train station right before Jack permanently leaves the “boys.” As they sit in the car talking I get the sense that Arnold is letting Jack know how he feels about Jack leaving them. And to me it seems like Arnold notices that Jack isn’t being very sympathetic and seems annoyed by all his questions and comments like he usually is, because Jack is giving him one word answers. So Arnold backs off and brings up a new topic by stating he’s hungry.  But as I read these lines a second and a third time, I noticed Jack doesn’t seem really annoyed, but rather sad to leave the boys as well. I mean Jack has been with them for eight months and to just up and leave them was not an easy thing for him to do even though he seemed like if he showed any sense of sadness to Arnold he would change his mind and stay even though he knows that staying would not be the best choice for him or the boys, because he doesn’t have the patience anymore and he probably wants to leave on a good note by being neutral and dry to make it easier for himself and even Arnold especially if he’s dry to him. I took Jacks silence as him just pondering on everything that has happened with the boys and where he was going.

4.      There are a couple of things that brought me to this interpretation on these last couple of lines in the play: firstly, at the beginning of the story as Jack is introducing himself to the audience, he goes on about how he supervises five group apartments of the mentally handicapped. He then talks about how he laughs at their escapades, and how he’s getting burnt out, but he states, “…despite this, they remain my closest associates.” He states it right here that although he’s exhausted he can’t help but love this relationship he has with the “boys,” therefore his short answers and dryness was only a wall he built to keep him from doing the wrong thing by staying, he knew he needed to go for a while now according to the play he was talking about it in so many words in the beginning. Secondly, another example of his respect and love for the “boys” but know they need better was when he was chaperoning the dance for the mentally handicapped, and he became so frustrated and blew up on Arnold. He goes on talking to the audience saying, “Every time I lose my temper with these guys, I hate myself for about a week. I need a new job. They deserve better. Or I deserve better. Or somebody deserves something.

5.      This interpretation matters, because it gives us as the readers a better understanding of how true and deep Jack and the boy’s relationship was. By how silent and how dry and distant Jack was because he didn’t want to become sad in front of Arnold showed how much he really feels close to the boys and how he didn’t want to go but knew they deserve better. He in a way kept arms distance from them in an emotional way. This section showed how much they all cared for one another and how they wanted the best for each other. As I read the passage again, I still feel like there is something more to it.  I am still unsure of the depth of that conversation, but I know that it is very significant to their relationship, because it is at the very end, it is the closing credits to the play. I don’t believe it’s a type of cliff hanger or anything, but the ending that gave a lot of emotion with silence and not words.

   

A Temple of the Holy Ghost

This story was a very interesting story for me to read. I felt like it had a lot of deeper meaning to it than just the obvious surface; for instance, the hermaphrodite seems to represent an acceptance of God's will. Susan and Joanne witness the hermaphrodite at the fair, and then later tells the “child” about it while in bed. As I read Flannery O'Connor’s story in Pearson, she herself suffered from lupus that resulted in the loss of the use of her legs which lead to her death. For me this story demonstrates a sympathy for "freaks," as this hermaphrodite is called in the story. I think that O'Connor has some type of connection to this story with her own life. She seems to be almost talking about herself in a way. It seems to be that the hermaphrodite's body is a temple of the holy ghost in the mind of the “child:” as she watches the priest raise the host, which I have learned in the Catholic faith is believed to “literally” become the body of Christ, she remembers the hermaphrodite's words.

Also the fact that the child remains nameless is significant to me also, since it could imply that the child could represent children everywhere around the world or it could just mean nothing. The child can also be interpreted as a representation of O'Connor herself like I said before how I felt that O’Connor has some personal connection to her story, since the author; from what I have read and looked up was very socially awkward and not very graceful. The child makes judgments about the intelligence of those who surround her, and thinking that she is much more intelligent and faithful than the others. She finally lets go of her pride and allows herself to be “into” the experience of the Catholic mass, then she finally achieves Grace.

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

In the story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin, the narrator of the story (whom which was never identified) explains his or her belief that "we" (presumably enlightened, contemporary westerners) have a ''bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid." I sat and thought about this statement, and thought about how this generation can contribute to this quote. “We” at times may seem like we have the “I don’t care” or “whatever” attitude, but whether we are out there buying material things, looking to boyfriends or girlfriends to put a smile on our faces, or going on a missions trip to help others, I believe this generation doesn’t think of  happiness as “stupid.” Fathers think if I could just get this great job I would be so happy, mothers think if I could be a stay at home mom I would be so happy, teenagers think if I could just lose this weight or if I could just get the courage to ask this girl on a date it would make my night. We are always looking for happiness whether it’s on purpose or if it wasn’t intentional, happiness is something I believe all generations strive to get. It’s the “Pursuit of Happiness.” Maybe the author is right, maybe we do think it is “stupid,” but our actions say otherwise. I know that the author was probably talking about contemporary westerners, but I could only think of how this generation thinks and acts about happiness. This story made see how the people in Omelas were happy people, well at least described to me that was how it seemed. I thought about if we as people could genuinely be happy for one another and to strive for true happiness in Christ instead of the material things, the question would be, would happiness be forgotten, invisible or even stupid when you put Christ in it?

A very old man with enormous wings

 “A very Old man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel García Márquez was a very interesting story. Although the Priest and the crowds of people didn’t believe or was unsure of the old man being an angel I do believe that the man was an angel that came down from heaven. He presented semi-miracles, and had a mysterious way about him. It even says in the Bible that angels may walk among men hidden in the crowds resembling us humans. I feel like this book had a few even a lot of biblical sides to it. The people could not understand his strange language and the Priest thought that if he spoke Catholic Church Latin he would be an angel, but to the priest’s surprise it was not. So while reading this I assumed that he, the angel, may well be speaking the language of God, but to human ears it sounds crude. I even thought about if the priest and the crowds of people believed who he was and where he came from they would be revealed to the language of God due to their beliefs, so the outcome of the story may have been a little bit different. They could have experienced greater miracles and a heavenly touch from the Lord if they had believed. I believe that in the beginning of the story with the the swarms of crabs that must be killed, and the darkness at noon, these strange events seem to foreshadow the eerie arrival of the otherworldly visitor, the Angel. I believe they had meaning and was very significant. Although I have some thoughts or ideas of what the reason may be, I’m still a little clueless myself. It seemed like the beginning of something. Although the story ended with the old man flying away, I still believe that was not the end of the story, it almost seemed like a cliff hanger and that the crowds of people and the priest will be seeing more of him again.

Lake Bonny~

"I went to Lake Bonny Park for this field trip, and I stayed there for at least 45 minutes." Although I didn’t know what to expect at Lake Bonny Park, I did enjoy my time there. It was peaceful and actually a great stress reliever from classes and homework. I tried my best to follow the instructions for this field trip, and following the instructions, I believe, made me time at Lake Bonny well spent. Observing and being quiet for the fifteen minutes, made me not just think about nature, but about what God’s intentions were for making nature. I thought of the verse where it talks about how God is in his creation so everyone is without an excuse for saying there is no God. I believe God made creation so beautifully and detailed to reveal himself to those that will listen and are quiet. He says “be still and know that I am God.” Creation is a clue to God’s existence! It was an “ah- ha” moment for me.

In the short essay, “Poetry as a Spiritual Practice for Mary oliver,” a line stood out to me, it says, “At other times it is not a conversation with any words but a simple presence with both God and the earth.” And this is exactly how I experienced my time at Lake Bonny Park, I experienced an intimate moment with the Lord. Sometimes it is not about what we are praying and shouting out to the Lord is when we hear from him, but it’s when we are able to be quiet and listen to what he has to say, because he has the answer for you even before you pray. As Oliver states in her poem about her own feeling of seeing God’s creation, “Which is mostly standing still and being astonished.” I became astonished when I realized God’s clue that shows his existence came to me when I was quiet and listened. If I haven’t learned anything else from this trip it was I need to be still and know that he is God!

My Nature Poem:

Intimate meeting of minds
These definitely bind
Dark rich soil consume my feet and starts to wrap
The grass grows deep within this tender trap
The seed which now resides is the heart of this flower
Blossom and bloom and don’t lack power
Let the wind take over like a Holy Ghost shower


Be like Christ the lamb and the Lion
Full of life like the dandelion
Oh creation radiates like a symphony
But the “one” whispers remember me! Creator of all things
Not responsible for the worldly blings!
But the unfailing morning sting of the birds never ending praise sings


So stoic and poised
The tree stands
But underneath it is the roots that go down deep and brand
Going with life so simple with peace like the birds and the bee’s
All creation waits for Thee

By: Ashley Coleman

Circle B Reserve

I truly enjoyed going to Circle B Reserve, I am from southern California and that is not a scenery I would typically see every day. Although it was a little gloomy, Circle B was very much “alive,” the animals were so elegant and the color of the plants were radiant, and to see that massive eagles nest was breath taking. It may seem to most people something they see every day by living in Florida, but for me coming from the city it is not, so excuse myself for being amazed by all that I saw. Although when I was on the trip to the Reserve I didn’t think about the poem from Hass and relate to it by what I was seeing at that moment, I was able to take the poem after the trip and ponder on it, I was able to look back at the pictures taken and correlate the poem with the memory of the trip, which I felt was more beneficial for me, due to the fact I didn’t have to think about the poem, I could just take in the scenery at that moment.

            I have already put into practice the notes on “Poetry,” I took a blanket outside and sat and read a book and enjoyed the sunshine and the sound of nature. It was more comfortable for me to sit out in nature than inside the house. The book I am reading is called “Captivating,” and there is a part in the beginning where she talks about how women love to be adventurous, and the author goes on about a story where she was camping and she describes every little detail that she saw, felt, smelled, heard, and even tasted. I was able to read that chapter outside and the book became alive to me like I was living what the author had lived and was describing. I want to incorporate nature into my daily life now, and to learn to go outside more and enjoy God’s creations!

State of the planet

The poem “State of the Planet” by Robert Hass was a very refreshing piece to read for myself. Although I did find it to be a little bit difficult to understand Hass’s choice of wording. There was one quote that stood out to me on the first page that I wanted to examine a little bit more. “Poetry should be able to comprehend the earth. To set aside from time to time it’s natural idioms of ardor and revulsion, and say, in a style as sober As the Latin of Lucretius, who reported to Venus On the state of things two thousand years ago- “It’s your doing that under the wheeling constellations of the sky,” he wrote, “all nature teems with life-“ Something of the earth beyond our human dramas.”

            I understood the beginning of this poem; what I took from it was, poetry should be able to show and express who the world is and in order to do that, we as the writer needs to understand the earth and its whole. All of nature is connected with who we are and life itself. I believe it seems to be a circle of life with nature and expressing it through poetry or whatever other means. I did have a difficult time understanding the rest of the quote when it talked about “It’s your doing that under the wheeling constellations of the sky, all nature teems with life.” So I became unclear of what Hass was trying to get at in this line. Was he trying to say that nature is connected with “life” like how I explained earlier in my blog, or was he trying to say that nature is “life.” I can agree with either meaning, I believe that nature is connected with life and also I believe nature is life!