Ethics and Literature

The simple rubric I will be using to assess research presentations is here:  spkg asmnt resrch f10

The blog technically never closes to you, but for the sake of assessing blog contributions for your semester’s grades, I am setting a deadline after which posts/comments will no longer “count.”  That deadline will be midnight on Saturday, Dec. 4.

We had a low budget… plusss my video may be blocked so watch it fast. I hate the bull with this copyright stuff.

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So did we ever get a real consensus on our opinion of Beah? I ended up coming away from it feeling like if you judged it under a microscope i’m sure 101% of the things he said wouldn’t come up as true, but it’s hard to remember things that far in the past in that much detail. I feel like overall it’s a solid book that really can be trusted. Opinions? Arguments?

i know the topic of the book thief is finished but this is pretty interesting. in the trailer death is porteayed as a little girl… i feel like this turns my whole view on the book around. i think the book becomes a little creepy when being narrated by something we generally considered innocent and good.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=95s8GlKY40o

So I know I ask a lot of these types of questions, but I find peoples’ answers interesting. Out of all the books, who was your favorite character? I think Max was my favorite character overall, even though I was not a huge fan of The Book Thief. He was strong, but vulnerable, so loving towards Liesel, believable, and just the type of guy you respect and want to meet. Also, my favorite parts of the book, where the excerpts from the books he made for Liesel.

We have read a multitude of books over the semester. And each book we have read has its own special quirks about it. That being said I was wondering if anyone had any book in particular that we have read over the semester that they especially enjoy? Or any book in particular that they strongly dislike? And why do you like/ dislike the book?
I would have to say that the Book Thief and The Hour of the Furnaces were probably my favorite books. I read the other books as the syllabus instructed but I finished Zusack and Golden’s books almost instantly. Golden’s book is a book that has haunted me even after we have finished it. The stories were blunt, as they should be, and completely honest. As well Zusack’s book was also honest and a different perspective on Nazi Germany that I have never encountered before. I’ve already promised my Grandmother that I will bring both books home over Christmas break so she can read them as well.
On the other hand I have to be honest and admit that I did not enjoy As I Lay Dying. It was interesting yes but I just could not get into it. Maybe my sense of humor is dull so thats why I didn’t find it entertaining. I felt throughout the book that I was witnessing a horrible reality show. And I’m not talking about ABC network reality shows which are watered down and predictible. I’m talking about VH1 style throw down, cue the screaming and trashy individuals. Eventually I’ll probably go back to the book just to see if I like it any better. But I’m not counting on a change of heart anytime soon.

I think some of these books do have movie adaption (like Beloved) but pretending none did, which would you most want to see as a movie, if any? I think that The Book Theif could potentially work well, or A Long Way Gone, though it would be very depressing. With both of these (and all adaption) they’d have to be careful though, since it’s so easy to mess them up.

The Odyssey Part One

The Odyseyyy Part two

This hopefully will work. We linked The Odyssey and As I lay Dying as Journeys here’s pretty much the most epic song I’ve ever heard about such a Journey. The songs so epic it wouldn’t fit into one video! Enjoy

In a previous class Dr. Scanlon mentioned that As I Lay Dying could be viewed as a comedy in an attempt to make it more appealing. When I but myself in the position of the characters I do not find the situation extremely jovial or funny necessarily but I could easily see myself riding along in the wagon laughing to myself about what else could possibly go wrong. It is with that mindset that reading As I Lay Dying becomes comical. Anyone agree?

I have finished reading As I Lay Dying, and I thought that the ending was kind of absurd, although the plot of this novel was kind of absurd overall to me. I definitely enjoyed the second half of the novel more than the first half. There seemed to be a lot more conflict between the characters and a lot more action. I do not get why Faulkner decided to end the novel with Anse getting remarried, which was kind of unbelievable to me…What does everyone else think about the ending? I also thought it was interesting to see Darl turn insane, although the family always did call him the crazy one, but in the beginning a lot of people said that Darl was the most reliable character. As for characters, the most rational by far is Cash and Anse is my least favorite character in the novel because of the way he treats his children and how he takes Dewey Dell’s money to buy his false teeth. What does everyone think about the characters?