Semicolons. That was the most interesting thing we talked about this week. Not to say that it wasn't an interesting week full of captivating discussions (describing it as anything less would be blasphamy), but the small discussion we had about semicolons, both Virginia Woolf's use of them in Orlando, and the relation between their roles in our literature and our minds was something that stuck out to me more than Orlando's dealings with modesty, chastity, and purity or other things of that nature.
Someone brought up how Virginia Woolf's extensive use of semicolons (as opposed to commas and periods) is part of the reason why her writing seems very close to the someone's actual train of thought. It doesn't seem overly planned out, and picked apart to the point of making it seem over-edited, the way people's writing (inadvertently) comes across. From a literary perspective I'm sure this is somehow brilliant or worth an award, because if it wasn't more people would be doing it, but I don't think I'm qualified to judge it on a literary basis. What really makes this element of her writing appealing to me, is how natural it seems. We've talked in class about how one of the goals of a good writer is to make the reader feel like they're inside the writer's head, and the way the natural flow of her writing mimics her thought is what takes readers inside her mind more than anything else.
I, as well as any other English student of ten years, know how much teachers love "varied sentence structure and punctuation" (that's a direct quote), and of course we've all heard the example people use when describing the importance of commas (let's eat dad AND let's eat, dad), but the real importance of varying punctuation and the way you structure your writing simply because that is how we think. Our minds don't function one sentence at a time, neatly capped off with periods and new paragraphs; we're not that linear, if we were it'd probably be much less interesting. Semicolons are a way to keep a thought alive, and continue the momentum of the last thought into the next one, the way people's thoughts have a tendency to link together. We can also see this idea appear in the way we talk, we don't end sentences and start new ones the way that we're taught to by third grade grammar textbooks, we pivot from one idea to the next, from one point to another, without considering if it would give us any squiggly green lines in Microsoft Word. The true beauty and art of Virginia Woolf is how natural she makes writing; I'm not sure if she ever encountered writer's block, because that'd mean she'd had to have completely stopped thinking altogether. I think blogging about here (I can't believe I just admitted to 'blogging') has made me realize even more how much I want to emulate the ease of her writing, and how she really invites reader's into the flow of her mind. That's what good writing feels like, making people feel like your thoughts are actually their thoughts; you're stepping into someone else's train of thought, but you don't think of it like that because it seems so real and normal and natural
September 19, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
What If?: We Could See Into the Future
Hello, (might as well be friendly)
This, being my first blog post, feels a little weird. Writing this way (informally, and with more "voice" than usual) will probably take some getting used to. But, nonetheless, here goes nothin'
Today in class we discussed the links between time, memory and consciousness. One idea, brought up toward the end of our discussion, about the passing of time and how everything we do may (and probably will) end in obscurity, really provoked my thoughts.
We were talking about the second chapter of Orlando, specifically the point where Orlando is contemplating his life so far, and what of it will be remembered by others after he's dead and gone. I believe it was Rohan who brought up a Peanut's comic he'd seen that had a similar theme, something to do with what will really matter five hundred years from now and who will remember it. That segue into someone saying "What if we could see ten, twenty, or a hundred years into the future... How would that affect our actions now? How would it influence our thoughts?" Unfortunately, we ran out of time, or had to move on to something new, so we couldn't really discuss this very much, but that question did stick with me and kept me thinking. (and believe me, I don't think about English after class is over very often)
As with all unnatural abilities and "super powers", if we could see into the future there'd obviously be some people who use this ability and some who abuse it. If people could know exactly what others would remember about them one hundred years in the future, they could spend much more of their lives honing this skill or attribute, or perfecting a deed that may be their only lasting impact. Theoretically, people could become much more specialized and serve a small, but important duty that they know would affect the future in some way. On the other side of that, there'd without a doubt be people who realize that they really only have to do one thing their entire life, and use it to justify laziness and lack of motivation to do anything else. Some people could even say that they don't want to be remembered by people far in the future, and think that they never have to do anything their whole lives, finding it meaningless and wasteful to try to do anything that they know will eventually come to no good.
I don't think this knowledge or ability would be fit for everybody; I don't think everybody could handle it. Knowing that everything you do, every action, interaction, and thought, may one day be remembered by very few or have no lasting impression at all would be hard for some people to live with; especially because it seems like everybody wants to "change the world" these days (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ni_c0IMP-c --- I couldn't help myself), or be remembered for something great and not be, as I say "just another tombstone" one day. I've noticed, and become kind of annoyed with the idea that everybody seems to aspire to nowadays; that they're going to leave a massive lasting impression, or rid the world of some terrible affliction and be remembered as a hero. I mean sure this would be great, and a happy ending to anyone's life, but unfortunately it's just not possible for everybody. Personally I think it's much easier, and more rewarding, to be remembered very well by a few people that cherish your memory, than for a lot of people to have a lukewarm memory of how you once were. I think just being a good person and inspiring a few people to fulfill their lives in a great big chain reaction sort of thing is better (or at least more achievable) than being a hero of every history textbooks, but that's a blog for another day.
We touched on a similar topic like this last year when we watched the movie Big Fish in class, and one of the characters said that when he was young he saw exactly how he was going to die, and because of that was never afraid to do anything foreign or dangerous because he knew it wouldn't kill him. So again this emphasizes my point that for some people the ability to se the future would be a great way for them to better themselves and those around them, striving to make their lasting impact as strong and meaningful as possible. But then, there would be those who see this knowledge as a ticket to an easy life; fulfilling their duty and then coasting their way to their grave (yeah I know it sounds harsh). Unfortunately I think if this ability did exist, there'd be more people who would use it for the second scenario than the first, so I'm not sure how good this would be for the human race as a whole. I also think I believe in the spontaneity of life too much to want this ability, I think there are aspects of randomness and fate that interweave in our lives that help define our character and actions, so this hypothetical ability would mess with that too much. It remains a very interesting topic for me to go back to though, and it is something I'll actually remember from English class, even after that's long gone.
September 12, 2011
This, being my first blog post, feels a little weird. Writing this way (informally, and with more "voice" than usual) will probably take some getting used to. But, nonetheless, here goes nothin'
Today in class we discussed the links between time, memory and consciousness. One idea, brought up toward the end of our discussion, about the passing of time and how everything we do may (and probably will) end in obscurity, really provoked my thoughts.
We were talking about the second chapter of Orlando, specifically the point where Orlando is contemplating his life so far, and what of it will be remembered by others after he's dead and gone. I believe it was Rohan who brought up a Peanut's comic he'd seen that had a similar theme, something to do with what will really matter five hundred years from now and who will remember it. That segue into someone saying "What if we could see ten, twenty, or a hundred years into the future... How would that affect our actions now? How would it influence our thoughts?" Unfortunately, we ran out of time, or had to move on to something new, so we couldn't really discuss this very much, but that question did stick with me and kept me thinking. (and believe me, I don't think about English after class is over very often)
As with all unnatural abilities and "super powers", if we could see into the future there'd obviously be some people who use this ability and some who abuse it. If people could know exactly what others would remember about them one hundred years in the future, they could spend much more of their lives honing this skill or attribute, or perfecting a deed that may be their only lasting impact. Theoretically, people could become much more specialized and serve a small, but important duty that they know would affect the future in some way. On the other side of that, there'd without a doubt be people who realize that they really only have to do one thing their entire life, and use it to justify laziness and lack of motivation to do anything else. Some people could even say that they don't want to be remembered by people far in the future, and think that they never have to do anything their whole lives, finding it meaningless and wasteful to try to do anything that they know will eventually come to no good.
I don't think this knowledge or ability would be fit for everybody; I don't think everybody could handle it. Knowing that everything you do, every action, interaction, and thought, may one day be remembered by very few or have no lasting impression at all would be hard for some people to live with; especially because it seems like everybody wants to "change the world" these days (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ni_c0IMP-c --- I couldn't help myself), or be remembered for something great and not be, as I say "just another tombstone" one day. I've noticed, and become kind of annoyed with the idea that everybody seems to aspire to nowadays; that they're going to leave a massive lasting impression, or rid the world of some terrible affliction and be remembered as a hero. I mean sure this would be great, and a happy ending to anyone's life, but unfortunately it's just not possible for everybody. Personally I think it's much easier, and more rewarding, to be remembered very well by a few people that cherish your memory, than for a lot of people to have a lukewarm memory of how you once were. I think just being a good person and inspiring a few people to fulfill their lives in a great big chain reaction sort of thing is better (or at least more achievable) than being a hero of every history textbooks, but that's a blog for another day.
We touched on a similar topic like this last year when we watched the movie Big Fish in class, and one of the characters said that when he was young he saw exactly how he was going to die, and because of that was never afraid to do anything foreign or dangerous because he knew it wouldn't kill him. So again this emphasizes my point that for some people the ability to se the future would be a great way for them to better themselves and those around them, striving to make their lasting impact as strong and meaningful as possible. But then, there would be those who see this knowledge as a ticket to an easy life; fulfilling their duty and then coasting their way to their grave (yeah I know it sounds harsh). Unfortunately I think if this ability did exist, there'd be more people who would use it for the second scenario than the first, so I'm not sure how good this would be for the human race as a whole. I also think I believe in the spontaneity of life too much to want this ability, I think there are aspects of randomness and fate that interweave in our lives that help define our character and actions, so this hypothetical ability would mess with that too much. It remains a very interesting topic for me to go back to though, and it is something I'll actually remember from English class, even after that's long gone.
September 12, 2011
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