In my first post about TLOP I spoke of the human waste motif standing for power. Upon further thought, I think this also ties into the animalistic part of humans. There is a scene in which Pi eats Richard Parker's excrement. The meaning of this act is that Pi is contemplating swallowing (embracing) that animalistic part of him, the survivalist instinct, by ridding the raft of Richard Parker. However, he spits it out, realizing that there is nothing to be had there. He realizes that humans are more than just survivalists, so he chooses to not let the savage in him win.
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In the early pages of Life of Pi, we learn that Piscine's nickname was "pissing" when he was in school, and that kids used that to pick on him. He later brings up animals excrement when speaking about animals marking their territory. At that point in the book the symbolism is not clear, but I thought it would be a motif throughout the entirety of the book.
This fear of rejection might be the cause for his peter pan syndrome. He mentions that he is not "plugged in" to life. Will avoids staying in people's lives for a while, and making any non-superficial connections. I mean, if you never really get involved emotionally, you don't get hurt when things don't work out.
The question is... where does this fear come from? Maybe it plays into the peter pan/daddy issues idea. From the description of Will's father at Christmastime, he doesn't seem like a very jolly guy. Understandable for him at the time, but maybe he was like that all the time. If Will's dad was unhappy, he probably wasn't very supportive of Will. His unsupportiveness of Will made him feel insecure about himself. As a result, during his childhood he bullied in order to feel good about himself. As he grew up (well, didn't grow up) he became a peter pan sort of character. I think that now that Marcus has entered his life, he feels compelled to father him. Marcus has nobody other than his mother -- what are the chances that he will reject Will? It's a safe bet that if Will wanted to become attached, Marcus would be virtually riskless. In a way, that would also kind of resolve the sin of his bullying when he was younger. Do you think agree? Do you think that Will is thinking along these lines -- either consciously or subconsciously. Something that caught my eye in this reading was when it was mentioned that "[Will] was one of life's visitors; he didn't want to be visited" after he starts to be affected by his bond with Marcus. I think many people can relate to having at least one moment like this; they want to just play a minor role in someone's life and then walk away unscathed. This can be negative sometimes for example sometimes someone will want to "play" their partner and manipulating them. This is by being either the best thing the other person has ever had or by being truly terrible, and then break up with them suddenly and act as if nothing happened and they aren't responsible for their heartbreak. On the other hand, people can have good intentions. This is something I can relate to; I tend to be very supportive with a new friend and make them feel great about themself. Then when things become to be a bit of a burden I tend to have the urge to run, because the good old instinct of self preservation is a real pain in the neck.
In about a boy, I see great strides being made in how a character with depression is portrayed. Fiona is not made out to be this damsel in distress, or this monster who doesn't care about her son. Her suicide note just sounds worn out - like she's just come to this inevitable end, and feels bad about it, but just feels like it's her time to go.
It makes depression more relatable to someone who's never had it. Instead of depression being the character's character, it's described as something she just can't shake -- like a disease, as it is. All the people I've ever known who were suicidal felt the same way as was described in her suicide letter; as if it was just their time to go. They felt no desire to go on because they were kept down by their disorder. When Fiona's depression is separated from her in her note, it created more empathy for her. She's not just weepy because she feels like it and that's the way she is; she's weepy because she's utterly hopeless and overcome by a disorder mostly beyond her control. She's not a bad mother just because that's how she wants to be, it's because she can't get herself up to be the best she can -- her true self. Did Fiona's letter make you have more sympathy for her, too? On page 27, after Nick has decided to commence his new phase attracting beautiful single mothers, it is mentioned that "his career as a serial nice guy had begun".
IT's a new year so I'll be blogging for my Contemporary Lit class now :)
over the last few months, I've thought about learning, particularly my own, much more than usual. the most important thing I've learned about my individual learning is that I need an instructor who is passionate and shows this. In my classes that are led by teachers who speak monotonously, give little extra information, and don't show much enthusiasm, my grades are consistently worse. of course this is ultimately my own fault for not trying harder, however I have found that I'm more inclined to do my work, and inspired to do my best on it when the teacher of that class is passionate about his or her work. When my instructor almost jumps out of their skin in excitement over something almost completely mundane, i can't help but notice myself and my fellow students get straighten up in our seats. oftentimes teachers will even sound bored when teaching, which is honestly just a horrible way to present anything. During my classes in which teachers tend to present like this (unenthusiastically and with obvious dread), I struggle to pay attention even more than usual, and therefore perform worse than in other classes. From this I conclude that it's necessary for me to have a teacher who's both passionate about the subjects, and has no reluctance to share this and more during class.
Have you ever seen someone doing something and immediately thought that you'd be good at it? Recently I've been thinking of taking up pottery painting or making. It's always been intriguing to me, and I know plenty of Art Unlimited regulars. But how would one get into this hobby? Would the best way to learn be to take a class, to try it on their own, or to have a friend to teach them? My advice would be to do whatever you are most comfortable with. If you are comfortable with a private lesson, go to one where the teacher shows you what to do because they will have niche knowledge on the subject and will likely also have good advice. If you are not very into the idea of crafting, then walk in and just try painting a little something. If you really want to get your hands dirty, go with friends to a potter's wheel session. It all depends on whether you are an auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learner.
Have you ever noticed a change in your study habits as a result of the weather? I most definitely have. The past few weeks, for example, it was sunny and I did not perform as well as I could and should have academically. Although there were other factors in this case, I often feel less inclined to do my school work when it is sunny. according to this article, I'm not the only one who feels less inclined to do homework and study when the weather is fair. IN this study from the Wharton School at UPENn, students are generally more distracted on sunny days and times of the month. This is because we are primed to be thinking of all the fun things we could be doing outside instead of hitting the books, such as go for a walk, bike ride, go to the pool, or literally anything that's not in this god-awful library.
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