Page 149

On page the old man with the eye patch decides that his portable radio will not be used as goods in exchange for food, from the hoodlums in the third ward.  The girl with the dark glasses asks the old man if she can listen to music, but the old man says no, he says "if anyone wants to listen to music they could hear it in their own heads."  The old man with the eye patch knows his little radio is the only link he and the others have to the outside world.  Also, in the following pages the old man with the eye patch  noticed that the only radio station he was able to get on his portable radio, had gone silent.  He listened attentively, waiting for the announcers voice to come back, only it never came back.  The old man with the eye patch new instinctively that the announcer and everyone else at that studio had gone blind.  The old man with the eye patch then dropped the radio and covered his head, and wept in silence.

In this book the author shows how in times of great distress and pandemonium, some people will surely lose their humanity and compassion.  We can see this with the thugs from the third ward. We don't know if they were already hoodlums, so it's safe to assume that they swayed that way given the horrific situation they were in.  I have a feeling things will get much worse before they get better.  I hope I'm wrong.

Response to Ekphrasis

Last year, I went to MET as a class field trip. We were at French painters section on second floor, among those famous paintings, I paid a lot of attention on one particular art piece. It was Joan D'arc (Joan of Arc)French heroine by Jules Bastien-Lepage in 1879. In this painting, Joan of Arc was in her  parent's garden, standing, gazing somewhere far far away and her body was slightly leaning towards a tree which she was holding. At her back, there were two angels floating in the air, who were probably attempting to guide her to protect her town and her people from enemy. Unlike other painters who usually picture her as brave war hero dressing her with heavy armors and sword, Jules Bastien-Lepage's version of Joan of Arc was just a normal peasant girl who had no idea of her huge breakout to mark her as legend for generations. As for me, this is my favorite art of all time because it always seems to make me think of how future is unpredictable. Because nobody knows what that future might hold and what that future might bring, like in Blindness, nobody expected to go blind, nobody foresaw how messy and ugly humans could be, nobody wanted to be killed, abandoned, starved or neglected. I was terrified to read all those cruelty in the book and at the same time, I also wondered how did Saramago write all in details like he had been experienced before. How could all inhumanity actions in asylum were perfectly crafted? Now I understand why this book won Nobel prize because it was a complete master piece.

Blindness page 149-151

so far in the book they are talking about the old man with the eyepatch radio being excluded from the list of valuables they had to hand over .The old man was saying the radio is important because it lets them know what’s going on in the outside world . The music on the radio caused painful memories . They were worrying about the batteries in the radio dying but instead the speaker went blind first ,

Pages 149-152 of blindness

The two pages we have read so far I kind felt bad that this man also went blind out of nowhere too. I feel that after he went blind he felt that the radio was the only thing that he had left and was with him for a very long time and then after it died it just seemed like it was just worthless. It turned to be a emotional connection with this radio.

Pgs 149-151

The man with the black eyepatch has a radio but doesn’t know how long it will last him so he only uses the radio to hear what’s happening in the outside. He doesn’t want to share his radio because he fears it will run out of battery and he won’t be able to hear what’s happening on the outside. The radio is the last link to the outside world

page 149-151

The old man has a portable radio go listen to the news. He wants to keep up with the news so he can be knowledge of what’s going on. The news caster eventually goes blind and the man with the eyepatch doesn’t have anything. He weeps under his pillow.

In this part of the story the man with the eye patch is listening to the news and he is hoping that the radio’s battery doesn’t die so he can listen to the news. It’s ironic that the news stops broadcasting before the radio dies. Even  the people doing the news goes blind and the radio then becomes useless. Also the man with the eye patch was very important for the people in the hospital because only he knew what was going on in the outside world.

149-151

In this part of the book, the man with the black eyepatch has held onto a portable radio, refusing to give it away he listened to it everyday. But one night the announcer suddenly said “I’m
Blind!” And then the station shut off. This made the man very emotional and upset, almost as if the radio was his last piece of hope

page 149

I think that the radio is going to become useful to them later on. The man with the eye-patch doesn't give it up as one of the valuables, so it seems like they'll continue needing it. Most of the ward is happy to know that they have some sort of connection to the outside world somehow.

Pictures

The first image on the blog seems to be with a group of blind people. The second image shows a female standing on top of the bodies of dead war men all while holding up a flag, which seems to look like the flag of France. The third image depicts a scenery of a sky. The fourth image seems to be a little animal. The fifth image seems to be in the country side with a lot of trees, a little house, etc. The sixth image is the Last Supper. The seventh image is the Birth of Venus.

Picture description

In the first painting there is a line of blind people and I feel like the person in the front are killing them. The second painting symbolizes how women are strong. I feel like this painting wants to show that women can be leaders as well. I notice that there is only one women in this painting  the rest are men but what is most significant about this painting is that the women is above the men which to me, symbolizes power. The third painting is a painting of a farm and the sunset. The fourth painting is just the head of a dog and the background is brown. The fifth painting I see a wooden house and a person riding in a horse carriage in the lake. The sixth painting is the last supper in which Jesus and his disciple have supper for the last time. There are all sitting next to each other and they seem to be discussing something. In the seventh painting there is a women in the center and she is naked with a couple coming out of the water and another women coming from the woods both trying to get the women in the middle.

Identifying images

In the first image I see a couple of men pushing one of the mens to the ground in where theres another man already in the ground. The second image seems like victory during some kind of war. The women is standing on top of dead bodies. This painting reminds me if landscape with all the bright colors popping out with yellows and greens and blues and browns. The fourth image just seems to be a ground and with a rock sitting. The fifth image seems to be a painting of a house with horses and a carriage. The sixth image I remeber from my art history class in which it's by the painter leanardo de Vinci in which he painted this in the late 1500's. This painting is actually oil paint on tempra if I'm not mistaken and it's called the last super. The seventh image kinda reminds me of the virgin Mary on the shell with Angel's on the left side and another women on the right side. 

Picture.

This picture was in the colonial times. A bunch of men in a single file line, pushing each other off of something of they’re in a rush to go somewhere. They all have their hands on the backs of the person in front of them. 

The second image is France wining the war. The lady is a symbol of victory for France. Everyone praises her. She’s the “ Statue of Liberty “ of France. 

In the third image, I see a bunch of crows in crop field, eating all of the crops at night. 

The Fourth image takes place in the Midwest. The dog is on a hill and he  is looking at something in front of him or in the sky. 

The fifth image takes place a little city. Maybe Italy. It’s a beautiful day and there two men directing their cattle. Probably to another city. 

The sixth image is a picture of the Last Supper. Jesus had supper with his followers( disciples) before his death. Everyone’s in their groups talking amongst each other. The man in the blue on right has his hands in Jesus’ direction indicating their conversation is about him. 

The seventh picture is kind of Feminist picture. The lady is in an oyster. Pearls are in oysters, so she represent purity and rebellion. Shes also independent and doesn’t need a male significant other. She’s not intimidated by what other think. For example, the woman on the right giving her a cloth to wrap herself in or the woman that’s dependent on the man. 

In this image I see a person leading other people and it looks like the other people can’t see. It looks like the people following the leader are blind because they are holding sticks and their facial expression looks like they can’t see where they are going.  In the second image I see a women with her breath about to pop out. She is on top of what it looks like to be dead people surrounded by soldiers. In the third image I see a road surrounded by a field of crop or corn. I also see birds flying over the field with a blue sky. In the fourth I see two shades of brown with a dogs head in between both of the shades. In the fifth image I see an old house by a lake which is surrounded by tress. I see a carriage in the water being dragged by a horse. In the sixth picture I see a picture of the last supper, which is Jesus in the middle surrounded by his followers sitting at a table. In the seventh image I see a naked women standing a sea shell. She is standing on the ocean and is surrounded by a women and what it looks like to be a angel holding another women.

Photos

The first two photos shown in class seem to show despair and chaos ,in these photos you can see people on the ground either dead because of war or on the verge of dying because of disease.


Some of the photos are more plain in terms of the amount of colors shown and the clarity of the photo. Although they may seem plain, they could possibly have a deep meaning resonating behind the design. The color can depict an emotion or something that is personal to the artist.

While other photos have great detail. One that stood out in particular to me as the lake house photo. You can clearly see the color of the sky, the trees, some animals around , the water and some people by the water. It makes you feel a certain way, like if you've been there before.

The picture of the last supper has many different things going on. It seems like some of the disciples are talking about Jesus, while others are talking among themselves. I think that they are expecting something to happen.

I believe that the photo showing a naked woman covering herself with her own hair is a picture of the Garden of Eden, where Eve was tempted by Satan/the Serpent. The photo shows the lady being covered by clothing from another lady that is dressed but also seems to look like herself.  Then to her left there is an angel of some kind flying while holding the naked woman in his arms. The angel has black wings and he has a serpent wrapped around the lady.

The picture

What I see in the first pic is people working together to reach their destination. The second pic shows a woman standing on a rock Raising a flag with dead people surrounding him . I believe they just finished fighting a war . The third pic is of nature you see the sky and birds . The fourth pick looks like a Bear traveling up a mountain or a rock . The fifth shows people traveling on a boat with two men. In the sixth picture you see people feasting together. And talking. The last picture shows naked people with their partner or some kind of love triangle . Very vivid colors with a lot of details.

Ekphrasis

Ekphrasis is when you write in response to art. Saramago uses real-world art in his novel in several places.

On p. 123, Saramago writes of "...the blind people in the painting, walking together, falling together and dying together." This the the painting that Saramago is referring to, by Bruegel from the 16th Century:

And on p. 233, after the doctor's wife and the others are free from the mental institution and she leads her band of survivors, the narrators says, "...this was not liberty leading the people, the bags fortunately full, are too heavy for her to carry them aloft like a flag." This is a reference to French 19th century painter Eugene Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, commemorating the French Revolution of 1830:

On pp. 128-129, the "unknown voice" in the ward tells of the painting that he was looking at when he went blind. This painting is actually several very famous paintings. He describes "a picture of a cornfield w/ crows and cypress trees and a sun that gave the impression of having been made up of the fragments of other suns." This is probably a reference to Wheat Field with Crows by the Dutch painting Vincent Van Gogh:

Then he describes "...a drowning dog...already half-submerged, poor creature..." This is probably Spanish painter Francisco Goya's The Dog:

And then "there was a cart laden with hay, drawn by horses and crossing a stream," with "a house on the left." This is probably Hay Wain by British painting John Constable:

The "thirteen men" eating is probably Italian painter Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper:

And finally, a naked woman with fair hair, inside a conch that was floating on the sea, and masses of flowers around her" is obviously Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus:

The unknown voice describes all these paintings as being a part of the same painting. The paintings are painted by different painters, exist in different museums in different countries. What do you make about this experience in the context of the novel?

Blindness

The doctor wife found a church where she could rest .while inside the church the doctor wife notices that all of the statues and paintings have their eyes covered with white. The people from the church are very upset when they hear the news and go home without food . The little boy was the only one to eat that night . The first blind man was about to fall asleep when he noticed that he was seeing black even tho he was awake . He open his eyes and has regained his sight.

Blindness

Right now in the book . The doctor wife tells him that they are running out of food. They have to make another trip to the underground food store.when the reach the supermarket they notice that they do not here anyone fighting for food .The doctor wife  thought they might be to late but still decides to look inside and notices . In the cellular there was a huge mass of  rotten bodies .

Blindness

It talks about the chaos of missing food, supplies, etc. There is a lot of complain because they are being abandoned by the government. There are new arrivals in the quarantine, and it makes more difficult for other blind people that were there because it is more craw in. I think they gonna became crazy and it would make them to act different. For example, now that there won't be any food left, they  would became cannibals. The pages we discuss in class also talks about the doctor wife.  She is describing what is happening in the quarantine. I think she is really important in there because she is the only who can see and it is with some purposes that could revealed as we read the book.

Post Apocalyptic Series

The series Game of Thrones by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss is post apocalyptic in a sense. I say this because usually in a typical post apocalyptic movie, series, or book there are often the dead rising up and killing the living, which are also known as zombies. In Game of Thrones there are these creatures that are called “wights”, which are very similar to a zombie. A wight is an undead being and to infect another they could either be turned by the Night King or by the white walkers, which are the Night King’s henchmen, I’d say. But throughout the series the only thing that was stopping the white walkers from invading the seven kingdoms was the wall, which eventually was torn down. The main goal of the Night King and white walkers are to march South and take over the realm and make everyone his minions.

Pages 66-69

During this scene it talks about some challenges the people in the ward may face, the chaos within the ward, etc. The chaos refers to the guards shooting people due to the fact that they don’t want to get infected. But some of the guards eventually went blind. It stalks on how the first blind man’s wife almost gets caught by the guards but it seems like she doesn’t care. Eventually someone steals the food. Everything just started going more and more downhill.

Blindness

Now new arrivals are starting to come to the mental institution. There are some of the infected which have become blind and were forced to go to the side of the people who are blind. The situation just keeps getting more desperate for everyone at the wards.  They are hungry and scared, because the army is proving to be very tardy with the food, and very quick to shoot and kill. Their sanitary conditions are also worsening, the doctor tried going to the toilet, only to find their was no paper to clean himself, and to make matters worse he stepped on some excrement of someone who had missed the toilet altogether.  It's deplorable and disgusting the way the government is treating them. The army is killing people at will, and apparently no one is about to come to their aid.  These people are in a nightmarish situation with no one there to help except the doctor's wife, who still, inexplicably, still has her sight. Yet, she can not let anyone know she can see, with the exception of the doctor. This limits her capability to help. These people are truly in dire straits, I hope the government starts to show some compassion and help them while a solution is found. 

Blindness

The people in the mental hospital have been abandoned and deceived. They were promised doctors who’d help cure their disease but instead all they have are the same announcements day after day. Causing anxiety among them, being that they begin to think how are they going to be able to survive. The first man to go blind begins to contemplate all of the things that could go wrong, for instance he says that if one of the lavatories were to get blocked the place would immediately turn into a sewer.

From book to screen

I posted yesterday about my favorite post-apocalyptic book "Mortal Engines" by Philip Reeves. Here is the movie trailer that came out a few months ago.

In the reading of today pg 66 we read that are complaints , what the government had promised have yet not being offered or given. There are more people joining the mental facility , that means there will be left with less bed and less food and material they need in order to survive. They are being treated as if they where are already dead , they wished they had their eye sight at least if it was with faint shadows to see there face. The doctor feels useless because he is blind and he can’t do nothing , he wished he can cure this people but his hands are alone and is not enough.

Blindness

The blind people are all in a ward together & they are getting confused because their are new blind people coming into the ward & they are bumping into each other no space & some of the others are getting step on and over because of the lack of space, & they’re are more new people coming in every day so it is get confusing for the others 

Blindness pages 67

The doctor and his wife only recently arrived in the mental hospital. Within these few paragraphs we are given insight into the doctor's concerns. In particular the doctor is certain he is unable to accommodate the medical needs of everyone. The issue isn't due to manpower but more so with his inability to see. Diagnosing illnesses and injuries require sight and without it greatly hinders a doctor's ability to be a doctor. The reality of the situation undermines the doctor's identity as someone who is relied upon. We can expect the doctor's wife to take on a larger role being the only person with sight.

In class response 66-69

In this section of the book, the new internees arrive and all have a relationship with the ones that are already there. We know this is contagious because it seems that everyone except the doctors wife is blind. I simply think the wife is immune to this infection and that is why she is not blind. We also see how the government is not sending someone to help or actually investigate what is going on. I find it pretty amusing because how can you put people in a ward that cannot see and expect them to do everything they usually do by themselves. At this point we see how they start to protest and also they mention the fact about sending doctors and we see how the doctor doesn't say anything. He knows that at this moment for once he isn't a doctor and cant provide help for them in any way. The doctor also starts to question about how will they all be there and what if something goes wrong who will go help them out. He knows his wife can but he doesn't want to say anything because then everyone will want her help and he won't have her there. I think it is good that they dont say anything because people will also get furious knowing that she can see and just lash at her because they cant. This is important because it makes you think about what will eventually happen and how will they go about it.

Blindness pg 66-69

In this part of the book the doctor is realizing  that the people inside the ward will turn into animals because it has only been a few days and the wards are already packed and it has an odor to it. I predict that they will turn into savages because of the lack of food and lack of hygiene.

Blindness pg 66-69

The doctor is now settled in and his wife still has her vision. However the arrival of more blind people has hindered her ability to help her husband. For example he says that he can’t have his wife help him shave because then the others would know someone has the ability to see. Also the arrival of the new blind people show how hard life is without vision. We don’t think what life would be like without it, even though if we lost it life would become much harder to navigate through.

Blindness page 68

In this part of the book I feel like the author wants to let the reader feel what the blind people are feeling. He begins to describe the terrible conditions in the ward, how they're separated, not taken care of and just left to fend for themselves. This is ridiculous considering they're blind, the government basically left them for dead. They all begin questioning whether they're really going to get help or not. The author talks about the personal disadvantages that come with suddenly becoming blind. Every persons life changes drastically, they're all just living in despair. He talks about the weeping everyone does .

Blindness

  So far in the book everyone is fighting for a bed or a corner where they can feel safe . The room is over crowded. A group of people wander out the door to find some where to go . In the book it stated that they didn’t want to fall down the stairs or something happening and then it’s to late before they realized . I think it’s pretty sad that the first blind man who has his wife with him  can’t even ask for her help to shave his beard because then someone will realize she can see .

Blindness pg 66-69

In the reading for this week a lot has happened in Blindness. But the most interesting is the fact that there are more groups of people joining the quarantine. This may seem like a good idea because maybe they can help eachother out to understand what’s going on and maybe try to figure a way out. But the people who are keeping them there aren’t providing the necessities they need to live. Especially the man with the infected leg, he is in need of medicine but is not given any. I believe it’ll end badly for him. They are also not given enough food, which can be such a serious health issue that can also lead to death. I believe that they’re all alone on this, no one will help them or listen to what they have to say. It’s kind of scary to think that this could happen in real life. I don’t know what I’d do!

Blindness pg 66-68

In these pages the book shows how more people are coming in and all the beds have been taken up. People have started to fight over supplies. The hospital has become very dirty and nasty. The doctor wonders how things would look like in a week if things continue like this.

Group Critique

Group critique 

So for my group critique I spoke about my feedback given by the professor I told my classmates that I have to make it more enganging by putting memoirs about life situations. In order to do this i will explain my life in the two countries separately and more thoroughly. Hence, allowing the reader to grasp a better view of the different enviorments i come from. 

Blindness

In the reading that tends to follow the first chapter the epidemia of the “White Blindness” left to anxiety, isolation they had around 14 rules that’s all seem like a death trap , how can someone blind know where there walking to without guidance. My question is how is the blind man who was driving the car wife not blind ? She is the only one in the mental hospital that has been lucky yet. The author doesn’t give names but does describe them in a way maybe because this sickness is gonna be world wide ( the end of the world ) like the movies that I have watched 2013 like natural causes earthquakes , sunami & etc. But this blindness is close to extinction of humans a horror. This chapter goes into showing how humans tend to do what’s in there hands to survive a portrait of human sacrifice to hurt or kill. I think it will show how there dum and smart people , patience is used for example the man who stoled the car was in so much pain when the girl with the glasses kick him with her heels and injured him leaving him in a urge to have antibiotics he went outside and screamed and was shot in the head. As the chapter goes by around two hundred or more are in the mental hospital making it cluster where is the government gonna put the rest ?

Blindness and the End of the World

As you read Blindness, I'd like you to make connections to other post-apocalyptic films, TV shows, novels, comic books, myths, video games etc. What is your favorite posts-apocalyptic story? Or, if you've never seen one or never seen one you liked, why not? Why do you thinks these stories have been with us for thousands of years? What do they speak to? (Feel free to use the link/image/video buttons above to link to internet images and/or video.)

Here's a clip from one of my favorite post-apocalyptic films, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978):

As you continue to read the novel, what do you imagine will happen? What have you been surprised by? What questions do you have?

Blindness

From reading this book it is very hard to understand what the book is about. There are no characters no plot and each sce me keeps on shifting. I feel like the meaning of this book is gonna be revealing of human characteristics we tend to follow.

End of the world

I have so many conspiracy theories on how the world will end but what I think will happen is all animals will rebel against humans and will kill them all we find out they know how to talk and they are just as smart as humans. They want their environment back and would work together will different species of animals to eliminate all humans

Blindness

so right now in the book the guy who stole the first blind man car was kicked in the leg by another women in the building who he was touching inappropriately. The lady injured the blind man leg really bad to the point it started getting infected. The doctors and his wife asked the guards for Antibiotics and was threaten with death if they did anything . The theif who stole the car infection was getting worse. He went outside and started screaming for help and was shot in the face . Also the theif and the blind man got into a fight while he interviewed together when they realized who each other was .

End of world

The blue sky no longer existed overhead, now it was a red one. Scientist say that the sky was red because of the lack of large bodies of water. Others say that our ancestors cursed us by leaving the blue skied world behind. This curse turned our new home into hell thence the red sky. Personally I just think that we're too close to the sun. I am martian have been all my life. Its not all what it is cracked up to be honestly. My ancestors came because they could. On earth they had made their wealth mining petroleum and when the planet died from it they ran. Now I am here stuck on this planet with the descendants of other earth notabilities. My family doesn't socialize much with the other inhabitants. Its hard to talk about anything other than background and lineage on this planet. What else would we have to compare each other to then the past prestige of our ancestors. Fortunately after the world ended no one bothered to take the internet with them to mars with them. Imagine the power that person would have. The sole owner of the collective knowledge of the human race within one persons hands. I shuttered at the thought of an all knowing dictator with access to the crimes my grandparents committed.

to be continued...

Group critique (Friday April 12)

Today was group critique day, and as always I had a fun, instructive time with my group. We went over everyone's draft and all offered constructive criticism to each other. It seems everyone's collection is right on schedule. I don't foresee any of us having any real difficulties completing the collection, as we near the deadline to hand in the project. 

"The end of the world" scenario

"The end of the world," something people have been saying, writing about, waiting for, and visualizing for thousands of years.  What would you do if one day you turn on the t.v., and there, on CNN, a video of an incoming meteor or comet. A live video, you are watching this in real time. You change the channel because you were not in the mood for gloomy "end of the world" scenarios. Yet, in the middle of your favorite soap opera, all of a sudden, "breaking news" appears on your t.v. screen. Your heart starts pounding like a beating drum at the sight of the same video of the meteor you saw a few minutes ago on CNN, but dismissed it as a "what if this were to happen" segment. You try to pull yourself together, and try to convince yourself that "nah, this can't be happening," and once more you change the channel, still trying to convince yourself that this has to be some kind of hoax. And for a few seconds you succeed, because you remember hearing or reading somewhere how in the 1930's an actor named Orson Welles, did a radio broadcast entitled "The War Of The Worlds," which caused widespread panic, because the listeners believed a real invasion by aliens from outer space was really happening. Yet, when you change the channel no such luck. There on your 52' Panasonic high definition smart t.v. is an image of an incoming meteor the size of Texas, and the NASA scientists and physicists all agree that if the speed of the meteor remains constant and or does not change its trajectory. It will slam into the earth in 38 hours; nowhere near enough time to figure out a solution. Now what? What do you do? Where do you go? Who do you call? Who do you see.

Group critique

Today in class out grouped talked our collections. We discussed how to cite our sources in our annotated bibliographies and what to write for the summary. My group also read at least one piece of each others collection.

group critique

Today in class, we discussed our drafts with our groups. I was able to receive positive feedback on my writing and some constructive criticism. For my draft, I submitted a revised foreword for my collection, I now know to include more details about the three genres of writing I wish to include. Since the foreword is sort of like an argument I may include a counter argument here.

Blindness

Blind 

Reading the beginning of this book made me think about a movie that I recently watched called bird box. This move is very similar to what’s happening in the book. Where in order to survive in thre movie people had to have their eyes covered. If they decided to look the spirit or whatever it was that was in the air made them want to kill themselves or kill someone else if they praise It . In the beginning of this novel I found it so strange that few characters ended up blind first the man who was driving and then the one who tried to be a good samataerian like the book say  why driving the blind man , the eye doctor also end up blind , what is it that they end up blind ? What is going on this is making me wonder is there a disease ? Or maybe is their something in the air that is affecting them.  By being isolated by the government, is everyone else safe or will they eventually be affected?

Blindness

I’m really enjoying the book, Blindness. Although there are many unique writing techniques, for examples, low usage of quotes and run on sentences. Besides that, I feel as if the book is very straightforward but also has you thinking at the same time. It’s only the beginning of the book and I’m already interested. I am looking forward to reading more into it.

Response to reading on 4/9

In class we read pages 16-18 and in this section we learned about the second man that goes blind. This excerpt is pretty ironic because as the man is driving he is imagining the first guy who went blind in the exact same car while driving. I don't know exactly why this is happening and what the "plague" is about and how people can get it. But it seemed to me a little like karma. After this we see the scene in which the first man that went blind goes to the doctor and how eventually the doctor becomes blind. I think Jose Samargo uses a lot of irony in his writing and long sentences that can be exhausting to read without a pause.
The one thing that I like about this book is that I work at a Optometrist and know most of the health conditions there talking about. (irrelevant but...) 

Chapter 1-4 analysis

The book started with the first man going blind in his car while waiting for a traffic light. He came in contact with a thief that tried to help him. The thief took him home and stole his car. The thief then becomes blind just as the first man became blind. The first man sees and eye doctor and the doctor says that his eyes are perfectly fine. The doctor sees many patients that same day and they all become  hours later just how the first man and the thief become blind. The infection begins to spread rapidly and the government begins to create quarantine for the infected.

Group critique

In today’s class we went over how our entire collection will look like. In my group we discussed our writing and we went over each other’s grammar and punctuation. Some thing my group told me I needed to improve on was using more sophisticated words and work on my run on sentences.

Blindness Pgs. 16-19

From pages 16 to 19 in the novel Blindness, we meet a character that disguised as a good Samaritan, turns out to be a criminal.  The man offers the man who became blind while driving that he will be so kind as to drive him to his home. Which is exactly what the blind man was asking any kind person to do.  We later find that the volunteering man steals the blind man's car. I don't think that the volunteering man set out to steal the blind man's car. I think he genuinely wanted to help the blind man. Yet, when the opportunity to steal the car presented itself, it was more than the volunteering man could handle, because as I mentioned before the man was a criminal. And as it happens, his area of expertise is Grand Theft Auto.  The thief drives away, only to find some miles later that he too has gone blind.

Blindness first reading

Blindness is a story about a blindness disease that is spread to the general population. The people infected by the disease are quarantined in a mental hospital. It is at the mental hospital where the blind are expected to survive with no assistance. They are tasked with cleaning themselves and burying their dead and burning their waste. Doing any  of these three task would be a challenge but when blind they become ever more difficult. Initially the inhabitants of the hospital are those we are infected or those who are suspected of being infected. The number of residents grow steadily until the hospital is accommodating much more than it can possibly hold. Within this story I think the author is trying to showcase the animalistic nature of humans when confronted with fear. Fear is a major component to the treatment of the infected by the government and even by those who are suspected of being infected. In one case the suspected infected residents of the hospital forgo taking food out of fear of becoming blind. Fear in this case literally keeps them from satiating their hunger. In a later case guards don't even enter the building to deliver food out of fear. The guards in this case are refusing to do their duty out of fear. I think as the story continues there will be more examples of how fear plays into character's actions.

Thoughts for Blindness first pages

After reading these pages, I imagine myself being in this kind of situation, as victim of blindness. It shocked me that government put those people in mental asylum without investigating main cause of disease. If I were one of them, I might ask someone reliable to take me away from that city and find refuge somewhere safe. If government authority is not treating us right, why should we accept their ridiculous order in first place. It is their responsibility to find out probable cause of blindness and possible cure. Judging by their action in the book, they are going to let those poor people die like infected animals in that asylum. It makes me compare this scenario with getting rid of H1N1 flu infected pigs by burning and burying them. In contrast, in the book, eliminating sicked people this way will be so cruel to handle, so in place of killing them instantly, government takes them away from their families, leaves them in remote area and watches them wither and die. It makes me wonder why some people's morality fades away when hazardous disease outbreaks, like a thief, like a mother of squint eye kid. But there is also a bright side in this story, people like doctor's wife and the girl in dark glasses who don't lose their kindness and love in this despair. Hopefully, when this world ends,(we don't know when and how yet) we need more people like them. 

Blindness

In the first pages, the man suddenly went blind and everyone wonder what happened, People rushing to car thinking it was something was wrong with the car, but  person  open to see, and there was a man screaming "I am blind" people became concerned and worried wondering how someone suddenly went blind. The guy who open the door noticed that his eyes were white. Then another person yells that it could because  of nervous. The man asked to be taken home and a pedestrian says you should go to the hospital, but the man just wanted to go home and it is how a stranger offered to help. The man was so grateful with the stranger. He walked him to the door and insisted to go inside but  at that moment he remembered he could not let him get in he was a stranger. When his wife returned, she did not believe that his husband went blind, but when she saw his eyes, she got worried and concerned about how would it happened. After that they went to see the doctor and he says his eyes were perfect and there was not any lesion.

I think the false Samaritan took advantage of the situation stealing his car, but his conscience would not be the same after what he has done. He tried to be very careful about beat the being discovery by the police, but something worse happened to him when he went blind same as the poor man. 

The government intervened when they realize that the situation was really serious. The government set up a quarantine with strict rules such as if they leave the building, they would die and others strict rules. 

I enjoy reading the first pages even though it was complicated to understand because the characters do not have names and some of the sentences are really long, and I also noticed that this books does not have a dialogue like the Blue  Angel.

Pages 16-19

During this section the “good samaritan” had stole the blind man cars after dropping him home. The good samaritan starts driving in a rapid speed so he could always have a green light before him. Then he takes some back road where he knows there won’t be traffic lights. His nerves began to go crazy after a while. Moments later, he too eventually went blind after parking the car and walking off. I feel like this was karma in a way because the after the good samaritan helped the first blind man home, he took his car. So it might be a never ending cycle.

Blindness Sight

In the beginning of the book the man while driving his car loses his eye sight & then someone helps him but end up stealing his car. After the Good Samaritan feels guilty that’s something was gonna happened to him and then he steps of the car he right there loses his eyes sight. It seems that there something contagious with the touch or in the air

Blindness

In the beginning of the chapter there was a lot of internal thinking, and  thoughts going on. Because this character was talking about this blind man an how to steal those care. Then then it states that it is no difference between robbing a blind or helping him to rob him afterwords. Then he got scared that it was goin to happen to him become blind for what he did to the blind man.

First 55 pages.

After reading the first 55 pages, I was very interested in the book. From the first page, the book caught my attention. I wonder how or where the author got inspired by this topic. The epidemic of “blindness” is a unique main idea. This reminds me of the Netflix movie, Bird Box.

Blindness, In class response

In this section of the reading, this is the second person to go blind. Because of the circumstances under which he went bling, at first I believed he went blind for doing something morally wrong, a crime. He stole the other blind man’s car but it also gets me confused and thinking as to why the first man might’ve gone blind? Did he do something we do not know about yet?

Blindness

Page 16-19. The man who was supposed to be the good simartian stole the old mans car . After stealing the car the theif starts  to become uneasy. He started to let fear get the best of him which made him concentrate twice as hard on the traffic. The thief didn’t want to go back to prison . The thief rolled down his window for fresh air but it didn’t help him so he decided to park the car andgo outside for fresh air . He walked outside for about 30seconds before he went blind . The theif was skeptical of him going blind he said it’s not like a cold that you can catch .

Blindness Chapter 2

In this chapter of Blindness, in pages 16-19, we read about a man going blind. We get to read what happens to this man and we read that his blindness came while he was driving his car. Also a man who offered to help ended up robbing the blind man.

Blindness page 16

So far I'm really confused as to what the author is trying to do. The two people that have gone blind so far have been driving the same car. The first person was the owner of the car and he randomly went blind, so did the man who stole his car shortly after. I really don't know what it could be, maybe some pattern or from the beginning the car was stolen. I need to keep reading to sort of figure out what other things are making the characters go blind. Not even the doctor knew how the first man became blind.

Blindness Pg 16-18

The man who helped the first person to go blind to this disease seems to be at odds with himself. He is contemplating whether it was a stupid risk or a great opportunity. Once he steps out the car to gather himself the theif goes blind. This indicates that the blindness is a disease that can be transferred through touch alone. Also, the disease acts quickly and takes over within the next couple of hours.

Blindness

After reading the first 55 pages of “Blindness” I feel as though something very unusual is going on in this book. When the first man went blind I thought “maybe it’s a health issue.” After continuing to read the novel there were several other people who are now blind, and see only “milky white”  it’s kind of scary to think of this happening in real life. Once the government gets involved and they are asked to recruit all the people who have become blind in the same way the first man has, everything seems a little fishy to me. I think that the government is scared, scared that they are going to be “figured out” or scared that this blindness will spread to everyone in the country. The doctors wife is probably my favorite character so far. She’s very intelligent and sneaky, but in a good way.

Chapter 2

The story is showing the second person become blind because he had contact with the first man to go blind. He steals his car and the thief is regretting it because the police has stopped him. The thief becomes the second person to go blind and the story is showing how this is only the begging and I could guess that many more people are going to become blind because it’s being passed on very easily.

Blindness pg16

After the their steals the car, he’s very cautious about driving it. He begins to overthink and think about the worst outcome if he gets stopped by the cops. The thief goes blind as well.

Pages 16-18

The blindness that is going around is some sort of virus because once the first blind man went blind the person who helped him turned blind too. I feel like anyone who gets near someone that has the blindness will turn blind as well.

Group Critque

The group critiques were very informative, per usual. My group gives excellent feedback and make everything a lot easier. My writing is coming along very well and I'm excited about the end of it.

Ending of Blue Angel

The ending of Blue Angel ended very openly. We weren't told what happened to any of the characters. Did Professor Swenson get fired? All we know is that Professor Swenson finally admitted to having sex with Angela to his wife Sherrie, who eventually left him. Thanksgiving is coming up and Ruby will not spend it with her father. Professor Swenson is all alone at this point.

Starting Blindness

The first people stricken with the "white plague," the plague of blindness end up in an abandoned mental institution. As the internees go in single-file to the bathrooms, the car thief feels up the young woman in the dark glasses and she kicks him, injuring him w/ her high heels (this will not go well for him). He has already stolen the first blind man's car. He's clearly not what we would call a good man, but he is not even close to the worst man that we will see in this novel. The truth is that this "disease" or whatever it is seems to bring out the best in some people, but it also brings out the worst in others. I wonder if we can reach any conclusions about this fact? Don't we like to think that people pull together in time's of struggle? Think about the volunteers at 9/11 and first responders who sacrificed their lives. Now think about people who scam victims' families or set up fake fund-raisers. All sci-fi and post-apocalyptic stories tell us something about the world we live in now. What does this novel tell us about our current society?

Other questions:

• Why do none of the characters have names? Why does this city not have a name?
• Why do all the blind people see the color white?
• How did you react to the official announcement of the govt. at the mental institution (pp. 42-44)?
• What do you think will happen next?
• What questions do you have? 

Ending of Blue Angel

The ending of Blue Angel left me wondering what really happened to Swenson, his relationship with Sherrie, Angela, etc. They book left us on an open ending, meaning that the main character was left on an ending that had the readers guessing. In my opinion, I feel as if Swenson will lose his job and  Angela is eventually gonna be mentally unstable. I feel like Angela is probably going to get her book published but the result might not be as she expected. Now Swenson, he might write that memoir about that whole incident. There’s a possibility that he might receive back lash but on the other hand it’s going to blow up in a positive way. Swenson loses all contact with his wife and daughter. And he just might start a new life. Emphasis on the might.

Group Critique

This weeks group critique we discussed poems and fish farms. I asked Adonis this week about how he wrote his poems because his were typically well written. Adonis told me that for his poems he starts out with a few lines that can be broadly applied to a few ideas. During our extra time he wrote another poem to show me this concept. The poem he wrote was to me felt like he was talking about aging but given that the theme for his collection is hip hop it was likely to develop further. For fish farms, another member of our group was writing about technology and biology. That specific member changed his collection topic recently so we were just brainstorming ideas. The thing that came up was farms for sea creatures. Everyone knows about farms for cows, pigs and chicken but it isn't common knowledge that we have farms for aquatic life. I think this new idea will help him write about the moral implications of keeping sea creatures caged to become food. There is a lot to explore for that topic like: is it sanitary to have fish so close together, how does the biology of the fishes change, and who was the one that first conceived of such an idea? Hopefully some of the idea that was discusses this week finds its way into his writing because I find his new topic really interesting.

Ending and Beyond Blue Angel

Francine prose ends her novel "Blue Angel" with no definitive decision on whether Swenson keeps or loses his job. The entire scene at the court house was a sham. No evidence was presented that directly linked Swenson and Angela. The evidence that was presented a late book and an account of an outburst at a dinner party only served to damage Swenson's character. How does checking out a student's book or an outburst at a private party indicate a relationship between Angela and Swenson? It doesn't, both examples only served to portray Swenson as a person who is capable of questionable behavior. I had hoped that Magda would speak out in defense of Swenson, but it seemed like the whole faculty had already decided Swenson's guilt. The trial was as Swenson envisioned an event similar to the shaming of the professor in "Blue Angel the movie". Personally I feel that the ending of the book wasn't that great. I found Matt's outburst in the end to be questionable because we don't know Matt's motivations as readers. Matt's remark of Swenson being a pedophile throws a new perspective of Swenson into question that changes the narrative of the story. Yes, there is evidence supporting that Swenson has a strained relationship with Ruby however if he ever did molest her Sherrie is likely to bring it up. Matt's relationship with Angela also muddies the water for his statements because he has a bias against Swenson. Overall I think the story's ending was the weakest part of the novel, the rest of the story was well written and enjoyable.

Group critique

Today's group critique was very interesting. Everyone had a new draft for their collection, and the topics ranged from fish farms to people who get romantically involved with prisoners.  It seems everyone is working hard on their collections and the improvements are noticeable. When we first began working on our collections at the beginning of the semester, most of us were a little apprehensive. And we weren't sure what topics to write about, even though it was clear that we needed three different genres to write about. However, now everyone seems to be really comfortable with the choices they've made, and we are all looking forward to finishing and doing a great job.

Ending of Blue Angel

Reading the book Blue Angel in the beginning of the midterm was very interesting i enjoyed reading it. But i was disspointed with the ending of the book ending because it left me clueless. What happened to the professor Swenson ? Or Angela . What was there ending ? In my opinion the fil that we watched in class gave me a better view of what happened  professor Swenson went back to his classroom and died there and Angela felt in love for another man and i felt like the rotation of what happened was gonna happen

Group critique

Today in class we discussed the topics of our collection and how our writing is relevant to the topic. We read each other writing and we also discussed the ending of the book blue angel and we came up with scenarios of what happened to Swenson after the book ended since it was an open ending which means there wasn’t a clear ending

Group critique

Like every Friday in Class we do Group critiques i gave in my draft of my poem it was a two stanza poem , my partners gave me a positive critique , they also told me i should fix my spelling , maybe change the tittle of my poem to make it more interesting . The poem was inspired by my brother and his kids. This made me write the poem and make a memoir about him a story and how he has been copping with this situation. This memoir is about is he a great father ? Is he together with his baby moms ? Is he in a good situation all these questions are answered and made me think about the world its a rotation grandfather , parents , kids , grandson and then all over again.

What me and my group discussed in class today was the ending of blue angel. The book was open ended and we discussed the possible outcomes that could happen if there was a sequel to the book. We also reviewed and revised each others collections and how we can improve our work.

Group Critique

In this weeks group critique, i showed my informative essay on the eagle nebula. I got a lot of good feed back from my group members. So far they said it was good, but it also needs some more detail.

Group Critique

Today I worked on my WORKS-IN-PROGRESS which is a research paper that I am working on. I think the most efficient way for me to do a research paper besides doing an outline is by having index cards and writing quotes on sources that I have looked up. I think it is easier that way because while you write you can add the quotes write away and not get lost. I learned this from my previous professor and I think it is very efficient. Research papers are hard sometimes but with a outline and this they become so easier for me.

group critique

Today in my group I was able to get constructive criticism on my writing. One of my classmates edited my paper and what they suggested I include in my paper helped me. For certain parts of my writing, the editor put that I should add in things to make the line better. In one part of my writing I said how I've made memories doing the things I love and the reader said I should maybe include a specific memory. I see that now in my writing I can be more detailed and I can include more elaboration of certain things I say.

Ending of blue angel

The ending of blue angel was an open ending because we don’t find out what happened to Swenson at the end. We don’t know if he got fired or if he went to jail, we just have to assume. I feel like after Swenson resigns from teaching he will begin writing novels again and he will use his new “fame” to get his novel sold. Now that he has everyone’s attention, he can use that to sell his novels

Ending- Blue Angel

The ending of Blue Angel did not surprise me at all. At first I did think that Angela was just a student with a crush on her professor, but as it got more serious, I realized that maybe Angela was using Swenson for her own needs. Which is exactly what happened. I don’t feel bad for Swenson at this point in the morning el because he knew exactly what would happen before he even started this relationship with his student. I do wish the novel was a little longer, I wish more events would’ve occurred leading up to the ending. But overall I really did enjoy the book it was better than I though it would be.

Response to ending of "Blue Angel"

I always felt that Angela was different and weird the way Swenson describes her in the book. I didn't think Angela would ruin his life and i also didn't expect the book to end the way it did. At court everyone is in favor of Angela and Swenson gets all the blame for them being together, I feel like if Swenson had shown her work to the editor earlier in the book he wouldn't be in this position. I also think now that Swenson had nothing to lose after the court is over and His wife and Daughter probably wont talk to him, he will finish writing his book. I also find it funny how earlier in the book, around chapter 2-3 where he had a meeting with sherrie and all the other teachers about sexual relationships with students and he was thinking to himself that he would never do such a thing and he could have gotten into relationships with students so many times but chose not too. Swenson changed a lot from when to book started.

Blue Angel (page 57 and the ending)

At the beginning of the chapter on page 257, we can see that Sherrie is not going to forgive Swenson.  Later, she even decides to leave him, and goes to live with their friend Arlene. We can also see that Swenson has now realized the gravity of his mistake, his life is in shambles. He spends his days reading classic novels about adultery and betrayal, and then drinks in the afternoon. He is becoming a shadow of his former self. He is seeking answers, and consolation from the movie Blue Angel, (to see another pitiful self-abasing slob transformed by the magic of art into a tragic hero), he wonders. He wants to figure out how his life, now all of a sudden, is mirroring the life of the fictional Professor Rath.

The way Francine Prose chose to end this novel came as a bit of a shock to me.  I mean, I kept hoping that Swenson would at some point muster up the courage to stand up for himself, and say what really happened when Angela was fabricating all those lies about the way everything went down. Although, I don't think Swenson's truthful personal version of the accounts was going to sway Bentham or the rest of the committee to his corner.  However, it would have kept "coward" off the long list of things that are wrong with Swenson.  I guess what really surprised me about the ending was the way Angela Argo came out totally unscathed; She even got a publishing deal. Make no mistake, Angela was no "babe in the woods" in this novel. And if  one sees her as such, one should re-read the book, and this time with an open mind.  Angela lied, and manipulated Swenson from the very beginning. Unfortunately, for him, he was either too blind or too stupid to see it, and decided to play pals with his Id, instead of joining forces with his Superego.

Finishing Blue Angel

After being abandoned by his wife and daughter Swenson through out pages 257-262 instead of facing reality, decides to confine himself to just reading books in his house. Although trying to escape, Swenson is unable to evade everything being that he has had many unsuccessful attempts at cooking, therefore making frozen foods his best option. Swenson has also decided to numb his emotions through alcohol.

Response to the ending of Blue Angel

I feel like the ending was anti climatic, the way nothing actually happens to professor Swenson or Angela and there isn't this great big dramatic ending. We addressed this in class and some students said it wasn't the ending they were expecting or hoping for. And quite frankly, me too, but at the same time I think this was the only way it could've ended. We have just been with Professor Swenson throughout the whole book. We, the readers knew more than the characters themselves, just by being in his thoughts we were the ones that knew his character the most. We almost felt closest to him as well, so even if we ourselves wouldn't do what he or Angela did, for some reason we or most of the readers would be upset if anything greater and awful would've happened to his character. And I believe that is because the writer Francine showed and brought us along with him and his most weird/ unacceptable thoughts that no one would ever actually say aloud that made us feel sympathy for him, even though we knew what he was doing was wrong.

Blue Angel

While reading this we can see that his relationship with Sherrie is now completely different. They don’t know what to speak about anymore. Swenson also does not know what to do which is why he refers to alcohol in these moments. I feel like as readers I definitely saw this coming, of course because of the series of events and how we were in Swenson's head and thoughts throughout the book Getting to know him, it was inevitable for it to all come tumbling down at some point and both face the consequences of their actions.

Blue angel conclusion

What I think will happen to Swenson is that he is going to be struggling with the decisions he made for as while, but then he will write a novel that will become a best seller and change his identity. What will happen to Angela is that she will get praised as she plays the victim card, But it will start to eat her conscious what she did with Swenson. For a while she will be struggling to cope with herself because she can't finish her novel but eventually she will finish it and her novel would become a best seller too.

Blue Angel; Final pages

I believe we have talked about most of things happened in these pages in class this morning. I just like to add something I have been noticed from the beginning about relationship between Angela and Matt. Somewhere in the book, Prose wrote a scene that included Swenson, Matt and Angela. I have been wondering why she included that part. And also there was time when Swenson called Angela about her novel, a guy (Swenson thought his voice was familiar) picked up first. All these pieces of evidences lead me to conclude a theory that it is possible Matt and Angela plotted this revenge after all. Matt might talk Angela into it by telling her that her literary dream might come true if they successfully ruin Euston's pride one and only writer Swenson's reputation. The two might agreed for their own purposes; Matt for breaking up Ruby and him, for Angela to outshine college's famous writer. In the book, Prose did not talk about Matt that much but whenever she included him, there was always something fishy about him like his criminal past, his winks to Swenson, him calling Swenson "sir" was like he was being sarcastic. That final scene with Matt, Angela and her parents tells me all that my theory might be right.

Blue Angel page 262

 In Blue Angel 257-262 the author writes how the professor Swenson copes with his problems now that his family have abandoned him, Swenson drinking problems start getting worst and he fails multiple time cooking so he starts eating frozen food instead of the pasta Sherry use to make him  , Swenson also didn't know if he had lose his job or not but a trial was coming for him .

257-262

In the pages we have read, so far what has been happening is that swenson is in this state of mind that everything he has done so far has just gone wrong. I feel like he is letting his grief get to him and letting it control him, leading him to be more alcoholic.

Blue Angel

Something about this scene that has caught my attention was that Swenson tried to act like he isn’t really affected by the fact his wife left him. He tries making dinner for himself and fails multiple times. He then says that frozen food is fine as well, and that he and Sherrie should have done it before. They would have been eating “exotic charm of the freezer” instead of “middle class gourmet”. His daughter also called to tell Swenson that she isn’t coming for Christmas, and he makes fun of them saying “They can have their own private battered women’s shelter.” He seems to be deflecting the situation.

Swenson

Swenson confession to having a sexual act he had with Angela & is feeling bad about the sexual acts that he did with Angela & is getting nervous about what he did with her. He got abandoned by his family too . Swenson wife shary left him to go live with the her friend

pg 257-262

Professor Swenson has now confessed to his wife that he has slept with Angela. Swenson has officially reached rock bottom and is now using alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with the pain of ruining the relationship once again with Ruby and his wife. Ruby won't be coming home for Christmas, she will stay with her Aunt Shurley.

Pages 257-262

During this chapter it seems as if Swenson’s life is spiraling. After he told Sherrie, she decided to move in with Arlene. Not to mention, his daughter, Ruby, calls him to say she’s not coming home for Christmas but she’s gonna be staying at Arlene’s. Now this is where Swenson starts spiraling. He drinks almost everyday till after 5. He’s forced to eat frozen microwave dinners, due to the fact that he cannot cook. He’s been reading a lot, doesn’t have to teach, etc. But he feels like this is a blessing instead of a curse. He’s just turned into a slob, in my opinion.

Response

In the scene we read in class, we get an overview of Swenson's life after what he has done comes out in the open. We see how he struggles cooking considering Sherrie use to do that for him and he adapts to eating frozen foods. He also has become an alcoholic and drinks everyday around 5. I think an important part of this reading is when Ruby calls, I expected more anger out of her but she was just blunt with him. He starts watching movies and reading of adultery and I just think that eases his guilt because he is not the only one that has done it. Also I think he is in denial too because he doesn't really face reality and doesn't really try to fix anything with Sherrie, he also mentions forgetting about her while he reads and he just accommodates to living by himself. He does show embarrassment because he doesn't want anyone to see him while he is giving the book back to the library so he goes early in the morning. I don't think Swenson realizes how bad it actually is to what he has done.

Blue Angel

Swenson told his wife Sherrie that he cheated on her with a student . Things become awkward between the both of them . Sherrie deciders to move out and stay with a friend. Ruby calls Swenson to let him know she won’t be coming home for Christmas she’s going to spend the holiday with her mom at her friends house . Swenson is trying to adjust to his life with out Sherrie , he talks about  trying to cook but keep messing up so he decides to buy TV dinners instead . The normal every day routine feels so strained his exact words were it’s like a acting exercise.

257-262

Swenson has hit rock bottom when his family decided to leave him after finding out that he had a relationship with his student. Swenson starts drinking alcohol after they leave him because he can’t cope the the pain.

Blue Angel pages 257-262

In these pages, Swenson is feeling regret after telling his wife about his affair. They no longer see each other the same way. Swenson also starts to drink heavy and drown the pain and regrets away.

257-262

Swensom admits to his wife about his relationship with Angela and his wife wasn’t surprised. She had expected that he was having an affair with one of his students. He goes to the video store after and wants to rent out Blue Angel. He decides not to because he wants to save it for a time when he feels is right.

Finishing Blue Angel

There are so many rich scenes at the end of the novel. Choose one of the following  to write about:

• In the dean's office (which reminds Swenson of a high-end London brothel) where the tape is played.
• The restaurant where Swenson confesses to Sherrie.
• Watching The Blue Angel (pp. 264-266).
•  The last chapter which is a sort of courtroom scene.
• The final scene w/ the deer and the bells tolling.

The ending is what I would call an "open" ending. Things aren't neatly tied up. What do you think  happens next? Were you satisfied by the ending? Why or why not?

What final thoughts do you have about the novel?