Final day

My favorite aspects of the class was the class discussion we had after we read the text. What I learned is to read and understand old English writing. What I still need to work on is to cite my writing sources.

Last day of class

The last day of class was really great. I enjoyed hearing everyone stories . English 102  was a difficult class how ever it was worth it. I left with a lot of knowledge. My favorite part of the class was the writing the blog post . I enjoyed the last two books that we read along with the movies .

Last day of Class

English 102 was a challenging class. I have learned many things, especially about the literature's genres. I enjoyed writing poems and was my first time writing a poem. the collection was the most difficult assignment since I started college. I did learn a lot about research papers, and the process to construct an essay. I need to keep practicing my writing and punctuation. My favorite text that was read on the last day of class was the collection about the history of Rock N' Roll. Thanks to professor Talbird for his help and patience.!

English 102, last day

Well, today was our last day of class and it's kind of bittersweet, I mean I'm happy the semester is over, and I'm glad we were all able to finish English 102. Yet,  I got to admit the class was challenging. And I for one am glad that it was so. And in a way, I'm going to miss this particular class, the assignments given were both educational and challenging. Challenging in the sense that we really had to read and understand so that we could have intelligent discussions of the readings in class. Also, so that the reviews we wrote about in the blog also made sense. In other words this class kept on us on our toes, it did me anyway. This English 102 class made me realize that I had a hidden likeness, or desire for reading, but I guess I was oppressing it.  The last time I read a book was because I had to, and it was many years ago in high school. Yet, reading the assigned books from class, I found myself getting deeper and deeper into the plots, and couldn't wait to have time to go back and continue where I had left off. This made me want to research other great novels, and literature, and even wrote a list of about 15 classic books I want to read within the next year or so, maybe two years.  I'm also thankful I had to take this class because it helped me improve my writing skills even more. I feel this course helped me sharpen my writing skills, and writing style via the books we read. I wouldn't just read, I would also pay attention to sentence structures, and the author's writing style, which I feel influenced some my recent writings.  Overall, I feel this class was a great learning experience for me. I have never written so much for one project. The longest papers I have written have been about seven pages including the bibliography and author's note. I'm proud of myself for stepping up to the challenge of writing this collection, I had never even heard of a collection in this sense before. Till now, the only collection I was familiar with was my collection of old records. I'm proud of the job I did on my collection, I learned a lot while writing it. Anyway, I'm glad that it's all over, but I am going to miss the class. Hope everyone did well.

Final Week

This week of the blog is optional. Anyone who posts will get extra credit. Some things you may want to write about:

• What were your favorite aspects of the class? What were your least favorite? What did you learn? What do you still need to work on? 
• What was your favorite text that was read on the last day of class? Give a shout out to your favorite fellow writers.
• How do you feel about your final collection? Have you ever written so much before? 

As we finished reading the book & Seeing the movie I enjoyed both , but reading the book made me think what would happen if we ever hit that situation ? And that epidemic , in my opinion I think I wouldn’t survive if I go months without eating. I’ll try my best to stay alive but there was a part in a film where I felt so sad and disgusted too when the dogs where eating the dead people body , The men raping the women in order to get food , do men have to do such atrocities just to fulfill their needs? Some people are born blind & some get blind by time and they learn how to cope with it and the book and the film showed that . This book was really interesting and reading out first novel with the professor Swenson was also fun , these two books made my English class different from the previous one I have had . My previous would always be about poem and boring autobiography and documentary , I for sure always felt asleeep !

blindness film

the movie was spectacular, was a good experience, because many scenes were exactly as how I imagined them when I was reading the book. when I started to read the book I was imaging how were physically the character to have an idea, but i never though the first blind man was an Asian person, and it was good because he did a good job in the movie, and my favorite character as in the book, was the Doctor, and enjoyable character. I would like to see the scene where the group of people commanded by the Doctor's wife find an old woman who was eating raw rabbits to survive, that didn't happen in the movie, I think it could have been a good scene.

page305 blindness

the relationship between the man with eye patch and the women the dark glasses make me think about what want to say the writer on this page, I think their relationship is real, I mean, at the beginning I think she just wanted to take advantage  of the situation and have someone to her side to protect her, but then, I think she really fell in love because there were blind and they couldn't see their defects each other, because we make judgment about other people from our perspective what we see on them, but if we were blind I think we could find or see the true love.

Blindness

I just wanted to give my opinion on the sex scene in the movie. I found  it very interesting how the wife walked in on the doctor cheating and consoled the blind woman. I felt like when the doctor wife caught the blind woman and she saw the guilt and regret on her face she felt bad and understood that they got caught in a moment. I was surprised with the out come because it could of really went any way. For instance what if the wife killed the blind woman, after everything she’s been through and seen it what have not been shocking if she cracked and did the unthinkable. Secondly I thought she just might leave the blind girl behind and refuse to help her anymore. But I guess after all the  senseless  Killing the wife saw her outlook on life has changed.

Blindness the movie

Today in class we finished watching Blindness.  Through the movie I was able to put real images to what I had only imagined while reading the book.  One of my favorite scenes from the movie was when the woman with the cigarette lighter set fire to the third ward, which housed the hoodlums, because this signaled the end of their abuse towards the women, as well as their own demise for the horrible acts they committed against fellow humans. At a time when everyone should unite and try and find the best solution to such an unimaginable ordeal, these guys are planning how to use and abuse the other weaker folks. They got exactly what they deserved, starting with their perverted self made leader, because he wielded a gun.  Also, without realizing it the woman with the cigarette lighter saved all their lives.  I don't think the doctor's wife and her group would have endured another month of such abuse, as it was they had already gone four days without food, before the upheaval. The intimate scene between the doctor and the girl with dark glasses was also portrayed tastefully by the director, I thought.  It showed two people not engaging in an act of pure animalistic lust, but rather, two people seeking comfort in each other's arms, for a problem they both think has no solution. Immediately, after the act was over, the director did a great job showing how the doctor and the girl with the dark glasses were having feelings of guilt and regret. Especially, after the doctor's wife made her presence known.  And she, instead of being incredibly hurt and feeling betrayed, she understood that these two people were just trying if only for one moment to escape the unbelievable torment their lives had become. I would have liked to see the director develop the scenes a little more before showing their climax.  Yet, overall, I enjoyed the film.

Pages 305-307

During these pages it shows that the old man and young woman would never be together in reality but are brought together by the “blindness”. Their love affair shows that an scenario like that can make people put their differences aside. Because for example if everyone hadn’t went blind, none of this would have happened.

Blindness

Today for class we finished watching the movie Blindness. The film adaptation of the book blindness both includes and excludes some aspects of the novel. One change that occurred in the movie was that the women who set her self on fire was an associate of the Doctor's wife.. In the novel the women who sets herself one fire was from a different ward and had no association with the Doctor's wife. This change was a positive in my book because it wasn't necessary to introduce another character only to have to kill her off. However one change that I didn't particularly like was when the film excluded the crazy neighbor who resides at the girl with the brown glasses home. This change takes away some of the cruelty of the situation. The crazy lady is also one of the few people we get to witness closely after the group leaves the mental hospital. Also I felt that the relationship between the one eyed old man and the girl with the brown glasses wasn't as developed in the film version.

Blindness the movie

I didn't really like the film. From reading the book, I was expecting a lot more creativity and more scenery. The movie felt rushed and absolutely dry. What I did notice is that towards the ending when the guy got his vision back, They showed the doctor's wife staring at the sky for a real long time and it was beginning to felt like she was going blind. Then they show her looking down and she see's the city.

Blindness

i think the scene that stood out to me the most was towards the ending of the film when the first blind man was in the table asking for coffee had slowly started to see stuff. In the film it shows his perspective as to how the white cloudiness slowly starts to fade and shows the doctors wife and the kitchen. He later starts to yell that he can see and at first no one believed until he started describing his surroundings. And when everyone started to believe him they all got excited and happy knowing that maybe the blindness isn't permanent but it also gives a negative feeling because yeah they are happy but they can never know if they will or will not get their vision back. But, I felt that if the first man that went blind can finally see i believe that the rest of the group members would slowly start to see as well but it would take its time for all the members to finally see.

Blindness film

"Blindness" directed by Fernando Meirelles is a film based off the novel of the same title written by Jose Saramago. The film differs from the novel in both plot structure and in point of view. The novel is more descriptive and goes into depth concerning character thoughts. In particular the contrast most noticeable between my understanding of the doctor's wife. The book does a great job in providing us visual that encompass the horrors seen by the doctor's wife. The film on the other hand doesn't achieve the same effect because we often don't hear or see from within the character of the doctor's wife. Another glaring instance where this difference occurs is the reactions the characters have to sex. The first moment of sec between the doctor and the girl with the glasses is taken negatively by the wife in the film. While in the novel the event between the the doctor and girl is justified the film version just feels more erupt. Also the ending of the film is shot really well showing us the perspective of the first blind regaining his sight.

Blindness Movie

I enjoyed the movie Blindness. It was very straightforward, the director didn't drag it longer than it needed to be. Being blind brought everyone together to the point where they became a family. 

Blindness film

The film was interesting to me because it didn't talk about where the story took place. When reading the book you sometimes don't get a clear picture of what's happening. I feel like the film puts a lot of things into perspective when we realize what a blind person has to go through if they're on their own to fend for themselves. It showed how they were close to starving,they lived in really unsanitary conditions and were around people always plotting something bad. I think the government should have been more involved to help these people. The doctor's wife was immune to the virus so maybe others were as well.

Blindness

Watching the movie is a completely different experience than just reading the book. Although, while reading you can use your imagination to visualize what’s happening, whereas watching the movie i feel one could get a better understanding of the point the author is trying to get across. The scene where the first man to go blind gets his vision back is one of my favorites. This is because everyone seemed to be getting comfortable with the way life was, conforming to living blind. Their hopes and dreams had moved into other directions. Instead of hoping to get their vision back, they just simply wanted to live. The first blind man’s vision returning served as a symbol of hope, for everyone’s eyesight returning eventually.

blindness

Watching the movie in today class was pretty interesting! I enjoyed watching it which was two hours rather than reading the book but I noticed that many scene where cut off . Reading the book you can think about what might happen next but on the movie It goes straight to the point. Being inside of a convention filthy and dirty they started going crazy but as the movie continued they started getting comfortable with being blind. The part that I most like was when the man with the eyes patch said he doesn't wanna go back since they where all getting close. Also People fighting over food because that was there only way to survive for example when the doctor wife went inside the supermarket and came out smelling like meat and all those individuals jumped on top of her to take the food away , the dogs eating a dead man. And at last when the Japanese man got his eye sight back he was shocked but was happy and saying I love you guys, and the doctor wife looking up thinking she gonna lose her eye sight but she didn't.

Response to Blindness movie

In my opinion, it is good interpretation of a book. I have noticed whenever best sellers turn into movies, there are always a few differences. For example, when doctor's wife went out to look for food , in the book she went alone. And the scene in the church did not happen on the same day. However, I believe these differences have particular purpose in it because seeing on screen and reading book are two separate ways of art.

Response to the Film Blindness

I think the film was great. In the beginning I wasn’t expecting the first blind man to look like he did, when reading the book I thought he was a Caucasian man, taller. However, I believe the movie was well executed. I feel like the one scene that really got my attention was when the men that were in control of the food began to ask for the women. That whole scene of when the women were walking together to the place and were raped and abused by these men, that was so sad and actually hard to see. It kind of shows us to what extent people will go through when being in a very desperate state, they needed food and would do almost anything to have some and they worked together to feed everyone even when there wasn’t enough. Overall the movie was well executed, separating it from the book because there are a lot of scenes that were cut out from the movie that we read in the book but over all I think It did a good in showing us the position they were all placed in and left to figure things out. Also, it did and tried well at showing us their point of view and how it might be like to not be able to see so instead it would show us soft white scenes and instead we would hear what would be going on.

Blindness

the thing that was most interesting about the blindness film was the theory that god was punish them and were giving them a renewed life. Towards the end of the of the film, in the church, they were preaching on how god has punished us. Also the woman that wasn't blind was the care taker of all of them and almost seemed like she no sins. By the end of the movie, the man who blind first regained his vision after all them were happy together.

Blindness

One scene that I like in the movie was when the doctors protected his wife. I thought it showed him getting a sense of his manhood back in a way. What I mean by that is he felt useful . After he helped her off the floor he kisses he hand to kind of calm he down. I thought it was a big step for them considering when they went in the store . He said I know my place I will wait right here

Blindness

My favorite movie about the film is the part where the Japanese guy can see all the way at the end of the film. I just loved his reaction when he say everyone and kept mentioning how beautiful they are. I think this is impacting because I feel like he was so genuinely so happy and I felt like he called them beautiful because he knows them truly by heart and I just found this part so heart warming and a great way to finish the movie.

Blindness

One part of the movie that I found different was that the one person that could see stayed with the blind people and actually helped them try to live and kept them safe did matter how hard it was she was putting her self in harms way to help and keep a group of blind people alive. She went shopping for them to get food she even took them back to her house she went out her way to save people she didn’t even know. That was very different to see someone do if they are not blinded them self.

Blindness flim

The book and the film were basically the same story. Nothing major was changed from the book to the film. One thing that I found interesting in the film was the way they showed the mental hospital. When I read the book I pictured the mental hospital looking different. They also showed how dirty the hospital was.

Blindness Film

The film had a bigger effect on me than the book did. It’s one thing to imagine the circumstances these people had to live with but to see exactly what they experienced made it that more effective. This was a great movie overall. I kind of wish the ending would’ve showed maybe a “five years later..” part to it, just because the ending left me curious as to what happened with the rest of the people who hadn’t gotten their eyesight back. The movie made me understand the book a lot more.

Movie Blindness

Something that I noticed while watching the movie is the fact that the movie gives us a little more than the book does. In the sense where you see a person and you can specify them by their race. For example the first blind man is Chinese and it is funny because he is no longer to me the first blind guy he is the Chinese guy. And not only by race can you call them by, you can call them by their style of clothing and much more. Personally I liked not having an image to them because it just made it ten times more suspenseful and unknown for me. This is one of the main things I have noticed so far from the movie that have impacted me. 

Pages 305

The pages we have read in class for me made me think about the term that "love is blind" because of the love between the girl with the glasses and the old man with the patch. We sometimes try to find someone by their appearance and approach them first because of how they look and their style, but we never really give a chance to those who might not meet our standard based on their looks.  Also the term that "looks are deceiving" made me think of the girl with the glasses. Based on her actions we were quick to judge and not think about the reasons why she is the way that she is. I think this was also the most loving scene considering all the chaos we have seen throughout the novel and how we see that the girl with the glasses is still willing to look for love considering everything that has happened. This is also one of my favorite parts of the novel.

Thoughts for page 305

On this page, we read a conversation which was exchanged between the girl with dark glasses and the old man with black eye patch. To me, it seems like a wedding without cakes, flowers, candles, priest, suits, dresses, bride maids, best men, diamond rings, families, friends, etc. They did not have any of them but a group of blind witnesses surrounded them. Through this scene, we can also conclude that without vision, humans eliminate all possible excuses to refuse to fall in love with somebody. Surprisingly, our eyes play the most important role because without them, we don't judge people by their look but their heart. 

Scene between old man and girl with dark glasses/movie

The purpose of that sentimental scene between the old man with  the eyepatch and the girl with dark glasses, is to show how true the old saying: "love is blind" is.  In this scene the old man and the girl with dark glasses confess their love for each other. True, before they were blind the girl with the dark glasses would never even consider being with someone like the old man with the eyepatch. But then being blind allowed both of them to see beyond physical appearance. Now they are able to see the other person for who they really are.

We started watching the movie version of the book yesterday in class, the two main characters are portrayed by actor's Mark Garofalo and Julianne Moore.  We got up to the part where the hoodlums from the third ward start to make trouble for everyone else in the ward.  So far I like the movie version. Although, I'm not sure if I agree with some of the choices the director made. Such as not developing the story more in terms of the characters. Not so much on a personal level, but showing how they arrive at certain points in the film. For example, the man who steals the car is stabbed in his leg by the girl with dark glasses after he tries to fondle her. She retaliates by kicking him in leg, she is wearing high heels and pierces the man's leg, causing a life threatening infection. All of a sudden the man is trying to find his way down the corridor that leads to the doors that lead outside. He is looking for some kind of aid from the soldiers outside but instead gets shot in the head.  I think the director should have spent a little more time on what caused the man that stole the car, such despair that he would want to venture outside on his own, knowing the soldiers had permission to shoot and kill.

Ekprhastic Cinematography

You all might not have been aware that several of the images in the film were inspired by painter Lucian Freud's work such as the painting below:

significant part in blindness

After reading the whole book i felt a lot of sympathy for the doctors wife. I felt some type of way when the doctor had sex with the women with glasses because after everything the doctors wife did for the doctor the least he could do is stay loyal to her. She stayed loyal to the doctor after he went blind and decided to go with him to the mental hospital to protect him. she stayed faithful to him and i found it messed up that he couldn't stay loyal.

blindness

This section of the book is more towards the end and it is somewhat of a brief summary of what happened throughout the whole book. It speaks about how the blindness affected them. They don't really think much of life and little things like having a book read to them is enough to keep them content.

blindness ending and review

After they left the ward, the doctors wife decided to take care of all of people she was with. The women with glasses, the man with the eye patch, the kid with the squint, the doctor and the doctors wife formed a group to survive in the outside world. After seeing that the oust side world was completely ruined, they decided to go to each of their homes one by one in search of food and shelter. The last place they ended up was at the doctor and the doctors wife home where they began to live. After a few days of living there the blindness has been lifted and the world started to regain their sight. While everyone gains their sight back, the doctors wife goes blind. I felt the author didn't put that much thought in the ending of the book. In reality i don't think you can go from blind to see again especially after being dirty and people don't take care of themselves.

Pg 305

The purpose of this scene is to provide the readers with some sense of hope that everything will return to normal. They get engaged which foreshadows that everything will go well and that there is still a hope for a “normal” life.

Pages 305

In this scene, the old man asked the girl with glasses to live together, but she was confused if he meant with all of them or just with her. When he says "with you". She was completely surprised because she mentioned that she never loved anyone. In this scene, I think the author wanted showed that they could fell in love no matter their ages or how different they were.

Response to pg 305

I believe this section of the reading is important because we are able to see how the conversation unfolds between the lady with dark glasses and the older man. They begging by kind of having a small argument because he mentions that all they are good for

Now is listening to another person read and then lead into hopes. We see that one of them has lost hope in being able to see which is probably where most of them are at as well. Those are hopes that have let go of at this point and because the older man seems to not want to let go or be alone he starts saying to move I together because two blind people is better than one. I believe this is kind of a representation of what most of the blind people feel at this point. And we learn that she was the one who washed his back. 

Blindness

The blind people are saying that they love each other but can’t even see each other. They are tryin to saying that love is blind, and people just really say that they love something or someone with out seeing who they are.

The purpose of this scene was that now that they have been living with each other for a while they started having personal issues with each other. The man with the eye patch is in love with the girl with the dark glasses. She doesn’t love him back and she is only with him because of the situation they are in. They all also understand that they are only together because of the situation.

Blindness

I think the purpose of this scene was to let the readers know who was washing the old mans back.It was the girl with black glasses

Blindness pages

The purpose of the scene was to show how they were all living together and how they are getting along with each other.

Blindness page 305

These few pages from the novel had such a strong impact on the novel, I think. It was the first time (in a while) that something so loving and good was occurring. The entire novel was very suspenseful and based on a concept of a “Will we survive” situation. So this was a great part and one of my favorite parts of the book. I think from here on after everything will fall into place.

Ending of the novel

As I kept reading finally reaching the end of the book, it did not fail to maintain my interest.  A lot of horrible things happened in this story. I think the author showed how easily a society can break down when faced with unthinkable tragedies and despair.  Once stripped of their daily comforts and comfort zones, human beings can become very erratic, at a very fast pace. The book shows that when   danger is imminent, and the threat of death becomes too real, most people will abandon all of societies protocol. Soon it becomes a "every man for himself" mentality, and survival of the fittest. It also shows how even when things are at their worst and gloomiest, there are still people that are so inhumane and deplorable that they would dare to do what the hoodlums from the third ward did.  But at least they paid the price for their disgusting crimes at the hands of the doctor's wife, and the woman with the cigarette lighter. The hoodlums got just what they deserved, and I was glad for it.
I'm also glad the book ended the way it did, although, I felt bad for the doctor's wife. After the horrific ordeal she went through, and now have to deal with that condition. But I imagine she also will soon be fine.

Blindness

As I continue to read the novel blindness by Saramago it makes me understand that humans tend to cheat , steal , lie to survive at any choice they have. When the lady husband that can see slept with the girl with the glasses I was shocked  why did he sleep with her or how did she even let that happen ? if the two women where becoming close like sister ? Wasn't the lady that can see gonna say anything to her husband did he do that because he thought if no one can see then he can do what ever he want. I guess the lady that can see had to stay shut because they would know she can see and everyone would be in back of her , they would come for her. Also the man with the radio when he was about to give out the news it turned off and didn't work that was the only thing he had left that helped him communicate with the outside world , also the. lady that can see knew where the food was hidden but she could've told eat but she decided not too because she will become a murder herself

Pictures

In Tuesday class the professor showed picture of famous paintings, we had to write down in our notebooks what we see, what is symbolizes. One famous painting that I noticed right away is the one with Leonardo Da Vinci where it illustrates Jesus Christ and his disciples having there last supper  prior to his arrest and crucifixion on a cross by the romans.

Blindness: Novel and Film

As we finish the novel and watch the film adaptation this week (dir. Fernando Meirelles, 2008), I would like you think about both the conclusion of the novel and also the film adaptation. Some specific questions I have:

• What role does the old woman who lives by herself and feeds on raw rabbit play in the novel? As the doctor's wife says, "I can assure you that not even where we were living before were things so repugnant" (251). How can her life we worse that the hell they have escaped from? 
• Why does the blind author write if there is no one to read his work?
• What role does the dog of tears play in the novel? 
• The doctor's wife says, "In a way, everything we eat has been stolen from the mouths of others and if we rob them of too much we are responsible for their death, one way or another we are all murderers" (314). Remember what I said about sci-fi: That it's always about our life here, now? What does this statement say about our world?
• Why have the eyes of all the images and sculptures in the church been covered with white bandages or swipes of paint?
• Why do you think that people start to regain their eyesight at the end of the novel?
• When Fernando Meirelles asked Jose Saramago if he could film his novel, Saramago said that he could as long as the setting wasn't any recognizable city. Why do you think he made that condition?
• Why are there so many ethnicities represented in the film? Why do you think the first blind man and his wife speak Japanese? 
• All adaptations are just some people's interpretation of a text. That's why Shakespeare still gets performed even though his plays are over five hundred years old. What do you think of Meirelles' interpretation of the novel? In what ways did he realize your idea of the book? What things would you have done different if it were your movie?

Writer's Showcase

On Friday in S-112 from 12-2, there will be the first-annual Writer's Showcase. Three published QCC professors will read from their work followed by a Q&A. If any of you wish to attend and write a 1-p response about the event, I will give you extra credit. More details below:

Blindness

The doctors wife is like any typical character. She is presented as the one character who could possibly save everybody it reminds me of the old slavery movies where every slave feels weak and vulnerable until that one character stands up and uplifts them to rebel. It made me thought of a what if scenario where the doctors wife was to try and rule over all the blind people instead of helping them.

Blindness 149-152

From what I read the oldman didn't want his radio taken because he wants to know what is happening in the outside world. The girl wants the radio to listen to it but the old man is worried that the batteries would die out.

If "Blindness" is written in 2019

The more pages I have reached, the more curious I am. What if "Blindness" is written in recent years or in 2019, what things will be changed. For example, like radio of old man, nowadays, that device will be replaced by mobile phones or tablets. Are Siri or Alexa might help you? Maybe, as long as their batteries last but not more than 24 hours. What about super computers, what about Nuclear Power stations, what about Planes in the sky, submarines in the oceans, what about soldiers in front line, what about people in North pole. I picture myself how people's reaction to the moment the first man went blind could be completely altered. Some might stop and record what is going on right there and post it on social media, or tweet about it, or snap chat about it or stream live video. Some might even think this is a joke. Other might post on Instagram with title "#stuck in traffic#some guy went blind" because it is fact that nowadays people more cares about their life on social media than their life outside. That makes me think that are we blind already like Saramago said, aren't we? Every time we go online, everything we see, we listen to, we watch is mostly likely fake. The news, photos and videos on social media, if we don't look carefully, tens of, hundreds of them might not even accurate. It is so ironic that I remember people proudly said when Internet first was invented. They said the world is shrinking and globalization is happening, yet is it in a good way. What about the side effects? Are we having too much to chew on? I am not sure about it. Right now, I want to appreciate whatever good things we have because we don't know how things will turn out sooner or later. Overall, "Blindness" left me important message to think about and that message is really deep. Frankly, I am trying to catch up what he wanted to say. Hopefully, I will come around the right conclusion.

Research Parties!

For those who need help on research for your annotated bibliographies, you might want to take advantage of the Library's Research Parties.

These five, drop-in Research Parties are designed to help students with end-of-semester research assignments.

 

Librarians will be on hand to help with topics, citations, article searching etc. And free snacks will be served!

 

Dates and times are as follows, and all will be held in L302:

 

5pm-7pm on Wednesday 5/8/19

11am-1pm on Thursday 5/9/19

11am-1pm on Friday 5/10/19

11am-1pm on Monday 5/13/19

5pm-7pm on Tuesday 5/14/19

As you can see, only the Wed. session is before the due date of the Collection. However, I will take Collections up until class time of 5/14. So obviously the very last session won't be useful for this class, but maybe you've got research in other classes you're doing.

Group Critique

Coming to an end we had our last group critique of the semester and it was bitter sweet. Through group critique we have the time to chat with our classmates about our work. This has been essential because people help you and enlighten you with other ideas that you may not have thought about. Also you make friends that can help you not only in this class but throughout life. Group critique has also allowed us to speak to our professor one and one and really just get up to date with everything if we have fallen behind. We have had the ability to catch up on our readings and even on the blog.

Blindness

Right now in the book the group decided the best thing to do was to stay together.The group is now looking for the doctors house .The doctors wife finds everyone some clean clothes and bedding.It was at night when it began to rain . The doctors wife gathered all the women up outside to wash up .The three women was themselves in the rain and collect water for the men to wash. The doctors wife runs a bath for the old man with the black patch eye. When he gets in the bath he finds a woman in the tub who washes his back.

Last Group Critique

Today was the last group critique of the semester. I met with Khine and another person whose name I don't recall. We read each other's works and gave suggestions. My last submission called "Spring Break" was the piece I presented. This piece will likely also be included in my collection. Within  the piece I write about a character that closely resembles my own life. Its essentially a memoir under a different name. Given the suggestions made by my group members its likely that I will exaggerate some details. For my story to make more sense and for a better cohesion with my theme it is a necessary task. Overall I am looking forward to the end result and hopefully it doesn't become too controversial. Often times when we write about sadness and hopelessness we invite pity and that isn't the goal of my last work. For that piece my objective is to tell a story and whether the reader feels pity or gratitude is solely dependent on their own views and outlooks on life.

Blindness

Jose Saramago's book "Blindness" a reoccurring theme is objects and their purpose. Within the contents of the novel the characters often met with using objects for utilitarians purposes. For examples, the doctors wife carried with her a pair of scissors with the purpose of trimming her husband's beard. We the readers however never see her use the scissors for this aesthetic/hygiene purpose instead it is used to carry out a murder. Another instance is the radio that the eye patch man carries. The radio an object that can be used both for entertainment and for information is instead solely used to gather information. As readers we see these small instances multiple times throughout the book and over the course of the story they added up. Saramago is intentional in putting these instances in so that the realism of the situation is more acceptable to the reader. Of course these object would be used in these ways in situations of emergency. Furthermore other objects like paintings and statures are defiled driving home that message that under certain circumstances our ability to appreciate objects diminishes to the point of their simplest utility for our survival.

Group critique

Today was the last group critique and my group went over how our collections compare and contrast from one another’s. We discussed the three genres we picked and what inspired us to write them. We went over any writing grammar and spelling errors

Group Critque

Unfortunately this is our last Group Critique. My group discussed our drafts and gave each other great pointers. The three of us are almost finished with our papers. I really enjoyed this class and all of the things I learned being in this class. Amazing professor

Open Mic Followup: Extra Credit

Anyone who reads at the open mic next Wed (see 5/01 for details) and then writes a 1-p response about the experience will get extra credit. Responses are due in class by the last day (5/14). Let me know if you have questions.

Blindness

Right now in blindness the group of people are looking for some new shoes and also for the blind girl with dark sun glasses home. The group is moving Very slowly because they are starved . Eventually they find the girls building and find that no one is in the building. They come in contact with a old woman in a flat on the first floor who seems to have gone crazy .she tells the group that she has been living off rabbits from the coop in her back yard . She catches them breaks their necks and eats them raw. The group gets into the blind girl apartment through an open window and stays there for the night.

Open Mic Poetry

I wanted you all to know about the Open Mic Multicultural Poetry Event. It's next Wednesday during club hours and all can participate. I know a lot of you have written some great poetry this term and you might be interested in reading your work to your peers. Even if not, it's always a good event and worth it to listen (esp. if the weather is nice!). It takes place in the Quad in front of the Humanities Bldg. See below for more info and write one of the sponsors if you'd like to get on the reading list (though you can probably just show up and read if you'd prefer).