Blessed house

If I had to pick a favorite text this semester, it would be Sure Thing. Sure Thing is a story about a man named Sajeev and his wife Twinkle; they fell in love and decided to move into a house together. Sanjeev was a successful Indian man that was living in the United States. While moving into their new house, the couple found some items that were left behind by the previous owner. The items they found were not just regular left over household things—they were Christian sacraments and other Christian statues. Both Sanjeev and Twinkle were Hindu so all the Christian items did not mean much to them and their religious and cultural background. However, as the man in the house, Sanjeev did not want to keep the items that were left behind. In fact, he tried throwing them away a couple of times but Twinkle would not let him. Twinkle believed that the items that were left behind had some kind of meaning to the house and it would be very disrespectful to throw these Christian sacraments away. This disagreement over the leftover items ended up causing a good amount of tension between Sanjeev and Twinkle. And here is where I decided to begin to wrestle with the text for this blog. After all the arguing between the couple, Sanjeev ends up questioning his love for Twinkle.  For example, the part that most caught my attention was when the narrator provided, “[Sanjeev] did not know if he loved [Twinkle].”
    The reason I chose this part of the text was because I can not understand why Sanjeev would ever question his love for Twinkle if he truly loved her and was married to her, especially over mere items.  Unfortunately, I know there are times when married couples divorce due to infidelity, or the fact that their love has simply “faded” throughout the years. Yet, Sanjeev and Twinkle are newlyweds that recently moved into a house together—they should be head over heels in love! Because of the little arguments over a Christian statue, Sanjeev questioned his love for his wife, Twinkle.  Sanjeev specifically remembers the day Twinkle asked him if he loved her—he said, “Yes.” But, she never said it herself.  So now he questioning if she ever really loved him.  This concept just doesn’t make sense to me.  The story is about a married couple that thought they loved each other and so they got married.  Respectively, they moved into a house together to start a future.  Where is the disconnect here?
To me, this story is character driven through out the whole thing. From the beginning the characters were in love, now the characters are questioning their love for each other.  This leads me to think that there could be a possible break up in their marriage. Therefore, I interpret this section as way for readers to see that the couple is facing adversity in their life.  I think that Twinkle is Sanjeev’s first love, and that is why he is questioning if he loved her or not.
    Reading a little further it says, “In truth, Sanjeev did not know what love was, only what he thought it was not.” This sentence tells me that Sanjeev hasn’t experience love like this with anyone and he doesn’t know how to deal with thing like this. But he still chooses to go reconcile with his wife, despite his confusion of love.  I feel like at this point Sanjeev is having a change of heart and wanting to settle this little argument like adults. His mom said, “You need a wife to look after and love.” Deep down, I believe Sanjeev knows that Twinkle is the one he loves simply by being with her every day.
    This part is extremely important in this story. As I stated earlier, there are couples that get a divorce because their love has faded. However, I think that when you get married you promise one another to be with each other no matter what. You exchange vows of everlasting love and commit your lives together under the name of God. I think that Sanjeev realizes that this is the woman that he married and is going to spend the rest of his life. By him going back into the house and trying to work things out says a lot about his character.
Sanjeev’s character in this story comes off in a very conservative manner. He seems shy, but he has a lot to say when it comes down to it—there is always a lot on his mind, whether he says it or not. At the end of the story, Sanjeev shows his love by allowing his wife to keep the display of statues. He did not do it because he wanted to, but he did it because Twinkle really wanted to keep them. In marriage, there are times when you just have to let things go, you have to “pick your battles.” If one cannot let things go, little by little they will build up and it may result in the end of a relationship of marriage.  Even though men can be stubborn sometimes, they must understand that women can be sensitive and that is okay—we are not the same.  Does this mean if you don’t agree you will stop loving each other? No. But it will make you stronger as a couple. 
One thing my mom has always told me was to try and work all of your issues out civilly when you are married, fighting often gets you hurt feelings.  I really enjoyed reading this story and learning so much about these characters. This story can have so many questions that can arise from it. Can it be something religious? Does the display mean something? Can this story be how a man should act with a tough situation? There are so many meanings that this story could offer each and ever reader.  For now, I will let my mind continue to wander as to what it might mean to me right now.  One important thing that I obtained from this story though, is to always love you wife, no matter what.

A very old man with enormous wings: A Tale for Children

Reading this story, I find it a bit easier the the previous stories that we read. I actually enjoyed reading this one. This story basically starts off with a guy named Pelayo who found this very old man with wings in his back yard. Him and his wife had no clue who he was or why he was laying in their back yard. They called a neighbor to come check it out and her first reaction was that he was an angel.  They believe that he was so old the rain knocked him down when he was coming for the child. They decided to lock him up behind the house with the chicken coop to remain safe. By doing that it allowed the neighbors to stand in front and start a commotion. The priest cam by and said this so call "Angle" might be sent from the devil. Among all the talk around the neighbor hood Pelayo and his wife Elisenda had to fence their yard to protect the creature that was kept in their back yard. In this little town there has been weird miracles such as a blind man who did not recover his sight but grew new teeth or the leper whose sores sprouted sun flowers. Pelayo and Elisenda came to accept this angle creature that was in there back yard. It feels like over time this angel has became a very close pet to this family. At the very end of this story the angel started to feel health again. The feathers started to grow back and it was trying to fly but very awkwardly. As the angel couple attempts of flying it finally gained control and started soaring through the air as he left.
I feel like the angel being there was very annoying to the family. The thing I like most about this story is that Pelayo and Elisenda did good thing by keeping him safe in the courtyard. The thing frustrate me the most about this story is when the neighbors burning him with a hot iron just so they can see him standing. Overall this story was a great story to read.

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Reading this story at parts can get very tricky. Reading the fist paragraph I really enjoyed how they were very descriptive with the scene. "In the Silence of the broad green meadows one could hear the music winding through the streets, farther and nearer and ever approaching, a cheerful faint sweetness of the air that from time to time trembled and gathered together and broke out into the great joyous clanging of the bells." Reading that sentence, I can tell that their neighborhood is very small and everyone knows each other.
The Omelas was one of the many families that live in this neighborhood. The Omelas family were no ordinary family, They were different. In fact, The Omelas were the perfect family for those who doesn't know them. In the story it says that they are happy people, their children are always happy, there are goody goody and not too mention the other spectacular things they said about this family.
Now wouldn't you think this family is nothing but perfect? Well... other than being perfect, The Omelas family had a secret of their own. In a their basement they have a locked door where they keep a child. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but this room is always locked and he or she is not allowed out. The child begs to get out but the Omelas family never answers. The child has been there for so long, they are scared to the child up to society because we do not know how the child will act. The Omelas has a reputation to maintain. I believe that is why the keep the child in the basement. The question that this story asks is do I believe in this family. I don't know if I believe in the Omelas but I do believe that there are families that have big and deep secrets. Overall I enjoyed reading this story.

Stages of Interpretation

Coming back from the break was very hard. I enjoyed my thanksgiving break very much. In class on Thursday before we left for break we watch this animation video. In this post I am going to explain the stages of Interpretation and how it related the animation video we watched. The three stages you have to keep in mind are 1. What does the text actually say, 2. What does it mean, 3. criticize (Critical thinking) what does it matter. My first thought about the seven minute video we watch, I thought that a lot of people died and only a couple survived. At the beginning it made it seem like they were on a ship and they are heading off to an Island away from everyone.
To answer number one of three stages I think that this video was saying that he was on a ship escaping from society. There was a disaster that happen and trying to escape and find a deserted land to live in. To answer number two, I think this video can mean it's an old memory that passed a while ago and now he's grown old and going crazy. It also can mean he is a crazy man and just makes up stories. Its really hard to know exactly what is going on in his head. To answer number three, I think that overall it doesn't really matter because he suffers from Dementia and all his stories are made up.
At the end of the video before he pulls the gun on himself, it goes back to reality and shows that he's in a nursing home. What he thought was gun was really a door handle.
William Shakespeare had a really good quote that captured my attention as soon as it came up. It says "Its a tale told by an idiot, full of sounds and furry signifying nothing". Relating this the video, this made up story is told by an idiot. It is a very adventurous story but overall it doesn't mean anything. When I say it doesn't mean anything I mean that it is a made up story so it doesn't matter.   
I really enjoyed watching this video in class. I enjoyed trying to figure out the meaning of everything. After watching the video a couple times, you begin to notice more things that you haven't noticed before. 

A Temple of The Holy Gohst!!

Reading "A temple of the holy gosh" was kind of weird. There were times in the story where I got lost. I tried my hardest to figure out was going on. The 12 year old girl was the main Character in this story. They really didn't mention her name but they mentioned a lot of things about her. Right off the bat she came across as a mean girl. As the story progressed I found out that she was a mean girl and she says rude things to other people. The 12 year old girl and two cousin Susan and Joanne who decided to come stay with her for a long weekend. Her two cousins basically laughed at everything and at times can get real annoying. The 12 year old Catholic girl took religion very seriously. Her cousins really did not care much about anything but boys. They all decided to go to there fair not knowing what to expect. One of the tents had a person that was a man and a woman. To the 12 year old girl that was very shocking to her. The people there at the tent were called "Freaks". The lilttle girl confuses the freaks with a religous service. At the end of the story both the little girl and her cousins learned something, the little girl doesn't want to be mean anymore. She understand that the freaks will be freaks because God has made them that way. 

I think that she is beginning  to realize that her body and her curiosity about different things will change. In this story Religion is a symbol that is very important to this family. The temple can aslo be a special and important symbol in this story. The Temple car represent the body or a holy place. Overall this story was good, I can not wait for class tomorrow so we can discuss it.

The (movie) boys next door.

Today I am deciding to to go with option 3 and watch the movie "The boys next door". I was really disappointed I didn't get to go see the play. That is why I was really excited when I got the option to watch the movie. Watching the movie gives me a different perspective as to reading the book. Arnold is a person who has a lot on his mind. There are times Arnold cant stop talking.  Lucien is this black guy who is a perfectionist. Everything has to be in order, specially his agricultural books. It's weird because when I read the book my favorite character was Jack, but now that I am watching the movie Lucien just makes me smile. The things that he says just makes me laugh. I might of said this on the old blog but before reading and hearing about this play I thought they were different. There are different in a way of being mentally challenged but they are normal and funny people just like us. My favorite scene is when Lucien is talking about the clip on tie and how much he loves his clip on tie. At the end of it, Lucien asked jack if he can tie the tie for him lol. Things like that just make laugh out loud. Norman crush for Shiela is on going through out the movie. His dream finally came true when he dance with Shiela and couldn't get the smile off his face. So watching the movie is way better then reading the book. It's the same story and plot but something about the expressions of the actors face just makes each and every character. Jack is a man with a big heart. Even through some times he might get a bit frustrated and lose his temper, his love for those guys are bigger than ever. Jack feels like the guys need him to survive in this world. It is hurting and and his wife. It was hard for Jack separating with the guys but it is one of those things he had to do.

The Boys Next Door

Really make you appreciate the mentally challenge

(Edward Barbanell) Actor with down syndrome acting since 2000

Reading The Boys Next Door was truly a huge impact on my life. Some of the main characters in this play are Jack, Arnold, Lucien, Norman, Barry, Sheila, and Mr. Klemper. Out of all the characters in this play Jack was my favorite character. Jack is a social worker and he basically took care of the mentally challenged men. Jack was sweet, caring, and always willing to help. At times I feel like Jack gets overwhelmed taking care of these men, because it took over his personal life.  I can mostly relate this character because I had to take care of my Grandmother in high school. My Grandma is an amazing woman who did a lot for her kids. At the of 65 my grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. For those who doesn't know what that is, it's a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. My mom was not comfortable in putting her in a nursing home, so we took turns taking care of her. This might be a little different then being mentally challenged but you have to take care of her the same as you would with a challenged person. If my grandma wasn't watched 24/7, She would exit the house in the middle of the night or forget where she's at. I love my grandma but there are times when I get so overwhelmed. I think that is the same feeling that Jack felt in this story. The Alzheimer's has gotten worst and my grandma now doesn't remember me. She is now in the nursing home where there's people to take good care of her. Being mentally challenged or having some kind of brain dis function is hard thing, But if you really pay attention to their faces they are not sad. I trained myself to not feel sad for them but treat them like a normal human being. Because that is what they are.