Second Time Around

In one of my blogs I discussed the importance of reading novels more than once. The same thing applies to plays. To everything really. First time I watched "Krapp's Last Tape", I focused on the character's behavior only. But it is quite apparent that when something keeps reappearing, be it a particular word in a text, and image in a movie, or a line in a play, it's because it has a specific, important role in the piece. The "box three, spool five... spoool!", appeared constantly. To grasp its entire meaning, I went back to the beginning.

The "box three, spool five" refers to the tape Krapp listens to in the play. He seems to pay special attention to this particular box and spool. Krapp takes a paper from the box and reads. It seems to be a describing the contents of the tape. "Memorable equinox?" The man says, as if trying to remember what it referred to. "Farewell to... love." He must turn the page to read the word "love" ( McWhinnie places emphasis in "love" by having Magee turn the page), and when he does, silence. The look in his face, the expression of his eyes as he recalls this memory, so melancholic. Here we have, standing before us, an old, uneasy, weary, lonely man. Lonely. Around him, nothing. An empty room. No pictures, no furniture, no rugs. Only a table, a tape recorder, a microphone, some boxes and a lamp above. "Farewell to love", farewell to happiness. Greetings, loneliness.

This box and spool are important because they contain the key to Krapp's past and the explanation to the lonely life we watch him live. Every time Krapp mentions the word "spool", his face lightens up. Krapp's life consists on listening to old recordings. They are all he has, and all he ever does (besides eating bananas).

"What's a year now? The sour cud and the iron stool. (Pause.) Revelled in the word spool. (With relish.) Spooool! Happiest moment of the past half million."

"Box three, spool five... spoool!" If we looked the word up in Krapp's dictionary, it would read: my happiness, my companion, my whole life.

The Comedian's Tale

Today, when coming back from work I saw,
The longest Transmilenio line of all.
From far I saw a man with funny clothes.
"It's not a dude!" I thought as I got close.

Excuse me miss, or sir...I wish to ask,
I promise I will do this very fast.
How come so joyous, when in such a line?
Are you a he or she? If you don't mind.
"Of course I don't! And now I'll start to tell.
So let's begin, now listen to my tale.
I came into the world not being a male,
And that is what I call the biggest fail.
For I should have been born as masculine
As all the other strong, aggressive men.
But I will not complain of this mistake,
And this sweet life I never will forsake.
Oh lucky me! Because of this I can
Laugh at them all; at women and at men.
And thanks to this I have a stable job,
By far the best comedian of all.
I am a miss by night, a sir by day.
For making fun of both I do get paid.
But never has it been a simple LIFE,
One day I was discovered my WIFE.

We were together for three years until
She ran into her high school love named Bill.
I wasn't jealous, I believed in her.
"Don't worry, please." Precisely were her words.
But stupid Bill, obsessed with her was he.
The idiot, moron started stalking me.
And this is how he knew about my work.
He didn't wait and to my wife he told:
"J.D, a secret does your husband keep.
You shall be strong. Oh please, come take a seat.
I saw him at a woman's bar dressed up
As one of them, made jokes and would not stop.
But that's not all, for then he left and switched
From bar to bar, and with this guy you're hitched!
Before I knew, he was a man again,
Inside a bar, and looked like fellow men."

My wife did weep, and mad as hell was she.
Before I knew, divorced were her and me.
"I had no clue that this was going on,
I knew it! I'd be better as a nun.
I leave you Sam, go live your double LIFE.
But now forget you ever had a WIFE."

And so she left, but I kept moving on.
Oh look the Transmilenio line is gone!
I leave you now, but hope you will appear
Some day again. Bye, nice to meet you dear!"

And went his way this nice comedian.
I hope I get to see that face again.

What Makes A Classic A Classic

When we read novels, are we giving them the importance they deserve, or are they just one more book on the list?

Novels that are considered classics, books that win prizes don't earn these titles just because. What's so great about these books? Why are they revered by generation after generation?

What makes a classic a classic?

I'm not really qualified to respond such a question, but I do think classic novels have one essential characteristic about them which makes them so great.

It's funny, you know the common phrase, "I read you like a book" ... I actually believe it works backwards: we read books like people. Although each novel counts with many characters inside her, it can be considered to have a personality of her own.

You start reading a novel; you start getting to know her. Of course, the first impression is very important. You keep reading, knowing details, start either getting involved or disappointed. At the end of the book, you usually make a judgement. "I liked this ending" or, "the worst book I've ever read". When reading a classic, the final comment is usually one of un-satisfaction. A short pause and then questions start racing. "Wait a second, was this the end? Is this all? What about... Let me go back." You never get a sense of completing the novel, at least not the first time you read it.

Classic novels are like interesting people. You never quite get to know them fully. No matter how many times you read a classic, you will always find something new. A symbol you hadn't seen before, a reason why the story developed as it did. The more you read the novel, the more you get to know it. But there will always a space to read it one more time; a chance to find something new. That's what keeps classic novels in the reading lists throughout the years. That feeling of uncertainty, of knowing you can still discover more. After all, the key to human's interest is the unknown.

The Road: The Movie

I was at the dentist the other day, trying to read but got distracted with I don't remember what. "The movie looks amazing doesn't it?" The dentist realized I didn't know what she was talking about so she glanced at the book and then back at me. Oh, The Road... Wow, there's a movie?
Naturally, fist thing I do when I get home? Go on youtube and watch the trailer.

(Just in case you haven't: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLgszfXTAY )

Turns out I'm a little outdated. The movie's almost a year old. Anyways, I kept reading and then I started to wonder how the movie would show some of the things described in the book. From the trailer, it looks like the movie does a good job in impersonating the man, and portraying him as a hopeful and perseverant human being. But how did they characterize things like the man washing the brains out of his son's hair or them finding all those people screaming for help?

They probably kept it PG... I think that's what I don't like about books turned into movies.
There's a certain liberty when you read a book, the author provides you with a certain details but lets you connect the dots between all the descriptions given. In a movie, you are constrained to the images. The only reality is the one they show you. This not only limits the watchers, it also limits the directors and movie makers. Sometimes some characterizations are only allowed in the minds of people. Making images out of them may be offensive to some. I think some details should be brought to life by imagination only.

I'm still dying to see the movie though.

I know we don't do this very often, if you've watched the movie please comment. Did you think it did a good job in capturing the essence of the book? (Don't give away the ending!)

Interview

Q: What was your childhood like?
A: I spent my early years running away. Just me and my dad. There was always that empty feeling in my stomach, I knew that at any moment we'd have to leave everything behind and run as fast as possible. I guess I had some things in common with other kids. I was afraid of the dark and was scared to be alone. I didn't understand what we were running away from. All I knew was that we were going south, so we could be warm.

Q: Any worries?
A: Yes. A lot actually. As I said, we were always running. My dad was more worried though. He hardly slept at all. We never what the day would bring. Our lives depended on our luck. "If they [we] got wet there'd be no fires to dry by. If they [we] got wet, they [we] would probably die." p15

Q: How was your relationship with your dad?
A: We depended on each other. He was everything to me; I was everything to him. I knew he was trying to take care of me and he didn't really have a choice. The situation we were in was very complicated so I tried to be the best kid possible.


Q: Your childhood wasn't what we would call typical. You never mentioned other kids, parks, pets, candy... Do you think having such a different childhood from so many other people make you different?
A: What other people?

Juxtaposing Couplets

"And eek I preye Jesu shorte hir lyves,
That wol nat be governed by hir WYVES."
(The Wife of Bath, Lines 405-406)

"Allas myn hertes quene, allas my WYF,
Myn hertes lady, endere of my life!"
(The Knight's Tale, Lines 1917-1918)

"An housebond shal nat been inquisitif
Of Goddes privitee, nor his WYF."
(The Miller's Tale, Lines 55-56)

"Adam our fader, and this WYF also,
For Paradys to labour and to wo."
(The Pardoner's Tale, Lines 177-178)

A Pardoner's Truth

I have some bad news for all of you strongly driven, firm believers out there. That man you trust all your intimate secrets to, never freed you from your misdoings. Quote he:

403 "For myn entente is nat but for to wynne,
For my intention is only to make a profit,
404 And nothyng for correccioun of synne.
And not at all for correction of sin."

Want to know the truth? I'm glad the pardoner's a hypocrite. Honestly... It's not like you can kill a person, then ask for forgiveness and be freed from your sins. You did something wrong? Live with it. SUCK IT UP. It was your decision in the first place.


That was a little harsh. Let me rephrase. I understand people make mistakes and all but you can't look for the easy way out. Going to some random person so he can forgive your mistakes doesn't change absolutely anything (except the fact that you leave with less money than before). The only person who really has to forgive you is yourself. Don't fool yourselves.

So, no. I don't feel bad for you at all. I'm glad someone is taking advantage of your stupidity.

You know who else I don't feel bad for?

Those three men. The ones in the Pardoner's story. You look for death, you find it. They literally looked for death, and guess what.

The man warned them:


760 ""Now, sires," quod he, "if that yow be so leef
"Now, sirs," said he, "if you are so eager
761 To fynde Deeth, turne up this croked wey,
To find Death, turn up this crooked way,
762 For in that grove I lafte hym, by my fey,
For in that grove I left him, by my faith,
763 Under a tree, and there he wole abyde;
Under a tree, and there he will wait;
764 Noght for youre boost he wole him no thyng hyde.
He will not in any way hide himself because of your boast."

Stupid men. At least they made an amusing story.

But the twist to the Pardoner's tale isn't the story he tells us. It's the double moral within the story. It's like when your parents tell you not to lie, and then you catch them doing the same. You know lying is wrong, but why listen to them if they do it too? Your parents end up losing credibility just like the Pardoner did. Really fun story, but why learn from it if it was told by a hypocrite?

A Raven Called Nevermore

Something's bothering me. Normally writing is easy. Words flow, one after the other forming ideas. Today, this weekend, something doesn't feel right. There's a reason why I'm not able to write. I have no ideas. Actually, there is one idea...

I have a raven above my chamber door. He's that force that doesn't let me write.

Okay, this is getting better. My mind seems to be functioning properly now. Three seconds ago I thought the Raven symbolized the obvious: death, maybe the narrator's. But not necessarily. I mean, yes. the narrator describes him as a prophet of evil, asks him to "leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoke." Its inevitable to make a connection to death. but i feel it's a vague idea. It's not so much about what the raven represents, but how he makes the narrator feel; about the power he has over him. I think that there lies the symbolism.

"But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour."

The narrator is able to sense sincerity in the raven, he firmly believes him.

The environment grows tenser and tenser. "The air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer". The narrator feels surrounded by all these exasperating feelings cause by the raven. We sense fear in him, irritation, denial.

“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

Nevermore. Nevermore. Nevermore. Every time the word is said, the narrator loses power. The black bird becomes big, the narrator small. There's nothing he can do; nothing he can control:

"And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door."

FOR SALE

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DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BLOG ENTRY "FOR SALE"

1. Old, rich and obedient men make the best of husbands.

197 "The thre were goode men, and riche, and olde;
The three were good men, and rich, and old;
198 Unnethe myghte they the statut holde
Hardly might they the statute hold (pay the debt)
199 In which that they were bounden unto me.
In which they were bound unto me."

2. Why please them if they don't please you?

211 But sith I hadde hem hoolly in myn hond,
But since I had them wholly in my hand,
212 And sith they hadde me yeven al hir lond,
And since they had me given all their land,
213 What sholde I taken keep hem for to plese,
Why should I take care to please them,
214 But it were for my profit and myn ese?
Unless it were for my profit and my pleasure?

3. Different men like different things.

257 "Thou seyst som folk desiren us for richesse,
Thou sayest some folk desire us for riches,
258 Somme for oure shap, and somme for oure fairnesse,
Some for our shape, and some for our fairness,
259 And som for she kan outher synge or daunce,
And one because she can either sing or dance,
260 And som for gentillesse and daliaunce;
And some because of noble descent and flirtatious talk;
261 Som for hir handes and hir armes smale;
Some because of their hands and their slender arms;
262 Thus goth al to the devel, by thy tale.
Thus goes all to the devil, according to you.
263 Thou seyst men may nat kepe a castel wal,
Thou sayest men may not defend a castle wall,
264 It may so longe assailled been overal.
It may so long be assailed on all sides."

4. If you are ugly, you are at great risk.


271 "And seyst it is an hard thyng for to welde
And thou sayest it is a hard thing to control
272 A thyng that no man wole, his thankes, helde.
A thing that no man will, willingly, hold."


If you wish to purchase this book, remember the author is in a pilgrimage for an unknown amount of time, so contact her editor and get "The Love Plane" at an unbelievable low price.

A Woman's Perspective

FOR SALE!

Are you having troubles in your love life? Do you associate the words "relationship" and "fail"? Then it is about time you buy THE LOVE PLANE, written by the marriage specialist: The Wife. Inside, you will find a complete guide to handling love situations. For a preview, follow this link:

http://mysymph.blogspot.com/2010/09/do-not-read-this-if-you-havent-read.html