The Evolution of the Blog

I have to say, I had no idea what to blog about tonight.

But besides the fact that this is a grade, I really wanted to.  Why?  No really, why?  Let's be honest, at least half of the things we do for school we do because they will be graded.  We cannot (and will not) be biologists, physicists, chemists, writers, mathematicians, engineers, artists, and psychologists all at the same time in our adult lives, so we cannot honestly say we do the homework for the other subjects because we plan on pursuing them.  From what I can tell, I will not be a literary critic or professional writer in my later life (but who knows, I may have just jinxed it).  Nonetheless, I feel the need to blog.  So when I thought about "why," the answer was lingering right in front of me all along, and all I had to do was recognize it.

"Bobbie's Blog Banter."

Yeah that's right.  My main inspiration for blogging is the blog show, hosted by our humble English teacher.  Don't tell me that you don't think about your blog being mentioned in those first five minutes of English class.  I know I do.  I've had it in mind every time I've sat down in this chair and logged on to Blogger, especially with the expansion of the show over such a short period of time.  Think about it.  It all started in our dimly lit little room at the end of the English hallway.  Then we went on location to the library, the place where our blogs began.  And most recently, Ms. Serensky stood up from behind her desk, and addressed us in the stadium seating arrangement before the movie started.  I bet it's not long before we actually have the spot lights and theme song we jokingly alluded to when this all began.  So here's to hoping this post was witty enough, insightful enough, or ironic enough (in several ways...) to be on the show come Monday afternoon.

It's Cliché, But...

While hard at work doing college applications today, I came across a simple question on Carnegie Mellon's supplement for the Common Application.  It asks which class that I am currently taking is "most stimulating" or "most academically challenging."  All it requires is a little fill in, room enough for just that name of the class.  Without hesitation I filled in AP English.  I'm sure any of my classmates would have done the same, because let's be honest, no other high school class I'm aware of requires a 20+ page report and analysis of a book... (or 29 page... *COUGH* Donely*COUGH*).

But think about it.  We all know this class is hard.  For one, you see that "is" i just used lackadaisically last sentence?  If I used that in an essay analyzing a poem, instant (-1)!  Secondly, as my fellow blogging classmates have pointed out, class discussions can be a battle royal.  Every aspect of the class seems scrutinized; the words we write, the things we use those words to write about, the things we say in discussion, right down to the margins and heading of papers.  And I have to say, half the time we probably scrutinize ourselves about these things way too much, and end up doubling the amount of pressure.

But, you know what? (and I bet you saw this coming...)

This is the best class I have ever taken.  Really, no other class makes you think this hard.  Sometimes a topic in math might be difficult, but as for a day to day basis, this class kicks your butt.  We've all hated it at one time or another, I know I have.  But that's the best part.  Life isn't all puppies and flowers, and the dim lighting and cold sweat that describe timed writings in AP English help prepare you for that.  I know I'll be better off in college than that kid who didn't take AP English, because "stimulating" and "academically challenging" are understatements for this class.  And for that, I'm appreciative.

Ladies and Gentleman... THE BEATLES!!!

I'm not going to lie, I'm a pretty big Beatles fan.  I don't know if you've heard of them, but they were these guys named John, Paul, George and Ringo from Liverpool that made some pretty good music in the 60s.  If you don't believe me, then here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles.

Anyway, back last year when they released the remastered box set with all The Beatles' albums, I bought it for my dad for Christmas.  Back then, I was familiar with most of the songs that we all seem to know at birth, but beyond that, well, I wasn't familiar with anything at all.  So when we finally opened up the box and listened to all those amazing tracks, I finally discovered what millions before me already had: that they weren't "one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music," as Wikipedia so simply puts it, for nothing.

So you know I must have been REALLY excited when Gogol put on The Beatles (better known as The White Album) in Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake in Chapter 4 (top of page 74, middle of the continued paragraph from the previous page, just in case you're following along...).  After first overcoming my elation at the fact that Lahiri was alluding to one of my favorite albums of all time, I took a step back and tried to analyze the allusion like the good AP English student I am...

Like any good Beatles fanatic, I can tell you that the the Fab Four wrote most of the material for this album in 1968 during a transcendental meditation course with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India, in an attempt to get away from it all as the saying goes.  Nonetheless, they still found themselves writing songs.  Upon leaving India and returning to Abbey Road Studios in London, they got to work on this next record, which included many of these compositions along with a few new ones.

Yeah, that's right, I said India. You know, that place where the Ganguli family is from?  Let's just say "REALLY excited" was an understatement for how I reacted when I remembered this factoid.  So what could you conclude with this knowledge?  One thing I drew from the allusion was situational irony, that here he is, being all cool and American and what not, listening to The Beatles, only to be unaware of the fact that most of the material on this album was written in his parent's native country.  Meanwhile, "a cassette of classical Indian music" Ashoke bought for Gogol lies in his room, still in its wrapper (78).  This irony, indirectly nonetheless, further stirs up Gogol's internal conflict over his identity and cultural attachments, whether he knows it or not. He tries to push his heritage away, but subtly, it sticks with him.

Do you have any other impressions of or ideas about this allusion now that I have so generously enlightened you?

Maturity (or Maybe Not...) in The Namesake

For the most part, all of our 8th period class' discussions involving Gogol have wound up bashing the Indian-American protagonist of Jhumpa Lahiri's novel.  We all have our reasons, myself included.  Some of us say he's selfish, others say he's irresponsible, and others say he's never grown up.  I could certainly agree with and make an argument for each of these standpoints, mostly because they all coincide in one way or another.  But I think that most importantly, all of these traits culminate in Gogol's immaturity.  Why? Well, first and foremost, the book starts off in the hours before his birth, and follows his childhood from the very beginning.  Think about it, why not start off the book when he goes to Yale?  Instead, Lahiri tells us the whole opening 18 years of his life in addition to those of his adulthood, because she wants to emphasize his continuous childlike behavior.  That significant chunk of the book (96 pages, about a third of it) juxtaposes Gogol's changing age with his unchanging behavior, a major source of our overall distaste for him.  But most importantly, Gogol's resentful behavior towards his parents, his name, and his culture in his adolescence has never really ended.  He has not matured and moved on, or at least grown to appreciate where he has come from.  Instead he changes his name, continues going by it, practically moves in with Maxine, and ignores his parents.  But with this theme of maturity in The Namesake, I keep anticipating some kind of change of heart from Gogol.  Especially with the unfortunate death of his father and the unfaithfulness of his wife Moushumi, maybe these events will force him to mature, and start accepting the facts of life to try and find some peace and happiness in the world.  Because, after all, with all the criticism he's got from us, I just want him to be happy!

Poetry........

Way back in the beginning of the year, Ms. Serensky asked all of us what we thought about poetry.  I remember the ensuing discussion in our class, which consisted of various opinions flying all around the room.  Some classmates held the opinion that poetry is an important art form, one they respect and have a high regard for.  Others, however, took a hard stance against poetry's importance.  I have to say, back then I was sort of on the fence. Part of me really respected poetry, a form of writing that can convey meaning in infinitely different ways.  But at the same time, perhaps a bigger part of me thought the opposite, that in these infinitely different expressions of meaning it becomes rather trivial.
Well, a few months have past since those first few days, and several poems, essays, and class discussions later, I have to say that I have a new found appreciation for poetry.  Now, now, don't you poetry lovers go saying "I TOLD YOU SO!!," because I am not a poetry fanatic now.  But by struggling though SOAPSTones and essays, I have, for probably the first time, discovered the deeper meanings and messages of the poet.  The images, the diction, and all the other devices poets use have come together to really impress me in regards to how a poet more or less formulates and constructs a poem, rather than just writes one.  What do you think, have your impressions of poetry changed at all?