Author Archives: carmen.cedeno

Hello everyone! 🙂 Over break, I’ve been thinking about this project a lot..and to be honest, I’m not sure how to even tackle it. Concerning the poem I will use, I haven’t really thought of one yet. Although, I have a huge appreciation for Pablo Neruda’s poems. Neruda is such a great poet, and I would love to write and make a video on one of his poems. I have studied “Sweetness, Always” which is a great, but long poem in my opinion. I’ve also read “One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII” which is such a lovely and straightforward poem. Most of the poems that are in the book “One Hundred Love Sonnets” are very well-written and straightforward. I think I connect with Neruda’s poems more than any other poet’s work because his poems are translated from Spanish to English, and I feel comfortable reading them in Spanish. I think there’s just something so special about reading a poem in its original content and intended language.

I wouldn’t mind working with anyone, and I have a digital camera. My thesis would most likely revolve around the idea of love if I do choose to write on one of Neruda’s poems. The idea of love can very easily relate back to happiness, as a lot of people seem to believe the two go hand in hand. If anyone is familiar with Pablo Neruda or likes the idea of “love” for their project, don’t hesitate to talk to me. Neruda has many poems, and I wouldn’t mind showing anyone a few. His writing style is beautiful and straightforward, no fancy gimmicks. O:)

Look at him, he was so cute~~

–Update:: April 26th–

Once again, I’ve been thinking about this project quiet an awful lot. While thinking about what poems I should choose, something struck me. I have always been in love with “Drummer Hodge” by Thomas Hardy and have never had to opportunity to study it. I think if I studied it for this project, I would be very happy. The poem talks about an unforgotten soldier during a war. “Drummer Hodge” is also known as Hardy’s most celebrated poem, and I think it reads beautifully. I like to read it out loud sometimes because I’m just so captivated by how it sounds.

This is the poem:

They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined – just as found:
His landmark is a kopje-crest
That breaks the veldt around;
And foreign constellations west
Each night above his mound.

Young Hodge the Drummer never knew –
Fresh from his Wessex home –
The meaning of the broad Karoo,
The Bush, the dusty loam,
And why uprose to nightly view
Strange stars amid the gloam.

Yet portion of that unknown plain
Will Hodge forever be;
His homely Northern breast and brain
Grow to some Southern tree,
And strange-eyed constellation reign
His stars eternally.

Thoughts are always welcomed. 🙂

Creativity, just like happiness, is a broad term that has been thoroughly studied for many, many years. Even so, the ability to be “creative” in school and allow children to explore their creativity is somewhat controversial. As I mentioned in class, the videos reminded me very much of “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens (as I said, “it’s like my favorite book…like ever!”). “Hard Times” does a great job of bringing to light how the abolishment of creativity in the educational system can lead to a loss of individuality in children. In the book, children were assigned numbers in the classroom and were only supposed to state facts. This is from a scene from an old film based on the book, in which students were supposed to define a horse. In the book, Sissy Jupe has a more creative way of defining a horse, and in the film, they don’t show that but they show that she is unable to define a horse and can only relate it to horseback riding (which is deemed creative):

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/LfDmr7hmmOI" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Also, if anyone has read “Le Petit Prince” (or “The Little Prince”), they too would be familiar with the idea that as adults, we tend to be less creative and less imaginative. The book points out, that from seeing the image on top (below this), adults would think it’s a hat. But, the image created by the narrator as a child is meant to represent a boa who swallowed an elephant.

But anyways, to answer the question, I don’t feel like I have the ability to be as creative as I would like to be in school. I mean, I remember in high school..I was able to create or write something in my own unique way, but I still had to follow certain rules and keep everything within certain acceptable boundaries. But, there was this Humanities teacher who everyone hated because she used to take creativity to a whole new level. One time, my friend (who had this teacher) told me that she gave out an assignment, and the assignment was to take any quote from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and to visually represent it. You couldn’t create a poster though and your representation couldn’t have words. I remember when the project was due, kids came in with boxes and mazes and costumes and it was just like a crazy, art convention. It was interesting..but it was just hard for some kids that felt they were being forced into thinking creatively for the sake of a grade. Some people just don’t like the idea of expressing their creativity or may feel they don’t have any. I think it’s always fun to step out of the box, especially in education. Sometimes, the classroom environment can become quite monotonous. But then, there is the belief that there is no room for creativity in education. I mean, don’t we live in a society where everyone wants to go to the top? Be part of that 1% of wealthy people? Isn’t that the notion behind the American Dream, to climb up the socioeconomic ladder? In doing so, you have to learn the facts, right? This relates to Alex’s past two posts about how we live in a society that aims to create a nation of workers.

——

Now onto ambiguity. I love ambiguity. I love the idea of surprises, not knowing..the thrill of getting to connect ideas and events and trying to fill in the holes. I feel okay not understanding anything from time to time, although like a child, I like to ask “why” a lot. But, sometimes..it’s just awesome to not know things. Like for example, “Inception”, the great film directed and written by Christopher Nolan ends in an ambiguous way that has created a lot of debates and I think that’s awesome and just fills everyone with a thrill for more.

Personally, I don’t think we need to know everything. Actually, I think it is impossible to know everything. I feel like the idea of a mystery applies to a lot of aspects in life. I know that I am attracted to mysterious people because I like to learn about them. I get bored when I know too much about a person, and in doing so, I try to prevent others from knowing every little thing about me. Maybe this connects to my love for crime shows and mystery novels. The idea of “what happens next” or “what are their (a person) intentions” is fun to explore.

I like it when there is some feeling of threat or sense of menace in short stories. I think a little menace is fine to have in a story. For one thing, it’s good for the circulation. There has to be tension, a sense that something is imminent, that certain things are in relentless motion, or else, most often, there simply won’t be a story. What creates tension in a piece of fiction is partly the way the concrete words are linked together to make up the visible action of the story. But it’s also the things that are left out, that are implied, the landscape just under the smooth (but sometimes broken and unsettled) surface of things.

Wow! Raymond Carver sure follows his own advice, and this can be seen in his short story, “Cathedral.” While reading the short story, I felt that there was a sense of urgency–a sense of doom, almost. As if something bad was lying underneath Richard’s blindness. While reading the short story, I kept asking myself, “Is Richard really blind?” Carver drops a couple of fascinating points in this short story such as the narrator’s wife’s thigh being exposed and the narrator’s shift from calling Robert “the blind man” to calling him by his actual name after admitting he felt pity towards the old man. Likewise, the narrator’s attitude towards Robert is fascinating, as in the beginning, he already has some sort of resentment towards the blind man due to the stereotypes we associate with blind people. But, he was left flabbergasted when Robert appears to be quite confident, gregarious and even at times not blind (like when he was eating with a great amount of skill and etiquette).

Now, back to Carver’s quote, I do agree that the way words are grouped and the details that are left out usually make up the action and build up the suspense of a story. For example, what did the narrator actually draw? Why did he keep his eyes closed? Why does the narrator (and we, the readers) only know so little about the blind man’s wife? Did she even exist, or was she a figment of Robert’s imagination, meant to fill up the empty void that the narrator’s wife left..and if so, did he use the tapes in order to live out his fantasy? These are all questions I kept asking myself, and I wish I knew the answer to..but these unmentioned, seemingly unimportant details is what makes the story seem suspenseful.

Unfortunately, we’re also crippled by the narrator’s inability to be fluid and hold onto small details. Because of this, the narrator is successful in keeping the story seemingly ominous..but at the same time, we’re left with not knowing what he doesn’t know. This also contributes to the feeling of tension between the couple and the blind man because we are only seeing this short story through the narrator’s eyes.

But, at the end of the short story, that tension is cracked. By keeping his eyes closed, the narrator wants to step into Robert’s shoes. I felt that the strongest statement that the narrator shares in the short story is:

My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything.

Although we’re used to the narrator’s short and vague sentences, I felt that this was the moment in which he really did try to understand Robert..and he shares it with us in a fascinating way. To say he didn’t feel as if he were “inside anything” can relate to how being blind can make you unaware of your surroundings..so much so that you know where you are, but you don’t feel as if you’re there because you’re not able to experience it in the same way everyone else may. You’re not aware of the colors of the wall, how the sunlight floods in through the windows..how the drapes block out the outdoors. You’re just there. Floating, almost. A disconnected person..you might even feel like an outcast. But, at the same time..I feel that the narrator was able to understand Robert: Just because he is blind, doesn’t mean he can’t see. He can’t look, but he has the deep ability of seeing. This can be seen even through the interactions of the wife and Robert: Robert understands the narrator’s wife in a way that may be stronger than the narrator’s ability, because the narrator is only aware of his wife. He only looks at her..he doesn’t see her.

I know I’m all over the place, but the fact of the matter is that the more I think about this story..the more that I’m starting to realize that I’m starting to actually understand it better. I guess this is the problem with a lot of texts we’re given..for example, “The Story of an Hour”..if you just read it, you’ll believe that the wife may have died from being so happy to see her husband. But, from actually taking a closer read at the text..things start to come to the surface: The wife was unhappy with her marriage…she was happy her husband “died”..etc.

So, I’m starting to reflect back on this quote:

And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one. A woman who could go on day after day and never receive the smallest compliment from her beloved.

At first, I found myself agreeing with the narrator, because again, we’re only seeing what’s unfolding through the narrator’s eyes. We’re only feeling what he’s feeling. He’s the one who shapes the story..the tone..the sense of urgency and almost impending danger with this blind man. But, after reading it again, it so obvious that the narrator doesn’t understand that you don’t need to look at someone for their physical worth to love them; no, you need to adore someone unconditionally and understand them in order for it to be called love. What Robert and his wife had was something special..something that went beyond the physical. He didn’t need to be aware of what she may have looked like. It’s a classic example of personality vs. the physical in a relationship. We live in a society where looks DO matter as selfish and as harsh as it may sound. But, Robert is here to remind us that it doesn’t have to be that way..it shouldn’t be that way. The narrator sees his wife but he doesn’t share such a deep connection with her because he only touches the surface of the relationship they’ve built. He doesn’t delve deep. And as a result, the wife has a better relationship with Robert..someone who does have the ability to focus on her inner being. All of this also reminds me of the difference between listening and hearing.

• Hearing: Sound waves hit the tympanic membrane, the vibration is amplified through the auditory ossicles and the vibrations cause compressions in the fluid within the cochlea, causing the hair cells to respond and send information to the vestibulocochlear nerve.
• Listening: The brain processes the knowledge received through the act of hearing and assigns meaning to it.
• Looking: Light passes through the lens..hits the retina, which stimulates our rods and sends images to the brain using the optic nerve.
• Seeing: The brain processes the knowledge received through the optic nerve and assigns meaning to it.

See what I did there? haha.

Overall, this story is short, yes. Vague due to the narrator..yes, somewhat. But, it goes so much more beyond that. If we just read it for its surface value, we would become ignorant like the narrator himself. But, if we try to understand it..try to delve deeper into its meaning, we can truly appreciate it.

Who is this hot mama? Not my grandmother, I can assure you. She sort of has that lawyer look, right? Or that Best-Selling Author face you might find on the back of some hardcover thriller.

(more…)

Daniel Gilbert and Sigmund Freud obviously have one distinct characteristic in common: they both studied psychology. While Gilbert focuses mostly on the idea of happiness in his writings, Freud explores the human psyche on a much deeper level. Although both Gilbert and Freud take two different approaches in their writings, it is easy to identify Freud’s ideas in Gilbert’s writing.
For example, Gilbert touches on the idea of pleasure as an ultimate goal for everyone, and even directly quotes Freud in his writing. But, later on in The View from Here, Gilbert introduces an idea that I feel is similar to Freud’s “Child’s Play” or “Fort/Da.” Gilbert writes, “If we amble down to the corner pub and met an alien from another planet who asked us to define that feeling, we would [either] point to the objects in the world that tend to bring it about…” (34). This simple example reminds me of the Fort/Da idea Freud introduces in Beyond the Pleasure Principle. I know it may seem like a bit of a stretch, especially as the child’s game of Fort/Da is more of a disappearing game to demonstrate how much the child misses his mother while she’s gone, but I feel that this quote reminds me of Gilbert’s example of going down to the pub:

“One day I made an observation that confirmed my view. The child had a wooden reel with a piece of string wound round it. It never occurred to him for example, to drag this after him on the floor and so play horse and cart with it, but he kept throwing it with considerable skill, held by the string, over the side of the little draped cot, so that the reel disappeared into it, then said the significant ‘o-o-o-oh’ and drew the reel by the string out of the cot again, greeting its reappearance with a joyful ‘Da’ (there)” (12).

It is clear to see that the child feels happy when he brings the wooden reel into his view, therefore emitting the joyful ‘Da.’ I feel that this is similar to the aforementioned example from Gilbert because it shows that when we’re reduced to communicating our feelings (in this case, of happiness) in a simplistic manner, we use objects that help bring that feeling about. While the child uses the wooden reel in Freud’s example, we would most likely point to other objects in the world that make us happy if we were to communicate with an alien from another planet (assuming there is no other way to communicate, almost like communicating as a child or with a child). In this specific instance, I feel that Freud’s influence on Gilbert is pretty clear to see.
Overall, even though Gilbert solely focuses on the idea of happiness in his writings and Freud delves into the human psyche in his, Freud’s influence on Gilbert can be noted in many examples Gilbert presents. Whether it is as obvious as the idea of pleasure being a goal for everyone, or more complex with the example of the alien at the pub, the influence is still there.