Tooo Long and Forgotten

It's very odd that you suddenly forget that there is a Blog that you have to update for each book; and I for one have failed completely on this thing. I guess there are no excuses for my lack of ability to find the words to describe what I thought of each book, or even finding the time like my classmates have done so. I can't even say, "okay, I'll start from the very begining... Robison Crusoe.." Because, frankly.. that was back in September. It is now December. The most I can do for now, is say that I learned a lot from the class and from the authors that I for one, was swept away with.

For posting a piece of work and saying "this is part of our culture.." I've looked through so many of my work, and I never reference things that are outstanding; If you look at work like Moby Dick or Frankenstein or Gulliver's Travels, it stocked with culture and flavor.. and has been absorbed into our own century. Other novels written today are hard to describe not influenced by any one of these books.

I didn't expect myself to say that I actually see where these books have influenced others. I really thought that the books on our list would just be that-books for academic purposes, but I was very wrong. And I like knowing that I was proven wrong. These pages have filled other pages in times before ours and will be after ours. I have a very hard time picturing a world without Frankenstein or someone complaining about that darn-it white whale.

In which case, re-reading Frankenstein was my favorite part out of the entire class. I loved sitting there and listening to the history of Shelley, and getting to re-read her life, and her sorrows. It makes a person very thankful that ...well, you weren't living her life.

Moby Dick-I'm sorry. I just didn't enjoy at all. I went into the book not expecting to like it, and I didn't. When it came down to the little twitters, I kept a few in my notebook as I was reading. My favorite one for a chapter was: "Whoa, Two men in a swing-bed (because my english sucks); who would have known there was homosexual writings in Moby Dick?"
The ending was by far my favorite. Not because it was the ending, but because they actually got to the whale. The last page though, was disappointing. It leaves you hanging as to how Ishmael gets away alive. If everyone else died... why was it him that walked away?? Just a little disbelieveing.

I LOVED, and I mean... LOVED "Their eyes were watching God." I usually don't go for books that have that whole "southern" language. I hated Huckleberry Finn for that exact reason. I could never get into it. But I loved it;

And I know I'm going to be a disappointment and say... Santanic Verses? Are you serious? I will tell you a funny story. I went and got this book from the library and my mother goes "I don't want that book in my house.." and I look at her like "what??? it's a book!!"
Her answer it, "It's about the devil!"
Now, No.. My mom is not one of those crazy religious women, though, I have a very sickening feeling she's going to be at some point down the road. I didn't want to tell her that Paradise Lost was also about the Devil-and not only about the Devil, but sympathizing with him. She would have probably thrown the book in the wood stove we have.

I had a lot of problems with Paradise Lost that I didn't put a voice to. I didn't want to get all "Hey, that's not right!" in the middle of class. But there were a few things that I wanted to dispute, but only because the biblical writings are SO very hard to say "this is right" and "this is wrong." Paradise Lost is a book I think everyone should experience, but.. yet, does not have to like.

So.. all in all. This class was liberating, and I know that this post is late, and kind of without purpose, but I did want you to know... that I did enjoy the class; I didn't enjoy Spencer's prattle of nothings-there were times I wanted to throw my book at his face, as I feel others did too. But it was interesting and I thank you for the chance of taking the class;

You were right though-this class was very hard.

Homework Assignment

The internet hates me.

In Robinson Crusoe's Language (my best try)

I have my most valuable Possessions on my shelf above my bed. Containers that are Bare; though I wish They were Gold.
I have my Collection of Rings there, also. Most of them I Collected in Mexico with my Family when I was Five on a Vacation. There are Pictures of Jewelry, cut from Magazines; Glued to Cardboard to Display. There is a Spoon from my Grandmother, made from Sterling Silver. My Grandmother sent a Set to my Parents when they were Married. My Mother hates silver; "God-Awful...Tacky."
There is a Collection of change, Collected from around the House; Nickels, Dimes, and Quarters. I have Boiled them and Polished them while watching Donnie and Marie... or was it Tony Orlando and Dawn?


I found there's this pattern with his words; and I could be JUST getting it; which I probably am... but it seems that every object...or important word is Capitol, so I tried to capture that. I hope my attempt is okay. :)

Robinson, Shakespeare....

So, I figured...well, I wanted to at least say what I think so far of this book.


.......

that is what I have to say.

As far as "killing kittens" and "killing wildlife" for no reason at all, I wonder what else you would do for fun on an island for some twenty odd years that you're sitting next to a nice warm beach, with a hut, and tropical fruit.... you'd think you'd find something else to do ...other than killing kittens.

For some reason, this book keeps reminding me of that 1980s-1990s film about the two kids who get stuck on the island, and end up growing up with each other; I think the movie is called "Blue Lagoon," the setting of that movie, is the setting in my head of this book.

It's also kind of distracting that I keep going back and forth from Robinson language to Shakespeare, for my Shakespeare class, in which we're reading ...of course, Romeo and Juliet.
So its from an island in the middle of no-where to Verona with sword fighting and "thous" and "haths" and "a plague o' both your houses!" (<--I have to say, in both films--the 1970s and the 1990s, this line is the most powerful line out of the entire play.) <3

Just like everyone (or most people) in the novel class, I'm not enjoying Robinson (the character) in this book at all, but I am learning how a character can be developed over all this time--I just dislike, and I mean, Very Much Dislike, the Way in Which the Book is Written (well, printed) Where almost Every Word is Capitalized. After a while, I have to just stop.
Take a breath.
Pull my fingers out of my head-before I loose any more hair, and take a break.

I'm looking forward to more of the other novels that are awaiting me, on the floor in my room--like "Paradise Lost," or "Moby Dick" with "I am Ishmael."

At least I'm reading and enjoying most of the works this year. :)

The "About Me" Part

I'm really not good at talking about myself; neither am I really good at talking at all, so I guess I'll just get to the point. My name is Chantal Gadoury, and I know, my name is the hardest name you'll ever come across in your life. After attending high school for those long six years, the teachers still couldn't say my name right, so I'm used to being called everything under the sun. Alot of my friends called me "C" back then, so if you want, you can call me that. Or be clever and make something up. I'm all for laughs.

I'm a Creative Writing major, which actually happened against my family's wishes. I came to SU with as an English major, and changed it when "my family wasn't looking," I guess you can say. I took French in high school for four years, but when my French teacher decided to quit and move on, I decided the same was best for me too. I can't really speak any french, which is kind of bad in the fact that my father's side of the family is all french, and its all my grandmother speaks. So when she's talking to me, I give her the "oh yeah, I know exactly what you're saying" look. I'm hoping to learn a lot out of this class. In high school, we honestly didn't read classic novels, and I feel like this is the chance to make up for all that time lost in reading classic novels.

My writing strengths-this was a hard question to answer. My friends say that I'm good at capturing emotions when I have experience in the situation that I'm writing about. Personally, I'm not so sure. I know my weakness as a writer is not giving enough details in my stories and poems. When I write, I see everything in my head and I forget that as a reader, you can't see it. A book that I have read recently? The Time Traveler's Wife. Brian was right, I started reading the book right after I saw the movie, and my boyfriend's sister was reading it over vacation and told me how great it was. Once I got back from vacation, I went out and bought it and I haven't been without it since. Recent films: Having a twelve year old sister in my house, its hard to see anything really worth while. I have at least avoided the anticipated "Hanna Montana," so I feel happy for that. I watched Cinderella the other night, just as something to watch and amuse myself with. Something you might not know about me is that yes-I know everything about Disney. Like, did you know that without Cinderella, the Disney company would have plundered because of the war, and ...there wouldn't be a Disney World or Disney Land? Praise God for Cinderella. If that's kind of boring, I was born in Weisbaden, Germany, because my father was stationed over there with my mother, before he headed over to the Gulf War.

-chantal-