"This Blessed House"

I enjoyed the writing style, thought-provoking elements, and story line of this short work. The opening sentence ("They discovered the first one . . .") let me know right away that this story would at least somewhat revolve around whatever kind of object this was. I soon learned the object was a little statue of Christ. Twinkle finds similar objects throughout the story, but her husband Sanjeev hates them. From a spiritual perspective, I view these objects first and obviously as representations of Jesus. God is all around us . . . If we take the time to notice, we see His power at work in the people we see, the air we breathe, the beautiful skies, and in all of nature.  

But so often we let these things bother us; we act like Sanjeev. The rain frustrates us when we don't want to get wet. We let people hurt us and may not want to forgive. We refuse to find God in the things He places around us. We let a division come between us and God or others. Sanjeev didn't want to know anything about the Christian objects, poster, light switch plates, or statues. He didn't give himself the chance to understand the beauty they represented, the truth in them, or the story behind them. His attitude against the objects even caused his first angry fight with Twinkle.  

It's interesting, though, because he is the one who found and purchased the house. And every time he tries to get rid of one of the objects, it does not go well. One time he scratched glass, others he fought with Twinkle.  Yet she sees the objects as blessings. It's as if he cannot see the beauty around him. When he becomes angry about the Virgin Mary statue, the skies are blue and the trees are full of beautifully colored leaves; and he still chooses to let the statue cloud all of this.

Twinkle.

Her name is very fitting.  She's cheerful, friendly, free-spirited, and maybe somewhat irresponsible.  She enjoys the simple pleasure of finding these objects and is not concerned with impressing people or with what they may think of her and Sanjeev. Unfortunately this is one thing that directly bothers Sanjeev; he cannot relate to her in these areas.

Sanjeev.

Sanjeev may be caught in a web of what he thinks he ought to be.  He is Indian; he wants to eat proper Indian food and continue Hindu religious traditions.  He struggles with feeling like a man (maybe by comparing himself to the definition established by his heritage and culture), even wanting Twinkle to not wear heals so she's shorter than him. He introduces Twinkle by her Indian name. Instead of his life showing what he stands for, he wants the appearances to handle it. For him it would be easier to eliminate the Christian objects rather than to have to explain them. 

Spirituality in Literature and Mental Exercise

The essays by Corrigan and McAloon both address the subject of spirituality in relation to literature.  Corrigan's approach and title of his work intertwines "Darkness, questions, poetry, and spiritual hope."  Darkness, he says, is a serious question and diminishing that fact is not a source of hope.  We experience darkness when we can't see God in "hopeless" situations.

I love how our professor points out that, "The question 'Where is God?' is much different from 'Where is God in the darkness?'"  Truly God has not left us when we face dire situations; He's still here, to answer the first question.  It is just harder to see Him when we are faced with death, financial dilemmas, or brokenness.  "Jesus is more interested in living questions . . . than in finding answers."  Asking questions acknowledges the darkness of this world.  And that's okay.  Experiencing darkness brings us to places we wouldn't otherwise know.  Experiencing darkness teaches us to relate to others.

And experiencing darkness allows us to experience hope.  This realization is apparent in many poetic works (I learn this from Professor Corrigan) such as those byCornel West, T.S. Eliot, Allen Ginsberg, Jay Wright, and Mary Oliver.  As Psalm 23 speaks of, we will go through that "valley of the shadow of death" at some point (or points) in our lives.  Being in that low place allows God to manifest the hope He brings.

Coming from a different perspective, McAloon writes about spirituality and literature with the idea of transformation in mind.  He talks about how poetry has been and is a wonderful way of expressing spiritual truths.  I wonder if maybe literature is such a beautiful way of expressing God's grace, biblical truths, and spiritual insights because it is like a response to the Bible, God's great work of literature.

I like McAloon's approach of understanding a text's unspoken meaning by searching for "scholarship" within, behind, and before the text.  This can even be applied to Scripture.  The Word becomes so much more alive when I know the literary usage of a passage and the history behind it.  I would probably benefit from reading literature if I had (took) the time to look at it in these ways.

Literature exercises the mind.


This is the main message I took from reading the first few pages of the Pearson anthology.  The writer compares exercise to reading: both are a choice, both are healthy, both lead to growth, both involve some kind of struggle, both are personal, and both build muscle and produce results.  I actually kind of view reading and exercising with a similar mindset.  I don't necessarily want to do either too often, but afterwards I always feel better about myself.  The more I exercise or read, the more willing I become to continue in the habit.

Thoughts on "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love"

Love is a huge topic of literature, but Raymond Carver has an interesting approach in this short story.  He portrays the conversation between two couples in a way that simply conveys an informal house setting that seems quite believable and real.

"My friend Mel McGinnis was talking.  Mel McGinnis is a cardiologist, and sometimes that gives him the right."


I liked these opening words the first time I read them.  After reading the brief biographical information on Carver, it was nice having an example right away of his use of blue-collar and white-collar references.  The story is written from the character Nick's perspective; Nick sees Mel as educated and qualified to say certain things because of his professional standing.  Mel takes advantage of this later in the story (page 58) with a lengthly monologue about his take on "real love."

"Sunlight filled the kitchen . . ."


References to the sun and its effects come throughout this text.  This quote comes in the second paragraph, where we learn that the two couples are drinking gin and talking.  Later, on page 58 and after the four characters make a toast to true love, "[t]he afternoon sun was like a presence in [the] room, the spacious light of ease and generosity."  Three pages later, "The sunshine inside the room was different now, changing, getting thinner."  At this point Mel is getting more drunk and Laura is trying to get him to finish his story.  Finally, Carver mentions the sunlight again: "The light was draining out of the room, going back through the window where it had come from."  At this time they were admittedly "a little drunk."  The sun and its effects seem to match the tone of the characters' conversation.  As the sun fades, the quality of conversation diminishes.

Several references are made to the hand.  The first is when Nick holds Laura's hand, feeling her warmth and polished nails.  Next he kisses her hand.  Then he puts his "hand on her warm thigh."  These references seem to personify Nick to me, showing me that his take on love is that it includes physical affection; he shows Laura he loves her in these ways.

Laura speaks the least out of all the characters.  Many times when she talks she is inquisitive ("What happened?").  Twice she is blunt when talking to Mel ("Shame on you").  Her lack of dialogue says that she enjoys listening and wants to know other people's thoughts.  She doesn't speak idly.

Something I am confused about is the description of Terri.  It says that she "liked necklaces made of turquoise, and long pendant earrings."  None of the other descriptions mention material things.  I am wondering if this is just a simple description given by Carver or if there is another meaning for including it.

On page 57 Mel says two very similar phrases in reference to Terri's trying to persuade him that her abusive ex-husband really did love her.  Mel says, "If you call that love, you can have it," and, "If that's love, you can have it."  This repetition shows the gradual affects of alcohol on Mel as he begins repeating himself (also observed later).  But again I am left wondering if Carver meant anything more by repeating these similar phrases.  I guess it could show that he doesn't want to expressed or accept love in that way.  He has a view of love that he's okay with, but actions that are not in line with that view he cannot see as expressions of love.

One interesting element is the point Carver makes about the static nature of the characters.  The only time he mentions one of them moving is when Mel gets up to get more gin.  When the sun goes down, no one gets up to turn a light on.  When Terri offers to get cheese and crackers, she doesn't actually get up to do it.

One final thought.  Midway through the story Mel talks about how he wishes he would come back in his next life as a knight because "they couldn't get hurt very easy" since they wore all that armor.  Maybe he is afraid of being hurt by love.  Maybe he's afraid of loving Terri and not being loved back in the ways he needs to be.  This could be why he keeps the conversation going.

On a side note... I was googling this story to try and learn more about the parts I didn't quite understand.  I came across the irony that Mel is a cardiologist.  I can't believe I missed that!  He knows all about how the heart works but has a hard time with the concept of love.

Active Reading

I think our Introduction to Literature book is going to be really helpful as I learn to become a better reader.  This one section has already proved informative.  Active reading easily overwhelms me, honestly.  I am not an incredibly fast reader, but I don't like spending a lot of time on one book--maybe that's my first problem! Haha.  I've never been the student who finds the crazy symbolism or draws deep meaning out of a seemingly basic passage.  I sometimes second-guess the insights I do pull out of books or essays or articles or wonder if I am getting the meaning the author intended to convey.  Now that I am thinking about these things, I am realizing it's more important to just go for it rather than worry about how good or bad of a reader I am.  So I guess the good news is that this all means I can only get better at "active reading." =)

Most of this chapter outlined ways to actively read, so now I have clear "directions" on how I can better take in what I read and on what elements to look for to take note of and comment on.  These elements include language usage such as in imagery, descriptions, repetition, and similes and metaphors; cross-references and references to myths, religion, or historical figures; and characterization and dialogue.  The sample annotations at the end of the reading for the bio of Kate Chopin as well as "The Story of an Hour" were helpful too.

"What you get out of what you read is determined by how you read." 

I have to agree with this statement.  I probably have a hard time getting many things out of a text because I have not been willing to put enough time into it.  I've also never before been given such clear guidance on how to do something [active reading] that does not come naturally to me.  After reading this chapter on how to read, though, I can't imagine my insights not improving the next time I read something.  I'm actually looking forward to it...I don't need another somewhat embarrassing post with a theme (ha!) that keeps going back to how badly I've read in the past. ;)  I agree with this quote because it just makes sense.  When I become better at how I read, I have no doubt that I will gain more insights from, thoughts about, and interactions with what I read.

"One of the reasons why literature provides pleasure for so many readers is the sense of familiarity it offers." (p. 15)

This sentence stood out to me.  In context it was talking about becoming familiar with the story you are reading in regards to characters, language, setting, or action.  In a different light, I think this also relates to what texts we choose to read.  I like topics that relate to where I am in life or where I want to be heading; that's a sense of familiarity to me, an area I can relate with, and so it sparks my interest in hearing what the author has to say. There's familiarity both within a piece of literature as well as outside of it in relation to our own life experiences.

Literary Profile

It's crazy how early in life literature influences us human beings.  While I don't remember specific titles, I do remember my mom reading to me when I was very young, even before I was a toddler.  As I grew older, I recall reading book series like Amelia Bedelia, Little House on the Prairie, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and The Boxcar Children. My mom read the Little House on the Prairie books to me and my brother, and we read Amelia Bedelia together, but the others I read on my own.  Reading these books (and many others as well) helped me learn to really enjoy reading.  While a particular text does not stand out to me as the most influential, this middle school time was my most memorable experience with literature. Reading so much also helped my spelling and writing skills.

As I grew older, however, and entered into high school, I began reading less and less. I was busier and eventually lost my enjoyment for casual reading.  It wasn't that I didn't want to enjoy literature anymore, but other things became more important to me.  I actually had a great English teacher in high school who made reading more interesting for me again, but I was only reading for school--"Romeo and Juliet," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Great Gatsby," and other classics.  There is, however, one piece of literature that stands out to me.  "Night" by Elie Wiesel impacted me with both its style and content.  Wiesel's writing hit me with its poignant and unique style as it explains Wiesel's true story of the horrific events of Nazi Germany.

More recently (in the past couple years) I have wanted to begin reading again.  Unfortunately, I have a hard time finishing reading one piece of literature (if I finish at all!...oops).  That's something I need and want to work on.  Anyways, the subjects I select have definitely changed.  While in middle school and before I preferred novels and engaging stories, I now have a preference for informative books about issues relevant to me today.  I like books that document and explain the behaviors of young adults.  I like motivating and inspiring works about faith and spiritual growth. Some of these types of books which I have more recently (attempted) to read are "Just Do Something" by Jason DeYoung, "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper, and "Wide Awake" by Erwin McManus.  One book on my to-read list (which is actually a novel) is "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers.

I liked Professor Corrigan's introductory article for this class because it enabled me to begin reading in the ways we should be reading.  The article is meaningful because it explains how the class will work and how I can be involved in it.  I am actually looking forward to viewing literature in a different way than I have for a lot of my life.  Literature truly is everywhere around us and deals with any topic of life, so why not embrace it?