It's hard for me to recommend a piece of fiction that we have read to a friend because both my friends and I are not avid readers. We tend to spend most of out time doing physical activities, leaving very little time to sit down and read for pleasure. Knowing this, I would still not be ashamed to strongly recommend Alexie's "Flight Patterns" to my good friends. I believe this is a story that is not difficult at all to read or understand, somewhat short and to the point, and its message is an extremely powerful one.
"Flight Patterns" is a story of the many perspectives of the world, deep character insight, and deals with every day stereotypes that civilization continually struggles with. "Flight Patterns" starts off giving detail about the main character, William, and his family situation. William is constantly on business trips, leaving his wife and daughter behind him as he travels the country selling his ideas. I'm sure many of us can relate to watching our parents leave for multiple extended periods of time that they call "business trips," possibly causing dilemmas to arise around the household. The story looks through the eyes of William as it analyzes both his view of the situation and the possible thoughts of his family. I really like this concept of taking multiple perspectives and bringing up tough questions, such as which view is more valid, and also the concerns for the family. The story then dives into the stereotype genre and makes a very clean attempt on looking at why stereotypes arise and how we can lessen their impacts.
The other literary element that is making me want to recommend this story is that of character development. For such a short tale, "Flight Patterns" dives deep into the readers mind as it portrays the similar and yet totally different characters, William and Fekadu. The simplicity of their concersations makes for an easy read, but contemplating and understanding the arguments and questions that arise can leave a reader puzzled for a long time. "Flight Patterns" is easy to relate to, as stereotypes are everywhere in contemporary society, and that is why I would strongly recommend this story to any of my overly-stressed college friends.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Turkey Has Accepted Your Friend Request
In the story “Bartleby, The Scrivener” by Herman Melville, there is a character who is an extremely proficient scrivener in the mornings. As the day goes on, he becomes clumsy and unproductive due to his consumption of alcohol.
Turkey’s facebook profile page would be very similar to one of a person who thinks very highly of himself, but at the same time has some very funny drunk photos. Turkey’s photo would most likely be oh him sampling a very expensive wine. Being that he is also an older fellow, he would be relaxing on a large sofa recliner with a pipe in his mouth to make him look sophisticated and intelligent as he ponders the toughest questions in life. Turkey would list his university association, his birthday (everyone does), and his relationship status (most likely not married because he is working as a scrivener in his retirement). Turkey has many photos with his friends and family, and occasionally you will run into a photo of him “hammered” or causing problems in the workplace or at home. He posts wall comments and sends messages to friends, but that only occurs in the mornings, and when he does make posts in the afternoon, they are full of spelling and grammatical errors. His status consists of statements about how he hates his co-worker, Bartleby, and how he hates the words, “I would prefer not to.” Nippers or Ginger-Nut have tagged Turkey in a video or two of him acting very clumsy and getting pissed-off at some rather funny situations.
I chose to describe Turkey’s profile as such because the Lawyer describes Turkey as a very efficient worker in the mornings, but as the afternoon arrives, he becomes gawky and unable to complete tasks. Turkey is an older man, and that is why I felt like he is sophisticated and sees himself as a better scrivener than Bartleby or Nippers. I chose for him to not be married because most people are retired by the time they are sixty or older, and for him to be working as a legal document copier shows that he has not been very successful in life. Turkey is a very unique minor character in this story, and that is why I was so intrigued to write about him.
Turkey’s facebook profile page would be very similar to one of a person who thinks very highly of himself, but at the same time has some very funny drunk photos. Turkey’s photo would most likely be oh him sampling a very expensive wine. Being that he is also an older fellow, he would be relaxing on a large sofa recliner with a pipe in his mouth to make him look sophisticated and intelligent as he ponders the toughest questions in life. Turkey would list his university association, his birthday (everyone does), and his relationship status (most likely not married because he is working as a scrivener in his retirement). Turkey has many photos with his friends and family, and occasionally you will run into a photo of him “hammered” or causing problems in the workplace or at home. He posts wall comments and sends messages to friends, but that only occurs in the mornings, and when he does make posts in the afternoon, they are full of spelling and grammatical errors. His status consists of statements about how he hates his co-worker, Bartleby, and how he hates the words, “I would prefer not to.” Nippers or Ginger-Nut have tagged Turkey in a video or two of him acting very clumsy and getting pissed-off at some rather funny situations.
I chose to describe Turkey’s profile as such because the Lawyer describes Turkey as a very efficient worker in the mornings, but as the afternoon arrives, he becomes gawky and unable to complete tasks. Turkey is an older man, and that is why I felt like he is sophisticated and sees himself as a better scrivener than Bartleby or Nippers. I chose for him to not be married because most people are retired by the time they are sixty or older, and for him to be working as a legal document copier shows that he has not been very successful in life. Turkey is a very unique minor character in this story, and that is why I was so intrigued to write about him.
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