My Reaction to The Caretaker

I personally enjoyed this play the least of all 4 plays we studied in the drama section of our curriculum. This Absurdist play did not seem to fit its genre entirely, at least when compared to the full-fledged Absurdist nature of Waiting for Godot and The Bald Soprano. The Caretaker seemed like a softened application of Theatre of the Absurd. There is little repetition, in speech coming mainly from Mick, and in action appearing in Aston's constant tinkering with the toaster. The setting of the play, however, does seem to support the semi-chaotic nature of Absurdist plays, a room riddled with different forms of junk. It is interesting to consider the scene in juxtaposition with Samuel Beckett's Wait for Godot, where the stage is barren except for the tree and the characters. There were no real instances of physical comedy in The Caretaker apart for the scene where Davies, Mick and Aston fight over the bag. Before reading this play, I had read The Birthday Party, also by Harold Pinter, in theatre class, which was far more aggressive than The Caretaker as an Absurdist piece. I felt little of anything while reading this play, apart from boredom. I found that the knowledge that Aston was actually once in an asylum made it far less absurdist, since his behavior would be understandable as a "crazy" person. Generally, at least in the case of the other Absurd plays we read, the characters are made to seem entirely normal, and the audience is made to feel like there is something wrong with themselves, rather than with the characters. I ended the play feeling somewhat disappointed and unsatisfied. Perhaps this is due to the expectations I had when I started reading it since I was comparing it to the previous Absurd plays we read.

I.O.P Reflection

1. Write a brief descriptive paragraph that summarizes your IOP. Be sure to include the topic, your thesis, and the hook and any visual aids you used.

I chose to use J.M Coetzee's novel Disgrace for my I.O.P, tackling the topic and theme of hopelessness and amorality in the novel. My argument was that J.M. Coetzee uses David Lurie, the anti-hero of the novel, to portray his image of the hopelessness of post-apartheid South Africa. I chose this topic because I found the theme overwhelmingly prominent, and felt the need to express Coetzee's emotional outlook on the apartheid, rather than a political one. I used Marcel Proust's questionnaire as a hook, selecting three of the questions that I felt were most interesting and relevant, asking the audience to generate hypothetical responses assuming the character of David Lurie. I used a power point presentation as a visual aid, a means of enhancing my presentation with different images and effects, and a visual reference for any quotations or excerpts from the novel, to help the audience better understand and get more involved in my presentation.

2. In a well-developed paragraph reflect upon the lessons you learned as a result of the IOP process. This process includes the preparation of your presentation, its delivery, and the subsequent reflection you engaged in following the presentation itself.

While preparing for my I.O.P, I encountered several challenges. The most major issue I initially faced was selecting a topic, and then formulating a solid, concrete argument on which I could base the rest of my presentation on. The argument had to be something I actually believed and fully understood for me to successfully present it, rather than just a common argument that I could pull off half-heartedly. Searching for a unique and original though realistic topic was truly a process. The next challenge was actually going through the book to find supporting incidents and quotations. This was a long, somewhat dull, but certainly beneficial process since reading the different sections also helped refresh my memory about the book as a whole, but also discover and realize new theories that I hadn't thought of previously. During the actual delivery of the presentation, I had to focus on actually saying everything I had to say effectively and completely, while still remaining within the time frame. I also had to try and keep the presentation interesting, and maintain presenter "composure". I've always enjoyed presentations, I've never really felt very intimidated while speaking, rather I feel I am comfortable with words and speech as a means of exposing my thoughts, as opposed to art or dance or other forms of communications. I felt I had managed to get my message across by the end of the presentation, though there were certainly some flaws that I could have avoided, such as awkward pauses and "umm"'s and "uhh"'s. I was also not very satisfied with my conclusion, which was somewhat abrupt, though not ridiculously so. I was very satisfied with the way I handled the Q&A session, answering all questions quickly and correctly, using details and references from the novel to support my answers. Finally, the reflection process was for me the most interesting. It was very helpful to watch the DVD recording of the presentation; I felt I had a better understanding of what I did right and what I did wrong, learning what mistakes not to repeat in future presentations and other aspects I should preserve. I quite enjoyed working on the presentations, and certainly felt I had gained more knowledge on presentations and the work that goes into pulling them off successfully.

Oracle Night

My sentiments for this novel consist of a bubbling collage of intrigue, confusion, curiosity and slight disappointment. One of the things I liked about Oracle Night, was Paul Auster's writing style. The use of the footnotes as a mean of elaboration enhanced, for me at least, the feel of a notebook, and the desire/compulsion to write. It also helped create a feel of a historical document, or more of an autobiography about the events, trying to maintain one chronological framework while introducing information about others in a unique, interesting way.

Perhaps on a shallower, less important level, I found Auster's selection of names for his characters rather bland and dull, giving an almost cliche tinge to the novel. Undeniably, the plot of the novel was very interesting, playing with the themes of time, reality and human flaws. I found the scene where Sidney slips and engages in sexual activity with the "African Princess" rather cogent. The scene was not a long one, but still showed that Sidney was not a perfect person, contrary to the image he sets when mentioning the blue team in camp and his disgust at the thought of abortion; his moral scope was flawed.

Another weakness in the novel was the overly brief mention and description of the "Actual" Oracle Night, Sylvia Maxwell's novel, within the novel, within the novel? I felt the idea Flagg's gift of foretelling the future needed greater emphasis, as did the consequences. The plot was already overly intricate, so perhaps a rebalancing of emphasis on different aspects of the story is important.

As a whole, I did enjoy the novel, an interesting twist on a love triangle, and the power of words and the future, though I was left with many questions after I was done reading. The ending was too abrupt, insignificant and in fact disappointing. My final thoughts were "Huh, this seems like the foundation for a good book."

Rock of Tanios

In what way or ways do you "connect" with the book The Rock of Tanios by Amin Maalouf? In what way is it accessible or familiar to you?

I find that I connect with the novel in several ways. For one, the writing style is very matter-of-fact, as if explaining a historical event based on documents and facts. This journalistic style of story-telling can get dull, but is always easy to read. Kfaryabda itself is aan actual village in Lebanon today, with an actual rock of Tanios. Also, throughout the novel, Amin Maalouf frequently uses Arabic terms such as kishk and binti. As an Arab reader, I understand what these words mean and hence have a better/fuller understanding of the plot and the different messages of the novel. Referring to the example of kishk, I immediately new that kishk was a certain food eaten by the Lebanese, and therefor had a shallow but certainly existant understanding of what Tanios-kishk might mean, even without reading further into the novel. Also, I can very much relate to the culture of the novel; the heirarchy, customs and rituals. The cooking of mighlieh for example is still practised today after the birth of a child. The way the Sheikh gets away with his sexual affairs is also a very cultural matter; it seems in the middle east, till today, the fault of the man is considreded far more acceptable than the fault of the woman. In that sense, i connect to the novel culturally and linguistically.

Lord Byron

1. The mock epic poem Don Juan is considered by many scholars to be Lord Byron's greatest work. What are your thoughts as to the literary worth of the first two cantos that we have read? Are they good poetry?

The poem Don Juan is certainly rich in themes and messages, but I find that it is the way he portrays the themes to be masterfully powerful and effective. His use of historical, Biblical and autobiographical allusions not only makes the poem more interesting to read, but also gives the reader further insight on the discussed theme. His views on love and human nature are very interesting, love being a central theme of the first two cantos. He elaborates on how he believes love should be constant and loyal between two people, but realises that it is impossible. There is some sarcastic humor in the cantos so far, as with Don Juan's fightng "heroically" to protect the alcohol as the ship is sinking. I find it difficult to evaluate these cantos as poems though, because of their narative style. The cantons seem more like stories with a rhyme scheme and stanzas, and it is difficult to evaluate the poetic elements due to the sheer length and amount of information of the cantos. As a story, so far yes they are good, expressing themes concerning society and humanity, and giving a new more "natural" and realistic twist to love and relationships. So in conclusion, in terms of literary worth, they are puissant in terms of theme and use of iterary elements, but perhaps is too difficult to evaluate as a poem.

Compass for Change

I can give you many reasons
why I lick healed wounds and pet old scars
why there's always a margin to scribble on
why I peek between closed curtains
on audiences cloned into one cold droopy mask
why some yester hopes with molded crusts
remain on my fridged shelf

Forget the why's and excuses
I realise they are a display of clutter and misplacements.

What I really need is a compass
to lead me forth
perhaps a glass manegerie of horses
on right corners of afflicted rooms
wooded wind chymes on entry gates
to keep away bad debt collectors

Next time I'll use slingers,
not jingle-belled boomerangs

A Little Addendum

I should remark that I do understand Lucy's arguments for not telling the police, though I found them very irrational when considering her personality and other decisions - I cannot imagine anyone feeling the same way, perhaps at least more passionately, had they been in the same position. Though I am honestly quite puzzled with David's behaviour, on one occasion even contemplating how he would lure his granddaughter. Alas for now it is just one of those novels with a blur of an ending, leaving me unsatisfied and at certain points, uninterested.