Hey everyone, sorry for my disappearance from class this past week and inability to contribute to class brainstorming! I've been battling an illness--thankfully tested negative for mono, seems to be a virus that should be out of my system soon--and should be back in class for good next week.
As far as Thesis discussion;
My Odessa; The World According to Garp -John Irving
Asha mentioned to me, not that it surprises me, that no one in class is familiar with the novel. It's hard to really summarize all 600 or so pages of the story but it really captivates me as a reader because it is so un-generic. The novel follows the life of T.S. Garp from his beginning--the result of his uber-feminist mother inseminating herself by the means of a mentally-wounded war veteran, who ironically is known as Garp(this scene is borderline rapey because Jenny(T.S. Garp's mom could in a sense be taking advantage of Garp[dad])-- to I'm not sure how far into his life, maybe his death, because it has been years since I've read the book. Anyway, the crude picture of how Garp was conspired accurately foreshadows the unorthodox and strange events that follow. This is why I love the book, because our lives are also quite strange.
Almost forgot AOI
I'm very interested in Character and Identity, furthermore Parent Relationship. An Idea that really interests me is something like; The relationship between a child and their parent(s) serves to be the most accurate window into their true character and identity. I'm going to keep this in the front of my mind while reading but I'm not going to put blinders on and focus in on only this. But I also like to challenge the idea of Character and Identity. Is character a property of a person, binding and everlasting, or is it moreof a broad description we assign to people for the sake of organization?
FOCI Questions!
Is character more of a description of a person and their doings or an explanation?
(someone has a certain character because of what they do vs someone acts specific to their character)
Does interaction with parents reveal true character?
Nature v Nurture?
This might be where I need the most help so fire away!
I know in the past there have been many books that I've read (esp JD Salinger's Nine Stories) that have dealt with absent parents so if that was the case then...
ReplyDelete-What does it mean to be a parent?
-How does the absence of a parent effect a child's development?personality?overall childhood experience?
-Do people actually 'become their parents?' Why? Why not?
There's also that weird idea that people 'marry their parents'...so I guess "Why?" (ew that freaks me out)
Hope this helps and hope u feel better!
Heres the first few questions that come to mind about children and parents.
ReplyDeleteWhat qualifies someone to be a parent?
How are parents influenced by their children? Is it a give and take relationship?
How do children react when they recognize their parents as flawed people?
Sorry this is a little late, I hope it still helps....
ReplyDeleteSome Questions:
- What role is a parent 'supposed' to play in a child's life?
- What impact does a different (or unconventional) parenting style have on a child's life?
- How does the absence of a father effect the outcome of the child?
- How does the relationship between a parent and a child effect the child's personality, outcome, maturity, etc?
- How is character defined? How is it measured?
- What is the difference between character and identity? Is there one?