1. Did you choose a film you had not seen before?
   
2. Choose one of the characters. Describe the characterization. Is the character round/flat, dynamic/static? What is the character's motivation? Point to details to support your answer.
3. What is one of the themes in the film? How is this theme portrayed?
4. How might watching film as literature (instead of simply as entertainment) change the way that you watch movies?

1. Yes

2. Scout; Scout is a young girl who is growing up in a time period of severe racism. She is a tomboy and somewhat mischievous. Throughout the movie her character develops and she matures and shapes her values on what is right and wrong. Scout is definitely a round/dynamic character because as the story progresses she grows and matures so much. She is faced with severe conflict regarding racism, ethics and distinguishing right vs wrong. 

3. One of the main themes is definitely racism. The theme is portrayed through the Tom Robinson trial and the obvious injustice of it all. 

4. When you watch a movie as literature, you definitely pick up on more. It is easier to analyze when you are not just watching it for entertainment. 

   I read To Kill a Mockingbird as a senior in high school and loved it. It was definitely one of my favorite reading assignments that year. I always wanted to watch the movie and figured this would be a great opportunity to do so. At first I was surprised at how old a film it was. I don't know why, but I was expecting it to be more modern. Despite this, I quickly got lost in the story line and found myself remembering why I loved the book so much. It is a great film, and I suggest everyone see it. 

special post

I chose to write about The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings for my special blog post. After first reading the story, I was not completely sure what my exact thoughts were on it.  The entire text was extremely odd from the beginning to end. In class we learned that not all literature has a specific theme or point that the author is trying to convey. Rather, it is up to us as readers to get something out of the text. The first time I read The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings I was looking for  some hidden theme or message that the author was wanting his readers to get. After discussing the text more in class and learning how not every story has a specific theme, I was able to view the text with a new perspective. I realized that it was up to me to take something from the story rather than find a point that the author was trying to make. 

The story begins with the main character, a man named Pelayo, throwing back crabs into the ocean. Pelayo’s newborn baby is very ill and he and his wife are desperate to take any measure to cure the small child. The couple believe that the crabs have something to do with the child’s illness and are determined to get rid of them. While Pelayo is throwing them back, he spots a very old man face down in the mud. The man appears to be normal except for the large pair of wings on his back. He is unable to get up due to the weight of them. Pelayo and his wife come to the conclusion that  the old man must be an angel. They believe that he was coming for their sick child. The couple decides to keep him in the chicken coop and people from all over gather just to catch a glimpse of the “angel.” He is treated as an object merely for the purpose of entertainment.

My favorite part of the story was the following passage. I was really able to get something out of this paragraph. I’m not sure if it was the theme that the author intended, but I interpreted the story through analyzing these sentences:

The angel was the only one who took no part in his own act. He spent his time trying to get comfortable in his borrowed nest, befuddled by the hellish heat of the oil lamps and sacramental candles that had been placed along the wire. At first they tried to make him eat some mothballs, which, according to the wisdom of the wise neighbor woman, were the food prescribed for angels. But he turned them down, just as he turned down the papal lunches that the pentinents brought him, and they never found out whether it was because he was an angel or because he was an old man that in the end ate nothing but eggplant mush. His only supernatural virtue seemed to be patience. Especially during the first days, when the hens pecked at him, searching for the stellar parasites that proliferated in his wings, and the cripples pulled out feathers to touch their defective parts with, and even the most merciful threw stones at him, trying to get him to rise so they could see him standing. The only time they succeeded in arousing him was when they burned his side with an iron for branding steers, for he had been motionless for so many hours that they thought he was dead. He awoke with a start, ranting in his hermetic language and with tears in his eyes, and he flapped his wings a couple of times, which brought on a whirlwind of chicken dung and lunar dust and a gale of panic that did not seem to be of this world. Although many thought that his reaction had not been one of rage but of pain, from then on they were careful not to annoy him, because the majority understood that his passivity was not that of a her taking his ease but that of a cataclysm in repose.

Everything about the angel is human like. He is withered and old, weary and sick. 

The passage states that his one human like quality is patience. This really struck me. I don’t want to be cliche or cheesy by saying I got a spiritual interpretation from the text. Honestly, this passage reminded me so much of when Jesus came as a man to earth. He came in the form as a man, even though he was still fully God. I definitely believe that the character in the story is an angel. But even though he was very human in appearance and health, he had he possessed qualities of something greater. No human would be patient enough to face torture and mistreatment. It reminded me of how Christ willingly paid the price for our sin through suffering on the cross. Christ came to earth as a man. He was very human but at the same time possessed divine qualities only God would have. The angel was treated horribly, as if he had to worth. He was ridiculed and looked upon like an object. In many ways, Jesus faced a very similar scenario at the time of his death. Right before he crucified he was he was placed in the center of a crowd. His clothes were taken from him and gambled away. He was mocked, beaten and harassed. Even though he had the power and ability to stop any human, Christ chose to obey His father and go through with his crucifixion as the price for our sins. He remained quiet and patient throughout the entire process. I found the angel to possess a very similar patience. I could not believe how the angel responded as those surrounding him were gawking and invading his space. His behavior definitely reminded me of Christ’s.  

Imago Dei

   What does it mean to be created imago dei?

 Are all created in God‟s image? 

     Steven Fettke opens up his article with these thought provoking questions. In class we have been studying and reading about mentally disabled individuals. This has really been eye opening, because while I might have seen people with disabilities in the grocery store or at church, I have never really gotten to know someone like that on a personal level. 

    

       I cannot imagine what their life is like on a daily basis. What struggles they have to undergo just to try live like us. But on the other hand, it was so interesting seeing how much they really are like us. They are just as much of human beings as we are. They have the same wants and desires. 

 In what ways can the work of the Spirit in creation and the 

resultant image of God placed on all humans be understood in terms 

of human experience? What makes each person a person?

 This really made me think. What makes each person a person?

  Is it their IQ? The ability to think and speak for themselves? 

I hate to admit this, but so many times I have judged people on their outer appearance whether it be their status, looks or job. I don’t think it is something we ever do intentionally but rather subconsciously. I know I never purposefully judge someone based on their exterior. It is definitely part of our sinful nature to look at people and see anything other than an individual made in the image of Christ. I have discovered that when I am more aware of my nature to view people in this light, I can change how I first perceive people. When you’re aware of the problem, it is much easier to fix. This is something that I definitely have to work on. I know our culture has desensitized us to the truth in so many ways. 

   When it comes down to the heart of it, we were all created in His image and that is what defines us. 

The Boys next door

 I really enjoyed reading the Boys Next Door. At first I was not sure what to expect, having no clue what the play was about. I found the story line and characters to be intriguing. It is such an unusual theme, but I think that is why I enjoyed it so much. It really reminded me how often we overlook people with disabilities, sometimes forgetting that they hold many of the same capabilities as everyone else, just in a different way. The four men in the story all had such unique personalities. Sometimes it is easy to label people like that as "someone with a disability" rather than truly examining them as a individual. This made me think back to when we were learning about character and how we often judge based on the exterior. I loved how Professor Corrigan stressed that the number one thing that we should see when we look at anyone is that Christ is the core of them. No matter who they are, what they do, how intelligent they may be, they are in Christ. Sometimes we underestimate those who are different than us. Why do we do that? I want to take the time to remember this next time I come into contact with someone who doesn't fit the norm. 

It is not the exterior that defines us. That is just temporary; meaningless in God’s eyes. This is something that we can not only apply when viewing others, but with ourselves as well. Often we put forth such great effort to build ourselves up based on what we do or what talents we possess that we lose sight of where our true identity lies. We were created in God’s image and for His purpose. When we put aside all the superficial criteria that the media and today’s society builds up so much, it is much easier to understand our true worth. It doesn’t matter if someone is the most intelligent person in the world or if they have down syndrome. It doesn’t matter if someone works at NASA or a fast food restaurant. What matters is the fact that we, as human beings, are in Christ. That is the only thing we need to place our identity in. 

Field Trip

I went to the Polk Museum of Art and stayed there for at least 40 minutes. 

 I was actually really excited about this field trip. I have lived in Lakeland for seven years and have never been to the Polk Museum of Art. The museum had an amazing collection of paintings and sculptures and I was extremely impressed with their huge variety. 

 I have been to many art museums before but when going to this one I had a different mindset. I found myself really analyzing every painting; the colors, shapes, brush strokes. I took art during high school and being at the museum brought back good memories. My teacher always challenged us to look beyond what we saw. While I was examining the paintings and remembering what my art teacher used to tell us I realized something. This is the same technique that Professor Corrigan has been teaching us this year: to look beyond what we see in literature. Once we get back out first impression or our first reading of the text, we can analyze the piece and really get something deeper out of it. It was interesting applying what we have been learning in class on this field trip. I feel as though this whole year we have been encouraged to think outside the box and view things from a new and different angle. I tried to use the same techniques we have learned on analyzing at the museum. Instead of merely examining the painting as a work of art, I tried to think of the artist and what he/she was thinking when creating their piece. This really made me see pieces in a whole new light. 

 I found examining the paintings and sculptures in this way to be intriguing. You take so much more away when you really examine not only the artwork, but the story behind it. 

One of the abstract pieces I was examining inspired this poem. I was taking in all the colors and shapes and analyzing the technique the artist was using. There was something about the piece that was very vulnerable to me. It was like a part of the artist was there. Being an artist myself, I felt as if I could really relate to what I was looking at. It was a beautiful form of expression and there was something rather spiritual about it. 

   You stare inside my soul

   For once I'm completely vulnerable

   take away all the excess colors

   wash away the stains until everything

   is bare, transparent. 

  You lift your hand and

 gently move, back and forth

creating something new

Silence takes 

over and beauty seeps in

slowly capturing my attention

and breaking down every

wall until there's nothing

left but You and me.

  

Reading for Transformation

 One of the biggest things that I’ve taken from this class is changing the way I read texts. Often, we read material once and form an immediate opinion about it without really giving it much thought at all. 

 The article ‘Reading for Transformation’ states how “Poetry, as an event of meaning, potentially serves as a resonant site of Christian self-expression, prayer, and solidarity in community. As texts for prayer, certain poems invite us into liminal spaces of sacred encounter, where God’s grace expands our awareness of the holy within ourselves, our relationships, and our natural world.”

 I found this to be very eye opening. This selection goes back to what we have learned earlier in the year with lectio divina. When it comes down to it, we can examine every text given to us in a spiritual light. Whether we are reading passages from the bible or secular literature, we are still able to analyze words in a way where we view it in a prayerful context.  I really liked how he talked about the three things we can take away from reading for transformation.  “Whether in spiritual consolation or desolation, in times of deep faith or profound doubt, in all the moments and movements of human experience, certain poems offer a three-fold blessing. First, they offer us words that give voice to unspeakable or previously unspoken thoughts and feelings. Second, they offer us alternate worlds of possibility, ways of living and being where we explore personal, social, and spiritual transformations. Third, the wonder of such poems includes he invitation to greater and deeper self-awareness.”

 He gives the example of poetry after explaining this. I’ve loved learning more about poetry in Intro to Lit. Rather than just study the text of poetry, I have felt like Professor Corrigan has really stretched us to go further, examining poetry as a spiritual expression. Often times, I admit that I have simply scanned over the texts, taking in nothing but the words. I have learned this year that merely reading the words does nothing for the reader. Unless we search the text for greater meaning there is not much advantage for us. 

Darkness, Questions, Poetry and Spiritual Hope.

“Despair and hope are inseparable... One can never understand what hope is really about unless one wrestles with despair.”

This quote really struck me in the passage we read because of the truth behind it. It is impossible to truly experience hope unless we have faced devastation. 

Grief and despair have been a topic that we have continually covered in Intro to Lit. It has been so interesting exploring grief and how we as humans respond to it. 

I felt that in reading Darkness, Questions, Poetry and Spiritual Hope a familiar theme was presented. 

I think that it is so easy for our response to be “why?” As a Christian, I have turned to Christ many times wondering exactly what He is doing in certain situations. Scripture tells us that He works out all things for our good. However, when faced with despair and agony, it is easy to question the purpose behind the heartache. 

In Corrigan’s article, he states: “ Facing darkness, ultimately is not about darkness but about hope, about validating our spiritual hope. 

I think it is so important for us to remember that in times of complete devastation, Christ has purpose in everything that happens in our lives. 

In the beginning of this semester I was struggling with some really difficult things. I had undergone a lot since the summer and had been trying to push everything that had occurred aside, thinking that doing so would make everything easier to cope with. Accepting hurt is a scary thing to do and I was not allowing myself to fully admit  to everything that had happened. One can only go through denial for so long. After a long conversation with someone very close to me I realized that I was going to have to face the pain in order to experience freedom. I am still going through the healing process right now but have been absolutely amazed at what God has revealed to me since then. 

Sometimes we have to undergo the pain and hurt in order to experience hope. I couldn’t see the hope that God promised until I came to terms with the grief. 

Corrigan concludes his article stating how Jesus promises to never leave us. “ The presence of God with us in the darkness makes it possible for us to sit with the question of darkness without being destroyed by madness.” 

Through His promises, we find purpose in our darkness.