Bharati Mukherjee "Orbiting"

In Orbiting, Bharati Mukherjee shows his representation of America, and how he views the overall culture and acceptance of others in the perspective of an outsider (or immigrant). The title refers to this idea, representing the various cultures, beliefs, and ways of life "orbiting" and intertwining into one nation of America. America is involved with other nations, thus other nations are involved in America. Although many ideas are present, majority are unheard or ignored, as immigrants generally play somewhat of a lesser role.

The story is about Renata, and her transformation from a life in India to a different one in America. The overall plot takes place at a thanksgiving dinner, where each family member shows qualities of being American while still being proud of their heritage. The food they eat is mostly American, TV shows they watch and ideas they talk about and discuss are American based, and acitivites they take part in (especially the children) are American. This idea shows that conformation for many takes place, as the overwhelming and dominant culture generally impowers the others. In one instance, it speaks of the fathers "North Italian heritage". Although it points out that he is still very proud of it, the New Jersey lifestyle and American mindset is the one generally shown and active. Similarly the fathers mother was Korean, but beacuse of the fathers outlandish acts and somewhat American rebellious nature, "she wanted him out of the house."

This story further shows American conformation as characters in the story even change their name. "Renata and Carla are what were christened. We changed to Rindy and Cindi in junior high." Changing of names and overall verbal recognition shows the cultures heavy dominance and leadership in the "orbiting" of all others.

Last Day of Movie

The first part of this particular section of the movie involved describing war. War, in this sense, was seen as rebellion and finding oneself. To me this was similar to the author and writing a book, as the author is free to express any feelings and thoughts he or she may have. Letters of the mans personal experience of the war were written, which allowed for explicit description in the mans own point of view. Once again this is similar to an author, as an author can tell a story without any influence from outside parties. Books not only influence an author and allow them to have a personal experience, but it also effects the reader. In many instances, books allow a reader to be a co creator of it. In other words, each reader has room to interpretate the work differently. The imagery created by each person is different, the reader is not passive and open to incorporate their personal imagination.

This segment of the movie also talked about how many books are "one in done" books. To me this made sense, because the topic of an authors first book is generally one that they are most interested and passionate about, causing them to write the book in the first place. This one and done habit may also be cause by statistics, as with majority of cases authors do not top and make more money and recognition than their first book. Although a book may be very good, it still may not gain near the amount of fame as other books. This in part is due to connections, as specific publishers and famous reviewers have a large pull. This heavily represent the saying in the work place, "its all about who you know".

I found it very interesting how this man was so dedicated to finding the author of the book. Even after his father passed away, he continued the documentary in search of the author. This further proves the idea of readers becoming connected to pieces of art, in some cases making them somewhat obsessed.

In Class Free Write

In my opinion, every class is stressful. They aren't fun or interesting. Pulling all nighters in the library doesnt help you learn. You remember information through short term memory for about a day and forget it all the next. To me, hands on activities is what teaches you. Instead of being in a biology class learning about cells and metamorphosis, i should be at a football practice helping a trainer fix injuries and lead rehabilitation workouts. What am i going to remember more in a week, information i crammed for about prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and the genetic makeup of viruses, or how to properly wrap an ankle and an open wound?

To me i feel the preparation in college in my perspective as a hopeful physical therapist is somewhat of a joke. I pay large sums of money to attend an out of state college, and when i graduate most of the information i had once larned will be forgotten. Like i said, they need to incorporate more hands on hours. Credits should be given for kids working as an intern in their respective career, as they are learning real information, techniques and "go abouts" persay in their respective departments.

To me the role of Chris Offet in the "Same River Twice" is more intellectually productive than a college student. He is traveling from city to city working job to job and learning information about the real world, while making money rather than losing it through tuition. Pointless information in a book is not forced, he chooses what to delve into, increasing his knowledge in specific subjects he personally likes.

The Same River Twice, Second Segment

In this specific segment of "The Same River Twice" i found that many stories, quotations, and ideas showed different sides of Chris' personality. To begin, on page 54, it talks about a Greek named Heraclitus. In his day, Heraclitus was known for the quotation "you can't step into the same river twice." In the book, it shows how Chris valued this quote and believed it to be true, showing differences in feelings and thoughts between himself and his neighbor. Chris, on one hand, shows qualities in believing that everyday is a knew day, involved with new experiences, opportunities, and choices. This is further proven as he remarks how the water is different everyday, and the "water surrounding one leg is not the same as around the other leg." The neighbor, on the other hand, "has no use for ideas" as stated by the book. He performs the same activities everyday, having no options or sense of new and adventure.

The next set of personality traits i noticed Chris to have involved sense of sincerity and innocence. This was first seen as the doctor took some amniotic fluid out of the baby. After seeing this, Chris almost fainted, and after leaving the hospital "apologized to Rita's belly for the invasion." In this quotation, invasion refers to the baby's physical space. Chris feels bad for intruding and taking what was not his, showing his love and care for his child. Another quote that i found interesting stated, "Female mosquitoes land on my skin, needing fresh blood for their young." To me this quote shows his unselfish and caring nature, relating a mosquitoes baby to his own. In most cases, an individual would have killed the mosquito landing on their skin, but Chris felt that it was only fair to allow the mother to care for her child just as he was caring for his.

The final personality trait i noticed of Chris involved his sense of adventure, and possibly his personally feeling of not belonging and fitting in. This was seen as he simply moves from one area to the next, moving from job to job and city to city. To me, this shows how he is not scared to start over or acquire a new scenery and feeling of change. At the same time, it proves that he does not fit in and bond with people of each either, leading to the idea of Chris possibly having awkward and unappealing characteristics.

Overall, as of right now i have enjoyed this book more than the others in the class, as it is an easier read and to me more interesting having more of a realistic feel.

The Same River Twice pg 9-53

The beginning segment of this book i found to be very interesting, as it described the life of Chris, and his peculiar thought processes and differentiation between right and wrong. The way in which Chris thinks and forms opinions and various subjects is different than most people, as in most cases he adheres to norms, rather than acting on his own feelings. Chris both in New York and at home does not have very man friends, further showing his peculiar and standoffish personality. The quote "i am as alien here as in a city" proves that, as he refers himself to a fish "exploring an abandoned sea."

Chris is oblivious in this segment to both the environment and people around him. For instance, Chris believed that his wife truly "loved [him] and wanted a family" but in reality she was simply settling for average and a normal life. This is proven as she refuses his two proposals, is not excited when she finally gives in the third time, and is wed in a small informal Municipal building. Chris is oblivious to his surroundings as he thinks for nearly a week that his apartment complex is full of African Americans, when in reality they are Puerto Ricans speaking spanish.

Chris adheres to norms, and is easily convinced by other people, seen in many instances involving Jahi. Throughout their relationship she easily controls him, seen in sexual relationships, activites at the beach and involving his work, and the overall daily activities they partake in. In other words, he follows her from day to day and area to area rather than making plans himself. Overall, from scenarios in this segment, Chris is somewhat helples, further proven as he is happy with his "knee ligmanet being destroyed" allowing him to go back home to the security of his family.

Stop Go Analysis

GO (I like this): Within the syllabus in this class, i like how the reading for each day is posted, so prior to class all you have to do is look in the syllabus on each specific day. The grading scale is posted and easy to understand, and the blog directions are clear and to the point, showing what needs to be done to receive full credit. I personally enjoy blogging, as it allows me to express my own thoughts about the reading rather than just listen to a teachers perspective or someone elses views in class. The books we are reading are very interesting, giving me many chances to expand my own knowledge on interesting scenarios and storylines that are presented. I also enjoy the way the actual class if formated, as more of a open lecture about the assigned reading for the day. It allows students to say how they felt towards the book, rather than hearing the perspective of the teacher alone. I feel eliminating the Music of Chance was a good idea, as it allows us more time to focus on the other books at hand.

YIELD (things we should do more often): I feel things we should do more often is watch the movies of the books we are reading. In my opinion, watching the movie shows the similarities and differences of the storyline i formed in my head, bringing about new thoughts and ideas based on the content.

STOP (please, no more!): I feel that reading aloud in class is somewhat pointless. If the student did not read at home as the syllabus assinged, i feel they should be punished for it by not understanding what is going on in class. Also, i feel the reading segments that are assigned for homework need to be shortened. Some assignments are to read fifty pages, including homework and studying from other classes. Sometimes the workload is just too much, proving insufficient knowledge of the readings both in discussions in class and in the blog. In my opinion, the book Lolita was hard to understand and somewhat vulgar. I did not like reading about the interaction and love affair between the older man and young girl, so if i had the chance i would eliminate it from the syllabus.

River of Names

"River of Names" by Dorothy Allison was an unfortunate story of a man's family, a family which was. By this i mean that nearly every member of his family died in some horrible accident, some intentional and some unintentional. The entirety of the story is quite simply based on the title "River of Names." After reading the story, the river is not water but composed of blood, and the names are the members of his family that are deceased. In the story the man's lover Jesse is always speaking about her family, continually noting positive aspects of each family member and funny and memorable stories. The narrator and main character is too ashamed to tell her the truth about his family, as he is forced to lie in reassuring her that he comes from a good background. "I come from an enormous family but i cannot tell half their stories."

In the story, multiple family members are described as dying in appalling ways. Kids and wives are beaten, raped, stabbed, and ruthlessly murdered, done so usually by older males. To me, dying in this case would be better than living. In many instances throughout the book, young children are raped and treated as pieces of meat. On page six it states "it wasnt funny for me in my mothers bed with my stepfather, not for my cousin Billie in the attic with my uncle, nor for Lucille in the woods with another cousin..." This list continues with many more cousins and siblings, showing the negative situation they all were forced to be in.

Due to the fact the narrator has seen so much death and heartache, he refuses to have a kid of his own. He states, "I can't have children. I never wanted children." In my opinion, this shows his kind heartedness. He is saving the child from a world of abuse, from his old family members and himself. In my opinion i feel he is scared he would hurt the child himself. Due to all the memories he has and all the pain he has incurred throughout his life, i feel the child could be an outlet to take his anger out on. This act would continue the trend in his family, continuing the appalling treatment of family and specifically children.