It's Paper-Writing Monday!

So why did my browser find its way to the blog? I don't know how that happens!

I have a couple of papers due tomorrow. Waiting till the last minute and writing under pressure, yup, that's me!

First paper I'm going to knock out is a short 3 page analysis of The Oval Portrait by Poe. There are 4 characters in it, and they are coupled up in these very strange relationships. Poe is pretty twisted. So, I'm comparing those relationships and trying to say how they each have struck a balance - as sick and twisted as they are, they are still balanced. First there is the narrator and his valet, I think they are gay. Gay servant boyfriend - well, hey it works for them. I think the servant part actually bugs me more than the gay part. And then there's the artist and his wife, seriously, I'd rather be a gay servant than this guy's wife! But she seems to think its a good enough life and she goes along with it.

I sound really intolerant. I'm not normally like that, I swear! Gay people don't bother me, except for the eccentric ones. For some reason, they make me feel kinda creepy. You know there are normal gay men and then there are the ones who exude gayness. I don't feel comfortable with that because I think there is more to a person than what you do behind closed doors. Please, close the doors! There's just more to a person than one aspect of life. I think some people need to branch out and add more to their identity. How about, occupation, hobbies, interests... there is an endless list of other identifiable things about a person. Ok, I admit it, I'm not 100% tolerant.

For my next paper, I'm writing about the woman's role in a pagen marriage in Old Norway. Those women were tough old broads. They did everything in the bitter cold while their Viking husbands were sailing off to Iceland in their giant rowboats. And the women were just property, bought and paid for. Do this, do that, woman! Life as an Old Norse wife, again, I think I'd rather be the gay servant in Poe's story.

It's another short paper, 3 or 4 pages is all. The short papers can be harder to write because you have to say something and back it up but you are so limited on space, it's hard to get it all out and keep it so short too. I always get teacher comments with things like "you should develop this further", really? where? on the back?

Anyway, that's the plan for today, write these little papers. Then I can do my homework too. I have to write a couple of paragraphs every Monday for my Theory class. Nothing major, but it takes some thinking to answer the questions and come up with something other than "huh?".

For example, Here is today's question, always in two parts we have to answer both:

1) Analyze the language of the text. To what extent do you see evidence of the Lacanian claim that subjects are SUBJECTED to language, and therefore language is always alienating and never quite allows someone to capture or represent their experiences in the Real via the Symbolic? Look for passages where the character or narrator expresses the difficult of achieving identity through language.

2) Analyze the functioning of the Lacanian concepts of "metonymy" and "metaphor" (i.e, metonymy--unconscious force constantly expanding from one idea to the next to the next to the next; metaphor--unconscious force constantly condensing more than one idea into one, creating a new idea by layering concepts on top of each other) To what extent do you see the operation of these 2 forces in the short story? In other words, where do you see metonymic connections happening? Where do you see metaphoric connections happening? How do those connections impact the meaning of the short story?

Yeah, I'm not intimidated or anything. I do hope I can say something more than "Huh?" or "This is gay!". But so far, that's all I've got!

I better get to it, the kids will be disrupting me since I'm the mom even on homework days. "Mom, will you check out this place for my wedding?"; "Mom, I need lunch money and can you find my French book from last year - the school wants it back now"; "Mommy, I did pee-pee on the floor, sowwy, I spill"; "Mommy! I need a boob!" (ok, that last one was translated). Can't forget, "Mommy, my dog food dish is empty and I need my pink pill wrapped up in cheese today" (another translation, although quite accurate). See, I am pretty tolerant.