Literature Timeline

This week, our main focus in class was about the timeline of literature. One of our main assignments was creating a story including all of the words that relate to the different time periods of literature. Here is my story:

There once was a man who was famous for his story telling but did not enjoy what he did. He hated the drama and the paradox that was within the stories and how they were never logic to him. One day he rediscovered a story he once told long ago. It was a mystery how he forget about this very unusual story and it was an anti enlightenment.  This particular story was full of exaggeration and did not show any signs of conservative. Discovering this story was a self actuation to the man and showed him not to be so concerned with face value and look toward scientific realism. Discovering this radical story widens the mans thought of culture and disillusionment. This progressiveness in the mans thoughts was an existentialism and a fantasy he always wanted. He always rejected himself from others but after this anti- conventionalism he can go back into his traditional ways.





----Amanda Chavira

Literary Movements

Literature is a portal to past time periods. It reveals much more than a history book can because it reveals the emotion of the time. Often literary patterns reflect societal norms or frustration. In class we are learning about literary movements in history and their key elements. We see how times of war and suffering reflected different literary patterns then times of prosperity. This is because literature allows for people to express themselves freely regardless of the time period. For this reason we also see literary movements that stem from other literary movements in the form of rebellion because of people expressing their literary freedom.
We have learned so much from literary history. Thinkers of the past have greatly affected society today. For instance the Enlightenment was a literary movement that took place in the 1600's, yet the ideas of philosophers such as John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, etc. have remained important elements in our society as they were vital to the establishment of the United States of America. Enlightenment principles are highly reflective in important American works such as the Deceleration of Independence and the US Constitution. These documents, despite the fact that they were written in a completely different time period, continue to have a great effect on the present. This shows the eternal importance and influence of literary thoughts and movements  

~ Vanessa S. ~

The Struggle

This week in class our main focus was to speak about the common conflict found in both the poem “Ulysses” and the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and relate it to my own life. The conflict that I noticed in both these pieces of literature was the struggle Ulysses and Alice faced with their identities as they stepped into a new chapter in their lives. As I step into a new chapter I can’t help but connect with their struggles. In the poem “Ulysses”, he feels that now that his time as a great hero is over he has no other purpose that he is just an “idle King”.  I feel like an idle king is what I’ve become. I have not reached adulthood but I’m expected to act like and adult. If adults can’t treat me as a productive member of society I don’t understand how they can expect me to become a productive member of society. Alice’s struggle is one that is more closely related to mine; she is also stepping out of childhood and into the next stage of life. As much as I want to grow up and move on, it is still hard to let go of what was. From reading Alice in Wonderland I learned that the best way to face these struggles is to keep a part of my childhood with me and never forget that chapter of my life.


-Sloane K.

09-09-10

Today in class, we watched the first part of the Tim Burton film "Big Fish" and tried to extrapolate possible allusions and archetypes within the story. Of course, the most evident archetype presented in the film is the fish itself, symbolizing creation and life. Further evidence about this was given by the character Edward Bloom's speech at the beginning, when he talks about how he really "caught" the fish when his son, Will, was born. This most likely means that, since the fish stands for life, it was only until the birth of his son did he really see what life was about.
Another idea that could be tied in with the archetype of the fish is Edward's marriage to his wife. Since women are essentially the sources of life (giving birth), his story about catching the uncatchable fish with his ring ties into the concept of marriage and the measures one has to make to achieve it. This idea is also somewhat proven when Edward himself says "Sometimes, the only way to catch an uncatchable woman is to offer her a wedding ring," relating to the fish story. Coincidentally, the concept of "catching fish" is also colloquially used to mean "getting into a relationship with a girl."
I chose to discuss mainly this archetype because it is really the most evident one and the idea most emphasized by the movie. Also, it can be tied into so many different things in life that it dispelled my initial skepticism on the idea of a fish being an archetype.
This has been the first blog of the Extrapolators. 
We <3 Elliott.


- El Coronel