Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Environmental Art - Semester Final
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Elk "Hunt"
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Personal Essay
The Road to Discovery and Back Again
A road. What is it really? Just dirt, gravel or pavement making a way through mountains, valleys, heavily populated and nearly deserted areas. Roads have been used as a symbol for many things in literature, probably the most notable being a journey. A road has become in many ways, a cliché for the voyage that we call life. People speak of “the road less traveled,” of finding the road to truth, success, knowledge and wisdom. Are these sayings just clichés and nothing more? What about when a road becomes a part of your life in quite a literal way? Highway 138 runs from Medford, Oregon to Grants Pass, Oregon in the southern part of the state. It is roughly a 40-mile long stretch of road that winds through many small towns along the way. The stretch that underlies this story is about 20 miles long and goes from West Medford into a quaint little town called Ruch, Oregon. This stretch of road has been a cause of spiritual awakening, frustration, anger, confusion, immense sadness and overwhelming joy in my life.
The first time I drove out towards Ruch on Highway 138, I was seven years old and in the first grade. My family and I, including my father, mother, older sister and younger brother had just moved to Medford, Oregon and thought that it would be a good idea to try out a new church. Although both of my parents grew up Catholic, they were not really church going people. They told us that they had the “fear” of the Lord beaten into them when they were younger and so we never did end up in a Catholic church. Although my father still tells very entertaining stories about the nuns and priests kicking the hell out of him in his private Catholic school. However, being new in town, they decided that going to the most popular non-denominational Christian church in the valley might be a good way to meet people – plus our neighbors attended church there and had invited us. So we took the 20-minute drive through the winding curves and beautiful trees out to Love Christian Fellowship. We sang songs, went to Sunday school, learned about Jesus, colored on paper crosses and went back home. I remember feeling happy and it was my first real experience with the idea of a God who loved me unconditionally no matter what I did. My parents got divorced a few months later and it would be many years before I would venture out that far on Highway 138 again.
One of my childhood joys was playing soccer and I had played for as long as I could remember. In totality I played for eleven years, from kindergarten to my sophomore year in high school. The actual act of playing soccer was never as enjoyable or as important to me as the relationships that I made. It was my first year of “premier” soccer, which means that I had to try out as opposed to just being on the school team and I was in fifth grade. I made the “A” squad surprisingly and knew not one single girl on my team. I clearly remember one girl being especially nice to me on the very first day of practice – her name was Rebecca. Before long, Rebecca was inviting me over to her house to play and spend the night and we became very good friends. Her family was some of the nicest people I had ever met and they welcomed me in with open arms. This was something that few people on my soccer team did that year because I was from the west side of town and they were all from the east side of town, otherwise known as the “rich area.” They were mostly upper class and I was a strong middle class with divorced parents, but Rebecca didn’t care. After about 2 months of that soccer season, Rebecca invited me out to church with her and I accepted her invitation – my family had not been to church since that day five years earlier. It just so happened that the church that she went to was the same one that my family and I had attended all of those years ago. And so began my next experience with Highway 138.
After soccer practice that Wednesday night in November of 2000 we piled into Rebecca’s bright blue caravan with her mom, dad and two little sisters and cranked up the heat as we drove out to Love Christian Fellowship while they sang along to contemporary worship music. Once again I was riding along the winding curves of the highway, watching the silhouettes of trees pass by in the darkness of the cold night. These trees would later become a focal point for two major events in my life. We arrived out to church a little late that night because of practice and so Rebecca and I made our way directly to the “4-6 grade room.” When we got up there, everyone was smiling and laughing. I remember it being warm and I remember feeling love and happiness as soon as I walked in. We met up with some of Rebecca’s friends who I didn’t know and they were instantly interested in me and talked to me; I didn’t feel left out at all. Although I didn’t exactly understand everything that was going on through the service and I faked singing along to the songs that I didn’t know the words to – I was hooked. Being a people pleaser of epic proportions, the middle child of three children and the product of divorced parents, I was amazed at the love and acceptance that I felt from not only complete strangers but also this God that they spoke of and loved.
Within a month I had asked my parents if I could go to a church camp with Rebecca over the second week of Christmas break – they willingly agreed. So again, we ventured out to the meandering roads of Highway 138 and made our way out to Camp Bradley in Bandon, Oregon- a venue that must have cost the church a couple million dollars. It was one of the greatest experiences of my early life and I left with new friends, a new mindset and the new acceptance of Jesus as my Lord and Savior – I was on cloud nine. From this point on, I decided that I would dedicate everything - my whole life - to the Lord.
Over the next 4 years I continued to go to church out on Highway 138 with Rebecca and her family. However, not without attempting to convince my dad that he needed to come with me – a feat that I finally accomplished in eighth grade. It was the summer after my seventh grade year and I had gone to summer camp again with Rebecca and I came back to a proud and gleaming father who confessed to me that while I was away he had gone to church with Rebecca’s mom and dad and had been baptized. He would be coming to church with me from now on. I couldn’t be happier as I stood smiling at the pictures of his baptism under our refrigerator magnets. This was also the same year that I met the 7 people who would shape my life immensely over the next 4 years. They would become my very best friends and they were also all 3 to 4 years older than me. They had been going to church at Applegate for almost their whole lives and they were the epitome of what I thought “Christian teenagers” were supposed to be like. In my eyes, they could do no wrong and I was completely enamored with them.
Flash forward to my freshman year in high school. I had left almost all of my other friends behind and spent time outside of school with no one but Katie, Alex, Lauren, Zack, Bryson, Nano and Nick. I had never been happier. I hung out with them all of the time and the trips out to church that I had been making with my father became less and less as I found the new freedom of having friends with cars. However, my dad and I would still make the trek out together on many Sundays.
This went on for about a year or so and then one summer night I would experience my first bout with the realization that my friends were not the invincible superheroes that they had become in my mind. It was late summer and the 8 of us were preparing to go back to school and had decided that a great way to end the summer would be to make our way out the curving highway and up to a butte called Woodrat Mountain which is only about a mile from our church. We had a grand plan to watch a movie up on the butte in the back of Nick and Bryson’s trucks. It was a great time. We drove up and watched “Secret Window,” scared the hell out of ourselves and were ready to leave. However, on the way down the mountain I was riding with my buddy Zack, while Bryson and his sister Alex were in a little red Datson truck – affectionately called “Eleanor” and Nick followed behind them, alone in his Chevy. As with many teenage boys, Zack was known for driving especially fast and I was constantly nagging him to slow down (he liked me, so most of the time he listened). However, that night was different. The entire way down the mountain I felt a lump in my chest and the feeling of impending doom was closing in. I kept scolding Zack and told him, I’m serious this time, SLOW DOWN!” He did so for the rest of the way down the mountain. However, as soon as we pulled onto the curves of Highway 138, it was as if nothing I had said meant anything. All three of the cars took off. We were in front, Bryson behind and Nick in the back. We were blazing through the roads that were known for killing people at 90 miles an hour. As we zoomed down the road I began to yell at Zack, “Slow down, seriously…” and then I was shut up by the slamming and screeching of breaks as we slid out around a curve and in slow motion I glanced into the passenger side window in just enough time to see Bryson’s red truck fish tale and sling itself over the edge of the road in an end-over flip. My heart stopped as I watched the horrendous scene unfold before my eyes. I couldn’t blink and it felt like it was an eternity before the car finally stopped and I’ve never felt more eerie than when we walked towards the car that was flipped into the ditch; the dust and fog was barely parting and Nick’s silhouette came into view. I was sure that Bryson and Alex were dead or at the very least completely mutilated. As we approached the car we heard talking and Bryson had already crawled out and was encouraging Alex to do the same. Amazingly, they were completely fine (physically) and Bryson only had a small gash on his right forearm from crawling out of the window. This was one of the first lessons that Highway 138 taught me. I think that this was the first time that I became truly aware that life was not permanent and that I was not invincible but that I really did believe that there was someone greater than me watching over Bryson and Alex that night – over all of us.
That year went by about the same way; I was continually focused on doing everything that I could do in order to make God “happy.” Well, on June 20th, 2004, disaster struck on Highway 138. It was exactly one week past graduation and the town was settling into it’s summer mode, content that there were no fatalities that night (which is a feat with 10 or 11 high schools in a 30 mile radius). Saturday night a group of friends were hanging out by the Applegate River and they were camping and throwing a bit of a party to kick off the summer. My brother had been invited by his best friend Jonathan and two of his other buddies, to come and hang out. However, my father – usually a very lenient man – held firm ground when telling my brother “no.” That morning I woke up to my phone ringing. It was my friend Andrea who asked if I had heard the news about the boys. I asked what boys she was talking about. Three of the boys who were out at the river the night before had been in a fatal car accident on highway 138 and they wrapped the car around a tree. It was Jonathan, David and Kyle – the three friends that my brother was supposed to have gone out with. My heart instantly dropped to my feet and I hung up the phone as fast as was humanly possible in order to call my brother. The next moments were some of the worst of my entire life. I called my brother and he sleepily picked up the phone. I asked him if he’d seen the news yet and he said no. I began to cry and I told him that his best friend Jonathan had been killed in a car accident – this was the beginning to a year of deep, deep depression for my kid brother who was only 15 at the time.
He caught a ride out to the site of the accident with one of his friends immediately and there he stayed and camped, on the side of highway 138 for four days. He would not eat, he barely slept and after Jonathan’s funeral on that fourth day, I finally convinced him to come home with me. He looked like a ragged zombie. His hair was wild and unruly, his clothes dirty and tattered from days of wear, and I had never seen eyes with circles that dark or big. I woke up that night to the sound of him wailing and yelling out Jonathan’s name. He kept groaning in anguish and asking, “why, why, why!” All I knew was that I believed that the reason why my brother wasn’t allowed to go that night is that someone higher than us knew that he would’ve been in that car and it was not time for him to go yet. This was the second lesson that highway 138 taught me – there will be pain and suffering in life, it is how you deal with it that allows the experiences to shape your being. It also further confirmed my belief in an Almighty God.
The third lesson that highway 138 would teach me however, would be much different. The teaching started one week after the horrific tragedy when the up-and-coming pastor (the 18-year-old son of the current pastor) held a service for the death of the boys and their family and friends. Although he did talk about the terrible accident, he used the experience to encourage people to come forward and be baptized. This was my first real experience with Nick Smith. He was charismatic, charming and outspoken – not to mention attractive. The service pissed off many of the boys’ friends, because they lamented that the boys would not have enjoyed or wanted a service of this format. However, for those of us who were Christians, it seemed like an answer to prayer that so many would dedicate their lives to the God that we believed in.
A month or so later, I had my first personal encounter with Nick Smith because we ended up being at the same dinner with a bunch of friends. He later asked me for a ride home because he didn’t have his car with him, I should’ve known that I was doomed from the start. In any event, I gave him a ride home. We headed out on the winding roads of Highway 138 that I knew so well and had traveled so often by then and he told me that I was pretty and asked if he could see me again. I was pretty hesitant, as I usually am when I am asked out, but decided to go out on a limb and say yes – possibly one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
I dated him for about a month before I really started to see some things that I didn’t agree with. He had started a new service for young adults from about the ages of 15 to 25 or so. At first I was extremely excited and I wanted to do everything that I could to help him make it a success. As with many people who are extremely goal-oriented and driven, he required an immense amount of solitude. It also became clear to me that he really only wanted me around when it was convenient and that he was completely consumed about how the public perceived him – as with any person who is well known by the public eye. It was undeniable that he marched to the beat of his own drum but I didn’t realize how much so until a few months later. At this point though, we would often drive out to church together along the highway and we would get into the most interesting and sometimes, looking back, off the wall conversations. However, it was becoming more and more apparent that he was not the person that I thought he was and that he did not accept me for who I was. I am a fairly plain girl, nothing extremely special in the way of looks and on top of that I play sports and so I did not often dress up. However, he was constantly asking and urging me to dress up and wear dresses and heels and to wear lots of makeup – which is something that I do not usually do. This was the beginning of a very steep and slippery slope to the end of our relationship and ultimately the major questioning of my faith.
Our trips out to church became increasingly more tense and the roads of highway 138, already ridden with so many different emotions and experiences and these trips were tipping the balance to where there were becoming many more negative than positive feelings about the road. Undeniably, the biggest thing that came between us was when he began to ask me about the “success” of his sermons on Saturday nights. At first I would just tell him what I thought. That people seemed to enjoy it and that it was a great atmosphere. But then he would just look at me and say, “Well, like how many people do you think were there? More or less than last week?” I didn’t really think too much about it in the beginning but then I realized that this was not really normal. I was under the impression that he thought exactly like he preached and that it didn’t matter how many people got baptized or came but that the ones who were there were important. But it turned out that his main focus was having the most people possible know about him and get “saved” so that people would think well of him and think he was being extremely effective. Now, don’t get me wrong, it is not a crime to want to be successful and do well. However, I had always been under the impression that what a pastor said in his sermon was what he truly felt and believed. So one could imagine my surprise in realizing that what this boy really seemed to care about was how many people heard him and came to the service. Now, this is not inherently a bad thing – to want people to appreciate the work you do and be moved by it; but I was quite honestly appalled at the thought of that being the motivation for a church service. I can clearly recall the moment he said this because it was the moment that I consequently began to doubt the religion that had, quite literally at times, carried me through the last seven or so years of my life. It rose the questions – “Do I really believe what I say and believe?” and more importantly, “Why do I believe what I say that I believe?”
The first question had always been a no brainer. Of course I believed in Christianity! It is true, I had felt the truth of it hundreds of times, God heard my prayers – I just knew it. Unfortunately, when it came to the question of why, the only answer I had was that pastors had told me that it was true and I had read about it in the Holy Bible. This had always been perfectly fine with me until I realized that perhaps over the years my pastors had been off base. Maybe they thought like Nick as well. This was a crushing blow to my entire being. I held on to my faith for a few short months after that in an attempt to find the answer to why I believed in my chosen religion. It was a short-lived period that led into a short period of depression and then into haziness and confusion. This was the last thing that Highway 138 taught me before I left for college. I left in sadness and confusion with a suppressing feeling of aimless all of the time. It rose it me a very ethical issue – “would I teach people something that I did not whole heartedly believe in?” This has become an immensely important question in my life because I plan on going into the field of education and if so, I never want my students to look back and realize that I gave them information that wasn’t true. I understand that I am just a lowly human being and that it is in my nature to make mistakes, but what about when I “make a mistake knowingly” is that still a mistake? I think not my friend. The only thing I can describe it as is a false action, a lie, a fabrication of truth and a wrongdoing. This is something that I am unwilling to do.
Although it may seem that the story of Highway 138 and how it shaped my life ends in a tragedy of sorts, I have come to understand (after some time) that it was an unexpected opportunity for growth and open-mindedness and a greater capacity for love. I cannot tell you how the story of Highway 138 and I end because it is not over. Every single day I think about the lessons that I have learned on that old, winding, and hauntingly beautiful road. At the time, I was unable to understand why I would want to be taught any of these lessons, but it is as Anatole France said, “Suffering! We owe to it all that is good in us, all that gives value to life; we owe to it pity, we owe to it courage, we owe to it all the virtues.” Without the sufferings and heartaches that I experienced along and as a result of that road I would not be the person that I am today. If even for that reason alone, I am thankful. Even though I am still on my journey to finding out who I am and what I believe, I have full faith that one day I will know. So for now, I plan on enjoying the beautiful ride that will take me down other roads and maybe teach me a thing or two more about growth, love, and suffering and that these things can in fact go together: you just have to be willing to go down that old road and, if necessary, come back again.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
“The Other” Discussion Q’s and A’s
A1. It seems to me that through both poetry and nature you are given the opportunity to feel and express your thoughts, emotions and feelings. However, the nature (no pun intended) of human expression does not always tend towards happiness but rather introspection and analysis. John William however, is enamored by the idea that man comes from nature and therefore belongs in nature. He is also no stranger to the idea or expression of poetry – whether literally or through the rhythm (or perhaps lack of rhythm) of his life.
When he enters the wilderness he goes with full knowledge that he is not completely ready to be self-sufficient. I believe he does this both as a test of Neil’s friendship and therefore human relationships and reliance in general and he also does it for the thrill of the immense risk that he is taking on.
John William learns that in order to be completely secluded, he also needs Neil and therefore as he would put it, elements of “Hamburger World”. In the end, I think that nature’s challenges and unpredictability leave him disappointed and betrayed as he realizes that there is nothing and no one who can never let him down. When all is said and done, man was created in nature’s image and both nature and man can be cruel, unpredictable and occasionally exude unconquerable challenges.
Q2. Does his flight from civilization bring John William the spiritual purity he is searching for? Could he have found another way to express his antipathy to the hypocrisy he sees in the ordinary world? To what extent do you think John William’s path to self-destruction was unconsciously motivated by unresolved internal conflicts regarding his class, family, and his vision of himself?
A2. In my opinion, John William’s spiritual journey was, in a sense, doomed from the beginning because he wanted to be purified but he also wanted to know how to do this and he wanted support in it. Whether he admitted it or not, his attachment to both Cindy (in college) and Neil proved that he wanted affirmation that what he was doing was going to lead him to happiness and he had the forlorn hope at some point that they might buy into it as well. However, I think that he knew the answer the whole time - he was and always had been truly alone and because of this could never accept himself as spiritually pure.
There are various ways that John William could have attempted to express his ideas to humanity but I don’t think that any of them would have satisfied John William the way that he thought his solitude would. This masochism and separation from humanity that ultimately lead to his demise were bred from ideals that John William identified with to his very core. He felt betrayed from the very beginning by his distant father and his wacko mother. He learned quickly that for him, money meant the ability to have whatever materialistic object he could fathom and be deprived from all human emotion but loneliness. He was brought up to learn that most of the time he was either a burden or a precocious, rich-kid who had too much time to let his mind wander. He put on his shield of risks, adventures, confidence and bold, if not “out-there” opinions in order to hide the loneliness he was bred to feel.
Q3. How do you feel about Neil’s complicity in enabling John William to escape from the real world? What moral imperatives underlie Neil’s actions? To what extent is Neil guilty of betraying the fundamental ethical obligations he has as a member of society?
A3. To be completely honest, it seems to me that Neil is the reason that John William survived so long. Whether he would’ve perished earlier in his escape or in the “real world” is not a question but a fact. I truly believe that John William would’ve gone crazy in either world and Neil was, in a sense, one of his only ties to sanity.
From Neil’s standpoint, he is morally challenged to either stand by his friend through their brotherhood pact that was sealed by blood or turn him in to the forest service. His morals however, choose the pact to John William and not to society and because of this he forces on himself (whether through friendship, guilt, fear, or a little of all of these feelings) the responsibility of bringing John William supplies, reading materials, and a little bit of the sanity (or possible insanity) of the real world.
Although Neil may be guilty of “betraying the fundamental ethical obligations he has as a member of society” that say he should have turned John William in, he was also abiding by his ethical obligations to his friend. I believe that as long as John William was not hurting anyone but himself, directly, and although his disappearance may have been deceitful, it was probably better for him and Neil knew that. So although he did indeed enable John William in a big way, he also knew that ethically it was allowing him to thrive better than he would’ve in the real world.
Q4. Neil writes, “In the newspaper reports on the Hermit of the Hoh, an abiding derangement is the heart of the matter. That’s wrong.” [p.112]. Does Neil’s account of what happens to John William justify this point of view? Would a more objective observer draw the same conclusion from the evidence Neil Provokes?
A4. I think that Neil’s experience of the situation certainly justifies this statement. Although it is perhaps a little biased, I feel that it is mostly true. Neil saw John William at his best and at his worst, however basically all in an “acceptable” state of mind. Although in fact John William may have had previous mental issues, he allowed himself, willingly in my opinion, to go insane. Neil knew that John William wouldn’t have wanted it any other way and that in some way this was always meant to be. However, I think that a more objective viewer would have tagged John William as a “wack-job” and nothing more – Neil knew better.
Q5. If you have read Into the Wild (or have seen the movie), what similarities do you see between John William and Chris McCandles? What might be some of the diverse reasons, either rational or not, a person could have for abandoning a comfortable life for one filled with risk and danger?
A5. Although I do not remember a lot from the movie Into the Wild, I do see some similarities between Chris McCandles and John William. The first being their discontent with the “real world” and it’s issues. I may be mistaking but I think that the books are both from about the same time period, meaning that they would’ve in some sense experienced the Vietnam War and all of the issues that went along with that. They both came from wealthy families, whose wealth they rejected and they both lived with a sense of reckless abandon and invincibility. They also both eventually went “off their rockers” to some extent. Their confidence and sense of invincibility could both be seen to have let to their demise in a big way.
Q6. How does his upbringing affect John William and lead to the choices that bring his to his solitary end as “Hermit of the Hoh”?
A6. I certainly believe that John William’s upbringing played a big factor in his choice to enter into almost complete solitude. He learned from the beginning that he couldn’t fully depend on or trust anyone, that no one was exactly like him, and that his way of living and thinking were inadequate to that of his ancestors and family. He had in many ways been brought up in intense solitude and so led out his believed destiny as the “Hermit of the Hoh”.
Q7. Neil and John William are brought together by their love of the outdoors and in particular for hiking in unmapped areas. Does John William spur Neil to take risks Neil otherwise would avoid? What aspects of their feelings about risk come to light when they got lost in the forest [pp.29-34]? In what ways do their attitudes about the adventure echo their feelings about their lives in general?
A7. In my opinion, John William definitely draws a sense of risk and adventure out of Neil. It is in his core, but wouldn’t have been brought to the surface without John William’s influence. As Neil talks about, he was silently fearful and perhaps a bit hopeless whereas John William was constantly thinking, pondering and trying to find solutions to any problem they had. These things both strongly reflect their actions in life. Although Neil is often fearful, he suffers in silence and pushes on hoping for the better. John William just wants to find the solution to life.
Q8. Is Neil exploiting his friend in any way?
A8. It doesn’t seem to me that Neil exploits John William or pursues any selfish gain by helping his goal of solitude (although in the end he is rewarded with money). The whole story would indicate though that everything Neil does, he does for his love and responsibility to John William and sometimes his own piece of mind. However, I don’t believe that he exploits John William.
Q9. Is Neil Countryman, generally speaking, a “reliable” narrator? Is he always to be believed?
A9. From the very moment I began reading the book I believed Neil Countryman. Due to this, I may not have scrutinized his truthfulness very closely. I do feel that he is a reliable narrator and that he gives his honest, if occasionally biased, account of the story of the “Hermit of the Hoh” as best he can and in what he sees as the truth.
Q10. Throughout The Other, Neil Countryman refers to John William’s obsession with Gnosticism, a philosophical and religious movement that emerged during the early Christian era. A central theme of its teaching is that the world is imperfect but that each of us has a divine spark within that can ultimately free us from the evils of the material world.
- In what ways does John William’s obsession with Gnosticism enhance your understanding of his motivations and behavior?
A10a. Although I do not know much about Gnosticism and have only briefly read a summary about it, I feel that a little bit of insight into this, helps me to understand why he is the way that he is. His reckless abandon and hate of ignorance become completely clear in light of his Gnostic beliefs. His disregard to the typical way of life creates a life that he deems as more sufficient at arriving at his destiny through Gnosis.
- What other references to literature and philosophy in the novel illuminate the themes Guterson is exploring?
A10b. Throughout the whole novel, Guterson refers to various types of literature, including poetry, novels, academic journals, etc and also refers to different philosophies especially those put out by universities. His mention of various authors and works, one example being Pablo Neruda, give us a whole compass of viewpoints to look at. Through their mention he instrumentally brings our attention to the themes of societal norms, culture, stereotypes, trust, happiness, suffering and of course loneliness.
Q11. Hoes does Guterson portray the Pacific Northwest’s wilderness? Is it a balanced and realistic view? Does he present its dangers, its allures, its beauty?
A11. Guterson portrays the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest as wild, largely uncharted and endlessly beautiful and mysterious. Although I have not experienced many of the areas that he has mentioned, being from the Pacific Northwest myself, I understand his descriptions. I think that he is realistic about it in his description. He mentions the wildlife, including bears, cougars, and elk. He mentions the plant life (even marijuana and shrooms) and he of course mentions the extensive amount of mountain peaks that you find there. Through all of these things, coupled with his personal experiences and obvious reverence for the area, he presents to us the present danger, allures and of course beauty.
Q12. Reflecting back on your own life, have you ever had a friend anything at all like John William, someone who “dropped out” of the mainstream or took the “road not taken” and failed to fulfill his or her potential and promise]
A12. I do not believe that at this point in my life I am able to claim friendship to anyone quite like John William. In little ways I have seen my friends drop out of what I view as “mainstream” or “right” however, not in the same way a John William or even to similar extremes. However, I have definitely experienced people settling for less than they are capable of and not fulfilling their potential. Both my brother and my mother are examples of this type of living. Although they are both very dear to me, they often make decisions that may seem to go against mainstream ideals but unfortunately also do not fulfill their potential. However, on the flipside of this viewpoint, who am I to judge what someone is capable of. If I do, is it true or just simply something that I want to believe to be true?
Q13. To what extent do John William’s activities at Reed [pp. 70-83] as well as his decision to drop out of college reflect the cultural and social milieu of the 1970’s? Does Cindy’s rejection of him mark a significant turning point for John William, or does her rejection simply reinforce John William’s perceptions of the world?
A13. There is no question that John William had some ideas that were radical and sometimes a little off base, however, that was a trend in the 1970’s. In a way I believe that were he to have been a bit less extreme and a bit more social, he would have been in the midst of various radical events in the 1970’s. That is to say that his rebellion against society, his drug-use, his desire and journey to enlightenment were all, in part, common themes of the college student of the 1970’s.
As far as Cindy’s rejection of him, it may have forced his solitary lifestyle to come early, but in my opinion she mostly reinforced his perceptions of the world. He all along would’ve ended up where he was; it may have just taken longer if Cindy would’ve stuck around. However, at the point when she would’ve let him down, things would’ve been over. Therefore it was probably better for them both that she left when she did.
Q14. Writing in the Seattle Times, Mary Ann Gwynn lists several themes for the novel including “attachment vs. alienation; moral behaviors vs. expediency; joy vs. suffering…” Gwynn believes that “The Other” examines the dilemma that has confounded sages and saints for millennia: whether to engage in our tormented world, or turn our faces from it.”
A14. It seems to me that some of the debate to this subject is what is the easy way out? Humans tend to be cognitive and physical misers, in the sense that for the most part, we want to easy road. This is part of the dilemma when discussing whether to engage in torment or attempt to find joy outside of it by escaping. I myself struggle with this duality often in my own life. Thus far I have not found the answer. I am not sure that I ever truly will but I also believe that is how it is supposed to be. Perhaps we must not choose one or the other, but simply embrace the duality and choose how to live each moment and situation. Although we would be out of equilibrium often enough if we did this that people I think just end up choosing to feel one way or the other and some point and never look back.
Q15. Which characters in this book do you find most sympathetic and why?
A15. I think that I am most sympathetic towards Neil, his wife Jamie, Lucy, the old Mrs. Worthington’s estate manager and of course John William. I am sympathetic towards Neil because I am a lot like him in the sense that I am an enabler and I want to help people at all costs. I have empathy for him and his situation. I feel sympathetic towards Jamie because throughout the book a caught myself many times wondering about how she felt about her helplessness in the situation between John William and her husband. Also, although Lucy is an odd choice, I just felt bad for what she had to put up with from Ginnie and also admired her strength in not allowing Ginnie to get most of the things she didn’t deserve. Then there is John William. My heart breaks for him because he just so badly wanted to find his place in the world. He was constantly burdened with the knowledge that he was “not like everybody else” and also he could sometimes take pride in this, it still gets despairing. Although many people would’ve been annoyed or angry at John William, I am simply saddened and empathetic.
Q16. How does The Other compare to other accounts, either fiction or nonfiction, about people who have exiled themselves from society?
A16. I think that exile is a common theme in literature, both fiction and nonfiction. For some reason the only one that I can think of right now is Into the Wild, which we have already discussed and to which I find The Other to bring up some of the same ideas but is not too similar. I will have to reexamine this and revamp my response later.
Q17. Discuss how Guterson’s decision to tell such a story in the form of a novel differs from Krakauer’s nonfiction approach.
A17. To be honest, I have never read Krakauer and so am unable to compare his approach to Guterson’s.
Q18. To what degree is Neil at fault for ensuing tragedy? Eventually, when Neil explains his failure to get help for John, do his explanations sound convincing?
A18. I think that Neil is not really at fault for John William’s tragedy. I think that deep down he understood that this was John William’s true decision and although he may have tried to convince him otherwise, it was in vain. Although the fact that Neil was unable to visit while his ankle was healing could’ve increased Neil’s sense of guilt towards the situation I do not think that it changed the ultimate outcome. As far as Neil’s explanations for not getting help for John William, in the end it was out of his perception of John’s being and his love for John. Whether or not it was the “right” thing to do, it was what Neil had known would happen. He could never have turned John in and allowed him to be pulled down from the paradoxical pedestal that Neil had placed him on.
Q19. Do you think that it is inheriting the money that allows Neil to finally devote himself to writing, or is it the chance to get John William’s story off his chest.
A19. From my understanding of who Neil is and what John William meant to him, although the money may have provided the practical means for him to devote himself to writing, it was the chance to tell John William’s story that made him follow through. It was the idea of finally allowing some of his most intimate experiences, feelings and secrets to emerge and allow the world to see the “Hermit of the Hoh” who secluded himself from them.
Q20. Would John William want a book written about him?
A20. I think that John William’s response to having a book written about him would’ve been similar to his response of Neil bringing supplies to him. He would’ve felt in some ways ashamed and sold-out but all the same accepted it for what it was. Although, part of me feels that this is completely off-base and that it would’ve been unbearable for him to see a book be written and published into the world he despised with such fierce hatred.
Q21. In what ways can we easily distinguish between Neil Countryman, the narrator telling the story, and David Guterson, the author and creator of the story?
A21. I think that Neil Countryman is more idealistic that Guterson. He sees the world as biased through his own experiences. But to be completely honest, I caught myself many times wondering if this was nonfiction even though I knew that it wasn’t. Neil’s voice was so strong and definite that I felt that I was truly reading the account of true experiences.
Q22. What do the fictional narrator and the real life author have in common? How might we be tempted to confuse the real and the fictional when reading The Other?
A22. I don’t really know what they have in common because I do not know much about Guterson as an author. However, I would imagine that they both have a strong sense of commitment to their work and that they have a large capacity for love and acceptance of people. Beyond that, I am going to have to learn.
Q23. As a writer, what risks does Guterson take in choosing a first-person narrator?
A23. I think that some of the risks that come along in choosing a first-person narrator are to only see as much as a person truly would, also the struggle to separate yourself from the character and then to stay in character and think like he or she would think. Also, in a small way, not to make that character you.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Dónde Jugarán Los Niños?
Mana the band.Here is the address to a music video by the music group Maná
"Cuenta el abuelo que de niño
El jugó
Entre árboles y risas y alcatraces de color
Recuerda un río transparente si olor,
Donde abundaban peces, no sufrían
Ni un dolor
Cuenta el abuelo de un cielo
Muy azul,
En donde voló papalotes que él
Mismo construyó
El tiempo pasó y nuestro viejo ya murió
Y hoy me pregunté después de tanta
Destrucción
Dónde diablos jugarán los pobres niños?
Ay ay ay! en dónde jugarán
Se esta pudriendo el mundo
Ya no hay lugar
La tierra está a punto de
Partirse en dos
El cielo ya se ha roto, ya se ha roto
El llanto gris
La mar vomita rios de aceite
Sin cesar
Y hoy me pregunté después de
Tanta destrucción
Dónde diablos jugarán los pobres
Nenes? Ay ay ay. En dónde jugarán?
Se esta partiendo el mundo
Ya no hay lugar"
Some Ways to Reduce our Carbon Footprint!
- Reduce water use by turning off the sink and shower in between times when you are doing things such as: brushing your teeth, washing dishes or shaving your legs, etc.
- Use reusable, cloth shopping bags.
- Organize and host a community or neighborhood tree planting.
- Buy local agriculture products.
- Plant a garden in your backyard or utilize a community garden.
- Buy organic products
- Shop to support local growers by utilizing farmers markets and the Moscow Co-op.
- Unplug appliances when not in use.
- Keep your refrigerator stocked in order to use less energy.
- Use online bills and bank statements so as not to waste paper.
- Use reusable coffee mugs instead of paper ones.
- Have a compost pile in your backyard.
- Turn off lights when not in use.
- Fix leaky faucets, bad insulation, etc. in order to make your house more energy efficient.
- Make sure that your tire pressure is at the right amount of pounds.
- Use environmentally friendly cleaning products.
- Make your own clothes using materials like wool.
- Make use of hydroponic gardens, especially during winter months.
- Gather food from your surrounding area.
- Eat raw food (good for your health).
- Recycle batteries or use rechargeable ones.
- Recycle plastic, aluminum, paper, etc. on campus and at home.
- Donate clothing.
- Watch the stores where you shop by utilizing sites such as "Betterworldshopper.com" in order to find out what stores and/or products are environmentally and ethically responsible.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Seven Devils Field Trip Proposal
Name of Designer: Tayler Harrington Date Submitted: September 17, 2009
Field Trip Destination: Seven Devils Mountains, Idaho
Description: Seven Devils is a series of mountain peaks in Idaho. They are a part of the Hells Canyon Wilderness and managed by the Payette and Nez Perce National forests. The mountains offer an extensive number of hiking trails and gives one plenty of wildlife and plant life to observe.
Location: It is about 120 miles south from Lewiston to Riggins. From Riggins, it is about 17 miles west to the Windy Saddle trailhead. Total Travel Estimates: 2 hour 56 minutes / 140 miles.
The Seven Devils Mountains contain some of the highest peaks in Idaho some of which are given names like, “He Devil, She Devil, The Ogre, Tower of Babel, Twin Imps, The Goblin, Devil’s Throne and Devil’s Tooth”. (http://www.summitpost.org/area/range/171143/ seven-devils-mountains.html). The terrain ranges from 1,000 feet in elevation to a 9,240 foot elevation at the summit of “He-Devil”
Selected Subjects for Study:
Birds: The Seven Devils are famous for various types of birds that inhabit their eco-system such as: raptors, shorebirds, songbirds, upland birds, waterbirds and waterfowl (Idaho fish and game). Some main birds to look for are Red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, pine siskin, northern goshawk, etc.
Rocks: The Seven Devils show various types of sedimentary rocks as well as igneous rocks created from volcanic eruptions.
Flora/Fauna: Due to the vast changes in elevation, the area around Seven Devils ranges from desert to high alpine and as a result there is a diverse population of plant and animal life.
Lakes: There are about 45 lakes that can be found in the Seven Devils wilderness area and they also add to the population of different plants and animals that live and thrive in their ecosystem.
Inner health and wellness: Learn ways to utilize nature in order to become a more healthful and ethical human being.
Goals and Objectives of Trip:
To encourage students to venture out into our Seven Devils and Hells Canyon Wilderness and take advantage of the pristine preservation that we are able to enjoy. By doing so, students will learn some of the history of why areas like this were established in the United States and what ethical and ecological implications they have to people. Learn about the native food sources in the area. Also, encourage students to exercise because of an ethical obligation to be healthy both physically and mentally.
Strategies for obtaining goals:
Hiking,/backpacking camping, journaling, yoga stretching and meditation and research about the history of wilderness areas in the United States.
Hook:
Arrive at Seven Devils Mountains and complete the 27-mile hike that leads them by all of the major peaks.
Rationale:
· The healthcare system in the United States in currently in a crisis and its government is looking for ways to reform it in order to get coverage for more people. If we can learn ways to stay more physically fit then each of us can do our own part to decrease the negative effects on our healthcare system.
· It is important as a student to do things that challenge you and get you out of your comfort zone so that you are able to grow and develop as a person. By doing this hike with fellow classmates one can learn how to bond with others and also build their mental and physical strength.
Activities and Procedures:
Prior to departure:
· Learn about safety procedures for backpacking trips.
· Be taught how to properly pack for a backpacking trip.
· Study the flora and fauna of the area, specifically relating to edible food sources.
· Plan and pack for meals and meal preparation utensils.
On Site:
· Take photographs and write in journals.
· Complete the 27-mile hike in 3 days.
· Learn how to meditate and stretch according to the yogic tradition.
· Identify various types of rocks, plants and wildlife and how they fit into the ecosystem, including their importance.
Post trip:
· Complete poems representing knowledge and understanding gained from the trip in relation to ethics and ecology.
Assessment:
Keep a journal of the time spent on the sight and of any research done about the history of U.S. wilderness areas. Then on the return of the trip, complete 2 poems about the time spent and knowledge/wisdom obtained at Seven Devils in relation to ethics and ecology.
Keep a weekly log of physical activity, attempting to get AT LEAST thirty minutes of moderate activity and 30 minutes of easy physical activity a day in an attempt to become a more physically fit individuals and help fight the high obesity rates in the United States.
Resources:
http://away.com/gorp/location/id/id_mtns/sevdevil.htm
http://www.ouachitamaps.com/Seven%20Devils.html
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/ibt/site.aspx?id=N56
http://www.summitpost.org/area/range/171143/seven-devils-mountains.html
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en-us&q=seven%20devils%20mountains%2C%20idaho%20map&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl
Report on Trip to "The Traditional Sportsman"
Learning to Appreciate the Unknown
I am not a person who knows a lot about hunting or being outdoors. Due to my lack of exposure to and general interest in hunting up to this point in my life, I have not learned a lot about the sport in general. However, I recently visited a hunting supply shop in downtown Lewiston and was able to look around and also to interview the owner. As I was looking around I noticed an automatic bow and although I had seen one before I had never really closely examined one. After talking to the owner of the store about his personal preference for hunting (which was bow hunting) I decided to research some of the history in hunting with a bow and arrow.
First of all, arrows have been used as hunting tools and weapons for tens of thousands of years and bows for at least five to ten thousand years (Brissee). The original appeal of the bow and arrow system was that one, it was made from wood that was generally easy to access and two, it was effect from a longer range so the hunter didn’t have to get as close to his prey. Throughout most of the world’s early history, the bow and arrow were the main weapons used. It was not until the early 1500’s when the musket was invented that some of the shift happened (Brissee). However, people continued to use bows and arrows.
As I mentioned earlier, bows and arrows were originally made of wood. Many cites that I have looked at said that cedar arrows are some of the best quality arrows to use. As I was interviewing the owner of “The Traditional Sportsman”, he also told me that he prefers cedar arrows as opposed to fiberglass or metal ones. He stated that although metal and fiberglass arrows are often more uniform and precise, he prefers the way that cedar arrows break once they enter into the animal (Lamb).
Likewise, I learned a lot about the different materials that are used for making bows. Although they too were traditionally made from wood, they are not also made of fiberglass, laminated carbon and aluminum (“Types”). There are also about seven different types of bows that are used today, which vary on operation type (manual/automatic), material, and curve and use of bow. I was unaware of the numerous types of bows that were out there. So why is this important to ethics and ecology?
Well, as I was speaking to the owner of “The Traditional Sportsman”, he gave me a lot of insight into the types of hunting that people do. What he told me was that at least in his opinion, bow hunting was more ethical than hunting with a gun. This went against what I would’ve assumed so I asked him to expand on that for me. He explained to me that first of all, there is an ethical responsibility to the animal that the hunter have good aim, which diminishes the suffering of the animal. Assuming that this is the case, the owner told me that if the shot of the arrow is good, the animal will bleed out faster that with a gun shot and that it administers less shock to the animal’s system. He also relayed the knowledge that bow hunting can leave behind less debris (shotgun shells, gun powder, etc.) than gun shooting and that in general because you must get within such a close range, bow hunters tend to follow their prey and not leave part of the body shot off and leave the animal. All of these things made good sense to me (Lamb).
Another point is that often, specifically wooden arrows are made by hand and a lot of time and craftsmanship goes into making them well. So if you are using handmade arrows or bows for that matter, you are probably supporting small and hopefully local businesses, which is good for your town and your fellow citizens. It also means that you did not have to ship them, which reduces the amount of oil in the form of gasoline used to get them there and also reduces greenhouse gas emissions (every time you choose not to use a car).
I feel that it is important to be knowledgeable about the materials that you are using when going hunting in order to be sure that you try to do things that disrupt the animal’s environment and ecosystem as little as possible. Also, the hunter has an ethical responsibility to the animal to kill it as quickly and efficiently as possible so as to avoid an extended period of suffering. I never knew that so much went into the materials and ethics of hunting, but I now know that if I ever become a hunter I will do my best to do it ethically – both in my preparation and weapon choice and use.
Works Cited
Brissee, Tom. "History of Archery." Strictly Bow Hunting N.p., 2000. Web. 4 Oct. 2009
Lamb, Mark. Personal interview. 2 Oct. 2009.
"Types of Bows and Arrows." Think Quest N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2009
