6/23/2000
Geoffrey
Chaucer of England by Marchette Chute
[Note
brought in Denmark near Round Tower]
Discussing
football (soccer) matches between school and trade boys. Was banned before
Chaucer’s birth “because too much excitement had been generated” (20). Football hooligans in Chaucer’s day.
Chute actually
gives a reason why Chaucer never mentioned Bocchico. Any student of Chaucer knows his sources as Chute
points out Chaucer mentions them himself.
Chute points out that Bocchio wanted his vernacular works kept secret,
nice to read a critic that points out that to the reader.
Chute
deals very well with the historical information and some her analysis of the
tales lacks depth. She makes a mistake and
calls Emily Theseus’s sister instead of sister-in-law, but she does succeed in
making Chaucer come alive. Books does at
times show an amount of depth and understanding. Nice to read someone who doesn’t presume that
Chaucer’s marriage was a bad one. She is
especially right about Chaucer’s mocking tone, and everyone knows he mocks an
yet most critics presume the tone tells about his marriage in a serious
way. Nice to read a different view
point. But it raises the question, why
do people want Chaucer’s and Shakespeare’s marriages to be unhappy? Would a happy marriage detract from them in
some way. In Chaucer, there is no proof
that the marriage was bad. We presume
too much and base theories on the tiniest of facts. The closet I ever truly seen to the objective
view is a critic’s comment that the marriage was good and Donne loved his wife
but spent much time at his club because his wife did not have much time for his
intellect also the crowded house. Does
having a bad marriage show reason for their genius, is that the reasoning
behind the idea? Do people except
writers to suffer or is it better to suffer then to have a normal life? Chaucer’s life does seem to be refreshing
“normal” no big, major foamily tragedies or sudden deaths (yet, some of his
children must have). Do critics sprout
off the bad marriage idea to compensate for this? If so, what does that say about society?
6/26/2000
Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett
[Note: Brought in
Denmark]
LOL
Take
serious topic and makes it funny. He is
teaching the reader about life and death, and how one person doing an seemingly
insignificant thing can change things.
Death in life. Even Mr. Grimm who
seemed pained to be a villain is given understanding and the reader feels pity
for him.
As funny
as the Discworld novels but also deals with a more serious theme [Note: I
hadn’t read Small Gods at this point]. This books obvious is designed to do m ore
than tell a good story. Pratchett is funny
because everything is so true, happens in the real world.
Focus on
this book is about death and withdrawing from life and not living. Everyone in the book learns how to live (at
least the major characters0 except for Mr. Grimm. But from the way Mr. Grimm talks it is
obvious that he chooses what he is doing, the haunting as it were. The choice is the reason why we feel pity for
him. The Loneliness as well. Point seems to be to find a balance between
seriously and life.
6/26/2000
Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett
So,
I am never ever going to play Space Invaders again.
One of
the points is the same as in Johnny and the Dead. Always asking the question of what is reality
and how reality is different for each person.
Though if weird stuff like that keeps happening to Johnny perhaps he
would be safer in a mental home.
Description
of home life is well drawn, everyone can identify with it because everyone has
experienced it or something similar.
Johnny, in essence, is the 12 year old everyman
But why
if the game didn’t work right for so long did people keep playing it? This is never answered fully. Wouldn’t normal children move to a different
game?
6/27/2000
Hokas Pokas by Paul Anderson and Graham Richardson
[Note: brought in Denmark]
“Full Pack”
Prologue
is extremely good. Something immensely
funny about a bunch of teddy bears pretending to be the characters from The
Jungle Book, one does feel sorry for
Fanni Jones. Hokas are not anything like Fuzzys.
“The Napoleon Crime”
Quote
that Alex Sr Says to Brob , in context of discussing problems in Planetary
Congress: “It’s either believe that, or else believe we’re only characters in a
series of stories being written by a couple of hacks who need the money” (49)
Shows
that while humans have influenced the Hokas in the book so they have influenced
the humans as well. Alex’s reaction at
the end of the story. Everything
influences in some way, shape or form.
The
story is good because of the detail. You
can see the Hokas acting as Frenchmen and the writers keep them enough in
character yet do not lose the actor to the part.
“Star Prince Charlie”
Didn’t
like this one as much as the others.
Undoubtedly the reason is due to the fact [Note: OMG I sounded like
my students!] that the Hokas are supporting characters. Isn’t as charming and funny unless there is
more than one Hoka. It is however a good
story about moving from stage of life to another. But is more serious in tone than the other
two stories. Slightly more political and
societal but and while the Hoka fits the charm is not there. It is not the best of the three. I think that it would have to be the first
one, just slightly edging out “The Napoleon Crime”. Part of the problem was that when Betra took
up the role of the Scottish Patriot (became Hector) it seemed to be
cardboardish. When the Hokas in the
other stories took up characters or acted a part, the illustration was well done i.e. The Jungle Book Crew. But in “Star Prince Charlie” Hector feels
like a cardboard caricature of a Scot almost.
In the process the character of Bertram becomes “lost”. The characters in the other two stories, esp.
the members of the Jones household changed the characters they were being but yet
were still themselves. Bertram/Hector
does not feel this way. Perhaps it is
due to the fact that you do not get to know him or see him in a totally
official capacity.
The
Hokas are better on their planet and acting as a small or large group.
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