Special Post 2

1.       A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: a Tale for Children Is A story about a couple, Pelayo and Elisenda who came across and old man with wings. They have a child who is sick and at first, according to their neighbor,  ‘”He’s an Angel,’ She told them. “He must have been coming for the child”. But the local Priest came and “logically” explained how this creature could not be an angel because it did not respond when the father said good morning in Latin, being that Latin is the language of God, and the creature did not know how to greet the minister. Therefore he was deemed not an angel. They  had locked the creature up in the chicken coop  and many people had noticed and began to interact with the creature. “They found the whole neighborhood in front of the chicken coop having fun with the angel, without the slightest reverence, tossing him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if he weren’t a supernatural creature but a circus animal.”  Many people from far away started coming to see the creature because the news was spreading. Elisenda got the grand idea to start charging five cents admission to see the creature. This made the couple gain much wealth.  This whole time the creature never really showed much arousal except for the time they burned him to try to get him to do something, he only seemed to react out of pain rather than anger. He was a prisoner for quite a while and “the owners of the house had no reason to lament. With the money they saved they built a two-story mansion with balconies and gardens…”  After more time passed it seems as though they were getting tired or annoyed with having the angel around. At one point Elisenda “shouted that is was awful living in that hell full of angels.” It wasn’t until one day when she was looking out her window she saw him begin to work on his flying until he finally gained in altitude. “Elisenda sighed out of relief, for herself and for him, when she saw him pass of the last houses…” He flew away and he was “no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea.”

2.       In this story we never get a full understanding of why the family kept the angel around. Other than him making them rich, in all other instances they seem, especially Elisenda, to be annoyed and irritated with him being around.  She feels like it is a living hell with him around and she breathes a sigh of relief when she sees him fly off. But why do they keep him around? Why do they not do something else with him?

3.       I believe the underlying theme of this story is that things are not always what they seem. We never really get in the story what the angel was actually there for. I believe we never understand what he is there for because the couple never really looks into it. It makes you wonder what would have happened if they did not keep him as a prison but instead opened up their house to him, made him feel welcome, and nourished him since he was obviously run down and tired. It just seems like that if an angel has popped into your life, there might, and likely is, a reason for it. However, all they did was use and abuse him for their own personal gain.

4.       The angel was obviously not malicious and was of poor health. “He had to go very close to see that it was an old man, a very old man, laying face down in the mud, who, in spite of his tremendous efforts, couldn’t get up, impeded by his enormous wings”. “… his pitiful condition of a drenched great grandfather had taken away any sense of grandeur he might have had”. “His only supernatural virtue seemed to be patience. Especially during the first days, when the hens pecked at him…and even the most merciful threw stones at him, trying to get him to rise so they could see him standing. The only time they succeeded in arousing him was when they burned his side with an iron for branding steers, for he had been motionless for hours that they thought he was dead”. Where I believe they first went wrong was when they originally decided to put him on a raft and send him away with food for about three days, but then changed their minds when “they found the whole neighborhood in front of the chicken coop having fun with the angel, without the slightest reverence, tossing him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if he weren’t a supernatural creature but a circus animal”. For some reason. That made them decided to keep him as a prisoner, instead of sending him out on his own.

5.       Because of the way that they handled the situation, technically finding him was one of the “best things” that could have happened to them because of all the money that they made. However, on the flip side, Elisenda seemed to have played with massive amounts of annoyance and frustration, even to the point where on their new mansion, she put bars on the windows in order to keep angels out. The mind can only wonder if they would have done things differently and befriended the angel, maybe tried to learn his dialect, showed him kindness and hospitality, what could have come from that friendship. I like to believe that he had some great power, blessing, or gift that he could have given to them, that would have been worth more than the money they otherwise accumulated. I also believe that we should not judge so much based on the looks of someone. His old looks could have meant that he had great wisdom to share and that he had done so much, as an angel, within the span of his existence. Coming from a spiritual background, his state of being tired, worn down, broken, and shabby-looking, could have meant that he was returning from a great battle or war in which he fought honorably and with noble character, fighting and good fight for a good a righteous cause. I can understand not opening your home to a complete stranger that is a creature that you are not used to, but to go to the opposite extent, and throw him in a chicken coop, does not seem right. All in all, they could have handled the situation differently, even if they did not want him in their home, they  could have handled the situation with better grace and integrity.

Letters to the Phillippians

As I began to read through this and look for figurative language and metaphors I realized that I am still confused on what really falls under those criteria. I’m not too surprised because I have always struggled with this, even in middle school. But I did my best. I believe the first sentence started as figurative language with  “Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus” (emphasis mine) They were not literally bond-servants but the same way a bond-servant acts to his master so also Paul and Timothy act towards Christ. “I have you in my heart” There is no way a person could actually be in his heart that is physically not possible.  I feel that him saying “for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” is figurative language but I’m not sure why. I’m fuzzy on that one. “Standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together” how do you have one mind? With so many different minds in the literal sense it is impossible to all have one mind. I counted around 22 different times he used figurative language, or at least 22 times I think he did, there are several times I am not sure and underlined it anyways to see later if it is or not.

When it comes to how someone perceives this text with understanding signs and signals, the reading would change a lot to a person who understood them. If you take everything literally them this would be very confusing as from things stated above. Not only understanding, but I feel that being aware of even the possibility of figurative language changes everything in this passage. I believe it also changes our perspective of much of the bible. Jesus showed how powerful it can be to use figurative language and Paul does as well. It helps when the reader is aware of what to look for in this type of language.

Symbolism

A Sign, Very clear. We know what this Sign Means

A symbol is different. It points us in a direction but doesn't really give us the answer; is not as direct; leaves it open to questioning. “One of the most frustrating experiences many people have with complex literary works and films arises from the sense that one thing means something else, yet that “something else” can hardly be identified, captured, or named. To a person who wants things clear-cut, a discussion of symbols can seem like an impositions: a “reading into” a text rather than a “reading of” a text” (pg 1044 Literary Experience) this describes me! I don’t remember them coming and asking what I thought about the topic but they wrote about exactly how I feel!

So to those who are like me, here is a hint from the text. “To find symbols, don’t dig for what is covered. Start by paying close attention to the signals a text provides” (pg. 1045 Literary Experience) I think sometimes I overcomplicate the matter. If I do not understand something right away I automatically deem it way to deep to understand and annoying. This is say that I should not go that far and not get to dramatic. Look for signs within the text.

“Symbols ask us to move between the concrete and the abstract rather more flexibly than allegory does. Because a symbol is not conditioned by parallels sustained and consistently reinforced over the course of an entire narrative, we have more room to speculate.” According to this statement, I believe I would like allegories much more then symbols. It doesn’t leave as much open to speculation.

I still do not really understand these concepts that well but I am guessing that I will understand more after class tomorrow. That is normally how these things go. And something that I believe our professor try to implement: Just reading something once is not good enough. Read it again and maybe again and talk about  it with other people and you will be surprised at the information that appears to you the last time you read it.

afi; boys next door

I really enjoyed our trip to afi. It was kind of fun being there and reading The Boys Nest Door around the same time because there were some people that I was that I would imagine as being Norman or Arnold. Like when we toured the education room and they talk about how the client only works on things they want to. For example there was one man who wanted to send a facebook message, so the instructor said he should work on his sentence structures. This kind of reminded me of Barry and Golf. I think it is import for them to have something they enjoy and not force them to do something they do not want to do. Visiting there made me want to help out in some way. I have never really been around the disabled very much at all and being there really struck something inside me.

Something else I thought of today when I was reading Act 2 of Boys Next Door is when Barry’s dad comes and visits. How big of an ordeal was it in the play and it turned out not so well. It made me think of how hard it has to be on parents. I’m sure we would all love to think that each one of these disabled people have a great home life to go home to everyday, but the truth is I bet is about as even as anyone else having a good home life. Some do and others don’t. I am in Dr. Fettkes class, and he has talked about how tiring it can be as a parent and how import it has been for him and his family to lean on God and his body. What about those who do not know the Lord? Who do they lean on when they have no more strength or patience?

November 4th

These two texts tend to bring two different approaches to the mentally handicapped. The boys next door tend to be a lighter side of things. Showing that these people are innocent and fun. All with there own little quarks. I have actually seen the movie version of this and I love it. I would love if we could watch it in class. But to see the deep personalities each one has is exciting to watch. I love the scene where everyone is hiding their stuff under their shirts. With the donuts under the shirt and the coal under the shirt just makes me want to laugh.  It is just so sweet to think about it from their point of view, that they actually thought it would work. That no one would notice. I find it fully that Sheila calls Norman fat and he says she is no skinny Minnie herself. I will have to say I pull from my memories of watching the movie than actually reading the text. Being able to see it with my eyes is best for me. But I do understand that it is good to leave some stuff up to the imagination.

The text written by Dr. Fettke was interesting to me. I actually have a class with him and he has talked about his son often. His perspective is amazing to listen to and often challenging to my own perspective. I have had little encounter with handicapped people and can see why the church has not done too well with how they deal with the handicapped. My church does have a special class for autistic kids that allow the parents to leave them so they can go attend church without having to focus on the needs of their children. We have to have trained staff and camera but it is well worth it. I feel like something like that is not only helping the person but their whole family. Giving them time to take a breath and just be in God’s presence. I don’t know that there are only like 5 other churches that we know of that do similar things. I do feel the church needs to step it up in this area, and maybe that means pointing my finger back at myself. I heard one pastor say that he never prays for something that he know he can be the answer for. Maybe it will take people like me steeping up and advocating for this cause.

My visit to Lake Bonny Park/ Nature Poem

You were here before me,

Created before I,

Intricately designed.

What was once raw and untouched,

Standing still,

Only to moved by the wind or the hand of God himself.

Now, is cut down, moved, transplanted,

You, who used to cover the earth,

Now must be preserved.

Yet even still, when moved or transplanted,

It cannot take away your beauty.

I listen to hear the raindrops fall.

It’s not a downpour, so I must listen closely.

My ears are overtaken by sound, but not what I would expect.

A siren from a nearby street, the engine of a grounds keeper’s mower,

A school bus filled with kids wanting to be home.

They do not understand you, your beauty.

Maybe one day they will.

I believe we will never know you like you were,

When you started.

When, at first, God created you,

So still, so beautiful.

I went to Lake Bonny Park for this field trip; I stayed there for at least 45 minutes.  It was a little gloomy outside, and had been raining, so I ended up sitting underneath the covering where the picnic tables are. What I noticed more than nature was the collision between nature and civilization.  There was a siren that passed by, the whole time I was there, there was a man mowing the lawn, so I heard the roar of the lawnmower while trying to focus on nature. It was not the most conducive environment for focusing on this assignment.  I ended up going with Seth and the conversation we had was probably the most influential part of my experience.  We talked about our favorite things about home, the difference between his home in Alaska and my home in Kansas.  Each differs in landscape and scenery, but it was good to reflect on the fact that there is beauty in both places.  I feel it is important to remember that wherever you are, you should focus on how God made that area uniquely beautiful.

State of the Planet 2

I decided to paint for the second reading of State of the Planet. It took me WAY longer than a blog would have but i think I enjoyed it much more than writing a blog. I wish I were a better artist, but I enjoyed painting this. Because it is a Nature Poem, I decided to try to put the two together by painting nature and putting words from the poem in it. Like a Wordle!. Picking what words I wanted to use was hard. In the end I liked the way it worked out.