David’s Evil-er Than Most Blog

I though this semester in English was one of…moderate success. I learned a lot, from the evil stuff, but I’m still having trouble with my writing. While I loved the projects like that MacBeth thing (yay for acting and grabbing people by the throat!), I was always scared when I heard that we had another essay what needed writing. I find that (much like spanish, incidentally) no matter what I do, or how I study, I’ll end up doing so part of the assignment wrong. If I have too many blanks, the quotes I put in are lacking substance. If I’m told to elborate, my explanation itself was in need of explanation. Thank god for re-writes, except when time is so pressed that I’ve but a day to revise my writing. But that was no one’s fault, and really unavoidable. Like I said though I was gald for the group projects that required little writing to boost my [otherwise surely deplorable] grade.

 I kinda hope it stays the same for next semester. Well, leave out the writing, and put in more group projects. But since it is a writing class, I guess that’s a bit too high to hope for. Ooh! And more movies. I really liked watching the movies, and since they actualy helped, that was all the better. So overall, I want a cliched “optimal” writing and literature class. Man, I hate being cliched…

Yup, you better belive it. This time I was out of inspiration, but it’s about to change. I went to some oter blog, and saw a link to some stuff about that over-rated “hilarious” comedy, Borat. It contained short articles about how countries like Russia and Kazakstan weren’t showing the movie, and how outraged they were at it. Personally, I don’t see what they’re so upset about. It was a satire. How can 2 entire countires not realize this? Not only that, but I saw the film, and it made as much fun of America as it did of Kazakstan. So why is America showing it? Because we’re more used to satire, I would assume. We have Twain, we have satirical news shows, the whole shabang. And the movie’s not even that ghood satire. I fount it to be not terribly, and in dire need of better censoring. Some parts made me chuckle, but not laugh and jump out of my seat like other people. I guess I’ve had too much satire and sarcasm in my life to appreciate the “humor” of a naked fat man.

http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/race/

In this article, or rather, series of articles, it is shown how america has changed, and some would say degenerated, from the stance where the white and black differences was considerably clearer. Now the country is a colaboration between the two races, and this mix presents problems as to how the races are portrayed, now that rascism is so “untollerated”(which I quote for reasons I said in my last rasism post) For instance, in the article “Who Get’s To Tell a Black Story”, it brings up the issue of how the black story is presented. It could say how unfortunate the blacks were in their predicament, but would that be rascist? It could say how well things were going nowadays, but would that be concealing the truth. With no clear path to turn to, and everyone not wanting to be seen as openly rasist, where does the country turn?

I ended up reading the narrative of Louis Hughes (well, most of it anyway), and my perception has changed, but not that much,. The tale of his enslavement is much more elaborated than that of Douglass’ (albeit, he was born on the plantation), and in the start of the narrative, he seems to be almost unpreturbed by his enlsavement. He even calls his master “Boss”, which I would assume that slaves would want to drop post slavement, for it somehwta alludes to them acting the command of others. Overtime though, he realizes the barbaricness of the plantation, noting howcruel the slave drivers were, and how cramped the conditions. He tries 5 times to escape, which shatters my perception that attempted scapes would lead to one’s death, if caught. After much rambling about possible escape plans, he ends up with the actual escaping. Wierd…Why would it take so long? He lasts through war’s, rebellions, 4 failed escapes, and is still fine and dandy. A fine example of the tenacity of a slave, but still strange in the way’s he get’s about it.

t somewhat relates to Huck Finn. I mean, he appears to grow more and more mature, and more dainful of the slavery process, like Huck did as he spent more time with Jim on their adventures. Like Jim, Hughes wants to escape, but fails 4 times. I doubt Jim tried to escape (it seems he is rather new to the process in the start of the book). Both Jim and Huck seemt ot think Miss Watson was a good slave holder, and likewise does Hughes of his owner (after he escapes, perhaps showing that the master was hated during the actual enslavement.)

I’m not sure what I’ll find when I read these. I mean, I know it’ll be all about the slaves preaching the evils of slavery, but how can one write more than 10 or so pages of that before people start to get disinterested? I’ve read some of the frederick Douglass stuff back in Catholic school, and those was more about his life, and not really what he did. The chapter about his escape from slavery was short and “quaint” (that is to say, everything worked well). I’ll read someone else’s in hopes that they talk of anything else, but I hope it has more than the usual “free our brothers!”, else I’ll get pretty bored, pretty fast.