Reading+Reflections

9/16/10 __Into the Wild__

Thus far, my impression of Chris McCandless is that he is a very proud and idealistic man so much so at times that it clouds his judgment. In the first chapter alone, he turns down offers for gear and help and refuses to be deterred by the stories of Jim Gallien the truck driver. Later he even refuses simple clothing donations from Jan Burres by stealthily leaving them behind in her truck. He seems determined to do everything himself and this is probably the most important factor that led to his untimely demise. He seems so convinced that he needs to do everything on his own. Everything in his life seems to have been nothing but a hindrance to him; something he has to endure and than escape from to find true happiness and some form of meaning in his life: "At long last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence." He so easily severs his past, his family and his friends it makes me wonder just how long he was thinking of this, planning it and conditioning himself to finally carry it out.

9/23/10 __Into the Wild__

After finishing __Into the Wild__ I find myself contemplating the unique character of Chris McCandless. He had a strange way of interacting with people that was both interesting and also somewhat selfish. You get the impression that he kind of led people on, letting them like him but all the while knowing that he would one day move on for good and leave them behind. He did this with his parents especially, putting on a good show through college than suddenly disappearing with no intention of ever seeing them again. He does this again before his ill-fated adventure to Alaska, sending everyone he has kept in contact with final, curt messages as if he knows he will never see them again. He seems determined to never become attached to anyone to intimately, to never be indebted to anyone. This is part of the poisonous society he has been trying to escape from, so whenever he senses he may be becoming too accustomed to life in civilization, he takes off again to be alone and remind himself of his ideals. This is incredibly selfish of him to play with people the way he does but it is still hard to judge him because he is so confused. He is on a mission to discover who he is and his morals won't let him do that with other people. His duties to himself overcome his commitments to others.

10/12/10 __Heart of Darkness__

Thus far, __Heart of Darkness__ has been a very slow read. It is told like a long, run-on story but with enough detail to make the reader forget the narrator is just hearing all of this from his fellow ship-mate. From just the first "chapter" of his story, you see that Marlow is very aware of the world around him but also very biased in his opinions and observations. He appear to be the only one who has "an uncanny feeling" about the older woman knitting in the company office but cannot accurately describe it. He also describes the barely developed coastline as a "God-forsaken wilderness" and "somber" and seems fascinated by the black men he sees rowing. He describes the journey as "a weary pilgrimage amongst hints of nightmares". Even before he sees the horrors of Kurtz's encampment, he sees no beauty or respite in Nature, only a dangerous darkness.

10/25/10 __Heart of Darkness__

Marlow's discovery of Kurtz is both impressive and deplorable. He has wondered about this man for so long that when he finally meets him, even though Kurtz is living a deplorable lifestyle with hundreds practically worshiping him, he still describes the poor man as if he is a god. Kurtz's procession to the base is described as a sorrowful but still awesome event. Kurtz is obviously a man with great power and influence ("I saw him open his mouth wide...as though he had wanted to swallow all the air, all the earth, all the men before him...") who has succumbed to illness and suffers nobly from it ("I was struck by the fire of his eyes... it was not so much the exhaustion of the disease. He did not seem in pain. This shadow looked satiated and calm..."). Even after hearing and seeing everything Kurtz has done while in Africa (the raids, the shrunken heads and the bowing of the natives) it appears Marlow still has a kind of deep respect for Kurtz that he stubbornly refuses to relinquish. He also describes Nature as an entity, and the villagers as a part of this dark female entity "...the forest that had ejected these beings so suddenly had drawn them in again as the breath is drawn in a long aspiration.". The "apparition of a woman" he describes is wild, dangerous, mysterious and wealthy, a clear representation of Nature. Marlow is fascinated but also put off by this. The fact that this apparition of nature is woman shows his alienation and opposing ideas about Nature. Nature is not his gender, nor does it remind him of anything he has ever encountered.

11/3/10 __Oil!__

The amount of character development in the first chapter alone is astounding. Sinclair manages to cover most aspects of personality just by having his characters go on this business trip. Even though they are father and son, Bunny and his Dad appear to represent two extremes. Dad is sharp and focused, nearly emotionless and very business oriented. He focuses on one idea until it comes to fruition than acts upon it with slow but strong grace and assurance. Although he admires his father to no end, Bunny is nothing like him. He is a constant roil of emotion and thought. Bunny is compassionate, thinking about people and even roadkill. He sees adventure and companionship in others instead of just obstacles and problems like his father does. Bunny seems more suited to a life of thought and philosophy rather than business. He is too compassionate to run an oil business. In Paul, he sees what he has been unconsciously looking for his whole life: morals. His father teaches him how to get around the law and cheat people but some part of him has always known that this is not right. Meeting Paul has opened his eyes to his father's teachings.

11/12/10 __Oil!__

Bunny seems to be caught in the middle of everything in this book. He is the pawn in his parents relationship, gathering information for the other or be ridiculed for refusing to do so. He is also being used in this deal by his dad and the residents as a spy for both ends of the deal while at the same time facing moral dilemmas over lying for his father's business. But Bunny is at least smart enough to know he is being used and he avoids giving away too much or talking to the wrong person. But even so, it is still a very awkward and stressful position for a young boy to be in. He already has so much stress in his life even though he's barely a teenager. Maybe that's why the lifestyle of Paul and Paul's family appeals to him so much, because it is a world vastly different from his own where no lies are told, no one is cheated and all money is made honestly. He feels that kind of life would be better, not just for him but for everyone. Of course, this puts him in another bad position as his father is trying to cheat the Watkins out of their ranch so he can get the oil there. Bunny notices his father's greed for this resource and his disregard for the Watkins but he does not question it because he trusts his father and his father is always right about the matters in his oil business.

11/26/10 __Oil!__

An ethical issue that comes up a lot in this book is Dad's use of money to further his own interests. Bunny watches as Dad bribes county officials and other businessmen to push for the development of a new road that will allow him to bring his drilling equipment out to Paradise. Dad is doing this for his own benefit of course but what gets to me is that he tries to justify it by saying how much it will help the community. Sure a new road in Paradise would help it live up to its name but quite obviously it is not his intention to assist the townspeople. To him, the working class and the poor are "suckers": unable to make it on their own and at the mercy of those in power. Dad builds the roads to increase his own fortune with exports of oil. The fact that they help others is only a happy side-effect. Dad is no philanthropist, he only pretends to be when it will help him increase his own fortunes and convince his son that he is in no way a twisted businessman. In no way should he not assist in road development, I just find the way that he does it and justifies it deplorable.

12/3/10 __Oil!__

Being somewhat of an idealist, I find myself sympathizing with Bunny often in this book. He is being pulled in two separate directions by two people he genuinely cares about: his father and Paul. He has always followed his father's ideals and teachings but now his respect for Paul is getting in the way. He cares a lot about Paul's opinion but finds it hard to follow it. He cannot imagine leaving his father but he can see that what his father is doing is hurting many honest people. It is tearing him apart, trying to find some way to side with both in this dilemma. But despite all this, it is somewhat hard to sympathize with him completely because of Bunny's naivety. He swallows all the propaganda that is thrown at him and allows himself to get caught up in conforming emotions and actions. For example, he decides to join the army because he has been so riled up to defend his country. But luckily, he never ships out. I suppose it must be comforting to him, to let others justify his actions and fix his ethical issues just like he did when Dad swindled the Watkins out of their ranch by having Meelie "discover" the oil on the property.

12/10/10 __Oil!__

The two characters I find most compelling in this book are the oldest Watkins boys: Paul and Eli. They share many qualities that seem to define the Watkins family, like their will to defend their beliefs and help others like them but the differences between these two men are striking. From the very first time we meet him, Paul is portrayed as a model freedom-fighter. He is honest, open and smart, determined to make his own honest living in the world by his own standards. Conversely, until Eli begins his "revival", we know very little about him. He is more of a mysterious character, hovering in the background until he sees his moment to shine. Paul's description leads us to dislike him and his actions only heighten that dislike. What honest man of God uses his "gifts" to become wealthy while his family lives in squalor? Both brothers have achieved their goal of greatness by escaping the terrible life, they came from. However, their actions reveal a lot about them. Eli has made himself into a god by simply waiting for an opportune moment and than manipulating people with religion to give him money and carry him to success. Conversely, Paul has studied hard to make his own way and is still fighting to achieve some sort of success for himself and other laborers. Eli seems to be Upton Sinclair's way of embodying his dislike of mass religion and men who achieve power the way Eli has: my manipulating the working class. Mr. Sinclair obviously has much more respect for a man like Paul who thinks of others. However, he does not completely sympathize with Paul. After all, Paul is no romantic hero. He has faced many difficulties and there are times when the reader has to question Paul's morals and motives, such as how he has undying support for the labor movement but also remains close friends with "the enemy" J. Arnold Ross.

12/17/10 __Oil!__

I am glad Bunny has finally realized how easily he is persuaded by others and how he needs to think for himself. This revelation show a real coming-of-age moment for his character, a time when he understands that he does not have his views and beliefs about the world sorted out yet and feels the need to do so. I was particularly impressed by his desire to live as a working man for awhile and disappointed that he was not able to do so. In my opinion, he would be happier with his pursuit of knowledge if he were able to spend some time away from his father and the other businessmen in his life. He really needs some time away from these outside influences to discover where he stands in the world, particularly within the socialist movement. As of right now, he seems to be the idealist negotiator, sympathizing with both parties and trying to get them all to work together so everything can be as his father says: “all hunky-dory.” But he keeps running into frustrations because the opinions of the several groups he is trying to unite seem incompatible. He simply cannot see how the two groups of the socialist party (who both fundamentally want the same thing), can’t seem to come to an agreement on how to achieve it. He is even becoming frustrated with them because, as someone with a foot in both groups, he can see how much this argument is wasting and how the capitalists are taking advantage of this divide. Bunny’s frustrations are widening and he seems to be frustrated with the world in general. He cannot follow his father’s morals and yet, in following his own, he can’t make people cooperate or get anything done. I fear he will never find the peace he desires in a way that is satisfying to him.

1/12/11 __Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World__

While reading this book, I have found the writing style to be unique and quite enjoyable. Mr. Murakami effortlessly shows mysterious and suspenseful scenes while still managing to add the occasional humorous twist or lash at society. The storyline is also well-developed and fast-paced but even after the first 200 pages, I still find the characters rather ambiguous. Very few names are used in this book, rather, most of the characters in both worlds are referred to by their profession (e.g. the Gatekeeper, the Professor, the Librarian) or by their characteristics (e.g. the girl in the pink suit, Junior, Big Boy). Some of them, like Junior and Big Boy and the Professor and his granddaughter, seem to act as a single unit, incapable of succeeding on their own much like the two halves of the brain. For example, Junior needs Big Boy for intimidation and leaving a convincing scene where they visit otherwise the System might have caught him long before now. The same can be said for the Dreamreader and his shadow: the shadow will die if he does not return to the Dreamreader and the Dreamreader will lose his mind and memories forever if he doesn't regain his shadow. A lot of the premises in this book rely on either two halves working together to function properly, or two opponents that make each other capable of existing (e.g. the System and the Factory) showing the complicated and unique processes of the mind.

1/21/11 __Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World__

While reading this book, there are times when I have to question the sanity of the main character. At many points in the story, he seems detached and emotionless, just taking things as they come. This was especially apparent to me when Junior and Big Boy were trashing his apartment and he just sat back to watch with little or no reaction after the initial surprise. He also didn't seem to have much of a reaction when they cut him. It seems like he's spent so much time detached from the world, shifting thoughts around his head, that he has become desensitized to humanity. The only thing that seems to bring him out of his dream-like state is the journey through the tunnels with the girl in the pink suit. The journey awakens memories in him and something deeper than his usual intellect that suddenly gives him a desire to live and a need to "reclaim his whole self." Murakami seems to be using this to illustrate how important it is to be a part of the real world so we don't lose our emotions and sense of importance from being alone so long. It would appear that the Professor is also used to illustrate this point as he has distanced himself from others and doesn't seem to care about the effects of the science he has created will have on the world.

2/11/11 __Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World__

The book does not provide much in the way of a "happy ending" but it does leave the reader with important points to meditate on. In the final chapters of this book, Murakami becomes very philosophical and intuitive. His "real world" character begins to appreciate everything as he is about to lose it and finds himself blissfully on the edge of several revelations in his final moments. He does not dramatize his death, he merely falls into his own mind by himself listening to Bob Dylan and thinking about all he has done. Through this, Murakami emphasizes the importance of a life of appreciation and responsibility, where one does what is right and appreciates each moment for the finite wonder it contains. Although these moments are revelations for both his lead characters, they also provide examples for Japanese culture. At the end of the story, both characters remove themselves from society in order to make themselves happy. The Dreamreader in The End of the World realizes his place is in the Woods with the librarian and although escape is possible, he does not attempt it. Both characters demonstrate admirable choices as they face their last moments which Murakami makes sure his audience sees, even if they don't understand them completely.

2/18/11 __Cadillac Desert__

The interesting thing about this book is that it reads like a very humorously written history textbook. The personality of the author comes out very clearly but does not interrupt the flow of facts and detailed stories he tells. On the contrary, his style helps move the story along by engaging the reader. It was especially helpful during the pages about John W. Powell, his adventures and his work. This is evident also in his discussion of the problem in the introduction where Mr. Reisner clearly states the problems and potential for problems that he sees but does not attack the cause directly. Rather, he is remorseful and dejected about the extent of this problem and the difficult, sweeping changes that may be needed to reverse them. He does not attack the culture of the west, instead he examines how it came to be, why it is that way and why it would be so difficult to change it to minimize environmental degradation. I am interested to see how his style continues to be evident as the book continues to examine the west and its resources.

3/4/11 __Cadillac Desert__

Something that continues to surprise me is how much time and effort was made to settle the West. All the evidence pointed to the idea that some areas of the West was too arid to be farmed and too dry to support a large population of human life. Yet today, Los Angeles sits in one of the driest most desolate places on Earth with populations climbing through the millions. And what did it take to get there? Several billion dollars over several years and the destruction of a productive farm community and river ecosystem. Not to mention the disasters associated with some of the dams that were built. Money was thrown around carelessly for huge dam and irrigation projects which led to massive debt and degradation of necessary farmland. In order to settle most of the West, the US had to change much of the landscape and destroy many useful systems. And for what? To have assurance against a Japanese invasion? What was Hawaii for then? To me it seems like a poor excuse made by rich men to convince the poorer men that what they had to do was necessary for all, even though the rich men were reaping the benefits. Why does this seem to be a reoccurring theme in US history?

3/21/11 __The Mosquito Coast__

So far, I am really enjoying this book. The storyline is intriguing and easy to follow. In addition, the characters are very realistic. I am deeply impressed by Allie Fox's resourcefulness, ingenuity and boldness. I am however, a little concerned about his apparent lack of concern. He is obviously well educated and capable but what about his kids? Two of them are barely five years old and they all trust him enough to follow him blindly to Honduras. Allie trusts that they are competent and is convinced that this change is the best way to educate them. But that doesn't change the fact that he is still expecting them to survive and thrive in one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Nonetheless, Allie seems like he has a plan and is confident in the integrity of that plan.

3/29/11 __The Mosquito Coast__

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The storyline has progressed and the intentions of the "mad" Mr. Allie Fox are starting to reveal themselves. Allie seems very sure of himself and his plans for this strange expedition. He even "knew" that there would be people like the Maywits and the Zambus waiting for them once they arrived at Jeronimo. Personally, it seems to me that Mr. Fox is just making up his mind as he goes (e.g.they were there so he figured out how to use them). This however, does make me wonder what his overall goal is, and if he even has a clear idea of where he's going with all this. He appears to be building a semi-civilized society in the middle of the jungle of which he is not necessarily the "leader" but definitely a vital figure. I can't help but wonder if this society he is creating would survive if he died or left it. Charlie seems to trust him and always identifies his father as the leading figure in this society, even though even he is not sure what his father's plans are and why they came to Honduras.======

4/5/11 __The Mosquito Coast__

If I had to pick one character that seems to hover in the background more often than natural it would be Charlie's mother. From the very beginning of the story, she has been portrayed as a follower instead of a leader. She listens to her husbands rants and sermons and follows him without protest. While her amount of faith in Allie is admirable, her apparent lack of independence and free thought appears to be a significant character flaw. Allie doesn't even really seem to understand her; Charlie notices the differences in how his parents treat their children while Allie simply says "She's all business". She the polar opposite of her husband. And despite all Allie has done to bring this society together, it seems like his wife is really the glue that holds them together. She keeps the chores done, comforts the children and connects to the rest of the people in Jeronimo. Allie may be their "leader" but he would be nowhere without the quiet, obedient woman behind him.