Recent update
- Grossssss……..
- I Started Reading!
- I Am Up a Creek, A Very Big Creek
- I Have Started Reading!
- I Have Decided…
- Getting Started
Grossssss……..
May 4th, 2009 by purcilly4
Death in Venice may be the most disgusting work of literature I have ever read. Gustav von Aschenbach is constantly fantasizing about the 14-year-old Tadzio, who on top of that is a boy. The way he describes the child makes him seem even younger and purer than his age indicates. The multitude of phallic imagery, suggestive phrases, and stalking done by Aschenbach has left me thoroughly disgusted about this novella. What’s more, I have to write about this work and much of my paper is centered around that which I find most repelling.
Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments
I Started Reading!
May 4th, 2009 by purcilly4
I am three chapters through Death in Venice, and it has a very Greek side to it. The old author, Gustav von Aschenbach (the main character) travels to Venice and sees a young boy of 14 that is travelling with his family, and falls in love with him. Mann himself took a similar vacation and had a similar experience. Not only this, but the way Mann closely relates the narrator and Aschenbach, along with the similarities present between him and his character, suggest that Mann is trying to portray himself through Aschenbach. The character often refers to other works of Mann with high praise and respect.
This was supposed to go up a month ago but it didn’t publish. So here it is!
Posted in Uncategorized | | | 0 Comments
I Am Up a Creek, A Very Big Creek
March 10th, 2009 by purcilly4
I am sitting here at the library , trying to find analysis on All Quiet on the Western Front, and there is not much useful. So, I am going to read a couple books within the next week, beginning with Marx’s Communist Manifesto and Mann’s Death in Venice. I think that Communist Manifesto will be the best option, because there is loads of criticism on the topic. Hopefully I can pull it together and put out a quality project, not one slapped together at the last minute by a procrastinating high school senior.
Posted in AP English Term Paper | | | 0 Comments
I Have Started Reading!
March 8th, 2009 by purcilly4
So far my book has been rather bland. Through the first 90 to 100 pages, most of the writing is characterization. Erich Remarque puts a special emphasis on highlighting the positive characteristics of Stanislaus Katczynski (or Kat) and his relationship with Paul Bäumer, the narrator. Kat has been developed as not only a friend to Paul, but a brother and a father figure.
Remarque also makes evident the changes that one undergoes after enduring the war. The soldiers become hardened, almost to the point of indifference to human life. They become like robots, marching uniformly and doing as they are told to extinguish the enemy. The practical side of the soldier becomes far more important than the empathetic side of him.
I hope the book begins to pick up not only in action but in literary techniques and thematically. If this book is to work, I will need more to write about than what the dull first 100 pages provided.
Adam Purcilly
Posted in AP English Term Paper | | | 0 Comments
I Have Decided…
January 29th, 2009 by purcilly4
I have decided to read and write my project about All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque. I spent 45 minutes on Sunday at Barnes and Noble looking for books, and I got a few good ideas. I then came home and searched “Classic Novels” or something of the sort and this was one of the novels on there. I had seven on a notecard, and Western Front and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin kept coming back to me. With a little help from Mr. Kreinbring, I chose Western Front because of the length of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and my solid foundation in German. Hopefully this novel is shorter than my other options, and I can get through it quickly and thoroughly.
Adam Purcilly
Posted in AP English Term Paper | | | 1 Comments
Getting Started
January 24th, 2009 by purcilly4
I set up the blog on Wednesday because I figured that would be the easiest part of the project. Then I delved into my search for the right novel. Something that would keep me interested, while also being a manageable length and difficulty to enable me to complete a quality project. My first thought was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, but Mr. Kreinbring suggested to someone else to find an older book with more criticisms, so I am back at square one. It is difficult to see everyone else knowing exactly what they want to do and still have no clue. I’m probably gonna take a trip to Barnes and Noble to try to find a book after baseball practice today. Maybe today will be better than my last few of confusion and indecision.
Adam Purcilly
Posted in AP English Term Paper | | | 0 Comments
