1/25/10 Ben Leuber's Presentation

Wow. I feel much better about not being able to understand Finnegans Wake. His advice on not reading the book on your own terms but letting the book work on you was pretty helpful. Reading the book out loud, he said it was a sort of song,  is the way i'm going to approach Finnegans Wake. 

He also cleared up the idea of Eternal Recurrance for me. Nietzsche's quote, once he explained it, made a lot of sense. The idea that fragmented things, becoming, and strict forms, being, are all intertwined and not seprate things but the same; and that Eternal Recurrrance is the approximation of becoming and being.  

One thing that stuck with me after class was one of his last comments about Shakespeare and how when someone reads Shakespear than that person becomes a part of Shakespeare and Shakespear a part of them.  I think this is were the Eternal Recurrance theme and the theme of life as literature and fiction go hand in hand.   Anyone or anything that I have, can, or will relate to will become a part of me and I will become a part of them.  That's pretty amazing.  Everything in this Universe is a part of me. I am a part of everything in this Universe. Makes sense to me since I am physically made up of the same atoms that make up anything and everything.   Throughout the day I thought about this and it gives me hope that there can be sameness amongs all the people in the world and the world itself.  Call me optimistic, but in Vico's theory at the end of the age of humans comes the age of gods.

Wed 1/20

I really enjoyed Salman Rushdie, top of the line, great read, excellent story. The story of Haroun was filled with themes that will be discussed in this class. One of the first I noticed was Dolce Domum, home sweet home, home is where you make it. It appears that as Haroun is trying to solve the story telling problem with his father, the real reason for his loss of the gift of gab was his mother's leaving, her departure, her song stopped. Haroun must go on this journey to Kahani, go 'via negative' in order to get to the place which he desires, a complete home, a family that loves him, his Dolce Domum.

Another theme that is seen is the 20 minute lifetime, a lifetime burning in every moment. Haroun goes on this journey to Kahani and it appears that he has been away for a great deal of time but once he is awoken by Snooty Buttoo he realizes that everything that has happened only took a short while. a lifetime within the nighttime, years gone by in moments. And in connection with the 20 minute lifetime theme is the Life as Fiction and Language.

Haroun notices some sort of "Angel Fish of some variety" in the Ocean of Stories and Butt the Hoopoe tells him that they are Plentimaw Fish which Haroun didn't think existed, gone, dead, no more. Haroun realizes that "a Plentimaw Fish can be an Angel Fish as well."