I Want To Feel It All

"They who suffer little may be proud and independent as they like – may resist insult or return mortification - but I can not. I must feel." Pg182

Marianne says this to Eleanor after she finds out that Willoughby is engaged and Eleanor is trying to calm her down. She is saying that she isn't going to lie to herself about how she feels. She wants to feel all of her emotions whether happy or sad. I think this shows her true character because she never hides her feelings or tells any sort of lie.
We can also see a contrast between Marianne and Eleanor once again because Eleanor believes there is no point in showing how she feels because it will just upset other people, while Marianne doesnt consider how her actions will affect others.

Revealing Love

"Remembrance of every mark regard in look or word which fell from him while at Barton, and above all to that flattering proof of it which he constantly wore round his finger." Pg97

This is an important moment in the novel because it is the first time when Eleanor actually expresses any feelings of love towards Edward. Before this point it appears that they are good friends and nothing more, but after she states this you can see that he is always on her mind and that they really are inlove because he wears her hair around his finger. From this we can also see a drastic difference in Marianne and Eleanor because Marrianne's feelings are always very obvious, where as you never really know how Eleanor is feeling.

Some Final Thoughts

Having finished reading "A Farewell to Arms", I can say that it was completely different than what I was expecting. When I signed onto it in February, I expected a gripping memoir of combat written by one of the most interesting, larger-than-life characters that ever lived. When I did some background research, I expected "the worst" -- a purely romantic novel. Both were wrong. Instead I got a gripping tale of personal commitments, struggles, triumphs and failures; set against a backdrop of warfare and romance.

Not to sound too poetic or philosophical; this novel took me on an "adventure" across Italy and Switzerland, and gave me a feeling of what it was like to be in that area during the First World War. With only one WW1 veteran still with us, and with him being expected to pass away before the end of the summer, we are about to lose an important historical link. Novels such as these can help the population to understand "The Great War" - not so much the chronology, but the emotions and feelings that drove it. The novel was written during the heart of the 1920s, with its own mixture of emotions and social factors. The writing style of the novel offers insight into this. Soon most of those alive during this time will also pass on, and we will lose another link with history.

In conclusion, this novel isn't just a great storyline, it is a link with history. Regardless of your personal tastes in literature, I think anyone would appreciate - and enjoy - this work.

An Anti-War Novel?

One of the perceived key themes, if not the key theme of "A Farewell to Arms" is its strong anti-war undertones. World War One was an extremely harsh conflict, the likes of which will likely never been seen again in our lifetime. But most of the focus on the conflict relates to the Western Front, home to waist-deep mud and trenches filled with fecal material and disease. This novel is set along the Isonzo Front, in the Alps of Northern Italy. By all accounts, this front didn't have the later problems, but it produced something else: a harsh climate, and harsh terrain. As most would know, the Alps have a very harsh winter season, have valleys several thousand feet deep, and mountains that reach through the cloud bank. While initially more "romantic" and "glamorous" than the contemporary WW1 Fronts of France and Russia, you must keep in mind that these climates are better suited to adventurers, not a solider born before the turn of the 20th century. Hemingway likely was attracted to the front for this "adventure" factor. But as does the main character in the novel, Hemingway likely realized rather quickly that this is no place for war. This seems straightforward, as the book is anti-war, and this implies that Hemingway himself followed a similar ideology.

However, here is the catch: Hemingway himself wasn't an anti-war person. Indeed, 20 years later in WW2, Hemingway served as a freelance correspondent and had exploits including hunting for German U-Boats in a rigged up fishing boat off Cuba, leading a village militia in France, and attaching himself to army units led by his personal friends (seen in the photo in the top right) and staying at the front lines -- he even received the American Bronze Star for bravery under fire, only three medals below the Medal of Honor. This doesn't seem to match his perceived anti-war image.

I believe the answer is this: Hemingway liked the "classic" image of war - the one of glory on the battlefield, the average man becoming a hero, immense victories. WW1, especially the Italian Front, offered none of this. From this thought, I have been led to believe that the theme of anti-war in the novel isn't anti-war at all, but more anti-WW1.

Regardless of whether my thesis is right or wrong, as I have hopefully demonstrated, this novel provokes stimulating thoughts that are not just limited to the plot line.

Parallels?

One of the things that struck me while reading "A Farewell to Arms" are the correlations between the main character, Lt. Henry, and Ernest Hemingway (pictured, to the right). Both were wounded in a similar way, both recieved the Silver Medal for Bravery, both had a relationship with a nurse in a Milan Hospital, both were involved with ambulances -- and all while they were stationed along the same [Isonzo River] front. Does this mean that we can accept Henry's thoughts and feelings are being similar to Hemingway's? We will never know the answer for certain, but I think we can. Initially, Henry is pro-war and is looking for adventure. This is likely how Hemingway felt, as he volunteered to go and serve. As the novel draws on, Henry grows weary of the war and in the end is fully opposed to it. Again, Hemingway, likely felt the same way; if he did not, then why would he author an anti-war book.

This novel makes an interesting study: not only is the plot line one of the classics of literature, but it also is strongly inspired by the exploits of the author, almost in an autobiographical fashion.

City of Thieves: 3

WOW, WOW, WOW! Finished the book! WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK. This book was my favorite books of all time. I don't read a lot of books but this one was amazing! Mrs. Ford was so right! In one of the last chapters I got choked up when one of the main characters died! I was extremely impressed. Please all of you, read this book! It is worth every single minute!

Life of Pi #3- The Power of Choice

The ending for this book is so unique and interesting. It was the very last part of the book that made me decide I liked the book. Religion is a very important theme in this book that appears throughout the whole novel, there are a few important quotes in Life of Pi about believing and not believing in god. For example, “I can well imagine an atheist’s last words: “White, white! L-L-Love! My God!”—and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeast less factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, “Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain,” and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story.” (p.70) This quote is crucial to the story. It explains way Pi does not like agnostics, because they do not make the ultimate choice.

After telling the story with the animals, the author Yann Martel, puts a twist in the book when Pi is explaining his story to the two officials from the Japanese Ministry of Transport, they do not believe him so than Pi tells another story replacing the animals with people, a cook instead of a hyena, a sailor instead of a zebra, his mother instead of the orangutan, and of course Pi as Richard Parker.

"'So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?'” (p.352) The ending is so unique because YOU have to decide what story you believe in. Its very similar to Inception, is he living in reality or is he dreaming?

Life of Pi #2

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, but after reading a little bit of Part II I’m starting to change my mind. After the ship sinks, Pi ends up being stranded on a life boat with a orangutan, a zebra with a broken leg, and a hyena (at this point he does not realize that Richard Parker my favourite character is onboard the ship). After a couple days on ship the hyena finally decides to attack the zebra, so for many pages its just rambles on about a poor zebra suffering for many days, I found this to be very disturbing and I really wanted to skip pages. This also happens with the orangutan. And than finally Richard Parker shows up and puts an end to the evil Hyena.

Life of Pi #1

At the beginning of Life of Pi, Pi’s father takes him and his brother Ravi to watch Richard Parker devour a goat. He does this to teach Pi, and Ravi a lesson of how dangerous animals can be. This is ironic because the whole story is about Pi living alone with Richard Parker on a small lifeboat. In act II, Pi makes a reference to what is father taught him: “Truly I was to be the next goat. I had a wet, trembling, half-drowned, heaving and coughing three-year-old adult Bengal tiger in my lifeboat.” (p.110) From the way Pi describes Richard Parker we can see he his terrified for the adventure he is about to experience and how the lesson his father taught him has had an impact on him.

City of Thieves: 2

The book is getting good! I'm enjoying the story line. The 2 main characters Lev and Kolya are really interesting. Lev is a young Jewish Boy and Kolya is a Red Army soldier. Very interesting how their friendship is growing. We will see how this novel ends. Will they find the eggs??

Meant to be.

Coming away from this book, I realize I didn’t initially appreciate Austen’s writing style and the brilliance in the way she puts life to each and every one of the characters. I definitely enjoyed the book much more in the end than I had anticipated I would halfway into it. This classic love story gives us the emotionally satisfying ending that all of us desire. It powerfully addresses marriage, true love, and happiness and explores the idea of all these emotions coming together and overcoming the prejudices of class. This conveys that social structure is insignificant to love, but what I found very interesting is that although Austen dismisses prejudices among social ranking, it seems as if she accepts them and also believes they are inevitable. Austen also proves that one is only capable of loving when they have found a balance in pride. She also suggests that true love cannot be stopped if it is meant to be. No one and no societal pressure is capable of ruining Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship. It withstands the worst of the worst; Mrs. Catherine’s sabotage attempt, Mrs. Bingley’s self-indulgence, Mrs. Bennet’s irrationality, and Wickham’s deceitfulness.

The Golden Mean Never Fails

At this point, I am about half way through the book and it still feels as if nothing is really happening. Yes, the characters are beautifully developed and the story is retold with exceptional imagery and detail, but nothing much has happened in the storyline. However, what I have been enjoying is the fact that the story seems to be continually developing thematically. Deception/misunderstanding has more recently become an evident theme with Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth and the lies that she believes to be true about him. She has clearly been blinded by her ignorance in believing Wickham and the inflated pride she has in herself. Another interesting aspect has been the contrast and fine line that Austen draws between having pride and being arrogant. The word “civility” comes up very frequently which has made me think of its connection to The Odyssey and how it may relate to pride. Being civil means being proud to a healthy extent and being able to find the golden mean between self-hate and hubris. Finding this balance is key to achieving both happiness and love, things every girl, but especially Elizabeth, desires.

Pride and Prejudice

My initial impression of Pride and Prejudice is not quite as great as I had hoped. Although nothing substantial and page turning has happened so far, key themes, motives, and characters have been clearly established and distinguished. The setting and time period itself has been talked about repeatedly along with the idea/importance of marriage, but more specifically marrying into wealth. These first few chapters have specifically foreshadowed the battle between the Bennet sisters’ minds and hearts that are bound to unfold. I've also picked up on both the words "pride" and "prejudice" which are continually brought up over and over (which is no surprise). Our first impression of Mr. Darcy is nothing but sheer arrogance and interestingly enough, Elizabeth also appears to be a very strong-willed, head-strong, proud woman. The prejudice of social class is also extremely obvious because of the premium that is put on marrying the wealthy. I predict that in the end each sister will face a decision where they must choose between happiness and true love vs. an empty marriage and wealth. It will just be interesting to see which sisters have hearts deeper than their pockets.

City of Thieves: 1

Mrs. Ford recommended this book to me. I wasn't exactly sure what is was about. She said "it is one of my favorites! It is really action packed! I think you will enjoy it!" So going into this book, all I know is that it is about 2 men looking for eggs! How weird does that sound?? We will see what happens.

Sethe's comforter

At the end of the book once Sethe is free from Beloved's control, its interesting that Paul D comes back to take care of her. He was the last person I would think to want to care for Sethe. It's ironic how he reassures her that she is of great value when he has been insecure and plagued with internal conflict throughout the book. He even left her once he found about about the infanticide. Maybe his time away helped him come to terms with his feelings and realize his own true worth.

Murderer or Thief

One odd thing i have noticed about the circles of Hell is how Dante ordered the sins. For example murderers are in the seventh circle, the violent circle, and thieves are in the eighth circle, the fraud circle. Sins are ordered by how contradictory they are to god's will (unconditional love), but still I guess it's worse to steal from your neighbour rather than kill him.

Fitting Punishments

I have noticed that there is a bit of ironic humor in The Inferno. The punishment for certain sins are very fitting, punishment does fit the crime. For exapmle gluttons spent eternity wading in and eating human excriment, violent people are forced to headbutt and bite eachother waist deep in mud...makes you think.

Souls Leaving Hell

Onle on one occasion have people been able to leave Hell. Since Christianity was "founded" after the death of Jesus prominent old testament figures were in Limbo because they did not have the chance to have faith in Jesus, thus they could not go to Heaven. Angels were sent down to Hell to bring these souls to Heaven, Moses for example.

Denver's rage

"I can't live here. Nobody speaks to us. Nobody comes by. Boys don't like me. Girls don't either....It's not the house. It's us! And it's you!" (p.17)

Denver's raging tone is clearly evident in her accusation of her mother. The author uses syntax to emphasize Denver's anger towards her situation. She is fed up with living in isolation and being hated by everyone she knows. She blames herself for this, but most of her furry appears to be directed towards her mother. Her statement illustrates the importance of community and being surrounded by other social beings. It implies that a person is not an island but needs other people not only for company, but also for support and growth as a person. I feel the importance of community is a major theme in Beloved which the author hopes to show through the plot.

1984 the acceptance

The last few chapters of 1984 really bring out the personality in Winston. Being tortured shows his true colors and the power of the government. During his imprisonment and torture you move through the mind of a prisoner and his changing reflections on his society. You can also see the breakdown of the mind after weeks of torment. Then after the mind has been broken down into a fertile state, O'Brien starts rebuilding his sense of right. This is basically the acceptance of Big Brother and the actions of the government. After Winston has been taken care of you start to realize the power that a government force has towards its people. Winston was one of the few rebels and his life and past had been erased leaving no trace of his thoughts or rebel actions.

1984

As Winston and Julia (main characters) plot to see each other, it shows the intricate and clockwork set-up of the thought police. They talk to each other in quick bursts and hardly make eye contact in their short meetings. All that shows the understanding that they have towards the government and the dangerousness of their meeting. Both of their guards start slipping as they fall deeper and deeper into love. Once they have their meeting place in the old house they loose their consciousness of the thought police and stay with each other for hours at a time. All their actions are almost inevitably leading to their capture. What I wonder is if they know this or not...

1984

The beginning of this book starts as an eye opener towards what part of the media we see is the truth. The protagonists job in this novel is to take old newspapers or documentation and forge or re-write the headings and words to erase things that the government of Oceania doesn't want the people to see. In the book this makes it possible to "control" the past and wipe certain events or people from history. Who knows if our media is true, or if its all set-up by the government to mediate what we see as a population. The control that this government has over the city is unfathomable, all the while it gives a look into the thought process communist countries have.

Game of Thrones - End

The ending of this book really shocked me, and seeing how easily a main character is killed off changes how I will read the next books in this series. I also like how all of the individual plots come to a fairly definitive ending even though this is book 1 in a long series. This helps to give the book a strong ending and strengthens the series overall.

Game of Thrones - Middle

After reading more of the story I have come to appreciate the greyness that each character represents. This uncertainty in the morality of the characters really keeps you on your toes and even further helps to aid the feel of the book. My only real complaint is the true purpose of the story is sometimes lost in the characterization.

Game of Thrones - Intro

So far I am really enjoying the Game of Thrones. The introduction was very strong, and it gives you an immediate feeling of urgency. This also really got me into the story right away. Additionally you can see betrayals right from the get go, and it really aids the reader in knowing what direction the story is going in.

A Clockwork Orange And The Concept Of Conformity.

Throughout the novella conformity is used as an antagonistic force to free will, and to show how civilization will force conformity on humanity for its own ends and ensure the loss of individualism. Anthony Burgess achieves this through many different methods within the novel. The most obvious is the use of the Ludovico technique to show a literal enforcement of conformity within the society of A Clockwork Orange. However there are many other examples as well. Others are within part three like the constant displays of evil from other members of society towards Alex; Where the citizens of London within A Clockwork Orange break the conformity of their everyday lives by acting evil and beating on Alex. This shows that the citizens are genuinely just as evil as Alex, but act kind due to the force of conformity. Even the language within the A Clockwork Orange forces conformity. Due to Anthony Burgess' creation of a practically new language with which many of the characters speak, he is enforcing conformity on the reader. All readers must learn and understand the language to be able to read the book, thus forcing all the readers to conform to the same understanding. Thus in conclusion, conformity is used as an antagonistic force to free will, and to show that individualism, our birth right, is removed by society.

Beloved

"124 WAS SPITEFUL. Full of a baby's venom. The women in the house knew it ans so did the children." (Morrison 1) Morrison begins the novel with an interesting image. The 1st sentence sets a dark, eerie tone not only by the diction but also by the way its written, in capital letters. The capital letters emphasize how spiteful the house is. The second sentence paints an image of something deadly and poisonous inside the house. The fact that the people in the house know about it implies the unwanted thing has been there for a while and has become part of the house. This foreshadows scary and eerie events to come in the rest of the novel. This introduction captures the reader's attention, making them want to read more to find out what's to come in the rest of the book.

Warbreaker

The ending is definitly the best part of the novel. This is probably because of the build up of tension throughout of the book.

This novel was very well written by Brandon Sanderson, and I hope to see a sequel to this novel, just because it is very unique.

In the second part of this book I found that the only reason Lightsong inspected those tunnels was because he wanted to find himself. There was no other reason, even though in the novel the character thought it was.

Now at the end of this novel, just about every question that is going through ones mind is answered. We do find out that what Lightsong was dreaming was infact a vision of the future. We also learn who Lightsong actually was before he died and that his High Priest was his brother.

However in the end, Lightsong gives up his life in order to save the two nations of Idris and Hallandren, making it the second time he has died saving lives.

The ending is very open for a sequel, and although Brandon Sanderson has stated that this novel was to be a stand-alone novel, he said that he would be writing a second book in this universe but probably in a different part of the "world".

I know this will probably be a long time before this happens, however I still can't wait for the next book.

Warbreaker

Even though I am reading this novel for the second time, Lightsong still has to be my favourite character. He is witty, smart and knows what just to say at the right moment.

I have already read through half of the novel, and I have already figured things out that I have not figured out before. Before I believed that Clod the lifeless was just a person that they had bought, when in reality, Clod the Lifeless is Arsteel, one of the five scholars and friend to Vasher and Denth.

Another point is that, when Vasher snuck around the Court of the Gods tunnel, he made sure not to kill anyone, however when we looked at the murder through Lightsongs view point, someone was killed. This can only lead to the one option. Denth was following Vasher, and Denth was the one to kill the man. Since Denth wants revenge against Vasher, that is a likely option.

What I also notice better is the role reversal of the two princesses, Siri and Vivenna. As the story has progressed for the half of the novel so far, we see that Siri went from being an emotional outbursting type of person to a person who has learned to control her emotions and look like how a princess should look. While Vivenna, went from being everything one would expect a princess to be, to someone who has lost control of her life.

Lightsong stayed Lightsong. The same person I read about the last time. The same god who doesn`t believe in his own religion.

Well that is all so far. I will post again when i'm done the book.

Warbreaker

Warbreaker has to be one of my favourite novels I have ever read. Since I have already read the novel before, this time I shall be working on finding the little details throughout the book like something I had not picked up on before, which I know will probably greatly improve of how I think of the book.

Warbreaker was my first Sci-Fi Fantasy novel, and with its plot twists, excitement, crazy magic system, and a unique story, it introduced me to the genre.

The author, Brandon Sanderson, is a very unique writer, where he will not write a type of story that has already been used in the genre, such as a poor boy defeating a dark wizard. He likes his stories to be unique, and anyone who picks up a Brandon Sanderson novel will find the story new and one would feel part of the story. His characters are also ones you would not expect either. For example, the hero in Warbreaker is not the typical hero one would think of. He is not the man wearing large shinning armour, leading a great army into battle, but a rough looking person who works in the shadows, through diplomacy rather than fighting. However fighting is inevitable for a hero of this genre, and there are some fights involving him.

Time to start reading Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

A Clockwork Orange and the issue of forced kindness.

After Alex is finally reformed due to the Ludovico technique, he is released back into the normal world. Here we are shown the true kindness of humanity. Every person Alex had met prior to his incarceration has turned against him, friends and family alike. They rather beat him, rape him or force him to try to commit suicide.

This shows us the moral of forcing someone to be one way. As the rest of the world does not work in a shade of white or black, forcing a man to be at such will destroy them as it impede's their ability to react. This can be seen when the old man, who Alex attacked prior to his incarceration, attacks Alex in the library and Alex has no choice but to beaten by him. Despite Alex having paid for his crime. This shows that even the "good" people Alex was reformed to co-operate with are not perfectly innocent and thus that the Ludovico technique is in essence a failure.

A Clockwork Orange and the Importance of Free Choice.

We see throughout the novel the arguement of whether or not man should have free choice. Do we allow monstrous men continue to do as they please unabated, or force them to conform with the rest of humanity?

We see the two sides of this confrontation from the religious men and the government within the novel. The government says that to keep and continue order within the society they must force civillians who act like a monsters to be forced normal (represented in the Ludovico technique) so that society can continue.

The religious men believe that choice should be allowed no matter what, as without choice humans become little less then animals.

In the end we find that free choice is ultimately the best answer, but in this case comes far too late.

A Visual Understanding

The play Hamlet is well portrayed in Branagh’s film Hamlet. Branagh uses the text from the play throughout the whole movie. This gives the reader a better understanding of the play because the actors are using the same text as the play, which creates a better visual for the reader, and makes the film easier to follow, it also allows the reader to see a different interpretation of Shakespeare's play. As you are reading Hamlet, I think it is important to consider all the emotions a character could have, and to see other peoples perspectives of the character, for example if the queens character married her husbands brother to stay queen or because she loves her son Hamlet, and wanted him to have a chance at becoming king. I thought the film portrayed Gertrude, as loving Hamlet, and wanting to protect him, while the book made her seem more selfish, and not caring about the death of Hamlets father. I think knowing different peoples opinion’s about the play, lets us discover the less obvious themes in the play, and helps us reach a better conclusion about what truly is happening.

Media Studies: Comparing film adaptations of Hamlet

We have viewed portions of two adaptations of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the comment section below this post, I would like you to begin discussion comparing and contrasting the two film versions. You may wish to do the following in your comment:

• Chose one or two of the film elements listed below and consider how Branagh’s version (1996) and Zeffirelli’s version (1990) compare and contrast
• Compare and contrast the adaptations by examining the portrayal of major characters or a character
• Respond to another student’s comments (NB: identify who you are responding to by using the tag “@” such as @Socrates if you are responding to me)

Please post your comments by Monday, January 24th.

Film Elements to consider:

Sound Elements:

• Sound effects, background noise in the scene
• Soundtrack, music, voiceovers and other sounds put on over the scene

Language Elements:

• What lines are emphasized?
• What lines (if any) are noticeably cut, included, or altered?

Performance and delivery:

• Facial expressions
• Gestures and mannerisms, body language
• Tone of voice and inflection
• Fluctuation, Pauses, and Volume of voice

Physical Elements: (Settings, props, and costumes)

• Where is the scene taking place physically?
• What do props and costumes tell us about the characters and about the time period?
• How are the props/setting used and what might they mean/signify?

Camera Elements:

• How long does the director stay with shots?
• How often are there cuts and transitions?
• When does the camera take the view of a character?
• Were there close ups, long shots? To what effect?

The Big Questions:

• What is the effect of each of these aspects on the scene?
• How does each director establish the tone of the scene?

Blink #3

“At 175, we begin to see an absolute breakdown of cognitive processing… The forebrain shuts down, and the mid-brain – the part of your brain that is the same as your dog’s (all mammals have that part of the brain)—reaches up and hijacks the forebrain. Have you ever tried to have a discussion with an angry or frightened human being ? You can’t do it…”(p. 225)

In this chapter, Gladwell talks about “mind reading” and how your facial expressions are a huge part of this process. This is how our first impressions are created. He also talks about how our snap judgments can fail. In the quote above Gladwell is talking about how when we are anxious, and when our hearts are beating at a rate of 175 beats per minute our brain, our snap judgments are not working properly.

He does a case study on three officers who’s snap judgments failed. They were patrolling the Bronx one night, and shot an innocent man. The man was standing outside late at night getting some air, but the three officers decided that he looked suspicious, and than when he made the movement to his pocket they decided he was dangerous in a split second, but he was not dangerous he was scared. They thought the man was pulling out a gun, when he was really pulling out his wallet. These errors resulted in a man being shot, the officers were anxious, their brains shutdown and they ended up relying on stereotypes. Gladwell goes on to talk about how if the officers were trained better for this situation they would have reacted more calmly, and made better choices. This is because the more similar experiences you have to one another, your brain becomes better at mind reading, so you are able to predict what’s going to happen and have a better reaction to the situation. I think this is where the saying “practice makes perfect” comes from because the more we do something the better we get at that thing, and that is because our brain is able to predict the situation.

Can you mind-read?

"We can all mind-read effortlessly and automatically because the clues we need to make sense of someone or some social situation are right there on the faces of those in front of us." (213)

This is how we thin-slice other people, we mind-read.

When we express emotions on our faces it is an automatic action and they can be voluntary or involuntary. We as people always judge what a person is thinking or how they are feeling. In the blink of an eye these impressions simply come to us, because a face can be a rich map and source of emotion.

I have never connected autism with mind-reading but Gladwell has linked the two with such strength and understanding that I now view autism and mind-reading on a whole new level.

"Their first-impression apparatus is fundamentally disabled, and the way that people with autism see the world gives us a very good sense of what happens when our mind-reading faculties fail." (214)

People with this condition focus on what people say and their words, not a person's facial expressions and "nonverbal cues." Gladwell makes this point very clear when he says that when speaking with someone who is autistic you could pick your nose or pull down your pants and they would not notice.

Those with autism are mind-blind. When you lack this ability you cannot look at someones face and automatically mind-read. Faces are simply objects, and the emotion in them is lost.

An experiment which I read about that was fascinating consisted of watching a movie through the eyes of an autistic person and contrasting this to people without autism. Each group wore hats that tracked their eye movements. One example of where the eye movements were distinctly different was in a scene in the movie where a man says "Who did that painting" and then points to the wall. Someone with autism does not look to where the speaker is pointing or follow this path with their eyes because they are not able to interpret this action; they cannot mind-read. When hearing this line they will look for a wall and search for a painting. Say there are several paintings, they wouldn't know the specific piece.

People with autism are unable to mind-read, something that comes to most people as an automatic response done outside of their awareness.

Blink!

The Dark Side

Our adaptive unconscious makes snap judgements and decisions. This is called thin-slicing, "the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behaviour based on very narrow slices of experience." (23) Thin-slicing is what makes it possible to analyze only 15 minutes of a wife and husband talking and be able to determine with 90% accuracy if that couple will still be married in 15 years. We can determine which doctors will be sued for medical malpractice just based on listening to brief clips of how a doctor talks to his patients instead of studying the physicians past history.

Our unconscious is "sifting through the situation front of us, throwing out all that is irrelevant while we zero in on what really matters, and the truth is that our unconscious is really good at this, to the point where thin-slicing often delivers a better answer than more deliberate and exhaustive ways." (33)

What if in that blink of an eye we become blind?

In the history of American presidents, historians agree that Warren Harding was one of the worst. How is it possible that a man who is hesitant and uncertain of policies and unable to formulate a speech be elected as president. The answer is quite simple, Warren Harding looked the part. When thin-sliced by people he appeared to be a man who would make a great president. Although thin-slicing allows us to "very quickly get below the surface of a situation" (75) sometimes rapid cognition can lead us in the wrong direction. This is what Gladwell calls the Warren Harding error; the dark side to our adaptive unconscious.

The IAT (Implicit Association Test) shows the effects of our feelings and actions when in moments that require spontaneous thinking. Our attitudes towards areas such as race and gender are not only conscious but also have an unconscious aspect where "the immediate, automatic associations...tumble out before we've even had time to think." (85) This is why over 80% of people who take the race IAT have pro-white associations. We are unaware of these associations because they occur behind a locked door on an unconscious level yet they have the power to govern our beliefs and our behaviour. This part of our unconscious are opinions shaped from our experiences.

In that blink of an eye we are blind.

This happens outside of our awareness behind a locked door but it is still something that we can work to control Gladwell argues. It all comes down to our experiences.

Bob Golomb is an extremely successful cars salesman because he is able to control the way in which he thin-slices. He avoids the Warren Harding error by permitting himself from judging his customers based on their appearance or first impressions and instead thin-slices a persons intentions, needs and emotions. He balances his "deliberate and distinctive thinking" (141) and thats what makes his decisions and ultimate prosperity successful.

The power of thin-slicing is incredible but it is something that under certain conditions we must have control of. Malcolm Gladwell is a brilliant man.

The Answer is the Question

"The success of the scientific method in the past has encouraged us to think that with enough time and effort we can unravel nature's mysteries. But hitting the absolute limit of the scientific explanation - not a technological obstacle or the current but progressing edge of human understanding - would be a singular event, one for which past experience could not prepare us." [385]

This is quite the statement. It is potent with meaning and value beyond just the context of this novel. Greene is trying to establish the concept of pushing into the unknown; travelling farther down the rabbit hole. The reason for doing so is because he is concluding his novel. As it becomes more relevant throughout the novel, Greene does not have all the answers to every question we ask. Although it may seem ridiculous to think otherwise, we at least need to be assured that his work has the potential to provide us with the answers. If he can demonstrate that his work will provide us with new knowledge, then we will be convinced and amazed at the capabilities of Theoretical Physics, and come to use it in more common practice.

Up to this point in the novel, Greene has gone about building his structure. This structure is a collaborative process much like any academic subject would be: you must have the basics installed before you can progress. Sure you can buy a spoiler, some fluffy dice, and a little hula girl, but what good are they if you don't have car. The same applies to Greene's novel: if he didn't introduce you his premises you would never have understood nor accepted his ideas. So from that we can deduce that Greene has intentionally led us up to this point, and that if his structure and presentation were both sufficient, we should come to accept his final point.

We revisit Greene's purpose when he precedes the quote above with this idea; "The road from this "in principle" ratiocination to an "in practice" fact is encumbered by many hurdles." [383]

Here he is again, proving his intention of convincing society that his academic does, in fact, fit into the category of the Sciences. He labels the "gap" I discussed in my first blog as "hurdles". Then he goes on in explanation to fill this gap, the beautiful thing about this concluding chapter is that it is built from the previous ones. Due to this form of logic, it becomes so easy for the reader to follow his thoughts and agree with them. Because his previous arguments in each chapter were concise, clear, and well presented; appealing to the human’s intuition, we were led to accept each thesis from each chapter. If not, it was at least clear to see the point he had made, and like a well performed lawyer in a court of law, Greene leaves these points discretely disconnected until the very end when he collaborates his arguments and asserts his verdict to the jury. He shows the reader the path to believing and understanding conclusion and so I am awed at not just the material of the book, but the art of it as well. In any situation, Greene is proclaiming that we should expect the unexpected – as cliché as that may be. In doing so he has essentially grouped Theoretical Physics and Science into the same generalized idea; that if Theoretical Physics hits a dead end, then can be associated with the limits of Science as a whole. This brilliantly, again, persuades the reader to assume that they are of the same origin and nature. Nonetheless, he eloquently finishes his novel with a quote assuring us that life and life’s work is not about finding all the answers, but living fully in the pursuit of the answers. I, for one, was left satisfied and hopeful, with dazzling stars in my eyes.

“As we fix our sight on the future and anticipate all the wonders yet in store for us, we should also reflect back and marvel at the journey we have taken so far. The search for the fundamental laws of the universe is a distinctly human drama, one that has stretched the mind and enriched the spirit... We are all, each seekers of the truth and we each long for an answer to why we are here... And as our generation marvels at our new view of the universe – our new of asserting the world’s coherence – we are fulfilling our part; contributing our rung to the human ladder reaching for the stars” [387]

"The war is lost"

"[von Bronikowski] watched German officers with twenty to thirty men apiece, marching back from the front – retreating towards Caen.…..'They were drunk as pigs, their faces were dirty and the swayed from side to side.' Reeling by, oblivious to everything they saw, they sang 'Deutschland uber Alles' at the top of their voices. Bronikowski watched them until they were out of sight. 'The war is lost', he said aloud."

-Pg 275

By the final hours of June 6^th (American landing beach pictured top right), it had become apparent that the Germans could not push the Allied invaders out. German soldiers, shocked by the sudden appearance of dozens of allied divisions and thousands of warships, retreated in disbelief. Constant flyovers by Allied warplanes, bombing marshaling yards and strafing vehicle columns, had taken their toll. The Germans were truly crushed, and this occurred to everyone; from Rommel, who, when asked if he could throw the invaders back into the sea “shrugged, spread his hands and said ‘…I hope we can’” (Pg 277), to tank commander Colonel von Bronikowski.

Soldiers acted in different ways when faced with the reality of defeat; some merely broke down, fanatics stood their ground and went down in a blaze of allied bullets, and some turned to French alcohol, which the Germans had been compiling since their initial conquest of the nation some four years before. This quote really sums up the importance of “the longest day” - the Germans, for the first time in five years, had been dealt a defeat by the western allies in North-West Europe, and thus the disoriented Germans were on their way to a slow eleven month retreat back to Berlin itself, when the war would finally end. The Germans where routed, and Hitler's "Third Reich would have less than one year to live" (Pg 277).

By blending first-person accounts and the official records into one book, Ryan presents the history of D-Day in a way that is both interesting and gripping but at the same time lets you truly feel like you are on the front lines with the men who were there. While Ryan could have simply have stated that the Germans were dealt a serious blow from which they never recovered, by blending that thesis with first-person accounts, it has such a greater impact on the reader. This attitude has made Ryan's "The Longest Day" one of the best accounts of the D-Day landings.

“Awfully sorry, old man, but we simply landed here by accident”

"The General’s intelligence officer disarmed the two men and brought them up to the veranda. The astounded Reichert could only blurt out 'Where have you come from?' to which one of the pathfinders, with all the aplomb of a man who had just crashed a cocktail party, replied, 'Awfully sorry, old man, but we simply landed here by accident'."

-Page 116

Cornelius Ryan’s “The Longest Day” mixes both the official “big-picture” history of the D-Day landings and the personal, often humorous and unbelievable, stories that are often seen in veteran’s memoirs. Although works like this are usually immensely popular (all of Ryan’s books were New York Times bestsellers, and historians who have followed in his footsteps, such as Max Hastings, have enjoyed similar embraces), these types of books are rare; partially because of the time and effort it takes to write them. For instance, the author worked on this one for ten years – 1949 to 1959. This quote above is an example of how Ryan combines both of these.

In the hours leading up to the invasion, thousands of paratroopers were dropped behind the invasion beaches. Before these paratroopers, small teams of soldiers coined “pathfinders” (pictured, top right) were dropped. Representing the vanguard of the invasion force, their mission was to mark the landing zones for the rest of the airborne forces. However, due to high winds and disoriented pilots, these men were often dropped far off course. This quote pertains to one of these teams – who drifted far off course and landed in the front yard of 711^th Infantry Division commander Josef Reichert's command post. Swiftly captured by the General’s intelligence officer, one member of the British team nonchalantly delivered the line to the astonished general, who was still completely unaware of what was unfolding before him.