Final Course Assessment Blog

During the past week of class, we have watched a film called the Stone Reader. Throughout this film, the director, Mark Moskowitz is desperately seeking the allusive author, Dow Mossman. Mossman wrote one of Mark's favorite books, The Stones of Summer, and then failed to produce another book. Moskowitz is incredibly interested to find out why such an amazing writer would write a book that received great reviews and then not publish anything else. Moskowitz has very little information to go on and spends two years meeting with people who have been associated with Dow and his book in their pasts. It was very interesting to hear what each of these people had to say about not only Dow, but other authors who have written books and then not produced any other work. Many people in the film claim that it is such an exhausting process that many writers simply wear themselves out and will not think of ever attempting it again. Dow's previous roommate said that sometimes he would watch Dow sit and work on his novel for 20 hours straight. I think it is rather ironic that just as these authors became obsessed with their precious novels, Moskowitz becomes upset with finding Mossman and asking his what happened. Along his journey to Mossman, Moskowitz meets with some pretty amazing people in the literary community. Just to name a few: Robert Gottlieb, the editor of Catch-22, Frank Conroy, and Leslie Fiedler. It was really neat to hear a lot of these people talk about writing and literature with such passion. I could tell it was something that all of them really enjoyed and never planned on giving up. I also liked the suspense the movie created. Maybe it was due to the fact that we viewed the movie over a three day time period, but after every class (especially Wednesday), I could not wait to find out what was going to happen next in Moskowitz journey. I found myself completely caught up in finding Dow Mossman. The movie also made interested in reading The Stones of Summer. However, if many of these men in the movie who read daily could not make it through the novel, I wonder if I would even last a couple of chapters. I found it funny that the place where Moskowitz finally finds Mossman, its the very same place where his life began, his childhood home. Although this has almost nothing to do with the movie, I was also a fan of the scenery in the film. I was so envious in the scenes where he was in Maine because it looked so beautiful, and I have always wanted to go there. Overall the film was very interesting and a lot better than I had initially expected. However, I now have a very daunting impression of pursuing writing as a career.

I have thoroughly enjoyed taking English 215 this year with Mr. Kudera. The range of material we read and analyzed was very diverse, and I feel like I have gotten a lot out of this class. Surprisingly, there was not one novel that I did not like at all. They were all entertaining in there own ways. It was very interesting to compare my high school English classed to a college English course. So many topics that seem to be "taboo" in high school were openly discussed in this class. I really appreciated this because it has always bothered me how entire aspects of literature I read in high school were overlooked simply because they were deemed "inappropriate." Saints at the River by Ron Rash was probably my favorite. I liked how Maggie, the main character, had studied at Clemson University, and that the the story took place so close to where we are. I grew up in a small town, so I could really relate to Maggie's experience when she returns home. My least favorite piece of literature that we read would probably have to be Glenngary, Glen Ross by David Mamet. I cannot really put my finger on what exactly I did not like about it, but it reminded me a lot of Death of a Salesman which I read in high school and was not a huge fan of. Aside from that, I really enjoyed pretty much everything that we read. Mr. Kudera was an excellent teacher who was very knowledgeable about all of the literature we read and the authors. I don't think I would have ever read some of the novels or short stories that we were assigned in this class on my own, so for that reason I am also glad that I took this course. I would recommend it to anyone who is interesting in reading some great books and having insightful discussions about them. It has been a very positive experience a much need break from my typical math and science courses!


MEGHAN MCDONOUGH

"After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town" by Ha Jin Blog

"After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town" was a very anti-capitalism and anti-globalization short story. It all begins when an American man, Mr. Shapiro, opens up a Cowboy Chicken restaurant in China. It is an American chain and many of the Chinese citizens are thrilled about it. A red ribbon ceremony even takes place on opening day. The new American cuisine excites the community. Most of the employees, including the main character, Hongwen, are all Chinese and speak little or no English. Peter, the manager, does all the translating between the boss and the employees. A multitude of things continuously go wrong for the employees of Cowboy Chicken until finally they are "terminated." The whole entire story the employees are brainwashed to believe that they are making so much money and learning the American ways by working in the restaurant. The first sign of trouble occurs when the restaurant tries to open up a buffet. They set a flat rate at nineteen yuan and ninety-five fen in which upon paying this the customers can each as much as they want to. The employees don't understand why the buffet isn't simply twenty yuan. They say, "Why didn't he price the it twenty yuan even." Then Peter tells them, "...this was the American way of pricing a product. You don't add the last straw to collapse the camel." This is another jab at the capitalist-driven American economy and how it is only concerned with duping the customers into paying more than they should. The next disaster that occurs because of greed and the desire to be known and make money is when they try and throw a wedding banquet. The banquet goes smoothly and according to plan until the next morning when 1/3 of the wedding party call and demand that they have food poisoning. Peter is slick and covers it up by claiming the the Chinese stomachs may not be able to handle lactose that was in the deserts. This seems to work for the most part. Next, an angry costumer comes in claiming there was a fly in his chicken. Jinglin and Hongwen threaten this man until he agrees not to sue. This is another action that is driven by greed. One day the employees all follow Peter home and see that he is having a huge Victorian mansion built. This is when they first become skeptical about what is going on at Cowboy Chicken. They decide to follow Peter one day after work again and see that he burns all of the left over chicken. They question him and demand to know why he is wasting all of the food when people are going hungry. He simply replies that it is his job. They remind him that he is one of them. I thought this was interesting because Peter has gone to American and been educated in the American ways. Perhaps this is why he is okay with destroying good chicken. On payday, the employees take a peek to see how much Peter makes. They come to the realization that he is being paid a huge amount more than they are. They try to object and go on strike thinking that they are key components of the company. However, they are replaced within a day with new employees. They had love and pride for Cowboy Chicken. The feeling, however, was not mutual. The American company failed them.

VOCABULARY:
will-o'-the-wisp: also known as Ghost lights, are believed to be a natural phenomenon, such as ignited pockets of swamp gas, that hover and rise over swamps, ignite by natural causes and glow blue or green.
wrangling: having a dispute or argument

(DICTIONARY.COM)

The Lazarus Project, pgs. 249-292

The last section of the assigned reading begins with Brik having to say goodbye to Iuliana. You can tell that he really cares for her a lot. Rora asks Brik when he returns to the hotel, "Did you bang her?" Brik responds and says, "She has a husband." Rora comes right back with the response, "You have a wife." Brik, however, decides to ignore the remark. Brik then goes into detail about his wife's job and explains to Rora that she is a surgeon. Rora talks about his significant other, Azra, who also happened to be a surgeon during the raids in Sarajevo. When Brik is finally faced with the death of Rora, he is very unsure about what exactly he wants to do with his life. He does not know if he wants to return to America and Mary. They also talk about Rambo killing Miller and how brutal it was. This foreshadows Rora's fate when he returns to Sarajevo. I love the quote that Brik says when they return to Sarajevo. He says, "Home is where somebody notices your absence." I thought that this was significant because he is regarding Sarajevo as home as opposed to America. He is also somewhat implying that Mary has not noticed his absence or missed him at all. However, what he calls home still seems to be muddy. It is not here or there. It was also funny how buckling up was also brought up again in the cab on the way to Sarajevo. He asks Brik to buckle whereas all the other drivers along their journey have been very unconcerned. Maybe this is supposed to illustrate that Sarajevo is where Brik belongs and where he will be safe? I was not surprised that Lazarus's story ended how it did, however Rora's death completely shocked me. I was not prepared for him to be shot and this was very. I feel bad for Olga who is left alone, and Brik is also left dazed and confused with no idea what the future may hold for him.The novel ends with Brik saying, "I am going to stay in Sarajevo for a while."

VOCABULARY: 
Miljacka: is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina that passes through Sarajevo and East Sarajevo
politsyant: "policeman" 

The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon, pgs. 1-50

I have really enjoyed the first fifty pages of The Lazarus Project. It was very quick read because I enjoyed it. It begins following Lazarus, who is suspected to be a Eastern European Jewish immigrant. He is walking through Lincoln Park in the 1900s, and everyone from the chief of police's maid to the owners of the local grocery store all treat Lazarus as if he is unwelcome and does not belong. At the grocery store the owners exchange suspicious glances with each other making it clear that Lazarus looks out of place: "Good morning, the woman says, haltingly, exchanging glances with her husband--they need to watch him, it is understood." Lazarus does not speak to them knowing that they will interpret his foreign accent. I can already tell there is going to be some critique of capitalism in the novel. When Lazarus goes back to the chief's house, they all assume he is some kind of anarchist and go crazy firing all kinds of guns off. I thought this scene was rather humorous because all of these people come in and start firing their weapons without and legitimate reason. They even end up shooting one another: "Chief Shippy shoots at the young man; blood gushes so hard that the burst of redness blinds Foley, who, being well trained and aware of Chief Shippy's dislike of drafts, is slamming the door shut behind him. Startled by Foley, Chief Shippy shoots at him, too, and then, sensing a body rushing at him, wheels around like an experienced gunfighter and shoots at Henry." I feel like the upper class of the 1900s was again being criticized when the press spins the story in favor of the chief, insinuating that Lazarus was malicious. Then the story shifts to the life of a writer Brik. He is researching the story of Lazarus with the intention of writing a book on it. He came to Chicago from Bosnia a while back. When Brik is first introduced he is at the annual celebration of the Bosnian independence day. I thought it was humorous how he talked about how when they get together, it is the one time of year where they all critique Americans and completely dissociate themselves from them. At the celebration they are all strictly Bosnian. Brik meets a wealthy couple, the Schuettler's. The wife, Susie, is particularly fond of Brik, and he ends up getting a writing grant from them to do his research on Lazarus. Brik is fed up with being supported by his neurosurgeon wife, Mary, so he is ecstatic to do something without a monetary contribution from her. At the celebration Brik runs into an old friend Rora when he snaps a photograph and Brik and Susie "dancing." After somewhat reconnecting with Rora over the next day, Brik decides he is going to bring Rora with him to Ukraine or Moldova to photograph and help him research. I am very intrigued to find out what exactly was in the envelope that Lazarus brought to the police chief. What was his reason for being at the chief's house?

VOCABULARY:
otiose: no practical purpose or result
Moldova: a land-locked country in southeastern Europe
Bosnian independence: Bosnia won independence from Hungary and endured as an independent Christian state for some 260 years. (August 29, 1189)