Fellow Blogger

Since he made interesting comments in class and on Plurk, yet I never got to know him well, I chose to read Gatticus’ blogs. I was really impressed with the culmination of his work, and thought his ideas built on themselves uniquely. Although Gatticus and my blogs both focused on the assigned reading for the course and took philosophical spins on the material, we had drastically different ways of expressing our ideas. While Gatticus extended sublime metaphors and symbols poetically, I logically evaluated the purpose of specific literary devices. While his stream of conscious style effectively communicated complex ideas, my quasi-scholarly prose stunted ideas growth and limited the scope of information that could be communicated. Although my format may closer fit the standard school essay than Gatticus’ form, there is less creativity, dynamism, and rhythm in my series of blog posts.

In summary of his perspective on literary devices, Gatticus claimed “we define everything, including our existence with words and symbols.” Inevitably, he focused a lot on how the structure and syntax of his blogs could expand upon the ideas in class discussion and books. By including symbols and metaphors within his language, he foiled the symbols and metaphors within class texts and revealed subtle implications and extensions of the work. As an example of his rhythmic cadence, Gatticus articulated, “Wonder, the intensity of emotion undefined. A sense of imagination-fluid and dynamic beyond the collective ideal. Seeking such a small vibration, only resonating with the self.” Since this description of wonder departs from any specific context, it can escape the boundaries of the physical realm. Throughout the poetic language in his blogs, Gatticus attained the ability to explore pataphysical ideas by extrapolating on the metaphysical ideas within the texts.

Although I sometimes analyzed the literary devices within the text, my own language had far less poetic expression. Since I hardly elaborated creatively enough for my own language to perpetuate new ideas, I focused more on specific content within the textual stories. Particularly, in my analysis of The Invention of Morel, I relied on an analysis of the pertinent technology. In my analysis, I stated that, “in The Invention of Morel, the technology reveals and extends biological occurrences. Specifically, the recording device used by Morel extends upon a natural phenomenon of perception: the lag between momentary events and the mental representation of those events." By focusing on the biological implications of technology within the piece, I was forced to ground my analysis on physical ideas. Since physical phenomena require a specific context and time, my analysis had a more limited scope and application. Although I also tried to apply my analysis of the texts to real world situations, I formulated the connections in a far more concrete and simplified manner. Relying on textual metaphors and making obvious statements, my analysis branches into less sophisticated and creative thoughts. Without an interesting and unique launching point, it was difficult for me to expand and elaborate upon my ideas.

Although my critique of my work in contrast to Gatticus may be too harsh, I am definitely disappointed with the creativity and elaboration in most of my blogs. My blogs reflect an emptiness stemming from exhaustion, depression, and worry. Fortunately, blogs, like life events, can be edited and added to alter a virtual and actual persona. Perhaps the dissolution of my ego and its goals can rejuvenate my passion and energy in life and blogs. As Gatticus explains in his blog:

“Let all cultivate with hands in the real soil, not simply sowing seeds from picture books of the past. Fresh eyes create fresh memories that do not need to be captured. To capture is to lose the spontaneity-the freedom dies in its eyes. Expectations cannot be met in that reliving. I am all smiles for the present-shared.”