Fact: Unexplained Migraines for 12 hours are not conducive to doing anything but playing soccer and sleeping.
Fact: I will try!!
So I'm really interested in the Father in CIotDitN. In the beginning of the novel, I think readers empathize with the father. He loyally takes care of his "behavior problemed" son in lieu of his wife dying tragically of a "problem with her heart." But by the end of the novel, the father has knocked out Christopher, killed Wellington and hid 2 years of letters from Chrisopher's mother. Whew. That is a hefty list. In these revelations, I think we as readers adjust our view on him because he commits very culturally taboo acts. Christopher travels from his home to London to get away from his father.
And the way the reader deals with the father is very complicated because we have Christopher's distinctly devoid of emotions narrative. It was Sihrisha who brought up the point that we put our own ToM onto Christopher's narrative. In this essay, I want to explore the father and how we understand him. Is he actually a very emotional character? Is he "good," "bad" or some kind of grey area?
Lists of quotes
"He held up his right hand and spread his fingers like a fan. I held up my left hand and spread my fingers out in a fan and we made our fingers and thumbs tough each other. We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me." (16)
"I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person.But it is not because I am a good person. It is because I can't tel lies." (19)
"And he said, "It's a bloody god, Christopher, a bloody dog." (20) Then Father banged the steering wheel with his fist and the car weaved a little bit across the dotted line in the middle of the road and he shouted, "I said leave it, for God's sake." (21) I could tell he was angry because he was shouting 21
There were tears coming out of his eyes, Wellington. "Yes, Christopher, you could say that, You could very well say that.
I know that they're working out what I'm thinking, but I can't tell what they're thinking...but this was nice, having father speak to me but not look at me 22-23
"Father said he didn't know what kind of heart attack she had and now wasn't the moment to be asking questions like that 27
I used to think that Mother and Father might get divorced. That was because they has lots of arguments and sometimes they hated each other. This was because of the stress of looking after someone who has Behavioral Problems like I have 46
47
49
"...I'm not interested in faces" 71
"What is this?" but he said it very quietly and I didn't realize he was angry because he wasn't shouting. "
"Holy fucking Jesus, Christopher. How stupid are you? This is what Siobhan calls a rhetorical question...it's difficult to spot a rhetorical question." (81)
"Mother had hit me sometimes because she was a very hot-tempered person, which means she gets angry more quickly than other people and she shouted more often. But Father was a more level-headed person, which means he didn't angry as quickly and he didn't shout as often. So I was very surprised when he grabbed me."
I had no memories for a shirt while...It was like someone swtiched me off and then switched me on again."
Then he locked the back door again and put the key into the little china jug that is shaped like a fat nun and he stood in the middle of the kitchen and closed his eyes. 83
"I only do it because I worry about you, because I don't want to see you getting into trouble, because I don't want you to get hurt. Do you understand?" I didn't know if I understood so I said, "I don't know." 87
In the fan scenes, never a replication of love
Mother: "I was not a very good mother. Maybe if things had been different, maybe if you had been different, I might have been better at it."
"But I said I couldn't take it anymore and eventually he got really cross and he told me that I was being stupid and said I should pull myself together and I hit him, which was wrong, but I was so upset."
"And you father is really pacient but I'm not" 107
"...the two of you together and thinking how you were really different with him. Much calmer. And you didn't shout at one another." 108-109
"Then I could hear that he was crying because his breath felt all bubbly and wet.
Phrases:...I did it for your good, Christopher....I just thought it was better if you didn't know"
"...because I didn't know how to explain. It was so complicated. So difficult. 114
"It's bloody hard telling the truth all the time...I want you to know that I'm trying. I really am." 120
"I think she cared more for that bloody dog than for me, for us. 121
"Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me, because I couldn't trust him, even though he had said, "Trust me," because he had told a lie about a big thing" 122
"bastard" 194
196 Fight
"And I don't care how long it takes...if it's one day and two minutes the next three minutes the next and it takes years I don't care. Because this is important. This is important more than anything else." And then he tore a little strip of skin away from the side of the thumbnail on his left hand."
Articles to be used: Keen "A Theory of Narrative Empathy" Palmer "The Whole Mind" Vermeule "Why do we care about lit Characters?"
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Zesty Bridges Way Too Far
So in the Hayles "Hyper and Deep Attention" article, John Bruer is quoted as saying that connecting neuroscience research and educative practices is a "bridge too far." He argues that we can connect behavior research and education. Well my darling John, I do not support that kind of thinking. I honestly see no reason why we cannot take brain research and apply it to the teaching of things with brains. As I was initially appalled by this thought, Hayles concedes a few sentences later that imaging studies can correlate behavior to brain and then behavior to education. And yet, the nature of this article defies Bruer's original conception of education as it related to brain research. This article looks at how brain research on attention disorders and the media affect the classroom pedagogy.
In my education classes we have already come to the agreement that media needs to be incorporated into the classroom because it is a major form of expression and helps bridge the learning differences between students. For example, in a Hamlet unit I recently made we not only read the play-text, we also watch The Reduced Shakespeare Company's Hamlet. The reading allows for the development of sustained deep attention while the RSC appeals to the hyper attention. Please watch this clip in which the inner strife of Ophelia is expressed by an audience of probably 100: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ofKJ6UFv60. It doesn't get more hyper attentive than that.
My other point of contention in the piece is when she describes reading Pride and Prejudice as deep and Grand Theft Auto as hyper. I want to resist these neat categories because reading can actually be a hyper attention activity. What about graphic novels? One has to process not only the words but also the images of the page. I think that reading does require sustained attention, but that doesn't mean the actual content is deep as well. Look at Tristram Shandy. There is a lot to process and the environment changes all the time, and the narrative mirrors a video game or a tv show. The idea that reading requires constant attention to shifting sentence structures or narrative structures appeals to me, partially because I have spent so long studying these things and thus am very aware of them.
Looking at the Attention Deficit Disorder poem by McCormick, Hayles would categorize reading it as a deep attention activity. However, there is actually a lot in that poem. One has to adapt their reading to this particular poem's tone and structure. For instance, what are those "/" at the end of some lines? One normally uses them when quotes poetry in prose. A critic has to figure out why the /s are there and what purpose do they serve, like when I learned to play Temple Run on my phone and had to learn that gold coins are good to run into. The poem's content itself advocates that ADD isn't a lack of attention, it is a different type of deep attention. That certain activities look hyper attentive but are really deep attentive.The narrator can "re-draw" (5) the "worn lines along my teacher's thick brown neck" (4) in his sleep, which may be something other students can't do because they were deeply focused on reading or listening to the powerpoint.
This article mirrors A Curious Incident because both take a holistic look on disorders that affect learning and social interactions. The pieces wish to convey the message that neither of these are a "you have or do not have it" but rather a continuum. With this mindset, our society can being to adjust to allow these people on the continuum the right to be treated like equals in the education system.We also acknowledge the outside factors that affect children's ability to interact with the world, that it's not just "their dysfunctional brain's fault." While this perspective is more time consuming for teachers, parents and policy makers (assuming they take into consideration the actual process of teaching...lolz if that every happens) interdisciplinary collaboration can help us understand and make a solution that is the least compromising to the child and will eventually be quicker for the future generations of educators.
In my education classes we have already come to the agreement that media needs to be incorporated into the classroom because it is a major form of expression and helps bridge the learning differences between students. For example, in a Hamlet unit I recently made we not only read the play-text, we also watch The Reduced Shakespeare Company's Hamlet. The reading allows for the development of sustained deep attention while the RSC appeals to the hyper attention. Please watch this clip in which the inner strife of Ophelia is expressed by an audience of probably 100: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ofKJ6UFv60. It doesn't get more hyper attentive than that.
My other point of contention in the piece is when she describes reading Pride and Prejudice as deep and Grand Theft Auto as hyper. I want to resist these neat categories because reading can actually be a hyper attention activity. What about graphic novels? One has to process not only the words but also the images of the page. I think that reading does require sustained attention, but that doesn't mean the actual content is deep as well. Look at Tristram Shandy. There is a lot to process and the environment changes all the time, and the narrative mirrors a video game or a tv show. The idea that reading requires constant attention to shifting sentence structures or narrative structures appeals to me, partially because I have spent so long studying these things and thus am very aware of them.
Looking at the Attention Deficit Disorder poem by McCormick, Hayles would categorize reading it as a deep attention activity. However, there is actually a lot in that poem. One has to adapt their reading to this particular poem's tone and structure. For instance, what are those "/" at the end of some lines? One normally uses them when quotes poetry in prose. A critic has to figure out why the /s are there and what purpose do they serve, like when I learned to play Temple Run on my phone and had to learn that gold coins are good to run into. The poem's content itself advocates that ADD isn't a lack of attention, it is a different type of deep attention. That certain activities look hyper attentive but are really deep attentive.The narrator can "re-draw" (5) the "worn lines along my teacher's thick brown neck" (4) in his sleep, which may be something other students can't do because they were deeply focused on reading or listening to the powerpoint.
This article mirrors A Curious Incident because both take a holistic look on disorders that affect learning and social interactions. The pieces wish to convey the message that neither of these are a "you have or do not have it" but rather a continuum. With this mindset, our society can being to adjust to allow these people on the continuum the right to be treated like equals in the education system.We also acknowledge the outside factors that affect children's ability to interact with the world, that it's not just "their dysfunctional brain's fault." While this perspective is more time consuming for teachers, parents and policy makers (assuming they take into consideration the actual process of teaching...lolz if that every happens) interdisciplinary collaboration can help us understand and make a solution that is the least compromising to the child and will eventually be quicker for the future generations of educators.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Orange Squash
Boy was I thrilled that I did not do my Wednesday homework during Tuesday and instead was sucked into Swindon by a narrator who has autism. Also, I wouldn't want to live with that father either. Also also, what is orange squash?
To geek out for a moment, it is just so cool how Christopher was just a perfect match for the symptoms and behavioral traits of children with autism listed in the reading link.
Christopher makes a lovely point in the novel that we all need something special to help us function in the world. His dad needs packets of sugar for his coffee. I need a ring on my left thumb or else I feel unbalanced. Christopher explains succinctly why he screams out of frustration and anger. As children, persons with out disabilities did just that; but they learned how to suppress that urge to loudly express frustration. Christopher also has techniques that help him calm himself. He counts to 50 and doubles 2. This is a very common practice among individuals when it comes to anger: counting numbers. Christopher uses the exact techniques in a longer span of time.
I was really interested in the distinction between a simile and a metaphor. Christopher thinks a simile is okay because it compares images but a metaphor is a lie because one is not telling the truth about the thing they are making into a metaphor. For instance, he would probably not understand "lend me a hand" in reference to help because he would think that one asks for an actual hand instead of comprehending the metonymic nature of the phrase.Therefore that phrase is a lie because one asks for help, not a hand.
Shirisha (sorry about the spelling if it's wrong!) talked about metaphor comprehension and if I remember correctly, Christopher would have an impairment on the left side of his brain. I read an article (http://www.semel.ucla.edu/autism/news/10/nov/03/ucla-study-reveals-how-autism-risk-gene-rewires-brain) that said UCLA found that children with autism have an "unusual symmetry" in the brain with regards to language when children without autism have a strong left-side connection. So perhaps this symmetry refers to a lack of connection to the left side when there should be almost an "over" development to that part of the brain.
I did find one inconsistency in the book with regards to what Christopher says about himself. He says he cannot have pictures in his head that didn't really happen, like other people can. So in effect, Christopher cannot imagine multiple worlds for him to inhabit, which ties into his inability to lie or comprehend lies. (78) But then a page later he says, "I like imagining that I am there [Mount Everest], in a spherical metal submersible..." (80) Christopher can imagine multiple realities! Does he not realize that was he imagines is the same process as others? I find this the most logical conclusion because he has no Theory of Mind skill, he has to he taught Theory of Mind like one is taught how to solve for the hypotenuse of a triangle. "I know that they're working out what I am thinking, but I can't tell what they're thinking." (22) It's so interesting that this is a huge hindrance for Christopher's success of social interactions. After reading, I felt incredibly grateful that I have developed this skill and how important this ability is in order to function. In thinking that, Christopher is able to function, it takes him longer to complete social interactions and he has to use conscious thought to do so.
I did, however, doubt Christopher's ability to overcome his fears/behaviors and get to London. But I think what is hard to express in the novel form is the passage of time. The narrator slips in occasionally a measurement of time but to the reader spatially, it seems like a very short time. And in that fault of written books we lose the grandiosity and courageous act of Christopher. It took him a really long time. Like I think upwards of 12 hours to take what should be about a 4 hour trip. So in my disbelief, I began to argue the miracle that Christopher performed. I think the book is a testament to Persons with disabilities. They are more than a section of humans than cannot function in "our" normal society.
To geek out for a moment, it is just so cool how Christopher was just a perfect match for the symptoms and behavioral traits of children with autism listed in the reading link.
Christopher makes a lovely point in the novel that we all need something special to help us function in the world. His dad needs packets of sugar for his coffee. I need a ring on my left thumb or else I feel unbalanced. Christopher explains succinctly why he screams out of frustration and anger. As children, persons with out disabilities did just that; but they learned how to suppress that urge to loudly express frustration. Christopher also has techniques that help him calm himself. He counts to 50 and doubles 2. This is a very common practice among individuals when it comes to anger: counting numbers. Christopher uses the exact techniques in a longer span of time.
I was really interested in the distinction between a simile and a metaphor. Christopher thinks a simile is okay because it compares images but a metaphor is a lie because one is not telling the truth about the thing they are making into a metaphor. For instance, he would probably not understand "lend me a hand" in reference to help because he would think that one asks for an actual hand instead of comprehending the metonymic nature of the phrase.Therefore that phrase is a lie because one asks for help, not a hand.
Shirisha (sorry about the spelling if it's wrong!) talked about metaphor comprehension and if I remember correctly, Christopher would have an impairment on the left side of his brain. I read an article (http://www.semel.ucla.edu/autism/news/10/nov/03/ucla-study-reveals-how-autism-risk-gene-rewires-brain) that said UCLA found that children with autism have an "unusual symmetry" in the brain with regards to language when children without autism have a strong left-side connection. So perhaps this symmetry refers to a lack of connection to the left side when there should be almost an "over" development to that part of the brain.
I did find one inconsistency in the book with regards to what Christopher says about himself. He says he cannot have pictures in his head that didn't really happen, like other people can. So in effect, Christopher cannot imagine multiple worlds for him to inhabit, which ties into his inability to lie or comprehend lies. (78) But then a page later he says, "I like imagining that I am there [Mount Everest], in a spherical metal submersible..." (80) Christopher can imagine multiple realities! Does he not realize that was he imagines is the same process as others? I find this the most logical conclusion because he has no Theory of Mind skill, he has to he taught Theory of Mind like one is taught how to solve for the hypotenuse of a triangle. "I know that they're working out what I am thinking, but I can't tell what they're thinking." (22) It's so interesting that this is a huge hindrance for Christopher's success of social interactions. After reading, I felt incredibly grateful that I have developed this skill and how important this ability is in order to function. In thinking that, Christopher is able to function, it takes him longer to complete social interactions and he has to use conscious thought to do so.
I did, however, doubt Christopher's ability to overcome his fears/behaviors and get to London. But I think what is hard to express in the novel form is the passage of time. The narrator slips in occasionally a measurement of time but to the reader spatially, it seems like a very short time. And in that fault of written books we lose the grandiosity and courageous act of Christopher. It took him a really long time. Like I think upwards of 12 hours to take what should be about a 4 hour trip. So in my disbelief, I began to argue the miracle that Christopher performed. I think the book is a testament to Persons with disabilities. They are more than a section of humans than cannot function in "our" normal society.
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