Poor Bill. I saw it coming. A reclusive writer somehow foreshadows his own death. I feel sorry for him, but I guess it was time: he didn't really have anything to lose, and plus, he hadn't published anything for a while.
I still don't understand Karen. Now that the intro makes sense and really did happen, I find that Karen doesn't take it that seriously. She got married to a man she just met who, after the marriage, became a missionary to England. It's interesting because Karen told Brita that she loves her husband, and yet this "love" is not loyal. I wonder if her commitment to the church is very important to her. She tells Brita, "'...I think about Kim too. He was husband-for-eternity'" (DeLillo 183). And her explanation for committing to the whole Moonie tradition was because she liked the idea: "I thought I honestly loved him even before he finished rising to his full height. I thought how great he's Korean because many Koreans have been church members for a long time and this would give us a deeper foundation to build on. And I liked the darkness and sleekness of his hair'" (DeLillo 183) and "'I thought it was perfectly lovely. I stood up when my name was called. I went to the front of this ballroom-type place. Master was way over at the other end of the stage with many people standing between us, officials and members of the blessing committee and so forth. So then he just pointed to a man in the audience'" (DeLillo 182). I thought, I thought. I don't really like this side of Karen.
However, the side I did like was when she encountered Omar and explored the life of what it looked to be, to me, a park where homeless people, crazy people hang out. She seemed to enjoy the "crowd" in the park or whatever place it was. It was hard to follow but the idea of Karen hanging out with a fourteen year old boy in a place like that was interesting.
Lastly, one final scene on page 205 that I really liked and made me laugh because it depicts Bill so well:
"'I wonder,' [Bill] said, 'if you might oblige a writer by answering a question or two.'
'A writer,' the woman said to the others.
'Would we have heard of you?' the bearded vet said with a trace of skepticism in his voice.
'No, no. I'm not that kind of writer.'" (DeLillo)
Of course. Bill is...a writer that no one hears about. I love that.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Mao II: Chapters 6-11
Well, my assumption was completely wrong, but at least it made me curious enough to keep reading. There was also another mention of the Moonies: Karen really is married to a Korean man. But she's with Scott...and Bill. Hmm. How does that work? Anyways...
I love the way Bill depicts a writer, or specifically himself. Yes, he is a reclusive writer, but with a mind so impressive and interesting. For instance, on page 97, Bill's and Charlie's conversation was interesting because of their discussion between a writer and isolation. Charlies says, '"I've always thought I understood precisely why you went into isolation...You (referring to Bill) have a twisted sense of the writer's place in society. You think the writer belongs at the far margin, doing dangerous things. In Central America, writers carry guns. They have to. And this has always been your idea of the way it ought to be. The state should want to kill writers. Every government, every group that holds power or aspires to power should feel so threatened by writers that they hunt them down, everywhere"" (DeLillo). I think, as writers, we all depict ourselves into something or someone we want to be. Like I mentioned in the last blog, I found Bill slightly immature. However, with this quote, I see that he tends to romanticize a lot not only about his life in general but about his life as a writer specifically.
I also was a bit surprised at the mention of a word processor. For some reason, I assumed that was the method Bill was using. Obviously not. He's a typewriter kind of guy. The way George put it, "'I find I couldn't conceivably operate without one. Move words, paragraphs, move a hundred pages, plus instant corrections...helps me organize my thoughts, gives me a text susceptible to revision'" (DeLillo 137-138). Bill merely shakes his head. Why? Does he not want to "conform?" Because I grew up in the age of the word processor, I don't know what I would do if I transitioned to a typewriter. I've always wanted to try a typewriter, but I feel the pressure a writer has to try to avoid making mistakes--it's harder to get rid of mistakes using a typewriter--is overwhelming to the mind.
I'm going to be perfectly honest: I don't like this book. But it's because I don't like this book that I keep reading it. I want to know what's going to happen to Bill. I want to know what Karen's connection is with the Moonie tradition.
I love the way Bill depicts a writer, or specifically himself. Yes, he is a reclusive writer, but with a mind so impressive and interesting. For instance, on page 97, Bill's and Charlie's conversation was interesting because of their discussion between a writer and isolation. Charlies says, '"I've always thought I understood precisely why you went into isolation...You (referring to Bill) have a twisted sense of the writer's place in society. You think the writer belongs at the far margin, doing dangerous things. In Central America, writers carry guns. They have to. And this has always been your idea of the way it ought to be. The state should want to kill writers. Every government, every group that holds power or aspires to power should feel so threatened by writers that they hunt them down, everywhere"" (DeLillo). I think, as writers, we all depict ourselves into something or someone we want to be. Like I mentioned in the last blog, I found Bill slightly immature. However, with this quote, I see that he tends to romanticize a lot not only about his life in general but about his life as a writer specifically.
I also was a bit surprised at the mention of a word processor. For some reason, I assumed that was the method Bill was using. Obviously not. He's a typewriter kind of guy. The way George put it, "'I find I couldn't conceivably operate without one. Move words, paragraphs, move a hundred pages, plus instant corrections...helps me organize my thoughts, gives me a text susceptible to revision'" (DeLillo 137-138). Bill merely shakes his head. Why? Does he not want to "conform?" Because I grew up in the age of the word processor, I don't know what I would do if I transitioned to a typewriter. I've always wanted to try a typewriter, but I feel the pressure a writer has to try to avoid making mistakes--it's harder to get rid of mistakes using a typewriter--is overwhelming to the mind.
I'm going to be perfectly honest: I don't like this book. But it's because I don't like this book that I keep reading it. I want to know what's going to happen to Bill. I want to know what Karen's connection is with the Moonie tradition.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Mao II: Chapters 1-5
Mao II didn't start out the way I had expected. Well, to be honest, I didn't know what to expect. The whole scene--a quite confusing scene--in the intro made it hard to follow. The descriptions, to me, were not enough for me to grasp the whole situation. What I could make out of the intro was there a wedding, multiple weddings all at the same time. Why they were all marrying at the same time in the Yankee Stadium is the question. And why the newlyweds, Karen and Kim, married even though they could barely communicate to each other is even more interesting.
I gave up trying to make sense of the intro and began to compare this scene to another story--this helps me understand what I cannot understand. What first popped up was 1984. As I read the intro, I couldn't help but think that the weddings are kind of like a 1984 wedding. I say this because people are watching the weddings, many couples probably just met, and many probably could barely communicate. Another big hint is the whole concept of the Master. Who is that? Their leader? It sounds like Big Brother to me. In my mind, I could just picture this scene inserted in one of George Orwell's works since he was that kind of writer who wrote about futuristic elements/possibilities.
Now to the rest of the chapters. Those actually made sense. Bill, an inactive writer--actually quite active but hasn't published anything in a while--is kind of an interesting character. At first, from the way Scott and Brita conversed about him, I expected to see a scrawny man, hiding behind his typewriter or something, not wanting to interact withe the world. Instead, Bill appears all talkative and not afraid to share his struggles as a writer. Maybe he just needed someone to talk to, to share what life was like for him: a writer, no longer noticed. In addition, I thought Bill a little immature for his age. He's, what, in his sixties? In Chapter 5, when all four characters were around the dinner table talking over each other, I found his "Our theme is four" (69) outbursts to be like a child calling for attention. If I were on his side, I would probably think that, as a writer, he's been trying to be noticed for years. So this must just be a cry out to his lack of attention.
I saw no connection to the intro and the rest of the chapters except the mention of Karen. So, my assumption is that the intro could be Bill's story that he's working on, and Karen is one of his characters. This could be totally off, but I need to assume in order to look forward to the rest of the story.
I gave up trying to make sense of the intro and began to compare this scene to another story--this helps me understand what I cannot understand. What first popped up was 1984. As I read the intro, I couldn't help but think that the weddings are kind of like a 1984 wedding. I say this because people are watching the weddings, many couples probably just met, and many probably could barely communicate. Another big hint is the whole concept of the Master. Who is that? Their leader? It sounds like Big Brother to me. In my mind, I could just picture this scene inserted in one of George Orwell's works since he was that kind of writer who wrote about futuristic elements/possibilities.
Now to the rest of the chapters. Those actually made sense. Bill, an inactive writer--actually quite active but hasn't published anything in a while--is kind of an interesting character. At first, from the way Scott and Brita conversed about him, I expected to see a scrawny man, hiding behind his typewriter or something, not wanting to interact withe the world. Instead, Bill appears all talkative and not afraid to share his struggles as a writer. Maybe he just needed someone to talk to, to share what life was like for him: a writer, no longer noticed. In addition, I thought Bill a little immature for his age. He's, what, in his sixties? In Chapter 5, when all four characters were around the dinner table talking over each other, I found his "Our theme is four" (69) outbursts to be like a child calling for attention. If I were on his side, I would probably think that, as a writer, he's been trying to be noticed for years. So this must just be a cry out to his lack of attention.
I saw no connection to the intro and the rest of the chapters except the mention of Karen. So, my assumption is that the intro could be Bill's story that he's working on, and Karen is one of his characters. This could be totally off, but I need to assume in order to look forward to the rest of the story.
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