What a terrible way to be born. Born as an elderly person, getting younger each passing year as you turn another year "older".
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of many other works such as The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night. The title character of the short story goes through quite a bit during his lifetime. He is born an elderly man and he dies as a baby. Fitzgerald depicts the life cycle of Benjamin Button quite eloquently, telling us about every part of his life and the events that happen within.
I think that the theme of this piece is definitely pride. I understand that I did not see it so well with Pride and Prejudice but I definitely saw it in this short story. As the reader I could see pride in Benjamin's father and in his own son. Both characters believed that Benjamin would ruin their reputation, but in some cases he made it better. He ran his father's hardware business for a good number of years, maintaining it until he passed it onto his son Roscoe. After that point Roscoe is ashamed of his father, because after all, his father is younger than he is when he comes to live with Roscoe and the event of his own adolescent father moving into his home is a stab at his pride and at his reputation.
The short story is far different from the movie adaptation which disappointed me some. It disappointed me that the movie would have strayed so far from the short story itself as to completely set itself apart. I cannot help to like both at the same time, but each in different respects. I enjoyed the movie because, well, I love movies. I enjoyed the story because the life of Benjamin Button made a bit more sense.
Upon finishing the short story I was sad. Partially because I finished it ( I am always sad when I finish books and short stories for some reason.) and due to the events that take place in the story. The end of Benjamin's life was especially depressing.
On that note, I will leave you all to whatever you were doing. I shall see you with my next blog post.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
Pride and Prejudice, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and the Woman Behind It All
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." (Pride and Prejudice p. 1)
The quote above is the opening line of the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I cannot think of any better way to open the book than through that quote. There is nothing I love more than the opening lines of certain books and the book I am making this blog post about is specifically one of those books (the other being David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, which I have not actually finished). As I sit here writing in my backyard, I wonder if Jane Austen ever pictured a seventeen year old girl writing an entire blog post about her and one of the books that she wrote. I do not think that the thought would have ever crossed her mind. I hope that I can do justice to her and to her book, though.
Pride and Prejudice focuses mainly on the Bennet family, and more importantly the five Bennet sisters. The oldest is Jane, the second oldest is Elizabeth (affectionately dubbed Lizzie), and then there is Mary, Kitty (Catherine), and Lydia. Then there is Mrs. Bennet who is too involved in finding her daughters a good match with a wealthy man to worry about anything else going on in her life; and then there is Mr. Bennet, who does not want his daughters to go through the same things that he did when he married Mrs. Bennet (which is basically the complete opposite of what Mrs. Bennet wants). There are other characters that are introduced throughout the book, such as: Mr. Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Bingley, Bingley's siblings, Georgiana Darcy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and others that I do not care to even mention because it would most likely make this blog post far too long.
Basically, the entire book is about the sisters falling in love and finding agreeable matches. I do not know how to write it in simpler terms that are easier to understand, other than the whole book follows that scheme. Jane Austen writes about the romances pertaining to three of the Bennet sisters; Jane, Lizzie, and Lydia. She was obviously not concerned with the the other two sisters falling in love, because that would have been more to read and would have made for a much longer book. (Okay, I want to see a happy ending for Mary, she was forgotten with everything!) One of my favorite parts of the book has to do with the romantic encounters of Lizzie and Mr. Darcy. Lizzie is everything that I want to be, but I am more like Lydia in some aspects. Lizzie absolutely hates Darcy, but he begins to fall in love with her. He basically tells her this and says, "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." That was where I became attached to Mr. Darcy's character.
The plot of the book and the events that take place in it left something to be desired, but I found everything at least slightly interesting. There were some points where my attention was completely taken and there were others where I would stare forlornly at the book from across the room, wanting to read it but not wanting to pick it up and start in on it again. The relationship I had with Pride and Prejudice is a relationship that I have had with many books, though. I wish that I had loved the book. The book dragged on at points and then it would speed up, and I did not enjoy it as much as I enjoyed certain other classics. The plot was what I said earlier in the post: the sisters fall in love. The books revolves around that for the most part.
I am not sure what I gained through reading the book, but I am rather proud of myself for having read it, like I mentioned earlier. I bought the book Pride and Prejudice back in February. I did not start reading it until a few months later when I actually had the time to read it. Before I read it, I was introduced to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modern day portrayal of the book put out by Hank Green. I greatly enjoyed watching the diaries. They came out once a week and they ended at the end of March 2013, unfortunately. "Lizzie" and "Lydia" became extremely real during the time that I watched the diaries. I became emotionally invested in their lives and I eagerly awaited to see what would happen next, because I honestly had no idea what would happen having not read the books. Both "Lizzie" and "Lydia" has video diary channels of their own, but "Lizzie" was consistent and put out videos every week that I greatly enjoyed. The characters remained mostly the same, some characters were not there, though, and it was confusing once I started reading the book. At the end of March I was sad to see the diaries end, but I knew what I needed to do. I needed to actually read the book.
It was a month or so before I finally started reading it. I was trying to finish up The Once and Future King by T.H. White, and if you want to know how I felt about that, you can look at my past blog posts. After I finished that book, I started reading the titular book of the blog post I am writing here. It took a good month and a half to read it and I finally finished it last Thursday, because I had made plans to watch the movie with my best friend that Friday.
I have to say that all of the nagging my friends did to get me to read the book was not really worth it. I liked the book but it was not my favorite book, and I feel as if I am perfectly free to admit that, because this is my blog. I am glad that I read it because I feel more accomplished now, but that is about it. I am not madly in love with the book like my friends said I would be and that disappoints me more than anything. I do want to thank Jane Austen though. I can imagine now that she is looking down from her grand library in the sky and smiling at me, or she is turning in her grave right now due to my awful depiction of her books. (Please, do not spite me Jane, you seem like a very lovely woman.)
And with that, I bid you all adieu and I will see you all with my next blog post.
The quote above is the opening line of the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I cannot think of any better way to open the book than through that quote. There is nothing I love more than the opening lines of certain books and the book I am making this blog post about is specifically one of those books (the other being David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, which I have not actually finished). As I sit here writing in my backyard, I wonder if Jane Austen ever pictured a seventeen year old girl writing an entire blog post about her and one of the books that she wrote. I do not think that the thought would have ever crossed her mind. I hope that I can do justice to her and to her book, though.
Pride and Prejudice focuses mainly on the Bennet family, and more importantly the five Bennet sisters. The oldest is Jane, the second oldest is Elizabeth (affectionately dubbed Lizzie), and then there is Mary, Kitty (Catherine), and Lydia. Then there is Mrs. Bennet who is too involved in finding her daughters a good match with a wealthy man to worry about anything else going on in her life; and then there is Mr. Bennet, who does not want his daughters to go through the same things that he did when he married Mrs. Bennet (which is basically the complete opposite of what Mrs. Bennet wants). There are other characters that are introduced throughout the book, such as: Mr. Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Bingley, Bingley's siblings, Georgiana Darcy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and others that I do not care to even mention because it would most likely make this blog post far too long.
Basically, the entire book is about the sisters falling in love and finding agreeable matches. I do not know how to write it in simpler terms that are easier to understand, other than the whole book follows that scheme. Jane Austen writes about the romances pertaining to three of the Bennet sisters; Jane, Lizzie, and Lydia. She was obviously not concerned with the the other two sisters falling in love, because that would have been more to read and would have made for a much longer book. (Okay, I want to see a happy ending for Mary, she was forgotten with everything!) One of my favorite parts of the book has to do with the romantic encounters of Lizzie and Mr. Darcy. Lizzie is everything that I want to be, but I am more like Lydia in some aspects. Lizzie absolutely hates Darcy, but he begins to fall in love with her. He basically tells her this and says, "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." That was where I became attached to Mr. Darcy's character.
The plot of the book and the events that take place in it left something to be desired, but I found everything at least slightly interesting. There were some points where my attention was completely taken and there were others where I would stare forlornly at the book from across the room, wanting to read it but not wanting to pick it up and start in on it again. The relationship I had with Pride and Prejudice is a relationship that I have had with many books, though. I wish that I had loved the book. The book dragged on at points and then it would speed up, and I did not enjoy it as much as I enjoyed certain other classics. The plot was what I said earlier in the post: the sisters fall in love. The books revolves around that for the most part.
I am not sure what I gained through reading the book, but I am rather proud of myself for having read it, like I mentioned earlier. I bought the book Pride and Prejudice back in February. I did not start reading it until a few months later when I actually had the time to read it. Before I read it, I was introduced to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modern day portrayal of the book put out by Hank Green. I greatly enjoyed watching the diaries. They came out once a week and they ended at the end of March 2013, unfortunately. "Lizzie" and "Lydia" became extremely real during the time that I watched the diaries. I became emotionally invested in their lives and I eagerly awaited to see what would happen next, because I honestly had no idea what would happen having not read the books. Both "Lizzie" and "Lydia" has video diary channels of their own, but "Lizzie" was consistent and put out videos every week that I greatly enjoyed. The characters remained mostly the same, some characters were not there, though, and it was confusing once I started reading the book. At the end of March I was sad to see the diaries end, but I knew what I needed to do. I needed to actually read the book.
It was a month or so before I finally started reading it. I was trying to finish up The Once and Future King by T.H. White, and if you want to know how I felt about that, you can look at my past blog posts. After I finished that book, I started reading the titular book of the blog post I am writing here. It took a good month and a half to read it and I finally finished it last Thursday, because I had made plans to watch the movie with my best friend that Friday.
I have to say that all of the nagging my friends did to get me to read the book was not really worth it. I liked the book but it was not my favorite book, and I feel as if I am perfectly free to admit that, because this is my blog. I am glad that I read it because I feel more accomplished now, but that is about it. I am not madly in love with the book like my friends said I would be and that disappoints me more than anything. I do want to thank Jane Austen though. I can imagine now that she is looking down from her grand library in the sky and smiling at me, or she is turning in her grave right now due to my awful depiction of her books. (Please, do not spite me Jane, you seem like a very lovely woman.)
And with that, I bid you all adieu and I will see you all with my next blog post.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Reading Progress
This is another miscellaneous post. I ought to stop posting these.
So much progress guys.
On the other hand, though, I have been reading books that are not on the list. I will get to the end of this list by the end of summer, this I swear by the stars (Get it? Because Les Miserables is one of the books that is on my reading list? Okay, I will stop now.)
So much progress guys.
On the other hand, though, I have been reading books that are not on the list. I will get to the end of this list by the end of summer, this I swear by the stars (Get it? Because Les Miserables is one of the books that is on my reading list? Okay, I will stop now.)
A Deadline Is the Best Thing For a Writer
This post is rather ironic. I titled it after I did not turn in submissions for two writing contests, even though I knew the deadlines perfectly well - I simply forgot about them. A deadline is the best thing for a writer. All writers probably know this. I know this. I am awful at remembering said deadlines, though.
The reason that this post is so ironic is that I titled this, meaning to write it by the end of whatever week in May that I titled it. I forgot about typing it though and I was too timid to come back here and finish writing the post. I still feel rather awful, but I tend to push those feelings aside, all the time. My main ideal for this blog was to write a few times a week but I cannot meet goals that I make for myself and the blog.
Since I last posted here I have tried to enter two poetry contests. The contests were both held in the month of April and I neatly missed both. Not because I did not want to be a part of the, but because I was so indecisive about what I wanted to send in that I missed both submission dates. I was rather peeved with myself after the fact because it would have been a great chance to get my work out there, although poetry is not what I truly love to write. I am more of a short story/novel gal, myself. The only deadlines I have been able to meet are the ones that have been set for me in regards to my novels that I write in November. I will promptly be beginning another novel in July for Camp NaNoWriMo called The Spiritualists, which I will actually include information about at some point in July. I have everything plotted out and I am rather impressed with it. It ventures from my normal style of writing, so I am happy.
I do not know if I am the only one that is awful at meeting deadlines. Jeffrey Moss, one of the main characters of the show "Bells Are Ringing" told everyone, in the midst of one of his many parties that "A deadline is the best thing for a writer. It builds a fire under him.", because at that point of the musical, he has to write two acts of a play that is supposed to finished shortly after that. I really do believe that deadlines can be a good thing sometimes, but if you push yourself too hard you will drive yourself insane trying to finish whatever it is that you are doing.
I will be back on Friday (hopefully) with a post about Pride and Prejudice, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and Jane Austen.
The reason that this post is so ironic is that I titled this, meaning to write it by the end of whatever week in May that I titled it. I forgot about typing it though and I was too timid to come back here and finish writing the post. I still feel rather awful, but I tend to push those feelings aside, all the time. My main ideal for this blog was to write a few times a week but I cannot meet goals that I make for myself and the blog.
Since I last posted here I have tried to enter two poetry contests. The contests were both held in the month of April and I neatly missed both. Not because I did not want to be a part of the, but because I was so indecisive about what I wanted to send in that I missed both submission dates. I was rather peeved with myself after the fact because it would have been a great chance to get my work out there, although poetry is not what I truly love to write. I am more of a short story/novel gal, myself. The only deadlines I have been able to meet are the ones that have been set for me in regards to my novels that I write in November. I will promptly be beginning another novel in July for Camp NaNoWriMo called The Spiritualists, which I will actually include information about at some point in July. I have everything plotted out and I am rather impressed with it. It ventures from my normal style of writing, so I am happy.
I do not know if I am the only one that is awful at meeting deadlines. Jeffrey Moss, one of the main characters of the show "Bells Are Ringing" told everyone, in the midst of one of his many parties that "A deadline is the best thing for a writer. It builds a fire under him.", because at that point of the musical, he has to write two acts of a play that is supposed to finished shortly after that. I really do believe that deadlines can be a good thing sometimes, but if you push yourself too hard you will drive yourself insane trying to finish whatever it is that you are doing.
I will be back on Friday (hopefully) with a post about Pride and Prejudice, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and Jane Austen.
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