I wanted to share a poem i wrote in class, because i am so shy i never had the chance to express my feelings on this topic. This class gave me thee chance to express my thoughts on it.

Are we not the same?

Stopped,

Chocolate skin arrives from the dark corner

Wearing the enemy’s clothing

People gazing

Hands on his waist

Phones out recording

Hands up, don’t shoot; Michael Brown

Are you my brotha?

I think not

Why am I being stopped?

The clothes or color

Whatever you prefer

Nasty attitude after 1 phrase

Introduced me to the ground

Arms hugged my neck tight

Wait stop I can’t breathe; Eric Garner

Phones out and distant yells out

Who’s that?

No one knows me

But one yelled

Say her name; Sandra Bland

I yelled out you’re hurting me

His knees deep in my back

Another Freddie Gray counting down my last week

Bright lights are when I’ll appear again

Dim lights and accidental shooting

My chocolate skin is just as good as theirs

Guess I am Akai Gurley and accidents happen

No I am a brotha just like you

Maybe you are my brotha

In a different life or 2

Justice for me, justice for all

My brotha is my brotha

Look just like you

Hands up, don’t shoot!

Finishing Up

Since this is a partial week, any entries you make will be extra credit. Feel free to make some final comments about the class: What did you like best? What did you like least? What do you wish we had done more/less of? etc. You can also use this space to respond to your classmates' readings in the final class.

Neighborhood 3 ending

When I attend the play I expect to see how the characters interact with each other, how the stage is set up to portray the setting in the play, how the emotion is expressed by the characters, and the actors the play each character. I believe that scene 9 and 10 are different because it is the climax of the play and the most action happening. I think that the meaning of "mom?" At the end of the play because it shows how unconcerned or unaware of reality Blake was, until he killed his mother, that was the only time that she shown any sort of remorse or concern. This play shows how teenagers now days get so caught up in video games, technology, t.v that they lose touch of reality and don't have any actual relationship in the real life.

Neighborhood 3 Play

I  have to say after reading the play and then watching it I found it to be very interesting. It was expected to be as I thought about how it may be. I thought of the scenery a little different but the actors fit the role completely. They acted out the scenes very well also. I enjoyed the play and I definitely feel the lesson of it was the video game being based on virtual reality between a neighborhood filled with zombies in relation to parents and their kids. I see it as teenagers go through phases and one of the phases is they don't like what they're parents have to say about what their doing or what they think and one thing is video games. Some parents have a strong thing about that and in the video game the zombies eat away at things and in relation to the parents it's a kind of way teenagers feel at some point. I think this play was great and so was the play to read it. I got a lot out of it, I kind of wish the play went on and didn't end there. It was a good choice for the course I have to say.

PLAYS

I have never been one for plays. Part of the is my laziness. I hate having to cast the play before I read it just so I am able to understand it. In all the reading I have done recreational and assigned I have only eve liked plays by Arthur Miller. Something about how depressing his plays are excites and intrigues me. I appreciated Neighborhood 3 Requisition of Doom. The concept was great I just wish it dabbled more in the line between reality and the game. I would have liked to see more dysfunction and chaos. Unfortunately when it was time to end it really did end. Usually that is supposed to be a good thing where you are left wanting more but here I really wanted more of the story. More of the dysfunction. It was reminiscent of all those shows where suburbia has all those secrets. It was a quick read and I wasn't as invested as I should have been.

neighborhood 3 Final chapter

I felt like I struggled with what was reality and what was in game throughout the story especially with the end closing in it blurred the lines for me a lot. One big question that the end brought up for me was were the kids so in their games that they couldn't tell reality from the game because at the end blake killed his mother , or were things that were happening in the game actually happening in real life which is why Joy found Codys mother outside. My theory was that the game was creating a parallel universe where the game was no real life. Or maybe nothing ever happened at all. What if in the end the mother that we read about was actually in game, and he killed Joy in game and when he did he got so scared he snapped into reality, asking for her to see if it affected him in real life. Also if I am right about the game coming to life what happens to all the parents to they become zombies eventually like they are in the game, or do they just not exist anymore. Still plenty of blurred lines like I mentioned I'm hoping that watching the play answers all my questions.

Response to Neighborhood 3 Ending

- When I see this play, I expect to see young kids that are warped into this game. They are actually like zombies in the real world. I expect to see action going on within the game that is the focus, as well as outside of the game while they are still playing because the story progresses along with the games progression.

- When blake shoves himself away from the computer, he is shivering and his last word is "mom?" because the game and real life are parallel in this story. He killed his own mother without meaning to. Chapter 9 was told from the mom's perspective while chapter 10 was his when he came back to realization after he killed the final boss in the final house (his own) in the game.

- I think it's significant that the parent look like zombies for one of 2 reasons if not both. The first is that while the children were zombies from the perspective of the real world, or the outside world, it's only fitting that the opposite would be true in the world that came to substitute reality for the kids who played this game and became obsessed. Also, I think there may be a metaphor in making everyone a zombie in the game. It may represent how although the kids are zombies for the video game, everyone is a zombie to other things of the world.

Finishing Neighborhood 3

• I'd like you to try to describe what you expect to see when you see the play performed.

I am excited to see how the characters interact on stage. The dialogue in the book is really open to interpretation and I think seeing the actors inject personality into the characters will help make the play more interesting for me. 

• Why are scenes 9 and 10 formatted differently than the rest of the play? 

I think scenes 9 and 10 are formatted differently because they are more dramatic: the real drama starts later in the play as the characters lose touch with reality and are sucked into the game. 

• In 10 when Blake shoves himself away from the computer why is he shivering? Why is it significant that the last word is "Mom?"

Prior to this moment, Blake only referred to his mother by her first name. He is distant from his mother. I am unsure where Blake lays in the blurred line of fantasy and reality and I think he is too. He seems to snap out of it when he says "Mom" and looks for his mother. He kills her in that game and I think he's nsure 

Neighborhood 3 Ending

To see the play performed I'd expect to see the emotion of the character (s), even the lack of emotion. In the beginning the redundant lifestyles of the characters is what I'd like to see expressed, then towards the end I'd like to see the surge in emotions as expressed in the climax of the play. It would also be interesting to see how can the actors and/or stage directors manage the special affects on a live stage.

In my opinion, the parents appearing as zombies could be for two reasons. One reason could be as I mentioned in my last blog post about Neighborhood 3, I believe Haley is expressing the monotonous and somewhat empty lifestyles of families living in suburbia. The parental transformation into zombies could also represent the detachment from real life when one is submerged into the virtual world.

In scenes 9 and 10 I believe that they are formatted differently to express the adrenaline in these scenes. We can see stage direction, emotion, action, etc. This could also represent the mirroring of a 'fake reality' rather than reality because the scenes are more set up.While reading the ending of the play, I honestly felt the increase of 'thrill' that was expressed.

Blake's final words being "Mom?" are significant for a few reasons. For one, now the character shows the expression of curiosity, but also, Blake is aware of his surroundings and the importance of his mom. I see this as an awakening of his reality, surroundings, and empathy. The fact that he refers to her as Mom rather than Joy shows that he sees her in terms of their relationship rather than a characters description (name).

Finishing Neighborhood 3 - Mom?

• In 10 when Blake shoves himself away from the computer why is he shivering? Why is it significant that the last word is "Mom?" 

Blake is so engrossed in this video game that he does not acknowledge his own mother. He doesn't seem to respect his mother. He won;t even call her mom. He does not acknowledge her existence. And when he does it is in a half hazard way. There seems to be some animosity between Blake and his mother. It is just the two of them in the house. The father is not around. 

The most interesting part of this scene is the fact that Blake's mother is Barbara but he keeps calling her Joy. They don't really explain why he does this. But it is very possible that he is so engrossed in the game that he is losing his sense of reality. He may be referring to his mother by the name of a character in the story. In the scene we sort of lose a sense of what is real and what isn't also. I think Blake comes to a realization that he is losing this sense of reality. It frightens him to a point where he starts to worry. This is possibly why he pushed away from the computer. And this fear drives him to finally have this need for his mother. this is why he referred to his mother at the end as "Mom".  

• Why are scenes 9 and 10 formatted differently than the rest of the play? 

I believe they require a more in depth performance that requires more attention thats why its different

• In 10 when Blake shoves himself away from the computer why is he shivering? Why is it significant that the last word is "Mom?" 

Because its a significant break in the character from the savage rebellious gamer boy that feels he is superior to those around him , to the son of a mother 

• What happens in the last scene?

The lines of reality and fiction are blurred and crossed to the point where a in game weapon appears in the real word

• Why is it significant that the parents appear as zombies?

It might be a reflection on their inner character relating to them being mindless going after something

Finishing Neighborhood 3

As we finish up the play this week, I'd like us to consider the following questions:

• I'd like you to try to describe what you expect to see when you see the play performed.
• Why are scenes 9 and 10 formatted differently than the rest of the play? 
• In 10 when Blake shoves himself away from the computer why is he shivering? Why is it significant that the last word is "Mom?" 
• What happens in the last scene?
• Why is it significant that the parents appear as zombies?

Neighborhood 3

This play is not very difficult to make sense of or make distinctions between characters.  It seems like the characters are very blunt with one another (like kids/teenagers are).  The walkthroughs remind me of a sort of Malcom in the Middle narration, except the narration is not coming from a character within the play which is different for me.  I feel like this play may resemble what our future may be like.  With the title "Requisition of Doom," it only seems fitting.  Our generation is already saying how we are doomed with all of this technology.  The kids in the play seem to be mesmerized by the video games they're playing, somewhat similar to the kids of this generation.  Even the way the play is written reminds me of how we all no longer use punctuation when communicating via the internet.

Neighborhood Watch 3

I saw the play. It was vulgar. Both the play and script are very vulgar sometimes I just feel too much cursing drowns out the meaning of the story. I understand there is disillusionment in the society and there is subtext about the way we all live our lives. The parallelism is so obvious but that makes the story better because you know what to expect. All of these stories of the characters woven in to this messy tapestry is cliche. Sometimes cliches are great but I felt I was deprived early on. I am the type of reader who wants more when the story has ended. The end was so abrupt I felt I couldn't fall in love the way I wanted to. However, I must read the play first. My visualization and the play were different. The screenwriter probably meant to do it that way. Almost trick the reader into visualizing their interpretation of dysfunction. That is why it sounds so colloquial because we as a reader and audience should make our own setting.

Neighborhood 3

After completing the book I am surprised. I wonder what ended up happening with Blake. I really loved the play, it was definitely different. I can't wait to see the play, I am looking into how it will differ from the book with the characters compared to the actors acting in the play. I found it funny how Blake in the play kept calling his mom by her name Joy, when he beat her to death afterwards he  seemed scared he called her Mom. Blake was a very rude character to his mom, she did a lot for him and he treated her bad. I am shocked at his ending of the play. By far one of the best plays I have read.

one the poem i wrote at the beginning of the semester, i am considering reading it at a poetry bar

I used to be great at the brave game

Not so much anymore

Because I keep letting people

Break me down piece by piece

 Peace by peace

They've stripped me naked

I can no longer pretend to be okay

Because whenever I do,

My voice cracks

And my eyes water

And I can no longer fake a smile

Overly sensitive people should not be expected to put in too much effort

Because no one else is willing to put effort in

I'm not crazy,

Really, I'm not

I just think a lot and get scared a lot and

I absolutely hate

Hate. Hate. Hate

Feeling abandoned

I like to think the world is an okay place

But it is not

Because no one gives a fuck about anyone else's feelings

I thought you were expecting me

I thought you wanted me

I was wrong

This is why I shouldn't listen to other people

Too much pain is involved in love

There are too many hopes

Hopes placed high on shelves out of reach

Hopes and dreams

And every so often, they tip off the shelf

And fall on our heads like pottery

Pots of water breaking over and over our heads

"Lust" is just the Wal-Mart brand of "Love"

It's the ones you buy when you just need someone

To touch you just the right way

Love is expensive

I don't wish to find it

I spent my whole life searching and searching

I'm too tired now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a80JB-kjRY
Some background of the play with the author Jennifer Haley as we begin to watch the play this week.

One thing I thought was interesting was the criticism of the parenting style we all know well of hating that kids are playing video games and then equipping them with the most current systems.
Interesting watch. I always like to know a little about the authors perspective when I read something new.

Neighborhood 3

I was unable to attend class this week and participate in the class discussion about the play, however i can airways share here. This is not the first play that i read, in my English 102 I read "the crucible" which is quite interesting. Neighborhood 3 is different, I was initially amused that it was about video games and about zombies. I enjoyed starting to read this play because it is by far one of the most interesting piece I read all semester. The wording and dialogue was so simple to read and to understand and it was kind of funny as well. I enjoy reading plays because I am able to picture every scene in my head and actually get a sense of how it will play out in screen.

Building Barriers? Liberty and Justice for All exhibit

Attached is the press release for the Building Barriers exhibit which will be displayed in building c. One of my pieces from this class will be displayed there.


Building Barriers Exhibit opening reception

Neighborhood 3

I see plays as being different than stories because plays dive straight into context usually and stories give a strong background before they begin the actual story line. On the surface, Haley's play is very different than other play's I've read however the subliminal message and use of an alternate reality are two common themes in a lot of writing. The use of a virtual reality by the author is definitely a unique (and modern) touch. I'm pretty sure that  this  is the first piece of writing I'm reading that deals with a virtual reality.

I believe that this play can be relate-able to many teens, especially here in the U.S.. I can see that maybe some teens will be interested in reading this and it will in turn open the door for them towards more Literature.

On a deeper level, I see that Haley is expressing some real life internal struggles in this play. It's set in suburbia which speaks volumes. Many teens (or adults) who live in suburbia try to escape their monotonous life there through video games and unfortunately sometimes through drug use. The boredom that ensues for a teen in a suburban lifestyle is expressed in the writing style of Neighborhood 3. To begin, part 1,  walkthrough, has no rhythm to the words. The sentences do not begin with capital letters and the context of this piece is bland. By bland I mean that here we are described the neighborhood very generally, we do not see anything exciting, we do not feel anything exciting, and we do not see any people. There is barely a subject of interest here and I believe this reflects life in suburbia.

The dialogue also reflects the points I stated above. There is minimal capitalization, minimal goal context, and the use of dialogue I believe allows the reader to ping-pong back and forth between the characters. This ping-pong use of dialogue again reflects the repetitive lifestyle of these characters. Haley also adds silence and dullness into the dialogue when she inserts "..." numerous times.

I find it odd that on page 11, Trevor states: "That's the last time I had it/when I was over here/my mom doesn't buy/ Chocolate Milk.". Here 'i' is not capitalized but 'Chocolate Milk' is. Perhaps this also mirrors the characters feeling of internal un-importance.

Drugs are mentioned when Mikaela asks Trevor if he wants Vicodin very casually. As the news and media has shown to be true, drug use (soft drugs, hard core drugs, and prescription drugs) is almost an epidemic in suburban towns. Here Haley is speaking volumes because this casual offering of drugs and life style of drug use is something that is very casual and trivial in suburban areas. Later on, Leslie mentions that her daughter might had had anorexia and Steve admits he also had to force his daughter to eat. They express these family issues so casually that in reality it is worrisome. Self harm (through drug use, bodily harm, etc) is not something to be taken lightly however many suburban towns are aware of it yet don't acknowledge it. Here I believe Haley is expressing all of this and mimicking the suburban tone in the nonchalant mentioning of these bigger issues.

Neighborhood 3

This play is more interesting than other texts i read this semester. I understand what was going on and it was easier to follow along to it. The duologue was short, simple but funny. The "walkthroughs" gave enough details to help me understand what was about to happen in the up coming scene without giving any duologue.  

I never read a play before Neighborhood 3; reading this play I wish i read some. With the details provided i was able to picture every scene, what they was going or going to do. I seen plenty of Tyler Perry plays before they turned into movies. Tyler Perry plays were comedy but delivered a message at the end. When Makela asked Trevor if he wanted "coke" i thought she was talking about the real thing until she said we just have stupid stuff like "grape juice." Also when she was talking about the "joy stick" Makela was talking about something else while Trevor was talking about playing an actually game, he didn't catch on to what she was implying. 

Neighborhood 3

How are plays different from other texts that we've read this semester? How is this play different from other plays you've read? (Or have you ever read a play before? Have you seen one?) Some other questions I have:

• How do you read this play? How do you make sense of it?
• How are the "Walkthroughs" distinct from the scenes? What are they doing? (What is their purpose(s)?)
• Do you notice the double entendres (double meanings) in the script? Give examples.
• There are a lot of different characters in this play. Why are only four actors supposed to perform it? 
• Notice the format of the play. No caps, no punctuation. Why?

How are plays different from other texts that we've read this semester?

Plays have an even bigger task of "showing" versus "telling." The relationships between characters have to be established through dialogue and the way they interact with one another. 

How is this play different from other plays you've read?

This play is a little more realistic in how conversational it is. In some plays you have to suspend your disbelief because the way the characters speak to one another is a little maudlin or schmaltzy. 

How are the "walkthroughs" distinct from the scenes?

The walkthroughs are distinct from the scenes in that they are written in the style of a game guide but help to further show us how involved the game is and the blurred lines between the game and "real life." The technology of the game is allowing people to play in a virtual reality that is just like their actual reality. 

Do you notice the double entendres in the script?

There are a lot of different characters in this play. Why are only four actors supposed to perform it. 

I have noticed that throughout the play the characters are not easily distinguishable so this could add to the confusion

Notice the format of the play. No caps, no punctuation.

Based on what I've read so far, the play deals a lot with an addiction to video games. The play is formatted like text conversation, further adding to the theme of an overexposure to technology. 

Neighborhood 3 - The Walkthroughs

When I first read the walk-through sections I read it as the writer setting up the scene that we are about to read. The play is about a video game. So these walk-through sets up the different scenes to seem like different boards or levels on a video game. It instructs the characters or players where to go. When reading this play, the walk-through gives me a pretty good illustration of what I might see if I were watching this scene live. The set-up of the walk through also gives me a feeling that I am actually reading about a video game.

Neighborhood 3 and Plays

How are plays different from other texts that we've read this semester? How is this play different from other plays you've read? (Or have you ever read a play before? Have you seen one?) Some other questions I have:

• How do you read this play? How do you make sense of it?
• How are the "Walkthroughs" distinct from the scenes? What are they doing? (What is their purpose(s)?)
• Do you notice the double entendres (double meanings) in the script? Give examples.
• There are a lot of different characters in this play. Why are only four actors supposed to perform it? 
• Notice the format of the play. No caps, no punctuation. Why?

Part 4: Pool Neighborhood 3

In the conversation with Ryan and Doug I like how Doug as his dad gives advice that is life relatable to anyone. He mentions part of growing up is realizing a lot of pain in this world and taking responsibility instead of letting it take over you as a person to distract you from living your life and change in behavior. And to also get over your fears, Doug believes Ryan is still hurt over Snickers dy My, but Ryan believes it has something todo with the video game and that he really didn't get hit by a car and something else happened to him. I just find it nice in the script you also find advice that can be lived by atleast for me I can. That advice is something I can relate to and hobby in my everyday life. It's true because that is a life lesson that is apart of everyone's experience at some part in their life and I like how It Is used in this part of the script with a father and son.

Neighborhood 3

So far I think the beginning to this play is very interesting. I really like it. I like the idea of a video game taking over the teenagers lives as many characters say in th play. Some other characters seem to think it's real and something is coming like Ryan mentioned. I also like how each part for example like part 1 is Makaela and Trevor conversating then part 2 jumps to Leslie and Steve are also conversating in the same topic about the video game. Each conversation is the same but comes up in a different way. As I went on reading I notice in another part Makaelas dad and brother have a conversation and so on, each scenario is different but somehow all the characters are connected. I'm really looking forward to watching the play. This is a good script I have read in a long time and not boring at all!

Getting Out Of Our Own Way

I think Bowles writes stories about one of two people. People who get in the way. And people who are trying to get out of the way. Call At Corazon is one of my preferred stories. The man was clearly unhappy in his marriage and with a woman he could not be himself around. He was not a drunk or a sailor he was just a man who liked to sketch. I commend him on getting out of the way and leaving his cheating wife. No progress would have been made if had been forgiving and stayed present. I believe he now has a true chance at happiness. The professor in A Distant Episode was a tad bit arrogant and look at how he ended up. Berated like the people he tried to avoid as town horror. Bowles paints pictures of psychological troubles. At Paso Rojo we are introduced to a sociopath who dabbles in the ways of  vixen. Her negative behavior is only enhanced by her boredom and her desire to see others suffer. The Scorpion is kind of like a wives tale screaming out if you cannot handle society then you will live in a cave and that will be it. The Fourth Day From Santa Cruz introduces us to little boy who wants to be noticed. He is so concerned about no one liking him that he plots the ways where he can be noticed and stoop exactly to those people he despises.

I guess after writing my reaction I like the dysfunction. I love how he personifies all of these characters flaws on a magnified level. We all operate through our dysfunction and his characters muddle through life based on their inability to really handle interactions. They cannot handle the human interaction.

Under The Sky is the perfect example. Jacinto uses the town as an escape from his mom and the opinions of his small town. The small town keeps him locked away unable to act on his desires to commit certain unspeakable acts. I believe the village and the town create a parallel of his two sides. There are so many questions I have.

Until next time....

A Thousand Days For Mokhtar

This is one of my preferred stories. I love the morbid ending that is a cross between jovial and melancholic. Starting off with the beginning, I like the picture painted of Mokhtar living a solitary life. I feel the heartbreak of a man who lost the love of his life. His avoidance of going to that room that probably feels even smaller now that his wife is gone. I think his wife was the personification of good in the world. I just think it is funny how  Mokhtar lives a quiet life and his life is turned completely upside down by this weird dream. It is kind of like "wow, really guys!" but I also think it was a sign or meant to happen. He was so lonely that he felt good hearing other prisoners through the walls. I just want him to be happy. Maybe in a very weird way he needed that human connection. Knowing that in this small, general space there were voices and lives that added to his life. Maybe he just needed something to drown out the silence of his wife's absence. Since his wife was not there to confide in he handled a situation on his own and maybe in this way he can be at peace. I think it is comedic genius how the whole altercation was tied to together with Mokhtar having one simple thought. A moment of clarity.

Hung. thoughts and constructive feedback!

“Hung” is about two young teenagers, a boy, Armando and a girl, Elena who found a very interesting satanic book at an old thrift shop and decided to do a ritual from the book that did not end well for either one of them.

1.      FADE IN ON:  Interior. Bed room.

It is around 7:30, Elena picks up the phone and dials Armando’s phone number. The phone rings three times and Armando picks up on the other line.

Elena: Hi Armando, what are you doing tonight?

Armando: Hey, I don’t have any plans; my parents are away for the weekend.

Elena: Great. My parents are going out for date night around 9:30; do you want to come over?

Armando: Yeah, sure, have the book ready. I’ll be there around 10:15.

Elena: Sounds good, see you then.

Elena hangs up the phone, and starts cleaning her room. She is becoming excited but still a little scared. After she is done cleaning her room, she will walk over to her night stand and take a look at the big, brown book with engravings on it. The camera moves in on her hands as she runs her fingers over the engravings slowly.  After flipping through the book she closes it and leaves it on the night stand until it is time.

Elena parents are putting their coats on by the front door, they kiss give her a kiss on her forehead, open the door and leave. 30 mins later, Armando arrives. They greet each other.

Elena: Hey, are you ready for this?

Armando: Yes, let’s go to your room.

Armando and Elena rush over to her bedroom, shaking in anticipation.

When they get to her room, Armando begins to read the instructions from the book:

Armando: The room must be in complete darkness, with candles lit in a circle where the person performing the spell must sit within.

Elena closes all of the windows, pulls the curtains to cover, turns off all the light and lights 6 candles in a circle. Both Armando and Elena sit in the middle, facing each other and the book is placed in the middle of them.

They join hands and looking down at the book they began to read out loud together.

Finishing up Bowles

For me a Bowles story begins with a clear, sensory description of the setting. Many,if not all of his stories start with an undertone of depression, redundancy (for the character), and a sense of a dis-utopia. I wholeheartedly enjoy reading Bowles's scenery. Even if the context of the story is confusing to me or uninteresting,I still can feel the setting. As  Professor Talbird stated earlier, sometimes he doesn't know if he likes a story but finds himself thinking about it for days after. I love when a work of literature lingers. Bowles,for me, is so descriptive that his imagery lingers.

This goes hand in hand with why I pick A Circular Valley as my favorite reading. The story itself is odd, unique, and easily understood a thousand different ways. The scene when the Atlajala enters the friar is one of the two scenes that has resonated with me in this story. I can feel the fight and the pleasure the friar feels when this spirit enters him. I also particularly love when the friar has his arms open and he looks up to the night sky. The night is calm, the night sky is expansive, and the friar is one individual man who is having this internal struggle. This scene is lonely, loud, silent, and complex.  The other scene that stayed with me from this story was when the Atlajala enters the man and looks at woman for the first time. Bowles describes the woman as the most beautiful creation the Atlajala has ever seen and Bowles in that paragraph goes on to describe the beauty of wild nature. When we see the great beauty of nature (such as the Grand Canyon, The Alps, salt caves, coral reefs etc) we are awestruck at the beauty of this natural yet wild substance. I feel that this is how Bowles has described the vision of the woman to Atlajala. It's funny because, as I said in my previous blog post about A Circular Valley, I feel that women are described as a sinful temptress in the Garden of Eden. As a female, I obviously am exhausted with this description of our gender but the story A Circular Valley left an imprint in my mind because of Bowles descriptive language. I felt what the friar felt, I saw the night sky the friar saw, I felt the need of guidance from a higher being as he needed at that time, I felt the wild nature in this setting, I heard the waterfall, I felt the beauty and bewilderment the Atlajala felt once it entered woman.

This collection is not the first single author collection I have read, however, I really can not remember the others I have read. I believe my journey with literature started around fifth grade when I started reading Poe's collections,these are the earliest single author collections I can remember. I would not recommend reading Poe's collections in ENG 220 because I feel they are a bit easy/young for a college level Creative Writing course.

final conclusions

As we finish up w/ The Delicate Prey, I'd like us to make some final conclusions about what these stories are like:

• How would you characterize a Paul Bowles story? What are they like? Reference a specific story or scene (w/ p. #) to illustrate your point(s).
• Name your favorite 1-3 stories from the collection. Why these stories? What made them most compelling for you?
• Is this the first single-author story collection you've read? If not, what are some others that you've enjoyed? Any that you would recommend for ENGL 220 (and why)?

Paul Bowles works to set a tone to make his point but in a very indirect way. At times you find yourself asking why? Why did they do that? Why did they say that? Than after you have at ahhhh moment where some scene makes sense and the story comes together and his point made.  

The story I enjoyed the most from Bowles collection was " You are not I". It really made you think. The way he it was written from the characters point of view reminded me of the movie 6th sense. I'm not sure if you've ever had the chance to watch it. In the movie there is a character who plays the part of a psychologist to a young child. He is trying to make sense of what he is seeing. At the end we realize that the story was being told through the eyes of the psychologist instead who he believed to be his patient. " you are not I" was like that for me. The story we read was from the point of view of the sister who managed to escape from the hospital. All the details given and the picture painted was from her view point. 

The other story that I enjoyed was the scorpion. I believe that the purpose behind it was to make a point, at least that's what I gathered from it. The point being that this old woman once raised her children in this cave. Then one day they grew up and decided to leave. They left and went their separate ways. No one looked back to check on her, they didn't consider her safety or her well being. which is what happens most of the time. Parents dedicate they're lives to their children only to be left alone after they've gone from home. Her sons return is after many years of being on her own. She is angry and does not want to go but doesn't want to die alone in the cave. The presence of the man on the rock reminds me of the strangers who tend to look after elders who have no one else to do so. Although they may not interact with them directly they are always keeping a watchful eye. 

This is the first single-author collection that I've read. It's interesting to see the style of the author in terms of their writing. how they choose to express themselves and the picture(s) they prefer to paint.