"There was a thing called the soul and a thing called immortality.
But they used to take morphia and cocaine."
"He waved his hand; and it was as though, with an invisible feather whisk, he had brushed away a little dust, and the dust was Harappa, was Ur of the Chaldees; some spider-webs, and they were Thebes and Babylon and Cnossos and Mycenae. Whisk. Whisk -- and where was Odysseus, where was Job, where was Jupiter and Gotama and Jesus? Whisk -- and those specks of antique dirt called Athens and Rome, Jerusalem and the Middle Kingdom -- all were gone. Whisk -- the place where Italy had been was empty. Whisk, the cathedrals; whisk, whisk, King Lear and the Thoughts of Pascal. Whisk, Passion; whisk, Requiem; whisk, Symphony; whisk..."
"Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly -- they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced."
"If one's different, one's bound to be lonely."
"'Oh brave new world!' Miranda was proclaiming the possibility of loveliness, the possibility of transforming even the nightmare into something fine and noble. 'Oh brave new world!' It was a challenge, a command."
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
"But I don't want comfort. I want God. I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I really enjoyed reading my novel, "The Color Purple." It was especially interesting to read it after reading"Beloved" and "Things Fall Apart." My novel takes place in the South, post-slavery, in the 1930s. After reading "Beloved" which focused a great deal on African slavery, it was interesting to read "The Color Purple" and see how the effects of slavery still remained even decades after slavery was abolished. In the novel, Celie receives letters from her sister Nettie who is in Africa on a mission trip. The letters from her sister reminded me of "Things Fall Apart." In the letters, she revealed some of the traditions of the Oninka people and their response to missionaries and christianity. "The Color Purple" was a great way to finish our section on African literature and slavery.
I read The Handmaid's Tale for my independent study book and I literally couldn't put it down. It is set in a christian society where it is very hard for women to reproduce. Scripture is used to justify forcing women "the handmaids"to have sex with married men to reproduce. If they can't conceive a child they are killed or sent to the "colonies". The book was so good, but reading it infuriated me because of some of the male character's view of women. You really should read it!
I also really enjoyed reading Angels in America for my independent study project. It's a play set in the Reagan era that deals with the issues of AIDS, politics, homosexuality, and addiction. The play was absolutely amazing, and I read the whole part one in a single sitting because I couldn't put it down.
I really enjoyed Crime and Punishment. It was interesting how the main action of the story was less focused on then the effect it had on the mind of the one who performed it. I don't want to ruin anything so I won't say more about it, but it is a great novel, and I think everyone should read it.
Post a Comment