Oskar's motives against Jesus

Oskar appears in the novel to mimic some of the qualities of Satan.  Just like Satan, Oskar goes against God when he challenges Jesus telling him he cannot play the drum.  Oskar does whatever he can to go against Jesus and the Church throughout his visits in the novel.  Oskar feels as if he is unique from others and better than Jesus.  He struggles with good and bad.  His music first seduces people, but eventually brings out their anger.  Oskar can snap and scream at any minute and cause destruction to glass.  Just like Satan, Oskar attempts to first seduce people but then his true motives always seem to come out.

Dear Humanities Students,

I hope that all of you and your families weathered the storm safely.  If you're like me, you currently don't have power.  I had to come downtown to get some temporary AC and internet access.  It looks like many of you haven't been able to post to the blog this week.  If your power is restored, I would certainly encourage you to do so, but I also understand the limitations and inconvenience that the storm has caused.  We will discuss the blog issue when we return, but I assure you that I will not penalize those who haven't been able to post.  I will, however, count the posts toward your grade if you have been able to post this week.  For example, I might decide that they will count toward next week's required posts.

I haven't been able to get in touch with Mrs. Quinet yet, but I have tentatively rescheduled two due dates.  The tentatively rescheduled due date for the English summer reading paper outline will be Wednesday, September 5.  Also, as of right now, I intend to have you write an in-class essay on The Tin Drum on Thursday, September 6.  Once Mrs. Quinet and I have a chance to talk, we will give you a more accurate update, but please use these dates as your guide for now.  I assure you that we will be fair, but we also don't want to lose too much time to Isaac and his aftermath.  :)  Also, don't forget about the social studies paper on the summer reading novels.

Best,

Ms. King

P.S.  Please note that I have also changed these dates on the Homework Site.

Art

Oskar seems to have the ability to influence people with the sound of his tin drum and his voice. During the Nazi rally, he plays his tin drum and takes control of the rally, curbing the violence. Then his scream shatters glass. He uses the scream to help people steal from shop windows for awhile. He claims that it helps them realize their true natures  since most of them will steal from the shop. When Oskar plays on the tin drum he influences people with his music, often times reducing them to tears and sometimes bringing out their anger. I think Oskar's music on the tin drum (which is a form of magical realism in itself) is a representation of the power of art to influence people. Art means not just music and vocals, but all forms - music, song, writing, theater, and paintings. Art has the ability to give rise to emotions in people and, with powerful art, move people into action. Art in propaganda was a huge part of the Nazi regime - and in any country's war movement.

Photographs and God

Yesterday we talked about photographs and how God only takes pictures of people on Sunday's (assumably when they are in Church), and how his view of people would be distorted by his small "snapshot" of people's personalities. Well, as we talked about the Tin Drum's references to photos, I remembered that Jose Arcadio would only believe in God if he saw a daguerrotype of him. Perhaps photographs are a larger post-modern motif? After a little research, very little research, I came across a site that talked about just that: photography and its' place in post-modernism. It says that "For postmodern thinkers photography is not the stimulus for theory but the consequence of it." Before I forget the site is http://www.tardiffphotography.com/postmodernism.html. I find this to be a hard concept to grasp, but what I think is being said is that ideas are not produced through photography, but captured. So perhaps that is why Jose Arcadio Buendia wanted a photograph of God, to prove his existence. Are there any other interpretations?

Marriage

At the end of class one day, Ms. King mentioned that the role of sex and all the affairs could be Marquez's way of commenting on the institution of marriage in this book. Could all the affairs also represent how Marquez is once again commenting on human nature in regard to its incapability to sustain a "normal relationship"? In Macondo it is as if no one realizes the true meaning of marriage as they compulsively rush into begin married - like Aureliano Segundo who had decided that he was going to marry Fernada del Carpio when he knew her for what...all about a day? Aureliano Segundo's decision to marry Fernanda ended up in a marriage that hardly existed as Aureliano Segundo was always with Petra Cortes, and Fernada was shunned. This pattern exist throughout the book and makes me wonder if Macondo would be any different if people were not so rash in their decisions to get married for unthought-out reasons such as sexual attraction.

Why is Remedios the Beauty in this book?

We talked about how Macando in its early years resembles a Utopian or Eden-like society.  I was wondering which you chose to view as the dominant influence in the novel: communism or Christianity.  It is my understanding that Marquez is a friend of Fidel Castro, and we can infer from this that likely holds to certain communist principles.  Some other examples possible examples of his communist inclinations could be the less than warm reception the town gives the priest when he first arrives, in keeping with Marxist aversion towards religion, and the people's disdain towards the imperialist (and capitalist) fruit company.  Were it not for the pressence of Remedios in this novel, I wouldn't be bringing up this topic.  In my opinion, Remedios appears to be an overtly religious figure.  The fact that she doesn't understand nakedness seems very similar to how Adam and Eve didn't realize they were naked before the fall.  Not only does this religious symbolism conflict with the communistic aspects of the novel but she also seems to be an outlier in the Buendia family.  She doesn't share any of the eccentricities or obsessions of the other Buendias and consequently seems to break the cyclical time flow in the novel.  Any thoughts as to why Marquez put her in the story?

Orientalism, Edward Said

Edward Said wrote Orientalism in 1978 initiating post colonialism studies on colleges because he analyzed the arrogant Eurocentric mentality with which these Western entities colonized non-western areas. I think it’s weird/disappointing that it took till 1978 to spark that kind of interest among intellectuals about post colonization.  Maybe as a Middle Easterner (outsider by Western standards), Said was in a better position to observe and criticize the behavior and motives of the colonizers. Just like it is sometimes hard to acknowledge our own flaws or prejudices, it is hard for nations to recognize their possibly flawed ideologies and impact on other countries.  It is also hard for me to distinguish whether proselytizing, lifting the civilization to higher standards, or pursuing economic self interest was the predominant motive for colonization…(I’m going with economic pursuits was the first and formost purpose after a little while, with spreading the “True religion” and lifting up civilizations as a façade.) But which came first among the 3, which was the biggest driving force, and so on might be hard to pin point. Kinda like its hard to determine which came first, the chicken or the egg?