The Divergent Trilogy

Yes it took me until 2015 to read the Divergent Trilogy Veronica Roth. After three sleepless nights I have read each one and am very confused. Here is where I say **Spoiler Alert**. Of course I won't say certain facts from the books. But I am very confused by how Roth finished the series. I know from reading other series that the deaths of certain characters are profound and meaningful and sadly necessary for the outcome of the book. The person Roth decides to kill in the end of the series doesn't make sense to me. If someone could explain it that would be awesome! I understand that losing someone close changes a person either to the better or the worse. But things are wrapping up in the end for the better. I think it was a needless death. But on to other matters.

These books are well written and I think are worth reading. A reason that I don't read an abundance of books anymore is because I get lost in them. It isn't good to read non-stop and refuse to sleep until you finish the story. Even harder if it is a series. Divergent reminds me about all the wonderful things in my life that are still available for me. One of them being decision making/freewill. Also having a system that is dysfunctional yet still trying to make things better. There are aspects of the society that I see in real life. Aspects that can get worse and take over our humanity. But we are 'still fighting the good fight' if I think hard about it. Humanity is so destructive to each other. I wonder what my factions would look like if I were to think about it hard enough. What parts of being human would I emphasize. The book is correct in saying that being strong in one area makes a person weak in another. Other than the final act of Tris (the main protagonist) I enjoy the books. I understand the symbolism/meaning that Roth wanted to get across with Tris' final act; but I still think she could have got her meaning across a different way. 

Strong female heroes as well as male heroes. Resistance from the oppressed. Teenagers saving society. I can see why this series swept through the young population. I am not sorry for reading these books. I just have to figure out how to process them. All books that dwell on the collapse of society as I know it and how humans are afterwards are strange for me to stomach. If someone isn't disturbed by reading books from this genre then I would wonder and worry about them. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The pink ribbon, the scarlet A, real or dream. These are some famous things remembered from Nathaniel Hawthorne's stories. Usually the only works introduced in school. I would venture to say most people polled would say they know The Scarlet Letter. The majority of people have also read and been made to study the short story "Young Goodman Brown". However, there are many more tales by Hawthorne that are just as thought provoking and deep as this one. It is a shame to not look at the other tales as well. Of course there is only so much time in English classes and a lot of literature to teach. But if one is inclined to read more one can start with Twice Told Tales: a collection of 32 short stories. There are also his stories for children (A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales) that retell some memorable classical myths. These collections are all made available through Project Gutenberg of which I have provided links to. Hopefully you will check them out.

When reading his stories I become thoroughly engaged in them. They are full of so much imagery, historical references and allegories. He is very specific in his use of words, colors, names, and time periods. Although he lived in the 19th century he sets many of his stories in the 17th and 18th centuries centering around happenings and periods in America's early history. He is descriptive yet ambiguous at the same time. Some themes Hawthorne delves into are: insanity, common sense, humanity, Puritanism, supernatural, science, and nature. His knowledge and material comes from historical readings, happenings and places along with classical literature (Shakespeare, Dante, the Bible, mythology, etc) and of course influences from his own life and age. 

One short story I recently read was "Earth's Holocaust." To summarize the story humans decide to rid the world of it's "trumpery" in a large fire. The narrator (I believe is Hawthorne) describes what is tossed into the fire and the reaction of the people watching. Everything from riches, crowns, titles, liquor, literature (everything ever written) and much more. Hawthorne ends the story by commenting "to discern and rectify what is wrong, our whole accomplishment will be a dream so unsubstantial that it matters little whether the bonfire, [...] were what we choose to call a real event and a flame that would scorch the finger, or only a phosphoric radiance and a parable of my own brain." The story makes the reader think about the attachment they have to material objects as well as how institutions like church and state influence their life. It is a large allegory. Has the human race reached it's peak of civilization and now has to/must start over? What would you throw into the fire? How would you react to what others see as "trumpery?"

This is just a small look into Hawthorne's writing. He is a beautiful writer that has influenced many. His stories delve into the bad and good of human nature and ask questions that are on both a group and an individual scale. A good book to check out is Nathaniel Hawthorne: the man, his tales, and romances by Edward Wagenknecht. Wagenknecht writes on specific tales and romances in depth. He has done extensive research on other critiques of Hawthorne and his writings. It is a more scholarly read yet Wagenknecht makes the reader interested in reading more of Hawthorne's stories. I would challenge you to pick up The Scarlet Letter again and reread it now many years after you first read it and now that you have lived some. How do the messages in the book read to you now? What other imagery and symbolism do you find now?

Romanticism

In honor of the month of February I thought I would look into the Romantic period and it's authors. I am not talking about Harlequin and other romances. But instead the time period from late 18th century to mid 19th century. Many well known authors and poets came out of this period. Out of Europe we were given poets like William Blake, Wordsworth and Lord Byron. America brought about authors Hawthorne and Melville along with Poe. Just to name a few. Of course we can't forget American poet Walt Whitman.

Romanticism was varied among topics and themes along with what they wrote about. There was a strong emphasis on the pastoral, natural, mythology, and medievalism. The authors and poets also delved into the supernatural (as evidenced in Hawthorne and Poe) as well the past and present and looking at the darker side of humanity. Josh Rahn writes in his topic of Romanticism that "[it] can best be described as a large network of sometimes competing philosophies, agendas, and points of interest." (The Literature Network) He also continues on to say that Romanticism can be seen in all periods of literature. Along with all the fiction and poetry being written there was nonfiction writing and literary criticism making it's mark.

This month I plan to look at different authors and poets in more depth and learn more about their works and influences. There are so many of them! Great books like Frankenstein by Shelley, Young Goodman Brown by Hawthorne, all the works by Poe. I have never read The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by Blake or Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads. I also want to take a look at Charles Lamb and his personal essays as well as some of the criticism that was written during this time. We shall see how many I can get into one month. I may have to stretch it into March. We shall also see how much I learned in college classes comes back to me! That will be interesting.

Harry Potter: after all these years

Recently I have been thinking about the Harry Potter series and why it is a favorite of mine. I started doing some research to find out how the series has influenced others and not just me. The millennial generation as well as anyone else who reads it.

The impact of the Harry Potter series is profound and widespread. Digging into the web I found many articles about the political, moral and psychological influence he has had on preteens to teenagers. There is also a book recently published titled Harry Potter and the Millenials by Anthony Gierzynski with Kathryn Eddy. When the first book was published in 1997 I was in high school. I fell in love with them! I remember thinking there wasn't really anything to them. But then I picked up book one and wasn't able to put it down. I still remember it took me 13 hours to finish the seventh book. And I cried that it was all over. That there wouldn't be anymore stories in the future. When a series has that much of an impact on the reader's life it is something to think about and know that you are changed for the better from reading it.

The themes that run through each book are universal: good/evil, bullying, sense of home, friendship, love, school, adolescence, mentor/pupil and the list goes on.

Every child and teen can relate to one of the characters in the books. Maybe you are the bookish overachiever. Is that really bad? No - Hermione shows us that she is a strong, capable, daring and loving person. The awkward kid that isn't wealthy? Ron is your steadfast, trusting, got-your-back friend. Of course there is the smart, bullied, and courageous Harry who shows you that not just the athletes are the heroes. We can't forget the thorn in his side Draco. It is hard to imagine someone might relate to him. But if you think about it, he has been conditioned to hate Potter and everything that Potter stands for. I won't spoil anything though if someone hasn't finished the series. 

Each character develops and transforms more with each book. It is only natural that as a person ages, moving from preteen to teenager to adult, life becomes more complex and decisions made can affect so many people. Each book is darker then the previous. This is okay because the reader is growing up with Harry and his friends and can learn how to behave in situations. Of course there is no amazing game called quidditch with flying brooms. But there are all the other sports and activities to compare. Also how does one deal with the bullies at school? How does one handle open hostility? Is it right for someone to desire to rid the world of those unlike them? How should one think about right and wrong? What is true friendship?

These books will forever be a favorite of mine as will the movies. In 2013 there were 450 million copies in print worldwide. The series had also been translated into 73 languages. This is a worldwide phenomenon. And think of how many kids don't enjoy reading and then pick up book one and fall in love with where a story can take them and what it can teach them (whether they realize there's a lesson or not). It is sad but not surprising that the series is constantly being challenged and wanted to be banned. My response to this is that people are ignorant and scared of what they don't know (or think they know). I would gift this book to every kid if I could. 

The Quick and the Dead by Louis L'Amour

Since I read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry I have looked for old westerns that I may like. I found The Quick and the Dead and thoroughly enjoyed it. The romantic image of the lone gunslinger has always been a favorite of mine. This is a short (154 page) story about the McKaskel family of three moving out west. They chance upon Con Vallian who is a lone cowboy that, for reasons he is not sure of, decides to help them cross through the plains. Vallian becomes a mentor to the son and a friend in general to the family. The plot doesn't have twists and turns but that is what makes this book a good read. It is simple and shows the difficulties a family faced when going east to west. L'Amour also has the wife/mother have backbone which I admire. She is a strong female who doesn't shy away from the surprises along the way but instead faces them head on.