The Essence of Remembrance

Our compilation of memoirs, The Essence of Remembrance, is now ready for anybody interested in reading it.  

To be continued...

Like I previously stated, most of Revolution's words are basic and easily understood, sans adjectives. For some reason authors go CRAY-ZAY with adjectives that few people know. Or at least some that I'm not aware of. Other than that:

Askew: to one side; out of line; in a crooked position.

"... It's a whole city, a thousand thin paths, kilometers and kilometers of housewives standing outside askew miniature-sized houses..." (5)

An askew hat.

Drab: Lacking brightness, dingy or shabby.

"They looked drab and disarranged beside their cop counterparts in fine suits and unhappy helmets..." (23)

 The entrance of a house that looks drab. 

Coterie: a group of people who associate closely, clique. 

"He had a coterie of friends since childhood, who were protective, fearful for him." (23)

There is an eccentric coterie beyond the sunflowers.

"God's" Rebel(ution)

Have you ever eagerly waited to read a book but then realize you know what will take place? I hope not. That just happened to me. Today, like 7 hours ago. "Close read," he said, "it'll be fun." he said. Pause, not. I began to read the book's back cover and SHAZAM, Deb Olin Unferth ruined 80% of her interesting story in about 5 minutes. What a way to hook the reader into buying your book. 

As I read the first fraction of the book the wheels of AP Language and Composition that now reside in my head began turning. Yep, that would be a first time. Thoughts suddenly hit me like an unexpected wave in the beach. Ideas about diction, tone, and word choice attacked me incessantly. This is how it goes:

Revolution, the story of a Christian couple interning themselves in countries suffering from Socialism, contains changes. I grasped Unferth's tone as a neutral, matter-of-factly one. Her words seem to the point and I didn't feel any of them catch my attention, thus her diction seems informal but careless.

So far, I haven't felt anything as I read other than frustration and loathe towards the couple. What do they think, that Socalist revolutions during the Cold War were a way to escape their ordinary Christian lifestyle? Instead of joining it they should have fought, supported endng of it! So much for being God's messengers.

B as in Blogpost

Watch out for correct use of quotations! Even though we didn't get the chance to see "someone with a beard dealing with a head cold," aka Mr. Tangen, we did learn how to use quotations and comma splices. Punctuation marks didn't just show up like McDonald's do, they have had lots of history.

Just like Dante's Inferno defined Italian, there were many books and authors that determined the use of certain punctuals. These people could even create their own symbols and nothing could be done about that. The importance of trend and the "survival of the fittest" explains how the most prominent punctuation marks survived while those with less use lay forgotten. In disagreement with the author, a smaller amount of punctuals don't make languages less rich, they make it easier to understand what is written. Even today many people don't use semi-colons or even commas. This blandness creates tangible and monotonous comprehension.

Diction(ary) II

Everybody loves music, Brent included. In the third section of the story he makes allusions to at least five songs. I'm sure he love the Beatles because most of the songs mentioned were theirs. But the story was written years after. He could have easily chosen the songs according to what was happening! It's all a lie! Even when he's watching a show called Quantum Leap. The main character travels back in time and stops people from making the biggest mistake of their lives. What are the chances he finds this series playing? There is the same probability that he watches the children at the DuPont Institute dine, feels repulsed because they are not able to eat well, and suddenly remembers the song "Man In The Mirror." I absolutely think Brent has modified his story.

Brent also has a defect. He wants to deal with his feelings alone. This leads to choppy dialogues in which he constantly uses expressions like:

- Oh
- Yeah
- Okay
- I guess

This uneven and many times sarcastic dialogue helps the reader shape Brent's attitude with others in one's mind. It is clear that he keeps things to himself, suggesting a secretive and confused character.
The fact that he changes so much helps one understand what built up and lead to suicide. He did not want to talk to others. Brent also used very basic vocabulary, the kind of words a 12 year-old would use to express himself. This, I believe, is in accordance with the story and not with the context. This is good.

Diction(ary)

As I read The Burn Journals I noticed changes in Brent's writing. Ever since I began reading the book he has shown many intimate details in terms of his sexuality and feelings towards women. I feel awkward when I read those passages, like if I were invading some guy's mind because what he says is exactly how I picture any male's thoughts to be. It's a memoir, that's exactly what I am doing. 

As he writes on, Brent deems the reader even more trustworthy. He also begins to become aggressive towards his surroundings, specially the psychologists. The intensity of his words and thoughts actually scares me. I think a child who thinks of suicide, curses all the time, and thinks of sex most of it is a time bomb. He increased the use of informal words, thus there is very familiar register. 

I consider Brent's excessive cursing part of a more intimate relationship with the reader. One doesn't just talk about "Dr. Prickhead" and "Dr. Dickhead" (pg. 190) in front of some unknown person. There has to be reliance to avoid any judging. Now I feel the text began in a restrained matter but has now blossomed to allow the reader to learn Brent's most intimate secrets.  

When The Eye Meets The Mind...and a New Word

The source of  the definition of these now-known words is dictionary.com, but most of the book is written with commonly used words.

Grafts: a portion of living tissue surgically transplanted from one part of an individual to another, or from one individual to another, for its adhesion and growth.

La-Z-Boy: (as in lazy boy) a manufacturer of reclining chairs.

 Roughhousing:  disorderly playing, especially indoors.

 Pennant: a flag serving as an emblem of victory or championship, especially in baseball.