Blog Post #7 - Paper Proposal

I would like to write about about the stigma of homosexuality in heterosexual male bonding. This is different vastly different than the other topics I had been debating writing about. I have a few ideas about Sedaris' work that I have already formed into a fairly clear argument in my head, but the possibility of doing research and writing about one of these topics does not excite me. I think the reason I chose to write about this new topic is because it is something I do not fully understand yet, and therefore, can do research to help educate myself and expand on my ideas. If I chose one of the topics that I have a more clear argument for I would simply be looking for other sources to back up what I was saying. I fear this would not be a very beneficial process for me because I would not learn anything knew. I have chosen this topic because I think it is challenging and culturally relevant.

I have been following the news about the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Though, maybe, repeal isn't the right word because while a judge has ruled the policy unconstitutional, the military is yet to actually stop using the policy. This speaks to the two topics I want to focus my paper on. Firstly, how does the presence of a gay man affect the way straight men interact, and how does a gay man break through cultural stigmas to become "one of the guys"? Though, perhaps even this line of questioning is biased because, just as we discussed how the role of a woman in a the military may not to be become "one of the guys", who's to say the object of a gay man should be to become "one of the guys". The military provides a very interesting microcosm for how gay man affect other men around them, but I am also interested in how this relates to society as a whole. I think Sedaris' stories about growing up and, in particular, his relationship with his father and brother will provide insight into this topic.

I realize at this point my argument may not be as fleshed out as it should be. I have really posed a question to myself that I do not know currently how to answer. I could have taken the easy way out and chosen a topic I could more easily write about, but out of some new academic bravado, I have decided challenge myself. Writing this paper will force me to question many of my own preconceived ideas about gay culture, and I hope make me a better, more tolerant person. I apologize if my proposal is not up to the standards it should be, but I feel the line of questioning I am currently thinking about will lead me a stronger final paper than if I just wrote about a topic I feel I already have a handle on.

Blog #6 - Blog Audit

I notice that all my blogs either mention the use of humor or contain my attempts to be funny. I've certainly written and talked about humor more in this class than any other English class I've had before. This is partly related to the use of dark humor in many of the texts we've read, but I think it has more to do with the composition of students in our class and the freedom we are given to write about what we want. I always notice and appreciate the use of humor in literature, but it doesn't seem to be discussed much in most classes. I read Huckleberry Finn in an English that will go unnamed last semester. Through two weeks of discussion, no one mentioned how Mark Twain's sense of humor and irony contributed to the story. During the latter part of Twain's life, he was widely considered the funniest man in America, and today, I would argue, his legacy lives on as much for his clever witticisms as it does for his contribution to American Literature. I say this knowing many people will disagree. For some reason, humor is never looked at seriously in literature, like being funny is beneath some intellectuals. I will never understand this. To me, humor and laughter are two of the most essential traits of being human. Certainly, there are many things that seperate us from the other creatures on this earth, but I think it is worth noting we are the only animal that can recognize irony. If an infinite number fo monkeys sat behind an infinite number of typewriters and typed for an infinite amount of time, they would eventually type Huckleberry Finn in its entirety without errors, but they would not recognize it was funny. I don't really know where I 'm going with that, but I do like to picture rows of monkeys (like this guy https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4sudNlWILgTrQ7dh7b2nhTuy9Svnt5nZCFwLjvc_fr-Anc78Sv-mPcMmHW5qNUPfsxHfiWr-Wt1-w6h5ZMZj-KfaatD1PYm5A2WzFvKCRF5ukNk8KyEpbzs0MmxwdSpeOm4oWRxzFzPZ/?imgmax=800) pounding away on typewriters as one supervisor monkey patrols the area, making sure everyone is typing.

Blog # 5: David Sedaris - The Ship Shape

My favorite character from Sedaris' essays is his younger brother, Paul. Paul does not feature heavily in any of the essays early in the book. If you just started the book and are reading the essays in order, I highly recommend skipping to the middle for a minute to read "Rooster at the Hitching Post." It is about Paul's wedding and is my favorite of all Sedaris' essays. But since most of you probably haven't read that far yet, I'll focus on "The Ship Shape" for my post today.

I think Sedaris does a very good job of displaying some of the more selfish parts of our nature that most of us are afraid to admit we have. He's great at describing that little-voice inside of you that wants to be better than everyone else, wants to flaunt what you have and generally wants to take pleasure in feeling superior to those around you. Like on page 24 when he was "drunk on the power of new home" and asked the waitress for another Coke without saying please. I think we all feel "drunk with power" at certain points of our lives, even though generally the power we actually have is not that great. So it manifests itself in little ways, like being able to "demand" a Coke from a waitress "without saying please."

At this point in the post I realize I have not yet included the two literary terms that are required. I now need to use these terms fairly quickly and this low-pressure writing situation is suddenly feeling more highly-pressured.  My pulse is rapidly rising. The room is spinning. I feel faint. What two literary terms could I ever use to discuss David Sedaris!?

Antihero - Sedaris is generally the protagonist of his own pieces. He uses many of his essays to point out his own foibles. Whether his is discussing his speech impediment, shallowness, greed or laziness, Sedaris constantly points out all his personal qualities that clash with what the typical nature of a hero is supposed to be.

Symbol - In "The Ship Shape," the new home his parents are considering purchasing becomes a symbol to show young Sedaris' shallowness and greed. He feels the new house will make him a better person. He says, with the new house "my classmates would court me, hoping I might invite them over for the weekend". The house becomes a symbol for the powerful, popular person Sedaris wants to be.