SAR–Your Topics
February 7th, 2007
For this post you should bring up something from your reading that you found interesting, that you didn’t understand, or that you found disturbing. You shouldrespond to each othe’s ideas to create a DIALOGUE.
Novel Discussion | Comments (15)15 Responses to “SAR–Your Topics”
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One thing I noticed was that there was not a lot of family ties that were mentioned. Do you think that the men, or really “boys”, would want to forget the families so that they could find a life on their own. Were they just looking for a life full of excitement or were they escaping a dark past. Please give me your ideas so that I will be cleared up on this obstacle.
It would seem that Bill and Mike are looking for excitement from the fights that they got into while in Spain, while Cohn is trying to prove something about himself. On the other hand Jake seems to be dealing with the fact that the war left him in a state where he will never be able to be with Brett and may be wanting to go home from the episode after the fight with Cohn.
(hopefully this isn’t a second post from me the blog site had an error when i sent the comment the first time)
Cohn is indeed trying to prove something about himself. He has alot of insecurites and constantly tries to prove himself to others. Jake seems he wants to prove himself but can’t because his insecurities were know so the others always have the upper hand.
What role do you think that the insecurities of the characters play in the book and what do the tell about the characters? Why do the characters feel the need to prove themselves because of them?
The insecurities of the characters vary but are equally important. Cohn wants to prove himself due to years of discrimination. he does this through Brett. Jake however is insecure about his injuries from the war, but can’t do anything about it. Both characters however feel the need to justify these insecurities through action and feel that it will solve their feeling of being lost and their apathy.
Jake, being a journalist, rationalizes events differently then the rest of the characters. This fact sets him apart from the other characters and gives him a different perspective. How does this affect the story? How would the story change if told from Cohn’s point of view? Lady Brett Ashley’s point of view?
(in response to elizabeth’s question)
i dont think that the boys really acknowledge their families as real families, but as a source of easy income. they use their surnames in social situations, but show no real affection toward them. they may be searching for adventure as an attempt to set themselves away from their families.
(in response to elizabeth’s question)
i dont think that the boys really acknowledge their families as real families, but as a source of easy income. they use their surnames in social situations, but show no real affection toward them. they may be searching for adventure as an attempt to set themselves away from their families.
(my question)
to what extent does the level of self actualization in any character effect his/her descions? such as the descions to move and socilaize frequently?
I found it disturbing in this book just how horrible the women are. Frances, I think, is even worse than Brett in how she treats Cohn. It’s worse to not be in love with someone but tied to them than it is to long after someone and never be with them, or at least that’s how it seems.
Elizabeth, you’re right. They only mention families a couple of times, and even then it’s just with reference to them sending money to Europe in “allowances.”
Question/interesting topic: On page 172 of the copies we have, at the end of the first incomplete paragraph, Hemingway talks about how Romero deals with his bullfighting. Do you think that Brett is so attracted to Romero immediately because she recognizes herself in the metaphorical bull-fight of men and women? Read it and see. (Bull-fight= men v. women)
It could be that simply the guys had no family ties. Also it seems as though Mike was getting money from someone so it could be his family was sending him money and really did not want anything to do with him anymore. It could happen in a rich family where a son goes “bad”. Personally I think they were escaping there past. Heavy drinking usaully means, from what I have seen, that the person is depressed and wants to ignore it. THe guys are lost and confused and cohn has no self esteem except for what he dreams up, so the fighting is almost expected. Personally I want to know why did the characters stay doing the same things when they really hated it? It really makes no sense they were all about being “happy” yet they never really tried anything different especially any kind of true commitment to anything.
It’s too bad that none of these actually got posted in time. Otherwise there could have been actual discussion. Pooh.
my response on social security, link to article at bottom.
There has recently been a change in America’s Social Security plan. The Bush administration has decided to cut its funds to nearly a third of what it had been. This will be done in hopes to bridge the gap between the Social Security benefits promised to future retirees and the taxes available to fund them. This is predicted to not go over well with the people of America. In this new plan, the adjustment would be based instead on the rise of consumer prices. Bush hopes that this plan will save trillions of dollars and solve the Social Security deficit. If this plan is allowed to b enacted, benefits from the Social Security program will continue to fall, but in the long run, will rise by 40%.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45726-2005Jan3.html
editorial friday on the patriot act.
The U.S. Patriot Act was originally passed in response to the September 11 attacks on the Word trade Centers. This act has so far affected immigration and banking laws. Its main goal was to control domestic terrorism within the United States. However, it has been seen by many as an intrusion on citizen’s rights to privacy. The Patriot Act allows the government to tap phone calls and read private mail of citizens thought to be ‘conspiring against the government’. This act is seen as a direct violation of citenzens’ rights to privacy. Many people feel that the government is becoming too involved in the lives of the American people, and that it may be the beginning or a more communist society. For these reasons, many people fear and hate the Patriot Act.
It is widely believed that genetic engineering will inevitably cause the downfall of the human race as we know it. However, many overlook the obvious medical advantages to this research. If given the proper support, genetic engineering research could lead to medical breakthroughs, cure many diseases, and improve the quality of life overall for many.
Genetic engineering could lead to many medical breakthroughs if given the proper support.
Many terminal diseases could be cured with the help of genetic research. With information gathered from the genetic studies with human embryos, scientists could find the source of many diseases and disorders. In doing so, they could then work to prevent these from reoccurring in others’ lives. In curing these diseases, the funding that would have been used to treat patients suffering from them would be terminated and possibly pushed into further medical research. Every region of the medical field could benefit from the success of this research.
The quality of most lives could be improved with this research. Many disorders and diseases could be pinpointed before full fetal development and prevented. There would be less disorders in the world, and less discrimination against the handicapped. True that many believe this sort of selection violates natural law, its benefits far out way the moral dispute.
I can always remember the sense of foreboding that the closet in the bedroom of my first house often gave me. Its mysteriousness and exotic nature intrigued me, but the refusal of my parents to allow me to venture there prevented me from exploring its depths. I was never afraid of the actual closet, but of what would happen to me if I were to venture there against my parents’ will. They told me that it was dilapidated and unsafe. I often peered into it, daring to take just a few steps into the shadows. The sheet dividing the small part of the closet that I could use and the mysterious darkness was the only obstacle preventing the recession of my curiosity. On days that it overcame me, and I felt that I could dare a peek, I would move it out of the way in order to see the obscurity that lurked beyond. What I saw both amazed and confused me. Piles of discarded clothing, soiled stuff animals, and broken bottles lay within, left over from those who had lived there before us. In their haste to move in, my parents had neglected to dispose of these things properly, and had merely stuffed them away in the spacious closet that taunted me so. Upon discovering what lay beyond, my curiosity was not abated, but I was intrigued more so than I had been before. What kind of treasures might be hidden in the rubbish? I recalled that my sister’s room, too, had once been full of discarded odds and ends, and from that mess I had discerned some of my most treasured possessions; a Dalmatian puppy toy (my favorite kind), perfect though lacking an eye, a few naked Barbie dolls for whom I had eagerly made new clothes, beads of all sorts with which I had made my most treasured jewelry, along with Nirvana and Marilyn Manson posters, two of my favorite groups of the time, as they are today. If these kinds of treasures had been found in the scattered mess of her room, I couldn’t help but bemuse what kind of secrets awaited me in the closet of mystery. Never wanting to disappoint my parents, I refrained from entering the dark depths of the enigmatic closet, a decision that I still regret. I now realize the often unfounded paranoia of my parents, and think that, perhaps, they were wrong about the dangers, and that I missed out on the discovery of treasures that could still be with me today.
editorial friday for april 27: school violence. link to article included.
Violence has become a rising problem in U.S. schools, though it can be easily prevented. There are many theories concerning the cause of these violent outbreaks, including social problems such as lack of attention. Many feel that if students were given more positive attention and were recognized and respected as individuals, they would be less apt to project their anger onto others. Some suggest that smaller school environments with more one on one interaction between teachers and students would help this problem. Drug and alcohol abuse are also a problem affecting the youth of America. Some believe that if more prevention and recovery programs were enacted in public schools, violence would ebb. Prejudice is another problem. Even after the civil rights movements, much of America’s youth is still full of hatred. Tolerance and understanding programs should be enacted in schools as well. Perhaps these measures could help “defuse the anger” of America’s youth, and end school violence.
http://www.cnn.com/US/9904/29/phoenix.two/
Beth–
Please publish this memoir!!! It is fabulous!
mrs. a