Good Soldier

I just finished the book and am actually pleased with the book. As I got more towards the middle of the book and everything started making sense it got interesting. Here are some of my thoughts on the book and characters. I have a mixed opinion on Leonora. She was cunning and deceitful, but she also seemed to have become this way, because of how Edward acted by cheating on her. I think she really did have feelings toward Edward in the beginning, but towards the end her marriage became a lost cause. She then decided to embrace her "evilness."
John is an interesting person to chose for the narrator. He told the story as if he wasn't really living the story, but observing through a window. He was so clouded by his love for Edward that he never really saw what kind of person Edward really was. I think he wanted to be Edward or like Edward in a sense. It was like the nerdy guy in school that fantasizes about what like would be like if he was the popular quarterback. Only the quarterback doesn't have the great life that the nerdy guys imagines that he has. Just my thoughts on the characters. Here is a website that has a review of the book.

The Good Soldier

Okay so before I start I just want to vent and say that I had this all written once and I went to copy a picture of Ford onto this blog and the internet stopped working. So this is my blog on The Good Soldier try two. As I attempted to post earlier, I am not a big fan of The Good Soldier. I think it's primarily because I cannot stand the narrator. John is boring and he just rolls over and takes that fact that his wife was cheating on him. He expresses next to no emotion over the incendent and still refers to his wife as "poor Florence". I find it ironic that though the book is called The Good Soldier, Captain Edward cheats on his wife which I would venture to say is most defiantely NOT good of him. I looked for a good character analysis and SparkNotes came to my aid. Here's the link: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/goodsoldier/canalysis.html
I googled Ford Madox Ford as well and thought that the Encyclopedia Britanica might have something interesting but all it said was, and I quote: "English novelist, editor, and critic, an international influence in early 20th-century literature". That was it. The Literary Encyclopedia had a great deal more to say. The link is here: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1584

Great Expectations

I fell behind in my reading, so this is definately a later post than I intended.

I love the colorful language that Dickens uses in the novel. It helps to create an image of the characters and making them more realistic to the reader. I found myself going over passages again and again, just to try and correctly interpret the meanings behind the conversation. I poured over the phrase "raised by hand" with a lot of humor in mind. The play on words was absolutely perfectly played.

My favorite character in this novel in Joe. He is such a pure soul who has wonderfully good intentions for his wife and their charge. When Pip first works for Joe, Joe reiterates that his wife is a good woman. Pip won't repeat the phrase back to Joe, he just sits quietly. The comic of that scene sets the scene for Joe's future. After the "accident" with the wife, Joe continues to support her needs and, the reader assumes, stays faithful to her until her death. When Joe ends up with the nice, sweet girl the reader is satisfied that Joe got his just rewards.

Great Expectations

Here's a pic of Charles Dickens.

Great Expectations

Not the ending I was expecting. The end of the book gets really confusing and has a lot of stuff going on in different directions. I was curious through the whole book who the benefactor would be and was surprised by who it ended up being. I think Pip was an interesting character. Overview this is an interesting website to go along with reading the book.

Austen Book Club

I noticed at Movie Gallery that the Jane Austen Book Club movie was there and thought about renting it. I think that would be fun to watch sometime with all of us. I wonder if Dr. Clemente could maybe set it up in the theater some night before Sci-Fi. I think it'd be cool. She intrigues me, and I really want to look into reading more of her work. Anyway, just thought it'd be fun....thumbs up or down??

HELP!

So, I know this is probably cheating, and the book is fairly easy to follow, but I get impatient if I can't get into a story enough to finish it quickly. This website has all kinds of study aids, including character lists, topic lists, chapter summaries, etc. I found it helpful and I always find it interesting to read study guides, because they point out things that I miss. I also like the qoute part, because some of Dickens's witty dialogue is lost in the story. I especially find it funny every time they mention Pip being "brought up by hand," as if it's his fault. You would think his sister would have some empathy, but noooo! Just found it helpful...hopefully it will help me answer some of Dr. Clemente's questions on Tuesday!