Marquez: The Cheesecake with Real Butter

Some very important lessons can be learned from reading "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" and also "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World." Both contain similar, even opposing ideas in which things are not always as they should appear.

Unfortunately, most images that I have seen of angels are entirely surreal and divine. White and gold are most usually the dominant colors. If a non-typical angel fell from the sky and looked as if it belonged to a species of vermin, I would probably be alarmed at first. But I feel as if after getting to know the angel, I would change my feelings. Didn't people expect Jesus to be a royal king? To wear jewels and a crown? I always remember the story of Beauty and the Beast, the Disney version. "...a young prince had everything his heart desired: he was spoiled,

selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night,

an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle."

What can be learned from treating those who look common and ordinary like filth? Hopefully, one can learn that it is always best to treat others the way you would want to be treated.

Marquez also made another very valid point when he wrote "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World." In my own interpretation, helped along by my professor, I was asked how Estaban related to Playboy magazine. Because Estaban was dead, the only way to get to know him was through his physical being, his body. Possibly the women were so overcome with emotion because they had never been allowed to handle a man like this before. They could touch him with their hands and explore with their eyes. This is so similar to the purpose of Hugh Heffner's genius creation. Issue after issue, women pose scantily clad for the cover and nude on several inside pages. The concept is pretty direct: you can feast with your eyes. It might be best to have fun by yourself so that you can have a more intimate experience. This is a very one-dimensional way to look at things. Perhaps Marquez suggests that viewing the human body by lustness alone is a very shallow thing to do. Or possibly he is offended that people become so distracted with the idea of external beauty that they forget about internal beauty? However Marques really feels, I do share his feelings. Nobody is meant to be just a pretty picture.

Cortazar: Am I Dreaming?

The Continuity of Parks is a thought-provoking piece of work. I found it simply amazing that as a reader, I could involuntarily take part in the short story I was reading! Never before had this happened!

During the last scene in the story, el amante comes into the house and goes to the second floor where the narrator is sitting in the green velvet chair. This is a moment when only I, the reader, knows what will occur and the man in the chair doesn't!! As Palmer said, I, the reader, am also a stalker in the story because I have witnessed a private moment.

In my essay, I compared this moment to a painting I once studied in an Art History class. (It's amazing how literature and fine art go hand in hand!) The painting is titled "Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. We can assume the girl is in private by the almost mournful look on her face. She is in her bedroom, which may incline that the letter is from a lover. The most effective factor in this portrait is the sweeping curtain which crops part of the scene from view, as if I had intentionally stuck my head around the curtain for a better look. Because of this, we know that this scene is meant not to be seen; it was meant to be private. Like Cortazar has included the reader in the story, Vermeer has included the viewer in the painting. And I find this genius in the way the observer is actually participating! The Continuity of Parks will be a well-remembered piece of work.

Our Demeanor at Wakes is a piece of work that takes the pink elephant in the room and proudly displays it for all to see. What I mean is that Cortazar has taken human actions that most of us try to ignore or say we don't do, but do, and wrote an entire short story about it. He makes fun of the way people can be so hypocritical. Everyone can relate to the story because almost all people have at one time or another cast the first stone even though they were with sin.

Often I imitate my boyfriend while he's playing Call of Duty (an Xbox game where it's apparently required to cuss for every other word said and then shoot people as if in a war zone.) His behavior becomes so ridiculous and different than his usual nature, even though I'm sure he's just going with the crowd, that I start literally will mock him for it. And for some reason, he gives me the funniest look for doing so. Basically, I admire Cortazar for having the guts to make this commentary on the people that cannot really be themselves. (Wouldn't it be ironic if Cortazar actually went to wakes of people he didn't know and acted exactly as his characters had done?)

Cortazar's Axolotl itself is a dream. While reading it, I found myself being kept in a purgatory-like world where I was constantly on the verge of leaning towards both reality and imagination. When leaning towards this reality (some might call this the "literal meaning")I observed the narrator obsessing over the axolotl and letting the Aztec-looking creature consume him. He personified the character of the axolotl and created a world in which it had feelings. Was the axolotl really a human in disguise? Possibly the narrator wanted to escape his own world, so he created another where he could enter at any possible moment. This reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. Alice was quite bored with her own world, so she invented one with extraordinary people and exotic places. Perhaps the narrator will become so engulfed with his own thoughts that he will forget about what is really real. It's like a disease: if his mind tells him he is an axolotl, he will become one and will see himself as one.

The aforementioned perspective says that the narrator believes he is an axolotl, but on the contrary, I would also say he is one and has truly become the axolotl. I can empathize with the narrator though. Often while reading a good book, I really want to be the character and feel what he or she is feeling. Good or bad. Every time I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I wish I could feel what Harry feels when he finally realizes that he must give himself up for death and no one else can help him. Can you imagine feeling this way? Additionally the Harry Potter series has a literal meaning and numerous metaphorical meanings that can relate to daily life.

I also wanted to consider the narrator. This was mentioned in class I believe, but is the narrator's sex male or female? I often picture a narrator with a vague sexual identity with the sex of the author. In this situation, the narrator is Cortazar himself. Ironically, when he personifies the axolotl, he says that the salamander wished a man would write a story about axolotls. Does this conclude that Cortazar is looking through the glass at himself? Or is he looking at his own reflection? I suppose this may be a short story where the conclusion is in the hands of the reader and is open to interpretation.

Response to Popol Vuh

The Popol Vuh, in a way, represents everything I believe. But also, it speaks of stories and characters that I know cannot be true. I relate to this story because it is quite similar to the story of creation from Genesis that I was taught from the Bible. And also the story tells of things that I firmly believe in, but may be entirely fictional. For example, Chapters 1-5 speak of several gods, one for each different aspect of creation it seems. Christianity has always taught that there is only one god, and that to honor any other god is a sin. Hmm.

Fortunately, most everyone can relate to the creation story because it speaks of humans, which is what we are. All humans have ancestors and might even share some many of the first ancestors; so in this way, the story is relatable to most anyone or anything that breathes.

Yes, I was taught that God (the Creator) made the heavens and earth, the animals, sky, sea, land, and humans. God took dust from the earth to make Adam, the first man, and took a rib from Adam to make his female companion, Eve. The Popol Vuh speaks of an entirely different story. I find it amusing that in this account of creation, the Creator had a "trial, an attempt at man." And there was also a flood in which the Creator wiped out the sinner just as their was in Genesis.

So that;s enough of me making observations from the Popol Vuh. I wanted to say that reading this has broadened my mind to different takes on the creation story, let alone religion. I respect these beliefs because religion is often the foundation for which many communities, such as the Mayans or Aztecs stick together. In addition, I find it refreshing to see cultures passionate about their beliefs; however, I start to get confused when there are so many gods for different purposes.

I did enjoy how epic the stories were. It is surprising how often murder occurs thousands of years ago. It's as normal as can be. And I did like the reference to the humans looking like monkeys. Was this a nod to the topic of evolution or are they even related?

These chapters make for very good reading, but are hard to take seriously because they are definitely fictional.