"Snake" Response

     Theodore Roethke's descriptions of the snake in his poem, "Snake," reflect at first a sense of stillness and relaxation. Uses of words like glide, limp, still, and shade all give the poem a very lax atmosphere. In the second half of the poem, however, the energy level is heightened momentarily as the snake goes away. This transition is demonstrated in the narrator when Roethke writes, "I felt my slow blood warm." Towards the end, the author demonstrates some admiration for the snake, and says that he hopes to one day be the snake.
     This poem demonstrates some characteristics of the American Dream (which is the focus of my American Literature definition). In longing to become the snake, the author is showing his hopes to achieve a certain lifestyle. In the beginning of the poem, the snake itself is dwelling in a calm and serene atmosphere, which implies that the author wishes to achieve a life of comfort. Ideas of achievement such as this are reflected in many pieces of American literature, and connect strongly with some of the core concepts of the American Dream. As for when the snake goes away, this could perhaps reflect a desire for isolation in the author, which isn't exactly relevant to American Literature, but is nonetheless worth noting.
     As for the picture, the snake seems to be in a more prominent, proud position than in the poem. The overall energy level is higher, and the snake itself is cloaked in sunlight rather than shadow. This somewhat contradicts what is represented in the poem, but could still reflect aspects of the American Dream in a desire to achieve fame or importance, which seem to be the ideas that come across from this picture.

Outside Reading: Cat's Cradle #4

     I have reached the end of Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut, and must say that the ending to the book was completely unexpected. Not for a moment did I think the end of the book was actually going to involve the end of the world, despite the constant talk of the super-weapon known as "ice-nine." However, I found myself extremely satisfied with the ending, as it was both interesting and meaningful in terms of offering explanations for the book. All this aside, however, during my last reading I was able to relate many more components of the story to things that we have been studying.
     One of the main things I noticed in this reading (which I should have realized before) was that Bokonon himself was a representation of Postmodernism. Bokonon literally viewed everything in his own way, and left everything that he wrote to be interpreted by his readers as they wanted it too. He tells people that what he writes is a lie so that they can find their own truths out of his books, while not being forced to take what Bokonon himself sees as truth. This idea came to me towards the end of the book when the protagonist begins to read the books of Bokonon (Vonnegut also constantly hit on how Bokonon himself viewed his advice as false, forcing the reader to consider why this was so and what this meant.) In terms of how this connects with American Literature, it embodies the Postmodern perspective on how readers should be able to interpret literature.
     I found a connection with Romanticism again with the tragic ending of the story: the end of the world. After the entire world being destroyed in an instant and after days of uncomfortable shelter with the protagonist's beloved Mona, they discover the rest of the population of San Lorenzo dead, except for Newton Hoenikker and the Crosbys who are found later. On top of this, Mona decides to join the dead in a way which I thought almost mocked the main character. Even I was depressed, and I'm not usually one to be moved by books. The description of nature and the blue-white ice-nine covering the earth after the cataclysm also demonstrated some Romantic qualities in the book.
     In terms of my definition, I think the material from this final reading that will be most useful is what I've gathered from Bokononism's symbolism as well as the symbolism of San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo, in some ways, was much like America in that many aspects of the citizens lives were overdramatic and untrue. Bokonon's commentary on such a society (or what Vonnegut writes of Bokonon's commentary) represents an interpretation of a national identity from Vonnegut's Postmodern perspective. Since my definition deals with American identity, I found this to be valuable.
     Overall, I enjoyed the book, and was able to make several connections to American literature as a whole. Though I went into the book thinking that it was going to have ideas that mostly related to Postmodernism since it was a Postmodern book, I was surprised to find several parts of the book that related to other time periods and philosophies as well.

Outside Reading: Cat's Cradle #3

     Where I am now in Cat's Cradle (page 216) the story has taken a turn to a place I didn't expect it to go. The main character, who is the narrator, has agreed to become the next President of San Lorenzo, and it seems that he will have a brand new life ahead of him. Before all of this happens, though, Vonnegut cleverly places a few bits of philosophical advice throughout the book, and I did my best to recognize them and try to determine their meaning.
     From what I have gathered, much of what Bokonon, the leader of Bokononism and in some ways the father of all San Lorenzan tradition, teaches in his holy books is a lie. In fact, he tells the reader that he is lying in his books, which confused me at first. However, as the story went on and I learned that Bokonon being a religious leader was a lie, along with his rivalry with the island's previous leader, McCabe, it all started coming together. What Bokonon was trying to say was that people such as the San Lorenzans who otherwise have little to live for can be made happy by being fed lies, which is supported later in by Julian Castle in his recollection of stories of the fake drama in San Lorenzo devised by Bokonon and McCabe. This idea tied together as well with Newton Hoenikker's discussion with the author about the deception of the Cat's Cradle knot. He points out that there is neither a cat nor a cradle in the knot, and yet it still brings happiness to many children.
     The ideas that these lies bring happiness reminded me immediately of Romanticism. Though Romanticism doesn't necessarily deal with lies, it does embrace imagination and all good things that come from it. There were some other things in this reading that connected with Romanticism as well, such as the focus on Mona, who is a symbol of beauty and perfection, and the tropical setting of San Lorenzo, which the author chooses to describe as before in great detail.
     Vonnegut introduces a man when the narrator arrives at his hotel named Phillip Castle, son of the extremely successful Julian Castle. Phillip has a sharp wit, and often says things that are very philosophical. For these reasons, I found a strong connection between Phillip and Henry from "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," by Robert Edwin Lee. As with Henry, Phillip's comments question people and society for what they are perceived to be, making the reader think. Though Phillip isn't necessarily a Transcendentalist like Henry, I still found several similarities between these two characters.
     Another story we've read in class that I've found similarities with is "Thanatopsis," by William Byrant. Much of what Bokonon teaches in his religion is related to interconnectedness between people as well as destiny. In "Thanatopsis," the author basically argues that we are all destined to die and be buried in the earth, and that since this is the fate of everyone, we are all connected in this way. Though the destinies represented by "Thanatopsis" and Cat's Cradle are not the same, the idea of interconnectedness between people present in these destinies is significant in both pieces.
     As it stands, the end of the book could hold anything. I certainly did not expect for the protagonist to become the president of San Lorenzo, nor did I expect the entire story of Bokonon to be a fraud, so I'm hesitant to make any assumptions about what is to come.

Outside Reading: Cat's Cradle #2

     So far in Cat's Cradle (pages 72-144) many new things have happened. One of the main things that I took notice of, however, was that Kurt Vonnegut once again chose to introduce a fictional representation of society through his explanation of the Republic of San Lorenzo. This country is very small, and very different from other societies in ways such as government, law, and ethnicity. Apparently, and I'm still not quite sure if this is true, the penalty for all crime in the city is a hook through your stomach, which keeps everyone in order. Even the people seem surreal, as one woman named Mona Aamons Monzano, who is supposedly one of the most beautiful women on earth, is described as having the dark skin of an African while having "platinum" blonde hair. Given how obscure this new place is, I think that it connects strongly with Postmodernism, as it gives much interpretation of the society and its relationship to the rest of the world up to the reader. I find that Vonnegut always leaves some gaps in his explanation of these fictional representations in order to leave some interpretation up to the reader, and I enjoy this freedom as I am reading greatly.
     I noticed a connection to Romanticism as well in the effort Vonnegut puts into describing the island of San Lorenzo. He paints a very clear picture of the island being marshy, uneven, unattractive, save how the entire island supposedly makes a near perfect rectangle. He gives similar detail in his description of Franklin Hoenikker's model city that the narrator finds in Jack's Hobby Shop. This also gives an artistic air to Frank Hoenikker, which is a somewhat Romantic quality.
     This reading focused much more on America as a whole than the last, which helps the reading connect to my American Literature definition. When the narrator (presumably Vonnegut himself, though I could be wrong) talks with the Minton couple on the plain ride to San Lorenzo, the Mintons discuss how they had written a letter from Pakistan insulting the way America interacts with other countries. They criticize America by saying that instead of forcing other countries to love the United States, the they should just learn to accept other countries' disapproval. Though I think this makes a stronger connection with the theme of the story and the overall message Vonnegut is trying to convey about the atomic bomb and American morality, I saw it as important mainly in the way it showed how many Americans think, relates to the American identity portion of my definition.
     I should note that Vonnegut also discussed the origins of Bokonon and Bokononism briefly as he was reading a sort of San Lorenzo encyclopedia. Bokonon turned out to be a black person, which I thought was interesting considering that the book was written around the time of the Civil Rights Movement.
     I hope to read more about Bokononism later on in the book, because much of this fictional religion is still unknown where I am now.

Outside Reading: Cat's Cradle #1

     I had recently read a book called Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, and I found his humor as well as his unique perspective on world events to make the book enjoyable. Because I enjoyed this book so much I decided to choose Cat's Cradle, also by Kurt Vonnegut, as the book for my second quarter. Throughout what I have read so far (pages 1-72) Vonnegut has not disappointed in terms of comedy, and the topic of science and World War II has kept me interested.
     Similarly to his invention of Tralfamadorians in the book Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut has created a fake religion in Cat's Cradle called "Bokononism," which I still don't fully understand. However, in the book he talks about how this religion has given him a different, more enlightened perspective on the universe, giving several quotes from a the fictional religion's book that attribute to the ideals represented by the religion. This connects strongly with Postmodernism, since Bokononism seems to be very unique and very much against the societal norm, which are both qualities of the Postmodern philosophy.
     Another part of the book which I have found to resemble Postmodernism is the focus of the story, Dr. Felix Hoenikker. This man is very depicted as extremely intelligent, to the point where they sometimes refer to him as inhuman. In addition to this quality, however, he is very different from everyone else in terms of how he views and interacts with the world. He interacts with society in ways which are unexpected and abnormal, and asks questions which aren't normally asked. For these reasons, Dr. Hoenikker is almost an embodiment of Postmodernism. Though he is innocent and immature for the most part, many people view him as a killer due to his work on the atomic bomb, and whether or not the main character in the story believes this himself has yet to be seen.
     This book is focused mainly on Postmodernism, so it doesn't connect with readings we've done in class very much. However, if I had to connect it to one of our class readings, I would say it is most similar to "Young Goodman Brown." In "Young Goodman Brown," the protagonist demonstrates conflict over whether to view society as good or evil, which is similar to the moral issue demonstrated by the atomic bomb in Cat's Cradle.
     My American Literature definition doesn't demonstrate too much similarity to this story so far. My definition discusses mainly the American Dream and the foundations of American identity throughout the time periods we're studying, and so far most of what I've read focuses mainly on the individual. There have been a few places where Vonnegut has humorously written that most of American society is ignorant and such, but this isn't something that I can reasonably apply to literature.

Relationship Between Slaughterhouse Five and Postmodernism

     Slaughterhouse Five,  by Kurt Vonnegut, is a book in which the styles, origins, and beliefs of Postmodernism resonate very strongly. Perhaps more than any other book I've seen so far, Slaughterhouse Five offers the opportunity for the reader to interpret the story the way that they choose, which reflects one of Postmodernism's key beliefs. The broken chronology of the story, along with a series of unrealistic events like Billy's encounter with the Tralfamadorians, offer plenty of freedom to interpret the meaning of the author's writing in your own way, and to take from the text what you believe is important. In addition to allowing for the unique interpretations of the reader, the author demonstrates many unique interpretations of his own events. For example, on page 69 the author gives dialogue to the German soldiers who have just captured him. Even though he knows no German, he still communicates to the reader the way he interpreted the situation, and how it made an impression in his mind.

     The fact that the story was written on the basis of World War II also relates to postmodernism. As many works of postmodernism were inspired by the war, particularly bombings, and as this book was about the bombing of Dresden, there are many connections between the inspiration for this book and the inspiration of other works of postmodernism. The language, humor, and free-spiritedness of the author throughout also meet my expectations for what I would consider to be Postmodernist literature.

Relationship Between Slaughterhouse Five and my Definition of American Literature

     My definition of American literature mainly focused on the importance of the development of the American identity, as well as American goals that we all share as people of the United States, and how that translates into our literature. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut demonstrates the views of America in many ways, one of which involves English soldiers. In one part of the story, the author makes an effort to describe to the reader how the American prisoners are looked down upon in contrast to the rest of the Europeans, and yet how Billy remains almost completely indifferent to that fact. This reflects not only the development of Billy's individual identity, which is seen throughout the story in other ways talking about different times in his life, but also the development of the identity of the other American soldiers, who had a similar reaction to the insults as Billy. This connects with my definition because the development of the author's identity affects his perspective, similarly to how my definition involved the impact of American identity and culture on their writings.
     The author's goal in the story makes an even stronger connection to my definition. In the story, his goal is to communicate to the reader the problem of warfare. With warfare being seen as a common and shared problem of the people of America, this relates to my definition in that my definition involves writing based on shared interests of the American people, or for the betterment of the American people. Also, the very Postmodernist style of the writing connects to how I mentioned the change of the culture and goals of the writing throughout different periods of time (with this writing, along with much of the writing of Postmodernism, being strongly tied to the events of World War II).