Friday, January 16, 2009

Suffering from writer's block

Like, seriously.
We had out tutorial class with Mr. Omit yesterday, and he was yakking away about what a thesis statement is and what a thesis statement is not. He gave examples, made us give examples...but still, it was a cloudy blur. I gave my example of thesis statement which I came up in precisely one minute, and he said it was 'goood' but the words just don't fit in. I think I'm less an idiot now (for risking to look like an idiot), but, that didn't really help in making me really understand what a thesis statement is and what thesis statement is not. And another thing - he said that we can only write our position papers from a list of literary text that he will give us. We were copying the list of literature text when half way he said, "but you can choose your own text." We were like, "great - could've wring our brains for ideas in the past week and don't do it at the last minute." Oh well.
So now, I'm suffering from writer's block. And I haven't started writing yet! Just couldn't think of a text. I have to either choose a text from the list he gave us, or choose my own. Both with its own risk. If I choose a text from the list, I might not be able to write about it, because I might not have much opinions about it, but the tutor is familiar with the text; and vice versa.
So, which should I choose? The tutor or my guts? The two roads that diverged in the woods...

Monday, January 12, 2009

Icarus, the Turtle Spirit and Mahabharata

Finally my head’s cleared about what’s so important about a naked guy falling down from the sky, namely Icarus, the Turtle spirit story which I thought was ‘blah’ and the Mahabharata.

Okay, Icarus may, or may not be naked – it was just some of the artists’ impression of him. Anyways. He’s not just some kid who were given a pair of wings by his dad to fly and got too near to the sun and melted the wax off his wings.

He represents freedom. He represents the Romantic spirit. He represents aspiration. He represents individualism. So we were told by Dr. Edwin. It makes so much sense now. But he fell into the sea and died. That was the price to pay to be different, to be unconventional. He’s not herding sheep or fishing out of necessity like everyone else, he is flying. FLYING! How many people can do that? Well of course, there is that thing called an aeroplane, but that’s not the point. He dared to reach for the sky, but he fell. Like the saying goes, “what goes up, must come down.” Moral of the story is, if we dare to dream big, to fly, we must dare to fail, and to fall someday.

As for The Son of The Turtle-Spirit, I finally got the whole idea about it. Or, I think I do. It’s about listening to your mother, yet defying another power. Is it wrong? Is it ethical? Of course you’d listen to your mother anytime of the day (or not), but she’s that one person who can make you do stuff (or not). Nobody else can, say, the government? There’s this rebellious voice of, “You’re not my mother, why should I listen to you?” Hence, the boy listened to his mother to replace the bones with his father’s inside the mud dragon’s mouth. But, what if the consequences are way bigger than your mother? Say, to cover the truth of your FBI-hunted dad’s whereabouts because your mother told you so? Would you obey your mother and deceive the FBIs, or disobey your mother and turn in your father? Indeed, from a simple tale, comes a not so simple value.

Now the Mahabharata. All I can say is, my interpretation is way, way off. I thought there’d be something bigger, but that’s just it. It’s just about sacrifice.

In which we will discuss with Dr. Edwin soon.

Friday, January 9, 2009

The FIRST meeting with the Tutor

First day of tutorial class.

A decent, yet monotonous Iranian tutor.

He gave us ideas about what a thesis statement is, what a thesis statement is not. He told us to come up with thesis statements about our university and ourselves. Because I was too worried that my thesis statements would get rejected, I'd rather not share it. Now I'm not so sure if I will get it right or wrong. Mental note to self - voice out ideas eventhough it may make you look like an idiot, else you're an idiot anyhow.

I have actually thought of a thesis statement, more like I thought of the text I wanted to do. I wanted to do something on Of Mice and Men 'coz I love the story. However, I have to scrap that thought as the tutor will give us texts to choose. It may suck, it may not.

Looking forward the texts now. Crossing my fingers Of Mice and Men is one of them.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The FIRST post

So my first post is going to be about my first day of this reading and project class.

I entered the class, with maximum zest to learn.

Dr. Edwin, as usual, awesomely cynical, explained to us what we are going to expect throughout the semester and what are to be expected from us.

I exited the class, with maximum horror to just go on with life.

Position paper. Research paper. It's horrifying.

I can't even think of an acceptable thesis statement let alone write a 500 words position paper, and a 3000 words research paper. And to work with our yet-to-be-known supervisors? I had visions of unreplied text messages, rejected papers with bloody marks and M.I.A. supervisors. Scary! Besides, aren't we suppose to do this in our senior, and not now?

But I guess I'd have to suck it up then. I'm pretty sure out of my 74 suggested thesis statement, one will hit the spot. And I swear I will hunt down my supervisor at all cost. Maybe it won't be so bad after all. Maybe.

As for the readings, I find it really interesting. And no, I'm not being sarcastic. It actually makes you want to read it.
I read the Son of the Turtle Spirit and I thought...blah. I didn't get the deeper meaning of it.
I read the Mahabharata, and I had an interpretation different that everyone. I think that the fisherman's daughter is Shantanu's wife, reincarnated, and Dev's mother. So that's why Dev is willing to 'step down' from his future throne 'coz he knows he will be king anyway. So far, nobody has agreed with me yet.
I read Daedalus and Icarus...Inneresting, but I can't see why a naked guy falling from the sky can be made a great deal out of it -paintings, poems. There's so much I need to learn.

And that's what my next post will be: Understanding why a naked guy falling from the sky can be made a deal out of it. I assumed his naked from the paintings, so don't get me wrong.