The Jumping People Metaphor

I think that one of the most important metaphors in ‘You Shall Know Our Velocity” is seen on pages 323- 328 in Hand’s story about the jumping people. This story has many hidden ties to themselves and their adventure in general, for this reason the book was even named after part of this story. Right from the beginning of the story we see themes to which Will and Hand can relate “they were mountains, and so heavy. They knew this. So this was their primary problem... How to fly with this weight?” this weight they speak of relates to the weight of Jack’s death and the point of this trip was ‘to fly’ to conquer and overcome or at least learn to live with that weight. “they’re jumping like crazy. They’re jumping, and they’re running, and it becomes just part of their daily routine, leaping around and darting from place to place.” This description of the lifestyle lived by the jumping people sounds a lot like how Will and Jack are living on this trip. They’re running and darting around from place to place, it almost seems like by this point in the trip they’ve come accustomed to it, like there’s nothing out of the ordinary about jumping on a plane every day and never staying too long in one place. “ they started realizing, deep down.... that maybe it’s not going to happen after all. But that doesn’t mean that the lessons aren’t valuable.” I think just like the jumping people Will is realizing that his life is never going to be the same; that the freedom he hoped to accomplished with this trip wasn’t going to happen that easily but at the same time he has still learned a lot. “ it all looked a little crazy to the spaniards... so these people were always considered a little flaky” This is like all the people who thought Will and Hand were crazy for doing what they were doing, flying around the world in a week giving away money, it wasn’t normal. The last and possibly most important part of the metaphor was that when the spaniards came after their land they just gave it to them because they felt like it didn’t belong to them in the first place and ran away leaving only the message “ You shall know our velocity” carved in a cliff. Will felt like the money he was given was not his own in the first place that he had no right to it so his plan was to give it to random people and then run away. Each time he gave these generous offerings the people knew the tremendous gift they were given they knew will and hand’s mission of love without any exchange of words, they knew their velocity.

Intertextuality Example: Jeff Buckley Hallelujah

Hallelujah: Verse 2 By: Jeff Buckley 

"well your faith was strong but you needed proof 
you saw her bathing on the roof 
her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you 
she tied you to her kitchen chair 
she broke your throne and she cut your hair 
and from your lips she drew the hallelujah "

This verse draws from two very famous Bible stories about strong powerful men who are weakened by their love for a woman. The First three lines are directly referring to the story of David and Bathsheba. David was the powerful king of Israel but one night of poor judgement, when he saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof and then slept with her would lead to his downfall and a sequence of poor decisions. The last three lines refer to the Story of Samson and Delilah. Samson had supernatural strength because he never cut his hair as a covenant with God, but he fell in love with Delilah and told her his secret. While he was sleeping she tethered him an shaved his head and when the philistines came his strength was gone and he was captured. 

Blue Highways: 1st Impressions

Although Blue Highways and Northern Lights share a common theme of travel and running away from the past into an unknown future, they are very different as far as writing styles. Northern Lights was written on a very personal level, we got to know the character: her personality, her quirks and her impulses, how her past effected her present and future. The book was continuous in plot all her adventures and stories tied together to form the story of her life. The Author allowed the reader to understand Clarissa at the deepest level and wasn’t afraid to be informal and person. Although most of the book focused on her trip to lapland it was all in the context of her life and story. Blue Highways on the other hand is very impersonal and is filled mostly with facts, history and detailed descriptions. William Least Heat-Moon only dedicates one page to himself and his history, this trip seems to be described independently of his life and story.  In many places I feel that it reads more like a textbook than a novel. In Northern Lights the Author kept the reader interested with unanswered questions and plot twists that wove the plot together. Blue highways, on the other hand, feels more like a compilation of short travel adventures, each could stand independently, each new day accompanied with new scenes, people and places but no real constants. I suppose the reason this bothers me so much is because I’m a relational person and I can’t relate with the idea of taking a road trip by myself and I hate the way every time he starts to get to know someone he leaves. My favorite part of novels is reading about maturing relationships between people and how these relationships effect their lives but since this novel is desperately lacking in this aspect in many ways it feels incomplete and shallow.

Close Reading Rough Draft

The section I have selected for my close reading consists of the last five sections of the Chapter ‘Empty Chair, Hanging from a Tree’, pages 162-169. We pick up the story with Clarissa’s first night out since she has been ill. She accompanies Henrik to a local bar with the intentions of seeking out her father from the locals, or at least finding someone who might be able to help her with this task. After realizing that this plan was a lost cause she requests a ride back with Henrik’s female cousin. “ ‘I’m going to go’ I said to Henrik and Karin. I didn’t know what I was doing at this bar. Dad was dead, my mother was raped, and the mayor was talking to my breasts. ‘I need to go’” This statement conveys a her loss of hope for the evening, she realizes that no one there could possibly help her, not even the mayor who would’ve known the most out of anyone. The line ‘Dad was dead’ conveys two important ideas, first that she is recognizing Richard as her father and secondly an idea that whatever she was looking to find could not be found. She was looking for a biological father but it was too late to find a real father, the only father figure she had or ever would have was gone. It almost sounds as though she  gives up and excepts the situation for what it is, her ‘father’ was gone, her biological father was nothing but a rapist, and even if she wanted to look for him even the mayor would not be able to help. 

When Clarissa and Karin walk out to her car she asks Karin where she could go to find out more about the Sami involved in the Alta Dam protests. At this point Clarissa is clinging on to anything, she is taking maters into her own hands to look for her biological father. Karin suggests the Sami Parliment , which needless to say spurs Clarissa’s next course of action to travel up to Karasjok. When Karin mentions that it is in Karasjok, Clarissa recalls that she had passed through karasjok. To understand the significance of this we must understand the circumstances under which this trip to Karasjok, on page 120. Clarissa had just found out about her mother’s rape and that Euro was not her biological father. She didn’t have any clues or anyone who could help her but she is determined to find her biological father so she boards a bus heading north and incidentally spends some time in Karasjok. This is important in two ways, first is that she arrives in Kararsjok each time with the same state of mind and by the same course of action. Both times she doesn’t really know what to do but she is trying anything to find some sort of clue. Secondly, she ends up there after the two biggest clues about her father are revealed. The first time is after she finds out that Euro is not her father and her real father was a rapist. The second time is directly after she first hears of her biological father, even though she doesn’t realize it. 

“And her son, something was wrong with him.’ She touched her forehead and looked over at me. ‘I didn’t know she had a son.’”

Although Clarissa doesn’t know it yet this son is her biological father and this scene is when she to first told of his existence, even if she does not yet know the significance. This is interesting because all night she is looking for someone who could help her find her father. By now she has given up that idea and has taken matters into her own hands. She is now in the car with someone who could tell her everything she wants to know, someone who is her blood relative, the blood relative of her biological father but she doesn’t even know it. 

In the next section it is morning and Clarissa prepares for her trip to Karasjok. “The was a bus to Karasjok that afternoon, but I didn’t want to wait. I was tired of buses...” The first time she was in Karasjok she was stuck there for two hours waiting for a bus, which may have subconscious implications for this present sediment. As she prepare to leave and states what she hopes to find there are clues to how worn out she is of this search, that maybe subconsciously she doesn’t really expect to find anything helpful. I think it’s interesting that her goal of visiting the Sami museum is to obtain a list of arrests during the protests. The only problem with this plan is that she knows her mother never filed a report, Euro told her this in the beginning, she knows that the rapist was not arrested. She is also very sloppy in her planning, she knows that last night when henrik took her out was a saturday and she notices Anna’s special apparel that morning and then her absence. She doesn’t make the connection that it is sunday even though all the signs are there, it’s like she just wants to get it over with and doesn’t care enough or doesn’t have enough energy to think it through. 

On her ride there a very random scene is mentioned and although it doesn’t fit or seem meaningful it seems as though it should have deeper implications. “Outside the window, all was white. Flat snow-covered fields. In the distance, I saw a large shape hanging from a tree. A white plastic chair.” This scene is where the title of this chapter comes from, which means that it obviously has some significance to Clarissa, the author, the chapter or something. My interpretation is that hanging in the tree the chair has no purpose, it can not be used to sit in and although though it is not permanently broken it can not be used until it is removed from the tree. It is temporarily suspended in time and purpose. Just as Clarissa is stuck at this point in her life, she cannot move on and continue her life until this journey is completed. She’s not permanently broken, she will be able to continue life and living her purpose as soon as she is released from the tree but she does not have any control over when that will happen or how long it will take. The chair also had no say in the matter, it was placed in the tree by someone else, it didn’t decide to hang it’s self in the tree and it doesn’t particularly want to be there, but it is and it can not change that fact. This is parallel to Clarissa’s situation, what she is currently dealing with was not her chose but instead it was the results of others actions, such as her mothers and her biologicals fathers. Finally it mentions that the chair is white surrounded by flat snow-covered fields, thus to some degree it blends in with its surroundings, at least visually it is camouflaged. But at the same time it stands out, it it is a chair, hanging from a tree, that’s not natural or at least not in that capacity. This is similar to Clarissa herself in that physically she appears Sami and from a distance blends in with Sami people. However when she is examined closer she doesn’t fit, it’s unnatural and peculiar. Being an American is an obvious difference but it is more than this, if she where there under normal circumstances she would still be different but not so peculiar and out of place. Just like if the chair where not hanging in the tree, the chair is different from it’s surroundings but what makes it peculiar is it’s situation, the fact that it’s hang from a tree. The situation which lead her to lapland and the story behind why she remains there is what makes her different. 

I skip now to the last three paragraphs of section five, where Clarissa has been dropped off in the parking lot of a shopping centre after her attempt at the Sami Parliment had failed. “They walked into the grocery store and I was left in the parking lot, among the running cars.” This situation is parallel to her mother leaving her at a shopping centre. The parking lot of running cars symbolizes her watching other people live, she was a spectator in her life, watching and confused. “I could get into any one of the cars and take off. I would drive a Ford, I decided, nothing obvious. I walked up to the window of the red one. The keys were in the ignition, the door unlocked. Discreetly, I looked around. No was watching me. The lot was empty of people, all herded in by the cold.” Once again this scene symbolizes the reoccurring theme of running away from life, and wanting to just jump into a new life and run away. More specifically she wanted to take the Ford because she said it wouldn’t be obvious but yet she picks the red one, like subconsciously she wants someone to notice. “ I would get in the car, pick up Henrik, and we would drive to his island in the west. Or to Russia. Together we would raise this child.” The main idea is that she doesn’t want to raise the child by herself, this feeling is also what her mother experienced. This sheds light on her mother and fathers relationship, they married in a living room, perhaps the only reason she married was because she didn’t want to raise the by herself, not necessarily because because she loved him.

Blog Entry 2/16/09

I have to admit that “Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name” was definitely not one of my favorite books. I found the main character very hard to relate to, a gap not caused by her ethnicity or life experiences but rather her thoughts, personally and actions being so different from my own. Many times throughout the book, something just seemed a little off, I felt as though she was mentally challenged and I could not follow her thoughts and decision making processes. Usually I can get past gaps and borders in the text if can at least relate to the character at some level but I just had a really hard time doing this. 

As more of her story became revealed and where she came from, her personality, actions and impulses began to make a little more sense, not because they were logical but because they came from her past. Her mother was a mentally disturbed woman, not necessarily because she was born that way but because of the trauma she experienced throughout her life. Clarissa’s life turned out to be rather parallel to her mothers and she ended up experiencing many of the same traumas and thus making similar life decisions. 

The plot of the book took many unexpected turns although as I became better aquatinted with Clarissa’s character the more I expected crazy unexplained impulses and the more I came accustom to them. By the middle of the book I knew she would never be happy if she went back to her old life so in a way I expected the ending. However, I expected this to be the type of book that would just drop off with absolutely no resolution, probably with her just wandering the world. I was pleasantly surprised when the author concluded with a summary of Clarissa’s new life, it was sort of an unexpected unquestioned happily ever after ending that didn’t really seem to fit with the rest of the book. 

For my Narrative sequence paper I think I will do a close reading of selected pieces from page 161-168 in the chapter ‘Empty Chair, Hanging from Tree’. I feel that this section is a microcosm of all the major events and themes of the book. The section starts with her looking for her father, the man who raped her mom, when for the first time unbeknownst to her she hears of her biological father for the first time. In the next section she takes a trip to the Sami parliament, symbolic of her larger journey, during which the scene in the parking lot takes place which is very insightful and full of symbolism and microcosmic events. By this time in the story she has pretty much given up on ever finding her mother, but on her trip back a woman out of the blue tells her of her mother’s whereabouts. 

Reading Inventory

I really enjoy more classical novels that have stood the test of time. I never really enjoyed reading throughout my childhood, until my freshmen english teacher introduced me to classic authors and their novels. Some of my favorite texts included required reading in high school literature classes; Tale of two cities, Mayor of Casterbridge, Silas Marner, Scarlet Letter, Wuthering Heights, Age of Innocence, Rebecca and one of my favorites Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I also enjoy classic plays my favorite being Cyrano de Bergeac. 

In ninth grade I discovered Jane Austen, when I read first read Emma for a book report, ever since she has been my favorite author and I have read all of her classic works. I think the reason her writing appeals to me, is because it is so unique, not only for her day but especially anything you would encounter this day in age. I really like her style as well, the focus of her writing is on the content, not structure and grammar, which is a deterrent to many, but for me it makes it more real and relatable. The detail of her writing can be a little tiring at times, she may spend five pages on a conversation between two england socialites discussing nothing but tea and weather. Although this may get dry I don’t mind so much because I know it will pick up again and that the end is worth it. These descriptions also really help the reader more intimately know the the characters, and is unique because it really focuses on their everyday life. 

I think the reason why I enjoy these classics written decades even centuries ago, is because they are so different from modern writing. They take me back into a world that I am not familiar with, yet at the same time it doesn’t feel fictional or out of reach. The issues addressed are pure and relate to human emotions, making the plots interesting without needing, unrealistic events and action packed plots to keep the reader interested. 

Reading classic novels is fulfilling and leaves one with a sense of accomplishment. They’re filled with substance instead of fluff, and there is always something to be gained. Nothing else has broadened my vocabulary and taught me to use variety in my writing style like classic novels. These are some of the reasons I like Jane Austen, I learn so much about history and society centuries ago.Not only that, but her wording is so beautiful and rare, her writing is like a artistic masterpiece; her vocabulary, dedicate strokes; her paint brush, the english language. 

Generally I read best in private without any distractions, allowing me to really concentrate on the text and visualize what is happening. I am generally a slow reader and take my time so I can fully comprehend all aspects of the text and understand their meanings and implications. However, if I am really into a book I can read it anywhere in almost any circumstances, and I read very fast because I am to anxious to find out the next plot twist or resolution. When I sit down to read I am making a commitment because most of the time I get caught up in the plot and cannot put the book down. I don’t like to be in-continuous, I would rather read one large portion in one sitting instead of little bits and pieces every so often, that way I can really get into the plot of the text.