Blog 2- Reupholstering Love

(originally posted on 9/7)

“The saggy armchair of cliches. It’s all right, millions of bottoms have sat here before me. the springs are well worn, the fabric smelly and familiar” (Written on the Body, p.10).

This was the quote that caught my attention. I find it interesting that the narrator is talking about how safe love can feel when clearly it is not guaranteed and can change at any moment. I do find it funny that it is in the cliches that we find this comfort. Like the narrator says later, we long for those familiar words and gestures that we associate with love, but they are the most unoriginal things we can possibly do to show how much we do care for people. The narrator is challenging us to look at these cliches and see how they control what we know love to be. It is interesting to see how the narrator is kind of stepping back into the cliches though. It is almost contradicting what was previously said.

“Frighten me? Yes you frighten me. You act as though we will be together forever” (Written on the Body, p. 18).

I felt this quote really expressed what the narrator was trying to get across earlier on. The narrator is afraid because their love is getting too comfortable in the relationship. They are relying on that “saggy armchair of cliches” too much and are blind to the fact that the relationship can change. It is this security in the familiar feeling of a relationship that the narrator warns about. Maybe this narrator wants to rip apart this old armchair and reupholster it with something new and more realistic. I think this narrator is challenging the readers to reupholster our ideas of love.

Blog 1- Postmodern v. Modern

(originally posted on 9/3)

I have always considered myself modern. I took a few classes that centered around modern literature and found myself connecting to the ideas behind it all. I loved the idea of pulling things apart from different sources and putting them together to make something new. I loved how you could take something common, change it a little, and make people question it. I loved the feeling of shock some of the literature and artwork gave me. I really saw myself fitting into the modernist perspective, that is until I read Malpas.

Malpas really challenged my ideas of what was modern and postmodern. I was mainly intrigued by Hassan’s list that Malpas decided to include. This list confused me more than anything. I was Dada classified as postmodern and I was always taught that it was modern. This is when I really started to look at how Hassan defined modern and postmodern and questioned my position in each.

Using some of the words that Hassan uses to describe postmodern, I find myself interested in “deconstruction,” “irony,” “combination,” “difference,” and “schizophrenia.” On the other hand I also enjoy some parts of modernism, such as “origin,” “metaphor,” “symbolism,” and “purpose.” After looking at this list and taking into consideration that this is one person’s view on what is considered modern and postmodern, I decided that I’m a little bit of both. I can see myself fitting into both ideas, but leaning more toward the postmodern perspective now.

FINALLY WORKING

Hey guys! After four blogs and a virus I finally have this thing working. Sorry about the wait!

~Ash