Assiignment 5 10/28

In Pattern Recognition, there are many references to the internet and social commentary on the post 9/11 mindset of people. In the book there are two major scenes that bring up the latter subject. One is when Cayce returns to her home to find that Dorotea has broken into her home and left a message for her on her computer and phone. She then proceeds to block up the home until she can get locks replaced on the door. The other is when she walks by a car with three guys standing around it and notices black objects, which she immediately assumes are grenades. In our oversensitive, much prolonged, state of panic, these events cause a violent reaction of fear to run through us. It is very easy, in today’s world, to picture a trunk full of bombs, or a burglar in our home. Gibson is making a subtle statement about our fear of terrorists. The trunk full of bombs is even a scaled down reference to our invading Iraq. We thought they had weapons of mass destruction, but they didn’t. Just as Cayce thought those men had grenades, but they didn’t. Gibson also comments on the internet and social networking. He’s revealing the ridiculousness of having a friend you’ve never met and the outbursts of viral videos.

Assignment 4 10/20

A shift in the point of view in the story “A Rose of Emily” would change many things, like the tone, view of Emily, and the reader’s participation. The tone, if the story was narrated by Tobe, Homer, or Emily, would be more dark and sinister. It could even take on the tone of a horror story. The reader of the story as it is written is conflicted about Emily, sometimes we feel pity for her, and others we feel as if she’s cold and unscrupulous. In the first person plural, the reader is sucked into the story be feeling as if he or she is telling the story along with the other narrators. Without that, the story seems slightly walled off from the reader, that intimacy would be gone. The narrative mode allows the story to become sort of mystery story, where the reader is compelled to go back through and look for evidence to support whatever theories he or she may have. This make the story sort of fun and takes away from the gloom of death and a possible murder. Changing from a first person plural to a first person singular point of view would show us who Emily really is, but it would take away from what made the story interesting. It is much more fun to make our own hypotheses about a mysterious character than have the author tell us who this person is.

Assignment 3 10/7

In Richard Brautigan’s poem “All Watched over by Machines of Loving Grace” is a complex poem with evidence that there is both an anti-technology and pro-technology tone in the poem.

            The anti-technology tone in the poem comes in the perceived meaning behind certain lines and the allusions to certain objects or ideas. In each stanza of the poem he refers to a mixture of computers and nature, “cybernetic meadow”, “cybernetic forest”, and “cybernetic ecology”, Brautigan seems to be referring to a fake computer filled world that humans created for themselves, much like a virtual world. There is also a line where he writes, “where we are free of our labors”, this could be Brautigan imagining a future where computers do all the hard work and humans relax. He could be seeing a future where humans have lost a sense of delayed gratification when he writes “and the sooner the better!”, right now, please!”, and “it has to be!” He also has two lines, “and all watched over/by machines of loving grace.”, at the end of the poem. This seems to be referring to something along the lines of a artificial defense system, like in I, Robot, or Terminator, where robots replace humans as peace keepers.

            There is also evidence that Brautigan had a pro-technology tone in his poem. He continuously has images of animals living peacefully alongside of machines merged into their habitat. In his poem he writes, “where mammals and computers live together in mutually programming harmony like pure water touching clear sky.” It draws a vivid picture of a clean world where computers enhance our lives and help preserve the beauty of our planet. Brautigan writes, “and joined back to nature to return to our mammal brothers and sisters,” like he’s picturing a future where we can connect more with nature through computers.

            I think that the anti-technology tone is more convincing because the poem plays more on the fears we have of the rapidly advancing technology we are creating. When I read this poem I could picture things from bad sci-fi movies, where a super computer-like big brother is always watching us humans through mechanical animals or other devices.