Blogging through Middlesex 5 (5.17.15)

Original Creative Response: Found Poetry

It's Got To Go Off

Another gun on the wall
Just an idea that was already beginning to fade
To become part of the drunkenness
I felt all grown up
But mostly I felt sick 
A sense of having been dirtied and initiated

Another gun on the wall
My eyes going wide and scared
Regret
Sogging me down, burst its dam
It seeped into my legs, it pooled my heart
I'd lost my friend

Another gun on the wall
But my heart wasn't in it
Because I don't like you like that
The surface of the water breaks like glass
The depths open up to claim you
Then nothing more for a long while

Another gun on the wall
A poison in my system and I needed to purge it
Do you remember my frog heart?
It did something more amazing--it crept up onto land
I reached under her
I brought her up to me

Another gun on the wall
I had already left on my voyage
I was sailing across the sea to another country
My crocus wore its heart on its sleeve
My blood rocketed
I hit it dead on

If there's a gun on the wall, it's got to go off


Brief Explanation

For my creative response, I didn't want to focus on only one quote. Instead, I wanted to focus on the chapter and Chekhov's idea that if there's a gun that appears in the story, it must go off. I also wanted to tie in Callie's emotional states throughout the chapter. To do this, I created a found poem that grouped together her emotions. 

First, for every stanza (except the last one), I had the phrase, "Another gun on the wall", repeat to remind the reader that there is a gun on the wall waiting to go off. Next, I made the first stanza talk about being lost by using the words, "fade" and "drunkenness". The second stanza was about fear. The phrase, "My eyes going wide and scared", and the word, "Regret", helped to portray the feeling of fear. I then wanted the third stanza to be dark and feel as if the speaker, Callie, was empty by using phrases such as, "But my heart wasn't in it", "The depths open up to claim you", and "Then nothing more for a long while".

For the fourth and fifth stanza, I wanted to bring the negative to the positive and almost make it seem like the speaker is revived and full of energy. In the fourth stanza, I used "A poison in my system and I needed to purge it". Then I used, "Do you remember my frog heart? It did something more amazing--it crept up onto land" because I felt that a question could change the emotion of the poem. The answer to the question helped to reinforce the positive attitude. For the fifth stanza, the phrase, "My blood rocketed" gives off energetic vibes. The last line is to remind the reader that a shown gun must go off at some point of the story and the line is also to show the reader that Callie's gun finally went off.

Quotes Used

"It was just an idea that was already beginning to fade, to become part of the drunkenness in the woods of the night before" (377).

"I had a sense of having been dirtied and initiated. I felt all grown up. But mostly I felt sick and didn't want to think about what had happened at all" (377).

"Another gun on the wall" (378).

"I could feel my eyes going wide and scared" (378).

"Regret, already sogging me down, burst its dam. It seeped into my legs, it pooled my heart" (378).

"On top of panic that I'd lost my friend, I was suddenly beset by worries about my reputation" (378).

"'Because I don't like you like that'" (380).

"But my heart wasn't in it" (381).

"The surface of the water breaks like glass. The depths open up to claim you" (381).

"There was a poison in my system and I needed to purge it" (382).

"Then nothing more for a long while" (383).

"Do you remember my frog heart?" (383).

"Now it did something more amazing--it crept up onto land" (383).

"Now I was aware of what was happening" (383).

"I reached under her. I brought her up to me" (387).

 "My crocus wore its heart on its sleeve" (388).

"My blood rocketed" (392).

"I hit it dead on" (393).

"I had already left on my voyage. I was sailing across the sea to another country" (394).

"If there's a gun on the wall, it's got to go off" (396).

Work Cited

Eugenides, Jeffrey. "Book Three: The Gun On The Wall" Middlesex. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux,               2002. 377-396. Print.

Blogging through Middlesex 4 (5.10.15)

Personal Experience: Night walk in the Woods

During the 6th Grade, we had an overnight class field trip to PEEC. I don't remember what PEEC stood for, but PEEC was a camping site my middle school decided to take us to. Throughout the day, we, the students, did a lot of trust games and ice breakers. Then night fell. For the first time, star shines made their way to my corneas.

A camp guide came forward and told us our last event for the day. We were to hike in the dark woods together for ten minutes. Almost everyone became hesitant about entering the dark forest. The guide's dim light did not protect us from surrounding shadows.

We heard silence noises of unknown howls and chirps bouncing against trees as if pin balls were pinging in from every direction. The terrain was the worst of it all. Logs and bumps became obstacles. If we didn't watch where we stepped, we'd trip. Beside our trail, a steep cliff was accompanying us, and so we kept ourselves to the left.

In Middlesex, before going into the woods, Callie clearly showed she wanted no part of the activity. Since the Object was willing to follow the boys, Callie did as well. In other words, Callie follows her desires even if they go against her conscience. During her walk, Callie described her night wood walking experience with the phrase, "graveyard feeling" (369) with an "ancient" (369) swamp. Fallen trees surround her. The moon in Callie's experience shone on puddles, spiderwebs, and the Object's red hair, which gives off a creepy vibe.

If I remembered correctly, I didn't really want to venture out into a void. Honestly, I don't think anyone wanted to. We all took a step back when we heard that we would enter the woods. We hunched close together like penguins facing the cold. However, we still entered the unknown. I wonder even today if it was peer pressure or simply an opportunity to seem better than the rest. We were all in this together because no one wanted to be the oddball; No one wanted to seem weak.

Although, for my experience, the moon didn't shine onto objects well enough, I still felt an uncomfortable vibe. The darkness seemed to keep us tamed as it kept us surrounded. Just like the swamp, we sank into the darkness. Unable to see our own hands, we latched onto one another for safety; for reassurance. Even then, however, I felt alone. I felt empty and fear because of the void; because of the darkness. Something was hiding deep within the woods and the scary part was that I couldn't see it.




Works Cited

Eugenides, Jeffrey. "Book Three: Flesh and Blood" Middlesex. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux,                           2002. 369. Print.

Blogging through Middlesex 3 (5.3.15)

Key Passage Response: "The Obscure Object"

Quote: 

                  I'd never seen a creature with so many freckles before. A Big Bang had 
                  occurred, originating at the bridge of her nose, and the force of this explosion 
                  had sent galaxies of freckles hurtling and drifting to every end of her curved, 
                  warm-blooded universe. There were clusters of freckles on her forearms 
                  and wrists, an entire Milky Way spreading across her forehead, even a few 
                  sputtering quasars flung into the wormholes of her ears. (323)

Explanation: In this part of Middlesex, Callie, an eighth grader, is in her academic environment surrounded by the plants of the greenhouse. Here, she takes English with her Brazilian teacher, Mr. da Silva, and four other students. After a semester, a redheaded girl, whom Cal refers to as the Obscure Object, enters their classroom, telling the class about her transfer from a different class. The quote above is Callie's description of the girl's physical appearance, specifically her freckles.

Analysis: In this excerpt, and in many other excerpts from the novel, Eugenides uses strong diction. For this specific passage, the diction Eugenides uses is from space jargon. The first phrase Callie uses is "A Big Bang", which is known as the beginning of the universe and everything within that universe. The "Big Bang" used in Callie's description is used to explain where the Obscure Object's "galaxies of freckles" began. The metaphor here compares the girl's freckles to stars. Eugenidies then continues with the space jargon by adding in words and phrases such as "universe", "clusters of freckles", Milky Way", "sputtering quasars" and "wormholes". These words and phrases give off a sense of something not of our world. In other words, Callie description of the Obscure Object makes the girl seem as if she is "a creature" and not human. 

In addition, there are other words and phrases in the passage that uses imagery. Some of these words and phrases include "bridge of her nose", "explosion", "hurtling and drifting to every end", "curved, warm-blood", "spreading across her forehead", and "flung". Many of these visuals add to the shape and direction of the Obscure Object's physical appearance. For instance, "bridge of her nose" can be related to a curved shaped nose. Also, the verbs, "hurtling and drifting", "spreading", and "flung" shows a noun being thrown or pushed away. Readers may get a feeling of distance and space since her freckles are described as moving outwards from her nose. 

In terms of themes, being different or doing something out of the norm compared to others seems to be common. Throughout the novel, incest was mentioned and since incest is a societal taboo, committing incest was seen as wrong and different than what majority people do. Callie is different in terms of her growth and who she is. Her late puberty, her love interests, and her biological body makes her different according to societal norms. 

In this passage, Callie is the one who describes the girl as different. The first way Callie does this is by calling the girl "a creature". The word, "creature", reminds us of something not humanly and not of our world, which makes her seem as if she is a different species. Second, Callie calls her the Obscure Object. The word obscure, which means unknown, vague, and unclear, already separates what is known from what is unknown. For Callie, the girl is unknown because Callie does not know much about her besides her appearances. Lastly, by using space jargon, the description of the girl makes her seem as she is far away from Earth. In other words, she is not of Earth, and therefore, is different compared to humanity.



Works Cited

Eugenides, Jeffrey. "Book Three: The Obscure Object" Middlesex. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux,           2002. 323. Print.