tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post9068825341299722379..comments2024-02-25T01:48:45.848-07:00Comments on Mr. Center's Wall: Through the Looking Glass VI -- chapter 4: BLACK BIRDJoseph Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-32130316644347080322011-03-01T09:59:39.328-07:002011-03-01T09:59:39.328-07:00Amen.
I had a piece of chocolate.Amen.<br /><br />I had a piece of chocolate.Joseph Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-5475479080349869442011-03-01T09:44:44.626-07:002011-03-01T09:44:44.626-07:00It is. It's blasphemous enough that they comb...It is. It's blasphemous enough that they combined the two into one, but...<br /><br />THIS ISN'T THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER AT ALL! AND THOSE AREN'T TWEEDLE DEE AND TWEEDLE DUM!<br /><br />SJ"DFK:LFKJDSFKJFSKJLFKJLDSFKJDSJFJKDFSL<br />SDFKFKJ<br />DSFDFKJSLKCJS<br />FKJSKFDSJ<br />FDSKJL<br />FKJDSFKJS<br />FKJFKJ<br />SFJDSKJFDS<br />KFKJLFDSFKJLSFKJDSFLKJ<br />FSJFKSJFDSL<br />FKJ<br /><br />Ok, took a sip of water. I'm good.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-87170858721297638492011-03-01T07:59:51.724-07:002011-03-01T07:59:51.724-07:00No, you're perspective is not nearly as crazy ...No, you're perspective is not nearly as crazy and much better written. Don't worry. However, your proposed book would be hilarious!<br /><br />I remember I used to really like Disney's Alice in Wonderland. I can't stand it now. It's one thing to make changes to accommodate the shift from text to film, but this is all so unnecessary. Yes, the animation is beautiful. Yes, the assembly is sharp as anything by Disney. But it doesn't border on disrespectful; it's falling headfirst into the chasm.Joseph Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-91833439974518671652011-03-01T07:51:46.649-07:002011-03-01T07:51:46.649-07:00By the way, I finally watched the clip. It's ...By the way, I finally watched the clip. It's pretty appalling how much they change the story.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-82131662560424477362011-02-28T20:51:38.670-07:002011-02-28T20:51:38.670-07:00You know, it's interesting because there is th...You know, it's interesting because there is the book that the author wrote, but then there is the experience for the reader. My Contemporary Political Thought is almost entirely about 20th century reactions to nihilism so far, so if I'm reading so much about it, not to mention thinking about it and discussing it, it would make sense that I'd find it in the reading, whether it's actually a real part of the story or not. <br /><br />And to your comparison to the McSweeney article, come on, my theory's not that crazy is it!? I am going to publish a book: "Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Didn't Find There: An Analysis of Nihilism in Wonderland".Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-15714504619732441622011-02-28T19:57:05.147-07:002011-02-28T19:57:05.147-07:001. Agreed.
2. I thought more about your nihilist t...1. Agreed.<br />2. I thought more about your nihilist theory for Wonderland when I read this at McSwey's (probably the worst writing I've ever seen here, but the ideas are interesting/humorous), about the nihilism of Heathcliff Huxtable: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/cosby/8cosby.html<br />3. Definitely! Carroll is definitely at odds with himself. He projects his problems onto and futzes with them within all the characters around Alice, by putting himself into the narrative, and even within Alice herself. He is definitely a man in turmoil, and I think it's most transparent in the Tweedles.<br />4. Well, Alice's departure was a death of sorts for Carroll....<br />5. Trees as symbols of life; crows as omens of death....Joseph Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-65838494737044789292011-02-28T19:08:20.274-07:002011-02-28T19:08:20.274-07:00Alright, now to the other questions:
1. It's ...Alright, now to the other questions:<br /><br />1. It's tough to say, but I think the walrus. If he at least feels somewhat sorry for the oysters, then there's the potential for future change. He at least is able to sympathize for the victim. The carpenter has no similar awareness.<br />2. I actually had the same thought. So I agree. Also, I notice more nihilist elements in this. Here there's nihilism even with a sort of god. If the god is just sleeping and dreaming of us, then what's our purpose, really? <br />3. Do you see this maybe as being some sort of battle of self? Just an idea.<br />4. Well, the crow's not necessarily a good thing. They forget the quarrel due to fear, if I remember correctly. Allow me to indulge my (hopelessly implausible) theory for a second. If Dee and Dum are a representation of a battle within Carroll, could the arrival of the crow represent Alice leaving him? That's when she leaves the twins. <br />5. Could you explain a little more?Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-87622256586773324132011-02-27T20:00:36.812-07:002011-02-27T20:00:36.812-07:00Have you read the poem yet? I'm not sure if i...Have you read the poem yet? I'm not sure if it sways me one way or the other. It turns out Aram was a real man, as well. A philologist, of all things! I expect, however, that this was a fairly popular poem once, or it wouldn't have been so casually mentioned by Carroll, understood by him to be recognized instantly by his reader. This, despite the context, supports the idea that the meter is a catchy one, and this a popular poem....Joseph Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-60210711086243544182011-02-27T19:26:37.076-07:002011-02-27T19:26:37.076-07:00Arg, I may have to get to this full post tomorrow ...Arg, I may have to get to this full post tomorrow (although I'll still be able to read the next chapter, too). Sorry, I'm just trying to catch up after the trip, and, of course, as fate would have it, it's mid-term week, so I have 4 days to get a crapload of work done before leaving DC again. I am going to explode. <br /><br />But anyway, sometimes Carroll's frustrating because he's so slippery. He plays things off like they're nothing, but, maybe it's just me, but I can't just accept that. This is an especially hard one because if he WERE to admit that it's a sly allusion to this poem, then he's going to run into all sorts of controversy. I really can't say either way. My hunch was that it made sense because "The Walrus and the Carpenter" really is very dark, but your quote has me back to being completely undecided.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-13136623045242308082011-02-27T15:34:40.317-07:002011-02-27T15:34:40.317-07:00My edition acknowledges this quotation to Carroll ...My edition acknowledges this quotation to Carroll from 1872 ("The Letters of Lewis Carroll"), "In composing 'The Walrus and the Carpenter,' I had no particular poem in my mind, The metre is a common one, and I don't think 'Eugene Aram' suggested it more than the many other poems I have read in the same meter." <br /><br />I've never read the poem. I think I'll look it up.Joseph Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-54280653308363245082011-02-27T12:53:45.356-07:002011-02-27T12:53:45.356-07:00I will get to a fuller response later, but I just ...I will get to a fuller response later, but I just want to add on "The Walrus and the Carpenter" that my edition notes that the poem is composed in the same meter as "The Dream of Eugene Aram" by Thomas Hood, which is about a school teacher that is also a murderer. Seriously, I am starting to get creeped out.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.com