Meum Edictum

What do I find interesting and attractive in literature? Why I'm so glad you asked. I find a lot of things interesting in books, poems, textbooks, etc. I have recently discovered that I gravitate towards beauty, whether it be beauty as a part in the plot, the beauty of a concept, or the beauty in the way a writer puts something together. That last one is probably my favorite, because I love language so much.

Let me talk to you about how I've discovered beauty in my literary history. I absolutely loved the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, mostly because I could connect with the  main character. Also, I found her personality and thought process beautiful, probably because it was so much like my own. Another book, or rather set of books, that I liked as a kid was the Series of Unfortunate Events. The author, Lemony Snicket, played with the American language, and phrased things in a way that I found amusing. 

I have also found beauty in the texts that we have read in class. My favorite passage, so far, is from "The Riddle of Poetry", and says, "For what is a book itself? A book is a physical object in a world of physical objects. It is a set of dead symbols. And then the right reader comes along, and the words, or rather the poetry behind the words, for the words themselves are mere symbols-spring to life, and we have a resurrection of the word." (4, Borges). This passage contained what I feel is the most refreshing truth I have read in my high school career. Borges put the concept of the "right reader" in such simple and honest terms, and exposed books for what they really are, just a set of letters and markings intended to make people understand something. After reading this I realized that it is up to the reader to take meaning from literature. The most that the author can do is make his or  her work relatable, increasing the chances that the reader will find some deeper meaning in the text. I found beauty in the way that Borges worded this concept, and the concept itself, because both are so simple, yet so honest. 

I happened upon beauty in East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, where there was a section about wording in the Bible. I found this passage to be so graceful because it was about how just a few words can change the entire meaning of something. In chapter 24 Steinbeck writes, "The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in "Thou Shalt," meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel-"Thou mayest"-that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world." (246, Steinbeck). The fact that the Bible could be interpreted in so many different ways, just from the way a single phrase is worded, sent shivers down my spine. It made me realize the power of language. After realizing that all three translations described the approach of different religions, such as Catholicism, Judaism, and others, toward sin, I got to see how language can impact the world. This made me like the passage even more, because Steinbeck didn't outright say that these different interpretations influenced major religions, but hinted at it enough to get me to realize it for myself. Steinbeck demonstrated the immense power and influence of language in this passage, a concept which I found absolutely breath taking.

I discovered beauty in the short story, "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It wasn't the language that hooked me, but the beauty in the acts of the villagers. They didn't know this giant man who washed up on their shores, but they took care of him anyway. Then, they were so moved by his appearance that they took ownership of him, and looked out for him, and felt empathy for him. They felt so attached to the man, who they felt could be no one else besides Esteban, that even after they threw him back to sea, their lives were still impacted by him. Marquez writes, that, "they were going to paint their house fronts gay colors to make Esteban's memory eternal and they were going to break their backs digging for springs among the stones and planting flowers on the cliff," (Marquez). They also made all of their doors wider and their houses bigger, so that, "Esteban's memory could go everywhere without bumping into beams," (Marquez). I thought that the way that they thought of Esteban as their own and looked after him, even though he was dead, was achingly beautiful. Some of the language in this piece went over my head, and I didn't grasp some of the concepts, but I did grasp the concept that the village people looked after Esteban and connected with him on some level that neither they, nor I, could completely explain. Marquez weaved this idea throughout the whole story, so he didn't really need brilliant language to explicitly say this, because it was soaked up by the reader as they made their way through the story.
The beauty of language is the most important thing in literature. Without beautiful words, the perfect reader will not connect with a text, and the most interesting story line will lose readers within the first chapter. And when beautiful words are used to describe a beautiful concept, well that is the jack pot. That is the perfect mix of language and theme, like cookies and milk. People come for the concepts and ideas, but they stay for the language and the words. 

Oppa Gangnam Style!

I first heard about Psy when watching the Today Show. Then on Facebook one of my friends posted his music video, and under it someone commented a link to an article about it. Having a hard time deciding what to read for my final article, I thought this would be great. 

The most striking thing about this song is it's catchy chorus, "Oppa Gangnam Style". As I am typing this entry, I am bopping my head and singing this part of the song in my head, over and over again. At first glance the music video seems like a cool, quirky video. But this article analyzes it in depth, and reveals the hidden meaning behind the song and the video.

While this video has a silly surface, according to the author of the article, Max Fisher, there is more to it than that. He pointed out several times that Americans who viewed the video wouldn't pick up on the social criticism, one because they don't know Korean, and two because they aren't familiar with Korean culture. Fisher found two people who were familiar with Korean culture, and found out that the music and the video, "suggest a subtext with a surprisingly subversive message about class and wealth in contemporary South Korean society." (Fisher, "Gangnam...") Fisher compared the satire with that in America, but then reminded the reader that South Korean society is much different than American society. While, yes, they do have democracy, they're society and culture is much different than ours. Fisher talked to Adrian Hong, a Korean-American consultant, and Hong said, "Korea has not had a long history of nuanced satire," (Fisher, "Gangnam..."). This is very different from America, where we have shows like the Colbert Report, The Daily Show, and Saturday Night Live, who regularly criticize society. 

Another difference that I noticed was that Psy's satire was more graceful than the satire in America. Psy says that he loves, "a classy lady who can afford a relaxing cup of coffee." Fisher brought this up in his article, and one of his sources, Jea Kim, said, "In Korean there's a joke poking fun at women who eat 2,000 won (about $2) ramen for lunch and then spend 6,000 won on Starbucks coffee." (Fisher, "Gangnam..."). This subtle, and not overdone, satire is invisible to the American eye. I am grateful to Max Fisher, for bringing this hidden meaning to my attention. It gives me a whole new take on the song, and I am able to appreciate it's silliness, but also the criticism underneath the craziness.

And even though I know that you've probably already seen it, I think that it is so awesome, you should see it again.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/gangnam-style-dissected-the-subversive-message-within-south-koreas-music-video-sensation/261462/