Thanks for another great day. Please post if you didn't get a chance to talk in class today or if an idea occurred to you between class and now . The question is: to what extent do you think that Erdrich tries to persuade the reader to think about an idea in a particular way?
Just want to say this again... Omit forever the use of phrases such as "I think", "In my opinion", "As far as I can see", "I'm pretty sure that" or anything like that. Any of these, as well as the use of the word "you" convey the following message: "I'm twelve and nobody has ever taught me anything about writing."
Love you!
Okay, now say some smart stuff!
This is not related to journal two but it is related to theme. Someone brought up a possible theme of adaptation, which reminded me of a theme I had been thinking about. Throughout the whole book and reiterated in the final passage, a theme of "coping with change" was evident. The book is heavy in extreme, weighted changes and each individual character's reaction to the changes was varied and yet consistent in the fact they were all deeply effected. While there were specifics involved, the "theme" if you will of each event in the story seemed to be each characters ability and capacity to deal with the massive life changes they had to endure. So while there are other details involved, an overarching theme of coping with change serves as an umbrella to all the mini themes of moments.
ReplyDeleteToday in class we discussed the topic of the loss of innocence in ones life. This topic is not something that every single person has similar to one another and it doesn't happen at a certain point in peoples' lives. However, once one loses innocence, they change. Maybe not drastically, but the way they look at life and the way they live their day is different. This ties back to how Joe reacted and changed after his mom got attacked. He had a different outlook on life became more aggressive and violent. Before he lost his innocence, he never would have considered taking a mans' life.
ReplyDeleteSo, in class today the class discussed the different ways that Erdrich presented law within , The Roundhouse, and the way that she undermined it. And to go along with that idea Erdrich presented the idea of consequences in a fascinating way in the novel. That I wished we had discussed more in class, or that I would have wrote about it. But I found it fascinating how in the novel the character of Joe never suffered immediate consequences as a result of his actions. He ended up suffering long term consequences or consequences that affected him in the future. For example, he never suffered actual legal consequences for killing Lark. And Joe never suffered consequences for taking the money of Maya's in the lake, other then the knowledge that he gained that that was her money and the mental strain that he had to live with. The way that Erdrich presented these consequences through the novel is fascinating and also goes along with the idea of law we discussed in class earlier.
ReplyDeleteIn the Round House, Erdich almost seems to provide commentary on all the things that hold severe stigmas in society. For instance, the three prominent ones were rape, religion, and gender roles. Throughout the novel, she uses analogies to showcase her exact opinion on the topic. The opening scene we discussed previously is an analogy for how she feels about rape. Whenever religion is present in some form in the novel, she makes a mockery of it, such as Joe ignoring Father Travis's advice or the whole scene when they first meet Zelia. And finally, gender roles. Erdich almost swaps the gender roles. Bazil is thrust into this role of housewife, doing all the cleaning and cooking. Also, in the tale told by the sleeping Mooshum, it is the woman who saves the whole village, not the other way around. But then again, Erdich does highlight both sides. In class yesterday we discussed how you see both the sympathy towards Joe's mother, but also the repulsion. The same thing applies to the concepts of gender roles and rape.
ReplyDeleteAmong the most critical themes in The Round House is the theme of the failure of societal law. The American legal system is portrayed as at best helpless and at worst malicious. None of the law enforcement characters in The Round House seem to have even the slightest hope of finding the rapist. The system itself is portrayed as flawed. Even Bazil, a judge, is powerless to prosecute the rapist of his wife. Erdrich even goes as far as to state that certain (then) contemporary laws are just more broken treaties.
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