When my friends and I plan a trip to San Francisco, which historical site or culturally steeped area we will visit first is rarely on our minds. Our primary concern is: where will we dine? Being complete foodies has left us obsessed with the city and the many culinary adventures it holds. For my final essay, I am going to write about the cultural phenomenon of dining in San Francisco. The phenomenon of gastronomics has been around for some time, especially in France, but is somewhat young in America. It is even younger in San Francisco(being one of the youngest cities), but of course, it has taken hold and become one of the most important culinary epicenters of the world. This would be the best way to relate the text to my topic; showing that San Francisco catches up and usually surpasses the rest of the world in a short period of time. I definitely need more time to develop this idea, as its not quite clear to me yet. I would also like to relate the idea of imperialism brought up again and again in our texts, especially among the beat generation. Does SF need to spend money on such a frivolous pastime? Isn't fine dining all about being a consumer? Other materials that I am thinking of using are San Francisco magazine as well as the writing of one of the most renowned food critics, Michael Bauer, of the San Francisco Chronicle. My thesis for this project is not quite clear. I want to be able to argue in favor of fine dining, since it is a passion of mine, but this may be a challenge if I relate my topic to the text. At this moment, my thesis will be based on San Francisco's ability to make something truly remarkable.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Dharma Bum/Zen Buddhist
In the first chapter, the main character Ray (which is Kerouac) defines Dharma as "True Meaning" and a Dharma Bum as a kind of "religious wanderer."(pg. 5) When I looked up the meaning of Dharma, I found that it generally refers to one's religous duty. The way that I interpret this is that if you are a true Dharma Bum, then you are living a simple, meager, and homeless life as a sort of duty to free yourself of any distraction so that you may concentrate on your religion.
Ray describes himself as being a "perfect Dharma Bum" when he is in fact wandering, train jumping, and practicing his charity and kindness. His religious aspirations are to remain this perfect Dharma Bum, and it proves to be an inner struggle for him to do so throughout the book.
I believe that this is a key reason why Japhy Ryder is so important. Ray looks up to him as a sort of effortless master of Zen. In fact, the differences in the way they practice their forms of buddhism is a key theme in "The Dharma Bums". One example of their contasting spirituality is Japhy's "yab yum" ceremony which he accepts as key buddhist practice, versus Ray's year of celebacy because he sees lust as a distraction to his focus on enlightenment.
The inner struggle that Ray endures being a Dharma Bum made complete sense to me today when in class I learned that Kerouac always struggled between being catholic and buddhist.
Ray describes himself as being a "perfect Dharma Bum" when he is in fact wandering, train jumping, and practicing his charity and kindness. His religious aspirations are to remain this perfect Dharma Bum, and it proves to be an inner struggle for him to do so throughout the book.
I believe that this is a key reason why Japhy Ryder is so important. Ray looks up to him as a sort of effortless master of Zen. In fact, the differences in the way they practice their forms of buddhism is a key theme in "The Dharma Bums". One example of their contasting spirituality is Japhy's "yab yum" ceremony which he accepts as key buddhist practice, versus Ray's year of celebacy because he sees lust as a distraction to his focus on enlightenment.
The inner struggle that Ray endures being a Dharma Bum made complete sense to me today when in class I learned that Kerouac always struggled between being catholic and buddhist.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Brautigan
I chose to do a close reading of "The Message" in Trout Fishing in America. Brautigan's poems are ripe with symbolism and at first glance, I felt that this poem's symbols lay somewhere within my grasp. What I made (or did not make) of the symbolism made me feel something, a kind of agreement with or fondness of Brautigan which I thought would be really difficult to do.
Based on some key words and phrases like "army banner", "Adolf Hitler", and "Stalingrad" I assume the theme is war, or actually, the opposition to war. His style is one of a kind, A Brautigan(hah), more like a short story which makes it effective, engaging, and entertaining.
There has to be a more accuate word than palendrome, but its the first that comes to mind. Perhaps cyclical is a better word. Anyway, I like that the end of the story becomes the beginning and that the body of the poem is mostly concerned with the re-occurence of the sheep event.
Certain symbols I had trouble with. Sheep could easily translate into soldiers or the masses, sure, but what is the bellmare? She seems almost mystical. And "Adolf Hitler, but friendly"? Is it just the juxtaposition of the face of evil in modern times and casually nice people like the public librarian? Or perhaps the friendly Hitler is representing someone in a position of power on our side...someone maybe just as evil, only its veiled by our partisanship? Whether I understand the symbolism or not, the tone seems somewhat clear. Brautigan and his companion are spectators, and the passing of the sheep in front of them is not a pleasant experience. I also noticed that he seems to have an odd obsession with the sheep. Its a tone of impatience, reluctance, rebellion, and maybe amusement? The tone seems most clear to me when they are traveling back the way they came, expecting to see sheep and they saw "only the shit in front of us on the road. As if it were a game invented by the sphincter muscle, we knew what the score was."
If I read into this as sincerely as I felt I did, then I think that this idea of being an outsider looking with annoyance, disgust, and amusement upon a mass of young blinded soldiers following their friendly-looking-dictator into war, then it really seems to follow the Beat movement, their counter-culture, and what their stance was on the recent wars they had written about.
Q. What the hell does trout fishing in America mean? Im sorry, most of this goes way over my head. My idea was that maybe it represents the American Dream....but I want to know other people's opinions on this.
Based on some key words and phrases like "army banner", "Adolf Hitler", and "Stalingrad" I assume the theme is war, or actually, the opposition to war. His style is one of a kind, A Brautigan(hah), more like a short story which makes it effective, engaging, and entertaining.
There has to be a more accuate word than palendrome, but its the first that comes to mind. Perhaps cyclical is a better word. Anyway, I like that the end of the story becomes the beginning and that the body of the poem is mostly concerned with the re-occurence of the sheep event.
Certain symbols I had trouble with. Sheep could easily translate into soldiers or the masses, sure, but what is the bellmare? She seems almost mystical. And "Adolf Hitler, but friendly"? Is it just the juxtaposition of the face of evil in modern times and casually nice people like the public librarian? Or perhaps the friendly Hitler is representing someone in a position of power on our side...someone maybe just as evil, only its veiled by our partisanship? Whether I understand the symbolism or not, the tone seems somewhat clear. Brautigan and his companion are spectators, and the passing of the sheep in front of them is not a pleasant experience. I also noticed that he seems to have an odd obsession with the sheep. Its a tone of impatience, reluctance, rebellion, and maybe amusement? The tone seems most clear to me when they are traveling back the way they came, expecting to see sheep and they saw "only the shit in front of us on the road. As if it were a game invented by the sphincter muscle, we knew what the score was."
If I read into this as sincerely as I felt I did, then I think that this idea of being an outsider looking with annoyance, disgust, and amusement upon a mass of young blinded soldiers following their friendly-looking-dictator into war, then it really seems to follow the Beat movement, their counter-culture, and what their stance was on the recent wars they had written about.
Q. What the hell does trout fishing in America mean? Im sorry, most of this goes way over my head. My idea was that maybe it represents the American Dream....but I want to know other people's opinions on this.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Ferlinghetti vs Ginsberg
While Ferlinghetti's and Ginsberg's tones, attitudes, and not to mention styles differ greatly, I believe they have similar underlying themes and opinions. The actual expression of these shared thoughts seems to vary in intensity in a way that reflects the nature of their lives. While both poets seemed to find solace in the isolation of their progressive 'island', they interpret its beauty and harshness with different levels of optimism and cynicism.
Where Ferlinghetti is gentle, Ginsberg seems rough in comparison. Where Ferlinghetti is more idealistic, Ginsberg is more open, blunt, and intense. For instance, "Howl" is a self proclaimed biography where highs and lows seem to reflect the topography of the city in which it was written. However, Ginsberg is not limited by San Francisco; he writes about America as a seperate entity, as in his poem "America."
Do either of these poets depict San Francisco more accurately than the other? Is it not about accuracy but personal experience? Is our interpretation of their interpretation based on our own life experiences?
Where Ferlinghetti is gentle, Ginsberg seems rough in comparison. Where Ferlinghetti is more idealistic, Ginsberg is more open, blunt, and intense. For instance, "Howl" is a self proclaimed biography where highs and lows seem to reflect the topography of the city in which it was written. However, Ginsberg is not limited by San Francisco; he writes about America as a seperate entity, as in his poem "America."
Do either of these poets depict San Francisco more accurately than the other? Is it not about accuracy but personal experience? Is our interpretation of their interpretation based on our own life experiences?
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