Contemporary Novel

The contemporary American novel that I read was Light Years by James Salter.

Salter was born on June 10, 1925 and grew up in New York City. He resigned from the Air Force after twelve years when his first novel came out in 1957, and has since earned his living as a writer.

Light Years is a novel about a married couple, Viri and Nedra, who live in New York State. The whole story revolves around their life with their children, work, home, friends, and dinners and get-togethers with their fellow neighbors, co-workers and friends. This is seemingly what every American couple looks like to outsiders; but Salter shows between the cracks of their lives and what can really happen in a seemingly normal life.

The book starts off by showing you what you believe to be a normal American family. Soon after, you realize that things are not all right; Viri is having an affair with a fellow female co-worker. Things are kept hush-hush and it seems to be the only problem the audience is going to see. Then, you catch a glimpse into Nedra’s thoughts, and you see that the same thing is happening with her, only her with a family friend.

The novel touches on these harsh subjects in a slow building way that shows flaw after flaw until you get the real picture. Salter first lets the audience see this married couple and their life; but only hits the very surface of what there is to know. Then, he lets crack after crack slip through this perfect picture until all you see are flaws, and you can never go back to seeing the original picture.

One realization that Viri comes to one morning shows that he does in fact see the perfect life he could irrevocably have:

There is no happiness like this happiness: quiet mornings, light from the
river, the weekend ahead. They lived a Russian life, a rich life,
interwoven, in which the misfortune of one, a failure, illness, would stagger
them all. It was like a garment, this life. Its beauty was outside,
its warmth within.

I believe that this touches upon the aspect of “what is the American dream”? These people have what most would consider the ‘American dream’; a perfect family, healthy children, loving friends and family. But Salter dares to show the juxtaposition between this American dream of a life, and what is quite possibly a better reality of a typical Americans life.

Virtue Week Record

Okay, so the virtue that I thought I would try is Resolution. I tend to slack off on some things, but when I concentrate I can really put my mind to things and get them done. So, I think that concentrating on performing on this virtue will help me focus my mind.

“Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.”

Sunday: I am getting somewhat angry with my brother this summer. I try not to let him irritate me, but sometimes he rubs me the wrong way (just like any sibling). I am going to try and ignore him and not let him make me angry or yell.

Monday: I promised my mother I would help her paint if she bought me a CD (which she already did). So, I have to buck up and help her paint while not complaining.

Tuesday: I have been busy this week, but I told myself I will take time to clean my room (which can get messy in the summertime). So, I turned on some music, and I finally cleaned my room really well.

Wednesday: I didn’t have much going on today, and I thought it was a good day to read. So, I resolved to get some more reading done for school.

Thursday: I have chores to do each week, and I have been putting them off. But today I did a few of my weekly chores.

Friday: I am taking drivers ed, and I have some work I need to do for Monday, but I am not going to be home this weekend. So, I resolved to get it all done today.

Saturday: I am going to a concert in NH tomorrow, and I need to pack. I have made a list of things I need, but have not packed my things yet because I dread it and it takes me a while.

Sunday: I went to the concert today, and I wanted to buy quite a few souvenirs. But, I know that money is pretty tight right now with my family, so I resolved my self to get only a few things I wanted. There was a program that I wanted, but it was $25.00, so my mom said I could get that or a t-shirt, and I had to figure out which I wanted more.

Week Two - Touching Spirit Bear

(I have not been able to access much of the internet lately, and so I had to finally find somewhere I could get a good connection to post this...)

When struggling with nature, man would learn the habits (virtues) and strong features of some animals. They would respect the animal and pride themselves on telling stories of his encounter with this animal.

The Indian would then carve his family history on a giant pole, and then stood it where everyone could see it. The poles usually started with the oldest history at the bottom, and read upward as the family went on. Topping the pole would be the family crest or totem of sorts. Early totems were carved using stone tools. When metals and parts of boats started washing ashore, the carvers had started using metal tools.

Also, the website told of what animals certain trives would normally carve in their totem poles. I found these for the Tlingit tribe: Raven, frog, goose, sea lion, owl, salmon, beaver, codfish, skate, wolf, eagle, bear, killer whale, shark, auk, gull, sparrow hawk, thunder bird.


Sources:

http://www.chainsawsculptors.com/totem_poles.htm

Week One - Touching Spirit Bear

In the book, Cole decides to apply for Circle Justice. From the explanations in the book, we know that it is “a healing form of justice practiced by native cultures for thousands of years”. We also know from Garvey hat “you don’t have to be Native American or First Nation. Anybody can love, forgive, and heal”.

The part of Circle Justice that goes on in the book is called Sentencing Circles. It is a process which involves the community along with all other involved peoples who then come to a consensus on a good sentencing plan that addresses the concerns of all people involved. While in the circle, people can speak ‘freely’ while trying to figure out the steps needed to help heal all peoples affected and to prevent future happenings of crimes. As we have seen in the book, these Circles involve a multi-step process made up of: “(1) application of the offender in the circle process; (2) a healing circle for the victim; (3) a healing circle for the offender; (4) a sentencing circle to develop consensus on the elements of a sentencing plan; and (5) follow-up circles to monitor the progress of the offender.” We see the beginning of this process in the first two chapters of the book when Cole applies to the Circle; although he has to wait and grows impatient for a response.

I found one article which talks about a sentencing in Minnesota which involves Circle Sentencing, it says “faced with persistent crimes ranging from drug dealing to vandalism, the communities are pioneering a return to ancient tribal customs that bring people together to unearth the root causes of misconduct…it’s called Circle Sentencing”. It also says that once they (the justice members) choose a sentence, circle members stay involved with – and even mentor – the offender to ensure that they stay with their ‘sentence’. The article also says “it demands real behavior change, not just sitting in a cell and watching tv”. We see this in the book as well; Cole had been living in that tiny cell and sitting around doing nothing but watching tv and now he is out and having to fend for himself and keep himself alive. The Circle Justice concept makes it so that convicted peoples can choose to heal themselves and the community if they want to. It helps these people to feel that they can give back, if only infinitesimally, to the people who have to pay for their actions.


Works Cited:Indian Custom. 1999. MN homepage. 4 Jun 1999<http://freenet.msp.mn.us/~fholson/circles-mn/circ-stb.htm> Circle Justice. 2002. National Tribal Justice Resource Center. 2 May 2008http://www.tribalresourcecenter.org/programs/messageboard/messagedetails.asp?36

The Once and Future King

Book 4:
I do not think that Arthur should have tried to drown Mordred, he should just admit to his mistake because he did not know.
I completely forgot about Mordred being the heir to the throne, I think they need to be nice to him like Arthur is now.

It was very smart of Agravaine to think to have a trial-by-jury so that Launcelot would not have the advantage of a trial-by-combat. It was also very nice or Gareth to try and warn Launcelot of the plan to catch he and Guenever and I wish he would have listened to it, but at least Launcelot escaped Guenever's chamber when it was surrounded.

I do not like Mordred because he is sneaky and always mean to everyone. I also cannot believe that he said Arthur was dead so that he could be King and could marry Guenever.

I really do like the way that the book ended with Arthur thinking back on what he would do differently with his life.
I also believe that Merlyn told Arthur that no one survives that war and that is why Arthur told the scribe not to fight, but to get away and tell Arthur's story when everyone else had died.

The Once and Future King

Book 3:
I had thought that something bad would happen when Merlyn forgot to tell Arthur about Igraine and it did. He slept with his sister, Morgause, and they had a child named Mordred. I think Launcelot and Guenever will obviously cause a lot of trouble by being in love, which I find to be sad because Guenever never chose to marry Arthur because she loved him. Launcelot's character seems to be able to take care of himself and anything that happens to him and I like that. He never seems to get afraid of anything or anyone he is fighting. I think that it was horrible to trick Launcelot into sleeping with Elaine. It will probably mean that she is pregnant.

I think Launcelot's son, Galahad, will become a great knight and someday 'replace' Launcelot. I also really like how many different sides there are to the story and how everything that happens connects at some point.
I really feel bad for Elaine not having Launcelot's love in return for her own. I thought that Launcelot should have felt worse when she commmitted suicide.

I found it sweet when Launcelot rescued Guenever from being killed and they realized they still loved each other. But I also think that they will need to be more careful sneaking around because they might get caught.

The Once and Future King

Book 2:
The idea that King Arthur had about the round table seems to be a very smart idea, yet it may not work the way that he wants it to. Since nobody knows who at the table has power, other than Arthur, there may be chaos, confusion, and trouble for everyone. I believe that the reason Sir Grummore and Palomides pretended to be the Questing Beast, by dressing in a costume, was to help Sir Pellinore with his love sickness and to get his mind off of it. I really like Merlyn's story about the man who tried to run from death, but he ended up meeting up with it anyway when he ran away from it. It means that you should not try to escape destiny and what is supposed to happen because some things are going to happen no matter what and sometimes they have to happen. I think that it was interesting that Merlyn was able to tell Arthur what things he needs to know about for the future, yet he forgets to tell Arthur that his mother is Igraine. Which also means that he is related to Morgan le Fay, Elaine, and Morgause. If Merlyn forgot to tell Arthur about something as important as that, I think that something bad will happen as a result.