Engl 481 Final Post

So here we are at the final post of the course. The end this micro adventure I would like to discuss the subtle undertones we discussed on Tuesday regarding The Sun Also Rises. As we discussed in lecture, there are themes that parallel a great historical quest in Hemingway's novel. The quest for the holy grail. A trial of spiritual fortitude and physical courage that inspired thousands of allusions and interpretations. We noted some parallels of the grail story to The Sun Also Rises including the sexually injured hero who quests for salvation. The scope of my observation points toward the horizon to the goal of every grail story, the grail itself. For the king the grail was supposedly some kind of cup which would bless water that could heal any ailment. To Dan Brown the grail was a person. What was the grail to Jake in The Sun Also Rises? Two main answers immediately come to mind. The more basic and, to my embarrassment, first answer that came to mind was sex. Simple and biological it may have been that Jake's ultimate goal was just to bang Ashley. More eloquently, Jake desired a cure from his affliction that he might finally be able to demonstrate the depth of his devotion to Ashley. Another thought I had was that the grail may be the fabled, and to this writers humble opinion fictional, relationship without sex. Hard to imagine I know, but Jake needed to hold onto hope for something. While my mind still favors sex I am curious to hear your thoughts on the matter. Sex or Sexless love?   

Engl 481 post 10

So here we find ourselves. The last post for the class. To those of you who have enjoyed reading my posts, I am so very grateful. Sorry about missing two of the posts, but I'm sure you know how easy it can be to forget things sometimes. Thank you for reading all of my odd, random, sporadic thoughts up until now, but I think it's about time we do this thing. For my final post I would like to discuss one of the readings we covered this week.  I'm curious to know what all of you fine people in the land of Blog think about the introductory section to Fitzgerald's "May Day." The mood that is set up in the section does not sound very realistic when compared to the brutality and death of World War I. I find it hard to imagine that  "day by day, the foot-soldiers trod jauntily the highway and all exulted because the young men returning were pure and brave, sound of tooth and pink of cheek, and the young women of the land were virgins and comely both of face and of figure." This is a very idyllic view of how people felt about the war's end; however, it is a complete departure from the reality that that many of these men were not coming home and those that did return bared the heavy scares of the war. Did anyone else notice this inconstancy or see any large significance? All I have left to say is thanks for reading my final blog post and...wait....what...?..we...are you sure...?.. we have another optional blog post...?..well folks, I guess your're all in for a special treat; One more post of my inane ramblings. See you in two weeks.