Franco Moretti's Article using computer tools

            There have been many different genres of literature throughout history, each genre having its particular peaks in terms of popularity. Franco Moretti writes a beautiful article called “Graphs, Maps, Tress” about the history of literature. The addition of graphs and charts into the article make it extremely unique and intriguing, as it is an added dimension, which we aren’t usually used to in this type of writing. Another benefit of this type of writing is that Moretti is able to show evidence for the claims he makes throughout his article. A drawback to this style of literature could be that the inclusion of graphs seem to make the paper less formal and almost influences the respectability of the article. 

            I think the use of computer tools, which were used in this article, would work much better in other fields such as biological and physical sciences. Computer tools influence in scientific papers would benefit from the informal nature of such papers, and the fact that scientific papers are more likely to demand backing in the form of charts and graphs to prove a scientists point. Computer tools, could also give a cleaner version of a scientists studies and findings, and therefore benefit the scientific paper in almost every manner. The use of computer tools could also be used in social papers, in order to give the reader a better understanding in terms of tables or charts, which give extra clarity and information. 

            Through the use of what I learned from this writing, we can incorporate the charts throughout the article in order to determine what style of writing would most likely be used in this time period. We could also take a look at the problems Shteyngart presents in the novel, and determine whether each one is realistic or too futuristic as another style of analysis of Super Short True Love Story. These are a few of the main ideas/themes of Franco Moretti’s article “Graphs, Maps, Trees.”

                    

In class discussion

During the second group's discussion I was sort of puzzled that so many people seemed to be on the side of Eunice over Lenny. To me it seems like Lenny is a much better overall person, and shows many signs of unselfishness, especially in the last section of the text where he helps (offers a monetary aid) out a former media friends of Noah's and also another child on the street. On the other hand I think Eunice is a much more self centered person, and only helps others in order to feel the satisfaction of accomplishment, as she does little else with her life. If you recall earlier in the book when she is chatting with her sister, she keeps injecting about how she is helping out at an abused woman facility, in a sense saying that her stay in Rome wasn't completely worthless. Also in the debate of whether Lenny has feelings for Eunice, I think that in his own way his manipulating ways are the only way in which Lenny can actually attract a woman of Eunice's caliber. I also believe that Lenny truly loves Eunice in his own weird way, which is the main reason he wouldn't let her go to Tompkins park, because of his love for her, and the fact that he didn't want anything to happen to her!

M Butterfly

            M Butterfly was an extremely interesting, and attention grabbing movie, which contained many unexpected, twists and turns throughout. The movie is based on the play, which was written by David Henry Hwang. A very entertaining aspect of the story was its ability to incorporate the issues of gender, ethnicity, politics, and the history of Arts into a single storyline flawlessly. The story is about a Frenchman, civil servant in French embassy, who falls in love with a Chinese opera diva, whom is actually a man working for the Chinese government. As the two seem to fall in love, Madama Butterfly is using Gallimard, Frenchman, in order to find out information regarding the French and their military decisions. The Chinese man, Song Liling, also uses the assumed roles of females in the Chinese culture perfectly in order to lure Gallimard in love with him, which is quite shocking.

            Gallimard is also told about an opera, by Song, in which a western man steals the heart of an oriental woman, before leaving her, which usually results in suicide. Gallimard becomes entrenched in the idea that this diva will be his butterfly, and pursues Song passionately. Gallimard is imprisoned for his treason to his country, while finding out his lover is a man. The movie ends with Gallimard impersonating the butterfly himself, and committing suicide because he has lost his soul mate. The association of Chinese culture, and women’s role is this culture is personified eloquently providing Gallimard with a sense of power over this supposed oriental woman. When Gallimard realizes that the person he has loved, and spent so much time thinking about is a man, is one of the most astonishing twists I have ever experienced in literature/film. His reaction to the news is quite expected, yet I am surprised at his ability to remain calm and resist violence. M Butterfly is a profound story in the sense that it is able to group together so many big topics, and put it together very nicely.

           

Theme evaluation

Theme: Literacy and/or Literature in the Online Social Network Era 

 The first passage I found interesting was one in which Lenny was at a bar with Noah and Vishnu and he begins talking about his emotions/love for Eunice, “the two of us. What if we just went home and read books to each other.” Noah proclaims, “You just halved my viewer load. You’re killing me here...” I feel, as this phrase is a wonderful way to summarize the people’s appreciation for literature, as soon as he mentions literature and his emotions, people stop listening to the stream. This is one of the first times in the novel where Shteyngart gives you a feel for the people’s repulsion for books.

Another passage which was very appealing was, “what kind of freaked me out was that I saw Len reading a book… I was going to teen my sister but I was so embarrassed I just stood there and watched him read.” It is quite fascinating how Eunice felt about Lenny reading a book, its like he’s committing a sin which sounds pretty ridiculous. The passage helps show you the disgust people in the book feel about literature. Yet, with the way our culture is evolving with the Internet, we aren’t too far from a society in which books are rarely used.

A third passage, which deals with Literacy, is one in one of the chats between Eunice and her sister Sally. Eunice types, “So please act brain smart. Do you know anything about Classics?” and sally responds by telling her she has scanned some of them and asks, “ Why do we have to impress him?” This passage seems very important, in the sense that it shows the two girls view on literature, and although neither of them are very into it they understand it is accompanied by intellect. This passage is significant because it seems like it is the first time where someone is appreciating the ability to read, sans Lenny. These are a few passages, which have an impact upon the theme of literacy.