Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Escape Plan

In The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes, the main characters, the old gringo and Harriet, are obsessed with destiny and death. They both have different theories about how they should die and when. None of them seem to be able to just let go and let fate decide when they should die. They feel entitled to being in control of their own mortality and making their own fate. They are afraid of living, using death as an escape.

They believe life's hardships are too painful for them to bear. By crossing over to Mexico, the old gringo is running away from his fear of dying the natural way. He wants to die "with honor" (17). He doesn't want to just commit suicide, because he saw how painful it was to his son, but he is on a reckless mission to die at the hands of others (144). Harriet wants to die "free of humiliation, resentment, guilt, or suspicion" and being in control of her own mind (44). They both expect to be able to make a choice they won't be able to make.

Mexico is used as a final destination, a place representing their dying wishes. We are told several times, "The old gringo came to Mexico to die," seeking euthanasia, and he wanted Pancho Villa to kill him (4). The old gringo goes to Mexico to die fighting for the revolution, knowing the locals hate the gringos, sealing his fate for dying through murder. The old gringo wants to die in the grand way of going out, fighting because "it's not difficult to be brave when you're not afraid to die" (56). He knows his recklessness will cost him his life.

They believe death will bring them mercy from their peril, loneliness, and boredom. The old gringo wants to die, "because everything he loved had died before him" (37). He feels lonely without his relatives, feeling left out, forced to carry the burden of living, when the others have been released from their pain. He says, "Only death can compensate for so much vindictive bile," making death seem like his savior from a painful life (74). The old gringo feels death brought him freedom the moment he "crossing the border," liberating him from his age and life scars (161). The U.S. represents everything bad in the world to him and Harriet. Once he goes to Mexico, he knows his goal of death will be met.

Death represents a good rest for the tired living. To the old gringo, death comes when he cannot fathom living anymore. As he rides through Mexico, "The desert told him that death is nothing more than the exhaustion of the laws of nature: life is the rule of the game, not its exception," making it seem like living and dying are the same (16). When Arroyo wants to kill old gringo, and Harriet intervenes, Arroyo thinks the old gringo "will hate" him if he grants him the chance to live any longer (136). To the old gringo, "dying is simply the last pain," and he would rather feel the pain of dying than the pains of living (176).

Neither of them can face growing older. The old gringo wants to be a "good-looking corpse," free from the signs of wasting away to nothing (199). The old gringo and Harriet avoid looking in the mirrors, because "mirrors were beginning to tell a story that didn't please [Harriet]," leading us to wonder if she is ashamed of her age (57). The old gringo believes early death lets you "escape corruption," leaving them to die as innocents instead of elderly (81). Harriet want to live through her "dreams," because when she dreams, she is "ageless" (111).

While the old gringo succeeds in his escape plan, we don't know if he is better off in the afterlife. We do know Harriet is still miserable, being alive and growing older. Harriet doesn't get her wish and we see what the effects of surviving have done to her. She cannot control her destiny and faces the toughest battle, because she has to remain in a cycle of these events, stuck in remembrance (199). She might as well be dead, because she is going through the motions of life, instead of living.

Works Cited
Fuentes, Carlos. The Old Gringo. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1985. Print.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Old Gringo


In Units 1 through 12 of Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes, we are first introduced to an American tutor named Harriet Wilson who is remembering the deceased Old Gringo in a flashback. The Old Gringo is a retired American writer and Calvinist with a death wish, who comes to Chihuahua on a horse, falls for Harriet, and gets caught in the middle of the Mexican revolution. So far we've learn the old gringo's main reasons for wanting to die are because "everything he loved had died before him" and he goes to Mexico because he doesn't "have any frontiers left to cross in his own country." He fights along side "General" Tomas Arroyo, who insists on burning the haciendas and gorilla warfare, because the old gringo thinks the United States is the "sweet land of felony" and "corruption."

The characters in these units talk a lot about bravery and how brave the old gringo is for helping them fight. They call him everything from a "saint," a "holy man." He was described as "too brave for his own good" and he says "it's not difficult to be brave when you're not afraid to die." Is the old gringo brave for wanting to die by his own terms? Or is it cowardice to run away and want to die in life's difficulties?

There is also a lot of references to mirrors. Why are the old gringo and Harriet obsessed with avoiding mirrors? Harriet doesn't like them, because "mirrors were beginning to tell a story that didn't please her," leading us to wonder if she is ashamed of her age or her American heritage. She is haunted by the old gringo asking her, "Did you look at yourself in the mirror?" The old man didn't see the mirrors, "because he had eyes only for Miss Harriet."

In Units 13 through 23 of Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes, Harriet offers herself to Arroyo in exchange for the protection of Old Gringo. La Luna tells Harriet about her life in an abusive marriage and how the rebels killed her husband. The Old Gringo tells Harriet, "you haven't saved me from anything." He tells her he wants to "be killed by Pancho Villa himself." The Old Gringo kisses Harriet, with both of them using each other as a replacement. The Old Gringo is shot in the back by Arroyo and killed. Harriet scorns Arroyo, revealing he is really the child of "Miranda," and telling him she will never forgive him.

When Pancho Villa comes to Camargo, Harriet claims the Old Gringo as her father, wanting to take his body back to America for "a Christian burial." Villa has Arroyo bring the body to Camargo, where they prop the body up, shooting it in the front and then Villa orders Arroyo to give the body a "coup de grace". Afterwards, Villa executes Arroyo and La Luna buries him in the desert, "where nothing more would ever be heard of him." Incencio Mansalvo escorts the body of the Old Gringo with Harriet to the U.S. border in Juarez, where Incencio tells Harriet, "Why didn't you fall in love with me? My General would still be alive today." Harriet is interviewed by a reporter from an American newspaper, asking her if she wants to save Mexico, and she says, "I want to learn to live with Mexico. I don't want to save it." The book ends the way it begins, with Harriet remembering these events.

The characters talk a lot of home, trying to define it, why they left home, and why they did or did not want to return. It seems like each of the main characters are stuck in the past, with death as the only escape. They don't look in the mirror, for fear of seeing their faces getting older. They don't seem happier, even though they are running away from their pasts.

The Old Gringo believes leaving America, was a liberation from all his problems back in the states and he feels "young again, when lack of experience had prevented comparisons." It almost seems like he left his past at the border, even though he keeps bringing it up with Harriet. Old Gringo tells Harriet, he once wrote, "Events have been matching themselves since the beginning of Time so that I may die here," knowing the only reason Mexico goes to war "was always the Gringos."

Arroyo resents the U.S. for evolving, and breaking "all tradition just for the sake of it, as if there were good things only in the future . . ." Yet he is trying to change his destiny. Arroyo comes back "to destroy" his forced destiny "so that no one ever again has the choice that was mine in Mexico." Arroyo says, "Pancho Villa hates anyone who thinks about going home," as a setup for Villa killing him.

Harriet believes her home "is a memory. The only true memory: for memory is our home," allowing us to know why she is caught up in remembering. She feels "condemned" having to escort the Old Gringo's back to the states, telling herself "she had to show Arroyo that no one has the right to go home again." She is only one who cannot escape.



Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Grid Lobby

This is the lobby of The Palazzo in Las Vegas. 


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Palazzo Lobby


Monday, February 14, 2011

Styrofoam Still Life

Captain Jack Sparrow


Friday, February 11, 2011

The Rule Breakers

Patrick White's Voss defines the rules and regulations of women and men in this Australian society. Even this remote colony in the nineteenth century has to deal with high society's expectations spoiling their freedom in undiscovered land. Laura and Voss struggle with being outsiders, because of their personal philosophies do not match up with society's expectations. Laura and Voss find each other because they are the rule breakers.

Men and women look down on Laura for being educated. Mrs. Pringle believes Laura's possession of "brains" is "not to be trusted," fearing young women who are educated as a sign of the apocalypse (51). Laura reads "a great deal out of such books until she feels her "mind is complete", so she can have "private" thoughts, only way Laura is able to hear the philosophies of others, being able to devise her own opinions, and passing on her knowledge to her future students at the school she inherits (3).

Belle and Laura are supposed to rely on their looks to get a husband. When Tom Radclyffe asks Laura what she is thinking, Laura says to him, "I am sorry, Tom, to have given you literally what you asked for. You must take care not to run the risk in the future" (76). Tom views Laura as a challenge, and decides to court her beautiful but dimwitted cousin Belle instead. When Voss first meets Laura, we are led to believe beauty is not "necessary to him," because he wants someone, like Laura, who will intellectually challenge him (8).

The women cannot choose their friends. Men like Judd and Turner can't hide their distaste for Voss as a leader, and are able leave the expedition without thinking of societal consequences. On the other hand, women like Mrs. Bonner decide "it would be politic to keep [Mrs. Pringle] as a friend," even though she doesn't like her, because of the social hierarchy (292). Belle and Laura seem to have the only honest friendship as women, "greedy for each other's love" even though they are complete opposites (421). Belle "resents" Laura out of love because she knows "she was not, and never would be of her cousin's class" (438). They both envy the other's different aspects of life, such as companionship and knowledge.

The women are supposed to wait at home and not explore the harsh lands of Australia like the men on the expedition. Laura says to Voss, "Oh, I know I am ignorant [about the country]. Women are, and men invariably make it clear to them," which makes her seem jealous she doesn't get the same opportunities of adventure like the men, because she is forced to play the naive girl role when traveling through the unknown (5). Laura seems mystified by the dangers of the land, but she does not "afraid," or believes Voss is afraid either (22).

The people are expected to be religious, praying and going to church every Sunday to show their faith in God. Laura and Voss both questioned God's existence, are prideful enough to be "damned", and Voss hates "humility" (83). If Laura had gone to church without faking a headache, meeting Voss wouldn't have had the same impact on her. Their meaningful conversations about God brought them closer before Voss left on the expedition, because they were able to figure out who the other one was deep down.

If Laura and Voss followed the rules placed upon them by society, Laura and Voss's relationships would mirror the unhappy Pringles, the Bonners, and the Radclyffes. They would not be able to communicate, because they are hiding their true selves from the backlash of judgments. Because Laura and Voss don't follow the rules, they are able to make a deeper connection with each other more than any other man and woman in this society.

Works Cited
White Patrick. Voss. New York: Penguin, 1957. Print.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Funeral Roses

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Aquarium Ceiling

This is the aquarium in Sea World. 


Monday, February 7, 2011

Elizabeth Taylor


Friday, February 4, 2011

Cold Winds, Renaissance, and Grids

It was pretty much a normal week despite the cold winds up at Weber. Walking through them the last couple of days has not been fun.

My Dad is a huge Taylor Swift fan and keeps asking us when she is coming in concert to SLC. My Mom got him a Taylor Swift calendar yesterday and put it on his office on the bulletin board as a surprise.

For Art History, we finished Gothic architecture and started Renaissance.

For Color Theory, we did a grid painting of Elizabeth Taylor using color temperature.

For Painting I, I finished my glass still life and worked on smaller abstract painting based on a photo of the Journey to Atlantis at Sea World Orlando.

For World Literature, we finished reading Voss and our professor had us read about the U.S. relations with Mexico.

Voss


In the novel, Voss by Patrick White, there are two unique main characters who are both searching for something, under the constraints of others. They remind me of the movie, Australia, because the two main characters are very similar to Voss and Laura. Laura and Voss are total opposites, exchanging witty banter similar to Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride & Prejudice, with interesting viewpoints coming from each background.



Voss, the German, seems like a naturalist and a daydreamer, relying on the world outside of people, his "sight," and his feelings to be his "map." He seems not to have been brought up in proper society, not having use for "beautiful" women, fancy things, saying he is "sufficient in himself." When Laura makes a jab at men oppressing women, he says to Laura, "I do not always understand very well, not all things." Mrs. Bonner describe him as "lost. His eyes cannot find their way," making him seem like a wanderer with no final destination.

Laura Trevelyan seems like a typical pampered "flawless" girl, who on her "beautiful" surface seems happy spending her time with "embroidery" and being "nice" to her servants, but not liking them. Underneath she is a woman wanting to express herself but is afraid to branch out. Even though she reads until "her mind [seems] to be complete," she is also "lost," unable to find her own opinions. She says, "I don't know," when questioned, but I'm sure there is an unexpressed opinion running through her mind. Both Laura and Voss seem restless to break out from the lives they are living.

In chapters five through eight of Voss by Patrick White, the Osprey departs and lands in Newcastle. When they arrive in Newcastle, they are invited to stay with the Sanderson's, even though Voss would prefer to sleep outside. Voss sees aboriginals for the first time and feels like all men are "good." Voss meets Mr. Judd, a criminal, joining the expedition. Voss writes Laura a letter, asking for her hand in marriage. The explorers go to Jildra and meet Mr. Brendan Boyle, a judgmental man.

In his letters to Laura, Voss communicates in ways he cannot with his fellow men. He bares his soul, calling his meeting her, a gift of "destiny." His letter leaves Laura "confused," but willing to accept. Voss receives Laura's letter, a positive response to his proposal. Voss writes Laura a letter, admitting that his love for her is his "weakness" and she makes him have "humility." Dugald, a black man, tears up the letter on the way to Mr. Boyle.

Voss is definitely misunderstood by the men who go on the journey with him, especially Palfreyman. Palfreyman describes Voss as "the ugly rock upon which truth must batter itself to survive." They seem to all trust his judgment, even though they questioned his methods, because his strong will has convinced "them of the safety of the money they had invested in him." White shows us the awkward exchanges between Voss and Sanderson as a way to show us how Voss feels uncomfortable being around society and would rather have the "complete freedom" of nature.

In chapters 9 through 12 of Voss by Patrick White, Rose dies after giving birth to a girl who she names Mercy, leaving Laura to bond with the child. Mrs. Bonner tries to give Mercy to a childless couple, the Asbolds, but Mrs. Asbold refuses to take her, seeing how much Laura loves the baby. Laura's family attends a ball and wedding of Belle Bonner, who gets married to Radcliffe. Voss and crew encounter several storms, where they have to hide out in caves. Voss is forced to shoot and kill his dog Gyp, because of lack of sheep. Palfreyman reveals his history with his crazy and deformed sister. Palfreyman is killed by a spear of an Aboriginal during an attack on their camp. Judd, Turner, and Angus leave Voss's company to venture off on their own.

There is a lot of dialogue between the characters about how the rules for men and women are different in their society. Mrs. Pringle says, "A husband does think, but that, again is a different kind of thinking.. . I believe that many men, even respectable ones, are themselves, machines." Mrs. Bonner says "it is I who must bear the burden of Rose," implying that her husband thinks children don't concern the men. If women are supposed to be maternal, it seems like the only one who truly cares about the child is Laura. Men like Judd and Turner can't hide their distaste for Voss as a leader, and leave the expedition. On the other hand, women like Mrs. Bonner decide "it would be politic to keep [Mrs. Pringle] as a friend," even though she doesn't like her. Mrs. Bonner also believes Laura is ruining her prospects by adopting Mercy, and Laura says, "If I were a married woman, I do not think it would be so different."

In Chapters 13 through 16 of Voss by Patrick White, Laura suffers from a near fatal fever and tells her aunt to give Mercy to the Asbolds. Mrs. Bonner has grown secretly attached to Mercy, telling the child to call her "Grandmother," and defies Laura's wishes. Both Laura and Voss see the comet when they are suffering the most. Voss's remaining camp is attacked by the aboriginals. Frightened, Frank Le Mesurier tears up his book of thoughts and then slits his throat. Voss wakes one morning to find Harry has died and his body has turned "green." The aboriginals kill Voss's horses and other livestock. Voss is stabbed to death by an aboriginal boy named Jackie, whom he befriended, but Jackie is trying to please their captors, the Elders.

Laura recovers from her fever, feeling something has gone wrong with Voss. Time passes and Laura becomes a math teacher at school for girls, raising Mercy on her own. Colonel Hobden searches for Voss's missing crew, and before he can reach them, Jackie drowns and Turner and Angus die of starvation. Judd is the sole survivor and Laura meets him, but he confuses Voss with Palfreyman's death. The town puts in a memorial statue of Voss twenty years after the expedition left and Laura is there for the unveiling.

I thought it was a good ending for the novel. Voss's memorial statue made his life and death leave a bigger imprint on the town. Laura has a reminder of him, of their time together and how he affected her life. I thought was a strange way for her to look at Voss as being "safely dead." I guess she figures with him dead, she doesn't have to worry about him and pray for him, like when he was alive.

It was interesting Laura has become a math teacher and future owner of the school for girls, to educate her daughter and the other girls on how not to be "blissfully ignorant" like her cousin Belle. Though Laura does become sort of recluse and hides from society, it makes sense that she didn't need to look for future companionship, because of her connection with Voss. Once Laura was with her soul mate, nobody else could feel the void.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Colored Still Life with Glass