Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Entropy
Entropy was definitely not one of my favorite stories of the semester, as I was waiting for it to pick up but it never did. Out of Meatball, Saul, and Callisto, I don't know who I side with most because I side with each of them a little. I like Saul's passion, Callisto's drive for knowledge, even though I believe he is crazy, or at least a little nutty, and I like Meatball's dry humor. That being said, all of them have their major flaws as well. I don't think this story was based on good characterization because we never get to know any of the characters in my opinion. We get to see a little piece of a short time frame where they all happen to be near. Never do we get to fully understand the real Meatball, Saul, or Callisto. We are able to judge and make our assumptions of them, but I don't even know if that is what was meant. When Meatball says the people who got their tongues ripped out was because of a "Language barrier", that was the closest I felt to any of them, not for the grotesque way he joked, but because I see he is an easy going guy. The way the story transitioned from Meatball's apartment to Callisto's was strange to me for such a short story, because in order to transition like that I feel we need more time or information on the characters or at least a better picture of the setting to get a little more comfortable. Is it just me, or did this story need more substance?
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Very well said, Landon. I love you depiction of characterization within the story as "never [getting] to know any of the characters." I found this to be very profound and true. Just as in life, we never truly uncover ever aspect of our fellow contingents. I felt Pynchon's depiction was extremely raw and real. Life is a series of motions without warning. Also, you pose a great question. I found the story intriguing and felt the substance was more realistic than other stories we have read in which they give you ever detail; details you may not receive within one's own life. This was probably one of my favorite works we have read thus far!
ReplyDeletegood point, it didn't give us much information and that made it more realistic. We need to fill in the blanks on our own.
ReplyDeleteGood point, we really didn't get to know any of the characters. I think we can make assumptions based on the settings, but assumptions are just assumptions. I see where the story didn't pick up too much, but it still interesting enough to keep me reading.
ReplyDeleteI agrees, we hardly got to know the characters in the story. I felt like we got to know just enough about them through the setting, but that is all. The story was very detailed and there was a lot of substance. I can see where this wouldn't be someone's favorite story to ready, but the disc unction kept me tuned in just enough to appreciate the story.
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