Culturally Correct

In reading the chapter on cultural criticism, a few new concepts and ideas were brought to my attention for the first time about a novel I've spent close to three weeks reading and analyzing.  My first good realization occured after reading this passage, "Rather than approaching literature in the elitist way taht academic literary critics have traditionally approached it, cultural critics view it more as an anthropologist would" (412).  This line spoke to me because I took a class on anthropology last semester that I loved, and in that class I learned that anthropologists look to find the origin of both arts (high culture) and those of everyday activities.  In realizing that cultural criticism is all about any action any culture does at any time, with no distinction of class or race or any other possible variable.  I had been going at cultural analyses all wrong.  I always consdered culture in terms of "cultural events" or religious activities. 
Another passage that stuck out to me in the opening piece What is Cultural Criticism?, is on pages 422 and 423, "The future of literary criticism will owe a great deal indeed to those early cultural critics who demonstrated that the boundaries between high and low culture are at once repressive and permeable, that culture is common and therefore includes all forms of popular culture, that cultural definitions are inevitably political, and that world we see is seen through society's idealogy.  In a very real sense, the future of education is cultural studies" (422,423).  I like this idea of studying anything requires some sort of cultural history on the subject of inquiry, whether it be an artist, author, a society, or an artifact.  We, as humans, will always use cultural studies to know more about eachother, and why we do the things we do.
The essay, Imperialist Nostalgia and Wuthering Heights, by Nancy Armstrong looks deeply at cultural studies of the time period surrounding the novel Wuthering Heights, and the different occurences of the time and their reflection on Emily Bronte's characters and their actions.  In her section on Photography, Armstrong makes this comment, "For twenty years or so before Wuthering Heights appeared and caused a minor sensation, a number of individuals in England and France were developing the technology fo rmechanically reproducing images of the countryside and making them available to urban viewers.  This technology brought the more remote regions to the metropolis in much the same way that Wuthering Heights did" (438).  I especially like the comparison of novels, and the written word in general, acting as a kind of postcard for the time, place, and author of its contents, and I am glad to confirm that there are other people out there who look at literature in the same manner.

My "Wuthering" Confusion

Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" has been known to me as a literary classic throughout my life, but I have never attempted to undertake its reading until now.  Boy, did I not know what I was in for... After reading the first fifteen chapters I find myself perplexed in a few different ways, but simultaneously interested and anticipating an more complex explanation of my confusions.
 The most obvious confusion I come across in my reading of this novel's exposition is the ambiguity of the different characters and their relationships to one another.  The initial descriptions of the characters seem somewhat vague, which leads me to confuse which one Nelly is referring to and when.  I find myself forgetting if Nelly is talking about Heathcliff, Hindley, or Hareton, because their names are so similar and we know so little about each one; or which Catherine she is referring to in each situation.  Honestly, I get the suspicion that Bronte wanted her readers to feel somewhat confused about the different characters and where they came from.  I think she does this both to spark an interest in the rest of the characters' stories, but also to force the reader to pay close attention to her writing style and attention to detail.
One of the other main aspects I find myself confused, or curious, about are the characters feeling towards each other.  It seems to me, that throughout our initial introduction to the main characters that there are a lot of feelings and opinions among each person about all of the others.  It seems that in Bronte's views no one goes unjudged; justly or not.  I am wondering what will end up happening between Heathcliff and Catherine early on in my reading, but as I continue I am mainly curious about Heathcliff, and how he will behave as he ages.  Also, Nelly's character seems to be subdued to me.  For someone who has seen so much of the lives of the people she is describing she must have had strong feelings and opinions about them that she does not fully disclose, but she herself must have been more involved in the unfolding of events than she leads us to believe.
Finally, I am anxious to continue my reading to find out Lockwood's character's final actions.  I want to know what his role in all of this is going to be.

"A History of Reading" Part 2

Through my reading of the second half of Alberto Manguel's research novel/personal literary history I found many similarities between reading and writing of the past and my own literary journey. 
First, and foremost, I found the chapter entitled " Reading within Walls" very interesting and eye-opening.  It was very strange to discover that the women of ancient Japan, and to some extent China, were purposefully not educated in the fields of history, politics, and many others, but instead were sequestered to what was considered a woman's place in that society. Because of this doctrine of undereducation, the women of that period were able to break free from the confines of their society and create their own form of education.  Not only did these women create their own history, they created an entire language with which to tell their previously unheard stories.  These women, such as Sei Shonagon and Lady Murasaki, paved the way for many women of this region to empower themselves against the injustices of a patriarchical society.
The next chapter that truly caught my attention in "Stealing Books".  I unfortunately have been one of the fabled book thieves of history.  As a child I wanted to read anything and everything I could get my hands on, and because my allowance did not afford for pleasure reading, I would secretly take books from the shelves of my friends and family members.  My crimes, however wrong, were always rectified by my returning the stolen property once I extracted every bit of information I could from it.  I know stealing is wrong, but it is interesting to hear the tale of Count Libri because he knows exactly what he does is wrong and reprehensible, but his desire for the rare forms of art and knowledge completly overpower his moral code, much like my desire for knowledge did for me. 
"The Book Fool" is my favorite chapter of this book.  It uncovers so many stereotypes and fables about readers, writers, and intellects in general.  I was, like Manguel, one of those students in grammar school who was made fun of for secluding myself from my classmates in order to devour yet another book.  I, also, am one of those infamous book fools with my spectacles halfway down my nose in complete happiness and solitude in the middle of a bustling room.  The day I found out I had to get glasses, ironically, was one of the most excited of my childhood.  I was seven, and I remember thinking, "Now people will know I'm a nerd, and maybe they'll leave me alone, and now I can see what the teacher is writing on the board without the help of my neighbor's notes.  How exciting!"  My initial excitement was, of course, quickly extinguished the following day when the class bully decided I looked like a boy with my new glasses. 
It is infinitely interesting to me to hear all the stories of readers and writers of the past, and to draw countless similiarities between people from the beginning of time to those of today's not so literary world.