In the very last paragraph, Smith has Howard admit that he can see his entire life in Kiki's face. The two of them seem to carry on a silent dialogue until at one point they both smile at each other. The painting Howard refers to (to the right) shows a women who seems to be slightly overweight and possibly poor. She looks thoughtful but does not show any signs of being the typical form of beauty. I believe that Howard realizes, when his entire life is put into perspective in the end, that Kiki was always the most important thing to him. He lost track of that feeling due to distractions in his life which at this point in the novel no longer exist. Howard finally sees Kiki as being beautiful for who she is. By Kiki smiling back at him, she is showing signs of forgiving him for all the things he has done to hurt her and his family.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
What is Beauty in the End?
In the very last paragraph, Smith has Howard admit that he can see his entire life in Kiki's face. The two of them seem to carry on a silent dialogue until at one point they both smile at each other. The painting Howard refers to (to the right) shows a women who seems to be slightly overweight and possibly poor. She looks thoughtful but does not show any signs of being the typical form of beauty. I believe that Howard realizes, when his entire life is put into perspective in the end, that Kiki was always the most important thing to him. He lost track of that feeling due to distractions in his life which at this point in the novel no longer exist. Howard finally sees Kiki as being beautiful for who she is. By Kiki smiling back at him, she is showing signs of forgiving him for all the things he has done to hurt her and his family.
Friday, April 24, 2009
The End of On Beauty
Claire as a Character:
Claire instigates the affair with Howard and then feels as though she is the victim. She thinks it would be unfair for everyone to hate and be mad at her. This section of the novel shows that Zadie Smith most likely does not like Claire very much. The idea of someone being as selfish as Claire is can be sickening. Although Howard's marriage was not perfect, it didn't deserve wrecking.
In a way this novel shows that relationships among people are not objects. Relationships are real and involve feelings of more than one person. Howard seems to view women and his relationships with them as objects, which goes against everything he preaches and in my opinion could be the reason why he is so unsuccessful with both.
In the end of the novel, Howard's family eventually finds out about his mini affair with Victoria. Carl ends up telling Jerome at a party what his father has done - he then continues on to express his build up feelings towards intellectuals. This discovery leads to Jerome eventually explaining to Zora what happened with their father and Victoria. The idea of her father sleeping with a student, one of her peers, infuriates and disgusts Zora. As a result, she confronts her father and she turns him in to the university. When Kiki is told of what happened, she moves out and leaves Howard alone to take care of the kids.
In the last few pages of the novel, Howard leaves the house to go and give his important talk.
Read the last two pages.... what is beauty on the last to pages?
Monday - Read off of URL listed on syllabus
Claire instigates the affair with Howard and then feels as though she is the victim. She thinks it would be unfair for everyone to hate and be mad at her. This section of the novel shows that Zadie Smith most likely does not like Claire very much. The idea of someone being as selfish as Claire is can be sickening. Although Howard's marriage was not perfect, it didn't deserve wrecking.
In a way this novel shows that relationships among people are not objects. Relationships are real and involve feelings of more than one person. Howard seems to view women and his relationships with them as objects, which goes against everything he preaches and in my opinion could be the reason why he is so unsuccessful with both.
In the end of the novel, Howard's family eventually finds out about his mini affair with Victoria. Carl ends up telling Jerome at a party what his father has done - he then continues on to express his build up feelings towards intellectuals. This discovery leads to Jerome eventually explaining to Zora what happened with their father and Victoria. The idea of her father sleeping with a student, one of her peers, infuriates and disgusts Zora. As a result, she confronts her father and she turns him in to the university. When Kiki is told of what happened, she moves out and leaves Howard alone to take care of the kids.
In the last few pages of the novel, Howard leaves the house to go and give his important talk.
Read the last two pages.... what is beauty on the last to pages?
Monday - Read off of URL listed on syllabus
Monday, April 20, 2009
On Beauty through pg. 300
In class Monday, we talked a lot about the similarities between Zadie Smith's On Beauty and Forster's Howards End. The two have much in common. We also talked more about Smith's view on beauty and the way in which it is expressed through Claire's poem "On Beauty." The poem itself, shows the divide between the upper class, beautiful people and all of the others. I feel that Claire sees Kiki as of another class, one in which she feels is below her. This may be part of the reason why Claire seems to feel little to no remorse during her affair with Howard.
In class, we also talked a lot about the idea of independence. Many of the characters in the novel have a voice that can be seen throughout the plot. Other characters like Carl, according to Claire, could use help in finding their voice and finding power in the university's system. When reading the novel, I tend to feel much more of a connection with the characters with a voice. For example, Kiki seems honest, strong, and hardworking. This is part of the reason why I find her to be one of the most upstanding characters in the novel. Howard, on the other hand, has no voice. He is seduced by women who need temporary attention from him. Their short-term needs are what sacrifices his relationship with Kiki and his family. To me this shows that Howard as a character has no voice and no real idea of what he wants.
In class, we also talked a lot about the idea of independence. Many of the characters in the novel have a voice that can be seen throughout the plot. Other characters like Carl, according to Claire, could use help in finding their voice and finding power in the university's system. When reading the novel, I tend to feel much more of a connection with the characters with a voice. For example, Kiki seems honest, strong, and hardworking. This is part of the reason why I find her to be one of the most upstanding characters in the novel. Howard, on the other hand, has no voice. He is seduced by women who need temporary attention from him. Their short-term needs are what sacrifices his relationship with Kiki and his family. To me this shows that Howard as a character has no voice and no real idea of what he wants.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
"Beauty" from Smith's Perspective
Class Notes and more On Beauty
The Anatomy Lesson
Zora and her family go to the Mozart concert where she meets Carl by accidently picking up his MP3 player. Carl was at the Mozart concert to observe the music because being a musician, he is striving to learn more about the art. Unlike Zora, I think Carl ackowledges that knowledge is power but in a different way than Zora and her family. To me it seems odd that there are not more people like Carl in the University setting. Anyway, Zora decides to invite him to her parent's party but when he shows up, Howard turns him away. At first glace Howard is able to figure out that Carl is uneducated and judges him instantly.
Although later we learn that Carl is a very talented swimmer, he is obviously not on the swim team (or even a student) which makes him different than the people Zora and her family are used to spending their time with. When Zora is around Carl, somehow he makes her seem less intelligent. She is much more of the student type who only learns what she needs to know and doesn't do much more than that. To her, the university is just a stepping stone to where she needs to be, to Carl it represents a world of possibilities he has never been granted.
Later in the novel, Zora ends up threatening the Dean because she does not get into the creative writing class she wants. She uses her father's affair to get her way and claims she is being discriminated against at the university. This part of the novel shows how devious Zora is capable of being and to me it shows that she may be taking her education for granted.
Zora and her family go to the Mozart concert where she meets Carl by accidently picking up his MP3 player. Carl was at the Mozart concert to observe the music because being a musician, he is striving to learn more about the art. Unlike Zora, I think Carl ackowledges that knowledge is power but in a different way than Zora and her family. To me it seems odd that there are not more people like Carl in the University setting. Anyway, Zora decides to invite him to her parent's party but when he shows up, Howard turns him away. At first glace Howard is able to figure out that Carl is uneducated and judges him instantly.
Although later we learn that Carl is a very talented swimmer, he is obviously not on the swim team (or even a student) which makes him different than the people Zora and her family are used to spending their time with. When Zora is around Carl, somehow he makes her seem less intelligent. She is much more of the student type who only learns what she needs to know and doesn't do much more than that. To her, the university is just a stepping stone to where she needs to be, to Carl it represents a world of possibilities he has never been granted.
Later in the novel, Zora ends up threatening the Dean because she does not get into the creative writing class she wants. She uses her father's affair to get her way and claims she is being discriminated against at the university. This part of the novel shows how devious Zora is capable of being and to me it shows that she may be taking her education for granted.
Monday, April 13, 2009
On Beauty: Class Notes
Do the people we love end up turning into objects for us? When we are in love with someone, some of that love can be attributable to their successes. It can be difficult to determine where the line is drawn between loving them and loving what it is they do. Sometimes the ones we love are objects in our minds. In college, it becomes the norm to ask, "What is your major?". It is as if we are asking what the person plans on doing with the rest of their life and how much they plan on making yearly. Sometimes I feel like we put people into categories and judge them based on things that maybe shouldn't even matter to begin with...
Beauty is about lines and colors and contours, it is what we see. As a culture, we tend to objectify it. What is the degree to which the notions of beauty are at war in the novel On Beauty? In this question, we are basically comparing the lines and contours etc. to society's idea of beauty. Jerome may have fallen in love with Veronica because of his family - not because of her physical beauty. Also, Kiki was beautiful when Howard first met her but according to Zora, she has since let herself go. Mrs. Kipps views Kiki as large but believes that she carries her weight well. Pg 90-91. Carl's body is also objectified in the novel.
Beauty tends to rip our culture apart.
The family goes to Mozart's Requiem - Howard becomes a parody machine. He makes fun of Mozart and Kiki's class but he is simultaneously loving towards his family. Jerome feels the complete opposite. This difference leads to an argument between Howard and Kiki (who is standing up for Jerome). The argument leads to the question: are there geniuses? Mozart died halfway through his creation and someone else had to finish it. Therefore, Kiki's argument that there must have been a genius making this music, has to be false.
Later in the novel, Kiki finds out that Howard had an affair with Claire. She realizes this on her own during their anniversary party. Also, the affair itself was not a one night stand, it was actually a three week long relationship between Howard and Claire. In terms of beauty and culture, Claire would typically be considered more beautiful than Kiki by American society as a whole. This is most likely what is so upsetting to Kiki. This comparison/difference may cause her to feel inferior to Claire and brings a new understanding as to why Howard would have chosen to have an affair on Kiki to begin with. It is also possible that the fact that Claire is on the same intellectual level as Howard makes Kiki even more angry with Howard. No matter what Howard's reason for cheating on Kiki was, it was the most heartbreaking thing he could have done to her. Choosing Claire, on top of everything else, makes it worse for Kiki who has decided to try and do the impossible: forgive Howard.
Beauty is about lines and colors and contours, it is what we see. As a culture, we tend to objectify it. What is the degree to which the notions of beauty are at war in the novel On Beauty? In this question, we are basically comparing the lines and contours etc. to society's idea of beauty. Jerome may have fallen in love with Veronica because of his family - not because of her physical beauty. Also, Kiki was beautiful when Howard first met her but according to Zora, she has since let herself go. Mrs. Kipps views Kiki as large but believes that she carries her weight well. Pg 90-91. Carl's body is also objectified in the novel.
Beauty tends to rip our culture apart.
The family goes to Mozart's Requiem - Howard becomes a parody machine. He makes fun of Mozart and Kiki's class but he is simultaneously loving towards his family. Jerome feels the complete opposite. This difference leads to an argument between Howard and Kiki (who is standing up for Jerome). The argument leads to the question: are there geniuses? Mozart died halfway through his creation and someone else had to finish it. Therefore, Kiki's argument that there must have been a genius making this music, has to be false.
Later in the novel, Kiki finds out that Howard had an affair with Claire. She realizes this on her own during their anniversary party. Also, the affair itself was not a one night stand, it was actually a three week long relationship between Howard and Claire. In terms of beauty and culture, Claire would typically be considered more beautiful than Kiki by American society as a whole. This is most likely what is so upsetting to Kiki. This comparison/difference may cause her to feel inferior to Claire and brings a new understanding as to why Howard would have chosen to have an affair on Kiki to begin with. It is also possible that the fact that Claire is on the same intellectual level as Howard makes Kiki even more angry with Howard. No matter what Howard's reason for cheating on Kiki was, it was the most heartbreaking thing he could have done to her. Choosing Claire, on top of everything else, makes it worse for Kiki who has decided to try and do the impossible: forgive Howard.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
On Beauty: Jerome
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