Hi Readers,
Most of you know that I'm applying to PhD programs and the Peace Corps this Fall 2011. Part of the requirements is taking the GRE subject test. The great news is that this test is not the only factor considered when getting in a program. Most of the people I've talked with said that preparing for this test is like finding a needle in a haystack. There are so many Western Literature classics and greats that reading them and retaining them in a matter of months is a herculean task.
What to do? Find cliff notes, read summaries, use GRE specific study guides, and hope that something is remembered while taking the test. To start off my reading list, I'm perusing 2 books: one on Greek myths and another on a more contemporary modern postcolonial novel by Nick Joaquin ( Cave and Shadows ).
In all honesty, readers, these books just happened to be in my library ( or were they "fated" to be read at this time? ). I found the Greek myths in a used bookstore during my graduate days at USU. These myths are classics and foundational ( never changing ). Most of the texts I've read in my English career have profusely alluded to them ( how scary is it to use local sayings and accept cultural beliefs ignorant of their origins? ).
The violence in the myths, according to the end notes dealt with the transition from matriarchy ( the goddess/es ) to patriarchy ( a single God ): a power issue. One way to show that power is by defiling/rewriting others' stories and narratives. So, it would make sense ( on a flip side ) then that to re/gain power, it's important to write one's own story/narrative, diba?
I was reminded of my co-worker's thesis about abortion narratives. I think my co-worker is leaning towards pro-choice. She noted that most abortion narratives follow a paternal sexual pattern: there's a beginning, middle ( climax ), and an ending ( denouement ). She argued that for women who went through abortion, to be empowered and to heal faster ( from such a "trauma" ), their narratives shouldn't conform to such a rigid structure. There are lingering effects, and denouements don't necessarily occur.
( interesting to note also, the power in "drag"... according to the end notes, when women [the goddess/es] ruled, they would sacrifice a male "king" on the 13th month [hence the lost/forgotten zodiac/horoscope]... the male had the privilege to mate with the queen and live luxuriously for a month and then BOOM- sacrificed... some scholars even accounted that when these "males" were dressed in the queen's clothes/garments, people perceived them as power figures [clothes transfer power/status?], interesting diba?... I'm further reminded of the cross dressing in Shakespeare... oh connection! )
Most of you know that I'm applying to PhD programs and the Peace Corps this Fall 2011. Part of the requirements is taking the GRE subject test. The great news is that this test is not the only factor considered when getting in a program. Most of the people I've talked with said that preparing for this test is like finding a needle in a haystack. There are so many Western Literature classics and greats that reading them and retaining them in a matter of months is a herculean task.
What to do? Find cliff notes, read summaries, use GRE specific study guides, and hope that something is remembered while taking the test. To start off my reading list, I'm perusing 2 books: one on Greek myths and another on a more contemporary modern postcolonial novel by Nick Joaquin ( Cave and Shadows ).
In all honesty, readers, these books just happened to be in my library ( or were they "fated" to be read at this time? ). I found the Greek myths in a used bookstore during my graduate days at USU. These myths are classics and foundational ( never changing ). Most of the texts I've read in my English career have profusely alluded to them ( how scary is it to use local sayings and accept cultural beliefs ignorant of their origins? ).
The violence in the myths, according to the end notes dealt with the transition from matriarchy ( the goddess/es ) to patriarchy ( a single God ): a power issue. One way to show that power is by defiling/rewriting others' stories and narratives. So, it would make sense ( on a flip side ) then that to re/gain power, it's important to write one's own story/narrative, diba?
I was reminded of my co-worker's thesis about abortion narratives. I think my co-worker is leaning towards pro-choice. She noted that most abortion narratives follow a paternal sexual pattern: there's a beginning, middle ( climax ), and an ending ( denouement ). She argued that for women who went through abortion, to be empowered and to heal faster ( from such a "trauma" ), their narratives shouldn't conform to such a rigid structure. There are lingering effects, and denouements don't necessarily occur.
( interesting to note also, the power in "drag"... according to the end notes, when women [the goddess/es] ruled, they would sacrifice a male "king" on the 13th month [hence the lost/forgotten zodiac/horoscope]... the male had the privilege to mate with the queen and live luxuriously for a month and then BOOM- sacrificed... some scholars even accounted that when these "males" were dressed in the queen's clothes/garments, people perceived them as power figures [clothes transfer power/status?], interesting diba?... I'm further reminded of the cross dressing in Shakespeare... oh connection! )
Nick Joaquin coming soon...
