I thought what was said the other day about how Lily seemed to be stricken by the "grass is always greener" syndrome. I agree with the assertion that when Lily has money she seems to be drawn to the lifestyle of the "republican spirit", and then when she is in debt Lily is drawn towards the high society lifestyle. Lily can never be satisfied. Lilly can not figure out what it is she wants. She makes it clear early on in the novel that her intentions is to marry someone rich and live happily ever after. However, as the story progresses she goes from striving for the lifestyle of the rich to wanting what Seldon represents. Then when she begins to lose enough money that threatens her status her "needs" change back to wanting to be in society.
What is up with this, who knows. I feel as though the best explanation for her actions is that there is no explanation at all. I can't think of any instance where someone would want one thing and the all of a sudden want the exact opposite, and then go back once again. I find it frustrating because as I sit here and write this I can not figure out what is going on with her.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The House of Mirth
The game of cat and mouse that Lily and Selden are playing is a little annoying. No one wants to bend and yet they are both expecting the other to give in if their relationship is going to take off. Even though I feel as if Selden only applies this to his courtship of Lily, Lily on the other hand plays cat and mouse with her status in her society. She gambles when it is not proper for her to do so, she smokes when it is not proper for her to do so, and she doesn't have the money to maintain her expensive appearance. Lily is way to stubborn to submit to all the rules that tells her what she should do, she does what she wants to do.
There are times where it appears she is going to go beyond her stubbornness, but in the end goes back to her old ways. The first example of this is in the train car where she attempts to hide who she is in an attempt to court Mr. Gryce. She attempts to hide the fact that she smokes and engages him in conversation with him regarding the things that he likes, but she doesn't have any genuine interest in them. Later in the novel Mr. Gryce proposes to her, but she declines. I feel she declines because of the stubbornness of not wanting to change who she is if she were to marry him.
There are times where it appears she is going to go beyond her stubbornness, but in the end goes back to her old ways. The first example of this is in the train car where she attempts to hide who she is in an attempt to court Mr. Gryce. She attempts to hide the fact that she smokes and engages him in conversation with him regarding the things that he likes, but she doesn't have any genuine interest in them. Later in the novel Mr. Gryce proposes to her, but she declines. I feel she declines because of the stubbornness of not wanting to change who she is if she were to marry him.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Greed
The clips that we watched in class today were very interesting. For some reason I felt that the dinner scene was pretty gruesome, its not that they were doing anything wrong in the scene, I guess its the way the ate. It was almost like they were not human, devouring all that food, and seeing characters eat off of the cow/pig skulls.
Another aspect of the film that I felt was creepy was the actress that played Trina. To me, Trina looked alien. Her skin was so pail that it seemed like there wasn't any facial features to be seen like cheek bones, and even more prominent features like her nose and jar line did not appear to be there unless you were looking at her at the right angle. When she was in her wedding dress it appeared that she was more like a ghost then a bride. Maybe like a zombie bride or something. Something wasn't right about that character.
The funeral / death march going outside the window as McTeague and Trina was getting married was a pretty nice touch. I noticed it before the film explicitly cut to the scene, but I could see the same touch being used in a film today without the cut to the street level which I thought was pretty cool. I liked how it worked in the movie too, the ending of the McTeague and Trina that we new from the first half of the book/film.
The final scenes with everyone going through Death Valley I found interesting because it seemed that the shading on the film was completely different from the rest of the movie. Everything was brighter and had a bit of a yellow haze to it, probably due to the sun, but I like to think that this was intentional and worked to show that McTeague and Marcus were there alone with only their Greed to accompany them.
Another aspect of the film that I felt was creepy was the actress that played Trina. To me, Trina looked alien. Her skin was so pail that it seemed like there wasn't any facial features to be seen like cheek bones, and even more prominent features like her nose and jar line did not appear to be there unless you were looking at her at the right angle. When she was in her wedding dress it appeared that she was more like a ghost then a bride. Maybe like a zombie bride or something. Something wasn't right about that character.
The funeral / death march going outside the window as McTeague and Trina was getting married was a pretty nice touch. I noticed it before the film explicitly cut to the scene, but I could see the same touch being used in a film today without the cut to the street level which I thought was pretty cool. I liked how it worked in the movie too, the ending of the McTeague and Trina that we new from the first half of the book/film.
The final scenes with everyone going through Death Valley I found interesting because it seemed that the shading on the film was completely different from the rest of the movie. Everything was brighter and had a bit of a yellow haze to it, probably due to the sun, but I like to think that this was intentional and worked to show that McTeague and Marcus were there alone with only their Greed to accompany them.
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