Sunday, November 2, 2008
Last Minute Blogging
I found Chapter 4 really interesting—and rather odd. Aside from the graphic images of a monkey 'wanking off' a donkey, I think I've come to enjoy this chapter the most (although, Snap! is equally eye-opening). The one aspect that I could not understand was Flaubert's decision (or perhaps Barnes') to replace the parrot with the dog. Naturally Flaubert must have felt some stronger connection to man's best friend but with the two comparisons between man and parrot and Flaubert and his lover's dog, I cannot help but feel that Flaubert holds both animals in the same regard. While a parrot imitates man's speech, a dog 'listens' and 'reacts' to it. Parrot:phenomenon::Dog:companion. But then why would Flaubert place a stuffed parrot on his desk and not a stuffed dog?
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2 comments:
In total, I agree with your conclusions of those chapters. I do, however, need clarification on the "eye opening" that "Snap!" provides us with. I'm intrigued....
An interesting post--I like how you're playing around with the implications of dog versus parrot (phenomenon/speech versus companion/listener). Very Barnesian in its own right, and maybe worth pursuing further.
Good post.
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