"There must be a reason why we were assigned only 17
pages. And the reason must be...."
That there is so much to take in over those 17 pages, in
terms of both content and style. Pietro utilizes his highly detailed writing
technique to transport us to the tragic scene at the worksite, filling our
minds with images such as Tomas’ quivering, detached face and Geremio’s
broken/disgruntled teeth dislodging from the socket of his mouth as he
desperately attempted to chew his way out of the crushing wood and concrete. My
initial reaction to the text was that of utter shock; I literally had to set
the book down in order to slowly reflect on the events that had transpired.
This heavy content, coupled with the nonlinear, rhythmic flow of Pietro’s
writing, combines together to form a work that demands inspection and complete
attention from readers. A theme of dreamlike essence is woven throughout the
opening pages as well, which plays out in both the internal (way the workers
are feeling, snoutnose as he lays dying and trying to wake from dream) and
external (night before tragedy is like a dream, dreamlike quality) senses. This
is another aspect of Pietro’s distinct approach to writing that calls for great
consideration and attention, and it also sets the tone for the remainder of the
narrative. This is why we were only assigned 17 pages this week: because enough
material and art is packed into those 17 pages to lead to some serious deep
thinking from the reader. This introduction also prepares us to jump into the
rest of the narrative over the coming weeks, as we have now been introduced to
this experimental, graphic/detailed style of writing.
COMMENT and compare your answer to the text above.
1) Were those same observations available also to you. Could you have thought the same things, had you focused more attention on the task?
2) Is there something you want to add now to YOUR answer?
1) I honestly did not focus on the same things that this person did. Having read this paragraph, I realized that I should try to focus more on the imagery that Di Donato writes in his personal style.
ReplyDelete2) To my answer, I would add the imagery that was presented in the "Jobs" section, when Annunziata was giving birth to little Geremio. Also the imagery that is introduced when Ci Luigi has a dream when in the hospital.
1) I did see all of the imagery and was taken aback by it as well. I did not, however, pull out the details from the work as this reader did. The examples used definitely exemplify the shock and disbelief we felt.
ReplyDelete2) I would add the details that caught my eye as I was reading the text - of which there are many. I would add the scene where Geremio is thinking about the bad feeling that he gets from this job, the love that he has for his family and his co-workers, the pleading that he does to Jesus and to God to save him, the hope that he has that he will be found alive and then finally the realization that he will die. There is just a sense of suspense and longing that one has while reading this work that is like no other I've experienced before.
1) These observations mentioned were very similar to the observations I had made while reading the first 17 pages. I really like the last line of this paragraph.. "This introduction also prepares us to jump into the rest of the narrative over the coming weeks, as we have now been introduced to this experimental, graphic/detailed style of writing." I do 100% agree with this point and i feel that it was a very efficient way to start this complex piece of work.
ReplyDelete2) I would add more writing about how Christ and God himself has an impact of their lives and is the ultimate glue or "concrete" in their lives.
1. My observations were quite similar to the featured reader. I like how the reader mentions how Di Donato includes a theme of "dreamlike essence woven throughout the opening pages."
ReplyDelete2. This reader focused a lot on Di Donato's style of writing, something I wish I had done more when reading the first few pages.
1. I found my observations to be very similar to the reader above. I also enjoyed how the reader above included how the first 17 pages "set the tone for the remainder of the narrative."
ReplyDelete2. Although I found my observations to be very similar, if I could add to my observations right now I would also include quotes from the book depicting Pietro Di Donato's techniques in describing tragic scenes.
All the imagery mentioned in this response was evident to me as I was reading. I can agree with this student when they mention "there is a lot to take over in those 17 pages" because I also mentioned in my response that the assigned pages were fewer than usual because of the complexity of the text, the amount of info given already, and the mircoscopic techniques needed to really soak up the content to where you can fully understand everything thats going on.
ReplyDeleteI would consider added more detail within my notes as for the imagery cut out for us within the text, analyze closer.
1. I had similar observations, namely that the events were unpleasant and gave grotesque imagery. I also noticed that the events unfold in a dreamlike sequence.
ReplyDelete2. I would now add some more examples examples to my writing to emphasize exactly how the writing style affects the reader.
I had very similar observations. I would revise my answer to reflect the religious parallelism at play (Job), which plays a crucial role in developing the plot of the text.
ReplyDelete1) I did not focus on the same observations as this student did. If I had focused more attention on the task I think I could have made the same observations. I did observe these grotesque events happening but I did not focus so much on the detail.
ReplyDelete2) After reading this example I will now want to add more details from the story. I will focus a lot more on the minor details that make up the larger picture.
1)I can say that my answer was close to it, because I also pointed out that these 17 pages was full of new writing techniques that we were given only these pages. When I was reading I tried to give more attention to the tragedy scene but I did not analyze it at all. My answer was just that this is new reading for us and these few pages will help us to learn how to read it slowly and do not rush
ReplyDelete2)Now after reading this response I can tell that I might add more to my answer. As always I should work more on my own analysis and give more of personal opinions.