Pattern Recognition Blog

Marketing

The main character in Pattern Recognition has a phobia of commercial market symbols and logos. This at first struck me as incredibly weird. I did not get it. I still don’t understand exactly why she is so sensitive to them. It gives me a weird thought process into the idea of marketing and branding and consumerisms. For example, in the first section of the novel Cayce discusses how her fear of labels started long ago when she was 6 with the Michelin Man. I can’t help but think as to why this affected her so much. I used to find mascots like that terrifying, but it never sent me into a complete fear of all such things for the rest of my life. It makes me question what is the purpose of mascots and labels. Because if their main purpose is to attract consumers, why is it scaring some people. Is this why she has her job of analyzing such things?

Mystery/Spy Genre

I had no idea what to think going into this book. I knew it was science fiction, but I didn’t know exactly what that meant. The thing that surprised me most is the mystery. You never know exactly what Cayce or Parkaboy or Dorotea is thinking about. They all have some sort of mystery as to how much they know about each other and the sources of their information. Behind the everyday plot in Cayce’s life, she has this cyber life going on with Parkaboy that relates back to Dorotea and it makes Dorotea out to be the bad guy in the situation. For example when Dorotea brings up her second design in the meeting with Cayce she shows an image that causes Cayce to have flashbacks to horrible memories, but we never find out exactly how Dorotea knows about her phobia. It is a strange theme of mystery in the book with Cayce’s trip to Japan and her mission with the F:F:F. The mystery behind it all makes the book very thrilling.

Changing "A Rose For Emily"

    If “A Rose For Emily,” by William Faulkner was changed from plural first person point of view to singular first person point of view and was narrated by Tobe, the story would change drastically. In the point of view it is in now, the main character, Miss Emily, is extremely ominous and mysterious. If we had a singular point of view from someone such as Tobe, the character development of Miss Emily would be much greater. Since he is such an inside source to her, we would learn more about Emily, and also a lot more about Tobe, who is barely spoken about in the original version.
    It would be interesting to see this short story written in a different way where we could get both the thoughts of the rest of the town, as we do in the original, and if we got the close and personal thoughts of Tobe. From this point of view, the story would seem in a way creepier. It already has a sort of haunted, uncomfortable theme and if we were to change the point of view so we could understand more the personal aspects of what is going on with Miss Emily, it would only become more uncomfortable. She is so quiet and mysterious I feel that there is nothing, even from Tobe’s point of view, that we could learn about why Miss Emily is the way she is. From his point of view we could only learn more of her background and more of what she does when she “disappears.”

Blog 3: All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace

    Brautigan’s “All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace” can have both positive and negative meanings in regards to the growth of technology and the decline of human appreciation of nature. Like most poems, both sides of the argument are very easily represented. A lot of the interpretation depends on how the reader’s own background comes into play.
    For the anti-technology side, one really notices how the author uses descriptive and positive adjectives when talking about nature. When the author is talking about the machines, there are hardly any adjectives beforehand. The key point that makes this poem seem as if it has a negative tone towards the growth of the technological age is found in the third stanza, and the fourth and fifth lines. It says, “...where we are free of our labors, and joined back to nature...” This line implies that the author feels bound by machinery. It seems as if he’d like to be as he puts it,‘free’ of technology. Also, him saying the word ‘joined’ when talking about nature implies that technology has separated man and nature, which is unnatural.
    On the other side of the issue, many people find this poem to have a positive outlook of the uprising of the technological age. This can be taken from many of his lines where he describes the interaction between nature and technology to be united. In the first stanza, fourth line, it says, “...where mammals and computers, live together in mutually, programming harmony...” These lines imply that it is possible and a very good thing that humans and nature and technology are all coexisting peacefully. The last line in the poem is also evidence that this poem could have positive meanings. The words “machines of loving grace” imply that machines and technology are not evil, but loving.
    I personally think that the argument for this poem being a positive one between nature and technology is more convincing. Though there are lines that could be interpreted negatively, overall the author is supporting the development of new technology and is simply commenting on the interaction between nature and technology. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but just a change, that could and should happen peacefully and positively.