Maybe it's just me, but I'm starting to get a slightly... off vibe with Radio Guy. The inquisitiveness, like anything else, works best in happy-medium land. At this point, we're veering away from flattering and into job-interview territory, with a bit of ADD splashed in for color. Maybe it's just me, or maybe he's nervous. I sometimes have a hard read on these things. But, when e-mails feel like essay exams, something's not quite right, right?
So, to preface, in a recent e-mail, he asked me what my thesis was about, which is a hard question for me to answer, but the short version = I wrote short stories that have some fantasy in them and touch on Native American folklore about animal totems and kind of plays with the idea. RG wanted to know if my thesis has an overall "lesson" in it. Lesson? It's fiction. It's stories, dude. And, with no further ado, I'm going to toss two e-mails at y'all.
First, my last message to him:
Radio Guy,
There's no specific overall point to my thesis. They're linked by common themes, and they're mostly about me playing around with those themes. I call them totems, but they don't follow with Native American beliefs very strictly. My interest in animals is almost more of a biologist's interest - I volunteered at a bird of prey rehabilitation center for a number of years and it left an impression on me. I love the way they're made, but I have a hard time with people anthropomorphizing animals.
The falcon totem tends to be about seeing things, keenness of vision. My attraction to a falcon as a symbol for the character is only partly based on that interpretation - I actually looked it up for my thesis after I'd written the fiction (I had to write a critical defense as part of my thesis, and ended up researching traditional falcon symbolism only after I'd already written about it). My interest in raptors fits well with classic symbolism, though, because the symbolism is based on their physiology - it's all about the eyes. I'm also fascinated by the ways raptors are built fundamentally different than humans, like the fact that they have fewer vertebrae than us so their necks can rotate further. It's cool.
Hrm... book recommendations... The first author that pops in my mind whenever someone says they like comedy is Terry Pratchett. He's one of my all-time favorite authors and he's very funny. Douglas Adams and Christopher Moore are also comical.
As far as being in your town goes, I have an errand to run sometime this coming week. I just haven't decided when I'm going to do it.
-Jean
Second, his response:
Do your classrooms usually have windows? For some reason I can’t get over how weird it is to constantly work in artificial light.
Judge Judy loses some entertainment value when you have no audio and have to read the subtitles…
You volunteered to work at a bird of prey rehabilitation center? What motivated you to do that? Were you thinking about becoming a biologist before getting into teaching?
So do you have an animal you view as your totem?
I didn’t know about Raptors’ spines. That is a pretty cool fact. I suppose it’s a wonder humans haven’t evolved into such efficient natural killing machine yet. Maybe it'll happen after somebody blows up the moon.
I don’t know who Pratchett is, but I’ve enjoyed the Christopher Moore books that I’ve read, which would be Lamb and The Stupidest Angel. Any recommendations for noncomical material? I’d just be looking for a good read.
Dang. That’s a lot of questions. I’m sorry but I have to ask one more.
What made you halt faith in the Catholic Church? I’m not really into religion either. When I was a kid in Sunday school, I kept asking my teacher how any of the stories could be real because they didn’t make logical sense.
I have to answer a phone call.
I don't know. Maybe something's strange here. Maybe I'm making it up. Do any of you get a vibe?
No comments:
Post a Comment