NCFOM Dream Interpretations

Part 1-
In the book "No Country for Old Men" the two dreams at then end obviously have many interpretations, but I haven't found anything like my interpretation of the first dream. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell said he didn't remember it all too well, but it was about his father giving him some money, but he lost it. The money is obviously easily a representation of something valuable, but in this case, I say that the valuable thing that his father gave him is wisdom. He mentions a few times that his father taught him his values and to do the best he can, but losing the money in the dream could represent how he lost some, or all, of the things that his dad taught him when he lost his dad. The second dream on the other hand must have a deeper meaning because Bell remembered it, which gives it a better sense of importance in his mind. The first detail that bell gives is a mountain pass at night time, where is was cold and snowy. This represents life and the cold, snowy surroundings could mean the hardships we face throughout life, or just things we face in general. His father passing him and continuing on could signify death, and the light in the horn something to do with setting up a camp of sorts to wait for his son. Or it could also mean that his father was a carrier of light, shedding that light on the darkness, or evil,  around him, expelling it to the nooks and cracks in the rocks around him, never to rear its ugly head until the light is extinguished, or his father dies. The fact that his father goes on ahead suggests again that he may have died, but the light followed him, leaving Bell behind, dark and cold, with no way to combat the evil. OR, there are lots of those, the lights isn't so much leaving or not inside Bell, but the new kind of evil, an evil that compares to nothing he has ever seen before, but his light isn't bright enough to combat against it. It will take a new kind of good, modern light to even begin to banish this new coming darkness.

Part 2-
If I really had to tell the truth, I would have to say that I hate that I am so satisfied with the ending of this novel. It gives a very obscure ending to a wonderfully organized story, and I can't help but be absolutely in love with this book, plain and simple.

Close Reading Song Lyrics- "Love You with the Truth" by Casting Crowns

   "Love You With The Truth"
     by: Casting Crowns

(Verse 1)
For the longest time, I believed the lie

That I'm not a strong enough believer

To be the friend that can take your hand

And lead you straight to Jesus

I'm waiting on the preachers, singers, and the teachers

To string the perfect words together

But every single time I have to say goodbye

I wonder will this be the last time

(Tag 1)
I cant call myself your friend and walk away

(Chorus)
When we love, we earn the right to speak the truth

When we speak truth, we show the world we truly love

I'm not pointing my finger, I'm holding out my hand

I lay it all on the line now to see God save my friend

Let my life and my words be the proof

I'm gonna love you with the truth

Gonna love you with the truth

(Verse 2)
Yes, God is love, but God is just

And we are separated in our darkness

So God let Him who knew no sin

To become sin to make us right with Him

Its not about religion or earning Gods forgiveness

Or magic prayers or new behavior

Its all about your heart, Hell meet you where you are

Turn from your sin and trust in Christ as Lord

(Tag 2)
Jesus is the truth, the life, the way

(Bridge)
How I've prayed for this moment, that you would finally see

That God is more than religion, a stained-glass fantasy

And how I've prayed for the courage, for my silent faith to speak

Or that God would just send you a better friend than me

Analysis-

Starting with the title, "Love You with the Truth."
Truth is often believed to be expressed in a blunt manner, there is a more compassionate application that people have forgotten over time. People don't always like the truth, but the title states it is how he/she will love the person. True love is always truthful, but it is also kind.

The first verse is repentant in nature, telling how the person who is the friend is sorry for not witnessing because they didn't think they were a strong enough believer. Perfect words are non-existent when they come from the mouths of humans, and waiting for those perfect words could be dangerous, seeing that the person you care about is in jeopardy of dying, or falling from the truth for good.

The first tag can mean that one cannot call someone a friend if they don't truly care for the person. Friendship is an affectionate bond, so you cannot call someone a friend if you wouldn't do anything to keep them safe or attempt to do something that is for the betterment of them.

The chorus is jam packed with information. "We" represents Christians, when Christians love someone, they earn the right to speak the truth, and when they speak truth, they show the world they truly love, just as the song says, but with Christians substituted for "we." "The truth" could denote many things, such as people's lack of knowledge of what they are doing wrong, or what is sinful. It could also be indicative of their ignorance of the truth of God's word. Jesus is also referred to as the truth, they way by which people may enter heaven. The phrase "I'm not pointing my finger, I'm holding out my hand" shows a rebuttal to the belief that when someone points out a flaw in you or something you are doing wrong that it's them judging you, but the holding out of the hand is a symbol of a helping hand, and instead of a judgmental smack, he/she is trying to help them through it, not  cast a judgement and leave. Laying it all on the line to see God save his/her friend indicates how he/she could be risking their friendship by pointing something our, but they are relying on God to save the friend by them presenting the truth to them, hoping they will receive it.

The second verse tells of the nature of God, and how we are separated from Him by our sin, so He sent Jesus to save the world (the story of salvation for all). Jesus did not come to the world to judge it, but to save it with selfless love. Getting right with God is not about a bunch of new changes to your life in an outward sense, but it's about the state of your heart and how you approach  God and his truth, His forgiveness.

The second tag is quite obvious in what it means. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody gets to the Father except through Him.

The bridge states how God isn't just a religion, because in His word it states in Amos 5:21 "I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me." God is more than a fantasy not worth chasing. If the truth is not being shared with you by the ones you love, then there is the hope that God would send someone willing to be a witness.

LRB #7, Symbolism- "Young Goodman Brown"

"Young Goodman Brown"
By: Nathaniel Hawthorne



 From what is able to be analyzed, there was a load of symbolism encapsulated in this story, and most of it contributes to one central idea; the sin of humans and how it is incorporated into our nature to give into evil. Examples of such symbolism are things such as the sunset, which could represent the sinful nature of humans arising in the nighttime hours, examples are up to you to imagine. Conversely, the sunrise could be a symbol for the light of repentance or abstinence from sinning, or even be deeper in its symbolism and extend to a more spiritual aspect, the washing of sins by the blood of Jesus, which sheds light on those who repent and start, in a sense, a new day. Goodman Brown's paranoia could represent his conscience, I drew this conclusion from the statement that "he glanced fearfully behind him as he added,'What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!'" indicating his knowledge of the presence of his sinful nature, and that the evil one is always prowling in the darkness, seeking to devour those who sin. The man seated at the foot of an old tree directly alludes to the Bible, in the story where Satan is lurking under the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, bringing nothing but the promise of death and sin, the first sin.This old man's staff is a serpent, pretty obvious right? Faith could even be used as a symbol, because "'Faith kept me back a while.'" is a direct statement from Goodman, and could serve as a spiritual reference of how our faith in God and the faith to do right withholds us from sinning, if we choose to let it, but when we use free will to choose to do wrong, we override our conscience. Goodman Brown's family is identified as puritans, which is just blatantly symbol of how the church of England sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. The Deacon and minister could represent people who are sinners, like anyone else, and that they are also susceptible to sin and wrongdoing as much as anyone else, and that even thought they are who they are, they are still able to succumb to human nature; evil. Blood is mentioned in a paragraph where it could be identified with the blood of Jesus. Goodman and Faith are on the verge of wickedness. The blood could represent how close their salvation from sin is, even on the verge of wickedness. The wind that comes while Goodman is in the forest could be symbolic of a shift, a change, either in his way of thinking or of a realization or epiphany.

LRB- "Popular Mechanics"

"Popular Mechanics"
By: Raymond Carver



What I got from this story in a thematic sense is how people lose their humanity in certain situations, such as one involving imminent divorce or another legal matter. The dispute between these two people tragically carry over into their baby, who doesn't get identified with anything other than "him" and "the baby." Throughout the story, the word "things" comes up often, and symbolism can be identified and attributed to the theme's development. The man is concerned about packing up his things and leaving. He is about to leave, and the woman tells him to get his things and get out. When the woman unwraps the crying baby's blanket, it is like opening a new thing that has just been brought home from the store, and the man wants it. The title itself is representative of the neglect to consider the baby a human being while they are going through their apparent marital problems. The baby is treated as if it is the next hot item to have in your home, and that it can be classified as something that can be bought (or replaced) by monetary means rather than being a priceless human life. The tragic end can represent not only the selfishness of the life they ripped apart, but the symbolic ripping apart of their marriage. When all is said and done, this story rings true in a blunt and graphic manner. The way the mother holds the baby as they fight over it is the same way a person who was trying to hold on to their purse or wallet as they were being mugged, as a thing, an item worth something to them, but she lacks the emotion of a human being and revere the child as a child. It is like they are fighting over a hundred dollar bill, both pulling on one end, eventually ripping it, ridding it of its worth and turning it into something neither of them ever wanted.

The Lame Shall Enter First- Related Person/ Personal Static or Dynamic?

Do you know anyone who relates to any of the characters in "The Lame Shall Enter First"?

For my comparison of one of the characters and someone I couldn't pinpoint a singular person to be synchronously associated with Rufus, so I though I would use a more broad spectrum; most of the kids at Mingo Central High School. I feel passionately that the kids that act like they don't know anything and are in the "dumb classes," as I have heard them called, are the Rufuses of the school. They are the kids that have the potential, some of them with a baffling amount of it, but they choose to dwell in their ignorant and arrogant ways. They have the capability to shine just as bright or even brighter than us "Harvard kids." For whatever reason, they are content in their ways and feel no motivation to better themselves and change, but the only question I would have to ask them is why? I know a lot of them have not had a perfect life, but they are the same as Rufus in that they do not want to change because they are comfortable in whatever hurt they may have experienced. It is heartbreaking but true, and I just wish that I or anyone else could turn on the light for at least one of them, hoping it would spread to others and they would finally see who and what they truly can be, unlike Rufus.

Am I dynamic or static? Have I changed while attending Mingo Central?

If I had to choose, I would not hesitate to say that I am dynamic since the beginning of my high school career. I have a personal reason for saying this, but also one I would gladly share with anyone. Since Mingo Central is a conglomeration of four different schools that used to be rivals smashed together, it creates a different atmosphere than you would find at any other school who has not experienced the shock of consolidation. I made so many new friends right off the bat, although still very shy at the time. I was quiet and awkward and had no intention of  becoming who I am today as I compose this on a computer screen. I am now so much more outgoing, and sadly a little too strongly opinionated (when it really matters). I stand up for myself and others, despite a background of being bullied and belittled that I endured for quite some time. I have excelled academically in the sense that I really did not have such immense opportunities to learn at any other school I have previously attended. Spiritually, I have grown in my understanding of what I am called to do after high school (although it is unclear what academic profession I may go into, I have a pretty good idea about what I will do for the Kingdom of God). It would take way too long to list all the changes I have been through, but I will say, every experience, whether good or bad, has shaped me into a better person, and on that note I am glad to be identified as a Mingo Central Miner!

LRB- August 24, 2014

"The Lame Shall Enter First"
By: Flannery O'Connor



In this story, many characters are introduced that fit into multiple different character classifications. One character that is most dynamically changed in this story is Sheppard, the father of Norton, and the father figure, if you will, to Rufus. Sheppard is a very giving man, and he worked at the reformatory school on Saturdays, giving up his day for nothing more than the satisfaction of  knowing that he was helping the boys that no one else cared about. He is very selfless toward others, but it is very noticeable very quickly that he doesn't really try to do anything to better his own son. He is too busy helping other people. While seeing the potential in one of the reformatory boys, he fails to even acknowledge the untapped potential of his son, this can be seen throughout the story in various places. The telescope stands as a symbol of being a vessel or instrument to focus in on the future. When he has Rufus looking to the stars (another symbol for dreams and aspirations), he neglects to notice that his son is enthralled with what he can become, even though Sheppard never tells Norton he can do anything he puts his mind to like he does Rufus.

Sheppard is so consumed with bettering his troublemaker of a protégée that he is blinded to think that Rufus can help his son overcome his selfishness, when in actuality, Sheppard is the one being truly selfish. Ever so slowly, Sheppard deteriorates into a shell of his former self, abandoning his previous attitude and the generosity and selflessness of his character for a deluded and almost insane persona. He begins to justify his wrongdoing of his son toward the end and repeats saying, "I have nothing to reproach myself with," and, "I did more for him than I did for my own child." which points to a point of reproach that he fails to accept, his selfishness.

Sheppard goes from being a secretly selfish but selfless man (when it wasn't toward his son), to being the ugly, demented person he probably always was on this inside, just manifest on the outside where everyone could see it. His shift in persona leads him to finally come to the revelation of who his son really was the entire time, the person peering into the telescope, the one that had the true raw potential, but it was possibly too late to fix the damage he caused to their relationship, or at least what was left of it.

Literary Response Blog- August 21, 2014

"The Paring Knife"
By: Michael Oppenheimer



In this short story many symbols are expressed, but one, in which the story was obviously named after stands out among the rest, the paring knife. Due to its referencing in multiple parts of the story, it would be very hard for anyone to miss its symbolic qualities. The story begins by stating that the knife has been found under the refrigerator, where is has apparently resided for four years or so, as stated by the narrator. The narrator continues on with the story of how it is that the knife got there in the first place. It is stated that there was a large amount of wine drunk that night, and that when they went to make love, something happened that caused them to fight, causing the speaking character to exit the room and go to sit in the kitchen, where he then proceeds to throw dirty dishes from the previous dinner onto the floor. After finding the knife, it is shown to the lover and she places it on the table and then exits the room to continue cleaning the rest of the house, clearly not remembering the story behind it, or failing to mention it.


I have said all this to introduce the symbolism behind the knife, and other elements that led to why the knife was introduced as a symbol in the first place, starting with the large dinner and wine. These two are obviously lovers, so of course they have an intimacy with each other. Their intimacy is synonymous of the communion of their meal and what it may represent, such as a possible upgrade in their relationship. The wine simply introduces a factor that may or may not be viewed as Biblical, but also as one representing alcoholism or the ability of alcoholic beverages to remove one's inhibitions. By being drunk, the couple opens themselves up to a wide range of possible scenarios. They are either drunk and enjoy making love, which didn't happen in this story, or have their inhibitions so absent that when something goes wrong, they say things that they wouldn't normally say. These things can be more hurtful and cut deeper, kind of like being stabbed with a knife.


Getting to the knife, one could say that it is representative of what the lover's words may have done to the woman he loves, or just broadly the arguments that may arise when one is in a close relationship. Although in the end, without a word, the woman puts the knife quietly back under the refrigerator, but why? It's as if she is saying, "I remember, but I realize that that argument was pointless and I forgive you." No matter what was said, the woman decided to let it go and not reminisce about what the knife was doing there, but chooses to ignore what the reason for it being there was, or just to let it sink into the past where the little scuttle occurred in the first place.