On Friday The Sixth I'd like to spend a little time talking about the video we watched. It wasn't quite as good as the one I loaned to someone and didn't get back. :-( but it make give us some thoughts about energy consumption and what running out of cheap fuels may do to the "suburban dream". Guess what? Since I sent you the e-mail version of this note, I found the video I wanted on YouTube. My Karma goes up and down, up and down
We'll continue this on Monday as necessary, and also look at the Souweine combo, including the architect. We'll also take a look at the plan for the house--why it seems "perfect" for Jonathan, and why Judith gets along so much better with the carpenters--to the point of participating in the carpentry herself. Is there something about Jonathan vis a vis Jim Locke's father which makes the relationship between Jonathan and Jim particularly tense? What do you think?
I want to move then to a discussion of Kidder's book, starting with a look at some human relations. First, I'd like to look at some inter-generational relationships. On the Apple-Core Side, I'd like to look at the father-son relationships between Jim Locke and his dad, Richard Gougeon and his family history and story, Ned Krutsky has a third kind of life history, and comes to construction by a different route, and while it seems like it would be the most normal way to enter the construction field, Krutsky is often the least happy of the carpenters on the job. Is there anything in his family of origin which might explain this? Finally, Alex Ghiselin. Any of you with some insight into psychiatry might be able to explain first, what his favorite part of the job is, and second, why he may have left his first career for his second one. Could you imagine doing the same thing?
Friday, December 6
Monday, December 9
Take-Home Final Exam
Due, Tuesday, December 17 by Bridges
Length: the traditional 5 pp., more or less
Write a reflective paper on one of the two themes presented below. By reflective paperI mean something other than a mere summary of the facts involved with the themes described below. I want you to interact and react to the situations Kidder describes--put yourself into the picture. How would you feel? Who would you sympathize with? Who would you like? How might you try to resolve certain conflicts; or would you think they were not resolveable?
Theme One:Houses and Personalities...Conflicts and Causes
Anything requiring human interactions can become complicated and stressful, and humans themselves are products of events and interrelationships throughout their prior history. Reflect on this, and write your thoughts about some of the people involved in the building of House. Don't feel obligated to get everyone into your narrative. Choose the characters and interactions which are most interesting to you, or perhaps those to which you react emotionally as well as intellectually.
Theme TWO:The Perfect House: Jonathan, Judith, Careers and
Gender.
Thinking about the style, plans, and book illustrations in House Reflect on what the house tells us about Jonathan and Judith, and to the degree appropriate, Bill Rawn. Think about the rooms, and their relationships to each other. How does the plan reflect gender. and expectation of male and female roles at the time the house was built? Remember that both Jonathan and Judith are educated professionals. If you're interested, you might reflect on how the houses chosen reflect differences in Mr. Blandings and Mr. Souweine.