September 13, 2013

Reductionism is a philosophical position which holds that a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts, and that an account of it can be reduced to accounts of individual constituents. This can be said of objects, phenomena, explanation, theories, and meanings.
This is not necessarily a good way to look at stories ALL THE TIME.
It is good to try it sometimes for English class and for analyzing things around you.
This is the ONLY WAY that Mr. Lobb can deal with LIFE sometimes. It might be a good strategy as I am still alive. HEY, it’s working!
This might be a good way to deal with those GIANT FEARS that hang over us (death)
This might be a good way to deal with ANY assignment in any class.
Lobb tries to teach you PATTERNS to break everything down into something understandable and REPEATABLE.
SOOOOOOO
A short story has pieces.
We break those out and think about them on their own.
The point is to think by going into those pieces separately.
We can start to see things we never saw before.
Wing’s Chips -
Describe the dad using our little Character Pattern (on the board beside Tanisha)
Describe the daughter using same.
WHAT DO THEY WANT? - MOTIVATION
Find out the point of the story - why is there a story here at all? What is the reason the writer wrote this?
Possible Pattern
Dad - p 245 has a crazy hat - what does it say?
He is a rebel, he wants to offend the priest who organizes the ladies’ supper - he’s trying to make a statement that he doesn’t fit in and doesn’t care
Observation - Reference - Explain - How is it meaningful?

Relationship - the dad seems distant from his daughter - she seems to be “raising herself” - is this distant? Is there another way to say this? Is it cruel? - maybe he just isn’t that into being a dad?

Specific - he puts her into piano lessons, but they have no piano - huh?
Maybe he’s just buying some more time away from her?
Maybe he’s doing what he thinks is expected. He’s trying to fit a pattern.

Behaviour - he goes out for a walk, he paints outside, he may be trying to get away from her? fits into this “benign neglect” theory

Maybe he’s just so into what he’s doing that he isn’t really focused on her

Maybe he doesn’t realize HOW SHE SEES ALL THIS - he sees her in HIS context -

Maybe he’s still being an old fashioned “dad” even though he’s now the primary caregiver.  He’s not naturally engaged like a mother might be. Maybe he is finding it hard to deal with single-parenting and kind of “never asked for this”

Can we prove any of these maybes? Maybe.

Clothing - he does not dress up for church (written in 1954, but it’s about further back than that - church is far more important and people dressed up in general) - what does this say about him? He has completely different priorities regarding church and clothes and maybe - PEOPLE’S OPINIONS of him

Artistic Freedom - his “big failure” of the painting commissioned by the woman who wanted her daughter’s portrait - he ruined it somehow - he didn’t do what he was hired to do.

Non-conformist - he is not concerned with “fitting in” to the culture and expectation of the community

Fitting in is almost always about insecurity and fear. Whose fear?

The conformists!

A non-conformist is probably more secure and confident (or could be oblivious to the action around him/her) than those who are worried about fitting in.

What is the symbolic element about the Chinese family?

They are the Asian few in a white town or Francophones.

They are, in some way, like the dad.

He assumes they’re linked.

He makes the sign to make a connection? 

The daughter probably just wants to fit because she is a kid and therefore she suffers from INSECURITY - the dad probably doesn’t care about people’s opinions and just assumes she’s the same. Oops.

Intro to YOU!

PERSON
STUDENT
LEARNER
WHAT YOU WANT