Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The last Amer!c@n M@n

This is sort of a book review, I reckon.
This book was good to me, the author also wrote the book "E@t Pr@y l0ve" which was a great book.
She defines the reason why she gave the book the title it was given.
She meant "man" in the sense of a frontiersman, a conquerer, someone who strikes out on his own to conquer nature--Daniel Boone etc.
But in many other definitions of the word man, Eustace would hardly be one...
He has no children is one way. He spent a lot of time looking for a rite of passage, while I understand the sort of rite he is thinking of (spend a year in the woods by yourself or something like that), I would argue that raising children would definitely be a continual rite of manhood/adulthood.
He, up until 2002 at least, has not been up to that challenge--interesting.
Y'all know I don't mean making babies, sino, RAISING CHILDREN.

In another way Eustace is not very Manly--He cannot form lasting relationships with people hardly at all--he has like three people who have been able to tolerate him for any length of time.
SAD.
I am not commenting on his character...
{ We did not even meet him when we went to his place in the mnts. We just saw him fly by on a horse and buggy with a girl on the back or something. I thought it was nice just to be out there.
Apparently though, due to a tough father/son relationship, Eus. has a hard time relating to people.}
...just how this word, "man", is defined and how Eustace is portrayed as being the last one.

I have some quotes from this book...

"the backside of heroism is often rather sad; women and servants know that" Someone named Ursula K. LeGuin said that.
The author talked about the women and children that either have to suffer b/c their dad or husb. spends all his time glory chasin...or are neglected...or have to do tons of work b/c the husb. dad neglects all duties other than those that involve ego boosting.
(truly heroic, no?)--and MANLY too...

Here is one:
"We are a little wild here, with numberless projects of social reform. Not a reading man but has a draft of a new community in his waistcoat pocket"--Ralph Waldo Emerson
I thought this was a good example of how languages change and evolve--it is written in English, and I haven't a clue what it means! :) Any guesses?? I did not leave out any punctuation.

Felicity, the companion of content, is rather found in our breasts than in the enjoyment of external things.--Daniel Boone
I really like this one.

The author put these quotes at the beginnings of the chapters.

This was a good book.
Eustace was actually likeable.
But...the last man...
nah!

I loved the parts about american men, though..the author went looking up information from books and print about people around the world and how they percieve american men..particularly men of the 1800s.
This was interesting to me...b/c until I traveled to other countries I just had one idea of how men were...
they mowed grass, worked and got super sweaty, wore shorts, NO COLOGNE (that is prissy), were not snobby (only women tended to be snobbish in my mind) and lots of other ideas..
**note on snobbery--this quality can be found among many frat type boys at universities--I just did not know those people**
then in spain i noticed that most of the men--wore cologne (still prissy to me), wore tight jeans and shined their shoes (which they wore with the jeans) and seemed sort of snobbish...
I could never find too much attractive about any of this.
I was ready to get home to sloppy, jolly men.--I was also taller than most of them...

Bueno--I am off to bed now...two posts in one day! :)

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