Tag Archives: metapost

Meta-Post

The common themes in this week’s posts were about Elena’s deepening crisis. It seems safe to say that no one is on Elena’s side anymore. Elena is making one bad decision after another and can’t seem to take responsibility for her actions.

Ariana talks about Elena not taking responsibility for her actions and constantly blaming Lila for everything wrong in her life. Paul’s thoughts are similar to Ariana’s. Paul says that Elena is in a toxic relationship but she is unwilling to admit it to herself. She is hiding behind the idea of “exciting” change which she convinces herself is part of being an intellectual. Paul remarks that it is easy for Elena to be blinded by love because she has been in love with Nino ever since she was a child. Irini talks about Elena’s struggle between being a mother, feminist lecturer, and a lover. Kelsey also refers to Elena’s struggle between being a mother and being a writer. And how at different times in the book each one takes more importance. Jackie writes about the impact that men have had on Elena’s education. And although her role model used to he Lila, it is not men like Pietro, Franco, and Nino.

Julie brings up a new subject about code-switching in the novel between dialect and proper Italian. Julie mentions how Elena’s primary dialect is proper Italian while Lila chooses to use dialect. But each will code-switch in different scenarios. Elena when she is mad will speak in Dialect; Lila when she wants to prove her intelligence will speak in proper Italian. Julie ends by discussing times where the characters and code-switched mid conversation, like when Elena turns to Dialect on the phone with Elianora.

Some thoughts of my own. In regards to Jackie, I mentioned in class about how Elena is finally forming her own ideas about feminism, but in this portion of the novel she consistently refers to the book as something that she wrote for Nino. I question what that feminism can mean if it is expressed in writing for a man. 

I agree with Paul; it is obvious to everyone around Elena that she has always loved Nino. Antonio tells Elena that it was unfair of her to tell him that she did not like Nino. Elena made Antonio feel like he was crazy, but Elena was just lying to him. Also Elena’s mother-in-law told her that she should not have married Pietro if she loved someone else [Nino]. Elena tries to tell her it’s not true, but they both know it is.

I am excited for the continued class discussion on all these wonderful topics and more.

Politics, God and sex

Elena has found a calling writing articles about workers struggles at the Soccavo factory in the local communist newspaper L’Unita. She had taken the paper of demands for improving working conditions written by Lila to create and write an article and instantly becomes somewhat of an expert on and darling of the political left. Does Elena breaks though the margins the smarginatura by writing for the newspaper because a serious novelist at the time in Italy would never consider doing so?  I posed a question to Lynn Nesbit renown literary agent, would she discourage her authors from writing journalistic pieces for a newspaper. She answered absolutely not in fact it would help sales of books. But then she added she did not know the publishing business in Italy and perhaps it’s different there.  

Although Elena gets the fame and credit it’s Lila that does the heavy lifting. Unwilling initially in getting involved, it is Pasquale who talks her into helping because she has the intelligence that he lacks. So it is Lila that becomes the point of the spear. It is Lila that writes the demands, who takes insults and threats from fellow employee and who bring the paper of demands to Bruno and puts her job in jeopardy. 

Julie writes of the turbulent times and social upheaval in the 60s and 70s. That students revolt against a “antiquated , rigid educational system and a capitalist patriarchal society.” But with all history there is conflicting opinions of political movements and their results. Some like respected Italian historian Indro Montanelli states that the sessatotto was a “lost of civility, where horde of illiterates invaded public and private lives with their ignorance” so some may have called it a “myth” others say that what was left behind was the ‘statuto dei lavoro’ workers rights and this in itself was well worth the pain. Kelsey writes that Elena says “I never though of being a freelance journalist. I did it because it made me happy.” She is not only writing behind a typewriter she is taking to the streets and the picket lines. Not like what it seems to me what the elites Gallini and Airota families do, hiding in their crystal towers cheering the working man on to do their bidding. Paraskevi asks the question why have a priest validate a marriage? I would answer Elena mother was raised in cultural Catholicism where it was not a choice and church was a natural part of everyday life and not challenged. What the mother may not understand and a question Paraskey poses is can one be with God without religion? I certainly believe so and in times of hardship we even see Elena struggle with faith when asking the Virgin Mary for help. Ariana writes of the importance of language and how it can hold someone back socially and economically. That was true in Italy in the 60s and 70s as it is true today in America.  One’s speech, right or wrong is an indication of upbringing and education.   

One importation omission in the blogs was any comment of the “elephant in the room” or as Pasquale says about Lila “she’s not made for sex”. Later we find that Lila does not have or can not experience the full pleasure of sexual intercourse. In my thoughts she’s unavailable either physically or mentally to fulfill a complete organism. To do so would mean abandoning full control which she is unable to do

Indro Montanelli https://binged.it/2WHWGfM

https://www.pw.org/content/agents_amp_editors_qampa_agent_lynn_nesbit?article_page=1

Meta Post 2.0

There were eight posts for this week, and each brought up very interesting points. Some posts discussed things I have been wondering about myself and others brought up points I haven’t even thought of but really appreciated being exposed to.

Starting with the post titled “Luck and Stealth are for Escape Artists,” there was a particular line that really interested me: “As smart as Lila is, its Lenù who is the one who ultimately understands that she has grown too big for the neighborhood.” I had this same thought but didn’t know how to put it in words, but this explains it perfectly. Lila is incredibly smart, one could say smarter than Lenù, but in the end, the one who clings onto the hopes and dreams for something better beyond this neighborhood will prevail and that happens to be Lenù. Another interesting point was how Lenù picks and chooses the thoughts and feelings she shares with Lila. I think this fact gives us a peek into the type of friendship Lenù and Lila share (which in my opinion is a toxic one).

The next post is titled, “Catcalling and Men’s Behavior towards Women.” I liked the comparison between how Lenù talks about boys and how boys do the same. This post highlights the fact that from Lenù’s point of view the way she describes boys seems to come from an innocent place while the looks and catcalls her and her friends receive from men sexualize them. This contrast is important because it brings up a situation in which many women find themselves in today and I feel like any little experience from which we can relate to in this narrative can help us navigate the novel through Lenù’s point of view.

The post titled, “Rivalry and Teamwork,” also had an interesting point stating, “Lila acts as both Lenù’s inspiration, pushing her to do well in school, and her antagonist, making her feel inadequate.” This really got me thinking about the relationship between Lenù and Lila which I’m constantly confused about. I realize that they both wish the best for each other and push each other in positive ways but they can also be incredibly cruel to one another.  This quote explains the complexity of their relationship. This dynamic is one of the main reasons I question their friendship constantly while reading because in my eyes this is a toxic friendship that should end. Co- dependency is also a huge factor of Lenù and Lila’s friendship that I’ve been thinking about while reading as well and I’m glad that it was mentioned in this post and I’d want to focus in on co-dependency in their relationship in future posts.

In the post, “Lila Becomes a Women,” a quote that stuck out to me was, “The way Elena puts herself down when it comes to Lila is almost scary, as if Elena’s personality is connected to Lila’s.” This also alludes to the topic of co- dependency that I think we should all explore more in posts and in discussion. I also liked how Lenù’s view is described in this post as “obsessive teenager” because I think it’s exactly what Ferrante has managed to capture and put on paper even as an adult. I agree that it’s hard to successfully write in this point of view when in the moment you don’t own the mentality of a teenager. An understanding of the view from which the story is told is necessary in following the narrative.

A point I found interesting in the post titled, “A Look, a smile, a slap” was the “it” factor that Lila possesses that makes her a person to chase after. The post states, “I like to think its an energy, a free spirit which cannot be defined by just physical beauty.” The reason everyone always seemed so attracted to Lila did puzzle me but maybe its because it also puzzled Lenù and tit s her lens from which the story is being told. I want to say that don’t even think Lenù entirely knows why she is so drawn to Lila. Maybe the “energy” Lila possesses not only attracts boys to seek relationships with her but also why Lila seeks friendship with her.

The post, “Childhood: Proving Oneself,” focused on the “… very real struggle f carving your own path and finding your identity.” This theme is very characteristic to childhood itself and I also liked the use of “autonomous virtuosity” by ferrante and that it was brought into this post. Lenù in this time of her life like most children is going through the process of figuring out who she is and how she can navigate her strengths to create a better life for herself while also creating her own identity.

“Finding One’s Value Through Competition,” talks about the very evident and constant competition between Lenù and Lila about literally everything whether its grades or boys. The line in this post, “This is the only way that Lenù could attempt to make herself feel valuable and accepted,” is specifically interesting to me because Lenù does seek a lot of her own validation from being better than Lila and when she fails to be better, her identity crumbles.

A contrast to the previous post is titled, “Elena’s Realization: who is more dependent?”. This post talks about the very important time in Lenù’s development where she changes from thinking she needs Lila to succeed to thinking Lila may need her more than she had previously thought. This post describes it as, “Elena is at a place in her life where she finally feels comfortable and not necessarily inferior to those around her, especially Lila.” I do agree that this change in Lenù’s view of herself is very important and shows a great amount of growth.

Overall, I think the majority of these posts talked about the dynamics surrounding Lenù and Lila’s friendship. Reading these posts has made me realize that I find the interworking’s of their relationship the most interesting and the most confusing. I definitely was to focus more on the co-dependency factor of their friendship and how it affects them both, negatively and positively and maybe even delve into how toxic it really is.