Denver Explained

Although Chapters 20-23 were arguably the most confusing section of the novel (so far), we did get new insight into Denver, who turns out to be more complex than I initially thought.

Denver's unhealthy devotion to Beloved is not a manifestation of her loneliness. Rather it turns out that Denver is desperately trying to protect Beloved from Sethe, whom she believes is insane. It's also revealed that Howard and Buglar was not run out of the house by Beloved's ghost but ran away to escape Sethe's "wrath." Denver herself is so traumatized after finding out the truth that she loses her hearing for several years. Since then she has lived in fear of Sethe, only staying with her for Beloved. Apparently, Sethe has elected not to explain her perspective to her children but rather let them find out only the surface of her action.  

We also learn that Denver's animosity toward Paul D is not from jealousy and what seemed like an attachment to Sethe. Denver was afraid that Paul D would force Beloved's spirit out of the house. She later even wishes for him to run off with Sethe, leaving Denver and herself to wait for their father.

Is anyone else anticipating a Halle appearance? 

Response to Style Wars

After watching Style Wars last Thursday, my perspective on graffiti was somewhat altered. I always thought graffiti was interesting but also insignificant. Clearly most, if not all, writers would strongly disagree with my past self. I never knew how something I've overlooked all the time could have such a deep culture behind it.

The key aspect of graffiti culture that the documentary stressed was that it isn't just the art itself but also the act of doing it. A form of rebellion against the society that spurns them. Freedom of expression in a life that restricts them. You could tell how serious each and every one of the artists were through their descriptions of how important their work was to them and how it feels to see it displayed. The doc really emphasized the advantages of train graffiti over the "traditional" wall graffiti in that the former allows for coverage all over the city.

It got me thinking, if something means that much to you, why don't you try to preserve it? Why not canvas instead of public property? Why not make money off of it? I asked these questions but right away I knew the answers. Who wants to be a sell-out? But is it really selling out when you're just trying to help your struggling situation?

An equally important part of the culture is the unspoken honor code similar to that of music. The greatest disrespect in the community is passing off someone else's masterpiece or style as your own. The fact that this is more of an offense than to erase or take down further shows how graffiti is more like other (more widely-accepted) art forms than many people think.

From my viewpoint, graffiti hasn't made nearly as much progress as rap in its progression and evolution but it certainly hasn't stopped. Although you could still make an argument that graffiti isn't art, you definitely can't reduce something so elaborate and rich to mere vandalism or defiance.