Thoughts on All Tomorrow’s Parties

I have read quite a bit of the book so far and I must say it is interesting. The style that William Gibson writes in is very unique.

During lecture, Dr. Ogden spoke about the title, in particular “tomorrow” refers to the near future. Therefore, readers know that the book may be about something that may happen in the future. Dr. Ogden also mentioned that Gibson believes that Coupland has failed and that people remained selfish. This book shows what the world looks like according to Gibson’s ideas. However, Gibson agrees with Coupland but he thinks that there is a different solution. According to lecture, Gibson sees fragmented humans and says that humanity has failed. Gibson tries to explain that a non-human force has taken over instead. For greater understanding, during lecture we were shown a clip from a movie which is somewhat representative of the novel.

Overall, I think that this novel is a great example of what our society can look like. Gibson helps readers become more aware about the world and about humanity. At first, it may be difficult to grasp the main ideas of the novel but just seeing the video clip even helped me visualize the novel better. I think that after reading this novel it would be interesting to compare it to Coupland’s Hey Nostradamus!

Does Jason Really Represent Jesus Christ?

March 5th in lecture, Professor Ogden stated that Jason in “Hey Nostradamus!” represents Jesus Christ, the Son of God. His main reason behind this statement is that Jason’s name in Greek, translates into the name “Yeshua,” and Yeshua translates into the name Jesus. Although this is true, the name Jesus does not say anything about Jason’s character. Jesus is the Son of God. He is perfect in every way. He is loving, He is kind, and He is forgiving. In my opinion, Jason’s character is nothing like that. In fact, I think Jason is the complete opposite.

Jesus was a man who spent 3 years of his life teaching, discipling, and setting a good example for the world. One of his main teachings is to love one another. He says “so now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35) Jesus was a man who genuinely cared for others, but Jason on the other hand, was a man who portrayed hate. Not only did he hate the assassins who killed his wife Cheryl, but he hated the people who prayed for their forgiveness. He admits that he’s “gone through [his] life with this massive chunk of hate inside [him] like a block of demolished concrete, complete with rusted and twisted metal radiating form the inside.” (125) Ever since the massacre, Jason’s “heart is so cold” (146). How on earth is this man like Jesus when he even admits bitterness? Jesus taught love, not hatred. He also taught His people how to forgive.

Professor Ogden named another reason why Jason resembles Jesus is because he is forgiving. Jesus teaches about forgiveness and getting rid of burdens. He promises freedom and rest if you trust in him. He says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Jesus is forgiving, but Jason definatly is not. In my opinion, the reason why Jason is so angry and bitter about life is because he isn’t able to forgive the people in his life. He isn’t able to let go but instead, remains angry spiteful.

After the school shooting at Delbrook High, Jason heard people “who were praying for the killers, and that made [him] furious” (125). He thought to himself, “it’s a bit too late to pray for them now, wouldn’t you think?”(125) When Jesus was crucified and hanging on the cross, one of the last phrases that He spoke cried out to God in heaven asking forgiveness on the people who put him to death. He prays. “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus prayed for forgiveness on the people who put him to death, whereas Jason was furious because people were praying for the assassins. If Jason were to represent Jesus, He would be rejoicing at the fact that others were praying for the killers, because that would mean that people are obeying his teachings.

Professor Ogden also mentioned the fact that both Jesus and Jason were unique. This is true, but they are unique in different ways. Jesus is unique because he is God, hence in a completely different category of holiness than anyone on this earth. Jason on the other hand was unique by alienating himself from this world. He is antisocial and hates being around people. He even states that what appealed him to certain jobs, was the fact that the job didn’t entail him talking to anyone. He couldn’t mind his own business, and still get paid. Jesus was never like that but instead was constantly in the public eye. He spent every waking hour with his 12 disciples by his side, teaching them how to live and love. Never did he wish for alienation unless he needed some alone time to pray.

Although their names can be translated to be the same name, Jason and Jesus have completely different personalities and character traits that contradict each other. Jason is not forgiving; he is not loving towards his enemies, and enjoys alienation from the world. He even admits feeling like “the unholiest thing on earth” (146). Jesus on the other hand is a perfect man who forgives and loves his killers, and spends countless days flawked by people wanting to hear about what He has to say.

Avison says, “I am Canadian.”

During a past lecture, Dr. Ogden spoke about Margaret Avison in great detail. He said that as a Canadian poet, her love for Canada is evident in her poetry. He also explained that Avison sees Canada as a country with beautiful landscape and weather.

At one time in Avison’s life, Dr. Ogden said that she had a huge personal crisis and that “being Canadian changed everything.” It was the passion and love for nature that caused Avison to embrace Canada’s landscape. During difficult times, Avison would wander off and observe the simplistic beauty of a lake while soaking in the peace and calmness of the nature around her. Perhaps this is how Avison dealt with the stresses of life.

Personally, I admire Avison for her thoughtful reflections on Canada’s landscape because as Canadians we may take it for granted at times. I think that just like Avison, it is important for us to take time and to enjoy what we have. By doing so, not only will we gain inner peace but we will also learn to cherish and appreciate how fortunate we are to live in Canada as Canadians.

In the scheme of things...

My favourite poem from Margaret Avison’s Always Now is “Detroit … Chicago … 8 a.m. … Platform 5”(page 147). It stands out for me because it holds a mirror to society by pointing out one of the many idiosyncrasies that people in general are guilty of. I took the poem to be a discussion of why it is that people do not consider the possibility of human error when a human being is responsible for almost everything that occurs in this world.

Technology today is making the First World an easier place to live in. Everything is becoming so easy and convenient that people just expect what they want to appear in an instant, just like the people in the poem waiting for the 8am bus. What sometimes gets forgotten is that humans create every new piece of technology. Humans are responsible for every convenience and new advancement. Nowadays when the bus is late or the person behind the counter makes your double tall non-fat 180 degrees sugar-free vanilla latte wrong (sorry, I work at a Starbucks) people get all up in arms. Impatience is the negative side effect of convenience. We need to remember that human beings still make mistakes. The bus being half an hour late isn’t really that big of a deal; it could be a lot worse.

Yay!

Yay Jodie! I was so excited when I saw on Dr. Ogden's blog that you are going to lecture for us on Monday!