Sunday, March 13, 2005

3rd day of spring break...

... and I am still working on that Virginia Woolf paper. I have 3 pages to show for a good, oh, 15 hours of work. Vinny's analogy: Watching me write is like watching ice melt on a cold day.

The question I'm trying to answer: Why does Virginia Woolf use stream of consciousness in her two short stories, "Monday or Tuesday" and "The Mark on the Wall"???? (the first part of my question anyway)

If she were alive I would just ask her. I'd get on a plane, go to England, and bang on her door until she let me in and gave me some answers. Unfortunately I'm left to my own devises. Seems like an easy enough question... ha! that is, until you actually sit down and try to figure out the workings of her mind. I have my theories... and good ones, but trying to explain them in a coherent way is another matter.

So the fuck what, is the question I keep getting hung up on. Every time I try to make it seem important I lose my train of thought. How the hell did Woolf manage to create such strange and wonderful stories... yet still write kick-ass essays? A woman in control of both sides of her brain. I have complete respect.

I'll admit that an entire book could be written on these two very short stories (one is less than a page long)... but somehow I've managed to make quiet a mess of it. I was not prepared for the complexity involved in this task. I've been humbled.

ok... but today, if I am lucky I will write the remaining 4 or so pages and have tomorrow to revise at a more leisurely pace... and have time to grade papers so I don't have to bring them with me to Texas. I am amazed just how long I can spend trying to get each sentence right... and amazed at how much I am capable of getting wrong. I keep telling myself-- just write!! Yeah right, but you should see where that got me. chuckle chuckle.

ok...enough complaining. I'll get to work.

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