- Why is this essay called "Primal Visions"?
- To me, one quote that Kirsch offers captures Hoffmann's philosophy, aesthetics, and style/voice (from the novel Bernhard): "More wonderful than the wonders people sit and talk about, is the fact that they sit and talk..." What does this quote mean to you?
- What significance does the Holocaust seem to have for Hoffman's writing?
- The word fragment is used five times in the essay. What is a fragment and what do you think it has to do w/ Hoffmann's writing?
- Kirsch compares Hoffmann to the modern paintings of the Russian-Jewish artist, Marc Chagall (b. 1887, d. 1985). The following are some paintings by Chagall. What qualities do you notice about these artworks?
Calvary (Golgotha), 1912
The Drunkard, 1912
This essay is called Primal Visions because he has a vision of religion that he is talking about in this essay. This quote means people who sit and talk has to do with talking about spirituality that they believe in. The significance that the Holocaust seem to have for Hoffman's writing is that he was writing about his life in the holocaust and things that happened in the holocaust when he was young. A fragment is a small part of a memory that breaks into separate pieces. Fragment that has to do with Hoffman's writing because he has a memory that was separated for his writing on the essay of the holocaust that he was in. These artworks that Marc Chagall created, Hoffman has an idea of making a title of a book from the painting that Marc Chagall has made.
ReplyDeleteI expect Yoel Hoffman's novel to be different from any other novel I have read before from reading the essay. Hoffman does not think that fiction determines the category of his novel. Reading this essay made me see how he uses different strategies from most writers. He uses vague words but his words has a deeper meaning. Hoffman wants his readers to think about his words more and find the meaning. I started to read the book and it is filled with short paragraphs. I have never seen somebody write like this before, but I like it. His ideas are all over the place. In each paragraph, something different is happening but all of this ideas are tied together. Yoel loves to talk about love and his childhood. He talks about this girl he really loves and he specifically mentions her "toes". He talks about kissing her toes and how her beauty is breathtaking. In this essay, we get too see how hard his childhood was. He lost his parents at a young age and this could affect a young boy character. Yoel uses his voice in a different way because he doesn't write in chapters or a long story. He writes in little parts, like a poem. I think he uses little paragraphs to tell his story because when people see long paragraphs it is sometimes too long and readers get bored. Yoel uses short stories to engage people more because he gives good information but not a lot so you want to read more. Coherence means the quality of being logical and consistent. Yoel uses a lot of logic in his novel because he wants you to think of
ReplyDeletehis words. He wants you to think outside the box. Many people have different ways of interpreting the meaning of words and he wants to see what people think. "Voice" is something we each try to express to people in our writing. We all want people to hear our voice and opinion. We express this by expressing our feelings into our work. When Yoel uses the quote "More wonderful than the wonders people sit and talk about, is the fact that they sit and talk...", I think that this quote means that when people sit and talk it is amazing that they are talking about their thoughts and ideas but just them sitting down and talking should be valued. People usually talk over the phone or text but when you see that person and sit and talk you should value it. You never know when you will see that person again and you should be happy that you saw them because they could be gone tomorrow. This goes back to me talking about how Yoel lost his parents. His parents died and he knows how it is to lose a person. We should be happy for the people in our life now and cherish every moment with them.
Great detailed response, Shania! Just a correction: Only Hoffmann's mother died in Europe. However, he lived briefly in an orphanage afterward. His father and his stepmother are reoccurring characters in his books.
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ReplyDeleteThe quote stated by Kirsch represents the internal beauty of the situation when two people converse about ideas to talk about is the notion that they talk at all. This shows that the necessity people have for sharing ideas and having the need to socialize is a wonder to itself. What's greater than what two people can converse about is the desire of their thoughts to be heard and shared and even include further wisdom of their general opinions from these conversations. The topic of discussion can be about anything but what's greater than the topic is the formation of new insight and a new judgement of topic X.
ReplyDeleteVery nicely, and poetically, stated!
Delete1 This essay is called "Primal Visions" because,
ReplyDeletehis reading gives you a first view of what will be reading the Mood book, but also will help you to have an idea the way the author's present the book.
2 This quote More wonderful than the wonders people sit and talk about, is the fact that they sit and talk..." mean for me,This passage, for me, means the importance of discussion in any situation. because it would avoid the hostilities between peoples and safeguard the fragility of life.
3 Holocaust seem for Hoffman's writing In his writing he linked Jesus' birth to Adolph Hitler's birth, two births announcing the beginning of two great events in the world, It a way for him to describe how the Holocaust has marked his childhood.
4 A fragment is a part of a given set. In his writings the fragments serve perhaps to give small specimens that group together will give the meaning of the book.
I would like to hear more about what you think Hitler has to do w/ Hoffmann, Diedzom.
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