"The Eye" and "The Savage Detectives" Blog

In the beginning of "The Eye" we learn of a a man named Mauricio Silva who is known as "The Eye". He does not like violence and tries to avoid it at all costs. Then the narrator says, "but violence, real violence, is unavoidable, at least for those of us who were born in Latin America"(page 106). This is a foreshadow into what is to come throughout the story. After reading this sentence I was wanting to find out what was to come and was a little terrified to know what it would be.

The story starts off by talking about where The Eye has gone and how him and the narrator have become friends. The eye ends up getting made fun of by others who call him a homosexual which in reality he turns out to be. He ends up leaving for Paris to be a photographer because, "Everyone likes to be photographed"(page 107). The Eye left an impression on the narrator, "and even when his face had disappeared or receded into the shadows, that essence lingered in my memory"(page 109) From this quote it is clear that the Eye had a lasting impression on who he came in contact with. Once The Eye left, the narrator wanted to see him again. He ends up traveling to Berlin and runs into The Eye on a park bench. He almost does not recognize him since he has changed so much. Although he had changed in appearance he was still the same man he has always been.

After he runs into the Eye we learn of the story about where the Eye has been and what he has seen. The story took place in India and was horrible. The Eye ended up taking pictures of prostitutes until the pimps realized he was a homosexual. After this they took him to the worst scene. He witnessed young boys being castrated. The Eye then says, "I took a photo of him. I knew I was damning myself for all eternity, but I did it."(page 115) This startled me. I couldn't believe The Eye would do something this drastic when these are young boys that he actually cares about. The story goes on to talk about The Eye taking the boys with him and away from the horrible things happening to them there. My favorite part of this story was, "Instead of calling him father, he had the boys call him The Eye,"(page 118). He used this name to keep out of trouble, but it also comes across as the name relating to him. The Eye is the one who now watches over the boys, he is their Eye. He is also living for the boys, without them he cannot seem to get through. Overall, the story was very interesting and there were a lot of great quotes and ideas that came from the whole story.

The next story "The Savage Detectives" relates a lot to "The Eye". Within the first few lines it is clear that this is yet another hard story to tell and deals with Latin Americans just like the last. These two guys are like the two in the last story. They become friends by chance and learn about each others lives. Jacobo Urenda says,"and then they vanish in a cloud of smoke, the way Belano vanished that night, without warning."(page 497). This reminded me of what happened to The Eye in the first story. They both disappear for an amount of time and they end up finding each other later on. The story goes on to talk about Belano and his obsession with taking pills. He is in very good health and takes pills on a regular basis. Urenda beings to travel and hopes to run into Belano again.

Later in the story Urenda meets a man, Linke, who had heard of Belano and even met him. He recalls his lack of wanting to drink, which is what stood out most to him. Urenda seems to be living through other people who have come across his long lost friend. Jacobo Urenda later photographs him and his friends along with driver. I found the quote, "The pain was worse than the certainty that the Italian was dead."(page 507). This was interesting to me. Urenda fell asleep and ends up having a horrible dream, which he wakes from covered in sweat. The story goes on with the guys traveling in the car. Belano then reappears. Urenda realizes he is still the same guy as before and he hasn't changed at all. He questions that maybe in fact he himself is the one that has changed.

Urenda begins to talk with Belano and introduces him to all of his friends. Overall, the stories are very similar. I enjoyed the first story more so than the second just because I was able to get into it more. Both stories were very interesting and brought up unique happenings.

"The Lazarus Project" last part blog

The last section of "The Lazarus Project" started off describing a brutal scene that Lazarus was having to witness. Lazarus was witnessing a man being brutally killed during the Pogrom, "Seryozhka stepped on his face with a boot, cracked Mr. Mandelbaum's skull."(page 241) . This shows how brutal the killing is that Lazarus is having to watch happen. Lazarus is to young to see something this terrible happen to someone. This killing shows how bad the pogrom really was and how they did not care for others.

The story goes on to talk about how Olga does not want to discuss what is happening in the house with the pogrom is there and the horrible effect it has on the family. In the next part of the story there is a very interesting part that comes about. Rora talks about when he saw, "a magic carpet flying across the river. It was a blue-and-white piece of UNPROFOR nylon, but still I could not stop seeing it as a magic carpet."(page 253). This is interesting because it can relate back to when Lazarus was a boy and imagined himself on a magic carpet. This carpet has a very significant meaning. The carpet can symbolizes the people who just want to get away from the world and the struggles they are having to life with. This is there escape from the world and everything around them.

Later on in the story, Brik discusses how he can't decide wether or not to say something while riding in the car with Seryozha. Brik ends up not doing anything even though he knew he should have. Further into the story, Brik does end up doing something. He ends up beating Seryozha up in the bathroom pretty bad. He says, "I felt his bones cracking under my knuckles, but I kept punching until his jaw was crushed, until my hand was finally and thoroughly broken."(page 264). This shows the drastic scene that happened in the bathroom. Brik goes on to say how he wished Mary would have scene what he did. He has reached his breaking point in this section. Brik needs to get out of the country and away from the horrible things that are happening. He wants to find something better and not have to worry anymore.

In the next section, Olga decides to not live in regret over Lazarus's death anymore. She decides she wants to help Isador. One of my favorite parts in the part was when Olga writes to her mother. She says, "You must forgive me for what I have done, but I chose life over death. God will take care of the dead. We have to take care of the living."(page 272) This shows that Olga is able to move on. Although she will not forget about Lazarus, she will be able to continue on in her life and help others who are in need. Olga will be able to help others who were like Lazarus.

In the end, it was interesting to find that Rora's story involving Miller and Rambo was just made up. From Rora having a troubled past it is easier to see that the whole story would be made up. By making the story up it makes parts of Rora's life easier to live with.

"The Lazarus Project" part 3 blog

Throughout "The Lazarus Project" by Aleksandar Hemon, there were many connections being made. This section starts off with an autopsy being performed and an informative list of all the wounds Lazarus received during his death. There are several descriptions made to what the man looked like all leading to him being Jewish. The assistant chief then goes on to say, "They are creatures of a different world"(page 88). He is referring to all Jews. After saying this remark, William P. Miller agrees with him. By the assistant chief and Miller making this comment they are reinforcing their hate and views on these characters.

The story then moves on to discuss the story of Olga. The story starts off by focusing on her thoughts and how she deals with the lose of her brother, Lazarus. Olga seems to write her mother frequently to show her emotions and struggles with her recent loss. She soon runs to the outhouse and finds the dictionary Lazarus used to read while being in there. Olga says, "The book is warm, as though Lazarus has just held it, his life still radiating out of it."(page 91) From this we can see how she still wants to be connected to her brother. Olga is struggling with her loss and needs to have something that her brother held dear to him. Since the dictionary is something her brother enjoyed so much she feels as if he is still a part of it. Soon after Olga says, "My little brother. All the lives he could have lived."(page 91) Olga is remembering all the times they had together and how she was such a huge part of his life. She was able to help him in school and knew that one day he would do great things with his life.

At the end of the section I found it shocking when Lazarus showed up at the door. When I first read this part I though Olga was having a dream and just wishing her brother was really there or that she was to the point where she could not except her brother really being gone. This part shows the emotional torment Olga is having to experience. She is realizing how hard it is going to be to live without her brother, who was so close to her.

When the story shifts back to the present we learn that Brik and Rora are taking a journey through Eastern Europe. While they were driving they passed, "a horse cart with a cage full of rabbits, the man holding the reins slouching like a refugee."(page 100). This shows how different certain areas can be. Even though we all live in a well developed area not all people are as fortunate as us. I also found it interesting when Brik is talking about Americans not believing stories when they hear them. However, those in other countries like Bosnia do not look at the reality of the story but enjoy the story while it is being told. People in these places probably try to believe the stories to escape how reality really is. They want to be free even if it is only for a few moments. These people want to forget about their hard days of work and know that somewhere out there times are not as hard.

Miller soon goes on to talk about the Jewish people in an impolite way. Once he is around them longer he tends to say more and more hateful things and look down upon them. All of his outlooks on these people and those in the poor communities is overwhelming. I would think once he has been around these people long enough he would change his out looks on them. Over all, I have found this reading very interesting so far and will enjoy seeing what happens in the later parts of the story.