Sunday, November 20, 2011

And finally...

So, your final reading this term was Willa Cather's "Tom Outland's Story," which brought our study of argument back to the region, in fact the state, in which we've been studying at New Mexico Tech.  What effect did this verisimillitude of place have on you, as you worked with the text and tried to bring some of its ideas/arguments into communication with others we've studied this term. Did this "in our place," in New Mexico, component of Cather's story have any impact on your reading, interpretation, or application if it?

16 comments:

  1. The verismilitude of the place in Cather's story(semblances of truth) helped me work with the text to try to bring ideas into communication with other's from this term. Since the story (even the fictional) portrayed a probable aspect, it was easier to correlate other probable ideas or ones that had indeed happened. The place being in New Mexico made me think of all of the tribes and cave-dwellings in New Mexico. When Tom Outland discovered Cliff City, I thought about Bandelier. I thought about how all of the tribes in New Mexico have a different culture and different practices even though they are similar. It made me realize why Tom valued the remains of the tribes. I also realized how lucky I am to have been able to witness some of indian practices. Unlike Tom, I can learn about practices and traditions from the tribes. Tom was unable to. Cliff City being located in New Mexico also kept me more interested.

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  2. I thought that it was interesting that "Tom Outland's Story" took place in New Mexico. It reminded me a lot of places like Chaco Canyon and Bandelier. Being able to relate to Tom, when he discovered the beauty of nature and the interesting Cliff City, was important in the experience of reading the story for me. I remember the first time I climbed up the ladders at Bandelier and marveled at the beauty that was the forest below, even if I am afraid of heights. Reading "Tom Outland's Story" brought me back there and it was easier for me to relate since the story was in New Mexico.

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  3. To add to the above comment, I also believe it's more fascinating to read a story that happens in a real place. It's one thing to read about a place that doesn't exist, but being able to see the real place in one's head or even in person is a whole new experience. Plus, thinking about Tom Outland as someone who lives in New Mexico, and if you believe that he is the model of an American hero, adds a sense of pride that makes it easier to read and write about. It brings Tom more down to our level.

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  4. I thought that it was really neat how Willa Cather chose New Mexico as the setting for "Tom Outland's Story." I have only lived in New Mexico for three and a half years, but I feel like New Mexico is more of a home to me than any other state that I have lived in. When Tom Outland describes the mountains and the atmosphere of New Mexico it's cool that I can look outside my window and imagine how the landscape probably has not changed much from a century ago. Also, when Tom and Blake work on the cattle ranch and go on cattle drives throughout the valleys and mountains, it reminds me of the ranch that I lived on since I was fifteen. I can really relate to Tom Outland because I have done some of the same things that he did in the novel. When Tom Outland finds the Indian ruins, it reminds me of the cave dwellings, Indian pottery, and hieroglyphics that we would find throughout the acres of land that we raised our cattle on. It definitely makes “Tom Outland’s Story” easier for me to understand and relate to.

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  5. The fact that the setting of "Tom Outland's Story" is New Mexico it definitely had an effect on our interpretation of; more so for those of us who have lived here for a long time before we were in New Mexico Tech. When I was younger I would go out into the dessert, climb mountains, slide around on sand dunes, walk along the basque, and do other things in New Mexico's wilderness. When Cather spoke of the mesa and the cliff dwellings I recalled similar sights from my experiences which allowed me to sympathies with Tom's feelings for the mesa and his discovery. Whereas someone from the Northeast might imagine a forested mountain that has a flat top, we being from New Mexico see a mesa, covered with hardy plants that must survive in arid conditions like juniper trees and sage brushes. New Mexicans also have a better understanding of the culture that was here. The Southwest is just an expanse of the wild west to those who haven't been here. Other's might imagine the people here to be similar to Texas and its stereotypical culture or like Mexico. We know the rich Spanish, Latin, and Native American influences that shaped New Mexico differently than someone who has never been here might imagine. Oppositely, non-New Mexicans have a greater sense of wonder from reading about a place that is foreign to them giving them a different sort of connection to Tom's awe of the Mesa and the dwellings. The setting definitely shapes the interpretation of the reader based on the places the reader is familiar with; though one way to interpret it is not advantageous over the other. As New Mexicans our arguments were different than they would have been if we used a source with a different setting. Our familiarization with New Mexico gives us different values and that comes out in our writing as we make different points and emphasize different facts.

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  6. I thought that it was appealing that Will Cather put the setting of "Tom Outland's Story: in New Mexico. New Mexico is full of history in the beginning of this country of America. I have traveled out of New Mexico many times but every time I come back I feel home. I cannot really explain it but I feel this is where I should be and also every place that I have gone to, New Mexico is unique in its characteristics. Many people know very little about New Mexico, even when I would travel out of state and told people I was from New Mexico they thought I was from Mexico. I agree with Outland that the history of this state should be put out there more for America to know the natives that where occupying this land before it was conquered. This made it easier for me to connect with Outland and understand where he was coming from.

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  7. I believe it was easier to connect to the story that Will Cather presented mainly because most of us are familiar with the Native American culture. From this familiarization we are able to identify how important history is to this culture. I feel this type of thing has been happening for centuries as we have exploited the Native Americans of this land. It is sad to see that much of the Native Americans culture has been lost.

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  8. Most of the stories of the Native Americans way of life and culture is passed down by word of mouth. From this it is easy to see how the culture could be lost if we continue to disregard it. It would be sad if America was to lose this piece of history.

    * Two postings because i accidentally hit post

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  9. Since we live in New Mexico, the story is more believable. Many of us have seen in person or in picture a Native American pueblo. This makes the imagery created by Cather more vivid. Many of us also feel that these Native American sites should be saved, validating Tom's endeavor. This makes Tom's argument stronger and easier to believe because Tom wants to protect a part of New Mexico, a part of our New Mexico.

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  10. The fact that "Tom Outland's Story" is set in New Mexico greatly enhances the story telling and make it easier to read because I can visualize the environment much easier than if the story was set in the Midwest. Because I have live in New Mexico all my life, I can relate to Tom's idea that not only should Native American culture be preserved, but the land as well.

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  11. I think I was much more interested in "Tom Outland's Story" due to the fact that it was set in New Mexico. It is easy to relate to the story because we are accustomed to seeing the geography that Tom dealt with, such as the mesa and canyon. It is also very easy to relate to the story due to the great Native American background in the state that we live in. Overall, I think stories that are set in New Mexico are much more intriguing.

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  12. I can relate to the story in a more meaningful way because I have lived here and have seen many places described in the story. I have hiked into many protected of the areas, such as Bandelier, and have seen the ruins and artifacts firsthand. Someone without such experiences would not understand the story as well.

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  13. I enjoyed being able to place Tom on a plain or mountain as I drive across the state heading home. When a story is placed in a real place, you can see how it may happen more realistically. It's kind of like when you read a book and have a picture in your head, but when you see the movie and then read the book again, you transplant images from the movie into the book as you read. I moved away from New Mexico when I was 6 so I only remember a little of it and this story brought back some memories I had forgotten.

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  14. I found Willa Cather's "Tom Outland's Story" easy to relate to. I have lived in New Mexico all my life and have experienced the landscape of New Mexico from the desert to the forest. I have experienced ruins of native american people. Riding horses and working cattle has also been in my family. This connection I have had with land and culture makes me want to preserve it as did Tom Outland.

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  15. To be honest, the setting of "Tom Outland's Story" really didn't improve my understanding or relation to the reading. Having grown up in Saint Louis, the environment really isn't that familiar to me, and although I have been living here in New Mexico for the past few months, I really don't know much about the environment and notable landmarks, making the landscapes painted in the book not anything I'm truly used to.

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  16. As I worked with the text of “Tom Outland's Story”, I found that its setting had little affect on me. I felt that I could perhaps relate to “Tom Outland's Story” a little better than the other texts simply because I myself have been to Native American ruins before. However, the ideas and arguments were harder than the other readings to relate to each other. The story was harder to interpret and apply in writing because unlike the other texts, its arguments were implied rather than explicit like the argumentative essays in Argument in America. I felt distanced from “Tom Outland's Story” because of the difference in time, even though it was close to home geographically.

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