Cassidy Clayton

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

⚡️ “4/16/2021 #ENGL551”

https://t.co/J1M71ojbDA

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

*Potential Spoiler?*

I think Alabaster may be the man from the prologue. Hearing more about his past, his opinions of the world, and his connection to a stone eater makes me 99% sure he’s the one that ends it all. Sorry if that seemed obvious to other people! #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

To clarify, orogenes and stone eaters may be a subspecies of each other. I want to imagine orogenes as humans with abilities and stone eaters as something non-human, but in this world anything could be true. #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

I wonder if there’s stone eaters in every obelisk? No one knows much about them, so Syen might be the only one who ever went “inside” one. It makes me think there’s a connection between Alabaster’s and Syen’s orogeny and the stone eaters ability. #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

“To whom do the Guardians answer?” I don’t have a working theory for this yet. I want to assume there’s inner factions among them and they only let the Yumens gov’t think they are in control, so I wonder what this may be alluding to? Any theories? #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

The migration south reminds me of the migration of people in Parable of the Sower. Climate catastrophe will lead to large displacements of people, and I’m glad these stories include that. Jemisin takes it even further by highlighting stone lore and comm survival tactics #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

So the Sanzed are the imperialists who spread their features across genetic generations, and their features are deemed most acceptable and beautiful. Given the history in ch. 6, could Misalem represent slave revolts or other imperial usurper movements? #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

@AllisonLaRoy551 I agree. It reminds me of how slaves were denied surnames. What we know of Fulcrum so far and how Damaya has been treated makes me thinks an orogene has two choices: accept institutional slavery or be targeted for life. #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

#ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

#ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

@NoahHazzze I like your theory! That explains a lot to me about how their society functions #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

The suppression of dreams must be to someone’s benefit. The council doesn’t listen to Asha at all and denies any attempt at finding nature again. Asha’s dream is what motivates her to find it herself outside. So who is benefitting by her not going outside? Why stop her? #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

Asha and the custodian woman don’t talk at all, yet the custodian helps Asha get outside. I wonder if the she was the one to send her the soil to begin with, since Asha had to resources to find its significance. I wish Pumzi was longer so we could see their relationship #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

@AllisonLaRoy551 It may be cliché but I imagined it signified the breath of life. Asha reserved nothing for herself, even using her sweat to encourage the plant to grow. I interpret the ending as Asha sacrificing herself for the re-growth of the world #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

#ENGL551 Flash Presentation https://t.co/TWWQYtBm0B via @YouTube

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

I wish we knew more about what’s been written on the tower’s walls because this passage makes it seem pretty obvious that there is a connection between these expeditions and the words #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

The picture of the lighthouse keeper makes me feel uneasy for some reason. Vandermeer’s Weird is so good at disrupting normal expectations and perceived reality—the unknown history of what really happened before Area X keeps gnawing at me. #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

@AllisonLaRoy551 When I first read the description of the tower and how it seemed supplanted, I wondered if the interior somehow matched what the lighthouse did. The rooms don’t quite fit that theory, but maybe it is trying to “copy” that kind of structure #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

@JeanPau75867696 @NoahHazzze My fear of focusing on small problems is the damnation of small problems, like we talked about in class. Plastic straws aren’t great, but focusing only on a small step to alleviate consumer’s guilt can lead to ignoring more pressing, large-scale problems #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

Dawson starts to say that plutocrats need to be removed in order to start radical conservation. But who is supposed to do this? If one country has a Marxist revolution, how many more need to join to change the tides? I wish he included some practical steps here #ENGL551

[Cassidy Clayton @Cassidy7788]

@NoahHazzze I agree. There’s just not enough motivation to change for those that can afford homes in area that aren’t directly affected by climate change. Climate refugees may be so despondent they won’t be able to revolt against anything, but only focus on survival #ENGL551