Intertextuality

The piece of intertextuality that I found is the popular movie, 10 Things I Hate About You, which is based on the widely known Shakespearean play, The Taming of the Shrew. While the movie changes significant aspects of the play, the storyline is considerably the same. In an article that I found that discusses the relationship between the two texts, it points out clear references that are displayed in the film from the play. In the play Lucentio wishes to marry Bianca but can’t until Bianca’s sister, Katherine, is married. As a result, Lucentio pretends to be a tutor so he can become closer to Bianca. In the movie, Bianca is not allowed to date unless her sister Kat is dating someone. Cameron, a boy who is attracted to Bianca, acts as a French tutor to her so they can become closer. Another example of intertextuality between the two texts, is when in the play Petruchio, who is somewhat of a wild character, agrees to marry Katherine simply for the money that comes along with her. Similarly, in the film Pat agrees to date Kat in exchange for money that Joey bribes him with. Additionally, the characters personalities can be related between the two texts. Like Petruchio, Pat has a mysterious background; rumors roll around the school about how Pat once ate a live duck and the spent a year in prison. Examining these examples allows one to see how the film is a great example of intertextuality, in that it is shaped by the meanings and story of another text, in this case the play.

Blue Highways

After reading the first assigned pages for the book Blue Highways I have mixed feelings. I found it quite difficult to really get into the book to the point that I was interested in turning the page. While this may just be because I was very pleased with the last book we read, I am unsure of. I felt as though the author in a way throws the reader right into his journey at the beginning rather then uniquely and attractively reeling the reader into the book first. I did notice however, that the author commonly discusses the beliefs and stories of his native people and family. He mentioned where his name came from, as well as the belief of his people that mixed-blood is a “contaminated man who will be trusted by neither red nor white” (5). These examples from the book exemplify how the author mentions race throughout the beginning of the book, and there is a likelihood that race will remain a part of his journey across America.
Although, I found it difficult to get into the book at first, it was more interesting relating how similar William Least Heat-Moon from this book and Clarissa from Northern Lights are. Like Clarissa, Least Heat-Moon is running away from home as an attempt to forget and try to heal. Clarissa left NY and Pankaj to get away and find her mother, and in this book Least Heat-Moon packs up and leaves home after facing his turning point in life; when he loses his job and his wife due to a failed marriage he realizes that the chances of them rekindling their marriage are slim to none. Both characters decision to run away from their lives for which they are unhappy with prove the comparison between each other. They believe that running away will allow them to forget about parts of their past that they wish not to remember. I am interested to see how this similarity between characters plays out as I continue to read Blue Highways.