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There was a party hosted by my work today. I'm not really a party person, but lately I've been trying to be, so I went. I try not to go into too much detail when it comes to my IRL life, but I can definitely say it was something different for me. It's one thing to know you have over a thousand coworkers in concept, and quite another to actually see them milling around one room.
It was a lot for me, but I made it, at least mostly. The "real work" that came after on the main site was pretty rough, though. Our whole schedule was shifted for the occasion, and between that and the unusual amounts of noise at people at the shindig, I was dog beat. I did get to talk to a real, 3D person about From Here to Eternity, which was pretty cool.
Thinking of From Here to Eternity, I've gotten to the bit where the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, and Prewitt is spiraling ever further down the hole of guilt and depression. He slept through the attack by accident, and can't re-join the army without going back into the penitentiary (and seems to still have some complex feelings about murdering Fatso Judson). His response has been to drink aggressively.
I think I said this before, but the guy has no healthy coping mechanisms. None. He's a man desperate for purpose and meaning, but is also shockingly obstinate and often unyielding to the point where he would rather break than bend, hurting both himself and the people around him more often than not in his mulish refusal to compromise or accept what he believes to be an unfair deal.
tragic flaws and evil ones aren't always the same thing, and Prews obstinance very much falls under this category. He is one of the very few characters in the entire book who will go out of his way to stop people from hurting those he considers vulnerable - small dogs and the "Slow" soldiers like Friday Clark, who are prone to getting picked on by virtue of being special needs. He's loyal to his friends and would rather walk up a mountain, twice, before bending the knee and apologizing when he knows he's not in the wrong.
He also asks and expects more than he should of the people around him, especially his girlfriends, and seems to believe he can make the world confirm to his idea of right regardless of good sense, reason, or a need to compromise. He does not or will not understand that he lives in a world that will break you long before you break it, and still, damnably, loves the army, even though it's the institution that has inflicted most of his pain.
I'm not quiet done yet, but I'm really close, so we'll see how this all turns out. I don't know if I'll finish it this week, but I may. Reading Prewitt's downfall after spending so long with the guy is uncomfortably hard, even with the long break to give myself some distance.
It was a lot for me, but I made it, at least mostly. The "real work" that came after on the main site was pretty rough, though. Our whole schedule was shifted for the occasion, and between that and the unusual amounts of noise at people at the shindig, I was dog beat. I did get to talk to a real, 3D person about From Here to Eternity, which was pretty cool.
Thinking of From Here to Eternity, I've gotten to the bit where the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, and Prewitt is spiraling ever further down the hole of guilt and depression. He slept through the attack by accident, and can't re-join the army without going back into the penitentiary (and seems to still have some complex feelings about murdering Fatso Judson). His response has been to drink aggressively.
I think I said this before, but the guy has no healthy coping mechanisms. None. He's a man desperate for purpose and meaning, but is also shockingly obstinate and often unyielding to the point where he would rather break than bend, hurting both himself and the people around him more often than not in his mulish refusal to compromise or accept what he believes to be an unfair deal.
tragic flaws and evil ones aren't always the same thing, and Prews obstinance very much falls under this category. He is one of the very few characters in the entire book who will go out of his way to stop people from hurting those he considers vulnerable - small dogs and the "Slow" soldiers like Friday Clark, who are prone to getting picked on by virtue of being special needs. He's loyal to his friends and would rather walk up a mountain, twice, before bending the knee and apologizing when he knows he's not in the wrong.
He also asks and expects more than he should of the people around him, especially his girlfriends, and seems to believe he can make the world confirm to his idea of right regardless of good sense, reason, or a need to compromise. He does not or will not understand that he lives in a world that will break you long before you break it, and still, damnably, loves the army, even though it's the institution that has inflicted most of his pain.
I'm not quiet done yet, but I'm really close, so we'll see how this all turns out. I don't know if I'll finish it this week, but I may. Reading Prewitt's downfall after spending so long with the guy is uncomfortably hard, even with the long break to give myself some distance.
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