Ethan Mintmire > Recent Status Updates

“Quiet” and “The Poems of Others” are two of my favorite poems I’ve read so far. To read them, google “Billy Collins…” the one of those names. Truly worth the read.

Seething with anger at the Un-man’s deception, Ransom brilliantly strikes the balance between two central spiritual realities: (1) God brings about his good purposes through our rebellion; (2) we ought to obey God, because that’s our greatest good and highest joy.

I didn’t expect to find excerpts of thriller in this. Random discovering Weston (Weston’s vessel, that is) at the end of the trail of frogs was eerie, enthralling, appalling, disturbing, and theologically rich. The scene of Ransom’s discovery of the frog seemed almost as if Ransom were discovering the fall of Man on Perelandra. The scene of Weston practically tempting the woman had my eyes glued to the page.

So far, I’ve enjoyed it. Collins is a very readable poet, and I think the themes of his poems so far seem fairly apparent. But who am I to say? I could be wrong.

I can tell this will be a good one. This first chapter gripped me in the first paragraph.
“As long as what you are afraid of is something evil, you may still hope that that good may come to your rescue. But suppose you struggle through to the good and find that it also is dreadful” (Lewis, 19)?

Man oh man. I wish I could just read it all the way through right now. I’m hoping to finish it tomorrow. I’ve only about 100 pages left. This is such a page turner. The prosecutor is about to give a discourse on the smerdyakov accusation, and then Fetyukovich will give his defense speech. This is good!

The trial is starting to look up for Mitya! I want justice for him so bad.

Lise and Mrs. Khoklakov are insane. I’d stay 100 miles away from them at all times. Alyosha needs to move to France and get a new life. Everyone around him is not sane.

“Your church can always get another deacon, but a deacon’s wife can’t get another husband. Serving one’s spouse is the ultimate training ground for serving the saints” (Smethurst, 68).

This was a helpful chapter. I was challenged to change my perspective on serving my wife and my church, and how the two relate to one another. Praise the Lord.

Haven’t updated on here in a while with school really ramping up. But I’ve gotten on track and read some more on my day off. Its getting really great! I’m totally sucked in wondering how much money Dmitri really had at the time of Fyodor’s murder and how he got it.

Mitya’s manslaughter of Gregory was an excellent tee-up for his charge of murdering his father. I don’t think he did it though. The Mokroye party stirred up just the right amount of chaos for the sobering announcement of Fyodor Karamazov’s death to bring the story to a screeching halt. I’ll briefly add I’ve become quite uninterested in the love story between grushenka and Mitya, if it can be called that.

“…And one may wonder what good there is in a love that must be watched all the time, what joy there is in such a love. But this is precisely what jealous men cannot see, although many of them happen to be men of admirable character” (mitya’s love for Grushenka).
So profound. Dostoevsky unveils the complexities of a jealous heart like peeling an onion.

I should be farther in the book, but homework has gotten serious and I’m only able to read in small spurts. Nonetheless, Father Zosima’s death and its subsequent anti-miracle was a clever way to develop the seeds of doubt sown in Alyosha by Ivan a few chapters prior. They’re headed to Grushenka’s now, and Alyosha is like a lamb led to the slaughter. Will Alyosha turn out to be like Mitya like he says he is?

The fall narrative surrounding Thulcandra has taken shape. I’m pleasantly surprised by the Sorns. The theme of Oyarsa ruling planets and all replying to Maleldil is fascinating. I also love the theme Lewis employs where Ransom is explaining evil in his world like it’s totally normal and the creatures on Malcandra always have a response akin to “why would they do that?” It highlights the extent of the fall.

I love the Hross, specifically Ransom’s companion, Hyoiy. He’s very poetic and wise. The scene where Ransom felt embarrassed any time he had to share anything about earth with Hyoiy was rich with allusion to the fall of man in earth. I love how pure he has learned the Hross are. The fact that it couldn’t even understand motive for war as Ransom presented it to him was genius. I loved every second of that scene.

Okay so I’ve read on, and I think I just misunderstood the whole Sorns thing. I don’t think Lewis intended that part to be mysterious. The Hross and Sorns are not the same species it looks like. I am fascinated that the handramit (valleys or canyons) of Malacandra is seen as the lower parts of the planet while Harandra (peeks and mountaintops) is supposed to be the surface.

So Ransom has now met a “Hross.” It was an endearing, curious, and tantalizing encounter. I’m wondering now if this is what he has referred to as a “Sorn.” He hasn’t come into contact with a sorn, and maybe if he got closer he’d realize the Hross an Sorn are the same all along. Lewis’ ability to identify man’s habit of putting things into familiar categories is poignant also.

Ransom has now fallen asleep in the forest after escaping Westin and Devine. He’s back and forth between fear and wonder. He’s scared to drink the mysterious water but his body is getting weaker and weaker. I look forward to seeing what he does next.

No comments yet. I have a poor habit of speaking too soon.

SPOILER:
Wow. The scene between Lise and Alyosha was incredibly entertaining. I followed every syllable of their dialogue. Mrs. Khoklakov’s reaction to it did surprise me, I maybe need to reread or look up why she reacted the way she did. I’m totally roped into Snegirev’s character though. Some small part of me wants to pray for him even though he’s a literal character in a book.

The scene between Alyosha and Snegirev was a potent scene depicting how destitution and misfortune can invoke vice in the same way vanity and success can. This was a sad scene. It also demonstrates the power cruelty has to ruin lives, I say referring to Dmitri assaulting Snegirev. There are huge honor-shame culture dynamics portrayed in this chapter as well.

SPOILER ALERT:
The story is setting up a lot of questions about the visiting monk to the monestary, what’s going to happen between Dmitry and Fyodor, who is this boy who bit Alyosha’s finger? Probably the son of the man who dmitri beat up so bad. I think Katerina is bad news. The only person I trust are Mrs Khoklakov and Alyosha. But idk the story is moving a little slow right now.

This story is absolutely enthralling. I wish I could take just 5 days and read all the way through the rest of it.

The introduction story of Smerdyakov was so fascinating. Lizaveta is yet another example of how masterfully Dostoevsky can craft a complicated character who stirs the reader’s curiosity. With every introduction of a character, Dostoevsky earns another 1000 pages of committed, attentive reading from his reader. This story is wonderfully complex.