Friday, September 9, 2016
Character and "Beautiful Talk" in Mr. Penumbra
Write a paragraph on the character in Penumbra you think would be most likely to engage in what my seniors have called "beautiful talk" (the "coloring" version of talking, not a discussion, conversation, or debate). Explain why you think they would be most open to this type of collaborative talking, and point to a specific point in the story to support your claim. As you are writing, be sure to focus on employing a variety of sentence structures (at this stage, sentences with and without subordinate clauses), as we discussed in our first grammar lesson.
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I believe that Clay Jannon is the character in Penumbra who would be most likely to engage in what is known as "beautiful talk". Whenever Clay is speaking to someone, he always listens, takes in different viewpoints for consideration, adds some of his own ideas, and overall gives people the sense of a safe zone. These are all elements of "beautiful talk". At one point in the book, Clay and Kat talk about the idea of immortality and how human life is too short. When they come to a disagreement, rather than tarring down Kat's opinion, he politely disagrees with her. Even though you may not see eye to eye with someone, it is important not to judge them. This is a very difficult thing to do, as even Kat has trouble replicating this. Clay also listens carefully to her point of view, making her feel like she's being heard. While he doesn’t speak much, he is still taking the time to listen, which is just as important. Because Clay does not judge and really listens to people, Kat felt comfortable spilling out her thoughts for him to hear. Furthermore, he asks a question in order to fully comprehend what Kat is talking about. This is key to "beautiful talk", because people must understand each other in order to create a colorful image. The process of "beautiful talk" is the foundation to being productive. So, by doing all of these things, Clay is constructing an in depth conversation that will evolve into a piece of art.
ReplyDeleteI would say that Kat is most likely to engage in beautiful talk, she seems always open minded in her discussions with Clay. For example after hearing about this "cult" clay has gotten himself into, she is intrigued and wants to know more. She is open to new opinions and ideas in her discussions. For instance, after Clay pitched Kat the idea of going to the party through her computer she was not hesitant to try it out. After just meeting Clay, she sees his 3d model of the bookstore and is wanting to improve upon it, just like as if we were improving upon someones drawing in our coloring time. Every time Clay is proven wrong she can understand why she was wrong and change her opinion on something.
ReplyDeleteI am of the opinion that Mathew Mittelbrand, or the "artist in residence," would be the character most likely to engage in "beautiful talk." By trait, Mat is creative and physically shows the beauty of his ideas through art. "He's like a storybook spirit, a little djinn or something, except instead of air or water his element is imagination." Mat's open mindedness and imagination is demonstrated in this quote, and these attributes would be greatly beneficial to conversing. In the novel, it is also mentioned that Mat transforms everyday objects into new things and this skill is crucial for "beautiful talk." Without the churning of ideas nothing can be built upon the initial start of a communication. While Mat is an artist, this is not the only reason he would be good at "coloring" in his speech. He is additionally helpful, spirited, and curious and this would contribute well to a talk. Through the descriptions and examples in the novel, I have concluded that Mat would be the most likely to engage in “beautiful talk.”
ReplyDeleteClay Jannon, in my opinion, would be the most likely character in Penumbra to engage in “beautiful talk”.In order to engage in so-called “beautiful talk”, not only does the participant need an open mind, and to see other’s points of view, the participant also needs to look inward and see their own opinions from an alternate standpoint, and to think critically about what they say. Many times throughout the book, Clay demonstrates both these abilities in many of his conversations. One example of this is when Corvina called him, demanding that he stop Mr. Penumbra from trying to break the code with Google’s computers. When I was reading this part of the book, I completely dismissed Covina's demand as nothing more than a petty attempt at stopping someone else from solving the code, and that Corvina wanted to be in total control. What was interesting however, is how different Clay reacted to that same phone call. Instead of ignoring it like I did, Clay kept on thinking about everything that Corvina said, taking it apart and piecing it back together. Clay viewed the problem from Corvina’s perspective. Not only did Clay think about what Corvina said after the conversation had ended, however. During the conversation, in which Corvina was the main participant, Clay would say to himself thoughts on what Corvina said previously, almost like Clay’s mind is more like a council or government on minds, which look at problems from every angle and to have conversations as to what those problems mean. After this is done, Clay formulates a response to that input that takes into account what the other person said. It is because of these qualities that I think Clay would be the most likely to engage in “beautiful talk”.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Clay Jannon would be the most likely character to engage in "beautiful talk." As we discussed, "beautiful talk" consists of being polite, building upon other people's ideas, listening to others, not shutting down other ideas and sharing ones own ideas. Clay Jannon in Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore does all of these things. Clay shares his ideas by showing Penumbra what he has done. He shares that he has looked at the book, he shares his model of the bookstore, and he even shares that he solved the founder's puzzle. Although he was instructed not to look at the books, he shares with Penumbra and it ends up paying off. Also, he is clearly able to listen to other peoples Ideas. Before they try to decode the book, Corvina calls Clay and tells him to stop penumbra. Even though he thinks Corvina is crazy at first, he starts to realize that he might actually make some sense. He starts to think that Penumbra is actually the problem, not Corvina. Here he listens to someone else's idea. He doesn't judge, and he even considers it. If that is the definition of "beautiful talk," then I think Clay would likely engage.
ReplyDeleteI beleive that Kat would be the most likely character to engage "beautiful talk." She is very open minded and loves to learn new things. They are great qualities that would naturally cause her to engage in"beautiful talk." For example, when she was talking to the group about immortality she would listen to everyone carefully and give a constructive response. The keys to " beautiful talking" is patience, listening, and responding to ideas in a respectful way. Kat does all of this and more, therefore she would be the most likely person in Penumbras 24 Hour Bookstore to engage in "beautiful talk."
ReplyDeleteI think that Clay Jannon is the character who is most likely to engage in "beautiful talk." When Clay talks to others, he stays open-minded and at least considers the opinions of everyone. An example of this is when Clay does different things while working for Penumbra. Penumbra tells Clay to write down every detail about the people who enter the bookstore, and while Clay doesn't understand this at first, he does it anyway. Another time Clay stays open-minded is when Kat wants to help him decode the book because she thinks it is the key to immortality. Clay doesn't exactly agree, but he considers it and doesn't tell Kat that he thinks a different thing. These are but a few of the many instances in which Clay Jannon shows that he is the kind of person who would engage in "beautiful talk."
ReplyDeleteI believe that Cat would be the one person in Penumbra whole would engage in "beautiful talking." Her colorful and joyous personality are great traits that make her suitable for this type of conversation. Whenever she talks she gets immersed in whatever she is talking about, and she always spins an elaborate plan or story. Like when she created the plan for googlers to crack the code, her passion and intent was so driving that it convinced everyone to support her idea. Her way of talking transports and captivates everyone she talks to, she doesn't start conversations, she just speaks her mind in an eloquent and inspirational way. That is why I believe that Cat is the one character in Penumbra who engages in "beautiful talk."
ReplyDeleteI believe that Mr. Penumbra would be the most likely to engage in "beautiful talk". From the beginning, Mr. Penumbra is portrayed as wise, open-minded, un-biased and almost mentor-like in many respects (especially since this novel is narrated by Clay). To engage in "beautiful talk", it is in a way prerequisite to have an un-prejudiced mind open to new ideas and to have a basis of knowledge already. Mr. Penumbra has repeatedly proven himself to be one of the most un-biased characters in the novel. For example, while Kat, Clay and Neel believe Google to be a successful utopia of sorts, Penumbra is able to look at Google in a much larger perspective and questions whether it will still exist in a hundred years, then comparing it to “It was Standard Oil.” He grins; he’s caught us." In addition, he contrasts sharply to Corvina and Kat, presenting himself as the happy medium between books/old ways and technology/new ways, which he manifests in the many quotes he often says like "I believe we must break with tradition” and his enduring love of books. Unlike Kat and her entrenched faith in the internet, or Corvina who sticks so rigidly to tradition it ends up being self-defeating, or even Clay who is still learning about both sides, throughout the novel Mr. Penumbra is open-minded and wise, and thus proves himself on many occasions to be the most likely to engage in "beautiful talk".
ReplyDeleteI think that Clay is one to engage in “beautiful talk”. This is because of how he talks to the others in the book. He is always listening to others ideas and considers them instead of putting them down but also contributes his ideas to the group. He is open minded to new plans or ideas and welcomes them into the conversations. He let’s others express their opinions, even if he doesn’t agree. Clay also can listen to all voices. For example, he listened to his friends come up with a plan to break into Fiesta Lente and he also stepped back and listened to the verbal clues that were given to be able to crack the code. Another example of why Clay is the most likely to engage in “beautiful talk” is when he asked a young girl a rhetorical question, “how do you find a needle in a haystack?” and the girl replied, “I would ask the hays.” He took her idea and used it to find another clue, the needle, to lead him to another clue. That is why I think Clay is the most likely person to engage in “beautiful talk”.
ReplyDeleteI think the character that would be most likely to engage in beautiful talk would be Clay. Throughout the book, Clay was the organizer and silent leader of his “task force”. When participating in beautiful talk one must listen to everyone in order for the discussion to be successful. This is one of the hardest skills to master out of all of the skills necessary for beautiful talk. Now that Clay already knows how to collaborate it would be much easier for him to have a meaningful discussion.
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