Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

General Discussion on the Twilight Universe

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CrazilyObsessed024
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Re: Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

Post by CrazilyObsessed024 »

Me too :D
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December
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Re: Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

Post by December »

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CrazilyObsessed024
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Re: Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

Post by CrazilyObsessed024 »

December wrote:On the other hand....
???
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December
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Re: Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

Post by December »

It's a link. To an alternative viewpoint (mine). I thought it was a bit long to repost here (*grin*)....
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watchoverme
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Re: Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

Post by watchoverme »

cullen_kissez wrote:One of my dearest friends - who I grew up with, known her since I was around 4, brought up an interesting point at lunch today. She's a literature teacher at a high school her in Jamaica.. and since she's part of the 'young, hip new crowd' .. she wondered if it would ever be possible for the Twilight Saga to be a textbook.

I mean, I love her to death, as I do the books, but I don't see that.
Then on the other hand - Shane, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Macbeth, A Midsummer's Night's Dream, Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night, .. classic literature.. but does the Twilight Saga belong in this list? Don't get me wrong, I'd say yes in a heartbeat - but how goodly or badly would it fare?
Pardon me while I deviate from the current discussion, but this really caught my eye. As a recent college graduate making my debut in the educational world as a teacher, this is something I've thought about before. Does the Saga belong on this list currently? No, at least in my mind, not yet. Classic literature such as the above mentioned titles took time to gain that status. I think that if you were to go out a few decades, it is possible that this series, which is so near and dear to my heart (and the hearts of many here), could begin to make it's way in. The universal themes of love, lust, right/wrong, and the ethical and moral debates presented would certainly lead me to believe to that at some point, it may be used in such a manner.

However, that doesn't mean that with the right group of readers that it wouldn't make a good literature circle book. I would be leery of doing that currently, but there are great discussions that could be had, not to mention the comparisons to the movie. With the amout of literary devices that Meyer uses, a teacher could have a field day creating a unit on this book. But again, it comes down to making sure that you have the right group of readers to handle it because of the popularity level of the book right now.
Megan

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Before you, my life was like a moonless night...
CrazilyObsessed024
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Re: Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

Post by CrazilyObsessed024 »

December wrote:It's a link. To an alternative viewpoint (mine). I thought it was a bit long to repost here (*grin*)....
Jeez you wrote a lot! Ha ha. Wow.
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Protecting vs. telling the truth

Post by Movielover22 »

Sorry to deviate from the topic at-hand but...


So I was just re-reading Breaking Dawn, and I noticed an interesting parallel, and I wasn't sure where to talk about it, but this seemed to be an appropriate place. Right after all the Cullens leave to look for witnesses, Bella realizes that Jacob has told Renesmee about everything that's going on, and she says, "Wasn't shielding her more important than answering her questions?" This reminded me a great deal of Eclipse, after Bella and Edward get back from Florida and Bella realizes that Edward was trying to hide the truth from her, and there's some discussion on which is best, to tell her everything or to protect her from the truth, and Bella was all for being told everything, and yet now, when the same type of thing is going on with her daughter, she wants to protect her. This got me thinking a lot about perspective. Bella believes that she needed to be told everything in Eclipse, and that it was important for her to know what was going on, no matter what, while Edward was trying to protect her because he loved her and thought it would just frighten her unnecessarily. This upset her, and yet now she feels that same way about Renesmee. It's interesting to see how love alters your perspectives on things, and maybe some of it was that Renesmee was just a child, although due to her accelerated intelligence, I don't think that was the case. What you think is best for you and what you think is best for someone you love can be entirely different, even if it's the same underlying principle. I don't believe that Bella is holding a double standard, just that she doesn't see the similarity. I was curious as to what other people might think about this. If there was something serious going on that involved you, but it wasn't necessary for you to know, would you want to know, or would you want to be protected from that truth and be content with just what you need to know. And on the other side of that, if it were someone else, someone you loved, in that situation, would you want them to know, or would you want to protect them from the truth so as to maintain their happiness in the situation?
"You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope." ~ Jasper Hale
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Re: Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

Post by Ouisa »

Bella is 18 in Eclipse, Edward treats her like a child.
Renesmee is an child, Bella treats her like a child.

There is a big difference there.
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December
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Re: Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

Post by December »

An enormous difference, Ouisa. And yet....

I'm going to play devil's advocate here for a moment and ask: isn't it an almost universal instinct to want to shield the people we love from deeply upsetting truths, whatever their age? Is it always wrong if they are adult? Or is it a problem of balancing our respect for their autonomy -- and the importance of honesty -- against the pain it's going to cause them? You can argue that Edward got that balance wrong in the Florida episode (and people certainly have! *sighs nostalgically*). But I don't know that it's an open and shut case, just because Bella's adult. And she certainly does her own share of protecting Edward from unpleasant truths. From the trivial -- like hoping early in EC that she can keep from him from freaking out over her attempts to see Jake -- to her hell-bent determination never, ever to let Edward know what she endured over the two days of her transformation. Was that wrong? Does Edward deserve to know the truth? Will it hurt him even worse if he ever realizes what she's been keeping from him? You could probably argue either way -- but in one sense it doesn't matter, because it's beyond imagining that Bella could possibly have done anything else, loving him as she does. She goes to hell and back, almost literally, to spare him that knowledge. But imagining the alternative....I don't know how I would begin to decide if she was right or wrong.
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Re: Twilight Universe General Philosophical Musings

Post by Ouisa »

You and I have a long history of disagreeing when it comes to Edward. And this will be another one of those. Of all of the multitude of things I dislike in Edward's actions though out these 3 books, the ones that make me tear my hair out the most are when he protects her from the truth. And were I discussing BD with you, yes Bella's little suffering omission would be another hair pulling moment.

My personal philosophy and value doesn't include shielding those from the truth. I think that no matter how much pain you save the person in the moment, like with all lies, there is just way to much potential for even greater suffering when the truth comes out either for the hurt and anger felt by the person when they discover the lie or from the increased danger to her life withholding critical information from Bella like Edward does.

As I've said to my sometimes gentleman friend many times. Just tell me the truth. It might hurt me now, but at least I will know what I am dealing with and can plan accordingly. So far that's worked quite well for us.

That being said, like I indicated in my post above. There is something to be said for protecting children.
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