Suppose one morning your girlfriend leaves you without explanation or forewarning or even cause. You just wake up, and she's gone. It would be wrong to set her apartment on fire, like the gentleman in the famous song by the Beatles does.I was totally puzzled, until I noticed "Norwegian Wood" in the references and then recalled the bit about lighting a fire. I guess I'd always naively supposed the guy lights a fire in the fireplace.
The paper gets a C. Happy end of the semester everyone.
30 comments:
Positive that McCartney himself has said that the last line refers to the girl's home being set alight, so... you suck?
PS. Confirmed by Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Wood_%28This_Bird_Has_Flown%29. (And, no, I didn't edit that in myself.)
I'm with Socrates (AP. 22b-d)on this one: McCartney doesn't know shit.
So Spiros--you're a postmodernist in grading?
Not at all. The grade had nothing to do with the interpretation of the Beatles song.
It's still a pretty dumb example to bring in. Kind of like if I were to use the U2 song where someone lets a beautiful day get away as an example of irrational behavior - the question being: Why the fuck would you mention some such random song to illustrate something when it actually doesn't help you to illustrate it?
I always thought, that 'Norwegian wood' refers to pot, so that the last line means the guy lit a joint in the morning after.
Why would 'Norwegian wood' be a good name for pot? Do they grow a lot of weed in the Trollheime mountain range?
Verification word: CORUG.
Drat! Perfect opportunity for a Dead Milkmen reference, and your student missed the proverbial boat:
"You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I were to say to you
I didn't set your house on fire"
Word verification: swellind
Yes, even I sometimes have to read what students write. It's really a waste of my time. But every once in a while, it pays off.
I thought you were talking about student evaluations, not student papers! But I guess I was just being stupid, because we never have to read those.
You remain my hero.
I am just an ordinary guy, burning down the house.
They're living on nuts and berries.
Look over there! A dry ice factory! Nice place to get some thinking done.
I can't define love
when it's not love.
It's not love,
which is my face,
which is a building,
which is on fire.
It does suck as an example.
But the interpretation is right. The opening lines of the song make clear that the room itself is of Norwegian wood. When, at the end, Norwegian wood is mentioned again with the fire, it is pretty clear that that is what's going on.
"Suppose one morning your girlfriend leaves you without explanation or forewarning or even cause. You just wake up, and she's gone."
The paper contains this kind of perfectly acceptable writing and you gave it a C? You must have much better students than I do.
The ought to be more careful--they're setting a bad example!
The Beatles, that is.
And Spiros, I was kidding about the postmodernism!
OK. Can we all agree that *Fear of Music* is top 5 of all times????
I, Zimbra, say that animals' heaven is a drugs paper "Memories Can't Wait" in Mind while playing air electric guitar in cities pictured in Life during wartime.
Agreed Spiros!
9:24: genius.
Maybe its because I am ethicist, but my main interest on reading this post was - does he really do wrong in burning down his girlfriend's appartment. Doesn't she *deserve* it? Maybe it will make her think a bit, and not behave so disgracefully in future.
Certainly of the two, she behaves worse - for treating a human being so heartlessly is worse than damaging a bit of property.
Let's assume he can do it without damaging neighbouring appartments - or change the example so she lives in a detached house...
Sorry for the interuption, now you can carry on wittily discussing music & grading...
SO, I'll bite: why a C? Just because the 'example' was stupid?
V word: conmara (isn't that in Ireland?)
Why the C? Not because of the badness of the example alone, but the badness of the example is an indication of the general C quality of the paper.
I'm a sucker for Remain in Light and prefer it over Fear of Music, but the latter definitely makes my top 5 of the 70s, which (off the top of my head) also includes:
Bowie, Ziggy Stardust
Elvis Costello, This Year's Model
The Clash, The Clash
Eno, Another Green World.
I pick Fear of Music, though for the single best cut I'd go with "Once in a Lifetime", and Remain in Light is on the whole awesome.
I'd put Abraxas on my top LPs of the Seventies list. From the other end of the Seventies.
Very good - but not top 5. Its not *musical* enough.
By the way: an expert on rock music (spouse) informs me that the song is based on a short story in which, yes, the young man setrs fire to a woman's house. Alas, he cannot recall the story title or author.
Spiros @ May 7, 2010 11:00 PM;
I guessed as much. :-}
P.S. 'hagaros'?
Norwegian Wood the name of the Beatles's song, remember me the festival in Oslo, Norway, I have been there many times and the music was spectacular I love edition in 1994!22dd
Post a Comment