Final Blog

Lit 110, not only discussed experimentation, expansion, and experience in regards to literature. We lived it. We took the first four pages of the Gwynn book and ran with it. I remember a few disgruntled classmates on the first day of class when Stephanie scratched the surface of our reading voyage. Why should we read? What is the point? These are questions students were asking the instructor, searching for an empirical answer. However, at the conclusion of the class I am able to recap and provide a sufficient answer to these questions. My answers are based on my own experimentation, expansion, and experience.

I tried to be somewhat unconventional in my writing. I attempted to push myself, and go a little crazy with the in-class short stories, poetry, and drama. There were no walls (haha) that could limit my word choice and subject selection. Stephanie is great for allowing my inappropriate short story “17”. Haha O man what a dirty tale, however I am grateful for the tolerance, because personally, I kind of liked it. Censorship is restrictive; look at Anais Nin from Deb’s presentation. She pushed the “rights and wrongs” of society and wrote some great literature. We can only advance others and ourselves by venturing into the unknown and making a statement. I have learned to be bold in my writing, because all the great stories and poems we read in class were unafraid themselves.

Confidence is the most significant expansion I experienced through the class. After the first couple of days, I was ready to go. The mini-book clubs, plays, and poetry slam were awesome! We had the opportunity to see each other and listen to what we had to say. Collectively, we reached the point where we did not care whether or not others approved of our writing. We did it for ourselves. I particularly enjoyed the Poetry Slam. Man, Montana’s poem was deep, Shawna did an awesome job, and no one held back. I just got up there and wrapped about the superficial people in this world, it was nothing compared to other people’s stories. Expansion also applies to my understanding of the world. I read five Vonnegut books and my mind has been spinning ever since. I really enjoy the satirical works, because I like to question why people do what they do, just like we questioned why we read. We read to learn whom to question and what to ask.

Experience is the key to life. Experience settings, characters, plots, etc. in books and reality. What we read mirrors life. Books originate from the creativity that is humanity. We write words to form sentences, to form paragraphs, chapters, books, stories, and examples of life happenings that we live vicariously. Interpretation is where the differences lie. Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was performed according to an interpretation different from that in the movie, but experience allows us to interpret things in a special way, unlike our neighbor’s take. Experience allows for expansion, and experimenting allows for experience.

Stephanie led us to see the light. We no longer wonder why we have to read this story, or what we will get out of it. In essence, we read to broaden our horizons and diversify, entertain ourselves, and maybe even learn something. As for what value our reading holds, that is for us to decide. Literature is where people are allowed to say what they want, how they want to say it. It is there for you to accept or not, the author could care less. We became authors in Lit 110.

Last Blog Post

This is the last blog post! These things went by fast. I think that forcing students to blog is a good way of getting the discussion desired by the instructor. I am reading Breakfast of Champions now, and I really enjoy the book. It is different from other Vonnegut novels, because it is funnier and includes his own humorous drawings. It is a good book to end the class on, because it is thought provoking, and demands attention to serious social flaws. I think that our class is all about taking into consideration the written messages and intent of various authors in varying time periods, and the effects their work had on the public. We learned of struggles, achievement, and purpose in this class. I now have more tolerance for poetry, and I can even take drama seriously. I am glad that the required reading opened our eyes to issues that may be taboo or almost forgotten. "A Party Down at the Square," for instance, will always haunt my mind. Literary works are capable of promoting change, causing revolution and changing mindsets. Thanks to Stephanie for allowing us to choose our one thousand pages. I happened to grab a few novels that enticed me to read for fun again. Breakfast for Champions is turning out to be a great story, but I don't want to dwell on another reading. Rather, I'd like to reflect on all the readings and say that the selections were so diverse everyone became a more well-rounded person as a result. Broadening our horizons with plays, slams, and what have you, enriched all members of the class. I may have scrawled a mildly inappropriate poem across the ICC walls, and wrote dirty short stories, and derogatory raps but hey, I learned from this class that sometimes you have got to mix it up a little bit.

Cultural Opportunity Three: Shakespeare

Cultural Opportunity that it was. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was aight. I thought the Ewing Manor was a cool place. My friend and I wanted to shoot some fireworks out the amphitheater but we restrained ourselves. The play itself was ok. I like the story, and the experience was great. However, I think that setting the story in the late 1800's/early 1900's and giving some characters Southern American accents, and others French accents may have taken the focus away from Shakespeare's words. I like that the interpretation was different from the norm, but I don't know how I feel about Greek language, jungle fairies, French actors, and Southern sounding aristocrats from Athens? I liked the end mainly due to the jovial character sitting behind me. I found it a good rule of thumb to laugh whenever that man chuckled roars of enthusiasm. I liked the use of Shakespeare's twisted language, and the silliness of the actors. I found myself scouting out the attractive females my age or close enough only about a third of the time, which is a good reflection of the play. I was either too confused, intrigued, or genuinely paying attention to give in to my rather short attention span. It was an enjoyable night, because I spent it with my classmates who really do make the class what it is. Good times at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival! Next time I may not attend such a far-fetched edition, but I am always down for something a little out of the ordinary. The play was a nice change-up to traditional Shakespeare.

Art

I feel like writing about art. All art. Art can be b.s. or amazing or in between, but it is always something, something to think about. I am reminded of Dave in "Nipple Jesus" but I like how society has encouraged creativity for the masses to ponder deeply. What the artist feels can be far different from what the viewer understands the piece to mean depending on his or her background. I am in no way an art connoisseur, but I definitely appreciate the beauty that humans can put on a canvas and share with others without having to explain every stroke or what the overall theme is. My favorite painting is "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Bosch in the 1500's. It is pretty crazy you should check it out. I also love a certain Bob Ross! That guy is the coolest afro-haired, peaceful, soft-spoken man to ever have a public broadcasted television show. I tend to appreciate things that cannot be duplicated by a machine or another person, no matter how good or bad it may be. I love that part of being human, no one can duplicate what we think/do/make that is ours and unique. Someone can try to replicate another person’s work, but it can never be as cool as the original. I like how art is rare, art is worth money, art is made famous, but no one can agree on whether or not a painting is good or not. Everyone can go and scratch their chin in silent contemplation and never get the same result as those next to them. I like that.

Boooooooooks

It was a pretty slow week at work, and I finished 3 novels. Slaughter-house-five and Deadeye Dick by Kurt Vonnegut and Early Autumn by Robert Parker. The Vonnegut books were great as usual, so I will spend more time talking about Early Autumn, which was a requirement for the lit. 111 class. I didn't take the time to purchase the book at the beginning of the semester, so I was lucky enough to get the last copy at the bookstore. Lit 111 is an online class and the professor has no idea what is going on. I asked him a question and he sent me an email saying he forgot that he was teaching the class. In addition to his complete disorder, I somehow received a seven out of ten on an assignment that I am convinced he did not read. I mean his comment was "treat it more." What the hell does treat it more mean? I better get an A even though this guy is no good. (It would be nice if I knew my current grade too considering he has only graded two things from the first week.) Ok enough venting on the easy, yet horrible online class where no one learns anything. The required reading was a nice change-up, because it was the typical detective novel with the good guy being witty, strong, smart, and good at everything. I liked the book, because it reminded me of all the fiction I used to read back in middle school. Personally, I liked the other two books I read better, because they were somewhat profound, but I write too many blogs on the one author.

Poem blog

Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est is a poem that really struck me do to the author’s life story. The poem is ironic, because Owen died in the war right before it ended. He was a scholar who was familiar with the Roman poet Horace’s work, yet he was forced into the life of a soldier. The poem itself contains irony, because the title and very last line, “Dulce et decoeum est pro patria mori.” Is translated to mean, “It is sweet and proper to die for one’s country.” The poem is about the horrors and destruction that a soldier saw in battle, and for what? For one’s country. It questions the whole ideal of war. A simile is used, “His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin” really strengthens the vivid visual imagery seen throughout. Auditory imagery is used, “If you could hear, at every jolt, blood Come gargling from the forth-corrupted lungs.” Personification is used when describing the German artillery shells. Owen says, “deaf even to the hoofs of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. The artillery shells are given the human characteristic of fatigue even though they are inanimate objects. Dulce et Decorum Est is a very grotesque account of war that hits all senses. I like it because it is a real story from a real man, trapped in a place he did not want to be, fighting for a cause he did not believe in. His friend Siegfried Sassoon actually became famous, while Wilfred Owen died in battle, even more ironic.

Non-textual Reading 4th Week

I had an epiphany today. I realized that I need to learn another language. I have taken 8 semesters of French and I do not know a lick of it. I also meddled with a little Italian, but only one semester of college worth. I feel like I, personally need to master a language and attain fluency. People all have certain necessities they must achieve to feel content in their intellectual standing. Right now I am lacking in the foreign language department. Having said this I enrolled in first semester French for next semester. Honestly, I don’t care how excruciating the class is I want to learn French. Some people have the drive to learn an instrument and some people like to be technologically aware, but everyone has something that they would like to improve upon. I play a lot of instruments and it would be nice to be better at each one, but for some reason that does not matter to me as much as learning a language. I play sports all the time, but again, I don’t want to put in the time, and devote years to getting slightly better. I play sports and music for my own enjoyment, so I am content with my ability levels. French is a whole different thing. I want to tie this into my non-textual reading, so food for thought: Do all people have one thing that they strive to master at all times? There are always things to improve upon, but do people all have a need to focus their energy on a specific topic? These secret desires could affect the way people act and think. I feel like the desire for personal improvement is a strong factor in guiding personalities and thought patterns.