Sunday, February 21, 2010

Class Discussion

Class Discussion. What is there to say really? The past school week has been far too short (for me, only three days) for any full discussion of class activity. Reading The Great Gatsby and As I Lay Dying has proved to be fairly obnoxious and thus far I see no connection between the two works other than that they are of the same period. The Great Gatsby is fairly easy to understand. The characters are well defined and the plot is told from a single narrator’s point of view, which allows for very little confusion. On the other hand, As I Lay Dying has left the majority of the class extraordinarily confused. And I would certainly include myself in the “confused” group. Multiple narrators relate multiple different versions of the same story is broken, incorrect, and often unintelligible English. The overall plot is not too difficult to understand but the details are easily lost in a sea of confusion. Despite their differences both novels are interesting and have a certain sense of insight that makes them intriguing. The almost daily review on what exactly is going on in As I Lay Dying certainly helps clarify the course of the novel and reveals things that were missed while reading. I only hope that we do not have one of those crazily detailed quizzes on our reading any time soon, because I am fairly sure that a large majority of the class would receive unfortunate grades even though they completed the reading. Once again, I knowingly include myself in that group.

On a positive note I do enjoy the allusions of the day. Words-of-the-day are boring definitions but allusions allow us to garner greater knowledge of literature in general, plus they help you look really smart if you casually bring one up in daily conversation. Or at parties. Suit yourselves. But honestly, in today’s society an understanding of popular allusions and classical literature will serve us better than fancy words that will not be used unless seen on the infamous SAT vocabulary sections. And along with their usefulness allusions are also more entertaining to discuss and study. We, as a class, are now prepared to reference some of the worlds most treasured pieces of literature and actually know what we are talking about. Allusions provide a whole new layer of understanding to many modern works along with, as I said earlier, making the user look very well read and intelligent. And one never knows when appearing smart may come in handy.

I do have a small question regarding this class. Why are we required to enter these blogs every week? I don’t mean to sound like a whining teenager, but I suppose that I am. I will continue to complete the assignments and put thought into what I am writing but I am simply curious as to what we are intended to gain out of writing these? We complete many writing assignments in and out of class and I suppose that I am simply failing to understand why these blog entries are important, especially since all of the time we have spent writing these has not been reflected in the grade book. Sorry to complain Mr. Glenn. I will see you in class tomorrow and am looking forward to the next allusions of the day.

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