Sunday, February 21, 2010

Class Entry 2/21/10

In class, we are writing character descriptions for The Great Gatsby and As I Lay Dying. I am really enjoying The Great Gatsby. The characters seem relatable and easy to follow. I like how the story is going so far. I am very intrigued as to what Gatsby said to Jordan Baker. I also cannot wait until Gatsby is in the story more, or at least I hope he does.

I am starting to like Nick a lot, and I am curious as to if he and Jordan Baker end up dating. I really do not like Tom, and I feel bad that Daisy has to put up with his cheating. I also feel bad for the daughter that they share. Hopefully, something will happen between the two, causing them to break up. Or maybe, like the back of my book suggests, Daisy and Gatsby will end up together! I don’t know, but I hope that something good happens soon.

As I Lay Dying is really getting on my nerves. I mean, honestly, why would you ever make us read it while we are reading The Great Gatsby. The characters in the book are all intertwined and I honestly could not tell who was who. When I was reading, I thought Jewel was a girl and Dewey Dell was a guy. After a while, I figured out that Dewey Dell was a girl because the book said outright that she was (or I think they did). The only part of the book that I do like is how Faulkner really captured how we perceive truth. There are always several versions of the same story. One is more exaggerated; another has next to no details. It all depends on the person. There are also several quotes that I felt were really cool. I actually underlined them in my book, and I hate writing in books.

The character description for As I Lay Dying is proving to be more difficult. I do not understand how I am supposed to write a physical and emotional description when none of the characters are described. In some of the chapters, Darl, Jewel, and Anse are partially described, but I do not know what to do for the other characters. For Addie, I do not think that it is sufficient enough to only write that she is dying and lying in her bed. I could mention the hand thing, but that freaks me out a little bit.

I think the book has potential, and it could turn out to be a really great book, but I think that we, as students, are just too lazy to actually think things through. Why would we do that when we could just spark note every chapter. I like the class discussions about the book because I actually like understanding what I am reading. I like that I am being challenged too. Plus, when the chapters are no more than four pages, how could any of us complain? Oh well.

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