^Bob Dylan wrote that. I think the Eagles made it popular, but I forget. Great song.
Also it is 1 am and I accidentally fell asleep at 8 pm or so and completely intended to blog on time. Anyway,
The question of which of our texts will stick was pretty difficult for me. I suspect that the answer is Lolita, but I felt like that was a cop-out because we spent so much time on it. The more I think about it, though, the more I realize I have legit reasons. Nabokov's prose is so rich and beautiful; how could such brilliant imagery NOT remain with me? For the rest of my life, when anything tangentially related comes up, so will pictures in my mind of Humbert and Lo in some random location in the Northeast, him over-protectively watching her by the poolside. Or perhaps Humbert coming into his bathrobe while she sits in his lap, completely unaware. (Ha, I said it. Just try and get that out of your head!)
Additionally, I'm a long time fan of ee cummings, so I'm bound to run into one of his poems we studied again. When I do, I will of course think of the particular analysis that we did to them. I'll probably be with other people and want to sound educated and say something like "you know, this is actually about war... mhm, the unrefined girls are cannons... yup..."
Blue Velvet: I already find myself yelling "Heinekin? FUCK THAT SHIT! PABST BLUE RIBBON!" on occasion. This seems like a pretty juvenile, uninspired thing to take from the movie, but really, every time I yell this and look around for a buddy that got the reference, I won't just remember that line--but many more bits of Blue Velvet. Frank raping Dorothy, Dorothy stark naked and frightened in Jeffrey's lawn, etc. Like Lolita, the imagery in Blue Velvet will remain with me always.
The Wire and NWA have changed my view of inner-city and the ghetto sort of together as one entity (more the Wire than NWA, however). Mentions of drugs, drug dealers, drug wars, ghettos, the projects, and homicide units currently evoke that little false world in false Balitmore. As time passes, my list of "tags" will probably shrink to half of those listed, but that's not bad. Mainly, I (probably incorrectly) feel like I have a handle on such things. I feel more enlightened about how things there "really" are.
Truly, though, I shall never forget the epic set of all-nighters I am about to pull exploring the Wire, and then subsequently arguing for my grade. :P
Last blog post in this blog EVER?,
Deanna Christine Marie Louise Kilgore III Esq.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Fifteen Years
Taking this class made me realize how much I enjoy English. It is a totally different thought process than my major, finance, but there are also similarities. It is more like the speculative aspect of finance-taking the information you are given and analyzing it for a result. Different people will infer different things from the same texts.
I was wondering if I would enjoy a different major more, with more interpretation and less formulas (although Eagleton opened my eyes to literary formulas). I realized that perhaps the fact that this class was not my ultimate major is why I enjoyed it. There is something about having freedom that makes things worthwhile.
From this class, I learned a lot about analyzing everyday texts and literature. I will continue to read for enjoyment, but hopefully I will get more out of what I am reading. Perhaps I will actually take a moment to reflect on things. I am more about reactions than reviewing. That is what I hope to take most from this class, thinking with a purpose. I can learn things without reflecting on them, but maybe wisdom is being able to put the learning into words and pass it on.
I was wondering if I would enjoy a different major more, with more interpretation and less formulas (although Eagleton opened my eyes to literary formulas). I realized that perhaps the fact that this class was not my ultimate major is why I enjoyed it. There is something about having freedom that makes things worthwhile.
From this class, I learned a lot about analyzing everyday texts and literature. I will continue to read for enjoyment, but hopefully I will get more out of what I am reading. Perhaps I will actually take a moment to reflect on things. I am more about reactions than reviewing. That is what I hope to take most from this class, thinking with a purpose. I can learn things without reflecting on them, but maybe wisdom is being able to put the learning into words and pass it on.
fifteen years
In fifteen years assuming I am not dead or worse subsumed into middle class America with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids, I am sure I will still be thinking about the exact same things in merely a different light. There will still be people who can't see the strange beauty and complexities behind something refuse to understand, because it is so important to maintain that train of simpler thought. I am sure I will still be finding broken people and patching them back together as best as I can. I am sure I will still sleep outside just to escape the noise of so many people that I will never know.
Blue Velvet affected me profoundly in that my ideas of right and wrong were completely turned inside out and around. I watched the "Candy Colored Clown" scene numerous times and turned the absurdity about in my mind and still wonder about how David Lynch does it. Blue Velvet was a lovely segue into Lolita another of my pet projects from this class.
Lolita disturbed and excited me. It is certainly a novel that I shan't forget and will definitely reread in order to catch all of Nabokov's nuances. On the surface of this masterpiece one certainly has to admire the incredible wordplay. Deeper one has to admire the mindplay. Kryzs and in turn Lolita taught me one vital thing about becoming a better reader and in turn a better writer, not everything is about you. Sometimes you have to separate yourself from the content in order to get a more (dare I say it) imaginative view. It isn't about the content, it's about using your imagination to delve deeper into something that can be beautiful.
The Wire was another particularly disturbing bit for me as I had a great deal of trouble separating myself from the content. I guess as one who was raped as a child might a bit of difficulty finding sympathy for our beloved Humbert, I had trouble sympathsizing with Omar until anticatharsis where I gathered up all of that baggage and instead looked at the story as it was, real, complicated and accurate. I will carry the moment where I was able to relinquish control and just slip into a story in which I had so much vested with me until I don't remember it anymore.
This class has been for lack of something less cliche, a blessing. Therapeutic and provoking, vicious and strange, but most of all the most useful English class I have ever had. Thanks guys.
Blue Velvet affected me profoundly in that my ideas of right and wrong were completely turned inside out and around. I watched the "Candy Colored Clown" scene numerous times and turned the absurdity about in my mind and still wonder about how David Lynch does it. Blue Velvet was a lovely segue into Lolita another of my pet projects from this class.
Lolita disturbed and excited me. It is certainly a novel that I shan't forget and will definitely reread in order to catch all of Nabokov's nuances. On the surface of this masterpiece one certainly has to admire the incredible wordplay. Deeper one has to admire the mindplay. Kryzs and in turn Lolita taught me one vital thing about becoming a better reader and in turn a better writer, not everything is about you. Sometimes you have to separate yourself from the content in order to get a more (dare I say it) imaginative view. It isn't about the content, it's about using your imagination to delve deeper into something that can be beautiful.
The Wire was another particularly disturbing bit for me as I had a great deal of trouble separating myself from the content. I guess as one who was raped as a child might a bit of difficulty finding sympathy for our beloved Humbert, I had trouble sympathsizing with Omar until anticatharsis where I gathered up all of that baggage and instead looked at the story as it was, real, complicated and accurate. I will carry the moment where I was able to relinquish control and just slip into a story in which I had so much vested with me until I don't remember it anymore.
This class has been for lack of something less cliche, a blessing. Therapeutic and provoking, vicious and strange, but most of all the most useful English class I have ever had. Thanks guys.
2024
If the way I remember the material from this class is anything like the way I remember my high school classes, I think what will stick with me will not be the details of each work, but the general themes that ran throughout the class. So assuming that the Mayans were wrong and time continues beyond December 21, 2012, what big themes will I associate with this class in 15 years?
One theme that really resonated for me was the duality and interdependence of good and evil. This has already been touched on in other blog posts, but this idea was brought up in Areopagitica, and then expanded (much more accessibly, in my opinion) in Blue Velvet. This whole “good cannot exist without evil” thing is hardly a new idea, but our class discussions were the first time I was every really forced to sit down and contemplate and discuss it seriously. Considering it’s one of the loftier metaphysical ideas around, I have no doubt our discussions will serve to enlighten future conversations and add layers of depth to other works and texts. So while I may not remember Frank Booth, Jeffrey, or what’s-her-face in 2024 and I’ve already purged a good portion of Areopagitica from my brain, I’m confident that the ideas about the nature of good and evil that these texts brought up will stick with me nonetheless.
This has also already been expanded on by others, but I’ll definitely think of this class whenever I hear the question “What is Literature?” This question was pervasive throughout the semester, but I’ll especially remember On the Pornographic Imagination’s discussion of the artist as “a freelance explorer of spiritual dangers”, someone “making forays into and taking up positions on the frontiers of consciousness”, not least because it makes being an English major sound really exciting, but also for bringing up the idea that no subject is necessarily unliterary. I’ll even begrudgingly remember Literary Theory, especially since I have a feeling I’ll be referring back to it in semesters to come. The metaphor of the different theories as lenses through which to view a text is a good one, and I definitely added some lenses to my arsenal this semester. This class also definitely helped (read: forced) me to reevaluate my definition of Literature, something that I’ll definitely remember as my personal definition solidifies in years to come. But even more, I’ll now start recognizing literary qualities in many more non-text works, as our work with Blue Velvet, The Wire, Straight Outta Compton, and Highway 61 Revisited, has taught me to do. While the subjectivity of what is considered Literature was a bit scary at first, I now see that it is one of the qualities that makes Literature such a interesting subject to study, and I’m glad that Eagleton left the “what is Literature?” question open, so that we could write the next chapter. (Sorry that was really cheesy, couldn’t resist)
Another theme I noticed was the “everyone’s playing some sort of game” theme that stretched across The Wire, Good Old Neon, and Lolita. What I mean by this is the way all these works focused (some more than others) on the aspect of life that’s just putting on a show for other people or just playing their games. While this is certainly most evident in Good Old Neon, reading that short story sort of opened my eyes to this theme in other works. In Lolita, we really get a personal look in H.H.’s mind, or so he’d like us to think. As we read, we must be wary of H.H.’s game, and keep his motives (to persuade us that he is innocent) in mind. This complicates the novel, and really adds another layer of depth when you realize just how cunning H.H. is being. In The Wire, we must keep track of each character’s motivations and the difference between who they appear to be and who they are. Even though D’Angelo actually wants to get out the drug business and is a pretty softhearted guy, he must play the role of hardcore thug; even though Avon is running the town, he’s still scared when he sees his brother lying in the hospital, etc. etc. The difference between who people are trying to appear to be and who they actually are is an important concept not only in literature but in everyday life. As Krzys brought up, even being a student is just a game, in a way. Throughout our career as students we struggle to get a X on our SAT, or keep a GPA above Y, to show people that we’re good students or smart or whatever. But it’s all just a game we’re playing to get into college or make dean’s list or get a job or whatever, these numbers only have the meaning we give them. Life exists without all these little rules and all this pretending to be something we aren’t, and we’ll be a lot better off if we can know when we need to play the game, and when we need to pull an Omar and play the game by our own rules.
In conclusion, this is by far the most interesting class I took this semester (although there wasn’t much competition) a lot of it thanks to everyone’s good insights in class or on the blog. So whether you said something I hadn’t thought of, showed me a different side to an argument, or even just posted a funny link on twitter, thanks a lot. Seriously (and double thanks to YOU, person who reads to the end of other people’s blogs, even when they’re long and rambling). I’ll see some of you around campus I’m sure, but otherwise, good luck to everyone, in whatever games you choose to play.
One theme that really resonated for me was the duality and interdependence of good and evil. This has already been touched on in other blog posts, but this idea was brought up in Areopagitica, and then expanded (much more accessibly, in my opinion) in Blue Velvet. This whole “good cannot exist without evil” thing is hardly a new idea, but our class discussions were the first time I was every really forced to sit down and contemplate and discuss it seriously. Considering it’s one of the loftier metaphysical ideas around, I have no doubt our discussions will serve to enlighten future conversations and add layers of depth to other works and texts. So while I may not remember Frank Booth, Jeffrey, or what’s-her-face in 2024 and I’ve already purged a good portion of Areopagitica from my brain, I’m confident that the ideas about the nature of good and evil that these texts brought up will stick with me nonetheless.
This has also already been expanded on by others, but I’ll definitely think of this class whenever I hear the question “What is Literature?” This question was pervasive throughout the semester, but I’ll especially remember On the Pornographic Imagination’s discussion of the artist as “a freelance explorer of spiritual dangers”, someone “making forays into and taking up positions on the frontiers of consciousness”, not least because it makes being an English major sound really exciting, but also for bringing up the idea that no subject is necessarily unliterary. I’ll even begrudgingly remember Literary Theory, especially since I have a feeling I’ll be referring back to it in semesters to come. The metaphor of the different theories as lenses through which to view a text is a good one, and I definitely added some lenses to my arsenal this semester. This class also definitely helped (read: forced) me to reevaluate my definition of Literature, something that I’ll definitely remember as my personal definition solidifies in years to come. But even more, I’ll now start recognizing literary qualities in many more non-text works, as our work with Blue Velvet, The Wire, Straight Outta Compton, and Highway 61 Revisited, has taught me to do. While the subjectivity of what is considered Literature was a bit scary at first, I now see that it is one of the qualities that makes Literature such a interesting subject to study, and I’m glad that Eagleton left the “what is Literature?” question open, so that we could write the next chapter. (Sorry that was really cheesy, couldn’t resist)
Another theme I noticed was the “everyone’s playing some sort of game” theme that stretched across The Wire, Good Old Neon, and Lolita. What I mean by this is the way all these works focused (some more than others) on the aspect of life that’s just putting on a show for other people or just playing their games. While this is certainly most evident in Good Old Neon, reading that short story sort of opened my eyes to this theme in other works. In Lolita, we really get a personal look in H.H.’s mind, or so he’d like us to think. As we read, we must be wary of H.H.’s game, and keep his motives (to persuade us that he is innocent) in mind. This complicates the novel, and really adds another layer of depth when you realize just how cunning H.H. is being. In The Wire, we must keep track of each character’s motivations and the difference between who they appear to be and who they are. Even though D’Angelo actually wants to get out the drug business and is a pretty softhearted guy, he must play the role of hardcore thug; even though Avon is running the town, he’s still scared when he sees his brother lying in the hospital, etc. etc. The difference between who people are trying to appear to be and who they actually are is an important concept not only in literature but in everyday life. As Krzys brought up, even being a student is just a game, in a way. Throughout our career as students we struggle to get a X on our SAT, or keep a GPA above Y, to show people that we’re good students or smart or whatever. But it’s all just a game we’re playing to get into college or make dean’s list or get a job or whatever, these numbers only have the meaning we give them. Life exists without all these little rules and all this pretending to be something we aren’t, and we’ll be a lot better off if we can know when we need to play the game, and when we need to pull an Omar and play the game by our own rules.
In conclusion, this is by far the most interesting class I took this semester (although there wasn’t much competition) a lot of it thanks to everyone’s good insights in class or on the blog. So whether you said something I hadn’t thought of, showed me a different side to an argument, or even just posted a funny link on twitter, thanks a lot. Seriously (and double thanks to YOU, person who reads to the end of other people’s blogs, even when they’re long and rambling). I’ll see some of you around campus I’m sure, but otherwise, good luck to everyone, in whatever games you choose to play.
34
I will be thirty-four in fifteen years, which seems closer than I had realized, the more I think about it. The ultimate dream I suppose would be to live in Brussels or Antwerp or somewhere in Belgium, working as a journalist or in international relations. Key word being 'dream'; I kind of have to get through that whole non-fluency in French problem first. We'll see.
It's difficult to pick out a few works from the whole list of things we studied. I feel like everything was so interconnected, as if joined by this invisible network of threads (in good 'ol Post-Structuralist fashion), but some works were more striking than others, especially when side by side.
1. I really think I'll always remember facets of Nabokov's "Good Readers and Good Writers" and Azar Nafisi's lecture. I initially really struggled with the concept of sympathy versus empathy as a reader and how they were different, but I think now I can distinguish the two and use this lesson to improve my skills as a reader and see literature as "the space in which we all recognize each other."
2. Oh, "Areopagitica" and Blue Velvet... Really made me not too fond of Milton for a bit, but when we started talking about Paradise Lost in class, the idea that good cannot exist without evil, although rather simple (and elegant in its simplicity) was actually almost a revelation to me. Then David Lynch and Blue Velvet really helped to embed the idea further in a truly unforgettable fashion.
3. Little Lo and dearest NWA. Just the very fact that both this beautiful, intricate prose by a master of language and this marketable, catchy pop culture product share so much in common really amazes me. Before taking this class, I never would have been able to see the similarities between them. Going beyond just these two works, a foundation has been set in my mind that I think will help me to see the similarities between other seemingly dissimilar works as well.
4. Literary Theory. At times this was so difficult to get through, and it took me a very long time to catch up, but I finally did it, and in the end I was glad for it. It really helped provide a nice historical perspective on how analysis of literature has evolved. It also shows that we should keep our minds open and maybe regard our current way of analyzing literature as just another step toward the "best" way, although how it can evolve further is beyond me.
All right, some massive reading to do on some terribly depressing subjects like Palestinian refugees.
It's difficult to pick out a few works from the whole list of things we studied. I feel like everything was so interconnected, as if joined by this invisible network of threads (in good 'ol Post-Structuralist fashion), but some works were more striking than others, especially when side by side.
1. I really think I'll always remember facets of Nabokov's "Good Readers and Good Writers" and Azar Nafisi's lecture. I initially really struggled with the concept of sympathy versus empathy as a reader and how they were different, but I think now I can distinguish the two and use this lesson to improve my skills as a reader and see literature as "the space in which we all recognize each other."
2. Oh, "Areopagitica" and Blue Velvet... Really made me not too fond of Milton for a bit, but when we started talking about Paradise Lost in class, the idea that good cannot exist without evil, although rather simple (and elegant in its simplicity) was actually almost a revelation to me. Then David Lynch and Blue Velvet really helped to embed the idea further in a truly unforgettable fashion.
3. Little Lo and dearest NWA. Just the very fact that both this beautiful, intricate prose by a master of language and this marketable, catchy pop culture product share so much in common really amazes me. Before taking this class, I never would have been able to see the similarities between them. Going beyond just these two works, a foundation has been set in my mind that I think will help me to see the similarities between other seemingly dissimilar works as well.
4. Literary Theory. At times this was so difficult to get through, and it took me a very long time to catch up, but I finally did it, and in the end I was glad for it. It really helped provide a nice historical perspective on how analysis of literature has evolved. It also shows that we should keep our minds open and maybe regard our current way of analyzing literature as just another step toward the "best" way, although how it can evolve further is beyond me.
All right, some massive reading to do on some terribly depressing subjects like Palestinian refugees.
When I'm 64 (minus 28)
Fifteen years from now I'll either be working as a speech therapist somewhere in the US, most likely wherever I end up going to graduate school, or I will have escaped to some other country, either barely scraping by teaching English as a foreign language or maybe fixing people's talking problems in a different language. My father assumes the former. Whatever the case may be, I think the one idea that I will definitely keep with me is one that has been present in most, if not all, of our material this semester. It is the idea that everyone really is always playing his or her own game. It's something we've all probably heard a thousand times: "Don't judge others, you don't know what they are having to deal with in their lives." But all the LITERATURE we have discussed in this class made that point somewhat less cliché by outlining the presence of both good and evil in everyone. All people have their own agendas, and if you ever want to really understand someone you have to be able to see things from every perspective.
Examples:
In Lolita, we read the beautiful prose of a serial child rapist. Humbert's actions are unforgivable, yet we were given the opportunity to hear his side of the story and at least gain a little bit of understanding of his motives. Humbert was a player in the game of love, it was just unfortunate that his particular brand of love is deemed sinful by most societal standards. Can we really blame him for this?
In Blue Velvet, Dorothy is viewed as a mysterious, dark woman by the whole neighborhood. It isn't until Jeffrey delves into her personal world that we find out about her very real and very serious problems. We see that she isn't just a weird, scary woman, and Jeffrey sees it also. This also leads us to see that Jeffrey isn't just an innocent suburban boy. Things are never what they seem on the surface.
Jimmy McNulty in The Wire is supposed to be the "good cop", and in most cop shows we would probably only see that side of him. However, The Wire does a great job of showing us that McNulty is indeed playing his own games. He is in the middle of a divorce because he cheated on his wife, and he is all about getting some personal recognition. The Wire also shows us that not all of the "bad guys" are completely bad. Omar may be a murderer, but he always obeys his own rules, and we even see a softer side of Wee Bey, who seems to be, in my opinion, the most unfeeling character on the show.
Overall, it is important to remember that every story always has more than one side. Everyone always has his or her own battles to fight and games to play. If anything could ever be "fair", you'd have to look at all situations from every possible angle. This can never be, but perhaps I'll always have that idea in the back of my head.
Over the course of this semester, we’ve read, listened to, and watched a wide range of things. Come fifteen years from now, I won’t remember the texts as much as I will the new perspectives and concepts that they showed me.
Since I started this class, I’ve done a pretty good amount of pleasure reading in my spare time. Nabokov taught me the value of rereading and the importance of reading with an open mind. Most of all, he taught me the power of the imagination with Lolita. The close reading techniques I learned in this class I applied to the books I read in my leisure. From e.e. cummings to The Wire, this class taught me to close read and those skills will stick with me through the years.
Blue Velvet will stick in my mind as the movie that made me distrust movies. I can’t help but overanalyze any movie I see now. All those hours spent watching and re-watching it and constantly thinking about it have just changed the way I watch movies. I certainly drink more Pabst Blue Ribbon than I used to (though I was a fan prior to Blue Velvet).
The details may fade, but the new perspectives and ways of thinking I picked up in this class will stick with my through the years.
If I had Wit it would be used in this Title.
If all goes as planned, then I will have my own production company or be known as one of the most innovative Foley artist/Sound Mixers to come out of this century. But of course I could never hope to have these credits to my name if not for the things I learned in school.
There are things I will remember simply because they are so entrenched in our culture. Now having experienced them in this class, I'm sure I will associate them in some way back to my sophomore year ( a very historically active year too). Dylan, N.W.A., Nabokov, Lynch, Nafisi, The Wire...all I will know and remember. But what specifically will tie them to this class in my mind's filing system?
1) Anytime I'll hear "The Cheese stands alone" I'll envision Omar. Which will probably link my mind to everyone loving him.
2) ReReading will forever haunt me. It will serve a good purpose, but at times I may curse my even knowing the idea exists.
3) As a film student, all I heard in media studies classes was PoMo (Post-Modern). Post-Structuralism is the equivalent for literary theory. Even past 15 years, anything with Post- will conjure up memories of college.
4) Then there's Lolita. Good ol' Hum. Good ol' Lo. I don't think I'll be able to forget the class that really introduced me to Nabokov.
Of course this is just me speculating about what I'll remember. But I have a suspicion that no matter how much I guess what I'll remember, 15 years from now while cutting carrots in the kitchen I'll suddenly remember Krzys' hat and writing to music played via YouTube; how we all talked about twitter and made references to twitter thru tweets; how ridiculous we found others for banning books; nice 8am jaunts to class; finding the neat little courtyard to red and discuss Nafisi; Reader Response vs. New Criticism vs. Structuralism; and Clint trying to remember everyone's name.
Literary Theory was terrible to read, but well worth it
Despite the fact that every time questions over Eagleton’s Literary Theory were assigned I waited until the last minute because I dreaded drudging through the book, I still undoubtedly learned a great deal from Eagleton. Prior to reading Terry Eagleton, I knew nothing about literary studies or history. I have always liked literature, but I was completely uneducated in its roots.
I think it is fair to say that almost everyone in the class thought Eagleton was fairly dry and traditional compared to all of the other works we studied; however, reading Literary Theory gave our work a nice, conventional consistency. I really like the structure of this class and how the Learning Record is used, but at times it can be slightly overwhelming. By assigning single chapters of Eagleton’s book over the entire semester, a regular, predictable pattern was established that I thought was very appealing.
Don’t get me wrong, I hated reading Literary Theory, but in retrospect I see that I am much more knowledgeable about basic literary studies of the twentieth century than I was at the beginning of the semester. The concepts of New Criticism, Structuralism, and Post-Structuralism are frequently referred to, even outside of English classes, so having this new understanding is hopefully going to be very beneficial. Grasping the basic components of literary theories is pretty essential for future English classes and general conversations and I feel like I can speak knowledgeably, to a certain extent, about each of the theories mentioned by Eagleton.
I think it is fair to say that almost everyone in the class thought Eagleton was fairly dry and traditional compared to all of the other works we studied; however, reading Literary Theory gave our work a nice, conventional consistency. I really like the structure of this class and how the Learning Record is used, but at times it can be slightly overwhelming. By assigning single chapters of Eagleton’s book over the entire semester, a regular, predictable pattern was established that I thought was very appealing.
Don’t get me wrong, I hated reading Literary Theory, but in retrospect I see that I am much more knowledgeable about basic literary studies of the twentieth century than I was at the beginning of the semester. The concepts of New Criticism, Structuralism, and Post-Structuralism are frequently referred to, even outside of English classes, so having this new understanding is hopefully going to be very beneficial. Grasping the basic components of literary theories is pretty essential for future English classes and general conversations and I feel like I can speak knowledgeably, to a certain extent, about each of the theories mentioned by Eagleton.
In 15 years...
Like many others, I have no idea where I will be in 15 years. But I do know that there are many things that we have discussed in this class that I think I will remember in the future.
Firstly, I think I will remember the unique writing style of ee cummings and the class' bewilderment on his poety. As an English major, I think I might study more of his poetry and I will remember this class as the start of it.
I think reading and learning about Lolita will remain with me throughout the years. First I will remember the first thing I read by Nabokov, which was "Good readers, Good Writers." I think I will always remember Nabokov's insight into what a good rader is, because some of his ideas I didn't agree with at first. Like putting yourself in the shoes of the protagonist is something a bad reader does, when I think that some books are made for you to identify with the main character. They may not be the greatest of literature, but literature still. And oh, how I will remember Humbert. His articulate, playful word flow. His story. Most of all that he was a pedofile/rapist.
I think I will also remember The Wire, because I think it most surprised me. My expectations were that it was going to be just a normal cop show, but it is so much more than that. Its themes, structure and langauge make it unlike any television show that I have seen yet.
Another topic that I KNOW will stick with me is Blue Velvet. The movie came to grow I me I think, but at first I was so weirded out by it, and the fact that we were studying it in this class. Now I can't go anywhere without seeing references to the cult classic. I was watching 30 Rock and Isabella Rossellini was on it, thought of Blue Velvet. She was on a really good episode of friends, and now I can't watch Cassablanca without thinking about BV. (she is Ingrid Bergman's Daughter) Not to mention the othe rnumorous movies the famous co-stars are in, and how different BV is from any of them.
I think there is still so much more I will take away from this class, but I can't know it yet. But I will when I get there in 15 years.
Firstly, I think I will remember the unique writing style of ee cummings and the class' bewilderment on his poety. As an English major, I think I might study more of his poetry and I will remember this class as the start of it.
I think reading and learning about Lolita will remain with me throughout the years. First I will remember the first thing I read by Nabokov, which was "Good readers, Good Writers." I think I will always remember Nabokov's insight into what a good rader is, because some of his ideas I didn't agree with at first. Like putting yourself in the shoes of the protagonist is something a bad reader does, when I think that some books are made for you to identify with the main character. They may not be the greatest of literature, but literature still. And oh, how I will remember Humbert. His articulate, playful word flow. His story. Most of all that he was a pedofile/rapist.
I think I will also remember The Wire, because I think it most surprised me. My expectations were that it was going to be just a normal cop show, but it is so much more than that. Its themes, structure and langauge make it unlike any television show that I have seen yet.
Another topic that I KNOW will stick with me is Blue Velvet. The movie came to grow I me I think, but at first I was so weirded out by it, and the fact that we were studying it in this class. Now I can't go anywhere without seeing references to the cult classic. I was watching 30 Rock and Isabella Rossellini was on it, thought of Blue Velvet. She was on a really good episode of friends, and now I can't watch Cassablanca without thinking about BV. (she is Ingrid Bergman's Daughter) Not to mention the othe rnumorous movies the famous co-stars are in, and how different BV is from any of them.
I think there is still so much more I will take away from this class, but I can't know it yet. But I will when I get there in 15 years.
When I'm 35
In 15 years I will be almost 35—that is a truly scary thought. My life plan isn’t too clear post college or grad school, but hopefully then I’ll have a family, secure job, and time to read. English classes in high school kind of turned me off to “literature,” and I have to admit I don’t read as much as I used to. One thing this class has definitely done for me is spark my desire to read again, and not just trashy teen novels. (Though I will never give those up either J)
Reading Lolita and seeing how an author’s mastery of language could turn something so horrible into something beautiful is going to stick with me for a long time. Normally, our feelings are pretty simple cause and effects. Something bad happens, you get sad. Something good happens, you get happy. The fact that Nabokov was able to make the reader go against their natural feelings is truly amazing, and what I want to experience again in the near future.
Also, when we first started this class I was pretty puzzled as to why we were only reading two books, yet watching two movies and one DVD series. I thought, this must be a joke! But now I can see why. From “The Pornographic Imagination” to N.W.A’s “Straight Outta Compton,” I can definitely see the importance in studying (or just reading for fun) things that normally might not be considered “literature.” I’ve learned that even if a piece of work doesn’t have high class vocabulary with flowery sentences, it can still be considered literature. In fact, it might be considered better because it is more authentic—we saw how the crude language in The Wire added to its realism, since it more accurately told the story of the people.
Lastly, the idea that you have to reread a book to get the full experience will stay with me. Whether we were close-reading a scene from Blue Velvet or Lolita, I definitely got more out of it the second time through. I doubt in 15 years I’ll have the time to reread books every time, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind.
In any case, I’m excited to start reading for pleasure again, though I probably won’t start until after school is out. Good luck with finals everyone!
Reading Lolita and seeing how an author’s mastery of language could turn something so horrible into something beautiful is going to stick with me for a long time. Normally, our feelings are pretty simple cause and effects. Something bad happens, you get sad. Something good happens, you get happy. The fact that Nabokov was able to make the reader go against their natural feelings is truly amazing, and what I want to experience again in the near future.
Also, when we first started this class I was pretty puzzled as to why we were only reading two books, yet watching two movies and one DVD series. I thought, this must be a joke! But now I can see why. From “The Pornographic Imagination” to N.W.A’s “Straight Outta Compton,” I can definitely see the importance in studying (or just reading for fun) things that normally might not be considered “literature.” I’ve learned that even if a piece of work doesn’t have high class vocabulary with flowery sentences, it can still be considered literature. In fact, it might be considered better because it is more authentic—we saw how the crude language in The Wire added to its realism, since it more accurately told the story of the people.
Lastly, the idea that you have to reread a book to get the full experience will stay with me. Whether we were close-reading a scene from Blue Velvet or Lolita, I definitely got more out of it the second time through. I doubt in 15 years I’ll have the time to reread books every time, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind.
In any case, I’m excited to start reading for pleasure again, though I probably won’t start until after school is out. Good luck with finals everyone!
Flashback-----*
When I leave this class, I think the Idea that will always stick with me is that good and evil cannot exist without each other. They are what they are, only because of what they are not. This Idea will stick with me the most because I had encountered this idea some months before we read Areopagitica. My mom told me to read a passage from the bible, and I flipped it randomly (more out of irritation than anything else) and started reading. The passage was basically about how one who had never encountered evil could not claim to be righteous, because righteousness is when you are aware of the evil, but consciously decide to do what is right. I though this passage was interesting, but I did not think too deeply about until the same Idea arose in Areopagitica, and Blue Velvet.
Something else that will always be in the back (but not super back) of my mind, Is the definition of literature. As much as I disliked reading literary theory, once I was able to understand it, I was able to see why the book had so many good reviews. The Question “What is Literature?” is one that most people will not be able to give a straight forward answer to. Even Eagleton in his infinite wisdom could not give a straight forward answer. Literature for me has always had a narrow definition, but studying all these works, made me think hard. In the past I would not have called a show like The Wire literary. I would have noticed its sophistication compared to other shows, but I would not have called it Literary. This whole Idea is still very new to me, and there is no way I will approve of a high school class studying a “literary show” in place of a book, but I don’t know why not. I guess this change might be too much to swallow in one semester, but it is one of the biggest changes in mindset that I have had in this class, and will not easily forget.
As far as texts, Lolita is defiantly one to remember. I think more than anything, I will remember the way the book felt. The way the language made you go along with the story, and made you feel strangely comfortable with what was going on. You are not fully aware of what you are reading till you are done, and then you have to go back, and say “what?”.
We covered am lot of ideas that I feel we will continue to encounter in life, and not only in our memories when we remember this class.
Something else that will always be in the back (but not super back) of my mind, Is the definition of literature. As much as I disliked reading literary theory, once I was able to understand it, I was able to see why the book had so many good reviews. The Question “What is Literature?” is one that most people will not be able to give a straight forward answer to. Even Eagleton in his infinite wisdom could not give a straight forward answer. Literature for me has always had a narrow definition, but studying all these works, made me think hard. In the past I would not have called a show like The Wire literary. I would have noticed its sophistication compared to other shows, but I would not have called it Literary. This whole Idea is still very new to me, and there is no way I will approve of a high school class studying a “literary show” in place of a book, but I don’t know why not. I guess this change might be too much to swallow in one semester, but it is one of the biggest changes in mindset that I have had in this class, and will not easily forget.
As far as texts, Lolita is defiantly one to remember. I think more than anything, I will remember the way the book felt. The way the language made you go along with the story, and made you feel strangely comfortable with what was going on. You are not fully aware of what you are reading till you are done, and then you have to go back, and say “what?”.
We covered am lot of ideas that I feel we will continue to encounter in life, and not only in our memories when we remember this class.
In 15 years.....
.....I will be old. Damn. I've got a couple years on most of you youngin's so in 15 years I'll be 37, which is practically 40, which is practically the end of my life as I know it. Getting old is my biggest fear, because with age comes responsibility and, worse still, monotony. Ugh. I'll probably be drowning my suburbia soccer-mom sorrows in vodka and botox by the time I'm 37. This is my grim, inescapable future, seeing as how my mother says it is unacceptable for a "lady" to be unmarried past the age of 25. Great.
In the midst of my domestic nightmare, I'm sure that I will frequently look back upon my "glory days" with nostalgia and desire. Amongst my memories of better days, this class will surely have a place. I won't forget our "what is literature?" debate. I won't forget my first time watching Blue Velvet or The Wire. I won't forget our somewhat ironic field trip to the zen garden. And I certainly won't forget Lolita.
Blue Velvet was a trip for me. Watch a movie as an English assignment?! Watching movies is usually a passive activity, so close reading Blue Velvet was especially hard. I will never forget that experience and the observational techniques I picked up. If this movie had never been assigned I probably never would have seen it, and if I had, any literary merit would have been completely lost on me. The recurring idea of the necessary coexistence of good and evil is the major theme/idea that I am taking away from this class, for sure. I never noticed how this idea was laced into so many different texts and commentaries. I know that in the future whenever I recognize it I will be taken back to our circle discussions in our tiny, sad little classroom.
With what I learned from Blue Velvet, I was able to comprehend The Wire that much easier. I really enjoyed the depth of the social commentary and how Simon did not hold anything back. Some may see the content as shocking or a stretch of reality, but I was pleased to see these social justice issues brought to the forefront of television. And again, the coexistence of good and evil and how they melt together in people was one of my favorite discoveries.
Like I said before, our trip to the zen garden was somewhat ironic. There we all were, out in public in a beautiful garden, men and women talking and interacting with one another while discussing a book whose main characters would never have been able to do the same. Now that I think about it, I think Krzys may have done that on purpose. Sneaky.
And finally, Lolita. Light of my life, fire of my loins. Loved this book!! Definitely unforgettable. By far my favorite assignment for so many reasons. The language, the characters, the beauty, the horror, and yes, the story. (Sorry Krzys.) I will never forget my fist time reading Lolita and I will always remember that it was for this class. In fact, I think that it is mostly because of this class that I loved it so much. There is so much depth and richness in this text that my tiny little brain could have never figured all of it out on its own! I will be reading Lolita over and over again for years to come, and every time thinking fondly on the discoveries we made together.
What I'll Remember
One thing that I am sure I will take with me from this class is the Observe, Analyze, Interpret method. I am one of those people who always tries to get meaning first, and this class has shown me that you really get a better idea of what things are about when you don't go about them backwards.
Another thing I won't forget is "The Sentence is a Lonely Place." Even now, as I read, when I come across a really striking sentence, I notice the physical appearance of the letters and words, as well as alliteration and other, more conventional things.
Lastly, I will leave this class with a permanently altered perception of the concept of Literature. In this class, we have analyzed many diverse works and come up with valid arguments of literacy for each of them.
Game Over
Totally felt clever writing that title.
Fifteen years later...
Supposing I don't do anything absolutely stupid to get me killed, Ill be thirty five. Going by how my dad has aged, Ill look the same for the next two decades. Maybe Ill have random gray hairs (already have one!), but Ill still be immature. I have no idea what Ill be doing but Ill probably be doing whatever I feel like doing disregarding repercussions. I don't see myself being married unless someone dares me to do so. Essentially immature and always nerdy, I'm sure I'll be nostalgic for the days in which my future and present characteristics were accepted as normal.
The only question is what I'll vaguely remember but embellish anyway. Judging by the impact these works have on me right now, I would wager on The Wire, Blue Velvet, Straight Outta Compton, Lolita, Highway 61 and The Pornographic Imagination. Its not just the works themselves that have had an impact on me but in the way they have been studied.
The Wire may be the smartest TV show and the best TV I've seen since the "Company Man" episode of Heroes season 1 (believe it or not Heroes was actually good at some point). The way the content is treated with such unflinching maturity will stay with me, and I plan to continue the series all the way up to the end. This may seem easy but the show requires so much time invested and focus that I can't imagine it will be similar at all to when I went through four seasons of scrubs two summers ago.
Blue Velvet blew my mind. Not because I thought it was brilliant, but because I had no clue what was going on and it was the biggest mindfuck since I decided to watch that wretched Neon Genesis Evangelion. Although my personal opinion of Blue Velvet is rather blank, I surprised myself when angered is response to Ebert's inane review of it. I came to appreciate Blue Velvet the more we studied it and that may have to be a method I employ in the future to works I don't have a real reaction to.
I totally brag to my friends I get to study Straight Outta Compton and Highway 61 Revisited in this class. Continuing to challenge the "Literature" label, I'm glad we got to take a good look at these works. I'm especially happy I finally got to hear other students talking about a rap record that doesn't have Lil Wayne in it even if they had to. I only wish we studied Illmatic or a A Tribe Called Quest album as well.
Lolita may be my best remembered work we've done. I can easily see myself rereading Lolita several times in the next few years just like I've done with other novels. I wonder how the experience will differ from reading to reading. I'll continue to explore this work. I think "On The Pornographic Imagination" will be something I'll eventually go back to and read. Maybe it will be this summer. I think some of the arguments made are something to apply to other areas. Also, how can I just forget a long argument for pornography. I'll probably show it to my parents and tell them it was totally okay for me to watch porn in 7th grade because it can be real literature.
Going through these works in a personal way and then discussing them with my peers is what will, in part, keep some of these works memorable. Having to twitter may be selectively forgotten but the blogging won't. I'll definitely remember reading posts by classmates that were often well written. Not sure if I'll be a great reader by then. Maybe I'll be able to read an ee cummings poem and actually know what it is talking about.
Fifteen years later...
Supposing I don't do anything absolutely stupid to get me killed, Ill be thirty five. Going by how my dad has aged, Ill look the same for the next two decades. Maybe Ill have random gray hairs (already have one!), but Ill still be immature. I have no idea what Ill be doing but Ill probably be doing whatever I feel like doing disregarding repercussions. I don't see myself being married unless someone dares me to do so. Essentially immature and always nerdy, I'm sure I'll be nostalgic for the days in which my future and present characteristics were accepted as normal.
The only question is what I'll vaguely remember but embellish anyway. Judging by the impact these works have on me right now, I would wager on The Wire, Blue Velvet, Straight Outta Compton, Lolita, Highway 61 and The Pornographic Imagination. Its not just the works themselves that have had an impact on me but in the way they have been studied.
The Wire may be the smartest TV show and the best TV I've seen since the "Company Man" episode of Heroes season 1 (believe it or not Heroes was actually good at some point). The way the content is treated with such unflinching maturity will stay with me, and I plan to continue the series all the way up to the end. This may seem easy but the show requires so much time invested and focus that I can't imagine it will be similar at all to when I went through four seasons of scrubs two summers ago.
Blue Velvet blew my mind. Not because I thought it was brilliant, but because I had no clue what was going on and it was the biggest mindfuck since I decided to watch that wretched Neon Genesis Evangelion. Although my personal opinion of Blue Velvet is rather blank, I surprised myself when angered is response to Ebert's inane review of it. I came to appreciate Blue Velvet the more we studied it and that may have to be a method I employ in the future to works I don't have a real reaction to.
I totally brag to my friends I get to study Straight Outta Compton and Highway 61 Revisited in this class. Continuing to challenge the "Literature" label, I'm glad we got to take a good look at these works. I'm especially happy I finally got to hear other students talking about a rap record that doesn't have Lil Wayne in it even if they had to. I only wish we studied Illmatic or a A Tribe Called Quest album as well.
Lolita may be my best remembered work we've done. I can easily see myself rereading Lolita several times in the next few years just like I've done with other novels. I wonder how the experience will differ from reading to reading. I'll continue to explore this work. I think "On The Pornographic Imagination" will be something I'll eventually go back to and read. Maybe it will be this summer. I think some of the arguments made are something to apply to other areas. Also, how can I just forget a long argument for pornography. I'll probably show it to my parents and tell them it was totally okay for me to watch porn in 7th grade because it can be real literature.
Going through these works in a personal way and then discussing them with my peers is what will, in part, keep some of these works memorable. Having to twitter may be selectively forgotten but the blogging won't. I'll definitely remember reading posts by classmates that were often well written. Not sure if I'll be a great reader by then. Maybe I'll be able to read an ee cummings poem and actually know what it is talking about.
Restless Farewell
Fifteen years is a long time from now. I'll be 35 years old, for God's sake, that's borderline on my "die young and leave a pretty corpse" plan, but for the purposes of this blog I'll imagine that I'm still around.
After reading what we were supposed to write about I Lolita immediately came to mind. I learned all kinds of things about language, about the idea of literature, and about how to go about interpreting something as complicated as good literature, that's it would be difficult for me to not have learned anything from our Lolita discussions. I'm sure whenever I see or read anything by Nabokov (is anyone taking that class next semester, by the way? It's a REE class, which is really random) I'll think of Banned Books and Novel Ideas and I'll have to smile.
The Wire will stick with me for a more literal reason. The length of the episodes combined with the fact that there are 4 more seasons and my short attention span seem to imply that I may very well not have finished the Wire in 15 years. I kid, I kid. Seriously though, I think that The Wire will serve as something to compare to any future great TV shows I might see. The idea of the game has also helped me articulate the problems in society that I've been bitching about for the past few years. Maybe now that I'm more aware of "the game" I'll get better at it. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...maybe that's the point.
Blue Velvet is hard to ignore. I'm much less judgmental of seemingly "stupid" movies now. While I still think that a huge portion of "cult-classics" are only popular because people want others to think they are unique, I've come to appreciate the fact that "weird" isn't always "trying too hard."
I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but I do know that I won't forget this class. Despite the hour, I've enjoyed every class we've had, and I'm glad I got to meet you all. The game is over for this year..but for most of us it will start back up in August. Happy playing!
After reading what we were supposed to write about I Lolita immediately came to mind. I learned all kinds of things about language, about the idea of literature, and about how to go about interpreting something as complicated as good literature, that's it would be difficult for me to not have learned anything from our Lolita discussions. I'm sure whenever I see or read anything by Nabokov (is anyone taking that class next semester, by the way? It's a REE class, which is really random) I'll think of Banned Books and Novel Ideas and I'll have to smile.
The Wire will stick with me for a more literal reason. The length of the episodes combined with the fact that there are 4 more seasons and my short attention span seem to imply that I may very well not have finished the Wire in 15 years. I kid, I kid. Seriously though, I think that The Wire will serve as something to compare to any future great TV shows I might see. The idea of the game has also helped me articulate the problems in society that I've been bitching about for the past few years. Maybe now that I'm more aware of "the game" I'll get better at it. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...maybe that's the point.
Blue Velvet is hard to ignore. I'm much less judgmental of seemingly "stupid" movies now. While I still think that a huge portion of "cult-classics" are only popular because people want others to think they are unique, I've come to appreciate the fact that "weird" isn't always "trying too hard."
I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but I do know that I won't forget this class. Despite the hour, I've enjoyed every class we've had, and I'm glad I got to meet you all. The game is over for this year..but for most of us it will start back up in August. Happy playing!
Lolita, forever.
In 15 years from now, I can’t even imagine how my life will be. Probably hectic, because I seem to like to keep it that way. All I know is that I will be out of school and happy with myself and whoever else is in my life. Although I doubt I’ll think about our English class every day, I know I won’t ever completely forget it. I feel like I’ve learned so much more than any other “normal” English class could or has ever tried to teach me. And it wasn’t based all on the main principles of English, it all- or most of it, could relate to real life.
The main thing that will more than likely stick with me is Lolita. I have never read a book anywhere near as horrifying or beautiful as this, and definitely not with the same combination. Nabokov showed me that language can turn anything into what you want. He made me believe that what he thought/did was okay, or made me think it was okay to think it was okay. Sorry if that was hard to follow, but you get what I mean. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine an author forcing me to think the way I thought. It was like he controlled what we liked and if we didn’t let ourselves be completely absorbed by his words, then we would miss the whole point. I’ve always had my own opinions about works of literature, but I felt like even if I did have bad opinions of the story of Lolita, there was no way I could ever criticize the language used. I know many of you had read Lolita before, but I had never even heard of it. I am still amazed how Nabokov controls the reader, it’s like we are his puppets and he just gets to kick back and watch how we react to his plans. Genius.
Nabokov and Lolita have shown me to always expect the unexpected. Although not everything will be that way, you never know when something will be the complete opposite of what you think. I feel that if I keep that mind set, I will be more open minded to the world around me.
The main thing that will more than likely stick with me is Lolita. I have never read a book anywhere near as horrifying or beautiful as this, and definitely not with the same combination. Nabokov showed me that language can turn anything into what you want. He made me believe that what he thought/did was okay, or made me think it was okay to think it was okay. Sorry if that was hard to follow, but you get what I mean. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine an author forcing me to think the way I thought. It was like he controlled what we liked and if we didn’t let ourselves be completely absorbed by his words, then we would miss the whole point. I’ve always had my own opinions about works of literature, but I felt like even if I did have bad opinions of the story of Lolita, there was no way I could ever criticize the language used. I know many of you had read Lolita before, but I had never even heard of it. I am still amazed how Nabokov controls the reader, it’s like we are his puppets and he just gets to kick back and watch how we react to his plans. Genius.
Nabokov and Lolita have shown me to always expect the unexpected. Although not everything will be that way, you never know when something will be the complete opposite of what you think. I feel that if I keep that mind set, I will be more open minded to the world around me.
what will stay
I'm not sure where I'll be in fifteen years. At this point, I'm not even sure where I'll be in four years. But I will definitely always remember the e.e. cummings poems. I loved "the boys i mean are not refined" even initially, and I loved how the class discussions and blog posts completely changed my impression of the poem's 'deeper meaning.' The layers of meaning in the poem worked really well, and, weirdly enough, I loved having my initial impression shaken up like that. And even though I preferred it at first to "next to god of course, america," I came away from the class liking the second one more. I found it really pertinent to this day and age and political climate, even though it was written in (I think) 1926. I guess it will always have some social resonance in (next to god of course,) America, whether fifteen or a hundred years from now. When watching the news (and war coverage) recently, I couldn't help but think of cummings' words: "what could be more beaut/iful than these heroic happy dead/who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter." I doubt this image will ever leave my mind.
And Lolita. I actually just submitted it as my contribution for a summer reading list we had to compile for a class. I've rambled about the loveliness of Nabokov's language, and how beautifully he presented something so horrifying, and how horrifyingly he presented something so beautiful. I liked it beyond the aesthetic quality of the language, though, because it challenges and provokes the reader to consider, like Sharee said, what is and isn't okay. I'll always remember and love Lolita for the "love letter to the English language' that it is. As with the cummings poems, I am often reminded of little fragments of sentences out of nowhere, and it makes real life a little prettier.
Poems and books are easy, though, because they are little strings of words that get stuck in your head easily, and you pull them out sometimes when it feels like the right time. The more complex, varied forms of literature that we studied this semester will stay with me as well. I was pretty strongly affected by The Wire - reminded that there is a Game. I may not see every day, I may not be directly immersed in it, but it exists and we all have the power to do something about it. Awareness of this world is a good start - I love how The Wire didn't gloss over anything or use wind machines or overzealous airbrushers in its advertisements, (though I wish it'd been more accessible/on a more-viewed network/basically not on HBO.) It's a show about real life, and it portrays Baltimore in a real-life way. In real life, no one is all 'good guy' or all 'bad guy' and The Wire really makes a point to emphasize this duality in every character. I really hope that in fifteen years, this show still speaks to me and that I still feel compelled to help. I'm not exactly sure how, but I don't ever want to be the kind of person that pretends that The Game doesn't exist, that people like Wallace don't exist.
Lastly, as much as I don't want to admit it, Eagleton's Literary Theory will remain in my head for a long time, even if just subconsciously. When I'm reading, my mind can't help but play around with the different theories. I'll catch myself sometimes being extra-Deconstructionist, or even sometimes too Reader-Response. I've referenced these concepts in lit classes when people have argued about the 'real meaning' of texts. I hated reading Eagleton because I found it dry and pretentious, but, I mean, he presents valid ideas that are worth knowing... it's just that the acquisition of said knowledge can sometimes be painful. When reading, I also remember Nabokov's essay on "Good Readers, Good Writers" and sometimes even ask myself if the metaphorical berries are edible because berries usually are, or because the author has created a world to make me believe this. Even if a book is enjoyable, the answer is not always the second one.
I was surprised by a few of these (Eagleton? really?) but then again, not really. At the beginning of the semester, once I saw that the reading list would demand much more than just 'reading,' I realized that I had to shed my preconceived opinions of a lot of these texts and keep my mind completely open to even what I considered the shittiest assignments ever. That resolution has served me well - I actually disliked some things I expected to love (Funny Games) and found a lot of value in those which I hated from the beginning (yes, Eagleton, The Wire.) And I don't plan on stopping this 'suspension of judgment' after the class is over :]
what will stick with me
I think that Lolita, Reading Lolita in Tehran, and attending Dr. Nafisi's lecture will really stick with me for a while. Especially the day that we took a field trip outside to discuss Reading Lolita in Tehran; that felt really significant, realizing that we have the ability to live our lives how we want to at least in comparison to people and especially women in Iran. We have so much freedom that we take for granted. Reading Lolita in Tehran and Dr. Nafisi's lecture was kind of eye opening.
I feel like the Wire will also stick with me for a while. It was a really well made television show with some deep insight into how we function as a society. It goes with one of the themes of this class that not everyone is 100% good or 100% bad, which I think is kind of an important realization about life. The David Simon interview we read, and the one on PBS also really gets this point across. It was also really interesting to see how the inspiration of Greek tragedy went into making this show.
Watching this show and the movies and listening to music we have, made me realize that literature is a much broader concept than I originally thought. And that many things can be close read and analyzed, and have more meaning than what's on the surface. I've learned to 'fondle the deatails' in this class.
The Learning Record was kind of eye opening to me. I think I'll always remember what I learned about how I am and how I learn. I've learned to close read and analyze myself in a way that I have never done before, and now I think it's kind of an important thing to do.
And honestly pretty much the only thing that will not stick with me (it's pretty much already gone) is Literary Theory. The only thing about Literary Theory that will stick with me is how much I hate it... Sorry, but it's true.
I feel like the Wire will also stick with me for a while. It was a really well made television show with some deep insight into how we function as a society. It goes with one of the themes of this class that not everyone is 100% good or 100% bad, which I think is kind of an important realization about life. The David Simon interview we read, and the one on PBS also really gets this point across. It was also really interesting to see how the inspiration of Greek tragedy went into making this show.
Watching this show and the movies and listening to music we have, made me realize that literature is a much broader concept than I originally thought. And that many things can be close read and analyzed, and have more meaning than what's on the surface. I've learned to 'fondle the deatails' in this class.
The Learning Record was kind of eye opening to me. I think I'll always remember what I learned about how I am and how I learn. I've learned to close read and analyze myself in a way that I have never done before, and now I think it's kind of an important thing to do.
And honestly pretty much the only thing that will not stick with me (it's pretty much already gone) is Literary Theory. The only thing about Literary Theory that will stick with me is how much I hate it... Sorry, but it's true.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
residual thoughts on Dylan and Lolita
Also, I was pretty disappointed that Just Like A Woman is on Blonde on Blonde and not Highway 61 Revisited. It's a pretty great song, and it has some relevance to Lolita, though I think it might have been about Edie Sedgwick. I know it's not on the 'reading' but I feel like I should post it anyway...?
Ev'rybody knows that baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows have fallen from her curls
She takes just like a woman, yes she does
She makes love just like a woman
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl
I just can't fit
Yes, I believe it's time for us to quit
When we meet as friends, introduced as friends
Please don't let on that you knew me when I was hungry and it was your world
Ah, you fake just like a woman, yes you do
You make love just like a woman, yes you do
Then you ache just like a woman
But you break just like a little girl
What HH failed to remember (or maybe he remembered entirely too well) is that Lolita breaks just like a little girl, and is, in fact, a little girl - even if she fakes and takes and makes love just like a woman. Once she actually is a woman, he "just can't fit" and it's over.
(just as an aside, Leonard Cohen seems to be a fan of Dylan's ribbons and bows, which is what reminded me of this song in the first place - Krzys quoted from on Twitter last wee: "Everybody knows the deal is rotten/ Old Black Joe's still pickin cotton for your ribbons and bows/ Everybody knows." But, yeah, definite influence/reference here - Cohen's album (which is great and dark and fantastic) came out in 1967 while Dylan's Blonde on Blonde was released in '66.)
Friday, May 1, 2009
More ideas on the albums
After class today, I was talking with Rachel, and she told me to blog about some interesting points I had made during our conversation.
In the entire N.W.A. album, I felt e most that the powerful and moving song for me was “Fuck the police.” I found it so because the police are supposed to be the good guys, the people you can trust. This song shows the not so glamorous side of the police force, very similarly to the Wire. It breaks that wide spread Idea that the cops are always right, and their actions always justified. The problem is how we get past all of this. After watching the Wire, and listening to N.W.A, when your house gets robbed, you still pick up the phone and call the police. Regardless of what they are doing, there is no way for us to live if we do not have faith that they will do the right thing. It is true that we have seen the dark side of the police force, but after all that we must return to the real world (our world) where we push aside that image and convince ourselves of their complete goodness.
In class, a topic we dwelt on was the authenticity of the image that N.W.A portrayed. Even though many of them were not hardcore gangsters, their songs made it seem that way. I first heard about the N.W.A. album about 2 years ago, I think when VH1 was doing the documentary about them. I was utterly convinced that these people were hard core gangsters. They were the real Avon Barksdale, killing and never looking back. I found it interesting that they were just using their imaginations. I never understood the similarities between the album and Lolita until I got this concept. Finding out that the N.W.A. was not a group of thugs did not make the album any less powerful for me; it just gave me a different way of looking at it. Compared to the Dylan album, I felt straight outta Compton was less layered, and the language although rough was easier to understand. I also felt N.W.A dealt with more simple emotions than the emotions Dylan focused on. While N.W.A focused on anger, Dylan focused on pride, individuality, and a sense of self. I think this might be a reason for the quality difference in their use of language. It seems that It would have been extremely difficult if N.W.A. tried to focus on an issue like the complexity of the human soul, and had to accomplish this with the same level of sophistication used in Straight outta Compton.
In the entire N.W.A. album, I felt e most that the powerful and moving song for me was “Fuck the police.” I found it so because the police are supposed to be the good guys, the people you can trust. This song shows the not so glamorous side of the police force, very similarly to the Wire. It breaks that wide spread Idea that the cops are always right, and their actions always justified. The problem is how we get past all of this. After watching the Wire, and listening to N.W.A, when your house gets robbed, you still pick up the phone and call the police. Regardless of what they are doing, there is no way for us to live if we do not have faith that they will do the right thing. It is true that we have seen the dark side of the police force, but after all that we must return to the real world (our world) where we push aside that image and convince ourselves of their complete goodness.
In class, a topic we dwelt on was the authenticity of the image that N.W.A portrayed. Even though many of them were not hardcore gangsters, their songs made it seem that way. I first heard about the N.W.A. album about 2 years ago, I think when VH1 was doing the documentary about them. I was utterly convinced that these people were hard core gangsters. They were the real Avon Barksdale, killing and never looking back. I found it interesting that they were just using their imaginations. I never understood the similarities between the album and Lolita until I got this concept. Finding out that the N.W.A. was not a group of thugs did not make the album any less powerful for me; it just gave me a different way of looking at it. Compared to the Dylan album, I felt straight outta Compton was less layered, and the language although rough was easier to understand. I also felt N.W.A dealt with more simple emotions than the emotions Dylan focused on. While N.W.A focused on anger, Dylan focused on pride, individuality, and a sense of self. I think this might be a reason for the quality difference in their use of language. It seems that It would have been extremely difficult if N.W.A. tried to focus on an issue like the complexity of the human soul, and had to accomplish this with the same level of sophistication used in Straight outta Compton.
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