Class Reflection

As a student I think that nI have grown in this class. I think that my appreciation for different kinds of literature has grown drastically. I also think that I have gotten more used to talking and sharing my ideas in front of my peers, as well as being able to think more critically about literature in general. One of the most challenging things for me still is analyzing poetry. The poetry that we read was good, but I still felt that I really had to stretch my mind to be able to dissect it. I think that I have improved as a writer. I think that with each paper I built on the weaknesses that I had in the paper before and always tried to clarify my writing and make it better.

I had the most positive reaction to Blankets, ABC, and the two novels. I liked these texts particularly because they caught my attention and were of interest to me personally. Although I probably wouldn't have read them on my own, I'm glad I got a chance to read them in class. The texts I struggled with were some of the poems and Shakespeare. I like Shakespeare, but it is just more intricate than the other texts and takes more time to understand. I felt the same way with the poems. Sometimes I find it hard to accept the fact that there are so many interpretations of 1 single text. 

I must say that at first I was very skeptical of the graphic novel genre. I didn't really consider graphic novels to be literature I guess, I just thought of them as comics, and lumped them all together into one category. I think that my interpretation of it was challenged by the first one we read. I wasn't too sure even then if I would like them, but once we started ABC I was hooked so to speak. I think that as we read these texts I found myself realizing that they were indeed literature. They all had a deeper meaning, and the pictures helped me to understand the characters. I have come to like graphic novels, and again, if not for this class I probably wouldn't have read one.

I really enjoyed the reading and the response papers. I think the response papers was a good opportunity for us to show what we were thinking and have a way to demonstrate our understanding of the text. Although there was a lot of reading I enjoyed it. I consider myself to be a bookworm, ad usually during the school year I don't have time to read, so this was a great thing for me, because I was learning and doing something enjoyable. I think that the blog posts would have been more effective if we had posted on each other's posts more often. I think its a good idea, but maybe could be more effective.

Overall, I do feel better prepared to think critically about texts. Since we covered a great deal of literature and many genres, I feel as though I could work through a text if it were given to me. I think that this class has given me a lot of insight into different genres of literature that I wouldn't have come across otherwise. As far as the course goes, I thought it was great and enjoyed it very much :)

Gaiman and Shakespeare

Wow...I don't really know how to respond to the Gaiman text. I was confused, and didn't realize there were two 'stories' going on at once until about half way through : /

But....I think that Gaiman's technique and approach is an effective one. I think that his idea of taking the original text and inserting the feelings/conversations/ideas of the audience who are watching the play is different. I was confused at first because I could not differentiate between those characters that we in the Shakespearean play, and those that were watching it and commenting. If you notice though, (which I clearly didn't until half way through) when the audience is interacting the speech bubbles are black and it looks nothing like the panels of the actual play, like on page 81. I think that in some ways Gaiman's approach does take away from the original because it turns the interpretation of the play, but on the flip side it's nice to have someone else interpret the play other than Shakespeare himself. I think that although Gaiman's interpretation was choppy it worked. 

Helena and Demetrius

So, after reading through A Midsummer Nights Dream, I must admit I felt quite overwhelmed. I tried to keep up while listening to the BBC version posted on the blog, and that seemed to help a lot. One of the relationships in the play that I found most interesting was the one between Helena and Demetrius. Its the typical she loves him, but he doesn't love her scenario. While Demetrius is betrothed to the beautiful Hermia, and has professed his love for her, Helena can't help but to still love the man that will seemingly never love her.
In the passage in Act 2 Scene I, we see Demetrius and Helena in a struggle to come to terms with their 'relationship'. Demetrius tries to get her to leave him alone and says "I love thee not, therefore pursue me not." He is stern with her and makes it very clear that he does not love her, nor will he ever-his love is vested in Hermia. After Demetrius tells her that he may have to tell her that he cannot love her her reply is "And even for that do I love you the more. " Helena's infatuation with Demetrius makes her look needy and lost. She can't seem to understand that he will not love her. Her character in the play is a little crazy I think. She almost seems to be stalking him. Creepy? I think so. But i guess love can do that?....
All throughout this part of the scene there is an obvious struggle as Demetrius tries to get away from Helena. I think that Helena just wants to feel loved and have someone reciprocate her feelings for a change. Although her character seems a bit weird, I think that she just wants to be accepted. She wants to receive the attention that the beautiful Hermia gets.
Now....when Puck and Oberon come into the play I know this is where the 'play within a play' begins. At this point in Act 3 scene 2, we know that Puck has put Demetrius, Helena, and Lysander under the 'spell' by using those flowers. This is when Demetrius and Lysander profess their love for Helena. Demetrius says "O Helena, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine! To what, my love, shall I compare thine eye?". Helena is being swooned over by not 1 man , but 2. I think for her this is a huge deal. She got what she wanted. The affection of the man she loved: Demetrius.
This was truly one complicated love triangle.

Working Thesis Paper #2

Ok, this is rough...but I have an idea.

I want to discuss Persepolis and the idea that conflict changes how we see the world, faith, and our self-identity. I think that Marjane finds herself through dealing with the Iranian Revolution, and her set backs and growth show how conflict and violence help to shape an individual.

So maybe it would look something like this?

Conflict, violence and terror reek havoc on individuals everyday, yet the set backs and difficulties these issues bring help to create a new outlook on life, identity and faith. 

Any suggestions??

I am most likely doing the traditional format for this paper

Persepolis and Neruda's Poem

The panels that I chose to look at were on pages 142. In this scene Marjane has just found out that there was a bombing in her neighborhood. At the time she was out shopping with her friend Shadi, and rushes home to ensure that everyone is ok. When she arrives she is greeted by her mother and they hug. Marjane's mother tells her that the bomb struck the Baba-Levy's house, and on page 142, we see their house in shambles, a pile of rubble...

Marjane is upset as she knows that her friend Neda was most likely home when it happened, and upon seeing the turquoise bracelet, her worst fears are confirmed. Although the text doesn't say that they were indeed all home when it happened, I got the feeling that they were. In the first panel, where it shows the house in shambles, I think of Neruda's line in his poem that says "and the blood of the children ran through the streets without fuss, like children's blood. We do not see any blood in the actual frame, yet we know blood was shed. A child represents a certain level of innocence, and it is this loss of innocence that makes us feel sad when reading through this part of Persepolis. I'm sure there was a struggle on the Baba-Levy's part to escape, yet there was no great 'fuss' in the end. The people responsible for the bombing accomplished what they had intended.

Another line from his poem that I thought was similar was when Neruda says "Come and see the blood in the streets". This line is suggestive of all of the turmoil and grief that fills the streets and lives of people during war and conflict, conflict that is obviously affecting Marjane and her loved ones.

This conflict transforms identity because it ultimately changes how Marjane views herself, her country and her faith in the country. She is left to deal with the fact that she must leave Iran to go to Vienna so that she can live a life without problems, yet escaping to Vienna proves almost as difficult for her. She changes her image, her habits, and her beliefs to try and fit into a 'world' that she doesn't belong in. Vienna is not her home...Iran is. And this takes some changes in herself before she realizes this. I think her attitude towards life and the faith in her country changes as the novel progresses and in the end, I think she has realized who she is.

Part One Persepolis and Poems...

I must say that I was a bit surprised after reading through the first part of the novel and the poems that were posted on the blog. I was shocked at the attitude of the Satrapi family. I guess I just believed the typical stereotypes that we all hear on the news about the people in the middle eastern countries. I couldn't believe that they were so forward with their beliefs and thoughts. i found it interesting that they were so in touch with the 'modern' world, while the world around them was ravaged and changed without consent.
The poems that were posted all spoke o the text as well. I think each had its own aproach, and addressed the 'good' and 'bad' aspects of war. I think that Satrapi thinks of the war as both good and bad in that she has her own beliefs about what should be happening and what should not be happening.
The first part of the book was interesting, and I'll be curious to see how it ends...

Oranges and Coming of Age (from Monday Oct 13th)

I think that every person has his/her own beliefs, yet we all choose to act on those beliefs in different ways. My family has strongly shaped my belief system, although as I have grown I have developed my own beliefs as well. In Oranges, belief in God is always upheld, especially by her mother and the Pastor. Jeanette's belief in God and sexuality change as the novel progresses. She begins to question her beliefs at a young age, and eventually explores those beliefs with Elsie, Melanie, and Mrs. Jewsbury. On page 134 Jeanette said "If there's such a thing as spiritual adultery, my mother was a whore." You can tell Jeanette is upset and is questioning her role, and her mother's. Even though in the end Jeanette seems to be okay with her mother, I think she still is struggling to figure out where she belongs. Jeanette tells Melanie "I love you almost as much as I love the lord", showing her struggle to accept the fact that it is possible to have such strong feelings for both of them. In church, page 104, the Pastor tells the congregation that both Melanie and Jeanette have fallen under Satan's spell. The church all seems to believe this statement and the girls are escorted out.
Another thing that I notice in the book so far was the foreshadowing. The oranges that her mother has been feeding her eventually turn into the orange demon that she must face while making decisions. The story of Winnet and the sorcerer runs somewhat parallel to Jeanette's story too because in the end, both are abandoned and shunned by the one person who claimed to love them. They both seem to face their own demons in life at a young age, but both grow and learn from it too.