Looking More Closely Still

Upon entering Dr. McCoy’s class on the second day— I missed day one due to a change in schedule— I found myself in a classroom community I have yet to experience. I had just changed my concentration to English, and I walked into this class with a cautiously eager mindset. I briefly reviewed the course syllabus prior to class, but was reassured by Dr. McCoy that time would be spent going over it. With my first glance, I immediately noticed the Suspicious Pants.

I honestly thought it was just a tweet that Dr. McCoy had liked, with no correlation to our coursework. I then noticed how it was placed under the title “Our Course Epigraphs”, so I knew it had to be important. I thought to myself, “Why would a professor have a silly tweet as one of the cornerstones of the course?” It was through our class discussion that I began to understand.

 While in class, my peers explained to me what had happened on day one. They all discussed what they noticed about the pants, and began sharing with me their own ideas. I contributed to the discussion by stating how the buttons in the pocket looked like eyes, and how the wrinkles below the pocket formed the ‘eyelids’. We asked questions such as “Are the pants themselves suspicious, or are they suspicious of something?” It was interesting to hear what my classmates made out of the tweet, which we all agreed was a funny thing to analyze for a collegiate English class. 

As we continued through class that day, we began a small group discussion about Geneseo alum Laura Skrzpczyk’s blog entitled The Art of Scaring. Her piece discusses how there is often not a lot of transparency in collegiate partnerships, and how the use of support systems helps eliminate the “scary” of college. In our group, we each put forth our experiences in college thus far. Our different years, majors, and our fears about being in a class structured in an innovative way became the focus of the conversation. Coming from all different backgrounds, we all saw a piece of ourselves in this article, just as we had seen different aspects when looking at the pants. Through these in-class exercises, I took a step outside of my own vision and connected with my classmates through listening to what they had to say. I left class that day feeling more at ease and open minded toward the course.

Looking at the Suspicious Pants tweet and reading The Art of Scaring reminded me of an idea that was reinforced in my previous English classes. As readers, we all will have our own perceptions and interpretations of literature. Discussing our individual viewpoints and hearing how they differ from others allows us to think of things we would otherwise not have, which is quite the rewarding experience. Certain aspects of a text may stand out to others, while some may be more well versed with theme ideas rather than specific text details. We each contribute our own understanding to the class, sparking scholarly discussion. This notion reinforces the idea of class community, which I have noticed is an important aspect of this course over the first few periods. Through our discussions of acting in good faith, it is clear that as members of this community we must welcome everyone’s unique perspectives, and I value the openness that our class setup establishes in order to do this successfully.

The way in which we analyzed the Suspicious Pants can be applied to the reading of Euripides’ play, The Bacchae. Even after taking a theater history course last fall, I still find myself struggling with Greek literature. The language is highly complex and difficult to understand, especially when the piece was made to be listened to, not read. The first time I read it, I had a basic understanding of the plot but was still quite confused. However, with each re-reading I did, I discovered new details that I had previously missed. Just like with the pants, the longer I spent looking, the more details I saw. 

As I read, I began to see connections between this piece of ancient literature and a modern day social media post. In Euripides’ The Bacchae, Diosnyus returns to Thebes under the facade of a strange and mortal man, where his power as a god is questioned. Dionysus began to curse the women who spoke against him, who happened to be his mother’s sisters. These Maenads, as they were called, brought havoc to Thebes, which greatly angered Pentheus. Pentheus locked up Dionysus, which resulted in the derangement of the Maenads. Agave, one of the Maenads, was under the possession of the Bacchus, which caused her to kill Pentheus. In line 1280 of Euripides’ The Bacchae, Agave questions Cadmus about what the head that she was holding really was. She was displaying it with great pride, completely oblivious to what she had done. To this, Cadmus replied “Look more closely still. Study it carefully” (line 1281). Agave, the mother of Pentheus, was so focused on the one interpretation in her mind that she thought was right. She was convinced she had murdered a lion. It took Cadmus saying for her to actually look at it in order for her to realize she was the reason her son was dead. Her close minded viewpoint relates to those suspicious pants—if you only look at things from only your own perspective, you restrict yourself from gaining valuable insight. When you are stuck in your own way of viewing something, letting in another person’s viewpoint can bring clarity. As the semester progresses, I hope to apply Cadmus’ dialogue to the way I approach coursework. By close looking and careful study, you focus on the process of thinking. This allows for a richer connection between reader and text, which is the ultimate goal of this course.

My personal goal for this course is to take on learning through a new lens. As someone who has always been focused on the end result and the number attached to it, this course will be challenging for me. Steering away from being driven by the grade is something I’ve never done, but I am up to the challenge. Taking on this new style of a class, I aim to remember that there is significance in taking the time to probe deeper and both listen to and value the thoughts of my peers. I yearn to take Dr. McCoy’s advice on slowing down to focus on the process, and better myself as a reader and writer in doing so. 

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