Tiny Desk Conclusion

12:37pm: an eclectic, butter-haired girl stumbles into the paradox classroom of Fluid Reader and Texts; The grainy wood floors, and off-white walls imply that the room is aged. Countering this, Neon blue lights reflect on the elevated parts of each individual’s face; noses, cheeks, and foreheads. In front of each student is a mechanical notebook, that when students habitually tickle, giggle in response with clicks and clacks. The footsteps of the chronically belated girl contribute to this oxymoron. In the quiet room, the embrace of each foot with the floor is an intentional tip-toe, yet inevitably a stomp. She sits and fumbles with her backpack for a minute, searching for necessities, in this case, caffeine and a computer. The song of the day slowly eases her half-asleep brain, oozing with soft-blanket temptations of her bed, into an awakened state. It is difficult to be punctual, and to conform to conventional time standards, with an unconventional internal clock. In all of my past blog posts, I explored the idea of identity, especially those that are seemingly contradictory. Continue reading “Tiny Desk Conclusion”

What have we learned from English 203?

          As the fall semester comes to a close, it is important to ask ourselves what we have learned in English 203 . The purpose of Reader and Text has been for students to understand the practice of literary criticism and the questions that practice engenders. I believe this goal has been met and that we have learned lessons that went beyond the description on the syllabus.
          Through our countless class meetings, Professor Schacht has stressed the importance of redefining the texts we read. By studying movies, songs, poems, and books, we have learned that texts can be written in endless forms . When readers understand that texts can include more than long novels, they have the power to view the world comprehensively. In relation to this lesson, our class has also learned to redefine the texts we have read. When our class took the time to deeply understand what authors wrote in literary pieces, we were able to develop a deeper comprehension of the evident themes and lessons they presented.

Continue reading “What have we learned from English 203?”

Expanding My Literary Universe

What exactly have I learned over the course of the semester? Seems like a simple enough question. I learned about why Henry David Thoreau went into the woods, I learned about two different concepts of liberty, and I learned about the cool new task of writing blogposts. I also learned that Professor Schacht has a soft spot for Christmas films. That’s cool and all, but what has this class really been about? Continue reading “Expanding My Literary Universe”

A Step Back From The Semester

Honestly, trying to sit down and write this blog post has been a lot more challenging than I anticipated. All of my other final assignments have just been a regurgitation of facts, so switching gears to form my own opinions has been weird. I can tell you why Pluto is no longer considered a planet and trace the path of Alcibiades’ capricious loyalties all through Ancient Greece. My brain physically ached for a while from so much cramming, although that’s not even possible since the brain has no pain receptors. But, a broad question like “What has the point of this semester been?” is a whole different playing field. I drew a mental blank for three days before I even tried to sit down and write. Continue reading “A Step Back From The Semester”

Final Reflection

What have we been doing all semester? A simple answer would be that we, the readers, have read and analyzed numerous pieces of literature and through that we have discussed our findings. But what exactly have we been doing? Yes, we discuss and interpret material as any English class does, but I think what’s specific to this class is we do it in a way that the language in which we interpret the material is analyzed along with it. For instance, an example of this would be the term “identity.” In conventional English settings, the word can be used to analyze how a character identifies or what the character identify as. However, in this class I looked at the term itself. Specifically in my second blogpost, I wrote of the meaning of identity in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Furthermore, I focused on the interpretation of identity in the real world in contrast to Wonderland. I wrote of Alice being convinced one characteristic made her a certain way, but I suggested that identity encompasses an abundance of characteristics, so her fixation on one was rather silly. Through this, I made the assertion that it is possible, or rather more likely, that the term “identity” embodies multiple attributes a person may possess. Adding to this, in my critical essay I did the same thing, but with the terms “sense” and “nonsense.” Again, with analyzing the Alice books, I evaluated the meaning of both the terms. Along with that, I evaluated the difference in the conflicting worlds of reality and Wonderland. I argued sense is what is conventional in our society, specifics can be interpreted individually, and nonsense is what is sensical for those in Wonderland. Overall, I learned that it’s beneficial when evaluating literature to consider the meaning of the term you’re using to further understand the piece of writing. Those terms also can be interpreted differently, which will cause the very piece of writing you’re evaluating to have a varied meaning. Continue reading “Final Reflection”

Reflections on Readers, Texts, and Personal Arrogance

I will admit that over the course of this semester I may have occasionally dominated the conversation. Through no fault of my own, I will concede that I tend to come across as something of a know-it-all. My thoughts, especially where critical discussion of literature is concerned, can often race at a mile a minute, and oftentimes I’ll say my piece, remember something I meant to say, and then raise my hand again to share my invaluable information with the class. Continue reading “Reflections on Readers, Texts, and Personal Arrogance”

Final Reflection

Our education system is quite ironic—first, we stress about knowing the answers to questions; we study hard for tests, and we think we know quite a bit; but eventually, we realize the most important questions we can ask have no answers.  Sure, we can do some arithmetic; sure, we know how spelling, grammar, and mechanics work; sure, we know where, when, and by whom the Declaration of Independence was signed.  But, these are trivial.  The important questions of humanity remain unanswered.

Over the course of the semester, we analyzed and discussed texts—and more broadly, works of art—as individuals with their own identity.  What makes a text fit into a specific genre?  When does a different version of a text become a different text entirely? Who does a text belong to?  These are questions that I have thought about to certain extents before I came to Geneseo, and are very applicable to the world.  Maybe there is value in the liberal arts after all.  In all of our discussions in class and over the internet, we have never reached a solid answer to any of these questions. Perhaps this is a sign of truly mature and intellectual discussion.  True, we may have certain opinions and beliefs (I surly do), but do we really know the answer?  Herein lies my true takeaway from Fluid Readers, Fluid Texts: the arts are filled with gray area, no pure black and white.  As I, and I’m confident all of us have gotten higher and higher in our education system, we have struggled to view the world conceptually and theoretically. Success can no longer be pinned to memorizing a set of flashcards.  None of the material we’ve covered over the course of the semester is simple enough to be put on a flashcard.

I have certainly been challenged throughout the semester.  Admittedly, I could have done some things better to ease my stress.  Hindsight 20/20.  My abilities as a writer to adequately capture my ideas onto paper has also been challenged—our assignments deviated from the type of literary analysis which I am most comfortable with and forced my to think differently.  But, challenges are the only way to grow, and I definitely believe I have grown as a writer and a thinker.  Though it may sound somewhat chiche, I see the world differently and I have brought what we’ve learned in this class into other classes and areas of my life.

A Few Words from the Authors

It may seem difficult at time to decipher just exactly what an author’s message may be. There’s a sea of themes floating around, but how do they all connect? Perhaps the easiest way is not to take highly ornate notes on a single topic, but instead, attempt to make connections with other books. Even if that book seems like the polar opposite of another, there are messages which may tie together quite nicely. The first novel that we read, Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, is drastically different from any novel following it, like Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Despite the obvious differences between these two works, there still exists similar messages from different authors. Thoreau talks about a lot of the problems he would like to fix by isolating himself from society at Walden Pond. Both narrators in Carroll and Thoreau’s works that we’ve examined seem to take on the perspective of an observer to society. Alice comes into a world that is much different than the one she is used to, being quick to judge what she sees. She quickly learns, however, that there is no true definition to what’s normal. Thoreau also removes himself from the society he’s always been a member of so he can present an outside perspective. Some may say that he isn’t truly isolated from society, for he did have visitors and it seems difficult to be completely isolated. Even if I were to lock myself away in my bedroom for a few weeks, yes I would still be in my home (society) but I would not be directly in contact with society so that I could still sit with my thoughts. Later on in the novel, Thoreau explains how his experiences of living in solitude may be in opposition to what “they say.” He recognizes that living in solitude near a pond would cause others to question his well-being, but he realizes by living alone he can view the peculiarities of human nature. In going through with his plan to live as a man of nature, he immediately can make observations that he would not have able to within society. In Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol,” the protagonist is forced to leave his current “life” and observe his surroundings through various moments in his life.  The scene where he sees himself in his “prime” is harshly contrasted to the potential fate of Scrooge. The fear that he feels is similar to the way Mrs. Dalloway often felt when she had to look back on her early years. Each of the books that we’ve read has its unique plot, but the authors all seem to be preaching a similar idea. Thoreau advises his readers to take action for their lives, warning against fate unfolding your life for you. It’s inspiring the reader to believe that there is nothing more powerful than the ability to influence your surroundings. We are given a blank journal, and it is up to us whether or not we fill this book with moral and significant chapters of our lives. The identity of the author changes with how their message is reflected in their works. They all deal with different “They says” but have their own “I say.” They give us what they believe, and we can either take it or leave. 

 

The Finale

Before the semester started and we were introduced to the Fluid Reader and Text class, there were many things that I was not aware of. You may ask yourself what this class has been all about, and I emphasize the word about because of one of the lectures that we had talked about during class. We had reflected on this topic and  on the notion of dreaming in relationship to the stories of the Alice books. We gathered information that stated that “a story is about something, we might either be giving an account of what happens in it or offering an interpretation of its meaning.”  We also looked into the etymology of the word “about” that suggested that “to use this word in talking about a story is to think of the story as somehow circling around the events or meanings at its core. A story has a kind of narrative through-line that its incidents, in all their detail, cluster around and elaborate.” Continue reading “The Finale”

All About this Semester:Final Blogpost

Over the course of the semester, the question “What is this about?” has frequently popped up. In fact, that single question pretty much captures the whole theme of the class. With everything we read, we always asked the question “What is this story about?” Since this class is an English class, it only makes sense that we would ask such a question. However, we didn’t only address the most basic aspects of a story, which would be the easiest way to answer this question. Instead, we dared to look beyond the surface level of the text and dive into the meta aspects of each text we read.

Continue reading “All About this Semester:Final Blogpost”