It has been a really long time since I have written a reflective learning blog, which has now been nearly replaced by our tragedy unit. However, this short break has not been void, but has been filled with a handful of learning opportunities. One thing I would like to touch on happens to be about tragedy, and how reading certain texts has affected my definition of the genre. Before we jumped into one of our main texts, we read an article about tragedy and how it pertains to the modern man. According to this text, tragedies happen to have a lot of heroes, which is a characteristic that most mainstream media lacks. This lack has caused a downward spiral for the popularity in tragedy. At first, I personally did not have heroes within my definition of tragedy; my definition originally was simply "A genre which includes a focus on human suffering." But after reading the article, it makes sense as to why heroes are included in most tragedy. Heroes, to most people, are individuals who try their hardest to save the day and aren't typically associated with being flawed. I think this is where the tragedy comes in. Heroes, human or not, also have flaws that can limit them in achieving their end goal. Take Oedipus for example. In the story of Oedipus, he was looked up to by the people, for he had solved problems in the past. However, as reviled by the story, Oedipus has had a broken past, having killed his father and marrying his mother. Not only did this affect his mother, and the townspeople, it tragically affected his daughters, who will now be teased about their family's inbreeding. Tragedy at it's finest. Perhaps this isn't how I was meant to process things, but it goes without saying that I have learned and shaped my definition of what tragedy is. It's quite interesting and these past few weeks haven't gone to waste.
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To be quite frank, this week I didn't learn anything really from any class; however, it has been a rather productive few days with essays coming out of the wazoo. I've had a lot on my plate with both AP Literature work and Science Fiction work, but I've managed and taken a few things into consideration regarding time management. Over this week, we have been working on essays pertaining to elements of fiction; my particular essay being on humor. Before we were to write this essay, it was important to read some text that had humor in it, one of which texts was titled Rape Fantasies. Now don'g get me wrong, this story was funny, but as a group we were meant to read two separate texts for the subject of humor. This is where the fun comes in. Two out of three of us chose to do humor, which is great, however, one out of three of us decided to go to Mexico for a fancy-schmancy wedding. I'm not salty, but I've had to learn how to take on the work load of more than one person. Time management hasn't been a thing I've really struggled with in the past, but now that I must write a two person essay by myself, things are getting a bit stressful and I have coped. At home, I do a little bit of work, and I take full advantage of the time we have in class (yes, I slack of occasionally). Thankfully though, I am finally almost finished. It is now week six and I'm still hanging on somehow. It was a long week for me due to the five days of school paired with two. eight-hour shifts at my favorite place... McDonalds *major eye roll.* However, the PoW, titled: My Papa's Waltz, gave me some insight in how not only in poetry, but things within real life, can have more than one meaning/purpose. The poem is told from the point of view of a presumed young boy. In the poem, the boy describes dancing with his intoxicated father. After one read through, the poem seems lighthearted and touching, due to the rhyme and use of words such as "romped." However, when read through once more, abusive elements start to make their way out of the shadows. The boy describes being dizzied by his father's whiskey scented breath, hitting his face on a belt buckle, and proceeds to go one with describing his father's time keeping upon his head. These elements reveal a dark interpretation of the poem, giving in more than one possible meaning. I do not believe that poetry is the only thing that can have multiple meanings. Thing''s within life can often be up to each individual person's interpretation. Take a rose for example; for some, a rose may simply be another flower, nothing special at all, but to another person, a rose could mean the world. The rose could be a symbol of something much deeper, much like the poem. This week during class we were required to begin analyzing certain texts that represent certain literary characteristics such as structure, character, and humor. One of the short stories agreed upon by my group went by the title: Rape Fantasies; and let me tell you, Margaret Atwood is quite the card. The story starts off with a woman introducing herself and her friends. The woman and her friends are gathered at a table for lunch, discussing everyday woman-things. Things then take an awkward turn, when the main character begins discussing the topic of rape fantasies. At this point in the story, things start to get funny, which is a turn a lot of people would find offensive; however, I see the humor, especially when the woman starts talking about her rape fantasy involving Mr. Clean (or perhaps Mr. Dirty in this instance). Personally, I think it is important for authors to sometimes take serious topics and make light of them. Margaret Atwood does a good job at doing so by making a wacky, out-there character and her friends. Truth: the quality or state of being true. Truth is something we all have an understanding of, whether or not we choose to be truthful. However, truth is like a piece of paper. Over time, the truth becomes hidden behind stains, burns, and wrinkles, making it hard for us to decipher what is, and what is not, sincerity. During this week, we analyzed a poem titled, Elegy in X Parts, by Matt Rasmussen. Within this poem, the speaker discusses the war that is the defining of truth. "My imagination erodes my mind..." the speaker states. This is the first and one of the best lines within the poem, because of it's accurate representation of how one's mind can take hold of the truth, hiding it from reality. Throughout the poem, lines such as these bring together the main idea that truth is a malleable thing. One element that gives truth the ability to flex is the process of overthinking. Overthinking can make it hard for a person to focus on a particular reality. In Rasmussen's poem, a line goes over the overthinking that is controlling the speakers mind. "Periphery of stars, darkened by focus..." The stars mentioned in this stanza could likely represent the millions of thoughts twinkling within the speakers head, which are darkened by the the focus on one false memory. Truth is like a piece of paper, and if one is not careful with it, it's likely to be soiled. We all have an understanding of truth, but we must be cautious of it's whereabouts. When thinking of the word "Literature," people often associate the phrase with any form of readable text. However, not all writing should be considered literature. Pieces of literature are to be defined as written works, especially those considered to have superior or lasting artistic merit. This definition is widely accepted... for the most part. However, calling one piece of writing or artwork superior to another isn't quite the right way to put it. This week in class, we really stressed the different forms of value a piece of writing may have. Literature, unlike commercial work, does not focus on monetary value. Part of the definition of literature reads: ...superior or lasting artistic merit. This part of the definition truly expresses what literature is. Literature is art, and is a type of writing that lasts an extended period of time. Take Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for example. Romeo and Juliet was written between 1594 and 1596, but even after centuries, the story of Romeo and Juliet still lives on throughout high school curriculum's and throughout Hollywood scripts. To me, a story that has the ability to be carried on year after year is what most would consider to be literature. It is the lasting artistic merit, and not all written work has this characteristic. Take The Fault in Our Stars, written by John Green, for example. Although this piece presents a brilliant and moving story, it's popularity shriveled only months after its film release. "The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls..." Diction. The art of...word-ing? Yes! Diction, by definition, is the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. Over this week, I have learned a lot about the importance of a writers word choice, and how it can alter the image a piece of text can create in your mind. During this week, we spent a great deal of time analyzing a poetic piece titled "The Eagle." In the poem, Tennyson takes caution when choosing his words. By using words such as wrinkled instead of a common word like wavy, it specifies the beauty within the scene. Waves can be seen as violent, crashing beings, whereas wrinkles can remind the reader of wisdom and serenity. Another thing to take note of were the words used to describe the motion taking place within each sentence. In the quote above, Tennyson uses the word "crawled" to describe the movement of the sea. When I first read this line, it reminded me of a sluggish type of movement, a movement that struck me as infantile. The word crawled can also be seen as humanistic, and by personifying an inanimate object, the reader is able to better connect with the text. Overall, after reading Tennyson's poem a number of time, I have taken in the importance of diction and have realized the impact it can have on the readers perception of the work. This week marks the last first week of my high school career. With this comes fear, excitement, and an urge to get things over with. Though apprehensive, I plan on using this year to learn and explore my intellectual capabilities. Over this first week, there were a handful of things that were given as advice to improve my reading. One major point that I picked up was the idea of pushing for progress. Though not worded as such, the point is clear. In order for a person to improve their reading and achieve their reading goals, they must push or encourage themselves to gain the motivation to read daily. As with many things in life, practice makes better, not perfect, but better. When sharing "how I got here" with my class outside, I stated that I have never really been a reader. But by the end of this week it was clear as to why I have never been. I've never pushed myself to read consistently. Over the next trimester, I hope to take more from this and apply it to my daily routine. Reading is a good thing and needs to be done whether or not I like it. I feel as though once I get started, though, I won't want to stop. |
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November 2017
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