January 2007 Archives

Foster (6-9, 11, 14) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"Slavic folktakes, those darlings of the Russian formalist critics of the 1920s, don't have a lot of currency in Paducah. But thanks to Disney, they know "Snow White" from Vladivostok to Valdosta, "Sleeping Beauty" From Sligo to Salinas."

Now I understand that I cannot connect all literature with a Disney movie, but I honestly believe that many Disney animations have a lot of complex thought put into them. Whether or not a child can understand them, there is more the "Beauty in the Beast" than a talking clock and dancing silverware. Now I have to admit that I am a total Disney dork. I am currently 18 years old, and can kick anyones butt in Disney SceneIt, and prefer going to Disney World to laying out on the beach. This chapter in Foster, on taking fairytales and folk stories and using the elements to compare literature was not only interesting but fun. I think that sometimes we tend to take literature overly serious. I feel that taking something we loved as children (and in my case still love today) and use it to explain the literature we are currently reading, it will take the edge off of the stresses that drive us crazy as we analyzing how novels are compared to shakespeare and the bible. And not to say that analyzing the bible and Shakespeare are not of interest to us, I just feel like refering to Disney movies and fairy tales is more FUN!

O'Connor, ''A Good Man is Hard to Find'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

" "She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life." "

I choose this quote from the very end of the stort story because I felt that it was the most important line. This quote said by The Misfit pretty much defined what the story was about. I feel that O'Connor was trying to show that finding truely good people is a difficult task. Here is this old grandmother who you honestly think you should be sympathizing with but after reading this line The Misfit brings up a very good point. The grandmother would not have said all those things about him being a good person, as we did see earlier in the story, if she wasn't being held at gunpoint. Although this story is rather dark and twisted, I think O'Connor makes a very good point when using this quote at the end of the story.

Foster (Ch 12 and Interlude [p. 183]) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"Listen to your instincts. Pay attention to what you feel about the text. It probably means something."

This reading on symbols actually made me feel a lot better about my first blog on the poem. I read that poem and felt like I knew what it was all about, but then read a few other blogs. I wasn't sure if I was interpreting the poem "properly" but I really felt strongly about how I saw the poem. So I took a chance, unlike Eliot did, and I feel very good about that now. And I think next time, I may read Foster before the other assigned reading!! haha It seems to always make sense more after reading Foster!

Eliot, ''The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"And in short, I was afraid."

Throughout this poem, I felt as though Eliot was talking about how he regrets things he didn't do when he was younger. I choose the quote above because I had a sense that he was afraid to take chances that he now looks back on as an older man and thinks his life would have been more meaningful. He points out the little things that he felt were of importance when he was younger but every time i read though it I felt like he regrets missing out on something big, possibly love.

The reference to Hamlet, I felt was suppose to show that he didn't feel like his life was important like a prince, but ordinary like a servant. Also tying back into what I said about regret of not living his life to the fullest.

Foster (19,20) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

“Geography is setting, but it's also (or can be) psychology, attitude, finance, industry--anything that place can forge in the people who live there."

I have never, in all of my reading days, thought about geography as such a big deal in novels. Sure I can't picture Harry Potter being in Florida but I never have thought of it as psychology, attitude, finance, industry that makes the people want to live there and can affect the characters. After reading all the examples I thought a lot about it and am surprised I overlooked this element in novels for so long. What a clever technique, people moving and changing for the better because of the geography.

And after reading this I can think of examples that fit it perfectly. For example The Secret Life of Bees. In which the main character, Lily, moves away from home to search for answers about her mother and in turn learns a lot about her. All because of the geography changing. Wow it all makes sense!!! I can't believe I never thought of this before!

Glaspell, ''Trifles'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"We think she was going to--knot it."

Just a trifle, huh? Well that's what the investigators thought, but really it were the trifles that mattered most in the investigation. Oh she knotted that quilt for sure, but no man would notice such trifles according to the sexist investigators. Shame on the men for thinking that the women and their trifles were silly and unimportant. I loved this play and think it is very clever. The one thing I keep thinking about is if what the women did was right. In my eyes, not that murder is right, I feel happy that Mrs. Wright is getting away from her husband who took away everything she loved. I am not saying that murdering her husband wasn't crazy but I felt like he was the one who made her that way and never thought of her as a bad guy in the play. In that sense I think what the women did was good and made for an interesting end.

Fitzgerald, ''Bernice Bobs Her Hair'' (online) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

""At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide."

After reading "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" I remembered why I always felt girls had it harder. Although Marjorie was not very nice to Bernice about her apperance and attitude I genuinely thought that she was trying to help her improve those skills. But on the contrary she destroyed Bernice by convincing her to bob her hair. I feel that at sometimes we do look at our convictions from the hill, but now as I have grown I think I am slowly moving into the valley looking for my cave. I really felt bad for Bernice in this story but I did appreciate the clever style for which we are tricked into thinking she is being helped until the bobbing actually occured.

Lemire, I'm an English Major: Now What? (Intro & Ch 1) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

I am sorry if I made it sound like getting a job with an English Major was impossible. My point I wanted to get across is that I felt Lemire made it sound too easy and gave a lot of the same examples with different people. If he wrote about me he would say, you like S.C.U.B.A. Diving and writing, then write for a S.C.U.B.A. Diving Magazine. I do indeed believe that I can succeed after college with my degree, but I don't think his examples were necessarily the best to use. Heck yah it would be fun to write for a S.C.U.B.A. Diving Magazine but I feel that there are many other things to do out there. The trick will just be utilizing our talents the right ways.

Foster (1-3, 5) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"Still...You don't believe me."

Last year in my English class, we read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
and following, read The Natural comparing the similarities in both their quests. As I was reading the first chapter from Foster I felt like I was reliving that time and remembered everything he was talking about!! I get it and couldn't be more happy! At times though I do wonder if the authors of the novels are aware that they created the quest in their stories. When The Crying of Lot 49 was written was the quest a preconceived or did it just fall into the the plot?

Lemire, I'm an English Major: Now What? (Intro & Ch 1) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"It's an English major, not a super major."

Our majors in English are suppose to define versitility. Well then why do or will we have to have trouble finding jobs after graduating from college? Clearly we are not super majors and maybe we do romanticize that our degrees will take us places that are mystical, but how do we figure out what we can do to utilize our degrees? In the first chapter, Lemire gives all these examples of how people took their English degrees and an interest or love they had to find a job they loved. And although this was nice to daydream about, I most of the time consider my interests to be reading and writing. So now what? This would be the question the book is suppose to answer, but I still have this feeling that, like the song we heard today, it might SUCK to be me.

Schackner, ''Freedom of speech redefined by blogs'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"There are almost 24 million blogs..."

I feel kind of silly saying this, but before coming to SHU I had never heard of blogging. My first encounter with blogging was when my best friend and neighbor, was running around the halls begging anyone who knew anything about blogs to help her figure out this stuff! And not to blame her, but I was terrified of my first blogging experience! Now I read this article and was shocked to see that there are "24 million" blogs out there! In addition to my shock, I felt really out of the loop. How did I miss this blogging stuff? I know I am from northern Pennsylvania, but Erie has running water and cable...I must live under a rock. After reading this article I did learn a lot about blogging and although I see how it could have a bad side, I think it is a very interesting way to get the class to participate and stay active without the professor getting in the way. I have heard a lot of good things about Dr. Jerz's use of the blogs and I am enjoying them...so far.

"It's an English major, not a super major."

Our majors in English are suppose to define versitility. Well then why do or will we have to have trouble finding jobs after graduating from college? Clearly we are not super majors and maybe we do romanticize that our degrees will take us places that are mystical, but how do we figure out what we can do to utilize our degrees? In the first chapter, Lemire gives all these examples of how people took their English degrees and an interest or love they had to find a job they loved. And although this was nice to daydream about, I most of the time consider my interests to be reading and writing. So now what? This would be the question the book is suppose to answer, but I still have this feeling that, like the song we heard today, it might SUCK to be me.

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