Reading closer and thinking deeper

My name is Christopher Dufalla and this portfolio is an accumulation of the work that I've done thus far in EL 267 (American Literature 1915- Present).  As a reader, merely retaining the obvious doesn't cut it: one must read deeper between the lines and find the details that are embedded deep within a text.  I feel that I have grown as a close reader and that I've become better at expressing my literary criticisms and ideas.  Below are some of the entries that reflect my progress throughout this course.

Coverage

Stand Back Al: Global Warming is on a New Level: This was a response to Robert Frost's poem "Fire and Ice". http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ChristopherDufalla/2009/01/stand_back_al_global_warming_i.html

After Apple Picking...What Now? http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ChristopherDufalla/2009/01/after_apple_pickingwhat_now.html

Timeliness

The Never Ending Story: Here, I spoke about Thomas Foster's idea of one continuous story throughout the world and history.

 http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ChristopherDufalla/2009/02/the_never_ending_story.html

Following in His Footsteps, Not Making Them: This was a response to Foster's conception of the Christ figure within literature and the piccky nature in which some readers can fall into when determining whether or not a character fits the profile of a Christ figure.

http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ChristopherDufalla/2009/02/following_in_his_footsteps_not.html

Interaction

Prison Walls and Scrap Piles: Within this blog, I discussed the nature of John Steinbeck's concept of a prison within The Grapes of Wrath.  Man sometimes makes his own prison from seemingly invisible walls.

http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ChristopherDufalla/2009/02/prison_walls_and_scrap_piles.html

Spirits Within: Steinbeck's preacher in The Grapes of Wrath, Casy, proves to be a man struggling with his inner place within God's kingdom.  Is the spirit of the Lord still gracing him, or has he lost his way in the darkness that is the world.

http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ChristopherDufalla/2009/02/spirits_within.html

Money: Practical, Love: Impractical: Here, I made comment on Sophie Treadwell's play "Machinal".  The idea of true love winning over the necessities of human existence is a truly epic struggle.  Is there a way to have both? Or will that idea prove to be a disaster?

http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ChristopherDufalla/2009/02/money_practical_love_impractic.html

Depth

Automobiles and People: Both Can Wreck: I blogged about F. Scott Fitzgerald's characters within The Great Gatsby.   People often think that cars wreck more than people, but humans make messes of themselves constantly, and some are more mangled than an auto wreck.  Read for yourself... 

http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ChristopherDufalla/2009/02/automobiles_and_people_both_ca.html

Diuscussion

Rosalind Blair's blog entry pertaining to the intelligence of the migrating Joad family in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath had a nice academic blurb following it.

http://blogs.setonhill.edu/RosalindBlair/2009/02/are_you_smarter_than_a_joad.html

Jennifer Prex's blog about Foster's ideas of leaving interpretation up to the reader sparked interest in me.  I found that readers can indeed become creative via imaginative play-throughs within the mind.

http://blogs.setonhill.edu/JenniferPrex/2009/02/creative_readers.html

Thank you for your time and reading.

http://jerz.setonhill.edu/EL267/2009/03/portfolio_1/