Semester 1: American Literature
Midterms are over and I am enrolled in another English class right now, so this is a reflection of sorts. Freshmen and Sophomore year, our English and History classes were full-year and our classmates were in our grade level. This year, English is a semester class and the classes are a mix of junior and seniors. I'll start with a list of the major books we read and my thoughts on them, then I'll mention the things that I liked about how the class was run.
List of Major Stories(Each story corresponded with a unit in the class):
- The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Romanticism)
I laugh now, but I thought the book was going to be about a written letter. This book touched upon a lot of issues, I love that despite it being set so long ago, these issues can still be debated today. Our main character, Hester Prynne is guilty of adultery and will not admit who the father is. She is to wear an embroidered letter A on her clothes as a brand of her sin. Ignominy (public shame) was the main motif in this story and a new vocab word for me. I love Hester, she is a brave heroine, who despite having her entire town against her, kept on with her daily life. She is an entrepreneur, a single mother, and a philanthropist. Despite having committed a sin and being marginalized by everyone, she holds fast to her faith. She knows that God is the only one who can judge her and the only one who knows her heart. One question that we had to think about near the end of the book was, Is Hawthorne a feminist? This was a fascinating question because there was a lot in the book to prove that he was. His description of Hester revealed a fondness towards her. It would be very easy to say that Hawthorne was a feminist since he sided with Hester throughout the story. At the same time, the reader has to take in consideration the time period in which Hawthorne wrote the book. Was he just trying to make a point? Hawthorne criticized Puritanism, during a time when women rights was a hot topic. His choice of a woman as the main character also speaks volumes. The fact that there isn't one correct answer fascinates me, I love that everyone can express their opinion on the book.
- Turn of the Screw by Henry James (Realism)
This book was a ghost story and it was a bit unsettling (I was self-conscious the whole while we read this book, walking quickly by the windows of my house without looking through them). As we discussed the book, though, the subject of an unreliable narrator came into play. It was a bit of a surprise because it's always been pretty clear whether or not the narrator was biased. In this case, it was very confusing because the story was being told after the events occurred. It wasn't as if the reader was in the narrator's head while the events unfolded. This meant that the narrator had time to reflect and portray the events in a way that was most advantageous to her. The narrator, our main character is the governess of a mansion, Bly. She is in charge of two young children, Miles and Flora. A couple days into the job, she starts seeing ghost and when she describes what they look like, a colleague tells her those people used to work at Bly.
- Maggie by Stephen Crane (Realism/Naturalism)
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Modernism)
Crane is very unique. He doesn't only write, he's also a photojournalist. That probably has something to do with his works being realism. Maggie was a short story about a young girl living in the slums in New York. It was set a while ago, I'm guessing around or before The Great Depression. She lived in an abusive household with a drunk for a father and an angry mother. Her brother grew up to take her father's place after he died. She grew up to be a beautiful young woman, which turned out to be bad for her. It destined her to become a prostitute and after attempting to run from her fate by working at a factory, she meets a man named Pete. He seems well off and she is captivated by him. Unfortunately, Crane doesn't believe in happy endings or the thought that you can escape your fate. He must've loved the greeks.
They refer to Fitzgerald as a chronicler of the Jazz Age. The book is set during the 1920s A.K.A The Roaring 20s. The New York times noted that it was "A time when gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession". One thing that I love about this class was that we got to read classics such as this book. I learned that it was actually a short read, most great classics are novels and a bit thick. I think I love Fitzgerald, such a simple man and he gave it to you straight too. That's what realism is all about, the truth about life, no sugar coating. It's refreshing, that's one reason reading books like these is best done in high school. I have this desire to read all the great classics, but I feel like they would be a bore, I've been proved wrong by every one of them we've read in class. I think it has to do with the teachers and the method I've noticed that they've all used. Freshman year, we read A tale of two cities and Of mice and men, we watched the movie versions of both after reading it. Last year, Sophomore year, we read The Odyssey and we watched Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. It was a movie starring George Clooney which used the plot of The Odyssey. This year, we didn't watch movies regarding the books we read, probably because it was a semester class. Anyways, what all my teachers did in common that helped with understanding these stories was that we discussed our daily readings as a class and shared our insights. On occasions, we wrote free writes in class free about what we noticed, any motifs or themes we thought were important. I really like discussing and sharing my reflections about the books we read. It makes you feel like the book isn't as over your head as you thought. That's another reason why I think we teenagers in general 'fear' classics, we think we won't understand what's going on.
Now, I'm taking Short Fiction and we are reading, of course, short stories. It is really fascinating, there is more work to do in analyzing short stories. I'm really looking forward to it, I think it's a chance to polish my writing. One of the critiques I've received from teachers is that I come off as vague or that I don't provide enough analysis. Hmmm...Is analysis different from sharing your insight? Yes, I think it is. I just realized what I might have been doing wrong...maybe.
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
