Dear Mrs. Kline,
This course has posed some unique challenges for me personally, and has allowed me to see some perspectives I would not have normally seen. Literary analysis of the type that we are being exposed to is going to have limited use in the long term, due to the nature of my occupational choices. The challenge of transposition of data from one form of media to another pose technical challenges that I would have had to deal with eventually, which is helpful, but it also makes following course instructions challenging. As an example, a full double spaced page on the word processing application is significantly smaller in the blog, which is designed on a single spaced format. I do think that working out the technical interfacing between mediums will turn out to be the most beneficial part of the course for me. Of course, jumping into college coursework with two writing intensive courses has helped me work out some new time management techniques that will stand me in good stead on future projects.
The reading that we have done thus far in class haven't really exposed me to any new concepts, but I do read quite heavily, and have not been lived a sheltered life. It was hard for me to get excited by the Winter's Bone projects, as I do not enjoy the writing style employed by Woodrell, but I survived it. Literary analysis of a story that does not grip me is much more challenging than the work on Bartleby and the Swift work, which I enjoyed. One thing that has fascinated me about literary analysis is that there is no focus on truth. Instead, it is an opinion written about stories which, many times, have no deeper significance than being a good story. As the saying goes, it truly is,"much ado about nothing." This is endlessly fascinating to me, being that I generally work in fact and substance.
My goals for the second half of the semester are pretty simple. I want to get all of my assignments in on time, which I have had difficulty with due to other commitments. Also, I would like to improve the structure of my analysis, as I tend to write as I speak, moving fluidly from one topic to the next without transition or preamble.
Jacob,
ReplyDeleteYour letter is quite interesting and I thought it went along with my thoughts as well. I agree that if you are well read the concepts are nothing new, yet hard to be excited about. It's neat to know that one of the most challenging objects was for you the transposition from one medium to another. It's as if we all had our little stumbling blocks. I do agree that the technical part being a bit complicated makes the course instructions challenging. I like how you write moving from one topic to the next without transition or preamble, my mind thinks that way as well. Not so great for writing essays though. Good luck with the rest of the course.
Carli
Jake,
ReplyDeleteI found that your letter was well written. I agree with the statement that you haven't been introduced to any new concepts. I'm an avid reader as well, and the material is somewhat interesting, but it isn't my bag of tea. I can sympathize with not being able to get some of the things done, because of other time commitments. Life is always hectic. Hopefully, you buckle down and get a good grade out of the class.
Chad