Refelction on Semester

I think so far the semester has been going really well. I like when we spend time going over the story because I feel like when we all discuss it together we figure out what it is about together. I have trouble finding the symbolism in the stories so sometimes it's frustrating when it seems like everyone else sees it and I don't, but I like listening to what other people got out of a story. I like the grammar guides because they are really helpful. The quizzes are hard sometimes because although I read the stories as closely as I can I still tend to see the big picture and not remember all the details, like names. I also like working in groups because working with other people is a skill that everybody will benefit from and it gives us a chance to get to know each other better.

Beauty and the Beast

The Beauty and the Beast is set in the city at the very beginning and then they have to move out in the country. The rest of the story occurs in the Beast's palace. It happens during the winter. It is told in third person omniscient.

Bartleby and the "The Birthmark"

Both stories' plots were in media res. All the characters in "Bartleby, the Scrivener" were not motivated, not plausible, consistent, and only the lawyer was dynamic. "The Birthmark" had two motivated and plausible characters. One was consistent while the other was not. "The Birthmark" also included a dynamic character, a foil character, and a static character. We learn by reading these two stories back-to-back that the way a story is told (plot} is important to what the readers get out of it. We decided that we would have liked "Bartleby, the Scrivener" to be read like a flashback. We also learned that different character types are suitable for different stories.

Class Discussion

The class discussion on race was pretty intense. I didn't like how we were asked to describe the stereotypes and when we did, I felt like we were called racists. There are stereotypes of all races-white people can't dance, and are not very good at sports. I also don't agree that the African Americans and Native Americans are traumatized because we took everything away from them, because we didn't. Our ancestors took it from their ancestors, and I think with the new generations coming up the race issues will get lesser and lesser. There's always going to be racism, but it's a mutual thing. In fact, white people get judged by other white people too. Also, by adressing race issues, I think it makes them more apparent. There shouldn't be a channel called Stars in Black if we don't want to emphasize our differences. What our ancestors did was wrong, but in order to get over it, the issue needs to be dropped.

Reaction to First Paper

Our first paper was really hard for me because I haven't written a paper since high school. I had no idea what MLA was and was really overwhlemed. My professor in high school never corrected what I was doing wrong, she'd just give me a bad grade, which was no help at all. After this paper it should get easier, though.

The Metamorphosis

A second reading of The Metamorphosis allowed me to subconsciously think more about the elements involved, than the actual story. A first read gives the major outline of a book, but because you already know what happens, you pay more attention to the details. There is so much imagery in this short story. You can picture the scene perfectly because it not only tells you what is there, it tells you precisely what it looks like. I also noticed that the author slips in quite a few short sentences to make it seem like you are right in the action. The sentences have to be short because in life, things change in a second, so it has to do this in your mind too. I've never really read a book more than once, but after learning so much by rereading this one it makes me want to read all my favorite books again.