I'll probably address things here with no respect to sequence. Sorry if that's confusing.
I like the "board captain" activities that we do. They take a skill that I thought I had down pat, and show me that I actually need to think about it a little more. Learning the difference between facetiousness and sarcasm in the one about proper gift-giving was useful, and I hope I learn to differentiate between more of those similar-but-still-different words that I like to use interchangeably this year.
The textbook reading was mostly a summary of what we'd done with the packets. It helped to see an analysis of a text laid out in steps in the book for comparison, but it didn't present any new information. Other than the names of different types of sonnets and a strict procedure for writing a paper. All-in-all, the textbook may not have added much, but it was readable and not too much of a chore.
I hated that long handout on comedy theory. Nothing will ever be funny again. It took the joke too far, so to speak.
I think Absurdism and Existentialism are neat. That's all I have to say about that.
The American Dream was very strange. That type of disorienting, what-the-heck-is-happening-right-now kind of story can turn me off sometimes, and I can't figure out precisely why, but I liked it in The American Dream. Grandma's character was really what kept it interesting, and I loved the surprising profoundness of the play. I figured the only meaning to it was gently mocking American materialism, shown in the part with the beige hat, but as it turns out, the whole old/new American Dream thing makes a lot of sense.
I'm looking forward to focusing on applying what we're learning about DIDLS and the critical lenses to literature more, rather than still learning them, but you have to walk before you run and all that jazz.
Hi Matt--
ReplyDeleteI sort of agree with you on the American Dream thing. Usually, I think I'd be irritated by the meaninglessness of it all and get depressed and frustrated. Grandma, I agree, gave the play a leg to stand on, so to speak. I feel like the lack of substance and abundance of circular nonsense is countered by very real feeling and meaning in the show, usually seen in her criticism of that lack of substance. It gives the play something to say, and that draws interest. It makes me remember trying to write a paper about Dorian Gray while my teacher reminded us that the author said "Art is not moral." If the author or artist isn't trying to impart a message, it seems like there's no point in analyzing the piece.
I agree with both of you that the American Dream was just really absurd. Grandma really was the only character that made the play made sense. Without her nothing would really happen in the play. Im also looking forward to actually applying the things we are learning. I like the board captain activities but I dont know if they really help with anything we need to know. Sometimes it can be a little repetitive.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, this was a very entertaining read, so thanks. Also, I agree with you on a lot of points. However, I find that while the tone exercise activities (what you called "board captain") are fun, I don't really see them are particularly good teachers. It often seems like my class is making absurd situations more than we are actually learning from the assignment. I definitely agree with all of you guys on the American Dream. I've read Post-Modernist stuff before for American Literature. As I Lay Dying really confused me and I didn't like it very much. Yet the American Dream, though equally if not more confusing than As I Lay Dying, did not irritate me. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. I also thought it was really cool how many layers there were to what at first glance seemed like a very strange play with little depth.
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