At the end of Catcher in the Rye, Holden watches his sister, begins to cry, and says, "God, I wish you could have been there."
As I've probably said before in class, this is one of those moments in literature where I really do wish I had been there. Now it's your turn: I'd like you to tell me what pieces have really resonated with you this year.
Think about your readings from this year (including the summer works). Think over poems, short stories, novels, and plays. What moments from these works stick with you? What novel, scene, character, or quotation do you sometimes still think about? Why?
Due Friday, April 24th, midnight.
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Reminder: You must post on that week's required topic by MIDNIGHT on Friday for full credit (20/20). You can receive half credit if you post on Saturday or Sunday.
This blog is designed for Mrs. Charbonnet's AP English Literature and Composition Course. Here you will find regular information related to AP English. Additionally, just below here you will see some links and other resources you might find useful. Please view Mrs. Charbonnet's CHS Website for assignment information and an up-to-date calendar.
It is also important to note that all work you complete on this page and on your personal blog must adhere to the Shelby County Schools guidelines for acceptable computer use.
This blog is designed for Mrs. Charbonnet's AP English Literature and Composition Course. Here you will find regular information related to AP English. Additionally, just below here you will see some links and other resources you might find useful. Please view Mrs. Charbonnet's CHS Website for assignment information and an up-to-date calendar.
It is also important to note that all work you complete on this page and on your personal blog must adhere to the Shelby County Schools guidelines for acceptable computer use.
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About Me
- Lara
- We're two high school teachers from Tennessee who love to travel and take pictures.
64 comments:
I definitely think its a good idea to study less more in depth, because this year it felt like we really breezed through too much and jumped right into another book just as we had finished one.
For poems, I really like the modern poems we've been studying this week. The themes are complex but not impossible to decipher, and the poetry itself is engaging. The love poems we did (e.g. The Flea) I sorta wish we hadn't. For plays, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern definitely sticks out since its structure (or lack thereof) is unique, and it has a lot of simple quotes that are easy to remember, and scenes, such as the question game. Out of the novels we read this year, Wuthering Heights was probably my favorite. Lockwood is a character that sticks out because he's whimsical, and if you read his sections carefully, he can be really funny. For instance, when he projects his own characteristics onto Heathcliffe and calls him a "capital fellow" or when he makes faces at Heathcliffe's dogs and gets attacked by them.
Focusing on less might be a good idea because I felt like we flew through a couple of the novels this year, and it was harder to grasp their significance so quickly. The discussions really helped me in class, and I think it would be good to have more focus and discussion on fewer novels. Well, Invisible Man really stuck with me this year. I really thought the novel was interesting, and I feel that there's so much symbolism and themes that come from it. The quote "Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?" really stayed with me beacause I think it is the one quote that I can remember which really reveals the theme of the novel. It shows the readers that they can really relate to the novel and that the themes are about finding an identity and a place in the world, not just about racial injustices. I really like the modern poems we have been presenting because they seem to stick with me more, and I have a better grasp of the themes and what they are trying to get across. I really thought Rosencrantz and Guildenstern had a lot to offer in quotes and theme significance. I enjoyed Slaughterhouse-Five and remember many of the scenes that held significance and of course, the simple, yet important quotes like "So it goes." I really enjoyed the deeper meanings in A Doll's House and remember a lot of the significance(the ending scene) and contrast between how Nora appears and how she really is.
Like most of those guys ^, I really think we breezed through some of the better novels this year. Although 'Daisy Miller' and 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' are the shortest ones, I think they were the best ones (not just because of the length.)Also, we didn't do anything besides a presentation with 'IOBE', and it was definitly on my top 3 favorite works we've done. We focused more on the dark, moody stuff and not enough of the stuff that although it was light-hearted, wasn't exactly fluff reading either.
Unlike some of my classmates, I liked moving quickly through books; I even wish we could have read a few more books. The poetry that we read was mostly interesting, except for those few ridiculously long odes. John Keats was definitely a favorite of mine, he has been for a while, even before we started reading him in class. For the plays, IOBE was short, we did breeze through it, but I don't think there was much underlying significance other than the points we covered-it was just supposed to be funny. The novels were mostly good; I do wish, however, that we could have read some books on different topics. Too many of our books seemed to be too closely related. Faulkner posed the greatest obstacle to me and today I can't confidently say that I understand it cover to cover. As for my favorite novel, I would choose Great Expectations by Charles Dickens; it was a choice novel, but I think a lot of other people would have enjoyed it. There is a scene in the ending parts when Pip, the main character, meets his secret benefactor; the man says "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you!" The man turns out to be a convict he helps escape in the beginning, when he is a boy. This just resonates a great part of life-it is never what it seems to be or how you think it is. That really underscores high school as a whole, and as a senior I can say that is a lesson I have learned that I will never forget.
I always think back to the very last sentence in 1984 in which Winston says that he loves Big Brother. I still feel a bit betrayed by this ending because you root for Winston from the beginning as the little guy who's going to break the system, and then it turns out that he's no different from anyone else who ever tried before. It's kind of a hope crusher.
The Handmaid's Tale still makes me think some times even though it's been a while since we read it. i still think about a few scenes, one where she says something like, "and all because of that little 'F' on our file". it just really shows the life that women have had to overcome. it dramatizes it to the extreme, but the struggle for women to receive even a portion of what men have in life is very real. another huge scene that i think about was when everyone was gathered around Janine in the red center and she was telling them how she was raped when she was 14. then everyone had to yell, "it was her fault, it was her fault." this was disgusting and really really creeped me out. it showed so much injustice and pure, unfeeling evil that it has always stayed with me.
This question evokes a lot of points from the novels we have read this year. The first instance that popped into my mind was the 2nd section, or Quentin's section, of The Sound and the Fury. I really loved this book. Its complexity in the mind of Quentin did not really seem to through me off as much as I had been told it would, in fact I would say that it put me into the story much better. Quentin was someone I wish I could have delved into deeper in the novel. His thoughts and emotions were just so deep and intriguing, that I wanted to know more about him. I just wish the actual moment of his death could have been chronicled in the novel; I really wanted to find out what his last thoughts were.
In Orwell's 1984, I felt such a connection with Winston, but to have it all be shattered and have him turn to Big Brother, it made me depressed. I felt lied to, built up, to only to be dropped onto the flames.
As for plays, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was definitely a very good read. I think that repetitive coin-flipping scene will never leave my subconscious ever. The novel's concepts on fate were just so interesting to learn. It really did point out the monotony of life.
Definitely Invisible Man, Brave New World, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead are my favorites that have stuck with me the most. I also thoroughly enjoyed The Importance of Being Earnest, and Crime and Punishment was at least interesting.
Of all, though, Invisible Man sticks out the most. Ralph Ellison was so talented, he put so many images in that book, and they were easy to remember! Not having touched the book since the first semester, I could still write an essay on it with a plethora of textual details: the yams, the American flag tattoo, the nude girl, the blindfolded boxing, the Brotherhood giving him a new name, the crazy black guy with the wasted engineering plans, the statue lifting/lowering the veil, the symbolism within the white paint factory, their slogan, Lucious Brockway, and the list could go on. I guess the reason I liked it so much is not only do I relate to existentialist literature, but Ellison wrote the character so everyone could relate to him, as everyone has had an identity crisis in their life.
I also thoroughly enjoyed Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, I really like his insight on humanity. We try to artificially enhance everything, to get the most output from the least input... However, in doing this, we lose a certain part of us; all of these things keep us from actually living, because we engineer it to do it for us.
Why do you think old people always whine about the young generations needing to build character? (If any old person knew how to turn on a computer, and then assuming they could see the text on the computer screen, they would give a big gummy-grin right now.)
I'm going to have to be completely girly and say my favorite is Wuthering Heights. I literally could not put the book down! I'm a sucker for sappy love stories. This novel will remain one of my all time favorites.
In my personal opinion, the best/most memorable scene occurs as Catherine is dying and Heathcliff has come back & they are saying their final goodbyes. Yes, I cried, don't judge me. I've read that section of the novel atleast 12 times. When she leaps into his arms and he just holds her, it's so precious. Also, it broke my heart when Heathcliff stands by the tree all night waiting to find out if Catherine has died. And I still contend that Stephanie Meyer got the whole Twilight idea from Heathcliff and Catherine. Oh, and Heathcliff is a vampire.
Farewell Blogs!
Meow! I agree with Rachel! Vampires....:)
Anyways, the single most memorable quote for me would be when Catherine explained to Nelly her love for Heathcliff before marrying Edgar.
"If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it...Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being."
I identified with this quote because I empathized with Catherine. Some people come into your life and change it forever, and it is not always rainbows and butterflies when two people fall in love. Some relationships are over before they ever begin; and even though they are toxic, to the ones involved they are like oxygen. So, even when it's over for good, it will never really be over to the person because they have been forever changed.
I have to say that Wuthering Heights will probably stick with me the most because it was one of the only novels that I actually felt an emotional attachment towards. I always enjoy reading love stories, especially when they are as intense and heartbreaking as Wuthering Heights. I also was connected to the fact that none of the characters turn out to be who you think they are, and there is in fact a story behind everything. I can't really choose one scene from the novel because there are several that stick out in my mind.
Apart from Wuthering Heights though, I enjoyed the play A Doll's House, especially when Nora discovers her own independence and walks out on her husband despite the way society will now view her. I always enjoy seeing women take power over men.
I didn't really like Beloved, but probably my favorite quote from this whole year is when Paul D tells Sethe that she is her own best thing. It was a sweet ending to a otherwise sad novel.
Best quote of the year that will always stick with me is "Once a bitch always a bitch." I liked Atwood's novel partially because i was the only one in seventh period that read it. this is so sad its the last blog.
Its hard to say which was my favorite b/c i have two 1984 and Crime and Punishment were both awesome novels. I thought the journey through Raskolnikov's fractured mined was very fascinating and watching him go from someone who just believed he was superior to falling from his pedestal and having to build himself back up again was awesome (although a tad lengthy for my taste) The other novel 1984 was epic.....right up until the end where he feel back in love with big brother. I thought there should be like a total uprising of the people and overthrowing totalitarianism for democracy, or at least he could have like thrown a rock through the minstry of truth or something.
I think the novel that has stuck with me over the year is Invisible Man. At first I hated it mainly because it was one of our first novels and it made me uncomfortable because we were talking about race and I was the only black person in the class. :P
However,I think it is great that it is still a novel that speaks for any person. I think it really connects with teenagers because it's all about discovering who you are and not letting anyone define you.My favorite quote from IM is "And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own. I have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what I called myself." It still makes me think about how I view myself, and how I let other people affect me.
I also was a pretty big fan of the choice novel Anna Karenina. It had a good plot, and it was interesting enough that the 754 pages of it weren't completely tortuous. (But it was still waaaaay too long.) I think it was interesting about the way Tolstoy viewed women, and how he addressed "the woman question."
I think the novel that really stuck with me is Brave New World. I was disappointed when I had to read this because I wanted to read the Handmaid's Tale but it was sold out in Barnes and Noble...but man, I am so happy The Handmaid's Tale was sold out.
The scene when they are out on the playground looking at all the naked little kids touching each other was so weird. That just stuck with me. It is just weird to think about little kids doing that type of stuff.
But I also loved loved loved loved Slaughterhouse Five. That is defianatley in my top 5 fave books. The imagery and diction Vonnegut used throughout the book really forced me to use my imagination with what was going on. and of course that one like "So it goes" will probley stick in my mind forever.
I actually enjoyed reading most of the novels from this year (hated Beloved, I blame senioritis), mainly because of the idea that there was a theme or two per novel. It was sort of a refreshing change from reading pretty much for pleasure only from last year. My favorites would have to be Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Hamlet, and The Sound and the Fury, especially Quentin's section. All of these novels themes question life, and why we are here, which is something I think about every day.
Like Jared, I definitely would have loved to have known Quentin's thoughts and what the final thing was that pushed him over the edge to suicide. As for Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Hamlet, all three present wonderfully complex, entertaining and timeless questions on the meaning of existence (Hamlet's to be or not to be speech, his speech to Yorick's skull, R and G's many, many questions and games throughout the play). I enjoyed reading and analyzing most of the works from this year, but these three especially.
I have to say that Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is a novel that has stuck with me this entire year. The way she portrays the lifestyle of women in her novel makes me feel blessed that I live the life I do. But my favorite book of the year would have to be The Importance of Being Earnest. It was overall hilarious and had many memorable moments. But I do wish we could have spent a little more time on it.
I enjoyed reading most of the novels this year, though I couldn't enjoy them as much as I would have liked to because I would usually procrastinate. I would definately say that I really enjoyed Invisible Man because it had so much symbolism and I really just like the way that it is narrated. It didn't dwell too long on peotic description, which is usually what frustrates me and it was interesting to read, especially with our in class discussions.
I also really liked Wuthering Heights. Something about the time period and the narration made it interesting for me to read because it made me feel invested in the characters. Also, I when I think of Linton, I get this image of the boy from The Secret Garden before he gets better/happy when Mary(I think that's her name, it's been a while) first meets him. And also, the relationships between the character, especially the first and second generations, and really interesting to watch(or read) develop.
I really enjoyed most of the novels we read this year except for Beloved, Daisy Miller, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.
My favorite all year was definitely The Sound and the Fury (because I loved the character of Caddy and I really enjoyed the themes), with Invisible Man close to the lead (I really just got frustrated with IM for being so naive the entirety of the novel, which is why I did not like it best).
While many parts of Wuthering Heights somewhat irritated me, the part in which Catherine tells Nelly about her relationship with Heathcliff really stuck with me. They are probably some of the most wonderful words I have ever read. I am glad that Charbonnet pointed out the alternate meaning of the poem "The Road Less Traveled," and I find myself quite irritated with that poem now.
This year has been one where I have enjoyed most of the novels, save for Beloved and Wuthering Heights. I agree with the students who said that they felt rushed through some of the novels. However, the books that are going to remain with me are The Sound and the Fury and 1984.
The Sound and the Fury, especially Quentin's section, really made appreciate the use of stream of consciousness. The last about seven pages of Quentin section, because of Faulker's ramblings in the attempt to portray a madman, truly astounded me. I do appreciate, the other sections as well, but it was Quentin's section that made me appreciate Faulker as a writer.
1984 was probably my favorite book of the year. The dystopian genre really appeals to me, and I felt a real connection to Winston's plight. I think that the dysptopian genre is important to study when one considers the current state of the world and its troubles. Hopefully, next year, there will be more time spent on the dystopian novels.
I also enjoyed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, as it was a very funny play!
I agree with everyone that it did seem like we flew through some of the novels and then others we spent weeks on. The discussions were very helpful in grasping a concept or something that happened in the novel that i completely missed or did not understand. Some quotes that stuck with me would be. "Caddy smells like trees." - Benjy. I always thought it was humorous and random and every time I see a tree I say that. Invisible Man and The Sound And the Fury were definitely my favorite novels. They both had lots of symbols and complex writing but once I knew what was going on, I loved it. Everyone always complains about reading The Sound and the Fury, but I actually liked it so much that I think I am going to read Absalom! Absalom!
Poetry is probably my least favorite thing to do. Probably because I do not like all of the different meanings of words etc... within poems.
The Importance of Being Earnest presentations have by far stuck with me the most. I don't think I will ever forget seeing Chachie and Jared in dresses that day! Plus, it was the only book that I found pleasure reading all the way through. Of all the characters in the play, Lady Bracknell was my favorite because of her absurd representation of the upper class that made me laugh!
Also, Ros & Guil is has stuck with me so much that I actually wrote a short scholarship essay on the characters and themes. To me, any of the plays we read stick in my head because they are jam-packed with unforgettable action!
Yiyi's first paragraph pretty much sums it up.
I really enjoyed two books in particular 1984 and Things They Carried (summer reading). Dystopia novels have always been a favorite of mine and the "classic, Gothic, southern, heritage, death, ghost" books just don't pull me in. I think we spent the most time on the wrong books and 1984 should be mandatory, oh, maybe in place of Beloved.
I love both of these books because I got to choose them. I wasn't forced to read something that was dreaded by the past year's class, cough, cough Wuthering Heights. (I really didn't like that book.) Also I like reading old war stories, but O'Brien portrayed it as fiction that happened and I admire him for that. 1984 was just an awesome book. "Rad" in the famous words of Harrison Bogema. I was really pulling for Winston the entire time and to see him just dropped like that really blew my hope for him. He was a real person, someone I could relate to in that he wasn't the typical hero, but he saw a problem and sttempted to singlehandedly topple Big Brother. Who couldn't pull for him?
Invisible Man was thoroughly enjoyable. Crime and Punishment was punsihment. Beloved was just awful, and the Sound and the Fury had its moments.
Poetry is just bleh for me. It is difficult to wrap my brain around a them of a novel that is understandable, much less an ambiguous poem that has a deep revelation of life's meaning other than 42.
This year I have enjoyed reading books in depth and analyzing them to figure out theme, because before, I never really thought about theme as much. My favorite books this year were Crime and Punishment, The Namesake, and Invisible Man. All these books have great moral/big picture ideas to think about, that will stay with me throughout life, as I remember my 12th grade year. The quote I remember most is from Invisible Man: "I yam what I yam" which shows that who you are is what matters, and the past still is apart of the present. That theme of the past and its effect on the present is in Beloved, which was a good last book to read and remember.
Out of all the novels, short stories and poems we have read this year, I definitely enjoyed The HandMaid's Tale. Although this novel was hard to read, it was interesting to see how life would be in a world like that. The fact that Offred was defined soley by the man she was assigned to and used only as a sex object made me really realize women's rights. It helped me connect with the racism that other people may suffer with and helped me see that even though this is a fiction novel, it depicts similar struggles that people go through all over the world. I also really enjoyed Quentin's section in The Sound and The Fury. I thought it was so cool and interesting to actually think about how the world would be from the perspective of a mentally challenged person. I suprisingly found it much more simple and direct than the other sections. It made me sad to see how Benjy couldn't really feel love, he could only be familiar with things. It was crazy for me to imagine living in this world that way, always being secluded.
It's a toss-up between The Sound and the Fury and Slaughterhouse V for my favorite.
Slaughterhouse V was a favorite because the subject matter was interesting to me. I particularly enjoyed the Killgore Trout character; Billy seemed to look up to him, think him this great, amazing man, and what is he? A self-absorbed, arrogant, crass (person) who picks on paper boys and gives everybody an attitude, all while producing works of less-than-literary-merit. Killgore could be anybody--a father, a boss, a mentor, god, a friend; that's what makes the character so great.
The Sound and the Fury was a favorite because, to me, it seemed like it was the only novel (apart from Invisible Man) that we slowed down enough on to actually get it (Note: I understand that this was supposed to be a college-level course. Having said that: overload. Quality over quantity). I particularly enjoyed Jason Sr. and his insights into modern society; the "virginity was invented by men" scene sticks with me, mostly because of its blunt truth.
My favorite books that we've read are Beloved and IOBE. I love books about love and family--ones that relate to real life. Even though Beloved was pretty crazy and really unrealistic at times, I love the story of the family and how they finally healed! It actually had a happy ending!! Oh and I really like IOBE! It was definitely much more light-hearted and fun! We need a couple books like that with all the depressing stuff we have to read!
Wow...looking back on this year we have read alot! I think my favorite book from this year was Pride and Prejudice. The characters and story line are so alive. ELizabeth Bennet is such a strong, independent woman, which I love. The Importance Of Being Earnest was so funny (Matt and CJ make a great Cecily and Gwendolyen). However, what sticks with my the most would be Invisible Man. The symbols are so evident and real, and I really symphatize with IM because he has such a hard journey to realize that he will always be invisible. Also, Catherine and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, the line "I am Heathcliff" is one I will always remember because their love was so passionate.
Invisible Man was definitely one of my favorite novels this year. IM's search for identity and where he belongs is something I really related to, just as anyone else can. At the end of the novel, when he realizes that the only way to be him is to become invisible to society and stray from their desires, I felt like the whole idea of identity and individuality tied together.
Another novel I really liked this year was Wuthering Heights. Actually, I didn't like the novel as much as i just liked Heathcliff and Catherine's love for each other. When i read they're crazy love scenes and embraces I was soooo jealous. Especially the part when Heathcliff wishes to forever be miserable and haunted by Catherine just so he knows she is always with him. And he ends his rant by saying something along the lines of "i cannot live with out my life. I cannot live without my soul." ahhh so crazily romantic!!!
The novel that has stuck with me this year is Handmaid's Tale. I actually enjoyed reading it and it felt more like I was reading it for fun than for an assignment and that really helps me. Sometimes I think back to the book and wonder how anyone could let society get that way. I think I would have to at least try to fight back even if the consequences were bad. Although this novel was kind of heart-wrenching, I liked it and thought it was a good book.
My favorite novel of the year was Wuthering Heights because it had it all: humor, romance, and dark events. Catherine's daughter was my favorite character because she had more of a grip on reality than her mother; the older Catherine's naivety and pompousness got annoying. I also liked Heathcliff, though he was not the nicest person in the novel. His brooding personality gave him a sense of mystery, which is appealing. Wuthering Heights seemed like one of the novels that we read that can actually relate to life today; forbidden romances occur all the time, as do society standards for couples.
My favorite novel this year was The Sound and the Fury, not so much the writing style, especially the first two sections, but the thematic ideas. The whole family honor idea, even the choice to lie to your father, really stood out to me. It seems like nowadays, people don't seem to protect others or stand up for what's right as much as they used to. It seems like the goal of many people is just to get ahead, much like Jason's. However, the characters of Quentin, Caddy, and Dilsey, even with their major distortions, show that there is hope. Also, the Caddy-Benjy relationship also moved me. Though ridiculed by everyone else, Caddy still stands up for him and loves him unconditionally. In my opinion, this shows that the relationship between brothers and sisters is one of the strongest that you will ever have.
As can be expected my favorite novel from this year was by far Pride and Prejudice. I think that the quote that will always stick out the most to me is when Elizabeth says to her aunt, "i am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but no one with such justice. I am happier even than Jane, she only smile, I laugh." This quote to me always seems to sum up the entire novel every time that I read it. It also teaches me that there is so much more to happiness than just comfort, but that the greatest love is one that involves laughter and a deeper connection than one that only evokes smiles. I will never forget this book and I know that i learned so much more about my favorite book during this class than I ever thought possible simply through my discussions with others, and being pushed to look at it in a more technical way.
Our last blog... sad :(
Out of all the novels we have read this year, I think Invisible Man has been my favorite and there are many scenes during the work that I wish I could be a part of. For instance, I really wish I could have witnessed his speech in the boxing ring. I also yearn to see the invisible man's physical appearance; I don't really know why, I guess it is just my curious nature. Oh, and ever since I discovered that Brother Jack had a glass eye, I have wanted to poke the other one out; he only used the invisible man as a tool and was so condescending. Ellison implemented various symbols and images that stuck out to me and it was easy to connect with the invisible man, who on "some lower frequencies" speaks for me.
Another book that stuck out from all the rest was Wuthering Heights. Yes I am a sucker for love stories, but I felt like this novel was so much more than just a typical romance. I really liked talking- well I mostly listen and take notes in class discussions- about the conflict between passion and reason, as well as looking into the characterization of the foils. Hareton is a babe... basically. I think Heathcliff is overrated and a jerk who is too wrapped up in his emotions. Hareton, on the other hand, remains loyal and kind, regardless of everything Heathcliff put him through. I think the main image out of the work that stands out to me is at the end when Lockwood returns to the cemetary and the heath is creeping up the side of Catherine's grave. I kinda want to meet Lockwood just to see if my presence would cause him to go off to another hermit-like existance. I think he is a good source of comic relief in a novel overflowing with drama.
I cannot believe I actually read every book this year. It all went by so fast! It seems like just yesterday when I was finishing up Crime and Punishment minutes before the first day of school.
Bye blogs!!
The two works that stick out the most to me throughout the course of the year are Slaughterhouse-Five and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Even though slaughterhouse was the first book I read and it was over the summer, I still remember it very well. His casual, noncaring attitude toward the world around him is noticeable and displayed through the constant usage of "So it goes" after mentioning anything serious. The fact that he tells how the Pilgrim's story ends before he even begins really demonstrates his unique style and emphasizes the nonlinearity of time, it in no way reduces the significance of the last few lines. The last word in the novel said by the bird is unforgettable, "Poo-too-tweet?" It basically sums the entire novel and hammers in the theme in one word. The dark humor of R&S are dead make it very memorable as well, especially the opening scene with the coin flipping streak. He tries to make sense of it and reason through it while his friend is perfectly content with the unbelievable event and thinks nothing more of it. They are both incredibly interesting characters as well by how difficult it is to tell the two apart. I've thoroughly enjoyed the modern works. I really did enjoy the majority of the novels we read this year as well as the variety of poems rather than only viewing sonnets and typical poems that everyone expects.
I am going to go ahead and agree with everyone else that we did just breeze through most of our books except for cime and punishment, i think we spend a good right amount of time on that one and that is one of them that i really did understand the best just because of how much in class discussion took place. this year best past time for me was the sitting in the circle discussing all of the books, i really learned a lot from doing that. i really like rozencratsa and gildenstern because it was so funny and it made me chuckle as opposed to some of the books just were not happy books. but oh well. oh and i really enjoyed doing the project thing where we all had a choice to do stuff. either way coming to your class miss Charbonnet was a blast a lot.
This is Ashley...
Wuthering Heights was my favorite novel this year, hands down. As I admitted in the first blog, I'm a romantic and the tragic love story of Catherine and Heathcliff was so intricately well-pieced together that I was enamored by it. Personally, though, the best scene was when Catherine 2 and Hareton FINALLY realized how perfect they were for each other. The overwhelming symbolism in Wuthering Heights also captivated me, since I really do enjoy finding a novel's hidden meanings.
I'm also a fan of Pride & Prejudice. I just love the story, and Mr. Darcy is...well, Mr. Darcy. It's definitely a novel I will read many more times (and the movies aren't too bad, either!)
I think that this year, the novel that stuck with me was Pride and Prejudice. The main character Elizabeth portrays a strong independent thinking woman that sets a good example for the readers. I think that just her interactions with her mother and Mr. Darcy are the ones that make the novel what it is. It is one that sucked me in and I wanted to be there watching all of it happen in person. One other work that really made me think was The Handmaid's Tale. It really made me rethink how much I appreciate the little things in life, because tomorrow they might not be here. Also, it was one of the novels that had just pure raw emothion the entire time; it made it seem more real to me and easier to understand and get through.
I think that my favorite novel from this year has to be The Handmaid's Tale. Although it was one of the harder ones for me to read, due to the treatment of women, it stuck with me the most. The quotes that resonate the most with me would have to be “We were a society dying, said Aunt Lydia, of too much choice” on p.25 and “This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary” on p.33. While Offred was the main character, she could almost be considered passive throughout the novel, not by choice but by societal standards. This novel was the one that stood out the most in my mind because of Offred and her relationship with the Commander.
I agree with Cameron that we should have read more books. Although it was time consuming & frustrating at times to make sure i finished a novel, i enjoyed reading so many because i honestly just love to read period. I really liked almost all of the books, but the big ones that I'm sure I'll write on and the ones that stick with me are The Sound and The Fury, Frankenstein, & Crime and Punishment. I didn't necessarily love C&P, but I felt like I fully understood it after all of our discussions and there is just so much in it, I know I could write on it. I absolutely loved Quentin's section (as I'm reading Absalom, Absalom!). His character, the way Faulkner wrote it, and just the story itself was amazing and I just loved it. I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed some of these novels. I seriously loved this class and I'm going to miss it so much! This year definitely enhanced my literature & writing skills!
One of my favorite scenes from AP Lit this year was from Hemingway's short story "Soldier's Home." In a very strange way, I related to the main character, jaded by failed ambitions with women and not exactly sure what went wrong some where down the road. When he can hardly bring himself to tell his mother that he loves her: I cannot think of a more crushing scene. While on the topic of being sad, reading Frankenstein was as depressing as it was rewarding.
But my favorite book this year was Slaughterhouse-Five. Ever since I read that sickly humorous novel I have been a Vonnegut acolyte. Kurt's a good kid.
As I wipe away the tears of mourning for our last blog, I believe what stood out to me most prominently as far as our readings go are Slaughterhouse Five, Invisible Man, and The Importance of Being Earnest. SF and IM were both heavy coated with symbolism and that has always been a strength of mine in literary analysis. I really enjoyed Emerson's writing because it seems so far ahead in the way people of his time thought while the same attitudes and ideas resonate to this day. Vonnegut is pure genius in his style of writing and it was incredible to see how he incorporated just about every element of science fiction into something relevant and anti-war. Plus, Billy Pilgrim was just hysterical to follow. IOBE was another of my favorites this year because of its style. I really wish the plot line had been extended into a full novel because I really loved Oscar Wilde's use of satire and ridicule of Victorian ideals. Every line had meaning and deserved at least a chuckle. I can't sing such praise about everything we read this year, but these three I would definitely read again.
Until recently the scene that has been embedded in my brain is the ending of 1984 when Julia meets up with Winston and they are faced with the fact that they are no longer in love and that they really have no feelings for each other whats so ever! For me, this is probably one of the saddest scenes we have read this year. It is so emotionless and essentially so real and something everyone can relate to. We think that we can love someone so much that we'd do anything for them but in actuality very few of us actually would. I want to think that someone would be attacked by rats for me!
But now I have a new, happier, scene in my head! Then end of Beloved when Paul D says to Sethe, "We got more yesterday than anybody. We need some kind of tomorrow". That is by far the sweetest thing I have read in any English class, granted it might be kinda cheesy, it gave hope to the strength of love and that not everything has to end up in ruins. Always the end the year with this novel, it's such a mood booster :)
"You teach me now how cruel you've been--cruel and false. Why did you despise me? Why did you betray your own heart? I have not one word of comfort. You deserve this. You have killed yourself. Yes, you may kiss me, and cry; and wring out my kisses and tears. They'll blight you--they'll damn you. You loved me --then what right had you to leave me? What right--answer me--for the poor fancy you felt for another? Because misery, and degradation, and death, and nothing that God or Satan could inflict would have parted us, you, of your own will, did it. I have not broken your heart--you have broken it--and in breaking it, you have broken mine. So much the worse for me, that I am strong. Do I want to live? What kind of living will it be when you--oh, God! would you like to live with your soul in the grave?
It is hard to forgive, and to look at those eyes, and feel those wasted hands, kiss me again; and don't let me see your eyes! I forgive you for what you have done to me. I love my murderer--but yours! How can I?"-Wuthering Heights
I really like this book in general, but it's mostly because of that quote. I like it because I can't seem to figure out the same thing: why people reject what they really want more than anything because they are scared of what other people think..That's stupid. Why would you make yourself miserable for people who obviously don't care enough about you to look past it?
I wish we had gone more in depth with The Sound and the Fury. It was definitely the most complex book we read all year and i think it would have been easier to understand everything had we talked more about it in class. I know a lot of people didn't really like it and at first it was hard to get into, but Wuthering Heights was my favorite book of the year. You never knew what that zany Heathcliff would do next. I really liked Rosencrantz and Guildenstern right after Hamlet. I honestly hated Beloved and the Invisible Man. I guess I'm just not to into those kind of books. The IOBE project was fun, the play was enjoyable to read.
This year I had two favorite books: The Things the Carried and Invisible Man. I choose to focus on my favorite passage from The Things They Carried.
My favorite passage the I always go back to is, "As a medic, Rat Kiley carried a canvas satchel filled with morphine and plasma and malaria tablets and surgical tape and comic books and all the things a medic must carry, including M&M's for especiallty bad wounds." This is my favorite because it reveals that although war is often thought of as harsh and traumatic experiences. The use of M&M's just shows how the simple things in life can allow people to apreciate the little things that matter in life. Although the M&M's are a placebo used to ease the pain of deadly wounds, they allow the soldiers to reconnect with happier memories from back home.
I think Invisible Man was the most helpful of the novels in terms of what I still remember and the depth of my understanding. I especially remember the statue of the founder putting the veil over the student. The novel I most enjoyed, however was 1984. I really liked the symbolism within the story, and I like the themes about the power of corruption and the danger of big government. The poem that most stands out in my head is Ozymandias. It is one of my favorite poems and I think I almost have what was written on the statue memorized, "I am Ozymandias, King of Kings! Look at my works, and Despair".
"So it goes..." Second best quote ever! It can be said pretty much every crappy situation that you can be in since it is so vague yet true.
"War is Peace, Slavery is Freedom, Ignorance is Strength" This is by far the best quote, due to its truthiness. As you should know I'm quite cynical about life and this fits in right with it. Just how everything is a lie, even the cake.
I would definitely have to say the two major novels I enjoyed this school year would have to be The Sound and the Fury and Invisible Man. Before Invisible Man, I had read several books on the discrimination and isolation of African Americans. However, after reading the novel I gained a whole new perspective on how whites subtly blinded African Americans. But I was disappointed that our class could not go into more discussion concerning the Sound and the Fury. I particularly enjoyed Quentin's section and his father's nihilistic view on life and his odd conception of time.
Aagh! Our last blog...:(
Well, even though it was a choice novel, my favorite book of all we've read is definitely Pride and Prejudice. I love when Elizabeth reads Darcy's letter and realizes that he's actually this amazing guy who loves her so much she couldn't even tell.
I could talk forever about Elizabeth's character, so I guess that's the main thing I would have wanted to discuss more in class. Hopefully the AP exam will have something about this topic.
I also enjoyed Daisy Miller. I think since it was so short we went through it quicker than usual.
I love the contrasting views of femininity these novels employ. Elizabeth and Daisy are almost equally independent, but how they choose to live within that independence--and subsequently the way society thinks of them affects each of them differently.
I love Elizabeth! and Daisy is annoying.
I know it is completely awful to say, but the character that resonates with me the most is Jason, from the Sound and the Fury. Faulkner portrayed him as the sexist, racist, butthead that no one can really get along with. He is a hypocrite and makes me sick to my stomach, yet I enjoyed his character. It showed the hypocrisy of the south and what happens when a man loses all respect for everyone but himself. It is odd, I know, but his character seems to stick with me. And as for covering the books, I enjoyed them but I think they were all so similar towards the end that they need to be changed up a tad. And as much as I enjoy hearing my classmate's voices and points of view, it got redundant at times. I think we could have fit maybe one more book in there somewhere. Either way though Mrs. Charbonnet, keep up the good work. I enjoyed the class and learned enough to last me for awhile :]
If I had to choose a favorite book from this year I would go with Invisible Man. I felt like after reading Invisible Man, I had a different perspective on life and began to actually evaluate my own life. At first I thought it would be another boring read because it was so long. However, it was actually a quick read. I learned a lot about myself after reading this book and consider it to be one of the better books that I have read.
by the way, my most favoritest(haha yes, i said it) discussion all year was Daisy Miller and the pros and cons to flirting. Remember as a theme for the MWDS, Flirting is Networking. That is all.
Without a doubt, the story that stuck with me the most was Brave New World. Not only was it beyond creepy, but it also sent out a very powerful message. The initial "perfect world"-view of human society comes crashing down into utter corruption. I thought this novel gave a perfect explanation as to why we as human beings have morals. Without them, life would seem meaningless. It really bothered me how detached everyone/everything was in this "perfect world". Invisible Man would be my second top choice because, although it relates to slavery and racism, it adds a twist to each race's point of view. But yeah, that's it for me.
In the middle of Frankenstein, the monster despairs "Life is obstinate and clings most where it is hated."
This quote really stuck out to me as a i was reading, because it was one of the most sensible things the monster says. His trek is based on getting complete revenge on Viktor, while a much simpler route would have been to take his own life. Rather, he takes all the other character's lives because one of the characters gave him a life he was not ready for. This quote is true of both Viktor and Frankenstein at the end of the novel, but both persist, despite regretting the lives they've led.
I think the most memorable part of a book for me is part of Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov is dreaming about his murder of the two women. In this dream, he goes to kill the old woman and she just smiles at him and laughs in his face. Raskolnikov sees this as evidence of his cowardice. He realizes that his crime was very lowly and cowardly. He sees just how dumb it was for him to kill the woman and how he was and still is scared of what he did.
This scene is memorable to me because just seeing the image of a woman smiling right before death is kind of weird. Also, even though Raskolnikov really admits no wrongdoing on his part, His conscience seems to bleed through and make him have delusions. It is amazing how someone's conscience can play such a big role in their sanity and outlook on life.
I think that the most memorable part of any novel we read this year is the scene in Slaughterhouse Five where Billy walks in on his son playing his new guitar while sitting on the toilet. Although seemingly meaningless, this scene displays the relationship between Billy and his son, a relationship that is critical to understanding the atrocities and evil of war through his own experiences and his son's desire to join the armed forces. I think that Slaughterhouse Five should be a required novel instead of a choice novel because it provides some comical relief, yet still has a deep meaning that is quite easy to understand.
Ellison's Invisible Man still seems to be the most memorable novel from this school year, although it was one of the earlier novels we read. The seemingly endless use of symbolism and and irony made it seem as if there is still way more to the story that we didn't (couldn't) even touch on in the time we studied it. Wuthering Heights, too, really stuck with me. There was so much complexity in the novel that it almost made me cringe when I had to read it, but at other times, the mystery behind it all made me want to read ahead and uncover what happened next
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead was epic. It amazed me how such a tiny play could be jam packed with so much wit and disturbingly honest questions about life. It's odd how the lack of structure, plot, and characterization gives way to more profound insights than the development of a normal story. The things that stuck out to me were The Player... he just creeped me out in that ominous kind of way, the games they played, how Rosencrantz and Guildernstern didn't even know their names, how the end of the play tied back into the original Hamlet, the crazy conversations, and especially the Player's fake death.
"It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster." That's my favorite line from "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop. I like it because though her words are trying to display her apatheticness
of losing, it's ironic because it is something that, though she has accepted it, still hurts her deeply and writing helps combat and maybe even emphasize the pain. (yay run-on sentences.)
I really really enjoyed Wuthering heights and Pride and Prejudice...as well as The Sound and the Fury! Although the sound and the fury was difficult to understand, i actually found it was one of my favorite because it just had so much complexity and was so unique. It really made me feel like i had accomplished something after i finished those first two sections. The moment when caddy first climbs up the tree was interesting because we were told that that would be the focus of the whole novel, and it is just something so simple but so significant. You can really see her bravery and her courage. Also, i loved her compassion and love for Benjy..that really stuck out to me.
For Wuthering Heights, i really liked the whole struggle between passion and reason--it shows how they complement each other and how both are neccessary components to life. And for Pride and Prejudice, i loved the story line and the events that happen between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy---it's so sweet how at first she thinks that he is such an awful and prideful person, but in the end, he loves her and cares about her more than anything. It really shows how first impressions aren't everything.
Well, my two favorites this year was Brave New World and Importance of Being Earnest.
In Brave New World, the scene that especially stuck with me was the end. After all that time resisting the social norms of the New Word, he succumbs at the end (which was unexpected). Then, he hangs himself. It's amazing that he was so convicted by the horrible nature of his action that he committed suicide. It is because of his self-conviction that makes this scene memorable to me.
For Importance of Being Earnest, the end once again is my favorite. I liked it when Jack discovered he was really named Ernest and that all that time he was telling the truth. I just thought the end of IOBE was humorous and clever.
My favorite novel this year that I read was Frankenstein, and the most excruciating section to read was the night of Viktor and Elizabeth's wedding. I knew the monster would come to kill Elizabeth and it was dumb for Viktor to have left her alone in the room.
At that point I wished I could have been there to save Viktor from ultimate despair and hopelessness. With Elizabeth he at least had some shred of hope left, but when she was torn away he was left with nothing. Simply staying in the room could have saved her because he had prepared for that moment by getting weapons. Other parts of the novel such as Viktor's walk through the mountains and the forest scene when Viktor sees the monster were very beautifully portrayed, but the wedding night scene is whered I would most want to have been because I don't believe Viktor's folly was so harsh as for him to lose everyone close to him.
Hey Mrs. Charbonnet,
Just thought I'd let you know, your class has helped me so much with my writing! Right now I'm taking an Anthropology class, and I always find myself referring back to those analytical verbs you had on the walls during in-class essays (e.g. "highlights" "displays" "illustrates") when I'm writing papers. So thanks for everything, I enjoyed it a lot :)
- Yiyi
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