Reflection: Last Blog

     Before taking this class, I had never given much thought to who I am as a student of literature. High school was the first place that I first really started reading literature. It was there that I would have to say my foundation for literature was formed. However, this semester has caused me to really realize what literature is all about. Since this is the first time that I have really taken a book and looked past the story line, I struggled some at first to really get into analyzing what the author was trying to say to me between the lines. I found myself reading, taking time to process what I had read, and then developing ideas about what I had read. What helped me a lot is the discussions we would have in class over the readings. It gave me a chance to voice my ideas and then to view things from others perspectives and ideas as well.
     This class has forced me to take a deeper look at the impact literature can have on the reader. I have been reading for years, but it was not until this semester that I really took the time to process much of what I was reading. The fact that most of the works we read had a great deal to do with current issues made the readings have even more of an impact. I think this class has taught me to look much deeper at what the author is really trying to convey to the reader, not to take things so much at face value anymore. It has also taught me to appreciate a much broader range of authors and writing styles, as well as content.  Ultimately, I walk away from this class being less ignorant about the different backgrounds and styles that make up literature, and also with a better knowledge of what makes literature powerful.
     I also learned that although one may see a certain point on one light, another reader may see it in a very different light. What I gained from the works we read may not be what the next reader walks away with and I find that idea very powerful. Literature has something to offer everyone at whatever stage they are in their life. Different parts apply to different people differently. Each person can find something that they like and take that piece away with that.

No Books...No Kindle?

In today's world there is "dog-eat-dog" competition in every industry. Education is the top priority for everyone. People from agricultural backgrounds, business, artists, doctors all want their children to have the best of education. Books can offer this.  Books provide the necessary basis for communication.  If we didn't have books, we wouldn't have media. We wouldn't know about the historical monuments and culture. We wouldn't have any doctors, engineers etc.  Therefore, people would die faster and would suffer.  We get a great amount of information from books, which makes our minds sharp and make us intelligent.

 

If I wasn't allowed to read books, I would be significantly affected.  I don't read everyday, but books are a healthy way to exercise the mind and escape the stresses of reality.  It is nice to take a break from the constant movement of society to just sit down and read a book.  It helps me to relax and enjoy a story.  Also, it makes me feel good and accomplished when I finish the book, because it actually took time to read it and it was something not just handed to me.   

 

We metaphorically burn books everyday by indulging in the lastest technologies of the century.  Decades ago, radio signaled the demise of the book. Then came television and today, the Internet.  Instant gratification has taken over society leading people to not want to waste time on a book.  Also,  people rather go see the movie then read the book.  This is a blatent example of metaphorically burning books, because they have been replaced with a presented visual video that only lasts an hour and a half at most.  It cuts out important details that you get from the books and it eliminates the use of the human imagination to visualize and question for themselves.       

 

As Miguel Syjuco, author of Illustrado, puts it best..."Literature is the story of ourselves, the record of who we are, where we came from, and where we’re going. Non-fiction illuminates the world for us and fiction explains what non-fiction cannot. Through books we first travel. In those wanderings we become best acquainted with humanity through the characters we come to know more intimately than anyone else – whether we love, loathe, fear, or fawn over them.  Reading is our deepest connection to what makes us human, and part of a larger society."