Concluding thoughts
I absolutely feel as though I have gained many skills for approaching unfamiliar literature. It took away the pressure of getting it "right" and I feel better practiced at having the ability to formulate an "answer" (rather than just trying to accept it for what something is at face value with no further thought).
The most notable patterns I have seen throughout the course is the presence of "rules" and the seemingly endless shapes and forms this can be communicated through, both literal and abstract. Whether it be the rules imposed on the individual, or the conditional rules to participate in society, and everything in between this and beyond. The game of this course to me is that in actuality there are no rules. What I mean by this is, the incredibly vast collection of societal, communal, imaginative, as well as literal ways of 'being' told through each unique book in its own individual fashion. Even though there can be parallels or similarities or contrasting depictions to discuss in regards to each of the novels we have read, I do believe that each text is truly singular. Through the vast array of rules and games in texts we have read, it illustrates to me how there are no rules because there are no rules for the rules.
Thinking of this course overall, makes me think of the people we pass on the street in daily life. All of the texts we have read are distinctly separate, yet many were set in a similar time period or event. This parallels us individual humans going through life simultaneously, but it is also true that we have complete distinct and truly singular existences despite us all living at the same time. I'm not sure if this will make any sense to anyone reading this, but basically I mean to say that people we pass during the day have their own entire existence yet we know nothing just by passing by. This is like beginning each new novel, like meeting a new person and having the opportunity to hear their story that has taken place simultaneously to your own story of existence.
"people we pass during the day have their own entire existence yet we know nothing just by passing by. This is like beginning each new novel, like meeting a new person and having the opportunity to hear their story that has taken place simultaneously to your own story of existence."
ReplyDeleteI like this thought. Sometimes we say that someone is "an open book," but we might also imagine other people as (in fact) closed books, which we need to figure out how to open and read. I also like the notion of parallel stories or plots, and the fact that we will never read or comprehend them all, but we can at least get some kind of taste for that immense variety. A very Borgesian thought! :)
Hi great post! I definitely agree that it was difficult to keep track of characters and events while reading, I feel like at a certain point you just have to sit back and go with it. As for your question, I did not watch the lecture video before I read the book so I had originally interpreted the poison as a stand-in for children growing up. The way it changed them seemed to mimic how parents feel their children change as they grow up.
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