Poetry Day

What a fantastic class to write my final blog about.  I wasn't sure that I would enjoy poetry day, because poetry is not one of my favorite things to study.  I really enjoyed it though!  It was fun hearing the poems that each person picked.  I was also impressed with the poetry that was written by my fellow students.  You all did an incredible job and you were all very brave to share your personal creations with the class.  This class has been so much fun!  I have enjoyed every minute of it.  Good luck to everyone on finals and best of luck with the rest of your classes throughout your college careers.  I hope to see you guys all again in other classes!

Decisions, Decisions....

I'm trying to decide what poem I want to present for Poetry Day on Tuesday.  I can't decide whether to do a fun poem or a serious one.  There is just to many wonderful poems to choose from.  I really like Robert Frost and his poem Carpe Diem seems rather fitting since it is Mercyhurst's Motto.  I also really enjoy Emily Dickinson's poetry.  Still, a part of me really wants to do a fun poem or even a children's poem, such as Shel Silverstein.  I've always loved his poems! Then, there is Dr. Seuss.  He might just be the best poet I've read! 

Snow Country part 2

Wow... I am beyond confused at this point!  I'm not really sure what to make of what I just read.  First of all, the change in Komako's character was weird and I didn't really understand why she was so different.  Plus, it seemed like she was drunk for most of the second part of the story.  She was still the same indecisive person as she was in the first part, though.  Komako was still doing the "I'm leaving" game, even though she never did.  I did think that she and Shimamura were cute, the way they bantered with one another.  I actually almost forgot that he had a wife and kids that he just up and left!  I'm not really sure what to think of all the characters, though.  Hopefully our classroom discussion will clarify the whole "crazy" thing between Komako and Yoko, because I have no clue what all that was about.  I also didn't really understand the Milky Way discussion.  I think it was meant to have some significant meaning, but I sure didn't see it.  The fire at the end of the story came out of nowhere too, so that seemed odd to me.  I also would have liked to know what happened in the end.  Did Shimamura go home to his family or stay with Komako?  Because no matter how many time Shimamura tried to deny his feelings for her, I'm pretty much certain that he loved her.

Snow Country part 1

I waited until after our class discussion to talk about this because I honestly had no clue what I was reading.  I'm glad that others felt that it was awkward to read, at parts.  The way that the story jumped from the different seasons was confusing at first, but I got the hang of it eventually.  I also found the red/white color references interesting.  I hadn't really given those details much thought at the time, but after we discussed it, I flipped back through the pages and realized just how much those colors were used in the story.  Also, I never really considered there to be love triangles.  I wasn't really sure what to think of Yukio so I didn't give much thought to him, as a character.  Yoko didn't seem to even notice Shimamura, so I didn't consider that a love triangle either, so it was interesting to connect them all in such a way.

Pedro Paramo Part 1

Oh boy! This story is making me go crazy! I can't keep track of all these characters they keep introducing, who's point of view we are in, and whether each passage is from the past or the present. I find the story very interesting and the characters are all very intriguing. I'm still not entirely sure what is going on but from what I can see, the old lady Eduviges can communicate with the dead and is pretty much all-knowing. The main narrator is on a journey to make his father, Pedro, pay for not caring for him and his mother, but Pedro is apparently dead. Then we've got some flashbacks of Pedro's life and some interesting stories from several different characters. I am still reading it so I haven't figured anything out yet but it's really interesting and makes you think as you read, in order to make all the connections between characters. I'm very interested to see how this all turns out in the end because it just sounds like a whole lot of crazy to me at this point!

Things Fall Apart 2

I have just started the second part of the story, but I thought that the isa-ifi ceremony was very interesting!  I thought it was intriguing that the sisters came for the ceremony and they did the questioning, because it made the females role seem more significant than what Okonkwo is use to.  I'm only on the second chapter of this section, but I really like Okonkwo's uncle Uchendu so far.  He seems very wise and I loved his gathering with his children and his nephew.  The tough questions he was asking gave Okonkwo a lot to think about regarding the way he treats his family.  It is clear that family means everything to Uchendu and he has not had an easy life, but I love that he has moved past his grief and he is trying to encourage Okonkwo to do the same and to make his life worth something.  

Things Fall Apart 1

When we first started reading this, I was discouraged by how long it was and I wan't sure if I would like the story.  Since I'm not finished with it yet, I can't say for sure whether I like it or not.  For me, the first chapter or two were difficult to get into.  I'm not really sure how to feel about Okonkwo either.  I understand why he wouldn't want to be anything like his father, but the way he treats is family is very sad.  I don't think he's completely bad though.  I think that in the second part we might get to see his feelings.  The introduction of Ikemefuna was nice too.  He was a good addition to the family.  He was very helpful to Nwoye, who really needed the extra attention since his father only paid attention to him when he was criticizing or beating him.  I was very upset that they killed Ikemefuna.  I'm curious to see what will happen to Okonkwo in part 2 now that he has fled his home.