Did you guys know it's been exactly one month since our last response to course materials? I checked. Why? Cause, you know... it seemed important? I also found a funny gif about being a second semester senior. Yep. That's been my weekend. Anyways. On to the assignment.
Starting with the obvious, we finished Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I actually really liked this play. I didn't like annotating it, but I liked reading it. Watching the movie really helped me understand it too, because there were a lot of parts that I guess I just didn't get the stage direction of when I read it. And it turned out to be important to understand that. Who woulda guessed? It also helped me feel the emotions of Ros (who was totally Sirius Black) and Guil at the end, just before they disappear. Ros was so upset and sad, I actually felt really bad that he had to die. It made me mad at Hamlet, which is depressing because he's just a character in a book, as are Ros and Guil.
I don't think I liked the existential thing going on in the play. I like to think there's bigger meaning in life and that there is a God who actually cares. Being told over and over about the futility of our actions, "we're all just actors and Earth's our stage," etc. wasn't really my cup of tea. But I liked the humor that brought into the play with all the ways Guil tried to analyze their situation, doing so completely wrong.
That brings us to Ceremony. I'm on page 60. I'm actually really starting to find it interesting. The first time I read the first couple pages, I was so lost and was sure I'd hate the book, but when we read those pages in class and Holmes helped us see some of the symbolism and what not, I actually understood what was going on. That really helped with the later parts of the book I read to. I'm getting faster at picking up on time shifts, which is definitely super helpful. I don't know if you guys have read the back cover, but there's a quote from Sherman Alexie saying it's one of the most important books ever, and I really like Sherman Alexie, so I'm putting my faith in him and hoping for a great 183 pages left.
Finally, the closed prompt. First off, I'm so glad we don't have to find the meaning "they" want us to find. As long as I can support my claim well and it's not COMPLETELY wrong, I can find whatever meaning I want. Part of my hesitance about writing those essays was that I wouldn't find the right meaning, but I think most of what I find is reasonable enough to work. I did better on this prompt than on the one we did towards the beginning of the year, but that's mostly because I didn't drop a goal this time. I also think setting up my essay not according to technique really helped out.
Great Job Brianna! This is a thorough Response to Course Materials. I also really liked reading Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. I loved the comedy even though it got a bit irritating at times. Looking back at it, Ros and Guil was a pretty existentialist book however following Death of a Salesman just about anything seems uplifting. Even this book had a lot of intricate symbolism and meanings, the whole story seems like mindless humor on the surface (which is my kinda humor) so I found it a really entertaining read. I really like reading Ceremony as well, just not annotating it. I really enjoyed learning about the cultural issues of native americans at that time with the war going on. Thats interesting you think setting up your essay not according to technique helped out. I think you don't necessarily have to follow the technique we learned to a T but to adapt it so that it works for you. In AP World History I remember hating every single essay I had to write but by the time the AP test came I was really happy I had so much practice because I barely had to think. I had already mastered my techniques so writing the essays seemed easy. I hope in this next month we do some more writing and multiple choice practice.
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