Journal #9

I honestly have never liked to read and would try to do anything I could to get out of it, so I was a little nervous to take this class. I think the main thing that I have gained from this class is a better appreciation for literature. I never used to really analyze what I was reading, I would just decide it I “liked” it or not. Through this literature class I have a better way of analyzing writing and my opinion of that writing.

I think I especially enjoyed the fact that this was a topics course that I would relate the readings to real world events and sociological tendencies. This was nice for me, because I am also taking sociology this quarter, and the two classes kind of overlapped in some aspects. So, I would have to say my biggest surprise is that I did all the readings and didn’t hate the class.

Some of the more interesting parts for me were the days we discusses the topic of forgiveness. I think this is because I have never really thought about all the facets of a seemingly simple concept. I’ve always been a very forgiving person, but it was interesting to think about why that might be, and if I thought I would ever not be able to forgive someone.

A few of the stories have also made me think about how I treat others, and especially my close friends and family. It’s nice to be able to take something away from a class, that wasn’t really the main point of the class. That kind of sounds silly, but it’s like taking the bigger picture of what was discussed and using it in real life. This has always been an issue with school and me. I had an illustration professor that once told me in order to do well on an assignment, you have to first accept it, and then internalize it. This literature class has been an extension of that ideology for me. As I have talked about before, I have also enjoyed the investigation of form and content in literature. Which also goes along with my connections to the art world, because of how important those two concepts are to the art world.

I hope to challenge myself in the future by reading out of my comfort zone and try to tackle some Faulkner. I can see how works like his could be inspiring to a designer. Maybe someday I will create a collection based upon one of his stories.

Morgan McMahan