Blogging Around

I read Marika's blog post about blogging this year. She brought up a few really good points, such as the stereotypes associated with blogging and the outlet for self-expression that blogging offers. I left her this comment:

Marika!
I completely agree. I was also a little reluctant to start blogging. I'd never done it before, and it didn't seem like my thing. But like you said, it turned into a great form of self-expression. I love your prompt idea! I also think it'd be 'megafun' to respond to one specific word in a blog. I think it'd be so interesting to see how one word can trigger such different thoughts and ideas for different people. Great post!
-Kate K

I then read Kyle's blog. He also wrote about blogging this year, and he brought up a few good ideas, such as some criticism of specific blogging prompts and the lack of interaction with the online community.

Kyle-
I found your post really interesting. I've read your personal blog, and it's very entertaining! So I'm glad that blogging in English led to starting your own blog. I agree that some of the blogging prompts were somewhat forced and could be improved upon. I also struggled with the 'best of week' prompt, although, in theory, I think it is a good idea to reflect on the insightful comments of our peers. I think sometimes it's just hard to remember those comments at the end of the week. I also agree about the online community part. I hope that Mr. Allen continues blogging with his students in the future, but I think adding an element of online interaction would make the blogging experience even more worthwhile. Great job!
-Kate K

Metacognition: Blogging this year

Blogging in English class this year has been a really rewarding experience on multiple levels. It opened me up to a different side of myself that I otherwise may have never gotten in touch with, and it will provide an archive of my thoughts and memories for a long time to come. It also serves as a reflection of my overall experience in sophomore English. Looking back at all my posts, I can really see how my thinking and writing skills were challenged this year. The blogging prompts were able to stretch my mind to its limits, and I enjoyed the variety of topics that blogging offered, a variety which is usually absent in typical, monotonous English classes. 

In addition to expanding my own thinking and adding a depth to my English class experience, blogging offered me easy access to my classmates' ideas and perspectives. I really enjoyed the 'blogging around' prompts, which required me to read the blogs of my peers. Not only did this give me inspiration for my own future blog posts, but it exposed me to alternative viewpoints about the units we were covering in class.

Best of Week: Comparing Michael K to God

I'd say the most insightful idea of the week was a comparison of the relationship between Michael K and God/religion. I hadn't noticed that connection before, but after Margot brought it up and Crystal elaborated on the topic, it made me view the story in a completely different way. Michael K is able to remove himself from the system and find meaning in life, just like Jesus, who lived his life contrary to what society expected of him. Also, at one point in the story, Coetzee writes about Michael K being from 'beyond the grave', suggesting that he is almost otherworldly or divine. Margot pointed out that, at times, Coetzee's writing style almost mimics that of a prayer. Also, as Mr. Allen said, Michael K's line, "I am what I am," is almost exactly the same as the words God said to Moses.

This concept really made me view Michael K differently. I've now come to realize that he is so much more than just a deformed, unfortunate man from South Africa, and his life means so much more than the trivial struggles he endures. He represents a broader idea, the idea that it is possible to escape the limitations that modern society tries to force upon you and find a more meaningful life for yourself.

360 Degrees: Life and Times of Michael K

Before we started reading Life and Times of Michael K, I was a little reluctant. I'd heard from my brother and some of his classmates mostly negative reviews, including criticism of the lack of plot. I'll admit, I was preparing myself for a bore. 

However, I was surprised to find that this book had one of the most intricate, meaningful storylines I'd read in awhile. The language was vividly descriptive and had beautiful rhythm, and rather than causing me to lose interest, the triviality of events added a uniquely realistic quality that I had not experienced in literature before.

My own reaction to the text, combined with the discussions we had in class, led me to the conclusion that this book can be interpreted in vastly different ways. I think some readers take it at the surface level. They may become bored with the bleak monotony of Michael K's life, although the sheer beauty of the language probably compels them to finish it.  I think one potential explanation for the reason this book has been criticized by teenagers is the prevalence of more cinematic plotlines in pop culture today. It was definitely an adjustment reading a story where nothing seemed sugar-coated or contrived in any way.

I think there were others, like me, who took awhile to accept Coetzee's style of writing, but eventually grew to truly appreciate the meaning behind the humdrum of Michael K's rugged life. I know I wouldn't have noticed much of this meaning without Mr. Allen's guidance or the insights of my peers, but I now feel that I have a greater sense of the reason Coetzee is so acclaimed. It is because the story is so ordinary and the events so natural that the characters are so human and relatable. And it is because of this realism that the themes of the story have such a resonant impact, leading us to question our own lives and the society we live in. 

It seems to me that, much like Jane Eyre and Heart of Darkness, Life and Times of Michael K is written in a style that takes some time to adjust to. However, it's often stories like these that, once accepted and understood, have the most profound effect.

Metacognition: Short Story

Overall, I think my thought process for writing my short story worked pretty well. As always, once I got a good idea, I had no problem with the beginning of the story. My thoughts flowed pretty quickly, and, after listening to Mr. Allen's advice, I found it very helpful to just type and wait for the right words to come. It was the middle part and ending that were more difficult for me. I think those are the most critical parts of any story. All the beginning has to do is capture the reader's interest in some way, but the middle must intensify the plot and put pressure on the characters, and the ending must have some sort of resolution and leave the reader satisfied. At first, I was overwhelmed by all the requirements I set up for myself. In a way, I think my expectations were limiting my thinking. I wanted my story to be perfect. Honestly, I expected myself to be as good as the great writers of our time, and the truth is, I can't be that good. 

Once I came to that important realization, everything became easier. I began judging myself on my own standards, and I was much happier with the writing of my story. In any future writing assignments, I think I will remind myself to forget all expectations and just write. 

Metacognition: Jane Eyre essay

I'm not gonna lie. This Jane Eyre essay was a major challenge for me. From the very start, I was concerned, because I tend to get rather controlling when it comes to writing--I'm sort of a perfectionist, and I want everything a certain way. I think it was a good exercise for me, just so I could learn to be more flexible and collaborate with others on a piece of writing. I think my thinking worked pretty well as far as getting started. Our group established ground rules so we'd all be on the same page, and we started working on our portions relatively early on in the process, so we'd have time to piece them all together. I think one aspect that was lacking was communication while we were writing. Although we made the expectations very clear, we didn't tell each other the specifics of what we were writing until after we wrote it. This became somewhat of an issue, since Marika and I ended up using the same film as our reference. After this was resolved, I think we had a relatively good finished product. The only thing I would do differently next time, besides communicate more, is leave more time for polishing and editing at the end. I think we were a little rushed, which led to us forgetting silly things, like attaching the bibliography. I appreciate that Mr. Allen spent time trying to teach us collaboration skills, because I think these will be useful to all of us in our future lives. 

Metacognition: Short Story

I was really interested to see how the story-writing process developed, especially because I've had such an issue in the past with finding an idea and sticking with it. I think that my thought process worked relatively well. I wrote my story fragment about one idea, and although it worked well for the fragment, I struggled with finding a way to expand upon the fragment. I looked back at something else I had written for my own enjoyment, and it fueled a new idea for me to run with. I was proud of myself for being willing to start over completely, something that I typically avoid doing at all costs. 

As far as things I could improve upon, I think I'd do more typing, less thinking, like Mr. Allen suggested. I think sometimes I psych myself out with thoughts like I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next or I need 500 more words...but I have no idea what those 500 words are going to be!

My new motto is: Just write. I was somewhat skeptical when Mr. Allen first made this suggestion, but I've found that it's 100% true. You do do your best thinking at the keyboard. There have been times when I've thought I was completely stuck and had no idea where my story was going, but, just by typing something, anything, I stumbled across the answer. Now that's cool.

Dialectics: Faith and Science

I've always been interested in the constant conflict between religion and scientific discovery, two ideas which seem to have difficulty coexisting in one's belief system. I consider myself a Catholic, yet I find it impossible to dismiss what science tells me is true, even if my religion contradicts this truth. I decided to set up a dialectic between faith and science, to see if this would shed any light on my inner struggle. 

P.S. I have no idea if I'm doing this dialectic correctly, but I interpreted the word 'conversation' in the literal sense...

Science: How do you defend all these completely unproven claims? Your assertions have no logical sense or scientific backing, yet you blindly follow them nevertheless. What makes you so confident that a higher being exists?

Faith: The purpose of religion is to believe without seeing. It could not be called faith if all claims were proven. There is no concerete evidence to assure that God exists, but no evidence is necessary to feel the presence of His omniscient power in our lives. 

Science: I see. What of creation? I presume you would dismiss all evidence of evolution as false?

Faith: It depends. Different branches of faith believe different things. There are theories that evolution could be true, but God may have been behind it. Conservative Christians may believe completely in Creationism, and reject evolution altogether. My question is, how do you live without God? Don't you feel alone and insignificant, believing in nothing at all?

Science: But we do believe in something: science. Science can be viewed as a sort of religion in itself. We practice it, believe in it...it governs our lives, much like faith to you. And as for feeling 'insignificant', how could we, knowing there is so much more to discover? 

Faith: Ah. Well that makes sense. But do you think there is any way for faith and science to coexist?

Science: Hmm. Good question. Yes, I believe there could be some kind of compromise...

So, I'm still not sure if I did this correctly. But, based on this little conversation I set up, I've concluded that both science and faith have value, and there may be a way to believe in aspects of both. 

Blogging Around

Leanne's "What if?" post was about what she imagined would happen to the world if boys were in charge. This was my response:

Leanne- 

I loved reading your blog! It was entertaining, and I could almost hear your voice in my head as you went on about boys and all they things they care about. I loved the part about how boys don't understand that you can't wear black pants with a blue shirt. It's totally true! Your post was one of the most interesting that I've read in awhile, and, being someone who wrote about short stories for that blog post just like almost everyone else, I really admire your creativity!

-Kate

I also read Jamie's blog. She wrote a post about the importance of collaboration and the potential role it could take in our education system, which I found really thought-provoking.

Jamie-

I found your post really interesting. I completely agree that, in some ways, judging our collaborative skills would be a more fair assessment than an in-class essay or some other form of test. I know that my dad always talks about how important collaboration is in his job, and I think we should be taught how to collaborate the right way, so we're prepared for the real world. 

Like you said, collaboration is difficult to judge, and a perfect system of evaluation hasn't been developed yet, as far as I know. I'd like to think, though, that educators are trying to find a way to teach and evaluate this essential life lesson. 

Anyways, I really enjoyed reading what you had to say about the topic!

-Kate

Best of Week: The Writing of Cathedral

After reading Cathedral, I thought it was a great story. I liked the characters, liked the setting, liked the way the author wrote. But I now know that I didn't have anything close to an appreciation for the brilliance of Raymond Carver's writing. Mr. Allen really opened my eyes to the beauty of his work when he made a point about the shortness of the sentences in the beggining of the story, in comparison to the lengthier sentences as the story progressed. He went on to explain how, in the earlier part of the story, the narrator was close-minded, so the sentences were short and abrupt. However, as the story went on, the narrator's mind was opened and he gained a greater understanding, so the sentences became longer and more elegant. 

Jamie added to this point by offering an explanation for why, at the very end, the sentences became short again. She explained that the narrator had experienced a sort of epiphany, and so he was at a loss for words. I thought both Mr. Allen's original point and Jamie's addition to it were really eye-opening, not just in relation to the reading of Cathedral but also in the process of writing my own short story. I'm now more tuned into the length and rhythm of the sentences I write, so that I can convey feeling and character development through the structure of my writing. It relates back to what Mr. Allen has drilled into our brains from the beggining of the year: form is content. I now realize how true that statement really is. 

What If?: Writing My Short Story

So we just started the short story unit in English class. I'm especially excited because, in comparison to Heart of Darkness, which was a major challenge for me, creative writing is much more at my comfort level. However, when I actually started thinking about the process of writing a short story, I became more and more scared. 

I've been writing stories since I was about 6 or 7. So yeah, it's nothing new. But I was looking back at some of my the things I wrote, and I noticed a pattern through all my work--I never finished anything. I always had great ideas, great starts, great characters...but then the story would fall flat. I'd run out of ways to develop the plot, or I'd get bored of the setting, blah blah blah. This made me wonder, what if I actually finished a story?

For one, I would have more than just a fragment of an idea. I would have a finished product that I could hopefully be proud of, a story that I could share with family and friends. It would be proof to myself and to everyone else that I can finish something. And, if all goes well, I could maybe earn a good grade :]

Obviously, I'll have to finish my story, one way or another. It's part of the assignment. I'm not just going to turn in a half-finished story. But it's going to take a lot of self-discipline for me to stick with it. This writing process might turn out to be an important growth experience for me. I'll have to commit to an idea and run with it, no turning back. I can't wait to see how it unfolds. 

Connection: Heart of Darkness and The Office

The ending of Heart of Darkness really reminded me of one of my favorite TV shows, The Office. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow lies to Kurtz's Intended to protect her feelings. Instead of telling her the truth about his death, which is that his final words were "The horror! The horror!", Marlow makes her believe that Kurtz said her name just before he died. 

I think it's a part of human nature to want to avoid hurting others' feelings, or to allow people to go on believing the best about a situation. In The Office, two characters, Andy and Angela, are engaged. Andy clearly has strong feelings for Angela, so when the rest of The Office cast find out that Angela hooked up with her co-worker, Dwight, nobody wants to tell Andy. They know that it would devastate him, so everybody just decides to hide the truth. 

Making this connection helped me better understand Marlow's motivation to cover up the truth. Before, I couldn't fully grasp the reason behind Marlow's choice, but, by thinking about a more modern, relatable example of a similar situation, I can now comprehend the idea. Sometimes, in the long run, the truth will hurt much more than a lie. So it all comes down to the question of what's more important: being honest or making someone feel better.