Literature poses no
interest to me. The thought of dissecting a story makes my whole body cringe.
Throughout all of my English classes, we have done plenty of surgeries to the
major works. Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Robert Frost’s pieces all have been
read and torn apart with worksheets and discussion periods. It is fair to say I
tried to be interested. However; my interest has gone farther down hill with
every year that passes, until we dug into Hills
Like White Elephants…
Beginning this piece my
enthusiasm was at an all time low. I could not bear the thought of another major
operation. We start by discussing what we know with the class about our next
patient, Hemingway’s piece. Then we slowly cut away layer by layer and page by
page. We discuss treatment options and different ways the story could be
interpreted. Finally, we each make our own recommendation to the patient about
our thoughts and understandings. Together, we offer a cure and explanation. The
process is monotonous and boring. However, something different about this
patient struck my attention. No background story was given, nor the intention
to provide such information. To understand this tricky patient we had to dig
deep into the space between the lines.
By asking my fellow surgeons
how to interpret the work, we found the meaning and unlocked the mystery. None
of us could have done it alone. The key was to read like a professor and look
at the objects each word could represent. Incredible. I am still in a state of
disbelief from this whole whirlwind. It did not start to sink in until I was
sitting at church and our pastor started to describe the hidden messages in the
scriptures. Everything was clearing up. The foggy lies I had believed about
Literature were no more.
I am now very
interested in dissecting any more patients possible. It is amazing to me what
the author can say, without using the words. I hope to become this excited
every time a new patient is presented before me. My excitement for this career
has skyrocket from one author’s will to take a risk. I am so grateful for the
opportunity to understand this piece and journey farther into many more.
I really like how you made it more of a story that is interesting rather just informing us. The thing I like the most about this piece is that you kept referring to it as surgery and that every piece of writing is a operation. I believe the same thing and I never knew how to put it! GREAT JOB!!!
ReplyDeleteI love how you described literature as an operation. When I was reading this I felt that you were using medical terms and I kind of felt that I was in a hospital..in a good way. I completly agree with you in everything you say! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteSuck up? Lol I'm kidding. You did a great job of explaining the process our class went through. You also caputure the personal emotion we each had individually. This blog turned out great with all the details.
ReplyDeleteI like how you wrote this. You weren't just like I hate literature, this book did this, and now my opinion changed. Instead, you went through everything step by step. You did really good while talking about this, good job!
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you used surgery as a metaphor and talked about dissecting the writing. I also liked how you showed contrast between previous literature assignments and then this one.
ReplyDeleteNicely developed. Your analogy is very fitting and helps the audience relate to the complicated process it can be. Your writing is very understandable in this manner. I appreciate the honesty have have at the beginning and the reflect part as you are growing as a scholar. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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