Dear Esteemed and Valued Students,
I’m starting the Final Project Reflection thread here. You can paste your response into a COMMENT/ reply, or generate a new post (please title it Reflection) if you prefer. The final assignment is to post your Reflection, and then respond to two classmates’ posts as well (in a few sentences– this doesn’t have be lengthy).
If you need time beyond May 14, please just communicate with me. We work together.
Caroline Hellman
American Literature Final Reflection
by: Garnet Garcia
When I opened up this file to start this assignment, I realized something strange. I felt sad. I felt sad because this was, in fact, the last assignment I would ever do for this class. I donât get to do these things often as a Communications Design student. Iâm three years into studying illustration and animation and my classes consist of compositions, color usage, camera angles and storytelling. This class was so different and I enjoyed the time I spent here. I enjoyed being able to learn about politics and becoming more aware of the world around me through the lens of analysis and education rather than twenty horrible things popping up on my newsfeed. I enjoyed reading pieces of literature that have taught me so much about the past and present of my country that I would have never read on my own. I enjoyed the essays and the posts. I enjoyed talking about how spineless Willowbourne was with the rest of my classmates even if that was my least favorite piece of the entire semester. Itâs weird to think about, I donât think Iâve ever missed a class before. So here I am again, writing another essay on the things Iâve learned and sharing it with all of you. My name is Garnet Garcia and this is my final reflection on my journey through our 2020 spring semester American Literature class.
I was given a very special opportunity this semester to delve into my personal dynamic with American politics and, in doing so, gain a far more educated perspective on my country and my role in it. I hadnât realized how the political climate we live in today was largely influenced by the recent 2016 elections and the era of Trump. Much of my own perspective on America as a whole had been shaped by that election as well. This class gave me the opportunity to study out multiple works, specifically Barack Obamaâs â2008 Speech on Raceâ, which allowed me to see the current in which our history has been moving in. We didnât live in a perfect America before and Barack Obama was not a perfect president in his eight years in office, however, this speech showed me that there were people willing to take responsibility for their role in bringing America closer to the ideals in which it was founded on as well as acknowledge the racial issues on both sides of the equation, as opposed to pitting the masses against each other. I was able to write my essay, âVibe Check: Americaâ on this idea of personal and societal responsibility to bind our grievances together and learn that just because people speak out against the issues of a nation does not mean that they do not love their country. On the contrary, it is out of love that great men like Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. spoke up and dared to hope of an America where things are better. Reading the words of those great men allowed me to have hope for the first time in a long time. Iâm beyond grateful for such an opportunity and honored to have received the Kay-Hirsch Literary Criticism Award.
On a less serious note, this class also allowed me to have fun and read stories I wouldnât have read otherwise. The short story âA New England Nunâ by Mary Wilkins Freeman was one of my favorites. It wasnât some groundbreaking story with an incredibly deep meaning. It was a story meant for the audience to simply enjoy and I love it when thatâs the purpose of a narrative. The story was special to me because the main character spoke to similar values in my own personal life. Louisa Ellis was a woman who had lived in her own system for many years and was set in her ways: keeping her house meticulously clean which might have looked excessive, wearing whatever she wanted even if if looked unnecessary to others, and eating from her nicest china every day though that definitely wasnât common. Anyone who has ever been to my house will notice that my room is extremely neat and that itâs like that all the time. I have a system for everything and one of the reasons I (at least at this point in my life) do not wish to get married or have children is because there is a peace that comes with being able to live the way you want to without having to compromise with anyone else. Louisa understood that, and at the end of the day she chose this life in which she was free to live as she pleased as opposed to forcing herself into a marriage that would deprive her of that freedom. I liked other things about the story as well, such as how in the end Louisa and Joe Dagget respect each other’s desires and continue to be on good terms. There was no unnecessary drama which Iâve come to expect when surrounded by modern 21st century literature in regards to relationships. It was a mature and freeing ending and I liked that a lot. It was nice to get to read a story about a person I related to a lot, which is insane when you remember that this was written almost 130 years ago.
Unfortunately, there are many more ways we can relate to works of our past, and not all of them positively. The end of the semester came with an unexpected turn in and we were all thrown into one of the greatest worldwide crises in the last century. The Coronavirus has exposed many things about our modern world, including the weak socio-economic infrastructure of our country and the poor leadership of our president. âThe America We Needâ was an opinion article written by the Editorial Board of the New York Times. The article speaks to a number of problems, concerns, and points on the crisis, but the one that stood out to me was the point on the racial inequalities in wealth and health that has left the poorer cities, especially those with high African American populations, to brace the worst of the virus as death tolls rise. To quote the article, âThe magnitude of a crisis is determined not just by the impact of the precipitating events but also by the fragility of the system it attacks. Our society was especially vulnerable to this pandemic because so many Americans lack the essential liberty to protect their own lives and the lives of their families.â This system is similar to the one James Baldwin speaks about in his âA Letter to My Nephewâ. He says, â…[my country and my countrymen] have destroyed and are destroying hundreds of thousands of lives and do not know it and do not want to know it⊠This innocent country set you down in a ghetto in which, in fact, it intended that you should perish.â Both pieces speak about a flawed system that fails to take care of all of its citizens, and to speak by the metaphor of Dr. King, the festering boils of such a system have been exposed to the light. Baldwinâs words continue to resonate over 50 years into the future. His words say that we must not be driven from this place we call home but continue to change it. Baldwin, Obama, and King all spoke in the hope that they and many others could push for the changes necessary to make America what it must become.
Iâm sure I donât have to explain how physically and mentally confining this quarantine has been. Said confinement has left me with pains and sprains of back muscles I didnât know I had and with life experiences I never thought Iâd go through. When I started writing this essay, I was sitting on the floor of my room because Iâve become sick of my desk. YouTube keeps recommending me collections of indie rock songs in both Japanese and Korean and I keep adding them to a playlist that gets bigger with every week that passes by. I donât understand a single word of the lyrics. Iâve watched the flowers of spring bloom and fall with the wind and rain leaving behind a green Iâm quite grateful to see. Iâm still feeling my way into my new relationship with time and space as I can now talk to anyone from around the world and instantly connect with a struggle or anxiety but I still canât tell the difference between Tuesday and Sunday. I wish I wasnât in my room. I wish I didnât have to go through any of this. Itâs hard to find peace when every month seems to bring another slot to fill in what seems like apocalypse bingo. Still, I hang on to the hope that the suffering being felt on a global scale will not go by in vain. I hold on to the faith that though it might not happen tomorrow, those who live through this time will learn from this and from past times as well, to create a better future. I hold onto the unique experiences Iâve had in this class, the stories I got to read, and the voices I got to listen to, whether they were in the classroom with me or from a prison cell. I thank our professor, Dr. Hellman, for not only being extremely knowledgeable about this subject but also making this class a pleasure to participate in, both in person and online. Thank you all for a great semester. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.
I’d say you were one of the people who contributed the best to class discussion. We all should try our best to stay as positive and safe as we can during unusual times like these.
My name is Jared Lansiquot and I have begun writing this assignment at 6:44PM on May 10th, 2020 from my home on my laptop. I am reflecting on this semester. Overall I have had an unexpected experience this semester for obvious reasons. The unexpected quarantine shifting my schooling experience to a way I have not ever experienced in the past. But I have also learned new things throughout the course of the semester that I didnât know before. The classmates Iâve had have participated in discussions that go over a number of issues that have plagued the U.S over the years and some that still may exist during the modern day as well as contexts and meanings that can be found in the texts we have read. Thingâs I have experienced through discussion has allowed me to see things in a way I hadnât before
I was well aware that relations between black people and certain white people are strained due to long standing racism. Some hold fast to their old beliefs and a take pride in what they and their ancestors have stood for. One particular group of people that refuse to quit are the confederates. Many people who stand in support of the confederacy will still sport confederate flags on in their homes, cars or other belongings in the modern era despite the fact that there arenât a political faction or hold any real political power in America. The confederates were one of the two factions to fight in the civil war in America that lasted from 1861 to 1865. One of the men who lead confederate soldiers is a man named Robert E. Lee. He was a general for the confederate troops and a statue of him was erected in his honor. The continued presence of this statue has become a point of contention for people even in the modern era. Many people want his statue to be removed but others want confederacy to be memorialized and keep the statue. I wasnât aware that there was still debate over something that has to do with the civil war until the class went over the article regarding this whole situation.
Martin Luther King was a very influential and impactful civil rights activist. His existence and actions are no known to many and one of his most famous acts was his âI have a dreamâ speech. I had learned of a few other things he went through like cheating on his wife and I vaguely recall learning he was arrested. What was new to me is that his statements in protest of human wrongdoings continued even while he was imprisoned. Martin Luther King was a Christian man who had quite a bit to say about how some of his fellow Christians were behaving in society. They were behaving as though that because things are ordained in the Bible that they can sit back and wait for them to happen. They held so strongly in their belief that they criticized Martin, calling his actions âunwise and untimely.â Martin disagreed with this logic and illustrated that in his letter that his counter response to this criticism in his letter he wrote while in his cell in Birmingham. He reversed criticism back on them saying with the logic that ââwaitâ has almost always meant ânever.ââ Simply waiting around for things to happen will not lead people to the outcomes they desire even if ordained in the Bible. The things they desire will come, but only if they work for it, then they shall have it. Martin said in his letter âsuch an attitude is stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all illsâ in response to the claim that black people are in too much of religious rush to attain equal rights. Going over this in class and including it in an essay of mine allowed me to process and take in that information.
While I, like many others were well aware of black activists like Martin Luther King, this class has introduced me to another black activist named James Baldwin. One of the most powerful ways to influence and in some cases even control people is through media. Books were a good way to get a message around to the general public. James was an author who wrote books that were unusual and controversial for the time. James wrote about the struggles of black men during the era he lived in. He also wrote a story about homosexual men. Both black and homosexual men during his time were not very much accepted by society and as such, writing about the kinds of people they are and what they go through helps to humanize and put into perspective what their lives are like. Helping the common man to understand what their lives are like and what they are capable of helps to show that they donât deserve the unfair treatment they get on a daily basis. This man could possibly have a considerably understated impact on the fight for the fair treatment of blacks and maybe even homosexual people. I had little to no knowledge of this man before this class. I had learned about him and his books after the quarantine had begun and we started taking classes online. I had watched a video that talked about his life and the works he had made as well as how he left an impact on people.
Overall this class was very informative. It shed new light on things I didnât have any knowledge about before like more information regarding black activists and even the existence of what is now considered âslice of lifeâ genre going as far back as the 20th century. One such type of literature that fits this âA New England Nunâ by Mary Wilkins Freeman, the story of a sort of love triangle between an engaged couple that turns bittersweet as everyone in the story must learn to move on with their lives even if they canât find the love they may or may not want. The âslice of lifeâ concept is mostly registered in my mind as a more modern thing but that is likely due to my lack of familiarity with literature, especially older literature. The corona virus pandemic has caused an interruption in the flow of discussion between classmates but hasnât halted it altogether. This isnât much of an issue for me and I prefer to work on things on my own. The pandemic has caused a lot of difficulty and inconvenience for people but I donât feel like this is really the case for me. Despite this, indoor class discussion has been better for discussion since people could share and mull over their own thoughts in real time to have a sharing of ideas with something with the topics fresh in their minds and even further refreshed once discussed in class. In class discussion was also because when people talk to each other in class, they arenât as disconnected from one another as they are when they merely see text on a screen. Effort has been made for discussion to be done over OpenLab but being in class was much more effective for making that happen. My message to my classmates is that thanks to you, class discussion has been carried well and youâve helped to illustrate that a sharing of ideas can be important to helping people gather a deeper meaning of something they thought they once understood.
Hello there
This course has been full of interesting readings, each one with a different discussion but at the end all are coming together. Through the pandemic we have been experiencing new situations, online learning, social distance, unemployment, illness, and all other things that worries us because everything seem to be new. But I really appreciate how Professor Caroline handle the class, giving us all the possibilities to pass this class in the best way possible.
In this assignment I am trying to combine our texts with the currently situation. I decided to focus this writing on how the pandemic has been affecting our lives and how our country has managed it.
This semester has been the most challenging for me since not only did I get sick from the virus, but it was also a challenge to take online classes. In my opinion one of the articles that reflects what we are living is âThe America We Needâ. The article made a deep reflection of how the county is facing the pandemic. The article mentions how this pandemic has uncover the procedure of the health system prioritizing wealthy people. But first I will start with my own experience.
During this time, I got sick, I had all the complicated symptoms of the coronavirus and I did not find a way to be tested. After 12 days I receive a call from the Testing Center , they told me that I already had an appointment to take the test but I was required to drive to the testing site, I donât have a car so I couldnât take the test. Many people went through the same situation because here in New York City a great percentage of people use public transportation, they do not drive. Despite that, my family and I we are with good health now and when I was reading âThe America We Needâ I felt relative to it.
The article makes a review what the events had been like in the country and mentions, âThe present crisis has revealed the United States as a nation in which professional basketball players could be rapidly tested for the coronavirus, but health care workers were turned awayâ. That is totally true, high-profile people had access to be tested even earlier than the sick people. I called my doctor, 311 and 911 the first thing they told me was that I needed to be in quarantine at home. Then when I asked if I could take the test their response was the city does not have enough for everyone. Statistically, authorities do not know exactly the actual number of sick people. Reasons can be they were unprepared for the upcoming event or political strategies.
But the pandemic has shown not only how economic inequality affects access to be tested, but also the economic vulnerability of most Americans. Minorities are the last to benefit from real aid. An example is how the government gave a 90-day extension to pay mortgages and credit cards without damaging credit scores, which obviously benefits Americans with a more favorable economic condition. I have not heard until now, at least not in New York, that the same time will be provided to pay the rent. The accelerated unemployment that has occurred will affect the ability of the poorest families with low-income to pay their rent. That provides anxiety, stress and frustration to the entire families including children.
So now, we have uncertainty of our future in the next months. I really appreciate all the effort that the Governor and the Mayor of New York City has been doing. But I do not feel the same for the President. Once again, it has been proved to me government has shown a confrontative leadership. Of course, each crisis the United States has gone through has been a different challenge, no matter how similar the situation is, new challenges always arise and overcoming them depends on the government’s leadership and the countryâs situation before the crisis.
Is not a secret that after see how the virus were dramatically affecting people in others countries, the government didnât prepare and once the virus was in the country the government decide do not use the Chinese tests and we were waiting for those tests to be fabricated inside the country. At the end, history will tell if that was the better decision made. Regardless that, I have not lost hope or faith, I trust in the ability and strength of this nation to get ahead. Let us hope that our government will do the best to overcome these difficult moments.
It is very fortunate that you and your family are both alive and well. This situation has been one of the most unexpected and for some, a very scary situation to be in and hopefully casualties will be remain low
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NGq3WscZNKpxKUY47vymdXHQaiZmlKAlzRIQ4_vGdE4/edit#
English2201 In The Global Pandemic
I’m a student of City Tech, Mother of 1, and I’m sitting at my desk, it is 12:11am on a very early Motherâs day of May 10th,2020. I’m not the type of girl who enjoys being alone all the time. I’m a very outgoing person. Being stuck at home is the worst and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. In my second semester at City tech I gained two things, confidence and good reasons on why American literature is way better than English literature.
American literature 2201 sounded really interesting to me. I always loved American History and English. I swear, up until college i didnât know a class that merges those 2 subjects together existed. The excitement that filled my veins , I could feel it. This class was so much more than just writing about the readings. It was helping make good connections between the articles we read. That’s a skill I lack to do and try to avoid as much as possible when writing essays , but after this class I feel more confident to do that. Like when we read Sitting Bull âThe prison interviewâ and Martin Luther King âThe Letter from Birmingham Jailâ both were articles from first person point of view, both were from a prison, both talk about the injustice done for not being white. After we discussed my favorite part of the class we went on to poetry , sadly we couldn’t get to do the readings in class because of this whole pandemic.
Not only did I gain confidence through my Public speaking class but also through this class. Sharing my thoughts in a circle with everyone played a part but also this assignment we did for Staceyann Chann video on her poem âIf only out of vanityâ. She just has a unique way of presenting her poems. In her video, she says she wants to â write a poem that not even the New York Times would not print because it might start a black, or lesbian , or even a white revolution⊠I want to be that girl who never ever cries..â she wants to be all these things but with the condition of being herself of people knowing shes a black gay activist. The same thing with me , I want to be me yet have the confidence to yell out all of my hopes and dreams and not have to hide myself in fear of what people might say and Staceyann Chin along with English2201 helped me achieve that. I want to one day graduate from City Tech as a Dental Hygienist and be able to make my parents proud. Show them that my mistake wasn’t going to stop achieving my dreams. It Sounds like such a cliche but it’s one of my goals. Proud to say it to my Professor and peers.
This pandemic feels like the story âNew England Nunâ waiting for so long to realize you are starting to enjoy being home all day. Louisa auted 14 years for her one true love and I’ve been waiting for what feels 14 years to hopefully get that ,âOkay you guys can go out nowâ but when it does come I won’t be as relieved because Iâm starting to enjoy being HOME. At first I was thrilled we were going to transition into online classes. I was planning to do that for the next semester because of how much money I spent on the MTA. It felt like a sign. I was mostly confused on how to work blackboard since it’s my first year here at City Tech. Overall , it just wasn’t the same. In class we would have discussions and everyone would voice their opinions . The professor would give us background information and show us some clps. We would go back and forth and when we went online it was just sad. I dislike online schooling.This class isnât even so bad with this whole shift but my other classes are like they show no compassion or emotion towards what’s happening. You professor were the only 1 out of 2 who showed that. I am so appreciative for that, and thankful. This whole virus has taken a toll on my mental health, when i had my son i was diagnosed with Postpartum depression , I couldn’t be alone with him and i feel like it has hit me again. I donât feel that âmotherlyâ feeling. I try to be away as much as possible but with my Gyn closed I don’t know who to contact. I’m always crying but I have been drinking herbal tea which seems to be making me feel better. I guess not having any me time has led to this. The only reason Iâve gotten used to being home and don’t mind it it’s because I have accepted the fact that this is the new life. I just want to thank my fellow classmates for sharing your ideas and having me so engaged in class. I hope the future brings less of this and more positive experiences so we can enjoy the college experience in Downtown Brooklyn. You guys are a bunch of intellectuals I’ll never forget. Hopefully we can overcome this to return to City Tech next semester. Stay safe :)))
I had signed up for this class last minute, as one of my classes fell through. Walking into the classroom a little late, the first thing I saw in the classroom was a video clip of a man explaining the US constitution on the screen. I froze. There was a reason I chose a literature class over history and politics, and this wasnât how I was expecting a literature class to be. My legs were slowly making its way to introduce myself to the professor, but my mind was running through a million different wild scenarios, including the one where I was literally running out the door I had just walked in. I calmed myself and sat through the rest of the class. Towards the end of the class, I made eye contact with this girl, and she, introducing herself as Garnet, kindly offered to share her notes from the first day that I had missed. For a brief second, I debated whether to tell her I was going to drop this class, but instead I thanked her and gave her my email address. Sticking with this course ended up being one of the best decisions I made this semester, as this class has been, without a doubt, my favorite class this semester.
Ironically, this class being rather politics/ history heavy was the very reason it became my favorite class. Despite having a lot of hard-core social activist friends around, I was never a participant in any of their discussions. Although no one ever gave me a hard time about it, I had often resorted to using “the foreigner pass” for being ignorant in the subject matter. The foreigner pass is obviously just an excuse for trying to get rid of my guilt, because I’m not even that more knowledgeable in Korean politics. The fact that I can carry on without caring much about the politics shows how privileged I was in a way; I’ve always felt guilty about this and I’ve always tried to keep up with politics. But every time I tried to read about it, I was at a loss as to where to even begin. Reading about the politics felt like being back in class after a lot of absences: so many references to catch up to and understand just to read one article, and the endless thread would often leave me feeling overwhelmed. And I loved that Professor Hellman would often bring in current issues to discuss in our class and make connections to various assigned readings ranging from the late 1800s up to the present. This class has made politics and history much more approachable for me.
Growing up in a country lacking in diversity and even taking pride in their monoethnicity in older times, I haven’t really experienced or witnessed much racism back home. In fact, the diversity of America, where different races and ethnicities coexisted, was something new and exciting for me. It only took me a few months of living in the US before I started noticing racism around me and in the country; so while I have been aware of racism in the US, it wasn’t until I took this class that I was able to relate to it on a more personal level. For example, two letters we read, “A Letter from the Birmingham Jail” and “Letter to my nephew” really did a lot for me. There is something deeply personal when a text is addressed to someone specific, whether it be to the public or to your own nephew. When King wrote he’s never written a letter this long before and Baldwin wrote he’s rewritten the letter five times, I was touched by how genuine and carefully written these letters were. Reading the advice Baldwin was giving to his nephew on living in America as a black person, as someone who’s already gone through that, broke my heart. The fact that they were being discriminated against because of the color of the skin they were born with and how it had become the norm for them made me both sad and upset. Reading and discussing these texts in class changed my attitude in approaching the race issues. Realizing the complexity of the issue and uncertainty of when it will be resolved made me impatient in a way, just like how King said that “wait” almost always means “never.” It made me angry, to hear about this long history of absurd discrimination and the suffering. And that centuries later, the problem still hasn’t fully been resolved despite all the efforts made by activists, and the current presidency is making it worse. It made me more active in a way I approach race issues, and made me step back from my own world up in the clouds. I’m finally able to understand why my friends are always so angry at the world.
Among the texts that made me upset, there were also other thought-provoking pieces. New England Nun, perhaps, was my favorite piece we read this semester as it made me reflect on a variety of things. I even shared it with my boss who was, at the time, only a few weeks away from finalizing her divorce. I told her how I couldn’t fall asleep thinking about Louisa and how sadly and beautifully their love ended. (My boss was impressed with loyalty from both Louisa and Joe, and remarked on how that could’ve never been a possibility with her petty husband.) Nothing gives me more high than the moment I make a deep connection with someone; it doesn’t come so easily and I felt so sad for Louisa that she shut herself off from the rest of the world after the dull connection she had with Joe. I was subconsciously wishing her a better life, wishing that she had gotten a chance to meet more people. But by thinking that, I was acting just like the people and the society I hated so much growing up; those who made me feel like I wasn’t enough and pressured me to be someone that the society would approve of. I was telling Louisa, you can be happier, when she already was living a happy enough life. She can decide the kind of happiness for herself, and at the end, that was the decision she made for herself and that’s how she decided to live her life.
Aside from all the assigned readings, perhaps another reason this class felt so special was because I’ve never participated this much in class. I’ve always been more of a listener in group settings. Not only do I hate having to raise my voice to speak up, but I also have a hard time thinking linearly, so by the time I’m finally able to get my thoughts straight, the class would usually move onto talk about something else. Perhaps it was the small size of class where I didn’t have to speak up to be heard, or perhaps it was the welcoming environment in which I felt safe and comfortable talking. Either way, it was almost funny how I was able to enjoy discussions so much. And because it was my first time tasting the joy of discussions in my long student career, the transition to online classes, of course, came as a disappointment. While online class allowed for more thought-out responses, it didn’t have the same energy that class discussions had, where everyone was adding on to one another’s thoughts and develop a thinking that would have not been possible on their own. But given that there was nothing we could do about this pandemic, I was grateful to have had a chance to continue the discussions online. I wish I had gotten to know everyone a little better, but Iâm still thankful to have had this nice group of people in class to share thoughts with!
Cindy Ovando
My Final Reflection Project
Good Evening,
My name is Cindy Ovando and I for once miss going outside.If you knew me for years, then youâll know that this is something I would never say due to how I am with the outside public. And I can handle being home any day since drawing and playing games helps cope with my anxieties and stress, but for once, I can feel that it’s not working anymore. So here I am, writing this paper on May 17th, 2020, about 6:20pm in the same room as my siblings. And in this paper Iâm going to talk more about how I feel about this semester, and that it was mostly confusing, for the most part.I started out, obviously nervous, but mostly confident due to surviving yet another hard semester and thinking this one was finally going to be easy on my end. Alas, I spoke too soon, and now here I am trying to pass classes that were never meant to be online since I need hands on help for many of my assignments. But despite all that, I did learn many things especially in our American Literature class since many of the things we talk about were great warm-ups on the dark side of the U.S past and how even some are still being shown throughout this pandemic.
In the beginning of the semester, many of the articles we went through together were at first confusing for me to the point I couldnât really participate due to fearing my answer wasnât right nor good enough to be acknowledged to be part of the discussion. So I prefer hearing everyoneâs point of view first and thoughts before I even get the confidence to try to add on to some of the comments. But the one I felt more into the topic was the article Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s âLetter from Birmingham Jailâ. The reason was because the majority of us were already aware of who Martin Luther King Jr. was and what he did to be most known as one of those people who stood up to racism and rights for all. And also, it was a new learning session in clearing up more about him then what was taught to us at a younger age. Like hearing more in his thoughts about how society really was at his time throughout the letter and creating an interesting image of how it may resemble our time today. One thing I found interesting was when we were talking about this one quote he mention â âWaitâ has almost always meant âNever.ââ, and how many people were aware of the issues going through with society but never done anything about it. Meaning they are just waiting for the whole thing to resolve itself and that is something we can find relatable going on with our society today. Those are some of the things I would never forget that were first discussed in our American Literature class.
Another article that I found interesting and will probably wonât ever forget when thinking about this class is â A New England Nunâ since the story is something that is so relatable right now and something that had a good discussion going. Just thinking about what the two characters, Louisa and Joe, went through was something no other will do for each other nowadays making this a rare commitment that is unforgettable. Just the story itself was peaceful, slow paced, and calm even when going to the ground breaking point that completely changed both the characters, it still somehow remains in that tone which I appreciate the most. Thatâs because every story out there needs a problem and solution and in this case, there was yet it was handed in the most mature matter that had almost caused me, the reader, to rage in how calm both were since their promise was a waste for both their lives. Like getting like this over a story is something Iâll never forget making this easily one of my favorite stories and maybe even my most engaging discussion I was in aside from Daisy Miller. I remember some of the thoughts everyone shared on how surprised they were from how Louisa acted when she discovered that Joe wants to end what was promised for so many years between them in the end and just thinking about it, there wasnât much fighting or drama, but just a simple agreement. Even if I were to read this now, it will still give me the same emotions and thoughts, making this a very effective story.
Lastly the book, Staceyann Chin, was the most confusing in my part due to it having poems and topics that, in all honesty, doesn’t interest me much. Though it did leave me an impression of how powerful and good the messages were in each poem. Even to the point I recommended to my older sister due to how she has similar emotions being expressed throughout each poem. But I can say that the messages she is trying to show throughout each poem are effective and good since it reflects on the issues to many womenâs rights and view towards many problems they go through on a daily basis. So here about the many problems and being a female myself I can see where she is leading to in her poems and can really convince anyone to follow in her lead but I feel it may focus only on those who think like her all the time. Though she did inspire me to make poems, like when we did that activity of trying to write in little words as possible of our emotions toward social distancing, it was pretty challenging and fun when sharing the same common feelings towards each other. Making it yet another thing I wouldnât forget in our American Literature class.
In all honesty, when this whole pandemic started, I was actually happy that I was going to be home all the time and be in my comfort zone since traveling from Manhattan to City Tech everyday was such a hassle, and sometimes causes me great anxiety traveling every single time. But now that Iâm home all the time, it’s making me more nervous and stressed everyday to the point I just want this nightmare to end. It’s awful to see how poorly our own government is treating the issue and just instructing us to stay indoors when at this point is hard since Iâm in a family of 5. But aside from the negative impact it’s doing to us all, on a bright note we can do some things we never had the time for, like in my case continue practicing my art and improving my status in social media. Iâm sorry about my lack of communication lately in some of the online discussions since Iâm not use to hustling between work and helping out my family but I hope everyone is doing okay and continue supporting each other because being near loves one are the best place to be in times like this.
These last couple of weeks have been nothing but interesting, as I sit here in my room I’ve had time to really reflect and rethink some of my prior opinions on the United States and the way it has handled this pandemic. In my years of living, I have never experienced something so quick and humbling all at the same time. I’ve had such a fun time in this class since it was so different from my other big classes. Being able to dive into literature and politics at the same time has shown me that the past and the present have always intervened with each other. I really enjoyed our conversation via in-person and virtually. It always amazes me that we all have different views and that no one really is right or wrong but everyone is always in-between. In my final essay, I want to talk about three texts that separately are a masterpiece of life. My name is Jose Sandoval and this is what I’ve gathered and learned throughout my semester in this class.
I was given the chance this semester to readâ The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrockâ by T.S Eliot. Hands down one of my favorite poems forever. I had such an amazing experience reading this, that I wish I could forget about it and rediscover it again. What I really like about this poem is that I feel it’s less about the exact meaning intended or telling a story (although I do think there is that) but more about setting a mood, not only through imagery itself but also through the incessant questioning and the negatives. if we look at it in its most superficial level, the story told is simple and kinda uninteresting: it’s about a man that wants to ask a question (an overwhelming question) to a woman (probably a proposal) and he doesn’t do it, But it’s not really about that, I don’t think so, it’s not about him not asking a question, it’s about not doing anything worthwhile, of having always shied away from doing things, important things, because of fear or anxiety which leaves him feeling regretful for always being “mediocre” in that regard. I think that time is specially important in this poem in two ways. The first one is how much time the decisions take because of his indecision and revisions (also another line favorite of mine haha), almost as an excuse of taking the time of thinking things through while in reality it’s about Prufrock not being able to take chances or make any decision. The second is, which ties with the first I think, is how it feels, at least to me, like Prufrock ages with the poem itself, him starting youngish but starting to get old, and at the end, I would argue (weakly argue) dying of old age.
âDo I dare. Disturb the universe?â So perfect. We can all learn something from this beautiful poem, sometimes we’re scare to do things because of the fear of either not doing good enough or getting rejected. But we have to realize that if we keep living in fear and fear of embarrassment we might as well be dead.
I did not post for the â A New England Nunâ, but it was one of my favorites stories of the semester. I believe we can all learn something valuable and important from one of the main themes of the story. For instance, one important theme in Mary Wilkins Freemanâs â A New Englands Nunâ, is that with every choice there will always be a consequence. Louisa is faced with a choice between getting married or staying to her own devices. Much like real life, our actions will always have a consequence. It truly breaks my heart that Louise has shield herself from the outside world in the name of love and loyalty she had for Joe. I was rooting for her and Joe to somehow find some way to be together. It was my inner hopeless romantic that would not let me finish the story because deep inside the core of my heart I knew that eventually, she would choose herself. But, in the middle of me getting sad, It clicked in my head that Louisa set herself onto a “path” that she can only walk alone on. This path represents her independence and foreshadows the end of the story. There’s no greater power than being able to live life by your own rules. Louisa represents parts of all of us. Thus, in the end, she chooses a life where she can be free, herself, and independent.
âLetter to my nephewâ really grabbed me by the heart and broke me. I always find it sort of personal when poems, and stores, and letters are addressed to a specific person or group of people. It makes you feel closer to the reader and really grasp the emotion and the feelings that the writer pours out there. In many ways, Baldwin wrote this letter to his younger self. His nephew is the face of his brother, father, and great grandfather. The advice he gives to his nephew is the advice he would have given to himself if he could write to his past self. I love that he makes it clear that, although he will face harsh times he will overcome anything that America will put against him because he comes from strong men and women who endure lots of pain. In a way, his nephew has the guidance of the great men that have long came before him.
All in all, I am really going to miss this class a lot. It was definitely one of my favorite highlights of the week. Just when we were starting to get comfortable with each other, boom this happens. Oh well, we can’t dwell in the past forever. One thing that is clear is human to human contact can not be beaten. No amount of tech can ever replace the classic person to person style of teaching. I learned never to take online class or work from home ever again. If we’re forced to do this again I’ll start doing online classes at a public library.
A Gold Experience.
My name is Kefin Bryan Jr. I’m currently 20 years old. I am writing from my home at 11:49 in the morning. Throughout this English class, I met a lot of cool people like, Garnet, Jose, and many more including one of my favorite professors, Dr Chellman. Dr. Chellman is a really nice person and I highly recommend you go to her if you want to take American Literature. The thing I want to reflect on today is my interactions with a lot of people in classrooms and having a lot of debates within that said classroom while we were going over articles and going over examples and media.
There is one big idea I have learned and developed throughout my time in the classroom. That idea is that people have different kinds of points whether light or dark. I believe in the concept heavily and I say it is perfectly fine to have an opinion no matter who thinks it’s bad. People do not have the right to talk down to you if you have an opinion. Literally nothing is wrong with speaking your mind no matter what it is. But it seems back in history, if you order something completely opposite to a sad person, then you were going to be going into a fight that you cannot get out of and you have to fight your way to the top in order to obtain your victory.
One of the examples I will use of people having free speech and converting that into pure power would be Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King was arrested and was placed in Birmingham Jail for violating a few things even though he did not intend to. He wrote a surprisingly long letter about 11 to 12 pages which I don’t know how it is a letter at this point but just about has the same length as a chapter in another book. Martin Luther King promises to keep fighting without using violence and to keep marching on to fulfill the dream he has.
Another person who I take big inspiration from is Barack Obama with his 2008 speech on race. Obama is a very powerful man of prowess and intelligence. It’s like Martin Luther King passed the torch to him and now he is running to the next Olympic games. I even made that a base for one of my essays within the semester before the quarantine. He is a person who doesn’t care about other people’s opinions and just speaks his mind on what needs to be said.
I believe people in our classroom can be strong leaders someday. Garnet is a main example since I know for a fact she likes to talk a lot and she makes really valid points when it comes to discussion in a classroom. I honestly see her becoming the next president. I don’t know, it’s just me. well take care of yourselves and as usual please help yourself a darn good one.