And abandon all of this civilization for the calming, cool solemnity of nature.
It's spring break, see you in a week.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Great Expectations wrap-up.
Well, I made it through Great Expectations. Good book.
I think the thing that sticks with me the most is the description of class struggles, simply because it's just as prevalent today, though not in our pop culture. Or maybe it is. Think about the celebrity worship that goes on in this country, where there are tabloids dedicated entirely to celebrity gossip. Celebrity gossip websites litter the internet. People seem to care more about the lives of Britney and Anna Nicole than the well-being of their own children.
Not really what Dickens was talking about, I know, and his struggle continues today, but the above paragraph has taken the forefront recently. Perhaps we don't have the desire so much to live like celebrities, but we've taken their lives as being more important than our own.
I think the thing that sticks with me the most is the description of class struggles, simply because it's just as prevalent today, though not in our pop culture. Or maybe it is. Think about the celebrity worship that goes on in this country, where there are tabloids dedicated entirely to celebrity gossip. Celebrity gossip websites litter the internet. People seem to care more about the lives of Britney and Anna Nicole than the well-being of their own children.
Not really what Dickens was talking about, I know, and his struggle continues today, but the above paragraph has taken the forefront recently. Perhaps we don't have the desire so much to live like celebrities, but we've taken their lives as being more important than our own.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
The mountain of Dickens...
I have a confession to make...
I've never read a Dickens novel before .
I know what you're thinking. How in the hell can this be the case? How could an English major in his last semester have gone this far without reading one of the literary giants of all time? The answer is kinda simple. First, I've never had a class require it. Ever. I never had teachers in high school that made their students read Great Expectations or Tale of Two Cities. And, due to Dickens's reputation as being the "English Mark Twain," I somewhat avoided him like the plague. You see, I'm not the biggest Twain fan. I find him to have great stories, but to get bogged down in the telling of them. His novels are my biggest contention, as many of his short stories I find to be quite good. They're concise, their language is better rendered, and there's less filler. Likewise, I've read a few Dickens stories, or selections from novels in textbooks, and found them to be readable. But, because of that Twain comparison, I always steered clear of any of these "must read" works.
But here we are, and it's required. Half way through, I'm enjoying it. It's challenging, but it should be rewarding as I plow through the rest of the novel.
I've never read a Dickens novel before .
I know what you're thinking. How in the hell can this be the case? How could an English major in his last semester have gone this far without reading one of the literary giants of all time? The answer is kinda simple. First, I've never had a class require it. Ever. I never had teachers in high school that made their students read Great Expectations or Tale of Two Cities. And, due to Dickens's reputation as being the "English Mark Twain," I somewhat avoided him like the plague. You see, I'm not the biggest Twain fan. I find him to have great stories, but to get bogged down in the telling of them. His novels are my biggest contention, as many of his short stories I find to be quite good. They're concise, their language is better rendered, and there's less filler. Likewise, I've read a few Dickens stories, or selections from novels in textbooks, and found them to be readable. But, because of that Twain comparison, I always steered clear of any of these "must read" works.
But here we are, and it's required. Half way through, I'm enjoying it. It's challenging, but it should be rewarding as I plow through the rest of the novel.
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