Reflection
Four poems for Robin
This assignment asked me to give an explication of the poem "Four Poems for Robin" by Gary Snyder. I had read and wrote poetry in high school, but I had never been asked to give a thorough dissection of a poem before. To prepare for the explication we read Baraka's "The X is Black" and analyzed individual lines of the poem to decipher the meaning. This was highly beneficial as it gave me insight into the direction I should be taking, as well as jump starting my brain to begin thinking more analytically. The poem was a story of love turned sour and used many natured-themed analogies to describe the state of the relationship. In order to dissect the poem I was forced to think about each line critically and assess how it added to the poem as a whole. After I had accomplished this I then needed to write an essay tying everything together in essay form. This assignment challenged both my reading and writing skills and was a great introduction to what the remainder of the year would be like.
Racial Passing
The next assignment was a precursor to our assigned reading "The Human Stain" by Phillip Roth. I was asked to research and write a paper about blacks passing as whites in the United States. It was intended to help me more fully understand one of the complexities of the book that I may not have had any prior knowledge of. This topic was randomly selected from a group of four that were all designed to help us avoid gaps in the book. I had heard of racial passing before, but I didn't know very many specifics about the topic so I was excited to learn more. My research of the topic unearthed a part of history I was almost entirely unaware of. I found out about the struggles of those who decided to pass, the success many had and how passing affected families and friends. I really enjoyed doing the research and the paper was easy to formulate and organize as a result. It also made the book more enjoyable to read because I was able to identify with Coleman in way that would have been impossible without prior research. The paper was also great practice for my research papers skills that will be essential for the remainder of college.
Silk's Decision to be jewish
Our third essay asked me to develop a question about a choice made by Phillip Roth in "The Human Stain" and how the choice illuminated a major theme, message or meaning in the book. It was intended to further our understanding of the reading, while also developing our argumentative skills. I choose to expand on the my Inquiry II A and questioned Roth's decision to make Coleman Silk to not only pass as white, but also as a Jew. This is something that I pondered throughout the reading of the book because I couldn't quite understand why someone would chose to associate with two of the most discriminated social groups. I began by researching Roth's past and came discover that he himself was a Jew. This fact influenced him to make many of his characters to also be members of the Jewish religion. Besides that fact I hypothesized that Roth decided to make him Jewish was to further emphasize Silks rise to prominence because he had another discrimination to overcame besides being black. This assignment was a continuation of Inquiry II A due to the research element that was involved. The difference was that in incorporated developing an argument and giving the reasonings behind the argument. I had wrote an argumentative paper first semester for ENG 111 so I was comfortable writing the paper. The paper also did a solid job of forcing me to have a better understanding of the text by trying to get inside the brain of Roth. It heavily incorporated my reading abilities because of the outside research I performed and also the in-text examples to back up my argument.
The rise of pablo escobar and the subsequent rise of soccer
The fourth essay asked me to juxtapose two events in history, similar to the book I was assigned to read called "The Devil in the White City" by Eric Larson. The book weaved together the stories of an infamous Chicago serial killer and the build up to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. I was asked to perform a similar task by researching two events from history and show some connection, direct or not, between the two. I chose to juxtapose the rise of Pablo Escobar, one of the most infamous drug dealers of all time and the rise of the Columbian national soccer team in the early 1990s. I chose the topic because my friend had recommended that I watch a documentary on the topic right around the time the essay was assigned. I watched the documentary and thought it would a very interesting topic to write a paper on. This assignment was designed to expand upon our previous essays by incorporating research and analysis of that research to develop an organized essay. The paper was also similar to an argumentative paper because of the way I had to validate why these two events related to each other. This was my favorite inquiry of the class because it allowed for the most freedom and the two topics I had were incredibly compelling to research and write about. It tied in all of the skills we had practiced throughout the course of the year and I felt that I wrote my best work of the year as a result.
reading connections
Over the course of English 112 I read numerous articles, short stories, poems along with two full length novels. All of these literary pieces were included in the course to aid in my development as not only readers, but also as learners. Every work was from a different author, with a different subject and as a result I was exposed to a wide variety of thoughts, images and experiences. It also helped me to hone my reading and comprehending skills throughout the year. The three books I required to read also incorporated some form of research, comprehension and final essay to go along with it.
My first required reading, "Four Poems for Robin", was a poem rich in descriptive detail. It took me on a journey through the Japanese country side, weaving the story of young loves drifting apart. I believe this first reading was designed to be an introduction into the class by teaching how to properly comprehend different contextes. I had to do some research into what some of the words meant especially the ones native to Japan.
The next reading was the novel "The Human Stain", by Phillip Roth. It was the story of a black man named Coleman Silk and his story of passing as a white Jew set in the late 1990s. This literary piece was also further exposure to a unique circumstances that I was very unfamiliar with. It continued further exposure to new ideas that were started in "Four Poems for Robin". It was also a much longer read and required much a deeper analysis of characters, themes and context than Gary Snyder's text. It also required me to perform research on a specific element to gain a better understanding of the novel that was unnecessary for the poem.
The final reading was "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. This book is a historical novel juxtaposing the story of one of Chicago's most infamous serial killers and the buildup to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It again continued the theme of varied context due to the style of writing and the historical based focus of the book. The book was also slightly longer than "The Human Stain" which showed how the literary pieces continued to grow in length and scope as I became more comfortable reading.
My first required reading, "Four Poems for Robin", was a poem rich in descriptive detail. It took me on a journey through the Japanese country side, weaving the story of young loves drifting apart. I believe this first reading was designed to be an introduction into the class by teaching how to properly comprehend different contextes. I had to do some research into what some of the words meant especially the ones native to Japan.
The next reading was the novel "The Human Stain", by Phillip Roth. It was the story of a black man named Coleman Silk and his story of passing as a white Jew set in the late 1990s. This literary piece was also further exposure to a unique circumstances that I was very unfamiliar with. It continued further exposure to new ideas that were started in "Four Poems for Robin". It was also a much longer read and required much a deeper analysis of characters, themes and context than Gary Snyder's text. It also required me to perform research on a specific element to gain a better understanding of the novel that was unnecessary for the poem.
The final reading was "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. This book is a historical novel juxtaposing the story of one of Chicago's most infamous serial killers and the buildup to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It again continued the theme of varied context due to the style of writing and the historical based focus of the book. The book was also slightly longer than "The Human Stain" which showed how the literary pieces continued to grow in length and scope as I became more comfortable reading.
conclusion
My final year of English is finally coming to close after thirteen long years. It is something that doesn't make me particularly sad, but I know that English class has taught me far more than I give it credit for and a lot of which was summed up in English 112. Reading and Writing skills are critical to learning no matter what subject it is. They are applied across the subjects to help students learn information that goes beyond what can be taught in a lecture. Reading and than writing about a subject, whether that be a book, article, notes, etc. is one of the most useful ways for students to fully immerse themselves in the content. It forces students to think critically about information instead of having it go in one ear and out the other. It may be a pain the ass, but they are two very valuable skills to have not only for schooling, but also throughout life. English 112 focused on both skills and helped me take away a better appreciation and application of both. It was one of the best classes of English I have had throughout my career and I would like to personally thank my professor, Betsy Woods, for making it a memorable one.