Viewing Literature

Literature is a beautiful thing. Once you see the beauty in it, it's hard to change your opinion about it and vice versa. It's easy to learn from it, but hard to learn new techniques to analyze it. 

This world literature class has opened my eyes to different types of literature, but the only English class I took that was able to change the way I look at literature was the literature class I took last semester with Doug Link. Even then, I looked at literature different during the class, but I went back to my normal ways after a couple of weeks out of the classroom. 

I absolutely love reading things I love reading. If I do not like the story or the style of the author, it is hard for me to finish a book or short story. My views on poems still remains the same. I like simple, easy poems that are easy to describe, but I do not like any other types of poems. They make me mad. I'm glad we got to read The Handmaid's Tale. I am considering buying it myself and reading it again to catch anything I might have missed while reading it the first time. 

I still have a love for literature. I always will. But my view on literature has honestly not really changed because of this class; not to upset anyone. This has been a wonderful, crazy experience and I will remember it forever. 

The Handmaid's Tale

Everyone in the world is different; everyone thinks differently and acts differently. That is the same way in this story. All of the characters think and act differently. Some are traditional, some follow the rules, others don't. Now, where do I fit in in this story? What character would I think and act like?

I believe I would be a handmaid or a commanders wife. A handmaid is a woman who is fertile, who provides a baby for the commanders wife. The commanders wife is kind of like a queen in a way. She is married to the commander, who is head of the household. 

I believe I would be Moira in this story. I think I would be rebellious like her. However, I don't think I would hurt anyone in the process of trying to leave the household. I would like to think that I am a good friend and would be there in a friends time of need. 

Like I said before, everyone is different, which means I am different from Moira. Even though I think I would be similar to her, I would not think or act exactly like her. 

Gun Control

I recently read Stephen King's essay, "Guns," I believe it was very well written, considering it was somewhat opinionated. I agree with everything that King had an opinion about; and I have to say, he is pretty comical. I laughed thoughout a lot of comments mentioned in the essay. 

I think some gun restrictions should be made. There are some scary people out in this world that should not own guns. I know it's a free country and all, but that doesn't mean everyone is sane. Some restrictions need to be made because of those that do not know how to control themselves. 

I am all for owning guns, no doubt about it. I just shot my first gun not too long ago and I loved it. Not saying that I would like shooting it at people or animals (I felt bad enough for the tree that I destroyed). I believe we should be allowed to own guns, mainly because it is our right, but also to protect ourselves. If someone were to come up with a way to hide a gun from robbers or their children or grandchildren, but be able to get it out quickly in event of a stranger in their house, that man would be a genius. 

Obviously gun control could benefit, looking at what happened in Australia back before gun restrictions and the number of death decreased dramatically after the restrictions were set. Many would be furious about it, but I believe they would come to terms with it; they would have to. If it's for their safety, why would they be mad about it? But I guess you do have those certain people that would fight it to the death. You're not going to make everyone happy, but when can you? Would you prefer happy people or dead people? Consider that. 

Softies

Censorship is becoming a very large controversy in our current era. I think a lot of people are just looking for arguments. I'm not one to argue people, I would rather just let the other person win than make myself upset over an argument. Censoring things will make one side of the argument happy, but will make another side upset. 

I don't think censoring books or television helps anything. Kids are going to find out about foul language, abuse, sex, etc. So censoring what children see is not going to affect their future. Even on television, when they bleep out a curse word, you still have a pretty good idea of what that person had said. 

Censorship is pretty stupid, in my opinion. If you can't handle certain things people may say to you, then you won't be able to survive in the real world. The kids in this upcoming generation are going to be so censored because the world is becoming so sensitive. The more sensitive we become, the more censored we become, and I do not believe in censoring. 

Controversy

Controversy

Feminism

Feminism has always been a very big deal in the United States. Most women are for it, most men are against it; but why? Men want to have control, which is why they do not want women to have any rights. Women also want to have control, which is why they are fighting for their rights. Many women, however, just want to be looked at as equal when compared to a man. 

Men and women have been working together for many years now. Giving a woman less pay for doing the same exact job as a man is disrespectful. This is the only time a man and a woman should be looked at as equal. If the woman is doing the same work, and doing just as good of a job as the man, if not better, then the pay should be the same, if not better, right?

Men and women were created as separate human beings for a reason. Men were meant to do all of the heavy lifting, which is why they are created stronger and tougher than women. Women were created to bear the man's child, and take care of the family and house. Who else would be doing that if the woman is working just as much as the man? There would be no family, and the house would be in horrible shape if this were the case. 

When women start getting drafted into a war, or have to start working in factories against their will, that is when they will be wishing that men and women were not equal. Women are a bunch of cry babies when it comes to things like that. Do I ever want to see men and women as equal? Heck no. We were created to preform certain tasks as a man or as a woman, and we were made to do them well. 

Behind Closed Doors

Behind Closed Doors

What Literature Means to Me

Literature is incredible. I took an American Literature Before the Civil War class at Chatfield College and I could not get enough of it. I loved reading and I loved the professor, which made the class that much better. I was given many different types of literature including: poetry, short stories and novels. The authors varied greatly; I loved nearly all of the authors and stories I was introduced to. I am not a huge fan of poetry, unless it is simple poetry, like Dr. Seuss; the poetry I read in that class was more advanced, so I struggled a bit with it. 

Many books have impacted me in many different types of ways. There is one book that comes to mind when I think about one impacting me in a good way; The Shack, by William Young. It is a fiction book, which is about a man who embarks on an adventure to a shack that his daughter died in. He encounters God, who is the other main character in the story. God appears in three different forms in the books, which symbolizes the trinity. The novel could be very influential to some people; I definitely viewed God in a different way than I had before, but I am a very openly opinionated person. The author is phenomenal; his writing style is very simple for someone in high school. There are some large, complicated words that make it a higher level of reading in my opinion. I would still recommend it to anyone I come across that does not understand how the trinity works, even if they were younger than me. This book is literature to me because it is a published book that entertained me and helped me to learn about God and see Him in a way that had never before crossed my mind.
Literature means everything to me. When I come across people that do not value reading, I practically look at them with disgust. They do not realize how difficult their lives would be if they could not read.Literature is a beautiful word, in my opinion. Just say it to yourself; it is so calming and elegant. To me, literature means works of art looked at and carefully inspected to create a story that entertains you, or enhances your learning. Literature is adored by nearly everyone in the world; without it, we would be a bunch of immature, ignorant, uneducated neanderthals.