Week 6.....Thanksgiving break!!

OK, well I'm not sure if we are required to post this week or not, but I am going to just in case! First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their break from school! I know I am! Well, this week we did not study that many poets because of the break, but my favorite thing we read was "When You Are Old" by W.B. Yeats. I liked it because it talked about the romantic love that we all want to have when we grow up. Even though people age when they grow up, they can still be beautiful. The romantic love that Yeats is talking about is the kind of love that will last and is memorable. I think this kind of love is the most special because it brings you memories and you remember them forever and ever. This was my favorite because I think most people can relate to this, and understand where Yeats was coming from!

5th week... Victorian Era!

So, this week we have been studing the Victorian era and yes, I have enjoyed it but I would have to say that the Romantic has been my favorite! I do have to say that I was pretty stressed about reading Great Expectations, but it was not bad at all! I actually enjoyed it. I would have to say that my favorite charature was actually Estella, I know they may seem weird because she was so mean but I think that she was interesting! Estella is Pip's unattainable dream throughout the novel. He loves her passionately, but, though she sometimes seems to consider him a friend, she is usually mean and uninterested in him. As they grow up together, she repeatedly warns him that she has no heart. Though she represents Pip’s first longed-for ideal of life among the upper classes, Estella is actually even lower-born than Pip; as Pip learns near the end of the novel, she is the daughter of Magwitch. Despite her cold behavior and the damaging influences in her life, Dickens nevertheless ensures that Estella is still a sympathetic character. By giving the reader a sense of her inner struggle to discover and act on her own feelings rather than on the imposed motives of her upbringing, Dickens gives the reader a glimpse of Estella’s inner life, which helps to explain what Pip might love about her. Estella does not seem able to stop herself from hurting Pip, but she also seems not to want to hurt him; she repeatedly warns him that she has “no heart” and seems to urge him as strongly as she can to find happiness by leaving her behind. Finally, Estella’s long, painful marriage to Drummle causes her to develop along the same lines as Pip—that is, she learns, through experience, to rely on and trust her inner feelings. In the final scene of the novel, she has become her own woman for the first time in the book. As she says to Pip, “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching. . . . I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape.”

4th week of class!

Well I would have to say that my favorite thing that we read this week was Elizabeth Browning's "Say Over Again" sonnet. I enjoyed this one the most because I felt that it was a real poem that I could relate to. She just wanted to hear the words I love you over and over again. Maybe it could have been a bit too much, but she obviously needed and craved this attention. So maybe she did not feel loved like she should have? One thing about this week that is a little frustrating is our group presentation assignment. There are only like 3 people on my team that are even trying to get it organized! Oh well, we will figure it out and get it done!! I am really enjoying this class so far... it has been a good experience for my first online class! Have a good week!

3rd week of class...Frankenstein!!

I have really enjoyed reading Frankenstein! I remember back in high school when certain English classes had to read it, but mine never did! So I was glad that I had a chance to read it in this class. I really liked it. It brought different feelings throughout the book, sometimes it made me feel happy while others it made me feel very sad. I felt sorry for the monster, and I think everyone judges people by the way they look or act so we could relate to this. We really shouldn't judge by what we see on the outside. This poor monster was fine at first and all he wanted was a companion. Why couldn't Victor just have been his friend? I don't think the monster would have ever done anything evil if he had a true companion. The romantic works that we have been reading are a bit confusing to me, but I just have to re-read them over to understand a little bit more. Hope everyone is having a good week so far!