Post 5 - A Grief Observed

For the past week, we have been reading C.S Lewis’ A Grief Observed. Reading about someone’s honest thoughts and emotions in such a vulnerable point in his life is truly admirable. He says things and questions things that people do not like to admit crossed their minds because people’s opinions matter too much. However, a tragedy such as his probably could erase, eliminate normal feelings about people’s opinions. Losing someone shakes your thoughts, your beliefs, your priorities, all of you. It changes you.  C.S. Lewis said, “Is it rational to believe in a bad God? Anyway, in a God so bad as all that?” It can cause you to doubt your faith, lose hope, or question who you are. He may not have been thinking rationally or even have regretted saying this statement, but this tragedy sparked questions in his heart. 

The idea of death is so distant from us, because all of us have obviously not encountered it. It is something that we all cannot know anything for sure about until we experience it. However, we can know what it is to experience the emotions felt after losing someone, which in many cases means losing part of yourself.

I know what it is like to experience the impact of losing someone you care about. However, I cannot say that I can completely relate to C.S. Lewis since he lost more than a friend. He lost his wife. 

When I suddenly lost my friend who was only sixteen to a tragic car accident, I found myself thinking a lot of the same things C.S. Lewis shares with us. C.S. Lewis was relatable since He let himself be so open about his doubtfulness and lack of answers. 

post 4- cafe meeting

Monday was not an ordinary Intro to Literature class because we got to meet our group members in the cafe. Having a snack and a drink also helped create a more relaxed and casual environment which opened the door to easier discussion. Also, a simple change in environment is helpful. It provided an easier atmosphere because you did not feel as if you were just discussing literature for scholarly purposes, but instead you could imagine yourself just meeting your friend for coffee to discuss a book you had recently read. What if friends began to plan dinners to discuss literature instead of the latest gossip, movies, or television shows? 

Is reading the book much more meaningful than watching the movie? Does it effect a person more in a deeper level if they read it? I have found that people most often say, “Oh, the book is so much better than the movie.” or, “The movie does not do the book justice.” From my experience, reading the book is a completely different experience than watching the movie. Ironically, the specific language and words they use to describe each action, emotions, or thoughts captures you feel more apart of what is going on. You would assume that a movie would make it easier for you to envision the character and their experiences, but that is the gift of a writer. Writers utilize their language to capture a minute of time into pages. 

I most often relate reading a book to school work, but hearing and discussing what people have read in their free time opened my mind more. It inspired me to ask my friends about what books they enjoy to read in their free time to get an idea of what I might be interested in. 

Post 3- Happy Endings

Professor Corrigan quoted in class, “Fine art takes us back into reality.” We all grew up reading fairy tales and watching movies that classically ended with “And they all lived happily ever after...” Of course we enjoyed these kinds of stories because they made us feel optimistic and positive about the world and our life situations. No one wants to anticipate that things actually are never resolved, the antagonist/antoganists wins, and the protagonist/protagonists do not end up prevailing and triumph over “evil.” It is not wrong to hope, wish, and pray for this fairy tale like life. However, it is important to be aware that the world is not on our side. Do the stories that portray perfection or the stories that throw you into a realistic situation where things end imperfectly impact you and teach you more? To be exposed to situations that may seem shocking or make you feel uncomfortable stretches you to be aware of the situations that real people in the world are experiencing. 

In the story “Happy Endings”, we probably all read it and felt a little dissatisfied that the endings were all, “And John and Mary died.” Why could they not just have had the story begin and proceed as in story A and then say “and they all lived happily ever after?” Wouldn’t that have made the story more pleasant? But if it had just said that and situation A was all there was to the story, what would you have taken from reading it? Reading the situations of B,C,D,E, and so on is what sparked ideas, sparked questions, taught a lesson, and caused you to feel a meaningful emotion. 

Considering each character and the motives behind why did they did what they did made you wonder what happened in their life previous to where the story starts to cause them the decisions they did. 

Post 2 What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Love

As I read this, it really helped me explore how the definition of love varies so vastly in the world. Many people’s view on love is distorted by their experiences, environment, and society. All of these factors shape how they they feel about and view love. Each character in this short story had a different opinion about what truly loving someone was because of their own circumstances and background. I found it interesting how Terri truly believed that the man who threatened and abused her loved her. She said, “Sure, it’s abnormal in most people’s eyes. But he was willing to die for it. He did die for it.” I understand that he obviously felt strong emotions toward her for him to bring himself to that point for her, but could we really say that it was love? Naturally, we think that when you love someone, you would not mistreat them this way.

 Is there one ultimate truth to love? How can it be defined? When I think about love, I think about how God defined perfect love. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always hopes, always trusts, always preserves.” But honestly, if love had to fulfill all of these things in order to be defined as love, then we would not be able to say that anyone loved anyone. The only one who is capable of loving in this perfect way is God. However, I believe that He described how we should strive to love others. I believe love is the most powerful emotion.

Post One-1/14/10

My earliest memories of literature are bedtime stories and nursery rhymes. My mom read to me a lot even, even when I was just an infant. She always talks about to this day about how reading to a child, even while he or she is still in the womb, is so critical in the development of a child. Being a preschool teacher, we had children’s books galore at my house. I remember the times during school where it was quiet time and I would be able to go to the bookshelf pick out any book and spend time reading. Of course, the books with the most pictures always interested me the most and still to this day. I actually enjoyed reading a lot when I was little. My mom is surprised at how much of an “anti-reader” I am because of that. 

Again, today, I am not a big reader. Honestly, the only books I have ever really read for pleasure that intrigued me was the Twilight series. Once I began reading the first book, i got so wrapped in the story. I felt like I knew them and could not put it down. It was effortless to read and felt almost as if I was just watching a movie as opposed to a lot of words on a page that you are trying to get through. 

Literature matters to people in different ways. For the writer, it is their way to express their creativity and thoughts. For the reader, it is a way for our minds to explore new ideas, situations, people, cultures, and etc. Some people see it is as invaluable and meaningless and some people appreciate it for all that it is and see its true value. Literature could not matter to those of us who are ignorant and most likely just lazy to find that there are a lot of really good literature out there. It is just a matter of discovering it.