Kaitlin,
When we were reading House Work the class was discussing Willy and you made a point that struck me. You spoke on how Monica views her father. The class saw Willy as being this bad guy but you said something about Monica not viewing him that way. That to Monica Willy could be her hero. Willy was able to bring her mother back and to Monica Willy could be the world.
This view on Willy and Monica really made me think. What I found so interesting about your comment was the way you looked at Willy. I could not find any redeeming qualities to Willy. He killed a baby and was a mean man. There was nothing that would make Willy be anything but a monster to me, until you made me think from Monica’s point of view. Willy is her father and no matter what he does he will always be an important person to her. What you said made me not just see Willy as a monster. It forced me to look at Willy not just from my eyes but from many different angles. I would have missed out on a lot if I had not been able to set aside my thoughts and take in a different view point. My own personal views shade how I read; but I should not let it keep me from see all the sides. Willy was not just a murder but a father. He made not have been an ideal father but he is the only one Monica has. After hearing your comment it made me try to look at things more from a neutral stand point.
I am glad that I took this course because it has taught me to look beyond the surface and not just take the author words at face value. I should read between them and question why those particular words were chosen. It is alright to question and I should fully engage in the books I’m reading. The best part to me was Ben saying that there is no teacher edition to these books. I should look at these books from different angles. Also it could be beneficial to know who the publishers of the book are. I am also always curious to know how and who determines the book covers. Sometimes I just do not see why they choose those pictures. The choice of book covers always perplexes me. I will take from this class a new way of thinking. I should not just look at books through my view point but multiple views. Kaitlin thanks for showing me that I need to go beyond my views in order to fully engage in my readings. Everyone in class has improved my reading technique and I am thankful. I will leave this course knowing that is alright to ask questions and that I should ask questions.
Friday, December 18, 2009
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Looking beyond the surface of what is presented to you is the exact thing I took from this class and it is what I talked about in my final blog post. It’s obvious to see that after reading all the different texts we have read that our initial interpretation of a certain text can change quickly after rereading or simply discussing the text with someone else. The same can be said about judging people, as many other people in our class have already blogged about. We all make judgments of others when we first see them and first talk to them, and as many have already admitted, their initial thoughts of another person changed after getting to know the person. This change is a result of looking deeper into the person, listening to them, and understanding things from their own point of view.
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