Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Overwhelmed
Recently, I have felt like this class has overwhelmed me. Even though I wasn't in class at all last week (which completely threw me off), I feel like the things I am supposed to be looking for in literature are not coming to me. I feel numb when reading now because I know I am supposed to be finding all of these elements, but I'm not. It seems like my brain is omitting everything I learned from class. Is there anyway to jolt my brain into thinking like an AP Lit student? Because I definetly don't feel like one. Not with my progress (or lack of). :(
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I know how you feel like this is my first ap class and it wasn't very wise of me to take it senior year, but i'm determined to excel.
ReplyDeleteMe too! When I read a poem at home I try to understand the meaning, theme, etc., but I can never do so. When I get to school and we discuss the poem, people start throwing out ideas and after a few moments of discussion it all seems obvious to me, and I feel dumb :(
ReplyDeleteAida, honestly you're really smart, and you're probably realizing these elements without being aware that you know. Just because you are getting different interpretations than other people does not mean that you aren't getting it. You're just thinking something else. Mr. Bruno helps you get an idea and examples of how opinions may vary in class. If you feel like you don't know something or you think you might be wrong, just bring it up in class. The worst thing that could happen is that he'll say you're wrong and correct you, and then you'll have an answer. You could always ask him, too, about certain things, or you could talk with someone that's super intellectual about these kind of things. Trust me, you'll do fine.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, Aida, because it's not just you. I'm feeling overwhelmed too. There are things that we've read that I understood and loved right away, and then others that I must not have read thoughtfully enough the first time around, and then it got more clear in class. The problem is that we won't have ages to talk about it on the AP exam. The only way I know how to prepare for an AP exam is to STUDY, but there's only so much studying you can do for this one. Still, I think it'll get easier. :)
ReplyDeleteI highly doubt that any of us has an absolute grasp... of all the subject matter we are covering. I believe there are two separate but equal goals in this class. One, to learn as much as we can about how to analyze a piece of literature for future reference, and two, to get a passing grade so we get the credit for this class and hope to never see it again. While the latter doesn't seem quite that noble, it simply states the basic survival instinct present in all students who care about their classes.
ReplyDeleteWhenever we go over something in class I try to log the information we were just told into my head, so if that piece of lit. comes up again in my life time, I could look back on to what main ideas we all discussed during class. And by the way, you could pretty much write down anything you want to on a paper as long as you answer the questions and defend it. Bruno is just telling us the most popular theme the piece of literature is said to convey, not the only one, or even the one the author intended.
There, I said it. Boom!
Aida, luckily we have all year for you guys to get up to the place where you need to be. If you had all the skills coming in, I would not need to run through the material with you.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, part of the issue may be that you are TRYING to find everything. No one will find everything all of the time. Don't try. Read what is in front of you; it is essential that you not forget that you like to read first. The analysis of the reading will come second. You have to take multiple takes.
When you read, as when you write, use multiple drafts. Read the surface material, that is the first draft; read for the deeper meaning, that is the second draft. Whatever you do, don't try and do it all at once.
Also, you could have fooled me. You do a great job with class discussion.
Aida: When I'm reading some of our assignments and attempting to find elements and meanings in them, I have the same problem, I can stare at it for as long as I like and reread it as many times as I like, and I might find one little simile that doesn't lead me anywhere in the slightest.
ReplyDeleteBut something I found when I started writing my essays, is I refer back to earlier chapters we have read, and notes and such, and Foster's book, and as I'm skimming chapter headings and such, stuff just jumps out at me. "Hey, this could be applicable, like when..." It just helps to have an outside context to consider things in.
Aida, I agree with Mr. Bruno, you had me fooled :) You always seem like you know the material and can answer any question with ease. But if you're having a hard time (which I know a lot of us are) then I think it would just help to have an outline in your head of basic things you should be looking for. Like Mr. Bruno said, it's best to read through something multiple times. And after maybe the 3rd time, you could run through a list in your head of specific details you think we'll talk about in class (plot, conflicts, motifs, theme, etc.), then it'll help you get a better grasp of the literature. And if you memorize what that list of details is and what order you should find them, then every time you read something you won't get overwhelmed. That method might help with the AP exam as well. Just some advice I got from another English teacher.
ReplyDeleteIt honestly helps to read the stories/poems/WHATEVER over again and maybe even at a slower pace then the first time you read it. Thinking back to "How to Read Lit. Like a Prof", I believe Foster said that the first time you read any work it should be for the pleasure of reading it and not looking to deep into the context. It's after the first time that you should go back and then begin to analyze. Now, I'm not going to lie and say that I do that all the time because umm.. YEA, you already know but I will say that the times i have done it, its an eye opener to see how many of the things that you missed the first time you read through it.
ReplyDelete