Conclusion of American Literature II

     I'm not exactly the sentimental type nor do I hold much appreciation for those who are "over-emotional" but I would like to recognize some of the more exciting and memorable times in class.
     My favorite quality: the food. I generally eat a decent sized breakfast but with 5 classes back-to-back one can run out of edible materials fairly quickly. However, all thanks to my early morning Literature class I was able to obtain donuts, pop tarts, and some fruit. Yum! That's definitely motivation to come to class everyday (which I will arrogantly claim "I did").
     On a more serious note, I did enjoy the many videos we were able to watch in relation to American Literature. The "Ain't Afraid of your Jails" movie provided an excellent insight into Civil Rights and the Black Literary Movement. I previously had a wealth of knowledge concerning African American history in the U.S., something that has augmented since watching the clip. Also, even though I am not a fan of Allen Ginsberg the video of his poem "Howl" proved to be entertaining, if somewhat disturbing. It helped me grasp the concept behind his work and understand not only what he was writing about but why he used such vivid description.
     Another worthwhile experience was hearing the actors (and ticket-saleswoman) from the play "Intimate Apparel" discuss their lives in the theater. Believe it or not I have actually considered becoming an actor (remember my final presentation?) or even a screenwriter. The questions posed at the cast of "Intimate Apparel" generated my interest in professional acting whether it be on a stage or set. Furthermore, I enjoyed listening to how they each "personified" their characters making them seem like real people to the audience.
     I was genuinely impressed with some of the discussions we cultivated in the classroom despite some branching into subjects wildly off-topic. Everybody was fairly attentive to each person's opinion and disagreements about certain passages were handled well. I really do wish some of my other classes retained this agreeable method of discussion. I myself did not try to participate in every class-wide argument since some things were haphazardly random and only listening quietly would hold my attention. Still, I did like many of the discussions that were created and ended up pleased with their results.
     Overall, this was not my favorite class but it certainly wasn't a terrible experience. I did learn about several authors for which I can confidently recite life stories and recall written works. Much of what I studied in this class assisted me with the development of my final project and gave me general information for the future.