#extradirty
will byers stan first human second
styofa doing anything
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shark vs the universe
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Misplaced Lens Cap
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wallacepolsom
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
ojovivo
todays bird
dirt enthusiast
d e v o n
tannertan36
Origami Around
Keni
Claire Keane
macklin celebrini has autism
Jules of Nature
seen from Singapore
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@maxmccrorycommonplacebook-blog
Most Valuable Book on the Syllabus
I think the most valuable book on the syllabus for me was the Hunger Games, because it allowed us to talk about the value of many different things: book vs movie, family, love, fame, and narrative. Katniss was also a relatable narrator even if her situation wasn’t and relatability is valuable.
Extra Credit: Claudia Rankine
Claudia Rankine spoke to a large group at the University of Maryland’s Clairce Smith Performing Arts Center. The event was the university’s keynote event for “Democracy Then and Now: Citizenship and Public Education,” which discusses the role of public education. She was the also guest for their Worldwise: Arts and Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series. She discussed her book Citizen, which address race, as well as many other issues. Citizen is a National Book Critics Award winner and a New York times bestseller. Citizen mostly consists of essay like poems intermixed with artists work who Rankine feels represent her work well.
Rankine said that she called up many of her friends and asked for an experience where a moment changed, because racism occurred. The moments she described happened in lunch lines, in classrooms and in people’s own neighborhoods. Rankine then wrote about these experiences. She wants to highlight that African Americans laugh off these situations and don’t do anything. She pointed out that society has made African Americans believe that they should be forgiving.
To end her reading, Rankine showed a short film. It showed different scenes of racism, each one more horrifying than the next. Rankin read her pieces in the voice over. The short film was haunting.
Note: Hi Professor Dugan! I wrote this up back in September and I had it in a separate document and not in my commonplace book. I wanted to post it now, so you saw it. Thank you!
Self Assessment
I definitely enjoyed the books that included stories of love and family, the most. I find these stories the most relatable. This didn’t change much from the beginning of the semester, when I said I enjoyed more creative and personal stories. There is nothing more personal than love and family.
Index
#selling out-
Week 1 Prompt- LeGuin Speech
Week 4 Prompt- Wolf of Wall Street
#value of time-
Week 2 Prompt- Franklin’s Way of Wealth
Week 15 Prompt- A Christmas Carol
#wealth-
Week 2 Prompt- Franklin’s Way to Wealth
Week 4 Prompt- The Wolf of Wall Street
Week 11 Prompt- The Great Gatsby
#money-
Week 4 Prompt- The Wolf of Wall Street
#inequality
Week 4 Prompt- The Wolf of Wall Street
Week 6 Prompt- The Hunger Games
#value
Week 5 Prompt- New Grub Street
#books
Week 5 Prompt- New Grub Street
#value of family
Week 6 Prompt- The Hunger Games
Week 9 Prompt- Sense and Sensibility
Week 15 Prompt- A Christmas Carol
#love
Week 9 Prompt- Sense and Sensibility
Week 10 Prompt- The Merchant of Venice
Week 11 Prompt- The Great Gatsby
#relationships
Week 9 Prompt- Sense and Sensibility
#power
Week 10 Prompt- The Merchant of Venice
Week 14 Prompt- A Brave New World
#wealth, #value of family, and #love all generated the most entries. I was not surprised by these results, because most of the books we read had to do with wealth or lack thereof. Also, the value of family and love are both prevalent themes across the board in literature, so that isn’t surprising either.
Week 15 Prompt- A Christmas Carol
“Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other.“
I chose this quote, because it shows both the value of family and the value of a strong character arc. Scrooge used all of the money that he had to help Tiny Tim and his family. Scrooge gained a new family by helping these people; this shows family isn’t always biological. This also shows that anyone can change, because of experiences they have.
Pre-class assignment- A Christmas Carol
I think it is interesting that America has a long history of giving and The National Museum of American History highlights that extremely well with both historical and modern examples. I especially loved the boots worn by Earl Shaffer on his Appalachian Trail Hike, because they represent the hard work and cooperation of both private and public partners.
Week 14 Prompt- Brave New World
“Every one works for every one else. We can’t do without any one. Even Epsilons are useful. We couldn’t do without Epsilons. Every one works for every one else. We can’t do without any one.”
This quote is interesting to me, because it is hypocritical. While everyone does work for everyone, some castes have it better than others. This shows that the caste system really is all about power.
This quote also shows that they condition each caste to think a certain way and without this conditioning, the society would be much different.
Pre-class assignment- Brave New World
I think the new world is shown in such a disjointed manner, because the world is disjointed. There are no families or exclusive relationships, so no one has anyone they can really rely on. Everyone’s life is always changing. There is no stability even though that’s what the leaders wanted when creating the new world.
Week 11 Prompt- The Great Gatsby
“I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
I chose this quote, because it accurately depicts how women were treated in the times of The Great Gatsby. Women were no more than objects to men. Daisy knows this better than anything, Tom only married her to fulfill a societal expectation. He doesn’t really love her. Daisy knows it is better to be clueless about a husband’s affairs and happy, than to know everything happening and unhappy.
Pre-class assignment- The Great Gatsby
Narrative is incredibly important when telling a life-story, because the narration carries the whole story. Gatsby’s life story is incredibly diverse and he finds himself in many different places throughout his life. Nick Carraway is Gatsby’s narrator and this helps, because he can be somewhat objective when talking about Gatsby’s life. Nick even says in the beginning of the book, "I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me.” He is nonjudgemental when relaying his story to the reader. However, he can be unreliable, because he does not know everything about Gatsby and sometimes his reliability can be compromised, because he’s so infatuated with Gatsby’s wealth, such as when he’s in the yellow car with Gatsby.
Week 10 Prompt- The Merchant of Venice
“PORTIA Yes, yes, it was Bassanio—as I think, so was he called. NERISSA True, madam. He, of all the men that ever my foolish eyes looked upon, was the best deserving a fair lady. PORTIA I remember him well, and I remember him worthy of thy praise.”
I chose this quote, because usually when a heroine first hears of a man she has interest in, she is immediately drawn to him. Portia keeps herself calm and composed when talking about Bassanio. She does not become giddy with excitement. I appreciate that Portia is a strong female character, because in Shakespeare’s time women weren’t often seen as strong and powerful.
Pre-class assignment- The Merchant of Venice
I think Antonio was foolish to lend Bassanio more money with the argument Bassanio gave him. Bassanio says to Antonio that Antonio should lend him more money, so that he can use it again in a similar way.
I would not lend Bassanio money, because he was foolish enough to lose my money in the first place. I would not take a second chance on him, because he would do exactly the same thing with my money that he did the first time: lose it.
Week 9 Prompt- Sense and Sensibility
"It is enough," said she; "to say that he is unlike Fanny is enough. It implies everything amiable. I love him already." "I think you will like him," said Elinor, "when you know more of him." "Like him!" replied her mother with a smile. "I can feel no sentiment of approbation inferior to love." "You may esteem him." "I have never yet known what it was to separate esteem and love."
This quote shows that Elinor has complex ideas on the difference between love and like, which I share as well. She knows she has to get to know someone in a more emotional way, before she can use the word love. She knows it is not a word you can use frivolously, unlike her mother. It is also interesting that her mother, who should be old and wiser, does not share this idea of a separation between like and love.
Pre-class assignment- Sense and Sensibility
I think the the title “Sense and Sensibility” does map onto the two themes of love and money. In both love and money, you need to be sensible, but also understand the complex emotions that others are going through when dealing with these issues.
I think to have sense in love is to know what you want out of a relationship and also what you’re willing to give in a relationship. I also believe that it means you should know when to take a chance on love.
I think one can be sentimental about money when it has to do with family. Let’s say someone gains a large sum of money from their dead father’s will. They may not be willing to spend it, because they were close to their father and feel that spending this money will not give him the honor he deserves.
Week 6 Prompt- The Hunger Games
“‘I volunteer!’ I gasp. ‘I volunteer as tribute!’”
This is one of the most iconic lines of both the book and movie, but it didn’t stand out to me for that reason. An underrated theme in this book is the value of family. Katniss obviously cares very much for her sister Prim, as she takes care of her, while their mother is depressed. And then obviously volunteers as tribute. Also, even though Katniss shows disdain towards her mother, you know she cares for her too. Katniss hunts for food, does the trading, takes care of the house, and goes hungry if need be. This shows that she values family and that she would do anything for them. In a dystopian society, the value of family is important, because they could be taken away from you at any moment.
Pre-class assignment- The Hunger Games
1. The value of the Hunger Games to this author is that it points out the things wrong in our world (inequality, corrupt politicians, etc.) and amplifies them in Panem. The author also points out that Katniss is a relatable character to “generation k”, because she feels the same way they do.
2. Panem shows many qualities of nations now that have extreme wealth inequality. The Capitol controls the wages its citizens receive and doesn’t allow them to use the natural resources around the community. The Capitol failed to see that if they had raised wages, the rest of the community would have been prosperous and technology would have been able to be spread out throughout the districts. However, the Capitol feared revolt, so they didn’t want their districts to be prosperous. This shows many similarities to 3rd world countries today and shows that there is little that can be done, short of destroying the entire system.
3. The Hunger Games has helped Liongate to become known among the industry. The Hunger Games already has a huge following and for a small company like Lionsgate that is important, because they know the audience will come to see the movie no matter what.
Week 5 Prompt- New Grub Street
“Reardon looked at the gaps left on his shelves. Many of those vanished volumes were dear old friends to him.”
This quote spoke to me, because I also share a love for the books I buy. And for Reardon, he may have to give them to finance his life and that would be like giving away friends. It shows how different things have different value for everyone. And to Reardon those books are as valuable as gold.