Response to Course Materials

     To say the least, my mind has been blown over the past couple of weeks. Learning how to analyze literature using DIDLS (diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax) has proved to be so important to performing successfully at a college-level in this class. Never before had I been exposed to methods, let alone acronyms, that actually help me in the process of analyzing text. Let's say, for example, you are reading a poem very much like the one that we read in class last week, "My Father's Song", and you are told to make an analysis based on DIDLS. In this poem, you find that the author uses diction to describe both the stature and personality of his father, syntax to emphasize the tactile imagery that was so important to him, and symbolism to explain his feelings toward cultural traditions and parenthood-- quite frankly, it's a rhetoric rager! All of this helps you, as the reader, to receive more from the poem than just lyrical pleasure.

     The aspect that I most value about literature and composition, is the act of successfully putting purpose and deeper meaning into words in a way that the reader can fully understand. For example, in class, Ms. Holmes talked about the connotation and denotation used in the following sentence:

"Since she declined to drink the kool-aid, her boss never looked at her twice for promotion."

"Kool-aid" is denotative to the positive pop-culture of a refreshing children's beverage, but is also connotative to the incredibly depressing history of vast American abuse of date-rape drugs. This use of diction impacts the passage with dark humor, making a point to the reader more so than if the word "kool-aid" was replaced with "punch laced with rufies". I often wonder why it is that not everyone is as passionate as I am about these things. It is crazy how ONE WORD can add so much meaning to a sentence, and how artfully vital all the parts of DIDLS are.

     OK, I'm done fan-girling over diction, let us continue. Another thing we discussed was Existentialism*. We really only discussed about the subject for a couple of days, but I think I have a firm enough grasp on the concept to talk about it. We were told to consider the connections between "Existentialism 101," "Theatre of the Absurd," with the play, "The American Dream". The themes of irrational behavior and an individual's choices were pretty obvious throughout the play, but something we didn't really touch on in class in the purpose of the themes of existentialism used. 

Now, there are aspects that I found in the play (marked above with green stars) from both categories. Edward Albee was not only pointing out how the American social society is opposite of an ideal existentialist society, given the family's emphasis on the value of wealth and status, but also how even in a corrupt society such as this, themes such as mankind's free will and unexplained irrationality prevail. The play really is a dark satire for American society, and shows the perspective of the critical existentialists from that era.

     To be truthful, I am absolutely intimidated by this class. Don't get me wrong, I love my classmates and I really enjoy spending time with them everyday. However, coming from Corunna High School, where the average student strives for community college, I have reason to believe that I am less prepared than I should be for this class. But, I have every intention of overcoming this, and I already have learned so much in class.

*To all of my 6th hour classmates, I really can pronounce the word existentialism! I'm not stupid! I just happened to be incredibly sleep deprived and running solely on caffeine on Friday when I managed to made a fool of myself. :)