As we come to a close this semester - I wonder - what was the most impactful text to you and why?
Lists of texts include:
Pygmalion
Oedipus
Antigone
King Lear
Endgame
Persepolis
The Skin of Our Teeth
Lolita
For me - my obvious love for Shakespeare makes King Lear the play with the most depth and tenacity, and I admire Lolita (but part two is nowhere near as strong as part one); ultimately, I find The Skin of Our Teeth to be the most important play that we read this year. To me, this play speaks of the human experience. The play, although written almost 100 years ago, has not lost one ounce of its impact. It's smart, funny, and bizarre. From Sabina to Mrs. Antrobus, I tend to find something immediately relatable to the characters - even though the story seems rather intangible. I also think the morals of the story stands strong and relevant. As a didactic text, it shows the importance of progress, but also the imporance of family. It stands as a tower of complexity and uniqueness. A play unparallel to anything before or since. I simply adore this play.
Throughout the school year, I have enjoyed all the books in different ways because of their many meanings and ideas each story captures. To me, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi was my favorite novel. I truly enjoyed reading this graphic novel because I could relate to it on so many different levels. I felt as if Marjane was right in front of me sharing her life story because she would not hold back and describe her memories with such detail. There was not one boring or dull moment in the novel. She captured my attention and I actually looked forward to reading each chapter. Marjane was also an inspiration to me; her story is definitely worth sharing and reading. She at such a young age had been through so much and in the end pulled herself together and became a great author. Reading Marjane’s story of how she hit her lowest points in life, having the happiest moments, go through heartbreaks and hardships with friends and family was interesting and cultivating. I also appreciated how it was not just a novel with words; it was brought to life with pictures and captivating images. Persepolis is a great novel and I am glad I got the chance to read it as well as make my own graphic novel for the creative project in class.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katherine, Persepolis was such an inspiring novel and their was not a dull moment. Us as the readers were able to experience a different perspective of the impact of growing up during dramatic changes of wartime. Personally, I have never read a graphic novel before, but Persepolis was worth reading because it is not only inspiring, it is entertaining. Another novel I enjoyed reading was A Streetcar Named Desire. It had an interesting plot, interesting characters with striking attitudes, and shocking moments. For example, when Stella believes Stanly over her sister, therefore Blanche is put in a mental institution. But, we are left wondering, was Blanche insane all along? Or was Stella too blinded by her husband to believe the truth?
ReplyDeleteFor me, I would have to say my favorite work of literature throughout the year would have to be Lolita. Although, Lolita at times is extremely disturbing and disgusting, the novel seems to be the most interesting. I find the novel somewhat funny because of how gross everything is. Lolita allows us to laugh at how disgusting Humbert Humbert is, and how easily influenced Lolita is. I feel Lolita is a different type of novel, it is not the serious type, it is more comical. Because of this Lolita is my favorite. Lolita was not as boring as the other novels we read this year; therefore, it allowed me to laugh and enjoy it more than other novels. The other novels had the tendency to be boring, causing me to lose interest, furthermore, showing why Lolita was different. I found myself extremely attentive while reading Lolita because I knew each page there was something we could laugh about, even if it was a little inappropriate at times. Lastly I have to add that Persepolis was a close second for me as far as my favorite novel because it is an easy read, it connected to the real world, and it spoke about an actual persons hardships growing up in a war-torn country.
ReplyDeleteThe piece of literature we read this year that had the most impact on myself was definitely Persepolis. Persepolis changed my opinion on graphic novels. It proved to me that graphic novels can go into deep details on a story although there are pictures. The use of no color in the graphic novel was the perfect stylistic choice by Marjane Satrapi. The shading aspect brought about factors and details that needed to be seen by the reader. She used comedic relief to take away from the seriousness of the subject she was ultimately talking about. I feel one can relate to Marjane in making mistakes while away from home (college) that they are ashamed to reveal to their parents. Marjane’s trip out of the country was parallel to the average person’s college experience and because of this relation; I feel Persepolis had the most significant impact on me this year.
ReplyDeleteThe text that stood out most to me was Lolita. As Matt said, there was something interesting on each page that kept me attentive. Something I liked about this novel was the attention to detail. Every single detail in this novel is significant. I found the meanings of names of characters to be really interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe presentations were what really made me enjoy this novel. I looked forward to see what each person got out of their chapters. In my opinion, presenting my chapters and listening to my classmates presentations was a valuable learning experience that made me enjoy reading Lolita.
I agree with Mr. V, I think The Skin of Our Teeth was the best piece of literature we’ve read all year. I find that the play’s use of absurdist humor is a refreshing change of taste from the seriousness of the other plays and novels we have read. While the play does have several strong messages, such as Mankind’s tendency to repeat itself, the focus on family, and the devastation of war, they are cleverly hidden within the humor and absurdity of the play’s plot. I also feel that the third act of this play has a darker and stronger feeling than any other piece of work we have read all year. Yet, when the play gets too serious, the characters break the fourth wall and everything is resolved. The greatest lesson from this play is to not to take it too seriously, which I find to be the best message from any piece of literature I’ve ever read. Sometimes we become too involved with a text because of its realism, and we tend to think about the story too much and it affects how we feel. With A Streetcar Named Desire, this was what occurred. The ending of the play depressed me and made me a more negative person, as it exposed the harsh realities of life through Blanche’s fate and Stanley and Stella’s relationship. With The Skin of Our Teeth, I was able to enjoy the play and thought of it as something that I could learn from only if I wanted to, but otherwise the main purpose was to entertain me and not depress me. I can safely say that I have never had so much fun reading a piece of literature. I would rank it number one on my list of favorite works, just ahead of The Cherry Orchard, a play that is similar in absurdity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the majority. I think Persepolis was the book with the most depth. Not only was it the most unique, it kept the reader interested through out the whole story. It impacted me the most because it was the most relatable. Even though Persepolis is relatble it shows you what life is like in other countries. Sometimes it easy to take life for granted because we are surrounded by comfort, and we are not aware of what it is like in other countries. Marjane was an inspiring character and her stylistic choice helped in making her character feel more real.Persepolis was an eye-opener and I felt it was the most interesting story we read all year.
ReplyDeleteThe text that I found was the most interesting was Lolita. As Matt said it can at times be disturbing, but overall I feel it has the most information and depth to it. Every detail in the book in important and the text itself demands a reread for one to see the connections in the chapters. It feels like a puzzle as we read and try to decipher all the hidden clues, like the overwhelming presences of the number 52, and Clare Quilty being hidden throughout the novel. The subtlety of clues such as those and the importance of names kept me attentive as I tried to question any references in the book to try to find the hidden message. Such as the poem “Recueillement”. It is a single French word, but it’s connections to the poem and Charles Baudelaire could not be implemented by accident, and must have been placed intentionally. These mini-mysteries placed within the text for us, the reader, to find kept me interested in the book as I tried to discover another aspect of the book.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite texts read this year were Persepolis and The Skin of Our Teeth. I did not know what to expect with Persepolis, and I admittedly did not think I was going to enjoy a graphic novel. However, I ended up loving Persepolis because it was so relatable. Marji's graphics were visually appealing and intriguing. I found I was able to get a better understanding of her thoughts and emotions through the graphic images, and they served as a highly effective means of transmitting ideas. Like Micheline, I also found Persepolis and Marji's character to possess great depth; the novel was thought provoking, and it made me realize the extreme conditions plaguing other parts of the world. We truly take basic things like shelter and safety for granted; I can only imagine what it's like growing up during wartime and being exposed to death like Marji was.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed The Skin of Our Teeth. Initially, I thought the play was absurd and very strange; however, I then understood that there was a meaning and purpose behind its strangeness. I found the play to be hysterical, and it really required me to take a step back and question how seriously I take life. Like Mike mentioned, The Skin of Our Teeth possesses several strong messages, and beneath its humor, there was a dark truth of human nature. The Antrobuses are unforgettable characters, and the play contained significant themes and comical anachronisms.
I would have to say that Persepolis was my favorite text that we read this year. The story of Marji was one that any person in our class could identify with in some way. I admired Marji’s personality and character throughout the text. She spoke her mind truthfully when she felt passionate, and never holding back her feelings Marjane set a good example for me personally. I liked the fact that throughout the whole story she was completely honest about the mistakes she made and when she messed up she admitted to it. Some of the obstacles that Marjane endured is nothing compared to what any normal high school teen may have to go through, but she still made her story relatable. What I also enjoyed about Persepolis, was the fact that it was a graphic novel. Reading a graphic novel allowed me to take a break from books that we normally read and opened my mind to experience something different. The pictures in Persepolis brought me back to when I was child and read books with enormous pictures in them. The pictures in Persepolis were one of the most interesting aspects of it because it provides the reader with a visual of what they are reading. Persepolis was an interesting text and sent a good message of how one can battle many obstacles but still get their life back together.
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