Blog Reflection


This semester we were tasked with maintaining a blog filled with posts based on things we discussed in class. My blog has been the place where I reflect on the readings from class and what I believe the author meant. I don't think of myself as much of a writer, so I loved the fact that the requirements of the blog were flexible, and I was able to make mine as more of a place where I post my initial thoughts. My posts range from thoughts on memories to discussing connections between separate texts. Now that I think back on my blog I realized that since I wrote my posts as more of a diary and styled it as free writing I didn’t really provide context for my audience. If I had more time I would go back and do a better job of explaining what I was discussing and thinking and how I got to that idea.

 My first blog post described a place that was important to me, which was my great-grandparents house. I discussed how it wasn’t simply the place that meant so much to me, but it was the feelings and memories associated with that specific place that was so important. I’m sure that if I visited my great-grandparents house today it wouldn’t be the same as I remembered it.
My favorite thing about writing a blog post is when I am able to connect the reading I am discussing to something I’ve experienced in life or even to understand it as a metaphor. One of my favorite posts was when I analyzed the similarities between “Servants of the Map” and a Humans Of New York post. I realized that they both used mountains as a metaphor for struggles they were facing and was able to showcase that metaphor by connecting the stories with the song “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus.

Most of the class readings focused on identity and the trials and tribulations the main characters were facing. In class one of our assigned reading was something I had already read before. Upon reading “TheYellow Wallpaper” again I was able to pick up on connections and clues I had missed before. This allowed me to view the characters in a different light. The identity theme was prevalent in our last two readings of Power and “Translations” and I analyzed how similar the characters Omishto and Owen were as they each straddled two different cultures. I connected with these characters more than the others throughout the semester since as a Mexican-American I am constantly faced with both Mexican and American cultures, just like Owen faced Irish and English culture, and Omishto faced American and Native American culture.

One of my favorite interests is British history and I was able to use my knowledge of standard British families to analyze the family dynamic in “Translations.” This allowed me better insight into the struggles and actions the characters Manus and Owen were facing. Although “Translations” took place in Ireland it was heavily influenced by Britain at that time as evidenced by their religion.

Writing these blog posts has helped me to have a better understanding of the readings and to develop my ability to close read a text. In the future I hope to continue using this blog after the ending of this course to provide insight into my thoughts on books and events in my life.
♡



Lecture from Ms. Fritzberg

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