Sunday, September 29, 2013
Responses to Course Material
So far, our classroom discussions have revolved mainly around two things: close reading and Theater of the Absurd (with some existentialism thrown in for good measure). I think that mainly what both of these things have helped strengthen us in is analysis. DIDLS (diction, imagery, details, language, syntax) gives us guidelines on how we can analyze things, and starting with the Theater of the Absurd presents with an immediate analytic challenge, given the strangeness of the works. Close reading can be used to find connections and meanings in works and TOTA works like American Dream make it hard to find connections and meanings with all of the random parts and moments that are so profound due to their lack of meaning. Personally, I quite like the challenge that American Dream has presented and have found Albee's works (I ended up reading The Zoo Story too) very interesting and thought-provoking. I think after getting through TOTA, other stories we read won't be nearly as hard to analyze.
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Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI think the Theatre of the Absurd is going to be one of hardest things to wrap our heads around. The concept is not difficult, it just seems contradictory. Distinguishing between what really has no meaning and what has meaning from not having meaning is difficult and a backwards way of thinking. The different layers of the play is what I find most enjoyable. It’s surface as a meaningless humorous play grabs attention. But, exploring the layers shows how dynamic it is and offers much to discuss.
The breaking down of the play with DIDLS helps bring things out. When you look at each part separately, you notice certain things that stand out and create more meaning by just being broken down.
Do you think that it is easier to look at different parts of plays and then bring it all together or to look at the play as a whole?
You should also make connections between the other course material, like DIDLS. Comparing it to other things you have been exposed to like movies or books is a good way.
ReplyDeleteKevin,
ReplyDeleteI agree that TOTA is particularly difficult to analyze, but I wouldn't underestimate the difficulty of analyzing other works. Although TOTA presents the challenge of distinguishing as Lindsay said between "What really has no meaning and what has meaning from not having meaning," is incredibly difficult, other works could have different aspects that present challenges. For example, we might read a work with very elevated diction, which is at least to me a significant obstacle in extracting meaning, which I did not find in the American Dream. So although we have certainly faced lots of challenges with TOTA, I would say we still have a lot more to come. Regarding Lindsay's question, I think that to come to a conclusion on a play or any work as a whole, it is necessary to first break it into parts and look for motifs and find evidence that supports the ideas and make sure there are no holes in your theory. You just have to be careful you don't break it down too much and get caught up on small details.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteGood job with your response! What I'm getting from this (overall) is that what we've gone over in class so far has strengthened our analytical skills by presenting challenging material. I agree. DIDLS is a very useful tool for analysis, and I think that it'll be one of the big things that stick with us after the days of AP Lit are long since forgotten. I mean, Ms. Holmes has only drilled it into us how many times?
And we've only been in school for little over a month! TOTA has been quite a challenge, however, I have to go with Sydney in saying that different genres and works will present different challenges.
Lindsay asked the question, "Do you think that it is easier to look at different parts of plays and then bring it all together or to look at the play as a whole?" This last week Ms. Holmes reiterated something she had said during the first week of school. She told us that when we look at a play, we should try and see it like a painting (e.g. the analyzing we did for paintings of the Virgin Mary). It's really hard to do that! It is so much easier to break a play down into chunks to look at individual parts.