Professor Sweeney's Class

Professor Sweeney’s class overall was really fun. I met a really good friend in this class and a lot of other great people. I went into this English class not knowing how it would go at all! However, I really enjoyed coming to this class 3 days a week. Professor Sweeney is a really laid-back instructor and has a unique way of teaching. He was very lenient with his grading and also his deadlines. If I can take anything with me from Sweeney’s class to my future college endeavors I would say “DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!” If I haven’t learned anything else in this class, procrastination would be one thing that has to stop! Though this professor was very fair, having loose deadlines on papers really makes you think “Oh, I can just do it later.” However when ‘later’ comes, it becomes crunch-time! Professor Sweeney has always come to class with a positive attitude and a joke. He has a nice calm atmosphere to his class—everyone isn’t uptight and afraid to discuss in his class. One thing I enjoyed the most out of his class were the peer reviews. Though I didn’t like the idea at first, I think it’s nice to see how other people write in your age range. Thank You Professor Sweeney, for this fun experience!

How to Become a Writer

This was the first story that we read in Professor Sweeney’s English class. I actually liked this story because it reminded me of myself. This narrator was literally all over the place. She did not care where she started off in the story or how the ending sounded. Of course she was not writing for a college class but I can understand completely where she was coming from. Her life was all over the place so this was projected in her writing. She had no plot whatsoever. The story was basically a scattered biography of her life. For some reason this is one of my favorites, she was a very interesting person. She changed her major often and had a mind of her own. Her classmates thought that she was crazy but that did not stop her from being the unique person that she was. Throughout all the confusion however, readers can understand what she’s saying all the way. I think most are just annoyed by her randomness. In the end she compared her life to coleslaw, this fits perfectly. She said that it looked like a crumpled up map of the world and in my head it looks like a crumpled up map of her life. I really liked the character though!

 

We Real Cool

We Real Cool I think was my favorite poem that we’ve read in English. To me We Real Cool was about some high school teenagers that were “too cool for school.” They were very carefree and just lived life to have fun as teenagers. I think that they did their work in school but I also think they were very rebellious. They said that once they leave school they “lurk late,” in my eyes this means they come home when they want, despite their curfew. After lurking late they say that they also strike straight, I’m not sure what this exactly means but some research on the internet said that they were inquiring in some “funny business” in the middle of the night—maybe drugs. Not making any judgments though! They “sing sin,” I think this means they do wrong openly without thinking about the consequences. When I hear the phrase “singing sin” I think about singing a song with a handful of cuss words in front of Pastor. “We thin gin” to me sounds like they drink alcohol along with the other rebellious ways, why not throw that in there too. We “Jazz June” of course means sexual intercourse from the book, this is typical for most teenagers. And lastly, they “die soon,” I guess from all of their sinning and rebellious ways this is how they describe their life in a nutshell.

Poetry

I happen to love poetry. Some poetry. My favorite type of poetry is the poetry that leaves you with a deep thought about life and what you’re doing to affect your own world and thoughts. If deep enough, poetry usually leaves me with a feeling of inner power. On the other hand, when it comes to poetry that is assigned to me through school, I usually have to be very concentrated on whatever I am reading in order to fully understand the meaning behind it. For instance, Retired Greyhound, I, the dog was talking about the fact that his owner passed away because there was no one to through the toy rabbit to him anymore. I had to read really between the lines to understand what the dog was saying.  This poem was very sad. It seemed as though he was in the house alone, but I am unsure of that. Poems are not like stories where you can just go from word-to-word and have a meaning from each sentence. In essence, the whole poem is a sentence with a subject and a predicate that you as a reader have to connect. Poetry frees the mind and strengthens one’s intelligence.

Essay #4

I am so glad that Sweeney gave us a curve on Essay # 4. When he said that we do not have to write about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay it was like a big weight lifted off of my shoulders! I did start the book and I actually got to the middle of the book but I was really behind. I was so far behind that I had to read 50 pages a night in order to finish the book in time! I am so thankful Professor Sweeney. That was really nice of him! Now I am just trying to figure out what I want to write on for option 2. I am so confused. He says that it has to be from 2 different literary genres, I am just unsure what to write about. I was thinking about writing on one of my favorite movies and comparing it to a book that I’ve read. I will figure something out! I surely hope that I can get all of this work done in the class by the end of this semester. I am so far behind. I will never procrastinate to this point again!! At least this is a learning experience.

The Glass Menagerie

This story was very interesting to me. I think that Laura was my favorite character because she reminded me of myself in a way. Laura was very shy and introverted; she never wanted anyone to notice her. Her brother, Tom, tried to get Laura and his buddy Jim from work together as a couple but Tom did not know that Jim was engaged to be married. Laura had the biggest crush on Jim in high school but Jim never knew, she was always so shy. In the heat of the moment, Jim and Laura shared a kiss that was quickly stopped because Jim snapped back to reality, remembering that he had a fiancé. Laura was not very upset about the news as I would have been. He should not have agreed to meet up with another woman if he had someone back at home. That was very irresponsible in my eyes. Before Jim left he ended up breaking an item from Laura’s menagerie accidentally but Laura was neither upset over that either. She actually told him to keep it. This was her way of saying I’m giving you a piece of the old me because I am no longer an outsider. I think in her head she was saying “I actually can get a guy, and can carry on a normal conversation with someone.” This was the beginning of the new her.

Sweeney's Essays

I really need to get caught up on my blogs and 2 essays. I really need to get started on Essay #3 ASAP! I already know what I want to write about but I just don’t know how to start it off. Sweeney’s class is one of the easiest classes I have ever taken but I still cannot manage to turn my assignments in on time. I really need help with time-management. English has never been one of my favorite subjects and I don’t think it ever will be. I really do not like the writing aspect of it. I need to get used to writing because I am going to have to do for the next 3-4 years of my (college) life. I guess I better start liking it huh? I usually do really well on papers and essays but the thought of going through research and actually putting together a masterpiece that some call a paper tires me out. I guess that sounds sort of lazy but this is very true for me. I need to get out of the mindset very quickly though. I know I will improve as the years go on but I really need to improve now also, seeing that it’s crunch-time!