I really enjoyed being in this class for the last two quarters. Originally, I was nervous and scared to be writing as much as we have because writing is not my strong suit. I was afraid I'd fall behind. While there was definitely plenty of initial struggle in the transition from high school writing to college writing, I feel like I have improved a lot as a writer. In particular, I have improved on writing research papers, something that was a serious endeavor for me in high school. Aside bettering my writing skills, I appreciated this class for all of the time periods we learned about. I also really enjoyed doing projects such as Neatline which incorporated map-based research. Learning about cultures from different time periods and different physical locations really widened my scope of the world. I was born in the United States when it was already considered one of the most powerful countries in the world. For that reason, my perspective is very limited and it is easy for me to believe that Western Culture is superior. However, I've learned from this course that it is not superior and there are many other foundations of culture that have been successful throughout time.
Min Jin Lee's writing style in Pachinko is incredibly unique. I can't remember the last time I encountered a novel told from a third-person omniscient point of view. This allows Lee to write about all of the characters effectively and give the reader a more intimate perspective of each character. I really enjoy this writing style choice because I like knowing what each character is thinking and doing so I can understand everything in its context as best as possible. In terms of writing style, Pachinko reminds me the most of Tommy Orange's There There. In his novel, Orange weaves in multiple different characters in the storyline which allows the reader to understand the thoughts of each character. Lee does this in Pachinko, too. However, one main difference between the two novels is that Pachinko uses third-person omniscient while There There has multiple narrators since each character talks in first person in their respective sections. Also, the events that take ...
Hi James! I also feel grateful to be able to explore so many texts from a non-western perspective. Most of the literature I've read, even when there are poignant themes of racism and the like, are western in nature, so I'm glad I got to expand my horizons a little bit more.
ReplyDeleteHi James! I totally agree in the respect of not knowing or understanding much about other cultures and how they may be better than western culture. Growing up in the US, I feel as if we are taught that it is superior and learn little about how other cultures do things better. Through this course, I was able to realize that just because a culture is different, it doesn't mean that it is better or worse.
ReplyDeleteResearch papers were definitely a place of growth for ma as well. I had never done this time of formal, peer-reviewed research before. I'm glad I learned how to efficiently navigate the university library website to decipher which sources are well-researched and reliable, and which ones do not make good supporting evidence. Those are skills I hope to continue to evolve throughout college.
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