Hands down my favorite reading in this class was Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried. I had read the book several years ago, and just love the way he writes. I recommend anyone else that liked the short story to go out and get the book, you won’t be disappointed.
Another thing that struck me is how much I liked Edgar Allan Poe, both of the readings for this class I had read in high school, which was too long ago to want to admit, but I never ‘pondered weak and weary, about how dark and dreary he was.’ I not only would read The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart again, but ordered a collection of Poe’s work just the other day, in order to read more.
As far as things I could use a deeper understanding of, or just plain didn’t like, was most of the assigned poetry, I just don’t get enough pleasure out of it in exchange for all of the work required to decipher it. Call me unrefined, but where poetry is concerned, I will stick to Shel Silverstien and dirty limericks.
The other reading that I found disturbing was Flannery O’Conner’s; A Good Man is Hard to Find. It isn’t that I didn’t understand it, and I found her story telling to be quite captivating, but I was completely upended by the cruelty of it. I know that this kind of cruelty exists in life, but I would like to avoid it in literature. That said, it was great for a class like this, because it requires a reaction, which I would say is true of most of the assigned readings for this class. Nothing allowed you to passively read a story, everything invoked an opinion, such as in A Good Man is Hard to Find or the Tell-Tale Heart, or to pick a side, like in Everyday Use or Oleanna.
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That is very interesting I didnt even know they had a book about the "The Things They Carried," I bet it was very good, because I loved the short story. It is always interesting to read about war stories, they bring up so much emotion in you. I like it because I love to say my opinions, and see what other people think as well. I also thought the story "A Good Man is Hard to Find," was very disturbing. It had a lot of sad parts involved. I really was confused when I read it. I think I should read it one more time, because I was confused to why he killed her in the end. I really did not like many of the poems, but I did like "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," I really think you should read it if you have not yet. I really enjoyed reading your post you made some really good picks of literature.
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