How would you describe this class as opposed to your other English classes?
This class makes us write a lot more than other English classes, and asks us what we think of the text as opposed to just answering questions about it.
Was the instruction clear? If not, how can it be improved?
The instruction was clear enough.
How would you describe yourself as a student?
I'm an okay student. I do my work and if I feel I have something to contribute to a discussion I participate.
Are there policies you think are unfair? Explain.
I think most of the policies were pretty fair.
Did you like the literary circles? Why? Why not?
I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean by literary circles. But I liked most of the course, so I'm sure I liked that too.
What book did you like the most?
I would say that the book I'm happiest we read was the Bible, just because it's a really important text and I would probably never had read it on my own.
What book did you like the least?
I didn't like the myths. There were too many of them and after a while they were all the same.
Was there a book you didn’t read? Which? Why?
I didn't read the last Gospel we were supposed to read. I was lazy during vacation and just thought I'd do it when I got back. Then I had tons of stuff to catch up with and I became lazy again.
Would you recommend this class to a friend? Why? Why not?
Whether or not I would recommend this class to a friend depends on which friend we're talking about. If my friend loved to read and write and didn't mind working hard I'd highly recommend it, but if not I'd tell him or her to stay away.
What do you think you’ll take away from this?
I think I've learned to look deeper into texts, and maybe to take them a bit more seriously.
sábado, 26 de enero de 2008
lunes, 21 de enero de 2008
Njal's Saga, Chapters 78-92
These chapters focused mostly on Njal's sons and some new characters, such a Harpp and Thrain.
Njalssons went raiding for a while, and though they were very successful they landed into some trouble. To cut a long story short, they made some new friends, made some new enemies, had a fight with them, and won.
Harpp was one of those enemies, as well as Thrain. Harpp was a cruel man who liked killing, and Thrain was his friend. They were both killed in an ambush by Njalssons.
I liked the way Thrain kept fooling the Earl when he was was looking for Harpp. It was funny the way they would hide Harpp somewhere, the Earl would come, not find him, then on his way back realize where he probably was, turn back, and Harpp would have been put somewhere else. Very clever and amusing.
The Icelandics seem to value honor a lot, and obviously honor comes from killing people you don't like, and always fighting till death, which was mentioned when people had to fight impossible odds, or when there was a fight going on between Njalssons and Harpp. I think honor is a nice concept, but it should be gained in more peaceful ways then fighting till you died and murdering people who insult you. I like the fact that Njal is very well-known and honored although he has yet to be shown to kill anyone, even though he doesn't seem to disapprove of it. If that's how people judged you back then, it says a lot Njal that he could be respected despite the fact he wasn't a bloodthirsty warrior.
Njalssons went raiding for a while, and though they were very successful they landed into some trouble. To cut a long story short, they made some new friends, made some new enemies, had a fight with them, and won.
Harpp was one of those enemies, as well as Thrain. Harpp was a cruel man who liked killing, and Thrain was his friend. They were both killed in an ambush by Njalssons.
I liked the way Thrain kept fooling the Earl when he was was looking for Harpp. It was funny the way they would hide Harpp somewhere, the Earl would come, not find him, then on his way back realize where he probably was, turn back, and Harpp would have been put somewhere else. Very clever and amusing.
The Icelandics seem to value honor a lot, and obviously honor comes from killing people you don't like, and always fighting till death, which was mentioned when people had to fight impossible odds, or when there was a fight going on between Njalssons and Harpp. I think honor is a nice concept, but it should be gained in more peaceful ways then fighting till you died and murdering people who insult you. I like the fact that Njal is very well-known and honored although he has yet to be shown to kill anyone, even though he doesn't seem to disapprove of it. If that's how people judged you back then, it says a lot Njal that he could be respected despite the fact he wasn't a bloodthirsty warrior.
Njal's Saga, Chapters 60-77
I hadn't realized there was a glossary in the back of the book. The Thing, apparently, is a meeting that happened between all the free men of Iceland once a year, where friends met and disputes were settled. Not quite as mysterious as I thought, but it makes a lot of sense.
These chapters continue, and end, the tale of Gunnar.
Gunnar gets into some more fights, each time being ambushed by about thirty men, killing a bunch, wounding some more, and getting a friend killed, yet winning in the end. The first time he gets away by charging the men who attacked him of outlawry, but the second time he's sentenced to three years abroad. He chooses not to go, even though he'd killed two people from the same bloodline and Njal had had a prophecy that if he did that, then broke his settlement, he would be killed.
That's what I find interesting about the death of Gunnar. In the end he sort of slayed himself by doing several stupid mistakes. First he didn't listen to Njal's advice, then he didn't listen to his mother's advice, and in the end it was his own exhaustion that killed him. I guess that since no man could kill him, he had to kill himself.
R.I.P., Gunnar.
Another thing I found appalling was Hallgerd's behavior towards Gunnar in the end. He asks for some hair to make a bow string, believing that as long as he has a bow he can save himself. She replies that she had not forgotten his slap, years ago, and so she fed him to the wolves. I find this horrible and ruthless, and I hope she ends up dying a slow and painful death. Njal was right; she brought nothing but evil to the the East.
These chapters continue, and end, the tale of Gunnar.
Gunnar gets into some more fights, each time being ambushed by about thirty men, killing a bunch, wounding some more, and getting a friend killed, yet winning in the end. The first time he gets away by charging the men who attacked him of outlawry, but the second time he's sentenced to three years abroad. He chooses not to go, even though he'd killed two people from the same bloodline and Njal had had a prophecy that if he did that, then broke his settlement, he would be killed.
That's what I find interesting about the death of Gunnar. In the end he sort of slayed himself by doing several stupid mistakes. First he didn't listen to Njal's advice, then he didn't listen to his mother's advice, and in the end it was his own exhaustion that killed him. I guess that since no man could kill him, he had to kill himself.
R.I.P., Gunnar.
Another thing I found appalling was Hallgerd's behavior towards Gunnar in the end. He asks for some hair to make a bow string, believing that as long as he has a bow he can save himself. She replies that she had not forgotten his slap, years ago, and so she fed him to the wolves. I find this horrible and ruthless, and I hope she ends up dying a slow and painful death. Njal was right; she brought nothing but evil to the the East.
Njal's Saga, Chapters 60-77
I hadn't realized there was a glossary in the back of the book. The Thing, apparently, is a meeting that happened between all the free men of Iceland once a year, where friends met and disputes were settled. Not quite as mysterious as I thought, but it makes a lot of sense.
These chapters continue, and end, the tale of Gunnar.
Gunnar gets into some more fights, each time being ambushed by about thirty men, killing a bunch, wounding some more, and getting a friend killed, yet winning in the end. The first time he gets away by charging the men who attacked him of outlawry, but the second time he's sentenced to three years abroad. He chooses not to go, even though he'd killed two people from the same bloodline and Njal had had a prophecy that if he did that, then broke his settlement, he would be killed.
That's what I find interesting about the death of Gunnar. In the end he sort of slayed himself by doing several stupid mistakes. First he didn't listen to Njal's advice, then he didn't listen to his mother's advice, and in the end it was his own exhaustion that killed him. I guess that since no man could kill him, he had to kill himself.
R.I.P., Gunnar.
Another thing I found appalling was Hallgerd's behavior towards Gunnar in the end. He asks for some hair to make a bow string, believing that as long as he has a bow he can save himself. She replies that she had not forgotten his slap, years ago, and so she fed him to the wolves. I find this horrible and ruthless, and I hope she ends up dying a slow and painful death. Njal was right; she brought nothing but evil the the East.
These chapters continue, and end, the tale of Gunnar.
Gunnar gets into some more fights, each time being ambushed by about thirty men, killing a bunch, wounding some more, and getting a friend killed, yet winning in the end. The first time he gets away by charging the men who attacked him of outlawry, but the second time he's sentenced to three years abroad. He chooses not to go, even though he'd killed two people from the same bloodline and Njal had had a prophecy that if he did that, then broke his settlement, he would be killed.
That's what I find interesting about the death of Gunnar. In the end he sort of slayed himself by doing several stupid mistakes. First he didn't listen to Njal's advice, then he didn't listen to his mother's advice, and in the end it was his own exhaustion that killed him. I guess that since no man could kill him, he had to kill himself.
R.I.P., Gunnar.
Another thing I found appalling was Hallgerd's behavior towards Gunnar in the end. He asks for some hair to make a bow string, believing that as long as he has a bow he can save himself. She replies that she had not forgotten his slap, years ago, and so she fed him to the wolves. I find this horrible and ruthless, and I hope she ends up dying a slow and painful death. Njal was right; she brought nothing but evil the the East.
domingo, 20 de enero de 2008
Njal's Saga, Chapters 39-59
I'm glad we seem to be done with Hellgar and Njal's wife. All their sending servants out to kill each other was getting old, and if they hated each other that much they should have met face to face and fought it out, not sent others to kill innocent people who'd done nothing wrong.
We also hear a bit about Gunnar and his adventures. First he kills about eight men, and somehow manages to get away with it; then he goes horse fighting and wins. He and Njal are still good friends, despite the feud between their wives, and they still manage to work everything out between themselves.
Reading this books really makes you realize how wild the world must have been back then. The only punishment for killing someone is a fine, and people seem to do that a lot, you can have huge fights where a bunch of men are killed in broad daylight, and then still manage to get out of any problems when you're being judged, and people burn each others houses for food. Iceland must have been one scary place.
We also hear a bit about Gunnar and his adventures. First he kills about eight men, and somehow manages to get away with it; then he goes horse fighting and wins. He and Njal are still good friends, despite the feud between their wives, and they still manage to work everything out between themselves.
Reading this books really makes you realize how wild the world must have been back then. The only punishment for killing someone is a fine, and people seem to do that a lot, you can have huge fights where a bunch of men are killed in broad daylight, and then still manage to get out of any problems when you're being judged, and people burn each others houses for food. Iceland must have been one scary place.
Njal's Saga, Chapters 30-38
What's the Thing? Everyone always going there, but honestly the name the Thing doesn't tell us much about the nature of the thing. Is it just some convenient excuse to send all the men away so that their wives can kill each other's slaves unmolested? I sort of like the name, though. The Thing. It sounds so exotic and mysterious.
These were particularly violent chapters. First it was Gunnar and his raiding, with some very descriptive fight scenes, which I found, in all honesty, boring and too masculine for me. But then Njal and Gunnar's wives had some disagreement over their nails, and they proved themselves quite as fierce as their hubbies by sending their servants to kill each other while their husbands were at the Thing and then bragging about it. I wonder if that was just the character of those particular ladies or if all women had that kind of mentality back then.
Another thing I find interesting is that people very often say, "Well, if that's meant to happen, so be it," and do whatever they want to do. I find that a very Christian belief. God has everything planned out, so I can do whatever I want and if things turn out bad it was His will. I think it's a very lazy belief. I could easily say, "Well, I don't want to do this blog, and if I flunk English it's God's will and not my fault," then go watch TV, but that would simply be an excuse for laziness or lack of judgment. It's a stupid thing to say/think.
These were particularly violent chapters. First it was Gunnar and his raiding, with some very descriptive fight scenes, which I found, in all honesty, boring and too masculine for me. But then Njal and Gunnar's wives had some disagreement over their nails, and they proved themselves quite as fierce as their hubbies by sending their servants to kill each other while their husbands were at the Thing and then bragging about it. I wonder if that was just the character of those particular ladies or if all women had that kind of mentality back then.
Another thing I find interesting is that people very often say, "Well, if that's meant to happen, so be it," and do whatever they want to do. I find that a very Christian belief. God has everything planned out, so I can do whatever I want and if things turn out bad it was His will. I think it's a very lazy belief. I could easily say, "Well, I don't want to do this blog, and if I flunk English it's God's will and not my fault," then go watch TV, but that would simply be an excuse for laziness or lack of judgment. It's a stupid thing to say/think.
Njal's Saga, Chapters 19-29
I actually started reading the book from chapter one, just because I hate starting a book in the middle and ending up spending the rest of the book trying to figure out what's going on. It must have helped, because I don't find the names nearly as confusing as everyone else seems to, even though sometimes I do have to pause and remind myself of who so-and-so is.
Anyway, though the book is a bit strange and confusing, I think I'll really like it once we get deeper into the plot, which I haven't quite figured out yet. There are all the stories about marriages and divorces and murders and war, and though in the back it says that the saga's a "chronicle of a fifty-year blood feud," I haven't seen many signs of that yet. Certainly there are a lot of murders, especially of Hoskuld's son-in-laws, but they seem more concerned about making peace than starting a half-century blood feud.
I also like two things about the saga: the fact that women seem more independent than in other books we've read, and the fact the Njal isn't some brave and blood-thirsty warrior, which is what I'd imagined, but a brilliant and relatively peaceful man. It's a refreshing change.
Anyway, though the book is a bit strange and confusing, I think I'll really like it once we get deeper into the plot, which I haven't quite figured out yet. There are all the stories about marriages and divorces and murders and war, and though in the back it says that the saga's a "chronicle of a fifty-year blood feud," I haven't seen many signs of that yet. Certainly there are a lot of murders, especially of Hoskuld's son-in-laws, but they seem more concerned about making peace than starting a half-century blood feud.
I also like two things about the saga: the fact that women seem more independent than in other books we've read, and the fact the Njal isn't some brave and blood-thirsty warrior, which is what I'd imagined, but a brilliant and relatively peaceful man. It's a refreshing change.
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