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I really liked the diversity of the authors in this class. They all came from different background and different heritages, which is really what being an American is about. I would have like a little more history or traditional American literature to contrast it with, but I think we just had too much good stuff to fit it.

I picked The Painted Bird as my favorite novel, firstly because it went in chronological order with the plot, so it was easy to understand as far as the actions go, but it also had so many metaphors in it. I loved that every action could be made into a metaphor, like the painted bird being a metaphor for racism or the in-group/out-group mindset that people have. It was fascinating. I also liked the supernatural aspect of the story. I thought it really added some spice and interest to the story without completely taking me out of the modern age. I really connected well to this writing.

As for the theories, I liked the monomyth the best, but I didn’t think it was the most helpful. I loved how the monomyth was transcendental, like it always existed and always would exist, but I didn’t like how different people would match different sections of the monomyth to different parts of the story. It was like it was simple, but tricky at the same time. I felt that the allegory of the cave actually helped me the most in looking at the works, because it forced me to keep in mind where the character was coming from, what frees the character from the darkness, what they are enlightened to, what changes occur in them because of it, and if they can ever return. Instead of saying, “I think it’s here but you think it’s here,” like we were with the monomyth, I could say, “It’s here and here and you see it here so it’s really everywhere.” You could find the allegory everywhere and make different interpretations of it, but with the monomyth it seemed more like a matching game.

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Comments from Instructor:

Thanks for your feedback. I'm curious though. In your opinion, what is "traditional" American literature from the 20th century? All of these are bestsellers, most of them canonical. I do know what you mean about it seeming like there was too much. I did give two weeks per novel---remember, if this were a regular MWF course, you would have had a class meeting on ONE novel six times. We had to squeeze in the time of six classes into two. I also know what you mean about the monomyth not being the same for everyone. It shouldn't be though. Each of our own journeys are unique with unique "meanings" for us. So, we all see different things in these very complicated works. The simpler the work, e.g. "Little Red Riding Hood," the more likely that our interpretations of the monomyth will be more alike. Sounds like you've given it some real thought, thanks!

My favorite literature from this semester in class was The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. What I liked the most about this novel was learning about the “lost generation” and the expatriates. I feel a connection to the way that the characters in the novel lived because my Aunt and Uncle lived in England for four years and traveled all over Europe while they lived there. They have told me many stories about how different the lifestyle is in Europe. They loved to go out and drink and have lunch at the cafes. They have picture books filled with pictures of different places that they visited and buildings and houses that they liked. This gave me a setting that I pictured as I was reading through the book. This novel definitely reinforced my previous idea of the lifestyle in Europe.
Overall, my favorite theory that we learned about this semester in class was the Monomyth by Campbell. I had never heard of it before and I enjoyed applying it to everything. Every time I watch a movie now, I try to apply the Hero’s Journey to it in some way. It always seems to fit in there somewhere, I think it is amazing.

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Comments from Instructor:

I'm glad you got so much out of the course. Will you someday be an *expatriate* too? If so, please keep us posted here on the blog! Maybe you'll be the next expatriate author we'll all read about someday.

I can honestly say that I was not looking forward to taking this class at all. I do not like to read and knew that I would have to in order to finish this class and do well. I realized that I have never read a whole book in my life. I was assigned books to read in high school, but I always read spark notes. I slacked off and would not take the time to read the books. I did not like to do it and thought it was a waste of my time. This class was the first time that I actually read a book; I finished five over the course of the semester and got a great deal of benefits from this. I enjoyed reading the books that we read.
Johnny Got His Gun was my favorite book from the semester. I really thought I could connect with Joe and could almost feel what he was feeling. I know that you can never put yourself in that place, but there was so much description in the book that it helped so much. Also, I got to see that war really is an inhumane thing. Although it brings a great deal of good to countries at times, it can be so detrimental to the soldiers that have to fight in the war.
I think that learning about the Allegory in the Cave was very interesting. It helped a great deal because it can be related to psychology, which I did not know prior to taking this class. We discussed it in my Abnormal Psychology class the other day. I did not know that this theory could be related to so many things in psychology. I also liked learning about the Monomyth. I did not know about this before taking this course and did not realize that it can be applied to so much. The monomyth can be found in almost every movie and work of literature.

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Comments from Instructor:

Thanks Michelle, I'm happy that you found a way to apply anything you discovered on our journey in this course to your other courses. I'm all about making interdisciplinary connections whenever possible. I hope you will continue to read new books long after this course now!

Final Blog
Out of all of the books we read this semester my favorite was Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. The main reason I liked this novel is because I like stories that deal with the inner self and an inner monologue. In fact, for my own personal reading I usually pick a memoir, autobiography or biography. In addition, I am a pacifist and human rights advocate so it really hit me as a powerful piece of literary art. I also connected with Joe because my thought process is very similar to his.
I really took a lot from Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth as well. The monomyth made a lot of sense to me since I am an opera singer and the monomyth applies to so many stories used in opera like The Magic Flute and Orpheus in the Underworld. It also helps me to understand the reasons for the hero’s action and helps me with the characterization of different roles.
I would just like to add that I really enjoyed this course. This was something I had to take for education core. I’m a music major and I have a really hard time getting into classes that are not music related, but I really liked this course and got a lot out of it.

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Comments from Instructor:

Thanks Candice. And I like music majors! It was a pleasure to have you as a student in this course.

Teresa Wineland

American Literature

Dr. Lee Hobbs

May 1, 2008

While considering all of the literature we read throughout this semester I would have to say that I liked Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun the best. I found the tragedy of this novel shocking. I feel that this novel shows the true horror of war and what could potentially occur to soldiers fighting for our Country. Unless you are a member of the armed forces you can’t possible know the true horror they face on a daily basis. This helped to remind me about what today’s soldiers and their families are facing and fighting for.

In addition, this novel helped to reinforce that the human spirit is limitless. The way that Joe overcame his situation and made communication with the world possible is incomprehensible.

I also appreciated the psychological theory the best out of all of the theories discussed in class. I think this is because my major is human services and I plan to go on to be a therapist. I tend to look at the characters in literature and try to locate their inner struggles as opposed to what is openly apparent and readily available to the reader. I enjoy seeing a character overcome a situation or gain the empowerment needed to survive a particular circumstance.

I found this class challenging and at times overwhelming; however, I feel that to know one’s true potential a challenge is necessary. I appreciate all of the time and effort you took as an instructor to share your knowledge with us and push us to achieve our best.

Because I am an English major, I have certain expectations for lit classes when I go into them. I thought this class would be just like all of my other American lit or British lit classes, in that we would be discussing "Classic" literature (otherwise known by most non-English majors as stuffy, old books), but I kind of like that stuff, so I was fine with that. My expectations weren't met, and I'm glad! I really liked the fact that I've only read two other works before this class ("A Jury of Her Peers" and "Fences). I thoroughly enjoyed reading some different, modern material.

Hemingway was my favorite author that we read this semester. I love how literature can take a 21st century girl like myself, and place me back in the "Lost Generation." Learning about that lavish lifestyle was so interesting for me; I kind of wish I was there! It was also interesting to see the effects of life post-war for the characters. I find it fascinating how the insecurity and the issues of masculinity can be traced directly to the war. Brett's strong character also made my inner feminist come out.

The theory that I found most interesting was Campbell's monomyth. It was one of those things that when you hear it, it just clicks! I couldn't help but thinking, "Wow, why haven't I ever realized this before?" I now find myself applying the monomyth to everything that I watch on TV and that I read.

During class I decided that I liked Dalton Trumbo’s Novel, “Johnny Got His Gun” the best out of any of the other novels or short stories that we read because of the amount of detail in the story and also the amount irony that was entailed in the story. I actually felt bad for the protagonist after reading this story. In addition to Trumbo’s novel, I liked Plato’s Allegory of the Cave because I had never been introduced to this theory before, and after learning and researching it, I really enjoyed learning about it.

Thomas A.

I love to read in my free time, however, I realized that I never get around to reading until summer time because school is so demanding. In the summer time, I fly through novels, mostly romance and drama. I was dreading taking this course because I thought the books we would have to read would be boring, confusing, and/or too difficult to comprehend. With taking 16 other credits and working at a 120 hour internship, it was very challenging finding the time to read five novels. However, I managed, and I enjoyed many of the novels that were assigned and I am glad I had the opportunity to read texts I would have never picked up if had they not been required. I enjoyed reading Johnny’s Got His Gun and the Painted Bird the most out of the novels, and I enjoyed reading all of the short stories as well, especially On the Road.
The Painted Bird told a story of events that could have or really did happen during the Holocaust. It was very informative and it tugged on my heart strings. I couldn’t put the text down, because I wanted to know what happened to the little boy next. I was very cinematic to me and the protagonist seemed very real. As a future educator, I plan to educate my students about the Holocaust, but on an elementary level. This book painted a picture to show what it was really like during that time period, so it will only help make me a better history teacher.
For my research paper, I connected two of my favorite texts and one theory together. Those texts were Johnny’s Got His Gun and On the Road, and the theory was the hero’s journey. I enjoyed learning about the monomyth and found it very beneficial to understand the cycle. I will take what I learned from the monomyth cycle on with me as a future educator because it clearly describes a hero’s journey, which may be helpful in teaching it to young children. I sympathized with the protagonists from Johnny’s Got His Gun and On the Road and I admired how strong willed they remained during extreme circumstances. Even though these texts were not bright and happy, they were enjoyable to read.

Amanda S.

Amanda Farabaugh
Final Homework Blog
May 1, 2008

Out of all the books we’ve read, I like Dalton Trumbo’s “Johnny Got His Gun” the most. The book had an interesting plot and was a good read. At first, I didn’t understand that there were flashbacks and after a few chapters it was clear to me. I enjoy reading books on war and the outcome it has on individuals. It touched me at the end when the doctors were unable to give him what he wanted. If that were I, I would not want machines to keep me alive. I couldn’t bear the idea of how that man did it. The book reminded me of courage of one man’s life, struggling to make it under t she circumstances he was put in.

The theory I liked most was the Monomyth by Joseph Campbell. It is an interesting perspective that can be put to any novel, story, etc. With more complex readings, the Monomyth can help you understand more about the protagonist and what they are going through. I enjoyed knowing how the theory works with stories. I liked putting the Monomyth to use within the books and short stories we were reading.

This class is so interesting, we talked about a lot of books and little stories in the class. Everyone of them have some special meaning and really worth to learn it. I loving reading but before I stat this class before, it’s so hard for me to sit and read a whole book in English because English is my second language. When I try to read a book I always have problem to be focused on it. And now I think I can do it after this class.
My favorite book in this semester we discussed in class is “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, Walker talked about how people changed when they had be influenced by different culture, which is actually similar to me. It is very confused about when all those culture shock and things from other culture come to me. That’s why I like it.
The leaning about the “Allegory in the Cave” is also interesting. I used to know this in the Psychology class, but I didn’t know what exactly it is. This class actually give me some examples when Mr. Hobbs asked us to find things linked with it in those books.

Although I can appreciate each piece of literature in it's own way, my favorite book in this call was The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. Perhaps it was because the cast of characters drinking and socializing their lives away reminded me of the people from my early twenties. Or perhaps it was because I could appreciate Lady Brett's style of being who she was without apologizing. But mostly I think it was because I appreciate the style of Hemingway, and his ability to make so many characters important to the story, not just the protagtonist. I still also believe that this is a love story in it's truest form...knowing who you want, but not being able to have them.
The theory of the metaphor "fences" was my favorite theoretical model. The monomyth, although very popular always seems to fit best in science fiction type material. Plato's Allegory of the Cave , while true, is very overdone. I could connect with the idea of tearing down fences to let people in on a very emotional level. I could also connect it to the world today, with countries building fences to keep their people in, and their neighbors out.

For me, my favorite literature was Hemingway's, "The Sun Also Rises". Within the book were multiple characters and multiple situations in which all the character's drama was intertwined. I have spent many days and night within the Oakland setting. I found, while reading this book, that my Oakland friends and the characters from the novel shared similar characteristics. I feel that this ultimately peaked my initial interest. And, being one of the first novels the class read, really helped keep me the most interested.

The second pick of mine was The Hero's Journey. I tend to be a very audio and visual person. So, for me, knowing about this pattern will help me understand movies and music better. Also, I feel that it will make them, (whether books, movies, or music) more exciting and more interesting to follow. It has more or less increased my critical thinking skills within watching/reading stories.

As someone who really is not a faithful reader and or someone who is not an English person in anyway, I sure did pull a lot out of this class. I was defiantly not looking forward to this course at all and I have never found myself being excited about picking up a book and reading it. I think now though, that I would actually venture out to pursue a novel and enjoy it. On top of that, I see myself thinking critically about each one that I would read. I think the book selections were the best possible, for my situation at least. I feel overall this was a good course for me to take and that you, Dr. Hobbs, were the best instructor choice, for me at least, in this course.

Heather Stull
Dr. Hobbs
EL267.01
5-1-08
I really enjoyed the diversity of the texts in this class. My favorite example of 20th century American literature was Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated. I think that his style of writing is very refreshing…I didn’t quite know what to expect as I was reading the book and I really enjoyed that. It wasn’t predictable. I was intrigued by the subject matter of this book also. Knowing a little of the author’s history and experiences, I found it very interesting how he approached the subject of Judaism. I feel that perhaps he was struggling with his own feelings on the subject and that it is something the reader gets to share with him as they are reading the book and trying to figure everything out.
I enjoyed all of the theories that we studied but Joseph Campbell’s monomyth really stood out for me. I really enjoyed watching the documentary about him (maybe you could let me know the name of it?). Although it is obviously there, I had never really thought much about it before. I found all of the sub-phases to be really interesting. I found myself thinking about it a lot when I was working on my research paper. It was interesting to see how it existed in Kosinski’s novel and Everything is Illuminated.
This class was very interesting to me and I was grateful for the opportunity to discover some authors I had never heard of before, particularly the authors of the short stories and August Wilson. I was glad that you did include some women authors but I would have really enjoyed reading a novel written by a woman as well. I thought that the theoretical approaches were all valuable. Even though the study of racial/ethnic/gender conflict is sort of a “fallback” as you had said, I was able to pick up on things I hadn’t noticed my first time reading through the text, when we had our discussions about it in class. I think a mixture of whole class discussion and group activities would work better than doing group work the majority of the time. Often it seemed like there were too many activities and I think the review of some of the group work was often cut short because of time issues. I feel that there was a lot of discussion that we missed out on. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the blog and being able to track everything we did over the course of the class. I also thought it was very valuable to have film and other media incorporated into the class. I am a new student in the field of writing/literature and due to family/child commitments I am working through school very slowly. I am open to any texts that you might suggest on literary theory or any great literature that you would highly recommend…thanks!!

Shayla Sorrells
In class we have read many different stories this semester. My all time favorite one would have to be Alice Walker’s Everyday Use. First of all, I liked it because it was a very easy read. It wasn’t too long or too hard to understand. Secondly I loved that little bit of sibling rivalry between Dee and Maggie. Even though they didn’t really argue that much in the story, the reader could still tell that Maggie felt a little inferior to her older sister because of her looks and intelligence. I think that this truly added uniqueness to the story because without it, the story would have been incredibly boring. I also liked the fact that it was so realistic. I think that the sibling rivalry, Dee’s big identity change and mama’s having to make the tough decision were very realistic factors. I am very glad that I got the chance to read this story.
The most interesting thing that we learned in class this semester in the monomyth. I had never heard of this theory until we learned it in class. After I really thought about the concept of it, I realized that every character in the story goes through a journey sort of like the monomyth. Overall I thought this class was a major challenge but in the end it taught about many diverse authors and stories.

Choosing my favorite reading was difficult. I settled on Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises as my favorite due to the fact that I felt I could relate to the writing. I did find a personal relation with the characters, specifically Brett. This made what I thought would be a completely unpalatable text more enjoyable. After our dissection of the piece, I was able to appreciate Hemingway for the great author he was.

I also felt a personal connection with Fences, relating that piece to my childhood. I also found a correlation of sorts when reading Foer’s novel. My current profession as a writer allowed me to draw inspiration from this amazing work.

I appreciated viewing the texts with a psychologically-based thought process. This allowed me to experience a more personal relationship with the characters.

My favorite novel out of all the ones we read was Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated. Even though starting out the book was confusing, the way it was set up made it more interesting to pull the whole story together, and is what I liked most about the novel. I found it easy to relate to the novel because of the ages of the two protagonists, Jonathan, and Alex. They are around the same age are as me.

My favorite theory was Plato’s Allegory of the cave. For me it was easy to grasp and put together that light led to truth, and the darkness of the cave was ignorance. I had not been introduced to this theory before this class, and it was interesting to try and think of something like that actually happening somewhere.

I really enjoyed the diversity of books we went over in class, as well as the short stories. I find that with out even realizing it, I’m seeing metaphors and symbolisms everywhere. This class has definitely been an illuminating experience to the works, styles, and structures of literature.

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*NOTE* The deadline for this particular assignment has now passed. Any comments listed below are *ONLY* for the reposting of comments that I specifically asked to be revised or are ones from non-student posters. Any 'student' posts below that missed the assignment deadline will not get credit for the assignment. ~ Dr. Hobbs