My initial English 102 class I knew was going to be a bore and I had no idea that various professors taught from different aspects to get their points across until I had to alter my schedule and landed in section 0855. You can only imagine how elated I was on my first day of class when I saw that it was computer based. After that, the supernatural aspect kicked in and I was ecstatic. Finally a class that I could learn in while remaining fully interested in the subject! As a result, I learned quite a bit in this class. I learned about the hero's quest, how to better interpret symbolism, and about archetypes. Prior to this class, I was unaware that archetypes and a hero's quest even existed! I feel that better interpreting symbolism was the most important and beneficial thing that I learned this semester because it can be used in everyday life. My Goblin Market blog entry expresses the value of actively interpreting symbolism. For example, I noted in my entry that Goblin Market referred to wombats, snails, and rats, which I believe reveals society's classification of Laura and Lizzie as well as their need to burrow and hide.
One class member in particular caught my attention during the first peer review and that was Jacklin Bik. I think I was mainly intrigued by our common interest in vampires as was evident from her entry on Vampire’s Gift; however, I found Jacklin's Goblin Market blog entry to be very interesting. When she incorporated the moon's cycles into the poem she created more depth to the poem. By doing this, she reminded me of how people used to read the stars and the moon to create stories and to provide evidence to support their beliefs. Jacklin also reminded me that poems can be based on and interpreted beyond Earth's physical capacities. Jacklin said, “Moon: Cycles and changes. The moon changes shape throughout the month. Line 148 The sister begins to tell a story of a girl who had eaten the goblin fruit and perished. She "met them in the moonlight," so the temptation to eat goblin fruit is again associated with "moonlight “The author wanted us to understand that the moon has cycles, like the girl who ate the forbidden fruit had with her emotions.” Jacklin’s ability to relate this part of Goblin Market to the cycles of the moon also reminded me of why Christ’s birthday is celebrated on December 25th. The lining up of our moon, Venus, and Jupiter shows the relationship between Christ, God, and Lucifer on the 21st of December. It was decided to celebrate His birthday four days after the winter solstice because each day would represent Christ, God, Lucifer, and Christ’s rebirth. Incorporating this belief into Jacklin’s deciphering of the moon’s changes also revealed the poem’s heavy religious background and theme.
Overall, this class and my classmates have been extremely beneficial to my present and future life. I am now better able to understand movies, books, and poems because of the amount of depth this class has brought to my mind. Wish you all the best!
