Blog Entry Week 4 - More than just a fleeting emotion~

✍ Blog Entry Week 4 – The Literary Experience 🎭

 

    Throughout my schooling life, especially during primary school, I was indeed a bookworm. Not as much as the audacious sort that would devour every single book they could find, and not even the casual reader, who would pick up a book out of mere boredom or when necessary. No, I was somewhere in the middle; I read because it was quite necessary and I enjoyed the sensation and thrill one may experience through the adventures portrayed in said books.

    One of the authors that I recall reading many books from, was none other than Enid Blyton. Born in 1897, and passed on in 1968, she definitely made a huge impact worldwide, as almost everybody who read English storybooks as a child most definitely read Enid Blyton’s craft. Her style was impeccable, and being curious as well as inquisitive children, it satisfied us and gave us more to imagine about. It is only natural, that as the human body ages, so does the mind and therefore, we move on to other genres of books, like books meant for young adults, genres of fiction and non-fiction, literature, fantasies and science fiction (sci-fi). That, is exactly how English Literature came to be one of my favourite subjects. Language came so very naturally to me, in terms of expressiveness, creativeness, and critical analysis of texts.

    All of this led to my decision to take Literature in English for STPM, so much so that I moved schools just to register for the subject. I could have said no, and just remained in my alma mater to complete my Sixth Form studies, but I knew that I would regret it, and so I took the first of many steps. I know my beginning took time to read, but that is exactly my intention, to make you, dear reader, understand and realise my passion for language and literature. It may not be my major now in university, but I certainly do try my best to take as many literary-related courses as possible.

    For my cohort (2019/2020) In STPM, students registered under Literature in English are required to study different genres in literature, such as Poetry and Short Stories (1^st Semester), Plays (2^nd Semester), and finally, Novels (3^rd Semester). Most students tend to denote the 1^st Semester as the hardest of the three for this paper, but all I will say for this matter is; to each their own. Read on for my take on all the literary texts used and my experience for each semester.

“How hard can Literature be? It’s just learning the meaning of the sentence and why the Author wrote that right?”

As people of Literature, you would have probably heard something along the lines of that ignorant sentence way too many times for comfort. Someone whom I highly regard once said that Literature is about the "powerful overflow of thoughts and feelings", and that description has stuck with me ever since.💕

 

~Poetry and Short Stories – 1^st Semester ~

 

    I will admit, generally the first semester of your Sixth Form life is by far the easiest way to feel extremely overwhelmed by the amount of work demanded by each subject, and it can be immensely difficult to find a balance. However, fret not as you will learn to cope and tune in with your very own rhythm to how things work. Poetry and Short Stories isn’t my favourite, but I’ve written some pretty good poetry (or so I’ve been told) before, and I just might share it with you in the upcoming entries, so do stay tuned for more as usual. Cutting straight to the matter at hand, I had to learn 22 poems and 12 short stories, with mixed levels of difficulty. The way that I utilised to study each and every poem and short story, is to read it over and over, and then get a file to record all your own notes about the poem/short story being analysed. In class, we were taught to separate our analysis into shorter but simpler terms, so it could be used for our own revision. Trust me, as much as you are a great essay writer, you would want to learn how to shorten your own sentences for your own reading, as you would probably get frustrated by your own essays by being so long for revision. Anyway, my classmates and I were also required to curate our own presentations for the poems and short stories, so that we can all learn together. Poetry is fun and expressive, but Short Stories require more attention to literate details. Read the poem aloud, re-enact scenes from the short stories; all this would help you in what gives you an A grade paper, ⭐Quotations⭐. It shows that you remember what the text is all about, and that you are able to breathe life into your own thoughts and words about the text.

 

~Plays – 2^nd Semester ~

 

    The second semester was when things truly started to get exciting (for me at least). We were given two plays to study and peruse for the entire semester, but let me tell you, one play is more than enough. The plays were “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, and “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare. Both plays are extremely different, so in order to get them both to “click” in your mind, you need extensive reading on both plays. These include (but are not exhaustive to) the background of both authors, the mood, tone and settings of the play, the literary devices used in the play, the types, tropes and styles of characterisations in the play (not excluding the characters themselves), and many more. For example, In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, why is Beneatha Younger indicated as rebellious? Is it because she dares to speak her mind aloud, or is it really just the societal limitations on women in 1950s USA? What is the impact of Beneatha’s characterisation and how is it viewed then and today?. Or take “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare for example, would Orsino view Cesario in a romantic light if Viola was never exposed? Or perhaps would Maria ever be praised and be given full credit for fooling Malvolio?

    If I have confused you by the number of questions in the previous paragraph, I am not sorry, as that is exactly how I not only survived, but thrived in my 2^nd semester. Once you understand the notions of the characters, the moods, tones and settings used, the use of dialogues and their power, you become one with the play, and it feels as though you are the omniscient narrator that knows all and sees all, and that is what it means to conquer your paper; by knowing everything.

 

~Novels – 3^rd Semester ~

 

    The very last semester happened to be my favourite. I was particularly fond of both of the novels used, which are Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. I cannot recall the number of times I read both novels, to the point I knew what was going on in each chapter of the novel. Like I said before, if you know almost everything about the novel, thinking for ideas for your answers will come naturally. All it needs is distinct organisation and Priority of Importance (POI) for your points, and you are as good as gold. Remember all of those elements that I stated for Plays? You will be needing all of them and more for perusing these golden works of novels!    

    Pride and Prejudice will be a great introduction to High Society and Class Distinctions in 19^th century England, where marriage is a business transaction, a form of social and financial security for women, and desires and fantasies for men. If you loved Bridgerton, this would be a harsher world to discover. In my opinion, the most important literary device in this novel would be Irony, backed up by the very first line of the novel (which is also the most important quote of the entire novel if I do say so myself), which is~

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”

    You will go on to learn how women saw each other as rivals in the marriage market, and to what lengths their mothers would go to try and marry their daughters off into a rich family, especially a family of higher rank and title. As for the men, what about them exactly? I jest of course (or do I?), but you have to read the novel for yourself to further understand the kinds of scandals, misfortunes, and so-called happy endings lay about between the pages.

    The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan is an excellent novel about the sacred relationships shared between mothers and their daughters. It follows the lives of four mothers somehow managing to find their way from war-torn China to the USA where their hopes for their daughters to be given more opportunities than they could even be allowed to think back in China. It showcases the conflicts in love that their relationships share, the boundaries formed and broken, and each woman’s point of view and their very own heart-breaking stories and lived experience. The novel is broken into four parts, with each part having four different narrators. Two parts are given to the mothers, and the other two is given to their daughters. However, the only narrator who gives her point of view all four times is Jing-mei (June) Woo, who takes over for her deceased mother. The placement of their stories relates to the symbolism of the game of Mah-jong, with each player taking their turn, starting and ending with Jing-mei Woo. It’s one of my favourite novels, as it is evergreen.

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    I didn’t take Literature In English in my Sixth Form because I thought it would be easy. I took it as I knew that would instil a lot of values that I want for myself in the process of growing and learning, creating myself in this sublime, urbanized-but-still-developing world. I took a gamble, a high-risk-high-reward one, and I made it through, and so can you. Till next time, dearest gentle reader~