Tag Archives: introspection

The Last Post by Raymon Saran

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I must say this course was a breath of fresh air (cliche, I know…). But for real, being able to guide ourselves through each week was nice. It wasn’t just sitting in a lecture hall with a professor talking at you and expecting you to retain all information imaginable for a test in a couple weeks. As a matter of fact these lectures were engaging and thought-provoking. They were actually interesting!

Not only was the freedom nice though, we got to add to our repertoire of books that we’ve read. To be honest, I hadn’t sat down and just read a book for a while until this course started. Everything – everyone is busy. I guess reading just wasn’t one of my priorities at the time. However, this course allowed me to read as part of the course. A win-win situation I guess. I get to read because I want to and it counts towards credits.

What’s more is that we also got to see our classmates’ thoughts on each text in addition to giving our own. Sometimes the work I’ve done in other classes doesn’t seem worth it because I don’t get to connect with others on it. Being able to give and receive comments on each of our posts was great, not only for feedback, but for that “it’s worth it” feeling of your work being read for more than just a grade.

I think the structure of this course was nice because we knew what needed to be done week in and week out. Some would say this gets repetitive, I can only agree in the instance of it being the only class you’re taking. With other classes that have more of an irregular schedule, having one that remains stable throughout the semester is great. Much less worrying and much more productiveness.

As for the actual texts we read, I enjoyed reading them more than I thought I would. Many of them involved memory as a theme, which is something I do find interesting – especially when it comes to introspection. I can’t say there’s a particular one I really really like, but off the top of my head if someone asks which book I remember it would be Nada – or Combray. I can’t exactly pinpoint why I think of Nada – actually that’s not true, it’s because I referenced it in the lyrics of an unreleased song of mine. But for Combray I think it was just the, what felt like, aimless speech of random thoughts between excerpts of the actual story.

My question for anyone who sees this from class is: which of your blogposts do you feel is your best written and why? I may just read the one you say!

I must say that our professor, Jon, made what some people may not have thought to be an appealing course – a great one – with the help of Jennifer and Patricio. I had a pleasant experience.

The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector

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This novel seemed to be a bit more engaging for myself compared to the others I’ve read for this course. I think I was able to find certain passages of Lispector’s writing to be overdramatic and borderline humorous, with immense detail to totally picture it happening. The best example of this would be the beginning of the cockroach encounter. From the clear fright of the narrator to the seemingly nonsensical certainty of the cockroach’s age. As I read it I chuckled and questioned how one would even consider such an unnecessary fact in that state of fear. Then just with the following line my question was answered, “with my archaic horror of cockroaches I’d
learned to guess, even from a distance, their ages and
dangers…,” like how? I guess these types of details revealed more pieces of the character and had me actually think about and imagine the kind of person I was listening to.

I also enjoyed the first person perspective. This type of writing helps me with interacting with the text and feeling like I’m conversating with the narrator, like they’re talking to me or presenting something and I’m paying attention. Additionally, the step by step approach of laying out each detail really helped me follow along. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything, which can often happen to me with novels.

G.H. appears to be confronting herself after doing, to her, what would be unthinkable. However, it triggers a downward spiral for her. Causing her to deeply introspect and question her being. Although it’s different for G.H. and can be considered a traumatic event for her, I related to this in a not-so-superficial but not-so-deep way. Introspection/self-reflection is something I really take time to do and it can lead to seeing yourself, others, or the world as something you don’t want to or you wouldn’t expect. Then realizing this is hard to swallow and then change. Though, for G.H. it was extreme.

My question for this week is more of a personal one. Do you self-reflect, and if you do have you ever come across a harsh reality about yourself or something else? I feel like this question is important (especially to me) because it can reveal how self-aware people are, as well as how aware people are of their surroundings and what their actions can mean for not only themselves. This novel can open new doors of thought that people may not have experienced or be ready for.