Alas, we have reached the end of the semester… crazy to look back at all the books we’ve studied over the past three months. If anything, this course has shown me that I do in fact have time to read, and need to stop making excuses for why I’m too busy to do so. I’m grateful that this course allowed me to reconnect with my love for reading, while encouraging me to read in new ways and consider perspectives that might have previously escaped me. These texts, for better or for worse, forced me to face unfamiliar realities, and to confront them in the contexts in which they were born. Black Shack Alley, for instance, is a text I likely wouldn’t have picked up on my own, and it made me aware of a place and time period that previously seemed distant. This novel, and many others this semester, really placed you inside the story, and often inside history, in a way that I don’t think could be achieved through any other means. There is something deeply personal about many of these texts that has left a lasting affective mark on me.
I truly believe that the discussions we had in class, as well as those outside of it with my peers, have shaped the way I read and will continue to stay with me long after the end of the semester. There is something refreshing about the way we approached texts in this course- not trying to exaggerate meaning or intent, a feeling I often have in English courses, but rather drawing our own, sometimes questionable inferences. The beauty is in the not always getting it or not knowing what the “right” answer is- it challenges you to think further. I enjoyed the surprises throughout these texts- Proust is a good example. While I might have described his writing as dense and tedious at first glance, Combray showed me his wonderful affinity for humour, woven into the text in a subtle but brilliant way.
Perhaps most importantly, this class influenced my thoughts on writing, and even inspired me to pick up a pen and start writing again myself. I loved how many of these novels were heavily influenced by the authors’ own experiences. It got me thinking about the various forms of meaning in my own life, especially those that might not be as obvious; little things that I might look back on in twenty years with newfound appreciation. Anyway, it’s safe to say that this has been one of favourite classes throughout my time in university, and definitely one that I’ll actually remember. Thank you to Jon and the TAs for making this such a fun and engaging course!
Oh and a final question – if you had to live inside the literary world of one of the novels we’ve read this semester, which one would you pick?