With the end of the year fast approaching, I've started to look back at this year. I've made the usual comments, like "wow I can't believe this year went by so fast!" or me still gaping in awe over the fact that I will be a senior next year, but I haven't really had time to really think about what I did this year. I've been so caught up in the storm of finals and goodbyes and excitement for summer. In retrospect, I am really really happy that I took this course this year. While I may have lacked some interest at some points, but overall I found it to be a great class as it was both educating and engaging. I think, had I taken this class at an earlier age, I wouldn't have really understood the concept of coming of age. This class has helped me understand it a bit better. It's more than just growing up.
Because of this class, I am not going to lie, I sometimes found myself wondering what MY coming of age story was. When was it going to happen? Had it already happened? Was is happening now? I don't think I'll know until I am able to look back and reflect on it later in life. Many of the books we read this semester were narrations of experiences told by future selves, so I don't think that the characters knew those were important moments until they were able to stop and think about it. So, I probably won't know which moments are my important moments until much later. But I think that what I do know is that this year has been a really pivotal year for me. I branched out, made new friends, tried new things, and had new experiences. While this may not be like other coming of age novels, where the protagonist has a problem and they must face it, I think that I have learned so much from this year, and that's what's important to me. Especially this past quarter, I have learned how to deal with stress and manage my time and prioritize things. I learned how to not be afraid to ask for help, and I learned that making new friends isn't as hard as I thought it was. These are the things that make me who I am, and so while this year might not be my coming of age story, it's definitely a piece of the process. What things have you gained from this year?
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Sag Harbor
In the very first few chapters of this novel, we are introduced to the sibling dynamic between Reggie and Benji. I was interested in their interactions, and that's pretty much what I mainly watched for as the story progressed. When Benji said that he and Reggie were slowly growing apart, I wondered if they would have a falling out, or if they would reconcile and again become "Benji n Reggie." When Benji mentioned that people always asked him where Reggie was, I understood that feeling. Being a twin myself, people always expect me to know where my brother is, what he is doing, and what he thinks. I mean, I guess I am somewhat more equipped to answer these questions than other people, I never understood why we were always paired with each other in peoples minds. Like the two brothers in Sag Harbor, my brother and I began to drift apart when I came to uni a year before him. We were no longer referred to as "Maia's brother" or "Daniel's sister." We no longer had to deal with the constant comparison and it felt pretty nice. While we probably aren't as close as we used to be, I think it was good for both of us. The same way Benji learned who he was without Reggie, I learned who I was without my brother.
On a slightly different topic, when Benji is trying to figure out his "identity" over the summer, he is trying to change himself from a nerd to a cool, popular kid. We see him try this through many things, like unsuccessfully changing his name to Ben. All of the adventures that Benji went on, or all the things that the chapters focused on, weren't actually all that adventure like. Most of them were pretty mundane and realistic. I haven't finished the book yet, but it's not like all his stories culminate into this one epic moment where he suddenly transformers from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan. His experiences at Sag Harbor are just the teenage way of exaggerating and dramatizing everything that ever happens, just think of the head pat incident. From saying all of these things you might get the idea that this is something I don't like about the novel, but it's the opposite of that. I appreciated the novel more because of the fact that almost everything Benji does is normal. I had kind of started to think that all coming of age novels had to have some sort of an exciting story or be centered around a character that led exciting lives. In other books we read this semester, kids my age, like Esther and Holden, did things I would never even think of doing, but here was Benji, just being lazy and slouching on the couch and indulging in guilty music during the summer. He's a normal kid and I can relate to that. I;m excited to see how the book ends!
On a slightly different topic, when Benji is trying to figure out his "identity" over the summer, he is trying to change himself from a nerd to a cool, popular kid. We see him try this through many things, like unsuccessfully changing his name to Ben. All of the adventures that Benji went on, or all the things that the chapters focused on, weren't actually all that adventure like. Most of them were pretty mundane and realistic. I haven't finished the book yet, but it's not like all his stories culminate into this one epic moment where he suddenly transformers from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan. His experiences at Sag Harbor are just the teenage way of exaggerating and dramatizing everything that ever happens, just think of the head pat incident. From saying all of these things you might get the idea that this is something I don't like about the novel, but it's the opposite of that. I appreciated the novel more because of the fact that almost everything Benji does is normal. I had kind of started to think that all coming of age novels had to have some sort of an exciting story or be centered around a character that led exciting lives. In other books we read this semester, kids my age, like Esther and Holden, did things I would never even think of doing, but here was Benji, just being lazy and slouching on the couch and indulging in guilty music during the summer. He's a normal kid and I can relate to that. I;m excited to see how the book ends!
Sunday, May 10, 2015
BSG ending
Midway through reading Sag Harbor, I think I have decided that Black Swan Green was my favorite novel from the semester. It's not that I disliked other books (in fact Sag Harbor is shaping up to be a good book) but I think I just found the characters in the novel more relatable. I also really enjoyed Jason as both a narrator and a character. I feel like I could go off and list all the reasons why Black Swan Green was my favorite (like strong female characters or a compelling voice) or why I think BSG is a good replacement of the novel Catcher in the Rye (which is pretty much covered in one of Mr. Mitchell's blog posts) but instead I think I'll focus on some things I wish I could change about BSG.
While this is a coming of age story, at the end of the novel I felt like Jason still had a lot of growing up to do. Yes, I know, he is only 13, but for some reason I think I kind of expected a more mature attitude than "I don't care what they think." It just kind of felt like he was ignoring his problems and running away from them. And then the one time that he did stand up for himself, he does it in a way that kind of just copies the actions of his attackers; fighting fire with fire. While it did end up working for him, there must have been a better solution and a different path that I wish Jason could have taken.
The other thing I found kind of frustrating was that fact that pretty much every chapter, and the book in general, ends with a cliff hanger. Sure, in the end Jason was somewhat able to overcome his bullying, got a little bit of confidence after dealing with Neal, and he got the girl, but the whole thing seemed anti-climatic to me. I just don't like cliff hangers. I want to know what happens with Jason at his new school, in his new adventures. Does he keep the image of nobody like he had at the beginning of the novel or does he embrace his stuttering self or does he right away try to get in with the cool crowd? In essence, I just don't think I know who Jason actually wants to be. Maybe I was expecting this big epiphany moment (or maybe I just didn't catch the part where Jason expresses all these things) but really all I got was a very cliche ending (where Julia says something along the lines of life is full of ups and downs or something).
Anyway, overall, I still really enjoyed Black Swan Green. Which novel was your favorite?
While this is a coming of age story, at the end of the novel I felt like Jason still had a lot of growing up to do. Yes, I know, he is only 13, but for some reason I think I kind of expected a more mature attitude than "I don't care what they think." It just kind of felt like he was ignoring his problems and running away from them. And then the one time that he did stand up for himself, he does it in a way that kind of just copies the actions of his attackers; fighting fire with fire. While it did end up working for him, there must have been a better solution and a different path that I wish Jason could have taken.
The other thing I found kind of frustrating was that fact that pretty much every chapter, and the book in general, ends with a cliff hanger. Sure, in the end Jason was somewhat able to overcome his bullying, got a little bit of confidence after dealing with Neal, and he got the girl, but the whole thing seemed anti-climatic to me. I just don't like cliff hangers. I want to know what happens with Jason at his new school, in his new adventures. Does he keep the image of nobody like he had at the beginning of the novel or does he embrace his stuttering self or does he right away try to get in with the cool crowd? In essence, I just don't think I know who Jason actually wants to be. Maybe I was expecting this big epiphany moment (or maybe I just didn't catch the part where Jason expresses all these things) but really all I got was a very cliche ending (where Julia says something along the lines of life is full of ups and downs or something).
Anyway, overall, I still really enjoyed Black Swan Green. Which novel was your favorite?
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