#1 Dear Marlen,
I must admit that I have enjoyed this class but it has also been very time consuming and semi difficult. For the most part I have liked what we’ve been learning about. But there are a few things I’m just not too interested in.
For instance, I did love learning about archetypes. It wasn’t a big surprise to me when I found out which archetypes are dominant in me, but it was interesting to look deeper into them. Also, analyzing my dominant archetypes also gave me a sort of insight into my some things happen to me. For example, when I get into a relationship, I put my all into it. I discovered through this class that that is a part of having the Caregiver archetype dominant in me. Also the fact that I tend to try to ‘mother’ my friends and family at times is also an attribute of being the Caregiver. I found this extremely interesting. It was also good for me to see the shadow side of my archetype, the caring too much for others and sometimes smothering them. It has put that into my mind, so now I can try to stop it from happening. I find myself apply the different archetypes to characters in movies, books, and in my life as well. Looking at the different archetypes and applying them to my friends can be easy at times and difficult at other times. Some are easy to characterize, for instance my friend Amanda would be the Sage because she is always looking for something better in life. My friend Aaron would be the fool. Most people don’t take him seriously but under the skin he is a lot smarter than people give him credit. Also, when I watched the movie Pride and Prejudice, I thought one of the main characters, Mr. Darcy, is the Hero. In the end, he helps out the people who Elizabeth loves so he can win her, and ends up being everyone’s hero.
I have also enjoyed learning about the monomyth. I’ve often thought of life as being a journey, but I’ve never looked as deeply into it as the monomyth does. I also found it interesting how every movie, book, and journey, follows the same monomyth. I have found that I also apply the monomyth to movies that I watch and books I read. Sometimes it is a little frustrating because I concentrate on comparing them and not on the actual movie. But it is fascinating how almost every movie has this same kind of story line. Everything from Pride and Prejudice to Star Wars, to Hellboy, and even to Napoleon Dynamite in a way. I’ve never looked at storylines in this way before.
So far I have yet to like a book we’ve read. No offense. They just aren’t really my kind of books. I prefer real people with problems instead of rabbits, and I wasn’t a fan of the different religions/beliefs in Siddhartha. They were interestingly enough; they just didn’t catch my fancy. I don’t think The Color Purple will either.
I did however, extremely like looking into Into the Woods. It’s one of my favorite musicals, so to look at it in the light of archetypes and the monomyth was very intriguing for me. I also enjoyed finally being able to watch the whole thing. I can now understand why my parents never wanted me to watch the 2 Act. It puts all my favorite fairytales in a bad light and turns ‘Happily Ever After’ completely upside down. But I did enjoy its twist and how different it is.
Over all, this class has been both exciting and challenging. Never have I had to read so much for one class in my life. But it is interesting to see how witches can be compared to rabbits, blacks, and Buddhists. I’ve learned so much already, and I’m half excited, half dreading what we’ll do next. I’m not too excited about having to teach partly myself, but it will challenge me, and challenge is good. And this is one of the few classes I actually pay attention in, even if I don’t talk much. Thank you for a good semester so far, and I am, for the most part, looking forward to what comes next.
Sincerely,
Corynn Williams
#2 Dear Marlen,
I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of English. There are parts of it that I do enjoy, but it isn’t my favorite subject. When I started this semester, I was actually dreading your class. Everyone always says how college English classes are murder, and with all the emails you sent us over the summer, I thought your class would be that. However, I had another thing coming. I’m not entirely sure how you did it, but you really made English literature enjoyable. It was murder, though, having to get up at 8 am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at first. But once we got into things in class, it wasn’t so bad. The work load may have been more than I was used to for a liberal studies class, but it wasn’t over kill. The atmosphere you created in your classroom was the best I’ve ever had. You seemed to really enjoy what you were teaching and made it enjoyable to your students as well. I’ve always been the quiet, shy one when I don’t know anybody, and I was quiet almost every class, but the few times I did talk, the atmosphere made it easier for me. And although we didn’t show our poems and blogs in class, I felt like I was really able to be self when I wrote them. And I could express how I was truly feeling and thinking. I really enjoyed writing the blogs and the poems, and felt that they were a great way to express what I’ve been through/ am going through, and at the same time talk about things from class. It was new and different to tie my life to an English class. And to see how things in class compared to things in my life and vice versa.
One thing that I wasn’t too fond of though, were the novels. The only one that I really enjoyed reading was The Color Purple. At first I didn’t like it, but it definitely grew on me. Watership Down however, didn’t pull me in at all. I didn’t really care what happened to a bunch of rabbits. Siddhartha was the same. I’m not interested in those beliefs and therefore wasn’t drawn to the book. The Power of Myth just confused the hell out of me. I’d read a page or to and have no idea what they were talking. So reading that book was rather frustrating to me. Middlesex was another book I didn’t enjoy reading either. It wasn’t something I was interested in, like Siddhartha. And at times it confused me, like The Power of Myth. Although I could see the connections you wanted us to make between the books and between the various things we talked about in class, reading these books wasn’t a high light. I did, however, enjoy reading about the archetypes in Awakening the Heroes Within. I felt that that particular book was extremely helpful and very interesting to me. The 101 Great American Poems book didn’t phase me much. I’ve read most of those poems before, and I was more interested in writing my own instead.
I’m torn in half when it comes to the movies we watched. I loved Into The Woods because I grew up watching it. However, I’m still not entirely sure what I think of Henry and June. I would have preferred to watch the Wizard of Oz or Star Wars because I’m a big fan of both of them, but at the same time, I’m glad we watched this one instead. I found it interesting how the characters were seeking to find more in their sex lives and that that was their source for their writing. But I didn’t like that they did so by cheating on their spouses. I wasn’t a fan of all the nudity, but I did feel that the movie did a great job of showing sexuality and finding your own sexuality. It isn’t a movie I’ve ever heard of and therefore wouldn’t have chosen to watch it in my free time, but it was interesting.
I did enjoy putting together my poetry book. I liked being able to pick my favorite poems to put together to represent me and what I’ve learned in this class this semester. I do also like the reflective letters that allow the students to respond to the class, what they’ve learned, and how they feel about the things we’ve talked about. The only feedback most teachers get is in the teacher evaluation sheets we fill out for some professors. I like that you value our feedback enough to make it mandatory.
I’m also torn on the you teaching half the semester, we teach the second half. I did enjoy being able to discuss things in detail with my fellow students, but it was also challenging for me. It made us actually look at what we were going to talk about in the class the next day, and got us prepared to discuss it. Although I did dread it at first because I liked being able just to go to class and not prepare too in depth for it. It also got me to talk more to those I didn’t know, which I was glad about but also nervous for it. So I guess I did like being taught solely by you the first half and then helping teach the second half.
My favorite part of the class would probably have to be watching Into The Woods. I’ve always enjoyed that broad way musical, but haven’t seen the second half until this semester. I was surprised to find out we would watch it and even more surprised by how well it fit into what we were talking about. I enjoyed discussing everything about it, the music, the archetypes, and the monomyths of each character. My worst favorite part however, would have to be reading Middlesex and Siddhartha. I just wasn’t interested in either of them and therefore had a difficult time getting through them.
So although I didn’t enjoy everything about this class, it is still the most enjoyable liberal arts class I’ve had to take thus far. I enjoyed more of it than I disliked. I was both glad it challenged me but also annoyed I had to do so much. It really brought different parts of my life into a new light. I can now explain certain things about myself because I’ve read and studied my most dominant archetype, the caregiver. I’m grateful that I decided to take this class with you even if it took time and thought to get through it. I consider you to be a great professor and am thankfully for the experience you have put me through this past semester. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Corynn E. Williams
