The End of the Blog as We Know It

"Strange how the half light
Can make a place new
You can't recognize me
And I can't recognize you"
   -Half Light, by Arcade Fire


To begin with, that's a rather cynical quote, which is, in part, what this post is about. But more than that, I have learned in English this year to look beyond the surface, in literature and with people. These three quotes represent to me the natural consequence of English. The first represents seeing a place an entirely different way upon a second look, and the consequences of this. And yes, one of the consequences of this is an increase of cynicism, of refusing to take things at face value. One can see this in the books we read, going from the idyllic, almost childish story of To Kill a Mockingbird through the wry social commentary of The Importance of Being Earnest, and moving on all the way to, for me, the bleak tale of nobility among violent chaos that is A Tale of Two Cities. Some may disagree with me on that one, but I must point out that at the core of the novel, many innocents die, including the character who the reader may sympathize with most. That novel also teaches the lesson that I have learned best this year, that surfaces are silly, unimportant things, with the complicated, although originally boorish Sydney Carton winning my affection much more than the almost mechanically "nice" Charles Darnay. This theme has also appeared in nearly every novel we have read this year, in some way shape or form, and I have been able to reflect on these themes. Looking back at my blogs on To Kill a Mockingbird, I see a still somewhat-innocent freshman speaking of the fairly obvious about Boo Radley. Boo Radley, really is a very obvious character in his role, and reinforces the moral of the story, admittedly, quite well. Still, even at the time, I wasn't terribly satisfied with my rather mediocre writing, not being able to see the subtleties as well I would like. As time went on, I began to understand better, particularly with Animal Farm, which I wrote about several times on the blog, and eventually made a radio drama for, which was also posted. The cynicism of the book, its intrinsic belief in the malcontents of society, also had a significant impact on me. Still, my blog posts were, although better than the early ones, still lacking a bit. Gradually, however, I learned from my mistakes. By TIoBE, I could see the subtle undercurrents within Oscar Wilde's witty dialogue, the class commentary and the gentle rebuffery of his era. I wrote a post on the central importance of lies in the book, a concept a bit new to me still, and that English has instilled in me, for better or for worse. Cementing the theme, we read Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities, both Dickens novels. I've discussed the second already, but the first made almost a greater impact. It is a novel, at its core, about how the shiny, happy, rich things we may want in life are, in actuality, fairly pointless. Dickens' dissatisfied cynicism, his entreaty for his readers to realize this, rang true to me, and saved what otherwise might have been a long and boring book, in my mind. This growth, inspired by the literature, may be considered a bit negative, as the loss of innocence is portrayed in Harper Lee's novel, but cynicism can be seen almost as protective. Despite what the two men who's names begin with J say, while other people may be the primary source of discontent in life, they may also spark its interest, primarily by seeing them as people. A belief, for me, has emerged through all of this self reflection. By understanding the depths of people, and life in general, one realizes they are much more subtle than idealism, or idealistic freshmen, make it out to be. People are deep, complicated, curious things, and so second impressions are much more important than first. Without this weekly filtering of ideas, I might never have come to my conclusions, and so I thank you, Ms. Gilman, for presenting me this forum of ideas to thing with.


Fin