Final Post

I actually really enjoyed Notes From the Underground. As I said in class today, if he did not have class discussions I would have hated the novel, since, alone, I did not really comprehend much of the book -- almost none of it. All I would have gotten out of it is some rotten old man with a bunch of ideas, who then explodes on the people around him. But, the discussions definitely made me have a completely different book not only on the novel, but also my way of thinking. I feel like it was the discussions that made the book worth reading. Everyday the discussions gave me a new insight to think about in my daily life and thinking, it made me pay attention to little details about myself that I did not pay attention to before. Today's lecture really hit me as well, and I thought it was so powerful to connect that to the Columbine shooting, because it made me understand even if on a small scale the thought process of someone like that. I always wondered what leads people to do something like that, and I never thought of it as a thought that just blossoms from our "hidden" desires. What I will most remember from this novel and from the discussions are the different perspectives that this novel and the discussions presented to me. From liking pain, to the hidden desires, to just taking a path that no one has yet traveled -- the lecture about goals, traveling, having an end -- that really stood out to me and helped me understand a little more about myself. I think we should have discussions like we did for Notes from the Underground more often, because it really taught me more than what an "English class" teaches -- it went beyond studying the author and just studying his message, it reached a level where it helped me understand myself. It was almost like a psychology class, which I truly enjoyed. I think we should do this with every novel we read from here on.