I have learned a lot this semester; so much, that I cannot seem to recall a good majority of it. I have been so angered, confused, and (in general) emotional this whole time that I have not fully comprehended our material. I enjoyed No Exit and some more abstractions we looked and, really, that was about it. Abstract ‘things’ (to be vague) are a slight forte I have. Did not exactly enjoy the Russian short stories, but The Brothers Karamozov did have me interested in what way the ending played out. I really liked Dmitri and Aleksey’s characters, as they were trying to do the right thing for themselves and their family.
“Two Friends” sort of rubbed me the wrong way. The stories we had read before it had death as their endings, and I had hoped for a positive conclusion in this short. Instead we were given ‘So we saw you guys fishing… Excuse us as we kill you and steal your fish. Thanks!’The introduction could have given it the light touch I wanted…
“The Bet” was also interesting. I sort of felt bad for both of the characters, but since near the end they are both given nothing else to lose; it almost made the deal worth it. Though, I would never offer to be imprisoned like the lawyer (or was it the banker?), I do not want to totally live under a rock.
No Exit was fun to read. I especially liked Garcin’s character since he sort of had a grasp on the situation and I thought he felt fairly comfortable in Hell. The interaction between him and Estelle was odd to read, but after learning about how he treated his wife, it was more natural. I think his wife did not have much of a back bone? Or it could have been more of a cultural thing. Nonetheless, that was a good read too.
The school year was decent, and I hope that whatever I go into has other decent reads to go into or use example