Extra Credit- Last Blog!

As ENGL 489 comes to the end with the final week class, my thoughts on taking this course has changed immensely. Being that the course was named Our Others, Our Selves, I had no idea what to expect from this class. The first day of class opened with going to hear Kelly Wisecup speak about the topic of Obeah, which I had never heard until she spoke of it. Learning that the theme of the class was Identity, I knew this was going to be an interesting class. Reading the first novel for the class entitled Slave Moth, was a good introduction of the course and it tied nicely into Kelly Wisecup’s discussion. I like reading novels that expand culturally and gain a perspective from a view that I had never seen before. The next novel Another Country by James Baldwin was by far my favorite book! It was tremendously written and the characters in the story were equally interesting to analyze and how their identities really defined them and the struggles they had to conquer to find themselves. I really did not care for the novel Drown, but liked how it was a collection of stories. Some of the parts of the story were confusing and I really did not get into it. Blu’s Hanging was another novel I enjoyed reading. This book was filled with emotion and my heart really went out to Ivah because she was the caretaker of her other sister and brother after her mother passed away. Their father drank a lot and worked several jobs to support the family. He was not a very nice man and blamed Ivah for her younger brothers rape incident with their uncle. Ivah had to grow up and take responsibility at such a young age that she did not have time to be a kid. I really felt bad for her character. The book The Heartsong of Charging Elk was a more slow paced novel and it took time for me to get into it. This book has a lot of nostalgia with Charging Elk remembering his past and holding on to the “plains” culture while adapting to another lifestyle and culture shock in France. He was never fully assimilated. He was homesick and was forced to learn another language if he wanted to survive. While in France he fell in love with a woman who was a prostitute. Charging Elk plans to marry her but, Bretueil “blackmails Marie into betraying him.” Charging Elk ends up killing him. This book was really long and filled with a lot of information. The Book of Salt, The Powerbook, and The Autobiography of Red to me represents the whole persona of what it means to find the true essence of your identity and experience it in a way that transpires through you. The title Book of Salt in itself explains how Binh dealt with the issues he did. The salt represents many things inclucing in the kitchen where he was taken in by two ladies who were also lovers. The salt also represents the sea where he travels after he is banished from his home. The painful memories he has from his father beating him and calling him names. The salt is rubbed in his wounds of the past. I really got into this story and liked it a lot. Overall this course has been inspiring not only reading these intriguing novels but also getting a chance to write on a topic that interested us. I also enjoyed blogging and getting a chance to view what other’s had to say. I am glad I took this class because I have learned a great deal!