My Deepest and Most Revealing Feelings About First Semester in AP English Literature

      I'm going to start out on a positive note by sharing all of the things that I have especially liked about AP English Literature this year. Firstly, I enjoy blogging. In the rare occasion that I actually have something that I feel is worth writing, I think that it is really nice being able to write and share it. Blogs are also a really easy 30/30 in the grade book, so I think that it's all just a win-win situation. It's fun to do some no-pressure writing every once in a while! I also really like being able to listen to the class discussions every time we read a book. It kind of fascinates me how complex everybody's thought trains are when it comes to interpreting those stories, especially since I tend to only see the most rudimentary details. Thirdly, I absolutely positively love the fact that our final is based solely off of a presentation dealing with a topic that we are actually interested in. Not only is this stress free, it is also really fascinating and I really like having the option to choose which books I want to read.
      And now for my hate paragraph. I hate essays. I hate sitting in front of a computer for twelve years fumbling over which adjective to use and how to not sound redundant, because quite frankly, sometimes I have a lot of trouble writing multiple pages about a book that I didn't even enjoy. I also hate turnitin.com. Here is why: access to the internet is a huge variability among students. I, for one, only have one computer in my household. It is shared with four other busy family members. In many instances, getting myself a turn on  the computer is both inconvenient and frustrating. Furthermore, what if your internet crashes? It isn't a dependable source for a lot of people, including myself, and I think that the extra struggle is extremely unfair. For example, tonight I am writing my blog at 11:44 pm because that is when my sister happened to finish doing her research project. I would much rather be sleeping. But besides excessive internet requirements and difficult essays, there really isn't that much that I dislike about AP English at the moment.
    Ending on a positive note, I think that this has been a really productive semester. I felt challenged every day in class and things never really got boring. I especially enjoyed the drama unit, which was discussed in my last blog. I am really looking forwards to next semester (with exception to the AP test).

A Reflection On the Drama Unit

      The drama unit has been by far my favorite yet. I'm not going to lie, a good half of the reason is because we got to spend time doing a lot of watching rather than a lot of reading. However, this isn't to say that I didn't enjoy reading Hamlet or Oedipus. I think that Hamlet would have actually been a really fun read, had it not been for the middle English and me struggling to understand half of the words. But hey, what's AP English without a challenge? I also think that the whole discussion items thing was a really nice way for me to be able to take some time to understand what was going on in the book a little bit better. Rather than having to sit there with a translator next to me all night while I was reading, and then proceeding to freak out because I knew we had a quiz coming, I could just clarify my misunderstandings and interpretations in class with my fellow students. It's also a much easier way to be able to involve yourself in discussion without having to not be shy or scared of saying something stupid in front of the entire class.
     Secondly, I thought that The Importance of Being Earnest was absolutely marvelous! Particularly the part where we got to actually watch the video. It was a fun way for me to be able to see all of the elements of satire in action without actually having to read. Especially for this play, reading would not have been able to have the same effect as seeing the actors actually performing the script on stage. I say this especially because the funniest part of play - by far - was Cecily's crazy fantasies of ponies and people dressed in flowered garments playing pan flutes and minstrel music. That level of cheesiness is definitely my type of humor.