Final Reflective Letter to Marlen

Professor Marlen Harrison
English Lit. 121-003 – Final Reflective Letter
7 December 2009

Dear Marlen,

I am nearing the middle of my sophomore year in college; therefore, I can tell you I am now completing my third semester of classes here at IUP.  I am business marketing major in Eberly.  English does pertain to my major but only to a degree.  Your class really doesn’t pertain to my major whatsoever, yet, somehow your class has pulled me in more than any other class I’ve taken here at IUP including the ones pertained to my major.

To be quite honest, one of my biggest pet peeves is redundancy.  With that being said understand that I could just sit her and basically retype my whole midterm reflective letter, and I would just be rewording things I already said.  I’m not going to do that.  Instead I’m going to tell you overall the three main reasons that your class has pulled me in so much.  And talk briefly about Middlesex and the controversy that rose due to your absences.

Firstly, I come to your class, sit and listen to discussion, reflect myself to what we talked about, and then leave 50 minutes later.  Other classes I go in, do bullshit work for over an hour, not really paying attention for more than 10 minutes at a time, and these are classes like college calc, accounting 2, etc…  When I leave your class 50 minutes later I come out feeling I’ve accomplished so much more than leaving any other class.  Our in class discussions are so opened minded and free that you cannot help but to be moved.  I sit through every discussion (having only missed one class due to illness or I would have never missed it) and just let my thoughts flow.  I’ve actually had many profound ideas and self discoveries about myself, my family, my religious beliefs, my friends, and just myself in general.  This is my first reason for being so intrigued by your class.

Second, your use of WordPress.com was awesome.  Despite the large workload your class does come with, WordPress seems to make it not so bad.  Your class became a daily part of my life this semester, partly because of WordPress.  Whenever I would get online to check e-mails, facebook, or whatever, I found myself checking WordPress and not even thinking about it.  I would recommend the use of WordPress to any professor in the future.  Honestly, I can see myself using WordPress in the future also.  I’ve been on Facebook, and checked out twitter, but those things aren’t for me.  There’s too much bullshit with that stuff.  I admit to having a Facebook account but it’s currently deactivated.  I really only activate it if I’m trying to find one of my friends scattered in the world.  Back to WordPress (which I’m going to refer to as WP to make this letter easier to write), WP seems to be a way of documenting your thoughts and ideas in a more respectful manner.  WP almost seems to have a formal tone when I’m using it.  I do a lot of traveling and I may use WP in the future for keeping my locations up-to-date.

My third reason was your approach to sexuality in the class.  This was a place no teacher of mine before you had gone.  You posed many controversial questions about being homosexual, and many of the questions you posed you also answered in your class.  I am a guy who seeks pleasure from a girl.  Before your class the thought of being homosexual or bisexual confused me.  I had several gay friends who despite being close to, I always felt like I just didn’t understand them.  Well I think I can make a better idea of it now after your class.  It’s not about anything other than pleasure.  If you’re a man who seeks a man then so be it.  If you’re a woman who seeks a woman so be it.  If you’re a person who isn’t sexually interested at all so be it.  It’s all human nature.  When the world finally sees the fact that it all comes down to the seeking of pleasure people will begin to understand the homosexual culture a lot more.  Before taking this class I had heard what you were about and what you stood for from previous students of yours.  And to be honest it scared me a little.  But I now feel so much more intelligent and opened minded.  I really would like to personally thank you for doing that to me.

While on that topic let me move into Middlesex.  My first complaint is 600 pages at the end of the semester? Really?  I know it’s a good novel, but that’s just brutal due to all the other stress from other classes and final exams lurking around the corner.  I understand this novel is perfect to end this course with, but it’s just too much at the end of the semester.  For me personally, I have to read heavily plotted books very slowly and possibly over and over again to get through the whole thing.  Honestly if I do finish Middlesex by the end of this week I really won’t know anything about it due to rushing through it and feeling pressured.  No one likes to be pressured into reading and it directly reflects what you take out of the novel.  I’m not suggesting you remove this book from your syllabus but move its place in the semester.  Just too much at the end.

The final thing I would like to briefly discuss was your absentee situation that you discussed with us.  No one can help family emergencies.  Shit happens. It’s that simple.  As for the conference in Mexico, you had a film worked in that week months in advance, and the fact that no other professors responded to your e-mail is pretty bitchy on their part.  I’m going to try and relate that situation to a sports team.  If one of your fellow players has something happen and can’t play in the game, you should be willing to step in no matter what.  That is part of being a team, a department, or whatever.  After hearing that and the fact that your boss was completely oblivious to you and your methods really makes me lose some respect for your department.  You, Marlen, are a better teacher than 99% of the teachers I’ve had in my life and feel that you could be at any major university.  Knowing you are moving on from IUP, I would like to simply say good luck in the future.  IUP was one journey in your life.  When you step out of this journey and into your next one, I wish you the best.  It’s all one big loop.

Your friend,

Anthony R. Prailey

Lefty

Born to love the one he knows
At first it’s hidden
No one knows

He yells her name while getting it done
Off to the temple
Then off to smoke hash and have some fun

He knows she’s waiting in the home
She waits and worries
There’s no telling what syndrome

middlesex

I’m having trouble getting through middlesex even though I know I have to.  When the author said it may be over plotted I think that is an understatement.  Besides all of the unnecessary details and story line I like the novel.  History in general keeps me entertained and this novel has some good history in it.  Some people in class say the beginning is too slow, that was the best part so far to me.  I think this novel would have been better to read in the beginning of the semester just because of its length.  Some people do have trouble getting through books like this and its stressful being a 600 pager at the end of the semester.  I’m excited to hopefully get through it.

Reflection of Trust

They saw the menotaur and heat came on
they both conceived a hundred to one
Zizmo grew silent and Lefty felt not
For Zizmo pondered Lina’s true intentions

In the middle of the night
Zizmo called to Lefty that work must be done
They go barreling across a frozen lake
Zizmo thinks Lefty’s story is a fake

Zizmo loses his temper quick
Lefty does not know what to say
For Lina had been a good wife
But Zizmo’s fate reflected his trust.

shorter days longer nights

These beautifal days
late in November
are sure to always make one smile
even though darkness is just around the corner

The leaves will be down
birds all south
and the days are only growing shorter
but with shorter days comes longer nights

Skiing is only around the bend
time to let gravity take over
it’s these short days we have to worry about
for we’ll play during the night

quiz 11/20

The title of my story would be Peace of Mind.  My story would be an epic, with me starting at a young age and facing setbacks and troubles.  It would show all of the stages of the heroes journey and how I went through each different archetype to this point.  The epic’s main character would predominately be the seeker archetype.  I would use characters like my grandfather to be the sage, and my grandmother to be the caregiver.  I would have friends as traveling companions and temptors.  My main conflict would be finding peace of mind.  This is a simple idea but very powerful at the same time.  I love my home and family, but I was one of those kids who just couldn’t sit still for too long.  After graduating highschool a few years ago I started traveling, a lot.  Driving all around the country for the hell of it.  All of this would play into my story for plot.  I would have settings all over North America and some other places as well.  Honestly I don’t think my style would fit any of our authors from this semester.  I think my author style would be If Jack Kerouac and J.K. Rollings had a kid, haha. That would be it.

quiz 11-16-09

I thought the idea of trying to use the faster sperm first, and then the slower sperm would be a girl was pretty out of the norm.  Its evident in the book that mom is not buying this theory proposed by uncle.  Dad is trying to push the idea.  This also brings the first male/female clash into the novel.   The main character also portrays the idea of queer theory perfectly.  “It” is talking and narrating the book but it is not a man or woman, yet.  It is telling the story from the middlesex, literally.  This is completely rediculous and cool.

11-15-09

Our discussion in class on friday about sexuality got me thinking about my past a little bit.  I was another one of those kids raised in a strict Catholic home with close minded parents and whatnot.  To be gay was thought of as negative, it was just the way it was.  Going through school kids constantly overused the term “gay” and “queer” and all of the other slang terms you can think of.  I have two best friends who are gay so that is where my challenge has come.  I faced criticism from many people when I was in high school over my friends and who I should be hanging out with.  Kids would call me gay for hanging out with my friends.  I never let that bullshit fase me.  I always had my friends’ backs and always will.  As for men liking men, or women liking women, or whatever the fucking situation is, I’m cool with it.  I will be the first to admit I love vagina.. But if you’re a dude who likes dudes, whatever gets you off is fine with me man.

Until I Succeed

It’s been 20 long years
Since I started this trip
And the road seems to go on forever
But there is a light at the end

I keep my head up
And my back straight and tall
I must let my warrior take the lead
And keep on running untill I succeed.

quiz 11-11

1.  differences and why?
One major difference between the novel and the film is the vocal showdown scene between Shug and her father’s choir.  I think this scene was put into the film to bring closure to Shug’s journey just like Celie’s.  I thought the movie focused a lot on Shug’s journey as well as Celie’s.  Another major difference was Mr. ____’s hiding spot for Netties letters.   In the novel they were simply hidden in his personal chest.  In the movie they tear the room apart including the trunk, but the letters are hidden under a loose floor board.  This could have been done to really show how strongly Mr.____ felt about keeping Nettie from Celie.

2.  what is significance of color purple?

After reading the novel, the movie simply made it more clear that the color purple is an example of freedom and beauty.  There is a scene I believe was in both the movie and the novel where they are talking about the color purple and I think Celie says something a long the lines of  “God made the color purple and he wants us to see it.”  In the final scene of the novel Celie is wearing a purple dress.  That pretty much summed it up.

3.  what archetype is shug avery? example?

Shug’s archetype in her final scene with singing and her father would be the warrior.  It’s obvious her father resents her for the life she has choosen to live.  Singing and going on the road wasn’t exactly acceptable for most women of the time especially to a preacher father.  This scene is classic example of attonement with the father.

4.  How are you like celie?

I’m like Celie because I will never stop fighting until I’m happy.  Celie was suppressed at the beginning but she soon realized peace of mind was attainable.  She ventured out, despite serious refusals by Mr., to find her happiness.  This is something everyone must do eventually.