Week 15: About the Writing

What did you like best about the readings for this class? What would you like to see more of?

My favorite part about the writings were that they made me branch out from what I am traditionally used to writing. I am an engineering major, so I write nothing but lab reports and research papers. The storytelling posts force creative writing and I like that they also provide the freedom of different options, which is fun to see the blog commenting assignments. This would probably mess up the points system for the class, but maybe it would be fun to read an extra storytelling post or two and one less storybook or portfolio each week.

Did you choose the Storybook or the Portfolio? Are you happy with your choice? What information should I emphasize to next semester’s students when they make that choice?

I chose the storybook option and am happy with that choice because I got to explore extra stories in a topic I was interested in. I didn’t do the portfolio option but it does almost seem like there is a lot less effort required for the portfolio than the storybook. I think you did a good job of explaining the two options before we picked one.

Do you have suggestions for the commenting process: suggestions about commenting on blog posts? Suggestions about comments on storybooks/portfolios?

I don’t have any suggestions about commenting on blog posts, it was fun to read everyone’s introduction and I honestly enjoyed seeing people’s different storytelling methods. Sometimes for the storybook/portfolio commenting I found it difficult to reach 200 words, but I also enjoyed reading people’s storybooks overall.

What kinds of comments did you find most useful as you worked on your storybook/portfolio?

I didn’t get very many comments that found any grammatical errors or things like that, but I got a lot regarding the general layout and look of my webpage. I found these very helpful and I also found it helpful when people would provide suggestions about what stories they think might be coming next, because I usually wasn’t sure yet!

Do you think this class helped you to improve your writing?

I do think my writing improved. Every time I take a class that has writings to turn in I always learn something I didn’t know about grammar or punctuation rules.

What kind of writing do you see yourself doing in your future career? Will writing be important in that career?

I am going to be an officer on submarines for the Navy as a nuclear engineer, so the only writing I will be doing is math problems for the most part. I will also be writing the yearly evaluations for the people I am in charge of.

As you look back on your writing this semester, what advice do you have for students who will be getting started next semester?

There’s not really any advice I have for the writing assignments. Just enjoy them and be creative, you’ll surprise yourself sometimes!

Week 15: About the Reading

What did you like best about the readings for this class? Are there any general suggestions you would make about how the readings are set up?

I liked the diversity of the readings in this class. I was able to read Greek Mythology, folklore tales that I have never read before, Dante’s Inferno, and Alice in Wonderland, just to name a few. We truly took a trip around the world in literature, which I was not expecting. I think the readings are set up well. Perhaps this would just turn the class into an uncontrollable circus, but if you just posted all of the Units and students got to pick a reading each week, regardless of region that could be fun. I know there were some weeks I wanted to read 4 or 5 of the units from!

Did you find some new reading diary strategies that you used in the second half of the semester?

The first half of the semester I found myself spending too much time on the diary, so the second half I still summarized the story for my later reference but I included much less detail.

What did you think of the overall balance between reading – writing – commenting in the class assignments?

I think the balance is great. Sometimes the storybook commenting seems a little length but this makes sense because it is worth 6 points every week.

Do you think I should offer a reading assignment extra credit option?

I didn’t realize this was a question when I talked about just opening up all units for each week earlier, so this would probably be a way better alternative to my above idea!

As you look back from the end of the semester, what advice do you have for students who will be getting started next semester?

I worked ahead all semester and it was great to have a little leeway in the weekly assignments. Even if you can get one week ahead you’ll be in such a better position than just meeting deadlines each night, which probably gets daunting.

Of the possibilities listed, what do you think would be the most useful priorities?

I definitely think adding more notes to the units would be the most useful. There were times that I got a little confused within the stories and some notes would have been great, but they were also things that I could figure out on my own by going back a few stories or just doing a Google search. I think the introductions are good how they are, I usually chose the units I wanted to read by just reading the first story or two, which is usually enough to get a feel for if you would like the whole unit or not. I honestly don’t pay much attention to the images while I’m reading but they are great to have even if simply for the reason of breaking up the monotony of text. I also think there are plenty of units as is and more notes would be more useful than more reading options. I think the anthology units sound good, but I also noticed simply just be reading different stories that there were hero stories and love stories that seem similar across the world and I would use the weekly essays to talk about that. So the class almost takes care of anthology units on its own!

Storytelling for Week 13: What I learned in Hell

“Dad, can you tell me about that time you met Satan?”

(Thinking to himself) Ugh, why does he always ask me this? I oblige every time and hope that the message will get through to him, but I especially don’t feel like telling stories today. I’ve told him everything I know, given details about each circle of Hell and the consequential punishments. I hate thinking about it and especially hate the notion of it knowing my time is almost up. I might not be on this Earth much longer though, so I’ll take the opportunity.

Son, there’s a reason we go to church every Sunday, no matter what. There’s a reason we donate our money, and there’s a reason why we’re very protective of you. Many years ago, I was lost and living my life the wrong way. I did drugs, I didn’t go to church, I wasn’t faithful to your mother, and the list goes on. This went on until one day a blessed spirit in Heaven took it upon herself to get me back on track.

“Dad, why did she pick you?”

I don’t know son, but I’m glad she did. She guided me into the woods where I met an amazing man named Virgil. He taught me so much in so little time, and told me in order to go to Heaven someday I needed to take a trip with him. This trip was through the depths of Hell of course, but he provided a strange sense of security. While I was there I saw the most terrible things. Adulterers, thieves, addicts, heretics, anything you can think of. I witnessed their eternal pain first hand and even came face to face with the devil himself. The epitome of a sinner, he sits in the deepest circle of Hell, frozen, unable to speak. I learned that many of the people I saw there were no different than myself at the time, and I needed to change. Son, if I kept living how I was I would be headed towards the same fate right now.

“Dad, where are you headed now?”

I’m not sure, but I would like to think I’ve been living a godly lifestyle and that I’ve passed that down to you as well. I’ve seen what happens to the people who stray and I can’t imagine being there for eternity.

“Dad, I don’t want to go there either.”

Read more about how Satan is portrayed in Dante's Inferno here.

Author’s Note

This isn’t a retelling of any specific story, but Dante from Dante’s Inferno is on his deathbed and talking to his little son. We don’t know very many details about Dante’s life, so I made them up, but he did get shown through Hell because he was not living a religious lifestyle.

Bibliography

Dante’s Divine Comedy translated by Tony Kline (2002). Dante's Inferno Unit.

Image Info: Web Source: Wikipedia.

Essay Week 13: Everyone is Bad!

I’m choosing the theme of “Bad Guys” for this week’s essay topic because I read Dante’s Inferno and pretty much every single character in this story is a bad guy. This varies a little bit from what we usually think of as bad guys because in this case they aren’t really antagonists, they’re just sinners. The ghost of the poet Virgil is guiding the storyteller, Dante, through the various levels of Hell. As they progress through the circles of Hell the punishment for the bodies they see there get progressive worse in conjunction with the severity of the sins they committed while living. Therefore, essentially everyone in Hell was a “bad guy” to some extent!

The thing I found most peculiar was who each circle of Hell contained and what sins were deemed more severe than others. Even those that were Christians and lived good lives were in Hell because they did not get baptized, which is why Virgil is there. The “rankings” I found most surprising were the 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th circles of Hell, which were the heretics, the violent, and the fraudulent, respectively. One would think that heresy would be the farthest thing from going to Heaven and that harming people through violence would be worse than the non-physical forms of harm, such as lying and thievery.

A level of sympathy is definitely formed for some of the beings in Hell, but others not so much. It’s pretty obvious that most of the characters deserve to be where they are but the punishment definitely seems severe sometimes, such as being submerged in boiling blood or going on forever getting your head chewed on.

It definitely seems like some of the “bad guys” learn their lesson, except that doesn’t really help them out here. Virgil is remorseful for his situation and others stop to tell Dante what they did and seem shameful about it, but even if they are not remorseful they are still stuck in Hell for eternity, which is depressing!

Found this to be a good summary.

Bibliography:

Dante's Divine Comedy translated by Tony Kline (2002). Dante's Inferno Unit.

Image Info: Web Source: Wikipedia.