After finishing group work and looking over the other works that other groups read, I’ve come to the conclusion that the canon now is very different from how the canon used to be. All of the pieces that we’ve read up to this point besides our books for group work, have had similar themes throughout, and have all been written by white males for the most part.

As the canon starts to change, it is clear that not only the storylines and themes shift, but also the race and gender of the authors changes. For example, Sula is written by an African American woman, and Native Speaker is written by an Asian American male. At one point in time, neither one of these books would have received any praise, but now that the canon is changing, a variety of books written by an assortment of people from different races, are receiving credit for their works.

In Passing, Nella Larsen examines the lives of two different black women who have very different life styles. Clare is a woman who is light skinned enough as a black woman, to pass as a member of the white community. She marries a white man who has no idea that she is black. She hides her identity from everyone in the white community in order to assimiliate and fit in with everyone else.

On the other hand, there is Irene who is also light enough to pass as a white person, but chose to stay within her own race. She married a black doctor and chose to remain true to who she was and where she came from. I found this book a bit disturbing at first because I couldnt comprehend the idea of someone wanting to fit in so badly that they would lie about everything in their life. Not only could Clare not talk to any of the people she grew up with or lived around, but she ran a risk of being caught and potentially harmed.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, but the one thing that bothered me about it was the ending. I have always been the type of person that likes a clear cut ending. In Passing, the ending is very ambiguous and open ended. It is never made clear what actually happens and it is left up to the reader to decide.

 Overall I also enjoyed working with my group. I thought that we worked well together and didn’t mind sharing tasks or listening to criticism. We all did our part in a timely fashion and were willing to meet the responsibilities of the assignment.

After finishing The Sound and the Fury, I was disappointed. I can honestly say that I didn’t enjoy one minute of reading it. I understand that it is a “classic” and is appreciated by many, but I found it to be confusing and frustrating. I can appreciate it as a piece of literature for a class, but it would be one of my last choices as a book to read for sheer enjoyment.

            When I read books, I don’t want to have to think about how everything pieces together. I like it when everything flows nicely and I can picture everything that is going on. When reading The Sound and the Fury, the only thing I could picture was a big chaotic mess. And as if it wasn’t difficult enough to follow what was happening or whose point of view the chapter was being told from, was it completely necessary to include two characters with the exact same name?

            If it weren’t for class discussions about the book, I wouldn’t have had any idea about what was going on. I actually did miss our first discussion about the book and felt completely lost while reading it. I think that this kind of book should be merely used in classroom settings where explanations are provided because otherwise I think that people would want to pull their hair out when attempting to read it.

“Once a bitch always a bitch, what I say. I says you’re lucky if her playing out of school is all that worries you. I says she ought to be down there in that kitchen right now, instead of up there in her room, gobbing paint on her face and waiting for six niggers that cant even stand up out of a chair unless they’ve got a pan full of bread and meat to balance them, to fix breakfast for her.”

            This passage is from Jason’s point of view in chapter three. This is the beginning of a conversation that took place between Jason and his mother regarding Quentin. Jason’s mother has just found out that Quentin has been skipping school.

            This passage is the very first part of Jason’s narrative and says a lot about him as a character. For him to say “bitch” in front of his mother is one thing that I found to be very disrespectful. I think that this reveals a bit of Jason’s personality because he didn’t seem to care that he was calling his niece a bitch to his mother. The second sentence also stood out to me in this passage. This sentence stands out to me because it shows the level of respect; or lack there of that he has for his mother. To me, this statement implies that he thinks his mother is naïve for thinking that the only worry she should have about Quentin was her skipping school.

            After missing classes due to numerous bad luck encounters, catching up with The Sound and The Fury was one task that I wish I did not have to endure. After reading the first part I was confused as to what was going on. It took me a bit of time to finally realize that Benjy was the narrator of the first section. I also found it difficult throughout to figure out who was white and who was black.

            Another thing that completely threw me off was the fact that there are two Quentins, and one is female and the other one male. The reading was difficult enough as it was without including two characters with the same name.

            The passage that I chose didn’t exactly intrigue or annoy me, but it informed me. On page 4 where Benjy says,

“Caddy uncaught me and we crawled through. Uncle

Maury said to not let anybody see us, so we better stoop

 over, Caddy said. Stoop over, Benjy. Like this, see. We

stooped over and crossed the garden, where the flowers

rasped and rattled against us.”

I found this passage informative because it is the first time in the chapter where the narrator is given a name. I liked this because it was given on the second page, so I didn’t have to read to far without knowing whose point of view this chapter was coming from. I also found this chapter informative because Benjy is said to be thirty three years old on page 3 but he clearly is not up to a thirty three year old’s intelligence level. This passage shows this because Caddy had to show him how to “stoop over”.

            I have now read “Hills Like White Elephants” in two various English courses and I still have not completely figured out why Hemmingway has to write the way he does. Although it is an original and creative way of writing, I find myself becoming more confused while reading because of the way he writes, rather than appreciating the story behind his technique.

            I do like the way this story is written in dialog format because it is a change from a typical short story or other work of literature. It does make the reader think which is always a good thing, but at the same time it becomes confusing to follow along.

            I think that it becomes confusing because in this story, there is no introduction of characters or any hint of what the plot of the story is about.

            Something that really bothered me about the text is that the girl seemed to not care about herself. She seemed like a naïve young girl that would do anything to make her significant other love her at whatever cost necessary. I also didn’t like the fact that they were drinking while she was pregnant. I realize that this story took place in an earlier time period when this might have been looked over, but in today’s age, it is obvious that drinking while pregnant could cause harm to the child.

            After reading this story for the first time, I had no idea what was going on. I had absolutely no clue what the two characters were talking about, or how the hills looking like white elephants had any significance to the story. But after discussing it in my previous class, I saw the subtle hints that were included throughout the story.

            When I read the story for the second time, I was able to understand the conversation that was going on because I knew what they were talking about. I knew that the story was regarding abortion and the decision that the two characters were trying to make about what to do.

             After finishing The Great Gatsby, I found that I enjoyed it more after reading it a second time. In my sophomore year of high school, I was required to read this novel as a part of my English class. Although I enjoyed it then, I believe that my teacher guided us through the entire book, which took away from the imaginative aspect that comes to a person while reading. While reading this in high school, my teacher pointed out the sections and themes that held some significance. Although these parts were important, I feel that it overshadowed other areas of the book. Now that I was able to read it a second time without step by step guidance, I found that there are many underlying themes throughout the novel.

            As I finished the novel, I noticed that while the main theme focused on the connection between Gatsby and Daisy, many subjects were addressed that were rarely spoken of publicly during the 1920’s. One of the “taboo” themes that was discretely addressed was the topic of divorce. Living in a generation where divorce is usually widely accepted, it becomes easy for a reader to forget that it has not always been that way. Because this novel took place in the 1920’s, divorce was still something that was considered very controversial. The concept of infidelity is also present in most of the novel and plays an important role throughout. Infidelity was also something that wasn’t talked about openly in the 1920’s, but was important to the novel because Tom was unfaithful to Daisy. In return, Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship wasn’t ever clearly physical, but there was an “emotional” attachment between the two that would have been considered inappropriate for a married woman.

            I think that reading this novel a second time has been beneficial because I was able to notice other ideas and have a better understanding of various concepts included throughout.

When I hear “American Literature”, I think of classic authors and books that are read during most high school English classes. To me, American literature that holds significance is the writing that was able to stand the test of time. I think that many works that are considered high-quality pieces of American literature have at one time been considered mediocre, inadequate, and even in some cases taboo. Another thought that crosses my mind when I hear “American Literature”, is that much of this writing is included in The Canon. I think that the literature that has stood the test of time has become included in The Canon because it proves to be worthwhile and beneficial to read.

Now, as the times are changing, I think that American Literature along with The Canon has changed. The Canon no longer is compiled of merely American Literature. Many contemporary authors who write about various races, religions and areas around the world have now been considered people who are beginning to break the Canon.