The Secret Life of Bees

In my original plan I talked about wanting to read The Secret Life of Bees. Having only seen the movie (which was somewhat sensored to the true examples of racism found in the book), I was shocked at how detailed the author is about racism in the South. To me, it sent an important message about writing that we can't be afraid to make others uncomfortable in our writing. I think the most powerful writing of all is the kind that makes you think and squirm a little bit. I also love this line by the author:

“Someone who thinks death is the scariest thing doesn't know a thing about life.”
 

The narrator here is struggling with having accidentally killed her mother when she was four years old. The guilt she feels is unbearable, and she is unable to even process what has happened. My favorite part about it is the voice. She has a strong opinion for someone who is only 14 and you can really hear the anger and pain in that statement. You sense where she's come from and that she's tormented by her own memories.

Dakota Fanning as Lily in the movie adaptation

Anyone else read or reading this book? What are your thoughts?

My Plan

So after taking that preliminary test I realized I know a lot less about poetry and literary terms than I thought. Throughout the term I hope to work on those things specifically as well as polish some other literary areas such as the use of grammar and diction. I feel that I am able to pick up on literary themes fairly well so that is a strength that I will continue to use and build upon.

As far as the learning outcomes go I feel that they will be able to help me grow as a student and someone who appreciates literature. They are:

1. Know basic literary terms and methods
2. Know basic literary genres and representative texts
3. Write literary arguments
4. Engage literature creatively and socially
5. Use emerging communication tools and pedagogical methods
   
   
   
   By striving to achieve these outcomes throughout the term I believe that they will help me achieve the goals I mentioned earlier. One of the many skills I developed as a missionary was to find out where my strengths and weaknesses are and then consistently plan to and work towards where I want to be. I plan to do the same with my studies by checking where I am at in my progress every day and then setting long term and short term goals. By making steps every day I think that I will be able to effectively accomplish the goals set forth by this class and my personal goals.