Once I finally managed to finish chapter 1, I came to realize that I severely needed to read this book with a dictionary at my side or maybe just in my pocket. I like those little pocket dictionarys. Always easily handled and used but the problem with such a small dictionary is I have a tendency to lose things on a regular basis so maybe a huge dictionary would work better for me. Okay well….hmm Im not ragging on the language that he uses but I am just stating that a lot of the words that he chooses to use are foreign to me even though they are english words. I dont think that I would be to bold stating that I have a large vocabulary. I have recieved a very good education in my years in school but all those years of vocabulary being taught to me hasnt helped too much.
One particular section of the first chapter grabbed my attention and made me think. When Sven Birkets is talking about the English class that he had taught, I felt like he was talking to me. The authors that he was naming were names that I am familiar with like Hawthorne and Poe and I have had the oppurtunity to read a few novels from each. I came to the conclusion that Sven was missing something about his class of students. He was appauled at the lack of enthusiasm from his students. He couldnt believe that they werent eating up the books and loving the literature as much as he does. What he didnt think of was that maybe the kids werent reading the books at all. Thats what I concluded. They musnt have been reading the books because anybody with a literary education would enjoy a short story by Poe or something by Hawthorn. Its just that simple…
January 23, 2010 at 1:21 am |
A good start in your focus on his language and diction. Go a bit further with the section you focused on. Why aren’t the students reading. Does that have something to do with technology, in your view (as he suggests)?