Alexander Solzhenitsyn Nobel Lecture

While reading this lecture I found the scales of value very interesting.  It is amazing how different parts of the world put different values on what they see as important and worth while.  People typically believe, especially in the U.S., that all peoples should hold the same values and beliefs they themselves do.  This mindset within the human race often times fuel the violence and wars we see in our world today and in past centuries because we all come to the table with different scales of value.  Our country is probably seen as the worst in this area because we often times impose our scale of values on other countries, forcing them to adhere to what we want them to or else they suffer the consequences of our wrath. 

As I finished the lecture I was able to see the importance of literature and the role it plays to understanding the cultures of the day, but it also teaches us about cultures and peoples throughout history, allowing us an insight into how they thought and interacted with others.  This can be a great learning tool for our futures which can allow us to look at past failures and learn from them.  The only problem is, humankind usually does not learn from past failures they read about. They end up thinking they can do better and go about the destructive paths just as previous generations have done before them, thinking this time will be different and they will succeed. 

Backpack Literature Ch. 29

Over the years of taking different classes in college I have found how important it is to organize and layout your thoughts before actually starting a paper just as chapter 29 points out.  However, I typically do not prewrite papers which is something that I see could be very beneficial going forward.  Another important lesson brought up by this chapter relates to picking topics that interest you when it is possible.  By doing this it allows a person to stay focused and engaged in the reading/writing because it is a topic you may enjoy doing or learning about. 

As I began to near the end of chapter 29 I was made aware that different writings within fiction, poetry and Drama, along with the length of a paper requires a person to format and set up the essay or paper differently.  Since I have not studied these readings in much detail or depth in the past this was all new information for me.  Unfortunately I am not one who can read a section and keep it to memory like some, but I will be able to revert back to this section as a good reference tool going forward. 

Overall, this chapter was not the most interesting topic to read but it was very beneficial as it will allow each of us to be guided by rules already set up for specific type of writings.

Hi classmates of ENG200.  This is my blog for class.