fall semester 2011 reading

i only took one class this semester

masterpieces of english literature

given the entire canon of english literature

i was a little dismayed by the three books we read.

these definitely wouldn't make my short list of english masterpieces.

but i'm not in charge.

we read these three books in class to examine the change in public attitude and widespread secularization around the turn of the century (19th to 20th) in great britain. 

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heart of darkness

by joseph conrad

this is my third time reading this book for a class.

this is the first time i can actually remember what happens.

very quotable; has some interesting things to say about human nature.

my professor pointed out a lot of symbolism that i never noticed before

and that none of my other teachers ever pointed out.

i don't really ever want to read it again,

it's not that kind of a book,

but it's one of those books that should be read, at least once,

as far as academia is concerned.

***

the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde 

by robert louis stevenson

more enjoyable than heart of darkness.

i've actually read this book before too, but of my own volition.

the only thing i don't like about jekyll & hyde is that

most of the book is pointless.

you really only need to read the last thirty-ish pages to get the main gist of the story.

i'd say 75% of the book is just stylized build-up

typical of the time period.

***

civilization and its discontents

by sigmund freud

technically i haven't finished this book.

i'm in the last chapter, and i'm probably not going to get any further.

freud is crazy. 

i've thought so since my into to psychology class

taken my freshman year.

i'm not going to sum it up.

just know that i disagree with almost everything he asserts.

but it was interesting to read in conjunction with the other two books.

***

we also read a bunch of poetry for this class

(most of which i've read before)

as well as a short story by kipling

the man who would be king