I think of the three excerpts I have read, I found this third one the most interesting. Stephen Greenblatt wrote mainly about the strange switch that occurred at the start of the sixteenth century from a holistic view on life to a more individualized view. He said “in the sixteenth century there appears to be an increased self consciousness about the fashioning of human identity as a manipulable, artful process” (2). That is the strange switch that I’m talking about. I’m not exactly sure what made people change.
I made another connection to both of the other readings. Greenblatt mentioned “the experiences of being molded by forces outside one’s control” which made me think of the uncontrollable factors that create our likes and dislikes as Scott was talking about. But it also made me think how Berger was describing how kids walking into pre-k usually shut down a little and stop asking so many questions because of the overwhelming amount of new circumstances. Another interesting point I was drawn to was Greenblatt’s description of literature. He said that literature can be considered under one of three categories. First it could be a “manifestation of the concrete behavior of its particular author” (4), or it could be an “expression of the code by which behavior is shaped” (4), and finally it could be “a reflection upon those codes” (4). I think each of those categories well encompasses any type of writing. Now when I write, I want to start categorizing my work in the same manner. In the Epilogue, Greenblatt was talking about an experience he had with a father while on a plane. The father was on his way to visit his ill son who had given up on life. He asked Greenblatt to mime words so he could practice reading lips. Greenblatt was asked to mime “I want to die” but Greenblatt couldn’t because he felt “to be asked, even by an isolated, needy individual to perform lines that were not my own, that violated my sense of my own desires, was intolerable” (256). He went on later to say that he didn’t want to mime those words because he thought it would bring him bad luck later. I think that really goes to speak to his character as a whole. But it also proves his main point he was trying to get across; your identity is yours alone and yes it can be influenced by others, but it is yours to keep up. While common-placing about this section, I tried too stick to the same manner of note taking. This time, I did not really add many pictures to this section. Mainly because there wasn’t much to doodle about. Greenblatt talked more about bigger ideas that couldn’t be expressed in small drawings. And I am not that good of an artist to be able to draw all of those abstract concepts. Just as I have felt after the past two readings, this reading tells me that we are going to tackle complex concepts during this class. I am ready for the challenge and cannot wait to force myself out of my comfort zone to learn.
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