Young Goodman Brown decides to go for a walk. He thinks that the enemy is the devil. But he ventures out at sunset to meet him. He thinks his wife-- his Faith--is the force of good in his life. But he leaves her at home. He thinks he's in charge every time he chooses whether to go on or to stop.
This guy clearly doesn't have a handle on his situation.
Story isn't about action, or theme, or love, or death, or good and evil. It's about conflict. Young Goodman Brown's character is only interesting to us because of his strange circumstances and the choices he makes in dealing with them. When was the last time anyone got interested or even heard of a story about a nice person who had a nice day, went to sleep, woke up the next day early and refreshed, and did it all over again? Our lives are filled with obstacles, both real and perceived, and what makes stories compelling to us is how characters deal with the challenges they encounter. For generations English teachers the world over have categorized those conflicts: man v. himself, man v. man, man v. nature, etc. (Stunningly, we've managed to take the most interesting element of story and make it multiple-choice boring.)
Conflict is entertaining. Every "Reality TV" show ever made depends on conflict for its success. This is not an exaggeration: every single one of those shows, in every single genre, for every kind of audience, goes out of its way to manufacture conflict because that's what attracts viewers.
Marshall McLuhan was one of the most insightful commentators on media and communication in the 20th century. He's the guy who famously observed that, "The medium is the message." More importantly for us, he noted:
Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either.
We have learned a great deal so far this semester. Some of what we've learned has come from the traditional American Literature curriculum: diction, syntax, tone, mood, theme, allusion, symbol, genre, etc. Most of what we've learned has to do with our individual styles and our learning community. I've learned that some of you still think you're passive consumers of a teacher's curriculum, or worse, the entertaining conflict of "student v. school."
McLuhan also said: There are no passengers on spaceship Earth. We are all crew.
Those of you who still operate under the illusion that the roles of "teacher" and "student" are separate are trapped in old ways of thinking and you're missing the point of Open Source Learning. For all his talk of caring, poor Young Goodman Brown doesn't see the people in his life for who they really are as individuals. He categorizes them according to simplistic labels like "good" and "evil." As a result, he's heartbroken when their words and deeds don't fit his expectations. When he sees the conversation between the devil and Goody Cloyse, Young Goodman Brown suffers a crisis of meaning-- but why should the private life of an old lady shake his own identity and everything he believes to be true? In reality, people do both "good" and "bad" things in the world. We hope they learn from the bad and use their learning to contribute to the good. In fact, we hope that all of "them" eventually come to realize there really is no "them." There is only us. We want to be understood, and that begins with understanding ourselves. The next time you want to know who's responsible for how you're feeling, grab a mirror.
The other day I had a conversation with Mahmoud about history. Sometimes it's hard to connect the Founding Fathers or the Hawley-Smoot Tariff with what's happening today. But whose job is it to connect the dots? (Spoiler: it's yours.) If you want to Learn, you have to stop settling for Being Taught. I am not only giving you permission, I am demanding that you question the value of what we read and do. Whenever it's not clear, ask me: WTF is the POINT? I'll even go a step further: if what you find isn't motivating, let's talk about what else is out there, and let's do this now, because the world won't wait for you. In fact, the more you read, the more you realize that other people have felt the same way as you and are waiting for you to show up and take your place in the conversation. You also come to realize that the other 8 billion people on the planet have their own problems and they're not going to care very long if you sit on the sideline and sulk. As Stephen Crane put it:
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
Example: the few of you who read "White Buffalo Calf Woman" will be rewarded at the end of the week when we have an essay exam comparing the story with "Young Goodman Brown." Since you were supposed to read it and take notes on it weeks ago, and since you're preparing for a life of independent learning, I'm not going to remind you again and I'm not going to review it in class-- unless you ask me to, in which case I'll drop everything after we finish "Young Goodman Brown" and do whatever it takes to make sure you understand the essentials. If that causes you any sort of negative feeling, consider how willing I am to help you and how hard I've worked so far to prove it. Then consider this gem of Native American wisdom, from Sitting Bull:
Inside of me there are two dogs. One is mean and evil and the other is good. Which one wins? Whichever I feed the most.
It's easy to feed the dog that seems like an old friend, and we are most sensitive to negative information. Change is hard. Overcoming obstacles is hard. Sometimes the fight for happiness actually feels more rewarding than actually experiencing happiness. So ask yourself whether you're really taking steps to overcome conflicts or just sitting with the same old tapes that say, "I can't," or "I'm just not good at ____," or "That teacher doesn't like me," or "[insert your favorite/s here]."
We are all under a great deal of pressure. Friday we only had 30 minutes, today we'll only have 30 minutes, there are 34+ people in a class, we're all constantly being told we suck at what we do or that we're not doing enough, 7th period is hot and tired. The obstacles are out there. We may not be able to control the obstacles (which will be an interesting question when we study Naturalism and return to "Richard Cory") but we can control how we respond to them. You have more power than you think you do, so use this course to flex your questioning muscles. Stop being a victim of your education and start putting it to work for you. Ask yourself what kind of environment you want for 50 minutes and push your colleagues (including me) to help you create it. Whether I'm in the room or not, if someone upsets the balance by clinging to their hurt, or their old stereotypes, or their need to be the center of attention, or whatever, find a way--with empathy, compassion, and critical thinking-- to bring attention to his/her choices and remind him/her that no one is putting that person in that box except him/her.
After we finish this week and I give a final exam on the first month of class, we're going straight to another story about a guy who went for a walk. Taking a walk is a small journey that begins with one step-- this is an important metaphor for the work we're doing right now. Ray Bradbury wrote "The Pedestrian" after he went for a late-night stroll and police started questioning him just because he was out. That experience and that story led Bradbury (who once asked my grandmother out when they sat next to each other at Los Angeles High School) to write Fahrenheit 451. Lots of people think that book is about censorship. Partly, but it's really about self-determination. We live in a world where it's hard to imagine that one person can make up her own mind, make her own way in the world, and in the process make a difference for others. If you feel this way, spend some time with these words from expert-on-the-subject Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
We get to walk a path that Young Goodman Brown hasn't yet discovered, a path where people aren't just "good" or "evil" or "teacher" or "student," but complex individuals trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in the world.
Again I realize that an author has put it best, so the last word goes to Robert Frost:
Jeder Tag soll einen Sinn haben, und erhalten soll er ihn
ReplyDeletenicht vom Zufall, sondern von mir.
(Rainer Maria Rilke 1875-1926, deutsch-österreichischer Dichter)
Thanks for this Alex! I agree with you/Rilke that every day is meaningful, and that we should not come to that understanding by chance, but (if I translated this correctly), rather than "he" getting meaning from "me," each of us can and should make meaning for ourselves so that we can share value with each other.
DeleteThe story of Young Goodman Brown is like my learning experience for the reason that just like him I was distraught to know that he didn’t know as much as he perceived to know and was taught just like my education through American literature while his nature of distraught resided in denizens that existed in in his life. The truth is that I also was dismayed to find out that everyone I knew hid their true selves and I conformed to fit the needs of these fake people for the longest time until I was exposed to each and every ones true nature but unlike Young Goodman Brown I didn’t live in resentment after the revelation. This seems to be the one of the two things I wish I knew a lot earlier in the progression of my life while the other wish was to have understood the importance of education involving my future but had left me joining scholarly activities rather late and possibly shortened the list of future opportunities that could’ve of resided in the labyrinth of choices I have.
ReplyDeleteI felt that Young Goodman Brown was trying to find his standing, which of course was not letting go of his wife, Faith. But sometimes, people have to take risks to find out who they really are and who/what they are facing. The evil I thought in American Literature is memorizing the most notable vocabulary as a literary period progresses, it changes a word's meaning or usually enhances them. I had no trouble knowing the rest of the subject, but learning discrete words was a challenge. I wished that I discovered a generic sense of muscle memory, training the brain to build more on new things and sticking to it. Young Goodman Brown most likely wanted to go back, but he had to tread on either way, likewise I had to do take the same path and go along with it.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Young Goodman Brown depicts my experience in ways that both the story and I represented confusion, fraught and displeasure due to the poor teaching I was provided with last year. As an individual I felt lost, I had no direction, I felt that I was obtaining no progression, and in Young Goodman Brown, Goodman also displayed a sense of doubt, and dismay. The guilt that he felt after leaving his wife, Faith, behind to pursue his journey was a tough thing for him to digest; he knew he was in the wrong but continued to do it anyways. As for me, I did that same thing as he did when I was "attempting" to learn about American Literature last year. I knew that having no discipline and/or direction was in the wrong but I didn't make an action to make a change in the process. I wish I would have realized and put in perspective how important rigorous education really was in order to enable you to a successful future. I wish I had the correct guidance as a freshman to be persuaded into taking the honors and AP classes, not told my sophomore year. I wish I had joined the clubs I am an active member in now, earlier. All of these things would have bettered my education, rigor, and chances into getting into the university I wanted easier. Because of the delays in pursuing the advanced classes, I now have to face the sacrifices and down falls it has on my rank and position as an applicant. Although I may sound disappointed, I do stress about what could have been done, but I also keep in mind that things happen for a reason!
ReplyDeleteJust like how Young Goodman Brown's experience in the woods didn't really exist, my experience learning American Literature (at least last year) didn't really exist, and I wish I knew what I was missing out on because I think knowing more about american lit would be helpful for drawing connections with theme and style to pieces we will read this year. And as far as how YGB relates to my life, it shows that our perception is everything.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Young Goodman Brown was quite similar to my experience in my own AP American Literature class last year because like Goodman Brown I didn't have a sense of direction and wasn't focused on the goals I wanted to accomplish. Although I felt I would have a sense of fulfillment at the end of the year, I didn't. I wish I could have learned more about the subjects of the past better then so I didn't have to back track now. I feel that after I left the class I didn't accomplish as much as I could have and I wish I had. Similarly Goodman Brown felt shame for where he ended up during the story within the forest for what he was and wasn't doing. In this sense I feel the same way for I can learn and I can progress; I just need a little direction and I can be on my way. I know that was done is done and I need to move on, so in the end Its clear that you should learn what you can and appreciate the learning you receive because you don't know how good learning really is until you don't have it for awhile.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Young Goodman Brown was confused before he fell asleep, in a bit of a frenzy. And I feel that way in school all the time, especially this year. And while it may not be to as high a level of confusion as Goodman Brown, I still feel confused and stressed out just like him (I've talked and ranted about this too many times to do it again). I also felt that way in American Lit as a junior because it was... less educational and more... mind-numbing almost. But in regards to school, I wish I was challenged more. And I don't mean difficulty-wise, but rather I wish classes and teachers challenged me more to think outside the box and ask the less-asked questions. Now obviously that can't really happen in a math or health class, but in general, I wish school provoked more big-picture questions. I like thinking about those, trying to come up with my own answer.
ReplyDeleteIn the story of Young Goodman Brown, he based his religious beliefs on how others perceived him since he believed everyone around him was faithful to their religion including his wife Faith. He really didn’t guide his own life and tried to conform to the public’s ideal citizen. I believe this connects to my learning experience back in American Literature last year since I believed that the same course that everyone else was taking was an accurate tactic, when in reality I should have worked to my own devise. I really wish I had followed my own course earlier in high school so that I could work better individually and basically be myself. Essentially Young Goodman Brown proves that even if you think you should conform to society’s ideals you should honestly just pave your own path with no regards for how people think of you.
ReplyDeleteYGB is a good representation of how we view our experiences and times. Last year, I thought what I was doing was all I wanted or needed to succeed. Now when we talk about time in class, I realize that what people have been telling me to do in the last couple years hasn't really been that productive to me. Now there is nothing I could of or can do about that just like Goodman Brown could do nothing but observe. The only way I can really do is react. Goodman Brown turned into a crazy man due to his obsession with his faith/Faith and his distrust. How I react to what I know about my last years of learning should be more controlled. Instead of obsessing over the problems and living in the past, I will learn from my past experiences and look to use what I have learned in the future.
ReplyDeleteWell that essay changed my view on Young Goodman Brown. I thought of it more as a literal metaphor for the struggle between good and evil, but now having read that essay, I think that Brown was just rying to find out what he was doing and who he is. I think he was hesitant at the start because he was unsure if he wanted to follow through. I also thought the story had a Dantes Inferno feel to it. Brown walks into a forest and meets essentially a guide. Does this guide represent a teacher? I don't know, maybe.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Young Goodman Brown accurately depicts the experiences that I had in American Literature last year. Just like Goodman Brown I felt confused and misplaced. When I entered that classroom last year I was in the forest that Young Goodman Brown found himself in. I thought it was gonna be a normal class and it would be exactly like I expected, but my perception was wrong from the very beginning. Perception is everything and can change in the blink of an eye. YGB experiences the same thing before entering the woods. The people he respects he views as good until he meets them in the jungle and his perception begins to change, just as mine did upon spending a little more time in the class. Perception is so easily swayed that it becomes necessary for us to question everything. When you begin to question things learning really begins to take its true form and this is when you begin to become more successful not only in school but as an individual who can think for themselves. My goal is to keep learning so that I may know the truth and not be blinded what people try to make me perceive as the truth.
ReplyDeleteI can't really say that last year's English course was a bad experience. I would say that on that path it was do the busy work and get an A or don't do it and fail in American Lit like how YGB saw his path as good and evil. The one thing I wish we had focused on last year is writing. I feel like by taking th eAP class last year I chose the road with less writing and it has mad all the difference. Sophomore's English class made me feel like I was progressing in my writing and then last year it just went to shit. Now, when I need it more than ever for personal statements, I can I hardly write an analytical essay. I don't know if that makes sense, but it feels like my writing mojo is gone.
ReplyDeleteCompare to my sophomore year, I realized that I didn't get that much out from my American Literature class last year. Like how Young Goodman Brown was lost and didn't realize what was going on in the forest, I was somewhat confused about the subject and realized that I didn't get enough knowledge from that class. Young Goodman Brown also categorizes people into either "good" or "evil” and I believe that I can't just categorize my American Literature class “bad” because I believe that I somewhat got something out of that class like learning the literary techniques and reading about the authors’ biographies/backgrounds. I didn't accomplish everything I wish I had last year, but I also got many things out through that experience.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Young Goodman Brown depicts our experience last year in American Literature, but everyone is saying that in their comments!!! So to change it up a little bit, to be the odd one out, I don't think that we were confused last year as YGB was in the story. I think, rather, that we lacked the connections that needed to be made, but were never figured out how to be made. We were presented with the literary techniques just as YGB "seemed" to have a choice, but was instead being pulled into something he didn't agree with. I felt as if we were dragged a long just learning the bare minimum and the basics, when what needed to happen was highly intellectual conversations that connected the literary techniques and our ideas with the actual text. I think that as a class we needed guidance into this, which really was not there. So I can't say that I was confused last year, because every time something was assigned I knew exactly what to do and how to do it, but the question is was it relevant? Were we going to come together and make the connections later? And not just a connection as in "oh, yah I agree with you", but rather really question each other's work to find a meaning and connection in the story. Yes, we were lost just as YGB when we all sat taking that AP test because we never entered that level of intellectuality, but rather completed the "easy work" and moved on.
ReplyDeleteYoung Goodman Brown perfectly represents my learning experiences in American Literature. Everyone/everything contain good and bad within them, as this essay states, and as is true with last year. Last years class contained both good and bad, although we, as a class, have only been presenting the bad. I agree, our teacher fell short in teaching us what was necessary and rather pushed us to hating school a little bit, but the class wasn't all bad, things and people are three dimensional, and the class did contain some good. For example, within the class we did read some texts, including, The Grapes of Wrath, Huckleberry Finn, The Crucible, and other small short stories from the textbook. Like YGB trying to figure out what to do with his life, I have realized that I have complete power over how and what I want to learn, I have the power to shape MY education, and potentially my future. Like YGB I have faltered, like when he almost gave into the "sin," I have fallen. Last year, I could have taken control of my education, and read texts that I KNEW the College Prep classes were reading, but I didn't. I also feel that I shouldn't, none of us should, focus on the past, because we could get stuck there. We shouldn't be like Goodman Brown, who's life was left at a stand-still after his daze, we should push forward, ADVANCE, not grumble over what we missed, we should all make the individual decision (not drown out our own voice because everyone else's louder) to progress, to make up the lessons and work we missed. And the thing is, we have the ability to work together and achieve more that way. Life is all about perception, and that is clearly seen with the story of Young Goodman Brown, your perception will be reflected through choices and were you end up in life.
ReplyDeleteBy reading your perspective, I never thought of it the way that you put forth. After the "dream" that Young Goodman Brown (YGB) had, he started viewing the entire world with only one perception that a person is either good or evil and after the misconception that he lost his Faith, he viewed everyone as betrayers or followers of the devil. After years and years of repeated methods in the traditional way of learning in school where a "master" speaks and the "audience" listens, the method of Open Source Learning came as a surprise and almost a shock that learning could actually be a social interaction among a community, where everyone is a student and everyone is a teacher; everyone is good and everyone is evil. I learned in American Literature that opportunities don't come to you but you make an effort to acquire them but what I wished I had learned is the concept of sharing your knowledge instead of just "supply" of knowledge by a producer and "demand" of knowledge by a consumer. It would only be a "one shot at it" instead of a constant process. If YGB had learned to open his mind a little more to the possibilities around him and the importance of every individual and his/her characteristics, then his gloominess and insecurities would have disappeared like mine are starting to.
ReplyDeleteJust like how Young Goodman Brown did not realize that he was creating his own negative perception in the woods, I feel like I was creating my own perception that I was actually learning something in American Literature. In reality my perception was wrong. I wish that I discovered in school that I should do what I feel is right and not what the teacher feels is right. A lot of the work I have done since freshmen year seemed like it had very little meaning. Yet, I did the assignments since the teacher deemed it appropriate.
ReplyDeleteBy reading Young Goodman Brown one key observation was the change in thought of YGB when he realized that so many people were doing different things than him. We tend to question our own actions when we think we are the only on doing, or not doing, the things we are doing. It sounds cliche, but when it seems everyone else is doing something, why do you have to do it too? We know what is right, or what we think is right, so why should we change our thought because of other peoples actions. Another thing that popped into my head is that we learn the best by teaching others. As you said "Those of you who still operate under the illusion that the roles of "teacher" and "student" are separate are trapped in old ways of thinking and you're missing the point of Open Source Learning." This is absolutely true. Students should teach students. And teachers should learn from students. What is wrong with it? It is a win win situation. This is something I actually have experienced on my own already. Having a twin brother gives me a chance to be a teacher and him a chance to be a teacher as well. We have gone through school taking the same classes. Obviously, one of us wouldn't always understand a certain idea. I would teach him what I knew about the subject, and he would do the same. It works. It helps the me teaching him understand the subject better than I already did.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read Young Goodman Brown, I got a clear picture of what I have experienced not just in learning but other aspects of life as well. I realized that Young Goodman Brown is basing what he thinks he believes off what other people think, what they have done, and the reputation they have. His wife's name is Faith for a reason. Basically it symbolizes that a lot of YGB's faith is based who is wife is and what she has done. When all the other good people in the community end up going to the ceremony, YGB still has hope in his spiritual faith that his wife won' t show up. He bases his faith off what other people are doing. Once he realizes that everyone, even his wife, went to the ceremony, he can't look at the people the same and so his life is a complete mess. This relates to me because I used to and still do depend on others for what I think or believe. What other people are doing is how I and many other people determine what they think is true. I think if we stop depending on what other people are doing and start caring about what we actually think and how we think we will be better off.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Young Goodman Brown kind of relates to the experience of American Literature I had last year, but I can honestly say that it was a class that will always be remembered as a "fun and straight-forward" class. So first is that we wall had the choice to pick this class and had to go through it with obstacles just like how YGB had to go through the woods and overcome those issues of the devil and religion. In the beginning of the course, most of the students just wanted to get an A in the class and just take the simple way out the entire year, but at the end of the year or period, we would all ask ourselves on things like what did we just do today? I honestly didn't know what that test was all about? As the year went on, all of us started to widen our perspectives and see that succeeding is not always getting a letter grade the easy way but learning more in the limited time we have in the classroom everyday, and also the way we do our part and teach ourselves outside of the classroom. Just like YGB, he was a man that just wanted to go through the woods and later go back to meet his lovely "Faith" but as the journey kept on going, he kept on getting confronted by issues like the"devil letting YGB borrow his serpent staff. The serpent staff represents the evil that got into YGB's head and transformed him to be a completely different person the rest of his life. Our lives shouldn't be consisted of those decisions of picking the "evil" choices but to expand our views of what will benefit all of us now and later, not just because we want to overcome our obstacles quickly and just get them over with.
ReplyDeleteSo YGB was scared and that is what led his life. He was scared of witches, the devil, losing Faith, etc and he let that take over. He saw life through what he didn't want to happen rather than what he did and that influenced the choices he made and what he perceived as real. When he is lurking behind the trees and thinks there are indians. There are always the possibilities of danger and uncertainty but you just have to question whether it really exists and keep moving forward. “This is a dull pace to start the journey” even though it may seem pointless and uninteresting, there is a journey ahead and having enthusiasm and genuine curiosity will help carry you in life. Getting started is all on you and not the the duty of someone or something else. Get started early and literally hit the ground running because from here on out that is all you can do. “Nothing can be done, you know, until I get on the ground." When Goodman is touching the branches they dry up as he is peeling them. This is representative of the material you will read, you will dissect it and try to understand what is happening and the meaning and background of why everything was occurring but overtime all that will wither away so find the time to make it not wither and apply yourself to help you in the future. Have the joy of learning something new rather than thinking of it as just another assignment. He lost himself because he had nothing to look forward too and believed there was no point. There is always a point and a meaning behind something even if "the curtains were just blue" (joke about how blue represents sadness and that’s why the author made the curtains that color but really blue was just the author's favorite color). He became what he feared. He questioned everything and sometimes the things he questioned seemed so real that it became reality for him. When reading passages and texts sometimes it may seems so real (or not) and in the moment you forget that it was an assignment and you actually enjoyed something that is school related. That is something that I wish I learned last year, to appreciate the knowledge I was given even when I thought it was pointless or unnecessary.
ReplyDelete"Young Goodman Brown" relates to my experience in "AP" American Literature last year in various ways. In this case, Faith is my Honors English 2 class, Heaven is my AP British Literature class, and the devil is my AP American Literature course. After having a tremendous learning experience in an outstanding English course sophomore year, one could expect going to the AP level was going to be even better and more mind-tingling, a whole new experience in learning in regards to American Literautre. A part of me felt sad to let go of Faith, I was so used to Faith and I didn't want to move on into the dark woods, an unknown part of nature in which I was hesitant to go in. In this case, that was going into my American Literature, I though to myself, "Is it really going to be better?" We'll, it wasnt by any means necessary. I was a classic YGB, not sure what was going to come up next, missing Faith, anticipating Heaven, hating the devil. The disorganization of the American Literautre was what bothered me the most. I'm going to be honest, the class was easy. Throughout the year I had a 100%+ grade, however, how did my learning experience look like in receiving that grade? Not as much of journey in the human mind as it should've been. I now realize, as YGB should've realized, that one needs to stop characterizing people in one's life by means of good and evil. People are human. There is good and bad in everybody. One only looks at something as evil, i.e. the American Literature course, because it doesn't meet one's standards. As it states in the essay, we don't what to understand it as much as we just want it to understand us. Therefore, one must stop complaining and contemplating on the past and understand that mistakes happen, we will have encounters with a personal devil but instead of whining or being upset about it we should think and create ideas about how we can now change this into a positive and recollect ourselves from miseries and fiascos that have happened to us in the past. Life is never two-dimensional, peel back the layers and discover the world of solution.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Young Goodman Brown related to me mainly on an academic level. Throughout my schooling I was lead on paths that were as clear as the path that Goodman Brown took with his fellow friend. In this "path" teachers had clear points to make. "This is where you need to improve." "This is what I believed you earned." But the way I was going made me ponder what I left behind and I flashed back to where choices were made. With Goodman Brown, he was questioning his path to the point where he said he'd had enough and was going to go back to what he believed was right. As Mr. Blanco said to me earlier, "What's right isn't always what is easy," which played a big part in Goodman's choice to turn back and find what he left behind even though it meant deserting his plans and leaving his friend. As Goodman choose to take his path back, it became confusing and challenging which lead to an uncertainty and he began doubting his decision. Many times that has happens to most people who are faced with difficult decisions and their experiences become one similar to Goodman Brown's, disoriented and confused. But with the right guidance and wisdom, anyone can get outta any situation.
ReplyDeleteBoth Young Goodman Brown and were left frustrated and with a feeling of not even feeling sure about our experience. Last year I didn't learn anything. I simply turned in some notes and pointless busy work and spent the rest of the year basically staring at the walls because most days the teacher wasn't even THERE. And if I missed anything on an assignment the teacher wouldn't even tell me what I missed when I asked. I wish I could've gotten the chance to get prepared for open source learning a bit more or at least gone more in depth about what we assigned to read. I'm hoping this year i'll be able to learn how to write a decent essay and finally learn how to write a good essay.
ReplyDeleteYGB's experience was pretty similar to my own with American Lit. Now I didn't see the devil or anything like that, but I did have to deal with work and assignments that didn't make any sense to me. Now when I look back, last year first semester, I realize how I went through similar changes that YGB went through. I became distrustful of the benefit of work assigned and I became sad with the class I was forced to attend, so I may not have attended the class more than a few times.
ReplyDeleteYGB was honestly a bit confusing for me. Which pretty much sums up my time in American Lit. When we were "learning" I really didn't get the point or the importance of learning the authors and type of literature and writing styles. I thought it was very pointless and even I loved English. It was a different environment and I wasn't prepared for that, even in an AP class.
ReplyDeleteYGB made me think of my learning experience in American Lit because it seemed like we were always in a fog, trying to figure out what we saw for ourselves, and kind of being left independent and confused. Just as Goodman Brown was in the story, when he was alone with just the devil and what seemed to be his friends and fellow townspeople. I wish I had discovered earlier how to be more independent and take initiative to learn without the authority figure in a classroom, and without the routine of get assignment > complete assignment > turn in assignment > get points > repeat. By having collaboration with all of the students and teacher, it seems to eliminate this problem and allows for more freedom and actual learning instead of bullshitting everything on the homework last second for a couple points.
ReplyDeleteI think Young Goodman Brown shows us we are all capable of a better understanding of something. What is happening or why it is happening; if we take the time to think about why someone is like that or why it is happening. In Mrs. Dolan's class yes she gave us homework and other projects that were not necessarily the most challenging and we were not graded that harshly but that doesn't mean she was lazy and didn't care, which seems to be the general consensus about her and that we did nothing in her class. Which is not true, the lazy kids did nothing or learned nothing because they believed it was worth nothing. It is similar to what we have been doing in Preston's class, completing assignments and turning them in on our blogs. So far we have been graded on a small amount of things so I am surprised more of the class that labels Mrs. Dolan and lazy hasn't done the same to Preston. It is a blindfold that can be lifted after the fact but I guess it is hard to see through it when it is something that you are involved in at the moment. I think we can learn that if you take the time not to only look your though your own perspective but others, you can learn a lot. This is more about what I have discovered over the years, rather than what I discovered during Mrs. Dolan's class and what I wish I had discovered. I think I have discovered more about myself and others and why we do the things the way we do over my high school years, though I cannot point out when the actual realization happened, I am definitely happy it did happen. Sorry this is so late.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading Young Goodman Brown because it was extremely descriptive and symbolic. I think that his wife being named Faith was actually a symbol of his own faith in the human race. He is picturing things too "black and white" when really, the world is full of grays. Once Brown is exposed to real human nature and how everyone strays from what is right sometimes, he loses faith, just as he lost Faith in his dream.
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