The End: Final Blog

When we started this class I automatically assumed that it would be just another boring Literature class that I would have to suffer through. Thankfully, I couldn't have been more wrong. I feel as though I've taken a lot more than just knowledge about the books we read in class away from this course. The fact that the majority of us had differing opinions, the fact that my generation really doesn't know a lot of what we're supposed to, the narrow mindedness of some individuals that we looked at in connection to the books we were reading, etc.
Reading Culture Jam and Dumbest Generation really opened my eyes and angered me. I won't lie, I felt a little frustrated when we would discuss my 'generation' in class, but I think it was because I was realizing just how much my generation has turned a blind eye to knowledge. I don't want to be known for nothing, and I especially don't want to be known for my stupidity.
Overall though I really enjoyed the books and supplements we were assigned to read. They all, in their own ways, helped show me that there are more things that I need to learn about and more things that I want to prevent from happening. I'll even go as far to say that Hunger Games might be on my favorite books list. The blogging assignments were annoying at first, but now that we're at the end of the course I really feel that they helped me further think about the topics we were discussing in class and really form my own opinions on everything, which is great! It was definitely a change for me and I came to love it.
To wrap things up, I really am happy we discussed the idea of censorship and used the video of the Westboro Baptist Church. That media really solidified my feelings and opinions of anger and frustration. It helped open my eyes to the ups and downs of censorship, which I found pretty interesting.
I am happy to say that I am walking away from this class with more knowledge than I expected. From our discussions and debates I'll be able to better prove my points and connect more books and their themes to bigger issues. If we're all to walk away with anything from this course I hope its the desire to make a change.

Burning Books

Okay, I will be the first to admit that reading has taken a back seat on my priority list lately. But I will say that reading is one of my favorite things to do when I have the extra time. Personally I would be pretty sad and upset if books were taken away or banned. I kind of feel like its one of those situations where you don't really appreciate what you have when it's available to you all the time, but if someone were to tell me that I wasn't allowed to read I would have an even bigger desire to do so.

I feel that if books were to be a thing of the past our future would be no where near as smart as past generations. Doctors and Psychologists use books to help diagnose sick individuals. Students use text books to help understand topics that are discussed in class and to broaden their knowledge. Some people just use books as a form of escape. A world without books, I feel, would be extremely different then the world we're used to.

Sadly, I feel like we are already beginning to "burn" books now. Our generation especially would rather watch reality tv or surf the internet before sitting and reading a book. Another way we burn books is by simply passing them by. If a title or cover doesn't look interesting to us we pass it up with out even finding out if it has an amazing story woven within it.

These are just my opinions, but I really hope that books don't become a thing of the past. Personally, I think we need them.