While reading this story of a man learning to love something that seemed unobtainable and boring I was enlightened. School is not always fun and enjoyable; each student has their favorite classes and ones they are not in favor of. But hearing how somebody can have such a life-changing experience is beautiful. He never thought he would enjoy literature let alone teach it; and learning that fact made me think. I know that personally I have never felt that English class was my favorite; in fact I am a math person. Although I have nothing against English or writing I just feel confident when working through a math problem and when writing an essay I feel that the person grading it will be subjective and not care for my style. In fact in my high school senior year English class (AP Literature), my teacher told me that I do not know how to write a paragraph. After hearing that I just wanted to give up and cry, of course I did not do that considering that I am here today in a college English class. It is hard because I really do love writing and I know the rules, it just is not natural for me to be coherent from sentence to sentence sometimes because I have so much I want to say. And it is difficult when you are evaluated and expected to write in a certain structure and in the liking of the instructor/professor.
That is why I can relate with Gerald Graff. Graff’s story is inspiring because his love for literature was unexpected and occurred in the midst of an essay. I never pondered the concept Graff shared “that what literature teachers teach is not literature but criticism, or literature as it is filtered through a grid of analysis, interpretation, and theory.” Why is it that we must break down each piece of literature? Why can’t we just read the piece, as it is, unbiased and open-minded? I do not understand the concept of analyzing another person’s thoughts and criticizing the way they think and write. That is why I have turned to math my whole life; it has a specific answer and is unbiased. I do understand that English is our language and it is the way we communicate with one another but I do not understand why we must criticize it and tell others to write in a certain manor. I hope to learn the answers to these questions throughout this course and the rest of my college career. I would love to understand the importance of past, present, and future literature and have a life-changing experience as Gerald Graff did because his story was remarkable!
