I should probably sit down and read the Dictionary from cover to cover. Why? I have found that despite my extensive background with English literature and reading, I am at a slight disadvantage when it comes to my Graduate Lit courses. Basically, when I speak in class I sound like an idiot.
The problem, I think, is rooted in the fact that I have not used these skills since graduating from Muskingum. That was almost a decade ago. I am not a High School English teacher, nor am I a Community College Professor. I don't study this material closely, and teach it, every day. I haven't looked at most of it for 10 years.
Others in my classes are either teachers, or professional students. They say brilliant things in class, examine the works closely and say remarkably well articulated comments.
They say things like, " What I found remarkable about this line in the poem was the use of juxtaposition between the conformity of American society in the heterosexual, nuclear family sense and the misogynistic viewpoint towards the suburban lifestyle and women."
It's not that I don't understand the words. They are not above my understanding, it's just that... well..
I say things like, " I related to this section of the poem where he talks about banks, because I work for an investment bank."
See the difference? I'm an idiot. Every time I speak up, my face turns hot, and I spend the rest of the class paranoid that I say the stupidest things-- and that I should just quit the class. Yet, I appear to be doing well thus far with the response papers. So, there's that.
