Metacognition: Jane Eyre

I think that this book went really well for me in both reading comprehension and thought. I've always been interested in 19th century as well as early 20th century women, and I think that Jane Eyre helped that interest flourish. I really enjoyed reading Jane Eyre, almost because of the slow pace. It was nice not to have to speed through conversation and really get a feel for the characters without being thrown into the book in the first chapter.

There were a couple surprises about my thinking that I caught myself on. The most major was how cynical I am, especially late at night. As I read how Jane rejected Rivers' proposal, I was egging her on instead of encouraging her to go with a stable man who would take care of her as his wife. I also found myself compelled to want to encourage Jane to act out and rashly as a young child in the beginning of the story and at Lowood.

I liked how I was able to think about our discussion on love from Once, and how we talked about the different types of love. I think that I was able to recall this so frequently when reading because of the many different types of love Jane experiences and how that love changes. I think that I could probably think more clearly if I marked more in the book as I read, and that would also help me decide which passages to choose for discussion. Overall, I really enjoyed reading Jane Eyre, and I think that this novel has really honed my thinking skills.

360 Degrees: Hair

Hair is a musical surrounding a group of about 20 "hippie" teenagers during the war in Vietnam. Having seen the musical on Broadway in New York, I think that there are a lot of deeper meanings we can take from it rather than just the outer layer of a group of drug addicts trying to escape the war. What I see here is a group of radicals (for lack of a better word) trying to get a group of higher up officials to see their point of view. How do these teenagers behave in a way that tries to gain others attention?

While there are several numbers that seem to have no meaning other than displaying a drug trip, I believe that these types of songs show a retreat of the characters: their life is so terrible, and they have so little to stay conscious for that they take LSD and other drugs to avoid reality. They are flashy and run around in the streets like crazy hippies who don't care what the world thinks of them, and their story becomes of interest to several people who cannot comprehend what they are trying to accomplish.

We also witness the burning of the groups draft cards to the Vietnam war. I'd like to think that them burning their cards not only represents their vehement opposition to the war but their only way of standing up for what they believe in; under normal circumstances (even today) no one would really listen to the drunk druggie kids or what they were trying to say.

I am curious about the writer of the play, and what his view of the Vietnam war was and how it affected him throughout the years. I think that maybe he had a family member or knew someone who was killed in the war, and this play (that was outrageously shocking and mind blowing, especially when it first came out) was almost like his way of confronting his demons and standing up for what he believes in.

Probably the most important message I got out of this musical was the way the Vietnam war really affected the youth of America. They went, they opposed, they fought, they died. And when you really listen to the words, you can tell that there is more than just the literal meanings to Let the Sunshine.