Post #9: Final Thoughts

Question: Your favorite work this semester (and why).

Personally, I would have to say that my favorite works were the short stories of Jack London, especially "The Mexican." When I was a child and had heard the name Jack London, I would immediately think of his novel White Fang, which everyone had seemed to be reading at the time. However, I admit that I came up with all sorts of stereotypes of him and his work. I had made the mistake of assuming that all his works were hard core nature horror stories, that would be the only explanation why all the boys in my class raved about it, right. But after finally reading some of his work, I came to the realization that Jack London was not just about nature. He enjoyed the naturalness of the outside world, of other lands. And in doing so, he wanted his readers to see that there was more to the people. Many of his characters in his short stories come across racism and other racial barriers. Yet even the most stoic of men, for example Felipe Riviera, have a way of defeating this barrier. And that is how my attitude of Jack London was transformed.

Post #8: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Having never read anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I didn't know what to expect. And even after reading "Diamond as Big as the Ritz," I was still somewhat at a loss. I certainly did not foresee what was going to happen. Not only was I doubtful of Percy, but of Unger as well. He was surrounded by so much wealth and impossibility, yet he did not have a reaction for any of it. It did not seem believable. Then things took a turn. When he had drank the port and become so out of it that he did not even sense the servant bathing him, I had began to question if he was poisoned, as well as Percy's motives. I found it to be an odd story and was not sure of Fitzgerald's style. That being said, I'm intrigued to look into more of his work.