Blog Post 5

I think the problem with teaching literary fiction is that there is already a preconceived notion of the book and the "right" opinion about the book already exists. In English, you're supposed to have your own opinion about a book, but "classics" don't allow this to happen. The people who teach the books already know what the "right" answer is. This is not the case with genre fiction. For example, people can have different opinions about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and not be wrong. But if someone questions the greatness of The Great Gatsby, then you are shunned from the discussion. Basically, I feel like with classics the ideas are already there. I think it's important to form your own opinions about what you read and not simply buy in to what people have said for 50+ years.

Blog Post 4

     In the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, there is one aspect of the book that would not suit the movie. In the book, the story is told by Chief's point of view, who is a seemingly deaf half-Columbian-half-Indian character. He never interacts with any of the characters through dialogue, so it's very awkward that he is the center of the attention. In the actual movie, R.P. McMurphy is the main character, and that's what I would do if I were making this into a movie.
     The three scenes that are important to keep is the scene where McMurphy is singing with the towel because it is funny, and shows what he is willing to do to drive Nurse Ratched crazy. Also, the scene where they make the bet should be kept because it establishes the main problem in the story. The last pivotal scene that should be kept is the scene where Dr. Harding and McMurphy talk about Nurse Ratched and electro shock therapy because it shows how demented mental hospitals were in the 60's.