Final Thoughts

Before this class began I was afraid that it would all be over my head, that I would spend most of my class time looking at the clock and day dreaming about who knows what. However, literary theory turned out to be pretty interesting and while there was some that was over my head, I feel that I have a pretty good grasp on all the theories we've discussed. Whether it was attempting to wrap my head around the idea that all of language is a system of differences, or the idea that nothing has any real meaning or a true center, my knowledge of the topic has greatly expanded.

One of the major apprehensions I had going into the class was that I felt literary theory really had no place in everyday life, that it was something reserved for the academic world. However, while it might be true that more in depth observations are best saved for academia, theory can be applied to almost everything around you, even if it's only to spark some thought for yourself. They all give you a new way to think about your surroundings, particularly looking at what is taken for granted by most people. Whether it's looking at the power structure of the country, the college, or your job or even just looking at an advertisement and thinking about the underlying meanings in it, theory can be applied to all kinds of things.

I think the overwhelming lesson that will really stick with me from this class is to be careful with my language. Previously I had never thought much of language, whether I was reading someone else's work or writing my own it was not something that I really thought much of. Yet through the study of theory I've come to understand that language is something of great importance and can have a great influence whether it intends to or not. Language is a system that is always at work looking to establish meaning or destroy meaning (if you believe there is a meaning) depending on which theory you subscribe to.

This class has certainly exposed to new ideas and has changed the way I think about certain things in my life. While I'm not to the extent of Jon Rosenblatt, the student in our final article, I definitely do find myself having new thoughts about things I see everyday which I would not have been doing without my new knowledge of literary theory.