'The Handmaid's Tail'

I think I made progress on the class goal of analyzing different kinds of texts using a variety of critical and theoretical tools, including close readings and the specific conventions applicable to different genres. I have never been great at understanding the deeper meaning behind something in a text, but I think I improved these skills throughout this class. I practiced close reading when it came to reading the short stories and the sonnets. I was able to better understand what the short stories and sonnets were about because I thought about what the story was saying both up front with the words, but also its deeper meaning behind the words. I think I was able to dig down into the deeper meaning when we read Atwood’s book, The Handmaids Tail. I read this book when I was in high school, but I did not understand it as well as I do now. This was because I did a much better job at doing a close reading and looking below the surface of what the story was talking about.

I did not do any work with theory before this class, but I think I was able to understand and use it effectively. This can be seen in my EW #10. I was able to understand what Finigan and Cooper were talking about in their essays and use that information to support what I was talking about in my research paper. My improvement in this goal can also be seen in the homework assignments where we had to complete while reading Finigan and Cooper’s essays. I was able to understand their information and use it to properly answer each of the questions we had to