Reflections

This ISU has been quite the experience to say the least. It is the first time I have really studied a novel so thoroughly. As I started looking at the novel more and more, I continued to discover many new “deeper meanings” that could be extracted from the text. My ISU only focused on a few of these meanings, but I have a feeling there are still a few more to be discovered, despite a thorough study of the novel. It definitely gives you a lot of appreciation for the book. Now knowing that I have this ability to see so much more value in a book than what there is at first glance, I plan on trying to recognise these meanings early when reading a book. This way I’ll be able to get most of the meaning out of it, without having to pick through the entire book.

There was one thing that I did differently when writing this ISU. After I read the book for the first time, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to write my explication on, so I went through the book and put sticky notes wherever a useful quotation was. This technique made writing and supporting my points very clear, since my book was now a rainbow of sticky notes. I wish I had thought of this before.

One of the meanings in the novel that has really stuck with me is how important art is in our lives “to evoke feeling and remind us we are human”. Music has been a part of my life more than any other art form. One of the things that initially drew me to this book was the fact that music seemed to be an important theme in it. Keeping this theme in mind has definitely given me a heightened appreciation for music. When you consider that the music you’re listening to is reminding you you’re human, you can’t help but grow slightly more grateful for it. I now find myself trying to devote more time to my music related projects.