Literary New Orleans
7 out of 8 of the pieces of literature we're reading this semester in this English class are depressing. I know this from either having already read them or from reading the summaries on the jackets.
We're starting off the semester with Chita: A Memory of Last Island by Lafcadio Hearn. If you need to brush up on your Louisiana history, on August 10, 1856 Last Island Hurricane destroyed said barrier island almost completely. Hearn takes this historical event--along with the yellow fever outbreak of 1853--and creates a story "that is by turns mysterious, mesmerizing, and tragic" (from the cover flap.)
Sound like something that just might aggravate post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms?
:-(
I really, REALLY do not want to read this novella. AT ALL. The worst of it is that I have to lead the class in a discussion about two passages of my choice from this book, so I can't just pretend to read it.
I have to read it tomorrow. It can be done in a single sitting, for certain. I'll probably try to read it while I'm in lab all morning, and I'm damn well going to bring my flask with me, because I won't be able to function by the time I get to the ending of this book that god damn advertises itself as being depressing throughout and having a particularly tragic ending. And it's not just ANY tragic story--it's the result of a massive hurricane in the Gulf.
We're starting off the semester with Chita: A Memory of Last Island by Lafcadio Hearn. If you need to brush up on your Louisiana history, on August 10, 1856 Last Island Hurricane destroyed said barrier island almost completely. Hearn takes this historical event--along with the yellow fever outbreak of 1853--and creates a story "that is by turns mysterious, mesmerizing, and tragic" (from the cover flap.)
Sound like something that just might aggravate post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms?
:-(
I really, REALLY do not want to read this novella. AT ALL. The worst of it is that I have to lead the class in a discussion about two passages of my choice from this book, so I can't just pretend to read it.
I have to read it tomorrow. It can be done in a single sitting, for certain. I'll probably try to read it while I'm in lab all morning, and I'm damn well going to bring my flask with me, because I won't be able to function by the time I get to the ending of this book that god damn advertises itself as being depressing throughout and having a particularly tragic ending. And it's not just ANY tragic story--it's the result of a massive hurricane in the Gulf.