Opinion of Class

Although most Stetson Students may not read anything on this blog, but if by chance you happen to and are thinking about taking Modern Jewish Literature for your Junior Seminar, do it. When I was first looking to taking a J-Sem, I would never think that I would have taken this class. First off, I am a business student. I have never been a big fan about reading, hence why I am not an English major, but I enjoyed this class alot. The work load was not very demanding, but if you slacked off, it can pile up. However what made the class so enjoyable was that we had a very small class size. Having only a handful of student in the class made it easy for everyone to get a chance to share their opinions and thought about a reading. If the class size was any bigger I fell like it would have made it hard for everyone to share their thoughts. Overall I'd like to thank Dr. Houston, our T.A. , and fellow classmates for actually having a fun and enjoyable class.

P.S. We should have had publix subs for every class.

Overall Opinion on The Funeral Party

My overall opinion of the story was that it was very good. Out of the 21 chapters, there were only a handful that I felt were entertaining. Without trying to spill any spoilers and not sound to judgmental about the book, what made he dislike the novel the most was that I felt like the story ended to abruptly. I wish there would have been to the story and not just end mid conversation. Overall I liked Lyudmila's writing style and how she is not afraid to bring up and talk about subjects that most people wouldnt write about. Although I didnt like this book, I feel like by the research I have done for this assignment, this author defiantly deserves a second change and I would read another one of her works.

Possible Hidden Theme?

During this section of reading Nina asks Alik to get baptized while she is taking care of him. Even though Alik is a jew, he agrees with her on one condition. Nina must call a rabbi too. However by this point of the novel I think that one of the hidden themes in the story emerges here, sex. I do dont believe that the story has to do anything necessarily about sex, but through out the first 6 chapters, there is a lot of uses and reference to seduction and women. When Nina asks Alik to get baptized, she asks him while laying down beside him. I could be wrong, but by this act I believe that Nina is trying to persuade him. Between Alik being surrounded by women, seeing them almost nude, describing how each one is beautiful, and having the vision of the women sitting on the ground, I think its safe to say that women are his weakness. And by that note I think its clear that Nina is trying to take advantage of him.

Chapter Three

Chapter Three starts off pretty weird. Alik's health has gotten worse, and now is beginning to lose his vision. One of the visions he keeps seeing is a female figure sitting cross legged on the floor. After reading this I realized that Lyudmila writes a lot about relationships and is not afraid to write about nudity. For example the story opens up and talks about five women hanging out in a bedroom in their underwear. This chapter also opens up and talks about Aliks relationship with Irina. After finishing the book, one line from this chapter stands out the most me me. "God had sent them each other for their first love, and they were true and honest until the heavens rang."The chapter goes into further detail about how they first met, and shows how much they cared for each other. However the few words of the line have the most meaning to me. "until the heavens rang". Personally I am not that religious, but this line shows that the connection they have is still so strong and explains why Irina is still by his side.