This class was challenging and overwhelming to me. I was really REALLY intimated by everybody in this class which made me feel stupid when it came to discussing about the book because everybody had an understanding about the chapters, characters and the book in general. So it made me question myself a lot during the semester. I never knew what close reading meant and taking this class made me gain a skill and hopefully improve it when I’m reading for class or for myself. While my skills are still improving and gaining knowledge on certain aspects in my education, it was an okay and good class.
Moby-Dick
ECL 522: Fall 2025. Professor Pressman
Hey Darian,
I just wanted to say that I think you’re a really smart person and that I’ve seen how hard you’ve worked this semester. It takes a lot of courage to speak up about your struggles, but you speaking up meant that a lot of other students that were also struggling in silence could feel safe to speak up too. I would be lying if I said that I understood every part of this story – frankly, there are whole chapters that I have no notes on because I either didn’t enjoy them or didn’t really get them. I’m pretty positive that even the parts I have a lot of annotations on I don’t really get. We’ve done a lot of collaborative growing in this class – I hope that we get to do that again in the future.
Take care,
Kit Jackson
Hello Darian,
I completely understand you about this class being challenging, as it was super challenging for me as well. Diving into the book and even as we were reading I felt super lost but I also feel hearing everyone’s interpretations helped me understand a little of what I was missing. It was interesting to hear all of the hidden meanings of what exactly Moby Dick was and is about- such as the whiteness of the whale to slavery. And honestly, without this class and the discussions we had I would have never seen the deeper meanings. Also, hearing that we’re not meant to understand everything put me more at ease and made me less hard on myself. But while I still have a lot to learn and improve with my close reading skills I found this class to be one of a kind.
I wish you all the best in the future and with the close readings!
Hi Darian! Practicing active close reading was such an exercise in reading and writing, and something that I really struggled with. I think there is honestly no right or wrong way to do it, and I appreciated that this class let us lead the conversation on what to focus on! I think it’s amazing that you came away from this class having learned something new and gained a new skill, and that is the point of this class! It’s something we may not be used to, since most classes follow a simple pattern of requiring us to memorize information and regurgitate it on an exam. However, this class required something new from us, and I think it’s what made it the most memorable.