A 6

I decided to make an eye. And then I decide to (sort of) write a poem.

I have come to associate “eyes” with recognition and realization, the theme of the TO courses we have taken this semester. Though we have discovered that the eyes lie or do not reveal a complete truth, they have been key images and figures in all of the works we have read. We encountered Frankenstein’s false dismissal of his monster because of the monster’s appearance—how Frankenstein only perceived through his eyes. Oedipus has no way of knowing that he has committed all of the atrocious acts like sleeping with his mother and killing his father. He saw his mother and father yet did not “realize” or “recognize” them as his relations. Eyes are what we, as humans, use to discern much meaning and implications. Often our eyes deceive us. Or, as it seems Shelley wants us to realize is that our reliance on our eyes is disproportionate. What the eyes can and cannot reveal is something I have found both interesting and complicated. I formed my eye by collaging various eyes from magazines. When I created my not-very-artistic eye, the isolated eyes, which I had cut from the glossy pages, became incredibly creepy. They just stared at me, and with no face to mellow out their intensity, I felt somewhat violated (not very, but still it was bizarre...) Perhaps I felt sort of like what the monster feels—under a microscope while being looked at unsympathetically. I didn’t feel satisfied with just the eye as my final product, which is what led me to the poem.
I attempted to rework one of my favorite poems, and a poem that we read this semester, e.e. cumming’s “anyone lived in a pretty how town.” I’ve tried to incorporate some of what we learned in class but also our class’s personality (including Ed) trying to form some sense out of a nonsensical set of words. I also tried to insert some humor in some of my stanzas since I feel e.e. cumings and Ed both realize the importance of humor even when dealing with serious topics. I feel how our class approached the material we covered had an enjoyable mix of serious intellectual study as well as humor, which is why it was so enjoyable.
Together the “eye” and the “poem” can communicate what I learned and appreciated about Core 111. I think our study of recognition and realization went beyond the sonnets and novels we read and “close read.” I think eventually, at least for me, I began to recognize certain weaknesses and strengths within my writing, and also to realize some weaknesses and strengths that I did not see in the beginning of the course (rather I did not know they existed in the first place.) I am now able to recognize and realize the growth I have made because of this class. I can now see with my eyes the abstract ideas that we so often discussed. The product is in the words. And in recognizing and realizing what I know and need to continue to uncover.