Progress!

I have found an article whose content I find to be fascinating. Often times, these academic articles are so dull compared to the novel or work that it strives to analyze that obligation dictates my perusal of them. However, I think that perhaps I am starting to understand better the enjoyment behind research and what it means to be an academe.

How do I know this?

I begrudged an interruption by my dad from the world I was in while reading the article.

I dive into language and learning and as I lose myself in that world, I find small pleasures in the knowledge that is imparted to me. This is perhaps another small reminder of why I am here, doing what I do.

And at the same time, a small, but noticeable sign of my progress (growth?) as a graduate student! Oh the joys of the little things in life...

Reading and yet more reading

What is it about other people's thoughts, their theories, their way of thinking that is so hard for me to absorb? What is it they are trying to say and why is it so hard for me to follow?

Narration and narratives are easy. There is a story to tell and you take it apart based on the way the author chooses to portray a story. What, of life, did the author choose to show as important? Why did the author choose to focus on the psychology of the characters rather than the action of the plot? Such things are easy to decipher.

We enter the realm of the philosophy or the theory behind the writing and suddenly, I feel like I hit a wall.

Joseph Conrad and Henry James. Their driving philosophies should render their work more accessible. Yet their very philosophies is where I fail. To follow people through the logic of their thoughts isn't difficult yet something is stopping understanding.

Perhaps it's just time for me to go to bed. Bah.