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week one thoughts

mindyhuskins's picture

So as far as Darwin goes, there is a reason I already owned the book. It was my overly ambitious goal in high school to read through as many "classics" as possible. On the Origin of Species is one of the few books I have placed on my "can never actually finish" list. However for the sake of this class I have been trying again and doing a bit better. When I think of Darwin, the witty words of David M. Bader's summarizing haiku always come to mind first:

 

Galapagos finch-

                                 the same beak as Aunt Enid's!

                           A theory is born.

While this is a bit silly and completely glosses over the importance of this work and all of Darwin's life and research, I can't help but prefer it over the tediousness of the actual book. I think I will be ill if I ever have to read about pigeons ever again.

Comments

themword's picture

I too bought the book in

I too bought the book in ninth grade, after briefly discussing Darwin in my biology class, thinking that I would finish it and be able to tell people that I had read it. I could only get through a few pages and realized that it was not interesting and too hard. Looking back, I realize that not only was it hard for me to read because I was fourteen, but that I was trying to read it as a textbook. Though I do not necessarily think I can read the book as a romance, I have been reading it as a novel, curling up with it and reading it with true interest. I went into it sitting with a pencil ready to underline and take notes, but I couldn't do it. I had to sit and truly appreciate what I was the text. And as I read, I really began to see how Darwin's theory of evolution can so easily be tied into literature, and I became increasingly excited. I look forward to discussing these connections in class.

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