Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way

Big question for this post:

Should a student in Sister Pauline Fox's World Masterpieces class who earned a C- have been able to recognize the first line in a novel that the student read in Spring 1989, a mere 33 years ago?

I admit that I barely survived my World Masterpieces class during the Spring 1989 semester at Mount Mercy College. Somehow, I squeaked out a final grade of a C- and, to that end, I will go to my grave believing that if I hadn't established a friendly relationship with Sister Pauline Fox (RIP)* during the Fall 1988 semester during my Freshman Composition class, I would have not received a C-; certainly, I would have a lower grade. Nonetheless, I earned a C- in her class. One of the novels I was assigned to read was Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. I remember being passionately invested in this novel, especially (and the details are fuzzy) after reading about a dude who was just sitting at home instead of going out and finding a job. Somewhere, I have a Blue Book - what she required for her students to use for her essay exams - with an essay about that dude and no, I do not remember the dude's name. 

All of that to say that this article -The Making of Steven Spielberg - quotes the first line of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina as a means to set the stage for Steven Spielberg's new film and it includes this link The Meaning of ANNA KARENINA’s First Line.

All of this to say that I am going to research the new Steven Spielberg new film to figure out if I want to go see it on a Tuesday night. 

* Sister Pauline Fox passed away 3541 days (9 years, 8 months, 1 week, 2 days) ago at Mercy Hallmar Care Center, which is where my Grandma Simons resided during the last years of her life. I visited Sister Fox once and I believe she recognized me. I don't know why (exactly) but she couldn't speak when I stopped in her room.

No comments: