Reading texts: Barthes post-class blog

After attending class this past Wednesday, there were two passages that really resonated with me. The first was "the pleasure of the text is that moment when my body pursues its own ideas - for my body does not have the same ideas that I do" (111). I have experienced this countless times when reading an assigned readings for class, especially if it is long and boring read. I find myself zoning out thinking about different things as my eyes continue skimming over the words.

                   

When Dr. Cummings was going over this in class, someone connected this feeling to sports, and I could completely relate. I used to play soccer, and whenever the ball was on the opposite side of the field, I wouldn't really think about where tactically I should be on the field. It was like it was second nature; I would zone out and just watch the ball and without thinking about it, be able to anticipate where the ball was going. During class, I was also thinking about this same concept could be connect to driving. When I first got my license, I was so conscious of every tiny detail: the placement of my hands on the steering wheel, when to signal for a turn, how much gas I was giving, how harshly I was breaking, etc. Now, driving is second nature to me.

 

The second quote that stood out to me was: "from one reading to the next, we never skip the same passage" (109). In class, Dr. Cummings connected this quote to when you read a book once and then a couple years later pick it up and read it again. You could have hated it the first time, but the next time you read it you appreciate it more (maybe because can relate to it more the second time). I connected this to the feeling I get when I re-watch a movie that I loved in my childhood. There is always some plot points that make more sense or jokes that went over my head as a child that make me laugh extra hard as an adult.