Personal Application #7

Now that the entire book is done, I can apply many of the elements to my real life. A lot of what was discussed in the book lead to really interesting discussions in class about all sorts of real world issues. Things ranging from religion, how to live life properly, and fate vs. freewill. These are all things that I think about in my late-night wonderings about life, and I’ve been exposed to a lot of new ideas through the discussions we’ve been having throughout the trimester. Being able to be open about each other’s ideas and opinions without attacking someone as a person has been incredibly beneficial, I really enjoy having discussions where we can all take different positions and still remain civil, even if we don’t come to a resolution or concrete answer at the end of the class.
I do feel like most of my ideas have remained stable throughout the trimester. I’ve always been fairly firm in my beliefs, and though this class may not have revolutionized the way I see my own life, I’m proud to say my eyes have been opened up to lots of different ways of thinking. For example, as someone who has never been big on religion or the idea of it, it was very beneficial for me to listen to people who practice a religion about their perspective on things. A lot of times, I feel as if religion can be demonized, so I appreciated getting a look into something I was unfamiliar with at first. Even if my beliefs haven’t changed, I find myself being more thoughtful about other’s ideas now.   

Sophie's World Reflection #7

The book as a whole, now that we’ve finished, seemed a bit unsatisfying to me. The ending didn’t really do as much for me as I was hoping it would. With all the action of the last few chapters (Sophie and Alberto universe jumping straight out of the book they were in into some sort of limbo where they could find Hilde and her father, etc), I was expecting more from the ending. I thought that there would be some sort of epic meeting between Sophie and Hilde through one way or another, and leaving only the small action of Sophie’s to be noticed by Hilde left it on a flat note that I wasn’t expecting.
I do feel like the entire book could’ve come to a more solid resolution, though maybe that was the point, to leave it open to interpretation and different thoughts. It leaves it up to the reader to decide what could happen from there. I wish there had been some sort of more direct confrontation between Hilde and Sophie, though it does seem that there would be no real way to achieve that, given their “separate worlds” they live in.
I like the way that the author brought together their two worlds rather than just leaving it at the fact that Sophie and Alberto are in a book. It brought me closer to satisfaction with the ending to know that they are even in the same plane of existence, leaving room for them to at least acknowledge each other’s existence (even if it’s only through speculation and actions that mimic those from the book written for Hilde).