Evan Leung, Period 2, 12/6/22

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

Just earlier today, Mr. Misciagna held a lesson on the Book of Revelation. Although it was quite hard to understand the text, there was still this sense of dread and impending doom, which I found to be inspiring: even without much comprehension, these feelings are invoked simply by the topic and the dark aura surrounding the written words. I have, and I’m sure many others can relate, a considerable curiosity about the end of days. Especially popularized in modern media, the apocalypse is portrayed as a zombie apocalypse, mass natural disasters, a supernatural ultimatum, otherworldly forces, and even our own technology and human nature. I can’t give a number for how many times I’ve ran apocalypse simulations through my mind: it’s too many times to count. Battle plans increase survivability, and besides that, they’re fun to theorize. Yes, I have a plan for if a zombie apocalypse appeared during a school day, even as far as having plans depending on which period the undead arrive. One of the most depressing takes I have on the apocalypse is what presents danger: sure, whatever is trying to kill you may seem to be the biggest threat, but what I think would lead to the most death would be morale. Because we’re not in that situation, we’re able to name actions and say that’s what we’ll do, but if that reality was realized, how many people would truly have the will to continue to fight for their lives? But for those who do have that will, a sense of hope and purpose will undoubtedly be born, and that feeling will be a stronger driving force than any negative emotion conceivable. The apocalypse is just a large rabbit hole, one that I’ve evidently fallen pretty deep into. A pretty much infinite field of possibilities as to how our world ceases to exist, it is anything but a newfound thought. Though, back then I guess it would be considered something more akin to a prophecy. 

The most intriguing section of the lesson was the reveal that the Book of Revelation was actually four separate accounts of the same apocalypse. While reading the source on my own, I didn’t realize this and so it added another layer of confusion. One second they were talking about seals, then trumpets, and then suddenly the AntiChrist. However, this idea opened another path of thinking and its methodology could be effectively used in a much broader area outside of the biblical library. In both literature and everyday life, by looking at something through multiple perspectives, a better and whole understanding can be found. It’s just as the saying goes: imagine yourself in their shoes.