Carmela D’Agostino
Writing and Rhetoric
Literacy Narrative
Screw You Dr. Faustus
I’m sitting in a classroom, it is 7:45 in the morning and it is way too early to
be here. The fluorescent lights hurt my eyes with the lack of sleep I have had and
there is not enough coffee to get me through today. It is only the second week of
school and I already feel like I have been here a lifetime. The good part, however, is
that I am in English class; I love English class, reading, writing, all of it! My Brit. Lit.
teacher, Mr. Shannahan walks in and starts passing out a book to each of us. With
excitement I grab the book out of his hand and I immediately start reading the back,
I think to myself “this book could be interesting.” The next thing Shannahan passes
back is our papers from our summer reading, I look down at the paper and see a big
red D. A D I have never gotten a D on a paper before. I feel disappointed and a little
embarrassed because I wanted to impress my new teacher not make him think I am
a slacker. Shannahan tells the class to open our books, Dr. Faustus, I open it read the
first line and stare at the book in confusion, this book was the demise of my reign in
the literacy world.
As a class we all started reading the book together and Shanny, our nickname
for Shannahan, would explain in detail what just occurred. I thought to myself this
will not be too bad if he guides us through it, in fact, it may even be easy. So we
continue to read as a class and we ask him questions and he answers. Now, Shanny
was a good teacher, he was funny, he always helped us when we needed it and he
would always explain everything in detail while we were in class. I could never hate
Shanny, I could only hate the class and the literature we had to read. The fiveminute bell rings and we all stop reading and Shanny passes out a study guide, first
we all grunt and moan but these study guides were always helpful. He then informs
us that we have to read forty pages for homework, not too bad only forty-five
minutes out of my life right?
Wrong, so so so wrong. That night while I was reading the book I had to read
each page twice to even understand it, I could not find any answers to the questions
in the study guide and the language used in the text was a bunch of gibberish. My
mom was home so I asked her if she would help me. She reads the first question to
herself and then goes into her room for ten minutes, comes back out with the same
blank expression I had on my face when I tried to read the first line in class. She
slowly hands the book back to me and just walks away. So I called some of my
friends and classmates who were enrolled in the same class, and somehow some
way we all figured out the answers together, or so we thought.
I walk into class the next day and we start going over the packet together, I
had the wrong answers, and so did Jelena, Tommy, Kelsey and that weird kid in the
back corner. None of us comprehended what happened in the book. Shanny stared
at us like we were all stupid and he explains it to us as if we are a bunch of second
graders who did not understand what happened in Captain Underpants. The reexplanation of the forty page homework assignment took time away from reading
and discussing in class, so our homework that night was sixty pages.
I was so frustrated with what I had previously read I did not even attempt to
read the last sixty. The book was short so that would be the end of Dr. Faustus but I
was wrong. We had to take a test and write a paper and during the test we had to
write a short essay on what Dr. Faustus meant to us and what really happened.
During the test I pretty much winged it and had to just try to remember what was on
the study guide, and by the end of the period my hands and forehead were drenched
in blood, sweat and tears. Overall, however, I thought I probably did okay and did
not do the worst in the class.
About a week later our tests arrive back to us all graded and ready to go,
Shanny looks a little disappointed in us but his sarcasm outweighs his seriousness.
We all get our tests back and the highest grade in the class as a total was a seventy,
my grade was a fifty-eight. Shanny then informs us of the curve he graded on and
that we should all had five percent to our grade. That did nothing for any of us.
This was the class that killed literacy for me, it made me not want to read,
write or have anything to with anything that involved words in a sequence. Like this
paper right now, I will do it because I have too not because I want too. In First Year
Seminar I will read and do all the assignments because I have too. Whenever I look
at my bookshelf and see Dr. Faustus with its ugly red and black cover and the weird
drawing on the front I just turn away and leave.
I liked reading from the moment I learned until the moment I had to read Dr.
Faustus. Reading and I had a good relationship, a teacher or I would choose the book
and I would just read. I was a good reader too, I read pretty fast and I
comprehended all that was going on and I would ace any test that tried to challenge
me. Now, since Dr. Faustus I hate reading, I do not read for pleasure anymore, I read
when I have to for school and usually no other reason than that. I use to read for
pleasure all the time. I would read before I went to bed, I would read when I was
bored, I would even read during classes. Now, I cannot even remember the last book
I picked up at will. That has all changed now and I do not think that I will turn back.