This week we finished presenting our "What is Literature?" projects and began to talk about tragedy. I believe my group's presentation went fairly well; it was apparent that each group member had learned a lot about their particular part. I also enjoyed listening to the other groups present. Although, it did get a bit repetitive on occasion because there were multiple groups on a particular element. I now feel like I could provide an adequate definition of each element of fiction and a few details about each one. The group essays were also graded this week and as I expected I am disappointed about the grades we received. I appreciate the chance to edit, revise and learn from my mistakes and I have every intention of revising the essay I worked on. I didn't expect to receive an "A" the first time because I wasn't actually sure how to structure the essay or what it was supposed to accomplish. I now have the comments that correspond withe the grade the essay received and I feel I can now make it a much better paper. I did not work on the other group essay and it received a lesser score. I am not sure how my group mates feel about the responsibility of revising and I may decide to work on that one too. I struggled in this project with the concept of a group essay; someone is going to have to write the thing, but in the end I think most people's ideas were incorporated. I am looking forward to the tragedy unit because it poses a question about human behavior that I can relate to; I am fascinated by murder shows, documentaries of human suffering and written work revolving around tragic events. I catch my self standing transfixed, staring at the television when a new story of starving children or human trafficking is showcased, but walking away when less nauseating events are discussed. No wonder the media likes to talk about the "sad stuff," that's what sells. I know it to be true of me and of my fellow humans but its kind of messed up, right? Shouldn't we back away and turn the channel at horrific events instead of feeling some sort of warped enjoyment?