This week's class presented many interesting challenges as we began our first annotation assignment for Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. I found the process of annotation to be incredibly interesting and engaging. Through these annotations I was presented with a great opportunity to research and analyze the text in more detail than I otherwise would be. I was able to learn about the historical context of many of the themes presented throughout the text. Victorian colloquialisms and societal conflict surrounding class and industry were all things that I was able to expand my knowledge of through these annotations. John Leech’s illustrations were particularly striking. I was unaware going in just how much effort was put into the complex process of creating and reproducing these images. Furthermore the incredible detail in each image, each so full of thematic depth, was really striking. Many of the ideas surrounding class inequality, individuality and personal agency are all ideas that are proliferated throughout the text and the images and remain incredibly relevant to this day. It’s interesting to note how many of these Victorian ideas that seem outdated remain so powerful even today.

Simon Mancuso