My parents don’t understand why I want to study English/literature.
I bought them a copy of Stoner to try to explain.
Plot twist: they’re foreign and their English is somewhere between conversational and business proficient
Did I fuck up? Will they like it/understand at all?
If anything they will dislike you studying English even more because 1. Stoner is very very depressing and 2. It may seem you're uncapable of forming your own opinions and motivations because you're merely copying the actions of the main character of said book
>Mom, Dad, I understand you are worried about me choosing to study literature. I feel that it is time that I figure out who I am and where I am in this world. Many great writers have dealt with existentialism and I feel that tracing their footsteps will lead me to the truth. I ask that you allow me to go on this journey so that I may help others along the way.
That's pretty much it, but if they still say no then they won't understand.
>>7502995
1. is a concern
2. my life thus far is quite different from stoner and they've known i liked english/lit/reading for years. i don't think there's any danger of them thinking i just want to copy stoner, and i'm definitely not.
(for context i'm already 2 years out of undergrad. this is for a phd)
>>7503009
eh i don't think that's my motivation for studying literature though
>>7502884
doo just tell them you really want to teach and spin that angle. getting them copies of Stoner is hilariously absurd
>>7503009
that is really bad are you trying to make a funny joke
>>7502884
Why don't you just tell them why you want to study lit?
>>7505509
this is coming from the guy who types in the tumblr voice yeah ok you're cool you sound like a teenage girl no punctuation all lowercase cause you're just too cool for this earth right?
>>7502884
Who cares if they understand?
>>7502884
I cant believe there are people on this board encouraging you to study english. Do STEM, or better yet, go to a trade school, and read and write in your spare time. An English degree will not help you in any conceivable way.
>>7504352
Lol that's not the -only- thing I did; it's not like this came out of nowhere. I made the thread for keks I didn't actually just out of nowhere drop a copy of Stoner and them and tell them "read this this is what I want to do."
>>7505518
Meh I've explained but they never really took it seriously. They always kinda just thought I was joking since it's something that's just incompatible with their world view (immigrant parents, think: "why you no doctor? why you no engineer?" etc)
>>7507574
Well for one I'd rely on them for some amount of financial support I think. Even absent that I'd rather not do something that would completely alienate my parents.
>>7508767
I work in finance mate, and I make more money than 99% of this board. It's for a PhD because I realized that what I'm doing now just isn't all that fulfilling in the long run. My arrogance/hubris tells me that I'm intelligent enough to do well in most things, but it would take something I'm actually willing to dedicate myself to if I want to "make it." I can skate by for most fields but I want to find something where I'm happy giving everything I got, and so far, English/lit seems like the best bet.
>>7509708
you haven't explained what your deal is at all
you just REALLY want to know about books?
you want to come up with different interpretations of books?
you want to figure out what beauty is (in the english language?)
i think you're a cunt whose immigrant parents made him study accounting when they couldn't force med school out of him and now you're looking for an out
you need a reason for the out
your apps aren't going to be good if you don't have that anyway
if you can't convince your parents, you're not going to get into a good program
think of some interdisciplinary angle, at least
>>7505936
there are many of us who write like that
when we write on a computer keyboard we don't touchtype so we get lazy
it's not a style
we just never learned to type properly
>>7509724
i made a half tongue in cheek thread about giving my parents a copy of stoner, i didn't give you my life story. stop projecting so hard. i'm not going to drop everything and do a phd at some random local university, i'm only going if i get into an elite program. i'mm 100 pct confident i can do it (but if it turns out i'm delusional it's not like i'm losing anything i didn't have already except maybe some pride), and i have plenty of angles to work with already.
fyi i have an english comajor too (4.0 for what it's worth), i'm not going into this blind. i've done a shitton of research into what an english/lit phd entails, how to maximize chances of getting in, and all that related jazz. this is not a spur of the moment whim.
>>7509732
if you make a thread, you're the supplicant, those who respond are attempting to help you
what are your angles?
if you're merely asking people to respond to a vague story about giving your illiterate parents stoner (but no, "lol i was only pretending to be retarded"), you're an idiot
i thought you rather merely didn't know how to construct a thread
>>7509743
>implying 4chan isn't just for sharing random stories most of the time
I don't see anywhere in the OP where he wanted your "help"
Go back to reddit faggot
>>7509743
sorry i made the thread, i forgot making any threads that aren't memes and /muhliterarylifestyle/ and dfw is frowned upon. feel free to ignore and hide and return to your regularly scheduled programming of bookshelf threads, "what is the ___ of literature," ">reading fiction," ">reading nonfiction," ">reading," goodreads threads, and the like.
>>7503009
>I feel that tracing their footsteps will lead me to the truth.
>so that I may help others
Wait wat? Who are you doing this for?
>>7509789
That's not OP. OP responded to it saying that's not what his angle is.
Just tell them you plan to use your degree to go to law school.
>>7509753
>all this passive aggression
don't get your ovaries in a bunch he is right this was a boring navel-gazing thread so take your passive aggression with you and fuck off out of here
>>7509827
Not him but I don't think you know what passive aggressive means.
>>7509835
i know estrogen tactics when i see them
he was nearing jezebel levels with that post
>>7509708
If you work in finance and make halfway decent money, then what exactly are you having to convince your parents of? Just go, and pay out of pocket. If it doesn't work out go back to finance. BETTER CONSULT AN IMAGEBOARD ABOUT THIS
>>7509860
im not consulting you guys on anything except maybe for soe insight into how well non native speakers/non lit people can understand stoner.
Study STEM to make your parents happy and then drop out after two years.
>>7511407
>i didn't read the thread
