I'm a sheep! (or wheat?)

So my 20th Century Novel class begins with the famous "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf, said to be the most complicated book we will cover in the class. Really, it's fascinating. Some literary genres have aimed to make literature more accessible to the masses, while others argue that removes the true value of the art. Modernism leans towards the former, intentionally complicating concepts, deconstructing norms in the hopes of reaching a new and objective way of viewing our world. It's very introspective and self-centered, often sacrificing the traditional concept of plot for pages that merely follow the scattered thoughts of various characters. This is one of the reasons people have such a hard time reading these authors, though arguably, most of us think in seemingly random trains of thought rather than distinct story-lines. As my prof. has mentioned, these kinds of books tend to separate the literary wheat from the chaff (or sheep from goats...she's used both). If you can survive the classics, you've got a good chance of surviving the program. I made it through Woolf in a couple hours. Yes, it's going to be a hard semester, but this is at least encouraging. I can sympathize with that lamb...there's a lot of uncertainty, but ultimately, I'm secure. It would just be nice to know if I'm going to fall on that rock. ;)