Among the three essays, “How My Illiterate Grandmother Raised an Educated Black Man” by Terrell Jermaine Starr occupied my mind most. Objectively, it is in part because it was the first essay I read; therefore, it offered me a strong impression comparing to other essays. Subjectively, the story itself was truly interesting and moving. In addition, the title was like both a brief summary and the curiosity trigger.
While reading the book, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma, I learned a great deal about early Indian life, in a way I had not before. Of course, in grade school you learn about “Pocahontas” but not in the way Camilla Townsend describes her. I started this book not really knowing what to expect besides to learn more than I had previously known. I know recently a lot about history has come up for discussion in ways it has never before. Native Americans and Africa Americans have been a topic of discussion for the past few years, shedding light on their history.
History is what we learn in school about the past, about people’s culture, their way of life, their beliefs, their fight and their dreams. However, history is not an absolute truth. In fact, every story has more than one version. The History of the native American in the United States still one of the most controversial subjects in history, not only because of all the ambiguity filled in the story, but also and more importantly because the it was written by only one side. Indeed, it was written by the winners, the invaders, and the dominants.
I enjoyed the advice that he left for me, and the essay left me questioning my own
Not only can we learn from the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, but also in the poem Sympathy because we can relate to what the author is talking about. Through these examples, it is clear that authors can best create empathy in their readers by developing strong characters that go through problems that the reader can relate to or learn
Anthony Farren had the indisputably best written essay. For one, his sentences flowed well and felt authentic. Dauth and Camacho, however, were so formulaic and robotic, it ended up flowing about as well as a clogged sewer. Beyond that, he actually took time and effort to sand down any blaring mistakes, while the others were absolutely riddled with nonsensical grammar errors and oversights. Anthony clearly put way more effort into sentence structure than the others, who aired way too far on the side of caution and ended up instilling nothing but an overwhelming feeling of crushing ennui.
There is a lot of pity and sorrow in this story that we should show our pity and sorrow to
The conflict was presented and made clear rather quickly, and I liked how the first paragraph led up to it. It started off as if it were just another day with a sinus infection, and then I was shocked when I read that she was pregnant. The detail in the story is what really pulled me in. I liked the examples of the “sticky blue covering on the chairs” and how she described Derek as smelling like “faint chlorine” and tasting like “Jose Cuervo”. That was a nice touch, and it made the characters feel more real.
I really enjoyed being able to present information in my own way. I think my personal remarks really made the information seem interesting and relevant. I think this writing was my model for my personal narrative which was very
Frederick Buechner once said, “Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin.” Similarly, an author by the name of Barbara Lazear Ascher wrote an essay called “On Compassion,” in which she states that people learn about compassion when they experience hardships and begin to put oneself in another’s place. Along with the idea of compassion being learned, Ascher also tries to make us wonder what our motive is that leads us to being compassionate. Ascher tries to make us question why we feel the need to be compassionate towards others throughout her essay.
This quote shows that even though Mairs sometimes has difficulty accepting her illness, she knows that there is a growing acceptance of people who must deal with the difficulties that she faces. This ultimately lends a hopeful and positive tone to an otherwise serious and depressing section of her essay. This contrast in tone, but general feeling of hope is key to the type of emotions that Nancy Mairs is trying to educate her readers about. Mair is successful in using multiple rhetorical strategies to connect with the reader.
I liked the way that Putnam put detail into each example that she wrote about. In other essays we have read, some authors write one line about a character and provide little textual/film evidence. Putnam goes into depth and provides several different examples from each character in her
Joy Harjo’s poem “Perhaps the World Ends Here” implants an impression of the world as a kitchen table: “The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.” (1). As I interpreted the poem, I perceived it as a brief analysis of life. Harjo elaborates life as one protracted feast, and our life ends when we eat the concluding bite of our meal: “Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.”
A teacher once told me to write about my moral compass as in absent assignment. I sat their baffled and suddenly realized that I truly do need to do some soul searching to find out why I do have hard time expressing my emotional empathy. Throughout my childhood and to this day I have always had hard time reflecting on my emotions. It is a difficult endeavor for me to fathom writing about the significant events, transitions, and turning points that have molded me into the human I am. As it is for many, I believe I do not warrant being talked about in such a large literature context.
My instructor Jennifer Jackson said this time “ Bravo! This is one of the strongest revisions I’ve seen yet.” This essay gave me so much confidence and made me feel I can actually write something interesting. Also, I sent my paper to The Writing Center, after I submitted my paper to my instructor to see any other mistakes I could have to improve my writing skills.
