The assignment that I feel was the most successful was Essay 1. This assignment was an analysis a sample student essay. I found this to be an incredibly helpful exercise because it pointed out the things that I should be aware of when writing my essays, and pushed me to refer back to the class guidelines more than I likely would have without this assignment. I definitely could have done better on Quiz 3: Format and Insertion of Quotations. Even though I had the materials to review to answer the questions – I didn’t take notes on those materials so trying to find the exact answer I needed was difficult in the moment. Something I learned this semester is to try not to rush through any assignments. Having ADHD it’s easy for me to want to just speed through something and get it done quickly, which causes anxiety for me. It’s more beneficial for me to set up a little time here and there to work on an assignment rather than trying to do it all in one sitting!
Daryen Rubin
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, there is use of commonplace objects being described in a way that makes them quite impactful. There are two quotes from the story that stood out to me in this way, the first being “They must have been familiar sights, walking around the shopping plaza in their shorts and flat ballerina slippers that always scuffed the sidewalk, with charm bracelets jingling on their thin wrists; they would lean together to whisper and laugh secretly if someone passed who amused or interested them.” The use of “charm bracelets” combined with the visual image of them in a shopping plaza, their outfits, and the way they are behaving, transports me back to my younger years and I connect with it greatly. Identifying the noises that the charm bracelets are making is incredibly additive to the experience as a reader. The second quote that stands out to me is “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home… her laugh, which was cynical and drawling at home—”Ha, ha, very funny,”—but highpitched and nervous anywhere else, like the jingling of the charms on her bracelet.” The use of the sound of the charm bracelet to connect to the character’s laugh is very auditorily descriptive. Comparing the two quotes that both mention the charm bracelet, the first paints a picture of a time and place, and the second paints a picture of an energy coming from the character.
My thesis for my research essay on fairy tales is as follows: Fairy tales are helpful for children to use their imagination, learn morals, as well as aid in their development. “The Positive Impacts of Fairy Tales for Children” by Leilani VisikoKnox-Johnson supports that fairy tales aid children’s growth. A quote that caught my attention, because it points to not only reading fairy tales but experiencing them through performance. “One of the central reasons that fairy tales are important is that they aid in child development. Fairy tales are often shaped to test children’s initiative. Not only is reading the story essential, but having the child act out the story is also just as important for developing a child’s consciousness and for his or her moral development.” Maria Tatar brings up interesting points about how fairy tales impact the reader on a visceral level, in “Why Fairy Tales Matter”, which intrigues me because it speaks to what could be seen as an almost universal experience of readers. “Fairy tales also have transformative effects on us, and when we read and hear them, they produce vertiginous sensations…”
I think that literary text should omit terms that are derogatory, as long as it is clear to the reader what the word has originally been. I think that language such as the “n” word, especially if not written by a person of color, has no place in literary text in modern day. A word of that nature, used years ago when the original text was written, would have been used in a degrading way, especially if written by a white person. Reading things like this in a classroom setting, or in an educational institution, is almost giving people a pass to say the words out loud, even if they are white, which I find there is no reasoning for. I believe that if it is clear what the word was to the reader, that maintains historical context, while the lack of the full word being present reminds the reader that saying this word is not necessary, nor acceptable, especially if they are not black.
I would rate my ability to read poetry after the past two weeks as a 7.5/10 because I do feel as though I often understand and am able to comprehend the readings. There are some times where I fill in the blanks with my imagination rather than from concepts from information provided in the poem, which leads to misinterpretations. My experience with poetry can aid me in reading “Oedipus the King” by allowing me to feel more comfortable with fanciful language and reading between the lines. “The Last Duchess” has a connection to “Oedipus the King” through it’s archaic language and theme of murder. “This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands As if alive” (Browning). This quote from “The Last Duchess” is an example of meanings of the poem not always being forthright, which is a large difference from “Oedipus the King”, which it is quite upfront. “Had you had eyes I would have said alone you murdered him” (Sophocles). Overall, I feel my understanding of poetry is improving!
After not having been in school for a decade, I feel really proud of myself for Essay 1! Having not written an essay in such a long time, I was concerned that I may miss something detrimental or wouldn’t be able to follow the instructions. Because of this, I kept rereading my essay and wondering if it was good enough. Essay 1 helped me prove to myself that I am capable of doing well on assignments of a similar nature which well help me be more confident going forward. Something I could have done to get a higher grade was to read the class instructions more closely. For example, I lost points because my quotes were three sentences. I remembered reading that a class rule is that quotes can’t be longer than three lines. But that’s just the thing I wasn’t absorbing correctly! Three lines not three sentences. Specificity is key, and I will be sure to be more attuned to these particularities going forward!
For the Week 1 Activity 10 prewriting assignment we are to review the Part 1 directions, Student Sample Directions and the Student Sample Essay. From reading the Part 1 directions, it was made clear that there was no writing needed at this time, but the prewriting assignment itself involves a lot of reading and learning to prepare us to write! This assignment helps to get us familiar with reading a primary source and a secondary source, and to further understand thesis statements and using MLA format quotations. Reading the Student Sample Directions and Student Sample Essay are preparing us for our Essay 1 assignment. Essay 1 is an evaluation of the Student Sample Essay, utilizing the Student Sample Directions to guide our assessment. I think that this is a great assignment because it gives us a perspective of the person grading a paper, and points to accuracies and inaccuracies that we can keep in mind when writing our own essays. I am excited to delve into writing Essay 1 so that I can learn from the mistakes in the sample, and understand the viewpoint of an analyzer of an MLA format essay.
After reading “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, I am left with a strong idea of Sylvia’s personality and her perspective of the world around her. She is bitter about her circumstances, and points a lot of that bitterness at Miss Moore for forcing her to take off her blinders and recognize the injustices that are forced upon her. These feelings about her reality then actualize as harsh judgements for the people, places, and things around her. I personally believe that Sylvia places these judgements so that she can feel better about herself and her situation amidst her anger and disdain. If I were writing an essay on this concept, I would name it “A Slighted Sylvia”. At the end of the day, Sylvia’s expressed interest lies in what she personally has gained from the excursion, which is Miss Moore’s money. The coincidence here is that there is a judgement and jealousy of people with money, but for her, getting this money overshadows any outward commentary on the lesson that she learned from Miss Moore and their day at F.A.O Schwartz.
