Hsu Wai Phyar

In my view, the authentic language in literary texts should not be removed. Literature reflects its time so I assume changing the language risks may lose important historical and cultural context. In a story like A Good Man is Hard to Find, set in the early 1950s, reflect and even hold up a mirror to a society where racism was not just present but often routine. The grandmother’s casual racism is part of what builds her character and shows how deeply ingrained prejudice was in that society. Editing out offensive words might put the story simpler but it also waters down its message. Besides, I think we can understand the roots of racism and how it was woven into everyday life by learning its ugliness through the story.

I have become more confident in the reading and interpretation of poetry since last week. I have learned to look beyond the mere surface meaning and instead focus on the elements of figurative language, tone, and structure to understand the more profound, oftentimes more relatable, messages. Oedipus the King relies heavily on the same symbolism and layered meanings found in more standard poetic forms. Thus, I believe that my poetic interpretive skills will serve me well as I undertake the reading of this equally significant and profound play. A poem that left a strong impression on me was Milton Bluehouse II’s “The Sound of Water.” The speaker reflects on memory, ancestry, and the spiritual connection forged between nature and personal identity. The themes of the poem made me think about how fate plays a role in Oedipus the King. We aren’t told or shown exactly how the story’s characters—primarily Oedipus himself and his wife/mother, Jocasta—are fated to fail. We do know, however, that fate in this story is something like a river that carves a channel through solid rock: the river is there, even if we can’t see it until we’re in the middle of its path. Listening to the poem’s speaker made me appreciate the emotional depth and dramatic tension in Oedipus the King.

Essay 1 was difficult for me, but I ended up finding it manageable. One of the biggest problems I had with it was with the sample student essay that I was trying to analyze. I felt like I had to read that essay several times over just to get to the point where I understood its meaning well enough. On the top of that I didn’t understand the instruction and I made some mistakes. At first attempt, I wrote it in totally wrong format. However, after the essay I became more aware of mistakes in formatting and citation in my own work. I used to overlook issues like overspacing and wrong formatting in my works cited page, which I now pay much closer attention to. I also understood that I sometimes included sentences that felt like filler—like they were just there to make the essay seem longer, when in fact I could have said what I needed to say in fewer words. Overall, I recognized that I need to pay more attention to making my writing precise and to developing my ideas in a way that feels more satisfying. This assignment has enabled me to find areas where I need to improve, and I will apply the lessons I have learned to future essays. I will be more evaluative and more argument-based, and I will refer back to the text to support the kind of claims I am making, ensuring that my claims are clearly stated and that my writing is, overall, more clear and focused. I also learned that I should pay attention to the details of formatting.