Reflection on English 102

This English class has given me many skills to use in my future education and in life.  Skills that I have learned in this class will be crucial to me and my future in college pertaining to writing because writing skills will be essential to proper communication.  I plan on obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing in the future.  Pursing this degree will require proper writing and communication skills in order to successfully complete this degree.  I feel this class has given me insight into pursing skills and resources that will be essential to my future and success.

I think I have properly executed demonstrating these skills in my papers and writings over the course of this semester.  Although there are details I feel I could have included or refined, I feel as a whole I have bettered myself as a writer and a student with the help of this course. Writing and revising my critical analysis papers have made me not only a better writer, but a better student acquiring the skills to revise my own papers to a better degree.  These papers were my biggest challenges because of the anxiety and expectations that came along with them.  I know who I was as a writer before, but did not think that I had any outstanding skills, in fact I knew my handicaps and wanted to improve them.  These papers gave me the opportunity to acquire new skills and apply them in order to gain confidence in my writing.  Researching, using online tools, such as the Perdue Owl and an online tutor are ways that I chose to overcome these anxieties and produce a better grade paper.

Overall, I have new and improved writing skills that will help me in the future. Overcoming my writing anxieties has given me more confidence to produce a good paper.  The way I did this was more revision and more outside resources.  All of these things have contributed to my overall improvement in English 102 and my improvement in my writing.  These improvements will lead to stronger writing skills and better grades in college, a university or even grad school.

Skills!

http://prezi.com/mvkgpz4mqwwx/revision-and-mla/?kw=view-mvkgpz4mqwwx&rc=ref-26693271

Technology!

Online learning, especially in it’s relation to English 102, has been very beneficial to me.  Today, technology in the academic setting is more prevalent than ever.  Being able to take a class online, gives me not only flexibility, but a chance to strengthen my communication skills in the online environment.  Learning online, you not only learn the material from your professor, but you learn vital computer skills.  As a student you can apply these skills to your future in the academic field, and professional career. 

The technology that was most beneficial to me this semester is the blog and blogpost feedback.  I feel this is especially beneficial to me because I value feedback from Laura in regards to my writing structure.  I struggle most with the construction and flow of my writing. So, being able to get feedback every week helps to keep me on track and use constructive criticism when writing my papers.

In the future, I will make sure to utilize the resources I have via YC.  The online library and sources used for reference are convenient and extremely helpful.  In the past, I have mostly used the internet and found okay resources.  I felt the ones from the online library were very informative and accurate. 

Overall, the online learning environment is the optimum learning environment for me personally.  I spend a lot of time on my computer, so taking a class online is convenient and second nature to me.  I feel my learning outcome overall is that much better because I have taken this course online.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/- my most used website of the semester!

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJofyU6Cy-Zvn-SDK-vgewTNY2jIfesl5LKtELANGfqw-CYfWBa9l940KqaRekmRWNhpoqj4RjYorsW1ydkM7jyb-rk61u9LbJCLSjD3yTxwjZlbxZzHAhxkdDjUYX4-4PJgzi_WcAi5w/s1600/Apple+Logo+wallpaper++17.jpg

Reflection on Revision

For this essay, I took a couple different approaches.  I tried to construct my paper in an entirely different way than I have in past.  For example, my usual routine would be writing a huge outline, then going over the paper as a whole and adding details and ideas where appropriate.  For this paper, I did the opposite, I constructed each paragraph as an individual, hoping to capture the idea of the paper in each.  

My usual revision process is not as extensive as what I did for this paper.  I feel the list Laura gave us on the assignment sheet was very helpful and I utilized that in my revision process.  Along with the checklist, I submitted my paper to online revision services which gave me feedback I used to edit my essay.  

It is very important to revise.  I will admit, I have not been as extensive in the past, but doing so really gives you a better paper.  I also did the revision process for this paper over the course of several days, which let me see minor spelling or punctuation I may have missed previously.  I specifically made sure to follow exact MLA guidelines for Essay 3. I made sure there was only one space after every period, etc.  Overall, I feel the construction of this paper is at par.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

                        http://thewritecorner.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/revision.jpg?w=468

Thesis Statement-Essay 3

Missouri native, and author of Winter’s Bone, Daniel Woodrell, released the best-selling novel to the world in 2006.  Winter’s Bone is the story of a young girl, Ree Dolly, who goes in search of her missing, drug-cooking father in order to keep the family home from being taken as collateral. Winter’s Bone is a depiction of the role methamphetamine plays in the deterioration of, not only a single person, but a family as well.  The consequences of the drug have physical, psychological and moral effects on the user.  Woodrell is exposing the drug to the reader as, not only a harmful substance, but a way of life for communities in the Missouri Ozarks.  The drug is both a lifeline and curse for all lives affected by it’s presence.

Woodrell, Daniel,Wikipedia- Daniel Woodrell,2012. Web, November 2012

Woodrell, Daniel, Bookbrowse-Daniel Woodrell Bio, 2012. Web, November 2012

Woodrell, Daniel. Winter’s Bone, Little and Brown  Copyright 2006.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBSw8F3jdyRGolXZ2fQeyqzokhmjrTuLIcv6yFD1D_o1mg7UXnaCRONsHrh3UsXt4VtmD4LM1044nnbaEPEgQZgA4x3GQRLocghQxGGGj-elHjaE09R8weaDn0AHxO998AIEEZgG-MKhw/s400/woodrell.jpg

Response to "Methland" by Nick Reding

This article is taken from the book Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding.  The article includes the prologue of the story and the preface Nick Reding gives to it, starting with the introduction of methamphetamine to the town of Oelwein, Iowa.  Nick gives us a history of this small, very rural farming town in Eastern Iowa and proceeds to explain how he ended up there.  He is writing a book on methamphetamine in America in the recent years of 1999-mid 2000’s, which for him, ends up as more. On his quest, he discovers his own beloved town of Greensville, Illinois, as well as the rest of the country is plagued by this debilatating “mom and pop” made drug.

“What it took three and a half years to fully understand ( nine if I count back to my trip to Gooding, Idaho) is that the real story is as much about the death of a way of life as it is about the birth of a drug.”  (Reding 22)

I believe the article, as well as the book Methland in general, are great resources for writing essay # 3.  I plan to read the book by Nick Reding in its entirely to get his whole perspective.  From what I have read of the book I can see many comparisons to Winter’s Bone.  From the degree of poverty, to the impact on the physical and mental health of the drug user’s in both stories, the similarities are identical.  For Ree Dolly, “meth” or “crank” as it is referred to in Winter’s Bone, directly impacts her and her family by taking her father away from the physical world by death.  In Methland, similar happenings are taking place in Oelwin, from the poor picking through garbage, to a top drug dealer’s 13 year old daughter needing a kidney transplant from meth poisoning in-utero. Both stories have parallel messages relating to the hope lost, and despair adapted, to the life influenced by meth. 

                                                          http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/iowa_house.jpg

                             Aftermath of an Oelwein, Iowa meth lab after an explosion due to the "cooking" of the drug.  

Response to Winter's Bone

I walk with my head high, yet feel I feel so low.

There are dreams and wishes inside me,

I will never get to know.  

Pa has left us, momma’s head is gone.

I raise these two boys,

like the sun to its dawn.

My name is Ree Dolly, 

and my demeanor is rough.

I say what I mean, 

and act like Im tough. 

Though just seventeen, I am wise 

and grown-up.  

Ill go looking for Pa, and find him I will. 

It is he that we need, for money and bills.

I will ask around town, of whom has spoke to?

Teardrop warns, for trouble you ask for.

There has to be someone who knows, but who?

I search high and low, trouble I do find,

they beat me, bruise me, and scar my young mind.

Thump Milton is to blame, he gave them permission

his wife and her sisters put all of the hits in.

Pa must be found , or the house we will lose.

Whether dead or alive, his truth I will search for.

From crank to money, his fate, he did not choose.

Pa is dead, the fact I must face,

I need evidence for the bondsman, or consequences I must face.

Where to look I don’t know, but there is someone who does.

He had me beaten, and he is of my own blood.

Thump Milton is the Ozarks and the demons it possesses.

To the lake they do take me to find the hands of Jessup,

we cut through the ice, muddy water and messes.

His hands I take from his frozen corpse

 with chainsaw, regret, and sad remorse.

Now we are okay, the house we will keep.

My heart and mind,  too relieved to weep,

for the father I lost, but life I get back.

Sleepy John took his life, for money Pa owed.

This life in the Ozarks is my long, lonely road.

Mid-Term Check-In

Dear Laura,

So far I have enjoyed the coursework of this class.  I have genuinely liked the literature we have read and analyzed.  However, I still feel like there are areas I need to work on to establish a better footing in the class.  My biggest challenge in the class has been my writing structure and citations.  I believe my best accomplishment has been being able to analyze well, for it has never been my strong suit in the past.

The readings in the class have been different than anything I would ever choose to read.  I like that because I have enjoyed the readings and feel they have brought me out of my comfort zone.  Literary analysis of these readings has been a true mental stimulation.  As we went over in the beginning of class, it is one thing to simply read a story, but another to analyze and put your thoughts into it.  Thus far, most college writing has simply been essay-form.

My goals for the second half of this class are to pay closer attention to the details of my writing and always double check for citations!  I hope to improve my sentence structure and flow of ideas from paragraph to paragraph, page to page.  I would appreciate any further thoughts or critiques from you in the future!

Opening paragraph

“ A Modest Proposal” is a satire written by Jonathan Swift addressing the Irish city of Dublin in 1729.  Swift is making a speech highlighting the negatives of the economy and making suggestions to change it.  He uses cannibalism as a comparison mechanism to the point he is trying to make, take responsibility or the economy will surely fail.  He is mainly addressing the upper-class and rich populations of the city who hold the most control and power over the city and nation.  Swift is urging the nation to regain integrity and help the poor population of Dublin.  By using his Swiftian irony to compare neglect of the poor as irresponsible, to the eating of infants and children, Swift  captures his audience and his points and suggestions are accepted. 


http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

Response to Swift

I feel that from this passage, Swift is trying to distill some integrity into the Irish society.  Mainly, the upper and middle class society that “ controls” the economy.  He feels that they are falling weak, and should take a stand and fight for their nation.  Not just a stand for themselves, the so-called rich,  which would be a contradiction to his speech, but for the whole nation.  His suggestions about feeding on young humans is not a realistic idea.  Instead, it is a comparison to what the he feels his society is doing to itself.  Letting someone, or something, take over is an abomination, just as eating an infant, is an abomination.  

The purpose for this suggestion, was to give an example that would provoke emotions from his audience.  The emotion he expects from the same audience had he been talking about his actual concerns.  Basically, he is making fun of his audience, thinking that they have no drive or emotion to care about the problems right in front of their face, he has to make some abhorring comparison to cannibalism in order to make his point and receive a response.

His solution to the problem starts with the poor and the poor reproducing.  His point is that either there should be some kind of population control, or governmental interference when the poor population starts to boom.  He reasoning is that they have less opportunity that the rest of the society and the middle class landlords and upper-class have no care to control what they let happen, nor take action to prevent it.  Both of these careless acts causing the destruction of the nation internally.  To breed, is simply pointless, the offspring have no future the further down the family chain they are, creating a strain on the economy.

He gives verbatim evidence to his proposition.  This is his stance, hence his Swiftian irony, is a balanced view, he is using the babies as a form of bait and weapon against the people, or audience he is intending to reach.  He wants to say the grotesque things he is saying, but in a way that in the end will trigger a response to the higher and middle class audience he is trying to reach. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal

To serve man? Or to "serve" man? That is the question

http://www.hellblazer.com/media/to_serve_man_apron-p154819963460785658q6wc_400.jpg

"The Bark Side"

I feel this this advertisement is very effective in its appeal to Pathos.  The commercial has the Star Wars theme being "performed" by dogs of all different breeds.  Firstly, the use of the Star Wars theme is very nostalgic to many people, and is a great key element to catch the viewers attention.  Many people have grown up with and are still loyal fans of the trilogy today.  The fact that the commercial also uses canines, "Man's Best Friend", as the main solicitors appeals to an even broader audience, including the main audience of football fans.  The only stipulation I have with this commercial, and maybe it could simply be me missing the point, is it is not very cohesive.  It is an advertisement selling a Volkswagen vehicle by way of dogs barking to the Star Wars theme song.  What?? Regardless, I believe the advertisement successfully accomplishes catching the attention of the viewer and soliciting the merchandise effectively.  Who doesn't love adorable dogs barking a familiar tune dressed up as Star Wars characters?

Thesis Statement

"Bartleby’s ghostly presence in the story is the result of a breakdown of the narrator’s mind. In fact, Bartleby does not exist at all as an actual scrivener, but instead represents a part of the narrator that he wishes to repress in order to become a more effective and industrious worker. "

I chose to work on the above thesis statement for my analysis essay of Bartleby the Scrivener .  I feel this statement is most consistent with the story and what the actual meaning could be.  However, I do not agree with the last part of the statement, " In order to become a more effective and industrious worker".  I feel the first part of the statement is accurate, but the second part is what I will focus on disproving by an alternate theory in my analysis.

Bartleby the Scrivener

“ So true, it is, and so terrible too, that up to a certain point the thought or sight of misery enlists our best affections; but, in certain special cases, beyond that point it does not.  They err who would assert that invariably this is owing to the inherent selfishness of the human heart.  It rather proceeds from a certain hopelessness of remedying excessive and organic ill.” (page 35)

The above passage taken from “Bartleby the Scrivener” I believe does a great job summing up the overall story.  This specific passage focuses on human emotion and why we feel we owe others sympathy.  To feel pity for someone, as the narrator did for Bartleby, is a normal human emotion.  When we feel our luck is better than others’, such as a house to live in, a car to drive, a loving family, etc., we feel we owe them something.  This something is the energy and effort it takes one to feel and emotion for said other person.  Evaluating in our mind the blessings that we have, and this other did not, takes time and effort, even it only last a couple seconds in a thought.

The passage speaks of going beyond these simple thoughts also.  Does the average person think it a crime to feel pity for another?  No, unless that thought goes too far.  Going too far would be for one to pride themselves in lending emotion to another.  This would be an example of defacing the good samaritan law.  We should never feel satisfaction, as humans, in another’s suffering or misfortunes.  In the story of Bartleby the Scrivener, the narrator is battling his emotions surrounding the writer.  On the one hand, his soul pities the introverted copyist, on the other, he feels so much resistance from the man, it is almost overwhelming.  He wants Bartleby gone from his office and his life, once he has that satisfaction, Bartleby dies.  

This is where the organic ill comes into play.  The narrator’s emotions of pity for Bartleby were magnified by the fact that, he once despised the man and wished him gone.  This has given him a complex that he addressed when Bartleby died, his human emotion was rendered in excess from his previous emotions of ill will towards the pitied Bartleby.

                                                                                          Wall Street 1929

Summary vs. Analysis

Summary Vs. Analysis

John Dryden was an English poet who has written many influential essays pertaining to literary analysis.

A summary can range from a short description on the back of a DVD case, to a full length detailed movie script, case in point, it is an 

accumulation of the happenings in a piece of literature.  A summary can be used for entertainment purposes, but also used to relay vital 

information, such as a summary of an operation performed by a surgeon.

Analysis:

“Separation of a whole into its component parts”.

This is one of many definitions found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary online.  In our case, our definition of analysis should be 

something along the lines of taking a piece of literature and breaking it down conceptually.  We know what is going on because we read or

 are reading the piece of literature! Analysis is going further, why did those things happen?  What was the reason for them happening?

  This happened clearly because this, this, and this happened, or did it?  

An analysis is making an argument about the happenings in a piece of literature and proving, or disproving, by way of reason or opinion, 

your original argument supported by details.  A SUMMARY can help SUPPORT an ANALYSIS and an analysis can include a 

summary, but the two are conceptually quite different.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analysis

Photo taken from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/172371/John-Dryden 

Good Readers and Good Writers

What does Nabokov think makes a good reader?

“ A good reader, a major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader.” - Vladimir Nabokov

  Clearly Nabokov thinks that one should read and reread, that is obvious.  Physically, reading is a chore for the eyes, just like exercise would be for the muscles or writing would be to the hands.  To really grasp a concept and be a good reader, Nabokov believes that reading something only once will not give you enough of what the writer is trying to convey.  Essentially, Nabokov believes that the reader should be respectful of the author by putting in as much creativity into reading the literature, as the author did writing the literature.  

 Do you agree? What do you believe are the characteristics of a good reader? 

I absolutely agree with Nabokov.  I believe, especially for myself, it is important to reread .  On many occasions I have reread only to find key elements I missed the first time.  I think characteristics of a good reader are passion and true interest.  Most people, it seems do not like to read unless they have to.  This is a horrible characteristic of a reader, to be “good” you have to have some interest or else the author’s literature is wasted.  A good reader is someone who has a passion for the written word.  To read because you have to, and to read because you want to are the difference in variation among readers.  Reading on your own time, for fun or because you truly have a passion for it, are characteristics of a good reader.

Do you consider yourself a good reader?

I consider myself a good reader.  I am a big fan of reading, and rereading.  I like to make sure I am grasping the content of the text wholly and efficiently.  I enjoy reading for entertainment and would choose a book over a tv show any day.  For these reasons I consider myself a good reader.  

                                           

Me when I am 80! Still reading, hopefully : )

Welcome Video