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