**I collaborated on this project with Hannah Maltba and Madison St. Clair**
As you read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, you first read that for Ebenezer Scrooge “[i]t was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance” (stave 1). Ebenezer was a selfish man who wanted to be left alone. During the story, three Ghosts of Christmas visited him and he changed. From then on, he “was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions” (stave 5). This was our inspiration for the words Ebenezer speaks through the six diary entries. We wanted to show how he could go into a pandemic happy to be away from people but come out of it only wanting to surround himself with those who can bring smiles to his life. We also chose to use cholera as the pandemic in the diary entries because A Christmas Carol was published in December of 1843, which would be when the third pandemic of cholera was taking place.
December 19, 1843
People around town are saying there is a pandemic spreading. I don’t know much about it, but they say it’s called cholera, which is caused by contaminated rice and water. This is the third pandemic of it too. I’m not worried. Ever since my friend and business partner Jacob Marley died, I don’t talk to anyone. That is fine with me though, I don’t like human interaction. The only time I leave my house is for work or to go get food. So, social distancing will be easy for me. I would much rather just stay inside by myself and away from everyone. Plus, I don’t like rice anyway!
December 23, 1843
I’m starting to like this whole cholera pandemic. It has been a few days, and I haven’t been happier. Of course, I’m not much of a happy person anyway. I’ve been able to stay at home with absolutely nobody to annoy me. I never did care for people. All they care about is being happy, friendly, and sharing with each other. Well, I’m perfectly fine staying healthy right here, with my own things, and nobody else. As long as I don’t get cholera, I hope this pandemic never ends.
December 27, 1843
The people here are in a panic. Many local businesses are shutting down, and it is hard to find essential supplies I need such as food. No one wants to borrow money right now because they are afraid they will lose their job and not be able to pay it back in time. The authorities are suggesting people stay inside and avoid contact with people as much as possible. As long as my business doesn’t shut down and I still have food to eat, I’m not concerned with other people’s needs. I am the successful business owner of Scrooge & Marley. I have nothing to worry about. However, I have been visited by three ghosts. The ghost of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. The first ghost used my own words against me, the next ghost tried to show me the celebrations and warm spirits of people around christmas, and the last ghost showed me the future and even my future death. What they had to show me is a lot to consider over this time in isolation.
December 31, 1843
Due to this pandemic and people not going out and doing as much business, I have begun to lose money. At first, I was extremely upset and angered by this because I need to make a profit to stay in business and make a living! However, as this pandemic has progressed, and I’ve lost more and more business and money, I have begun to wonder if it really matters that I am losing money. I have made and saved enough money over the years that I will be able to survive. I will still be able to pay my bills and buy necessities, at least for a few months. While I have been stuck at home, I have begun thinking and reminiscing on my good friend, and business partner, Jacob Marley. I wonder how he would have been reacting and dealing with this pandemic. I’m starting to wish that I could go out.
January 4, 1844
When will all of this be over? I know that I’ve not been the most pleasant individual to be around, but this quarantine is starting to affect me greatly. As surprised as I am to admit it, I am slightly missing social interaction. I truly think that those ghosts had something to do with it. Ever since they came to visit me, I’ve had a whole new outlook on life and the relationships I hold, or rather the lack of those relationships. With this new outlook, I have a desire to reenter the world and try to have, in a way, a fresh start to things. I am thinking of possibly changing how I run my business ever so slightly. Once I am able to reenter the world, I am hoping that I will be nicer to folks and be more understanding towards them. I want to be more pleasant and make the most out of the time I have left with the people around me.
January 8, 1844
I want it gone. I want the whole pandemic, the isolation, and all of it gone. I regret that I ever treated anyone the way I did, especially Bob Cratchit. I don’t want to be the man that says Bah Humbug when someone says Merry Christmas any longer. I realize now that you have to surround yourself with people who are happy to be happy. I also have to give to everyone else just because I can. But, I just don’t know how I can do any of that stuck in this house any longer. It is not fun sitting around the house by myself all day anymore. I need interaction and laughter from other people. I’ll just be ready for when the sick people get better and when this all goes away. Then I will go make things right with the world. I know now that you’re never too old to change.
“The Dæman-lover” is a ballad about deception and how love can blind you. In the ballad, the writer writes about a man (the devil) who takes interest in a young woman. Because he is interested in the woman, he tricks her into thinking that she too, is interested in him (he completes this by hiding his true features). He gets her on a ship with him, sails away while talking to her, and only then
does she figure out who he truly is but she realizes this too late. Once she realizes who he is, Satan sinks the ship and takes them both to hell. “The Dæman-lover” has aspects of it that correlate with today’s society (online dating, social media, etc.) but also has aspects that make it totally unique and unlike anything of today’s society.
Throughout “The Dæman-lover,” Satan comes to land to his ‘love’ and tells her of how he has “come to seek my former vows, Ye granted me before.” (lines 3-4, page 37) He also speaks of how he has traveled far and wide, and how he “never wad hae trodden on Irish ground, Had it not been for love o’ thee.” (lines 11-12, page 37) Once he expresses how everything he has done the past few years was because of her and once she questions what she will receive if she leaves her husband, children and life behind to sail away with him, he works to win her over by expressing the riches that he has. He says, “I hae seven ships upon the sea, The eighth brought me to land; With four-and-twenty bold mariners, And music on every hand.” (lines 29-32, page 38) This convinces her that she will have a good life in this new one and that it is a good enough life to leave the life she currently has. The amount of wealth in which Satan says that he has, has blinded her from reality and tricked her into thinking wherever Satan goes is where she wants to go. She boards his ship only to realize she has made a mistake. It is too late for her to turn back so she truly goes where Satan goes; she goes to hell with him.
As I was reading this ballad, I was made aware of the similarity it has to our current society. In current society, online dating and social media have become ever so popular. While there is good that can come out of these sites, there are also extremely bad things that can occur from these sites. In the news, there have been stories of teenagers (and sometimes adults) around the world who have accepted a follow request and/or started talking to a stranger online. The profile of the stranger/catfisher shows an attractive person around their age when, in reality, the person behind the profile is nothing like the person shown on the profile at all. The two people start talking, the one gets invested in the other (whether it be because of the others looks, ‘wealth’ or some other reason), they agree to meet in person and it goes steeply downhill from there. While this is extremely sad, it happens. In “The Dæmon-lover,” the devil impresses his love interest onto his ship by saying, “I hae seven ships upon the sea, The eighth brought me to land; With four-and-twenty bold mariners, And music on every hand.” (lines 29-32, pg. 38) This impressiveness convinces the woman to leave her husband and two children behind and join Satan aboard his ship. This relates to current society because catfishers sometimes come up with an elaborate story of ‘wealth’ or ‘popularity’ that is convincing enough to make their victim ‘fall’ for them. Once the victim ‘falls’ for the catfisher, the catfisher has them in a vulnerable position, even though the victim should know better than to meet them. To return focus to the ballad, after Satan and the woman have sailed some ways, the ballad says, “She had not sailed a league, a league, A league but barely three, Until she espied his cloven foot, And she wept right bitterlie.” (lines 49-52, pg. 38) This relates to social media/current society by people who get caught up in a trap realizing they were tricked and getting deeply upset and into deep trouble about the situation.
To conclude, “The Dæmon-lover” is a ballad that is filled with lots of emotion. It is filled with hope and promises but also deep sorrow and regret. It expresses how sometimes ‘love’ can be an evil thing and can end in tears and much heartbreak. While it holds great sadness in the life of the woman who trusted and ‘loved’ Satan, it holds a valuable lesson to not trust a stranger with everything they say.
Works Cited
“The Dæmon-lover.” The Norton Anthology of British Literature: The Romantic Period. 10th ed. Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. W.W. Norton, 2017. pp. 37-39.
Gordale Scar, James Ward, ca. 1812-1814 / W.W. Norton
Gordale Scar by James Ward shows a scene of cattle grazing amongst high stone walls. In this image, it shows a large group of cattle in a tight group, grazing closely on areas of grass. However, if you look closely, you can see that there is a lone cow, off to the side, in a non-grassy area and standing alone. You can also notice that this lone cow is a bright, white cow while most of the rest of the cattle are brown or of a darker color. In this sense, this image relates a lot to Mary Shelley’s book, Frankenstein. In the Preface of Frankenstein, R. Walton wrote multiple letters to his sister about his travels. In his letters, he discussed how his travels were going, what all he was facing, and his worry of being alone and not having a companion or friend to whom “when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavour to sustain me in dejection.” (Shelley 15). To reflect back on James Ward’s image, the lone, white cow was alone with no companion at its side. In this regard R. Walton and this lone cow are very much alike.
Works Cited
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Preface. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, 1818, 1831, Introduction and Notes by Karen Karbiener, Barnes and Noble, 2003, pp. 12-26.
Ward, James. Gordale Scar. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period. 10th ed. Julia Richards and Marian Johnson, Editors. W. W. Norton 2018. C4.
***The following research project is one that I produced in collaboration with Allison Lasher and Kenna Sipe
Notes I took on the proper ways to cite quotes in MLA vs. APA papers.
As our time in English 112 began, we were informed of a book we would be reading and studying throughout the semester: Educated by Tara Westover. As we dove into the book, we met Shawn Westover, one of Tara’s brothers. In our progression in the book, we read of accidents Shawn faced and the aftermath(s) he experienced psychologically. As we read of these incidents and the way in which they affected Shawn, we became curious. We began to wonder how these psychological issues may have affected Shawn’s relationships with his loved ones, particularly with his sister Tara, and how these issues may have affected the mental state of Shawn’s loved ones.
The trauma and abuse in which Tara experienced is sadly something in which many people face in their lifetime. In the bibliography to follow, we studied how such trauma and abuse may affect a person, their life, and the lives of their friends or loved ones. We found a variety of sources such as research articles and blog posts to help us to study and learn about how abuse and trauma can affect relationships.
The first research article we found discussed psychological and physical aggression and the effects it has on people. The first blog that we found on Tara’s memoir broke down the individual situations that led to Shawn’s psychological issues and the situations of abuse/controlment that Shawn inflicted on his loved ones. The second blog post was written by a psychologist who wrote wrote about Educated with her opinion on the book, the mental illnesses/psychological issues that were introduced in the story, and on how everything Tara mentioned in her book affected her and her family as a whole. In the second research article that we found, the author discusses Stockholm Syndrome and the way in which this syndrome controls/affects the people who have this syndrome. Lastly, we used a chapter from Westover’s memoir to show first hand the abuse Shawn inflicted on his sister and how she had learned that she must hide how the abuse truly made her feel so as to not let Shawn know.
Annotated Bibliography
Lawrence, E., Yoon, J., Langer, A., & Ro, E. (2009). Is psychological aggression as
detrimental
as physical aggression? the independent effects of psychological aggression on depression and anxiety symptoms. Violence and Victims, 24(1), 20-35. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.24.1.20
Throughout the source written about psychological and physical aggression, the authors conduct a study to try to figure out how the levels of anxiety and depression in a person can lead to a type of aggression in a relationship. Within the beginning of the study, the authors found that many of the relationships in the study had a past of having aggression.The study proved that the woman in the relationship had an aggression within the first two months, but the aggression levels dropped within the third month. The mens aggressive levels were low in the beginning of the relationship, but steadily grew throughout the next three months. This research shows that ultimately that both men and women can show the same behaviors just at different times.
Going through this study of psychological and physical aggression, one can see how many of these traits relate to how Shawn treated Tara within certain chapters of Educated. Although the source was primarily about marriage and couples, the same things can apply to Shawn. His use of physical aggression leads him to have many factors of psychological disorders. On page 24 of the PDF, the authors talk about the use of psychological victimization. Many of these factors can be seen within Shawn and his relationship with Tara.
Penn, A., & Penn, A. (2019, October 11). Shawn Westover: Tara Westover’s Brother and
In the article “Shawn Westover: Tara Westover’s Brother and Sadistic Abuser,” Amanda Penn provides an insight into the psychological problems of Shawn Westover and how these issues affected his relationship he held with his sister, Tara. In some situations, Shawn would be kind and seemingly normal towards Tara but then, at the slightest trigger or ‘wrong’ movement, he would turn violent and aggressive towards her until she did as he wished. These acts of violence were not a one time deal, but something that occurred time after time, whenever something occurred in which Shawn didn’t approve. In Penn’s article, she goes through different scenarios of aggression and violence that Tara and other family members experienced at the hands of Shawn.
These acts of violence/aggression that Penn discusses show a sense of insight to what Tarra discussed in some chapters in her memoir. The psychological issues that Shawn experiences come from accidents and injuries brought on by his time working in the junkyard and not seeking the proper medical attention necessary to correctly heal the injuries. The injuries he faced caused him to become aggressive and cruel when he experienced a trigger and this caused his relationship with Tara to become strained, toxic, and unhealthy. Shawn abused Tara whenever he was upset and this caused her to blame herself for things when she wrote in her journal and caused her to worry about what others thought of her and her family.
Bocci, G. S. (2018, April 2). A Psychologist’s Take on Tara Westover’s Memoir, Educated.
By writing “A Psychologist’s Take on Tara Westover’s Memoir, Educated” Goal Saedi Bocci Ph.D allows the public to see into a professional’s point of view when it comes to Westover’s writing. Throughout the article, Bocci writes about how shocked she was by the abuse and torment that Tara went through when it came to her brother Shawn. Bocci repeatedly mentions that Shawn should have been contacted by Child Protective Services. While reading aloud to her husband, he asks her, “does she have Stockholm Syndrome?”.
The thought of Tara having Stockholm Syndrome is not an irrational thought or an absurd idea. Throughout Educated, there are multiple examples of Shawn terrorizing Tara both at home and in public. However, Tara continues to tell herself that the abuse isn’t Shawn’s fault. Instead, she blames herself for allowing it to escalate and continue. One specific example would be in chapter 22 “What We Whispered and What We Screamed”. While eating dinner with Charles and her family, Shawn stabs Tara in her stomach, causing her to break a plate. Tara is pinned to the floor before she realizes what is going on. Seconds later, she is dragged into the bathroom by her hair and Shawn pulls her into the bathtub when she tries to fight him off. While all this is going on, Tara is howling with laughter and tries to make light of the situation, which implies that she may have Stockholm Syndrome.
Wallace, Pat, BSc,R.G.N., R.H.V. (2007). How can she still love him? domestic violence and
In “How can she still love him? domestic violence and the Stockholm Syndrome”, Pat Wallace provides an in-depth explanation of Stockholm Syndrome and how it affects both the perpetrator and the victim. Wallace mentions how victims may feel like they need to protect their abuser and how they grow an emotional attachment to them as well. Most victims feel dependent on the abuser, they are hopeless when it comes to ending the violence, they try to deny the violence, they develop low self-esteem, and they worry that people won’t believe them when they do come forward. The victim tries to develop a bond with the perpetrator in order to drown out the sense of anxiety and hopelessness. Ultimately, this acts as a way for the victim to see the situation from the point of view of the abuser and allows them to develop a sense of survival.
After reading this article, it is evident that Tara may have had a case of Stockholm Syndrome, but was unaware of her own mental status. She had mentioned previously in Educated that she was trying to cover up for Shawn, even though she knew that he was the perpetrator in this situation. Tara’s older sister, Audrey, was also a victim of Shawn’s abusive ways. She had never spoken up about Shawn either, because she was scared that her parents wouldn’t believe her. In chapter 31 “Tragedy Then Farce”, Tara and Audrey both decide to confront their parents about Shawn’s abuse. Tara’s mother realizes that she should have protected her children from the growing force of negativity and anger growing in their household. In the end, Tara’s obscure family inches closer to becoming your run-of-the-mill family.
Westover, T. (2018). Educated. Random.
Throughout Chapter 22 of Educated, Tara shares her memory of her and Shawn going to the store where Charles was. Tara was going into town to get something to help with her job scraping. She did not have the best appearance that she could have, so she didn’t want Charles seeing her. Shawn pulled her out of the truck and started to hit her vigorously. Throughout that happening, Tara just laughed it off and acted like he was just kidding with her. Also, Shawn told Tara that if he was ever hurting her at one point, that she should let him know and he would stop “playing around” with her. So it made her think that it wasn’t his fault that she was getting hurt.
Reading through the chapter, it is obvious that both Shawn and Tara have a mental disorder. This relates to the other sources because it ties in how Shawn treated Tara and how it lead to the diagnosis of Tara. When Tara tells this story, it proves the point of Bocci and how she should be diagnosed with Stockholm Syndrome. It gives concrete evidence that they both have something wrong with them. It shows that Shawn knows he is being abusive, but plays it off as a joke. Tara knows he is being abusive, but plays it off like he is just doing it to be funny.
References
Bocci, G. S. (2018, April 2). A Psychologist’s Take on Tara Westover’s Memoir, Educated.
Lawrence, E., Yoon, J., Langer, A., & Ro, E. (2009). Is psychological aggression as
detrimental as physical aggression? the independent effects of psychological aggression on depression and anxiety symptoms. Violence and Victims, 24(1), 20-35. Retrieved from doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.24.1.20
Penn, A., & Penn, A. (2019, October 11). Shawn Westover: Tara Westover’s Brother and
For the Spanish Film Festival that was held on November 1, 2019, I chose to watch “A Better Life”. “A Better Life” is a movie about an illegal immigrant father, Carlos, his son, Luis, and their life. Carlos works with a friend in a landscaping business but when the friend moves back to Mexico, Carlos buys the business and the landscaping truck. During this time, Luis struggles with whether to join a gang so that he can fit in with his girlfriend and friends better or if he should stay clean like his father. Carlos’s landscaping truck ends up getting stolen and Carlos and Luis get into a fight. They are able to resolve their issues and Luis decides to help his father to find his landscaping truck. Due to the fact that he is an illegal immigrant, Carlos is not able to get the help of police for fear of being discovered and is forced to seek the landscaping truck with the help of people he meets on the street. In the end, he finds the truck and steals it back from a vehicle garage. Following breaking the vehicle out, he is pulled over by a cop and is deported back to Mexico. Luis remains and is able to live with his aunt. Before his dad is deported, he promises his dad that he will stay away from gangs and will do as his aunt says.
Struggling with feeling trapped, especially trapped in family rules/beliefs, is never a good situation but something that some individuals experience. In her memoir Educated, Tara Westover tells about her struggles throughout life. The struggles within her own family, her struggling to fit in with the outside world and also struggles inside herself. These include the struggles of finding who she is, figuring out what is true in what she’s grown up being taught and so much more. In the opening paragraphs of chapter fifteen, Tara introduces a possibility that she had never thought about before but something that readers know will eventually come.
Here is my rough draft!
Within the first two paragraphs, Tara writes, “What I saw was a woman grown, with her own mind, her own prayers, who no longer sat, childlike, at her father’s feet. I saw the woman’s swollen belly and it was my belly. Next to her sat her mother, the midwife. She took her mother’s had and said she wanted the baby delivered in a hospital, by a doctor. I’ll drive you, her mother said. The women moved toward the door, but the door was blocked–by loyalty, by obedience. By her father. … she had drawn to herself all his conviction, all his weightiness. She set him aside and moved through the door.” (132). Here a future Tara, pregnant and about to deliver, is shown standing up to her father and rejecting what her father had told her and her siblings growing up – that their mother can do anything medical they need and that she could deliver their children – by going to the hospital to have her baby delivered. This quote also shows Tara’s mother, in a way, standing up to Tara’s father by agreeing to drive Tara to the hospital. Through this quote, it is being symbolized that Tara is moving past her father and his ways. It also shows that she is moving on with her life/making her own opinions when it says, “she set him aside and moved through the door.” (132).
Next, in the third paragraph, Tara says, “I tried to imagine what future such a woman might claim for herself. I tried to conjure other scenes in which she and her father were of two minds. When she ignored his counsel and kept her own … I knelt on the carpet, listening to my father but studying this stranger, and felt suspended between them, drawn to each, repelled by both. I understood that no future could hold; no destiny could tolerate him and her. I would remain a child, in perpetuity, always, or I would lose him.” (132-133). This goes back to the idea of Tara telling of her struggles through life by showing that she is having to finally make a decision on what she wants. Up to this point, she had never been allowed to make decisions of her own as her father was always the decision maker of the family. Whenever there had been a decision to make, it was her father that made them; no one else in the family had ever been permitted to make a decision without the risk of becoming disowned. Here, it is being shown that Tara is having to make a decision on whether she wants to remain in her father’s favor but trapped in her life or risk losing her father but gaining, basically, a new life.
To conclude by examining these quotes, it is realized by readers just how trapped Tara’s father and his beliefs had made his family and how consumed Tara has become trying to please her father. Throughout her memoir, Tara talks about her family members and how they act. As she describes her family members, it is very clear that the entire Westover family has been overcome with the need to please Tara’s father and live their lives as he says. But as the story goes on, some members realize that this life that they have been living – a life removed from the world and everyone else in it, where working in their dad’s business is the ‘only’ option because it’s what they’re ‘supposed’ to do, where the government is running everything and the government is bad and where wearing makeup and clothes that don’t have their father’s approval, they become ‘gentiles’ – isn’t for them. Some family members have realized that, as siblings have gone off to live other lives/go to college, there is another, better life outside of the one that they have been living. There is a life full of opportunity and that isn’t as restrictive as the one their father has been leading them to live.
Over the course of your education, there is a good chance that you will be required to complete work in a field of study and/or be required to study that specific field/fields of study over the course of a semester or school year. In The Norton Field Guide to Writing, chapter 24-26, the book discusses the various kinds of fields of study, what materials you may cover or learn in those fields, what you may read in those fields and the writing and/or writing styles you may do/use in that specific field of study.
While reading chapters 24-26, I thought about the different kinds of research I’ve done. Theresearch project that sticks out in my mind the most is a type of social science I researched in which I researched the psychology behind American spending. This was really interesting to research and learn about as I got an insight into the way some Americans’ brains work. Social Sciences is one type of the fields of study that someone may study in their high school or college careers in classes
such as history, psychology, communication studies, political science, economics, public health
and more. For the bibliography we created in our English 112 class a few weeks ago, some informal research I did was research to find when a book or book series was published, who a book or book series publisher was and, if I couldn’t remember, I had to find the book and check who the author was. Reading chapters 24-26 indicates to me that I may be interested in the social sciences. As the NFG notes, the Social Sciences may include anthropology, economics, political science, geography, psychology, and sociology; some of these subjects sound interesting to me and like somethi
regards to my paper, I studied how an American’s brain works in regards to shopping and why their brain works/processes shopping in different ways.
ng I may want to study at some point or another. In the case of my research paper on American spending, I focused on psychology. According to page 292 of the NFG, “[i]n psychology, you study the human mind-what it is and why we behave as we do.” In
To conclude, by reading these chapters I have learned a lot about the different fields of studies and about myself and some of what I am interested in. I have learned that there are a wide variety of subjects you can study that can fall underneath the same field. Some of the subjects that fall underneath the same field, you may not think they would fall in the same category but, as it turns out, they do. Personally, I had never stopped to think about what different subjects may have in common, such as the same field, prior to reading chapters 24-26.
Works Cited
Bullock, Richard, et al. Chapter 24: “Fields of Study.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings and Handbook. 5th ed. Norton, 2019, pp.291-93. PDF.
Reading has always been something that I love doing and something that has always had a special place in my heart. Over the years, I have read books/book series that I have greatly enjoyed and some of those I have read more than once. Each time reading, I find new things that I didn’t remember from previous times or something that I find something new. For a majority of my top 5 favorite books/book series, I have been a fan of for years. HarryPotter I got interested in in about 5th grade and got the series for Christmas one year shortly after and have been a huge fan ever since. The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy I have been a fan of for several years now. I am not sure how long exactly I have been a fan though I do know it has been several years running. The Hunger Games has been a favorite for two or three years, maybe even more, and is still a series that I enjoy reading, though I don’t read it as often as some of the others. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is a recent find for me though it instantly became a favorite. I read it this past summer and it was one of my favorite books of the summer. The Unexpected Everything is an easy favorite for me and is one that I have been a fan since middle school. What makes these appealing or notable is that, at least two – The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy and The Unexpected Everything – of these, are relatable for me as a teenager dealing with boys and feelings, Harry Potter shows a magical side that is fun and creative but also something that I won’t ever know about since magic isn’t real, The Hunger Games is a series that is interesting to me because it shows an alternate life and a life that I don’t have to experience but, in a way, represents the life other people may have to experience, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is a book that is full of mystery and keeps you on your toes; it keeps you interested and keeps you turning pages so that you can figure out what happens. It wasn’t really that difficult for me to narrow down my favorite books/book series to five because most of these instantly popped into my head when I started thinking of books I love and then, once I looked at my bookshelf, I quickly found two more books/book series that I love. I hope books continue to be a favorite of mine and that these five continue to be some of my favorites.
Bibliography:
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic Inc., 2008.
“Snail mail” is a term for handwritten mail that I hadn’t heard of prior to English 111. Once I made the connection, I thought about the times when I had received a handwritten letter and, let me tell you, those times have been few and far between. Maybe a dozen or so times, if that many. It hadn’t crossed my mind to think about writing, or sending, a piece of snail mail as we live in a digital age where we can just shoot off a text or email if we wish to contact someone. However, whenever I do get a handwritten letter, or any other type of mail (a store-bought card or otherwise), I feel a sense of happiness and gratitude for the sender. It brings joy to me to know that someone is thinking of me.
Getting “snail mail,” to me at least, is much more meaningful than a simple text. While texts are much less time consuming and require less materials, specifically they don’t require paper, stamps, and envelopes, letters hold a deeper level of connection and meaning. Whenever I was younger, I would receive pen pal letters and little notes that friends would slip into my cubby. Even though I would get these notes, I never really understood the meaning, time, and thought that went into these letters. Looking back now, however, I enjoy reading the letters and going back to my younger days. Even though the pen pal letters were a school assignment, they still brought, and still bring, joy. However, I can relate to Lynda Berry in her Literacy Narrative, found in The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Reading and Handbook, “Lost and Found” when she says, “When I read about writer’s lives, there are usually stories about writing from the time they were little. I never wrote anything until I was a teenager, and then it was only a diary that said the same thing over and over” (659).
Other than writing to pen pals, I never wrote, at least not really. Then I got a little older and started writing in a journal/diary, just like Lynda Berry. I was very similar to Lynda Berry in that what I wrote was the same as the rest of the stuff in the journal. I remember writing about this big crush I had on Justin Bieber, like most any of my generation or age, has at some point or another.
A picture of my handwritten draft!
Another practice of writing Dr. Lucas had us do was our literacy narrative and textual analysis. In our literacy narrative and textual analysis, we were to focus on a time in our lives or a piece of writing we had seen. This helped me, as a writer, to strengthen my writing skills and it helped me to become more confident in my writing. Dr. Lucas would read over our work and suggest changes. Having someone, other than myself, spot check my writing and point out things to change helped tremendously as I am still a writer in the making and am not always the best user of proper grammatical rules. By having someone with more writing experience spot check my work, it helped me improve my writing.
I am thankful to our English 111 professor, Dr. Lucas, for having us to write “snail mail” as an assignment every month and for having us to write our literacy narrative and textual analysis! It has helped me reach out to some people I don’t talk to as much as I would like and has given me a chance to do something I had always wished I’d had more practice of doing. It also benefited me to write literacy narratives and textual analysis so that I can even further my writing experience and skill level.
Works Cited
Berry, Lynda. “Lost And Found.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings and Handbook. 4th ed., by Richard Bullock, Maureen Daly Goggin, and Francine Weinberg, 2016, pp. 656-661).
College life. What is it truly like? Is it a time to develop your education? Have fun? Make new friends? Some believe college life is a combination of all three, while others think of it in different lights. The Lenoir-Rhyne University ad, shown in Our State magazine, shows college students hanging around campus with friends, dressed in nice clothes and seeming to not have a care in the world. This ad might not be the most realistic ad.
The Lenoir-Rhyne ad gives off an idea of how great and carefree college life is, when, in reality, college life isn’t always so carefree. While college isn’t always enjoyable, it can be a time for individuals to make new friends and great memories wherever they may attend. LR incorporates this idea of making new friends at college by saying, “Our campus welcomes students to a close-knit community of people where leaders of tomorrow have emerged for a century” (1). This goes back to what was said earlier about college life. Students are learning to become people of society, while also making new friends. Or, as the ad says, becoming “a close-knit community”.
While you look at this ad, you may see some things that you don’t agree with. For example, some might not agree with how the LR ad is presenting the students. In the ad, students are dressed neat and very professionally for a day in the life of a college student. Some individuals may get the idea that all college students dress this way when, in reality, there is a good chance they don’t. A minds-eye picture that some may have of college students is students rushing around, throwing outfits together and not caring all too much what they look like as long as they get to class on time. While this is one view, it may be extremely wrong and there is a good chance of many more views. As the Lenoir-Rhyne ad shows off students’ outfits, they also talk about them. The ad states, “Donned in suits, skirts, and seersucker, students at Lenoir-Rhyne University bring a sense of style…Higher education has never been so dapper” (1). To some, this image that has been created may be a tad too fancy though some may believe this is just how college students should dress.
College life is an experience that many students world-wide are lucky to experience. While everyone’s experiences, ideas, and/or opinions may be different, that is okay. The Lenoir-Rhyne ad shows one idea that people may have of college life; a care-free time of hanging out with friends and dressing nice.
Above is a picture of my rough draft.
Works Cited
Lenoir-Rhyne U. Advertisement. Our State, Aug. 2015, p. 1.
Scrooge “[i]t was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance” (stave 1). Ebenezer was a selfish man who wanted to be left alone. During the story, three Ghosts of Christmas visited him and he changed. From then on, he “was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions” (stave 5). This was our inspiration for the words Ebenezer speaks through the six diary entries. We wanted to show how he could go into a pandemic happy to be away from people but come out of it only wanting to surround himself with those who can bring smiles to his life. We also chose to use cholera as the pandemic in the diary entries because A Christmas Carol was published in December of 1843, which would be when the third pandemic of cholera was taking place.
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