As I took my first glance at the title of this article, I was so confused at what I was about to read. I didn't know if somehow Erdrich was going to enlighten me on the possible dreams skunks could have, or even how she was going to relate her story to the title.
After I got used to the title, I dug in. The first few pages were such a difficult read, nothing could catch my interest. It wasn't until Erdrich started to compare the dreams and the stories in the article to obstacles in life that I started to zone into the reading.
The character in the story always wanted to get past the fence. It was her "obstacle". At the time it seemed nearly impossible to her because according to Erdrich the fence was, "chain-link in places, chicken wire, sagging X wire, barbed wire on top, jerry-built with tipped-out poles and uncertain corners nailed to log posts...". It seemed too difficult to get through, but she wanted to see the other side, and find the animals that are behind the fence.
Erdrich makes it clear that obstacles aren't ever easy to overcome. You are always going to desire something and it's in that desire where you find your obstacle. If you have a strong goal then you will push for it, but along those lines is another cliche that I found in Erdrich's article, you always want what you can't have.
In the article she wanted to see that horizon that she missed so much. She liked where she was living, but she didn't get the pleasure of seeing that horizon that she used to see everyday and because of that she had to settle for less than what she wanted.
I believe that Erdrich had some good points in her article, but I believe that she could have made the story a lot less confusing. It felt very scattered at first, and that made me lose a lot of my interest really fast. If I wasn't forced to read it, I don't think she would have sold me on the first page, and I would have given up. To add onto that I think that it was quite strange that she had the skunk part in the story. I mean to a point I believe that it added good detail and she made use of it toward the end, but depending on how you took the reading I think you could have ended with different thoughts.
For the future, I think that this story could create a good class discussion. It has a lot of peculiar parts to it that could spark up a great conversation, or even allow other classmates to see something from the story that they might have missed.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
The Different Views From "Talk of the Town"
As we all know, 9/11 was an extremely tragic event that the United States faced. Through the eyes of John Updike, the reader can feel as if they are re-experiencing this horrendous event. He has a natural way of showing throughout his essay, which really allows for the true connections to be formed from his writing, whereas Susan Sontag comes out very strong with her own personal opinions of the event that tend to be quite negative.
"...smoke speckled with bits of paper curled into the cloudless sky, and strange inky rivulets ran down the giant structure's vertically corrugated surface." Only a few sentences in and Updike already had me zoned into his experience. The style and word choice he posessed throughout his entire essay created vivid images that stuck to my mind. Even though this event occured ten years ago, it felt like I could actually see what happened all over again. However, it wasn't just his writing style that really caught my glimpse, but more so the positive flow he created about the tragedy. In the end it was made clear to me that he was trying to get across that, yes, we aren't always going to have the perfect society, but "risk is a price of freedom", and that's what our country is about.
On the other side of this there was Sontag, who really put forth her own opinions, which were not the most positive opinions. "Everything is not O.K." is one direct quote on Sontag's opinion of America. She believed that America was being run by a "robotic President" and that there should be a lot more thinking going on because in her thoughts the country is not doing well, and that we should be afraid. I found this read to be quite strong as she shared her opinions. Sharp comments aren't the easiest to take, and although she makes good points and states what it looks like from a brutally honest state of my mind, I believe that there could have been a much more pleasing approach to her writing. It also wasn't as personal about the experience of 9/11, instead it focused more on the issues that 9/11 sparked.
Every single one of us has our own opinions, our own experiences, and our own visuals, and it's these events that bring out the different sides in all of us. Whether we witness the tragedy from our back porch, or the television, it's still happening and everyone is going through it. Updike and Sontag are great examples of the different ways people can interpret a tragedy and describe it in their own unique ways.
"...smoke speckled with bits of paper curled into the cloudless sky, and strange inky rivulets ran down the giant structure's vertically corrugated surface." Only a few sentences in and Updike already had me zoned into his experience. The style and word choice he posessed throughout his entire essay created vivid images that stuck to my mind. Even though this event occured ten years ago, it felt like I could actually see what happened all over again. However, it wasn't just his writing style that really caught my glimpse, but more so the positive flow he created about the tragedy. In the end it was made clear to me that he was trying to get across that, yes, we aren't always going to have the perfect society, but "risk is a price of freedom", and that's what our country is about.
On the other side of this there was Sontag, who really put forth her own opinions, which were not the most positive opinions. "Everything is not O.K." is one direct quote on Sontag's opinion of America. She believed that America was being run by a "robotic President" and that there should be a lot more thinking going on because in her thoughts the country is not doing well, and that we should be afraid. I found this read to be quite strong as she shared her opinions. Sharp comments aren't the easiest to take, and although she makes good points and states what it looks like from a brutally honest state of my mind, I believe that there could have been a much more pleasing approach to her writing. It also wasn't as personal about the experience of 9/11, instead it focused more on the issues that 9/11 sparked.
Every single one of us has our own opinions, our own experiences, and our own visuals, and it's these events that bring out the different sides in all of us. Whether we witness the tragedy from our back porch, or the television, it's still happening and everyone is going through it. Updike and Sontag are great examples of the different ways people can interpret a tragedy and describe it in their own unique ways.
My Life
When I found out that I had to write about myself, I was stuck. I'm always lost on where to start, or even on what I should write. In that case I guess the best way to start out is by saying that my name is Amanda Sonday, and I will be a senior in the upcoming school year. I can honestly say I'm already excited about getting this year over with, but along with that I figured I would challenge myself, which is why I'm taking this course. Writing is by far my worst quality and I believe with the help of composition, which I took last year, I can do well in this class too. Anyway, enough with the boring information!
McFarland hasn't been my hometown all my life. Until I was six, I had lived in Monona. As my family grew with the addition of my twin brothers, my parents decided it would be best if we moved to a house with a little more space. From that point on I have remained in the same house.
Living in this town has helped me create two of my biggest passions, soccer and volleyball. I started playing club volleyball when I was in seventh grade, and unfortunately my junior year was my final year of playing. I never really played with a very competitive club because I just never cared enough, but I loved getting the extra practice and meeting new people. As far as soccer goes, I just play the sport for fun. I began playing the year I moved to McFarland, but didn't find much interest in it, until I filled in for a player who quit during fifth grade. Ever since then I have loved the game. I never have gotten too serious with soccer because to me it's just a sport I play to have fun. Although these sports don't make up my life, I also enjoy hanging out with my friends, sleeping, and (the common female answer) shopping.
As far as reading goes, it's kind of up there with my writing quality. I will read if I find a good book, but if i'm faced with a non-fiction book, I usually have a hard time zoning in. Obviously this class contains a lot of that type of stuff, and I'm ready for it!
Well there's not much more that can really be said about who I am. I'm sure that I have left a lot out, but for the most part you kind of get what I'm interested in and where i've grown up. Hopefully throughout this course you will learn a little bit more about me.
McFarland hasn't been my hometown all my life. Until I was six, I had lived in Monona. As my family grew with the addition of my twin brothers, my parents decided it would be best if we moved to a house with a little more space. From that point on I have remained in the same house.
Living in this town has helped me create two of my biggest passions, soccer and volleyball. I started playing club volleyball when I was in seventh grade, and unfortunately my junior year was my final year of playing. I never really played with a very competitive club because I just never cared enough, but I loved getting the extra practice and meeting new people. As far as soccer goes, I just play the sport for fun. I began playing the year I moved to McFarland, but didn't find much interest in it, until I filled in for a player who quit during fifth grade. Ever since then I have loved the game. I never have gotten too serious with soccer because to me it's just a sport I play to have fun. Although these sports don't make up my life, I also enjoy hanging out with my friends, sleeping, and (the common female answer) shopping.
As far as reading goes, it's kind of up there with my writing quality. I will read if I find a good book, but if i'm faced with a non-fiction book, I usually have a hard time zoning in. Obviously this class contains a lot of that type of stuff, and I'm ready for it!
Well there's not much more that can really be said about who I am. I'm sure that I have left a lot out, but for the most part you kind of get what I'm interested in and where i've grown up. Hopefully throughout this course you will learn a little bit more about me.
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