Writing Style (Due Monday, September 14)
For any of your three novel selections, reflect on the writing style presented throughout the book. (To be clear, you are choosing ONE of the novels you read this summer and reflecting on the writing style.)
In one developed paragraph, first introduce the title of the book and its author. Then respond to TWO of the questions below. Use ONE direct quote from the book to support your answer.
Consider how the book is organized. Is it largely narrative?
Does it make use of process analysis to reveal the steps in something?
Does it include sections that compare and contrast or reveal cause and effect?
Is it largely a persuasive work? Explain.
Does it divide and classify to reveal important concepts?
Brett Rogers
ReplyDeleteI chose Black Boy for one of my summer reading books. Written by Richard Wright the autobiography delves into his life growing up in a time with Jim Crow laws, escaping the South and its prejudices, and his changing mind and point of view throughout his journey North.
Yes, the book is almost entirely narrative, besides a few spots where Wright uses description and imagery very effectively largely to elicit emotions from the reader to sympathize with his plights. "She whispered to me the story of Bluebeard and His Seven Wives and I ceased to see the porch, the sunshine, her face, everything. As her words fell upon my new ears, I endowed them with a reality that welled up from somewhere within me." This demonstrates one of the times that Wright uses imagery, trying to show the reader how he felt when he first began reading novels.
Throughout the entire book compare and contrast is used frequently to show the differences between the "white" man and the "black" man. In their possessions, happiness, ease of life, employment, and a dozen or more other things, Wright often compares race.
Why We Can't Wait, by Martin Luther King was one of the books I choose to be apart of my summer reading. Martin Luther King probes into the start of the Negro Revolution and depicts many oppressions the African American culture had to face in the 1960's.
ReplyDeleteThis piece of writing is mainly a persuasive narrative. King gives insight and background to the non-violent approaches he had in mind, what his "I have a dream" speech meant, and the famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail." King asks and answers rhetorical questions throughout the book. King was a very descriptive writer, in a sense that he used personal experiences to allow the reader to put what he's saying in perspective and to have sympathy. His strong dialect and use of imagery shines through this piece as well. "Just as lightning makes no sound until it strikes, the Negro Revolution generated quietly. But when it struck, the revealing flash of its power and the impact of its sincerity and fervor displayed a force of a frightening intensity." This exhibits his use of imagery and strong dialect. King starts out the novel with this quote. He is comparing lightning with the start of the revolution. Throughout the whole book King demonstrates a lot of cause and effect using historical evidence to show why the Negro Revolution erupted in 1963.
One of the books I choose to read over the summer was, Red Ribbon On A White Horse written by Anzia Yezeirska. Her autobiography on how persuing your dreams can change your life, but also how quickly that can all go away.
ReplyDelete"I opened the door with fear," and "I walked out of his office staring at the ten dollar bill in my hand.", shows us, with the use of "I", that she uses first person as her narrative choice. Most, if not all, of the book is written this way. I don't beleive she intended for her book to be persuasive, but at some parts of it where there is a slight feeling of persuasion. Like how when the great depression brings her back to poverty, yet she still keeps her goals in mind. It is like she is sayng never give up on your dreams becaus one day they may come true, even if there are complications along the way.
Rebekah Halley
ReplyDeleteTigers & Ice written by Edward Hoagland is a well dictated collection of essays. Using elevated language, dialogue, and imagery Hoagland provides readers with a view of the world around them in ways they have never noticed. Hoagland divides his narrative into different experiences. Each chapter is its own extensive and original event. Hoagland drops readers into his world from when he was a cage boy in the circus, his secluded summer home in Vermont, a journey through Antartica, and an exploration of India. Also in the middle of the book a chapter is an excerpt from one of his journals. I found this to be my favorite part of the book. It was filled with individual sentences of his thoughts during the day or an ironic fact he admired. Hoagland expressed his knowledge in every word he writes. His words have the tone of a wise elderly man. Because the book is a reflection on his life and the details around him there are no real comparisons or contrasts except for the irony of the two largest sections of the books being about his trip to Antartica and his trip to India, Tigers & Ice. Ironically during his writing about India I felt as if he was describing Africa. I will admit that there are many important hidden concepts in the context. Whether they are lessons he himself had learned, stories told to him, or just certain morals he finds interesting. One being "Nature doesn't speak for you afterward, if you haven't had your say in the world. But nature, if you place your faith in it, dilutes that compulsion and other vanities. The wiggling gleam of flowing water, the romantic disk of the moon, the soothing enigma of starlight, the sight of wind-blown grass, whirling leaves, and large-crowned trees, the smell of woods soil, the extraordinary comfort, both emotional and physical, delivered by the sun, are free." (Hoagland 174)
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ReplyDeleteSkylar Beavers
ReplyDeleteOne of the books I chose to read and evaluate was The Autobiography Of Malcolm X, written in partnership by X himself and journalist Alex Haley. The book follows Malcolm X from his birth all the way up to his death in a largely narrative style. The different parts of X's life where he experienced the most trials and hardship are highlighted and explored deeply like different acts of an adventure narrative. The Autobiography Of Malcolm X could also be described as a persuasive work because with the writing style of the two authors they are trying to enlighten people while also telling a story. The main theme throughout the novel they highlight along with the hardship is that no matter the trial or situation everyone can always stand up, and everyone needs to remember that. "I believe that it is a crime for anyone who is being brutalized to continue to accept that brutality without doing something to defend himself." (X 374)
I also chose to read The Autobiography of Malcom X and agree with majority of what you have written. I liked how you stated how the book was not only an adventure narrative, but how you also believe it is a persuasive work. I never really thought about how it could be labeled two different genres. Lastly, the quote that you chose was a quote that I also found extremely powerful to the novel.
DeleteThe title of this book is Red Ribbon on a White Horse, the book is organized as mainly a narrative telling it from her point of view using first person, “I’ve been a pauper all my life,” I told Lily as I watched her eat.”(Yezierska 29). It is not a largely persuasive work because she is not trying to persuade her audience of anything, she is simply describing her life as she goes from a pauper to a high society writer.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely wit what you are saying. I enjoyed this book and I'm glad that you pulled some of the same things that I pulled from the book. However I beleive that she may have been trying to persuade her readers to not give up on their dreams.
DeleteMaddie Mougalian
ReplyDeleteA book that I read as part of my summer reading was Charlotte's Web. Charlotte's Web is written by E.B. White. This book would not necissarily be considered a narrative because it is not all using first person. Instead it is mainly a story that has a narrarator for it. This story does provide some sections that use cause and effect. It has many input and output results. For example, Wilbur says "Why did you do all this for me?" He asked. "I don't deserve it." "You have been my friend," replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a tremendous thing" (White 164). The cause, or the input of Wilbur being Charlotte's friend, is the result, or output of Charlotte saving Wilbur's life.
I also chose to read Charlotte's Web by E.B. White as a part of my summer reading assignment. I agree with everything you are saying here and I liked how you compared the narrative vs. narrator. I also thought that your comparison of the input and output results with cause and effect was really interesting, I had not thought about the conflicts in that way before. I also really like the quote that you chose for this post! It explains one of the main themes of Charlotte's Web very well and adds to your argument regarding the cause and effect.
DeleteDavid Stults
ReplyDeleteThe book I chose to comment on was I know why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. This book is largely narrative, written by Angelou as an adult recounting the events of her childhood. The book is an autobiography and starts out with her experiences from growing up in the town of Stamps and progesses through her childhood till she becomes an adult. Her work is largely persuasive with the goal of educating people about what life was like for a black girl growing up in the mid 1900's in the south. "If growing up is painful for the southern black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult." (Angelou 6), this quote from the beginning of the book expresses the hardships that southern black girls must have gone through to feel this way.
I also read I know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou this summer. I agree with your point that her work is persuasive and that her goal was to educate people on what life was like for a young black girl living in the south in the 1900's. I like your quote choice for expressing how she felt about her her role in life and how she felt displaced. You did a good job describing the novel and how it is narrative based on Angelou recounting events from her childhood from an adult perspective.
DeleteI read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, as well. I believed her work was largely pursuasive, as David had stated. I agreed with the point that Angelou's goal was to inform people on what life was like being a young African American girl, while living in the rural south, in the beggining half of the 1900th century. I think David's choice of quote really embodies the racial discrimination that Maya Angelou had to face, starting at a very young age. In my opinion, David really captured the main points of the novel and a brief summary of the difficulties that Maya Angelou had to face.
DeleteThe Color Purple is one of the books I chose to read this summer and it is written by Alice Walker. It's about a 14 year old girl named Celie who has to go through many things girls her age should never have to go through. This story very clearly shows the racism, and historical times of the south. The writing style of this story is all in letters. She begins writing letters to God. Telling him what's on her mind and letting everything out on the paper. I do think that the way this story is in the letters makes it even more narrative because it really explains what's on her mind and what she's going through. For example, "Dear God, ... Last spring after little Lucious come I heard them fussing. He was pulling on her arm. She say It too soon, Fonso, I ain't well. Finally he leave her alone. A week go by, he pulling on her arm again. She say Naw, I ain't gonna. Can't you see I'm already half dead, an all of these children". This quote is on the first page of the book, and already he is trying to kill her mother. By the second page, she is dead. This girl is 14 and her mother has gotten killed and she heard it happen. She then has to deal with things like this for awhile after.
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ReplyDeleteEmma Way
The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a fictional novel about the life of the main character, Celie, and her struggles as an African American woman in the South throughout the late 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th century. The book is organized into letters, first addressed to God and later addressed to Celie’s sister, Nettie. Celie writes letters to God filled with endeavors regarding the sexual abuse she faced from her stepfather, the separation from her sister, her abusive marriage, and her best friend Shug Avery. When she later discovers that Nettie has written to her throughout the years, Celie addresses letters to her and writes about similar endeavors, now filled with faith and hope that her sister will one day return. Because the novel takes place in the past and is not based off of true events, it should be classified as historical fiction. The piece divides and classifies to reveal the true struggles of African American woman in the South at this time. While Celie faced socioeconomic oppression, she found strength in her sister, her best friend, and in God. She demonstrates this strength despite her circumstances by saying “I'm pore, I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook, a voice say to everything listening. But I'm here” (Walker 187.) Celie’s story is an empowering tale for all women and an educational piece to help better understand oppression upon minorities
Alexa Belanger
DeleteI read the Color Purple as well and I also believe that the main points were to show the life of an African American woman in the south and to show the oppression of minorities. As you stated, Celie went through many hardships, but she demonstrated a lot of strength throughout the story. The quote that you pulled from the book represents the story perfectly. The quote represents that although she has gone through tremendous amounts of pain, whether physical or emotional, she is still here and she still has hope. I believe you pulled out all of the main events and important details of the story.
Amy Norton
ReplyDeleteCivil Disobedience is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau in 1849. Civil Disobedience is a largely persuasive essay that is trying to make the reader to stand up for what they believe in, in a nonviolent way that still gets the attention of the government. Thoreau was a strong abolitionist and was also against the Mexican-American War and in Civil Disobedience Thoreau was trying to get people to stop paying their taxes as a way to show the government that he did not believe in what they were doing as well as to not fund the war. Civil Disobedience analyses the government to prove to the reader that the government is unjust and that one should not support them by giving the government your tax money. In the quote, “This American government,--what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endevoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity?” (Thoreau 265), even though the American government was just formed Thoreau already saw unjusts that were being carried out that are somewhat similar to ones today.
Tiffany Cummings
ReplyDeleteOne of the books I chose to read over the summer was Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid. This is a coming of age story that follows the protagonist, Annie John from age ten to seventeen. This novel is about her changing relationship with her mother as she gets older, experiencing racism and her underlying depression. “For a short while during the year I was ten, I thought only people I did not know died.” (Kincaid 1) , this quote shows that book is mostly narrative, the story is being established by an older Annie as if from the perspective of her younger self.
Annie John does include sections that reveal cause and effect, when Annie walks in on her parents being intimate she feels neglected and betrayed, this forever changed her outlook on her mother. “I was sure I could never let those hands touch me again; I was sure I could never let her kiss me again. All that was finished.” (Kincaid 32.)
Does it include sections that compare and contrast or reveal cause and effect?
ReplyDeleteIs it largely a persuasive work? Explain.
Riley Beronja
I chose to read Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. In the novel, a small pig is taken in by a farmer's daughter and is raised on their farm. He is in line to be slaughtered when he befriends a spider named Charlotte. White's main example of cause and effect comes from Charlotte's web. She begins to spin words into the web, and Wilbur tries to become what those words describe, giving him more time to avoid being slaughtered. As Wilbur becomes more famous, he is paraded around fairs and starts to miss his quiet farm life. "When Charlotte's web had said SOME PIG, Wilbur had tried hard to look like some pig. When Charlotte's web said TERRIFIC, Wilbur had tried to look terrific. And now that the web said RADIANT, he did everything possible to make himself glow." Wilbur tried his best to become everything that Charlotte wrote. This novel is not written to be persuasive. It is a narrative recounting the tales of a pig and a spider.
I agree that this piece of literature is not written to be a persuasive novel. But it does contain the moral or theme that you can be whatever you want as long as you believe it. Charlotte spun all of those words into the web for Wilbur to act like those words. But he would've never become "Radiant" or "Terrific" had he not believed in himself. The growth of Wilbur throughout the novel proved that he was not just "Some pig" but a terrific one.
DeleteReid Williams
ReplyDeleteThe book that I read and have chosen to reflect on is I know why the caged bird sings. The book is an autobiography of Maya Angelou's life, the perspective of the book is her point of view as a child. something i found interesting was that even though it is an autobiography, its written like a fiction novel. the novel is certainly written in the persuasive style, her Goal is to show us how bad black people were treated in the 30s and 40s. it is also a narrative of her life, struggles, and accomplishments “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” (Angelou 41).
I also chose to read I know why the Caged Bird sings by Maya Angelou. I would agree with you that her narrative was quite persuasive. I did also find it interesting that it is an autobiography that is written like a fiction novel. I like your choice of quote from the novel as well.
DeleteJessie Beilby
ReplyDeleteThe Optimists Daughter by Eudora Welty was one of my summer reading selections. The story is about Laurel, a widow, leaves her job in Chicago Illinois to go to New Orleans to see her father, Judge Mckelva whose eyesight is failing. Upon arrival she meets her fathers new wife, Fay, who already seems to not like Laurel. While there she witnesses her father's passing and she tries to dig into her families past to understand how it could affect her present and future. It would not really be considered a persuasive piece as it has nothing it is particularly trying to push at. Important concepts are brought up throughout the story such as the idea of eyes being everywhere. For example her dad was a judge and for his job he had to look at situation and be able to judge them clearly but yet his eyesight was failing quickly. “At their very feet had been the river. The boat came breasting out of the mist, and in they stepped. All new things in life were meant to come like that” (Welty 139) The quote shows how some things are foggy but eventually they become clear which would also play along with the eyesight which is an important concept.
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ReplyDeleteStephanie Rauhoff
ReplyDeleteI chose the book 1984 by George Orwell to read over the summer. In this novel, Winston, a 39 year old man living in a post-war communist society, began to see the error of the people in power and started to rebel on a small scale. Eventually these small scale rebellions become much more pronounced until Winston is kidnapped by the party in power, mostly just referred to as "the party," and made an example of. This books was written largely to persuade its audience to see the error in communist societies. The political party's slogan is "WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH," (First seen on pg. 4, Orwell). These words are so obviously laid out as horrendous and appalling to Orwell's audience but to the characters in the book, it's nothing new. It's truly what the party has brainwashed their governed to be thinking. The cause and effect in this slightly depressing story is simple and easy to understand. Winston decides to rebel against the party, which the party notices and then strikes down very quickly. Even the small scale rebellion Winston completes- writing his thoughts in a notebook, which is forbidden- is cause for torture as his punishment.
Maria Rochow
ReplyDeleteI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is by the acclaimed writer, Maya Angelou. She reaccounts her coming of age story beginning at age 3 and ending at 16. This book is largely narritive, as she guides her readers through memories and experiences growing up in a small, rural, community of Stamps, Arkansas. Maya and her brother, Bailey, are raised by their conservative Grandmother, nickednamed "Momma", and Uncle, Willie. Sections of the novel include, powerful, cause and effect situations. Maya's story tells of trials of hardships and challanges that she had to face and overcome. One of these hardships comes when Maya is sexually abused, and causes Maya to go into a long silence. However, Mrs. Bertha Flowers breaks Maya's silence by helping Maya regain her voice through the power of literature. "All knowledge is spendible currency, depending on the market" (Angelou 210). The effect of the power of literature, travels with Maya for the rest of her life.
Samantha Ergang
ReplyDeleteOne of the books I read this summer was The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. This story was a nonfiction autobiography which is largely narrative through personal stories of situations. The Story of My Life also uses process analysis to show the steps of Helen’s success despite her hardships and disability. Helen once writes “For, after all, every one who wishes to gain true knowledge must climb the Hill Difficulty alone, and since there is no royal road to the summit, I must zigzag it in my own way. I slip back many times, I fall, I stand still, I run against the edge of hidden obstacles, I lose my temper and find it again and keep it better, I trudge on, I gain a little, I feel encouraged, I get more eager and climb higher and begin to see the widening horizon. Every struggle is a victory. One more effort and I reach the luminous cloud, the blue depths of the sky, the uplands of my desire”(Keller 52). The theme of perseverance is continually shown throughout this piece and inspires the reader to work hard for their goal no matter what obstacle may be in the way.
Alexa Belanger
ReplyDeleteI believe that The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, is largely narrative. This book is narrated by a young woman name Celie. She is telling the story of her life through first person. She is telling the story as a recent flashback of events that happened throughout the day. The Color Purple is a series of journals written to convey the message of Celie’s struggled life. I think that The Color Purple reveals cause and effect. The conditions that Celie is put in, with all of the mental and physical abuse she encounters, causes her to always listen and follow directions to avoid problems. “When that hurt, I cry. He start to choke me, saying ‘You better shut up and git used to it’” (Walker 1). For a long time this never paid off and she is continued to be abused, but the effect is that at the end of the story her years of always doing what she is told pays off and she is finally treated how she should’ve been treated all along.