Ch. 1-4
In Ch. 3, Zinsser preaches against the use of clutter. This is a concept I have no paid much attention to in the past. Teachers tend to avoid addressing clutter. Likewise, I realized I used some of the clutter phrases found throughout this chapter. This chapter reminded me of the Mark Twain quote, “Sorry, I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one.”
Coco Scales – “The Hostess Diaries”
This personal narrative is an impeccable example of how to incorporate voice into our writings. Phrases like “Celebrities and models are my least favorite customers,” “Drunken skeletons,” and “I call them all darling” evoke so much of the author’s attitude toward her job. She was able to portray herself as a feisty yet almost power-hungry hostess through her word choices. Scales did not explicitly say that she was spunky or aggressive, but rather let the reader make those conclusions through the mini-stories she decided to bring to life.
David Foster Wallace – “Federer as Religious Experience”
Unlike Coco Scales’ “The Hostess Diaries,” I was not engulfed into David Foster Wallace’s “Federer as Religious Experience.” I was definitely not having a religious experience as I was preached at about Federer’s tennis career. I am not entirely sure who this tennis player is, and I have a feeling that is why I did not connect to this piece. In “The Hostess Diaries” I knew Star Jones and the other celebrities depicted, and I enjoyed their out of the ordinary yet oddly predictable behavior in the restaurant. However, “Federer as Religious Experience” read too much like a sports broadcast. With that said, the author utilized action verbs uniquely and depicted an accurate account of how tennis players move.
Feb. 3
Ch. 5-7, 14
In this reading, I was drawn to the phrase “audience of one” in Ch. 5. I appreciated the advice to write for yourself—the audience is the author initially. Personally, when I have writer’s block, it is due to the explosion of assumptions I think people will make if I write this sentence or use this word. However, if I'm writing for myself, I can release myself of these assumptions. Now I just need to overcome the notion "I'm my worst critic..."
Ian Frazier "Typewriter Man"
As Prof. Goodwin brought up in class, as writers we need to find out or remember quirks or characteristics that make the people we write about in non-fiction stories interesting. The characterization of Mr. Tytell is inspirational because we get a sense of who he is—a little odd, and damn good at his job. This is a man who says, “I talk to typewriters myself sometimes” yet we feel for this character when people like him do not become army pilots.
Despite my enthusiasm for this piece, I am confused why the author decided to comment heavily on the history of typewriters. I would have liked the piece more fully if it were more about his journey with Mr. Tytell.
E.B. White “Death of a Pig”
I noticed many occasions where the author “broke the fourth wall” by commenting on the fact he is writing this piece: “I have written this account” and “I feel driven to account for this stretch of time.” It gave the narrative a more storytelling feel which I appreciated.
After first reading this, I assumed it was a sarcastic tone, yet I remember reading a thorough essay written in the 15th Century by a man who loved his rooster.
The name of the author and title of essay escapes me, but when I find it, I'll add it and give a link to it too.* This Renaissance gentlemen went on and on about his affection to the rooster because the rooster won many cockfights. There is no question in my mind he was not sarcastic, but rather heavily serious about writing poetry to his beloved. The same can be said for this piece in that the pig was given a burial, and by the end of it, I felt sympathetic toward the death of a pig. The very concept of becoming so emotional on an animal many people eat daily for breakfast seems trivial, yet the author used such great imagery that this pig become a person-like.
No comments:
Post a Comment