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Format: Neither in-text citations nor a works cited page is required. Do please use quotation marks to set off any quoted material.
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SCOPE & PURPOSE of ESSAY
Essay #2 is centered around the assumption that you positively connected with certain texts in specific ways (if you haven't made those connections yet, you now have time to do so). For this essay, you will write at least four developed paragraphs for a total 500-600 words. You’re welcome to write more than four paragraphs (an intro for instance is fine but not required). But as you’ll see, the four paragraphs constitute the content we will be assessing for this assignment.
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TEXTS TO CHOOSE FROM for ESSAY #2
"One Summer” by Nicholson Baker
"The Chase" by Annie Dillard
Selected poems by Wendell Berry
Selected poems by Mary Oliver
"Otherwise Known as the Human Condition (With Particular Reference to Doughnut Plant Donuts)"
by Geoff Dyer
"The Aquarium" by Alexander Hemon
“Chicxulub" by T.C. Boyle
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OVERALL THESIS & PAPER STRUCTURE
In this essay, your thesis, i.e. your purpose, will be to explore how three of the above texts positively or beneficially impacted you and why. This thesis, or purpose, is what will connect the whole essay. In other words, the specific paragraphs may not necessarily connect to each other (since they'll be about different texts), but the overall point connecting the paragraphs will be that each of the writers impact you in a positive way.
The instructions for each body paragraph are identical and are as follows:
Body Paragraph #1 - 150’ish words / include at least one quoted passage from your selected text
Choose one specific moment from one of the above texts with which you connected and resonated. Discuss why you connected with that moment, using both your interpretive skills (upon the text) as well as details from your own life. Discuss what the writer did well to elicit the connection you experienced. NOTE: Your chosen moment from the text can be a specific line or group of sentences or it can be a longer scene that you summarize. Regardless, you still need to include actual quotations from the text.
Body Paragraph #2 150’ish words / include at least one quoted passage from your selected text
Choose another specific moment from a different text from the above with which you connected and resonated. Discuss why you connected with that moment, using both your interpretive skills (upon the text) as well as details from your own life. Discuss what the writer did well to elicit the connection you experienced. NOTE: Your chosen moment from the text can be a specific line or group of sentences or it can be a longer scene that you summarize. Regardless, you still need to include actual quotations from the text.
Body Paragraph #3 - 150’ish words / include at least one quoted passage from selected text
Choose one more specific moment from another of the above texts (different than your first two) with which you connected and resonated. Discuss why you connected with that moment, using both your interpretive skills (upon the text) as well as details from your own life. Discuss what the writer did well to elicit the connection you experienced. NOTE: Your chosen moment from the text can be a specific line or group of sentences or it can be a longer scene that you summarize. Regardless, you still need to include actual quotations from the text.
Concluding Paragraph #4 - 100’ish words - in which you respond to all of the below questions
Conclude either your essay with a discussion of your view towards literature and storytelling NOW as compared to the beginning of the semester. How did the above texts play a role in your view shifting (or not shifting)? Was your mind changed or not? Ultimately, your conclusion should answer how you can apply any of your newfound or newly honed critical thinking skills or insights beyond this classroom.
American Literature: "One Summer” by Nicholson Baker
“One summer, I heard someone next door typing on an electric typewriter while I sat outside in the sun. I listened to the swatting of the keys and thought how rare that sound was now.” An electric typewriter may seem an outdated technology but may serve right for a person who finds it worthy. It is fascinating how some things to some people may seem less valuable but to others are still valuable. Also, in life, there are some things that serve the same purpose, although the quality and time spend to produce the same are different. Regardless of the means, it is important to appreciate the final product. The fundamental question is. Has the final product been achieved? Again the text makes me learn the importance of appreciating people of different reservations; some will achieve utility from the least things we expect. And thus no essence of being judgmental. The author connects the scenario more relevant as he connects a seemingly old-fashioned typewriter with probably the modern computer. I have once castigated a friend with a low-budget Samsung phone but only to realize that people have different preferences.
In the chase, Dillard presents their own experience and perception of childhood. The main assertion is that no matter how childhood is smart and enjoyable would come to a stop. There is a common phrase that says that all good things must come to an end; similarly, I draw some significance from this piece of writing because there is the tendency for people to have that very extravagant life in the proclamation that life has its end and end up at misery. Dillards says that growing old is mandatory. I honor the writings by appreciating the fact that everything has its prime time, and as a people, we have to serve humanity for the deserving. “Wordless, we Split up. We were on our turf; we could...
