Zhi Huang (respond to this)

In "Remembering my childhood on the continent of Africa" by David Sedaris we learn about the childhood of Sedaris. In this short piece Sedaris also envies the childhood of Hughs who has a very different childhood unlike any other. Sedaris goes in detail of how Hughs childhood consist of taking class trips to the slaughterhouse of Ethopia and stories of pythons lurking the school gym. Sedaris seems to bash his childhood and even calls it dull compared to Hugh's. Why do you think he feels this way? What other literary techniques are used in this piece? What did you think the overall message of the story?

BLOG DATES

1/27 - Zhi, Kamran (Sedaris)
1/30 - Shamir, Priyanka (Adrienne Rich)
2/2 - Mallory, Anisha (Anzaldua)
2/6 - No Blog (Lethem)
2/10- Teiron, Yilin (Rodriguez)
2/13 - Brenden, Angel (Alexie, MLK)
2/17 - Maria, Shinelle (Bruce)
2/20 - Ben, Jacob (Dada Manifesto)
2/24- Joe, Matt (Mina Loy, Margaret Atwood)
2/27 - Alex, Steve ( Ginsberg)
3/10 - William (Love is An Act of Listening)
3/20 - Evisa, Kevin, Sammy (6 word memoirs)
3/31  - Michael, Danielle - (51 Birch Street)

Alma

In “Alma,” Junot Diaz gives the reader so much of a story in such a short space. Would you say he is successful? If so, how? What makes it so effective? Is it his use of vulgar language? If you look at his sentences, they are long and energetic. What does that do for the overall story? How about the use of repetition? He writes, “An ass that could drag the moon out of orbit. An ass she never liked until she met you. Ain’t a day that passes that you don’t want to press your face against that ass or bite the delicate sliding tendons of her neck.” What does that do for the reader? Other than the obvious break up in this story, what is Diaz’s story truly about? Make sure to refer to the story!

Welcome!

Welcome to English 1000C! This is where we will discuss readings, thoughts and ideas before coming to class! During the semester, we will be focused on writing, but to write well, we must read! The syllabus includes a wide range of readings in different styles that I hope will inspire you to experiment in ways of expressing yourself. There is no one right way to write. That is why I want you to explore and write, rewrite and continue to explore with the goal of finding a writing voice of your own. This blog is a place to simply react to readings before class. What did you think of the reading? What is a major theme, perhaps? Or how did the author choose to write about it? Do the fragments do something to you as a reader? What about those long sentences? Those short ones? What about the repetition of that one word he or she keeps using throughout the work? What impact does that have on you? How does the form of the piece work? etc . . . 

Each week, 1-2 students will post a "formal post" about the reading of the week. Everyone else is responsible for responding to the post.