Blog 16

I really enjoyed this semester’s English class. It opened me up to books that I would not have read otherwise. I enjoyed writing the advertisement paper, the
Ragtime paper. I didn’t like the metaphor paper as much. The only question that I have is: What do all of these books have in common? Are they all just favorites of the teacher, or do they have some underlying connection?

LITW was a very interesting book to read, but I feel like I have already conformed to the traditional novel reader’s concept of what a novel should contain: rising action, climax, falling action, and a resolution. This course did help me critique my writing style and gave me feedback on things I could improve. Overall, it was a good semester. Thank you.

Blog 15: Metaphor Paper Topic

When this paper was first assigned, I had no clue to what I was going to choose. As I did more research, I realized that I should choose a metaphor that impacted my every day life. The three metaphors that interested me and I felt that I could talk about are: Life is a game (gambling), sports are war, and the human body and mind is a machine. I’m leaning toward the “life is a game of chance” metaphor because there are many examples of it in language. I will explore what entailments are associated with games and which of these are highlighted and suppressed in terms of the metaphor. I will also examine aspects of life that are highlighted or suppressed as a consequence of the association between life and games. If I choose to do either of the other two metaphors I will go about the same routine with each. I’m not really sure how to come up with a thesis on this paper (I was not in class on Tuesday), so comments would be appreciated. Thx

In Class Blog: Metaphor in “How to Build a Better Democrat”

There are two main metaphors in this article. The first metaphor describes how the United States is in relation to threats in the world today. It depicts the United States as a hammer merely pounding in the stray nails (hammer pounding nails=vehicle, U.S. in global world=tenor) almost as a “quick fix.” The article goes on to support the shifting of U.S. foreign policy toward the second metaphor described: the United States=vaccine for the threats/viruses of the world. Instead of just fixing things when they become troublesome, it seems as if this article is pushing toward a foreign policy that seeks to solve problems before they even infect the globe.

Some highlights of the second metaphor are: vaccine leads to a solution always, problems will be prevented before they even occur, and unlike the “hammer” metaphor the solutions will be cures and not just temporary solutions. Issues hidden by this metaphor include: U.S. involvement does not always mean success, in order to fix problems before they start we need to act and do things countries might not agree with or support because they do not see the problem coming, and why does the United States have to be the one to do this. It’s almost as if the author wants the United States to impose its ideals onto other countries and deem them “cured” when they might not see a problem with their country in the first place.

Blog 14: Peer Response

I definitely liked the paper-based peer review session more than the word document session used on the last paper. There is just something more personal when you have the paper in your hand and using that bright red pen. Sure typing is faster than writing, but you really don’t end up typing all that much and you have to deal with applying the comment feature which is mostly a hassle. Seeing as my group finished with about 20 minutes to go in the class, with what appeared to be the same amount of revision, I could safely assume that the process is more efficient as well.

After attending the peer review, I noticed that a few major things were wrong with my paper. My introductory paragraph did not have a question, and my thesis was a “run-on” sentence. So I had some thinking to do. I finally summarized my paper with a proper thesis and made sure to write a pertinent question. I also added more clarification on who the characters were so someone who had not read the books wouldn’t be completely lost if they picked up my paper.

Blog 13: Finishing O’Brien

I was not completely satisfied with the ending, but I don’t know if any conceivable ending would have satisfied me.  It definitely goes with our  strategy of inductive reasoning and almost conforms to the Socratic method. No answers, only the next question. I think that Wade did really kill Kathy. I just get this feeling that it all fits. His constant state of forgetting broken up by flashbacks of terrible things that he had done. Maybe it has been years of watching Hollywood movies, national television, and reading other books that all have intense, dark, and twisting endings. I have to say that this book is unlike most that I have read. Someone made the observation that there is no rising action, falling action, or denouement. I agree that the plot line is constant throughout the novel. The most moving scenes are when we get flashback to Vietnam. I’m not as sadistic and negative as Vinny, but I think that John Wade murdered Kathy and banished it from his thoughts forever.

Blog 12: In Class Creative Writing

Prompt 3

John sat outside looking out over the lake. The reflection of the moon on the rippling water reminded him of the politician that he had become: one foundation ever-changing its shape in hopes of achieving a facade clever enough, strong enough, that one could mistake it for the real thing. He had tried to tell her. Those horrible things that haunted him. She deflected his countless attempts to open himself. Sitting on the dock, John can hardly make out the outline of the bedpost through the window of the cottage. With his scotch in a glass next to him, he obsessively played with the worn deck of cards. Tricks, they were how he had created himself. One grand slight of hand. Everyone could look, but no one could really see who he really was…until the campaign. His trick was caught, his facade dissolved just as night shifts to day. He was Sorcerer, and then he was nothing. John sat at the dock  all night long, completely enveloped in his tricks, for those are all he had left. With his toes grazing the water’s surface John contently performed trick after trick, lost in his own illusion of the world.

Blog 11: Dialogue

In In the Lake of the Woods and Ragtime there is dialogue through the element of loss. On page 48 in In the Lake of the Woods O’Brien discusses the night of the election through John’s eyes. The results just kept coming in confirming that he had lost everything that he had ever worked for. His political career was ruined. On top of that, Kathy was now gone too. On page 193 in Ragtime it is not explicitly stated, but this is when Sarah dies, symbolizing the beginning of Coalhouse’s demise. We see this through the quote “Afterward they heard the sepulchral sounds of a grown man’s grief.” What follows is very similar to what happens with John: one tragedy leads to another.

Blog 10: Peer review

I thought peer review was very helpful. Though I did not like the fact that it was all “paper free” because I felt that prevented people from getting their hands dirty and really go at each paper. Personally, I like to be able to flip through the pages while I analyze the paper to look for common themes and previously said connecting statements. Flipping a page is a lot easier than scrolling down on a computer screen. Having the paper in your hands also gives you the sense that the paper is real and carries some weight, literally.

One major thing that I ended up doing after peer review was rewriting my introductory paragraph. When it was first written, it was about a page long. In addition, it seemed to not focus and narrow in on the subject like it should. I also re-worded a lot of things that were not so clear once they got outside my head and onto paper. Overall, I think peer review is a worthwhile experience when writing a paper but I think we should be required to print off at least one master copy for everyone to get their hands on. It was productive for me and I’m sure that my paper benefited  because of it.

Ragtime News Article: Hate Crime in New Rochelle

While driving on a country road Saturday morning, Coalhouse Walker, a prominent pianist at the Manhattan Casino, was stopped by the local fireman in front of their station. The fireman proceeded to torment Walker saying that he had to pay a toll of $25 in order to cross. Blocking his route with a ladder, the firemen continued to prevent Walker from driving. Upset, Walker left his car to go find a policeman. When he finally found an “officer of the law,” he was only told to go back and take it as a joke. Returning to his car, Walker finds its roof torn and a pile of human excrement in his seat. Walker is currently pressing harassment charges against the entire fire department.

The Onion Intertextuality

The article I chose to demonstrate intertextuality was The Onion’s “Scientists Warn Large Earth Collider May Destroy Earth.” I compared this article to one from the National Geographic News page titled “Large Hadron Collider “Actually Worked”.” The parody by The Onion talks of how this gigantic machine will unravel clues to how the universe works by colliding Earth with other planets. The National Geographic article talks about the real Large Hadron Collider, which will unravel clues to how the universe works by colliding small particles at extremely high speeds. Both articles refer to the same thing: The Large Hadron Collider. The parody tries to be factual sounding by using the same style of writing as the real article, but instead of saying realistic things it makes outrageous statements. Each article has its own purpose. The “real” article is meant to inform the reader about the LHC, while the parody is meant to make a joke of it.