When the topic of writing is discussed, there are many different thoughts and feelings that arise within a discussion. Some of the thoughts that may arise include the following: what is writing, should writing be used as punishment, do we all construct horrible first drafts, and is writing really that difficult? These various topics are talked about in the following essays entitled, “Writing Is Not a Skill” by Stanley Aronowitz, “I Won’t Use Writing as Punishment” by Roy Peter Clark, “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, and “Bonehead Writing” by Craig Vetter. Within each essay the author displays to readers his or her beliefs of how writing should be. Writing can be considered both an art form, as well as a skill.
Comic set pieces with caricature-like characters get stale before they've begun, and he spins them out as if he was being paid by the word. A certain kind of broad, formulaic humor obtains, probably what he needed to write for newspapers at the time, but it seems out of place amidst his more mature writing. Whereas the parts where he is achingly funny tend to have a certain realness about them - Clemens is making observations about things trivial and profound that he
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe is written in the first person point of view. The narrator uses past tense to describe the situation as if he is reminiscing: “It was about dusk, one evening…that I encountered my friend” (116). Montresor is the protagonist and there are not any shifts from his point of view. We can trust this narrator for the most part, considering he is very exaggeratory in describing the story hence we cannot trust that Fortunato has done anything so unthinkable to him to deserve his cruel punishment. Poe presents a narrator who is vile and brutal.
RED BADGE OF COURAGE What I liked/disliked about the book: Comparable to books like "The Wars" and "Alls Quite on the Western Front" I enjoyed the book. It takes the war, and brings it home, as it examines the effects, on a person's psyche, showing how the brutal effects the persona and changes them. I can see why it's considered to be an American classic. I didn't enjoy the character, but I was interested in his story. And at times, I found the other characters to be fairly flat.
In Winning Hearts and Minds in the War on Plagiarism” Jaschik essay was based more on reflection and personal opinions because his were on different studies by different professors on the "war on plaguarism" among students and how common plagiarizing is and the different methods used to change that. Mr. Murray begins by discusses Peter F. Drucker method of a "zero draft" and how the writer should begin counting drafts after the first draft is complete. He explains how many writers feel, that after the first draft is completed it then can be edited to say what is exactly meant. Murray explains how we need to be critical readers and when editing. He states, "[w]riters must be their own best enemy"
Write a 1750 word (or longer) essay, responding to one of the following prompts in relation to one of the essays we’ve read for class. Examine specific passages and discuss what methods are used to manipulate the reader and how the writer builds his or her essay. Do not stop at identifying the method used. 1. How does the author manipulate, or attempt to manipulate, the reader’s emotions?
Second Body Paragraph (Historical Context)—Topic Sentence (How did the time period the author lived in influence his work?). Discuss the elements presented in Short Stories for Students under “Historical Context” and Gale Contextual Encyclopedia under “Works in Biographical and Historical Context.” Third (Themes)—You need a topic sentence that explains the themes (2-3) in your work. [Remember that theme must be a statement/complete sentence.] What is the author trying to communicate about the topic? What point is he/she trying to make?
He presents himself with only limited information about his motivations, and his ambition to finish off his master piece and careful manipulation of Fortunato indicates the care with which he has planned his execution. However, we again have a classic case of Poe's unreliable narrator, whose guilt and occasional irrationality prevents him from presenting himself truthfully to the reader. However, we can see that Montresor shows a particularly black sense of humor, with which he amuses both himself and the horrified reader as he leads Fortunato into his trap. He informs the audience of his intentions before he begins the story of his encounter with Fortunato, and Poe employs both verbal and dramatic irony to convey the darkness of the story. A very good example of black humor can be found at the very beginning of the story itself: Montresor’s had "vowed revenge" against Fortunato, but he decided to mask his real feelings by outwardly appearing friendly towards him.
Yes O’Brian exaggerated on things and yes he left out some big points, but it was all to get his point across and through everything he wrote, the main truthful point remained there. He concluded his book by saying “in stories the dead live.” This shows that in books who’s to say what you can’t put down and who’s to say what didn’t happen. It is a story, not a trial, and sometimes a little exaggeration provides the feeling and present moment the reader or listener needs to understand the actual
‘Every age manipulates an established genre in its own ways and for its own purposes’ Write an essay in which you evaluate the extent to which this is true in TWO prescribed texts AND at least TWO texts of your choosing. The famous literary theorist Jonathan Culler once defined genre as a “style or category” of painting, novel or film that is governed by a particular set of “conventions and expectations”. In literature, crime fiction is a genre in which the cause of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by a hero or heroine. This is usually accomplished through a combination of intelligence or ingenuity, or at times just sheer luck. Through the employment of various characteristics such as a ‘lone sleuth’, a ‘detailed and plausible setting’, and ‘crimes to be solved’, it has allowed the genre to explore universal themes of corruption, justice, the search for ‘truth, and the antithetical concepts of order and disorder.