Writing About Texts (this info will help with your paper)

Writing about texts: The texts we are reading in this class may be referred to as books, memoirs, autobiographies. Or in the case of Daniels, Lorde, and Pagnucci – you could refer to those as “short pieces,” or “personal essays.”

It is important to always introduce the text you are writing about – this is done by mentioning the first and last name of the author and the full title of the piece. After that, you should refer to only the author’s last name. Typically this will be done in your first paragraph. Titles of books are always Capitalized, and underlined or italicized. Either way is correct. It’s your choice.

ALSO notice that the sentence is in present tense. When we write about a text – we always speak about it in present test. Some examples:

In her book, My Brother, Kincaid depicts the ambivalence she feels towards her family. Rather than Kincaid depicted.

In her unconventional memoir, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Maxine Hong Kingston explores the many stories (often conflicting) her mother told her as a child.

Some of the things a text OR an author might do:
examines, discusses, outlines, argues, depicts, explores, explains
An author or a narrator can state, note, say, write or even tell us (but a book probably does not do these things).

Kingston’s narrator is haunted by the mysterious aunt whom her mother describes; she tells us: “My aunt haunts me – her ghost drawn to me because now, after fifty years of neglect, I alone devote pages of paper to her, though not origamied into houses and clothes” (16). The narrator is being haunted because she has chosen to reveal the aunts secrets.

Class Today

Unfortunately, I need to cancel class today. I plan on being there Wednesday though.

You can have an extension on your papers. I'll collect them as soon as we get back from Spring Break.

For Weds. please finish reading the chapter,"White Tigers," in The Woman Warrior if you haven't already. And develop your own question that you would like to discuss in class on Weds. Post the question to the blog by Tuesday evening. If you are unable to post to the blog, then bring your question to class with you written down.

I think that there is so much going on in these first two chapters of WW that we need to discuss it at length on Wednesday. Try to think metaphorically rather than literally. We can read this text symbolically by asking about the structure of the book and what it means. There is so much in here that is not meant to be taken literally so ask yourself what things might mean on a symbolic or metaphorical level.

See you on Wednesday.
~Erin

The Woman Warrior

Sorry this has gone up late this time. Here are some questions for you to consider for tomorrow's class discussion on The Woman Warrior:


How would you describe the narrator’s feelings toward the aunt? (Consider: The aunt “haunts” and “waits silently for a substitute.” “I do not think she means me well.”)

How is drowning in the family’s drinking water a spiteful act? Should we think of the aunt as a victim?

Are there similarities in the narrator’s and the aunt’s actions? How do they both cross forbidden boundaries?

Persepolis

What is class? And how are class issues represented in Persepolis? Does Satrapi seem to have a class identity?

As I started readingSatrapi's book I can say that there is hope it is going to be an easy and fast one. The first thing that will facilitate the flow is the pictures in it (drawings). It looks like watching watching what she is telling us in the book.

This test. Persepolis.

test

hey my name is linda hoffman

Post 1 Persepolis

A critic in The New York Times calls Persepolis: “the latest and one of the most delectable examples of a booming postmodern genre: autobiography by comic book.” Why do you think this genre is so popular? Why did Satrapi chose this format in which to tell her story? What does the visual aspect add that a conventional memoir lacks?

Describe Satrapi’s drawings. How do the drawings add to the narrative of the story?

How does Persepolis compare to other comic books you've seen (if you've seen any)? Would you call this a comic book, or does it transcend this and other categories? Where would you place this book in a bookstore? With memoirs, comic books, current events?


(questions courtesy Western Washington University).

Persepolis

I just finished our new book. I found it to be one of my favorite autobiographies ever!, I had never read any graphic "novels" so it was a unique experience. I won't ruin the story for anyone so here are my comments for pages 1-17: funny, witty and intelligent. I like the combination of history and her life, how we start to see what inlfuenced her ideas. (family-surrounding and books)

finished book post 2

I found the book to be an easy read. However, it's hard to explain how I felt about it. I mean, it wasn't overly interesting, but at the same time, wasn't exactly annoying either. Usually, when I'm given a book to read for English, I read it against my own will, but, with this book, that didn't happen. I actually anticipated the next time I was going to pick it up to read it. I think the reason I have no feeling toward the book is because Kincaid herself had no feeling toward it. She wrote it in a very monotone voice so the reader could not feel anything toward her even if they tried. She told the story and her thoughts and that was that. She didn't give that extra something that would encourage the reader to sympathize with what she makes out to be a hard life.

finished book post 1

My thoughts on Jamaica Kincaids "my brother";

Positive: It was interesting to see how the author shows her true colors in her memoir. She always expressed her absolute true feelings towards things that we usually have only 1 answer to. For example; you always love your sibblings and parents and you do certain events (like funerals) in a specific manner. It was refreshing to read something so open and "shameless" on those topics.

Negative: I didn't like the way kincaid wrote, I found it annoying to read her constant repetitions. I also thought her story was boring so I found the book a bit hard to pick up and read.