Assignment #6

I really learned a lot from the blogs I've been doing and enjoyed doing them rather than writing essays. I learned a lot about the stories and payed closer attention to certain aspects of the stories through the blogs. I really enjoyed doing blog#2 the most because it was easy for me to jot down my thoughts on the text. Blog#3 was a little more difficult for me because it was harder for me to get ideas to describe the characters in the story "The Things They Carried." I also like blog#4 because I gained knowledge of the author in "The Story of an Hour" through biographical criticism. I think doing blogs is the best method for anyone taking a writing class rather than doing more papers because it's easier to do than write 6oo word essays and you get feedback from other classmates on what they think of your blog which you can't get from doing papers. Doing blogs is definetly my choice rather than doing more papers. I really haven't changed they way I write my blogs knowing others read them because it's my blogs and my opinions on what I think of the texts. I write my blogs like I write real essays. I like reading other classmates blogs because I get the chance to post my opinions about what I liked in their blogs and what I'm looking for. I also get the chance to see different viewpoints of the stories from other classmates. I've viewed so many blogs from classmates who have different interpretations of the stories we've covered so far. Some classmates even have the opposite of what I write in the blog assignments. I really don't have any confusions about a text or concept. I pretty much understand the texts and concepts very well. When I first started this class I really thought it was going to be more harder and more writing than English 101 because I did a lot of written essays in English 101 compared to this class. I really thought ENG 102 involved more assignments and projects. I really thought I had to write around 4 essays and 3 major research papers with high word limits. The only thing I really find a little bit more difficult than English 101 is the Literature book we are using. Many of the stories in this book are harder to understand than the stories I read in English 101.

Assignment #5

Edgar A. Guest
It Couldn't Be Done

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.

Assignment #4--Criticism

In "The Story of an Hour" biographical criticism helps readers pay more closer attention to certain aspects of the story through the analyze of the author's life. This story would be interpreted well with biographical criticism because it helps readers feel the intensity in the story and relate certain parts in the story to the author's life. By analyzing Kate Chopin's life readers learn the rough life she had. For example, Kate Chopin was raised by her mother's family because her father died when she was young. Then in 1883, her husband died and she was left to raise six children on her own. As readers understand this aspect of her life, readers will pay more closer attention to things that reflect back to her life. For example, in the story Mrs. Mallard's husband died. This can help readers reflect back to Kate Chopin's husband's death. The grief Mrs. Mallard was filled with and felt in the story is probably the same way Kate Chopin felt when her husband died. Readers can take Mrs. Mallard for Kate Chopin and Mr. Mallard for Chopin's husband. One of the elements emphasized in the story by this approach is the pain Mrs. Mallard feels for the lost of her husband. For example, the author describes Mrs. Mallard locking herself in her room as soon as she hears the news of her husbands death. The author also describes Mrs. Mallard drinking. "...[S]he was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window"(317). This is probably the same thing Kate Chopin did when she found out her husband died as we learn through biographical criticism. Another element emphasized by this approach is the freedom Mrs. Mallard gained knowing her husband died. For example, the author says "Free! Body and soul free!"(317). Through biographical criticism we can pay more closer attention to this aspect as we can recognize Kate Chopin's freedom from her husband when he died as well. Another element emphasized by this critical approach is Mrs. Mallard's reminisce for her husband. The author states "...[T]he kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead"(317). If readers pay attention to this aspect of the story after analyzing the author's life they would probably sense Kate Chopin's feelings and love for her husband we he died. Readers would find Mrs. Mallard's reminisce for her husband the intensity Kate Chopin felt when she wrote this story. A new insight readers gain through this application is that Kate Chopin wrote this story based on her own experience when she lost her husband. Another insight readers gain is that it seems as Kate Chopin hoped to one day be together with her husband again when she died as the story describes Mrs. Mallard's husband appearing to be alive in the ending of the story when Mrs. Mallard died. Another insight readers gain is Kate Chopin likes to spend time alone by herself. For example, in the story Mrs. Mallard locked herself in her room when she learned her husband died and didn't allow anyone to come along with her. Mrs. Mallard even told her sister to go away as she was begging her to open the door. This shows how she likes to be alone which is probably true for Kate Chopin as well. From analyzing the author's life through biographical criticism, readers learn a lot of new things about the story and the author.