TerraStumpf

This is my first portfolio for American Literature to showcase the work, mostly blogging, that I have completed throughout the course thus far. It will show some of the depth of my blogging, the discussions that I took place in, the interactions that I have made with my coursemates throughout the year, timeliness of my material blogged, and my ability to be a xenoblogger. The words in capital letters are to stand out and show what skill that individual blog is displaying that I have used. All of the following blog entries are on topics that were assigned, covered in class and entered on a timley fashion unless otherwise noted.

This is the first blog entry is Robert Frost's "Desert Places," that I was supposed to submit but was not yet knowledgable of blogging and waited to learn more about this process in class. The date and time on this blog will show that I posted it just recently. This is so that I could include it in my portfolio. Frost's Poems are all full of intricate detail that make what ever he is discussing feel so alive and all around me.

The next blog posted here in my portfolio is also a work of Robert Frost. Frost's "Mending Wall" was the first poem that I blogged about and began to learn exactly what the process of blogging was. Mending Wall broke the silence in the classroom and began to get everyone involved on what their thoughts were about this "wall."

David Lehman's "World Trade Center" Poem was very contraversial in the classroom. I had my own view points about the writing of this poem and why I thought that Lehman's work was of lesser value than Frosts. This blog shows a little more DEPTH to it because it was posted after the class discussion and after I had read the poem a couple more times.

The assigned chapters in Edgar Robert's Writing about Literature book have been very helpful in understanding what is expected for types of assignments that I have never completed before in other courses. This close reading chapter shed some new light on how I was to perform a close reading.

"Trifles" by Glaspell was my first favorite reading during this course. As you read on through my portfolio, I have a couple favorite readings!

A chapter by Roberts on Character that was an assigned reading revealed different ways that a reader can look at and view the characters within the writings. This chapter helped me take a better look at some of the characters in "Trifles."

"Bernice Bobs Her Hair" by F.S. Fitzgerald, my new favorite! I just think that this story is a prime example of how women act back then and now! We are all for ourselves ladies, lets just come out and admit it. Good for Bernice! This Blog shows that I put more time and DEPTH in to this story because I came back after the class DISCUSSION and blogged again about my thoughts that I portrayed in class.

The next blog entry in my portfolio is about Rice's "The Adding Machine." This particular reading I did not enjoy as much as some of the others, but I did find the conversation between Zero and Daisy to be quite ironic and funny.

Another writing by Roberts that I read and blogged about was his Chapter 10 on Symbolism. This helped me understand the difference between an allegory and a symbol.

The next entry I am including in my Portfolio is my thoughts on a writing about the author, Wallace Stevens. I liked reading Wallace Stevens work and I even chose to use his poem, "A Plot Against the Giant," for my poetry slam reading.

OOOPS! I forgot a blogging entry! Although I read this reading, I did not blog on it by the time I was assigned for the course. I entered my blog now so that I could include what my thoughts were on Roberts Chapter 13, Writing About Prosody.

I must have had a computer problem, or lost my brain on this day...A reading about William Carlos Williams and readings of some of his poems.

The next entry that I am posting here in my portfolio are my entries about the book by F.S.Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby and an article written by Kumamoto about F.S.Fitzgerald's book.
Chapters 1-3
Chapters 4-6
Chapters 7-9
Article by Kumamoto

This blog is about an Index in the Roberts Book that will be used alot by me in order to write in MLA correctly since I am used to using APA. This blog is also a XENOBLOG because I give a thankful reference to a peer that made the point to scan the Index pages for easier use!

A comment I made on another coursemates page about Wallace Steven's BIO. This is an example of my INTERACTION and ability to XENOBLOG.

Another comment about Robert's Chapter 10 on a peer's page showing my INTERACTION and XENOBLOGGING ability!

Another comment on a coursemates page about FSF's The Great Gatsby. This blog entry shows that I am INTERACTING and DISCUSSING!I also am using this blog entry as my WILDCARD blog. I am using this entry because in my comment I am not only taking into consideration the intial blog that was posted by writer, but also the comments by other students that the writer recieved and then I reacted to everything that I read.

After finishing my first portfolio and reviewing all of the work I have accomplished for this class, I am very pleased with how much I have improved on my blogging skills since the beginning of the semester when I had never even heard of a blog! I am becoming more confident with the material being discussed and have learned how to and what is expected. I believe my efforts can be seen by looking at my earliest posts and comparing them with my later blogs and comments posted on my page as well as others.