You Can't Always Argue With The Text
My name is Lauren Miller and I am a freshman at Seton Hill University. This is my second blogging portfolio for EL150: Introduction to Literary Study. In my first blogging portfolio, I mentioned that I was learning the essential skill of arguing. But something odd happened in the last few months...I felt that I could not always argue a point about some of the texts that we were reading. For example, when we read Essential Literary Terms by Sharon Hamilton, I did not have much to say. It was more of an informational text and I blogged about new terms that I had learned. I hope that I am not moving backwards by not arguing a point in every blog entry. I just feel that it is not possible with every text. So, in some of the following blog entries, you may find more of my opinion than anything. But I reassure you, there are some in which I argue my point.
Coverage
- In Shakespeare Loves His Stars, I relate a quote from The Merry Wives of Windsor to Romeo and Juliet and the beliefs of society at that time.
- In Don't Throw Out The Trash, I take personal offense to a comment that Barbara Ehrenreich made in Nickel & Dimed.
- If It's Obvious, Then Why Bring It Up? criticizes Desmond's first sentence of his close reading of Flannery O'Connor.
- He/She/It/Them...What am I talking about? Third person! has a title that speaks for itself.
-
I Tried To Write This Title In Italics But It Wouldn't Let Me discusses my obsessive use of italics in creative writing.
- Education vs. Flirtation touches upon a reoccurring theme in Flannery O'Connors work.
- Comma Comma Comma Comma Comma Chameleon...You Come And Go...You Come And Go... talks about the way I use commas in my writing and has a cool title.
- Last Words is just a reaction to a quote from Lynne Truss.
Timeliness
- Innn this corner we have ANALOGY and innn this corner we have ALLUSION! Let's get ready to rumble! discusses two literary terms I have learned from Sharon Hamilton.
- No Es Imposible/It's Not Impossible discusses an interview from Lemire's I'm An English Major, Now What? in which a woman learned Spanish just from living in Spain.
- I Can't Get No Satisfaction (From The Law) discusses a quote spoken by Mr. Shiftlet in The Life You Save May Be Your Own.
Interaction
- This Blog Entry Is Not True discusses the confusing paradox.
- Repetition Repetition Repetition talks about the effectiveness of using repetition in poetry.
- Know What's On The Other Side Of The Fence Before You Throw The Ball Over explains why it is so important to know the other side of publishing and reflects on the advice given by Michael Sims. Rebecca Campbell, Director of Careerworks even commented on this entry!
Depth
- A Place To Call Home is an example of when telling is appropriate in order to show a character's emotion.
- Content, Content, Content makes a connection between Lemire's advice and the advice I have received from my education professors.
- Oh No She Didn't is a VERY strong reaction to Ehrenreich's comment on Latinos.
- Lack Of Knowledge, Lack Of Values? again touches upon a reoccurring theme in O'Connor's work and is related to my entry Education vs. Flirtation.
- Moral Obligations and Today's Society relates The Displaced Person to today's issue of immigration.
- Emotional English talks about why it is so important to use punctuation on the internet and in texts.
- I Am The Queen Of Spanish Verb Conjugation...But I Royally Suck At English Grammar explains why I'm probably better at Spanish than I am at English.
Discussion
- The Story of my Life on page 207 is an entry by Stephanie Wytovich on which I offer some words of encouragement.
- Mr. Lemire, I Am Earning My Degree is an entry by Greta Carroll with which I agree strongly.
Lauren, you've made a subtle but important discovery. We don't always have to arge something in order to write usefully about knowledge. I think it's great that you're so focused on analysis and synthesis of new information, that you notice the difference when your learning is simply about acquiring a fact. You can't really argue about how literary scholars have defined terms such as irony or what the form of a sonnet is. But, armed with this new information, you can -- in the future -- argue about whether a particular line in a sonnet should be interpreted as ironic. With every new skill or term that you acquire, you put at your fingertips new tools that can help you do ever more complex, refined, and intellectually rewarding critical thinking. Keep up the good work! Even more important at this stage, keep reflecting on it, so that when you go back and review your work, you'll see clearly how far you've progressed.