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April 24, 2006
Practice your answers!
Roberts, Ch.17 -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)
"Writing practice answers is one of the most important things you can do in preparing for your exam."
Chapter 19 by Roberts explains the importance in reading, re-reading and the techniques of studying for an exam on literature pieces. I chose this quote because it is a technique that I have found to help me the most throughout my education with test taking. If you practice writing your answers out, then you get the chance to organize your thoughts and make changes to what you are writing before there are any time restrictions or points deducted. Roberts gives a systematic approach to studying for an exam on literature that I believe will help everyone prepare for the final in this course if they listen to his advice he has given in chapter 19.
Posted by TerraStumpf at 04:05 PM | Comments (1)
April 10, 2006
Roberts & Hughes
Hughes and Frost -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)
Roberts "The Pasture" sticks out for me. As soon as I read it, I felt like I was back home on my friends farm. We would play with the horses and cows and play house in the spring house in the pasture. I like how he depicts the pasture fields with the spring and the cows and ask for his friend to come along too. Come along so that they may enjoy nature too!
I specifically identify with Roberts as I am sure many do, with his "The Road Not Taken." This is a classic!
The two poems that stuck out for me by Hughes were the "Bad Luck Card " and "Lover's Return." Both of these poems speak of love. The bad luck card is comical to me because it is like the person is having their palms read about their life and love. The Lover's return is sad to me because it speaks of a father/daughter relationship that was lost and is only brought back together because of sickness/death.
Posted by TerraStumpf at 06:17 PM | Comments (1)
Chp 12
Roberts, Ch. 12 -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)
"...never find proofs, so your conclusions will not be PROOVED in the way you prove triangles congruen in geometry."
Ha. Good because I do not like math! Anyways, this is a good quote from Roberts chapter 12 because it makes you realize that when coming up with a good problem to write about does not mean that you have to proove or correctly answer your problem. You do however have to put up a good argument followed by supporting information somewhat like in science when trying to support a hypothesis. The stratigies given in chapter 12 on how to write about a problem give an author different options to choose from in presenting a problem in writing. I do not think that I am very fond of strategy two because it seems like it would be a redudant form of writing that would bore me after a while. Strategy one seems to be the strategy that I would use if writing a paper focused around a problem. It iseems like it s a more conventional style of writing like I am used to.
Posted by TerraStumpf at 06:03 PM | Comments (0)
April 03, 2006
The Displaced Person
O'Connor, '''The Displaced Person'' -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)
"He dont have time to rest himself in the bushes like them niggers over there."
It really is a culture shock to me when I read O'Connors works in dealing with african americans. Obviously that is how they talked in the south in those days and she wouldnt be painting the historically correct picture if she changed the dialouge, but even when I know that she isnt using the words in her writing just in the characters voices and minds, I cant help to imagine what it was like back then and how much things have changed to where I get offended by the text in some of O'Connors literature. I chose this quote from the story because I thought it was ironic that she is plainly stating her racial remarks to these polish people. Hello! They are considered to be different and a minority also, but she is acting as if they are just like them to their faces, but behind their backs making remarks like calling them "Gooblehooks." The introduction of the polish people also remind O'Connor's readers that racism exsisted among all different types of races, at this time, dominatley blacks in the south of USA, but still of many others also.
Posted by TerraStumpf at 01:05 PM | Comments (1)
Good Country People
O'Connor, '''Good Country People'' -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)
"She looked at nice young men as if she could smell their stupidity."
O'Connor's funniest writing yet! Seriously, this quote says it all. Hulga/Joy, is a bitter person because of her hanidcap. Of course it is normal to want to be normal, but plenty of people make the best out of what they have by considering what they could not have. It's my opinion that this girl who is in fact a woman, needed to learn a good lesson and if it was the twisted bible salesman who taught her it, then so be it. he quote prooves that Hulga/Joy thinks highly of herself when it comes to intellect. She presents herself in such an ugly way, with her manners and such, that she only has her intelligence to rely on. BUT...apparently she is not as smart as she thinks! She thinks that she is going to take advantage of this boy in the barn and that he is so innocent he has no idea what is going on...when she is the one who is in the dark. I wonder what smart Hulga/Joy thought to do without her leg while she was stuck in the loft? I bet she would have some explaining to do once her mother and Mrs. Freeman finally found her. I cant imagine her ignoring that topic!
Posted by TerraStumpf at 12:57 PM | Comments (3)