The two essays that I am especially interested in so far in the course would have to be The American Male at Age Ten by Susan Orlean, and one of the readings from this week- Afternoon of an American Boy.
Orleans piece drew me in with the way she included herself in the story. From beginning to end I really thought it was an excellent story. I enjoyed the way she opened it with “If Colin Duffy and I were to get married…” That is one way to grab the readers attention. I loved how she was a ten year old, just as Colin was. This piece really helped me write my paper last week- I actually wrote my paper, then rewrote it after reading over this again, and decided to incorporate myself as a character just as Orlean did, rather than just stating random facts.
I also enjoyed reading Afternoon of an American Boy from this weeks readings. The first three paragraphs were so extremely detailed, that it was as though I was watching a movie rather than reading from a book. Every detail was taken into consideration by the author- the setting, characters, his affiliation with the characters, and the time period was made obvious. This is something I need to work on in my papers- I have got to be more detailed, and paint a picture, just as E.B. White has with this story.
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I LOVED the piece by Orlean as well. She did such a wonderful job incorporating herself into the story and using her own observations to really capture this boy. I used this piece to help me write my paper too!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on White's piece. He used plenty of detail and painted a really effective picture. Providing effective detail is a hard skill to master... sometimes too much can take away from the piece.
I have the a similar issue you addressed in the second essay. I think its very important to be able to paint a great picture in the reader head through concrete details and leave out adjectives. Those details can really make or break any essay.
ReplyDeleteAli Z.