Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Lindsey Twynham's Blog #1
I read and reread the story "The Barn". The second time I read the story I jotted notes down about what I was thinking as the story unraveled. At the very beginning I understood that the story would be about death, and found it at first gruesome and depressing. As the story went on I found her ultimate reflection on the subject was very insightful. The author produced wonderful "show details", as Ballenger calls them, and it made me feel like I could reproduce her feelings as I was reading the story. There were many similies and metaphors. The subject of the essay was commonplace, as Ballenger states many are, but she was able to take this seemingly insignificant experience and graduate it to a whole other level. In this way she does show the "authority" of her experience because she was able to convey to her readers why this particular experience was so significant. Her main "thesis" or theme was somewhat displayed at the beginning, but ultimately the major theme arrived at the end of the personal essay, instead of the beginning. This ultimately is the best way to develop a personal essay, by showing the process of newfound knowledge and what that means in the long run. She seems to be using the dialectical processes that Ballenger explains by shifting from creative to critical, back and forth. Ultimately, I enjoyed the story and its insightfulness.
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2 comments:
I agree with everything you said. I also like that you took notes while reading the story for a second time. I reread it, but I think i would have more opinions about the essay had I taken notes. I also agree about enjoying stories much more when the major theme arrives at the end of a story. When people have the major theme stated in the first pragraph it is almost like watching a movie and seeing exactly what happens in the end before you see the rest of the movie- the movie might still be good, but it doesn't have much of an impact because all you are doing is trying to relate the ending that you saw first, to the rest of the movie. My point might be a little hard to get across, but do you get what I am trying to say?
You've effectively given me a clearer understanding of Ballenger's conventions. I'm also intrigued by the way you tackled this assignment--reading then taking notes as you re-read. Is this your normal process?
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