River Response

I really didn’t understand this piece of literature too well. For me it was a bit confusing when I tried to follow it, as though it was a page ripped out of a book. However, it does have signs of good writing in it. I found the relationship between the two sisters was very peculiar and a bit strange. I didn’t really know what to take out of it, but in many ways I can relate to it. There are times when I find myself in such dramatic situations with other members of my family and often times they scare me. I suppose the confused feeling that the piece gave off helps to amplify that. I can tell that the relationships between each family member are a little cut off, at least from the information given. Maybe cut off is a bit too harsh; perhaps distant is a better word. It sounds a lot like family gossip to begin with and it ends in a very heart-wrenching story about her sister. The way she went into this story was a bit abrupt for my taste, but in all it was a pleasant read.

Edward Hopper Seeing 1&2

1. Hopper directs my attention towards the sky, the ground, the roof of the house, the porch, the rails of the railroad, and the ground. The details I noticed about the house were how it’s so lonely and solemn. In the picture I noticed the windows, for some reason I was really drawn to them. I noticed it’s structure is very statute, it almost reminds me of a statue of a person, unmoving. It almost blends in with the sky and it heavily contrasts with the railroad. My eyes tend to linger on the windows, as I said before, when I look at the painting. Each aspect of the painting reinforces the idea of loneliness by giving off a very empty feeling.

2. Hirsch focuses on the rooftop and the porch. He creates the feeling that the house is lonely. His use of repetition helps speak through the idea of the house being lonely. It gives us a sense of the same. The house doesn’t see much change, so the poem doesn’t change in it’s structure and word use. Hirsch’s poem helps amplify the idea of loneliness I get from the painting. Before reading the poem, I simply saw the painting as bland and uninteresting but afterwards it turned it into a sense of loneliness.

Growing Up Lion

I found this essay to be interesting, but at the same time it was a bit of a cliché to me. It was about the same old story about falling into a stereotype without truly wanting to. But for whatever reason, it happens. If it wasn’t a story I have heard a dozen times before I am sure I would find it intriguing or sad, but I have heard it several times told several different ways. I will say, though, that this time it was told a little better then most of the other stories I have heard. As usual, there are some grammatical errors in it or it is simply worded strangely, but other then that it is written well.

Suicide Poets Response

“Suicide Poets” by Ryan Buell was a somewhat depressing read but intriguing all the same. I found myself very interested in the idea of how poets that have committed suicide throughout the years have become myths that are a part of history. Thinking on this, I have come to realize this is true. I found it to be a very well written essay that links a personal story to a worldly topic. Buell’s description of the poet Madeline Foster is a cryptic, dark read. But, it gets his point across rather strongly. However, I don’t feel that Buell truly does what he wants in this essay until the very last paragraph, which could have been much stronger if he went in to more detail about it. Other then that, it was a pleasant, interesting read that left me thinking a lot. So in the end, I would say this essay was very successful.

Writer's Block Reflection

Writer’s Block was an interesting reflection on Amy Sobotta’s life. It was a fun read and an intriguing read as thing of its nature usually are. I found myself cringing at a number of grammatical errors, and a few areas of the work simply did not make sense, but it was more or less the simple ramblings of a college student with a few main points to round it out. I found it interesting because although it had a good amount of grammatical errors, you could still tell it came from deep inside the writer. That is the kind of “stuff” I notice I get in to when I write my best poems, short stories, or narratives, so it is nice to see there are others who can rely on their rambling minds to write a good story. In fact, I will rephrase that. It is good to know that there are others who are willing to sit down and write out what they are thinking when it comes to their life in general and are willing to let it be printed. I know it’s a bit of a stretch for some people to successfully write down their thoughts and find a way to make sense of them, but honestly, anyone could have written a narrative just as good as this if they tried. I know I have. It’s only a matter of putting yourself in that situation where you are sitting at a desk and are deep in thought, just make sure you have a pencil with you.