Final Reflection Stevens Dejesus

Stevens Dejesus

Reflection

How writers Read

Prof.Kopp

 

Where I stand now as a writer, after the course has come to an end, is far from who I was at the beginning. Analyzing the text was a vital part of this course but what really impacted me the most was the process of become a better writer. In this process I gained experience in how to read for many elements in the text that produce for example a book like A Thousand Splendid Suns. A book where I was able to analyze the authors intended message or messages that he/she would like to relay. The author in A Thousand Splendid Suns addresses a number or themes and topics that the reader had to uncover. I use uncover because the process for me was one where I began peeling back layers and addressing myself and my reaction to the text. In reality I was finding myself tending to two “onions”, one onion being myself and the other the text. Of course it caused me to grow frustrated with myself and my resistance to many parts of different texts but I learned much through the exercise. To clear this up I will use for example my first blog of our third book that I read with my group The Color of Magic. My first blog of this book was the first one of the course where I truly expressed my strong resistance to a text. I encountered the text and was not able to exercise what we were learning to do with the text in class. In the course we were challenged to become the submissive reader in order to later arrive at also becoming an authorative reader.  Both of the terms such as the submissive and authoritive reader are to describe a reader who is non resistant to a book or a reader who has understood the text and has discovered other dynamics of the book/text.

The writing core values of the writing department presents the first core value which is to demonstrate understanding of a variety of genre conventions and exhibit rhetorical adaptability in applying those conventions.  This is a core value that was inevitable to learn and apply in the classroom. We were constantly learning to look at a text that we were not accustomed to reading. We read articles from authorities in the field to authors of books such as The color of magic. I learned to understand these genres and dissect dense content like for example the essay written by Jane Gallop. The author of this text discussed difficult ideas that challenged me to move toward a place of discomfort. I say discomfort because I was hesitant to move away from how I had learned to read all of my life. I’ve been used to reading text and interpreting while being resistant to anything other than what I thought a text was. Jane Gallops essay ask the reader to jump through hoop and make an effort to become a reader that read without preconceptions. A reader that would drop all of the languages and practices that had been previously learned. My biggest issue with this process was learning the new language for example with our third book which feature many different terms that belonged to the world in which the text was written in. I learned in this text to actually learn the language and then look for different themes that the language and situations presented.

 

Another core value that I learned was the value of understanding theories of writing and reading and be able to apply them to their own writing. One of the important goals of the course was to learn a different way of reading to improve is writing. My writing now has a different process with which it is developed. Stories, blogs or ideas now are written with a different mindset like for example with an essay that I wrote for my social deviance course. I wrote an essay on a book called Dreamland where I applied the theory of understanding the language of the text and than using it to present an interpretation of that language. I became a submissive reader to a text that contained a language and situation I had no knowledge of.  I first read the text and then wrote an essay analyzing the text which I was able to do using the theories learned by authors such as Jane Gallop.

Demonstrating the ability to critically read complex and sophisticated texts in a variety of subjects is the third value I learned in the course.  The different subjects I encountered I not only encountered in the course but other classes as well. Before, I explained that was presented with the task of writing an essay the book Dreamland. With what I learned in How Writers Read such as experiencing the text and then looking to become an authority of the text I wrote this essay. I did well on the essay because I found what the author did not reveal to the reader who was resistant and standoffish to the text.

The course prepared me to become a dynamic writer and reader when doing any curse work in any text. Jumping through hoops that the text present to me are still a struggle but have begun to master small task that the course taught me.

The Martian is Damn Happy

Lord of the Flies: The Power Struggle Begins- Sarah Knapp

A Genre for Assholes

Yet Another Book Finished? Yes Please!- Sarah Knapp

Station Eleven: Hermeneutic Code

Brittany: Ending The Witness

Demian Blog 1 Sam Fine

Discworld Blog 3 (and blog two-ish)

 

I feel like I know- A Thousand Splendid Suns

Remember when you were in kindergarten, if you can, and you met your first best friend. You were probably inseparable and never  looked forward to the end of the school day. The relationship with the author and the addressee is like so. The reader meets the narrator and immediately places all of their trust in him/or her. Without even having the knowledge of the narrator’s character the reader is drawn to the subject at hand. While reading A Thousand Splendid Suns I had to believe everything and become the submissive reader because of how foreign the content was. The book takes place in a culture that is not well known and often times misunderstood. I would go as far as to say that even gets misrepresented. The narrator introduces you to the reality of the culture and allows the addressee to take what he wants from the text.

In the first few chapters the narrator does  something that I believe tells the reader the kind of relationship that he want to develop. When Mariam is returned home by Jalil’s driver from Herat to her mother’s home the driver begins walking her to the hut. All of a sudden Mariam is stopped by the driver and redirected back to the car. Mariam still manages to see ahead and see her mother hanging from a tree. This tells me that the narrator will not be stopped or covered from experiencing everything in the text. Nothing will be to graphic or horrific for the  reader to experience. It is not about the drama but about the content and reality.

as a reader I am expected to find myself face to face with this reality and gain a perspective on Mariam’s life.

Yet the author still is not reliable because other underlying themes resonate in the text. Oppression may be one of the fine themes but the cultural codes still need to be graped far into the text.

ATSS Blog #3

 A Thousand Splendid Suns delivers cultural codes in many areas of the text one of those areas being the separation between the rich and the poor. This Cultural code is spoken off in Christine’s 3rd Blog where she looks at the relationship between Meriam and her father and Meriam and her mother. Christina shows us through places she points out in the text that there is evidence of the cultural code which points at poverty and injustice.  She points to us the beliefs and norms of the culture and what are the results when anyone deviates from the norms. There is a great gap between those who are not wanted and those who believe themselves to be superior.

I see the cultural code develop in the relationship between Merriam and her teacher Mullah Faizullah.Her teacher and friend is vital to understanding the divide between those who are educated and those who are ignorant. Although Mariam is not in school she receives an education through Mullah and escapes the path of ignorance although it isn’t a complete liberation. Mullah is the medium of education that lingers between those who can and cannot afford it. Mariam’s hope is not only in her father but also in an education that may allow her to also free her mother. Her search becomes a search for enlightenment and revelation, one that she cannot receive while out of Herat.

It brings up a topic of poverty being a hindrance for those who want an education in the culture which Mariam is living in. The problem stems not only from poverty but also from gender inequality that may stem from the culture and not the religion. This cultural code reveals the clash between the culture and the undertone of religion being only used for the progress of the rich/ men of Herat.

Meriam finds herself in this complex ensemble of cultures that are for the majority detrimental to her dreams.

 

ATSS Blog #2

In Samuel’s 2nd Blog for  A Thousand Splendid Suns he employs The syllogistic form to describe what he see that is to come in the future. Syllogistic progressive form is the unfolding of the steps of an argument through which the genre is introduced and the reader acquires an idea of what is to come. He sees this form manifested in the repeated inference to Mariam staying exiled with her mother until she is fifteen. This is a good analysis of the text and understanding of instances in which the text reveal the outcome of the next chapters in the book. Yet I think that this form also reveals moments in which Mariam is prompted to escape her fate.

I the first few pages of the book the stream near the hut is mention quite numerously. The narrator mentions the stream on pg.14 ” After tea with Nana, Mariam and Jalil always went fishing in the stream. He showed her how to cast her line, how to reel in the trout” and then on pg.18 “At the stream, Mariam waited by the spot they had agreed on the day before”. The stream is repeated and stands as a symbols of a running hope but is this is torn down by empty promise. When the stream is first mentioned on page fourteen it stands as symbols for what is occurring between Jalil and Mariam. Mariam is the fisherman throwing the line and Jalil is the fish that she never catches always coming up empty and disillusioned with hope.

The stream also serves as a symbol of where Mariam think she will find true happiness. She goes down to the stream to wait for Jalil because she believes that she will finally receive the attention she desires when Jalil comes for her. The stream is also a sign of her desire to go and visit Herat where she will find happiness and family.

I see this repetition as the anchor for what the story will repeatedly bring into play in the text. A theme of disillusion and false hope that will lead to a very dark ending in this story.

A Thousand Splendid Suns………The Beginning!

The book A Thousand Splendid Suns hurried to capture me as a reader. I am immediately immersed into a culture and its customs through the  main character Merriam. Merriam is the daughter of Nana who was disowned and shunned by her father and wives of the man she laid with. Nana was thrown out of the house she was a servant in for sleeping with Merriam’s father and placed in a home built by Merriam’s father.

The house being closer to a shack in appearance house Nana and Merriam while being supported by the family of Merriam dad. Merriam refuses to get caught up in the hate her mother has for her father and welcomes him every time he comes to visit her each Thursday.  Nana fills Merriam’s head with discouraging ideas of who her father is and how much he doesn’t love them. The book begins with the explanation and narrative of Merriam situation and predicament. The challenge she has of being just and hopeful with her father despite her loyalty to her Mother.

 

The themes that begin to present themselves are those of regret and content, revenge and forgiveness, compassion and hate, trust and  distrust.  Many other themes exist and begin showing up from the beginning Merriam is stuck between rock and a wall suffocated by her desires and her loyalty to both her mother and father. A genre also begins to emerge withing the setting and themes of the story which I believe is a story of a young girl breaking away from ignorance and discontent. I see the story becoming one of  a journey where Merriam is catapulted by her desire to know the truth and become educated. In my next blog  I will begin acknowledge the moments I this story that set genre up and present complex ideas to the reader.

Color Of Magic #4

If only I knew what the author was thinking, it would make this blog post much easier! But I don’t so I can only assume and I do believe the author is believable. In order for this text to work the author has to believable. Why do I say that you ask? Well the text invites the reader to imagine and enter a world that has to become reality. It was difficult for me to begin reading this book if I had not given all of my trust to the author.  As the addressee I am confident that the narrator is giving information that I am certain about. Rincewind in one instance where he brings the reader to trust him and that is when he chooses to not steal the gold that Twoflower has in his suitcase. Although Rincewind does this because he feels it would be of no use to him I still believe Rincewind still is reliable.

The narrator in The color of Magic is transparent in his intent and inner thoughts. I am constantly aware of what Rincewind is informing me of. When I don’t have any idea what Disk world is like I almost feel like I’m forced to trust Rincewind with no hesitation.

The relationship between the narrator and the addressee is almost manipulative to me. The non familiarity with disk world causes the addressee to need to trust anyone in the text. The text creates an environment that is constantly unstable and pulls in the addressee to hold on to the Narrator. This is where I look at the text and think “wait a minute” because this is where I hesitate to continue reading and not have control as an authorial reader. I don’t know how this book will end but I know one thing, I won’t be an authorial reader.

The Color Of Magic Pt.3

Over the course of the beginning of the text the main character, Rincewind, is caught up in a fight with his own self. The character who he is a guide to, Twoflower, carries around rhinus which are gold coins. The temptation of various character in the story to take these coin is constantly revealed. One of these characters is Rincewind who does not simply because he see no use for them at the moment. He battle against his will to take care of Twoflower and keep him from being taken advantage of.

This continuous repetition of gold and greed is obvious. it hints at the Idea that this is a symbols for what this story is about. a moment in the story that reveals this is when Rincewind enters the room where Two flower is staying while Twoflower is still asleep. He has the opportunity to take the gold coin but does not because he find a greater value in keeping to his responsibility.

Rincewind  begins to value the life of Twoflower and hold his responsibility above the material at this point. The story is present the symbolic code as the structure reveals itself. The story of a failure the start on the road to becoming a hero is defined by his first battle won against himself.

The Color Of magic pt. 2

The book begins with the text describing the origins of disc world and how it looks. I was immensely confused when i first began reading. I had no idea what the text was saying as it began describing a peculiar sight that i could not fathom. The shape and function of this world could not be thought up in my head. I pushed hard through the first pages because I was so confused. I eventually learned what disc world was and became familiar with its structure as a place where life existed.

I steadied my focus on what i began to see was a repeating theme in the story. Rincewind constantly fought with others and bargained with those he encountered in Ankh-Morpork. Over and over again Rincewind is confronted with one situation after the other where he needs to negotiate his decisions and actions. He has no anchor, no purpose to live for yet he is in a constant heap of trouble.

The text becomes a story of a person who has failed at being successful. A person who is without a story to tell or an adventure to follow. Rincewind is this person and adventure discovers him giving him a purpose and no option but to go. Rincewind has to become a hero himself in this adventure and start on a journey of finding himself. a genre and form develop in the mist of the general path of the text.

The conventional form develops when the structure of story is revealed where a failure becomes a hero. The hero is forced to find in himself something he never knew he possessed. In The Color of Magic, Rincewind discovers his courage and wit as he maneuvers through the dangers that present themselves when the story begins to unfold. The genre of science fiction does present itself where style is present also. The book start out by explaining what Discworld is and then gives the reader a future scene of the story right at the beginning. while reading the beginning am taken back to the past to be shown i arrived at that future moment.

It is a style that is conventional and offers structure to the beginning of the book. The text was difficult to comprehend but I understood where in the story we were because of this structure.

The Color of Magic Pt.1

I AM NOT A BOOk Reader, I Am Not A Writer. Right now that’s what I tell myself because honestly I’m not any of those. I have never read a book like The Color of Magic and never planned on it. I have never written anything similar to any part of this book and I never planned on it. I’m confused at the beginning of this book and I’m push through all of my personal resistance to continue reading. While reading I find myself reading for something that I could compare the story with.

I’m trying to make the book my own before even entering into the text. I want to know the book before it know me. If that sounded confusing ill explain, as a reader of this book I want to be the lord of this book before its lord over me. I’m not allowing the text to bring me into disk world, the world that the story takes place in. I’m trying to understand the terms and characters before i even know what the story is about. Yet when I attempt to do so I cant, and begin to push back on the text because I haven’t grasped the characters.

The color of magic is a story about a wizard called Rincewind that becomes responsible for the safety of his home. Twoflower, who Rincewind is a guide to, comes to explore the land and becomes and becomes a real threat to himself. Two flower has also come to see the heroes he has heard for so long about. He desires to meet the heroes and see all of the tales he has heard come to life. As the story goes on Rincewind slowly learns about the magic called Reflected-sound-of underground-spirits which leads the story heavily later in the book.

FigHt cLub Pt.4

On the Ball

I found the narrator to be somewhat be obvious or even hinting to the addressee. I was able to see that from the beginning of the story the narrator was interesting in informing the reader of what was going. Although not every narrator is reliable the narrator in fight club  is to be trusted in some forms. One of these forms is how the narrator shows the reader who he is through his subtle conversation with the reader. He tell the reader about how feels and his emotions in every climax of the story.

There is a clear message that the narrator is trying to relay to the reader and it isn’t a message that the reader cannot trust.

The tragedies the narrator encounters and walks through only change his surrounding but not how he is thinking. The narrator is walking through life without a purpose until he finds fight club. He dismisses his misfortune and draws all of his focus on fight club but this pulls him into a greater turmoil. The addressee is fortunate to have a relationship with the narrator through which the story can only unfold,