"A gush of sticky, warm air…combined with the painful smell of hope, and a touch of despair." -Her Raspberry Salvation This is a good example of what I felt like was overdone description in the essay. It had great images, but there were almost too many of them at parts, and the pace of the essay seemed to get bogged down by stopping for detailed description so often. The story the essay is telling is very powerful; I wonder if it might not have been more so by rendering down the descriptive language.
"Still I kept waiting to see Jesus." - Salvation This was a very powerful quote for me. It's the most logical thing in the world - when a roomful of adults tells a bright twelve-year-old that he will "see and hear and feel" Jesus Christ, he would of course assume that they meant what they said. That appears to be the problem with this style of religious induction: anyone who gets swept up in it and feels what they perceive as the Lord will be fully brought into the fold, but anyone who doesn't feel it then must naturally assume that Jesus either didn't exist or ignored them, as Hughes felt.
"A man should never have his wife confused with his daughter, but the modern world offers situations where such a mishap could occur." -Razing Arizona The author seems to be making a strong prescriptivist statement about modern society, but he makes it in passing and without elaboration or clarification - does he mean what I think he means, or is it for some kind of dramatic effect?
Jack Roberts: Motherly Intuition: "No, I don't like you because my mom doesn't like you," I told her truthfully. I feel like this sentence was supposed to be super impactful, but it wasn't. The main problem in this essay is the the relationship between the author and the babysitter isn't fleshed out as well as I feel like it should. Ni Tai-Tai seems to be very involved at home almost as if she lives with them, but that is never completely cleared. The author doesn't really talk about how she felt about Ni Tai-Tai before she was fired. I don't even get the morale of the essay.
Razing Arizona: "So there I sat, to an uninterested bystander, silent and ignored. But the underlying webs of relationships put me at the backbone of most activity in the room, I reveled in it". I can relate to this. I'm not a super social person either, so I know what is like to be that one isolated guy at the party. Overall the essay reminds us how important we can be even if we don't realize it.
When the Mice Are Gone: Is it possible the author connects himself with the mouse because his family is poor? Thus he sees himself as insignificant to the higher people of society?
When the Mice are Gone: “And I was helpless then, too. I don’t want mice; but what else can you do? Kill it swiftly, or keep it in horrible captivity.” I’ve never had a problem with mice to this degree as someone who has cats, but I can relate to this very easily. I have set mouse traps up, and they have killed mice, but it always happens in the night, or when I’m not there, but I wouldn’t be able to watch it happen. I’ve also been faced with a very similar issue, when my cats catch a mouse, but don’t kill it, they instead like to play with it, and when that happens I get a Tupperware, and some newspaper, scoop the mouse up, and set it loose down the road. I just can’t bear to watch or even hear my cats terrorize them, everything has a right to life. Razing Arizona: “A man should never have his wife confused with his daughter but the modern world offers situations where such a mishap could occur.” Somewhat of a strange Oedipus like image formed there, but I can understand what he means. It’s still not too common, but it’s becoming more common for people to marry people half their age, just look at Patrick Stewart. Married at 73 to a 35 year old girlfriend officiated by Ian McKellan (Thank you CBS Sunday morning). So it’s not uncommon and I thought was a good modern reference. Motherly Intuition: I liked the essay in general, but I was confused with the middle titles that jumped up between each paragraph, I also feel like the idea that this is all about how her mother was right about the baby sitter isn’t obvious until the last paragraph.
Motherly Intuition: “My babysitter could have easily given me a simple hello, but instead, she preferred the empty affirmation of a seven-year-old girl’s love each day” (1). I think the babysitter, Ni Tai-Tai was trying to form some sort of connection with the young girl. At the time, all the author wanted was a hello and then to be left alone. This could be due to a lack of meaningful conversation and relationships, since the mother is portrayed to have a bit of an icy personality. The babysitter maybe wanted to show the girl that she loved her, and also to receive some love back. Razing Arizona: “He could serve about 120 mph down the tee, and in general played a great brand of tennis, but he had one major flaw: his uniquely Russian temper” (1). This sentence stuck me as a little strange and unnecessary. Since the author doesn’t mention Rasta’s anger or a time when he lost his temper, that fact could be left out of the essay. All the author says is that Rasta breaks tennis rackets, which also seems unimportant to the final message of the author being there to serve as Rasta’s translator and “Protestant second opinion.” I also don’t like the generalization that Russians have more volatile tempers than people of other backgrounds. When the mice are gone: Why does the author have to deal with the dying mouse on his own?
Quote from “When the mice are gone:” “You must be a heretic to cling to life, to not let it blow you away.” I thought that this was a really good sentence because the author used “heretic” and because the sentence is one of the main points of the essay. In the essay, one of the parts that I connected with was when he/she talked about the scratching noises at night from the mice in the house. Especially in the winter I also hear this noise and it is really annoying and hard to fall to sleep with. This essay made me remember the time when I found a mouse playing in my closet.
Quote from “Razing Arizona:” “We each have our own niche, I thought to myself reassuringly.” I was not sure where the author was going with this essay, until I read the last page. I thought that his/her concluding points were good, one of which being the quote I wrote up above. I think that it is very true that everyone is different but at the same time everyone needs someone to talk to and share experiences with and be the “backbone” in friendships that the author talked about. I can think of many friendships in the past and now where this “backbone” was/is present.
Question from “Motherly Intuition:” What is the purpose of this essay? I could not figure out what the author was trying to say about his/herself or about the babysitter.
When the mice are gone: "Life had doomed this wisp of a creature, this being, less than nothing, to vainly clasp at her breast, only to be pulled away to die from thirst." I thought that although the description in this quote like the mouse's wisp of a body was really good, the metaphor of the mouse clasping at the breast of life was a bit distracting since it was so separated in the sentence and was not really obvious at first.
Her Raspberry Salvation: "Bubble gum pink[jolly bears, balloons, and lollipops]… make me feel like someone is trying too hard to make the patients here forget where they are." I liked this quote because it seemed really honest and accurate in portraying the feeling I guess most hospices would give , since they are a place you go to die… I thought the beginning of the essay was pretty gloomy and depressing though even though it was really well written and descriptive.
Razing Arizona: "I looked back at my wine glass, which was liberally filled, having been liberally emptied several times already." Would admitting to underaged drinking affect your chances of getting into a school? What does this add to the essay that he thought it was worth the risk?
razing arizona-"jason's ability to charm extended beyond security guards. Rasta and i mingled in the lobby of the hotel off of whose tennis courts we had just been booted. we found ways to bide our time as jason explored the inner structures, tirelessly flirting with the grooms daughter as she prepaired to be a bridesmaid" i thought that this quote was kind of cool because the author was being completely honest, and telling it how it is. this lends a good feel of honesty to the paper, and keeps the reader interested. true detective-"my mother had a thing for detectives, be they old, blind, or paralyzed from the waist down-she just couldn't get enough." i like how this is the opening sentence, it really gets the reader interested right off the bat, and is a great hook. something this strange makes a reader want to read on. motherly intuition-"I loved getting lice as a child. This condition only meant skipping school without coughing, throwing up cherry tylenol, or lying in bedf aimlessly." Doesnt he dislike the symptoms of head lice too? what about the itching? i would never want head lice over a common cold.
Salvation "I began to wonder what God thought about Westley, who certainly hadn't seen Jesus either, but who was now sitting proudly on the platform, swinging his knickerbockered leg and grinning down at me, surrounded by deacons and old women on their knees praying. God had not struck Westley dead for taking his name in vain and for lying in the temple." I chose this quote because I thought it accurately summarized Langston's belief issues he had with the environment and people were with. He was worried about being a liar in church and "seeing jesus" but it was clear he did not. Westley set a precedent that allowed Langston to lie to his Aunt/Family/Church about seeing god.
Razing Arizona "Around Rasta's neck hung a pendant of the Star of David, loudly proclaiming his faith. In this situation, Rasta anxiously displayed it outside of his shirt." This was a nice quote because it really contrasted the essay "Salvation". It symbolically represents the second paragraph of this essay in which faith is discussed. They talk about traditions and falling in love with jewish girls but in Salvation it was all about deceiving and dodging faith so that he could move on with his day.
Motherly Intuition "Her strongest characteristics were still her nonsensical logic and infallible belief that her own abilities would pull her through every situation." What are Ni Tai-Tai's abilities? Babysitting?
Yard Sale - “Frumpy, sallow, overweight women gaze mournfully at the wares displayed, while their cheaply dressed children pretend to kill each other with light sabers.” Although this quote seems to try a little hard to use big words towards the beginning, I did think that it summed up the situation quite nicely. It describes the things that we actually notice and not the things we don’t care about which I like.
Clearly “When the Mice Are Gone” is a strong essay and I like how it ties in different concepts to itself later, but why bring it to that conclusion? Should we go this deeply into the abstract? We are too young for that.
Karthik Gomathinayagam “I warded off her conversational….. here to forget where they are” – Her Raspberry Salvation I like the details in this essay. There are many placed where the author placed little bits of information to really give a good image of the area. I particularly liked the disgusting green color. I do agree with some people before me that say that there are areas with seemingly too many descriptions but they just add to the imagery. Really a well written and thought out essay. “ Behind the piano … in the stocks” - When the Mice are Gone I like this line for a lot of the same reason I like the excerpt in the first part of this post. It describes a fairly quick event with lots of detail. The image of a mouse caught in the glue trap and frantically looking side to side to look for a way out. This imagery was great because we can imagine this happening in real life. I have found some mice in our house before and whenever we catch them they we never look at the mice with detail. We always just release them outside. Question: How old is this guy? His wine glass is both liberally filled and liberally emptied. This fact seems like its something that he should keep to himself.
"When the mice are gone" "Last weekend, I found a mouse in one of them. Behind the piano. I looked and saw it stuck in the glue trap, panting slowly."
I really liked this essay because it wove an insignificant, everyday occurrence into something much bigger. The author really gave the mouse a significance in life and made you want to help him just as much as the author did. Finding a mouse in a mouse trap is typically a quick and insignificant experience but the details added by the author turn it into something else. I really enjoyed reading and finding out what happens to the mouse. Also, I like how the author connected this event to a much larger life lesson. That was a very nice way to tie up the essay.
"Raspberry Salvation" "…and I wonder the name of the disgusting green color that the tiles are painted. Vomit? Pea soup? Either way it's institutional and depressing…" I loved this essay because of the countless details in it. The author described everything perfectly, from the color of the tiles on the floor to the room number in the hospital. It really gave me the opportunity to picture the scene and it made the story much more impactful. Also, because of the details, I could tell that the author was incredible honest with her writing and that made it all the better.
Question:
Is the intertwining of tennis and religion in "Razing Arizona" important to the progression and significance of the story?
Razing Arizona "Broken rackets to him were like spilled milk —no point in worrying when a fresh one always waited readily." I took this as a statement that many wealthy and fortunate people don't value what they have. I have had a single tennis racket since I was ten, and I treat it carefully. Rasta, the 'immense Slav' and 'enormous Russian,' takes his sports equipment for granted. He is like the spoiled child who always wants a new toy until a newer one is available.
When the mice are gone "How much easier, I thought, if I just throw him against the wall, and in an instant, it'll be over for him." Morality works in mysterious ways. The same kid who would probably slap at an ant cannot bear to see a mouse suffering. Even when he knows he can save the mouse, by watering the glue, he thinks it might be kinder to kill it. He has anthropomorphized the mouse and even compared it to Jesus, but he somehow thinks killing it quickly may be better than unlocking its jail.
Motherly Intuition Did the narrator really love Ni Tai-Tai? At first, Ni Tai-Tai has 'nonsensical logic.' Then she is stupid, and finally she takes advantage of the author's family. Was the narrator's hurried 'I love you' true or just a way to be nice.
When the mice are gone “I thought, if I just throw him against the wall, and in an instant, it’ll be over for him. One hard thrust.” This is a pretty gruesome image but I think it’s a really interesting statement in the essay and extremely honest. A lot of the time we cannot necessarily make the best decisions because of our sense of empathy and an arbitrary moral code. I believe that if you were to decide that the mouse needed to die, that ending things for him quickly, even if more violent, would be the braver action in the case.
Motherly Intuition “‘No I don’t like you because my mom doesn’t like you,’ I told her truthfully. Her only answer was an offended click.” This was in my opinion the most memorable image of the essay. It actually made me feel pretty emotional. Here is this babysitter who has come half-way across the planet and is starting a new life. She is trying to build relationships and connections, set roots in a new home. But the shrewd honesty of children is something that we have all experienced. Even from someone as benevolent as a child, her words can be pretty hurtful. A sad image all in all.
In Raising Arizona, why does the author have a wineglass if he is in high school? Isn’t the drinking age twenty-one in this country? Also, how can he put that in an essay? I assume someone would call the police.
When the Mice are Gone "..in the end, she always wins. The only way to survive, to outlast her fury, is to leave an impression.." I really like how the author personified life and death here. The author really made it seem like "nature" is something we are physically fighting with. Also, I completely agree with the statement. Death is inevitable and our survival is the memories of what we have done ("impression").
Her Raspberry Salvation "...a gush of sticky, warm air slides out. It's oppressive; it clings to me and drowns me in its humidity." I really like this quote because it describes how she's feeling really well. I can relate to this feeling. I've experienced this same stick, humid air at my grandparents' nursing home. It really is oppressive like you're trapped by it.
I'm a little confused on how Blank Party had anything to do with Motherly Intuition. I feel like that section didn't relate to the point of the story.
The lines “We will be remembered only for these little squeaks, I think, like the mouse. They alone are left when flesh and life are gone” (p.1) in “When the mice are gone”, stuck out to me. The lines contain a powerful message. The author touches on the subject of death and life and that’s impressive. He started off talking about mice but I enjoyed how he related it to a bigger, very interesting idea. The wording and the sentence structure helped that phrase stay in the readers mind.
The “Razing Arizona” essay was fun to read. The author added humor and voice, which helps the reader get a sense of what kind of person he is. The details and comparison he used also helped with showing the traits of the other characters. I really liked the lines “Broken rackets to him were like spilled milk – no point in worrying when a fresh one always waited readily” (p.1). After talking about Rasta’s anger, he uses this great simile to show us the anger of Rasta and that it happens frequently.
I thought that maybe the story was going to have a good end. That the reader would talk about the significance of this baby sitter but clearly not. I didn’t quite understand the importance of “Motherly Intuition”. He told all of these stories but didn’t reflect on any of it. I was especially confused towards the end by the lines “Do you love me”… “No, I don’t like you because my mom doesn’t like you” (p.3). First of all, it was creepy that baby sitter called months later and greeted him like that. But is more strange is the kid’s response. It was very rude. If this was his college essay, it wouldn’t be a great one. He comes off as a brat.
"Smooth fur covered his body, except for a tuft between his hunched shoulders" from 'When the mice are gone'. I really enjoyed this whole paragraph. I think it was such a good choice for the author to take a whole paragraph describing a mouse. We all know what a mouse looks like, but he took the time to create an image in my head that is crystal clear. I have to give the author props on being able to write fifty words about a mouse.
"Swollen balloons bobbed at the lofty ceiling." from 'Motherly Intuition'. This is my favorite sentence in the paper. I mostly like it for the 1. use of swollen to describe balloons, and 2. for the (slight) alliteration in "balloons bobbed". Let's be real, I'm such a sucker for alliteration. If you give me a succulent sentence full of fabulous alliteration and balloons, you have me.
Why was the ending of "When the mice are gone" so weird? I just think it was all cool up until the last paragraph, and then it got a little odd, talking about the whole "flesh and life" kind of stuff. I also wonder why he would talk about these things in his house. Let me do you a favor kiddo: Pick up the phone, dial this number (866) 953-2754 and get yo' life together.
Razing Arizona “Unconsciously, I shifted in my chair, reinforcing the obvious: I simply didn’t belong. The only force more powerful than my discomfort at that moment was my anticipation.” This is an interesting way to start an essay. Most people don’t want to let you see their side of discomfort. This essay seems like it’s two essays in one. In both essays Sam talks about how she wants to be like someone else wants her to be. She wants to be Jewish and she wants to play tennis because Jason cares about her athletic life. Is it understandable that Sam wants to be something she isn’t (for example Jewish) or does everybody wish they were something they aren’t?
When the mice are gone “… I had looked away it took some courage to turn back toward him, to see him suffer. … And the eyes the tiny eyes, were half-closed in resignation, as he heaved his feather body up and down.” I have a feeling a lot of people would walk by the mouse or kill it. I feel like if you’re with people you’re more likely to kill the mouse than if you’re alone with the mouse. Would you more likely kill the mouse or help it get free if you were alone watching the mouse trying to escape the glue?
Motherly Intuition “She asked me everyday if I loved her.” This essay starts off with the opening sentence above. It’s hard to write an essay on emotions, but the student had a really good approach on handling their confusion about their babysitters actions and the daily question do you love me. If you were in the babysitters shoes and you asked the child you took care of everyday if they loved you would you hang up if they said no on the last day or end the conversation nicely and move on to babysit other children?
In Her Raspberry Salvation I really enjoyed the line "She grasps it with both hands, holds onto it tightly, and brings it up to her mouth slowly and deliberately, the four ounces of ice almost too much to handle." I like this line because its very descriptive in that you understand just how fragile she is in that moment.
In When the Mice Are Gone, although it was kind of gross, i really enjoyed the line "I had looked away, and it took some courage to turn back toward him again, to see him suffer." I like this line because it adds a sense of humanity to the author and to the mouse, in that moment they both are suffering having to deal with this situation.
My question in Motherly Intuition is how does the tone of the paper changes so quickly? You go from everything being fine to hiring a lawyer to sue her.
“Unconsciously, I shifted in my chair, reinforcing the obvious: I simply didn’t belong. The only force more powerful than my discomfort at the moment was my anticipation.” Razing Arizona I thought this was a great hook. Right away we are filled with our own anticipation and curiosity about what she doesn’t belong to, and why she thinks that.
“At night, they scratch the walls, these little stains of nothing, and it would be quite freighting, like some terrible wraith living in the attic – if I didn’t know.” When the Mice are Gone This is great visual imagery. Plus, as someone who has lots of experience with mice, I really relate to the feeling of hearing them in the walls; the connection to wraith is quite accurate.
My question is about Motherly Intuition. Throughout the story it seems like Ni Tai-Tai is someone very loved and important to the speaker, but the last paragraph totally caught me off guard. Could a harbinger help with transition, or would is it really unnecessary?
Razing Arizona "We each have our own niche, I thought to myself reassuringly. Jason might get along well with anyone, but he still needed us, to whom he could confess all the great, or gruesome, stories." I liked the explanation of Jason. He seems like a down to earth guy. I did not understand "blank party" in motherly intuition. It seemed to be unrelated to the story Her Raspberry Salvation. "I focus my eyes ahead; tunnel visioning in on the jolly bears holding balloons and lollipops that adorn the receptionists's scrubs. Bubblegum pink, and made of the most unnatural polyester blend, they have the opposite effect than intended; instead of making me feel warm and content they make me feel like someone is trying too hard to make the patients here forget where they are." I love this description. Great illustration of the office. It sums up the corny decorations well. I thought
True Detective: "The most recent victim, she had washed her hair so many times it now resembled the wiry, synthetic mane of a troll doll". This reminds me of the times that I had my own troll doll and I can remember the exact feeling of it's hair. This just generally connects to the whole story with the fact that she herself is a victim and the people are detectives solving crimes.
Razing Arizona: "I looked back down at my wine glass, which was liberally filled, having been liberally emptied several times already". I like the fact that the word "liberally" was used in the same sentence describing two different things. Usually I'm not a fan of repetition, but this is a case where it works.
Salvation: "God damn! I'm tired o' sitting here". Talking about being conservative with God, he goes against it and uses his name in vane. Not just that though, he also throws in some slang. This sentence stands out with all controversies going on.
“‘Do you love me?’ she asked. ‘No I don’t like you because my mom doesn’t like you,” I told her truthfully. Her only answer was an offended click.” -A Blank Party I really like this because it totally reflects to me how little kids feel about the word love. My sister never says ‘I love you’ back. I asked her why once and she just told me, “I'm Not a backer.” It then made me feel guilty for hearing how much little children disregard the words “I love you.” I am ALWAYS asking my sister and she is ALWAYS ignoring me.
“My house is recently full of mice. Several times a week, I see a small stain run across the carpet back behind the piano or the washer, and another on it’s tail.” -When the Mice are Gone. I really love this quote because it reminds me of when I was little and saw mice scurry across the kitchen floor while I kay in my bunk bed waiting for my baby sitter to come back and sing to me. I think it’s also just a really good beginning to a paper, it’s catching.
What the principle motivation for the baby sitter in “Motherly Instincts”?!
"At night, I still hear the scratching, and the anonymous little noises that scurry through the walls, perhaps only my imagination." -When The Mice Are Gone; I can relate to this entirely. I face this same dilemma every night. I can always hear the mice in the walls of my room scurrying and slipping about. When I read this quote I immediately pictured myself in my room.
"I loved getting lice as a child. This condition only meant skipping school without coughing, throwing up cherry Tylenol, or lying in bed aimlessly." -Wet, Lather, Rinse; I thought this part of the passage was very funny. Normally getting lice is a horrible thing for anyone, yet the author describes it in such a positive manner. I always hated lice, I never thought that anything good would come from it. However, as the author stated, it's not such a bad thing and I had never looked at the condition in such an optimistic way.
Question: Why was the paper with "Wet, Lather, Rinse" all broken up in such a way? To me it just seemed confusing and not helpful to the overall structure of the paper. I'm not even sure if the paper was meant to be read as a whole.
“...especially after the sun has dipped down below the mountain range in the distance, leaving only an orange kiss on the horizon that makes the sky blush and fade” This first sentence in the essay labeled “College Essay” really hooked me into the whole essay. The personification works really well and makes me imagine exactly what the sky must look like without a concrete definition of it. The verb “to blush” really adds descriptive feeling and isn’t something I would think of when I describe a sunset, but after hearing it it makes sense to me.
“The only way to survive, to outlast her fury, is to leave an impression, a scar on her face to give a vague hint that you were once there” This quote from “When the Mice are Gone” is talking about destruction and the “her” and how the only way to fight back destruction was to try and even if you don’t succeed fully you can still make a small difference or leave a scar on her face. The sentence could have been preachy, but the author makes it quick and concise and the addition of personification makes it interesting.
Question: How did the author of when the mice are gone think of the topic? it seems like he/she found something really small and made it a really big topic.
The very first bit of "Her Raspberry Salvation" grabbed my attention. "The raindrops plummet toward the ground, dashing from the sky, racing towards the earth. The Instant that they touch the pavement they burst into clouds of steam, creating a dense layer of fog that skims across the ground." It is so descriptive but not in a boring way. The way she describes it is fun and visualizing, and you can almost feel the moistness in the air.
I was a little confused by "Motherly Intuition". I couldn't decide whether or not she was annoyed by Ni Tai-Tai or if she did love her. It could have gone either way the way it's written. I liked the sentence "My babysitter could ahve easily given me a simple hello, but instead, she preferred the empty affirmation of a seven year-old girl's love each day." I thought that was adorable.
The last sentence of Razing Arizona was odd. "The desert air of Arizona was a kiss to my sense of happy." I was a bit lost throughout this whole essay and this sentence didn't help. All I got was that this guy was a big tennis player who was at a wedding of another tennis player. This sentence was odd because he had never talked about the area he was at before, and suddenly he's in Arizona, and what does that have to do with the story?
I was kind of confused in "Motherly Intuition" because I couldn’t understand if she liked Ni Tai- Tai or not. Most kids wouldn’t say I love you to someone unless they were close with the person. Most kids still wouldn’t say it.
“My house is recently full of mice. Several times a week, I see a small stain run across the carpet back behind the piano or the washer, and then another on its tail.” -When the Mice are gone. This reminded me of two different times. Once in the summer when I was in Greece there was a mouse in our house. Another time when we had to give our cat to someone to watch over her while we were in Greece. They told us that she had killed 17 mice.
In Motherly Intuition Why would she ask a child who shes not even that close to if she loved her? -Aphrodite P
Quote: "I loved getting lice as a child. This condition only meant skipping school without coughing, throwing up cherry Tylenol, or lying in bed aimlessly" -Motherly intuition... I thought this quote was funny because I can totally relate to this. As a little kid one of my friends got lice and were outta school for 2 days and I was so jealous because she got to watch tv all day but whenever I was sick my mom used to make me stay in bed.
Quote: "she glows more yellow than the walls of her room, jaundice caused by liver cancer." -her raspberry salvation... This is really good description. It's almost too descriptive when talking about ones own grandma. This is just one quote that shows the great amount of detail and vivid imagery in this essay.
Question:"A boy jumps out, grabs the fridge, and bolts... I smirk and turn my attention back to the movie" - yard sale... This person is just bitter than they dished out $20 for a broken fridge so to make themselves feel better they crush some poor innocent boys hopes. This person is an a-hole. What is the point of this essay? All it's showing is this person as a sadist.
The essay "Motherly Intuition" made me very sad. I've had lots of nannies in my lifetime, and they haven't all gotten along with my parents. I really liked the author's voice in this piece, she really expressed her youthful confusion well. I understood where she was coming from. I could also see that no matter what Ni-Tai Tai might have done to deserve termination, it was clear that she truly did care about the author. The "empty affirmation of a seven year old's love" was more than that to Ni-Tai Tai, she must have been very lonely. I liked the essay because it was honest, and it was clear to follow.
I really did like "True Detective." It was a little quirky, but the beginning really drew me in, I found it entertaining and funny. I especially enjoyed the banter between the author's mother and sister. " What kind of person uses a Knife like that? " -- "A chef" -- "No no no, not a chef it was clearly a drug dealer!" It was fun to read, although the ending got very strange. It was very honest, which is good, but I wasn't sure I really understood it all, I think that after so much clear and thorough buildup, it deserved an ending that wasn't as ambiguous.
My question: So was it nail polish on all the towels? If so, how did the mom not notice that it was her own fault?
Quote in "Yard Sale": "A boy jumps out, grabs the fridge, and bolts, leaving the sound of squealing tires and burning rubber. I smirk and turn my attention back to the movie." I think the last line in this essay is amusing. It kinda shows the devious side of the boy and shows how he gets a kick out of someone making the same mistake he did. I think it is very honest and gives us a better picture of what kind of person he was.
Quote in "When the Mice are Gone": "For then, it seemed to me that he was being crucified, his feet and arms bound left and right, and his tail completing the cross; and I was not his torturer, but perhaps his savior." I think this is a great metaphor. The author is comparing a biblical story that we all know with the poor situation the mouse had gotten itself in. Great use of language and lots of imagery.
Question in "Razing Arizona": The writer in this constantly mentions Jews and some of their common stereotypes. Although this gives us a better image of what takes place, is it worth the risk of possibly offending an overly sensitive admissions officer?
“Then a pang of sorrow and horror overcame me: how much easier, I thought, if I just throw him against the wall, and in an instant, it’ll be over for him.” –“When the Mice are Gone” This quote really stood out to me because this thought goes against what the author ends up doing. He saves the mouse from dying by freeing it, yet he wonders if the mouse would be better off dead.
“Razing Arizona” confused me as a whole. The mix of tennis, religion, a wedding, and the state of Arizona took away from what the main point was. My question is what was the focus of the essay? I think it was relationships overall but I am unsure.
I found motherly intuition to be a very sad essay. The author is extremely critical of her babysitter although it seems that all Ni Tai-Tai wants is for the little girl to love her. However it is not all the child’s fault because she is merely going off of what her own mother has told her about Ni Tai-Tai. Children will often trust their parents over outsiders even if the other person is their primary caretaker.
“It was raining heavy drops that night that could crush a beetle if they hit him straight on”(When the Mice are Gone). I chose this quote because I it’s an incredible image. It’s interesting to think that something so small and insignificant to a human, like a droplet of rain can be a horrific encounter for a creature as small as a beetle. This also suggests that a certain event in a human’s life can have a different effect on one person than it does the other and it’s all dependent on the role you take in the situation. It’s important to be understanding of the emotional state of others because you never know how something will affect them as opposed to how it will affect you.
“Ni Tai-Tai managed to cut her finger. Now, she was gleefully on sick leave until her body healed completely”(Motherly Intuition). I chose this quote because it invoked emotional. Without even knowing Ni Tai –Tai and what she was like as a person, I immediately became annoyed and irritated by her. The author did a great job of conveying the fact that she was also put off by Ni Tai-Tai’s behavior by using the word “gleefully”. Gleefully contrasts with “sick leave” and by doing that you’re giving Ni Tai-Tai a dishonest and selfish personality.
Question: For what purpose did the author of Raising Arizona include underage drinking? If I were an admissions officer, knowing how to party would not be on the list of things I’d look for in a potential student.
“It was raining heavy drops that night that could crush a beetle if they hit him straight on” --When the mice are gone
This quote stood out to me because of how visual it is. Instead of saying it was raining hard, they used figurative language in a creative way. It seems to go along with the story and as a writer I struggle with adding figurative language that blends well and doesn’t distract from what you’re trying to get across.
“The Barbies are outfitted in tattered, mismatched clothes. The one nearest to me has several different lengths of hair. Her head is a rainbow of shades, a wide array of crimsons and aquas. I had not realized that so many colors could fit on such a small head.” -- Yard Sale
This quote stood out to me because it reminds me of the barbies my sisters and I used to play with. When I was little I used to want to be a hair dresser and I remember trying to cut the hair on the barbies. As I child I wasn’t thinking about how the barbies were unable to grow their hair back. When I eventually realized this it was upsetting and I no longer liked the barbies with the trimmed hair. There are five girls in my family in total so we had our fair share of unique barbie dolls.
On page 2 of Her Raspberry Salvation the writer capitalizes “Popsicle”. Is this supposed to be capitalized? It’s just a type of food and not a brand if i’m not mistaken. Did she capitalize to put emphasis on it?
"A gush of sticky, warm air…combined with the painful smell of hope, and a touch of despair." -Her Raspberry Salvation
ReplyDeleteThis is a good example of what I felt like was overdone description in the essay. It had great images, but there were almost too many of them at parts, and the pace of the essay seemed to get bogged down by stopping for detailed description so often. The story the essay is telling is very powerful; I wonder if it might not have been more so by rendering down the descriptive language.
"Still I kept waiting to see Jesus." - Salvation
This was a very powerful quote for me. It's the most logical thing in the world - when a roomful of adults tells a bright twelve-year-old that he will "see and hear and feel" Jesus Christ, he would of course assume that they meant what they said. That appears to be the problem with this style of religious induction: anyone who gets swept up in it and feels what they perceive as the Lord will be fully brought into the fold, but anyone who doesn't feel it then must naturally assume that Jesus either didn't exist or ignored them, as Hughes felt.
"A man should never have his wife confused with his daughter, but the modern world offers situations where such a mishap could occur." -Razing Arizona
The author seems to be making a strong prescriptivist statement about modern society, but he makes it in passing and without elaboration or clarification - does he mean what I think he means, or is it for some kind of dramatic effect?
Jack Roberts:
ReplyDeleteMotherly Intuition: "No, I don't like you because my mom doesn't like you," I told her truthfully. I feel like this sentence was supposed to be super impactful, but it wasn't. The main problem in this essay is the the relationship between the author and the babysitter isn't fleshed out as well as I feel like it should. Ni Tai-Tai seems to be very involved at home almost as if she lives with them, but that is never completely cleared. The author doesn't really talk about how she felt about Ni Tai-Tai before she was fired. I don't even get the morale of the essay.
Razing Arizona: "So there I sat, to an uninterested bystander, silent and ignored. But the underlying webs of relationships put me at the backbone of most activity in the room, I reveled in it". I can relate to this. I'm not a super social person either, so I know what is like to be that one isolated guy at the party. Overall the essay reminds us how important we can be even if we don't realize it.
When the Mice Are Gone: Is it possible the author connects himself with the mouse because his family is poor? Thus he sees himself as insignificant to the higher people of society?
When the Mice are Gone: “And I was helpless then, too. I don’t want mice; but what else can you do? Kill it swiftly, or keep it in horrible captivity.” I’ve never had a problem with mice to this degree as someone who has cats, but I can relate to this very easily. I have set mouse traps up, and they have killed mice, but it always happens in the night, or when I’m not there, but I wouldn’t be able to watch it happen. I’ve also been faced with a very similar issue, when my cats catch a mouse, but don’t kill it, they instead like to play with it, and when that happens I get a Tupperware, and some newspaper, scoop the mouse up, and set it loose down the road. I just can’t bear to watch or even hear my cats terrorize them, everything has a right to life.
ReplyDeleteRazing Arizona: “A man should never have his wife confused with his daughter but the modern world offers situations where such a mishap could occur.” Somewhat of a strange Oedipus like image formed there, but I can understand what he means. It’s still not too common, but it’s becoming more common for people to marry people half their age, just look at Patrick Stewart. Married at 73 to a 35 year old girlfriend officiated by Ian McKellan (Thank you CBS Sunday morning). So it’s not uncommon and I thought was a good modern reference.
Motherly Intuition: I liked the essay in general, but I was confused with the middle titles that jumped up between each paragraph, I also feel like the idea that this is all about how her mother was right about the baby sitter isn’t obvious until the last paragraph.
Motherly Intuition: “My babysitter could have easily given me a simple hello, but instead, she preferred the empty affirmation of a seven-year-old girl’s love each day” (1). I think the babysitter, Ni Tai-Tai was trying to form some sort of connection with the young girl. At the time, all the author wanted was a hello and then to be left alone. This could be due to a lack of meaningful conversation and relationships, since the mother is portrayed to have a bit of an icy personality. The babysitter maybe wanted to show the girl that she loved her, and also to receive some love back.
ReplyDeleteRazing Arizona: “He could serve about 120 mph down the tee, and in general played a great brand of tennis, but he had one major flaw: his uniquely Russian temper” (1). This sentence stuck me as a little strange and unnecessary. Since the author doesn’t mention Rasta’s anger or a time when he lost his temper, that fact could be left out of the essay. All the author says is that Rasta breaks tennis rackets, which also seems unimportant to the final message of the author being there to serve as Rasta’s translator and “Protestant second opinion.” I also don’t like the generalization that Russians have more volatile tempers than people of other backgrounds.
When the mice are gone: Why does the author have to deal with the dying mouse on his own?
Quote from “When the mice are gone:” “You must be a heretic to cling to life, to not let it blow you away.” I thought that this was a really good sentence because the author used “heretic” and because the sentence is one of the main points of the essay. In the essay, one of the parts that I connected with was when he/she talked about the scratching noises at night from the mice in the house. Especially in the winter I also hear this noise and it is really annoying and hard to fall to sleep with. This essay made me remember the time when I found a mouse playing in my closet.
ReplyDeleteQuote from “Razing Arizona:” “We each have our own niche, I thought to myself reassuringly.” I was not sure where the author was going with this essay, until I read the last page. I thought that his/her concluding points were good, one of which being the quote I wrote up above. I think that it is very true that everyone is different but at the same time everyone needs someone to talk to and share experiences with and be the “backbone” in friendships that the author talked about. I can think of many friendships in the past and now where this “backbone” was/is present.
Question from “Motherly Intuition:” What is the purpose of this essay? I could not figure out what the author was trying to say about his/herself or about the babysitter.
When the mice are gone: "Life had doomed this wisp of a creature, this being, less than nothing, to vainly clasp at her breast, only to be pulled away to die from thirst." I thought that although the description in this quote like the mouse's wisp of a body was really good, the metaphor of the mouse clasping at the breast of life was a bit distracting since it was so separated in the sentence and was not really obvious at first.
ReplyDeleteHer Raspberry Salvation: "Bubble gum pink[jolly bears, balloons, and lollipops]… make me feel like someone is trying too hard to make the patients here forget where they are." I liked this quote because it seemed really honest and accurate in portraying the feeling I guess most hospices would give , since they are a place you go to die… I thought the beginning of the essay was pretty gloomy and depressing though even though it was really well written and descriptive.
Razing Arizona: "I looked back at my wine glass, which was liberally filled, having been liberally emptied several times already." Would admitting to underaged drinking affect your chances of getting into a school? What does this add to the essay that he thought it was worth the risk?
razing arizona-"jason's ability to charm extended beyond security guards. Rasta and i mingled in the lobby of the hotel off of whose tennis courts we had just been booted. we found ways to bide our time as jason explored the inner structures, tirelessly flirting with the grooms daughter as she prepaired to be a bridesmaid" i thought that this quote was kind of cool because the author was being completely honest, and telling it how it is. this lends a good feel of honesty to the paper, and keeps the reader interested.
ReplyDeletetrue detective-"my mother had a thing for detectives, be they old, blind, or paralyzed from the waist down-she just couldn't get enough." i like how this is the opening sentence, it really gets the reader interested right off the bat, and is a great hook. something this strange makes a reader want to read on.
motherly intuition-"I loved getting lice as a child. This condition only meant skipping school without coughing, throwing up cherry tylenol, or lying in bedf aimlessly." Doesnt he dislike the symptoms of head lice too? what about the itching? i would never want head lice over a common cold.
Salvation
ReplyDelete"I began to wonder what God thought about Westley, who certainly hadn't seen Jesus either, but who was now sitting proudly on the platform, swinging his knickerbockered leg and grinning down at me, surrounded by deacons and old women on their knees praying. God had not struck Westley dead for taking his name in vain and for lying in the temple."
I chose this quote because I thought it accurately summarized Langston's belief issues he had with the environment and people were with. He was worried about being a liar in church and "seeing jesus" but it was clear he did not. Westley set a precedent that allowed Langston to lie to his Aunt/Family/Church about seeing god.
Razing Arizona
"Around Rasta's neck hung a pendant of the Star of David, loudly proclaiming his faith. In this situation, Rasta anxiously displayed it outside of his shirt."
This was a nice quote because it really contrasted the essay "Salvation". It symbolically represents the second paragraph of this essay in which faith is discussed. They talk about traditions and falling in love with jewish girls but in Salvation it was all about deceiving and dodging faith so that he could move on with his day.
Motherly Intuition
"Her strongest characteristics were still her nonsensical logic and infallible belief that her own abilities would pull her through every situation."
What are Ni Tai-Tai's abilities? Babysitting?
Yard Sale - “Frumpy, sallow, overweight women gaze mournfully at the wares displayed, while their cheaply dressed children pretend to kill each other with light sabers.” Although this quote seems to try a little hard to use big words towards the beginning, I did think that it summed up the situation quite nicely. It describes the things that we actually notice and not the things we don’t care about which I like.
ReplyDeleteRazing Arizona - “I looked back down at my wine glass, which was liberally filled, having been liberally emptied serval times already.” I like this sentence a lot because it seems to take a cliché and completely make fun of it and use it to the advantage of the author. It also contrasts with what we expect an athlete to do in this situation. It seems to show that he doesn’t actually care about this tournament all that much but rather his relationships instead.
Clearly “When the Mice Are Gone” is a strong essay and I like how it ties in different concepts to itself later, but why bring it to that conclusion? Should we go this deeply into the abstract? We are too young for that.
Karthik Gomathinayagam
ReplyDelete“I warded off her conversational….. here to forget where they are” – Her Raspberry Salvation
I like the details in this essay. There are many placed where the author placed little bits of information to really give a good image of the area. I particularly liked the disgusting green color. I do agree with some people before me that say that there are areas with seemingly too many descriptions but they just add to the imagery. Really a well written and thought out essay.
“ Behind the piano … in the stocks” - When the Mice are Gone
I like this line for a lot of the same reason I like the excerpt in the first part of this post. It describes a fairly quick event with lots of detail. The image of a mouse caught in the glue trap and frantically looking side to side to look for a way out. This imagery was great because we can imagine this happening in real life. I have found some mice in our house before and whenever we catch them they we never look at the mice with detail. We always just release them outside.
Question: How old is this guy? His wine glass is both liberally filled and liberally emptied. This fact seems like its something that he should keep to himself.
"When the mice are gone"
ReplyDelete"Last weekend, I found a mouse in one of them. Behind the piano. I looked and saw it stuck in the glue trap, panting slowly."
I really liked this essay because it wove an insignificant, everyday occurrence into something much bigger. The author really gave the mouse a significance in life and made you want to help him just as much as the author did. Finding a mouse in a mouse trap is typically a quick and insignificant experience but the details added by the author turn it into something else. I really enjoyed reading and finding out what happens to the mouse. Also, I like how the author connected this event to a much larger life lesson. That was a very nice way to tie up the essay.
"Raspberry Salvation"
"…and I wonder the name of the disgusting green color that the tiles are painted. Vomit? Pea soup? Either way it's institutional and depressing…"
I loved this essay because of the countless details in it. The author described everything perfectly, from the color of the tiles on the floor to the room number in the hospital. It really gave me the opportunity to picture the scene and it made the story much more impactful. Also, because of the details, I could tell that the author was incredible honest with her writing and that made it all the better.
Question:
Is the intertwining of tennis and religion in "Razing Arizona" important to the progression and significance of the story?
Razing Arizona
ReplyDelete"Broken rackets to him were like spilled milk —no point in worrying when a fresh one always waited readily."
I took this as a statement that many wealthy and fortunate people don't value what they have. I have had a single tennis racket since I was ten, and I treat it carefully. Rasta, the 'immense Slav' and 'enormous Russian,' takes his sports equipment for granted. He is like the spoiled child who always wants a new toy until a newer one is available.
When the mice are gone
"How much easier, I thought, if I just throw him against the wall, and in an instant, it'll be over for him."
Morality works in mysterious ways. The same kid who would probably slap at an ant cannot bear to see a mouse suffering. Even when he knows he can save the mouse, by watering the glue, he thinks it might be kinder to kill it. He has anthropomorphized the mouse and even compared it to Jesus, but he somehow thinks killing it quickly may be better than unlocking its jail.
Motherly Intuition
Did the narrator really love Ni Tai-Tai? At first, Ni Tai-Tai has 'nonsensical logic.' Then she is stupid, and finally she takes advantage of the author's family. Was the narrator's hurried 'I love you' true or just a way to be nice.
When the mice are gone
ReplyDelete“I thought, if I just throw him against the wall, and in an instant, it’ll be over for him. One hard thrust.” This is a pretty gruesome image but I think it’s a really interesting statement in the essay and extremely honest. A lot of the time we cannot necessarily make the best decisions because of our sense of empathy and an arbitrary moral code. I believe that if you were to decide that the mouse needed to die, that ending things for him quickly, even if more violent, would be the braver action in the case.
Motherly Intuition
“‘No I don’t like you because my mom doesn’t like you,’ I told her truthfully. Her only answer was an offended click.” This was in my opinion the most memorable image of the essay. It actually made me feel pretty emotional. Here is this babysitter who has come half-way across the planet and is starting a new life. She is trying to build relationships and connections, set roots in a new home. But the shrewd honesty of children is something that we have all experienced. Even from someone as benevolent as a child, her words can be pretty hurtful. A sad image all in all.
In Raising Arizona, why does the author have a wineglass if he is in high school? Isn’t the drinking age twenty-one in this country? Also, how can he put that in an essay? I assume someone would call the police.
When the Mice are Gone
ReplyDelete"..in the end, she always wins. The only way to survive, to outlast her fury, is to leave an impression.." I really like how the author personified life and death here. The author really made it seem like "nature" is something we are physically fighting with. Also, I completely agree with the statement. Death is inevitable and our survival is the memories of what we have done ("impression").
Her Raspberry Salvation
"...a gush of sticky, warm air slides out. It's oppressive; it clings to me and drowns me in its humidity." I really like this quote because it describes how she's feeling really well. I can relate to this feeling. I've experienced this same stick, humid air at my grandparents' nursing home. It really is oppressive like you're trapped by it.
I'm a little confused on how Blank Party had anything to do with Motherly Intuition. I feel like that section didn't relate to the point of the story.
The lines “We will be remembered only for these little squeaks, I think, like the mouse. They alone are left when flesh and life are gone” (p.1) in “When the mice are gone”, stuck out to me. The lines contain a powerful message. The author touches on the subject of death and life and that’s impressive. He started off talking about mice but I enjoyed how he related it to a bigger, very interesting idea. The wording and the sentence structure helped that phrase stay in the readers mind.
ReplyDeleteThe “Razing Arizona” essay was fun to read. The author added humor and voice, which helps the reader get a sense of what kind of person he is. The details and comparison he used also helped with showing the traits of the other characters. I really liked the lines “Broken rackets to him were like spilled milk – no point in worrying when a fresh one always waited readily” (p.1). After talking about Rasta’s anger, he uses this great simile to show us the anger of Rasta and that it happens frequently.
I thought that maybe the story was going to have a good end. That the reader would talk about the significance of this baby sitter but clearly not. I didn’t quite understand the importance of “Motherly Intuition”. He told all of these stories but didn’t reflect on any of it. I was especially confused towards the end by the lines “Do you love me”… “No, I don’t like you because my mom doesn’t like you” (p.3). First of all, it was creepy that baby sitter called months later and greeted him like that. But is more strange is the kid’s response. It was very rude. If this was his college essay, it wouldn’t be a great one. He comes off as a brat.
"Smooth fur covered his body, except for a tuft between his hunched shoulders" from 'When the mice are gone'. I really enjoyed this whole paragraph. I think it was such a good choice for the author to take a whole paragraph describing a mouse. We all know what a mouse looks like, but he took the time to create an image in my head that is crystal clear. I have to give the author props on being able to write fifty words about a mouse.
ReplyDelete"Swollen balloons bobbed at the lofty ceiling." from 'Motherly Intuition'. This is my favorite sentence in the paper. I mostly like it for the 1. use of swollen to describe balloons, and 2. for the (slight) alliteration in "balloons bobbed". Let's be real, I'm such a sucker for alliteration. If you give me a succulent sentence full of fabulous alliteration and balloons, you have me.
Why was the ending of "When the mice are gone" so weird? I just think it was all cool up until the last paragraph, and then it got a little odd, talking about the whole "flesh and life" kind of stuff. I also wonder why he would talk about these things in his house. Let me do you a favor kiddo: Pick up the phone, dial this number (866) 953-2754 and get yo' life together.
Razing Arizona
ReplyDelete“Unconsciously, I shifted in my chair, reinforcing the obvious: I simply didn’t belong. The only force more powerful than my discomfort at that moment was my anticipation.” This is an interesting way to start an essay. Most people don’t want to let you see their side of discomfort. This essay seems like it’s two essays in one. In both essays Sam talks about how she wants to be like someone else wants her to be. She wants to be Jewish and she wants to play tennis because Jason cares about her athletic life.
Is it understandable that Sam wants to be something she isn’t (for example Jewish) or does everybody wish they were something they aren’t?
When the mice are gone
“… I had looked away it took some courage to turn back toward him, to see him suffer. … And the eyes the tiny eyes, were half-closed in resignation, as he heaved his feather body up and down.” I have a feeling a lot of people would walk by the mouse or kill it. I feel like if you’re with people you’re more likely to kill the mouse than if you’re alone with the mouse.
Would you more likely kill the mouse or help it get free if you were alone watching the mouse trying to escape the glue?
Motherly Intuition
“She asked me everyday if I loved her.”
This essay starts off with the opening sentence above. It’s hard to write an essay on emotions, but the student had a really good approach on handling their confusion about their babysitters actions and the daily question do you love me.
If you were in the babysitters shoes and you asked the child you took care of everyday if they loved you would you hang up if they said no on the last day or end the conversation nicely and move on to babysit other children?
In Her Raspberry Salvation I really enjoyed the line "She grasps it with both hands, holds onto it tightly, and brings it up to her mouth slowly and deliberately, the four ounces of ice almost too much to handle." I like this line because its very descriptive in that you understand just how fragile she is in that moment.
ReplyDeleteIn When the Mice Are Gone, although it was kind of gross, i really enjoyed the line "I had looked away, and it took some courage to turn back toward him again, to see him suffer." I like this line because it adds a sense of humanity to the author and to the mouse, in that moment they both are suffering having to deal with this situation.
My question in Motherly Intuition is how does the tone of the paper changes so quickly? You go from everything being fine to hiring a lawyer to sue her.
“Unconsciously, I shifted in my chair, reinforcing the obvious: I simply didn’t belong. The only force more powerful than my discomfort at the moment was my anticipation.” Razing Arizona I thought this was a great hook. Right away we are filled with our own anticipation and curiosity about what she doesn’t belong to, and why she thinks that.
ReplyDelete“At night, they scratch the walls, these little stains of nothing, and it would be quite freighting, like some terrible wraith living in the attic – if I didn’t know.” When the Mice are Gone This is great visual imagery. Plus, as someone who has lots of experience with mice, I really relate to the feeling of hearing them in the walls; the connection to wraith is quite accurate.
My question is about Motherly Intuition. Throughout the story it seems like Ni Tai-Tai is someone very loved and important to the speaker, but the last paragraph totally caught me off guard. Could a harbinger help with transition, or would is it really unnecessary?
--Grace Tecca
Razing Arizona "We each have our own niche, I thought to myself reassuringly. Jason might get along well with anyone, but he still needed us, to whom he could confess all the great, or gruesome, stories." I liked the explanation of Jason. He seems like a down to earth guy.
ReplyDeleteI did not understand "blank party" in motherly intuition. It seemed to be unrelated to the story
Her Raspberry Salvation. "I focus my eyes ahead; tunnel visioning in on the jolly bears holding balloons and lollipops that adorn the receptionists's scrubs. Bubblegum pink, and made of the most unnatural polyester blend, they have the opposite effect than intended; instead of making me feel warm and content they make me feel like someone is trying too hard to make the patients here forget where they are." I love this description. Great illustration of the office. It sums up the corny decorations well.
I thought
True Detective:
ReplyDelete"The most recent victim, she had washed her hair so many times it now resembled the wiry, synthetic mane of a troll doll". This reminds me of the times that I had my own troll doll and I can remember the exact feeling of it's hair. This just generally connects to the whole story with the fact that she herself is a victim and the people are detectives solving crimes.
Razing Arizona:
"I looked back down at my wine glass, which was liberally filled, having been liberally emptied several times already". I like the fact that the word "liberally" was used in the same sentence describing two different things. Usually I'm not a fan of repetition, but this is a case where it works.
Salvation:
"God damn! I'm tired o' sitting here". Talking about being conservative with God, he goes against it and uses his name in vane. Not just that though, he also throws in some slang. This sentence stands out with all controversies going on.
“‘Do you love me?’ she asked.
ReplyDelete‘No I don’t like you because my mom doesn’t like you,” I told her truthfully. Her only answer was an offended click.” -A Blank Party
I really like this because it totally reflects to me how little kids feel about the word love. My sister never says ‘I love you’ back. I asked her why once and she just told me, “I'm Not a backer.” It then made me feel guilty for hearing how much little children disregard the words “I love you.” I am ALWAYS asking my sister and she is ALWAYS ignoring me.
“My house is recently full of mice. Several times a week, I see a small stain run across the carpet back behind the piano or the washer, and another on it’s tail.” -When the Mice are Gone. I really love this quote because it reminds me of when I was little and saw mice scurry across the kitchen floor while I kay in my bunk bed waiting for my baby sitter to come back and sing to me.
I think it’s also just a really good beginning to a paper, it’s catching.
What the principle motivation for the baby sitter in “Motherly Instincts”?!
"At night, I still hear the scratching, and the anonymous little noises that scurry through the walls, perhaps only my imagination." -When The Mice Are Gone; I can relate to this entirely. I face this same dilemma every night. I can always hear the mice in the walls of my room scurrying and slipping about. When I read this quote I immediately pictured myself in my room.
ReplyDelete"I loved getting lice as a child. This condition only meant skipping school without coughing, throwing up cherry Tylenol, or lying in bed aimlessly." -Wet, Lather, Rinse; I thought this part of the passage was very funny. Normally getting lice is a horrible thing for anyone, yet the author describes it in such a positive manner. I always hated lice, I never thought that anything good would come from it. However, as the author stated, it's not such a bad thing and I had never looked at the condition in such an optimistic way.
Question: Why was the paper with "Wet, Lather, Rinse" all broken up in such a way? To me it just seemed confusing and not helpful to the overall structure of the paper. I'm not even sure if the paper was meant to be read as a whole.
“...especially after the sun has dipped down below the mountain range in the distance, leaving only an orange kiss on the horizon that makes the sky blush and fade” This first sentence in the essay labeled “College Essay” really hooked me into the whole essay. The personification works really well and makes me imagine exactly what the sky must look like without a concrete definition of it. The verb “to blush” really adds descriptive feeling and isn’t something I would think of when I describe a sunset, but after hearing it it makes sense to me.
ReplyDelete“The only way to survive, to outlast her fury, is to leave an impression, a scar on her face to give a vague hint that you were once there” This quote from “When the Mice are Gone” is talking about destruction and the “her” and how the only way to fight back destruction was to try and even if you don’t succeed fully you can still make a small difference or leave a scar on her face. The sentence could have been preachy, but the author makes it quick and concise and the addition of personification makes it interesting.
Question: How did the author of when the mice are gone think of the topic? it seems like he/she found something really small and made it a really big topic.
The very first bit of "Her Raspberry Salvation" grabbed my attention. "The raindrops plummet toward the ground, dashing from the sky, racing towards the earth. The Instant that they touch the pavement they burst into clouds of steam, creating a dense layer of fog that skims across the ground." It is so descriptive but not in a boring way. The way she describes it is fun and visualizing, and you can almost feel the moistness in the air.
ReplyDeleteI was a little confused by "Motherly Intuition". I couldn't decide whether or not she was annoyed by Ni Tai-Tai or if she did love her. It could have gone either way the way it's written. I liked the sentence "My babysitter could ahve easily given me a simple hello, but instead, she preferred the empty affirmation of a seven year-old girl's love each day." I thought that was adorable.
The last sentence of Razing Arizona was odd. "The desert air of Arizona was a kiss to my sense of happy." I was a bit lost throughout this whole essay and this sentence didn't help. All I got was that this guy was a big tennis player who was at a wedding of another tennis player. This sentence was odd because he had never talked about the area he was at before, and suddenly he's in Arizona, and what does that have to do with the story?
-Haley Dennison
I was kind of confused in "Motherly Intuition" because I couldn’t understand if she liked Ni Tai- Tai or not. Most kids wouldn’t say I love you to someone unless they were close with the person. Most kids still wouldn’t say it.
ReplyDelete“My house is recently full of mice. Several times a week, I see a small stain run across the carpet back behind the piano or the washer, and then another on its tail.” -When the Mice are gone. This reminded me of two different times. Once in the summer when I was in Greece there was a mouse in our house. Another time when we had to give our cat to someone to watch over her while we were in Greece. They told us that she had killed 17 mice.
In Motherly Intuition Why would she ask a child who shes not even that close to if she loved her?
-Aphrodite P
Quote: "I loved getting lice as a child. This condition only meant skipping school without coughing, throwing up cherry Tylenol, or lying in bed aimlessly" -Motherly intuition... I thought this quote was funny because I can totally relate to this. As a little kid one of my friends got lice and were outta school for 2 days and I was so jealous because she got to watch tv all day but whenever I was sick my mom used to make me stay in bed.
ReplyDeleteQuote: "she glows more yellow than the walls of her room, jaundice caused by liver cancer." -her raspberry salvation... This is really good description. It's almost too descriptive when talking about ones own grandma. This is just one quote that shows the great amount of detail and vivid imagery in this essay.
Question:"A boy jumps out, grabs the fridge, and bolts... I smirk and turn my attention back to the movie" - yard sale... This person is just bitter than they dished out $20 for a broken fridge so to make themselves feel better they crush some poor innocent boys hopes. This person is an a-hole. What is the point of this essay? All it's showing is this person as a sadist.
The essay "Motherly Intuition" made me very sad. I've had lots of nannies in my lifetime, and they haven't all gotten along with my parents. I really liked the author's voice in this piece, she really expressed her youthful confusion well. I understood where she was coming from. I could also see that no matter what Ni-Tai Tai might have done to deserve termination, it was clear that she truly did care about the author. The "empty affirmation of a seven year old's love" was more than that to Ni-Tai Tai, she must have been very lonely. I liked the essay because it was honest, and it was clear to follow.
ReplyDeleteI really did like "True Detective." It was a little quirky, but the beginning really drew me in, I found it entertaining and funny. I especially enjoyed the banter between the author's mother and sister. " What kind of person uses a Knife like that? " -- "A chef" -- "No no no, not a chef it was clearly a drug dealer!" It was fun to read, although the ending got very strange. It was very honest, which is good, but I wasn't sure I really understood it all, I think that after so much clear and thorough buildup, it deserved an ending that wasn't as ambiguous.
My question: So was it nail polish on all the towels? If so, how did the mom not notice that it was her own fault?
Quote in "Yard Sale": "A boy jumps out, grabs the fridge, and bolts, leaving the sound of squealing tires and burning rubber. I smirk and turn my attention back to the movie." I think the last line in this essay is amusing. It kinda shows the devious side of the boy and shows how he gets a kick out of someone making the same mistake he did. I think it is very honest and gives us a better picture of what kind of person he was.
ReplyDeleteQuote in "When the Mice are Gone": "For then, it seemed to me that he was being crucified, his feet and arms bound left and right, and his tail completing the cross; and I was not his torturer, but perhaps his savior." I think this is a great metaphor. The author is comparing a biblical story that we all know with the poor situation the mouse had gotten itself in. Great use of language and lots of imagery.
Question in "Razing Arizona": The writer in this constantly mentions Jews and some of their common stereotypes. Although this gives us a better image of what takes place, is it worth the risk of possibly offending an overly sensitive admissions officer?
“Then a pang of sorrow and horror overcame me: how much easier, I thought, if I just throw him against the wall, and in an instant, it’ll be over for him.” –“When the Mice are Gone” This quote really stood out to me because this thought goes against what the author ends up doing. He saves the mouse from dying by freeing it, yet he wonders if the mouse would be better off dead.
ReplyDelete“Razing Arizona” confused me as a whole. The mix of tennis, religion, a wedding, and the state of Arizona took away from what the main point was. My question is what was the focus of the essay? I think it was relationships overall but I am unsure.
I found motherly intuition to be a very sad essay. The author is extremely critical of her babysitter although it seems that all Ni Tai-Tai wants is for the little girl to love her. However it is not all the child’s fault because she is merely going off of what her own mother has told her about Ni Tai-Tai. Children will often trust their parents over outsiders even if the other person is their primary caretaker.
“It was raining heavy drops that night that could crush a beetle if they hit him straight on”(When the Mice are Gone). I chose this quote because I it’s an incredible image. It’s interesting to think that something so small and insignificant to a human, like a droplet of rain can be a horrific encounter for a creature as small as a beetle. This also suggests that a certain event in a human’s life can have a different effect on one person than it does the other and it’s all dependent on the role you take in the situation. It’s important to be understanding of the emotional state of others because you never know how something will affect them as opposed to how it will affect you.
ReplyDelete“Ni Tai-Tai managed to cut her finger. Now, she was gleefully on sick leave until her body healed completely”(Motherly Intuition). I chose this quote because it invoked emotional. Without even knowing Ni Tai –Tai and what she was like as a person, I immediately became annoyed and irritated by her. The author did a great job of conveying the fact that she was also put off by Ni Tai-Tai’s behavior by using the word “gleefully”. Gleefully contrasts with “sick leave” and by doing that you’re giving Ni Tai-Tai a dishonest and selfish personality.
Question: For what purpose did the author of Raising Arizona include underage drinking? If I were an admissions officer, knowing how to party would not be on the list of things I’d look for in a potential student.
“It was raining heavy drops that night that could crush a beetle if they hit him straight on” --When the mice are gone
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because of how visual it is. Instead of saying it was raining hard, they used figurative language in a creative way. It seems to go along with the story and as a writer I struggle with adding figurative language that blends well and doesn’t distract from what you’re trying to get across.
“The Barbies are outfitted in tattered, mismatched clothes. The one nearest to me has several different lengths of hair. Her head is a rainbow of shades, a wide array of crimsons and aquas. I had not realized that so many colors could fit on such a small head.” -- Yard Sale
This quote stood out to me because it reminds me of the barbies my sisters and I used to play with. When I was little I used to want to be a hair dresser and I remember trying to cut the hair on the barbies. As I child I wasn’t thinking about how the barbies were unable to grow their hair back. When I eventually realized this it was upsetting and I no longer liked the barbies with the trimmed hair. There are five girls in my family in total so we had our fair share of unique barbie dolls.
On page 2 of Her Raspberry Salvation the writer capitalizes “Popsicle”. Is this supposed to be capitalized? It’s just a type of food and not a brand if i’m not mistaken. Did she capitalize to put emphasis on it?