Reflection on the Course

My writing abilities have definitely increased during this course.  I've learned how to site my sources better and hopefully how to stay on point with my thesis.  I learned the difference between summary and analysis and when to use each of them which will help me in all of my future courses that will require literary analysis.  The readings in this courses have opened my view of different kinds of readings.  I usually choose the same type of authors and books to read.  By being forced to read things I wouldn't normally read, I've realized that these other kinds of things are also pretty good to read.  My writing process has changed a little because of this course.  I learned to write multiple drafts and re-edit the papers I'm writing to make them better.  This course was definitely a challenge.  One of the main reasons because it was online.  I find online classes much more difficult because I tend to procrastinate.  I made sure to turn in most of the assignments in on time.  I could've still done a little better with this, as I missed a couple assignments.  

Annotated Bibliography

Whitman, W. Leaves of Grass. Penguin Books, 1986.

               “Leaves Of Grass” is Walt Whitman’s only book.  It was originally published in 1855 with twelve poems.  "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"(an eulogy for President Lincoln’s death) and "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" are two of his most popular poems which are in this book.  He is regarded as a true “American Poet”.  He is described as expressing the real spirit of America and free men.  This is why I like his poems so much.  He has a way of making the reader experience strong feelings of determination and opportunity.  I will be quoting these poems a number of times in my final paper.

Kerley, B. Walt Whitman: Words For America.  Scholastic, 2004.

               Although this book has a lower reading level and pictures in it, it includes a lot of important information about walt whitman.  It is in biography form, and tells of his birth in 1819, his death in 1892, as well as how he grew up in long island and brooklyn, New York.  As a child He was a printers apprentice and was writing and printing his own newspaper by the age of 19.  The author of this biography describes his poems as a “celebration of the common man”.  It also tells how he became of voice of his nation through his poetry in the opinion of the author.

Genoways, T.  Walt Whitman and the Civil War.  Fletcher Jones Foundation Humanities.

               Hopefully I will be picking up my copy of this book tomorrow.  It’s author writes about Walt Whitman and his actions during what is called his lost years (1860-1862).  Walt Whitman was always writing in newspapers, magazines and some of these type of publications which he personally operated.  He was a very public writer, his work was often immediately published to be seen by and to inspire the population.  I intend on including all of these important facts in my final paper and this book contains a lot of this important information.

Here is a link to some great information about this wonderful poet.

final project

I will be doing project option #1.  I have chosen Walt Whitman as my author.  I enjoy the general topics he writes about.  I find his poems to be very meaningful and he uses an outspoken voice.  I have a book that contains a collection of his poems.  I look forward to finding some more of his work to complete this assignment.  This assignment will be one that I'll really enjoy, I suspect.  I would like to understand more about him as a person as well as learn from his writing techniques in order to enhance my own writing ability.  I will probably use some of the Yavapai library website search results as well as any other web databases I can find.  I will be looking for any writings on Walt Whitman at the local bookstores and libraries.

Oh' Pioneers, by Walt Whitman in a Levis' advertisement.  A good friend of mine, Chase, is in it.

blog post #9

Stephen Cook
ENG 102
Cline
October 23, 2011

Mid-Term Check In

          After not completing the course during summer school, I’ve been able to understand the expectations of this class a little better. English has always been one of the harder for me. I’ve never really tried or was forced to be a good writer. I now understand the importance of being able to write well written essays and analyze documents. These early english courses will influence my success in the classes I take while pursuing the rest of my education.
           It’s been hard for me to focus on reading for long periods of time. I’m not the fastest reader, so this has been somewhat of a challenge. It’s not that there is a ton of reading, it’s just that I’m at a point in my life where I’m juggling a number of projects and obligations. This makes it hard for me to sit still and focus on what I’m reading.
          I found a couple of the poems from the second essay to be thought provoking. I guess that’s most likely why they were chosen. Frankenstein was a little tough for me to get into because the story is one that’s frequently referenced in society. I caught myself looking for differences between how I thought the story was going to go and how it actually went. I wish I could’ve read the story without having any prior knowledge of the story.
          Literary analysis is much different than the former english classes I’ve taken. It requires focus which is different than the other classes where the instructor just wanted my thoughts or research papers. My overall goal is to finish the class with an “A”. I usually get good grades but english is one of my tougher subjects. Another goal is to not miss any assignments. I’ve missed only one and plan to use the “no questions asked” for it. This is strictly self discipline. Something I need to be a little better at. I’m feeling pretty good about the course at this time.

Essay #3 rough draft

Stephen Cook

Cline

ENG 102

13 October 2011

Essay #3 - Frankenstein rough draft

The story of Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly is one that has stood out very strongly as being a very unique and original tale.  Even close to 200 years after it was written it is being used as means for education.  This tells me that it is viewed as being a very important piece in literary history.  I personally didn’t enjoy the story that much.  This could have been because I was slightly familiar with the story of Frankenstein before reading the actual book.  I generally enjoy stories much more the first time I experience them.   I can imagine though, that if reading this book was the first time I’d heard of Frankenstein and the story of his creature, it would have been one that drew the reader in with suspense and somewhat of a psychological thrill.  

I found the setting of the story to be peculiar.  Why would a young girl write such a story of fiction with the voice of an older, seemingly lonely man?  The use of the letters to the man’s sister in the beginning was an interesting and effective way of introducing the characters and the beginning of the plot.  The events in this story are vulgar and imaginative.  The ideas that make up this story of fiction must have originated in the mind of a truly troubled individual.  The thought of a creature being made out of old body parts is one most absurd and grotesque.  

If I was to make an assumption of the meaning of this story in relation to the author it would be that the author, Mary Shelly, viewed herself as a troubled individual.  I think Frankensteins  creature is an example of the self image of the author.  By the time Frankenstein was completed, Mary had already lost her mother (shortly after her birth), her prematurely born first child, and her sister to suicide.  ((Reference the chronology)) She had experienced so much death by such a young age.  This had to affect the way she viewed the idea of death.  She could possibly placed some of the blame for these deaths on herself, resulting in the need to express these feelings through creating a character such as Victor’s creature that doesn’t fit in its surroundings and causes the death of others.  She makes sure to show that the creature does in fact have emotions and love for his creator, even after causing his death.   

Even considering the awful events in the story created by Mary Shelly, there is a sense of amazement experienced by the reader in regards to the level of creativity and original imagination it took to write such a story.  Even though the story is a sad and somewhat depressing one, there is a subtle idea that the writer enjoyed writing the story.  It probably wasn’t even a happy sort of enjoyment, but one that helped her cope with the events that took place in her own life.  

In Percy Bysshe Shelly’s response to the novel, He claims that it is a strong source of powerful and profound emotion.  “The elementary feelings of the human mind are exposed to view: and those who are accustomed to reason deeply on their origin and tendency will, perhaps, be the only persons who can sympathize, to the full extent, in the interest of the actions which are their result.”  (pg. 185)    I strongly agree with these statements made by Percy Bysshe Shelly.  Even those emotions felt by the author become present.  In this response he also makes a claim that the moral of the story is, “Treat a person ill, and he will become wicked.”  This is a statement that I disagree with.  There are many examples of how poorly treated persons have gone on to do great things and be good people.  I do think that if a person is treated badly, they are more likely to be “wicked”, but in my opinion, this idea is present in this story so that the reader is able to sympathize with the so called evil character.  If we can partially begin to justify the actions of those evil characters and start to excuse their actions by blaming those actions on the treatment received from others, this will make us feel sorry for the character; drastically affecting the readers view of the character.  

  In the anonymous response taken from Knights Quarterly on pg. 197, there is an interesting analysis.  “Frankenstein is, I think, the best instance of natural passions applied to supernatural events that I ever met with.”  I find the idea very strange that Mary Shelly, at such a young age, would imagine the creation of such a being.  In recent film there are themes of clones and artificial beings.  I don’t know what it was like during the time it was written, but I can’t think of  any reasons for a girl to consider the strange spiritual theme involved in creating such a creature.  I found the reference to darwin stating that such an event isn’t completely impossible very interesting.  I suppose when the story was written, science could’ve suggested such possibilities.  Either way, once again I’m forced to wonder about what she was feeling and contemplating while this story was being written. ...

....

....  

Works cited (incomplete)

1) Frankenstein, Mary Shelly

2) Norton Critical Edition

3) response by percy shelly

4) anonymous response from Knights Quarterly

5)

6)

Blog post #7- Summary of a Critical Response

Percy Bysshe Shelly

On Frankenstein

According to the book, this response was written in 1817.  This person tells how they believe the story of Frankenstein to be one of the most original productions up to this point in history.  The writer of this response brings to question the mental state of Mary Shelly when Frankenstein was written.  They ask what emotions one must feel in order to create such a story, one thats unlike other stories and uses a vast imagination to create.  They also place attention on the most basic and elementary ideas and emotions that the reader is cause to better understand by reading the story of Frankenstein.  One as simple as if you treat a person badly, they are likely to become a wicked person.  Again this response brings attention to the evidence of original imagination with example that there has been no other character in a story or history written similar to the creature in Frankenstein. 

I think this is a good response to the story of frankenstein.  I’m not finished reading the story yet, will be finishing it in the next few days.  I agree with this persons ideas of the story so far.  Even before reading the story of Frankenstein, one can consider the uniqueness of the story because of its overwhelming reference in society.  Not everyone has actually read the story, but almost everyone has heard of it.  At the time it was written it must have truly been an original story with great imagination.  I too wonder of the intense feelings of emotion and imagination that Mary Shelly exhibited in writing such a story. 

here is a cool page with an analysis of the characters in the book.

Blog post #6 - Reflections on Revision

Stephen Cook

Eng 102

Cline

October 2, 2011

Blog post #6 - Reflections on Revision

When I begin revision of my own work I start by reading the paper as if It was the first time reading it.  I imagine that I wasn’t the one that wrote it.  This is because I want to view the writing as objectively as possible.  Sometimes it even helps for me to proof read and make revisions after not working on the paper for a few days.  Coming back to it with a fresh perspective usually proves to be valuable in this process for me.

       

         I think it's important to view the paper as if you were the instructor who assigned the work.  The instructor will have a thorough idea of what the assignment entails.  There will also be a clear set of expectations.  It is important to have a clear picture of what is expected in order to accomplish this.  Another thing has always done well for me is having other students give me feedback on my writing.  I'm not the best writer so it really helps me when I'm able to get advice from others.

   

          In my final draft there are a few specific changes I currently need to make.  The two most obvious ones are the need of internal citations and more clearly stated topic sentences in each paragraph.  My paper already contains references to the actual work, it just doesn’t have the proper quotations and citations.  I think that the general idea of my paper is very clear it just needs a little better organization within each paragraph.   

Here is a link to a cool website I found with a checklist of ways to look at a paper when revising.

Close reading of a passage

Stephen Cook

Eng. 102

Cline

September 25, 2011

  The passage I chose to write about comes from the very first sentences of chapter 3 of volume 1.  “From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most comprehensive of the term, became my sole occupation.” (Frankenstein, Mary shelly, p.29)  I’m not that far into the book at this point, but it seems that this is sort of a theme that’s upcoming in the story.  This might not be the most meaningful quote in the book so far, but in order to do something severely special in the area of science one must be most dedicated.  This passage made me to personally want such a sense of purpose as this.  When I read this, I immediately thought of Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton, people that I admire and who devoted their lives to the purpose of scientific discovery. For me, this really gave me, as the reader an emotional relation to the narrator in this passage.  This specific passage clearly shows that there was a necessary motivation to devote ones life to the area of understanding this “science”.  These kind of statements are generally made after a dramatic and emotional event that makes a person want to be more dedicated or rededicated to a certain area of life.  There has already been a number of times that the author has touched on the idea of devotion and purpose.  I have a vague idea of what frankenstein is about and have guesses of what the story is leading to.  This could be another way of establishing the importance of  dedication in the story. Maybe even an unhealthy amount of dedication that leads to obsession.


Here is a link to some quotes about devotion by Albert einstein.

Essay #2 Draft

Stephen Cook

Cline

ENG 102

18 September 2011

A Seemingly Hopeful Expression of Despair

“The Second Coming”, by William Butler Yeats, (1865-1939), is an expression of the authors concern for the current social state of his nation.  The poem was written in 1919, shortly after the events of World War I, and in it he describes a very dark, unstable and violent society.  There is a strong tone of hopelessness, and I think the main theme of the poem is distrust in humanity.   

The first stanza is mostly about how there is such disorder and after setting a strong tone of despair, he then, in the second stanza, introduces the idea of “The Second Coming”.  The author feels that the current situation is presently hopeless and goes on to consider the idea that the world is ending.  I’m forced to consider the possible spirituality of the author when thinking about his intentions in writing such a poem.  In order to speak so strongly of these religious ideas,  it would seem that the author must believe in the religious prophecies that tell about the second coming of christ.

There is no consistent rhyming scheme or meter in this poem.  In a poem of this sort, a meter or rhyming scheme could add a kind of cheery tone.  The author is obviously trying to avoid any positive feelings or images.  The imagery is very dark.  The tone is full of disgust and frustration.  

The title of the poem begins to tell the reader what the meaning of the poem is.  The first line of the poem expresses a slight uneasy feeling.  “Turning, turning in the widening gyre”; a gyre being a sort of vortex in the ocean.  This has a lot of content for such few words.  The reference to nature being restless gives the reader a sort of premonition that there are bad things to come.  The second line tells us that something is wrong.  The third line states, “Things fall apart: the centre cannot hold.”  Next he tells how there is a state of anarchy.  This again expresses a feeling of chaos from the author.  Each line of the first stanza gradually escalates the sense of disorder and darkness.  I find this interesting, because this structure of the content is very organized and the way the author eases the reader into the emotions of despair is clearly done on purpose.  By the time the reader gets to the last line of the first stanza, there is an overwhelming sense of fear.  

The author does do a great job of describing a time of despair.  Although he doesn’t give any real examples, he uses symbolism and vague descriptions.  For example, in line numbers 5-6 it reads, “The Blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere / The ceremony of innocence in drowned”.  I know the poem was written in another place in time, but in my experience, the word loosed is one that is usually associated with an evil presence.  In stories and movies, it’s usually a sort of monster or devil that is loosed.  Then the phrasing in the next part of the line is an attempt to be slightly more dramatic.  The first time I read the poem, I could sense that there was going to be sort of rebuttal to the feelings expressed in the first stanza.  It could’ve been in the tone of the first stanza, or the choice of words, but more likely it’s the title that gives away what is coming next in the poem.

After painting a very clear picture of darkness in the first stanza, he is quick to offer an idea of hope in the first two lines of the second stanza.  The ideas in each are very different, yet he uses the first stanza as a set up to the emotions expressed in the second stanza.  I’m not sure if the second stanza is supposed to be describing a personal vision or dream of the author, or if he is making a religious teaching seem personal.  Either way, he first offers the idea of the second coming as a relief from the depressing ideas of the first stanza.  

As quickly as it seemed that he was offering a rebuttal to the darkness he is envisioning , the author again retreats to a dark and awful description.  In lines 12-13, he expresses that he is troubled with the sight of Spiritus Mundi.  Spiritus Mundi, being in reference to something of the sort of the general spiritual state of society.  This reiterates his disgust and frustration.  He vaguely describes the coming of creature in lines 14-15 that has a lion body and the head of a man.  The creature has a pitiless and blank gaze.  This is the part of the poem where the reader realizes that the “second coming” is not a good thing, but the most horrible of things. 

The author maintains a tone of hopelessness throughout the poem.  After reading and analyzing this poem over and over again, I’ve drawn the conclusion that the poem is meant to express the severity of how dark the times were when the poem was written.  The author feels that it is so bad that it can’t get any worse.  

In the third and final stanza, the author references the town of bethlehem.  I have to think this is a reference to the birth of christ.  Another reference to christ is the “twenty centuries of stony sleep”.  He also designates this sleep as being “vexed to nightmare”. He tells how this “rough beast” he described in the second stanza, “it’s hour come round at last, slouches toward bethlehem to be born?”.  These are three very strong references to religious prophecy.   

William Butler Yeats, in this poem titled “The Second Coming” has accomplished what he set out to do.  He has made the reader feel the strong emotions of disgust and frustration he must have been feeling when writing the poem.  Also, he has possibly caused the reader to be frustrated with the author himself for expressing such emotions of hopelessness and doubtfulness in humanity.  

Works Cited

Yeats, William B.  “The Second Coming.” PotW.org.   http://www.potw.org/archive/ potw351.html.  Web.  18 September 2011.

Blog Post #3 - Poetry Response

The Second Coming

Stephen Cook

Cline

ENG 102

11 September 2011

I chose to write on the poem "The Second Coming", by William Butler Yeats.  I'm not yet exactly sure what He is describing or the setting that the poem is written in.  It is clearly intended to describe a time of darkness.  In the sixth line he states how innocence is drowned.  This is the most intense feeling of despair.  His use of the town of bethlehem makes it clear that he is indeed referencing the return of christ.  The main reason that I chose this poem is that he describes a great sense of terror then immediately jumps to idea of the second coming.  In my opinion it is very frustrating to witness someone expressing such a great sense of despair.  The idea of a second coming is for those that have lost all hope in their situation.  I'm sure thats his purpose for writing it but it still is very aggravating.  I'm pretty well familiar with biblical prophesies and people use them for a number of reasons.  I will have to do more in depth research on the authors background and the history of this poem before I criticize it too strongly. 

This poem is very well written.  I want to make it clear that its the content that I'm frustrated with.  Sometimes people are very quick to jump to the idea that the world is close to it's end.  In reality we as humans think that the world will eventually end but have no real evidence to suggest that the end is near.  I'm hopeful that after I research the author and history of this poem I'll find that it was actually written with the purpose to express despair.  In this day and age, its hard to take people seriously that jump on the bandwagon with these type of ideas.  My main concern with the promotion of the idea of a "second coming" or "savior" is what one must think of their surroundings in order to accept such an idea.  One must view their surroundings as hopeless, hurting their ability to succeed and set goals.  I'm pretty sure the authors purpose in writing this poem was out of feelings of hopelessness and discouragement.  I look forward to doing the research to truly find the authors intent and the poems impact on its audience.

The idea of the second coming of christ is one that brings great debate.  In the following drafts of my analysis of this poem I will be focussing on the techniques and styles of the writer.  I will also look into and address the intentions and influence of this poem.  

Here is a link with some interesting statistics on the belief in the second coming of christ.

Summary vs Analysis

Summarizing is when you tell what the original writing contains.  Summarizing is generally needed in order to analyze the writing.  It can sometimes be easy to over summarize.  We want to look at the writing styles, information sources and other critical information within the writing during analysis.  This information is used to draw conclusions about the author and his or her motives in writing the material.  During analysis we can find symbols and hidden meanings behind the main plot of a story.  Once we’ve found some backup information for a conclusion we’ve drawn we can make an argument about the writing.  In analysis, we can determine what kind of paper it is. It could be a pursuasive paper, a commentary, or a love novel, etc.  This will affect the ways in which we analyse the writing.  If its a pursuasive paper, we can study what kind of pursuation is being used.  If it's a love story, we can find and learn from the ways the writer is able to draw us in emotionally.  At this point in my education, I will be using what I've learned about analysis in order to find what techniques and skills I lack in becoming a good writer.  Summarizing other peoples work can be useful when describing the content of the writing to another person if they aren't able to read the writing themselves.  It is also used by students in school to show instructors that they have read the assigned material.  It is very important to understand the differences between summary and analysis.  It is also important that I be practiced at both of these so that I may do better on future assignments in all of my classes that require these type of assignments.

Here is a link to a site titled "Using summary wisely".

Welcome English 102

"Good Readers and Good Writers"

In this short article Nabokov states that a good reader is more of a re-reader.  By saying this, he is suggesting that the effort it takes to actually read and understand the material takes away from the enjoyment of the story or topic of the writing.  He compares it to a painting.  You don't have to do anything but enjoy a painting, where reading takes work before you can enjoy.  I also liked the list of things that makes a good reader.  He said to pick at least 4 of the 10 things.  I don't really consider myself a good reader, or a good writer for that matter.  I guess thats why I'm in this class.  I'll probably refer to this list of things that makes one a good reader a number of times in the future.  I tend to lose interest when I read and I hope this list will help me in that area. Here is a link to some quotes by Vladimir Nabokov The image is located at http://mhpbooks.com/mobylives/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/vladimir-nabokov-writing-in-bed.jpg