Friday, July 27, 2012

Reflection of the semester

1) What skills have you learned in this class and how might you apply whem to writing in your career or future college courses? The skills that I have learned in this class is to make my paragraphs flow transition better, how to think about reading in an analytical way, how to write about a text without summarizing it, and punctuation. Learning these techniques will help me in future jobs; I am working on becoming a nurse and they write a lot of note. 2) How have the readings in this class affected you? The readings in this class affected me by making me aware of how much meth can destroy a whole family, it made me feel sad for Ree in the "Winter's Bone" book. The other story that gave me a strong sad feeling was "Bartleby The Scrivener," which it seemed the person just gave up on life. 3) How have you met the learning outcomes in this class? How Ive met the learning outcomes in this class is by identifying and evaluating multiple meanings,documenting information, interpreting and analyzing texts, evaluating peer writing,oranization, and learning new methods to apply voice to my writing. 4) How has your writing or writing process changed? I have changed my writing process by being more organized, I learned how to cite, I learned how to think and write in an analytical way ( being more of a critic). 5) What were your challanges in the class? How were you able to overcome them? I would say my biggest challenge in this class was to try not to summarize. I had to put my mind into thinking about the bigger picture ( who is this person? what are they trying to say?) I would start writing and automatically summarize; I had to stop, reread what I have written and think about the deeper meaning.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

THesis and first paragraph of essay#3

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=winters+bone+image&view=detail&id=76FA354755A17F101910DE208E2F316D3BE41C9E&first=211 In Winter's Bone, Woodrell shows his readers the effects meth has on families. Woodrell took the life of one family and showed piece by piece how meth destroy's their family. One man , in Winter's Bone, almost took down his whole family because he did and dealt with meth; nothing good came from it, the people surrounded with it were harsh, serious, and dangerous, the children suffered, barley being able to eat, the mother went crazy while leaving her oldest to take care of the household, and ultimately meth led to this mans death. Woodrell rights this book to inform and warn people of the tragic effects this drug has on people, showing the gruesome details of meth.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Methland

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=images+of+methland+byNick+Reding&qpvt=images+of+methland+byNick+Reding&FORM=IGRE Methland The death and life of an American small town By: Nick Reding The story of Methland takes place in Oelwien, Iowa; although this is not where Reding first found meth. He first found meth in Goodwin, Idaho. Reding explains how meth is ruining small towns like Oelwein, "by mid-2005, meth was widely considered, as Newsweek Magazine put it in Agust 8 cover story, "Americas Most Dangerous Drug" (Reding 10). Reding tells a story of a man who blew up his mothers house while cooking meth, Roland Jarvis. Roland Jarvis started off a hard working man, trying to make enough money to marry the girl he loved. In oreder to work more hours and make more money he needed something to keep him going, and this where he turned to meth.Jarvis ended up being so addicted to meth that he was willing to let other men have sex with him, even though he is hederalsexual. This is like what Sean, the skin head Reding talked about earlier said, "The money was good, the drugs were good, and it garnered him access to all kinds of woman who, once they smoke a foil or two, would be willing to do anything for more" (17). This drug keeps you addicted, feeling good, and always wanting more; this is because "the reuptake of neurotransmitter back into the sponge takes longer"(Reding 48). But, long time users lose the ability to feel good after a while because the neurotransmitters are eventually depleted. Meth also causes halucinations, sexual aggression, and causes people to do things they normally wouldn't do. When Ronald Jarvis blew up his mother's house while getting rid of the stuff to make meth, he stayed in the house trying to put out the fire. He was trying to save the lab, or the house at the same time, "what stopped him, in any event, is that he began to melt" (Reding 42). Jarvis ended up burning his skin so bad that his nose and fingers burned off. Jarvis ran out "begging in vain for someone to shoot him" (Reding 43). Nobody knew how to help Jarvis not even the professionals, and Jarvis was in so much pain. He could not even scream because his esophogus and throat were to burned. THe sad thing is, is that Jarvis is still alive and still smokes meth after this terribel incident.Many small towns are being sucked in by meth.To many people dealing meth will make them more money than working a regular job. Methland relates to Winters Bone by how meth effects families or the drug users themselves. In Winters Bone Ree is forced to grow up way before her time, in order to take care of her mother and two brothers. She is forced to face serious drug dealers because of her fathers dissappearance and him leaving her house for bond. WHen someone is on this drug they will do anything to help themselves and in the process hurt others. I think this is a terrible drug taking away good peoples lives. There are so many people who think they can do a drug like this once and it won't effect them, but end up trapped in the drug circle.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Bartleby, the Scrivener

Bartleby, the Scrivener:A story of wall-street By: Herman Melville The passage I chose , in the story about Bartleby, describes what he is on the inside, his soul.Melville writes,"What I saw that morning persuaded me that the scrivener was the victim of innate and incurable disorder. I might give alms to his body; but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach" (12). Melville is a very kind man trying to give Bartleby the benefit of the doubt; but he is being pushed around by Bartleby. Bartleby is a genius, by manipulating Melville into letting him stay in his office and do no work.This is how Melville has been feeling at first, but he is now starting to realize that Bartelby is not really there, he is just a body. Bartleby has been through so much sadness that he has given up trying to live, he can not live. Bartleby is frozen in the past and will not give his future a chance. Although, Melville is trying everything to help Bartleby; he can not reason with Bartleby, because Bartleby can not change. This is a strange situation Melville is in, Melville is a trained proffesional but he can't figure out what to do with Bartleby. Bartleby's calmness, sadness, and quiteness has put a strange effect on Melville. He felt so terribly sorry for Bartleby, that he needed to help Bartleby in some way, but didn't know how; it was starting to drive Melville crazy, and he decided he could do no more for Bartleby. This is an important passage because it explains that Bartelby is not lazy and doesn't want to work; but that he can not because his soul has been wouded by his past. Melville being a kind man can not help Bartelby because Bartelby has given up on himself. Source: Melville, Herman. Bartleby, the Scriveneer: A Story of Wall-street.Bartleby.com.(2012). http://www.bartleby.com/129/ 29, June, 2012.