First, read Anthony Doerr's essay "Thing with Feathers That Perches in the Soul."
Then, answer these questions . . .
1. What is the effect of breaking the essay into sections and then numbering each section. Why might Doerr want to organize his essay in this manner?
2. Why have section five be composed of a series of questions? Why might Doerr want to pose questions instead of writing statements?
3. Why use an Emily Dickinson poem as the source of the title and as a running thread through the essay? Why would he want to refer to and quote this poem?
4. Near the end of the essay, Doerr writes, "What does not last, if they are not retold, are the stories. Stories need to be resurrected, revivified, reimagined; otherwise they get bundled with us into our graves: a hundred thousand of them going into the ground every hour." What is one story from your life you will retell in the future (to your friends, lovers, children)?
1. Breaking the essay into sections splits up the essay into different stories that could be read on their own. Numbering each section allows Doerr to organize these short stories into one big story in whatever way he wants. It is not necessarily in chronological order and I believe Doerr did not want to organize it in that manner. I believe he wanted to mix the stories so it was not in chronological order to better parallel his life with the life of John O'Farrell.
ReplyDelete2. I believe that Doerr used questions instead of statements to better exemplify Mary's uncertainty and uneasiness on her way to Idaho. It shows us that while she is being strong for heading to Idaho before winter while she is possibly pregnant, she is still questioning herself rather than being certain by using statements.
3. An Emily Dickinson poem is used as the source of the title and as a running thread through the essay because it solidifies a theme of the essay, which is hope. For example, John is hoping Mary could arrive to Idaho by winter while Doerr is hoping he and his wife can have a child. He then quotes Dickinson with "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul". He uses Dickinson's work to further emphasize the theme of hope.
4. A story from my life that I will retell in the future is my time visiting my uncle at a hospital in Denver, Colorado.
My uncle was hit by an SUV while riding his bike in Denver and he was sent to the hospital. My mom and I flew over to visit him. At the time, I was 6 or 7 years old and I have never visited a relative in the hospital, so I was scared I would see my uncle all beat up, bloody, and weak. Because of this fear, I did not want to enter my uncle's hospital room, and instead, I sat outside of the room. I would sit outside of the room for hours. The nurse taking care of my uncle noticed this and my fear and took to comforting me. She made me a balloon out of a glove and she made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The nurse made my time at the hospital more enjoyable and comfortable and I believe this is one of the few reasons why I am becoming a nurse. I want to make not only the patient, but the family comfortable during their stay or visit at the hospital.
I love your story!
Delete1. Since Doerr is telling two stories, he utilizes numbering in order to present a clear stance on both sides. It is a way to separate the stories and then related them two each other. Organizing the essay like this is a way to prevent the reader from getting confused. Narrating two stories to convey similar messages is a more powerful way of writing.
ReplyDelete2. Section 5 is composed of a series of questions to make the reader think. Doerr wants the reader to make the connections he is trying to portray by themselves. By having the reader actively participating in the essay, he Doerr makes a more significant impact.
3. Using Emily Dickinson's quote gives more credibility and support to the essay. It supports his theme and uses it to remind the reader of it through his writing. In addition, using the quote helps clarify Doerr's topic and helps explain what he is trying to portray.
4. One story I will retell in the future is when I volunteered in a nine-day medical clinic in Ghana. Throughout my experience there, I became aware of the suffering many individuals experience daily. I became aware of how lucky we were to have the smallest of things, running water and food. Yet, I also saw the happiness the simplest things made the native people. I've never seen a child so content only wearing ripped underwear and one sandal, playing with a flat soccer ball. Their perspective of beauty was different from America's; they believed the curvier the individual, the happier and more beautiful they are. Being emerged in a completely different culture opened my mind and I began to view life in a more simplistic way, less focused on materialism and more on the value of humanity. I can honestly say this experience has shaped who I have become today, made me stronger and gave me peace of mind.
1. Doerr may want to organize his essay in this structure due to the fact that he goes back and forth between 2 different time periods. One section is about him while the next is about John O'Farrell and he continues to go back and forth throughout the essay. By sectioning the essay it clearly shows that he is jumping back and forth between the time periods.
ReplyDelete2. The author may have used questions because during that time in their life, Mary and John were very uncertain about their future in that house. He provides questions that they may be asking themselves rather than statements because there are many possibilities for those answers rather than concrete answers at the time.
3. The author may have used Emily Dickerson's poem for his title and quotes from the poem throughout the essay because the words she uses are relevant to what is happening in both the author's life as well as in O'Farrell's life. The quotes mention hope and death which are two main reasons for this particular story and essay.
4. A story that I will retell in the future is how I started my job as an assistant and after many years of hard work I have helped create and run sport programs that are offered to young athletes. I will explain how much my life changed for the better and the positive outcomes I saw from the athlete's lives. I will also mention that this is where I met my boyfriend, who I will marry next year and that we built these programs together by working together as a team through the easy and hard times.
1. Doerr breaks up and numbers the essay for clarity. He discusses two different time periods reflecting on his life as well as the life of the O'Farrells. This allows the reader to transition smoothly between each time period and story.
ReplyDelete2. The series of questions is intended to be thought provoking. They allow the reader to delve into the character by questioning the actions of the character. It allows the reader to relate and put themselves in the characters shoes.
3. The turn of the century was a difficult time in which many struggled. John was a miner looking to strike it rich and if not simply wanted to provide a life for his family. The use of Emily Dickinson's poem highlights life's trials and triumphs. It supports the theme the author is trying to covey which is love and life.
4. A story I will retell will be of life's hard knocks and how accountability is imperative if you want to persevere. I have taken a lot of wrong turns in my life and I could choose to blame others for my life's misfortunes that were bestowed upon me or I could choose to realize that is life and no one makes it out alive or unscathed.
1. I think Doerr breaks up his essay with numbers to show that each section is a different story. Even though each section has a different main point when they all come together they make a story.
ReplyDelete2. I think that section five was made up of mostly questions to show the confusion that Mary and John were felling. By asking all of these questions it also make us as readers think about what he is asking.
3. Doerr uses Emily Dickinson's title and poem to relate with his theme of struggle and hope.
4. A story that I will retell in my future to my children and people who I encounter is that things can always be worse. Lately, I have been going through some hard things in my life and I always have a take a step back and tell myself that this isn't that bad and that things could always be worse. I think it is important to live life day by day and be thankful everyday for the things that we have and that we are healthy.
1. Structuring a story can be a physical process that highlights the importance of opposing perspectives, different timelines, and story development. Anthony Doerr separates his sections to alternate between past and present; however, the stories focus on two different characters preparing for the same thing: welcoming a beloved one. Doerr uses the technique to compare and contrast feelings, expectations, and motives. The two characters are welcoming a beloved one; John is welcoming his wife, and the character telling the story is welcoming his newborn children. Doerr also focuses on the importance of living and preservation. Luxuries were not commonality when John and Mary were alive, but they did miraculous work just by living.
ReplyDelete2. Section 5 is meant to engage the reader about the story thus far. Doerr wants the reader to question the reliability of the narrator and concoct a story of our own.
3. The story is of hope and the welcoming of new life, experiences, and challenges. When Doerr quotes Emily Dickenson’s poem, he is stating the purpose of hope and the unwillingness to let go of that hope. The theme of the story is exemplified by Dickenson’s poem.
4. A story I will always retell concerns my brother. He would have nightmares and sleep in my room, but one night my grandmother said that he needed to grow up without relying on me. I disagreed vehemently. We made pallets in the doorways of our adjacent rooms and held hands while we slept. Our bond is not something that could be broken by the expectations of a calloused adult.
1. Doerr structures his essay by numbering the sections in order to jump from one point to another. In doing this, Doerr tells a story in each numbered section and in the end, the whole essay flows together. Doerr portrays the importance of life in his essay through each of the numbered sections.
ReplyDelete2. Presenting questions in an essay intrigues the reader. While reading section five of Doerr's essay, I was attempting to answer the questions myself to complete the story. This keeps the reader guessing and engaged in the story.
3. Doerr uses Dickenson's poem throughout his essay because the theme of the poem is hope and relates to the theme of his essay. Doerr's essay illustrates life experiences and difficult times, where one may feel hopeless. By using Dickenson's poem throughout his essay, Doerr is comparing his own experiences with those of others and showing the importance of remaining hopeful and experiencing life with loved ones.
4. A story that I will retell to my children is how much my life has changed since I have fallen in love. From living in the busy city life to living on a dirt road with cattle and family next door, so much has changed. I cannot wait to share stories of when I first began living on the outskirts of town. When I first moved out here, everything was foreign to me. I didn't know how to use a shovel, operate a tractor, or mow the yard, I was afraid of cows and I hated that my red sports car would get dirty every time I drove off the property. The things that seemed so undesirable to me then are now part of my everyday life. I can't imagine living life any other way.
1.The writing strategy of breaking the essay up into separate sections has the effect of creating mini stories. Each section could be read on its own almost as their own stories. I think the author wanted to convey to the reader that each section was important on its own but as a whole it becomes a more powerful story.
ReplyDelete2.I feel that by asking a series of questions the author is forcing the reader to feel the emotions that the characters were feeling. If he had written statements the connections may not have been made.
3.Just from the title of the essay the reader most likely has no idea what the essay will be about. But as you read it and finally come to the line in the essay you realize that the theme of the easy is hope. I think that the author purposely left the word “hope” out of the title so that the reader could discover it for themselves as they read the essay and build a bond with the characters and hope for them.
4.A story that I will always tell my children and pretty much anyone who asks is of how I ended up living in Bakersfield. As a transplant from southern California I am often asked, “What brought you to Bakersfield?” and the answer is always love and oil. My husband, then boyfriend, had moved to Bakersfield to pursue a lucrative career in the oil industry. After six months of a long distance relationship neither of us could keep it up for too much longer so we decided that I would move to be closer to him. It’s definitely been quite the adjustment, but after five years I can honestly say that I am glad that I made the move.
1. Doerr has structured his essay into numbered sections so that the reader knows each section is separated. While the individual stories in each section blend together to make a whole story, each section has it's own perspective.
ReplyDelete2. I think Doerr has chosen to use a series of questions for this section to pose the level of uncertainty felt by the subjects. Using questions also poses ideas for the reader to contemplate and in a way places the reader in the situation for themselves.
3. Using a poem by Emily Dickson for the title and running thread throughout this essay allows Doerr to re-emphasize his theme, hope. By instill the theme initially, he re-confirms the theme throughout to remind the reader and to allow the reader to think of hope in a different manner.
4. A story that I will retell my children is my own version of hope. I want to instill in them a positive outlook no matter the circumstances and use my own experiences to guide them and make that imagery possible. I hope to tell them of famial hardships with the good outcomes that have come afterward as well as the unexpected setbacks in life that have shed light.
1. The effect of breaking the essay into sections and numbering them helps to separate different ideas and stories of different times that end up leading up to one story that connects together all while using several different perspectives. This provides for a smoother transition between two different stories.
ReplyDelete2. In my opinion, Doerr composed section five as questions to show Mary’s uncertainty for the new environment, her past, and her future. The series of questions composed make the reader think about all the possible answers to each question. These questions may help the reader to understand that there may not be concrete answers to each question asked, drawing them further into the story.
3. Using Emily Dickenson’s poem throughout his essays reiterates the theme of hope. He continues to refer to and quote her poem to back up and emphasize his continuous theme, hope.
4. A story I will retell in the future is the many family trips I have been on to third world countries. Seeing and experiencing everything the people in third world countries go through, is life changing. It truly shows how blessed we are to live in the country we live in; with all the medical advances, food and safety we have here.
1. Breaking the stories into sections allow for a complete thought to finish and a new thought to begin. In this essay there seems to be several short stories within one essay, this may be why Doerr would want to organize his essay in this manner. Each story tied into one essay but the separate sections helped me put myself in the different settings and times of the essay.
ReplyDelete2. I think that each section was composed of a series of questions because the author wanted the reader to think of the questions that he could have possibly asked himself. If this was the author’s intention, it worked. Every section got me thinking about my own life and about my own stories and memories that I will leave behind when I die. I also got to thinking that I have no real item of value that someone would want to keep for 150 years and are still working to maintain it.
3. The poems that Doerr used to tie his essay together gave more support to his essay as opposed to just using his thoughts and his questions. The essays that he chose fit perfectly with the topic and theme of his essay, he didn’t just choose a random poem and put it into his essay and hope that would make sense.
4. One story from my life that I seem to be telling a lot lately is the story of why I chose the career path that I have. Growing up I had always thought that I would be a police officer or a correctional officer, this was until I fully understood what autism was, and that my baby sister at the time had it. After that I wanted to be someone that helped more children just like my sister. I want to make a difference in my students’ lives.
1. The essay was broken into sections so that Doerr can separate each story, so that it can have its own meaning. Numbering each section shows a sense of separation to each story he is telling. For example, one story is about the House, that explains the house itself. The second story is Jerry, this man is what his story is about and this section describes the experience when he is talking to Jerry about a specific building. Doerr tells us a bit of information in each section. It is organized this way, so that the reader can separate people, ideas and places.
ReplyDelete2. The author used questions to make the reader think like Mary and the issues faced in her time. The decisions that she makes leaving Colorado could have been a dramatic change. It creates for a more dramatic tone while reading. As a reader, it gets intense because we think about these questions and wonder how she might have felt.
3. The use of Emily Dickinson’s poem throughout the stories indicates the theme because he uses experiences that lead to challenges, hope and eventually death.
4. A story from my life that I will retell to my children was when I volunteered to teach English In San Jose, Costa Rica. It was my first trip without my parents, but I felt the need to devote some time of my life to expose myself of a different culture and understand a different world outside of my own. Once I arrived, the program was very welcoming and told me not to be nervous because these kids will respect the time and effort that I make if I try. I noticed that these kids don’t get a great education, nor do they have the tools and resources in part of their schooling. These kids go to school two or three times a week, which is not the norm here in the U.S. I bought them pencils and books. Came up with some fun activities and songs. My last day there, they brought me candy and didn’t want me to leave so soon. I learned from this trip to be grateful for the education and school necessities that I have had in the past and now as a college student. From that moment on, I knew that I also wanted to pursue my career in teaching.
1. The purpose of Doerr separating his essay into different sections was so the reader can get a full understanding of what he is writing about. Chunking it into several sections and numbering them would make it easier for the reader to comprehend the entirety of the story. Because he does not follow chronological time, following along makes it a bit more difficult. Every section is meant to have a purpose, and individualizing certain moments into its own mini story makes it all come together very nicely at the end.
ReplyDelete2. The series of questions posed in section five shows us the uncertainty Mary was feeling at that time, and also gives us a more personal connection to her. It was a nerve-racking time for her while she was relocating from Colorado and it made her feel very uneasy. Even John was posing several questions before Mary’s arrival. It demonstrates that they’re scared, which is a feeling many of us have felt when diving into something entirely new.
3. Emily Dickinson’s poem provides Doerr’s essay a more stable theme regarding the hardships and the promises of life. It ties in his message.
4. A story that I hope to tell in my future concerns my sister. She was put in the hospital and my family and I weren’t sure why. We drove down to San Diego that same day, and it resulted to her being hospitalized due to elevated stress levels. It is very easy to become overwhelmed and feel as if you have no control to what is happening to you but it is so important to remember to slow down, and breathe. The events that are happening in that moment fly by, and as important as they may be, because of work or school, health is the most important.
1. I believe the purpose of Doerr separating his essay into different sections is to allow himself to jump back and forth between the two stories and organize his thoughts. I found it easier to keep up with the stories, which then made a smooth transition in the end.
ReplyDelete2. The series of questions allowed the readers to have an insight of the complications that Mary was facing. It allowed us to put ourselves in her shoes and question these different aspects if we were the ones who were making this big transition. It was a very stressful time for her and the questions definitely reflected that.
3.Doerr uses Emily Dickinson's poem to support his thoughts throughout his essays. He keeps referring back to it throughout his essay to tie in his thoughts to hope.
4. A story that I hope to tell anybody from my future is how I got into the field of work of helping battered women and how it has changed my perspective on many people we may think of as "drug addicts" or "prostitutes".
1. I think this a good way of organizing the information so that the reader can understand what the paragraph deals with and helps the reader focus on this. I found myself putting more focus on whatever was being titled and understanding what was the reason for the title he used. It also helps keep the load of information set neatly and easily to read, rather than all this continuous information. It may allow people to split the reading section by section instead of one long reading.
ReplyDelete2. Doerr poses questions instead of statements because he is uncertain of the type of thoughts and feelings that the characters have, specifically Mrs. Farrell in this section. He can only imagine the emotions they endured in their life. This also allows the reader to ask these questions and others in their own mind.
3. The writer probably refers to the poem because it can be easily applied to what he is talking about. He applies the first stanza of the poem to the hope that he and his wife would have children. The writer mentions the second stanza when he discusses the death of Mary and how that led to John’s death shortly after. He specifically states, “Sore must be the storm indeed. John outlives Mary by only a few months” (95). Again, he is applying the poem to another situation. It is a general theme in the writer’s topic. He applies it to specific situations in both of the families, but I think he also uses it to emphasize the hope that stories will be passed on in time. He wanted to learn more about the family that used to live in that small house, but without passing stories along, we only have trinkets that can only give a slightly narrower idea with many possibilities of what the real story was. I think he hopes that his story will be passed on for others to know.
4. A story I would retell in the future is a story concerning the illusion of true love that many youth fall into the trap of. This could be retold to a friend or lover, but I think this would be very important for my future children or a family member that I know who is young and inexperienced in the relationship world. I would retell my personal experience with this “blinded love” because many people think they are in a loving relationship, when they are not. While not always the case, people tend to only think about physical abuse as an abusive relationship, but many people forget that emotional abusive is as well and should be considered a great concern, especially because emotional abuse is not always obvious and can be mistaken as a sign of love, for example, jealously and being controlling. I think this story is important because it opened my eyes and allowed me to recognize what isn't a real loving relationship.
1. I feel as though the essay is numbered because the author wanted to tell his story in a certain sequence of events. He wants to included what happened in the story in a way that is understandable if read in different sections.
ReplyDelete2. I believe that he used question in his story in that section to make the reader think. He wanted to make the read interactive with his writing and make them think if they were in his positon. I think it is a great idea because the reader will take interest and get their brain thinking about their response to those questions.
3. I think his reference to an Emily Dickenson poem helps him relate to what he is talking about in his essay. It helps tie things together and make sense of what the point is that he is trying to show throughout his essay. The author that he uses in his poem makes the reader take a look at what was reading the feeling the author had towards Mary.
4. A story that I will definitely be retelling would have to be when my husband proposed to me. It was a surprise and I had not the slightest idea was going to be happening. It is something that I will deeply cherish forever. It happened a few years ago my boyfriend at the time had it all planned out for months, it was a summer day in June we planned to go wine tasting in Paso Robles. I was a little sad because he made plans and it didn’t included my parents just his siblings and his parents. (at the time I didn’t know my parents were all going to be waiting for me at the destination to surprise me) So we head over to this beautiful Winery called Bianchi Winery. It is gorgeous there. We get there and he walks me over to a huge beautiful pond while his family walks the other way in the building where we will be wine tasting. As we are reach the dock I turned around to tell him about a pretty tree in the distance that is when I see him on one knee. I literally freeze. He then proceeds to ask me to marry him. All the while this is happening my family and his are in the background watching it. I said “Yes” of course. I was very sad thought because I thought that my parents has missed this very special moment in my life, but he tells me to look behind me and my whole family is waiting there congratulating me. We took pictures wine tasted and made a whole day of it. It was the one of the best days of my life and I can’t wait to share the story with my children when that time comes.
(That’s a summary of what happened I’d write for days explaining every little detail.)
!. I believe Doerr broke the essay into different sections in order to create short stories or chapters. Maybe the reason why he numbered them is to show which ones were more important to him and create a time frame.
ReplyDelete2. I believe section 5 was composed of questions to keep the reader interested and keep the reader thinking of how they both felt.
3. He uses the poem because it related to his life events.
4. A story from my life that I will retell is the death of my uncle. After leaving his wife he became a hardcore alcoholic. We all became severely worried when it came to the point where he would randomly vomit blood or have nose bleeds. To make a long story short, he did not last a month in the hospital. After so many surgeries, his liver gave up on him. Although I say there could have been many ways to save, but if he came from an alcoholic family it might have still been inevitable. His death made us realize that as a family we must help my father and the other two brothers stop drinking. Thankfully, we have helped my dad stop drinking; we only need to more to go. It has made me realize that if you love someone, never give up because one day it will be too late.
1. I beleive Doerr chose to break his essay into separate sections as a way to allow each section to be read as a single story if needed. If you think about it, when you read each section of the essay it comes across as a single story. I feel Doer wants the reader to understand each part of the story section by section before understanding how it is all pieced together towards the end.
ReplyDelete2. By asking questions in section 5 of the story in order to allow for the reader to feel a connection to the characters. By doing so his readers are able to interact with the story by getting a sense of understanding the character's emotions.
3. Doer exemplifies the theme of the story by using Emily Dickenson's poems throughout his story. He uses her poems to tie in hope and his unwillingless to let go of it.
4. One story of my life that I would retell and plan to share with others is the time I became really ill. Ever since I graduated high school I have worked either part-time or full-time and while attending CSUB full-time. Almost 2 years ago I gave birth to my beautiful daughter and since then I've been working full-time, attending school full-time, and cared for her as much as I can. As you can imagine my days are non-stop and at times I had no time to maintain a nutrisious diet. So a couple months ago my fast paste life-style finally caught up to me and I became really ill, my nervous system was failing and I was highly stressed for almost a month. It was at that time where I truly began to realize that although being successful and achieving my goals are important, health is always the most essential. Since then I have focused a lot more in maintaining a healthy life style that suites me.
1. I think Doer separates the essay in order to create short stories within the essay. I think by doing this it allows the reader to grasp the importance of each individual section and it's importance to the essay as a whole.
ReplyDelete2. My belief as to why Doer used questions instead of statements was to allow the readers to put themselves in Mary's shoes and experience the uneasiness and uncertainty she is facing. It allows the readers to provoke their own thoughts and to connect with Mary on an emotional level.
3. Emily Dickinson's poem is used as a title and a quote throughout the essay because the essay is built upon the idea of hope. The essay tells a story of a woman's struggle and hope so the title and poem itself supports the internal theme.
4. A story I will retell in my lifetime would be why I decided to pursue teaching. My childhood was not an easy one, my parents had split, both remarried, and I was not able to have any sort of contact with my biological mother. My dad and step-mother were awesome providers, but my dad had extreme anger management issues, and was physically/emotionally abusive. My step-mother never stood up for me, as I was only child and couldn't do much on my own. My teachers at the time, were such a positive influence on me, constantly there for me helping build my confidence after my dad had destroyed it. My teachers were my rock and I will never be able to repay them for all the times they let me stay after school to avoid going home, or the love I received from them. Because they were such role models to me, I realized that I want to be that force in a child's life in whatever way I can.
1. Doerr breaks his essay into sections and numbers the sections to clearly delineate the two stories he is telling. Doerr does this for ease of reading and to prevent the reader from being confused so that they can focus less on how to navigate through the essay and more on the meaning of the stories.
ReplyDelete2. Doerr used questions to compose section 5 to evoke deep and critical though from the reader. In doing this, Doerr guides the reader into finding personal connections with the characters of the stories.
3. Using the Emily Dickinson quote builds upon the theme and focus of Doerr's essay. The quote is used throughout the essay to consistently remind the reader of to focus on his theme of unrelenting hope.
4. A story I am sure I will retell in my lifetime is about my first quarter of nursing school and how after my first day of clinical I called my mom from the parking garage crying and telling her I had made a mistake and this wasn't what I signed up for. My mom told me she understood that it was hard and I had to work my way up from the bottom (which included the dirty work) to be where I wanted to be. I stuck it out and throughout my experiences in clinical finally discovered the true meaning of nursing and why I was born for this profession. The interactions I have had with patients over the last three years have impacted my life in an incredible way and each experience, no matter how difficult or unenjoyable it has been for me, has shaped me into the person I am today, which is nothing like who I was when I began this journey.
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ReplyDelete1. The reason that the writer uses numbering trough the story is to provide a sense of chronological order. Each number tells a shorter story which when put together they tell the bigger story. Each story is separated from the other with a number not only to provide a chronological sense but also so that the reader does not get confused with the different stories, this since the smaller stories take place in different time frames.
ReplyDelete2. The reason section five is composed of a series of questions is to further get the attention of the reader. It is to put the reader in John’s shoes. During this time frame it was very difficult to live and the questions further explain the worries people in this time might have had.
3. The reason Doerr uses an Emily Dickinson poem as the source of the title and a running thread through the essay is in order to support the theme of the essay. The quotes clarify what the essay is talking about and also provides some of the same themes but in words of a different author. In this case the theme of the essay which the author and Dickinson are discussing is hope.
4. One story from my life I will retell in the future to my friends, family, etc. is the time I got lost at Yosemite National Park. It happened in 2011 during my high school sophomore year. The OAC (outdoor adventure club) decided that the trip for that year would be to Yosemite. We camped near the park for a couple days and on our final day of the stay we went hiking. We hiked to the upper Yosemite fall. The view from up there was breathtaking and one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We had to hike down because it was getting late. We started hiking down in two groups the “slower group” and the “faster group”, I was with the slower group. I tried to catch up with the faster group but took a wrong trail. I ended up walking about 6-8 miles until I got to the Yosemite village. There I was able to call my teachers and tell them where I was. This was rather scary but I knew I had the courage to go through this. This has been one of the stories I will never forget and will tell my children, family, and friends.
1. What is the effect of breaking the essay into sections and then numbering each section. Why might Doerr want to organize his essay in this manner?
ReplyDeleteThe effects of breaking the essay into sections and then numbering each section causes the reader to pause and possibly reflect on what he or she just read. Without these sections, the reader will read without a break until the end of the essay. Numbering each section puts a timeline in the essay and the title helps the reader know what might be in the section.
2. Why have section five be composed of a series of questions? Why might Doerr want to pose questions instead of writing statements?
The questions incorporates what many of children do as they wonder what was going through this person mind. Questions are what readers might say to themselves but also gives a point of view of the things Mary is thinking about.
3. Why use an Emily Dickinson poem as the source of the title and as a running thread through the essay? Why would he want to refer to and quote this poem?
This is the hard question to answer, because I don’t know any of her poems. In English 101 I failed to answer any questions about her poems correctly, because my interpretations were wrong. He refers to the poem because the storm is the death of Mary. John was so heartbroken he could no longer live and passed away soon after her death.
4. Near the end of the essay, Doerr writes, "What does not last, if they are not retold, are the stories. Stories need to be resurrected, revivified, reimagined; otherwise they get bundled with us into our graves: a hundred thousand of them going into the ground every hour." What is one story from your life you will retell in the future (to your friends, lovers, children)?
A story from my life I would retell in the future would be how I meet and asked my girlfriend to be in a relationship. To shorten it, she said she didn’t like me, I wasn’t her type, and didn’t say no because she didn’t want to hurt me feelings. 7 years has passed and she says it is the best decision she made.
1. Breaking the essay up in section and numbering gives the effect of clarity. The story can all wrap up together nicely but it is two different stories being told. Also, if one wanted to we could read each section individually and it would still make sense. The story as a whole makes the most sense, but each section individually is a story itself as well and that is why it is split into sections.
ReplyDelete2. Doerr most likely posed questions instead of statements to have the reader feel more connected to the characters, such as Mary in this case. When reading these questions, the reader can understand the uncertainty that Mary must have been feeling as she left Colorado. We can also see how John felt at the time and the doubts he had, it makes the characters feel more relate able.
3. The poem is included because it correlated very well with the story that is being told. Emily Dickinson's poem can be interpreted as hope is something within all of us and it never goes away even when we think it has. The narrator is hoping that he and his wife will be able to conceive and eventually, when they least expect it, they do. Also the second stanza says "and sore must be the storm" which represents the death of Mary for John, it must have felt like a storm to him and she was his "little bird that kept so many warm."
4. The story I will retell to my loved ones will be the one of the time when my brother was really sick. We were at the Los Angeles Children's Hospital weekly for check ups. I remember every time he had his blood drawn, I was right there watching. My mom and brother were scared but would try not to show it but the doctors all had such a comforting feel to them. I was about six years old at the time but ever since then, I knew that I wanted to become a doctor and help kids and their families too. That is where my journey to become a paediatrician really started.