Reflective C

The way we think...

We all have our memories and experiences that lead us the way we think. I began to ponder why I interpreted Annie Dillard’s “Total Eclipse”,Lynda Barry's “Common Scents”, and Zadie Smith's “Speaking in Tongues” the way I did. Experiences have a major part of your life and I will bigan to show you why I interpreted these essays this particle way.

Being enrolled in English 101 during summer has a greater influence on me than any other summer. I have never taken a summer class before and learned that its great just to focus on one class and on the other hand I have learned that having these social influences of just being summer is quite difficult to focus properly. But I have learned to overcome these difficulties by using my time wisely.

My interpretation of Annie Dillard "Total Eclipse" is I have chosen to believe that this story relates to a nuclear tragedy because of personal experience and the timing when this occurred. The main question that needs to be address is how my life led me into thinking this particular way? Well, I had a uncle in the Islamic Revolution in Iran and he had told me horrific stories about it. The Dillard text made me think of the stories that he had told me. During the late 1970's, it was a major political issue during this time. Dillard piece can be read in many different ways but i enjoyed reading this piece mainly because the readers have different perspectives. "The world which lay under darkness and stillness following the closing of the lid was not the world we know.  the event was over.  Its devastation lay round about us.  The clamoring mind and heart stilled, almost indifferent, certainly disembodied, frail, and exhausted.  The hills were hushed, obliterated"(Dillard 167).  I feel Dillard makes it very clear in this statement that she is not simply talking about an eclipse.  She describes the devastating aftermath of a nuclear attack.  Every word chosen in this quote was carefully contemplated to best describe the horror left by the events of a tragic nuclear bombing.  "The hills were hushed, obliterated" (Dillard 176)  She described the hills earlier as "screaming".  Now they are hushed and obliterated.  This perfectly displays the tragedy of such an event.

As I starting to interpret Lynda Barry essay "Today's Demon: Common Scents", I found it more difficult to express my writings in this text.  The key terms and quotes help me get threw my piece.  My interpretations "is to demonstrate the importance of accepting others for who they are and their background.  I believe that Barry is trying to make a statement by saying you should not look at people and judge them by the way they look or "smell"  (Qureshi 1).  Along with Zadie Smiths, "Speaking in Tongues" writes about how society has to be more understanding or "flexible" of the differences that people have. 

The reason why i interpreted it this mainly because of the quotes given in these essays.  "I have always noticed the smell of other peoples houses, but when I was a kid I was fascinated by it.  No two houses ever smelled alike, even if the people used the same air freshener" (Barry 52).   Barry wants to show us that we are all different, and no one is the same, so do not judge people by their "scents".   We are all human beings but we have unique differences that make us who we are. That quote explains how I interpreted the text.

Both Barry and Smith attempt to demonstrate that it is OK to live in your own skin.  Smith takes a quote from President Obama, in which he is describing a black girl who happened to have multiple ethnic backgrounds.  "I'm not black...I'm multiracial...Why should I have to choose between them?" (Smith 5).  The lady the president describes appears to have trouble living in her own skin.  She is looked at as simply a black girl, but she wanted to be seen for what she was really made of, which happened to be Italian, French and Native American.  President Obama "ridiculed" this girl because he felt she should simply be happy in her skin.  Obama, himself, has been extremely successful doing just that, taking pride in his origins and not hiding from any of it.  I think he President perfectly symbolizes how Smith and Barry feel we should live with the aforementioned example.

Lastly, I enjoyed reading all three of these texts but at times it was difficult to read. I can say that I can relate to the Dillard text the most since of my personal experience with my uncle. Throughout this summer English 101 class at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, I have a greater appreciation of these texts and the way I can interpret ideas now. In past english classes I had a difficult time expressing my thoughts and putting them onto paper. Now I have learned to "critically interpret a text by identifying key terms" and "provide context for readers, such as background information".  i hope can see my interpretation of the text from my personal experience and the timing it occurred. 

2.6

In her story Total Eclipse, Annie Dillard writes a cryptic tale about her title event, a total eclipse of the sun. During our class we have spent hours attempting to interpret this confusing story. I feel Dillard has written a story that can be interpreted in many different ways by a wide audience. She purposely writes in a metaphorical manner so that her audience can interpret the 'total eclipse' in their own way. The story outlines in four sections her experience of going to see an eclipse of the sun. It is clear to all who read this essay that the 'eclipse', itself, is some major life altering event. The purpose of her story is to attempt to demonstrate any major life changing event into a seemingly simple story of going to see an eclipse of the sun. In the context of this story she reaches out to the audience by discussing a relatively routine event as a metaphor to a life changing event that commonly occurs to an everyday audience. She writes about how things go on after the event and she shows a glimmer of optimism in her final section. An additional purpose of the story is give the audience hope after a major life changing event. She uses many strategies to convey her message of a tragic event. She writes in a very dramatic and dreary manner. The clearly distinct four sections of the story allow the reader to follow the event. The first two sections lead up to the event, the third section describes the event, and the final section discusses the happenings after the event. In this story, I feel she could be writing about a personal tragic event that may have occurred to her. However, I feel given the timing of this event, the late 1970's, and the uncertainty of the times with the Islamic Revolution in Iran, I believe she could be discussing the events of a potential nuclear tragedy. I will proceed to answer if Dillard could be discussing such events? 

Their was one whole date given this this text and it was Febuary 29th 1979. 

Dillard starts off her story with a dramatically dreary introductory quotation, "It had been like dying..." This introduction automatically sets the tone for the entire story as a serious, melancholy piece. Dillard is using this tone to begin to get the audience ready for the tragic event that lies ahead. In section two of her story Dillard speaks of the crowd gathering to see the eclipse as follows, "People were climbing the nearby hills and setting up shop in clumps among the dead grasses. It looked as though we had all gathered on hilltops to pray for the world on its last day." This quotation continues the tone as very dreary. The words she chose are, again, quite dramatic, "pray for the world on its last day." I feel that she is discussing the occurrences of a potential upcoming tragedy. She is describing the fears of people who were experiencing the conflicts of the U.S. and Iran of 1979 during a tremulous time with so much uncertainty.Prior to the 'eclipse' she describes how she once saw a partial eclipse and how different a partial eclipse is to a total eclipse. She writes, "I had seen a partial eclipse in 1970. A partial eclipse is very interesting. It bears almost no relation to a total eclipse. Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him..." She mentions the year 1970. Could she be referring to the Vietnam War which ended that year? She describes the stark contrast between a partial eclipse and a total one. She explains that she has witnesses first hand, the simplicity of a partial eclipse and goes on to describe the complicity of a total eclipse. While Vietnam was a long and tragic war there was hardly a discussion of nuclear weaponry. While Iran's hostage taking of US diplomats did, indeed, lead to the discussion of potential nuclear attacks. She is discussing how much more serious the upcoming potential war could be.

Dillard goes on to describe the events just prior to the 'eclipse'. Not surprisingly she keeps the tone grim. "From all the hills came screams. A piece of sky beside the crescent sun was detaching. It was a loosened circle of evening sky, suddenly lighted from the back. It was an abrupt black body out of nowhere;" I feel here she is describing what could be the witnessing of an actual nuclear attack. People actually experiencing the horror of seeing the potential mushroom cloud or "abrupt black body out of nowhere" and other consequences of an attack. She writes that the screams came from "all the hills". I think she uses the word "all" to discuss the wide consequences of such an event. People watching from all over the world, possible from their TV sets at home in dismay and terror. She goes on to write "seeing this black body was like seeing a mushroom cloud. The heart screeched. The meaning of the sight overwhelmed its fascination." This further reinforces the impact of such an occurrence. "The heart screeched", a simple sentence following the description of witnessing of the mushroom cloud. The devastation is clear in the way she writes. 

Dillard continues to write in section three, "The world which lay under darkness and stillness following the closing of the lid was not the world we know. the event was over. Its devastation lay round about us. The clamoring mind and heart stilled, almost indifferent, certainly disembodied, frail, and exhausted. The hills were hushed, obliterated." I feel Dillard makes it very clear in this statement that she is not simply talking about an eclipse. She describes the devastating aftermath of a nuclear attack. Every word chosen in this quote was carefully contemplated to best describe the horror left by the events of a tragic nuclear bombing. "The hills were hushed, obliterated" She described the hills earlier as "screaming". Now they are hushed and obliterated. This perfectly displays the tragedy of such an event. After such a disturbing description of the "eclipse", Dillard goes on to discuss the events that occur after. She writes of things return to normalcy. "At once the yellow light made the sky blue again; the black lid dissolved and vanished. The real world began there." I feel she is trying to convey a message of hope here. Despite the disasterous occurences of the "eclipse", there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. She intends to send a message that life will go on no matter what hurdles will be faced.

In this story, I feel Dillard writes of the devestating events of nuclear attack. She talks of the events leading to the event and the "eclipse" itself, and a small glimmer of hope at the the end of her tale.  She uses a very common event and relates it to a very devestating event that we all dread.  She makes a point to discuss the gruesome details of a nuclear event by the quotes I have outlined in this paper.  At the same time she discusses that life will go on afterwards.  She uses a return to basic life at the end of her story to demonstrate a promise of normalcy after such an event is possible.  

2.5

The purpose of Lynda Barry's comic called "Today's Demon: Common Scents" is to demonstrate the importance of accepting others for who they are and their background.  I believe that Barry is trying to make a statement by saying you should not look at people and judge them by the way they look or "smell".  Today we live in a more "politically correct" society; hence the issue of racism is less visible.  There is a big underlying message in this comic and I will show you in this paper how we as a society tend to judge others too quickly.   Similarly, Zadie Smith's essay, "Speaking in Tongues," writes about how people have to be more understanding or "flexible" of the differences that people have. Flexible referring to being adaptable to different things or responsive to change. In this paper, I will proceed to ponder the question, why we are so quick to judge others and not take a look at ourselves first?  I hope to explore why we, as a society, fail to look at others for who they really are as people and instead focus on factors that do not describe their character.

 

Both Barry and Smith use different modalities to convey a similar, yet important  message of being able to accept yourself and not judge others. The famous "golden rule"  states that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated.  I can relate the golden rule to what Barry states in her comic with her symbolism.  Barry uses symbolism through out the comic.  The key term "air freshener" is used frequently in this essay and most people can relate to this symbolism.  "I have always noticed the smell of other peoples houses, but when I was a kid I was fascinated by it.  No two houses ever smelled alike, even if the people used the same air freshener" (Barry 52).   Barry wants to show us that we are all different, and no one is the same, so do not judge people by their "scents".   We are all human beings but we have unique differences that make us who we are. 

I find the quotation to be quite brilliant. “I’ve never heard a single person ever say they loved the smell of air freshener and yet there are so many people who fill their homes with it” (Barry 59).  This is quote is used to show how people can get so wrapped up and frequently try to obscure their differences at times. It perfectly demonstrates that people attempt to hide their "scents" with something that is fresher.  Both Barry and Smith attempt to demonstrate that it is OK to live in your own skin.  Smith takes a quote from President Obama, in which he is describing a black girl who happened to have multiple ethnic backgrounds.  "I'm not black...I'm multiracial...Why should I have to choose between them?" (Smith 5).  The lady the president describes appears to have trouble living in her own skin.  She is looked at as simply a black girl, but she wanted to be seen for what she was really made of, which happened to be Italian and French and Native American.  President Obama "ridiculed" this girl because he felt she should simply be happy in her skin.  Obama, himself, has been extremely successful doing just that, taking pride in his origins and not hiding from any of it.  I think he President perfectly symbolizes how Smith and Barry feel we should live with the aforementioned example.

Barry goes on to continue and support her fundamental message of the importance of  accepting yourself for what you are with the following quote that I have found to be the most important statement in her comic, “Our house smelled like grease and cigs, like jade east and pork and dogs, like all the wild food my grandma boiled and fried.  And if they could get that into a spray can, I’d buy it.”  (Barry 60).  This is where a character in Barry's comic finally accepts who she is and realizes that it is important to be who you are and accept yourself and others for who they are as well.  We are have very unique kinds of "smells" and we should be proud of this.

Barry strategically organizes her essay as a comic, it is clear that Barry's context shows laughter with colorful pictures.  It is important to see that this is a hard subject to get across but can be talked about in an easier manner like she has with her well put together comic.  I feel that she chose to  present in  this way as a comic because many people can relate to it such as children, adults and really all generations.  She uses a child in her comic to show that at a young age we can learn to understand others.  With a very short and sweet message Barry really gets her point across with a simple easy to message.

Judging others is a big problem that we all seem to have a problem with.  Barry had this as an underlying message throughout her essay is that you should not judge people by their "smells".  Barry states "You know, my darling, God has made every people!  And every people makes ta-ee!  Every ta-ee smells bad!  Ask this lady does perfume come out of her pueet?  N'ako, I don't think so darling!  It is not God's way" (Barry 57).  By this quote the grandmother who is speaking is explaining that God has made people in all different kinds of ways but they are all similar when you get down to the basics.  Everybody sits on the toilet.  Breaking down the similarities to this basic human need truly demonstrates in a simple way that everyone does the same things.  The character is attempting to teach the concept of understanding and looking beyond the "smells". 

Barry also discusses that it is important really look at yourself and get to really know more about what your truly made of.  "Of course the biggest mystery of all was my own house.  I couldn't smell it at all.  I didn't think it had a smell, which was strange considering all that went on there." (Barry 24).  A picture that describes what goes on the panel, " 9,000 cigarettes, Jades East after shave, Jungle gardenia perfume, fried smelt garlic, onions, 1/2 can of adorne hair spray and a dog that rolls on things".  Wow, there are many different "smells" going on in this panel.  The character never really took a close look at what her "smell" consisted of.  One can take all those "smells" and metaphorically use them as different traits, different appearances , and different backgrounds.  The quote says "the biggest mystery of all was my own house. I couldn't smell it at all".  This clearly states that you must look at yourself and understand yourself before you can "smell" others.  Barry is covering the issues that you need to be proud of who you are and accept yourself and at also accepting of others individualism or "smell". 

The underlying theme in the two papers we went over in class by Barry and Smith is the importance of living in your own skin and to be accepting of others.  They use two unique modalities of getting their message across, Barry with a comic and Smith with a lecture.  If Barry did not use a comic on this serious subject then she may have not gotten a wide amount of audience to read this and she presents her serious subject matter in a humorous way in which makes her into a creative writer. They discuss how we must look at ourselves closely and accept who we are and be proud of who we are.  They both explain that we are all very similar when you really look at the basics.  They discuss how we should accept others for who they are despite how unique they are.  They do make a strong point that we must stop being critical for others based on their individuality and we must continue to accept who we are as individuals.  The election of President Barack Obama is a very promising sign for both of these aforementioned points and I think both authors smiled when the election results were announced.  

2.4

The purpose of Lynda Barry's comic called "Today's Demon: Common Scents" is to demonstrate the importance of accepting others for who they are and their background.  I believe that Barry is trying to make a statement by saying you should not look at people and judge them by the way they look or "smell".  Today we live in a more "politically correct" society; hence the issue of racism is less visible.  There is a big underlying message in this comic and I will show you in this paper how we as a society tend to judge others too quickly.   Similarly, Zadie Smith's essay, "Speaking in Tongues," writes about how people have to be more understanding or "flexible" of the differences that people have. Flexible referring to being adaptable to different things or responsive to change. In this paper, I will proceed to ponder the question, why we are so quick to judge others and not take a look at ourselves first?  I hope to explore why we, as a society, fail to look at others for who they really are as people and instead focus on factors that do not describe their character.

 

Both Barry and Smith use different modalities to convey a similar, yet important  message of being able to accept yourself and not judge others. The famous "golden rule"  states that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated.  I can relate the golden rule to what Barry states in her comic with her symbolism.  Barry uses symbolism through out the comic.  The key term "air freshener" is used frequently in this essay and most people can relate to this symbolism.  "I have always noticed the smell of other peoples houses, but when I was a kid I was fascinated by it.  No two houses ever smelled alike, even if the people used the same air freshener" (Barry 52).   Barry wants to show us that we are all different, and no one is the same, so do not judge people by their "scents".   We are all human beings but we have unique differences that make us who we are. 

I find the quotation to be quite brilliant. “I’ve never heard a single person ever say they loved the smell of air freshener and yet there are so many people who fill their homes with it” (Barry 59).  This is quote is used to show how people can get so wrapped up and frequently try to obscure their differences at times. It perfectly demonstrates that people attempt to hide their "scents" with something that is fresher.  Both Barry and Smith attempt to demonstrate that it is OK to live in your own skin.  Smith takes a quote from President Obama, in which he is describing a black girl who happened to have multiple ethnic backgrounds.  "I'm not black...I'm multiracial...Why should I have to choose between them?" (Smith 5).  The lady the president describes appears to have trouble living in her own skin.  She is looked at as simply a black girl, but she wanted to be seen for what she was really made of, which happened to be Italian and French and Native American.  President Obama "ridiculed" this girl because he felt she should simply be happy in her skin.  Obama, himself, has been extremely successful doing just that, taking pride in his origins and not hiding from any of it.  I think he President perfectly symbolizes how Smith and Barry feel we should live with the aforementioned example.

Barry goes on to continue and support her fundamental message of the importance of  accepting yourself for what you are with the following quote that I have found to be the most important statement in her comic, “Our house smelled like grease and cigs, like jade east and pork and dogs, like all the wild food my grandma boiled and fried.  And if they could get that into a spray can, I’d buy it.”  (Barry 60).  This is where a character in Barry's comic finally accepts who she is and realizes that it is important to be who you are and accept yourself and others for who they are as well.  We are have very unique kinds of "smells" and we should be proud of this.

Barry strategically organizes her essay as a comic, it is clear that Barry's context shows laughter with colorful pictures.  It is important to see that this is a hard subject to get across but can be talked about in an easier manner like she has with her well put together comic.  I feel that she chose to  present in  this way as a comic because many people can relate to it such as children, adults and really all generations.  She uses a child in her comic to show that at a young age we can learn to understand others.  With a very short and sweet message Barry really gets her point across with a simple easy to message.

Judging others is a big problem that we all seem to have a problem with.  Barry had this as an underlying message throughout her essay is that you should not judge people by their "smells".  Barry states "You know, my darling, God has made every people!  And every people makes ta-ee!  Every ta-ee smells bad!  Ask this lady does perfume come out of her pueet?  N'ako, I don't think so darling!  It is not God's way" (Barry 57).  By this quote the grandmother who is speaking is explaining that God has made people in all different kinds of ways but they are all similar when you get down to the basics.  Everybody sits on the toilet.  Breaking down the similarities to this basic human need truly demonstrates in a simple way that everyone does the same things.  The character is attempting to teach the concept of understanding and looking beyond the "smells". 

The underlying theme in the two papers we went over in class by Barry and Smith is the importance of living in your own skin and to be accepting of others.  They use two unique modalities of getting their message across, Barry with a comic and Smith with a lecture.  If Barry did not use a comic on this serious subject then she may have not gotten a wide amount of audience to read this and she presents her serious subject matter in a humorous way in which makes her into a creative writer. They discuss how we must look at ourselves closely and accept who we are and be proud of who we are.  They both explain that we are all very similar when you really look at the basics.  They discuss how we should accept others for who they are despite how unique they are.  They do make a strong point that we must stop being critical for others based on their individuality and we must continue to accept who we are as individuals.  The election of President Barack Obama is a very promising sign for both of these aforementioned points and I think both authors smiled when the election results were announced.  

2.2

  In todays world people begin passing judgements on others in their initial meeting . This is a bad habit because you can miss good characteristics of a person because of your perceived notions. The purpose of Lynda Barry's comic entitled "Today's Demon: Common Scents" is to demonstrate the importance of accepting others for who they are and their background.  I believe that through Barry's comic she attempts to express that you should not look at people and judge them by the way they look or "smell".  Barry wrote in different perspectives in hopes that readers would understand that we do make false assumptions of people. The underlying message in this comic is people in society making judgements on others without all the facts. I will show you in this paper how we as a society tend to judge others too quickly.   Similarly, Zadie Smith's essay, "Speaking in Tongues," depicts how people need to be more understanding or "flexible" of the differences amongst people. When using the word flexible, Zadie Smith is referring to being adaptable to different things or responsive to change. We can all relate to a time in our childhood when we were mistreated or judged by what we wore or what we ate. I will explore why we, as a society, pass quick judgements based on material things instead of people's true character. Why are we are so quick to judge others and not take a look at ourselves first?  

 

 Both Barry and Smith use different modalities to convey a similar, yet important,  message of being able to accept yourself and not judge others. Smith sees value in conversing with a variety of people which she refers to as "multi-voiced". With that in mind, we can better apply Barry's philosophy by not judging others. Barry uses symbolism throughout her comic.  The key term "air freshener" is used frequently in this essay and most people can relate to this symbolism. The "air freshener" in this quote is a metaphor for not being able to disguise your true characteristics and who you really are. "I have always noticed the smell of other peoples houses, but when I was a kid I was fascinated by it.  No two houses ever smelled alike, even if the people used the same air freshener" (Barry 52).   Barry wants to show us that we are all different, and no one is the same, so do not judge people by their "scents".   We are all human beings but we have unique differences that make us who we are. 

 Barry talks about how society can get so wrapped up in themselves and frequently try to obscure their differences at times. “I’ve never heard a single person ever say they loved the smell of air freshener and yet there are so many people who fill their homes with it” (Barry 59).  I find the quotation to be quite brilliant.  It perfectly demonstrates that people attempt to hide their "scents" with something that is fresher.  Both Barry and Smith attempt to demonstrate that it is alright to live in your own skin.  Smith takes a quote from President Obama, in which he is describing a "black" girl who happened to have multiple ethnic backgrounds.  "I'm not black...I'm multiracial...Why should I have to choose between them?" (Smith 5).  The lady the president describes appears to have trouble living in her own skin.  She is looked at as simply a black girl, but she wanted to be seen for what she was really made of, which happened to be Italian and French and Native American.  President Obama "ridiculed" this girl because he felt she should simply be happy in her skin.  Obama, himself, has been extremely successful doing just that, taking pride in his origins and not hiding from any of it.  I think the President perfectly symbolizes how Smith and Barry feel we should live with the aforementioned example.

  Barry goes on to continue and support her fundamental message of the importance of  accepting yourself for what you are with the following quote that I have found to be the most important statement in her comic, “Our house smelled like grease and cigs, like jade east and pork and dogs, like all the wild food my grandma boiled and fried.  And if they could get that into a spray can, I’d buy it.”  (Barry 60).  This is where a character in Barry's comic finally accepts who she is and realizes that it is important to be who you are and accept yourself and others for who they are as well.  We are have very unique kinds of "smells" and we should be proud of this.

   

    Barry strategically organizes her essay as a comic, it is clear that Barry's context shows laughter with colorful pictures.  It is important to see that this is a hard subject to get across but can be talked about in an easier manner like she has with her well put together comic.  I feel that she chose to  present in  this way as a comic because many people can relate to it such as children, adults and really all generations.  She uses a child in her comic to show that at a young age we can learn to understand others.  With a very short and sweet message Barry really gets her point across with a simple easy to message.

  Judging others is an issue that we all seem to have a problem with.  Barry had this as an underlying message throughout her essay is that you should not judge people by their "smells".  Barry states "You know, my darling, God has made every people!  And every people makes ta-ee!  Every ta-ee smells bad!  Ask this lady does perfume come out of her pueet?  N'ako, I don't think so darling!  It is not God's way" (Barry 57).  By this quote the grandmother who is speaking is explaining that God has made people in all different kinds of ways but they are all similar when you get down to the basics. An example, everybody sits on the toilet.  Breaking down the similarities to this basic human need truly demonstrates in a simple way that everyone does the same things.  The character is attempting to teach the concept of understanding and looking beyond the "smells". 

  

   The underlying theme in the two text we went over in class by Barry and Smith is the importance of getting to know someone before making assumptions of who they are. They use two unique modalities of getting their message across, Barry with a comic and Smith with a lecture. If Barry did not use a comic on this serious subject then she could have restricted her audience. She presents serious subject matter in a comical way which makes her into a creative writer. Barry discuss how we must look at ourselves closely and accept who we are and be proud of who we are.  Barry explain that we are all very similar when you really look at the basics and discuss how we should accept others for who they are despite how unique they are.  Barry makes a strong point that we must stop being critical for others based on their individuality and we must continue to accept who we are as individuals.  

The famous "golden rule"  states that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated.  I can relate the golden rule to what Barry states in her comic with her symbolism. 

The election of President Barack Obama is very promising for both of these points.

Speaking in Tongues 2.1

In Zadie Smith essay "Speaking in Tongues" there are some key terms to help get her message across. The main purpose of this essay is to be more open minded about ideas and thoughts and not to be have a one mind track. She has some key terms that help me understand the essays thoroughly, such as duplicity, multi voiced, masking, flexible, and understanding. I will further explain these key terms in this essay on why it supports her purpose. 

There are many examples that she has given emphasized on multi voice. Multi voice can have many positive outcomes such as our President Obama, he can relate to many different people and reach out a variety of people. A quote "We feel that our voices are who we are, and that to have more than one, or to use different versions of a voice for a different occasions, represents, at best, a Janus-faced duplicity, and at worst, the loss of our very souls"(1). What a strong quote that is and i feel that she is trying to say is that having a double voice is a great ability to have and at the same time be who you are. 

Going on with multi voice comes flexibility. Being able to be flexible to switching voices and having that commitment that things will change and it will be okay. It takes a lot of skill to have this kind of flexibly. I think Smith was trying to be open minded about things and have that flexibly in hand.

Understanding was mentioned in this essay, i feel the if you the key to understand someone then you can relate to them and image what they are feeling. I feel that Smith was saying that in the quote "We now know that Obama spoke of Main Street in Iowa and of sweet potato pie in Northwest Philly, and it could be augured that he succeeded because he so rarely misspoke, carefully tailoring his intonations to suit the sensibility of his listeners." I feel that he has a good understanding and communicating with someone. Lastly, I feel that Smith may be trying to let people aware of what the importance is to have these key terms such as multi voice, flexibility and duplicity and not everyone has this great gift. 

Speaking in Tongues

 

After reading the essay “Speaking in Tongues” by Zadie Smith the purpose has multiple meanings however language is a majority part of this essay, also that being flexible is a great characterstic in many ways. I also got an underlining message that everybody wants to be who he or she are and be accepted in return. The message that I got from this text is that people judge other people by what they look like or how they dress or just the way they act. I feel that smith really values flexible in the sense she used to speak a different way before and now she speaks a way that is “her own proper way”. A quote from the text “Hello. This voice I speak with these days, this English voice with its rounded vowels and consonants in more or less the right place-this is not the voice of my childhood.  I picked it up in college”, I feel that she speaking in a different tone makes her feel more comfortable and being accepted and if she could be her self she would have not been speaking differently now. So in the end I feel that Smith was trying to say is that you don’t have to change your self to be accept, people will judge you no matter what. 

Reflective Assignment A

I have chosen to believe that this story relates to a nuclear tragedy mainly because of the timing when this occurred. The main question that needs to be address is how my life led me into thinking this particular way? Well, the reason why I chose this reason is because it was a major political issue during the late 1970's. Dillard piece can be read in many different ways but i enjoyed reading this piece mainly because the readers have different perspectives. I cant say that i can relate to this issue but i do think that this is what she is talking about because of the key words and quotes she has given. I like how people have interpret this text in Dillard loosing someone or in a death situation. "The world which lay under darkness and stillness following the closing of the lid was not the world we know.  the event was over.  Its devastation lay round about us.  The clamoring mind and heart stilled, almost indifferent, certainly disembodied, frail, and exhausted.  The hills were hushed, obliterated."  I feel Dillard makes it very clear in this statement that she is not simply talking about an eclipse.  She describes the devastating aftermath of a nuclear attack.  Every word chosen in this quote was carefully contemplated to best describe the horror left by the events of a tragic nuclear bombing.  "The hills were hushed, obliterated"  She described the hills earlier as "screaming".  Now they are hushed and obliterated.  This perfectly displays the tragedy of such an event. I enjoyed reading this text but at times it was a difficult read. i hope can see my interpretation of the text. 

1.4

In her story Total Eclipse, Annie Dillard writes a cryptic tale about her title event, a total eclipse of the sun. During our class we have spent hours attempting to interpret this confusing story. I feel Dillard has written a story that can be interpreted in many different ways by a wide audience. She purposely writes in a metaphorical manner so that her audience can interpret the 'total eclipse' in their own way. The story outlines in four sections her experience of going to see an eclipse of the sun. It is clear to all who read this essay that the 'eclipse', itself, is some major life altering event. The purpose of her story is to attempt to demonstrate any major life changing event into a seemingly simple story of going to see an eclipse of the sun. In the context of this story she reaches out to the audience by discussing a relatively routine event as a metaphor to a life changing event that commonly occurs to an everyday audience. She writes about how things go on after the event and she shows a glimmer of optimism in her final section. An additional purpose of the story is give the audience hope after a major life changing event. She uses many strategies to convey her message of a tragic event. She writes in a very dramatic and dreary manner. The clearly distinct four sections of the story allow the reader to follow the event. The first two sections lead up to the event, the third section describes the event, and the final section discusses the happenings after the event. In this story, I feel she could be writing about a personal tragic event that may have occurred to her. However, I feel given the timing of this event, the late 1970's, and the uncertainty of the times with the Islamic Revolution in Iran, I believe she could be discussing the events of a potential nuclear tragedy. I will proceed to answer if Dillard could be discussing such events?

Dillard starts off her story with a dramatically dreary introductory quotation, "It had been like dying..." This introduction automatically sets the tone for the entire story as a serious, melancholy piece. Dillard is using this tone to begin to get the audience ready for the tragic event that lies ahead. In section two of her story Dillard speaks of the crowd gathering to see the eclipse as follows, "People were climbing the nearby hills and setting up shop in clumps among the dead grasses. It looked as though we had all gathered on hilltops to pray for the world on its last day." This quotation continues the tone as very dreary. The words she chose are, again, quite dramatic, "pray for the world on its last day." I feel that she is discussing the occurrences of a potential upcoming tragedy. She is describing the fears of people who were experiencing the conflicts of the U.S. and Iran of 1979 during a tremulous time with so much uncertainty.

Prior to the 'eclipse' she describes how she once saw a partial eclipse and how different a partial eclipse is to a total eclipse. She writes, "I had seen a partial eclipse in 1970. A partial eclipse is very interesting. It bears almost no relation to a total eclipse. Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him..." She mentions the year 1970. Could she be referring to the Vietnam War which ended that year? She describes the stark contrast between a partial eclipse and a total one. She explains that she has witnesses first hand, the simplicity of a partial eclipse and goes on to describe the complicity of a total eclipse. While Vietnam was a long and tragic war there was hardly a discussion of nuclear weaponry. While Iran's hostage taking of US diplomats did, indeed, lead to the discussion of potential nuclear attacks. She is discussing how much more serious the upcoming potential war could be.

Dillard goes on to describe the events just prior to the 'eclipse'. Not surprisingly she keeps the tone grim. "From all the hills came screams. A piece of sky beside the crescent sun was detaching. It was a loosened circle of evening sky, suddenly lighted from the back. It was an abrupt black body out of nowhere;" I feel here she is describing what could be the witnessing of an actual nuclear attack. People actually experiencing the horror of seeing the potential mushroom cloud or "abrupt black body out of nowhere" and other consequences of an attack. She writes that the screams came from "all the hills". I think she uses the word "all" to discuss the wide consequences of such an event. People watching from all over the world, possible from their TV sets at home in dismay and terror. She goes on to write "seeing this black body was like seeing a mushroom cloud. The heart screeched. The meaning of the sight overwhelmed its fascination." This further reinforces the impact of such an occurrence. "The heart screeched", a simple sentence following the description of witnessing of the mushroom cloud. The devastation is clear in the way she writes.

Dillard continues to write in section three, "The world which lay under darkness and stillness following the closing of the lid was not the world we know. the event was over. Its devastation lay round about us. The clamoring mind and heart stilled, almost indifferent, certainly disembodied, frail, and exhausted. The hills were hushed, obliterated." I feel Dillard makes it very clear in this statement that she is not simply talking about an eclipse. She describes the devastating aftermath of a nuclear attack. Every word chosen in this quote was carefully contemplated to best describe the horror left by the events of a tragic nuclear bombing. "The hills were hushed, obliterated" She described the hills earlier as "screaming". Now they are hushed and obliterated. This perfectly displays the tragedy of such an event.

After such a disturbing description of the "eclipse", Dillard goes on to discuss the events that occur after. She writes of things return to normalcy. "At once the yellow light made the sky blue again; the black lid dissolved and vanished. The real world began there." I feel she is trying to convey a message of hope here. Despite the disasterous occurences of the "eclipse", there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. She intends to send a message that life will go on no matter what hurdles will be faced.

In this story, I feel Dillard writes of the devestating events of nuclear attack. She talks of the events leading to the event and the "eclicpe"

1.3

In her story Total Eclipse, Annie Dillard writes a cryptic tale about her title event, a total eclipse of the sun.  During our class we have spent hours attempting to interpret this confusing story.  I feel Dillard has written a story that can be interpreted in many different ways by a wide audience.  She purposely writes in a metaphorical manner so that her audience can interpret the 'total eclipse' in their own way.  The story outlines in four sections her experience of going to see an eclipse of the sun.  It is clear to all who read this essay that the 'eclipse', itself, is some major life altering event.  The purpose of her story is to attempt to demonstrate any major life changing event into a seemingly simple story of going to see an eclipse of the sun.  In the context of this story she reaches out to the audience by discussing a relatively routine event as a metaphor to a life changing event that commonly occurs to an everyday audience.  She writes about how things go on after the event and she shows a glimmer of optimism in her final section.  An additional purpose of the story is give the audience hope after a major life changing event.  She uses many strategies to convey her message of a tragic event.  She writes in a very dramatic and dreary manner.   The clearly distinct four sections of the story allow the reader to follow the event.  The first two sections lead up to the event, the third section describes the event, and the final section discusses the happenings after the event.  In this story, I feel she could be writing about a personal tragic event that may have occurred to her.  However, I feel given the timing of this event, the late 1970's, and the uncertainty of the times with the Islamic Revolution in Iran, I believe she is discussing the events of a potential nuclear tragedy.