Rhetorically/Poetically Yours

The Final Final!

2007-05-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to me on grading all of my final exams from two sections of English 1001 before bedtime on the night the papers were due!

What a feat of grading!
What good essays the students wrote!
What a relief!
(To them and to me.)
What peace of mind!
(For them and for me.)

Now what will I find to do with myself between now and summer school?

No more Blackboard postings,
No more stacks of papers patiently waiting to be graded until the eleventh hour,
No more emailed questions about what to do after "the dog peed on my essay."

Maybe I'll blog more!
(Ever heard of that Louisiana community in Catahoula Parish called "Frogmore?" I'll rename Eunice "Blogmore!")
Maybe I'll be a better Daddy and husband!
Maybe I'll grow a garden!
Maybe I'll take up a hobby!

Ah, sweet release! May the next three weeks until summer school pass real slooooooooooooooooooooowly!

Charcoal or Gas? A Consumer Analysis from English 1001

2007-05-04T09:35:00.001-05:00

The consumer research essay caused me great headaches due to the vast amount of possibilities to compare. As I was sitting outside considering topics, my husband was BBQing and the idea seemed to hit me like a load of bricks. Gas VS. Charcoal.

--Kelly Ford, English 1001, Spring semester 2007

The Perfect Grill

By Kelly Ford

April 2007

Barbecuing has been around for hundreds of years. It is a simple process of preparing food, requiring little more than meat and fire. However, the decision on how to generate the fire tends to spark great debate from barbecuing aficionados worldwide. Gas versus charcoal? Grilling versus smoking? For as many positives there are to both, there are as many potential drawbacks. Before purchasing a grill, you must consider convenience, price, the type of meat you plan on cooking and cooking method.
In the convenience category, gas grills seem to have a distinct advantage over charcoal grills. Charcoal grills obviously require charcoal and starter fluid, where a simple push of a button will ignite a gas grill. Charcoal can be messy, requiring cleaning of your grill before each use. However, gas grills are typically cleaner and easier to maintain. Most gas grills are made of stainless steel and resist rust, while the carbon steel often used to fabricate charcoal pits, tends to rust after exposure to the elements. When using a charcoal grill, your fire will take twenty to thirty minutes to be ready for grilling. On the other hand, ignite a gas grill and you can begin cooking in ten minutes. Another convenience factor to consider is the ease and availability of purchasing fuel. Charcoal and lighter fluid is readily available for purchase at almost any convenience or grocery store, while propane is available only at certain stores and may require a special trip across town. This trip could be inconvenient if your propane bottle is empty and you spontaneously decide to light the pit.
Price is another consideration when purchasing a grill. Both gas and charcoal models come in many shapes and sizes with gas grills typically more expensive. Gas grills are typically made of stainless steel, which is a much more valuable material than the usual carbon steel of a charcoal grill. You will also pay more for the ease and convenience of a gas grill. Some high-end gas grills can become quite pricey. Four to eight hundred dollars is a common price for a six hundred square inch gas grill. A comparable, if not larger charcoal grill will usually cost significantly less. I found a Weber Genesis E320 LP gas grill with 637 square inches of cooking area priced at $599.00 while the ProDeluxe Char griller, with 830 square inches of cooking area is available for $119.00. Propane costs $2.40 per gallon and a five-gallon bottle will last around a month of barbequing three to four times a week. On the other hand, you can purchase a ten-pound bag of charcoal from your local discount store for around seven dollars and typically, you will get two barbeques per bag of charcoal.
The type of meat you plan to prepare plays a large role in your consideration of gas versus charcoal. Small, relatively thin cuts of meat such as steaks, pork chops, and chicken breasts will grill equally well on both gas and charcoal grills. The hot, even flame of a propane-fueled grill will be an advantage during direct grilling. While it is possible to achieve direct grilling on a conventional charcoal, the fire will require you to waltz the food from hot to cool spots as the fire dictates. When cooking larger cuts of meat that require an extended cooking time, a gas grill has a charcoal grill beat in convenience. Turn the gas burner to low and you will maintain a relatively constant temperature for hours, however; using a charcoal grill to cook a brisket or pork shoulder can be tricky. You will be required to add fresh coals to the fire every hour during cooking.
My biggest consideration when shopping for a grill is preferred cooking method. Grilling versus smoking. The taste of the meats cooked varies greatly depending on the style in which the meat is prepared. The chief drawback of gas grills is they do not work particularly well for producing wood smoke. It is easier to smoke on a charcoal grill. Simply use wood as your primary fuel or add wood chips to your hot coals to obtain a true smoke flavor. On the other hand, smoking on a gas grill is sometimes a little tricky. Most high-end gas grills come equipped with a smoker box that you simply add wood chips to and ignite the burner until smoke appears. If your gas grill is not equipped with a separate smoker box, you will have to assemble a smoker pouch to get a true smoky flavor. Still, your average gas grill rarely produces the intense smoke flavor achieved with a charcoal grill or smoker. Charcoal and wood impart a distinct flavor that is hard to replicate.
In the end, the question of whether to buy a gas or charcoal grill boils down to your temperament. Did you grow up watching your dad get the charcoal ready? Do you enjoy tailgating at a football game on a cold day? Do you enjoy a tender delicious smoked brisket or a quickly grilled steak? Having weighed all of my options and considered the pros and cons of both grills, I will select the charcoal grill every time. In my opinion, the taste produced by wood and charcoal grills far outweighs the durability and convenience of gas.
Following is a quick reference table obtained at http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-415,subcat-FOOD.html.

Charcoal or Gas? A Consumer Analysis from English 1001

2007-05-04T09:35:00.000-05:00

Cooper Lee Broussard: Candidate for Pet of the Year

2007-03-13T08:53:00.000-05:00

A student sample English 1001 assignment using exemplification . . .

Upon reading the choices of writing assignments for my English 1001 Exemplification Essay, I knew that there was going to be a spin in my essay. Having a fun topic provided me with the motivation and the proper audience that Cooper needed to make his world debut. After several revisions along with words of encouragement from the rest of the class, I am happy to share Cooper’s essay with everyone.
Micky Broussard
Carencro, Louisiana

Cooper Lee Broussard

I am Cooper Lee Broussard, a five year old black masked fawn male pug, who lives in Carencro, Louisiana. I reside with my human parents, Micky and Megan Broussard, and Maggie Marie Broussard, a three year old jet black female pug who is the love of my life. My first experience with an Eukanuba product was the Small Breed Puppy food that my human parents switched my diet to because another name brand food did not agree with my stomach. I was ultimately hooked with the first tiny kibble. They continue to provide me with the best Eukanuba food that money can buy. After viewing the advertisement for Eukanuba’s search for its next “Pet of the Year” on the Animal Planet television channel, I barked orders at Micky dictating the words I wanted written in this letter compelling Eukanuba to choose me as the next Pet of the Year. Not only am I a physical example of what Eukanuba’s fine line of pet products can do for a dog’s nutritional needs; but, I have the abilities and personality that the Eukanuba Corporation is looking for in its Pet of the Year.

Although I am five years old, I can play all day long just like when I was two. My favorite sport is playing ball. Weighing in at only twenty one pounds and having the classic short squished snout, I received from Megan and Micky golf ball sized tennis balls with smiley faces printed on them to play fetch with. Even though I am able to carry the regular size tennis balls with no problem, these small tennis balls are just the right size for me to easily retrieve. My passion for these balls is so deep that Micky and Megan have trained me to remain still while they place the ball upon a wrinkle over my stubby, little black nose in between my eyes. Then after a few seconds, my addiction takes over and lightening fast, I will rock my head back, stealthily catching the ball in my mouth. When Megan gets home from work, she repeatedly throws the ball in our back yard for me until I have to lie down to catch my breath.

I also have a passion for plush toys, whether they are for humans or dogs. A crazy example is my Christmas present from Santa that is a “Laugh and Learn Bunny” by Fisher-Price that is really a child’s toy. This rabbit talks and plays music when I bite him in the right spots. The rabbit even goes “WEEE” and laughs when I shake and throw him into the air. My favorite all time plush doggie toy is the squeaking hedge hog stuffed animal that both Maggie and I each have. Even though I destroyed my first hedge hog, I do not cut the second hedge hog any slack. I am able to push/chase the hedge hog with my nose down the hall until I firmly snatch it up off the floor with my vicious fangs. I will place the hedge hog, screaming with fear for its last thread of life, into a death throw until I toss it into the atmosphere for either Maggie or I to snag it from thin air. To make our day go by, Maggie and I continuously frolic among ourselves, sporadically interrupted by the fence climbing cat from next door.

I look forward to doing public appearances for Eukanuba at different places. Not only do I enjoy traveling, especially in a vehicle that is high with a view such as Micky’s truck; but, also I enjoy meeting new people and other animals. As a family, we frequently go to other family member’s homes and my veterinarian Doctor Guidry’s office. A few other examples of places that my owners have taken me to are the park, Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, and my favorite store, Pet Smart. While at these places, I have enjoyed the opportunity of encountering many new faces along the way. My unique pet personality allows me to easily make new acquaintances, creating a large group of friends. Along with the human and canine species, I also appreciate the accompaniment of cats, cows, and birds. Besides Maggie, my best friends are the black calves in the pasture that I play with through the fence. Another great example of our social interactions, Maggie and I are two of the ninety eight members of the Lafayette Pug group. We have a “Pug-meet” at least once a month. As a group, not only do we socialize; but, we also cover such important issues as training, health factors, and rescuing other pugs to name a few. Why even last year, my family and I were awarded the best dressed group for the Halloween costume contest. If I am chosen to be the Pet of the Year I would like to raise awareness of the importance of pet health and happiness that I received from the group to others through out the country.

My owners felt it was important for me to have good manners and be obedient. Since Megan picked me up from my parents’ home in Welsh, Louisiana on Valentine’s Day 2002, they have trained me. The first thing they taught me was to be potty trained ensuring that I would not use the restroom in the house. Besides being well mannered, on command I have been taught to sit, stay, shake hands, and fetch, which is my favorite thing to do besides eating. Even on occasion, I have been known to do a pirouette dance on my back legs for those tiny slivers of refreshing ice chips. Megan is an avid photographer who tends to use Maggie and me as her models. With her direction, I have learned to strike a pose and became very photogenic. These examples of my training have given me the proper etiquette for the role I would play as Eukanuba’s Pet of the Year. After all I would not want to disgrace myself or my family much less the Eukanuba Corporation, the maker of my favorite grub.

As I mentioned, Micky and Megan have kept Maggie and I on a strict diet that consists only of Eukanuba products. We are feed with Eukanuba’s Small Breed Weight Control food and rewarded with the Healthy Extras Adult Small Breed biscuits. While serving as the Pet of the Year, I can personally vouch for the great taste and the high nutritional quality of the Eukanuba product line. Since we are pugs, as a breed we tend to gain weight easy and can not exercise too much due to our poor upper respiratory system. The great tasting weight control food keeps me fit while still providing me with the energy to keep me going all day. The quality of the nutrients in the food gives me shiny beautiful thick coat of fawn fur.

Being an older, more mature dog, I realize that I may not be the breed that the Eukanuba Corporation is looking for its Pet of the Year. I hope that this brief description of my abilities and skills clearly demonstrates that I can span the breed and species barriers. My personality empowers me to be the best Pet of the Year that Eukanuba can endorse. Enclosed are pictures of myself and my family. I would like to thank the Eukanuba Corporation for the opportunity to be a candidate for the Pet of the Year contest and for the fine food it produces.

The Broussards of Carencro

Navarre Beach: A Descriptive Piece from English 1001, Section 25

2007-03-11T20:42:00.000-05:00

This essay was written for the description assignment. I found it to be a very easy assignment. My biggest difficulty was "trimming" down the descriptions to be effective. I could have written pages and pages on the subject because it is so dear to me.
Kelly, Broussard, La.

Navarre Beach

Located on Santa Rosa Island in Florida, the Holidome at Navarre Beach holds many of my favorite childhood memories. I vacationed there every summer with my extended family. My cousins and I felt as though we had walked into an enchanted kingdom as we entered into the hotel. It was a magical time of endless possibility while we where there.

The trip seemed to take forever, though in reality it was only around 350 miles. My brother and I stayed up most of the night before in anticipation of arriving at the dome for another week of fun. Still dark out, my parents loaded us in the car with our pillow and blanket. My mom told us if we slept, the trip would seem quicker. Stopping at McDonald’s for breakfast near Hammond, a vacation tradition, I can still smell the sweet syrup on the warm fluffy pancakes. Getting into the car after breakfast, my dad would say, “Next stop, Navarre Beach.”

When we got to the toll bridge that connects Santa Rosa Island to the rest of the world, the excitement was almost unbearable. I would have gladly given all of my hard-earned quarters to gain access to that beautiful, isolated island that housed the Holidome. Walking into the hotel, the sights were exquisite to my young, inexperienced eyes. The large multicolored parrot at the front door squawked “Hello” to all who entered. Opposite the front desk, a gigantic fish tank formed a whole wall. Large gray predatory grouper glided calmly as small brightly colored tropical fish darted around deftly in an attempt to avoid being the lunch special of the day.

The arcade hummed with activity as children played and the games sang their theme songs. We spent our quarters fighting enemies, guiding Pac-man to the next level, driving racecars and playing pinball machines. The oddly shaped indoor pool sat in the center of the dome with crystal blue water and provided a fun refuge from the occasional afternoon thunderstorm. A thick blanket of chlorine permeated the dome. The echoes of children’s excited cries and splashes bounced off of the roof and walls like rubber balls.

The courtyard next to the pool contained ping-pong tables and provided the setting for a clown on some days and a petting zoo on other days. The glass elevator that traversed the three floors provided numerous joy rides and differing views of the seemingly never-ending activity below in the dome. “Get your swimsuits on and let’s hit the beach,” declared my mom after we unpacked the car.

The sun-baked sand, as white as sugar, felt like molten lava to our bare feet. We ran, hopped and squirmed to our rented blue chairs. Once there, mom slathered us with coconut smelling suntan lotion and set us free for the afternoon. We built grand sand castles, buried my dad in the sand and rode our boogie boards at the water’s edge. The water looked as green as emeralds and beckoned you to get in and cool off as the hot sun baked us to a deep brown. The sound of the waves breaking on the seashore excited me and I could not wait to get in water to ride my orange tire in on the waves. Ever so often, we heard the roar of a fighter plane and we would catch a glimpse of the sleek, beautiful Blue Angels flying in formation over us in the clear blue sky.

Every morning my dad woke us at daybreak and we would walk for miles along the water’s edge collecting delicate sand dollars and intricate seashells. The rising sun made beautiful streaks of pinks and oranges in the awakening sky. My memories of these trips are vivid and are often refreshed as we discuss the details at almost every family function.

We attempted to make reservations last summer to give the next generation the ability to form the same happy memories, but were disappointed to learn that the Holidome no longer exists. After sustaining severe hurricane damage, the hotel required demolition. I am grateful that we will always have our memories. Those memories are safe from any storm.

Kelly
Broussard, Louisiana

Coming Soon: The Posting Place!

2007-02-24T21:59:00.000-06:00

Hear ye, Hear ye!
Student Essays Solicited for Publication

I am inviting students in my English 1001 classes who write A papers on any assignment this Spring 07 semester to submit their exemplary drafts for publication here in this blog. Such publication will recognize not only the student writers' achievement, but also provide a storehouse of examples for the others to emulate!

Have you written an A paper this semester? Would you like to take me up on this offer? Here's what you need to do:

1. Email me (dpulling@lsue.edu) a copy of your paper (with grammatical and usage errors corrected if any imperfections were noted in grading).
2. Include a paragraph-long Preface to the piece, telling the story behind the writing: Where your topic or idea came from, what problems you had to deal with in the composition process and how you solved them, and any other interesting detail about your experience writing this piece.
3. Sign your email with the name you want me to use when I "publish" the piece (no anonymous submissions accepted) and your home town.

Between Semesters: Storm Clouds Gathering?

2007-01-04T14:46:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's nice to have a break between semesters, especially when one can graze through the Christmas and New Year's holidays. But how soon those days of leisure pass! How ominous the storm clouds appear on the relentless semester cycle's spring horizon! How soon the holiday tranquility is violated by the foreboding tempest! How soon my nerves, barely recovered from the semester before, are frayed anew!

And alas! Twenty years into the retirement system, ten to go? In other words, no relief in sight!

Leslie Marmon Silko: A Biography

2006-12-07T19:40:00.000-06:00

Leslie Marmon Silko: A Biographical Overview
and study guide for the English 1002 Final Exam
(Source of the article below is the Gale Literature Resource Center accessed at Louisiana State University at Eunice. Source credits as follows:
Critic: James Ruppert
Source: Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed., edited by Jim Kamp, St. James Press, 1994
Criticism about: Leslie (marmon) Silko (1948-), also known as: Leslie Marmon Silko, Leslie (Marmon) Silko
Genre(s): Short stories; Autobiographies; Novels; Poetry

Leslie Marmon Silko has attracted wide national and international attention for her writing about the Southwest and the American Indian experience. Her 1977 novel Ceremony along with N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn comprise the two most influential works by contemporary Native American writers. Silko's work has been widely analyzed to explore its relation with Laguna myth and culture, and often discussed in the context of minority women's expression.
Growing up in Laguna Pueblo by Rt. 66 in New Mexico, Silko was exposed to a web of various relatives, native and non-native, living on the edge of the pueblo. She soon learned that the stories they recalled about her and her family defined her in the reality of the community. As she grew, she perceived that oral tradition defined everyone in the pueblo; the stories told about an individual and her ancestors created an identity, an assigned role in the community.
Silko also was exposed to traditional Laguna stories. As she began to write, she used many of the stories she heard. Often she felt as if she had lived the old stories, especially the Yellow Woman stories. For Silko these stories transcended local detail and expressed a very deep level of human experience preserved in oral form. She perceives storytelling as a way of being, a way of perceiving and knowing the world.
Her first notice came through poetry. In 1974 she won a National Endowment for the Arts award, an award from Chicago Review, and published Laguna Woman, a volume that presented a mixture of Laguna culture and personal experience. The publication of her poetry in Carriers of the Dream Wheel and her short stories in The Man to Send Rain Clouds brought her national attention. From the latter volume, "The Man to Send Rain Clouds, "Tony's Story," and "Yellow Woman" continued to be popular favorites for anthologies. Much of Silko's material in both volumes employs traditional Laguna narratives and historical stories popular in her family and in the community.
Her novel Ceremony was published in 1977 to much acclaim. The protagonist, Tayo, is a mixed-blood Laguna experiencing devastating difficulty with reintegrating himself back into his family and Laguna society after World War II. The deaths of his cousin in the war and of his uncle Josiah back at the Pueblo accentuate the disorientation he experiences upon returning home. The novel depicts his illness through a disjointed narrative that fractures chronological time and juxtaposes mythic elements with personal experience, verse with fiction. Tayo visits an unorthodox mixed-blood Navajo medicine man, Betonie, who performs a ceremony on Tayo that aligns Tayo's illness with a larger ongoing story of illness in the world from time immemorial. He foresees four elements of a journey that Tayo must make into the mountains above Zaguna to perform his personal ceremony. During his journey, Tayo remembers many things from his past and understands their significance for his health and the health of Laguna Pueblo. He also meets a mysterious spirit woman who helps him see how his story, his ceremony, is part of a larger ceremony to defeat the forces of destruction and death. He rejects the vicious actions of some of his war buddies as they torture one of the returned veterans. Upon his return to the Pueblo, he has the ability to help the community return to harmony.
One of Silko's main themes is the important role in cultural change to be played by people marginalized by a community. For Silko, the ceremonies must keep changing or the life of the community dies, and the mixed-blood is in the position to assure that change leads to life-giving structures. Silko juxtaposes lines of what appear to be poetry with the prose of her novel; however, much of the verse material is mythic, both from Laguna tradition and Silko's creative vision, not poetry. She wanted the verse lines to be heard like oral performances. Her interest in bringing the oral into the written is also shown in the frame she gives the novel. She starts by asserting that the story presented to the reader is taking place in Thought- Woman's mind. Thus this character from Laguna cosmology creates the reality the reader experiences. Furthermore, the stories hold off illness and death, fight evil, and create new ceremonies. Then she frames the body of the novel with the word "sunrise," a technique used in certain Laguna prayers.
In addition to their oral origins, these elements also work to give the novel a religious function. The function of the frame is to incorporate Tayo and the reader into a mythic vision of the world, or what Silko calls "the old, old, old way of looking at the world." Tayo must learn "the ear for the story, the eye for pattern." When he does that he realizes that there are no boundaries between time and space, only transitions. He has not been crazy, but has just seen the world as it truly is. Tayo makes sense of the disjointed elements of his life, as does the reader. The mythic struggle between the Destroyers and those who fight for life becomes central to Tayo's story, and the reader is encouraged to join the fight against the Destroyers. In this way, the novel becomes a ceremony for the reader.
Silko's next book, Storyteller, combines family stories, Laguna traditional narratives, family and community photographs, uncollected short stories, poetry, and personal memories. While the book reveals some personal information about Silko and her family, it is more concerned with exploring a family and a community through the stories it tells. Some critics have seen this as an expression of a collective sense of self. Silko has noted that one of her goals was to "clarify the relationship between the stories I heard and my sense of storytelling and language that had been given to me by the old folks, the people back home." To do this, she drops any chronological structure, opting for a juxtaposition of material from various sources to re-create something of the narrative background for her writing.
In 1991, Silko published her second novel, Almanac of the Dead. This ambitious book intertwines the lives of a dozen or so characters into a series of juxtaposed and interlocking narratives. The setting of the novel moves all across North America from Alaska to Mexico to Central America. While placed in the near future, the novel evokes the history of European exploitation of the continent. Silko hypothesizes the existence of a Mayan Almanac that tells of the epochs of the past and foretells of the future. Using the Almanac structure allows Silko to experiment with juxtaposing narratives of the violent and spiritless Euro-Americans with the story of a swelling, spiritually-oriented group of peasants who attempt to regain the continent.
More political and historical than Ceremony, Almanac of the Dead prophesies the end of the Dead-Eye Dog era, which has dominated life in the Americas for the last five hundred years. With the start of the Fire-Eye Macaw era, many diverse forces converge on a holistic healers convention in Tucson. Eco-terrorists, homeless Vietnam vets, oppressed descendants of African slaves, and displaced Native Americans are brought together by a barefoot Hopi prophet and his Mexican Indian twin brother, the leaders of the peasant movement that begins swarming across the hemisphere. Each dissident group hears the spirits of the Americas call out to reject the European desecration of North and South America. Spirits of the displaced African gods have united with the spirits of Native America. Fed by the bitterness and blood of millions, they seek revenge through various avenues, including catastrophic natural disasters. As one character concludes, "the Americas were full of furious, bitter spirits; five hundred years of slaughter had left the continents swarming with millions of spirits that never rested and would not stop until justice had been done."
While not prodigious in her output, Silko has always been experimental, and her work has been solidly rooted in Native American experience. She is one of the most important contemporary Native American writers. Arguably, she is the Native writer most concerned with bringing the oral into the written. Her work reflects the problems and potentials of that bridging and also connects the two worldviews that support those modes of expression.
Source: James Ruppert, "Leslie Marmon Silko: Overview," in Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed., edited by Jim Kamp, St. James Press, 1994.
Source Database: Literature Resource Center

Works Citing? How EX-Citing!

2006-11-13T21:36:00.000-06:00

The annotated bibliography is nothing but a big old Works Cited page with descriptive summary included about the different sources of information. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab is a handy resource that I recommend heartily. You can link to the OWL MLA section by clicking above on the title of this post.

Mr. Pulling Goes Elizabethan: "Upon the Windswept Erie Shore"

2006-11-09T20:38:00.000-06:00

Don't know whether y'all loved or hated the Shakespearean sonnets, but most of you, I bet, are happy that Module X is finished. Along those lines, I should have posted this little creative piece earlier just to show you that your old teacher is up his craft. He can not only teach you about Elizabethan sonnets, he can write them! I present for you a creative piece from eight years ago after I attended a conference in Cleveland, Ohio, and got very cold and very homesick in the process. Here you go . . . check out the imabic pentameter, the rhyme scheme, anything you want--This is as Elizabethan as it gets, baby!

Upon the Windswept Erie Shore
(For Sarah Ann–Upon my being homesick in Cleveland!)
By David L. Pulling
November 1998

Upon the windswept Erie shore I stand
And cast my gaze across the inland main.
Pond’rous billowing clouds roll o’er the land
As weary thoughts besiege my homesick brain.

How rude the bitter gale dispelleth cheer!
Her icy darts so penetrate my soul!
And I a stranger, a wayfarer here,
Am cast forlorn upon this foreign shoal.

O bright sun, why refusest thou to smile,
To melt away the chilling loneliness?
How long must I endure this winter vile?
When love’s glad union shall I repossess?

But soft! I’ll close mine eyes and of thee dream–
O love, console me by the fairy stream!

How can I explicate thee? Let me count the ways!

2006-10-31T21:45:00.000-06:00

Is this explication assignment giving you stomach trouble? Here's help . . .

HOW TO EXPLICATE A POEM

Try the following links for helpful suggestions, ideas, and examples . . .

http://www.uwrf.edu/~sl01/explcat.html
This site gives specific suggestions for different elements of the poem that you should consider. Because the professor goes into more specific detail about the process of analyzing the poem than Kennedy and Gioia provide in the text, this material is a great supplement.

http://www.williams.edu/English/PdfEnglish/Guide3LRaab.pdf
Professor Williams' site above provides a pdf handout. He offers some practical suggestions about the process for writing an explication, including some pre-writing activities different from Kennedy and Gioia's suggestions.

http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/markport/best/study/poetry.htm
This teacher's explication page includes a link to the American Academy of Poets "How to Read a Poem" as well as a sample explication.

Rhyme Scheme (or Rhyme "Scream?")

2006-10-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Rhyme scheme is the exact correspondence of rhyming sounds at the end of each line of poetry, identified by the first end rhyme represented by a lower case "a," the next variation by a "b," the third variation by a "c," and so on.

Below is an illustration of a common rhyme scheme for closed form poems written in quatrains (four-line stanzas).

(To see the web resource from which this illustration is drawn, go to http://www.millikin.edu/aci/crow/basics/frost3.html
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
By Robert Frost (1874-1963, pictured above)

Whose woods these are I think I know. a

His house is in the village though; a

He will not see me stopping here b

To watch his woods fill up with snow. a

My little horse must think it queer b

To stop without a farmhouse near b

Between the woods and frozen lake c

The darkest evening of the year. b

He gives his harness bells a shake c

To ask if there is some mistake. c

The only other sound's the sweep d

Of easy wind and downy flake. c

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, d

But I have promises to keep, d

And miles to go before I sleep. d

Hence, the rhyme scheme is: aaba bbcb ccdc dddd

Last modified Nov, 1999 by M. O'Conner at http://www.millikin.edu/aci/crow/basics/frost3.html

To learn more about rhyme scheme on the Internet, visit Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

To Quote, To Summarize, or To Paraphrase? And how?

2006-10-22T21:28:00.000-05:00

Editor's Note: The following handout pasted in from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab provides an excellent summary and review of fundamentals. Several links to the OWL are embedded in the article.

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

This resource was written by Purdue OWL.
Last full revision by Dana Lynn Driscoll.
Last edited by Dana Lynn Driscoll on September 10th 2006 at 11:49AM

Summary: This handout is intended to help you become more comfortable with the uses of and distinctions among quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. This handout compares and contrasts the three terms, gives some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills.

Jump to listing of all of this resource's sections

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

This handout is intended to help you become more comfortable with the uses of and distinctions among quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. This handout compares and contrasts the three terms, gives some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills.

What are the differences among quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing?

These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.

Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.

Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Why use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries?

Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve many purposes. You might use them to . . .

Provide support for claims or add credibility to your writing
Refer to work that leads up to the work you are now doing
Give examples of several points of view on a subject
Call attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree with
Highlight a particularly striking phrase, sentence, or passage by quoting the original
Distance yourself from the original by quoting it in order to cue readers that the words are not your own
Expand the breadth or depth of your writing

Writers frequently intertwine summaries, paraphrases, and quotations. As part of a summary of an article, a chapter, or a book, a writer might include paraphrases of various key points blended with quotations of striking or suggestive phrases as in the following example:

In his famous and influential work On the Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud argues that dreams are the "royal road to the unconscious" (page #), expressing in coded imagery the dreamer's unfulfilled wishes through a process known as the "dream work" (page #). According to Freud, actual but unacceptable desires are censored internally and subjected to coding through layers of condensation and displacement before emerging in a kind of rebus puzzle in the dream itself (page #s).

How to use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries

Practice summarizing the following essay, using paraphrases and quotations as you go. It might be helpful to follow these steps:

Read the entire text, noting the key points and main ideas.
Summarize in your own words what the single main idea of the essay is.
Paraphrase important supporting points that come up in the essay.
Consider any words, phrases, or brief passages that you believe should be quoted directly.

There are several ways to integrate quotations into your text. Often, a short quotation works well when integrated into a sentence. Longer quotations can stand alone. Remember that quoting should be done only sparingly; be sure that you have a good reason to include a direct quotation when you decide to do so. You'll find guidelines for citing sources and punctuating citations at our documentation guide pages.

What is poetry?????

2006-10-18T21:33:00.000-05:00

That question has been answered many ways and provoked a lot of discussion. Believe it or not, English teachers will argue about what poetry "is" and what it is "not."

So with that question in mind, this unit introducing the concepts of "closed form" (also called "traditional poetry") and "open form" (often referred to as "modern" poetry) provides an occasion to explore exactly what poetry is.

To that end, a recommended supplemental reading for you: The Wikipedia online encyclopedia's discussion of "poetry." (Click here to link to Wikipedia.)

Reading the Wikipedia article will take you 10 or 15 minutes, but the overview is worth it. (You don't have to read every word of every part of it--Just skim. You'll know where to slow down and drink deeply and where you can just speed on by.)

You may find some ideas and/or information in the Wikipedia article that will come in handy on a future writing assignment.

For further discussion, consider posting the following:

share a web link to a helpful or interesting resource on poetry that you found
what you believe poetry is.
an original poem that you wrote
a copy of a poem that you find meaningful or special to you
anything else related to "what is poetry?"

Reading a Poem

2006-10-13T16:17:00.000-05:00

(To the left: "Gaozongquatrain," a Chinese poem. Is this what you feel like you're reading when you tackle the 1002 assignments?)

Here are some tips from a couple of websites on reading poetry.

(From Bedford/St. Martin's LitLinks)

1. Who is the speaker?What does the poem reveal about the speaker's character? In some poems the speaker may be nothing more than a voice meditating on a theme, while in others the speaker takes on a specific personality.

2. Is the speaker addressing a particular person?If so, who is that person, and why is the speaker interested in him or her?

3. Does the poem have a setting?Is the poem occasioned by a particular event?

4. Is the theme of the poem stated directly or indirectly?Some poems use language in a fairly straightforward and literal way and state the theme, often in the final lines. Others may conclude with a statement of the theme that is more difficult to apprehend because it is made with figurative language and symbols.

5. From what perspective (or point of view) is the speaker describing specific events? Is the speaker recounting events of the past or events that are occurring in the present? If past events are being recalled, what present meaning do they have for the speaker?

6. Does a close examination of the figurative language (see "Glossary of Literary Terms") of the poem reveal any patterns?

7. What is the structure of the poem?Since narrative poems, those that tell stories, reveal a high degree of selectivity, it is useful to ask why the poet has focused on particular details and left out others. Analyzing the structure of a nonnarrative or lyric poem can be more difficult because it does not contain an obvious series of chronologically related events.

8. What do sound and meter (see "Glossary of Literary Terms") contribute to the poem?Alexander Pope said that in good poetry "the sound must seem an echo to the sense," a statement that is sometimes easier to agree with than to demonstrate.

9. What was your response to the poem on first reading?Did your response change after study of the poem or class discussions about it?

Also consider the following (From UWisconsin-Madison Writing Center):

*Read a poem with a pencil in your hand.

*Mark it up; write in the margins; react to it; get involved with it. Circle important, or striking, or repeated words. Draw lines to connect related ideas. Mark difficult or confusing words, lines, and passages.

*Read through the poem, several times if you can, both silently and aloud.

Peace Out!

2006-10-09T20:29:00.000-05:00

Peace Out!

(Psalms 4:8)
By David L. Pulling
January 2005

Lie down,
Sleep,
Peace out,
Lord--
For peace I crave!
For I can’t
Peace myself
Together
Safely
Unless
You . . .

Peace!

Our next unit introduces poetry as a subject for discussion and composition. Do you have a poem that means a lot to you? Have you written a poem that you'd like for others to read? Why not post it as a comment right here for all of English 1002 (and the world) to see!

The Salem Witchcraft Trials: An Interactive Tale

2006-10-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

Nathaniel Hawthorne's Puritan ancestors were directly involved in the Salem Witch Trials (not as witches, mind you). That was part of Hawthorne's past of which he was not particularly proud. As a result of the embarrassing family history, much of his literary endeavor was directed at exposing what Hawthorne perceived as the hypocrisy of his Puritan forbears.

The photo above is Salem as it looked around the time of the Witchcraft Trials (and "Young Goodman Brown").

The link provided here (just click here!) to a National Geographic interactive website on "Salem" will provide you with a riveting interactive experience from the time and place of "Young Goodman Brown." Without a time machine, this is about as an authentic visit to the historical Salem that you can get!

Enjoy, and by all means, post a response--Whether you're in English 1002 or not!

Pictured above is a famous painting of a witch being examined in the Salem trial.

An Online Interactive Reading of "Sweat"

2006-10-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

Interested in what lies beneath the surface of ordinary words in "Sweat?"

Or in the author's intended significance for places and objects that never would have occurred to you as a casual reader?

Thanks to the web, click here to link to a version of the story produced by faculty and students at U. of South Florida with inserted hyperlinks to explanations of important terms, symbols, and objects in the story. Even though we move on from Hurston and "Sweat" to the next Module come October 4, some of you will choose to write about "Sweat." This version of the story might give you some rich insight. It's also an illustration of what a powerful resource you have at your disposal in the Internet.
Use resources like this to do your best!

If you like this material, find it interesting, or better yet, helpful, post a comment!

The Voice of Zora Neale Hurston

2006-09-27T21:46:00.000-05:00

Click here to listen to audio clips of Zora Neale speaking (and even singing!) from the Online Classroom of the Florida Memory Project.

What do you think of that? Post a comment!

Complex (but simple) Symbolism: The Parables of Jesus

2006-09-24T20:16:00.000-05:00

Having trouble understanding symbolism?

One of the easiest exercises to grasp how symbolism works--that is, objects or persons or things representing something beyond the literal object or person or thing--is to look at the familiar parables of Jesus found in the New Testament. Kennedy and Gioia include two very familiar biblical parables in your textbook:

"The Parable of the Good Seed" (Page 646)

"The Parable of the Prodigal Son" (Page 190)

Before you read the parables, look up both "allergory" and "parable" in the glossary of literary terms in your text (or look up the words on the Internet). You will how characters, places, and events in a parable have meaning on a literal level as well as a symbolic level.

If you'd like to look at a website that has links to parables as well as a discussion of what a parable is and how it relates to understanding symbolism, click here.

If you'd like to check out a multimedia version of the famous Parable of the Good Samaritan, click here.

Literary Analysis #3 will provide you an opportunity to write about symbolism in some of the selections you've read in the course, including the possibility of writing to explain one of these parables. If the idea of writing about one of the parables in Kennedy and Gioia's text appeals to you, be thinking along those lines. (But remember you have Lit. Analysis #2 to tackle before that! LOL).

Visitors to the blog are welcome to post comments. (Please, no anonymous posts--Let us know who you are.)

Symbolically Yours: Symbolism in Literature

2006-09-19T15:50:00.000-05:00

A symbol in literature, as defined by Kennedy and Gioia, is "a person, place, or thing in a narrative [or poem] that suggests meanings beyond its literal sense.

In "A&P," for instance, the store represents more than a grocery store, for it's slogan "We have the best values in town" has a double meaning: in other words, the store is not just a place to buy groceries--the store, along with its manager Lengel, represents the solid community social traditions and moral values. It's more than just a store!

And in "Everyday Use," how about the quilts? Are they just old bed comforters? Or do the quilts, beyond their "everyday use," represent the idea of family values and tradition?

Steinbeck's story "The Chrysanthemums," is rich in symbolism, but let's leave that discussion for the Discussion Board. Happy reading!

Click here for additional readings about literary symbolism.

Question for general Blogservation (comment, in other words, from 1002 students or anyone else visiting the blog who has an opinion or an idea): What are some other common symbols you can think of from any source. . . for example, from our culture? from movies you have seen? from other familiar stories or novels? from music or art?

Painting Credits on this page:
Deathgrave by Carlos Schwabe (above) and Safe in the Arms of Jesus (above right)

The Life and Times of Alice Walker

2006-09-15T22:06:00.000-05:00

Click here to the Wikipedia free encyclopedia article about Alice Walker, her life and times. The article is rich with other links to websites, photos, and even videos. Check out Alice's life and times.

Can you relate anything you find in Walker's life story to "Everyday Use?" Post a comment to the blog.

Comments from non-English 1002 students are welcome! Post your blogservations!

The College Online Writing Lab: Check out the OWL!

2006-09-13T21:07:00.000-05:00

Do you need wisdom for college writing assignments?
Visit the OWL!
(Online Writing Lab at Purdue University)
Click here to visit the Online Writing Lab.

You'll find resources to help with . . .

essay organization and structure
grammar and punctuation
MLA style
literary analysis
writing from research
paragraphing
sentence problems
anything else that ails you as a writer!

Visit the site. Post a comment here on the blog about what you find helpful or useful so others can get help, too!

Improve your active reading skills!

2006-09-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

"Qualty reading precedes quality writing."
--David Pulling

Reading assignments for English 1002 are more difficult than reading your hometown newspaper!

How have you adapted your reading style to meet the challenge?

Click here for a link to a syllabus from a college literature course that includes practical suggestions and advice on active reading. The literature teacher that designed this site had students like YOU in mind!

Not only does the syllabus have good information, it also includes links to other resources that may help you. Try it out. If you try some reading strategy that works, post a comment.

To Believe, or Not to Believe . . . The Unreliable Narrator!

2006-09-06T22:39:00.000-05:00

The first two reading selections this semester--Updike's "A&P" and Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"--are both related from the view points of unreliable narrators. Since that's one of the writing options for Literary Analysis #1, why not blog it? Check out the link to a Wikipedia article (click here) with a more prolonged discussion of this literary term than you'll find in your textbook.