A Bad Apple

This blog is a continuation of the previous one:

Throughout the doorway project, I wouldn't say the group had a bad apple amongst it. We all put extra effort in and made sacrifices to make ends meet. So I suppose during the assignment, yeah, we never really had bad experiences. It presented itself in a fun and challenging way that made it almost impossible for any of us to BE the bad apple. However, towards the end of the project and especially during the teacher review, One of the group members, who I feel put the most effort into creating our doorway, started to show signs of resentment. Our review went well but not as well was we hoped. The day that we presented our doorway, one of the mechanisms we created broke. Frustrated but out of time, we gave it our best shot and went on with the presentation anyway. I could tell the specific group member wasn't happy with the results and it appeared evident through his part of the presentation. Unsatisfied with the outcome, he blamed it on the restrictions of the materials and inadvertently blamed the teachers for assigning such materials to work with. True, the materials we had did present themselves as limited in function, but I felt this assignment stood as an obstacle that we all had to tackle. At the end of the class, he didn't even wait to be excused and left. Later on, our teacher pulled my group aside to discuss it, and even then he still felt bitter.

I guess that explains my bad apple experience. It never really deterred the group though and I felt satisfied with the experience.

A Design Student's Attempt at Making a Doorway

I remember my first group project. I had come here to become a design student and the first class that I took had me grouped up with two other design students. Our goal: Create a door using limited materials. Materials: Sixty feet total of lumber, 150 feet total of twine or burlap. We had 3 weeks to make all of these materials go together and create a doorway. Our professor wanted us to do more than just "create" a doorway. He wanted us to create a passage. He wanted us to really breakdown what a doorway meant and really create an experience with our doorway. With many countless hours of trial and error, we succeeded. I will say that the doorway assignment really pitted against the clock and we all came together successfully to create what I would say was a great doorway.

Response to Annie Dillard's "Fecundity"

I remember watching the Food Network one day and the show "Good Eats" came on the air. Alton Brown plays the host and within a half-hour segment gives his interpretation of--well-- "good eats." He brings on the entertainment through use of scientific knowledge and a sense of DIY accessibility. The food he makes looks delicious as well. But that wasn't the reason why I felt so intrigued by the show. I remember watching one episode where Alton said that he never used cooking utensils that served less than two functions and then he'd somehow create his own gadgets that he would use for multiple purposes. He then went on to make a carbonated smoothie using a a fire extinguisher and an empty water gallon jug.

I look at Alton Brown's transformation of simple objects into complex cooking multi-taskers, and think, "Shouldn't it always be that way?"

I liken Alton Brown's transformations of simple everyday tools/objects/what-have-yous to that of Annie Dillard's breaking down of small everyday objects that everyone seems to take for granted or hardly notice at all. I decided with this I would go the unconventional approach and describe what someone else would do with an object. He did say in an interview that he thinks cooking tools found in an appliance store are just overpriced hardware supplies. I thought that statement so true that I felt that Alton Brown was exactly the kind of person to really appreciate the little things in life and go the less unconventional route for more or less the same goal.

Response to Wendell Berry's "Manifesto" and "The Making of a Marginal Farm"

What is his intent with each piece?

With Wendell Berry's piece "Manifesto," He more or less conveys a message to the audience to appreciate the simple things in life and remember their own origin point. He knows that the audience will get side-tracked and make a few mistakes, but insists that they keep moving forward. I liken this back to the basics approach to that of Thoreau and even Chris McCandless. McCandless in general wanted a simplistic back to the basics lifestyle and didn't want anyone to impede on that.

With Berry's second piece, "The Makings of a Marginal Farm," it describes Berry's life as a more rooted one. He started off as a wondering ambitious explorer if you will, and became rooted to a place he had once visited as a child. I use the word "rooted" as sort of a pun because, as an adult with a family, one generally gets tied down and therefore becomes grounded. Berry also described this instance in his life where he felt destined to stay at that spot and that it replaced his lofty goals of adventure. His love of the hard work and follies that he endured while building this farm envelopes the reader. I feel like Berry's love of his farm became engraved into his writing. His ultimate message I think went along the lines of hard work will prosper. But I also feel that both of Berry's work coincide with each other and give the same message of going back to the basics and living a simplistic lifestyle full of wonder, missteps, and dedication.

Response: Sociology and Social Change

As I read through the essay, I felt a sense of deja vu. I had read something similar to this in my sociology and psychology classes while attending Kirkwood that some of this felt like knowledge I had once attained but forgotten. Through this reading It made me remember many of the things I had discussed in those classes such as social problems stemming from structural foundation. I had also noticed towards the middle of the essay that it directed itself towards me and my fellow college peers through use of clubs and social actions for the betterment of our environment. This method played on the Pathos, our emotions by trying to involve us in something to promote social change. I noticed also that a lot of the college level social problems and solutions reflected a lot of what I learned about through my advertising classes. I remember my advertising 301 class last semester had the class break off into teams and they had to try and create a product to sell to the rest of the class that would benefit the college. That semester has a theme that followed figuring out issues within the college and coming up with an idea to solve them. Rising prices in textbooks would be the issue, then we had to figure out a way to combat that issue. That part right there I was the most compelling part of the article seeing as I am a college student, and these things do affect me.

Reading Like a Writer: John Muir's A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf

What are the major themes in this piece? Are there any minor themes as well? Is there any kind of “subtext” in this essay? What kind of murmurs run below the surface?

John Muir’s theme throughout the essay and throughout many of his other essays convey more or less a meaning of one’s own existence and link to God. From a young age he was subjected forcibly to recite the Bible it appears evident throughout his writing. The essay does seem to be more or less a rambling journal entry from Muir. I felt his audience was towards himself, but nonetheless even towards himself, he brought up the point of our existence. Personally I didn’t quite enjoy this piece as much as others because it didn’t have something one would experience from an essay.

Reading Like a Writer: Edward Abbey's Polemic: Industrial Tourism and the National Parks

How does the writer structure the essay and to what effect? (Why does it begin where it does? Why does it end with the image or scene the writer chooses? Is it a linear narrative? Or is it fragmented?)

Abbey starts the essay off with a vivid description of his job and day-to-day life as a park ranger. He explains when his workweek starts, what he does during those workweeks, and what he does during his off days. I think he starts off the essay with this description to personalize himself and his stance and make people feel more understanding of him. All seems well for Edward Abbey until road surveyors come to his place and explain to him the industrialization of national landmarks. This is where it gets more technical and somewhat cynical of the government funded pursuit of making the national forests and monuments more accessible to people. He goes into how he feels about the situation and about what other national monuments have been defaced for tourist attraction. He then ends the essay back in his present time where he ends on a humorous note of “sticking it to the man” by getting rid of the road markers and hiding them. I think he did this as another way to personalize the issue and to be funny. Edward Abbey has been known for his humor and I think that’s where he wanted to leave off with the essay.

Reading Like a Writer: M. Scott Momaday's A First American Views His Land

What kind of rhythm does the writer create? Is there a variety in the sentence structure? Read the piece aloud to get a sense of the writer’s voice. Write about the writer’s rhythmic choices and their effect on the overall tone of the piece.

Momaday’s rhythmic style has more to do with his alternating use of poems and full on paragraphs. In some instances, he asks questions in sentence form, and then answers them through poem. Though the poems aren’t perhaps the best, they are creative in the way that the author uses them. If Momaday wanted to create just a poetic piece, he would’ve used only poems, or if he wanted to convey a message through essay, he would have only used paragraphs. It’s a creative way to use poems and sentences. Personally, I didn’t quite like the poetic structure and would have added more to the poems to further add to the piece altogether.

Outline

I. Introduction
1. Explanation of text(author, story, context, etc.)
2. Thesis(audience, effectiveness, strategy)
II. Body
1. Explanation of purpose of text
2. Analyze author's style
3. Ethos, Pathos, Logos
III. Conclusion
1. Restate Thesis
2. Ending Comments