My Writing Blog – Grace Knudsen

Summary and Evaluation

What is Literature?

9-22-19

The Terry Eagleton essay has really caught my attention, and I’m very excited to be writing about it. While I was reading the article, I actually pulled out my highlighter and was saving some quotes that I thought were really interesting. I ended up writing them down in my personal journal and having a sort of philosophical discussion to myself about everything that Eagletone was arguing.

I’ve never had the opportunity, at least through a classroom setting, to really ask why people value certain pieces of writing as literature over other pieces of writing. In high school, we just take these novels like The Great Gatsby or Of Mice and Men at face value and just let our teachers tell us how great they are. I’ve been encouraged to argue, but I haven’t been encouraged to try and identify the root causes of what literature has become, which is exactly what Eagleton is doing here. I’m very excited to explore this in my paper.

What’s my story?

10-6-19

I’ve gotten my first draft back from Dr. Pennington, and it looks like I’ve made a couple mistakes in my analysis. I focused too much on being objective, when I can actually show a little more of my own perspective in my paper. He asked me to include more of my own personal stories in order to show a better understanding of each of the definitions that Eagleton provides. So I have to get personal, which could actually be kind of fun.

The one definition that Eagleton provides that I think is really fun to write about is his concept of value judgements and the idea that people can decide what is a right way to read a piece of writing and what is the wrong way. Obviously, I disagree with this fact. As long as you can support your argument, I think writing can be read any way. But this concept made me think of all the times I had been recommended a book by a friend, and was met with frustration by them when I decided that I didn’t like it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told, “well, I think you just didn’t read it correctly.” Nah, I don’t think so. I think I just didn’t like the book.

Evaluation

10-13-19

Second draft is done, woo! I just got it back from Dr. Pennington and… I wasn’t precise enough. How many times do I have to be reminded to not be general in my analysis? Maybe one day I’ll actually learn and get it right the first time (or draft) around. For now, I’ll just keep revising and try to be a little more thorough.

Generality is something I struggle with most of the time anyways, but I think the subjectivity of this paper is getting me. I’m not providing enough about myself in the paper because I don’t think that counts as support to my claims. I provided one good example connecting my experience with literature to one of Eagleton’s definitions, but I have to go back and do that for each of them. I should try to not let the new-ness of this paper style get in the way of me actually being efficient.

Reader Response

An Anecdote

11-22-19

I decided to write my reader response essay about William Carlos Williams because I remembered reading his poems in my sophomore year of high school for English class. We read “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “This is Just to Say”, and I remembered how hectic our class was when we tried to analyze the two. The red wheelbarrow somehow absolutely HAD to represent communism, and the grapes stolen from this icebox were definitely a euphemism for a woman’s virginity. No other options. Our teacher let us loose with our analyses, and we all decided that we as a class had to all unanimously agree on an interpretation in order for it to be correct.

I think that mindset and the catastrophe of those following class days showed the importance of the reader response theories. An interpretation doesn’t have to be unanimous in order for it to be valid. You can get whatever you want out of a poem, you just have to be able to support your argument and know the poem’s context. I think this will be a very fun paper to write, because I have a good amount of content to work with.

This is Just to Say

11-24-19

…That I am getting SO CLOSE to finishing up my essays for this portfolio. My reader response paper seems to be going a lot smoother than my other papers have gone, simply because I feel more confident in what I am arguing. It’s easier to work with something you absolutely believe in, while my other papers required me to put myself into the head of another person’s perspective in order to argue my theses.

My reader response paper has been a fun sequence of events to write, too. I sent out an email to a few close friends as a method of research, asking them to read the poem and then send me their own individual analyses. It was really fun hearing what they had to say. The wheelbarrow represented industry, rural living, capitalism, and even sin. It was a lot of fun to hear what my friends had to think, and it’ll be even more fun to incorporate into this paper.

The Finish Line

11-29-19

I’ve done it! English 305 has finally used up its allotted time with me for the semester! I submitted my draft for peer review, showed Dr. Pennington what I was writing, and finished my paper on Thanksgiving day. So I guess this year I am thankful for the work ethic that I have set for myself in working through these papers. Along with the mashed potatoes and turkey, of course.

This class was a whirlwind of revisions, Google Doc comments, PDF files, and the Track Changes button on Microsoft Word. I can’t begin to explain how much I have learned through this class. The revising and editing process is a new skill I feel like I am close to perfecting, and it’s been great to learn all of these new literary theories as well. As much as this class has punched me to the ground a few times, I’ve got some wicked stories to tell and lessons that I’ve learned. Here’s to the next step in my path of being an English major.

Psychoanalytic

Lacan and Prufrock. How does this work?

10-8-19

The minute I found out I had to do a psychoanalytic paper, I thought to myself “No way am I writing about Freud. Not again.” Freud plagued three years of my high school academic career, in three of my English classes and especially in senior year AP Psychology. I never really learned about any other psychoanalysts, except for a brief introduction to Jung. Dr. Pennington gave us an intro to a few different psychoanalysts though, and I have arrive on one that interests me: Jacques Lacan.

Well, now here begs the question: How can Lacan be implemented into a piece of writing? My thoughts are that if Lacan’s theories all center around the fact that humans cannot say what they really mean, then poetry is the approach to go. Poets always use imagery and different literary techniques to send a message when they can’t just say it flat out. That is completely parallel with what Lacan says. So, I’m gonna use Lacanian theory with T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” I think it’ll go well.

Poor Prufrock…

10-12-19

Turns out, this poem actually works really well with Lacanian theory. The mistake I made, however, is that I tried to bring every single concept that Lacanian theory involves into my paper. My paper turned too much into a summary of Lacan than an analysis of Prufrock. Dr. Pennington made sure to let me know in his comments on my first draft that I needed to narrow my focus. So I cut out a lot of my paper in trying to navigate how to really analyze Prufrock. I’m gonna look at quotes first, and then analyze using Lacan, rather than picking a Lacanian concept and then trying to find a quote that fits it. I probably should’ve done that in the first place.

I started looking at quotes more, and can I just say: Prufrock really is having a bad time. I feel pretty bad for him. He just wants to ask a nice woman out on a date but he’s too plagued with insecurities and some deeply seeded psychological problems. Obviously, that’s where Lacan comes into play, and my analysis should focus on what his language says about his unconscious desires. But all in all, I think he just needs a hug.

“It is impossible to say just what I mean!”

10-27-19

…Prufrock has the perfect line in the poem to explain what Lacan is all about. I’m finishing up my third draft right now, focusing on a little bit more quote analysis. I’m also trying to see if there are any other quotes in the poem that I can add to some body paragraphs without needing to start another claim. The draft should be pretty easy to fix, and then I think I’m good to go.

I’m officially halfway through the curriculum for this class now, which is exciting. The workload has not managed to kill me yet, so I would say I’m in a good spot right now. I have the feminist paper to work on next which seems a little more in my comfort zone now. I had to actually teach myself about Lacan in order to apply him to literature, but for feminist analysis I feel a lot more confident. It’s almost self-explanatory, in a way.

New Historical

Kate Chopin and Feminism

11-7-19

I’m so glad I finally get to write about the Awakening again! I chose to ignore it for the Feminist paper just because I wanted to be a little more creative, but now I get to revisit it. This time around, I just need to stay a little more focused on the time frame of the novel. I just submitted by proposal to Dr. Pennington, and it looks like I’m gonna have a lot of material to choose from, so this should be fun.

I first read The Awakening in high school, and I remember being really annoyed with it. High school English classes focus so much on the method of analyzing and the different ways to understand a novel, that I never really got to just sit back and enjoy the story. Now that I’ve had a couple years to work on my writing and interpreting skills, The Awakening is a lot more fun to read and I feel a lot more connected to it. In this English 305 class, it’s great to get to choose what novel you want to write about. This way, I’m not forced to read a book and the write a paper about it. Instead, I choose what I like to read, and then I write about what I’ve seen.

“History Has Its Eyes On You”

11-15-19

Writing my New Historical paper seems to have fallen in line with a lot of things occurring in the world as well. New Historicism revolves around seeing things in the context of how it was affected by its time and how the things will affect the time moving forward. Edna Pontellier acted as both a response to the injustices against women of her time, but she also proved to be a hero and an inspiration to the women following the publication of the novel.

All of these impeachment hearings occurring in the U.S. right now, to the campus movements taking charge right now, to the people speaking out about the climate crisis in the world, all seem to remind me of the impact that we have as individuals. The actions that we take right now will be remembered later on. Nothing exists in a vacuum, and nothing really should. New Historicism looks at how history plays an important role in the meaning of a work, and I think we should all keep in mind what we are doing with our own actions right now.

As the Hamilton quote goes: “You have no control who lives, who dies, and who tells your story.” -Lin Manuel Miranda

Nineteenth Century Feminism

11-19-19

Generality is my worst flaw as a writer. Every single time I submit a first (or even second) draft, I always get told that I’m being way too general in my analysis and I need to hone in on one or two concepts. When I start an outline of a paper, the first thing I do is search for quotes and search for sources to go along with them. My head gets filled with ideas and I don’t want to discard any at first glance because I don’t want to miss out on good analysis. I think I just need to get a better filter for my ideas so that I don’t just grab any idea I can think of.

When I hear that I’ve gotten too general with my analysis in a paper, I usually respond with a deep sigh (to myself), and I grab my laptop and head to the Mulva library. I can usually get work done in my room, but when I’m on a deadline or when I’m feeling really out of focus, I head straight to the second floor with a mission: I can NOT leave until I get all of my work done at this library desk. That’s how my second draft of this paper was written, and I feel a lot better about this draft than my last one.

Feminist and Gender

The Governess

10-22-19

Oh boy (or should I say girl?). Time for the feminist paper, which I’ve been anticipating this whole semester. I could have gone with the Awakening, could have gone with the Yellow Wallpaper, could have gone with Sweat, and instead I picked… The Turn of the Screw. I’m not sure what I was thinking when I picked it, I just figured it would be something interesting to do since it’s not an already objectively feminist story.

Writing my proposal was a little difficult. Obviously, I focused on the fact that James doesn’t even give the Governess a name. That already stands out to me as being a little problematic. I wonder how the story would be read by the audience if she had a real name, like Jane or something. The job of governess also shows the sense of servitude that she has to provide as a woman during the time of the novel. I just need to keep digging for more concepts that I can analyze in this story through a feminist lens.

Revisions, Revisions, Revisions.

10-28-19

Happy midterms! I’m drowning in work right now, but at least I’m getting this blog post done. Everyone else that I know had their midterms all consolidated into one week, but mine has stretched over two weeks with this English 305 class really weighing the workload down on me. At least I feel good about the paper that I’m writing.

The one thing that I am noticing about this class, however, is that the revision process is kind of tripping me up with my other classes. I just got assigned a paper for my Philosophy class and I asked my professor, “will there be any revisions for this after we turn it in?” Turns out, no. I’m getting really used in this class to being able to just submit a draft and not be too perfectionist about it until I hear what my professor has to say. That’s not what it’s like in other classes of mine, though. As much as I’m appreciating the writing process in this class, I can’t apply it to classes outside of my English major.

Finishing Up

11-1-19

You know, I had almost hoped that this specific paper would be really hard to write, so that I could make a joke that this paper was haunting me. Get it? Because of the ghosts? Turns out, this paper was probably the easiest one for me to write for this class, even though I expected it to be pretty difficult to analyze James’ story.

My final draft was easy enough to write. Now that the flood of midterms is over, I got to focus just on this paper and a couple homework assignments. No more exams to worry about. I wrote my final draft while I was waiting for my laundry to be done in the basement of my residence hall, and so my reward for finishing up my work was clean clothes. Ha. I’m happy that this paper was easy enough to write, but I have no idea what to expect for when I need to crack down on my New Historical paper.

Close Reading

Edna and the Birds

9-4-19

Before I write a close reading analysis, I always make sure to go through the novel and find quotes as I’m reading that I can highlight and use later for analysis. Mademoiselle Reisz has a quote in the novel where she says “the bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings”, and I am going to base my paper around this quote.

This quote can be analyzed from many different viewpoints. Chopin includes a lot of bird imagery in the novel to represent Edna and her struggle to find autonomy in her life.

I’ve began an outline that highlights each of the times that a bird is mentioned within the novel. This involves the parrot and the mockingbird at the beginning of the novel, and all of Reisz’s quotes about birds and their connection to liberation. Edna’s inner monologue and her true desires are articulated through the actions of each of the birds mentioned in the novel, and I can write about the importance of the bird motif.

Reisz and Ratignolle

9-8-19

Alright. Change of plans. About halfway through writing my first draft, I’ve realized that simply focusing on the bird motif in the novel will not be enough to have a very deep analysis of the Chopin’s novel. Simply writing about the similarities between bird quotes does not seem to provide enough content in my paper.

My solution to this problem is just to incorporate more of Mademoiselle Reisz’s character into my analysis. What is her reason for making these claims about freedom and autonomy? The reason I have found is that Reisz symbolizes the dream of autonomy that Edna has. Reisz is the vessel that motivates Edna to become an independent woman.

This dream for independence as portrayed through Reisz is countered by the character of Adele Ratignolle. Adele acts as the beauty queen/housewife archetype that everyone in Edna’s life seems to adore and worship. Even though she is oppressed, she seems to be happy with the life she is living. How are her actions and disposition different from Mademoiselle Reisz, and why is this distinction important? That’s what I plan on proceeding with in my draft.

Edna in the Middle

9-15-19

After submitting my revised draft to my professor, I’ve realized that I’ve focused most of my analysis into the two character of Reisz and Ratignolle. But this ignores a very important question in my analysis: What is the point of these characters in relation to Edna? What purpose do they serve to her, and what does Edna do with this information?

Edna is friends with both of these women, and she seems to see the good and bad qualities in each of them. Reisz is independent but outcast, and Adele is adored yet oppressed. The way that Edna synthesizes this information and decides which way to act is what I was missing in my first draft. Does Edna prefer one over the other? Does she ever get into an argument or conflict with one of these women?

Edna’s decision is eventually revealed in her decision to drown herself at the end of the novel. Both of the lifestyles that are shown to her by Reisz and Ratignolle are not worthy of her time. If Edna cannot feel truly free and accepted, then why bother living in the first place? Edna’s suicide is a revolutionary act to both her oppressors, and the burdens placed on her shoulders that beg her to choose between tradition and autonomy. This is essential to discovering the importance of Reisz and Ratignolle’s characters, so I need to reflect on that aspect in my revision of the paper.