In the opening paragraph, it is obvious that the central motif of the piece is nature's beauty. The days are described as being "beautiful," and each one is "a golden surprise."These choices of diction emphasize the perfection of nature. But of course, the use of the word "golden" with regards to nature also brings up the diea that these ideal conditions are only temporary. As Myop continues her journey, it becomes clear that the piece isn't going to be all sunshine and rainbows. She notices a stream where bubbles "disrupt the...soil." The use of "disrupt" foreshadows this shift. Eventually, Myop ends up far from home, in a small cove. This cove is described with words such as "strangeness,""gloomy," and "silence," all words that signify a shift from happiness to gloom in tone. Finally, Myope leaves the cove upon noticing the "rotted remains of a noose." The use of rotted remains also contributes to the concept of death, which nature's impermanence.
Symbolism also pervades the piece. As Myop begins her journey, she notices everyday plants, such as wildflowers and ferns. As she ventures forth, the plants become more beautiful-"strange blue flowers with velvety ridges and a sweetsuds bush full of the brown, fragrant buds." This symbolizes the beauty of nature but also sets up the idea that things are almost too beautiful, preparing the reader for a shift. Finally, she notices a beautiful rarity, a "wild pink rose." This rose is [At this point, I ran out of time.].
REFLECTION
My prose essay was, for the most part, a strong attempt at answering the prompt. It addressed multiple nuances within the text, for example the use of diction to foreshadow the ending of the piece. Not only that, but it also contained a clear thesis, and remained on topic. While I clearly still have quite a ways to go toward a full and complete answer, this marked a rather strong start to my journey. I demonstrated my ability to make connections to other texts as well, something seen in Foster’s How to Read Literature like a Profesor. Notably, I was able to show a strong correlation between Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” and this text, “The Flowers,” by Alice Walker. My diction was also very precise, something I tend to think all my writing has. And most of all, it felt as though it really was my response; it didn’t feel forced or scripted.
Of course, while I had a relatively strong essay, it was nowhere near what I wanted to write. First off, I ran out of time, and therefore was not able to effectively show my interpretation of the flowers becoming more exotic as Myop went farther from her comfort zone. Had I been able to do this, I likely would have earned a far higher score. Another problem I have to deal with is pacing my essay. It felt to me like each paragraph was too independent; there was very little flow from one to the next. Thirdly, I definitely could have mentioned the significance of Myop’s background had I been more thoughtful in my annotations. I just sort of glanced over her socio-economic status when clearly it played a much larger role than I imagined. Lastly, I could have at least come up with a simple concluding sentence during the final couple of minutes, even though I had an unfinished essay.
So, moving forward, I have three main goals as far as the prose essay is concerned. First is to more effectively manage my time while writing the essay. I tend to dwell on things a little too much when reading, and stopping myself from doing so would make it far easier to complete the essay on time. This is also very easy to measure, as improvement will be shown by my essay being complete. My next goal is to analyze the characters more thoroughly. While I pointed out many things about the world around Myop, I didn’t really address Myop herself. Had I been able to do this, I would most certainly have seen a deeper meaning in the text. This is also easy to measure, as it can be shown through more annotations regarding characterization. Thirdly, I intend to always write a conclusion for each and every essay I write, even if the essay itself is not totally finished. This is extremely easy to measure, as the conclusion should be present in all of my essays from now on.
These three goals will enable me to increase my score on the prose essay while at the same time allowing me to continue to write in a style that is uniquely mine. By better managing my time, I will be able to effectively plan out my essay while at the same time increase the amount of time I have to actually write the essay. By better analyzing the characters, I not only will be able to point out nuances about them, but I will also be able to effectively compare them to other characters from other texts, perhaps pointing out that they follow a certain archetype. Finally, by writing a conclusion for each essay I write, I will be able to effectively end each one. This will give my writing a sense of completeness, even if it is not totally so. By following all of these goals, I will most certainly become a better reader and a better writer.
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