Becoming Something Better

 

 

 

 

 

 

During my course of English 131.01 critical thinking and writing, I have completed work that I consider most significant to my first semester at Lenoir-Rhyne. Throughout the semester we drafted and revised work on the following books: The Devil in the White City, Creature, The Underground Railroad, and Our Town. Some features that have helped develop me into a better critical thinker and writer is writing letters, turning away from the screen, and planning, drafting, and revising my work.

Each month of the semester I would write letters to different family members. These letters helped me stay connected with them even when I couldn’t always go see them or call them. In every letter I wrote, I included a picture. In the Underground Railroad, Lumbly tells Cora that “[e]very state is different”. I included a picture to show them how much I have developed in just my first semester and how college has made me different. Different in a positive way, I am more open to meeting new people and getting involved. The next thing that helped me throughout the semester was turning away from the screen. Turning away from the screen allowed all of my ideas to flow on a piece of paper. Writing all of my ideas on a piece of paper helped me mark out things I didn’t need. I would also leave notes for myself to correct or to add something. The last thing that really helped me this semester was planning, drafting, and revising my work. I like to be organized and take things step by step.

I tried to keep an open mind when starting to read each book. While reading The Devil in the White City, one passage stood out to me. “It was so easy to disappear. So easy to deny knowledge, so very easy in the smoke and din to mask that something dark has taken root”. The first thing that popped into my head after reading this quote was that even though there is good, evil is sure to appear. Overall, writing letters, turning away from the screen, and planning, drafting, and revising my work has helped develop me into a better critical thinker and writer.

Works cited

Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City. Vintage, 2004.

Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Doubleday, 2016.

Annotated Bibliography

Junod, Tom. “The Falling Man.” Esquire, Esquire, 5 Oct. 2017, www.esquire.com/news-politics/a48031/the-falling-man-tom-junod/.

“The Falling Man” creates an image inside your head. Tom Junod describes a picture in various ways. For example, “If he were not falling, he might very well be flying”. Junod adds two sides to each description. This shows that the photographer of the image has to capture the history even when it’s difficult.

Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City. Vintage, 2004.

Even though there is good, evil is sure to appear. At the beginning of the book, H.H. Holmes builds an elaborate hotel, the World’s Fair Hotel, suited for his enjoyment of killing people and disposing of their bodies. After multiple marriages, killings, debut, and fraud, he flees Chicago after being on the verge of being caught. Holmes is caught in Philadelphia and arrested. During his arrest, his past illegal activity and murders are revealed.

Richtel, Matt. “Blogs vs. Term Papers”. The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/education/edlife/muscling-in-on-the-term-paper-tradition.html.

“Blogs vs. Term Papers” is a discussion about the impact of blogs and writing papers by hand. It is stated that blogging has become more of a basic requirement and that writing papers has become more of a dying art. Writing blogs can provide an audience while writing a term paper can provide a grade.

Shrek, Heidi. Creature. Samuel French, 2011.

The play “Creature” is focused on Margery Kempe who is the daughter of the mayor and the wife of John Kempe. Margery is a new mother and the owner of a highly profitable beer business. After childbirth, Margery, a medieval Englishwoman, begins to see visions of the Devil and Jesus Christ.

Twenge, Jean M. “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4 Aug. 2017, http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/.

“Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation” discuss’ all of the different survey’s that have been taken over time with different generations. Teens have allowed smartphones to shape their attitudes and behaviors. Younger generations don’t recall a time without internet or a phone. Teens spend most of their time on their phones instead of outside or with family.

Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Doubleday, 2016.

Cora’s grandmother, Ajarry, is a protagonist. Ajarry is kidnapped from Africa as a child and brought to America. After being sold several times, Ajarry ends up at Randall Plantation. Ajarry had 3 husbands and 5 children but the only child to survive was Mabel, Cora’s mother. Mabel left Cora on her own to become a stray. Cora was placed in a cabin called Hob. Cora joins Caesar in an escape attempt. During this time Cora and Caesar are given new names and identities.

Wilder, Thornton. Our Town. 1938. Harper Perennial, 2003.

Our Town is narrated by the stage manager. The play takes place in Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire in 1901. Tables and chairs represent the homes of the Gibbs and Webb family. During act I, Dr. Gibbs returns from delivering a set of twins. Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Gibbs make breakfast and send the kids to school. Act II happens three years later on George and Emily’s wedding day. During act II, we see flashbacks from the year prior. Act III takes place nine years later in a cemetery on a hilltop. The play beings on an early morning and ended with the stars.

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The Beauty of a Good Hometown

Donald Margulies wrote a foreword that could have “dismissed Our Town as a corny relic of Americana and regulated Thornton Wilder to the kitsch bin along with Norman Rockwell” (xi). Donald Margulies expressed, in the harsh review, that he was not very fond of the paintings and the plays. Margulies believes they produce a false reality. While Margulies may have dismissed Our Town as a corny relic, Margulies also wrote in his foreword “I was so mesmerized by its subversive power, so warmed by its wisdom, so shattered by its third act, that I couldn’t believe it was the same play I thought I had known since childhood” (xii). When reading Margulies foreword, I saw two different views from him. Donald Margulies foreword will not change my view of Our Town or Rockwell’s paintings.

Norman Rockwell’s paintings and Our Town are comparable. The play Our Town composes a simple kind of living. The play takes place in a small town where everybody knows everyone else. Throughout the play you can see how the small town is unwilling to change. The people of the town are focused on being content where they are. Our Town is focused on a small town, Grover’s Corner, which symbolizes what a “perfect” small town was supposed to be in the 1900s. Rockwell described his own inspirations for his paintings by saying “maybe as I grew and found the world was not the perfect place I had thought it to be, I unconsciously decided that if it was not an ideal world, it should be, and so I painted only the ideal aspects of it”. One parallel between the play, Our Town, and Rockwell’s paintings would be how they both focused on how the world should be “perfect” and the ideal aspects of it.

I personally have a different view than Donald Margulies. I do not view Wilder’s play and Rockwell’s paintings as “relic[s] of Americana” to be regulated “to the kitsch bin”. Throughout life I have met people who are such critics, such as Donald Margulies, that do not appreciate Our Town and Rockwell’s enhancement of reality. Rockwell had a way to adapt to everyday situations and applying them to his paintings. Rockwell increased the visual and emotional punch by using this method. This method really showed me beauty in his paintings. Our Town also enhanced reality. The play allowed us to get an insight of how the days in the 1900’s really were.

Our Town and Rockwell’s paintings allow us to see the aspects of the everyday life in the 1900’s. Donald Margulies’ foreword could have caused myself or others to view Our Town as a corny relic of Americana but once I started reading the play and looking at Rockwell’s paintings, I did not view them as corny relics. I viewed them as enhancements to reality. Our world is a messy place and everyday involves changes that are going to occur but Our Town and Rockwell’s paintings show the beauty of a good hometown.

Works Cited

Wilder, Thornton. Our Town. 1938. Harper Perennial, 2003.

Margulies, Donald. Foreword. Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Harper Perennial, 2003, pp.xi-xx.

Good vs. Evil

The Devil in the White City has endless amounts of explications. These explications reveal tons of new information to each reader throughout Erik Larson’s book. The passage I chose to discuss is in the first chapter of the book. It sets the scene of Chicago in the 19^th century. This passage foreshadows what the future of Chicago will hold; the World’s Fair and Holmes’ murders. Good vs. evil is one of the key themes throughout the book. This analysis reveals that though there is good, evil is sure to appear. Murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America.

I chose the short passage on page 12. The passage states “It was so easy to deny knowledge, so very easy in the smoke and din to mask that something dark had taken root. This was Chicago, on eve of the greatest fair in history”. This passage shows that even though there is good; evil is sure to appear. Not only is this a main theme throughout the book, it also shows that there are endless amounts of evil things that could potentially happen at the fair, as well as many fun and entertaining   things.

During the 19^th century, it was easy to get away with murder. You could deny any knowledge, you could assume anonymity, and hide within the crowds of the city. During these times, it was very hard to prove someone guilty due to the lack of technology. The quote “Young women drawn to Chicago by the fair and by the prospect of living on their own had disappeared, last seen at the killer’s block-long mansion, a parody of everything architects held dear” (Larson page 6) shows that disappearing was easy. Sometimes it can even go unnoticed. “The press speculated that scores of the fairgoers must have disappeared within the building” (Larson page 6). In this quote from page 6, the press assumed that the fairgoers just “disappeared” in the building. Many were shocked by what the detectives found inside the building and the horrifying events that could have gone unnoticed for such a long period of time.

In conclusion, this analysis reveals that though there is good, evil is sure to appear. At the beginning of the book, H.H. Holmes builds an elaborate hotel, the World’s Fair Hotel, suited for his enjoyment of killing people and disposing of their bodies. After multiple marriages, killings, debut, and fraud, he flees Chicago after begin on the verge on being caught. Holmes is caught in Philadelphia and arrested. During his arrest, his past illegal activity and murders are revealed.

Work Cited

Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City. Vintage, 2004.

Jesus Christ or the Devil

The play “Creature” is focused on Margery Kempe who is the daughter of the mayor and the wife of John Kempe. Magery is a new mother and the owner of a highly profitable beer business. After child birth, Margery, a medieval Englishwoman, begins to see visions of the Devil and Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ appeared in a purple robe. During this time, religion is the majority of the talk. Most people have a hard time believing her; visions are rare and difficult to come by in 1401. These visions lead Margery wanting to become God’s servant.

Margery likes to show off, flirt, and dress up. Her faith is very showy, just like she is.  Margery’s character changes throughout the play. She has a strong faith and wants to devote herself fully to God but she also calls attention to herself by wearing white. Wearing white could be very dangerous for her during this time when heresy, witchcraft and possessing an English Bible can get you burned at stake.

The first appearance of a demon was right after Margery gave birth. Asmodeus visited Margery. Asmodeus appeared to be a priest but Margery saw differently. Asmodeus says to Margery “[i]’m going to open my mouth very wide and then you look in there. I think you’ll be quite surprised by what you see” (9). After sudden darkness, John, Margery’s husband, asked the nurse “[w]hat the hell is that? Some kind of animal” (9)? The nurse races in and responds “[i]t’s your wife, she says there’s a devil in her room and he’s trying to swallow her” (9).

Margery request that John and the nurse find her a new priest. After searching, they find Father Thomas. Father Thomas knows how best to know and love God. He counsels and help Margery find her way. Margery wanted to thank Father Thomas for coming to her in a time of need but she had been so busy until now. Father Thomas says to Margery “I know, I hear that you pray- loudly- at St. Margaret’s church from early morning well into the evening-” (23). Margery begins to tell him that she is God’s servant now and that she is going to become a saint. Father Thomas tells Margery that he does not believe that is what God is asking us to strive to become saints.

Throughout the play “Creature,” Margery’s character changes as well as the tone. Margery has visions of the Devil and Jesus Christ. She strives to be a saint but wears white when she is not a virgin. She unnecessarily calls attention to herself. Her husband, John, wants love and prosperity. Religion is the majority of the talk during this time period. Most people had a hard time believing her; visions were rare and difficult to come by in 1401. These visions led to Margery wanting to become God’s servant.

Worked Cited

Schreck, Heidi. Creature. Samuel French, 2011.

It’s All About Passion

Hello, my name is Makayla Ward and I am a freshman at Lenoir-Rhyne University. I am also a cheerleader at Lenoir-Rhyne University. I started cheering at the age of 5. I have cheered on many different levels; such as recreation, competitive, middle school, high school and now I am at the college level. Cheering has always been a passion of mine. Cheerleading is what motivates me to try new things and not let fear get in front of me. As a flyer, it takes trusting your teammates to a whole different level. It brings out self confidence and believing in yourself. At a young age I was taught that hard work pays off. I completely understand that now after making the college team. 

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