Tuesday, December 13, 2005
English 101 rocks my world…really!
Over the course of this semester, I have appreciated learning the characteristics of the different forms of writing. My favourite though is still the personal essay. At the time, we had read the works of Jonathan Franzen and Caitlin Flanagan, both of whose writing was intensely evocative. Franzen describes his father’s slow decline into Alzheimer’s and its effects on his parent’s relationship while Flanagan recalls her mother’s decision to stop being a stay-at-home mother and begin a career as a nurse. These incidents were significant in the lives of these authors and the care with which they retell their stories is a testament to this.
With this same attention to detail, the personal essay was to be three-to-four pages long and make use of the same devises evident in the writings of Franzen and Flanagan. Following from this, then, I wrote about my brother’s wedding. Although a primarily joyous event, there was some element of sadness in this event—an aspect which I brought out in the paper. Although short in length, this paper was one of those which required much time to complete. Part of this is explained by the fact that I was especially attentive to the phrasings of sentences and the words that constituted them.
This paper helped me especially develop the creative aspect of my writing. Traditionally, I am accustomed to writing factual and straightforward essays. This assignment focused my attention on the importance of adding detail and in-depth description to my writing. Yet, I especially appreciated this assignment because it enabled me to work through this significant incident in my life. In the process of recalling the event, I became in touch with emotions I had not given much thought to. In the essay, I mention some sadness in respect to my brother’s wedding, feelings which at the time I suppressed because I felt guilty about them. In some ways, this essay was like a much needed diary entry. Furthermore, I forwarded the essay to my family who were blessed and touched by the narration. Unlike many assignments, the value of this essay went beyond a mere requirement for English class to something much more enriching.