#7 Week 6 pg. 67 Writing about texts

Summary

To be an active reader you must follow some guidelines to help focus and understand what you read. First get familiar with the writer’s style of writing, note interesting details that you notice, reread to make sure you fully understand what the writer is trying to say, and apply critical thinking strategies. Another thing active readers do is note what they are reading, annotating each paragraph and writing their thoughts about specific details and writing outlines on what they have read. To write and effective summary mention the title of the text, be objective, quote when needed and present only a few main points the writer talked about. Remember that the difference between a summary and an analysis is the question they answer: summary answers what and analysis answers how. When analyzing remember to relate key parts of the story, the writers effectiveness of telling the story and getting their points across and what questions did the writer leave un answered and answered.

Reader Response

I think that taking the time to outline a story or visual before writing a summary can be useful but I also think that it is a waste of time. Although an outline can help the reader organize his/her thoughts, I think outlines should be saved for more challenging writing assignments like a paper about the story: then an outline would help but to waste an outline to write something as simple as a summary is foolish. However I think going through stories and writing little side notes to yourself and analyzing important paragraphs can be helpful and useful when writing summaries and analyses. I also didn’t know that summaries were supposed to answer what while analysis’s answer how, that should help me write more effectively.

#6 Week 5 "Two Kinds" pg.193

Summary

A Chinese immigrant mother who has moved to the united states after losing everything including her husband and twin daughters, now has one child whom she puts all her attention on. She wants to make her child a famous prodigy, and quizzes her on random facts and tries to make her a Chinese version of Shirley temple.  After Tan (narrator and daughter) shows no interest in her mother’s trivial pursuits her mother decides to find her daughter a piano teacher after seeing a similar child play on a popular TV show. When Tan realizes her instructor is death and can’t see very well, she decides not to try as hard and that a few wrong notes aren’t worth stopping and correcting. After playing an embarrassingly awful song at a talent show Tan realizes she has not only let her mother down but lets her self-down as well. Although Tan feels like she has failed her mother, she shows no signs of trying to fix that, she refuses to play piano anymore and pushes her mother further and further away from her after rubbing her twin daughter’s deaths in her face. Years pass and Tan’s mother dies and leaves Tan the piano she had bought her years earlier, in the bench Tan finds two music scores “Perfectly Contented” and “Pleading Child”. This symbolizes her mother who was always content with what Tan did no matter what and Tan always pleading with her mother to stop pushing her, after playing them both Tan realizes the songs go together to make one big beautiful song.

Reader Response

I thought at the beginning of the story that it was going to be about a loving mother and daughter duo that rise to fame and have an everlasting love and respect for one another. But Tan’s hatred toward her mother is made very apparent throughout the story line. It is sad that Tan never realized that her mother just wanted her to succeed and always believed in her even when Tan didn’t believe in herself. I don’t understand where Tan found such hatred for her mother and never realized how much stuff her mother put up with from her. It is a sad story that makes me glad that I have a great relationship with my mother.

#5 Week 5 "The Necklace" pg.187

Summary

Mrs. Loisel is a middle class French woman who was born into the wrong life. She had always dreamed of being a rich debutant who wore the finest clothes and jewels and lived in a mansion with a gorgeous, rich husband and had several servants and the best and most elegant decorations around her mansion. She was never satisfied with her life until one evening when she found herself invited to a dinner by her husband’s bosses. At first mention of the dinner she refused to go having nothing presentable to wear among the high society people that were to attend. After a few crocodile tears her husband gave up his savings to buy her a dress, and as if an overly priced dress wasn’t enough for her Mrs. Loisel had to borrow jewels from her rich friend Mrs. Forrestier. Mrs. Forrestier gave Mrs. Loisel her pick from her collection, after borrowing a diamond necklace and wearing it to the event Mrs. Loisel was a hit but when she arrived home the necklace was gone. After a desperate search came up empty handed, the Loisel’s decide to replace the necklace taking out loans here and promising impossible thing there. After ten years the necklace has been paid off and Mrs. Loisel sees Mrs. Forrestier in the park and decides to tell her what happened so many years ago. After Mrs. Loisel finished explaining all Mrs. Forrestier had to say was that the necklace was a fake.

Reader Response

From the get-go I thought Mrs. Loisel was a selfish greedy, never- satisfied, ugly person. I thought that yes anyone dreams of a better more extravagant life but we don’t all obsess over it like Mrs. Loisel does. I thought that her husband was the sweetest man for putting up with her first of all and giving up money he had saved or himself to make her happy. I was upset to know that after her stupidity her husband was the one who suffered the most having to work extra jobs to pay off a debt that shouldn’t have been his to pay in the first place and all that happened to her was being even less happy with her life and having to learn how to clean and wash. I’m glad she learned a lesson though because what goes around comes around, she finally was able to have a nice piece of jewelry but never able to enjoy it because of all the pain it caused her. She got what was coming to her in my opinion.

#4 Week 4 Types of Characters:Round & Flat pg.160

Summary

There are two types of characters: round and flat characters. Round characters are usually the main characters and are often three-dimensional, because the reader is given enough information to come to their own conclusions about the character. Round characters are also thought to mainly be dynamic although they can, in some cases, be static. Dynamic characters undergo changes and growths throughout stories, while static characters are the complete opposite; it is because of their lack in growth throughout a story that makes them stay static or flat. Flat characters are not complex, often one-dimensional and play minor roles in stories. Flat characters can also be classified as stock characters who find themselves repeatedly in the same cliché scenarios which are also considered a stereotype character.  Flat characters, although mostly static, can also be static or dynamic characters.

Reader Response

I knew that there are flat and round characters and that they are usually static or dynamic characters but I did not know there were so many (basically) synonyms for flat characters.  Round characters are usually more relatable to the reader and are given more detail than the minor characters in a story. Flat characters are usually characters that pop-up once or twice throughout a story and are never really given a backstory or any information more than a name and where they came from and how they know the main characters. I usually associate round characters with dynamic and flat characters with static although I know in some instances the dynamic and static can flip.

#3 Week4 How Authors Disclose Character in Literature Pg.158-160

Summary

There are five ways authors bring their characters to life, characters actions, the author's description of the character, what characters say, what others say about the character, and finally what the author says about the character. A lot can be said for a character depending on his or her actions, it can tell the reader if the character is devious or honest. Characters actions provide insight to their own character. The surroundings of where characters live, work, play can tell the reader what social class they come from, if they are trying to climb up the economic ladder and even give great background on the character. Of course how characters act and talk can tell the reader about their personalities, traits and the type of person that character is. By the same token what the surrounding characters and author say can per sway the reader to either agree with the main characters beliefs or completely appose whatever the main character is saying. Because of this authors usually prefer to keep their commentaries out of their writing so that the reader can come to their own conclusions about the character.

Reader Response

Author's always want the readers to be able to connect with their stories, be it relating to the reader's own life or the author getting the reader involved. Authors also want the reader to be able to come either to the same conclusion or their own conclusions about their stories and or characters. While it is important to try to get their points and views across most authors like to keep their opinions outside of their books so they cannot sway fickle minded people in one direction or another. It is important to bring characters to life through many different perspectives so that the reader can connect with the character as if the character were real.

#2 Week 4 Character Traits/ Distinguishing between circumstances and character traits Pg.156-158

Summary

Character traits are qualities or habits that can be both negative and positive. Traits can be described in a character's facial expressions and actions and can help tell a lot about the character: a character who supplies moral support could have a caring, loving or sympathetic trait, or a character that is always up for a challenge and enjoys risk could have an ambitious or careless trait. Traits can describe a characters personality, thoughts and actions. It is important however, to be able to tell the difference between circumstances and traits, if an event happens to a character and does not have some kind of background story about how this event has affected the characters life in any way then the event is a circumstance but if the event is followed or brought up by a brief tale of how the character arrived there it would be considered a trait.

 Reader Response

I had never considered that facial expressions could be considered a trait I thought blemishes on a face could be considered a trait but never expressions. Before reading this my definition of trait was a special quality a character had but now I realize that it can be the way a character thinks, acts and expresses through their body language and facial expressions. Before reading this I also did not know that there was such a fine line between circumstances and character traits, and that if the reader looks deep enough within an author’s description of the character then traits are a bit easier to come across.