Wreading Response, wk 4

Our reading this week made an interesting point on how truly historical stories can hardly ever capture the entire picture of a situation, making these kinds of works essential for readers to be able to relate with what people may have experienced living in different time periods. The beginning of A Gloss on History of… was pretty jarring to me until I continued reading. I thought it was going to be a boring piece about history because of the language used. I found myself reading quickly through the annotation, in an attempt to get back to the main story, until I realized that the annotation was the story and everything previously mentioned was not about “history” but about Carmel and her relationship to the world around her. I thought this was a cool way to start. With that being said, the narrator keeps his sort-of-academic tone for a lot of the work, which I found charming, but left me feeling a little detached from the world written about.
The different voices and writing styles used in Carmel’s story reminded me of what Hartman said in his writing. The voices gave life to the story and showed the reader how complex the world around Carmel actually is. It is interesting how these styles of writing highlight Carmel’s own silence. She has no voice in the narration. She is silent up until she erupts, making her outburst all the more powerful. In making her silent, it could be that Keene is trying to show how alone she has been in her terrible world ever since her parents passed away.

Week 4 Writing Assignment

“Walgreens, other pharmacy chains sue doctors in opioid crisis”

Alex hurt her back hiking hiking with her boyfriend, Stefano in Cuyahoga Park. She had studied botany for years. Alex bent down to look closer and a flower she did not recognize and felt a slight twinge in her lower back. She did not really think anything of it, but she did not want to risk anything because auditions were coming up. Alex visited her doctor six months ago.

Alex stuck her hand between her mattress and bedframe until she found the little orange bottle she was looking for. Yesterday it was one, but last night’s wine left her head throbbing, so today she ate two for breakfast. The real trick was hiding it. Hiding it from her staff, her friends, her family, James. Hiding it from everyone. If anyone found out, they might think Alex had a problem, which she didn’t. She knew she had no problem. The only reason she was even hiding it in the first place is because she didn’t want anyone to worry. She lied and told everyone her back had healed. Truthfully, for some reason her back pain had gotten even worse since the muscle pull, not that this was any of their business. It wasn’t even that big of a big deal, anyway. She knew people couldn’t even tell that she took them. It’s not like they made her act any different, they just made her back hurt less…
Anyways, she was late for work. That was six months ago.

Alex sat with her head in her hands as pedestrians passed her without any acknowledgement, when she heard a familiar voice.
“Can you believe that worked?”
Alex peaked up to see Stefano shouting at his cell phone about some big win for him and his company. As he walked past, she mustered up the courage to reach out to the former life she once had.
“Sorry, I don’t have any change.”

Process Notes:
I decided this week to try a different topic from climate change/environmental stuff because Prof. Scappettone had mentioned something about trying to personalize and relate to the writing exercises. To be honest, this switch proved to be more difficult than I had anticipated. I tried to create a linear story, but also take large leaps in time in order to allow for a change in voice and simply to keep it short. To be honest, I am not super thrilled with how well the three parts work together, but I am happy that each has a unique voice. This was done in an attempt to show the reader that there was a kind of mental shift in the way Alex was thinking.

Mikey McNicholas Wreading Response Week 3

I am not too familiar with graphic novels. When reading Sabrina the first time, I found myself focusing more on the dialogue much more than the artwork in the panels. It wasn’t until reading the article and realizing the importance of the images, I was fully able to appreciate the way graphic novels tell a story. To me, the pacing of Sabrina is what makes it stand out from other literary works. The use of panels allow for a timeline to shift without the need for much explanation. That is, scene changes are not brought with an announcement and time can be fast-forwarded by using pictures as a kind of montage. What I thought was most interesting is in the way panels create the possibility for multiple character’s timelines to run in parallel. In these ways, Sabrina felt more like watching a film rather than reading a novel. 

When it comes to the article itself, I found it to be very eye opening. Not only in the case of graphic novels, but in novel writing in general. With that being said, I think people become too worried with what/how to label pieces of art. It makes sense that writers might not want their works to be considered a “comic,” but as the author writes, if the term “graphic novel” is to be taken literally, even a well written comic strip (no matter how short) could be considered a graphic novel. I don’t know. It just seems so silly when people put so much energy into labeling things rather than just taking them for what they are.

Mikey McNicholas Week 3 Writing Assignment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK6YhslbkHo

The gymnasium was dim and humid as the breath of children’s panicked whispers filled the room. The gentle tip toe of rain had grown into a march across the tin roof. Jay looked over to him. Even in the dark, Russell could see his brothers wide watery eyes. In a quiet excitement Jay said, “Hey, I bet we made it! Mom probably has dinner waiting for us right now!” Even in this floating prison, his brothers optimism never failed to make him smile.

Russel and the other boys sat silently on the same plastic bleachers they sat on for all school assemblies. He could feel another boy’s leg twitching nervously against his as they sat waiting for the principal to take half court. Suddenly, thunder cracked overhead and not even a whisper could be heard. The metal doors across the court swung open. Mr. Warren’s wet shoes squeaked across the linoleum floor. His usually brown overcoat, black with moisture. The principal approached the awaiting podium and looked out across the sea of two hundred frightened eleven year olds unaware of the situation.

“Gentlemen, your bravery this past week has been eve more than I could ask of men twice your age. As you know, we have been awaiting an open port for resupply. Well, HQ sent us word about new supply shipments coming in from Hawaii and after receiving clearance from Checkpoint Romeo, we set a course for Sydney. Well men, I regret to inform you that I’ve just received some troubling information. The wild fires have destroyed Romeo and the storm stopping HQ from sending any out rescue missions. We’re just going to have to wait out this storm a little longer.

“Food will need to be further rationed. Rations will now be provided every other day at noon. I suggest you make them last, Doc says the storm could last a little longer.” 

We’re never getting off this boat. Russell thought to himself. He glanced over at Jay, his head wilted over. In the dim light, Russell could see as tears splashed between Jay’s feet. 

Jay didn’t come back to his bunk that night. The next morning Russell knew what Mr. Warren would say. He shuffled into the gymnasium to hear the same speech Mr. Warren gives every time a kid gets too hungry and goes fishing. 

 

Process: When I began writing this narrative, I wanted to try to bring as many similarities as possible between the walrus in the video and the characters in the story. I struggled to find a way people would relate to the effects never ending hunger has on an animal’s psychological state, but also put the characters in the same powerless situation these hungry animals find themselves in. The boys have no way of knowing if/when their lives will return to normal. Similarly, animals are not the cause for their hunger, people are. They have no way of saving themselves. The only way the characters suffering like this can be saved is from the outside (us).

Writing Assignment 2- Mikey McNicholas

Revision:

On window sill yellowed by time, a grotesque imitation sits on a stark plastic cylinder. Five small dinner plates stacked on each other, tethered by a three-foot extension cord. In its lonesome, atop this plastic podium a fuchsia flamingo made of neon worms waits. The first leg stands strong as straw in its toxic blue bath. The other bent, avoiding the electricity. Her symmetrical body balloons over from its lime roots. They removed her wings and his tail. Streamlined, featherless, flightless. From this a neck stems to support a head drooping in frozen melancholy. Her beak is black as silence. Two checkerboard palm trees loom over her while wearing their cheap shamrock toupees. Blinding fluorescence sets the stage for this one-dimensional standoff by shouting Corona.  

If one prefers a cooler climate, they need not go far. Just three feet to the left the mighty Colorado Rockies challenge the bird. From here one can see the peak of an ancient mountain watches over. The whole world might be visible from all the way up there. Snow caps glow white as if to match the invisible clouds. What is beneath these invisible clouds? No one will ever know. The ancient mountain is dominated by a Coors Light logo larger than any valley or canyon that may have been. A radioactive curly-cew “Coors “ whimsically rests above a bold an even more oppressive white “LIGHT”. 

In tandem, these signs cause an agony my eyes can endure no longer. My gaze falls on the only other object present: white styrofoam clam shell. I release its clasp to find not a pearl, but a week old egg roll. 

 

Rewrite:

In today’s fast paced, ever changing world, it can seem difficult to do what’s important while also appreciating the world that surrounds us. Luckily, it is not hard to watch TV while enjoying nature (in the modern sense of the word). One must simply walk down the hall and plop down on the couch. This seat has the best view of the television. Not only that, but if it is possible to look a little to the left, even if it is just for commercials, one can marvel at a blindingly tropical oasis. A flamingo rigidly relaxes within its actively stagnant pool. Around her, frozen trees sway in the wind as l the glow of the sun radiates warmth from beneath the water. 

Before returning to your regularly scheduled program, let us travel to a little cooler climate. By shifting attention just a little more to the left, one can gaze upon the vastly fluorescent Colorado Rockies as they shine up above. From atop this peak, it is possible to see everything. Below, the crimson river of Coors carves into the mountainside. And further below, the Light plateaus cut into the horizon. And if shellfish is what you prefer, look beneath the plateaus. Underneath swims a lonely styrofoam clam who has been waiting to be shucked for a week. If you are lucky, there might just be a surprise there. 

For millennia human beings had to go outside to see experience these things but no longer is that the case. Now it can be viewed in all of its neon glory. 

 

Process Notes:

 

The initial revision was tough because I noticed I had written many words to describe how the objects physically look, while neglecting to consider the feelings the elicit. I tried to use words throughout that would convey the emotions I felt when relooking at my objects as well as using more descriptive visual details. Even after revisions, I am still finding it very difficult to try to create vivid imagery. The rewrite I tried to experiment more and try to think outside of the box by abstracting descriptions of what I was seeing. After comparing my revision and my rewrite, I realize that the latter is far more vague than I would have liked and does not create much imagery unless the reader has been to this setting or seen similar signs. This could be because when rewriting, I was considering how my objects relate to my main social issue much more and was trying to get a clearer point across, but in doing so, the scene became much too vague. 

Wreading Response 2- Mikey McNicholas

I think the way Calvino describes exactitude is what comes to mind when looking at literary arts. Word choice must be of the utmost importance in order to completely capture the feeling of a situation. That is, using precise words to capture the details and nuances of an experience, which is far more often easier said than done. I was struck by how Calvino could so clearly capture experiences in his writings. “The forest on the super highway” completely expanded on in instance a family is going through, distinguishing each character from the others by using unique language for each individual. On the other hand, Calvino’s Mr. Palomar seemed to capture every essence of what one character was feeling throughout many experiences. In each of these works he uses incredibly accurate analogies to describe not only a situation, but the feelings provoked by it. It seems that poems often must utilize the most precision because the words are so few. Each must be carefully chosen for not only its definition or its social/emotional connotations, but its “fit” in the poem as well. This week’s “The Crimson Cyclamen” by William Carlos Williams was an excellent example of how the precision Leopardi implicated. Williams uses words not typically associated with the scene he describes, but in doing this he evokes a feeling in the reader and memorable imagery. 

Thinking about the social aspects of this week, I think both what Lipmann and Calvino may have become more relevant. The persuasive techniques Lipmann describes seem to be used even more today. He may be surprised to see just how petty and distrusted journalism has become. Calvino believes imprecision is caused by over-exposure, as he describes with his analogy about images. Today, people process more words than ever before, which may mean our language is less precise than ever before.