Size 6: The Western Women's Harem By Fatema Mernissi

      “Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem” by Fatema Mernissi, a Moroccan feminist, is about a very strong woman who goes into a department store in America and becomes insulted by what the salesladies have to say about her size. Fatema comes from a place where the size of the woman is not judged, but it is worshipped, not everyone has to be a size six in order to fit in. in America, a woman has to fit the norm or she is going to be made fun of and frowned upon when trying to do much of anything. When a woman is fat, she is judged rather than praised but when a woman looks as if she has not eaten in three years, she is found to be beautiful or sexy. It should not be this way; everyone should be appreciated as they are, not by their size or their looks but by their personality. A good personality takes a lifetime to develop so it should be praised. Fatema wrote this story in a feminist way but there was not too much feminism in the words that she used. It was not an overpowering feminist story like most other. I really liked this story because it is all true. Women should be excepted as they are, not what they are not. Do not find faults in things that are not there. 

A Man Who Was Mean to His Dog by: Anne Lamott

     This story by Anne Lamott was quite touching because it was about a man who beat his dog in front of everyone and acted as if nothing even happened. In the story, the mother related what had happened with the dog to what happened when she accidentally hurt her son, Sam. I dislike people that hurt their animals. You could say that I hate and despise them. These people have problems with them. I could not stop reading this story because it drew me in. I really liked it even though it was about a man beating his dog. Sam’s mom drew something from this experience but before she got something out of it she became very vulnerable and she hated it because she did not want her son to see her like that. She wanted to be strong but she was physically afraid of the man who had beaten his dog with a stick in front the whole beach. Who could possibly do this? That is so mean. That dog did not do anything and this man is messed up. I like the way that Anne Lamott writes. She knows how to draw her audience in with the words she uses and the little bit of description in the text. I liked this story a lot. 

The Price We Pay by Adam Mayblum

The Price We Pay by Adam Mayblum is a heartbreaking story. This man was in the twin towers as they collapsed and luckily they survived. In this story we get to read about a man’s journey to the bottom of the towers but what makes it so good is that this man actually went through. He uses very short sentences which make the story easier to read and it is not too descriptive. It has just enough descriptions to allow me to visualize it. Mayblum wrote this story nicely. There was the perfect amount of emotion placed in the text that it made me feel for him and relive it as if I were there. September 11^th 2001 was a tragic day for everyone. Everyone was impacted in some way on that day. The videos of the plans were played over and over again on the news and we would just sit and gasp. This man was in the tower as the planes struck. He is an inspiration. I liked this story even though it was incredibly heartbreaking. It is written very well and I could not stop reading.  It was a very good story and I am sorry that he lost a close friend. 

Once More to the Lake by: E.B. White

                This short story by E.B White is a very subjective story I can see, hear and feel everything the author describes because he goes into such depth with every sentence. I can see the lake as him and his father were there and as him and his son was there. He knows how to describe everything so that his audience can feel the emotions that he is feeling as writes his story. He made me feel the happiness he felt as he pulled up to lake again. He made me want to go to this fantastic lake and do exactly as he did. I could not stop imagining the lake, food, people, and everything else that he described so vividly. There was so much emotion in this story and I could tell that he enjoyed writing every last sentence. Some of his descriptions made think about when I was little and I would go on a vacation to a little country town in Michigan or North Carolina and how these places made me think pretty much the same thing he did as he saw the lake. I would like to do the same thing he is doing with his but with my children sometime in the future. I want them to experience as I have and see what I have seen. 

Shitty First Drafts By Anne Lamott

       This essay by Anne Lamott has opened my eyes a little bit wider when it comes to writing. I always worry that my first draft is terrible but I never think to myself that this is only my first draft and there are more to come. I always just type and fix while I type rather than type it all and take out what is disgusting in the draft. My stories tend to be okay the first time around but most of the time they are absolutely terrible so this essay helped me sort through that. I never thought that a good author actually wrote a decent story on the first try because that cannot be possible. They struggle just as much as anyone else does. I worry just like Anne does about my first draft and that someone somewhere is going to see it before I am done and they will think that there is something wrong with me but nobody is going to see that draft and I just have to remind myself of that. The thing the hypnotist said to Anne will help me with the voices that only start when I am trying to write. From now on, I just have to think of them as mice and put them all in their own little noise proof jar. 

Propaganda Techniques in Today's Advertising by Ann McClintock

Before reading this writing by Ann McClintock, I was not aware of how many advertising claims I was exposed to throughout the day but now that I think of it, it is very true. I could relate to having seen all seven of the basic types or propaganda. I see these types of propaganda the second that I turn on the television or go onto the internet. Propaganda is everywhere. Corporations are always trying to get you to buy their product by relating to you in some way, shape, or form. Propaganda plays a huge part in Americans’ everyday lives; we cannot go one day or one hour without being bombarded by advertisements on television, radio, billboards, magazines, newspapers etc. I hate when I am watching television for one minute and then it goes right back to commercial. There is no reason why there should be more commercials than the television show itself. I do not even listen to the radio anymore because of the commercials in between one or two songs. I cannot stand it when all I am listening to is propaganda being shoved down my throat. I agree with all that Ann McClintock has to say about propaganda and how bad it is becoming.


Kathleen Flynn 

Freewriting by Peter Elbow

After reading this short story by Peter Elbow, I have developed a new way to keep myself from coming down with writer’s block in the middle of an essay. Although I will still edit my essay as I go, I can now write a little more freely. I wouldn’t be able to free write as Elbow says to because I like to keep my essays clean and I have to edit them as I go. The ‘automatic writing,” “babbling,” or “jabbering” exercises will used on a regular basis by me now that I know they will help me in my writing process. Writer’s block always happens to me but I now I have a way to escape it. Peter Elbow is a very smart man and his free writing idea will be used by me from now on. It will make me a better writer and it will allow me to be a little more creative each and every time I do the little exercises. He also states that most people edit away their written unacceptable thoughts and feelings, we don’t do that when we speak, so why do it when we write? Yes, editing is easier when there isn’t someone right there waiting for an answer but that editing may inhibit what we really want to say. Elbow has not got me thinking about the editing process in writing and his free writing tips will be on my mind when I write my next paper.