Reading Response

     In the essay "The House of the Future", I liked the detail in the wording. It had great detail, I could picture everything the author was describing. Also the author uses words that aren't necessarily used in every-day writing. The author uses these words to help the readers understand and to picture what they are talking about. Also the author connects the essay with other essays that the author wrote and it's a good thing because it can give people a reason to read it and put a background to what they are reading.

     In the essay, people might get confused at first because of the setting and the tense of the essay. When I first started reading it, I almost gave up on trying to figure it out because it was confusing to me. But once I read more into it, it all came together. The essay basically talks about the author and him looking back and how his brother had passed away. The essay connects some things to his brothers death and it explains it very well. 

     This essay was probably my favorite to read out of all the work we read through the semester. It was interesting and very imaginative. I think this would be a great essay to teach from. The author uses descriptive language and it's not confusing once you read a little into it. The author also doesn't throw any curve balls or make the reader go back and read something again. I know when I read the essay, I didn't have to read anything over again because it was so simple but at the same time exciting and interesting. All in all it was a great passage and I think everyone should read this essay. They'll enjoy it and it's not like anything I ever read.  

Reading Response

     I am doing my reading response on the essay "Potato Spirit". I thought this was an interesting essay. It was very detailed and the essay seemed to get every readers attention. I like how the essay described the potato as a good and evil thing at the same time. 

     In the essay "Potato Spirit", the author wrote about the potato like it was a good thing in the beginning. The author said that potatoes are a good thing and everyone should have one. The author also said that he was going to paint a picture of his friends and family with a potato in front of everyone so that way people will see the importance of the potato. I thought it was a good and interesting creative essay.

     When the essay started to come to the end, the author made the potato seem like a dark thing. The author would say stuff like it's good but it's good because it wants to draw you in. I thought that was funny and that it was cool the way the author explained in detail why they said that a potato is good and bad. All in all this essay was fun to read and I recommend it for everyone looking to read something short who wants a good laugh/giggle.

Reading Response

     When I read the essay "Lenses" I was kind of confused. At first it started out with the author telling us about how hard it is to look through a microscope. She then started to tell the readers that once you get used to it, it's not that hard. In order for people to get the point of the story, they have to finish it to the end because the point of it, I feel, is in the last paragraph. I didn't really get it in the beginning because the author seemed like she was just trying to scramble around the story to make it interesting. 

     When I read it more than once, I got the vibe of she was explaining how difficult life can be. She says "The switch on the microscope teaches us how to move our hands wrong." I felt like that was the author saying that life can teach us how to do bad things. I also felt like it was saying that no matter what, we're going to make those mistakes because it's in the best interest of us. I also felt like this story would be good to read in class because it throws a curve ball in the middle. It says "This story isn't about that, it's about swans. It's not even a story it's a description." That's when I got confused, but when I finished it, I understood it.

     All in all this story would be good to teach to any class that has to do with literature or writing. It teaches us, or at least it taught me to be creative with your words. Also it taught me that no matter what people say, you can have different perspectives of different things than other people. I know when we talked about this story in class, my perspective was different than everyone else. I feel like this story was made to make a point about the way people write. The author was trying to show us that. 

Reading Response

     I am doing a reading response on the poem called "Violent Rooms" by Dawn Lundy Martin. I felt like this poem was very short and not that good. I think the author could have done something better with it and could have put more description in it along with detail and they could have just made it 100 times better. I am not a poem reader to begin with, and when I read this, I was confused to what was happening in the poem. I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt this way after reading this poem. 

     Also in this poem, it doesn't give much description to the wording or the meaning. I think this poem is trying to the readers about a time in the author's life in which she specifically doesn't want to say. It was just hard for me to wrap my head around and understand it. I feel like if we as college students can come up with stuff that's 100 times better, than so can well-known authors. I also felt like this author just wrote this poem just to have another piece of their work in the world. 

     All in all, I would not recommend this poem to anyone. Especially if they're not into poetry to begin with. This poem will only make them confused. Honestly after reading this poem, I remember why I don't like poetry and why I will probably never read it or understand it. This poem in my opinion, shouldn't even be a poem. We shouldn't have to read it, but I don't make the rules. I just didn't like it and I don't recommend this poem to anyone. 

-Colton Ryder

Reading Response

     In the short-story "The Girl with the Blackened Eye", I found it full of detail. The author used great detail in her words and language. The detail made me feel like i could picture the girl. I felt like I could actually see her and the wounds that she suffered. Like when the author said "This black eye I had, once! Like a clown's eye painted on." I could picture a clown with black painted eyes. Also the detail makes the story more suspenseful and enjoyable. Without the details I don't think this story would be very good. 

     Also in this story, her word choice is awesome. I don't think I've ever read a short-story with great word choice and great detail. The story made me feel like I was hovering the main character watching everything that was happening in the story. "The Girl with the Blackened Eye" was a great example of a short-story. I think it's a great example because, it shows the readers how important details are and how important the word choice and language is. I had no idea how important this stuff was until I read this story. 

     All in all, this story is a good story to read if someone has 10 minutes. It's very suspenseful and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. It keeps you guessing about what's going to happen next. Usually I would stop reading stories after the first two pages if I didn't find it interesting. But this story made me read more. It drug me in and I like that about stories. The first sentence itself drew me in. 

-Colton Ryder

Reading Response

      In the short story "Wallet" it had good detail in the words. I like the short story because I thought it was funny and realistic at the same time. I know it's it fiction but the way the author uses their words and the details, it seems like it could be something that happens. I found this story to be funny because it has an old man as the main character and he, to me, is a trickster. I like the fact that this is a short story and it still has great detail in the wording. 

      The detail in this story is important because it helps the reader understand and visualize what the author is saying. For instance the man put losing Florida Lottery tickets, expired coupons and a fortune cookie that isn't really fortunate in a phony wallet. I also liked that the man was old and he ran away when someone tried giving him his wallet back. I thought that was funny and comical. 

     In this short story, I gathered that an old man was getting tired of getting pick pocketed and he finally had an idea to catch the thief. When he followed through with his plan, it kind of fails him. Like when he bends over and the thief takes the wallet. Then people chase down the pick pocket and get the man's wallet back, then the man is embarrassed because it's a phony wallet with stuff in it that no one would carry in a wallet. Then at the end of the story, the man and his grandson drive off laughing. I thought that was irony and comical. I would recommend this short story to anyone who is looking at reading something just to read. It's short, simple, and easy to understand and comprehend. 

Baking a Cake

    I found the chapter "Baking a Cake" very interesting. I thought it was interesting because the author used a pretty neat metaphor that made sense. I feel like a lot of authors make metaphors that don't make sense and it leaves the readers confused and asking questions. I thought the way she made writing like baking a cake was different but neat at the same time. I like this chapter because it was short and to the point. Not many authors can do that. 

    I found the metaphor awesome. I thought the way the author combined baking a cake and writing was different. For instance, she said that you need certain ingredients to bake a cake. You also need certain ingredients to have a successful writing piece. I like that she said without certain ingredients, the cake isn't going to be any good. So without certain words, or grammar, or certain literature ingredients in your writing, it's not going to be the best. I also like in the beginning of the chapter how she said that you can have all the ingredients, you just need to mix them otherwise you just have a bunch of goop. 

      I also found this chapter interesting because, I never thought about how realistic this metaphor is. She says that you can hard and the cake will turn out. Me not being a writer looked at this as a helpful hint. I find that to be true as well. I feel like when I put time in my writings and do research and have all the ingredients, it's rewarding. I get good grades and it makes me want to try my hardest all the time. Just like she says in "Baking a Cake", it's hard at first, but in the end it's worth it. 

Tocquevill Reading Response

   In the poem "Tocqueville" I found it very interesting. I thought it was the most detailed poem I have ever read. It had great details in words that I could actually picture everything that was said. Some of it was brutal and not pleasant, but it was still detailed and I liked it. I don't normally like to just read poems, but this one, I read more than once. It caught my attention right after I read the first few lines. Also the story behind it was eye catching in my opinion. It wasn't a very pleasant or happy story, but like I said it was still eye catching with everything that happened and all the detail that was used. 

   I also found this poem to be interesting because of the length of it. I don't think I ever read a poem that was as long as "Tocqueville." That's another reason why I wanted to read it. Maybe because I don't like poems, but when I was looking through this one, it seemed more of a story to me. And I would much rather read a story than a poem. I am also interested in military and what's happening over seas. This poem explains some of it and it's very detailed with the wording and the structure of it. 

    This poem is by far my favorite poem out of all of the other poems' I have read. It catches the reader's eye and after the first few lines, it kind of "sucks you in." Meaning you don't want to stop reading it, and in my case I wanted to read it over and over. Like I said, this poem is like a story and I like that about poems. I would rather spend my time reading stories rather than poems. I feel like everyone would enjoy this poem and I highly encourage readers' to read this poem. 

Reading Response

            I found the poem Terrorist very interesting. It caught my eye because first of all the title. It reminded me of war. As a future marine I thought it would be interesting. As I read the poem, I wasn't disappointed. The poem was everything I was hoping it would be. It had great structure and I just enjoyed reading it.

           As I read the poem, I noticed the wording in it. The wording surprised me because I wasn't expecting it to be as detailed as it was. That made it really stand out. I was enjoying all the details as I was reading on. Also the detail in the poem made it easier to understand it and imagine it. I could picture everything that was in the poem. 

            Out of all the poems in the book Tocqueville, Terrorist was definitely my favorite. It had had more detail than any other poem, I think, and it was so imaginary and I could picture everything. I don't normally read poems and I don't really like poetry, but this poem is a great one. If I had to recommend a poem to anyone, this would be the one. It grabs the reader's attention and it drags you in. It makes you feel like you're part of what's happening.  

We Are Not The Poem

          In this short story, I read a quote that meant something to me. It said "At any point, we can step out of our frozen selves and our ideas and begin fresh. That is how writing is. Instead of freezing us, it frees us." I found that interesting because I don't normally like to write just to write. I'll write if it's for homework or work. I just don't see myself writing for a hobby. I'm not very creative with words.

          I also found this inspiring. It was inspiring to me, because like I said before I'm not a writer. But this quote inspired something in me to just write. It made me want to sit down and start writing whatever came to mind. It was also inspiring because, it says it frees us, and to me that means that when you write, you can write about whatever you want to write about. 

            I found this whole story inspiring. The author gave good advice. She also gave words of wisdom and gave each reader a reason to start writing. I know after I read it, I just wanted to start writing.  

Reading Response

    I found the poem "The Scent of Verbena" interesting. It caught my eye because of the structure of the poem. I don't think I have ever seen a poem that was structured like this one. I always thought poems were short and straight to the point. I thought it was interesting because it's triangles put together. As I read through the poem I understood why it's structured like that. Some of the lines and words have a meaning to the shape or the point of the poem that they're in. At one point though, it got confusing to read it like it is.
     "The scent of Verbena" I thought was an attention getting poem. Of course it caught my attention with the structure of it all. If you read the first couple of lines in it though, it is really detailed. At first I thought it was way too long for a poem, because I always thought that poems were short and got straight to the point, but this poem is like a short story. I don't usually like poems, but this was definitely one of my favorites to read. The style of the words and the detail in the poem was interesting. One of the lines in the poem is "and his back lost the sunlight like a retreating boat growing cold and dark at the summit the sky was gray and cloudy as lead the clusters of Verbena." That really got my attention because, for me, I can picture that, and I don't like reading things if I can't picture them.
      This poem was one of my favorites out of all of them so far. Like I said, it had great detail in the wording and I could understand all of it. Of course, the the structure was what got me to even look at it at first. This poem over all was great. I loved the fact that it was like a short story and not like any regular poem. It should be recognized by everyone and read by everyone. It really makes you appreciate poetry if you don't already appreciate it.