Blog Post #4

One section from Tell It Slant that interested me was the subject of the memoir. Ever since I've read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls in high school, I have loved the concept of the memoir (I distinctly remember loving and hating her parents, and admire how Walls' style of writing caused me to feel that way). I've written in other posts about how unique everyone's individual lives are, and how our own experiences shape our writings. Anyone can be a writer because everyone has a story to tell. It's been a goal of mine to write a memoir, which I think is obvious from my previous mini essays in this class. I tend to write about extremely personal and specific instances in my life. Miller and Paola write, "Memoir can heal, it can warn, and it can provide spiritual direction" (95). For me, it's been a goal to share my memories because I feel I've learned a lot from them, and I think this quote exemplifies the goal of teaching. 

In terms of the sample essays that were posted, I loved reading The Sloth. The author's comparison of grief to a sloth is something that a person would not think to do, but it works. It works because it is personal and well-written. It also relates to the quote from Tell It Slant because it "[captures] a piece of larger human experience with the amber of [her] own." Meeting a sloth in itself is a random experience, but the way the author tied it to her own life and her own feelings made the experience have a deeper meaning. The slow-moving sloth reflected how her grieving process felt so slow and arduous. I can relate to this because I have also grieved, making the piece feel intimate; yet I know that everyone has experienced grief, making the piece universal. Jill Christman specifically used literary devices such as asyndeton, simile, and a writer's voice in The Sloth to achieve this.

Speaking of a writer's voice -- I am trying to define and polish my writer's voice for my next essay. When we read each other's pieces in class, I learn more about who my classmates are as individuals and can probably identify their writings just by reading them. It's important to me, as a developing writer, to be able to portray my personality because that will help me convey messages to readers. I like to insert thoughts into my writings as they appear in my head, which I think is a good start to developing my signature.