The essay, both art form and bane of English students worldwide, originated in France around 1570. Born from the reflections of one man, ultimately inspired by personal reflection, the essay is now a staple of the literary world. As a work of nonfiction, grounded in truth, yet embellished with literary trappings, the essay serves a myriad of purposes. Whether written to inform, persuade, or tell a story, the essay is a form embraced the world over as the original form of non-fiction writing. Long before biographies and creative non-fiction stories, essays dominated the literary non-fiction landscape. In Judith Cofer’s The Myth of the Latin Woman and James Weldon Johnson’s Outcasts in Salt Lake City, we find tales of minorities dealing with the difficulties of growing up in a country not entirely prepared for their existence. Each essay deals with this paradigm in its own way, telling a story of minority difficulties in a unique light. While both prove effective, Johnson’s Outcasts in Salt Lake City more effectively demonstrates the difficulties of growing up different in a society that refuses to accept diversity. Though both essays highlight these difficulties, Johnson more effectively employs the available literary devices in his outstanding work.
In this comparison, both essays tell a story through narrative, imagining again, in story, actual events as remembered by the author. When comparing two narratives, one should consider certain aspects in evaluation of each tale’s effectiveness. Firstly, how true does each story read? Can the reader effectively imagine the scene provided? Second, how powerful is the essay’s overall effect? Does the essay move the reader emotionally? Finally, how effectively does the writer employ th...
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...ving as a minority in America. While both essays effectively demonstrate those difficulties, Johnson’s work seems wholly more powerful than Cofer’s. Both essays are effective personal narratives, but Johnson’s language, and emotional appeal lend greater power to his work. Regardless, both authors demonstrate the versatility and power the essay can provide. While the form may not always have been in style throughout the literary community, one cannot deny its effectiveness as a literary form.
Works Cited
Adorno, T.W. "The Essay as Form." New German Critique 32. (1984): 151-71. Web. 3 Feb 2011. .
Johnson, James. "Outcasts in Salt Lake City, by James Weldon Johnson." About.com, 2011. Web. 3 Feb 2011. .
Okita and Cisneros’ stories are written from very different standpoints, and from first glance do not even appear related, yet through all of this emerges the idea that you can create your own identity. This common theme would not be achievable if it were not for the eloquent use of literary devices such as tone, mood, and shifts by Okita and Cisneros. Not only do Okita and Cisneros’ works bring together a common theme they manage to bring to light the very real problem of racism in America, that has existed since it’s very foundation, in an attempt to bring about change. Although Both authors used a wide variety of literary techniques to write their works they show that commonalities can be found in the most different of
In order to analyze the essay and answer the question, a systematic analytic approach mustbeset forth. In the case of a narrative analytic approach, there are twomainsteps. First, the piece ...
Staples, Brent. “Black Men and Public Space.” Reading Critically, Writing Well. Sixth edition Eds. Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002. 134-136. Print.
These two stories hold components that are clearly differentiating, yet similar in the meantime. Having every story been composed in a third-individual account structure, the onlooker
works of literature have tremendous amounts of similarity especially in the characters. Each character is usually unique and symbolizes the quality of a person in the real world. But in both stories, each character was alike, they represented honor, loyalty, chivalry, strength and wisdom. Each character is faced with a difficult decision as well as a journey in which they have to determine how to save their own lives. Both these pieces of literatures are exquisite and extremely interesting in their own ways.
Jefferson, Thomas. “From Notes on the State of Virginia.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, Bonnie Lisle. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 378-383.
Authors of great stories often use good technical writing skills. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two short stories: Where Are you going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates and Hills Like White Elephants by Earnest Hemingway. The comparison and contrast will be done based on their use of plot, point of view and character development.
This paper examines the drastic differences in literary themes and styles of Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston, two African--American writers from the early 1900's. The portrayals of African-American women by each author are contrasted based on specific examples from their two most prominent novels, Native Son by Wright, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston. With the intent to explain this divergence, the autobiographies of both authors (Black Boy and Dust Tracks on a Road) are also analyzed. Particular examples from the lives of each author are cited to demonstrate the contrasting lifestyles and experiences that created these disparities, drawing parallels between the authors’ lives and creative endeavors. It becomes apparent that Wright's traumatic experiences involving females and Hurston's identity as a strong, independent and successful Black artist contributed significantly to the ways in which they chose to depict African-American women and what goals they adhered to in reaching and touching a specific audience with the messages contained in their writing.
Many times in life things are not as they seem. What may look simple on the surface may be more complicated deeper within. Countless authors of short stories go on a journey to intricately craft the ultimate revelation as well as the subtle clues meant for the readers as they attempt to figure out the complete “truth” of the story. The various authors of these stories often use different literary techniques to help uncover the revelation their main characters undergo. Through the process of carefully developing their unique characters and through point of view, both Edith Wharton and Ernest Hemingway ultimately convey the significant revelation in the short stories, “Roman Fever” and “Hills Like White Elephants” respectively. The use of these two literary techniques is essential because they provide the readers with the necessary clues to realize the ultimate revelations.
Being a minority in both categories of gender and culture has never been an easy obstacle to overcome. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman” I was able to relate to some of the things Cofer stated. For instance,
One of the greatest things about being an American is the ability to voice my opinion and viewpoint regardless of race, gender, or class. This was not always the case. Many have had to struggle to make their voice heard, and the mindset of American’s furthered the oppression of minority voices. Revolution invigorated the American spirit with a new sense of self-worth and validation of artistic expression by all people. Voices that were once silenced found listeners through literature. Rather than one genre or narrative making way for the next through hostile takeover, many voices rise and refuse to be muzzled. Before independence there seems to be a pattern that suggests that there was no room for more than
In the story “Two Kinds”, the author, Amy Tan, intends to make reader think of the meaning behind the story. She doesn’t speak out as an analyzer to illustrate what is the real problem between her and her mother. Instead, she uses her own point of view as a narrator to state what she has experienced and what she feels in her mind all along the story. She has not judged what is right or wrong based on her opinion. Instead of giving instruction of how to solve a family issue, the author chooses to write a narrative diary containing her true feeling toward events during her childhood, which offers reader not only a clear account, but insight on how the narrator feels frustrated due to failing her mother’s expectations which leads to a large conflict between the narrator and her mother.
...storians must learn what these authors all teach by their consensus novels, that teaching history through a sided story is the only way to determine all perspectives of history. We must understand that the voices of the outsiders matter just as much as the powerful. Richter and Johnson shed light on how difficult live can be as the low-class through the suffrage of Indians and slaves. Ambinder and Holton show that the outsiders still had the ability to change their destiny. Both of these details are misplaced in history text books because history is taught on a factual basis. We teach history in facts that the white powerful leaders wrote for us, therefore the losers are left out. History is a two sided story, which means we must teach both sides of the losers and the winners. This is the only way to understand the lives of the world’s lost voices of the outsiders.
The people in this country have been embedded with the idea to have power and ability to govern themselves to a life that is exceptional. This fire burns within the minds of governments, companies, average men and in this case what is considered the lowest class: African Americans. In a country where there is constant struggle for racial equality, whether in an urban or back-woods country setting, race dictates power for characters like Emmett Till in “The Ballad of Emmet Till”, by Bob Dylan, Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and Mama in A Raisin In The Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. All these characters vary in how they are persecuted yet are bonded by their struggle. Depicting the idea that there is a constant battle to control their own lives.
As I stated earlier, both of these essays have a strong message that it delivers, but only one truly keeps my attention, answers all of my questions, and helps me to imagine every word that is in the text. It is clear that the narrative essay is superior to the descriptive because of all of the details that are utilized to prepare the narrative and the impact that the narrative essay has on the reader. No one can deny that both are a good choice, but this narrative actually is structured better than the descriptive essay and it just has a completion feeling that you can kind of anticipate because of the way the narrative began. Once again the narrative essay indisputably suffices all of the reader’s needs while reading.