How to Write a Reader Response - Example

a. What does the text have to do with you, personally, and with your life (past, present or future)?

·      It is not acceptable to write that the text has NOTHING to do with you, since just about everything humans can write has to do in some way with every other human.

b. How much does the text agree or clash with your view of the world, and what you consider right and wrong?

·      Use several quotes as examples of how it agrees with and supports what you think about the world, about right and wrong, and about what you think it is to be human.   Use quotes and examples to discuss how the text disagrees with what you think about the world and about right and wrong.

 c.  How did you learn, and how much were your views and opinions challenged or changed by this text, if at all?

·      Did the text communicate with you? Why or why not?  Give examples of how your views might have changed or been strengthened (or perhaps, of why the text failed to convince you, the way it is).

·      Please do not write, "I agree with everything the author wrote," since everybody disagrees about something, even if it is a tiny point. Use quotes to illustrate your points of challenge, or where you were persuaded, or where it left you cold.

d. How well does it address things that you, personally, care about and consider important to the world?

·      How does it address things that are important to your family, your community, your ethnic group, to people of your economic or social class or background, or your faith tradition?  If not, who does or did the text serve? Did it pass the "Who cares?" test?  Use quotes to illustrate.

e.  Your "critique" can and should be positive and praise the text if possible, as well as pointing out problems, disagreements and shortcomings.

·      Reading and writing "critically" does not mean the same thing as "criticizing," in everyday language (complaining or griping, fault-finding, nit-picking).

f. How well did you enjoy the text (or not) as entertainment or as a work of art?

·      Use quotes or examples to illustrate the quality of the text as art or entertainment. Of course, be aware that some texts are not meant to be entertainment or art--a news report or textbook, for instance, may be neither entertaining nor artistic, but may still be important and successful.

g.  To sum up, what is your overall reaction to the text?

·      Would you read something else like this, or by this author, in the future or not?  Why or why not?  To whom would you recommend this text?

Umuofia Village Activity Reflection

We participated in a role play activity- each student talked on the forum as a character for Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe. 

What did you learn about your character and other characters from participating in the role-play?

My character was Unoka, the father of Okonkwo, who was categorized as a female identity in the novel, before his horrible death in the Evil Forest. He was seen as peaceful, carefree and not being able to do much, as least that’s what the other characters thought of him. They disrespected him, and didn’t believe he could do a lot for the village. This was seen as the ultimate dishonor, not contributing in any way and being completely selfish. I noticed that other characters treated Unoka like he was a woman, and disrespected him in many ways.

Why did certain characters act the way they did during our experience in the Village of Umuofia?

Most characters had a specific role, whether it was in the novel itself or as a member of the village. For example, some of the colonizing characters, like Mr. Brown, tended to be nicer to others and would like people to get along. In contrast, Okonkwo, who caused fear in his opponents would constantly degrade others, and use insults. This might be because his role in the village is to be fierce, as well as his role in the novel. Okonkwo is highly respected among the village people, and due to this his identity has been formed to be strong, tough, and fearless of others.

How was your experience similar to and different from the novel?

Well, my experience was entirely different from the novel. This is because I could see the human interactions that would come to life by the people role-playing each character. Every role was overreacted, and this brought to light some interesting perspectives. For example, Okonkwo became even more of a warrior, and his violent nature took a few turns during the discussions. As well, other people playing my character, Unoka, made him seem like easy-going, not caring about anything type of person. He would often ignore most questions, and he was depicted as somebody who wanted to play the flute most of the time, instead of doing anything productive.

How has your experience in the Village of Umuofia “virtual reality” changed or enhanced your understanding of the novel and the historical events on which it is based?

What mostly eluded my understanding of the novel were the historical events that happened during that time. I had trouble spotting the events that happened during the time period that the novel appeared in, historically speaking. This activity made other students role play certain characters, that due to their interactions and conversations with each other, I could understand better where and when the language takes place. Also, I realized that the language used in the novel was a key factor, especially because of the translation to English conflicts. Overall, I think this activity was fun and entertaining, and it really helped me understand more about the historical context of the story.

Unoka Analysis in Things Fall Apart

Unoka playing his flute. 

Unoka is one of the few male characters in Things Fall Apart who is victimised by his peers. People look at him with resentment and they are embarrassed by him. Unoka is Okwonko's father, and the main reason to his fearless and tough nature. Okwonko's psychological perspective is defined by his father, someone who he thought was an "agbala", or woman. Okwonko is the person that Unoka had most influence on, and Okwonko's whole life is dedicated to erasing his father's name and humiliation. 

Unoka, in the movie adaptation of Things Fall Apart is depicted in the picture above, as him wearing rags and playing his flute. His rags represent his care-free life, which is not an honored life among the village. 

Ten years after his horrible death, the novel starts, with the victory of his son Okwonko over Amalinze the Cat, the feared warrior. This is ironic because Unoka never became a warrior due to him not standing the sight of blood.

Overall, Unoka is presented to the reader as a man who knew what he liked, and was not afraid to be who he wanted to be. Because of this, he could never be a hero among his village, due to their chauvinistic nature. Nonetheless, a reader from our time will relate more to Unoka, because in our culture people like him are completely normal. 

Comparative Paragraph Between Two Advertisements

The visual elements used in both advertisements are present, and they have many in common. The most highlighted one between the two is the fact that the way they are made, is different. This is because the People in Need Charity advertisement is more subtle, it doesn't actually go out and say what the conditions in Africa are; in contrast to the UK advertisement, in which the purpose of the ad is written. The first ad, the one containing the  European products on African people, is subtle enough for it to be interesting, which is why it is more efficient and more persuasive. There are four images of skinny Africans wearing products that they wouldn't really need, and placing the euro tags near them. Beneath the prices of the products are the prices of the things they do need, such as access to water, food, and basics for a home. This cleverness gets people's attention. On the other hand, the UK homeless advertisement, ad number 2, is very straight forward, with only a third of the advertisement being covered by an image. This is effective because the image is of a little girl, and it is strategically placed so that the viewer will feel sympathy for her. Both advertisements convey a sense of urgency; the first one, because it seems that they will starve, or run out of supplies unless you help them. The second one, because they explicitly say, they urgently need your help. 

Range Finding IOC

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Range Finding IOC

By Estuardo Masias

Analysis of Imagery and Meaning in Robert Frost's Design

By Elizabeth Gallagher 

Frost's poem "In White" is the first draft of what became to be the poem "Design". The differences are minimal, only some grammar changes that don't affect the overall meaning of the poem. 

Robert Frost's poem Design depicts a white spider preying on a moth. In this two stanza poem, Frost uses this image as a metaphor for the world made in God's image and the evil that seems to have infiltrated it. Frost uses the relationship between the "white heal-all" and the white spider to ask whether God's design truly applies universally. That is to say, does God's worldly design apply to something as minute as the workings of a spider? If it does not, does God's design apply to the actions of people?

The first stanza of Frost's poem Design sets the scene and tone of the poem in its entirety. The poem begins innocently enough stating "I found a dimpled spider, fat and white." There is no apparent underlying meaning to this, just that the speaker happened to stumble upon a spider, a mere image. The second and third lines of the stanza continue to set the scene saying, "On a white heal-all, holding up a moth like a white piece of rigid satin cloth." Frost's use of the term rigid begins to shift the tone of the poem, as rigid carries a cadaverous connotation. The tone darkens further as Frost refers to the scene in the next line as "Assorted characters of death and blight." Here, as the spider is the main player in the scene described, Frost characterizes the spider as a "character" with evil intentions. Frost continues this notion in the following two lines saying "Mixed ready to begin the morning right, like the ingredients of a witches broth." Frost's referral to the spider's work as "the ingredients of a witch's broth" implies that the spider's ritual is very methodical, yet done with some form of wicked pleasure. Frost easily could have referred to the spider's "morning right" as a sort of recipie. However, his comparisons of the spider's morning ritual to that of a "witch's broth" furthers the evil connection. Frost ends the stanza outlines the "ingredients" of said "broth" listing "A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth, and dead wings carried like a paper kite." This image of "dead wings" cements the idea that the intentions of the spider are of a malevolent nature and thus resentful.

The second stanza of his poem reveals Frost's underlying meaning. He asks three pointed questions: "What had that flower to do with being white, the wayside blue and innocent heal-all? What brought the kindred spider to that height, then steered the white moth thither in the night? What but design of darkness to appall? If design govern a thing so small." These questions, while seemingly referring to the scene of the spider and its prey, boil down to the poem's underlying meaning: How can evil exist in a world if the world in it's entirety is governed by God? Delving deeper, one can see that this question informs the first stanza as well as the last. The spider, initially described as being white, the color of innocence, reveals itself wicked. Frost uses the image of this white spider on a "white heal-all" as a metaphor for the evil that is tarnishing the world that is supposedly created in God's image. That is to say, Frost uses the "white heal-all" as a metaphor for the world as created in God's image, the moth being included in this supposedly innate innocence, while the spider represents the malevolence hidden within it. The choice of flower, a "white heal-all," further adds a layer of irony as death is occurring on a flower with medicinal capabilities. This irony further informs the metaphor, and this the meaning of this image. Frost ultimately asks whether God could really be governing the actions of this spider, a minutia in the world as a whole. If God does not govern this workings of this spider, who is to say that God governs and oversees the workings of people? The spider and the moth, then, both represent peoples in the world, the flower representing the Earth. This idea begins to counter all notions of God we have, that perhaps God is not really looking over our every action. Perhaps people are as minute in his eyes as the spider: something to be overlooked.

5 - Minute IOC (ASND)

Narrative Structure in A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire is a play set in the 1947, written by Tennessee Williams. The author uses a simple narrative structure, but it is efficient nonetheless. Some of the lines are part of complex narrative structure, for example when the different characters think aloud, so the viewer can see clearly what they are thinking and makes them predictable. But, he does not write as far along in the play for the the reader to be able to predict the ending. He bends the structure so that the reader can experience and understand each of the character's actions and thoughts, therefore understanding the characters themselves. The plot twist at the end is a major one, and very unpredictable.  The narrative structure found in the play can be simple yet exciting, and complex at times.