Literature Review Of Literature
Review of Literature Narrative writing is writing that focuses on detailed information of a story, fictional or non–fictional. Writing is a process that cannot be lectured about. Writing instruction is difficult and is often taught by a formulated approach. "Teaching reading and writing together can be a difficult task, but if it is tied into students' lives, it can be quite useful" (Nicholas, 2017). Reading and writing go hand in hand and it is important for students to make this connection at an early age to promote the success of writing. This review of literature focuses on the implementation and benefits of the Writing Workshop, particularly with Lucy Calkins' Units of Study. The purpose of my focus of the Writing Workshop comes from basic and below levels of writing that students exhibit. The art of devoting ample time to writing instruction has been lost due to national emphasis on test. Students should see themselves as writers and authors and writing instruction that is supportive of a child's writing development will help to achieve stronger writers for our communities and societies. This review of literature will examine children's writing development, the process vs. product, teacher's implementation of writing instruction through the Writing Workshop, and the modeling of writing.
Writing Development It is important that teachers know how students develop their language and literacy abilities so that the student can receive appropriate instruction that will
My Writing Experience Essay
Writing has always been my most difficult part of English. Reading, on the other hand, is something I could do all day; however, with writing, I grimace just thinking about it. It was not that I did not have anything to say, because I actually have quite a bit to say. I just could never figure out how to phrase what I had to say in just right way on the page. My mom taught me to read and write at a young age. After that, I would devour any book that I could get my hands on. However, I have had trouble with writing since it became more than just my alphabet and numbers. In elementary, I got through assignments by making my projects read like a boring fact book. This way was awesome for a high grade, not so great for writing interesting...show more content...
Mullins comments and said, "Next time, you will just have to change it up a bit." I asked her what she meant. My mom said, "Next time you will make it more fun, not so much like a timeline, and more like a true story about your subject." This was my first experience in writing for a grade. I learned a lot and I immediately applied to my future written assignments. I was in high school the first time I had to write a narrative. I was a freshman. This was Ms. Bradley's first time teaching at Union Christian Academy. On her first day, she gave us our syllabus and said, "I do not accept late work, especially on writing assignments." We, literally, sat there stunned. My freshman class had it very easy during eighth grade year. We were not expecting this. As I looked through the syllabus, I saw that our first assignment was due in a week and it was a narrative. At this time, I did not even know what a narrative was. Ms. Bradley explained that a narrative was an account or story of events. It could be either true or false. Our narrative had to be true. It had to be a true account of something that happened to us over the summer. She wanted to gauge how are writing skills were. Our narrative had to be at least two to two and a half pages long. I chose to write my first ever narrative on my trip to Fort Worth, Texas. Once again, I was plagued with writer's block. I had the story in my head, but everything I
In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Douglass employs several literary themes and techniques through which he appeals to people's emotions and basic humanity rather than using cold and convoluted logic to prove that slavery was an immoral practice. Douglass provides vivid first hand examples of abuse that he and other slaves have endured. He describes various instances, in compelling detail, in which slaves were tortured physically and psychologically. He conveys to his reader the fear and caution that slaves had to deal with in order to get by every day. In his memoir, Douglass reflects on his life, and details his journey of being born into slavery, what his life was like as a slave, how he escaped from his grim reality and how he eventually became one of the most gripping orators and thinkers of his time, enlightening the rest of the world on the horrors of what was occurring in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is worth noting that one of the first themes that Frederick Douglass uses is female suffering. Although Douglass' first hand account of slavery is considered one of the most moving and powerful stories of this cruel practice, it does not necessarily accurately depict the experience of female slaves. Women in Narrative of the Life are not actually depicted as fully conscious people. Rather, Douglass uses female slaves to depict graphic violence and to evoke images of bruised and beaten bodies. The first example
Frederick Douglass: Literary Analysis Essays
"Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass: Literary Analysis"
In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass explains, in great detail, how slave master would use a variety of methods to dehumanize slaves located on their plantation. These methods involved both severe physical and psychological trauma. Nevertheless, Douglass remains diligent and finds a way to resist the harsh reality of being a slave. Because of his immovable desire to acquire knowledge to his fighting encounter with Mr. Covey, these experiences help shape Douglass to be the archetype of what it means to go from slavery to freedom. This essay will highlight the physical and psychological tactics used on slaves. In addition, the aspect of how Douglass resists the...show more content...
Another example of slave master's methods to dehumanize slaves were the living conditions provided to slaves. Along with the lashings and severe punishment to which slaves were often subjected, they were also kept half–starved. As Douglass writes, "They [Henrietta and Mary] seldom knew what it was to eat a full meal." Douglass adds, "I have seen Mary contending with the pigs for the offal thrown into the street." (pp. 411–412) This reveals how slave masters would not feed slaves adequate portions of food, which led to many slaves being extremely thin and malnourished. Knowledge of such despicable acts happening to one's family can only inspire feelings of despise, disgust and hatred. Douglass, however, used this as fuel to inspire his freedom. Next, the psychological trauma will be examined, in particular the valuation and division of slaves. Slaveholders deemed slaves as valuable assets such as clothes, furniture, pigs, and horses which was how slaves were sold and traded. By this method, slave masters would mentally engrain the message to slaves that they were not, indeed, human beings, but rather items of personal belongings. As a result, slaves did not know their self–worth. Another method of psychological distress would be to divide slaves from their families. In this effort, slaves were both stripped of both their morale and identity. The very first chapter of Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass proves this assertion.
Narrative Of The Pentateuch
The examination of the literary genre of narrative and law with respect to what is laid forth in the Pentateuch is a formidable challenge. Notwithstanding the volume of material at one's disposable is such that the task could be equated with a mosquito trying to expound on the physiology of the blood extracted from its last victim.
Nonetheless, mindful of such comparison, I will endeavor to put forth a strong exegesis of the major features biblical narrative, and biblical law.
The Narrative genre of the Pentateuch
As noted in our lecture notes (Grand Canyon University, 2017) cites Fee and Stuart who suggest the genre of narrative is the predominate literary modality employed by the authors of scripture and as such a concerted effort to understand...show more content...
25). Therefore, it is essential to understand that law as seen in the Pentateuch is actually best understood in the meaning of the Hebrew word Torah which suggest "instruction" or "teaching" (p. 26). However, "the law" of the Pentateuch has been sometimes construed in much the same way as one might consider contemporary law; a system of crimes, regulations and punishment. This "instruction" was to make it possible for God's people, his chosen, to be his representative in the earth, to show the world that God is supreme (2012). Moreover, the law was only given after the Israelites were delivered from slavery, however, it was not given to establish relationship because the children of Israel already enjoyed relationship by the promise made to Abraham (Genesis 12, Exodus 3:6–10). However, inasmuch as they already enjoyed relationship with Yahweh, God further desired that they should fulfill their calling as a "kingdom of Priest", through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3, Vogt, 2012, p. 29). Hence, as Vogt goes on to stress, "When the law was given...as a means of living out relationship with a holy God, who would be in the midst of his people" (2012, p.
Personal Narrative About My Literary History
The earliest I can remember about my literary history was when I moved to a new school in second grade. At my first parent–teacher conference at the new school, Heritage Elementary, my teacher explained to my parents that I wasn't reading at grade level. My mom was very upset and explained that my old school, Lakeridge Elementary, had a large population of children where English was not their first language. Therefore, in order to help them with, not only their reading, but also with improving their English we had to slow down.
To the teachers at Lakeridge, I never seemed to struggle with reading because I spoke English so, I was ahead of a lot of kids in the class. Heritage was different because, it was not very diverse and everyone spoke English. Because of the differences in the speed of learning I fell behind in Heritage's standards. Not only did I struggle to read but I also hated reading, making the task that much more difficult. Reading for me was like pulling teeth, and given the choice I probably would have preferred getting my teeth pulled. My teacher and parents came to an agreement that I would go to a class a couple times a week to help work on my reading skills. This class had me work with a special teacher who had the necessary skills and lesson to improve my reading. The class seemed to work because by the time I hit...show more content...
I struggled to find books I enjoyed reading, or books that were exciting to me. I was confused about the genre of books I liked because when my teachers would mystery and action books to the class I loved them but, when I tried to read a book of that genre by myself I could never get into it. I just figured that reading wasn't for me because, I couldn't read something and imagine it in my head like I did when others read to me. This was why I hated reading because I tried to focus on the meaning of the words instead of actually imagining what the words are telling
The Literacy Narrative Of Literature
Literacy Narrative
Literature is everywhere. No matter where you are, you're exposed to it. It is on your phone, in the paper, on the McDonald 's receipt in a wad under your car seat, it is even on the billboard signs as you drive down the interstate. With literature getting so much coverage there is no question of where such heated debates come from. It is hard to have an argument or sometimes even a conversation with a person using ONLY literature. Sentences can have the same words, but handed to different people and they may interpret the sentence in two polar opposite directions. Debates take on a huge problem when they are done solely through literature, unfortunately I found that out the hard way.
"Does your boyfriend go to church?"...show more content...
The post was a cartoon of two men sitting behind tables, much like when you visit a business fair. The one man 's sign read "lies and comfort" the man seated behind that table was portrayed to be a pastor. The line in front of his station continued out of the drawing frame. The other person behind the table was portrayed as a scientist and his sign read "the truth". I shot straight up out of bed and began to read the comments. Just as my brother walked in.
As my brother shot the "what is wrong with you glance", I shoved my phone into his face and stated in a very irritated voice "look at this".
He looked at it for a couple minutes and you could see the gears turning in his head through his eyes but then all of a sudden, just like you flipped a switch, he tossed my phone back at me and shrugged his shoulders as he walked out of the door. I was still furious. I had now squirmed around so much on my bed, that all of my throw pillows where on the hardwood floor. I just rolled off my bed onto to pillows and began to type my comment under the cartoon.
My fingers started tapping at a rapid speed, the button clicking sound, much like that of bubble wrap popping, was the only thing that broke the silence in my bedroom. I typed and typed for what seemed like an hour and then I went back to read what I wrote before I posted it. As I was reading, I would make changes where the sentence didn 't quite make sense or where I felt I left room
My Personal Narrative : My Literary Journey
My literary journey is not an exciting one, there are no major twists, turns or even bumps in the road. I had no major obstacles to overcome in learning how to read or write. But in a way this journey is a metaphor for so many other things in my life, you will learn in the coming pages of my short attention span, failure to stay motivated and my struggles to remain enthused to learn. As I sat down to think about learning to read and write a faint but important memory came to mind. I believe I was in the first grade, possibly kindergarten and I had just moved schools in the middle of the school year. Moving schools is already a terrifying experience for a young boy, I had to leave my friends and make new ones and what if the kids at my new...show more content...
But I made it through stone soup and soon I too was reading full sentences just like my classmates. Soon after reading Stone Soup I was introduced to the works of Theodor Seuss Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss. Someone bought me a Dr. Seuss subscription for my birthday which meant that periodically I would receive, by mail, a copy of each of his children's books until I had the entire collection. I loved reading those books and would be ecstatic each day a new one arrived in my mailbox. But as much as One–Fish Two–Fish, Go Dog Go and Hop on PoP helped me to hone my reading skills, they eventually lost their appeal to me once the small stories could hold my attention. With Dr. Seuss no longer able to stimulate my imagination and hold my attention there sat a void that needed to be filled. The book that would fill that void was a series, the premise of which was so outlandish that it nearly bears repeating. Aliens for Breakfast yes aliens, the breakfast of champions. As ridiculous as the extra–terrestrial morning meal stories were, they kept my attention like nothing before. Everywhere I went I would have my copy of aliens and I read every chance I had until it was finished. It was outrageous, it was silly and best of all it was part of a series so once I finished my alien breakfast and was hungry for more I moved right on to aliens for lunch and dinner. I eventually finished the series and moved on to a few more books with nearly equally
Literary Narrative Writing is something that has never been easy for me. For most of my life I have tried to avoid it if I can, but of course I can't avoid stuff like school forever. So for the most part all of my writing has been forced upon me. Even with the help of teachers and some helpful hints from the internet, it never got easier. But obviously I have written before and like anyone else who has written before, there must have been some sort of influence. My main influences were the books I have read, my teachers who have helped me throughout the years, my experience, and strangely enough my music. My first influence as a writer were books. I read all the time, in the car, during school, etc etc. I always have one on me so I'm...show more content...
Of course there are many other smaller influences that have helped me but none are nearly as important as the four I've listed above. I may not be much of one but I am proud of the writer I am today. Writing is an outlet for people and a required part of society. Its exceedingly important throughout history and everyone's life. I am happy for the experience and skill I have and all the influences that have made me the writer I am
The literacy narrative essay, "Proficiency" by Shannon Nichols, is intended for people who suddenly quit after facing setbacks or challenges in their lives. Its purpose is to show people, especially the arrogant people, that failures should humble you. Failures can demoralize us after working so hard to get where we are at. However, failures shouldn't stop you from getting to your goals. Failures should serve as a motivation. I can personally relate to Nichols, because I have failed at something I worked so hard for. Unlike Nichols, I did not quit, or felt discouraged. The essay was about Shannon Nichols describing her experience taking the writing proficiency test in high school. Nichols thought highly of herself, because of her achievements
Mother Tongue Literary Analysis
The literary narrative Mother Tongue is written by a Chinese American author named Amy Tan. The story discusses the challenges she faced growing up speaking Chinese and English. "Amy discusses several examples of how the English language has different variations when spoken, and how her English has evolved over time by interacting with others and the acceptance version used by Americans as a whole in comparison to what Amy describes her mother speaking as 'broken' or 'fractured' English"(Tan,78). Due to her mother's fragmented English, she faces criticism and prejudice and how it has affected her everyday life. Therefore highlighting the biggest theme of the book, Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" discusses the links between language and identity. The story begins with Amy's experience using the "different English's". In a book club meeting, Amy talks about her writing pieces, her life experiences, and her book. "The talk was going well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room. And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech, using the kind of English I have never used with her" (Tan, 178). While growing up my mother's limited English limited my perception of her. Tan was ashamed of her mother's English, she felt her own English was being affected by the English her mother spoke. Many of Tan's friends had a difficult time understanding what her mother way saying, because of this
My Literacy Journey
Literacy plays a huge role in my daily life. Every single day I read and write. Whether it's writing an email or reading a text message, class assignment, discussion board, etc. My literacy journey is unique because I have had different experiences. As a result, this is how my literacy journey has let me to be the reader that I am. I define literacy as being able to express my thoughts and emotions. I know everyone has different opinions and emotions. Therefore, everyone will write differently and read in a different pace. Also, everyone likes different types of books, for example fiction or nonfiction. As a result, everyone's literacy journey is unique. Everyone has a different definition when it comes to literacy which is what makes it special. Some prefer to read and others prefer to write. It all depends on personal preference. A book I clearly remember is the book I read in 6th grade. I saved up my lunch money to buy it from the book fair. There was a lot of book I could not choose but my teacher helped me picked one. The book was torn on the edges. It had an off–white cover with faded writing. I remember it smelling like my pumpkin spice candle I had in my room. I also remember the book being small and easy to carry. I loved the size of it because I could take it anywhere to read. There were times where I would stay in the classroom instead of going out to play with my classmates. I still have the book but now its dusty and covered in highlighter and writing. I first understood reading was important when I had to take a reading test in elementary. I was told the test would determine whether I would move on to the next grade level. That was when I realized I had to take reading important. I didn't like having to read 4 different stories, but I knew I had to try my best to pass. The test results took forever to come in which made it even scarier. Once my teacher told me I had passed I felt a huge relief. Ever since I have never doubted the importance of reading. Alexie wrote "I read with equal parts joy and desperation." (130) This quote had an impact on me because I could relate to it. I like Alexie also read with joy and desperation. I believe some want to read to find and escape and imagine a
Personal Narrative And Literary Analysis
1. I wrote arguments in my persuasive and literary analysis to fulfill standard one. I used my research as evidence and combined that with my prior knowledge to make educated arguments to support my claims. I spent time going through information and analyzing the information to find sufficient evidence.
2. I wrote informative text in my comparison and contrast and my analytical essay. I was able to take my prior knowledge and information and convey my ideas through these two papers. I was able to do this in an organized matter through the use of my outline.
3. I was able to write a narrative in my personal narrative essay. I was able to take my experience and put it on paper using effective technique to convey my experience clearly. I also...show more content...
I used evidence from literary and informational texts in my persuasive and literary analysis essays. I was able to you quotes from a book to support my statements in my literary analysis. I was able to use informational text to educate myself and get information for my persuasive paper.
10. I was able to write routinely over this semester by completely six essays. I had several days to work on the outline, research, and writing of my six essays. I had a range of a couple days to up to two weeks to complete my essays.
11. I was able to use standard English and grammar to complete all of my essays throughout the semester. I learned several techniques on how to start and end my essays in a proper way. I also learned where to place my thesis and several other proper writing
Literacy Events: A Narrative Analysis
When asked to recall an early experience of literacy and/or numeracy (ELNE), this is a literacy event, that I believe had a strong influence in the development of my literacy skills. One way of understanding and analyzing early learning experiences in literacy is through Shirley Brice Heath's (1982) concept of 'literacy events'. Where she describes a literacy event as "any occasion in which a piece of writing is integral to the nature of participants' interactions and their interpretive processes" (p. 93). She developed the idea of literacy events as a tool for examining the forms and functions of oral and written language. Therefore, any activity in which literacy has a role is a literacy event. My hobby of playing video games was surrounded by a culture of literacy....show more content...
That meant asking my parents, but of course it meant poring over how–to texts and hints that were displayed in the 'Banjo Kazooie' gaming manual that I read with my father. Barton et al. (2000) also highlight that, "events are observable episodes which arise from practices and are shaped by them. The notion of events stresses the situated nature of literacy, that it always exists in a social context" (p. 8). Heath (1982), details the literary emphasis positioned on child development within various representations of three homes. 'Maintown' which is 'beyond the book', has literacy take priority over everyday tasks, enforces 'what' and 'why' questions and reading activities at home, reflect reading activities at school. Roadville is 'just the book' which is the middle ground, focusing on product, not process, and involves a formulaic teaching approach. Trackton which is 'no books', suggests parents do not have a role in the learning process, and there is reward for imitation not verbalization and involves a strong 'human'
Literacy Narrative Essay example
At this point in my life I find myself in an interesting predicament regarding my attitudes toward reading and writing; more so towards reading. Years ago I used to love reading books for pleasure but nowadays I find myself reading things that little to no effort to digest. This includes the very basic posts on facebook expressing one's opinion on something or articles and threads on reddit discussing topics I find intriguing. Perhaps it's the severe senioritis that has overcome me as I enter my last semester at Chapman University. As I've gotten lazier I can see it start to reflect in my everyday life. Deep down I still love to read but I rarely find myself getting truly invested into the action unless it relates to something I am very...show more content...
You can feed the mind as much as you want and it will never get full of reading.
Sadly, I'm not the same person that I was. I guess you could say it's part of growing up. It never really was intentional but it's just the way how it ended up.
On the other hand my attitudes toward writing are very different. First let me say that deep down I truly do not like to write. I myself don't personally like to write for leisure or pleasure but rather I write because I believe it is one of the most important aspects of being able to communicate with those around you, both personally and professionally. To put differently, my attitude towards writing is that I write because I need to write and survive in the world around me. I write because I have to, not because I want to. Hopefully this somewhat makes sense.
To better explain let me make a comparison. When I am assigned a writing assignment or I am writing because the action is being forced upon me I find myself not enjoying the process and overall the end result is subpar. The perfect example of this would be my junior year in high school when I was enrolled in AP english literature. I dreaded the majority of the class simply because there was so much writing involved in the entire course and therefore I was constantly writing just to get a grade. Being forced to write in such high volume every week for an entire school year was not enjoyable for myself and as a result the
The literary theory of narratology surrounds the ideology of how a story is told to an audience through literature. The underlying syntax of the word 'narrative' is projected as being a story told or spoken, but when it comes to literature, the audience is meant to look at how the written word conveys the story through its characters and its underlying plot. Narratology is a perspective that brings the audience's head into the author's way of bringing their story to life through their style of writing, creation of plot, and through the ways characters interact. What literary critics do within this theory is take into account the narratology – the way the story creates an impact and how the author projected their idea into literature. The narratological perspective can be displayed through three major layers; the framework, the in–depth analysis of the story, and how the work makes an impact. With the use of theorists Valdmir Propp, Aristotle, Gerard Genette, Roland Barthes, Julien Greimas and Tzvetan Todorov, and the literary work, The Turn of the Screw, the audience is able to understand what narratology entails. The framework of a narrative is a staple to the theory of narratology because it is one of the main steps towards understand what narrative truly is. Narrative itself has a basic formation, in which the story (being the major movement of events in the narrative) or plot (the way story is organized) encompass a major framework. The narrative has a set of goals
Narrative Essay About Toxic Relationships
Caroline Hanna
Professor
September 8th, 2015
English 1
Say Goodbye Everyone loves a happily ever after. In the romance world, characters go through Hell for each other, but we know that it will all work out in the end. In the real world, people are not nearly as quixotic as they are in movies or books. People have undesirable habits, bad attitudes, and issues that can prevent a relationship from blossoming. In the real world, this could potentially be warning sign of a relationship that is or is about to become toxic. Walking away is hard because being alone is a scary thought for most people. It is human nature to long for human interaction, affection, and contact at least sometimes. When a relationship turns toxic, I have learned that the best thing I can do for myself is get out. I thought friendship and love was about acceptance. It can often be hard to identify when you are involved in a toxic relationship, because, of course, no relationship is perfect. There is a fine line in between an issue that can be addressed and worked through and an issue that is unresolvable, either because the other person does not care or is being manipulative. I was involved in a toxic relationship with my best friend whom I met in middle school for five years. She would guilt me out for not making enough time for her and completely disregard my feelings or...show more content...
For instance, I struggled with an eating disorder for as long as I can remember. I had a group of friends who completely disregarded my need to recover and continued to urge me to participate in unhealthy patterns with them. Despite the support and understanding they offered me, they also encouraged me to remain sick. I had to separate myself from these people in order to move forward. It took me a long time to realize that my friends did not care if I got better, but rather that I remain sick and miserable with
literacy narrative Essay
Demetrias Henderson
Eng.111
March 28, 2015
The Early and latter stages of Literacy Development
Learning to read and write as a child is an experience that all can relate to. The average child learns to read and write at the early ages of three and four. Developing literacy at an early age is crucial to academic development as well as to performance in life. Early development can be just what a child needs to stimulate their minds, which in turn is assisting in the evolution of their future. The early and latter stages of development in a child's literacy journey are the makings for their reading and writing skills. It also plays part in their analysis of obstacles as well as their developed or problematic literacy future. A child...show more content...
I soon began to excel in writing the alphabet as well as short words. My mom went on to teach me how to write my name, and I soon moved on to learn numbers. I enjoyed writing and began to choose that over playing outside. The following year, I started school and I enjoyed learning more than anything. I succeeded early in my classes due to my eagerness to learn. My experience with the letter E was but a mere speed bump in the future of my literacy and it did nothing to stop me.
Secondly, One of the people most interested in my literacy performance other than my mom was my fifth grade teacher Mr. Greg Monroe. Most students didn't appreciate his teaching style but I did. Up until this point in my literacy development, I had excelled easily. It wasn't until I met my teacher that year that I realized everything wasn't going to be so easy. For the first time I had to actually study rather than to just know the information like normal. Mr. Monroe taught me that I needed to push myself to be better than good, even if it feels like I can't. Teaching students to go beyond the norm was Monroe's approach, and I feel as if his approach was extremely helpful as well as encouraging. He taught students to set goals and to develop aspirations. The fifth grade is the last stepping stone to becoming a middle school student which warrants new responsibilities for the students. Mr Monroe made sure that students graduated from his class not only with
Literacy Narrative
INFINITE
Final Draft
18/3/13
Word Count: 777
I never understood the point of reading. My parents first introduced my siblings and I to its world at the early age of two. We were familiarized with letters, taught to link sound the visual and formed words with a stuttering start. We became accustomed to the quiet of Tuesday nights when my father would sit huddled on the sofa – my mother curled up in bed – his long nose buried in a novel, a black curtain cascading from her head to the pages, morphing into one with their respective books. As the night drew close the browns of their eyes would light up, while my mother's red lips would quiver with excitement and my father would flash a lopsided smile. "Reading is an adventure," they'd...show more content...
His sun kissed skin was sprinkled with grubby marks and one of his top teeth was absent as he chuckled. His black hair flopped down over his eyes as he stared intently into a book held tightly in his hands, seemingly ignoring the chaos I saw around him. The blue of the cover stood out amongst the neutral tones, and the word "infinite" stood out to me.
This moment, which is forever replayed in slow motion, is when that area of darkness began to shine.
My parents were raised in the third–world country of India, lucky to escape extreme poverty, but living in poverty nonetheless. They grew up on the principal that literacy was their only escape from the life they lived. They understood what it was to have nothing and realised that millions of other people around the world would never get the same chance to escape – like the boy with the book. This is why we were taken overseas; to be shown how lucky we are, even to have the simple things.
I've never looked at a book the same. I now allow myself to get lost amongst the words, the characters, the scenes; they all become real in my mind. I have a hunger for books and the stories that can remove me from my surroundings. It came to my attention much later on, that the boy on the road probably didn't even know what he was reading – the title was English and he most likely spoke Mandarin. It was just a way to escape his
Narrative Writing Narrative
Literary Narrative
Writing has always been a crucial part of my life. Despite any issues I faced, from my penmanship to my versatility as a writer, I wasn't going to let these dilemmas prevent me from accomplishing my goals. Prosperity never came easy and at times it did seem futile to continue trying, but defeat wasn't an option. Reflecting on the obstacles I conquered, it's because of the arduous process I endured that allowed me to evolve into the writer I am today.
It's interesting how my passion for writing began in the first place. In second grade I wrote my letters and words too close together, which my teacher, Ms. Alexander, frequently scolded me about since most of my assignments were illegible. My parents also lectured me on my bad handwriting and forced me to practice separating my words properly. I did find this exercise annoying at first since it was time consuming, but it did help a significant amount. My teacher was elated by the improvement in my, now legible, handwriting. She was able to critique my latest writing project, which she thought was detailed and creative. My parents even agreed with her when I showed them my assignment.
Conveniently. these writing assignments were for our end of the year project where our series of short stories would be published into a book. This was a fascinating project for me since this was my first time being exposed to the publishing process. As a child, seeing how the original version of my stories transformed into