Category: Short Writings

A Play by Shakespeare

The most enjoyable parts of the live reading had to be the singing parts, or when new characters would come in from the sides of the auditorium without anyone noticing. The least enjoyable part of the live reading was trying to understand the play, as Shakespeare’s works are often challenging to follow. All in all, the actors played their roles exceptionally well, making the play flow smoothly, and making dialogue and pauses between characters seem natural and not forced or uncomfortable to watch. I don’t watch many plays, but I really enjoyed this one.

By seeing the characters portrayed on stage, we get to see the story acted out and visualize every part of the story, especially the emotions and actions of each character at different sections, exhibiting pathos in the audience. The actors establish ethos with their performance, as they played their roles really well with little to no studders or mistakes in their lines and actions. There wasn’t much logos in this play, but perhaps the use of different costumes to fill in for the different roles where they lacked actors appeals to logic. By logic, I mean that the audience interprets it as different costumes represents different characters. Overall, by seeing the characters played out on stage, it adds depth to the already complex writing of Shakespeare, helping us, the audience, feel the emotions the characters felt, and immerse ourselves fully into the story.

Story, Situation, Question

Story – what you have so far:

Personal narrative “Nativity of My Spanish Tongue”

My journey of cultural identity and language

Situations – ideas and/or rhetorical situations that underpin my story: 

1. Language and Identity
2. Preservation of Culture
3. Assimilation vs Cultural Identity
4. Modernization of Language
5. Growing up with Culture

Questions – research question, the expectation for your reader

1. How does language/culture shape individuals as they grow up?
2. How can we effectively preserve our culture and encourage newer generations to continue it?
3. How important is language in shaping one’s cultural identity and sense of belonging?
4. How do people navigate the complexities of multilingualism?
5. To what extent are newer generations losing touch with their culture?
6. How is language changing over time?
7. What sparks our lifelong journies of self-discovery?

I plan on conducting my research by checking scholarly articles, whether it be on Google Scholar, Gale Literature, or the Baruch Database. The types of sources I think I will need are statistical, psychological, historical, and maybe personal stories. Some obstacles I may run into while conducting my research might be not finding the right information I want to include in my essay if it is too specific to one culture, some articles may be biased, their reliability, and the complexity of the topic of language and culture.

I care about this topic because it is one that not only I am faced with, but many of those in our generation are too. It is an important aspect of our upbringing, identity, belonging, and self-expression, and continuing this will not only be beneficial to us but also to our ancestors, the ones who brought their values and traditions from another country into America. It gives us a sense of pride for our countries of origin and helps build our communities with the richness that our cultures bring.

My readers should care about this topic because the loss of culture is plaguing our world, and is affecting even their cultures. It makes up the center of the human experience, filling it with richness, uniqueness, and complexity that shapes how we perceive the world and ourselves. It helps us gain more understanding and empathy for other cultures, and foster communities where everyone is heard, appreciated, and wanted.

Describe your overall ability to pay attention when it comes to schoolwork, and On a scale of 1 – 10, indicate how addicted you are to your phone

When it comes to schoolwork, I feel like my ability to pay attention is mediocre. At times, I can really dial in and concentrate on the work I have at hand, but at other times, I can get distracted easily, and take very long breaks which makes me finish an assignment hours after I could’ve gotten it over with. At the end of the day, it depends on how much attention to detail the assignment is, and how committed I am to wanting to finish as fast as possible.

On a scale of 1 – 10, I’m an 8.5 in my addiction to my phone

While reading “My Distraction Sickness” please note how long it takes you to get through the piece; also, count the number of times you get distracted (for whatever reason) and tally them at the end.

It took me about an hour or so to read as I got distracted a few times, and I got distracted around 4 times, as the reading was a bit lengthy.

Describe the tone of all three articles, how do they differ?

The tone of “The Distracted Student Mind” is serious and informational as Larry D Rosen mainly introduces facts and statistics about technology history and in the modern age, and its impact on the newer generations who are growing up with it.

The tone of “My Distraction Sickness” is reflective and personal as Andrew Sullivan speaks of his personal experiences with technology and his reflections on them.

The tone of “In Defense of Distraction” is thoughtful and unconventional as Sam Anderson speaks of how being distracted may not be as negative as it is projected to be, and thinking of out-of-the-box concepts that prove his point.

What are Sam Anderson’s primary arguments in defense of distraction? (Part III of In Defense of Distraction) Do you find them convincing? Why or why not

Sam Anderson’s primary arguments in part III of “In Defense of Distraction” are that being distracted is essential to being creative, focus and distraction can go hand in hand, it can help with multitasking, and distraction can lead to new amazing creations. I feel as though most of his points are very convincing since we, as the newer generation, are the ones who are experiencing many of these “issues” and can relate to them, and the many examples he gave of historical figures boast his claims even more. I can relate mostly to being distracted can make you more creative, as when I would get stuck on certain assignments, I would drift off into my phone and suddenly get the idea I needed to finish or get an idea I never thought of.

After reading all three articles, what are your thoughts on this “epidemic of distraction”?

I feel like the “epidemic of distraction” is a real issue, and from reading these perspectives, it can be used to your advantage or be a force that destroys you. You can either leverage it and bring out the good in it, whether it be multi-tasking, creativity, or unconventional ideas, or let it consume you, and destroy your well-being and physical life.

In “My Distraction Sickness”, highlight at least three instances for each of the following rhetorical concepts

Invention:

• Cause and effect: Because he was always on the internet, it led to his addiction and health worsening, “A year before, like many addicts, I had sensed a personal crash coming.”
• Cause and effect: Because of his addiction with the internet, he wasn’t able to fully engage in physical things such as reading and meditating, with only gaining some kind of relief from working out “for an hour or so a day.”
• Comparison: “constant cacophonous crowd of words and images, sounds and ideas, emotions and tirades — a wind tunnel of deafening, deadening noise.”  
• Gives examples of the large amount of content posted on different social media platforms (page 4 paragraph 2)
• Relationship: Due to the introduction of phones, people were able to now access the internet without having to be at home, becoming addicted to it and devices went from being “unknown to indispensable”

Style:

• The way he puts multiple ideas in a sentence helps intensify the anecdotes
• Uses very descriptive words to dramatize moments. (Some examples are: “my fingers twitched”, “my mind bucked and bridled”, “staggering swiftness”)
• Repeats words to emphasize points (Example: The word “Every” (page 3 paragraph 2) to begin each sentence emphasizes the amount of time he spent online, and not in the physical world)

Memory:

• Uses time to help us remember/visualize the time that events occurred (Some examples are: Uses time that he posted blogs to demonstrate addiction, “blog in 2007”, “spent hours each day, alone and silent, attached to a laptop”)
• “And so I decided, after 15 years, to live in reality.”
• Transitions from the present to the past to the present, calling back at the detrimental issues devices have caused from their development in such a short time

Pathos:

• “Did you really survive HIV to die of the web?”, Gives a sense of urgency, and reality, making readers reconsider their own habits
• “The interruptions often feel pleasant, of course, because they are usually the work of your friends.”, Gives a sense of familiarity and comfort as this is something the audience may relate with
• Evokes emotions of calmness and peacefulness in the audience as he describes the retreat center’s atmosphere along with his description of walking in the forest, “I heard birdsong for the first time in years.”

Ethos:

• Author builds credibility with personal experience of early on addiction with his blog
• Builds credibility with blog of “an audience of up to 100,000 people a day”
• His long experience with this issue, “And so I decided, after 15 years, to live in reality.”
• Personal experience of detoxing from social media, “I arrived at the meditation retreat center a few months after I’d quit the web, throwing my life and career up in the air.”
• Personal experience in a meditation retreat center and in nature

The structural arrangement centered around James Baldwin’s argument is one of personal anecdotes, evoking emotion and building a relationship with his audience. He speaks on how his personal life and moments connect to the broader African American society, surrounding him with a sense of reliability and authenticity as he has lived these negative things he speaks of. On the other hand, William Buckley uses a more assertive and statistical arrangement, mainly relying on logos throughout his debate. With a snarky and condescending approach, he tries to captivate the audience and seem superior to Baldwin, inherently deeming his speech unreasonable. He relates race and facts to each other, trying to break apart Baldwin’s main message of unity and equality, and introduces a view that this issue isn’t entirely due to white Americans. He undermines the whole African community and their issues, trying to place the blame on them and remove the authenticity of their experiences. While Baldwin seeks unity and change, Buckley defends America, deeming that the opportunities are there, they just have to take initiative.

Ethos

James Baldwin builds ethos with his use of personal anecdotes of his experiences in America, helping establish a sense of credibility on the topic of the debate. With the use of these anecdotes, it helps the audience envision life in his shoes and the issue from a different perspective, which balances both sides of the argument.

William Buckley’s use of ethos comes from his authoritative stance and confidence during his speech. He portrays his ideas with conviction, demonstrating how he is an educated and trustworthy speaker with his sophisticated ideas on this topic.

Logos

James Baldwin’s logos comes mainly from the introduction of his speech, where he speaks about the different perspectives of the question at hand, the “Western system of reality”, and the cheap labor of African Americans. Baldwin’s use of history, facts, and logic appeals to the audience as it develops credibility for his argument. This bolsters his claims of the injustices faced by African Americans and gives a stance that is hard to argue against. 

William Buckley develops logos with his use of statistics and history. By introducing comparisons between lynchings and the Irish, or incomes between the average white and black man, he appeals to his audience using facts and statistics, bringing a logical perspective into the debate.

Pathos

James Baldwin’s anecdotes of growing up in America serve as his pathos. Emotions such as anger, shock, and compassion are felt by the audience when hearing about injustices against African Americans. Through his storytelling of events such as being a kid, working “under someone else’s whip”, and Sherriff Clark, he aims to touch the hearts of his audience and enlighten them of the true nature of the African Americans’ experience. 

William Buckley’s speech is deeply rooted in the use of ethos and logos, and his use of pathos is mainly evident in the sense of pride he tries to give his audience of America. He highlights America’s opportunities and freedom, being of the best in the world, aiming to evoke patriotism and gratitude in his audience. 

Hormesis and Mimesis – Writing Experience

Hormesis

The exercise I chose for this prompt was going out for a run. Feeling a bit stressed, with writer’s block about my topic, I went out for a run to clear my mind. During this, I felt the stress go away as I focused more on the exercise. It helped clear my mind of the worries I was faced with, and when I got home, I was able to write with a more positive outlook, with ideas flooding my thoughts. Although it was a bit similar to what I had previously written before for the other prompts, it helped me advance, even if it wasn’t much.

Mimesis

For this writing prompt, I chose to imitate Mother Tongue by Amy Tan. While reading, I was able to remember certain memories that were buried away, just like hers, which pertained to my language and helped shape and define it to what it is today. It helped me evaluate the many different variants of languages I used and how they surrounded my day-to-day life, how others have perceived it over time, and the good and bad that came about it. It helped me gain a deeper and more detailed understanding of certain events I chose to write about, how they came to be, and their lasting impact on me.

Personal Writing Statement – Jacob Cruz

With my college writing journey beginning in English 2100, I feel like I have improved tremendously, excelling in many areas, while also finding the many faults I’ve had as a writer.

It hasn’t only introduced me to different writing styles, techniques, and genres, but also to the deeper meanings that these essays we write have, the true power that words can have. The areas I tend to do well in are pieces of my personal experiences and the analysis of outside texts, while falling short on story-telling essays.

I want to improve on the clarity and soundness of my sentences, while also working on my wordiness. Some areas where I’ve grown interested in, stemming from ENG2100, are culture, identity, and being able to analyze the deeper meaning of texts, and relate them to ourselves and the society around us. I feel as though these areas help me develop a deeper sense of connection with myself and the text, and help me witness certain experiences from different lenses and angles. It has helped me understand the world around me, appreciating the variety of thoughts and ideas that surround me, and come to a realization that there is not a universal answer to any piece of literature.

Finally, in English 2150 I want to gain more flexibility/versatility, and experience different modes/genres of writing to expand my skills even further. I want to uncover new areas where I may be good at, and go into the unknown of the potential that has yet to be discovered.