http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=12201

In any essay, the title doesn’t always predict what the author has in store. In the narrative, I Had to Fight to Read, the author is not literally talking about fighting and reading, or any other possible manifestations. More of an experience with reading, the author uses the title to set up the theme. Borrowing many books-from the library-to read, the author runs into an obstacle- the librarian.

The librarian limits the author’s dreams of the “world of words.” Restricting her from taking out books the author truly faced a barrier. Overcoming this barrier, however, the author is able to explore, dream and discover texts, insights and make connections. With so many observations and conclusions the author is swayed and captivated by awe and wonder.

When such inspiration happens, the reflection imagines. The narrative, I Had to Fight, allowed me to once again, reflect on myself. It constantly reminds me of when I used to loath the idea of reading books, poems, classic literature and pretty much anything at all. Eventually, I left my comfort zone, in the sense of reading, and was able to face this challenge and make the most of it. Once I took the time to overcome this obstacle of “dyslexia,” is when, and where, the magic happens.

Link to Narrative Essay – http://biographicalessays.blogspot.com/2011/01/alma.html

The writer wants us to understand her great grandmother.  She repeatedly talks about the troubles her great grandmother went through, and does this in a chronological manner.  One thing she seems to do is repeatedly mention the words great grandmother, and this sort of emphasizes her age and how she’s from a completely different era than our current one.  The writer mentions at the end how she percieves the current world to be materialistic and commerical, and how her great grandmother’s world was different.

The piece definitely got me thinking – were things really that different back then?  The writer doesn’t really focus on details, and the piece of writing is much more about getting to know the grandmother and her background.