On Dumpster Diving

Kira Nikolaides

Mrs. Parkinson

English III

8 April 2016

On Dumpster Diving

In “On Dumpster Diving,” Lars Eighner uses pathos to make us feel sympathetic for him because of his situation. When talking about how he first began Dumpster diving, he says, “While Lizbeth and I were still living in the shack on Avenue B as my savings ran out, I put almost all my sporadic income into rent. The necessities of daily life I began to extract from Dumpsters” (713). This description makes us realize just what a horrible situation he is in. He says that his saving are running out and how he has to put any money he has towards rent, which makes us feel bad for him. He barely had anything and he had to put everything he had towards keeping his shack. Our sympathy for him goes even further when he says he had to get all of his other needs from Dumpsters. Most of us can’t even imagine being in a situation like that -- we haven’t had to get the things we need, like food and clothes, from the trash. Eighner lays this out for us and through his use of pathos, we are able to feel his pain, despite not going through this ourselves. We can picture him putting all the money he has towards rent and having to figure out where to get food. We can picture him looking through a Dumpster to find the things he needs. This image makes us feel bad for him, as we could never imagine ourselves in that situation.

The Creation of a Bond

Kira Nikolaides

Mrs. Parkinson

English IIIB

15 March 2016

The Creation of a Bond

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, we see an interesting bond form between Lennie and George. Even though George can be quite mean to Lennie, they have a bestfriend-like bond. They are planning to buy their own land eventually. When talking about their dream, George says, “We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us” (14). Through this, we can see that they do care about each other. They are friends and they are getting through life during the Dust Bowl together and they are there to help each other. They create a bond like the one that they have because they are facing the struggle of the Dust Bowl together. This can be connected to an experience in my own life. One of my best friends, Juliet, became my friend because of a similar experience and struggle. We were both working towards the same goal, getting our dream job of being a camp counselor, and we became friends through that experience. Whenever we needed someone to talk to about our struggles on the journey, we had each other. It takes a common experience and struggle to create a bestfriend-like bond.

Harlem Renaissance Poetry

Kira Nikolaides

Mrs. Parkinson

English III

7 March 2016

Harlem Renaissance Poetry

It’s important to examine works of the Harlem Renaissance, like those of Claude McKay. By doing so, we can learn about what life was like for blacks in the 1920s. McKay wrote heavily about the life of blacks in America. This is especially shown in his poem, “America.” This poem shows the two views blacks had of America: love and hatred. In the poem, he says, “Stealing my breath of life, I will confess / I love this cultured hell that tests my youth” (McKay 3-4). This shows both his hatred and love for the country. He was referring to the racism blacks faced in America. However, he still loved America because it made him stronger. He said that America is “giving me strength erect against her hate…” (McKay 6). Looking at poems like McKay’s can help us understand racism in America and how racism in the 1920s compares to that of today.

Holden's Voice in Catcher in the Rye

They often employ techniques of narrative. In this scene in Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s voice is shown through narrative techniques. He is telling the story of when Phoebe figured out he got kicked out of Pencey. He is able to use the dialogue between him and his sister to develop her characterization and move the plot forward. When she figures it out, Holden is denying it, but she keeps saying “You did. You did” (Salinger 214). In this vignette, Holden is showing us how persistent Phoebe is through her dialogue and what she says. Because of her repetition of this phrase, we see how disappointed she is in Holden. Of course, this isn’t the first time he’s gotten kicked out of a school, and she can’t believe that he got kicked out again. She wants Holden to succeed, and even though she’s so young, we are able to see through this dialogue how mature she is. She asks Holden, “Oh, why did you do it?” (Salinger 217). She can’t believe that he is taking this so lightly and she wants to know why Holden keeps failing his classes and getting kicked out. Holden is telling us this vignette and through the dialogue with Phoebe, he benefits her characterization. Using dialogue to show characterization is a narrative technique, so this shows how Holden’s voice is developed by techniques of narrative. They offer surprising information and observations. Throughout Holden’s vignette, he offers us little details about Phoebe, which helps make his voice more authentic. For example, when describing how mad she was, he says, “ Then she hit me on the leg with her fist. She gets very fisty when she feels like it” (Salinger 214). This is a tiny detail about Phoebe that the reader wouldn’t expect to hear about at this moment. It shows the relationship between Holden and Phoebe. Even though it’s obvious that they’ve known each other for a while because they’re siblings, this shows us how well they know each other and how close they are as siblings. Additionally, Holden says, “If you don’t think that hurts, you’re crazy” (Salinger 214). I think that this further shows what Holden’s relationship with Phoebe is like. Siblings typically get in ‘fights’ like this and I think that this shows us a little background as to how their relations was like that, too. These little details are things that the reader wouldn’t expect to hear about, but Holden is telling them in his vignette, which makes his voice more authentic. They deliver interesting information. When Phoebe first figures out that Holden was kicked out, she’s very mad and Holden keeps denying it. He doesn’t want her to know that he was kicked out, but he says, “If you don’t think she’s smart, you’re mad” (Salinger 213). In this vignette, Holden reveals how smart he thinks Phoebe is. Through this quote, we can see that Holden knows he can’t fool her, even though he tries to fool her anyway. This is interesting to the audience because Holden is going against what he already knows. He says that he knows Phoebe is smart and that she figured it out, but he’s still denying her accusations. It’s interesting to the audience that he’s trying to convince her from what she knows is true. This shows Holden’s voice because the way the vignette is written interests the audience. He tells that audience that Phoebe is smart, but he’s still trying to trick her back into thinking that he wasn’t kicked out. Through this, he is delivering interesting information to the audience about himself.

Blog Post #2

In chapter 16 of Catcher in the Rye, Holden tells a vignette about how he would go to museum a lot with his class when he was in grade school. At the end of the vignette, he says how everything in the museum is always the same no matter how many times you go back. Following this, he says, "Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you" (Salinger 158). Holden describes how the only thing that changes every time you go back to the museum is you. In between visits to the museum, you'll experience something that will make you different. This was the whole meaning of his vignette. Some things around you will always stay constant, but you are always experiencing things that change you in some way, even if that change is not major. Holden gives examples of these experiences. It could be as simple as being there with a different group, or as complex as hearing your parents fight. Through this vignette, Holden was trying to show that your surroundings may stay constant, but you won't stay the same. People are always changing and even the tiny little details we experience can cause change.

Catcher in the Rye 9-10

I chose to write about blog option two.

Holden is a very complex character, and this can be seen throughout chapter 10 in Catcher in the Rye. At some points throughout the chapter, Holden seems very caring and compassionate, especially towards his younger sister Phoebe. In contrast, at other points in the chapter, Holden seems very materialistic and stereotypical in regard to how he treats the women at the bar. In just this one chapter, we are able to see two very different sides of Holden.

The chapter opens with Holden talking about how he wants to call his younger sister, Phoebe. When describing her, he says, “You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life” (Salinger 87). This line is followed by a lengthy and generous description of Phoebe. Holden is showing his compassion and his sentiments towards Phoebe. He believes that she is very pretty and she is one of the smartest kids ever. This shows that Holden really loves her and he is proud of her. He thinks that Phoebe is special and he cares about her, and wants the audience to realize that. He wants the audience to know how great Phoebe is. This makes Holden seem like a more sensitive character because we see how much he cares about his sister.

Later on in the chapter, Holden goes down to the hotel bar and sees three women. In describing these women, Holden comes off as very materialistic. He says, “…there were these three girls around thirty or so. The whole three of them were pretty ugly… she was sort of cute, the blonde one…” (Salinger 90). Holden is talking about the three women at the bar and says that they’re ugly. However, a sentence later, Holden says that one of them is “sort of cute.” The way this is written makes it seem like Holden is settling for the prettiest of the three, who isn’t very pretty. He comes off as materialistic because he is just judging these women off of their looks and settling for the prettiest one. Because it makes his seem materialistic, it takes away from the compassion we saw when he was talking about his sister. He doesn’t seem to care for the feelings of everyone; he only cares about a few people who are close to him. Other than those close to him, he disregards people’s feelings and is very judgmental.

This shows how complex Holden is because he has these contrasting characteristics. Because he’s so complex, we can see that Holden truly is an individual. If Holden was a simple character with only a few distinguished traits, he wouldn’t stand out and he could easily be compared to any other character or person. However, because he’s so complex, he is a distinct individual. He doesn’t just follow what everyone expects him to do. His contrasting characteristics make him unpredictable, allowing him to be an individual. This is supported by the Romantics’ idea of individualism. Each person is allowed to be their own person and they don’t have to conform. Additionally, individualism means prioritizing a youthful experience. Holden shows this by the way he acts towards the women in the hotel. A youthful experience essentially means that you’re doing what you want, which is exactly what Holden does. Holden’s characterization supports the ideals of individualism both in that it shows how he is a complex, distinct individual, and how he is ‘youthful.’ 

Final Post

Original Post

1. What specific words/phrases demonstrate your writer’s voice? How do these words/phrases showcase your personality as a writer?

I think the first sentence, when I say, “I thought I would tell you about my favorite books and recommend them to you!” helps showcase my personality as a writer. The way I wrote it makes you read it enthusiastically. It shows that I am excited to recommend my favorite books to people and it shows that I am passionate about these books. It also makes the post more conversational and friendly, like I am glad to tell you about my favorite books and I want to talk to you about them. I think another part that shows my voice is when I say, “I think this is a book everyone should read at one point of their lives.” This shows how powerful and important this book was to me. It shows my voice because it’s meaningful and it shows that I really care about people reading this book. I think those two lines best show my voice and personality as a writer.

 

2. What purposeful diction and syntax choices did you make to enhance your writer’s voice?

One diction choice I made was when I said, “This is a story about a boy and his dad traveling on a long road in a post-apocalyptic world. Their home was destroyed and they have to decide where to go next.” This has purposeful diction because I included connotation in these two sentences. Instead of just saying ‘father,’ I said ‘dad.’ The word ‘dad’ has a more personal connection than the word ‘father.’ When we think of a father, we think of just having a biological connection, but when we think of a dad, we think of a man who raised us and was there for us as we were growing up. This makes you realize that this book has a strong connection between the dad and his son, because if I had just said ‘father,’ it wouldn’t make the reader think they had as much of an emotional connection as they do. I also used the word ‘home’ instead of ‘house.’ A house is just a building, but a home is where you feel safe, and saying that their home got destroyed instead of their house leaves a much bigger impact.

One syntax choice I made was when I ask rhetorical questions. I asked, “how far is too far?” and “is Alex really a criminal, or is he a victim?” I added these two questions because they were questions that I asked myself while I was reading. It lets the reader see what I was thinking while I read the book. It also gives the reader a better idea of what the book is about. They are able to see what kinds of questions and thoughts the book provokes, so it gives them more of an idea. Also, these ideas were part of the main ideas of the book, and instead of just stating them, putting them in the form of a question makes it much more interesting and creative.