Blog 5 Life Changing Experiences
I now understand why were were told to write about experiences that have changed our lives. The lesson perfectly coincided with the assigned readings. Drummond's "Alive" was about a woman who revealed more and more details about her life with every new paragraph. In the first paragraph she simply informs the reader about a serial killer on the lose. In the second paragraph she revels that she worked as a cop during the 1980's. In the third paragraph she tells the reader that she left the police work and has tried her best to see the goodness in people. She tells the reader that she is sees a man who is staring at her and she does not have a good idea about him. She tries to block her suspicious nature, but she can not shake it off. In the fourth paragraph she thinks that the man is staring at her, in fact she claims that she knows the man is staring at her. She begins to show the reader that she is scared because she tells herself that she is no longer a cop, she is just a civilian. The next few paragraphs display the inner tension that the writer feels when she thinks about the "Stalker". She feels vulnerable and scared. She tries to block these thoughts, but fear begins to set it. As the tension rises, the story comes to a pause. The man leaves and she is on her own. She concludes by saying the nothing matters, at the end, everyone who is alive is at some point vulnerable.
I think that her experience from the police force has changed her life forever. As a cop, she was exposed to so much negativity, whether it's murder, robbery, assualt etc. She was exposed to the evil that humans were capable of. Being a police officer caused her to always have her emotional and physical guard up all the time. She did not know how to relax for long periods of time and no longer was able to see any genuine good in people. Becoming a police officer has forced her to lose trust in the kindness that people could have.
Like many, I feel that Westbury Court was not as easy to read. Unlike "Alive", Westbury Court did not really capture my attention. This essay is written in a fast paced manner. I think it is trying to tell a reader that in life, things are almost instantaous. People lose sight of what matters because they are so caught up with instant gratification. They overlook the important things in life, they are not able to prioritize.This was displayed when the writer said she was caught up watching "General Hospital", that she did not notice the smell of smoke from across the hall.The writer saw Westbury court differently after the fire. After the fire, her life changes.
Both stories have similarites and diffrences. They are similiar because the writers both realized something, through telling a story. They engaged us through allowing us to feel the feelings that they’ve felt.They make readers feel as if they are in the stories.These stories evoked a feeling within the reader. Though they have similarities, they are diffrent in a few ways.
In "Alive" the writer started talking about her surroundings and then her feelings. In Westbury Court, the writer described her feelings and then her surroundings. In "Westbury Court", the writer realized that things happen in life and that it is not like television. In "Alive", the reader realizes that nothing matters, feelings don't matter, people are vulnerable in life because they are alive.
Posted in: on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at at 8:24 PM
I’m a little fuzzy on class discussion, but I don’t recall too-too much being said on Drummond’s loss of trust. That sort of career can really wreak havoc with your ability to trust. A friend of mind went to Iraq 3 years ago and when he got back – damn, the adjustment that boy had to go thru to learn how to turn off soldier mode. Which of course is never completely off, and I suspect cop mode is neither. There’s a good reason for retraining the psyche this way, but what are the side effects of loosing trust? Can an individual function without it, let alone society? Drummond leaves this a little ambiguous – she never pronounces her opinion on *this issue* - which is really not the point of “Alive”, but a compelling tangent.
You speak of instant gratification - speed does have its advantages, as does slowness – it takes poised writers to know where and when to use both. D&D went off in different directions with these pieces, but woulnd’t it have been interesting to see a combination of the approaches? Would it make for an even richer experience or would it curdle…who knows!
Also - I like your point about loosing sight in Danticat's essay. I don't have much to add to this except that the pieces make a great diptych - loss of sight vs inability to stop sight.