Reflective Writing

Matt Taflinger

Research

Reflective Writing

           

            The least useful piece out of the three narratives was Lewin’s Diary of the Great Deportation. I thought the narrative was bland and boring to read. Although the piece was very descriptive, the use of imagery was lacking. Octavia Butler’s Kindred opened a whole new door to the possibilities of historical research narrative. The piece offered a totally different way to write a historical narrative. Although the piece didn’t directly affect the writing of my narrative, it did make me think of how I should approach my historical event. Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers gave me an example of how to incorporate pictures and art into a historical narrative. Again, I didn’t use this technique in my narrative, but the graphics made it clear that imagery is important when it comes to writing a historical narrative.

            When deciding on the point of view I was to write from, I thought about all the different types of people that were involved in the Haitian hurricane. After writing down each kind of person that I thought was involved, I began to think about how I could relate to each one. I picked the one I could relate to the most, a relief worker. Although I never worked as a relief worker, I thought it would be easy for me to write in the perspective of an American in Haiti helping the ravaged citizens. This point of view interested me because of how I could develop my character from the start of the narrative to the end. I really only struggled with this point of view when trying to establish the characters basic traits and attributes.

            Since the event I chose happened so recently, it was difficult to find information in places other than the Internet. Even the Internet information on the event was minimal and consistently the same from source to source. Researching and writing about this event really made me feel very sympathetic about the Haitian earthquake and hurricane. To have two awful tragedies occur in such a small time period is horrible. I guess the scale of the Haitian earthquake wasn’t as clear to me before as it is now.

            My knowledge of researching before the project began was very good. The library catalog at Western Michigan University is much larger but similar to the one at my high school. I always knew that most the sources on the Internet were not credible, and finding reliable sources usually consisted of searching the library catalog. I learned how much of the Internet isn’t suitable for a formal research project, and just how much you need to rely on the library. Since my event took place not so long ago I had to find all of my information on the Internet. There wasn’t any useful information in print that I could have used. This obviously presented a problem for me. The only thing I could really do was try and find as much valid information on the library that I needed. For the most part I integrated the footnotes when I wrote about facts from the Hurricane that was relevant to my piece. I found this process rather easy because it was clear to me when I used a fact or a thought that needed to be footnoted.

            I started my first draft with thinking about the life of my character and how I could incorporate his life into the narrative in a clear way. I took all the information I had on the event and put it in front of me to see which facts I should use and when. After I started to write the piece started to develop nicely. I came to my characters voice by thinking about his life and how this disaster would be seen through his eyes. Since I created this character it was my job to know him well enough so that his feelings about the disaster were believable to me. In order to do this I thought about all of the events in my characters life, and how they would impact his feelings throughout the relief work that he did. I struggled in finding a consistent flow to my piece. At times I felt that my piece was really jumbled and not very easy to read. Establishing my characters feelings and thoughts was also difficult in the beginning. I found it easy to write towards the middle of the piece, after my character was established.

            Going from rough draft to final draft was the most difficult part. I had to remove things that didn’t fit in to the piece as a whole. I added much more background information on my character. I did this because after reading my peers narratives I felt that I had a better feeling for their character from the start than I did after reading mine. I also tried to change the tone of my piece, mostly because I thought that at first my tone wasn’t easily identifiable. 

Rough Draft

Being from New Orleans, you could say I know a thing or two about disasters. Hurricane Katrina took everything from my family and I. That’s the main reason I’m currently traveling to Haiti in a relief effort for the recent Hurricane that made landfall there. Hurricane Tomas came at a time when the country was still basking in the destruction of the recent earthquake. The only thing I’m truly worried about when I arrive in Haiti is obtaining the cholera disease. The recent earthquake devastated the country along with the outbreak of cholera[1].

            As we near the small, devastated country, thoughts of Katrina and the great toll it took on my family enters my head. Our small plane lands at the small international airport in Vieux Fort, Haiti[2]. The smell is reminiscent of the scent that filled my nose five short years ago, during the aftermath of Katrina. Dave is the only person I spoke to on the plane and it seems as if he doesn’t realize what he got himself into. Dave and I share a common love for jazz music, as well as the New Orleans culture that has been such a big part of my life ever since I remember. Dave grew up in Canton, Ohio, but is really familiar with the New Orleans area, as his only sister attended the same University I did, Tulane. Seeing as we landed at eight at night we were given no assignments and were only told to set up camp and organize our things. Dave and I set up our tents next to each other and contemplated whether there was a place where we could get a few beers before going to sleep on the water drench, disease infested ground. We stalked a drinking establishment for some while before we gave up in despair and called it a night.

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[1] The deadly diarrheal disease is transmitted by contaminated water and food. 

Bigg, Matthew. “Haiti reeling despite dodging Tomas’ full punch-Floods force thousands from homes, may spread disease.” Orland Sentinel, The (Orland, FL) 7 Nov. 2010: A3. Print.

[2] In St. Lucia, Tomas battered southern areas, particularly Vieux Fort, the island’s second largest town and the home of it’s international airport. The Associated Press. “Haiti braces for possible hurricane-Nation already battered by quake and still-spreading cholera outbreak.” Hamilton Spectator, The (Ontario, Canada) 3 Nov. 2010: A11. Print.

Rough Draft

Being from New Orleans, you could say I know a thing or two about disasters. Hurricane Katrina took everything from my family and I. That’s the main reason I’m currently traveling to Haiti in a relief effort for the recent Hurricane that made landfall there. Hurricane Tomas came at a time when the country was still basking in the destruction of the recent earthquake. The only thing I’m truly worried about when I arrive in Haiti is obtaining the cholera disease. The recent earthquake devastated the country along with the outbreak of cholera[1].

            As we near the small, devastated country, thoughts of Katrina and the great toll it took on my family enters my head. Our small plane lands at the small international airport in Vieux Fort, Haiti[2]. The smell is reminiscent of the scent that filled my nose five short years ago, during the aftermath of Katrina. Dave is the only person I spoke to on the plane and it seems as if he doesn’t realize what he got himself into. Dave and I share a common love for jazz music, as well as the New Orleans culture that has been such a big part of my life ever since I remember. Dave grew up in Canton, Ohio, but is really familiar with the New Orleans area, as his only sister attended the same University I did, Tulane. Seeing as we landed at eight at night we were given no assignments and were only told to set up camp and organize our things. Dave and I set up our tents next to each other and contemplated whether there was a place where we could get a few beers before going to sleep on the water drench, disease infested ground. We stalked a drinking establishment for some while before we gave up in despair and called it a night.

---

[1] The deadly diarrheal disease is transmitted by contaminated water and food. 

Bigg, Matthew. “Haiti reeling despite dodging Tomas’ full punch-Floods force thousands from homes, may spread disease.” Orland Sentinel, The (Orland, FL) 7 Nov. 2010: A3. Print.

[2] In St. Lucia, Tomas battered southern areas, particularly Vieux Fort, the island’s second largest town and the home of it’s international airport. The Associated Press. “Haiti braces for possible hurricane-Nation already battered by quake and still-spreading cholera outbreak.” Hamilton Spectator, The (Ontario, Canada) 3 Nov. 2010: A11. Print.

Hurricane Tomas in Haiti

The hurricane that recently hit Haiti devastated the country so much, mainly because the poor shape the country has been in. The earthquake that occurred last year is the reason for this. Disease has now broke out and the country is in a state of emergency. There aren't enough supplies to go around, and not enough support. One of the most difficult things for the Haitians to get is good, clean water.

The Great Deportation Quiz

1) From the beginning these diary entries are heavily fragmented and occur in a stream of consciousness narrative. What is the impact of this style of writing? Why do you think Lewin wrote as he did?
- This type of writing that Lewin uses makes the reader think about the situation more rapidly. Lewin gives the reader a lot of information in a relatively short period of time, so the reader needs to quickly absorb everything on the page. This writing also gives the reader a sense of panic and makes the viewer uncomfortable. Lewin uses this type of writing in order to give the reader a real sense of what he was thinking during this time. During this period of time Lewin’s thoughts were most likely racing through his mind, this is extremely noticeable in the text.

2) On page 167, Lewin enters his diary for the first time with his own thoughts and feelings. What do you make of this moment?
- Lewin’s thoughts and feelings at the beginning don’t differ from the prior pages too much. He delivers the reader information, but doesn’t show much emotion when he does it. Lewin just gives the reader the facts and this is pretty much it. The tone of the piece does change when this occurs. The writing doesn’t seem as strict and stable as it was before he incorporated his own thoughts and feelings.

3) On page 176, Lewin learns his wife, Luba, has been seized. What do you make of his recorded reaction? Do you sense a shift in his tone in the diary after this event? If yes, what is the shift? If no, why do you think he is not fazed by this event?
- Lewin’s reaction to his wife, Luba being seized is documented very similarly to the rest of the piece. He probably shows the most emotion when this occurs, but it still doesn’t seem like this even fazes him to a point of depression or extreme sadness. After this event there is no shift of emotion or tone in his diary. The reason that Lewin doesn’t seem to be fazed after this event is rather simple. The diary is a written piece of work, Lewin isn’t standing in front of us explaining what has happened to his wife. This information is directly given to us on a piece of paper. Lewin could have been devastated by this event but the reader wouldn’t know because he didn’t write it this way.




4) What do you make of Lewin’s distance in his writing? Does this read like a typical diary? Do you see his inner thoughts? What does he choose to record?
- Lewin seems distant throughout his entire diary. He almost seems emotionless and without a voice. I got the feeling that it was very difficult for Lewin to write the things that he saw in a diary, and this can be felt by the distance in his writing. This doesn’t read like a typical diary. Lewin’s inner thoughts are not felt. Maybe the only time Lewin is remotely emotional is when he learns his wife has been deported. He records the facts, and more interestingly, very detailed facts about many mundane events. House numbers, streets, names and numbers are very detailed throughout his writing.

Genre of Interest

My genre of interest is sports writing. It wasn't difficult to think about what my interests were, and what type of writing I could come up with according to my interests. As I'm writing my piece I feel as if I would enjoy doing this for a living very much so. Although writing a sports column for a newspaper is a hard job to come across, there are a lot of newspapers in this country, right? Five pages, and 200 points kind of made this project a little intimidating, but as I write it seems to get much easier.

Rough Draft: Genre of Interest

Genre of Interest

Writing Exercise
Genre of Interest
Matt Taflinger

Interests: Sports
Music
Reading
Traveling
Film

I am most passionate about music, reading and participating in sports. The most important thing in my life as I’m writing this would be music. I’m not sure why I’m so passionate about music, but I just know that I really couldn’t function without it. During high school, there’s no question the most important thing to me was golf. That pretty much what I lived for, but now since this school lacks a men’s team I can’t be as passionate about it. The first experience I had with music was most likely with my dad at a young age. He loves 60’s British rock, in particular, the Rolling Stones. My first concert was with him at a Stones concert when I was seven; still to this day it’s my favorite concert I’ve attended. I was also very young when I had my first experience with sports, which is also a very interesting topic to me. I pretty much participated in every sport that had a boy’s team in my town. I played soccer, baseball, hockey, football, basketball, tennis and golf. There was never a moment where I had nothing to do as a kid.

5 Genres that interest me: Short story, song lyrics, musical reviews, screenplays and documentary

The most enticing writing genres for me are song lyrics, musical reviews, Newspaper columns and screenplays. I read reviews of new albums and songs pretty much every week, whether it’s online or in a magazine. I also enjoy making up my own reviews of albums with my friends. Writing song lyrics and analyzing song lyrics has always been something that I have liked to do. I’ve always wanted to write a screenplay but I’ve never got around to starting one. Translating my main interests of sports, music, reading, traveling and film to certain genres of writing is pretty simple. Take sports, music, reading and film. For these three of my interests I could write lyrics, a screenplay, reviews of books or films and I could also write a newspaper column on the latest sports news. Criticizing as well as praising music is something I love to do; this goes hand in hand when talking about magazine or newspaper articles on certain musicians or new albums. Analyzing films is also a huge interest to me, which is why I really liked our last project even though I didn’t pick to use my film analysis outline. Writing about sports is a relatively easy thing to do. Either writing a newspaper article about different sports teams or blogging about information about sports thats on your mind. Choosing to write a short article on Detroit sports teams is something I want to do and am most likely going to do for this project

Robert Frost-Nothing Gold Can Stay.

Matt Taflinger

Analysis

Poetry/Nothing Gold Can Stay

The initial reaction I had towards, Nothing Gold Can Stay, by Robert Frost was very positive, in a sense that I felt I knew exactly what the poem was about. I noticed that Frost was writing about nature, more specifically about the transformation from dawn to day. The first line, as well as the last line has the word gold in it. The word is used in two different ways in the first line, and then eventually in the last line. “Natures first green is gold” is the first line of the poem, describing the beginning of the day, or the beginning of a new life. “Nothing gold can stay” is the last line of the poem describing how everything good comes to an end. In this poem I believe Frost is describing the progression from life to death.

The purpose of the poem is to describe the difference of life and death, as well as the progression from the beginning of life to eventually dying. The intended audience for this piece of poetry is anybody who can comprehend what point Frost is trying to get across by writing this piece. The tone of the poem is very reserved, it seems that Frost was holding something back as he was writing this. The voice is very soft and tranquil. It is a written piece of art.

2 Questions about the poem:

-What is the poem about?

-Why did frost choose to write a poem about nature?

Analysis Model:

-What is the poem about?

-I believe the poem is about life and death.

-The poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay, by Robert Frost is about the transition and progression from life to death.

I.               Thesis: The poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay, by Robert Frost is about the transition and progression from life to death. The first time reading through the poem I felt a sense of melancholy from the first line to the last. It’s as if Frost wrote the poem while he was an elderly man and he used the words to describe how fast his life progressed. The poem is very short, only being eight lines but it does describe the circle of life very completely.

II.             Supporting Evidence #1

A.              The first two lines of the poem depict the early stages of life.

B.             The third and fourth lines of Nothing Gold Can Stay deal with the rapid pace that people grow into themselves, and eventually become adults.

III.             Supporting Evidence #2

A.              In the fifth and sixth lines of the poem, Frost describes the latter years in life, by describing the normalcy of middle life and realization of death that people go through.

B.             The last two lines clearly describe death, by using the death of dawn to day as a metaphor for dying and the afterlife.

IV.             Supporting Evidence #3

A.            The poem describes the process of life in order, moving from birth to death.

B.             Frost uses nature and more specifically a flower, it’s leaves and then finally the beginning of a new day to describe the progression of life to death.

 V.            Supporting Evidence #4

 A.             “Natures first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold.”

 B.              Frost is simplifying the fact that childhood goes by fast, it’s the hardest to hold because once you live it, you look back upon it and realize how fast it truly went. He also stresses the fact that it is the best time in your life which adds to childhoods importance.

VI.            Supporting Evidence #5

 A.             “Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief,”

 B.            These two lines are the only two where the meaning isn’t very clear to me. Although Eden is a exotic garden mentioned in the Bible, I can’t pinpoint a clear connection with the text and Frost’s intended meaning.  

VII.             Conclusion

II.             A.             Frost successfully uses nature, and the world around us to describe the progression of life, and then finally death. It is clear throughout the poem that Frost uses nature as a metaphor for growing up, from a child to an adult. It is apparent that the ending of Frost’s poem deals directly with old age and eventually death. He uses imagery throughout, describing nature, more specifically plants and images of early morning and then eventually daytime. This poem evokes many different emotions during different parts of the poem. I felt this poem was very melancholic. Frost seems to dwell upon the fact that life is short, and one needs to cherish every day.

Halloween Questions

1) Comment on the camera angles used in the film. What impact does the camera angle have on your reception of the film?

Many of the camera angles used in the film gives you the point of view that Michael Myers has. The first scene in the movie does this exact thing, when Michael walks up his stairs to stab his sister, and eventually kill her. I felt like the camera angles give the movie even a larger feeling of suspense and spookiness. Many of the most important scenes in the film are shot from the perception of Michael Myers, and this gives the viewer a better understanding of Michael.


2) It seems that Michael takes on the role of the voyeur (person secretly watching others). How does this impact your reception of his character? Describe a scene in which this voyeurism occurs and comment on it.

Anytime a character in a movie is a voyeur I automatically think the character is creepy, and capable of bad things. It does give Michael Myers more depth as a character because you know the man isn’t just randomly killing anyone, he stalks his prey and then eventually kills. The scene where Michael is in Laurie’s backyard while Laurie is on the phone was a scene where Michael’s voyeurism is brightly shinning. I felt like when Laurie saw Michael she should have acted upon the fact that a masked man has been stalking her the entire day. Laurie’s inability to do this results in the death of three of her friends.

3) Many things that Michael does are blamed on "kids" in the film, such as stealing the gravestone, breaking into the hardware store, etc. Why do you think that is?

The main reason that many of these illegal acts are blamed on kids is simply because kids are capable of doing such things. I thought that Sheriff Brackett showed a lot of ignorance when Dr. Loomis confronted him at the hardware store. The ignorance that Sheriff Brackett showed eventually results in the demise of his own daughter. The blaming of these things on the kids of the town also provides a little bit of foreshadowing. It gives the viewer a feeling of assurance that no adults in the film are going to get killed by Michael, only the kids of the town. The assumption that the kids stole the gravestone and broke into the hardware store also provides a symbol for the things the kids are doing, that isn’t wholesome or right.

4) How would you describe Michael Myers as a child and as an adult? Who does he choose as his victims? Why do you think he chooses them? How or with what tools does Michal choose to kill his victims? Why?

Michael Myers as a child is just as unhinged, as he is when he is an adult. Michael never say’s a word throughout the entire movie, so it’s hard to say if he has any compassion or any emotion at all towards his victims. He hides behind his mask the whole movie, except for a split second when it is taken from his head. Michael always chooses teenagers as his victims, and each teenager he kills is sexually active. Even though the viewer isn’t assured his sister has sex before being killed, it is assumed that she did. He chooses sexually active teenagers because he likes to see the pain that they endure at his hand because he never got to have the life that his victims had. In my opinion Michaels killings were partly because he was jealous of the things that his victims were capable of doing. Of course, this doesn’t explain the first killing of his sister, but it can be a good explanation for the last three victims. Michael either kills his victims with a knife or strangles them to death. He uses the knife because he used one to kill his sister. He wants to carry out his murders the same way, if possible, that he did when he killed his sister. I felt like when he used the telephone wire to strangle one of his victims, he did it to show the dependency that the kids in the film have on social interactions over the telephone.

Halloween

I'm not going to lie, it was an awesome break to watch Halloween in class today. I don't think I've seen the movie in at least five years, and I've never critically thought about it. After watching the film I started to think that if you abstain sexually and you're involved in a horror film situation, you'll stay alive. It seem's that current horror films glorify sex, where as Halloween is a film example of sexual abstinence being a wonderful and life saving thing. I really enjoyed the movie even though I'm not really big into horror films. The camera work as well as the dialogue made the film seem like it was an independent film. Jamie Lee Curtis' acting was a bit over the top at times, but not nearly as bad as some actors in modern day horror films. Now I just need to think about what movie I want to watch today or tomorrow and then write about on Thursday.

Ghost World

1) What happens in the graphic narrative? What feelings does the piece evoke? What is the purpose of this piece? Who is the intended audience? What is the tone?

In Ghost World, two girls, about twenty years old, exchange stories and talk about things that had happened prior to their conversation. There isn’t really a solid plotline; the plot consists of the girl’s everyday experiences. The piece evokes a feeling of conformity and normalcy. The purpose of the piece is to describe the everyday experiences of two very close friends. The intended audience is most likely teenage girls. I felt the tone was very bland and normal.

2) How does the black, white, and blue coloring impact your perception of the narrative? Why does the author/artist choose to use a blue wash instead of just using black and white only? What feelings does the color blue evoke?

The black, white and blue color impacts my perception on the piece by adding a third and equally bland color. The shade of blue that the artist uses evokes no real emotion for me. I feel like the shade of blue could be switched with the color grey, and the piece would evoke the same emotion and feeling. If anything I think that shade of blue gives the piece a very normal feeling, like the piece needs to conform to a set of guidelines.

Bonnaroo Lineup

Ok, so the Bonnaroo lineup just came out today. For those of you who don't know what bonnaroo is, it's pretty much the best music festival ever. This years lineup is stacked with great bands, from alternative music to hip hop. Now, the only question is how the hell will I be able to get work off for an entire week to travel down to Tennessee and have a ton of fun for a week. A couple of my favorite bands are playing, The Black Keys, Widespread Panic, My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire and STS9. There is no way I'm going to miss this festival. Two of my friends already have a plan for the week, we already know who's driving and what route were taking, now all of us just have to find a way to get work off for an entire week.

Howl, By Allen Ginsberg

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,
who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz,

-First four lines of Howl, By Allen Ginsberg

Q1- Where is this poem taking place?
- You can tell that the setting for the first part of Allen Ginsberg's Howl is in some sort of city. You can easily tell that this poem takes place in a city because he mentions negro streets, which at the time could mean a place like Harlem, New York. It is also obvious it is a city setting because he mentions floating over the tops of cities.
Q2- What is the point of the first part of Howl?
- This part of the poem has to do with people that Ginsberg knew, that were destroyed by drugs. " starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,".
Q3- What sort of art could possibly go with this poem?
- I feel like an oil painting would be the best artistic medium to go with this poem. A painting depicting a certain ghostly like frame of a man with the backdrop of a big, bustling city would be perfect for this poem.

Spring Break

Words can't describe how excited I am to not have class for an entire week (spring break). I'm already sick of school and there's still a long way to go. Even though I have absolutely nothing planned over spring break, I'm still excited to sit on my butt and do nothing. I should look for a job for the summer, but that can be saved for when I actually get home for summer. I'm debating on whether I should go up north with a buddy of mine or just stay home. I really don't care for going up north and doing the same things there I can do at home. The only hope I have for my week off is to not get too sick/annoyed of my parents right away. Off to take a test. YES!

Writing Exercise 1- 25-10

Christmas dinner is always a situation that brings out the best, worst, funniest and most annoying parts of your family. Ever since I can remember something went wrong every Christmas with my family. Whether my cousin didn’t take his Ritalin or if my uncle had too much to drink, something bad always happened. The elders were always having a drink while trying to help out my stressed mom in the kitchen, while the kid’s rush around trying to keep themselves occupied before they eat twice their weight in ham, potatoes and green beans.
I am 19 years old, just got back from my first semester at college. My family is shooting me with questions while they look at me strangely because I am clutching a beer in my right hand. I have an equal amount of cousins that are older, and younger than me. The cozy house reeked of evergreen and burning hickory. While the inside was warm and cozy, outside of the house the wind violently picked up the blanked of snow that existed on the lawn and house.

Writing Exercise 1/20/2011

Writing Exercise

            Moments: Extraction of wisdom teeth, living in New York with my sister and my High School Graduation.

·      Where did these moments take place?

o   Doctor’s office in Detroit, New York and Brooklyn, Grosse Pointe.

·      Who was there?

o   My mother, a nurse and the doctor.

o   My sister, her crazy friends and bums.

o   My whole graduating class, their families and the faculty of Grosse Pointe South High.

·      What are the significant objects?

o   My teeth and scary doctor tools.

o   Huge buildings, fake identification and my laptop.

o   My diploma, cap and gown.

·      What colors are present?

o   Dull shades of grey, pale blue and chrome.

o   Every color under the sun.

o   Blue and Yellow.

·      What textures are there?

o   Smooth, leather chairs and generic wallpaper.

o   Concrete and steel, rigid and sharp.

o   Concrete and lush grass.

·      What smells and tastes?

o   Smell of a dentist office, and the taste of vicodin.

o   Smell of hot, rotting garbage and the taste of Stella Artois and Parliament Lights.

o   Smell of fresh cut grass. 

8 AM Classes

Last semester I felt like I got a very good understanding of what I needed to do to succeed in college. I feel like the biggest thing for me is to make it to class everyday. Both semesters' I've had two eight AM classes per week. That is not a great thing, seeing as I am not a morning person. As I write this all I can think about is taking a nap when I'm done with this class and my two other classes today. Hopefully as the semester goes on it will be easier for me to wake up every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 AM.