Writing from Reading (pg 18)
Summarize
Who is speaking, and what is the occasion she is recounting?
A young woman is speaking, and she is recounting the occasion of her mother’s death.
How would you describe the speaker: Where does she live? Describe her family.
The speaker lives in San Francisco. Her family is fast to accuse, get angry, and has a lack of trust for each other, since her sister quickly accuses her of stealing their mother’s watch. Also, her sister expresses greed, since she wants the watch for herself. However, at the beginning of the story, it seems like they were at one point a tight knit family.
Describe the literal situation in which she finds herself. What emotions does she express as she speaks?
The speaker finds herself …show more content…
Fruit flies,” and so on) add to the story?
The word play adds a real step of the grieving process into the story. The daughter is devastated, and the play on words is her trying to cope by bringing a bit of humor into a dark period in her life. Her doing this shows that she is attempting to heal her emotional wounds that resulted from her loss in any way she can think of.
What does the setting contribute to the story? What if the story took place in Miani or New York? How might that change it?
The setting of San Francisco contributes a unique set of natural disasters, earthquakes and tremors, that can be used by the author both literally and as a metaphor for life. If the story took place in another city, such as Miami or New York, it would change the way the metaphors are presented in the story. For example, the earthquakes may be replaced by the waves on the beach in Miami or the chaos in the streets of New York. Changing the setting would alter the types of metaphors used and the way we understand them.
Analyze Voice
How does the way the speaker chooses her words give you a sense of how she …show more content…
This is largely shown when the speaker is irritated with her sister and says, with obvious frustration, “Although where was the older daughter when it happened? Which daughter was it that found you?” The choices in words allow direct insight to how the speaker truly feels. Also, the way the speaker chooses her words gives you the understanding that she is very confused about her feelings. At one point, the speaker is angry at her sister for not stepping up as the older daughter, yet later the speaker is trying to lighten her own mood by bringing the “time flies…fruit flies,” joke about. The speaker’s choice in words allows the reader to understand how many different feelings the speaker may be feeling.
Synthesize Summary and Analysis
How do the literal events of the story come together to make something more than an anecdote or personal lament?
The events allowed for an actual story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, that all connect to form a cohesive account of what the speaker and her family had to go through. Since it gives a sequence of events recounting what happened and doesn’t just focus on the way the speaker is feeling about a particular thing, it wouldn’t be considered an anecdote or a personal
Summarize
Who is speaking, and what is the occasion she is recounting?
A young woman is speaking, and she is recounting the occasion of her mother’s death.
How would you describe the speaker: Where does she live? Describe her family.
The speaker lives in San Francisco. Her family is fast to accuse, get angry, and has a lack of trust for each other, since her sister quickly accuses her of stealing their mother’s watch. Also, her sister expresses greed, since she wants the watch for herself. However, at the beginning of the story, it seems like they were at one point a tight knit family.
Describe the literal situation in which she finds herself. What emotions does she express as she speaks?
The speaker finds herself …show more content…
Fruit flies,” and so on) add to the story?
The word play adds a real step of the grieving process into the story. The daughter is devastated, and the play on words is her trying to cope by bringing a bit of humor into a dark period in her life. Her doing this shows that she is attempting to heal her emotional wounds that resulted from her loss in any way she can think of.
What does the setting contribute to the story? What if the story took place in Miani or New York? How might that change it?
The setting of San Francisco contributes a unique set of natural disasters, earthquakes and tremors, that can be used by the author both literally and as a metaphor for life. If the story took place in another city, such as Miami or New York, it would change the way the metaphors are presented in the story. For example, the earthquakes may be replaced by the waves on the beach in Miami or the chaos in the streets of New York. Changing the setting would alter the types of metaphors used and the way we understand them.
Analyze Voice
How does the way the speaker chooses her words give you a sense of how she …show more content…
This is largely shown when the speaker is irritated with her sister and says, with obvious frustration, “Although where was the older daughter when it happened? Which daughter was it that found you?” The choices in words allow direct insight to how the speaker truly feels. Also, the way the speaker chooses her words gives you the understanding that she is very confused about her feelings. At one point, the speaker is angry at her sister for not stepping up as the older daughter, yet later the speaker is trying to lighten her own mood by bringing the “time flies…fruit flies,” joke about. The speaker’s choice in words allows the reader to understand how many different feelings the speaker may be feeling.
Synthesize Summary and Analysis
How do the literal events of the story come together to make something more than an anecdote or personal lament?
The events allowed for an actual story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, that all connect to form a cohesive account of what the speaker and her family had to go through. Since it gives a sequence of events recounting what happened and doesn’t just focus on the way the speaker is feeling about a particular thing, it wouldn’t be considered an anecdote or a personal