Ok so my tentative topic is the JFK assassination. Im alittle lost on what the question would be but I think its a cool topic that id like to know more about. I also think Im probably not the only one that is very curious about the worlds most famous conspiracy theory

Reading Response Two

Both “Why do People Tan?” by Amy Garrett-Brown and “An Experience in Acronyms” by Jay Holmquist are really more discovery essays than true traditional research papers because both don’t really reach the point the author is trying to make until the end of the essay. The traditional research paper has “an argument the writer wanted to make even before he started the research” (Ballenger, 430); however, in the two provided essays the reader is taken through a process of research done by the author, where the reader, and possibly even the author, is unclear on where the author is attempting to go with the subject. In “Why Do People Tan?” the author appears on the side of tanning is bad with quotes like “People still feel healthy with their bastardized tan” (Garrett-Brown, 460) and “People passively accepting a degenerating process”(Garrett-Brown 460). Clearly the reader is expecting the author to stand against tanning, but in the end author comes to a 180 when she establishes she still thinks that she disagrees with the critics because she too wishes to look good. This shows how it is a process because Garrett-Brown the author comes to a discovery that despite the research she still values tanning. In “An Experience in Acronyms” the author openly talks about his enjoyment in doing drugs “I like my drugs” (Holmquist, B29) but in the end his “discovery” is that he doesn’t want to do them because he has his “whole life in front of him”(Holmquist, B29) and he doesn’t want to ruin that. Both essays also diverge from the typical research paper because they are both written in first person. The classical paper is written in third.

            The controlling idea of “Why Do People Tan?” is a brief overview of the developing subculture of tanning. The essay is based around the question posed in the second sentence is it “why is it cool for white people to be tan” (Garrett-Brown 459) despite the fact that it is known to have poor long-term effects. The main idea of “An Experience in Acronyms” is a look into the “part drugs” LCD, GHB, and ecstasy. It is written from the perspective of someone who has both taken and seen the harmful effects of these drugs.  While the author’s stance on the subject doesn’t actually come out till the very end, he is tying to show how these supposedly “harmless”(Homlquist, B25) and “unaddictive” (Holmquist, B27) can and will cause problems eventually.

            Like mentioned earlier, both papers are written in first person which really helps the two authors true voice come out. While both are written in first person with both still provide a lot of outside information that helps get their point across. The mixture of the outside information and the personal stories does help get a very good job of getting their message across.

            Both essays are “driven by a central question” (Ballenger, 432). In “Why do People Tan?” the question that pushes the essay through out the paper is, why do people fake tan. “An Experience in Acronyms” is driven by the question; is it ok to do these drugs he sees all of his friends doing.

            Ballenger says that these types of essays will have a clearly stated thesis. While I think there is a thesis in “Why do People Tan?” I think Garrett-Brown gets away from the idea presented in the thesis. I view the thesis, as “It seems completely asinine on the surface to waste money and time on a prepaid tan that will only result in a prematurely leathered and wrinkled skin and a much higher risk of developing melanoma.” (Garrett-Brown, 459). The key part I see there is the “on the surface” portion because as the author seems to explore the topic more she comes to find that she also to desires the tan more than the possible after effects. The second portion of the thesis doesn’t come till the very end of the essay when the author says, “While I’m not condoning the 1976 ‘Savage Tan’...I think there must be some kind of middle ground”(Garnett-Brown, 460). The thesis statement in “An experience in Acronyms” isn’t actually a statement, but a question, “Is something that the government finds harmful, yet so many people say is harmless, is actually bad for you?” (Homlquist B24).

Reading Response 1

Both essays thesis’ does not develop until well into the paper. While it is hard to pin point the exact these statement in Charlotte Hogg’s “I’m a Believer” the concept of the paper doesn’t really come out until the ninth of eleven pages. When the author comes to the realization that while she could spend the night gambling with her childhood hero, she knows “it would ruin what little magic remains”. The late thesis is also used in the second essay “The Joy of Mud” by Catherine Black. The apparent thesis statement in that essay is in the second to last paragraph when Black says, “I’ll have to admit that I am only at the beginning of a path I never expected to travel.”

            Another characteristic of personal essays displayed in the two given examples is that the subjects of the essays are “commonplace” but “may catapult them beyond the ordinary, but the topic is often humble”. The subject in Black’s tale can easily be labeled as commonplace in that many if not all children have a crazy childhood obsession. Her affection for the Monkee’s lead singer Davy Jones is much like everyone’s childhood idol (personally mine was an unhealthy obsession with the then Texas Rangers left fielder Rust Greer). While by the end of the story she has taken in a little further than most. Attending the washed up Jones’ concert on the Indian reservation with only 40 fans in attendance does strike me as catapulting beyond the ordinary especially since she was 28 at the time well more than ten years after she was self proclaimed “more infatuated with Davey than ever”. However, by having the author go to this “concert” the reader is able to see what Hogg is trying to communicate; at some point one must let go of their childhood dreams. Black’s story is also a very common place tale of a child wanted so badly to get out from their childhood and only noticing how great it is till it is actually gone. This idea is well captured when she says, “After sixteen years of floating on the peripheries of an island I never cared for, I’ve snapped straight back into its cold green heart”. The idea of a childhood desire to get away from they home and wanted it back so badly when it is gone is quite a common theme of children.

            Black defiantly maximizes “shifting back and forth from then to now…[showing] the process that helped the writer compose it” The beginning of her tale starts in the present where she is driving to an unknown destination with an old friend. She then quickly recaps her childhood desire to leave the island and then returns to the present. This differs from Hogg who writes entirely chronologically.

            The apparent “reason for writing” in Hogg’s writing is for the reader to cherish their childhood dreams for what they were, not what they are.  Hogg comes to this feeling at the end of her story, “I accept finally, that this person I know so well, I do not know at all and I, a daydream believer, am just a fan”. Hogg is expressing that at some point one must let go of their childhood sensations because, like in her case, her perfect ideal of this man, Davey Jones, is just not the same. While the reader can tell Davey Jones will always hold that fond childhood memory in her heart she must at some point let go. He is no longer the same Davey Jones she once dreamed of falling in love with. I think Black’s controlling idea is much different. Black hopes one will enjoy the present, especially their childhood. Unlike Hogg, who basked in her childhood a little, to long, Black was unable to see the beauties of her adolescent until it was all gone. I think her personal essay is pleas with the readers to enjoy what they can while you still have the opportunity. I think both writers would strongly encourage anyone including their readers to enjoy the present. Clearly, the underlying message between the two is that while one enjoyed her childhood a little to long and one a little to short, I think they would both hope that any child would enjoy it during the present.

Hey its Bill your favorite classmate. Well this actually my second blog. I forgot to write down my password (or the login) for the first one.