Final Portfolio

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Hope you're recovering well! Thank you for a wonderful semester. Happy Holidays!

Ferguson

I have tried to keep my opinions of this situation to myself, seeming that everyone in the world has found their own opinion and a way to announce to the world that it is, in fact, the correct point of view. However, like everyone else, I also have an opinion. What happened in Ferguson is another unfortunate incident of a white male shooting a black male. This just seems all familiar to me. While many people take this as an act of racism, there is much more under lying here. What the cop felt when he pulled that trigger could have been fear, not hatred. He could fear black men for the stigma that society places on them. Now that the verdict is set for Officer Wilson, people feel as though he is not being tried equally because of the races of the Jury, leaning in Wilson's favor. However, I don't think that this is the case. I think that Wilson didn't go after Brown thinking I'm going to kill this Black man because I can get away with it. While people may feel that the judicial system is being played, I think it's important to also realize that this isn't a clear cut case. There is a lot of ambiguity that comes along with the actual events that happened in Ferguson and unfortunately we may never know the entire truth.

Publication opportunities.

One website that I found that would publish something similar what we have done in class is the American Journalism Review, which publishes a variety of Journalistic Essays ranging from news stories to common, entertainment stories. You can submit to this site by emailing the editor at editor@ajr.org.
Another place I found that accepts submissions is the local paper, Carriage Town News. This paper/website features the newest news and journalism on what is going on in today's world. You can email that editor, Blaisdell, in order to be considered for publication.

Book Club Final

As I ended the book, I was left with a lot of knowledge and interest in the Saudi Arabian women. We have discussed many things in the book club meetings, however, the main thing that we found important to convey is the severity of women's mistreatment and lack of rights in Saudi Arabia. This is something that the entire groups feels need to be conveyed to the class for maximum understanding of the book. Thus, in our final project, a lot of time is going to be used to cover the dress and the stories of these mistreated women. This will cover the themes of the book as well as the writing style.We also want to focus on how the Author developed the writing style of the book, and where the writing style portrays to the reader. Mainly, How does the first person approach that Sasson takes on change the original stories that were told? Where does the book lie between truth and Fiction?

Midterm Portoflio

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Book Club #2

The second book club meeting we held revolved around the chapters 6-10. In these chapters much happens that shows the reader what exactly Sultana is dealing with in her everyday life. While Sultana is gifted with going on a family trip with her sisters and her brother Ali, she quickly learns that perhaps the world isn't as innocent as she thought. She witnesses her brother and his friend Hadi Raping a young girl. While Sultana loses her innocence, the reader does as well. The reader now knows the power Saudi men give themselves over women, being thrown into the world that Sultana lives in for just a short time.However, Sultana refuses to give up her innocence by refusing to tell anyone about the start of her menses, the very fact that defines her as a woman, and thus as an object.

Also in this section, the family loses their mother shortly after the trip. Their father remarries shortly after to a fifteen year old girl, just a year older than Sultana. The new wife is thrown into the position of the mother, taking her spot in the house. I felt this to be appalling because the new wife was younger than half of the children she was supposed to be taking care of. How is a child supposed to take care of children herself, children that aren't even hers? Aside from this, unlike the mother who passed, the new mother has no say in her stay, yet rather is forced into basically being a sex slave for her husband.

Another part I feel important to mention is the chapter on Sultana's girlfriends, who speak together about the unfair treatment of women in their culture and wish to do something about it. In this chapter, two of her friends are found fooling around with guys, a very wrongful act in this culture. The authority of the country didn't do anything against the actions of the women, luckily, punishment was left up to the fathers of the girls. While one father chose to educate his daughter, the other chose to excute her infront of her entire family, making an example out of her. This may seem as barbaric to us, however, it serves its purpose in this book. This act helps prove women are just objects, who are not seen as important.

The events that Sasson shares in this book are completely different from anything I have ever read about or experienced before. It helps shed a light on what exactly has happened to people in this country to those of us who may have otherwise remained oblivious. Sultana, as referred to in the book, obviously spends a lot of time with the author, trusting in her abilities to portray Sultana in a way that she deserves. And Sasson does just that. Sasson shows Sultana as a blossoming influence, speaking out against what she thinks is wrong and hoping that one day things will be different. I can't wait to see how this unfolds and hopefully Sultana will fight against the fate that is placed on her by her country.

TTS reading 9/29

Unfortunately being an English major with a writing concentration means that the materials in these readings tend to be everything but new to me. Nearing the end of my college career these have been the important notes embedded in my head since I entered BSU three years ago.

However, this read did help elaborate on the idea that a character in a portrait can never be a full picture. It is important for a writer to understand that every aspect of the character's life does not need to be handled.

I also liked the passage on voice. Here the author tells about how important it is to stick to your own voice. In this type of writing, a writer may think its inevitable to stray away from their own voices in order to better fit the genre. Instead, in order to not sound fake and artificial , a writer should stay true to themself.

"Zepp's Last Stand"

"Zepp's Last Stand" by Madeleine Blais focuses more on the aspect of characterization than "Ms. Kelly's Monster." Throughout this piece, Blais uses several phrases from an interview to construct the story of Zepp taking a stand toward his honor. The piece places importance on the goodness of the main character, Zepp, and his reasons he felt justified not to fight. This piece takes a more emotional route than the other piece we read for this class period, where the surgeon is fighting a "monster", Zepp is fighting himself.

What I really like about this piece is it has broader audience than those interested in veterans or war. It has a universal theme of wanting to do good and listening to your conscious, no matter what others tell you to do.

Another thing the author does well is bringing dialog into the story to help the reader understand how the subject felt in the time that this was all happening. Then, further explaining by offering her own stand point and creative tones to allow the reader to enjoy this snapshot of Zepp's life.

"Mrs Kelley's Monster"

"Mrs Kelley's Monster" by John Franklin was an interesting read that surely helped me understand what a profiling essay is supposed to be about. Throughout this article, Franklin tells not one but two perspectives of the surgery. He tells about the patient's and the doctor's standpoints and how each of them prepared and dealt with the reality and severity of the surgery. For example he tells that Dr. Thomas Barbee Ducker eats "waffles but no coffee. Coffee makes his hands shake," as well as emphasizing that Ms. Kelly tells that she is "not afraid to die" (3). In both of these quotes, the reader sees the emotions that go into this surgery. Ms. Kelly kisses her husband goodbye knowing it may be the last time they see each other, and the doctor uses his normal preparation techniques because for him, even though this particular surgery is out of the ordinary, it is still in routine for him to need steady hands.
The use of time that Franklin uses throughout the essay is a terrific reminder to the reader just how much time passes. It acts as a metronome, keeping the reader in sync with the surgery in process. This is a great reminder that within just seven hours a life can change forever. This also works with the "pop, pop, pop" of the patient's heartbeat, showing the severity of the situation as it progresses. Both are a reminder that the story can take on a much more lyrical or creative aspect than one may have thought.

Assignment #1 -- Profiling

While trying to determine who would be a good subject for a profiling exercise, I came up with my three best options that seemed to be somewhat interesting. While I know we are not "supposed" to chose a family member, my mother has had a tough road in her life, something I am quite seperated from. She was born with the birth effect, spinal bifida, where her spinal column was not fully developed. At the time her mother was told that she would never live. When she did live, her mother was then told that she would never walk. When she did walk, and run like a normal child, she was then told that she would never have children. But 25 years later, she is now the mother of two healthy children. However, the past ten years of her life have been nothing but surgery after surgery. This is something I am still not quite sure about.
Next, there is Bob Eastman, a Vietnam Veteran from Kingston, New Hampshire. Bob is a painter who has used his time serving our country to benefit him. He uses paint to express his as well as other peoples experiences across seas in ways that can be seen as healing. One of his best paintings hangs in the Kingston VFW where it depicts the major wars the united states has been involved with in one landscape drawing.
Then, there is Richard Pedato, a 22 year old who was born deaf and was the first to receive a surgery to enhance his hearing. While Richard can now hear, he also has endured over a hundred head and brain surgeries and still struggles with the devices today. But thanks to the doctors who took a risk in doing this surgery, Richard can now hear the voices of his two little boys, Anthony and Ayden.