I had to throw a Led Zeppelin title into one of my blogs. Basically, using more description and all that is rambling on in my opinion.
Here's the prompt:
"From the reading last Tuesday, what is the author Patricia Hampl's purpose in writing about description and word choice in, The Dark Art of Description? Why are the last few paragraphs, about the story she tells with one of her students, significant to the purpose?"
Patricia Hampl's purpose of her work, The Dark Art of Description, is to make others realize the alteration of language can really impact what one writes. In her work, Hampl says, "I was painfully aware of just how specific every bit of writing is, full of choices and chances." What she means by this is that every single placement of a word or punctuation has a significant influence on what the reader will read. She mentions about whether to put a comma or dash in certain areas. Additionally, she give an example of a story writer by the name of J.F. Poewrs who spent an entire morning deciding whether to put the word "chum" or "pal" to describe how a character referred to a friend. These descriptions play a role in the "Show, don't tell" aspect that is taught in introductory writing workshops. Still, Hampl begins to tell about Alfred Kazin, who published a "memoir of his boyhood in Brooklyn, A Walker in the City". Kazin was able to show and tell in his writing, thus making it more effective. All in all, description can come in many forms, as the images in peoples' minds can involve many possibilities due to what they have encountered in their lifetimes.
Going along the lines of the last few paragraphs of this work and the story told about the student, the purpose outlines that everyone has a point of view. People don't necessarily have the same ideas, thoughts, words, or can demonstrate them in the same ways. So everyone's voice is important. Individuals who are capable of writing can come up with fabulous ways to convey their ideas, even though at times it seems they have come to a dead end. No two people have the same exact life in every aspect, whether it be growing up, their childhood, or even what they do on a daily basis. Just using that individuality that each person has is the key to description.
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Every little detail an author includes is very important. You mentioned that the author noted writing is full of choices and chances. An author can write about anything and take any approach they want, and the idea of this is very exciting. The authors that take this into consideration before they begin their piece and use their imagination have the biggest impact.
ReplyDeleteYour last paragraph talking about the students and individuality closely relates to what I said about it. Individuality and opinion is very important and you touched among many important ideas. You mentioned that individuality is important and using this individuality that each person has is key to description. This is definitely true, and makes a piece that much more effective. Have a good spring break man.