Month: October 2017

Jessica Mitford “The Story of Service”

Death is something that’s difficult to think about, but it is something that is consistently in the back of everyone’s mind. We try not to think of the process that goes into funeral planning, preparation of the body, and the process of mourning, but they are all important aspects that should be considered before someone close passes away. Throughout Jessica Mitford’s book, The American Way of Death Revisited, she expressly outlines every aspect of death and the pricy costs that are attached. Mitford elegantly displays a singular message to the reader, there are hidden costs in our deaths that are not only unnecessary, but disturbing. There isn’t a ton of information out there that truly explains the process of embalming, the prices of caskets, and the overall theme of a every day funeral. Mitford states, “Yet no law requires embalming, no religious doctrine commends it, nor is it dictated by considerations of health, sanitation, or even of personal daintiness” (Mitford 43) What is significant about this is that, embalming is unnecessary yet it’s still hidden in the bill following the funereal. Much like embalming, hidden costs are common in every funeral. Newspapers, cemetery workers, clergymen, the overall 120 some odd hours of hard labor that is put into every funeral. Although Mitford makes sure to question those 120 hours, the ridiculousness of all the unneeded services showing up on the bill has brought light to my eyes. The funeral industry is exactly what is sounds like. An monopolized industry. Mitford also writes, The very term “embalming” is so seldom used that the mortician must rely upon custom in the matter…unless the family specifies otherwise, the act of entrusting the body to the care of a funeral establishment carries with it an implied permission to go ahead and embalm.” (Mitford 44) It’s sickening to think that embalming is something that is not only not well known among things that happen during a funeral, but it’s also something that is essentially hidden from grieving family members. You look at a corpse in the casket, but you don’t know that so many horrific things have happened behind closed doors to get it there. What’s also significant to point out is that the embalmer might be just as uneducated as a high school teenager. Mitford explains, “imitative surgeons, as is his technique, acquired in nine or twelve months post-high school course at an embalming school” (Mitford 45). It’s so surprising that only a short course following high school graduation could lead someone to cutting someone open and handling the preparation of a corpse.

Respond to, TS/IS “The Art of Summarizing” pp. 30-41

Summarizing is one of the most difficult things to do. It’s like highlighting needed information in a textbook. You don’t want to highlight the whole page, but you also don’t want to highlight one or two words. Finding a happy medium in the type of content and amount of content you use when summarizing is really difficult to find and is something that I often times struggle with. In this section of They Say, I Say, there are many points that Birkenstein and Graff provide. They write, “Generally speaking, a summary must at once be true to what the original author says while also emphasizing those aspects of what the author says that interest you.” (Birkenstein and Graff 31) While summarizing it’s important to provide the author’s beliefs, it’s also vital to include what aspects of that summary pertain to your beliefs and overarching point. They make a point to help the reader understand that summary is a great way to follow your own agenda. Birkenstein and Graff do point out that it’s also important to stay away from certain vocabulary to keep writing lively and interesting while still getting the general point across. With this, it’s also essential to keep the audience or reader engaged by making the summary relevant to the point because a purposeless summary can weaken an overall argument.

What values does Carver bring forward in this story through experiences with food? Be detailed and specific with your response and use the text for support

 

Throughout Carver’s story, “A Small Good Thing,” it is prominent that he brings forth many pertaining values that are associated with food. He speaks a lot about how sharing a meal with someone can not only teach you a lot about someone but also open your eyes up to perspective. Being able to recognize everyone’s background can change the way you act. It’s surprising to think that a lonely baker and a mourning couple can find solace in one another over something as simple as hot rolls and yet Carver shows that it’s incredibly important to find these moments throughout life. Carver writes, “‘…I am just a baker. I don’t claim to be anything else, maybe once, maybe years ago, I was a different kind of human being. I’ve forgotten, I don’t know for sure. But I’m not any longer, if I ever was. Now I’m just a baker. That don’t excuse my doing what I did, I know. But I’m deeply sorry. I’m sorry for your son and sorry for my part in this,’ the baker said.” (217) The baker, despite not really having done anything wrong other than asking for payment for a cake that was never picked up, still apologizes and recognizes these feelings of regret for people he doesn’t even know. Carver also goes on to write, “‘You probably need to eat something’ the baked said. ‘I hope you’ll eat some of my hot rolls. You have to eat and keep going. Eating is a small, good thing at a time like this,’ he said.” (217) This advice is really what ties the rest of the story together. While the Weiss family waits for their son to wake up they neglect their need to eat and take care of themselves. They are so roped into what could happen with their son they forget that taking care of themselves is also an important factor. The baker despite being forcefully yelled at by a grieving mother still finds the kindness or share warm rolls with the couple and push them to keep moving forward.

Throughout this long and painful process, I made many realizations about my revising skills. I found that in past experiences, it was primarily focused on grammar, sentence structure, and credibility. I feel like we were given the grade we were given solely based on those criteria. What I have now discovered is that revision is very much content based as much as it is grammar based. I found myself constructing and molding these vivid scenes throughout my paper and then consistently moving them around to form a cohesive idea that supported my overall thesis. I found that I paid more attention to phrasing and being clear through my writing then I did on spelling. That being said, I did also focus a lot on the grammar aspects of things with many proofreads near the end of this process. If I were to change anything, I’d likely try to encompass my thesis more throughout my many body paragraphs. Although I feel like I was able to communicate my emotions effectively in the essay, I feel like a weak point would be my thesis. I’d also love to go back and take more time to look at transitions between paragraphs. This narrative is very much telling a story and I’m not sure if my story was smooth enough as it traveled from paragraph to paragraph. I approached this essay tentatively. I was very much afraid of what college-level English was going to bring to the table. I feel as if I’ve been pulled many different directions when it comes to telling me how to write. I worried that college English was going to add to the list of contradicting opinions on the best way to write academically. Although that is very much what happened, I find myself becoming more and more comfortable with writing and feel myself moving in my own personal writing style. This essay was challenging and something that was not expected, but I am very proud of myself for tackling this process with open arms.  There were very few times throughout my writing career where I enjoyed writing an academic essay and rather was proud of writing an academic essay, but all in all this essay was not only enjoyable for me, but it was something I can be proud of no matter what grade I receive.