As many people know, a college degree can allow people to gain many skills that help set them up for the future. Some of these skills that are essential include social and critical thinking skills. These skills are crucial in obtaining degrees in the humanities and for the fields themselves. However, these skills continue to …
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Narrative Structure and Other Elements of Fiction in “Dracula”
After reading the assigned sections of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Johnathan Culler’s Literary Theory, and the Dracula Context Lectures, I was able to find some connections between the three. One such connection was regarding the distinctive voices featured within a narrative. In Chapter 6 of Culler’s Literary Theory, it states that “the essence of the novel …
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Differences in Life Experiences
After having read the assigned section in Tara Westover’s “Educated,” one pattern that I noticed about the theme was regarding the type of life that the Westover’s lived. In this, a combination of self-reliance and a rural, off the grid lifestyle seem to be key patterns within the theme of the narrative. This struck me …
Legacy of the Past
In this week’s two readings of Brin-Jonathan Butler’s “The Ghost of Capablanca” and Camille Dungy’s “Traveling While Black” both share a key pattern on focusing on the legacy of the past that still lingers within the present. Within Brin-Jonathan Butler’s “The Ghost of Capablanca” this is done through examining the legacy that the game of …
Reflections on the Past
After reading Ian Frazier’s “What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution” and Allegra Hyde’s “Let the Devil Sing” within Cheryl Strayed’s “The Best American Travel Writing 2018,” I noticed a pattern of reflecting upon the past within both travel essays. This is done within “What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution” through an examination of …
Losses of the Past
After reading this week’s assigned essays within Cheryl Strayed’s “The Best of American Travel Writing 2018” of “Goodbye, My Brother” by Elliot Ackerman and “Hope and Home” by Rabih Alameddine, I have noticed that both share a key pattern. Within both essays, a theme is shared of loss that had occurred in the past. Within …
The Lessons That Daniel Everett Learned
Over the course of his travelogue “Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes,” Daniel Everett learned many things through his experiences with the Piraha. Aside from being able to learn more about himself, Everett and the readers were able to learn more about the Piraha language and culture through Everett’s experiences. Despite the vast differences in culture …
The Legacy of Colonial Discourse
After reading chapter 6 of Carl Thompson’s “Travel Writing,” one can see that colonialism has left an impact upon travel writing. During the eighteenth, nineteenth, and even within the twentieth century, many writers from imperialist countries wrote of their experiences and travels within non-imperial countries. In this, they would often portray themselves as being more …
The Introduction of a Writer’s Persona in Travel Writing
In travel writing, the persona of the author can play a large role. The portrayal of this persona can add a personal layer to the information that is related during the author’s travels. As Carl Thompson states within his book “Travel Writing” when describing Bill Bryson’s travelogue “The Lost Continent,” “The Lost Continent charts not …
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The Potential Value of Characters in Travel Writing
Within William Least Heat-Moon’s “Blue Highways,” the characters that Heat-Moon encounters play a large role within the author’s travelogue. The different characters that he encounters during his journey function to tie in his personal experiences in travel to the places themselves. By featuring these characters and their unique accents within the dialogue, it gives the …
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