Reflection Of A Short Story

I enjoy writing short stories because the activity allows me to express my creativity and speak my mind. However, I often have trouble finishing compositions, and my English professors will often tell me I need to improve my work. Recently, I wrote a short story titled "Unexpected" for a fiction–writing class and made countless changes to the tale based on several guidelines. The revisions to "Unexpected" have benefited my story, but I could have done more to improve it. My original story served as an impromptu launching pad for the revisions, which expanded my work into a more stable, detailed narrative. However, I probably should have asked for help from tutors and my fiction professor, Jackie because they understand short stories...show more content... But three methods of revisions helped me better understand the changes I made to my narrative. First, I printed my original work and jotted down revisions based on 25 questions from a book I study in fiction class, What If? WritingExercises for Fiction Writers. These notes helped me add a wide variety of details to my story. Next, I typed my new story and used a grammar check website called PaperRater to improve the style of my tale. This aspect includes, of course, grammar, but also transitional phrases (I am not sure if those are important in a short story) as well as vocabulary. And eventually, I tweaked my composition after carefully reading my story to myself. I learned that reading your own work aloud helps you further comprehend any revisions you should make. As a result of following these revision guidelines, I improved my story dramatically; it more than tripled the word count of my story to about one thousand words. Furthermore, I usually only use PaperRater for revising fiction and nonfiction works I write for English classes. My new technique of modifying my narratives have truly expanded my stories as well as my imagination. But despite these accomplishments, I could have further improved my story. When I wrote a poetry explicationessay for nonfiction writing class, I did not just turn to PaperRater. I asked my professor, Ben, for help writing the essay during his office hours. I wish I could have done Get more content

English coursework

The End of the Road

It all started to go downhill when my boyfriend started speaking to another girl behind my back, sending text messages and meeting up with her for a 'chat' as he used to say. I never believed anything he said. Neither did my friends or family. Why should we have? Before we got together he was known as a player and someone who continuously flirted with girls even if he had a girlfriend, but after we got together he toned it down and I thought he had changed. I'm fed up with the way he is treating me, I know I deserve better. How did I know that the day I decided to confront him was the day I would never see him again?

I decided to go to Daniel's the morning after I had found out about the text...show more content... And that's when she told me. ''It's Daniel'' she said. ''He's been in an accident'' I fell to the floor, I hadn't spoken to him, I've been ignoring him, what have I done?!

''Is he hurt? What kind of accident?'' I asked her. She looked up at me through the tears in her eyes and I knew just from the look she gave me that it was more than a broken bone. He was dead.

After Daniel's death I didn't leave my room for about a week, I didn't want to face the world, I didn't want to talk to anyone, I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts. But all I could think about was 'what if?' What if I hadn't ignored him? What if we weren't arguing, would he have been at mine that night?

I went on my laptop about a week after, I didn't look at my phone or my laptop because I didn't want any sympathy comments as I knew it would only make me feel worse, but that night I just wanted to see what people had put on his Facebook wall, the moment I logged onto my account, I had thousands of notifications. I switched my laptop straight off; I knew I shouldn't have gone on in the first place.

The next day was his funeral, I didn't think I would be able to cope, but I knew I would have lots of people there to support me, but I knew it would be harder for his family than it would be for

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There are as many types of power as there are people" Is this true of the texts you have studied? In your response you should relate to your prescribed text (1984) and ONE related text. Power can be defined as many types ranging from physical, psychological, love, status or government. With power comes great responsibility. If power is not controlled, negative consequences could be developed. This is noticeable through the 2 texts that have been analysed, George Orwell 1984 and Disney Pixar Film WALL E. In both these texts, countless types of power can be extracted whether it is being used for the good or bad. Power is Power, what you do with it is your decision. George Orwell novel is a social commentary of a dystopian future in...show more content...

Disney Pixar is portraying a strong message of technological power in which an individual should not have a strong reliance on as it can backfire in the long run, this message is successfully achieved in this film. The unusual use of technology as a tool of inflicting power also plays a vital role in 1984. The recurring motif of telescreens suggests the disturbing presence of the higher authorities invading privacy. "Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing" tq...effect: evokes dramatic tension from the result of being constantly watched & the risk of being caught which is constantly repeated throughout the novel. Orwell evokes empathy as the reader relates to Winston as they question the loss of privacy, dignity and freedom as well as the Government destroying the lives of so many people yet they cannot do anything to fight back. The way in which George Orwell describes the telescreen shows absolute power it gains over Oceania. "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." (TQ) This portrays an important example of the Party's knowledge of using false history to break down the psychological independence of Oceania. Control of the past ensures control of the future, because the past can be treated essentially as a set of steps that justify or encourage future goals. The Party creates a past that was a time of

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My ideas and thoughts about Africa had been changed after I listened to Adichie's speech. The way she described the danger of a single story was very inspiring to me, and I could relate many of the experiences I had to her story. I was born in Pakistan and moved to the U.S. in 2007. When I came to the U.S. I lived in Virginia and went to Freedom Hill ElementarySchool. On the first day of school I sat next to an Indian kid named Sai and he didn't want to sit next to me he told the teacher that are countries didn't like each other so he wanted to sit somewhere else, but are teacher said she didn't want to hear any of it. So during the year we had to work on many things as partners, and we got along great we had many things in common and at the end of the year we became pretty good friends. At the beginning he probably heard some things about my country and he just assumed that I was the person he heard from those stories, and after meeting me he had a different understanding of it.

Soon after the year ended my dad found a better job in California so we moved here. I lived in Alameda and went to wood middle. The school I went to was very diverse and this time I wasn't the only Muslim...show more content...

This quote does help me understand Adichie's story I understand where she was coming from. You can't judge anything by its color or where it comes from without experiencing it at first. I do understand the effect of this story on me and my other members of my group. Another thing she said was "They make one story become the only story.(13:23)" People only heard one thing about the Middle East and never looked at it from the other side, and many people continue to believe that single story till

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The History of English The most commonly spoken language in our day, would be English or as some people might call it " The Lingua Franca ". It is a language, which is taken almost a thousand years to evolve, mainly through its borrowings from other languages such as French and Latin. It is actually classified as part of the Germanic group of languages. Even though it is the most commonly spoken language today, it is not without its faults, which would be its phonetic symbols only, representing one sound and each sound would have its appropriate symbol. Most European languages are very similar to those spoken in India and Persia, assuming that most of the European peoples are descendants of the ...show more content...

(Lecture notes, M. Disney) Latin influenced English before the Anglo–Saxons arrived in England. The Germanic tribes who later settled on the isles were in contact with small parts of the Roman civilization. Some of the words borrowed by the Germanic groups were: Mint: Minet, Street: strata via When the first English tribes came to settle in England they made contact with the people that had been part of the Roman Empire which probably spoke a form of Latin. Some of their words past in to the language of the new conquerors. (Lecture notes, M. Disney) In the sixth century St. Benedict reintroduced Christianity. As the religion spread English added a large number of Latin words to itself to express new ideas connected with the religion. However, this lead to the loss of grammatical gender of the language and therefore mixed the vocabulary. (Internet 1) In the eighth century the Danes made continual raids upon the English coasts which they later settled. They were then defeated by King Alfred the Great. A hundred years later another Danish King invaded England and managed to get his son, Canute, was put upon the English throne. These Danish invasions, however destructive they were, had quite a tremendous influence upon the English language. The English borrowed words such as skin, ill, get and leg. (Lecture notes, M. Disney)

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Lyndsay Miller

Ms. Williams

English 12

10 November 2014

Storytelling

Storytelling is the oral tradition of sharing stories and recounting events of the past. It is an ancient art form and is a dear form of human expression (What is). Most historians and psychologists alike agree that storytelling is one of the many things binding and defining humanity as we know it because everything revolves around storytelling in one form or another. Humans are possibly the only animals capable of creating and telling stories. Though it is known that the history of storytelling is quite ancient, stories still play a crucial part of our societies and cultures. Its influence is in almost every aspect of human life whether it be movies, books, music, news, religion, or art. Stories are what define us and our morals, our dreams, our prejudices, and our desires. Typically, oral stories are handed down generation to generation. It is not known who or when the first story was told, much less what the first story was (History). The history of storytelling is not one that can be pinpointed to a particular time and place, but it can be assumed that man began to tell stories when he developed the capacity of speech. This being said, not all tales were for entertainment purposes, but rather to enlighten, to tell...show more content...

They way stories are told may morph, but never will storytelling cease. From their people skills to their memories, there is no argument that storytellers possess boundless talent and intelligence. They were the first educators. And now, storytelling is a large part of everyday life. The news in the morning, the gossip throughout the day, the casual response to the casual "What's up?"– It's all a form of storytelling. Our lives are steeped in it. In almost every conversation a story is told. At every turn a story is born. So we all are storytellers, and the world is our audience, just waiting to hear the gospel leave our

Short Stories and Poetry There are many different forms of writing that all fall under the name literature. These different ways to create literature are often categorized into specific genres. Some of the genres have more in common with each other than others. Two genres, theshort story and the poem, share many similar aspects. Both the short story and the poem can successfully send powerful messages or tell complex stories in a very short amount of words. Both genres contain carefully manipulated language that quickly yet effectively establishes the meaning of the short story or poem. Point of view is a prominent aspect in controlling short stories and poetry. The works are thus often told in the first...show more content...

Short literary works are confined to the boundaries on length according to their specific genre; they don't have time for lengthy or slow introductions.

William Faulkner's "A Rose of Emily" (p. 443) begins immediately with a startling statement about Miss Emily's death. Faulkner creates a first sentence that describes how "our whole town went to her funeral" (1), using of course the first person form of "we" (28, 43, 46, etc...) The narrator is most likely one of the townspeople who represents the point of view of the entire town. Through the use of plural first person narration, the author makes the reader feel as if though they are part of the story, grasping his or her interest more quickly. Faulkner employs this first person narration in the first sentence of his story, thus immediately capturing the reader's attention. The reader's engagement in the story also adds to its emotionality. By feeling as though he or she is a part of the story, the reader often feels sadness, joy and other emotions with the characters of the story. When the townspeople were "surprised when Homer Barron...was gone" (46), the use of "we" (46) forces the reader to feel the same confusion and shock that the townspeople do. The first person helps to enrich the variability and appeal of the short story. This use of first person to strengthen the feeling of the

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Fiction Essay Thesis and Outline Instructions In Module/Week 3, you will write a 750–words (about 3–4–pages) essay that compares and contrasts two stories from the Fiction Unit. Before you begin writing the essay, carefully read the guidelines for developing your paper topic that are given below. Review theFiction Essay Grading Rubric to see how your submission will be graded. Gather all of your information, plan the direction of your essay, and organize your ideas by developing a one–page thesis statement and outline for your essay. Format the thesis statement and the outline in a single Word document using MLA, APA, or Turabian style (whichever corresponds to your degree program). You have the opportunity to receive helpful...show more content...

What are the ways in which each major character experiences conflict (either with self, with other characters, or with the social and/or physical environment)?

How are the conflicts resolved? Do the protagonists succeed in achieving their goals?

Who receives your deepest sympathy and why? Characterization

Who are the main characters in the stories?

What are their outstanding qualities? Does the author give any indication as to how or why the character developed these qualities?

What are the characters' emotions, attitudes, and behaviors? What do these indicate to the reader about the character?

Can the characters' motivations be determined from the text? Setting

Where and when do the stories take place? (Remember to include such details as geographic location, time of year, time period, if the setting is rural or urban, etc.)

Do the settings make the stories believable or credible? How does setting impact the plot of the story, and how would the plot be affected if the story took place in another setting?

Are the characters influenced by their setting? How might they behave if they were in a different setting?

What atmosphere or mood does the setting create? (For example, darkness may create a mood of fear or unhappiness, while light or bright colors may create one of happiness.)

Is the setting or any aspect of it a symbol or does the setting express particular

Original Writing: Short Story

It was the night of the year that few children can sleep. The night when everyone hopes that snow will fall and they will wake up to a garden of glistening diamonds grown by the morning sun. It was Christmas Eve.

As many had hoped, snow was falling. It slowly covered the houses and streets in a thick blanket. The moon shone her silver light down on the white world, and but for one, there was nobody to view the kind of beauty that things such as love and dreams are made of. The only one there to see the spectacle was a small boy of five, or six years.

This little boy possessed a beauty not of this earth, a beauty that surpassed even all that surrounded him. His...show more content... On the night that every other child wished for toys, and puppies, this little boy wished for love. And nothing more. Finally, the little boy came to a stop, not wanting to ever take another step again. He raised his downcast eyes, and in front of him stood a church. He remembered that he had been to church before, and the building that loomed above him stirred vague memories. The boy made himself stumble a few more steps, and pressed his face to the glass door he had arrived at. He looked in, and saw the church was lit up inside. There was light coming from behind a man on a big cross, and two huge Christmas trees shone in heavenly splendor. Looking at the man on the cross, he had a faint recollection. He half–remembered, a long time ago, that someone reading from a big book had said that the man on the cross would come on Christmas. That he came every Christmas.

The little boy supposed that if anyone would help him, it would be the man inside. He loved everyone. So, the little boy laid down in front of the church, and as he slipped off into sleep, a glimmer of hope, that the man would come and save him from the cold and loneliness, warmed his heart. The snow continued to fall, and bells jingled far in the distance. Presents were laid under trees, and visions of sugar plums danced in most children's heads. But not the little boy who slept on the church steps under the winter